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103-517: The surname Andronikashvili, meaning "children [descendants] of Andronikos", is attested in sixteenth-century documents, but oral tradition has it that the family descends from Alexios Komnenos (c. 1170–1199) , the illegitimate son of the Eastern Roman emperor Andronikos I Komnenos (ruled 1183-1185) by his mistress and relative Theodora Komnene , Queen Dowager of Jerusalem . After the deposition and brutal murder of emperor Andronikos, Alexios

206-521: A campaign against the Normans, but his expedition stalled. These developments encouraged Manuel to take advantage of the multiple instabilities on the Italian peninsula . He sent Michael Palaiologos and John Doukas , both of whom held the high imperial rank of sebastos , with Byzantine troops, ten ships and large quantities of gold to invade Apulia in 1155. The two generals were instructed to enlist

309-474: A characteristically energetic way. In the winter of 1158–59, he marched to Cilicia at the head of a huge army; the speed of his advance (Manuel had hurried on ahead of the main army with 500 cavalry) was such that he managed to surprise the Armenian Thoros of Cilicia , who had participated in the attack on Cyprus. Thoros fled into the mountains, and Cilicia swiftly fell to Manuel. Meanwhile, news of

412-602: A defining event in the collective memory of the age that had fascinated Manuel's aunt, Anna Komnene . Many Byzantines feared the Crusade, a view endorsed by the numerous acts of vandalism and theft practised by the unruly armies as they marched through Byzantine territory. Byzantine troops followed the Crusaders, attempting to police their behaviour, and further troops were assembled in Constantinople, ready to defend

515-566: A favourable treaty and a pledge to supply the Empire with auxiliary troops; Yaroslav of Galicia was also persuaded to renounce his Hungarian connections and return fully into the imperial fold. As late as 1200 the princes of Galicia were providing invaluable services against the enemies of the Empire, at that time the Cumans . The restoration of relations with Galicia had an immediate benefit for Manuel when, in 1166, he dispatched two armies to attack

618-543: A fleet of 120 ships against Byzantium. Due to an epidemic, and pursued by 150 Byzantine ships, the fleet was forced to return without great success. In all probability, friendly relations between Byzantium and Venice were not restored in Manuel's lifetime. On his northern frontier Manuel expended considerable effort to preserve the conquests made by Basil II over one hundred years earlier and maintained, sometimes tenuously, ever since. Due to distraction from his neighbours on

721-582: A grand ceremonial reception which both honoured Amalric and underlined his dependence: for the rest of Amalric's reign, Jerusalem was a Byzantine satellite, and Manuel was able to act as a protector of the Holy Places, exerting a growing influence in the Kingdom of Jerusalem. In 1177, a fleet of 150 ships was sent by Manuel I to invade Egypt, but returned home after appearing off Acre due to the refusal of Count Philip of Flanders and many important nobles of

824-615: A humbler size: not that of Emperor of the Romans but that of King of the Greeks. The defeat at Myriokephalon has often been depicted as a catastrophe in which the entire Byzantine army was destroyed. Manuel himself compared the defeat to Manzikert; it seemed to him that the Byzantine defeat at Myriokephalon complemented the destruction at Manzikert. In reality, although a defeat, it was not particularly costly and did not significantly diminish

927-693: A similar position in Martqopi . Along with the Cholokashvili and Abashidze families, the Andronikashvili were regarded as grandees of the first class of the Kingdom of Kakheti . They held key political, diplomatic and military posts at the court and were distinguished for their particular loyalty to the royal Bagrationi dynasty with which they had ties of marriage. In the 1780s, they functioned as military governors of Ganja Khanate which

1030-676: A small cavalry force to save the city, and then, even as late as 1180, the Byzantines succeeded in scoring a victory over the Turks. The continuous warfare had a serious effect upon Manuel's vitality; he declined in health and in 1180 succumbed to a slow fever. Furthermore, like Manzikert, the balance between the two powers began to gradually shift—Manuel never again attacked the Turks, and after his death they began to move further west, deeper into Byzantine territory. Three major theological controversies occurred during Manuel's reign. In 1156–1157

1133-523: A son, George "the Great", who received the domain of Alastani to rule as his sub-kingdom, and that the name "Andronikashvili" only came about after Andronikos of Alastani, Alexios's great-great-grandson. Manuel I Komnenos Manuel I Komnenos ( Greek : Μανουήλ Κομνηνός , romanized :  Manouḗl Komnēnós ; 28 November 1118 – 24 September 1180), Latinized as Comnenus , also called Porphyrogenitus ( Greek : Πορφυρογέννητος ; " born in

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1236-634: A son, thus depriving Béla of his status as heir of the Byzantine throne (although Manuel would not renounce the Croatian lands he had taken from Hungary). Then, in 1172, Stephen died childless, and Béla went home to take his throne. Before leaving Constantinople, he swore a solemn oath to Manuel that he would always "keep in mind the interests of the emperor and of the Romans". Béla III kept his word: as long as Manuel lived, he made no attempt to retrieve his Croatian inheritance, which he only afterwards reincorporated into Hungary. Manuel Komnenos attempted to draw

