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67-650: The Komnenoi nevertheless managed to reassert Byzantine pre-eminence in the Mediterranean world, militarily and culturally. Relations between the Byzantine East and Western Europe flourished, epitomized by the collaboration of Alexios I and later emperors with the Crusaders (Alexios was instrumental in calling the First Crusade ). The scattered and disorganized Byzantine army was restructured into

134-530: A Byzantine rump state which they ruled from 1204 to 1461. At that time, they were commonly referred to as Grand Komnenoi ( Μεγαλοκομνηνοί , Megalokomnenoi ), a style that was officially adopted and used by George Komnenos and his successors. Through intermarriages with other noble families, notably the Doukas , Angelos , and Palaiologos , the Komnenos name appears among most of the major noble houses of

201-739: A competent fighting force that became known as the Komnenian Byzantine army . Although the empire rapidly disintegrated after the death of the last Komnenoi emperor, Andronikos I, in 1185, the Komnenian Restoration represented the final apex of the fifteen-hundred year history of the Roman Empire . In the decades before the Komnenoi , the Byzantine Empire had been on a steady decline due to many factors,

268-410: A conspiracy against him by his sister, the chronicler Anna Komnene . John's son Manuel ruled for another 37 years. The Komnenos dynasty produced a number of branches. As imperial succession was not in a determined order but rather depended on personal power and the wishes of one's predecessor, within a few generations several relatives were able to present themselves as claimants. After Manuel I's reign

335-399: A coup against Michael and was proclaimed emperor. Although his reign lasted only until 1059, when his courtiers pressured him to abdicate and become a monk, Isaac initiated many useful reforms. The dynasty returned to the throne with the accession of Alexios I Komnenos , Isaac I's nephew, in 1081. By this time, descendants of all the previous dynasties of Byzantium seem to have disappeared from

402-454: A diminution of his popularity, but he was nonetheless successful in resurrecting the Byzantine Empire by the time of his death in 1118. John continued Alexios' military successes and was known throughout his reign to be a kind and cautious commander who never risked Byzantine forces in huge pitched engagements that could have resulted in large catastrophes. Instead, he methodically retook fortresses throughout Anatolia during his reign. Progress

469-732: A grave defeat at the Battle of Dyrrachium (1081) , which allowed Robert Guiscard and his son Bohemond to occupy much of the Balkans. The Normans took Dyrrhachium in February 1082 and advanced inland, capturing most of Macedonia and Thessaly . Robert was then forced to leave Greece to deal with an attack on his ally, the Pope Gregory VII , by the Holy Roman Emperor , Henry IV . Robert left his son Bohemond in charge of

536-692: A line of descent. Michael VII Doukas Michael VII Doukas or Ducas ( Greek : Μιχαήλ Δούκας , romanized :  Mikhaḗl Doúkas ), nicknamed Parapinakes ( Greek : Παραπινάκης , lit.   ' minus a quarter ' , a reference to the devaluation of the Byzantine currency under his rule), was the senior Byzantine emperor from 1071 to 1078. He was known as incompetent as an emperor and reliant on court officials, especially of his finance minister Nikephoritzes , who increased taxation and luxury spending while not properly financing their army (which later mutinied). Under his reign, Bari

603-493: A poison arrow treacherously sent to him by jealous crusaders who did not want him to succeed and encroach on their territory or sovereignty. His sudden death kept the Byzantines from continuing their conquests of Anatolia, and historian Zoe Oldenbourg believes that, if John had lived but a few more years, much larger territorial gains would have been made by the Byzantines. Though Manuel was the youngest of John's four sons he

670-510: A professional fighting force, and not the hodge podge of local forces it had been previously. He created permanent, fortified military camps in both Anatolia and the Balkans, where his field armies could be concentrated and trained, and added a large cavalry component to the army (most famously the Kataphraktoi of Macedonia) which allowed the Byzantines to effectively fight the more mobile Turks. Yet John died suddenly in 1143, possibly from

737-544: A tradition linking them to Claudius Gothicus , the supposed grandfather of Constantine the Great . Many classical monuments dedicated to Claudius stood in the vicinity of Kastra Komnenon , which according to historian Maximilian C. G. Lau may have increased his appeal in the eyes of the Komnenoi. The 17th-century French scholar du Cange suggested that the family descended from a Roman noble family that followed Constantine

