Theodore Synadenos

Theodore Synadenos
Born	ca. 1277
Died	1345/1346
Allegiance	Byzantine Empire
Years of service	before 1320 – 1342
Rank	protostrator
Wars	Byzantine civil war of 1321–1328, Byzantine civil war of 1341–1347

Theodore Komnenos Doukas Palaiologos Synadenos (Greek: Θεόδωρος Κομνηνός Δούκας Παλαιολόγος Συναδηνός, ca. 1277 – ca. 1346), usually simply Theodore Synadenos, was a Byzantine magnate, senior official and military leader of the early 14th century, who played an important role in the civil wars of the period. The scion of a noble lineage, he became one of the first and most prominent supporters of Andronikos III Palaiologos in his struggle against his grandfather Andronikos II. Synadenos held various provincial governorships during Andronikos III's reign, including Epirus and Thessalonica. After the outbreak of the civil war of 1341–1347, he tried to surrender Thessalonica to his old friend John Kantakouzenos, but was driven from the city by the Zealots of Thessalonica. Forced to join Kantakouzenos's enemies, he was initially honoured with the high rank of protovestiarios but soon placed under house arrest in Constantinople, where he died impoverished in 1345 or 1346.

Theodore Synadenos was a son of the megas stratopedarches John Synadenos and Theodora Palaiologina, the niece of Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos (r. 1259–1282), and hence a member of the Byzantine Empire's highest aristocracy. He had a probably older brother also named John, and at least one sister, Euphrosyne. Little is known about his early life: he was born circa 1277, apparently at Bizye on the Black Sea coast of Thrace, where he had a palatial residence, extensive estates and many friends and relatives.

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