The last emperor of independent Byzantium Andronicus Komnenos: Life as a great adventure

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Andronicus dreamed of power in the entire Eastern Roman Empire. And his claims to the throne were fully justified, since Comnenus was the grandson of the Emperor Alexei I and the nephew of the Emperor John II. And although the path to the top turned out to be thorny, Andronicus managed to make his dreams come true. True, only for a couple of years. As you know, the higher you go, the more painful it is to fall.

Unlucky relative

The Byzantine Emperor John II, to put it mildly, was not very lucky with his relatives. But the main headache of the emperor was his brother Isaac. He wanted to take the throne and openly clashed with the crowned relative. But since Isaac lacked support, he was constantly on the losing side. True, John was condescending to his brother, so he replaced the death penalty with links to remote provinces of the empire over and over again.

Despite the difficult relationship with his brother, the emperor treated his nephew, Andronicus, favorably. He was brought up in the palace on an equal footing with the Tsarevich Manuel. And although the boys tried to maintain friendly relations, the opposition of their fathers left an imprint. Andronicus envied his brother and dreamed of the throne. Manuel, like his father, was condescending to an obstinate relative. And when he became emperor (this happened in 1143), the rivalry reached a new level.

To take Constantinople, and at the same time the throne, Andronicus could not. He lacked strength and support. Therefore, he began to adhere to the scheme worked out by his father, Komnenos tried in every possible way to ruin the life of the legitimate ruler. Andronicus learned that his cousin had a mistress - the noble and wealthy Theodora. The relatives, of course, were not delighted with this development of the plot, but they were afraid to go into conflict with the emperor. And then Andronicus managed to fall in love with Evdokia - the sister of Theodora. Young people began to live together. And if the family was able to understand and accept the romance of one daughter with the emperor, then the civil marriage of the other with Andronicus crossed all boundaries. Relatives of Evdokia several times tried "like a man" to deal with Komnenos, but failed. The sovereign's cousin managed to escape.

Nevertheless, the conflict was growing. Fearing a major scandal, Manuel sent his relative to Cilicia. There, a conflict with the local Armenians, who did not want to be subordinate to the sovereign of the Eastern Roman Empire, just ripened. Andronicus received an army at his disposal and the task of bringing him under control by the enemy. But Komnenos failed and returned to Constantinople in disgrace. Realizing that his brother is a barrel of gunpowder, the emperor sent him away from the capital, to the westernmost border, giving him the province. But Andronicus was not going to give up. Once in a new place, he quickly established contact with the Hungarians. Promising them financial and territorial benefits, Komnenos enlisted the support of foreigners in the struggle for the throne. But Manuel found out about it. In principle, for conspiracy with the Hungarians, Andronicus could have been executed, but the emperor took pity on his relative. True, it soon became clear that Komnenos never gave up the idea of a coup d'etat. The emperor's patience ran out, and he ordered to send his cousin to jail. And in 1154 Andronicus ended up in one of the prisons of Constantinople.

After a few years, Komnenos managed to escape. But he stayed free a little - one of the peasants handed him over, flattered by a solid reward. The soldiers seized Andronicus, put him back in his cell and put him in chains. In 1164 he escaped again. Near the Bosphorus, Komnenos and his loyal servant Chryzahopulus stumbled upon a soldier. And then Andronicus went for a trick. The servant passed himself off as Comnenus and surrendered, while the emperor's relative managed to escape. Realizing that he would not be able to live peacefully on the territory of the Eastern Roman Empire, Andronicus went north. Namely: to Prince Galich Yaroslav Osmomysl. He did not hope for the help of the Russian ruler, he had enough of his own problems.

The main thing is that there were Hungarian friends nearby. Andronicus again tried to enlist their support in a coup d'etat. But he could not bring the matter to the end, Komnenos underestimated the capabilities of the spies of his crowned brother. Manuel found out in time about the next conspiracy of his cousin and dared to take radical measures. The emperor understood that Andronicus would not voluntarily return to Constantinople, so he ordered his soldiers to arrest his wife and child. Soon Komnenos received an ultimatum: either he returned, or his family was handed over to the executioner.

Andronicus returned to Constantinople, expecting a harsh reprisal. But Manuel once again failed to punish his brother. Instead, they reconciled, and Komnenos solemnly swore allegiance to the emperor. And he, in order to be convinced of the veracity of the words, sent a relative to the war … just with the Hungarians. That war, which lasted from 1163 to 1167, was successful for the Byzantines. Manuel not only returned the long-lost lands, but also received the title of "Hungarian". As for Comnenus, he was on the sidelines in that war. Only the capture of the city of Zemun can be attributed to successful actions.

