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19-468: According to later tradition, Emperor Alexios II Komnenos sent twelve noble families to Crete, in order to strengthen the ties between the island and Constantinople . The families were credited important land and administrative privileges. Ioannis Phokas was one of those 12 Byzantine rulers. The Phokas name changed to "Kallergis" during the Venetian dominion over Crete , which began in the aftermath of

38-562: A dower house . In the United Kingdom the widow of a peer or baronet may continue to use the style she had during her husband's lifetime, e.g. " Countess of Loamshire ", provided that his successor, if any, has no wife to bear the plain title. Otherwise she more properly prefixes either her forename or the word Dowager , e.g. "Jane, Countess of Loamshire" or "Dowager Countess of Loamshire". (In any case, she would continue to be called "Lady Loamshire".) The term queen dowager

57-526: A first cousin of Manuel I, took advantage of the disorder to aim at the crown. He entered Constantinople, received with almost divine honours, and overthrew the government. His arrival was celebrated by a massacre of the Latins in Constantinople, especially the Venetian merchants, which he made no attempt to stop. On 16 May 1182 Andronikos, posing as Alexios' protector, officially restored him on

76-401: Is a widow or widower who holds a title or property – a " dower " – derived from her or his deceased spouse. As an adjective, dowager usually appears in association with monarchical and aristocratic titles . In popular usage, the noun dowager may refer to any elderly widow, especially one of wealth and dignity or autocratic manner. Some dowagers move to a separate residence known as

95-412: Is the title given to the mother or widow of a Chinese , Japanese , Korean or Vietnamese emperor. A notable example is Chinese Empress Dowager Cixi , who effectively ruled China for over 47 years. This form of address is used for noble ladies whose husbands have died. It was used for the late Queen Dowager, Fabiola of Belgium. Queen Victoria Eugenia of Spain was known as a dowager queen after

114-526: Is used in the United Kingdom and several other countries for the widow of a king; when the dowager is the mother of the current monarch she is more often known as the queen mother . In the Orders of precedence in the United Kingdom , a dowager peer ranks above her daughter-in-law (the wife of her son, the incumbent peer); this is different to queens dowager, where a daughter-in-law (i.e., the more recent queen) will rank above her mother-in-law. Empress dowager

133-655: The Fourth Crusade . As Richard von Coudenhove-Kalergi describes in his book An idea conquers the world the Kallergis name is composed of the Greek word kalon (=beautiful) and ergon (from ergō="work, task, deed, accomplishment, or purpose") [Greek: Καλλ(ι)έργης > Καλλέργης, known in many versions as Kalergis, Calergis, Kallergi, Callergi, Calergi]. Heraldic ensembles containing the Kallergis family coat of arms ( bendy argent and azure ) can be found all over

152-458: The Byzantine western and eastern borders respectively, the regents were forced to ask for help to the pope and to Saladin . Furthermore, a party supporting Alexios II's right to reign, led by his half-sister Maria Komnene and her husband the caesar John , stirred up riots in the streets of the capital. The regents managed to defeat the party on April 1182, but Andronikos Komnenos ,

171-974: The Caravia family in the Ionian Islands, the Pikoula or Pikoulianos family in Lakonia, the Bakoyannis family in Agrafa-Eurytania, and others. Also, the Kallergis connected with other European noble families through marriages; such as he Venetian families Vendramin , Crespi , and Grimani . The family is also connected to the Palazzo Vendramin-Calergi , which is found in Venice on the Grand Canal . Victor Callergi bought

190-459: The city rebuilt. On 2 March 1180, at the age of eleven, he was married to Agnes of France aged 10, daughter of King Louis VII of France . She was thereafter known as Anna, and after Alexios' murder three years later, Anna would be remarried to the person responsible, Andronikos, then aged 65. When Manuel I died in September 1180, Alexios II succeeded him as emperor. At this time, however, he

209-628: The death of her husband. The widowed wives of Russian emperors were bestowed the title of Dowager Empress, and ranked above the wife of the reigning emperor. Elderly widows of wealth, prominence, and dignified or autocratic manner are often referred to informally as dowagers. Dowagers portrayed in literature include the Dowager Duchess of Merton in Agatha Christie 's Lord Edgware Dies . Maggie Smith portrayed Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham from 2010 to 2015 in

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228-546: The duration of his short reign, the imperial power was de facto held by regents . Born in the purple at Constantinople , Alexios was the long-awaited son of Emperor Manuel I Komnenos (who gave him a name that began with the letter alpha as a fulfillment of the AIMA prophecy ) and Maria of Antioch . In 1171 he was crowned co-emperor , and in 1175 he accompanied his father at Dorylaion in Asia Minor in order to have

247-406: The famous building on the year 1589 for 36,000 ducats, and now belongs to a Venetian branch of the family which gave its name to it. Alexios II Komnenos Alexios II Komnenos ( Medieval Greek : Ἀλέξιος Κομνηνός ; 14 September 1169  – September 1183), Latinized Alexius II Comnenus , was Byzantine emperor from 1180 to 1183. He ascended to the throne as a minor . For

266-460: The island of Crete, in churches and other monuments. The name reappears many times in the turbulent history of Crete but also of modern Greece. Their prominent position and privileges survived during the Venetian dominion of Crete as they were part of the "privilegiati" (Greek: Αρχοντορωμαίοι) and sometimes of "nobili Veneti". They served many times the Venetian regime but at the same time defended

285-468: The throne. As for 1180, the young emperor was uninterested in ruling matters, and Andronikos effectively acted as the power behind the throne , not allowing Alexios any voice in public affairs. One after another, Andronikos suppressed most of Alexios' defenders and supporters: his half-sister Maria Komnene, the caesar John, his loyal generals Andronikos Doukas Angelos , Andronikos Kontostephanos and John Komnenos Vatatzes , while Empress Dowager Maria

304-657: The welfare of the Cretan people, being involved in several uprisings, most notably the Revolt of Alexios Kallergis in the late 13th century, and Revolt of Saint Titus in 1360s. During the Venetian dominion and after the Ottoman conquest of the island of Crete (1669 AD) many members of the Kallergis family moved to the Ionian Islands , Euboea , Venice , and Russia . From those immigrations, new branches emerged; such as

323-440: The years following Alexios' mysterious disappearance, many young men resembling him tried to claim the throne. In the end, none of those pseudo-Alexioi managed to become emperor. Alexios is a character in the historical novel Agnes of France (1980) by Greek writer Kostas Kyriazis . The novel describes the events of the reigns of Manuel I, Alexios II, and Andronikos I through the eyes of Agnes. Dowager A dowager

342-445: Was an uneducated boy with only amusement in mind. The imperial regency was then undertaken by the dowager empress and the prōtosebastos Alexios Komnenos (a namesake cousin of Alexios II), who was popularly believed to be her lover. The regents depleted the imperial treasury by granting privileges to Italian merchants and to the Byzantine aristocracy. When Béla III of Hungary and Kilij Arslan II of Rum began raiding within

361-573: Was put in prison. In 1183, Alexios was compelled to condemn his own mother to death. In September 1183, Andronikos was formally proclaimed emperor before the crowd on the terrace of the Church of Christ of the Chalkè . Probably by the end of the same month, Andronikos ordered Alexios' assassination; the young emperor was secretly strangled with a bow-string and his body thrown in the Bósporos . In

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