Alexios II Komnenos
Encyclopedia
Alexios II Komnenos or Alexius II Comnenus (10 September 1169 – 24 September 1183, Constantinople
), Byzantine emperor (1180–1183), was the son of Emperor Manuel I Komnenos
and Maria
, daughter of Raymond
, prince of Antioch
. He was the long-awaited male heir, and was named Alexius as a fulfilment of the AIMA prophecy
.
On Manuel's death in 1180, Maria, who became a nun under the name Xene, took the position of regent (according to some historians). She excluded her young son from power, entrusting it instead to Alexios the prōtosebastos (a cousin of Alexios II), who was popularly believed to be her lover. Friends of the young Alexios II now tried to form a party against the empress mother and the prōtosebastos; Alexios II's half-sister Maria, wife of Caesar John (Renier of Montferrat
), stirred up riots in the streets of the capital.
Their party was defeated (May 2, 1182), but Andronikos Komnenos
, a first cousin of Emperor Manuel, took advantage of these disorders to aim at the crown, entered Constantinople, where he was received with almost divine honours, and overthrew the government. His arrival was celebrated by a massacre of 80,000 Latins
in Constantinople, especially the Venetian
merchants, which he made no attempt to stop. He allowed Alexios II to be crowned, but was responsible for the death of most of the young emperor's actual or potential defenders, including his mother, his half-sister and the Caesar, and refused to allow him the smallest voice in public affairs.
The betrothal in 1180 of Alexios II to Agnes of France, daughter of Louis VII of France
and his third wife Adèle of Champagne
and at the time a child of nine, had not apparently been followed by their marriage. Andronikos was now formally proclaimed as co-emperor, and not long afterwards, on the pretext that divided rule was injurious to the Empire, he caused Alexios II to be strangled with a bow-string (October 1183). During Alexius II's reign, the Byzantine Empire was invaded by King Bela III losing Syrmia
and Bosnia
to the Kingdom of Hungary
in AD 1181, later even Dalmatia
was lost to the Venetians. Kilij Arslan II
invaded the empire in AD 1182, defeating the Byzantines at the Siege of Cotyaeum
resulting in the Byzantine Empire losing Cotyaeum and Sozopolis
.
writer Kostas Kyriazis. The novel describes the events of the reigns of Manuel I, Alexios II and Andronikos I through the eyes of Agnes.
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
), Byzantine emperor (1180–1183), was the son of Emperor Manuel I Komnenos
Manuel I Komnenos
Manuel I Komnenos was a Byzantine Emperor of the 12th century who reigned over a crucial turning point in the history of Byzantium and the Mediterranean....
and Maria
Maria of Antioch
Maria of Antioch was a Byzantine empress as the wife of the Byzantine Emperor Manuel I Komnenos. She was the daughter of Constance of Antioch and her first husband Raymond of Poitiers...
, daughter of Raymond
Raymond of Antioch
Raymond of Poitiers was Prince of Antioch 1136–1149. He was the younger son of William IX, Duke of Aquitaine and his wife Philippa, Countess of Toulouse, born in the very year that his father the Duke began his infamous liaison with Dangereuse de Chatelherault.-Assumes control:Following the...
, prince of Antioch
Principality of Antioch
The Principality of Antioch, including parts of modern-day Turkey and Syria, was one of the crusader states created during the First Crusade.-Foundation:...
. He was the long-awaited male heir, and was named Alexius as a fulfilment of the AIMA prophecy
AIMA prophecy
The AIMA prophecy was a prophecy current during the reign of the Byzantine emperor, Manuel I Comnenus. It claimed to foretell that the initial letters of the names of the emperors of the Comnenus dynasty would spell aima , the Greek word for blood...
.
His reign and death
Renier of Montferrat
Renier of Montferrat was the fifth son of William V of Montferrat and Judith of Babenberg...
), stirred up riots in the streets of the capital.