1339-693: A string of spectacular successes as numerous strongholds yielded either to force or the lure of gold. The city of Bari , which had been the capital of the Byzantine Catapanate of Italy for centuries before the arrival of the Normans, opened its gates to the Emperor's army, and the overjoyed citizens tore down the Norman citadel. After the fall of Bari, the cities of Trani , Giovinazzo , Andria , Taranto and Brindisi were also captured. William arrived with his army, including 2,000 knights, but

1442-445: A sum of money and vowed to attack the Byzantine province of Cyprus . Raynald arrested the governor of the island, John Komnenos, who was a nephew of Manuel, and the general Michael Branas. The Latin historian William of Tyre deplored this act of war against fellow Christians and described the atrocities committed by Raynald's men in considerable detail. Having ransacked the island and plundered all its wealth, Raynald's army mutilated

1545-595: Is described as Manuel's vassal ( hypospondos ). Galicia was situated on the northern and north-eastern borders of Hungary and, therefore, was of great strategic importance in the Byzantine-Hungarian conflicts. Following the deaths of both Iziaslav and Vladimirko, the situation became reversed; when Yuri of Suzdal, Manuel's ally, took over Kiev and Yaroslav , the new ruler of Galicia, adopted a pro-Hungarian stance. In 1164–65 Manuel's cousin Andronikos ,

1648-417: Is only natural to look for the causes of this decline in his reign. Born on 28 November 1118, Manuel Komnenos was the fourth son of John II Komnenos and Irene of Hungary , so it seemed very unlikely that he would succeed his father. His maternal grandfather was St. Ladislaus . Manuel favourably impressed his father by his courage and fortitude during the unsuccessful Siege of Neocaesarea (1140), against

1751-403: Is said to have taken refuge at the court of his relative Tamar of Georgia , who granted him an estate in the eastern Georgian province of Kakheti . Despite the fragmentary nature of this Andronikashvili pedigree, Professor Cyril Toumanoff (1976) accepted it as plausible, but evidence marshaled by Kuršankis (1977) suggests that it may be only a legend. Toumanoff has also assumed that the line of

1854-506: The "provincial kings" of Alastani (c. 1230—1348), known from Georgian sources and including the one named Andronike, may have belonged to the Georgian Komnenoi/Andronikashvili. The Andronikashvili family estates were located in the southeastern portion of Kakheti, one of the three kingdoms that emerged after the demise of a unified Kingdom of Georgia later in the fifteenth century. Their aboriginal appanage

1957-521: The Arabs in the 7th century. The revenues that the Empire could have expected to gain from the conquest of Egypt would have been considerable, even if these would have to be shared with the Crusaders. Furthermore, Manuel may have wanted to encourage Amalric's plans, not only to deflect the ambitions of the Latins away from Antioch, but also to create new opportunities for joint military ventures that would keep

2060-596: The Balkan frontier , Manuel was kept from his main objective, the subjugation of the Normans of Sicily. Relations had been good with the Serbs and Hungarians since 1129, so the Serb rebellion came as a shock. The Serbs of Rascia , being so induced by Roger II of Sicily, invaded Byzantine territory in 1149. Manuel forced the rebellious Serbs, and their leader, Uroš II, to vassalage (1150–1152). He then made repeated attacks upon

2163-479: The Danishmendid Turks. In 1143 John II lay dying as a result of an infected wound; on his deathbed he chose Manuel as his successor, in preference to his elder surviving brother Isaac . John cited Manuel's courage and readiness to take advice, in contrast to Isaac's irascibility and unbending pride, as the reasons for his choice. After John died on 8 April 1143, his son, Manuel, was acclaimed emperor by

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2266-663: The Kingdom of Jerusalem to help. Between 1158 and 1162, a series of Byzantine campaigns against the Seljuk Turks of the Sultanate of Rûm resulted in a treaty favourable to the Empire. According to the agreement, certain frontier regions, including the city of Sebasteia , should be handed over to Manuel in return for some quantity of cash, while it also obliged the Seljuk Sultan Kilij Arslan II to recognize his overlordship. Kilij Arslan II used

2369-494: The Byzantine army left Italy and never returned again. Both Nicetas Choniates and Kinnamos, the major Byzantine historians of this period, agree, however, that the peace terms Axouch secured from William allowed Manuel to extricate himself from the war with dignity, despite a devastating raid by a Norman fleet of 164 ships (carrying 10,000 men) on Euboea and Almira in 1156. During the Italian campaign, and afterwards, during

2472-439: The Byzantine army, especially the baggage and siege train, without the rest being able to intervene. The army's siege equipment was quickly destroyed, and Manuel was forced to withdraw—without siege engines , the conquest of Iconium was impossible. According to Byzantine sources, Manuel lost his nerve both during and after the battle, fluctuating between extremes of self-delusion and self-abasement; according to William of Tyre, he

