Manuel Komnenos (son of Andronikos I)

Manuel Komnenos (Greek: Μανουήλ Κομνηνός, romanized: Manouēl Komnēnos; 1145–1185?) was the eldest son of Byzantine emperor Andronikos I Komnenos, and the progenitor of the Grand Komnenos dynasty of the Empire of Trebizond.

Origin and early life

Manuel Komnenos was born in 1145, the firstborn son of the future Byzantine emperor Andronikos Komnenos (r. 1183–1185).[1] The name and identity of his mother are unknown. Several scholars, most notably Cyril Toumanoff have suggested a Georgian royal origin for her, but according to the modern biographer of the Komnenian dynasty, Konstantinos Varzos, she must have belonged to the high Byzantine aristocracy.[2] Manuel was of high birth: his paternal grandfather, Isaac, was a younger son of the founder of the Komnenian house, Alexios I Komnenos (r. 1081–1118) and Empress Irene Doukaina.[3]

Already at a young age, Manuel received the high court title of sebastos from his uncle, Emperor Manuel I Komnenos (r. 1143–1180).[4] The Emperor was of age with Manuel's father, and the two had grown up together. Manuel I cherished this friendship and would always be partial to Andronikos,[5] even though the latter, like his own father, was a highly ambitious man who coveted the throne.[6] His ambition, plotting with foreign powers, rumours of attempting to assassinate Manuel I, and above all his scandalous affair with his niece Eudokia (a daughter of the sebastokrator Andronikos) brought Manuel's father into trouble, and in 1155, he was imprisoned by the Emperor in the dungeons of the Great Palace of Constantinople.[7] Manuel is first mentioned in the sources in 1164, when he helped his father escape his imprisonment. Anronikos fled to Galicia, but soon the Emperor pardoned him and allowed him to return to Constantinople.[4][8]

Under Manuel I Komnenos

At about the same time, in c. 1165, Emperor Manuel I entrusted the young Manuel Komnenos—unless it was a different namesake—with a diplomatic mission to the Russian princes Rostislav I of Kiev and Mstislav Isyaslavich of Volhynia, as part of the Emperor's preparations for war against Stephen III of Hungary. According to the contemporary historian John Kinnamos, the mission was a success, as the Russian princes were flattered by the high rank of the imperial envoy: both rulers agreed to maintain friendly relations with Byzantium. Mstislav of Volhynia even promised to send troops, while Rostislav of Kiev also agreed to accept the appointment of the Byzantine bishop John IV as Metropolitan of Kiev and all Rus'.[9] It also appears that the embassy managed to turn the neighbouring ruler of Galicia, Yaroslav Osmomysl, who was tied to Stephen III by marriage, towards friendship with Byzantium, and adopting a neutral stance in the oncoming Byzantine–Hungarian conflict.[10]

In 1166, Manuel's mother died, and he had her buried in the Monastery of Angourion.[11] In the next year, he was a member of the high-ranking mission that accompanied his niece Maria Komnene to the Kingdom of Jerusalem for her wedding to King Amalric at Tyre on 29 August 1167.[12] His life during the remainder of Manuel I's reign is obscure.[13]

Under the regency of Maria of Antioch

When Manuel I died in 1180, Manuel and his younger siblings (his half-brother John and half-sister Maria) were in Constantinople, while their father Andronikos was serving as governor at Oinaion in the Pontus.[14] At about this time, Manuel married the Georgian princess Rusudan, daughter of King George III. This match was probably arranged by his father, when he had stayed at Tiflis during one of his periods of exile.[13]

Manuel and his brother were among the nobility who sided with Manuel I's daughter, the Caesarissa Maria Komnene, against the regency of Manuel I's underage son, Alexios II Komnenos (r. 1180–1183), headed by Empress-dowager Maria of Antioch and another cousin, the protosebastos Alexios Komnenos. The conspiracy was uncovered, however, and both John and Manuel were imprisoned until the regency was overthrown by a revolt in late April 1182.[15]

Under Andronikos I

In mid-May 1182, Manuel's father Andronikos entered Constantinople and assumed power as regent for Alexios II.[16] As a member of the high aristocracy, Manuel quickly came to oppose is father's anti-aristocratic policies.[17] The first act of public opposition was his refusal, along with his maternal uncle, the sebastos George, to vote in the Senate for the execution of the Empress-dowager Maria of Antioch in August 1183, or to preside over the deed.[18]

Following the execution of the Empress-dowager, Andronikos assumed the imperial title in September, and within a month had eliminated the young Alexios II. Along with the patriarch Basil Kamateros, whom he had appointed, Andronikos then crowned his younger son John as co-emperor.[19] Although widely acknowledged as more capable thn his brother, Manuel was bypassed due to his opposition. Nevertheless, as the emperor's son he still received the high title of sebastokrator.[20] Manuel still retained a measure of influence over his father, as shown when he successfully pleaded for the life and rank of his cousin, David, the doux of Thessalonica.[20]

In September 1185, when his father was deposed and killed, Manuel was blinded. He may have died as a result of this; at any rate he disappears from the historical record in that year.

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References
  1. Varzos 1984b, p. 511.
  2. Varzos 1984a, pp. 501–503 (esp. note 58).
  3. Varzos 1984a, p. 238.
  4. Varzos 1984b, p. 512.
  5. Varzos 1984a, p. 500.
  6. Varzos 1984a, pp. 493, 498.
  7. Varzos 1984a, pp. 503–510.
  8. Varzos 1984a, pp. 512–516.
  9. Varzos 1984b, pp. 512–513.
  10. Varzos 1984b, p. 513.
  11. Varzos 1984b, pp. 513–514.
  12. Varzos 1984b, p. 514.
  13. Varzos 1984b, p. 515.
  14. Varzos 1984b, pp. 516–517.
  15. Varzos 1984b, pp. 517–518.
  16. Varzos 1984b, p. 518.
  17. Varzos 1984b, pp. 518–519.
  18. Varzos 1984b, p. 519.
  19. Varzos 1984b, pp. 519–520.
  20. Varzos 1984b, p. 520.

Sources
  • Brand, Charles M. (1968). Byzantium Confronts the West, 1180–1204. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. LCCN 67-20872. pp. 28, 46, 67-68, 69, 72, 77
  • Magoulias, Harry J. (2011). "Andronikos I Komnenos: A Greek Tragedy". Byzantina Symmeikta. 21: 101–136. doi:10.12681/byzsym.1032. ISSN 1791-4884.
  • Varzos, Konstantinos (1984). Η Γενεαλογία των Κομνηνών [The Genealogy of the Komnenoi] (PDF) (in Greek). A. Thessaloniki: Centre for Byzantine Studies, University of Thessaloniki. OCLC 834784634.
  • Varzos, Konstantinos (1984). Η Γενεαλογία των Κομνηνών [The Genealogy of the Komnenoi] (PDF) (in Greek). B. Thessaloniki: Centre for Byzantine Studies, University of Thessaloniki. OCLC 834784665.
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