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Emperor Andronikos Komnenos, I

Emperor Andronikos Komnenos, I[1, 2]

Male 1110 - 1185  (75 years)    Has more than 100 ancestors and more than 100 descendants in this family tree.

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  • Name Andronikos Komnenos 
    Prefix Emperor 
    Suffix
    Birth 1110  Byzantium Empire Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Gender Male 
    Death 12 Sep 1185  Constantinople, Thrace, Byzantium Empire Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Siblings 1 Sibling 
    Person ID I79428  Geneagraphie | Ahnen BvS
    Last Modified 12 Nov 2009 

    Father Isaakios Komnenos Porphyrogennetos,   b. Aft 16 Jan 1093   d. Aft 1152 (Age 59 years) 
    Mother Kata von Georgien   d. Yes, date unknown 
    Marriage 1112-1116 
    Family ID F229633  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family 1 Philippa d' Antiochia,   b. Abt 1148   d. 1178 (Age 30 years) 
    Divorce Bef 1176 
    Family ID F32930  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
    Last Modified 10 Aug 2009 

    Family 2 NN Palaiologina   d. Yes, date unknown 
    Children 
    +1. Manuel Komnenos,   b. 1145   d. 1185 (Age 40 years)
     2. Ioannes Komnenos,   b. Abt 1158   d. 1185 (Age 27 years)
     3. Maria Komnena,   b. Bef 1160   d. Yes, date unknown
    Family ID F195972  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
    Last Modified 19 Jul 2007 

    Family 3 Agnès de France,   b. 1171   d. Aft 1240 (Age 70 years) 
    Marriage 1183 
    Family ID F32905  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
    Last Modified 19 Jul 2007 

    Family 4 Eudoxia Komnena   d. Yes, date unknown 
    Family ID F196290  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
    Last Modified 17 Oct 2004 

    Family 5 Theodora Kalusine Komnena,   b. 1145-1146   d. Yes, date unknown 
    Children 
     1. Eirene Komnena,   b. Aft 1168   d. Yes, date unknown
     2. Alexios Komnenos,   b. . Abt 1170   d. Yes, date unknown
    Family ID F196227  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
    Last Modified 17 Oct 2004 

    Family 6 Eudoxia Palaiologa Comnena,   b. Abt 1134   d. Bef 1160 (Age 26 years) 
    Children 
    +1. Irene Comnenus,   b. Abt 1155, Constantinople, Thrace, Byzantium Empire Find all individuals with events at this locationd. Bef 1185 (Age 30 years)
    Family ID F258823  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
    Last Modified 19 Mar 2010 

  • Event Map Click to hide
    Link to Google MapsDeath - 12 Sep 1185 - Constantinople, Thrace, Byzantium Empire Link to Google Earth
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  • Notes 
    • Emperor of Byzantium 1123-1185
      Andronicus seems to have enjoyed illicit affaires as he had first seduced the Byzantine Emperor's niece, Eudoxia; then Bohemund of Antioch forced him to leave Antioch after having seduced the latter's sister, Philippa. He then left for Jerusalem where he seduced the recently widowed Queen Theodora, who was also a Byzantine princess. Returned to Constantinople, he was approached by conspirators and asked to act against the hated Regent, the Latin Empress Maria, who also happened to be the elder sister of Philippa whom he had seduced in Antioch. So in 1182 he raised an army and marched on Constantinople.
      His approach to the city caused a violent explosion against the Italian merchants and most were massacred. Andronicus entered the city in triumph and the Empress's favourite ministers had their eyes put out, after which they were thrown into prison.
      After this, Andronicus forced the child-Emperor, Alexius II, to sign his mother's death warrant, at which Empress Maria was quietly strangled. Andronicus was then made co-Emperor and two months later Alexius II was murdered. Andronicus then married Alexius II's twelve-year-old widow, Princess Agnès of France, and became the undisputed ruler of the Byzantine world.
      He was twenty-six-years old when he became Emperor. Seeing rivals and rebels everywhere, he became paranoid as time passed, causing a reign of terror. Many members of the Comneni family were executed without trial, even if they had lived in obscurity for years.
      After a period, the people of Constantinople could no longer cope and so revolted against him. The cause for this revolt was Isaac Angelos, an obscure, elderly and amiable cousin of Andronicus who, after being arrested, escaped and found sanctuary in the Church of the Holy Wisdom. Andronicus ordered his men to arrest him again; but now, even his own bodyguard deserted him and the city rose against him. While trying to escape the city he was captured by the mob who broke his teeth, tore out his beard and hair, put out one eye and cut off one of his hands before tying him to the back of a camel. After this they beat him on the head with sticks and pushed dung into his nostrils while a prostitute collected a jar of boiling water and emptied it over his face. Yet without complaint he endured it all while praying continually. Then he was taken to the Hippodrome and, suspended from a beam by his feet, was killed with a sword.
      He was succeeded as Emperor by Isaac Angelos whom he had tried to imprison. However, Isaac Angelos was ineffective as Emperor and Byzantium then ceased to be a world power.