2575-522: The Byzantine emperor; they were not at all willing to fall into a state of dependence from one emperor to the other. Manuel, on the other hand, wanted an official recognition of his secular authority over both East and West. Such conditions would not be accepted by either side. Even if a pro-western emperor such as Manuel agreed, the Greek citizens of the empire would have rejected outright any union of this sort, as they did almost three hundred years later when

2678-406: The Byzantine fleet was lost in a sudden storm. Despite the bad feelings generated at Damietta, Amalric still refused to abandon his dream of conquering Egypt, and he continued to seek good relations with the Byzantines in the hopes of another joined attack, which never took place. In 1171 Amalric came to Constantinople in person, after Egypt had fallen to Saladin . Manuel was thus able to organise

2781-539: The Byzantine invasion; this resulted in the Hungarian province of Transylvania being thoroughly ravaged by the Byzantine armies. Control of Egypt was a decades-old dream of the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem, and its king Amalric I needed all the military and financial support he could get for his planned campaign. Amalric also realised that if he were to pursue his ambitions in Egypt, he might have to leave Antioch to

2884-535: The Byzantine policy changed. Manuel now decided to oppose the objective of the Hohenstaufen dynasty to directly annex Italy, which Frederick believed should acknowledge his power. When the war between Frederick Barbarossa and the northern Italian communes started, Manuel actively supported the Lombard League with money subsidies, agents, and, occasionally, troops. The walls of Milan , demolished by

2987-514: The Byzantine position. The naval battle was decided in favour of the Normans, while John Doukas and Alexios Bryennios (along with four Byzantine ships) were captured. Manuel then sent Alexios Axouch to Ancona to raise another army, but by this time William had already retaken all of the Byzantine conquests in Apulia. The defeat at Brindisi put an end to the restored Byzantine reign in Italy; in 1158

3090-406: The Empire to conclude a very advantageous peace with the Kingdom of Hungary by which Syrmia , Bosnia and Dalmatia were ceded. By 1168 nearly the whole of the eastern Adriatic coast lay in Manuel's hands. Efforts were also made towards a diplomatic annexation of Hungary. The Hungarian heir Béla , younger brother of the Hungarian king Stephen III , was sent to Constantinople to be educated in

3193-620: The German alliance remained the principal orientation of Manuel's foreign policy for the rest of his reign, despite the gradual divergence of interests between the two empires after Conrad's death. Roger died in February 1154 and was succeeded by William I , who faced widespread rebellions against his rule in Sicily and Apulia , leading to the presence of Apulian refugees at the Byzantine court. Conrad's successor, Frederick Barbarossa , launched

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3296-430: The German king to renew their alliance against Roger II of Sicily . Unfortunately for the Byzantine emperor, Conrad died in 1152, and despite repeated attempts, Manuel could not reach an agreement with his successor, Frederick Barbarossa . Manuel's attention was again drawn to Antioch in 1156, when Raynald of Châtillon , the new Prince of Antioch, claimed that the Byzantine emperor had reneged on his promise to pay him

3399-840: The Germans, were restored with Manuel's aid. Ancona remained important as a centre of Byzantine influence in Italy. The Anconitans made a voluntary submission to Manuel, and the Byzantines maintained representatives in the city. Frederick's defeat at the Battle of Legnano , on 29 May 1176, seemed rather to improve Manuel's position in Italy. According to Kinnamos, Cremona , Pavia and a number of other " Ligurian " cities went over to Manuel; his relations were also particularly favourable in regard to Genoa and Pisa , but not to Venice . In March 1171 Manuel had suddenly broken with Venice, ordering all 20,000 Venetians on imperial territory to be arrested and their property confiscated. Venice, incensed, sent

3502-508: The Hungarians with a view to annexing their territory along the Sava . In the wars of 1151–1153 and 1163–1168 Manuel led his troops into Hungary and a spectacular raid deep into enemy territory yielded substantial war booty. In 1167, Manuel sent 15,000 men under the command of Andronikos Kontostephanos against the Hungarians, scoring a decisive victory at the Battle of Sirmium and enabling

3605-461: The King of Jerusalem in his debt, and would also allow the Empire to share in territorial gains. The joined forces of Manuel and Amalric laid siege to Damietta on 27 October 1169, but the siege was unsuccessful due to the failure of the Crusaders and the Byzantines to co-operate fully. According to Byzantine forces, Amalric, not wanting to share the profits of victory, dragged out the operation until

3708-527: The Mediterranean world, Manuel pursued an energetic and ambitious foreign policy. In the process he made alliances with Pope Adrian IV and the resurgent West . He invaded the Norman Kingdom of Sicily , although unsuccessfully, being the last Eastern Roman emperor to attempt reconquests in the western Mediterranean . The passage of the potentially dangerous Second Crusade through his empire

3811-524: The Orthodox and Catholic churches were briefly united under the pope. In spite of his friendliness towards the Roman Church and his cordial relations with all the popes, Manuel was never honoured with the title of augustus by the popes. And although he twice sent embassies to Pope Alexander III (in 1167 and 1169) offering to reunite the Greek and Latin churches, Alexander refused, under pretext of

