Alexios Komnenos (co-emperor)

Byzantine co-emperor from 1119 to 1142

For other people with the same name, see Alexios Komnenos (disambiguation).

Alexios Komnenos

Emperor of the Romans

Mosaic of Alexios Komnenos in Hagia Sophia.

Byzantine co-emperor
Reign| 1119–1142
Coronation| 1119 as co-emperor

Born| October 1106
Balabista, Macedonian Theme (now Sidirokastro, Greece)
Died| Summer 1142 (aged 36)
Attaleia, Pamphylia
(now Antalya, Turkey)
Spouse| Eupraxia-Dobrodjeja of Kiev
Eirene-Kata of Georgia
Issue| Maria Komnene
Dynasty| Komnenos
Father| John II Komnenos
Mother| Irene of Hungary

Alexios Komnenos, latinised as Alexius Comnenus (Greek: Ἀλέξιος Κομνηνός; October 1106 – summer 1142), and sometimes called Alexios the Younger,[1] was the eldest son of the Byzantine emperor John II Komnenos and his wife Eirene of Hungary. He was crowned co-emperor in 1119, at 13 years of age, but predeceased his father in 1142. He was an elder brother of the emperor Manuel I Komnenos, and had a twin sister, Maria Komnene (plus other siblings).

## Life

[edit]

John II and his eldest son Alexios (right), crowned by Christ.[2]

Alexios was born at Balabista (today Sidirokastro) in Macedonia (Greece).[3] His exact birthday is not recorded, but it was shortly before the feast of Demetrius of Thessaloniki on 26 October 1106.[4] He was crowned co-emperor by his father in 1119, between 12 July and 7 October (historians often date his coronation to 1122, but this is a mistake).[5] He died of a sudden disease in summer 1142, only one year before his father's death as the result of a hunting accident.[6] The reign of John II is less well chronicled than those of his father, Alexios I, or successor, Manuel I, and coverage of the life of his son Alexios is very sparse.

A panegyrical poem by Theodore Prodromos was addressed to John and his son on the occasion of the coronation of Alexios. It hailed both rulers as "kings born of kings and emperors, reformers of old customs and privileges, with whom the august throne and sceptre-bearing are a paternal acquisition, a matter of inheritance."[7]

His final illness is described: "...of the severest kind and of short duration, took the form of a rushing fever attacking the head as though it were an acropolis."[8] The location of Alexios' death, at Attalia, suggests that he was on campaign with his father, who had established this city as a base from which to pacify the inland areas around Lake Pousgousē (probably the modern Beyşehir Gölü).[8] Alexios' younger brother Andronikos was charged with escorting the body back to Constantinople, however, while discharging this duty, he too was taken ill and died.[9]

## Family

[edit]

It is possible that Alexios married twice, the first wife being Dobrodjeja Mstislavna of Kiev, a daughter of Mstislav I of Kiev, and the second being Kata of Georgia, a daughter of David IV of Georgia. While both women are known to have married members of the Komnenoi, several theories have been suggested as to the identities of their husband or husbands.[6]

His daughter, Maria Komnene, married the pansebastos Alexios Axouch. He was the son of John Axouch, the megas domestikos (commander-in-chief of the Byzantine army), who was a close friend of John II.[10] Alexios Axuch served as Duke of Cilicia and protostrator. However, he eventually fell out of favor with Manuel I Komnenos in 1167. John Kinnamos and Niketas Choniates report that the accusations against him included the practice of witchcraft. He and an unnamed "Latin wizard" were accused of causing the pregnancy of Maria of Antioch, the Empress consort, to result in a miscarriage. They supposedly managed to do so by providing drugs to Maria.[11] Maria Komnene, "wife of Alexios the protostrator" was mentioned in a seal. According to the Dictionnaire historique et Généalogique des grandes familles de Grèce, d'Albanie et de Constantinople (1983) by Mihail-Dimitri Sturdza, this Maria was suffering from insanity by the end of her life.[12]

They were the parents of John Komnenos "the Fat", a short-lived rival emperor to Alexios III Angelos. Theodora Axuchina, wife of Alexios I of Trebizond, is considered a possible daughter of John the Fat.[13]

## Footnotes

[edit]

1. ^ Kiilerich, Bente (2004). "Likeness and Icon: The Imperial Couples in Hagia Sophia". ACTA. Vol. 18\. Universitetsforlaget. p. 196\. ISBN 9788888620268.
2. ^ Spatharakis 1976, pp. 79–83.
3. ^ PBW (2017), Alexios 103
4. ^ Bárány 2019, pp. 64–67.
5. ^ Hendy 1999, p. 244.
6. ^ a b Varzos 1984, p. 339-348.
7. ^ Magdalino 1993, p. 422.
8. ^ a b Choniates 1984, pp. 21–22.
9. ^ Choniates 1984, p. 374.
10. ^ Choniates 1984, p. 59.
11. ^ Lynda Garland and Andrew Stone, "Mary of Antioch" Archived 25 March 2015 at the Wayback Machine
12. ^ Mihail-Dimitri Sturdza, Dictionnaire historique et Généalogique des grandes familles de Grèce, d'Albanie et de Constantinople (1983), p. 276.
13. ^ Kuršankis, "Autour des sources Georgiennes de la fondation de l’empire de Trebizonde", Archeion Pontou, 30 (1970), 107–115; cited in Kelsey Jackson Williams, "A Genealogy of the Grand Komnenoi of Trebizond", Foundations, 2 (2006), pp. 173f

## References

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Alexios Komnenos (d. 1142).