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804-592: The History of Song , it is known that the ruler "Mie-li-yi-ling-kai-sa" (滅力伊靈改撒) of Fu-lin (i.e. Byzantium ) sent an embassy to the Song dynasty which arrived on November 1081, during the reign of Emperor Shenzong of Song (r. 1067–1085). The History of Song mentions how the Byzantine diplomat and official named "Ni-si-tu-ling-si-meng-p'an" offered saddled horses, sword-blades, and real pearls as tributary gifts to

871-466: The Battle of Beroia in 1122. His victory at Beroia was so decisive that afterwards the Pechenegs ceased to be an independent people and disappeared from most historical records. Due to his continuous military successes the Byzantine empire was kept safe and its realms were free from destruction and allowed to grow and prosper. During this time John also reorganized the Byzantine army, making it into

938-594: The Corsican Greek notable Demetrio Stefanopoli obtained letters patent from Louis XVI of France recognizing him as the descendant and heir of the Emperors of Trebizond. Irene Angelina , daughter of Isaac II Angelos and thus a descendant of Alexios I Komnenos, married Philip of Swabia (1177–1208), the King of Germany . From this union many of the royal and aristocratic families of Western Europe can trace

1005-501: The Despotate of Epirus in 1204, under Michael I Komnenos Doukas , great-grandson of Emperor Alexios I. This branch adopted the surnames Komnenos Doukas and are known as such in modern scholarship. Helena Doukaina Komnene, a child of that branch of the family, married Guy I de la Roche thereby uniting the Komnenos and the de la Roche houses, with Komnenos family members eventually becoming Dukes of Athens . One renegade member of

1072-687: The Fourth Crusade in 1204, by Alexios V Doukas , a relative from the Doukas family. Several weeks before the occupation of Constantinople by crusaders in 1204, one branch of the Komnenoi fled back to their homelands in Paphlagonia, along the eastern Black Sea and its hinterland in the Pontic Alps , where they established the Empire of Trebizond . Their first 'emperor', named Alexios I ,

1139-591: The Monastery of Stoudios . He later became metropolitan of Ephesus and died in Constantinople in c. 1090. Before his resignation from the throne, Michael VII may have sent an embassy to Song China , following a series of Byzantine embassies to the earlier Tang Empire of China. From the Wenxian Tongkao , written by Chinese historian Ma Duanlin (1245–1322), and the 14th century work

1206-707: The Normans under Robert Guiscard and his son Bohemond of Taranto , who quickly turned to the weakly held Balkan provinces of Byzantium that were ripe for plunder. In the countryside, there existed a free peasantry unlike in Western Europe. However, the growing power of the aristocracy led to the dismantling of the free peasantry and the enlargement of private estates by the aristocracy, sometimes through purchases but often through intimidation or outright violence. Basil II had been ruthless and successful during his reign at curbing their growing power but after his death,

1273-917: The Seljuk Turks , who had captured it just prior to Alexios' reign. Alexios also saw the First Crusade pass through Byzantine territory, leading to the establishment of the Crusader states in the east. The Komnenos dynasty was very much involved in crusader affairs, and also intermarried with the reigning families of the Principality of Antioch and the Kingdom of Jerusalem - Theodora Komnene , niece of Manuel I Komnenos , married Baldwin III of Jerusalem , and Maria , grandniece of Manuel, married Amalric I of Jerusalem . Remarkably, Alexios ruled for 37 years, and his son John II ruled for 25, after uncovering

1340-531: The Balkans, where they faced an attempt at the restoration of the Bulgarian state. Although this revolt was suppressed by the general Nikephoros Bryennios, the Byzantine Empire was unable to recover its losses in Asia Minor . After Manzikert, the Byzantine government sent a new army to contain the Seljuk Turks under Isaac Komnenos, a brother of the future emperor Alexios I Komnenos , but this army

1407-719: The Byzantine emperors it is said that Manuel was the closest to healing the centuries-old rift between the Christian Churches of the East and West, though he never fully achieved this goal. But in Anatolia, Manuel's successes were more suspect, and his reign is highlighted by his defeat at the Battle of Myriokephalon in 1176 at the hands of the Seljuks. Historians have long debated the importance of this defeat, with some calling it an unmitigated disaster while others say that