3914-586: The Russian principalities into his net of diplomacy directed against Hungary, and to a lesser extent Norman Sicily. This polarised the Russian princes into pro- and anti-Byzantine camps. In the late 1140s three princes were competing for primacy in Russia: prince Iziaslav II of Kiev was related to Géza II of Hungary and was hostile to Byzantium; Prince Yuri Dolgoruki of Suzdal was Manuel's ally ( symmachos ), and Vladimirko of Galicia ( Principality of Halych )

4017-515: The Son and the Holy Ghost, the one Godhead", despite the dissent of Patriarch of Antioch-elect Soterichos Panteugenos , who was subsequently dismissed. Ten years later, a controversy arose as to whether the saying of Christ, "My Father is greater than I", referred to his divine nature, to his human nature, or to the union of the two. Demetrius of Lampe, a Byzantine diplomat recently returned from

4120-490: The Turks. Despite this, they won a complete victory, routing the enemy army from the field and inflicting heavy losses. In the following year, Manuel drove the Turks out of Isauria . In 1147 Manuel was faced with war by Roger II of Sicily , whose fleet had captured the Byzantine island of Corfu and plundered Thebes and Corinth . However, despite being distracted by a Cuman attack in the Balkans, in 1148 Manuel enlisted

4223-525: The West, ridiculed the way the verse was interpreted there, that Christ was inferior to his father in his humanity but equal in his divinity. Manuel, on the other hand, perhaps with an eye on the project for Church union, found that the formula made sense, and prevailed over a majority in a synod convened on 2 March 1166 to decide the issue, where he had the support of the patriarch Luke Chrysoberges and later Patriarch Michael III . Those who refused to submit to

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4326-509: The advance of the Byzantine army soon reached Antioch. Raynald knew that he had no hope of defeating the emperor, and in addition knew that he could not expect any aid from King Baldwin III of Jerusalem . Baldwin did not approve of Raynald's attack on Cyprus, and in any case had already made an agreement with Manuel. Thus isolated and abandoned by his allies, Raynald decided that abject submission

4429-491: The alliance of Conrad III of Germany , and the help of the Venetians , who quickly defeated Roger with their powerful fleet. In 1149, Manuel recovered Corfu and prepared to take the offensive against the Normans, while Roger II sent George of Antioch with a fleet of 40 ships to pillage Constantinople's suburbs. Manuel had already agreed with Conrad on a joint invasion and partition of southern Italy and Sicily. The renewal of

4532-439: The alliance, was impressed in particular by the large transport ships that were used to transport the cavalry forces of the army. Although such a long-range attack on a state far from the centre of the Empire may seem extraordinary (the last time the Empire had attempted anything on this scale was the failed invasion of Sicily over one hundred and twenty years earlier), it can be explained in terms of Manuel's foreign policy, which

4635-415: The area around the city, but could not assault its walls. Among Manuel's motives for mounting this razzia there included a wish to be seen in the West as actively espousing the crusading ideal; Kinnamos also attributed to Manuel a desire to show off his martial prowess to his new bride. While on this campaign Manuel received a letter from Louis VII of France announcing his intention of leading an army to

4738-523: The armies. Yet his succession was by no means assured: with his father's army in the wilds of Cilicia far from Constantinople, he recognised that it was vital he should return to the capital as soon as possible. He still had to take care of his father's funeral, and tradition demanded he organise the foundation of a monastery on the spot where his father died. Swiftly, he dispatched the megas domestikos John Axouch ahead of him, with orders to arrest his most dangerous potential rival, his brother Isaac, who

4841-472: The capital against any acts of aggression. This cautious approach was well advised, but still the numerous incidents of covert and open hostility between the Franks and the Greeks on their line of march, for which it seems both sides were to blame, precipitated conflict between Manuel and his guests. Manuel took the precaution—which his grandfather had not taken—of making repairs to the city walls , and he pressed

4944-432: The country, which flourished and produced the noble family of Andronikashvili , i.e., "scions of Andronikos". Since Andronikos I had no sons by a Georgian mistress at this time, modern scholars trace the origin of this family to Alexios, but the exact origin of the family name is disputed, not least because the attested genealogy of the Andronikashvili does not commence until the 16th century. Michel Kuršanskis suggests that

5047-578: The crowd. In May, at the head of a united Christian army, he started on the road to Edessa, but he abandoned the campaign when he secured the release by Nur ad-Din , the ruler of Syria , of 6,000 Christian prisoners captured in various battles since the second Crusade. Despite the glorious end of the expedition, modern scholars argue that Manuel ultimately achieved much less than he had desired in terms of imperial restoration. Satisfied with his efforts thus far, Manuel headed back to Constantinople. On their way back, his troops were surprised in line of march by

5150-592: The east of Georgia. Andronikos returned to Constantinople and usurped the Byzantine crown in 1183, only to be overthrown and killed in 1185. Alexios then fled to Georgia, where he was restored to his father's Georgian estates. At one point, he was even considered by some Georgian nobles as a candidate to become a consort of the queen regnant Tamar of Georgia . According to the Georgian historical tradition, during Andronikos I's sojourn in Georgia, he left progeny in