      Komnenos was born early in the twelfth century, around 1118. He was endowed by nature with the most remarkable gifts both of mind and body: he was handsome and eloquent, but licentious; and, at the same time, active, hardy, courageous, a great general and an able politician.
      Andronikos' early years were spent in alternate pleasure and military service. In 1141 he was taken captive by the Seljuk Turks and remained in their hands for a year. On being ransomed he went to Constantinople , where was held the court of his cousin, the Emperor Manuel I Komnenos , with whom he was a great favourite . Here the charms of his niece, the princess Eudoxia, attracted him and she became his mistress.
      In 1152, accompanied by Eudoxia, he set out for an important command in Cilicia . Failing in his principal enterprise, an attack upon Mopsuestia , he returned, but was again appointed to the command of a province. This second post he seems also to have left after a short interval, for he appeared again in Constantinople , and narrowly escaped death at the hands of the brothers of Eudoxia.
      About this time (1153) a conspiracy against the emperor, in which Andronikos participated, was discovered and he was thrown into prison. There he remained for about twelve years, during which time he made repeated but unsuccessful attempts to escape.

      At last, in 1165, he was successful in escaping. After passing through many dangers, he reached the court of Prince Yaroslav of Galicia ( Ruthenia ). While under the protection of the prince, Andronikos brought about an alliance between him and the emperor Manuel I, and so restored himself to the emperor's favour. With a Russian army he joined Manuel in the invasion of Hungary and assisted at the siege of Semlin .
      After a successful campaign Manuel I and Andronikos returned together to Constantinople (1168); but a year later, Andronikos refused to take the oath of allegiance to the future king Béla III of Hungary , whom Manuel desired to become his successor. He was removed from court, but received the province of Cilicia .
      Being still under the displeasure of the emperor, Andronikos fled to the court of Raymond , prince of Antioch . While residing here he captivated and seduced the beautiful daughter of the prince, Philippa, sister of the empress Maria . The anger of the emperor was again roused by this dishonour, and Andronikos was compelled to flee.
      He took refuge with King Amalric I of Jerusalem , whose favour he gained, and who invested him with the Lordship of Beirut . In Jerusalem he saw Theodora Komnene , the beautiful widow of the late King Baldwin III and niece of the emperor Manuel. Although Andronikos was at that time fifty-six years old, age had not diminished his charms, and Theodora became the next victim of his artful seduction.
      To avoid the vengeance of the Emperor, she fled with Andronikos to the court of Nur ad-Din , the Sultan of Damascus ; but not deeming themselves safe there, they continued their perilous journey through Persia and Turkestan , round the Caspian Sea and across the Caucasus , until at length they settled in the ancestral lands of the Komnenoi at Oinaion , on the shores of the Black Sea , between Trebizond and Sinope .
      While Andronikos was on one of his incursions, his castle was surprised by the governor of Trebizond, and Theodora and her two children were captured and sent to Constantinople. To obtain their release Andronikos in early 1180 made abject submission to the Emperor and, appearing in chains before him, besought pardon. This he obtained, and was allowed to retire with Theodora into banishment at Oinaion.

