Who was despot Tornik in the graphite of the scribe Nestor

Abstract

In the church of Saint George in the village Gornji Kozjak near Štip on the fresco-icon of Jesus Christ Antiphonetes (the Guarantor) on the south face of the northwest pier there was found the graphite inscription made by the scribe Nestor in the time of despot Tornik. The analysis and the quality of fresco painting as well as the morphology of letters indicate the period between the last decades of XIII and the very beginning of the XIV century. These enable the identification of despot Tornik with the famous apostate from Byzantium Kotanitzes Tornikios who twice run over to Serbian territory. Together with Serbian troops he has been devastating the border region between Serbia and Byzantium for nearly twenty years (1280-1299). He led exciting and adventurous life and become settled in the lower valley of the river Bregalnica. His long Serbian episode was finished when the king Milutin changed his political orientation towards Byzantium and Kotanitzes became too heavy burden for both sides. He was sacrificed and delivered to Byzantine emperor Andronicus II in 1299, when long negotiations about the wedding between the king Milutin and the Byzantine child — princess Simonida were completed. Kotanitzes was still in prison in 1306. .