5253-676: The eastern provinces of Hungary in a vast pincer movement. One army crossed the Walachian Plain and entered Hungary through the Transylvanian Alps ( Southern Carpathians ), while the other army made a wide circuit to Galicia and, with Galician aid, crossed the Carpathian Mountains . Since the Hungarians had most of their forces concentrated on the Sirmium and Belgrade frontier, they were caught off guard by

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5356-414: The emperor's court. Manuel intended the youth to marry his daughter, Maria , and to make him his heir, thus securing the union of Hungary with the Empire. At court Béla assumed the name Alexius and received the title of despot , which had previously been applied only to the emperor himself. However, two unforeseen dynastic events drastically altered the situation. In 1169, Manuel's young wife gave birth to

5459-478: The emperor's men ran short of provisions and were particularly affected by famine; Amalric then launched an assault, which he promptly aborted by negotiating a truce with the defenders. On the other hand, William of Tyre remarked that the Greeks were not entirely blameless. Whatever the truth of the allegations of both sides, when the rains came, both the Latin army and the Byzantine fleet returned home, although half of

5562-524: The empire to recover the interior of Anatolia from the Turks . Called ho Megas ( ὁ Μέγας , translated as " the Great ") by the Greeks , Manuel is known to have inspired intense loyalty in those who served him. He also appears as the hero of a history written by his secretary, John Kinnamos , in which every virtue is attributed to him. Manuel, who was influenced by his contact with western Crusaders, enjoyed

5665-410: The enormous quantities of gold which had been lavished on the project, it also demonstrated the limits of what money and diplomacy alone could achieve. The expense of Manuel's involvement in Italy must have cost the treasury a great deal (probably more than 2.16 million hyperpyra or 30,000 pounds of gold), and yet it produced only limited solid gains. After 1158, under the new conditions, the aims of

5768-508: The entire Orthodox Christian population. Manuel offered a large sum of money to the Pope for the provision of troops, with the request that the Pope grant the Byzantine emperor lordship of three maritime cities in return for assistance in expelling William from Sicily. Manuel also promised to pay 5,000 pounds of gold to the Pope and the Curia . Negotiations were hurriedly carried out, and an alliance

5871-417: The entrance to the pass at Myriokephalon, Manuel was met by Turkish ambassadors, who offered peace on generous terms. Most of Manuel's generals and experienced courtiers urged him to accept the offer. The younger and more aggressive members of the court urged Manuel to attack, however, and he took their advice and continued his advance. Manuel made serious tactical errors, such as failing to properly scout out

5974-416: The family was possibly named after a son of Alexios. On the other hand, Cyril Toumanoff assumed that the line of the "provincial kings" of Alastani ( c.  1230 –1348), known from the medieval Georgian sources and including one named Andronikos ( r.  1339–1348 ), might have belonged to the Georgian Komnenoi/Andronikashvili. According to his view, followed by Konstantinos Varzos , Alexios had

6077-491: The fighting ability of the Byzantine army. Most of the casualties were borne by the right wing, largely composed of allied troops commanded by Baldwin of Antioch, and also by the baggage train, which was the main target of the Turkish ambush. The limited losses inflicted on native Byzantine troops were quickly recovered, and in the following year Manuel's forces defeated a force of "picked Turks". John Komnenos Vatatzes , who

6180-579: The full imperial army and marched against the Seljuk capital, Iconium ( Konya ). Manuel's strategy was to prepare the advanced bases of Dorylaeum and Sublaeum , and then to use them to strike as quickly as possible at Iconium. Yet Manuel's army of 35,000 men was large and unwieldy—according to a letter that Manuel sent to King Henry II of England , the advancing column was ten miles (16 km) long. Manuel marched against Iconium via Laodicea , Chonae , Lampe, Celaenae , Choma and Antioch . Just outside

6283-562: The future emperor, escaped from captivity in Byzantium and fled to the court of Yaroslav in Galicia. This situation, holding out the alarming prospect of Andronikos making a bid for Manuel's throne sponsored by both Galicia and Hungary, spurred the Byzantines into an unprecedented flurry of diplomacy. Manuel pardoned Andronikos and persuaded him to return to Constantinople in 1165. A mission to Kiev, then ruled by Prince Rostislav , resulted in

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6386-702: The head of the family, Jesse Andronikashvili (Andronikov), managed to send his family to France , while he himself spent several years in Soviet prisons before being shot in 1937. His son, Constantin Andronikof (1916–1997) became a French diplomat, the Dean of St. Sergius Orthodox Theological Institute in Paris , and translator of Sergei Bulgakov 's theological writings into French . Alexios Komnenos (son of Andronikos I) Alexios Komnenos ( c. 1170 – 1199)

6489-471: The hegemony of Manuel, who had paid 100,000 dinars for the release of Bohemond III . In 1165, he sent envoys to the Byzantine court to negotiate a marriage alliance (Manuel had already married Amalric's cousin Maria of Antioch in 1161). After a long interval of two years, Amalric married Manuel's grandniece Maria Komnene in 1167, and "swore all that his brother Baldwin had sworn before." A formal alliance