      In 1180 the Emperor Manuel died and was succeeded by his 10 year old son Alexios II , who was under the guardianship of his mother, Empress Maria. Her Latin origins and culture however led to creeping resentment from her Greek subjects (who felt insulted enough by the late Manuel's Western tastes, let alone being ruled by his Western wife), building up to an explosion of rioting that almost became a full civil war. This gave Andronikos the opportunity to seize the crown for himself, leaving his retirement in 1182 and marching to Constantinople with an army that (according to non-Byzantine sources) included Muslim contingents. The defection of the commander of the Byzantine navy, megas doux Andronikos Kontostephanos , and the general Andronikos Angelos, played a key role in allowing the rebellious forces to enter Constantinople. Andronikos Komnenos' arrival was soon followed by a massacre of the Latin inhabitants of the city, who virtually controlled the economy of the city. The massacre resulted in the deaths of 80,000 "Latins". He was believed to have arranged the poisoning of Alexios II's elder sister Maria the Porphyrogenita and her husband Renier of Montferrat , although Maria herself had encouraged him to intervene. The poisoner was said to be the eunuch Pterygeonites. Soon afterwards he had the empress Maria imprisoned and then killed (forcing a signature from the child Emperor Alexius to put his mother to death), by Pterygeonites and the hetaireiarches Constantine Tripsychos. Alexios II was compelled to acknowledge Andronikos as colleague in the empire and was then quickly put to death in turn; the killing was carried out by Tripsychos, Theodore Dadibrenos and Stephen Hagiochristophorites .
      Andronikos, now (1183) sole emperor, married Agnes of France , a child twelve years of age, formerly betrothed to Alexios II. Agnes was a daughter of King Louis VII of France and his third wife Adèle of Champagne . By November 1183, Andronikos associated his younger legitimate son John Komnenos on the throne. A Venetian embassy visited Constantinople in 1184 and an agreement was reached that compensation of 1,500 gold pieces would be paid for the losses incurred in 1171.
      His short reign was characterized by strong and harsh measures. He resolved to suppress many abuses, but above all things, to check feudalism and limit the power of the nobles, who were rivals for his throne. The people, who felt the severity of his laws, at the same time acknowledged their justice and found themselves protected from the rapacity of their superiors who had grown corrupt under the opulent and mercurial rule of Manuel I . However, as Andronikos' rule went on, the Emperor became increasingly paranoid and violent - in September 1185, Andronikos ordered the execution of all prisoners, exiles and their families for collusion with the invaders - and the Byzantine Empire descended into a terror state. The aristocrats in turn were infuriated against him. There were several revolts, the stories of chaos leading to an invasion by King William of the Norman Sicilians. William (with a fleet of 200 ships) landed in Epirus with a strong force (80,000 men including 5,000 knights), and marched as far as Thessalonica , which he took and pillaged ruthlessly (7,000 Greeks died). Andronikos hastily assembled five different armies to stop the Sicilian army from reaching Constantinople, but none of these five smaller armies would stand against the Sicilian forces and retreated to the outlying hills. Andronikos also assembled a fleet of 100 ships to stop the Norman fleet from entering the Sea of Marmara . The invaders were finally driven out in 1186 by his successor, Isaac Angelos .

      Andronikos seems then to have resolved to exterminate the aristocracy, and his plans were nearly crowned with success. But on September 11 , 1185 , during his absence from the capital, Stephen Hagiochristophorites moved to arrest Isaac Angelos , whose loyalty was suspect. Isaac killed Hagiochristophorites and took refuge in the church of Hagia Sophia . He appealed to the populace, and a tumult arose which spread rapidly over the whole city.
      When Andronikos arrived he found that his authority was overthrown: Isaac had been proclaimed Emperor. The deposed Emperor attempted to escape in a boat with his wife Agnes and his mistress, but was captured (note that by some, Andronikos not only survived, but also managed to escape to the then self-proclaimed Kingdom of Cyprus ). Isaac handed him over to the city mob and for three days he was exposed to their fury and resentment, remaining for that period tied to a post and beaten. His right hand was cut off, his teeth and hair were pulled out, one of his eyes was gouged out, and, among many other sufferings, boiling water was thrown in his face, punishment probably associated to his handsomness and life of licentiosity. At last, led to the Hippodrome of Constantinople , he was hung up by the feet between two pillars, and two Latin soldiers competed as to whose sword would penetrate his body more deeply, and finally his body, according to the representation of his death, was torn apart. He died on September 12 , 1185 . At the news of the emperor's death, his son and co-emperor John was murdered by his own troops in Thrace .
      Andronikos I was the last of the Komnenoi to rule Constantinople, although his grandsons Alexios and David founded the Empire of Trebizond in 1204. Their branch of the dynasty was known as the "Great Komnenoi" (Megaskomnenoi).
      gebildete, hochintelligente, aber auch machthungrige und grausame Andronikos ist "eine der interessantesten Gestalten der byzantinischen Geschichte" (Ostrogorsky). Nach abenteuerlichen Wanderjahren auf der Flucht vor seinem Vetter Kaiser Manuel I. verhilft ihm im April 1182 vor allem das mit einer prowestlichen Regierung unzufriedene Volk zum Einzug in Konstantinopel. Als Preis duldet der wohl selbst nicht lateinerfeindliche Andronikos eine Verfolgung, die sich vor allem gegen Genuesen und Pisaner richtet. Die grausame Dezimierung der Oberschicht, außenpolitische Mißerfolge (unter anderem geht Kroatien an Bela III. von Ungarn verloren, Serbien wird unabhängig, August 1185 nimmt der Normanne Wilhelm II. Thessalonike ein) und idealistische Versuche, Mißstände in der Beamtenschaft zu beseitigen, machen alle Schichten zu Feinden des Andronikos, den beim Aufstand eine wütende Menge zu Tode foltert. (Quelle: www.mittelalter-genealogie.de)

  • Sources 
    1. [S1628] Brandenburg, Erich, Die Nachkommen Karls des Großen, (Verlag Degener und Co, Neustadt an der Aisch, 1995 Bibliothek Klassischer Werke der Genealogie, Herausgegeben von Manfred).

    2. [S1632] Vorfahren des Tile von Damm, Genealogie um die Familie von Damm in Braunschweig, Band 7 - Die Masse der Dynasten, 65 (Reliability: 3).



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