ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the ideological climate at the court of Nicaea in the early years after the Latin conquest of Constantinople, as revealed in the orations of Theodore I Laskaris Choniates. Niketas Choniates composed at least three rhetorical works for Theodore I Laskaris in Nicaea: two Lenten orations, dated in 1207 and 1208 respectively, and a panegyric for Theodore Laskaris, celebrating his victory over the Seljuks in 1211. Niketas presents Laskaris as ‘the shepherd who is calling back the flock, which is wandering on mountains and in ravines’. In his last recension, Niketas deleted some positive characterizations that he had made earlier regarding Theodore Laskaris, specifically referring to his courageous stance against the Latins, while he dismissed the Nicaean ruler unceremoniously alongside the other Byzantine leaders who chose infighting over common resistance after 1204.