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1474-502: The Byzantine monarchy. These Doukids fled the area near Manzikert leaving Emperor Romanos alone to fight Alp Arslan. The battle of Manzikert was not immediately militarily decisive but subsequent events spiraled out of control and thus constitutes a seminal moment in Byzantine history. Emperor Romanos was captured in battle and proclaimed dead by the Doukids who returned to Constantinople with Michael VII Doukas proclaimed Emperor. Romanos

1541-584: The Empire and, according to noted Byzantine historian Paul Magdalino , Byzantine control over the Balkans was at its most effective point since Late Antiquity. Additionally Manuel opened up relations with the Western kingdoms, having grown to appreciate their various cultures, and even organized regular jousting competitions. Because of this fondness, he increased diplomatic ties to the West, arranging alliances with

1608-412: The Empire to its largest extent since before Manzikert in 1071. In order to achieve these important military victories, however, Alexios had to resort to drastic measures in order to keep the empire financially afloat amidst so many military expeditions. He did this by melting down many Church artifacts and selling Church lands, while also utilizing conscription to keep the army well-staffed. This led to

1675-425: The Great to Constantinople , from whose cousin but although such mythical genealogies were common—and are attested for the closely related Doukas clan as well—the complete absence of any such assertion in the Byzantine sources argues against Du Cange's view. The Romanian historian George Murnu suggested in 1924 that the Komnenoi were of Aromanian descent, but this view too is now rejected. Modern scholars consider

1742-624: The Komnenos dynasty also held the name of Axouchos as descendants of John Axouch , a Byzantine nobleman and minister to the Byzantine Komnenian Dynasty. A princess of the Trebizond branch is said to have been the mother of prince Yahya (born 1585), who reportedly became a Christian yet spent much of his life attempting to gain the Ottoman throne. Another branch of the family, descendants of Constantine Angelos , founded

1809-541: The Komnenos dynasty fell into conspiracies and plots like many of its predecessors (and the various contenders within the family sought power and often succeeded in overthrowing the preceding kinsman); Alexios II , the first Komnenos to ascend as a minor, ruled for three years and his conqueror and successor Andronikos I ruled for two, overthrown by the Angelos family under Isaac II who was dethroned and blinded by his own brother Alexios III. The Angeloi were overthrown during

1876-507: The Muslims of Anatolia and the Levant. Alexios particularly hoped to recover Syria and other areas that had been part of the Byzantine Empire in previous centuries. He succeeded in his attempt to rally Western European support, as a surprisingly large contingent of crusaders under Godfrey of Bouillon (among other European nobles) set off from Western Europe and journeyed through Anatolia all

1943-585: The Pope and the Crusaders of the Outremer and successfully dealt with the troublesome Second Crusade that passed through his lands. Conversely, Western Europeans held him in great esteem, and he was described by the Latin historian William of Tyre as "beloved of God...a great-souled man of incomparable energy," highlighting the goodwill he garnered with the previously hostile Western European powers. Indeed, of all

2010-570: The Seljuk Turks by treachery, but was harassed in his way through central and eastern Anatolia by his Armenian subjects. Learning of Byzantine advances towards Manzikert and the reneging of their peace settlement, Seljuk Sultan Alp Arslan turned his army away from attacking the Fatimid Caliphate towards the Byzantine army. The Byzantine army was internally politically divided between rival aristocrats and claimants such as Doukids to

2077-639: The armies to be even weaker to deal with external raiding. The bureaucrats then hired mercenaries, notably Normans, to replace the professional army and with ageing conscripts to defend the tenuous frontier. However, the untrustworthiness, unruliness, ambitiousness, and sheer expense of these mercenary troops meant that they disrespected state authority and also conducted raiding in the Byzantine Anatolia, even sometimes working with Turkic raiders whom they were employed to fight against. These mercenary bands also took service with Aristocrats revolting against

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2144-674: The army in Greece. Bohemond was initially successful, defeating Alexios in several battles, but he was defeated by Alexios outside Larissa . Forced to retreat to Italy, Bohemond lost all the territory gained by the Normans in the campaign. This victory began the Komnenian restoration. Shortly after the death of Robert in 1085, the Pechenegs , a nomadic group from north of the Danube, invaded

2211-493: The army. As an emperor he was incompetent, often surrounded by sycophantic court officials. In dire straits, imperial officials resorted to property confiscations and even expropriated some of the wealth of the church. The underpaid army tended to mutiny, and the Byzantines lost Bari , their last possession in Italy , to the Normans of Robert Guiscard in 1071. Simultaneously, they faced a serious revolt under Georgi Voyteh in

