Andronikos I Komnenos
Andronikos I Komnenos, Latinized as Andronicus I Comnenus, was Byzantine emperor from 1183 to 1185. A nephew of John II Komnenos, Andronikos rose to fame in the reign of his cousin Manuel I Komnenos, during which his life was marked by political failures, adventures, scandalous romances, and rivalry with the emperor.
After Manuel's death in 1180, the elderly Andronikos rose to prominence as the accession of the young Alexios II Komnenos led to power struggles in Constantinople. In 1182, Andronikos seized power in the capital, ostensibly as a guardian of the young emperor. Andronikos swiftly and ruthlessly eliminated his political rivals, including Alexios II's mother and regent, Maria of Antioch. In September 1183, Andronikos was crowned as co-emperor and had Alexios murdered, assuming power in his own name. Andronikos staunchly opposed the powerful Byzantine aristocracy and enacted brutal measures to curb their influence. Although he faced several revolts and the empire became increasingly unstable, his reforms had a favorable effect on the common citizenry. The capture of Thessaloniki by William II of Sicily in 1185 turned the people of Constantinople against Andronikos, who was captured and brutally murdered.
Andronikos was the last Byzantine emperor of the Komnenos dynasty. He was vilified as a tyrant by later Byzantine writers, with one historian calling him "Misophaes" in reference to the great number of enemies he had blinded. The anti-aristocratic policies pursued by Andronikos destroyed the Komnenian system implemented by his predecessors. His reforms and policies were reversed by the succeeding Angelos dynasty, which contributed to the collapse of imperial central authority. When the Byzantine Empire was temporarily overthrown in the Fourth Crusade, Andronikos' descendants established the Empire of Trebizond, where the Komnenoi continued to rule until 1461.
Early life and character
Andronikos Komnenos was born in 1118–1120, the son of the sebastokrator Isaac Komnenos and his wife Irene. Andronikos had three siblings: the older brother John and two older sisters, one of which was named Anna. Andronikos was the nephew of the reigning emperor, John II Komnenos, and grew up together with his cousin Manuel I Komnenos.In 1130, Andronikos's father was involved in a conspiracy against John II while the emperor was away from Constantinople on campaign against the Sultanate of Rum. The conspiracy was uncovered but Isaac and his sons fled the capital and found refuge at the court of the Danishmendid emir Gümüshtigin Ghazi at Melitene. The family spent six years on the run, traveling to Trebizond, Armenian Cilicia, and eventually the Sultanate of Rum, before Isaac reconciled with John II and the emperor forgave him.
According to the historian Anthony Kaldellis, Andronikos was "one of the most colorful and versatile personalities of the age". He was tall, handsome, and brave, but a poor strategist, and was known for his good looks, intellect, charm, and elegance.
Reign of Manuel I (1143–1180)
Imperial career
Manuel I Komnenos began his reign as emperor on good terms with Andronikos. Andronikos showed no signs of treachery towards his cousin and Manuel was fond of his company since the two were of similar age and had grown up together. Andronikos took offence when officials spoke badly of Manuel's governance and was lent Manuel's favorite horse while they were on military campaigns. Similar in personality, the friendship between Manuel and Andronikos only gradually transitioned into rivalry.Manuel never succeeded in integrating Andronikos into the imperial family power network. Although talented and impressive as a person, Andronikos typically handled tasks entrusted to him carelessly. Relations between Manuel and Andronikos deteriorated in 1148, when Manuel appointed his favorite nephew John Doukas Komnenos as protovestiarios and protosebastos. These appointments were the last in a long line of extraordinary favors given to John and greatly wounded Andronikos, who from then on became involved in various intrigues against the emperor.
In 1151–1152, Manuel sent Andronikos with an army against Thoros II of Armenian Cilicia, who had conquered large parts of Byzantine-held Cilicia. The campaign was a dismal failure, as Thoros defeated Andronikos and occupied even more of Cilicia. Andronikos was nevertheless made governor of the portions that remained in imperial control.
In the winter of 1152–1153, the imperial court was at Pelagonia in Macedonia, perhaps for recreational hunting. During the stay there, Andronikos slept in the same tent as Eudokia Komnene, Manuel's niece and sister of John Komnenos Doukas, committing incest. When Eudokia's family attempted to catch the two in the act and assassinate Andronikos, he escaped by cutting a hole in the side of the tent with his sword. Manuel criticized the affair but Andronikos answered him that "subjects should always follow their master's example", alluding to well-founded rumors of the emperor himself having an incestuous relationship with Eudokia's sister Theodora.
Andronikos actively conspired against Manuel in the early 1150s, together with Baldwin III of Jerusalem and Mesud I of Rum. He was then removed from his command in Cilicia and transferred to oversee the governance of Branitzova and Naissus in the west. Not long thereafter, Andronikos promised to turn over these towns to Géza II of Hungary in return for aid in seizing the imperial throne. In 1155, Andronikos was imprisoned by Manuel in the imperial palace. According to Niketas Choniates, the imprisonment was a direct result of his plot to usurp the throne with Hungarian aid, and his affair with Eudokia. John Kinnamos, however, claims that Manuel knew of the intrigues and did not punish Andronikos until he uttered death threats to John Komnenos Doukas.