After defeating the Hungarians, Manuel sent a relative to Cilicia. But the "second coming" of Andronicus was also unsuccessful. The Armenians won again. Komnenos, realizing that his brother might not forgive a serious misfire, decided to go to the crusaders. At first he lived in Antioch, then moved to Jerusalem. And after that he took over at the head of Beirut. Here he managed to marry Theodora. She was the niece of Manuel and the widow of King Baldwin III of Jerusalem. At the same time, what happened to the first official wife of Comnenus is unknown. But it is known that Theodora adopted the child Andronicus from her first marriage, and also bore him two more children.

But Andronic could not enjoy the quiet family happiness for a long time. Manuel put pressure on the crusaders in every possible way to drive Comnenus out of their lands. And, in the end, they obeyed the will of the emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire. Andronicus went into exile, and his wife kept him company.

After long wanderings, Andronicus and his family found protection from one of the many emirs who ruled the territories near the borders with the Eastern Roman Empire. True, they had to pay for patronage - to plunder the lands of Byzantium. Andronicus agreed because he saw no other way out. But after several raids, the situation changed. The spies of Manuel captured Theodora with her children and brought them to Constantinople. And Komnenos received another ultimatum: either you return, or they die.

History repeated itself. As soon as Andronicus appeared at the walls of Constantinople, they seized him, chained him and led him through the streets to the imperial palace. Manuel met an unlucky brother, and then once again forgave. Komnenos once again swore allegiance. And then time Andronicus took possession of the province of Paphlagonia.

For a while, Komnenos moved away from political intrigue. But he still did not succeed in leading a quiet and calm life. In 1176, the army of the Eastern Roman Empire suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of the Seljuk Turks in a battle near Myriokefale. The throne staggered under Manuel. He began to look for help on the side, inviting military, engineers, architects and merchants to Constantinople from the territories that had previously belonged to the Western Roman Empire. The French, Italians and Germans poured into the capital of Byzantium, which caused protests not only by local residents, but also by the local clergy. A religious conflict was brewing. But Manuel was no longer able to rectify the situation. Moreover, trying to please the Europeans, he managed to marry his son Alexei to Anna, the daughter of Louis VII.

In September 1180, Manuel passed away. The throne of the emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire was occupied by Alexei II, who at that time was only eleven years old.

Rise and fall

De jure, a huge empire was ruled by a boy, but de facto power belonged to his mother, Mary of Antioch. Only she handed it over to her lover Alexei, appointing him as protosevast. Maria, the eldest daughter of the late emperor, did not agree with this situation. The warring parties began to actively agitate the common people in Constantinople. It ended with an uprising. The city was covered with a wave of pogroms.

As soon as Andronicus found out about his brother's death, he immediately joined the game. In 1182 he triumphantly entered Constantinople. And the commoners, and the nobility, and the soldiers greeted him as a hero, because in Comnenus they saw the only force capable of returning peace and stability to the empire. In a short time Andronicus gathered around him so many supporters that Mary of Antioch had no choice but to recognize him as the official emperor of the entire Byzantine Empire.

Andronicus, having received the long-awaited power, first of all he ordered to blind the protosevast, after which, at the grave of Manuel, he solemnly swore allegiance to young Alexei. Then he slightly lowered taxes for locals and tightened the rules for staying in the empire for all Europeans. But soon Andronicus got tired of the role of a good ruler. Covering himself with the fight against corruption, he began to destroy all the representatives of the nobility that he did not like. In 1183, Comnenus reached the widow of Manuel. He could not execute her just like that, the consent of his son was required. And then Andronicus forced the young emperor to sign the death warrant for his mother. Soon Mary was strangled, and Komnenos officially became Alexei's co-ruler.

But the diarchy lasted just a few months. Alexey "tragically" died. Andronicus became the autocratic emperor of Byzantium. He divorced his wife and married Alexei's widow. Komnin at that time was already sixty-five years old, Anna - thirteen. The people did not understand the sovereign's act …

Every year the situation of the Eastern Roman Empire became worse and worse. The once great and powerful state was weakening and could no longer repulse numerous enemies. Opponents conquered more and more territories, and Andronicus lost touch with reality. He spent all the time in his palace, where he only feasted and had fun, waving his hand at the country. Comnenus's power was weakening, he had fewer and fewer supporters.

All over the empire every now and then uprisings broke out, which were suppressed with demonstrative brutality. And this only aggravated the situation of the aged emperor. In 1185, an uprising broke out in the capital. And its leader was Isaac Angel - Andronicus' cousin. Komnenos ordered to deal with a relative, but he miscalculated, he was ready for such a development of the plot. The people declared the Angel the new emperor, and the clergy supported him.

Komnenos tried to regain power, but was defeated. They seized him and brought him to Isaac. The former ruler of the empire was tortured by debts, and then left in a dungeon for several days without food or water. But this was not enough for the winners. Soon, the defeated emperor was brought to the hippodrome, where soldiers and ordinary people continued to torture. The French interrupted the old man's torment.

The new government sent the flywheel of repression to the relatives and supporters of Comnenus. The young wife Anna and his two grandchildren managed to survive. As for Isaac Angel, he lasted ten years on the throne. And then his own brother overthrew him.