Their party was defeated (May 2, 1182), but Andronikos Komnenos
Andronikos I Komnenos
Andronikos I Komnenos was Byzantine Emperor from 1183 to 1185). He was the son of Isaac Komnenos and grandson of Emperor Alexios I Komnenos.-Early years:...
, a first cousin of Emperor Manuel, took advantage of these disorders to aim at the crown, entered Constantinople, where he was received with almost divine honours, and overthrew the government. His arrival was celebrated by a massacre of 80,000 Latins
Massacre of the Latins
The Massacre of the Latins occurred in Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire, in May 1182. It was a large-scale massacre of the Roman Catholic or "Latin" merchants and their families, who at that time dominated the city's maritime trade and financial sector...
in Constantinople, especially the Venetian
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
merchants, which he made no attempt to stop. He allowed Alexios II to be crowned, but was responsible for the death of most of the young emperor's actual or potential defenders, including his mother, his half-sister and the Caesar, and refused to allow him the smallest voice in public affairs.
The betrothal in 1180 of Alexios II to Agnes of France, daughter of Louis VII of France
Louis VII of France
Louis VII was King of France, the son and successor of Louis VI . He ruled from 1137 until his death. He was a member of the House of Capet. His reign was dominated by feudal struggles , and saw the beginning of the long rivalry between France and England...
and his third wife Adèle of Champagne
Adèle of Champagne
Adèle of Champagne , also known as Adelaide and Alix, was the third wife of Louis VII of France and the mother of his only male heir, the future Philip II...
and at the time a child of nine, had not apparently been followed by their marriage. Andronikos was now formally proclaimed as co-emperor, and not long afterwards, on the pretext that divided rule was injurious to the Empire, he caused Alexios II to be strangled with a bow-string (October 1183). During Alexius II's reign, the Byzantine Empire was invaded by King Bela III losing Syrmia
Syrmia
Syrmia is a fertile region of the Pannonian Plain in Europe, between the Danube and Sava rivers. It is divided between Serbia in the east and Croatia in the west....
and Bosnia
Bosnia (region)
Bosnia is a eponomous region of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It lies mainly in the Dinaric Alps, ranging to the southern borders of the Pannonian plain, with the rivers Sava and Drina marking its northern and eastern borders. The other eponomous region, the southern, other half of the country is...
to the Kingdom of Hungary
Kingdom of Hungary
The Kingdom of Hungary comprised present-day Hungary, Slovakia and Croatia , Transylvania , Carpatho Ruthenia , Vojvodina , Burgenland , and other smaller territories surrounding present-day Hungary's borders...
in AD 1181, later even Dalmatia
Dalmatia
Dalmatia is a historical region on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea. It stretches from the island of Rab in the northwest to the Bay of Kotor in the southeast. The hinterland, the Dalmatian Zagora, ranges from fifty kilometers in width in the north to just a few kilometers in the south....
was lost to the Venetians. Kilij Arslan II
Kilij Arslan II
Kilij Arslan II was a Seljuk Sultan of Rûm from 1156 until his death in 1192.As Arnold of Lübeck reports in his Chronica Slavorum, he was present at the meeting of Henry the Lion with Kilij-Arslan during the former's pilgrimage to Jerusalem in 1172...
invaded the empire in AD 1182, defeating the Byzantines at the Siege of Cotyaeum
Siege of Cotyaeum
The siege of Cotyaeum was the successful capture of the city by Seljuk Turk forces from the Byzantines.- Background :Following Emperor Manuel Komnenos' defeat at Myriokephalon, the Byzantines failed to reconquer any more territory...
resulting in the Byzantine Empire losing Cotyaeum and Sozopolis
Sozopolis
Sozopolis may refer to the following ancient sites:* Sozopolis, Thrace * Sozopolis, Pisidia, in Asia Minor...
.
Portrayal in fiction
Alexios is a character in the historical novel Agnes of France (1980) by GreekGreece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
writer Kostas Kyriazis. The novel describes the events of the reigns of Manuel I, Alexios II and Andronikos I through the eyes of Agnes.