6592-507: The independence of Antioch to Byzantium. Peace having been restored, a grand ceremonial procession was staged on 12 April 1159 for the triumphant entry of the Byzantine army into the city, with Manuel riding through the streets on horseback, while the Prince of Antioch and the King of Jerusalem followed on foot. Manuel dispensed justice to the citizens and presided over games and tournaments for

6695-585: The key to the fate of the crusader states. If Egypt came out of its isolation and joined forces with the Muslims under Nur ad-Din, the crusader cause was in trouble. A successful invasion of Egypt would have several further advantages for the Byzantine Empire. Egypt was a rich province, and in the days of the Roman Empire it had supplied much of the grain for Constantinople before it was lost to

6798-616: The leadership of Manuel's grandfather and father. Nevertheless, the empire continued to face formidable challenges. At the end of the 11th century, the Normans of Sicily had removed Italy from the control of the Byzantine emperor. The Seljuk Turks had done the same with central Anatolia . And in the Levant , a new force had appeared—the Crusader states —which presented the Byzantine Empire with new challenges. Now, more than at any time during

6901-563: The military base Lopadion and set out on a punitive expedition against Mas'ud , the Sultan of Rûm , who had been repeatedly violating the frontiers of the Empire in western Anatolia and Cilicia . There was no attempt at a systematic conquest of territory, but Manuel's army defeated the Turks at Acroënus , before capturing and destroying the fortified town of Philomelion , removing its remaining Christian population. The Byzantine forces reached Masud's capital, Konya (Iconium), and ravaged

7004-442: The patriarch and bishops. Manuel is representative of a new kind of Byzantine ruler who was influenced by his contact with western Crusaders. He arranged jousting matches, even participating in them, an unusual and discomforting sight for the Byzantines. Endowed with a fine physique, Manuel has been the subject of exaggeration in the Byzantine sources of his era, where he is presented as a man of great personal courage. According to

7107-618: The peace with Byzantium, and the power vacuum caused by the death in 1174 of Nur ad-Din Zangi the ruler of Syria, to expel the Danishmends from their Anatolian emirates. When the Seljuk sultan refused to cede some of the territory he had taken from the Danishmends to the Byzantines, as he was obliged to do as part of his treaty obligations, Manuel decided that it was time to deal with the Turks once and for all. Therefore, he assembled

7210-415: The preceding centuries, the task facing the emperor was daunting indeed. The first test of Manuel's reign came in 1144, when he was faced with a demand by Raymond , Prince of Antioch , for the cession of Cilician territories. However, later that year the crusader County of Edessa was engulfed by the tide of a resurgent Islamic jihad under Imad ad-Din Zengi . Raymond realized that immediate help from

7313-415: The purple "), was a Byzantine emperor of the 12th century who reigned over a crucial turning point in the history of Byzantium and the Mediterranean . His reign saw the last flowering of the Komnenian restoration , during which the Byzantine Empire experienced a resurgence of military and economic power and enjoyed a cultural revival. Eager to restore his empire to its past glories as the great power of

7416-757: The question was raised whether Christ had offered Himself as a sacrifice for the sins of the world to the Father and to the Holy Spirit only, or also to the Logos (i.e., to Himself). In the end a synod held at Constantinople in 1157 declared the doctrine of a single sacrifice to the Holy Trinity, producing a formula: "The precious blood of the Only Begotten was offered not only to the Father but also to

7519-538: The relief of the crusader states. Manuel was prevented from capitalising on his conquests by events in the Balkans that urgently required his presence. In 1147 he granted a passage through his dominions to two armies of the Second Crusade under Conrad III of Germany and Louis VII of France . At this time, there were still members of the Byzantine court who remembered the passage of the First Crusade ,

7622-525: The reputation of "the most blessed emperor of Constantinople " in parts of the Latin world as well. Some historians have been less enthusiastic about him, however, asserting that the great power he wielded was not his own personal achievement, but that of the Komnenos dynasty he represented. Further, it has also been argued that since Byzantine imperial power declined catastrophically after Manuel's death, it

7725-612: The route ahead. These failings caused him to lead his forces straight into a classic ambush. On 17 September 1176 Manuel was checked by Seljuk Sultan Kilij Arslan II at the Battle of Myriokephalon (in highlands near the Tzibritze pass), in which his army was ambushed while marching through the narrow mountain pass. The Byzantines were hemmed in by the narrowness of the pass, which allowed the Seljuks to concentrate their attacks on part of

7828-425: The story of his exploits, which appear as a model or a copy of the romances of chivalry , such was his strength and exercise in arms that Raymond of Antioch was incapable of wielding his lance and buckler. In a famous tournament, he is said to have entered the lists on a fiery courser , and to have overturned two of the stoutest Italian knights. In one day, he is said to have slain forty Turks with his own hand, and in

7931-589: The struggle of the Papal Curia with Frederick, Manuel tried to sway the popes with hints of a possible union between the Eastern and Western churches. Although in 1155 Pope Adrian IV had expressed his eagerness to prompt the reunion of the churches, hopes for a lasting Papal-Byzantine alliance came up against insuperable problems. Adrian IV and his successors demanded recognition of their religious authority over all Christians everywhere and sought superiority over