2278-541: The common people. Though Andronikos worked tirelessly to root out corruption in the Empire, his heavy-handed tactics against the aristocracy naturally led to dissent, and he was eventually overthrown in 1185. Of equal importance was his failure to prevent the Massacre of the Latins in Constantinople in 1182 when tens of thousands of Western European traders were massacred by mobs in a xenophobic fervor. This contributed to

2345-525: The defensive program of western Asia Minor was still successful. With Manuel's death in 1180 the Byzantine empire was once again plunged into a succession crisis because his son Alexios II Komnenos was still a minor. Empress Maria ruled the empire as regent, but she was quickly deposed by a series of revolts, and in her place Andronikos I became emperor. Andronikos was known for his incredible cruelty; he often utilized great acts of violence to get others to follow his orders, engendering little sympathy from

2412-417: The devaluation of the currency, which gave the emperor his nickname Parapinakēs. In 1078 two generals, Nikephoros Bryennios and Nikephoros Botaneiates , simultaneously revolted in the Balkans and Anatolia, respectively. Botaneiates gained the support of the Seljuk Turks, and he reached Constantinople first. Michael VII resigned the throne with hardly a struggle on 24 or 31 March 1078 and retired into

2479-509: The disunity between the East and the West that culminated in the sack of Constantinople by the members of the Fourth Crusade in 1204. The death of Andronikos ended the century-long revival of the Komnenoi, and the Empire descended into civil war as the aristocracy and military elite grappled for control. This led to military weakness, allowing the Turks to regain much of their territory in Anatolia. Within two centuries Constantinople would, for

2546-412: The emperor emerged from it with most of his army intact. All agree though that the era of Komnenian invincibility ended with this battle, and the empire never again took the offensive in Anatolia, a premonition for the coming weakness of the empire. Regardless of the true story, it is clear that after Myriokephalon Byzantine advances in Anatolia were forever halted and all they could do was merely maintain

2613-523: The empire with a force 80,000 strong. Realizing that he would not be able to defeat the Pechenegs by conventional means, Alexios I allied with another nomadic group, the Cumans , to aid him, resulting in the annihilation of the Pecheneg horde at the Battle of Levounion on 28 April 1091. Alexios I soon took perhaps his most important action as Emperor when he called on Pope Urban II for help in combating

2680-420: The events of his reign, albeit with a bias towards Alexios. Upon ascension, Alexios inherited a much-weakened empire that was almost immediately beset by a serious invasion from the Normans of Southern Italy. The Normans used the deposition of the previous emperor Michael as the casus belli to invade the Balkans. Alexios did not have a strong enough army to successfully resist the invasion at first and suffered

2747-407: The family to have been entirely of Greek origin. Manuel Erotikos Komnenos was the father of Isaac I Komnenos ( r.  1057–1059 ), and grandfather, through Isaac's younger brother John Komnenos , of Alexios I Komnenos ( r.  1081–1118 ). Isaac I Komnenos , a stratopedarch of the East under Michael VI , founded the Komnenos dynasty of Byzantine emperors . In 1057 Isaac led

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2814-528: The family, also named Isaac Komnenos , established a separate "empire" on Cyprus in 1184, which lasted until 1191, when the island was taken from him by Richard I of England during the Third Crusade . His daughter, called the Damsel of Cyprus , married Thierry of Flanders during the Fourth Crusade and tried to claim the island. When the Byzantine Empire was restored in 1261 at Constantinople, it

2881-493: The first time in its thousand-year history as capital of the Byzantine Empire, be conquered by a foreign power. The decline of the Empire began almost immediately, for without the strong Komnenoi emperors, the previous financial and military problems of the Empire became clear and unstoppable. Komnenoi The House of Komnenos ( pl. Komnenoi ; ‹See Tfd› Greek : Κομνηνός , pl. Κομνηνοί , [komniˈni] ), Latinized as Comnenus ( pl. Comneni ),

2948-463: The future success of the Angelos family by marrying into it: Theodora's grandsons became the emperors Isaac II Angelos (reigned 1185–1195 and 1203–1204) and Alexios III Angelos (reigned 1195–1203). Under Alexios I and his successors the Empire was fairly prosperous and stable. Alexios moved the imperial palace to the Blachernae section of Constantinople . Much of Anatolia was recovered from