* Bárány, Attila (2019). "Diplomatic Relations between Hungary and Byzantium in the Eleventh-Twelfth Centuries". In Marianne, Sághy; Ousterhout, Robert (eds.). Piroska and the Pantokrator. Central European University Press. pp. 63–96\. ISBN 9789633862971. JSTOR 10.7829/j.ctvs1g99q.
* Choniates, Niketas (1984). O City of Byzantium: Annals of Niketas Choniates. transl. by H. Magoulias. Detroit. ISBN 0-8143-1764-2.`{{cite book}}`: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
* Hendy, Michael F. (1999). Catalogue of the Byzantine Coins in the Dumbarton Oaks Collection. Vol. 4\. Dumbarton Oaks. p. 244\. ISBN 9780884022336.
* Jeffrey, Michael, ed. (2017). Alexios 103. King's College London. ISBN 978-1-908951-20-5. `{{cite book}}`: `|website=` ignored (help)
* Magdalino, Paul (1993). The Empire of Manuel I Komnenos, 1143–1180. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-52653-1.
* Spatharakis, Ioannis (1976). The Portrait in Byzantine Illuminated Manuscripts. Brill. ISBN 9789633862971.
* Varzos, Konstantinos (1984). Η Γενεαλογία των Κομνηνών [The Genealogy of the Komnenoi] (PDF) (in Greek). Vol. A. Thessaloniki: Centre for Byzantine Studies, University of Thessaloniki. pp. 339–348\. OCLC 834784634.

Alexios Komnenos (co-emperor)

Komnenos dynasty

Born: 1106 Died: 1142

Regnal titles
Preceded by

John II Komnenos

|  Byzantine Emperor
1129–1142
With:  John II Komnenos  | Succeeded by

John II Komnenos

* v
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* e

The Komnenoi of the Byzantine Empire and the Empire of Trebizond

1st generation|

* Nikephoros Komnenos
* Manuel Erotikos Komnenos

2nd generation|

* Isaac I Komnenos
* John Komnenos

3rd generation|

* Manuel Komnenos
* Isaac Komnenos
* Alexios I Komnenos
* Adrianos Komnenos
* Nikephoros Komnenos

4th generation|

* John Komnenos
* Alexios Komnenos
* Constantine Komnenos
* Adrianos/John IV, Archbishop of Ohrid
* Anna Komnene
* Maria Komnene
* John II Komnenos
* Andronikos Komnenos
* Isaac Komnenos
* Eudokia Komnene
* Theodora Komnene

5th generation|

* Alexios Komnenos
* Andronikos Komnenos
* Isaac Komnenos
* Manuel I Komnenos
* John Tzelepes Komnenos
* Andronikos I Komnenos

6th generation|

* John Doukas Komnenos
* Theodora Komnene, Duchess of Austria
* Alexios Komnenos
* Maria Komnene, Queen of Hungary
* Theodora Komnene, Queen of Jerusalem
* Maria Komnene
* Alexios II Komnenos
* Alexios Komnenos
* Manuel Komnenos
* John Komnenos
* Alexios Komnenos

7th generation|

* Maria Komnene, Queen of Jerusalem
* Theodora Komnene, Princess of Antioch
* David Komnenos
* Alexios I Megas Komnenos

8th generation|

* John I Axouchos
* Manuel I Megas Komnenos

9th generation|

* Andronikos II Megas Komnenos
* Theodora Megale Komnene
* George Megas Komnenos
* John II Megas Komnenos

10th generation|

* Alexios II Megas Komnenos
* Michael Megas Komnenos

11th generation|

* Andronikos III Megas Komnenos
* Basil Megas Komnenos
* Anna Anachoutlou
* John III Megas Komnenos

12th generation|

* Manuel II Megas Komnenos
* Alexios III Megas Komnenos

13th generation|

* Anna Megale Komnene, Queen of Georgia
* Manuel III Megas Komnenos
* Eudokia Megale Komnene, Lady of Sinop

14th generation|

* Alexios IV Megas Komnenos

15th generation|

* John IV Megas Komnenos
* Maria Megale Komnene, Byzantine Empress
* Alexander Megas Komnenos
* David Megas Komnenos

16th generation|

* Theodora Megale Komnene ("Despina Khatun")
* Alexios V Megas Komnenos

Uncertain generation|

* Eudokia Komnene, Lady of Montpellier

Related subjects|

* AIMA prophecy

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Italics indicates a junior co-emperor, underlining indicates an emperor variously regarded as either legitimate or a usurper

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