8034-522: The support of Frederick, but he declined because his demoralised army longed to get back north of the Alps as soon as possible. Nevertheless, with the help of disaffected local barons, including Count Robert of Loritello , Manuel's expedition achieved astonishingly rapid progress as the whole of southern Italy rose up in rebellion against the Sicilian Crown and the untried William I. There followed

8137-430: The survivors before forcing them to buy back their flocks at exorbitant prices with what little they had left. Thus enriched with enough booty to make Antioch wealthy for years, the invaders boarded their ships and set sail for home. Raynald also sent some of the mutilated hostages to Constantinople as a vivid demonstration of his disobedience and his contempt for the Byzantine emperor. Manuel responded to this outrage in

8240-431: The synod's decisions had their property confiscated or were exiled. The political dimensions of this controversy are apparent from the fact that a leading dissenter from the Emperor's doctrine was his nephew Alexios Kontostephanos. A third controversy sprung up in 1180, when Manuel objected to the formula of solemn abjuration , which was exacted from Muslim converts. One of the more striking anathemas of this abjuration

8343-447: The troubles that would follow union. The final results of the Italian campaign were limited in terms of the advantages gained by the Empire. The city of Ancona became a Byzantine base in Italy, accepting Manuel as sovereign. The Normans of Sicily had been damaged and now came to terms with the Empire, ensuring peace for the rest of Manuel's reign. The Empire's ability to get involved in Italian affairs had been demonstrated. However, given

8446-420: The two kings for guarantees concerning the security of his territories. Conrad's army was the first to enter the Byzantine territory in the summer of 1147, and it figures more prominently in the Byzantine sources, which imply that it was the more troublesome of the two. Indeed, the contemporary Byzantine historian Kinnamos describes a full-scale clash between a Byzantine force and part of Conrad's army, outside

8549-565: The walls of Constantinople. The Byzantines defeated the Germans and, in Byzantine eyes, this reverse caused Conrad to agree to have his army speedily ferried across to Damalis on the Asian shore of the Bosphoros. After 1147, however, the relations between the two leaders became friendlier. By 1148 Manuel had seen the wisdom of securing an alliance with Conrad, whose sister-in-law Bertha of Sulzbach he had earlier married; he actually persuaded

8652-482: The west and in the east. However, towards the end of his reign, Manuel's achievements in the east were compromised by a serious defeat at Myriokephalon , which in large part resulted from his arrogance in attacking a well-defended Seljuk position. Although the Byzantines recovered and Manuel concluded an advantageous peace with Sultan Kilij Arslan II , Myriokephalon proved to be the final, unsuccessful effort by

8755-421: The west was out of the question. With his eastern flank now dangerously exposed to this new threat, there seemed little option but for him to prepare for a humiliating visit to Constantinople. Swallowing his pride, he made the journey north to submit to Manuel and ask for protection. He was promised the support that he had requested, and his allegiance to Byzantium was secured. In 1146 Manuel assembled his army at

8858-491: Was a major blow to the campaign. The turning point was the Battle of Brindisi , where the Normans launched a major counter-attack by both land and sea. At the approach of the enemy, the mercenaries that had been hired with Manuel's gold demanded huge increases in their pay. When this was refused, they deserted. Even the local barons started to melt away, and soon John Doukas was left hopelessly outnumbered. The arrival of Alexios Komnenos Bryennios with some ships failed to retrieve

8961-560: Was a natural son of Andronikos I Komnenos , the Byzantine Emperor ( r. 1183 – 1185) by his relative and mistress Theodora Komnene , Queen Dowager of Jerusalem . During the reign of Emperor Manuel I Komnenos (r. 1143–1180), Alexios accompanied his father Andronikos in exile, visiting, inter alia, the Kingdom of Georgia . The Georgian king George III , their relative, granted to Andronikos several castles in Kakhetia in

9064-598: Was adroitly managed. Manuel established a Byzantine protectorate over the Crusader states of Outremer . Facing Muslim advances in the Holy Land , he made common cause with the Kingdom of Jerusalem and participated in a combined invasion of Fatimid Egypt . Manuel reshaped the political maps of the Balkans and the eastern Mediterranean, placing the kingdoms of Hungary and Outremer under Byzantine hegemony and campaigning aggressively against his neighbours both in

9167-447: Was an embarrassment for both Manuel personally and also for his empire. The Komnenian emperors had worked hard since the Battle of Manzikert , over a century earlier, to restore the reputation of the empire. Yet because of his overconfidence, Manuel had demonstrated to the world that Byzantium still could not decisively defeat the Seljuks, despite the advances made during the past century. In Western opinion, Myriokephalon cut Manuel down to

9270-520: Was briefly subjugated by King Erekle II to Georgian control. Several representatives of the family served also as bishops of Bodbe , Ninotsminda , Alaverdi and Nekresi . After the Russian annexation of Georgia (1801), the Andronikashvili were confirmed in the dignity of knyaz in 1826 and mostly served in the Russian army. Following the Bolshevik takeover in the 1917 October Revolution ,