Escapes from prison
Andronikos escaped from prison in 1159, while Manuel was away on campaign in Cilicia and Syria. Having discovered an ancient underground passage beneath his cell, he dug his way down using only his hands and managed to conceal the opening so that the guards were unable to find any damage to the cell. The escape was reported to Manuel's wife, Empress Bertha-Irene, and a great search was ordered in Constantinople. In Andronikos's stead, his wife was briefly imprisoned in the same cell. According to Niketas Choniates, Andronikos soon emerged up into the cell again, embraced and had sex with his wife, conceiving his second son John. Andronikos then escaped the capital but was caught in Melangeia in Thrace by a soldier named Nikaias and imprisoned again with stronger chains and more guards.Andronikos escaped prison for a second time in 1164. He had pretended to be ill and was provided with a boy to see to his physical needs. Andronikos convinced the boy to make wax impressions of the keys to his cell and to bring these impressions to Andronikos's elder son, Manuel. Manuel forged copies of the keys, which the boy used to let Andronikos out. Andronikos spent three days hiding in tall grass near the palace, before trying to flee in a fishing boat alongside a fisherman named Chysochoöpolos. The two were caught by guards, but Andronikos convinced them that he was an escaped slave and was let go out of compassion. Andronikos then made his way to his home, said goodbye to his family, and fled the capital, traveling beyond the Carpathian Mountains.
Andronikos first spent some time in Halych, where he was briefly captured by Vlachs from Moldavia who intended to bring him back to Manuel. During his captivity, Andronikos pretended to suffer from infectious diarrhea, requiring frequent stops to dismount and defecate alone and at a distance. One night, he made a dummy out of his cloak, hat, and staff, in the position of a man defecating. While the Vlachs watched the dummy, Andronikos managed to escape. He then made his way to Galicia, where he was well received by Prince Yaroslav Osmomysl.
During his time at Yaroslav's court, Andronikos tried to recruit the Cumans to aid him in an invasion of the Byzantine Empire. Despite these efforts, Manuel sought to reconcile with him and managed to form an anti-Hungarian alliance with Yaroslav. When the Byzantines and Galicians joined forces in a combined invasion of Hungary in the 1160s, Andronikos led a force of Galicians and assisted Manuel during a siege of Semlin. The campaign was a success and Andronikos returned with Manuel to Constantinople. In 1166, Andronikos was removed from court for refusing to take an oath of allegiance to then designated heir, Béla III of Hungary, but was entrusted once again to govern Cilicia.
Exile
In 1167, Andronikos deserted his post in Cilicia and traveled to Antioch, where he seduced Philippa of Antioch. Philippa was the sister of both Manuel's second wife Maria and Bohemond III, the reigning prince of Antioch. The affair caused a scandal and threatened to jeopardize Manuel's foreign policy. Bohemond formally complained to the emperor that Andronikos was neglecting his duties in Cilicia and instead dallying with Philippa. Manuel was outraged and immediately recalled Andronikos, replacing him as governor in Cilicia with Constantine Kalamanos. Kalamanos was also dispatched to attempt to wed Philippa. Upon meeting Kalamanos, the princess refused to address him by name, berated him for being short, and derided Manuel as "stupid and simple-minded" for believing she would forsake Andronikos for a man from such an obscure family line. Andronikos refused to return home and instead fled with Philippa to Jerusalem, where King Amalric gave him Beirut as a fief to govern.Andronikos left Philippa in 1168 and instead seduced the dowager queen Theodora Komnene, widow of Amalric's brother Baldwin III and daughter of Andronikos's cousin Isaac. Theodora was 21 years old at the time. The historian John Julius Norwich has described Theodora as the love of Andronikos's life, though their close relation made them unable to marry. Manuel was furious over this affair as well and again ordered Andronikos to return home. Fearing that Amalric would back Manuel, Andronikos feigned acceptance. He traveled to Acre without Theodora, though she suddenly arrived after him and the two eloped together to the court of Nur al-Din Zengi in Damascus. The arrival of a Byzantine prince and a dowager-queen of Jerusalem in Damascus became a sensation in the Muslim world and they were welcomed with much enthusiasm.
Andronikos and Theodora traveled from court to court for several years, making their way through Anatolia and the Caucasus. They were eventually received by George III of Georgia and Andronikos was granted estates in Kakhetia. In 1173 or 1174, Andronikos accompanied George on a military expedition to Shirvan up to the Caspian shores, where the Georgians recaptured the fortress of Shabaran from invaders from Darband for his cousin, the Shirvanshah Akhsitan I.
Andronikos and Theodora eventually settled in Koloneia in northeastern Anatolia, just beyond the frontier of the Byzantine Empire. Their peaceful life there came to an end when imperial officials captured Theodora and their two children and brought them to Constantinople. After over a decade in exile, Andronikos returned to Constantinople in 1180 and theatrically pleaded for forgiveness from Manuel with a chain around his neck, begging that Theodora and the children be returned. The two reconciled, and Andronikos was sent to govern Paphlagonia, where he lived with Theodora in a castle on the Black Sea coast. The arrangement was understood as internal exile and peaceful retirement. Theodora's ultimate fate is not known, though she likely died before Andronikos's return to imperial politics in 1182.