Life John VI Kantakouzenos (c. 1292–1383 CE) was a Byzantine emperor, statesman, and general. A close advisor to Emperor Andronikos III Palaiologos, he later became regent before a civil war led to his coronation as co-emperor in 1346, ruling as senior emperor John VI until 1354 [1][2]. His reign faced financial crisis, the Black Death, and increasing Ottoman influence. After abdicating, he retired to a monastery as the monk Joasaph Christodoulos, where he wrote his historical memoirs and theological works [1][2].

Works His major work is the Histories (Ἱστορίαι), a four-book prose account covering 1320 to 1356. Written during his monastic retirement, it provides a detailed, first-person narrative of the Byzantine civil wars and fourteenth-century politics [1][2].

Significance Kantakouzenos is a significant historian. His Histories is an invaluable though partisan primary source for the empire’s decline, detailing civil conflicts, the rise of Serbia, and Ottoman expansion [1][2]. His policies, particularly his reliance on Ottoman aid, are seen as accelerating Byzantine subordination. As a monk, he also actively defended hesychast theology [1].

Sources 1. Encyclopædia Britannica: https://www.britannica.com/biography/John-VI-Cantacuzenus 2. World History Encyclopedia: https://www.worldhistory.org/John_VI_Kantakouzenos/