3015-489: The general Romanos IV Diogenes , who now became senior co-emperor alongside Michael VII, Konstantios, and another brother, Andronikos . When Romanos IV was defeated and captured by Alp Arslan of the Seljuk Turks at the Battle of Manzikert in August 1071, Michael VII remained in the background, while the initiative to take power was taken by his uncle John Doukas and his tutor Michael Psellos . Michael VII

3082-579: The government. During this time, the conflict with the Armenians broke out again. The state administration, economy, and military system were allowed to fall into neglect, largely through self-inflicted wounds. The picture of the Byzantine state leading up to 1071 was one of near chaos. Following the war with the Seljuk Sultanate , in 1071 Emperor Romanos Diogenes tried to re-assert Byzantine dominance in Anatolia and recapture fortresses lost to

3149-438: The growing power and militancy of the aristocracy and the succession crisis, the policies of the bureaucrats in Constantinople were to weaken the power of this aristocratic class by freeing Anatolian peasants from their military service and turn them into a tax-paying population. Byzantine frontier defenses fell into decay as successive emperors disbanded the large standing armies of previous eras in order to save money. This caused

3216-589: The late Byzantine world. The 11th-century Byzantine historian Michael Psellos reported that the Komnenos family originated from the village of Komne in Thrace —usually identified with the "Fields of Komnene" ( Κομνηνῆς λειμῶνας ) mentioned in the 14th century by John Kantakouzenos —a view commonly accepted by modern scholarship. The first known member of the family, Manuel Erotikos Komnenos , acquired extensive estates at Kastamon in Paphlagonia , which became

3283-513: The most important being the political conflict between the state bureaucracy in Constantinople and the Byzantine military aristocracy. In almost every year since the death of Emperor Basil II , the aristocracy rose up in revolt across the empire, east and west causing the army to move back and forth exposing their borders to raiding parties of Normans, Pechenegs or Turkic horsemen. The empire's holdings in Southern Italy were finally lost to

3350-449: The previous Doukas dynasty: Alexios I married Irene Doukaina , the grandniece of Constantine X Doukas, who had succeeded Isaac I in 1059. Thereafter the combined clan was often referred to as Komnenodoukai ( Κομνηνοδούκαι ) and several individuals used both surnames together. Several families descended from this wider clan, such as Palaiologos , Angelos , Vatatzes and Laskaris . Alexios and Irene's youngest daughter Theodora ensured

3417-410: The process recommenced and accelerated. Another issue came in the succession crisis following the death of Basil II brother and successor Constantine VIII . Constantine VIII had no male heirs and as a consequence, the bureaucrats of Constantinople married his daughters Zoe and Theodora to older and incompetent men unfit for rule who were ill-advised and squandered money on trivial things. As a result of

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3484-399: The realm, such as the important Scleros and Argyros families. Descendants of those emperors lived abroad, having married into the royal families of Georgia , Russia , France , Persia , Italy , Germany , Poland , Bulgaria , Hungary and Serbia ; this made it easier for the Komnenos family to ascend to the throne. Upon their rise to the throne, the Komnenoi became intermarried with

3551-480: The status quo afterwards. Yet the losses were quickly made good, and in the following year Manuel's forces inflicted a defeat upon a force of "picked Turks". The Byzantine commander John Vatatzes, who destroyed the Turkish invaders at the Battle of Hyelion and Leimocheir , not only brought troops from the capital but also was able to gather an army along the way; a sign that the Byzantine army remained strong and that

3618-418: The stronghold of the family in the 11th century. The family thereby quickly became associated with the powerful and prestigious military aristocracy ( dynatoi ) of Asia Minor , so that despite coming from Thrace it came to be considered "eastern". Aside from deriving legitimacy as rulers from familial links to the prominent Doukai (emperors Constantine X and Michael VII in particular), they also had

3685-463: The way to their eventual destination of Jerusalem. While relations between crusaders and Byzantines were not always cordial, the coordination between the two armies was instrumental in capturing many important cities in Asia Minor and eventually Jerusalem itself. Between 1097 and 1101 Alexios managed to recover Nicaea , Rhodes , and Ephesus , while also making Antioch his vassal. This brought