9373-426: Was formed between Manuel and Hadrian. At this point, just as the war seemed decided in his favour, events turned against Manuel. Byzantine commander Michael Palaiologos alienated allies with his attitude, stalling the campaign as Count Robert III of Loritello refused to speak to him. Although the two were reconciled, the campaign had lost some of its momentum: Michael was soon recalled to Constantinople, and his loss

9476-529: Was heavily defeated. Encouraged by the success, Manuel dreamed of restoration of the Roman Empire, at the cost of union between the Orthodox and the Catholic Church , a prospect which would frequently be offered to the Pope during negotiations and plans for alliance. If there was ever a chance of reuniting the eastern and western churches, and coming to reconciliation with the Pope permanently, this

9579-422: Was his only hope. He appeared dressed in a sack with a rope tied around his neck, and begged for forgiveness. Manuel at first ignored the prostrate Raynald, chatting with his courtiers; William of Tyre commented that this ignominious scene continued for so long that all present were "disgusted" by it. Eventually, Manuel forgave Raynald on condition that he would become a vassal of the Empire, effectively surrendering

9682-420: Was known as "Saandroniko" (საანდრონიკო) or "Saendroniko" (საენდრონიკო) and comprised several villages including Melaani, Chalaubani, and Pkhoveli. In the sixteenth century, the family acquired the office of High Constable ( mouravi ) of K’iziqi which became hereditary in the main line (sometimes known as Abelashvili, აბელაშვილები). A century later, a branch (also known as Zurabashvili, ზურაბაშვილები) attained to

9785-521: Was living in the Great Palace with instant access to the imperial treasure and regalia. Axouch arrived in the capital even before news of the emperor's death had reached it. He quickly secured the loyalty of the city, and when Manuel entered the capital in August 1143, he was crowned by the new patriarch , Michael II Kourkouas . A few days later, with nothing more to fear as his position as emperor

9888-470: Was negotiated in 1168, whereby the two rulers arranged for a conquest and partition of Egypt, with Manuel taking the coastal area, and Amalric the interior. In the autumn of 1169 Manuel sent a joint expedition with Amalric to Egypt: a Byzantine army and a naval force of 20 large warships , 150 galleys , and 60 transports , under the command of the megas doux Andronikos Kontostephanos, joined forces with Amalric at Ascalon . William of Tyre, who negotiated

9991-429: Was never the same again. The terms by which Kilij Arslan II allowed Manuel and his army to leave were that he should remove his frontier forts and garrisons at Dorylaeum and Sublaeum. Since the Sultan had already failed to keep his side of the earlier treaty of 1162, however, Manuel only ordered the fortifications of Sublaeum to be dismantled, but not the fortifications of Dorylaeum. Nevertheless, defeat at Myriokephalon

10094-577: Was now secure, Manuel ordered the release of Isaac. Then he ordered two golden pieces to be given to every householder in Constantinople and 200 pounds of gold (including 200 silver pieces annually) to be given to the Byzantine Church. The empire that Manuel inherited from his father was in a more stable position than it had been a century earlier. In the late 11th century, the Byzantine Empire had faced marked military and political decline, but this decline had been arrested and largely reversed by

10197-522: Was probably the most favourable moment. The Papacy was never on good terms with the Normans, except when under duress by the threat of direct military action. Having the "civilised" Byzantines on its southern border was infinitely preferable to the Papacy than having to constantly deal with the troublesome Normans of Sicily. It was in the interest of Pope Adrian IV to reach a deal if at all possible, since doing so would greatly increase his own influence over

10300-504: Was sent by the Emperor to repel the Turkish invasion, not only brought troops from the capital but also was able to gather an army along the way. Vatatzes caught the Turks in an ambush as they were crossing the Meander River ; the subsequent Battle of Hyelion and Leimocheir effectively destroyed them as a fighting force. This is an indication that the Byzantine army remained strong and that the defensive program of western Asia Minor

10403-509: Was still successful. After the victory on the Meander, Manuel himself advanced with a small army to drive the Turks from Panasium , south of Cotyaeum . In 1178, however, a Byzantine army retreated after encountering a Turkish force at Charax , allowing the Turks to capture many livestock. The city of Claudiopolis in Bithynia was besieged by the Turks in 1179, forcing Manuel to lead

10506-540: Was that directed against the deity worshipped by Muhammad and his followers: And before all, I anathematize the God of Muhammad about whom he [Muhammad] says, "He is God alone, God made of solid, hammer-beaten metal; He begets not and is not begotten, nor is there like unto Him any one." The emperor ordered the deletion of this anathema from the Church's catechetical texts, a measure that provoked vehement opposition from both

10609-533: Was to use the Latins to ensure the survival of the Empire. This focus on the bigger picture of the eastern Mediterranean and even further afield thus led Manuel to intervene in Egypt: it was believed that in the context of the wider struggle between the crusader states and the Islamic powers of the east, control of Egypt would be the deciding factor. It had become clear that the ailing Fatimid Caliphate of Egypt held

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