3752-476: Was a Byzantine Greek noble family who ruled the Byzantine Empire in the 11th and 12th centuries. The first reigning member, Isaac I Komnenos , ruled from 1057 to 1059. The family returned to power under Alexios I Komnenos in 1081 who established their rule for the following 104 years until it ended with Andronikos I Komnenos in 1185. In the 13th century, they founded the Empire of Trebizond ,

3819-463: Was chosen to succeed his father due to his ability to listen to advice and learn from his mistakes (or so his father discerned). He continued the Komnenian restoration admirably, particularly in the Balkans where he consolidated Byzantine holdings and inflicted a crushing defeat on the Kingdom of Hungary in 1167 at the Battle of Sirmium . With this victory the Kingdom of Hungary was made a vassal of

3886-419: Was defeated and its commander captured in 1073. The problem was made worse by the desertion of the Byzantines' western mercenaries under Roussel de Bailleul who were setting up an independent principiality in the region of Galatia and Lycaonia . They became the object of the next military expedition in the area, led by Michael's uncle, caesar John Doukas . This campaign also ended in failure, and John

3953-430: Was likewise captured by the enemy. The victorious Roussel now forced John Doukas to stand as pretender to the throne and sacked Chrysopolis , just opposite Constantinople . A new army under Alexios Komnenos (the future emperor), reinforced by Seljuk troops sent by Malik Shah I , finally defeated the mercenaries and captured John Doukas in 1074. These misfortunes caused widespread dissatisfaction, exacerbated by

4020-474: Was lost and his empire faced open revolt in the Balkans. Along with the advancing Seljuk Turks in the eastern front, Michael also had to contend with his mercenaries openly turning against the empire. Michael stepped down as emperor in 1078 and later retired to a monastery. Michael VII was born c. 1050 in Constantinople , the eldest son of Constantine X Doukas and Eudokia Makrembolitissa . He

4087-460: Was overrun by the Seljuk Turks, even raiding to the eastern bank opposite Constantinople. The military of the empire completely fell apart as defensive positions were abandoned, and territory was quickly lost to the advancing Turks. The state all but collapsed. The reign of Alexios is well-documented due to the survival of the Alexiad , written by his daughter Anna Komnene , which details all of

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4154-439: Was probably associated with the throne by the end of 1060, together with or shortly before his newly born brother Konstantios Doukas . When Constantine X died on 23 May 1067, Michael VII was already 17 years old and should have been able to rule by himself. He exhibited little interest in politics, however, and his mother Eudokia and uncle John Doukas governed the empire as effective regents . On 1 January 1068, Eudokia married

4221-454: Was proclaimed emperor on 1 October 1071, although Eudokia ruled as regent for a month before being dispatched to a monastery. Although still advised by Michael Psellos and John Doukas, Michael VII became increasingly reliant on his finance minister Nikephoritzes . The emperor's chief interests, shaped by Psellos, were in academic pursuits, and he allowed Nikephoritzes to increase both taxation and luxury spending without properly financing

4288-420: Was released following the payment of a ransom but was captured by the Doukids on his return through Anatolia, blinded and died from his wounds. The reign of Michael VII was turbulent with new civil wars erupting with the withdrawal of Byzantine forces from the frontiers. Now Turkic bands raided in increased number, pillaging further into Eastern and then Central Anatolia unopposed. During this time, much of Anatolia

4355-521: Was ruled by a family closely related to the Komnenoi, the Palaiologoi . The Palaiologoi ruled until the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Turks in 1453. The last descendant of the dynasty is often considered to have been John Komnenos Molyvdos , a distinguished Ottoman Greek scholar and physician, who became metropolitan bishop of Side and Dristra , and died in 1719. In 1782,

4422-571: Was slow and gradual, however, because the Turks in the area were strong and the Byzantine military was not yet at its former heights. Nevertheless, John made steady progress throughout his reign on the Anatolian front, eventually conquering a road to Antioch so that he could keep watch over the Crusader princes who ruled it. On the Balkan front John achieved a crushing victory over the Pechenegs at

4489-643: Was the grandson of Emperor Andronikos I. These emperors – the Grand Komnenoi ( Megaloi Komnenoi or Megalokomnenoi in Greek) as they were known – ruled in Trebizond for over 250 years, until 1461, when David Komnenos was defeated and executed by the Ottoman sultan Mehmed II . Mehmed himself claimed descent from the Komnenos family via John Tzelepes Komnenos . The Trapezutine branch of

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