Ivan Vladislav of Bulgaria - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Ivan Vladislav ruled as emperor (tsar

Tsar

Tsar is a title used to designate certain European Slavic monarchs or supreme rulers. As a system of government in the Tsardom of Russia and Russian Empire, it is known as Tsarist autocracy, or Tsarism...

) of Bulgaria

First Bulgarian Empire

The First Bulgarian Empire was a medieval Bulgarian state founded in the north-eastern Balkans in c. 680 by the Bulgars, uniting with seven South Slavic tribes...

from August or September 1015 to February 1018. The year of his birth is unknown, but he was born at least a decade before 987, but probably not much earlier than that.

Saved from death by his cousin Gavril Radomir

Gavril Radomir of Bulgaria

Gavril Radomir , normally rendered as Gabriel Radomir in English and Gavriil Romanos in Greek, was the ruler of the First Bulgarian Empire from October 1014 to August or September 1015. He was the son of Samuel of Bulgaria. During his father's reign, his cousin Ivan Vladislav and Ivan's entire...

, the Bulgarian Emperor, in 976, Ivan Vladislav murdered him in October 1015 and seized the Bulgarian throne. Due to the desperate situation of the country following the decades-long war with the Byzantine Empire

Byzantine Empire

The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...

and in an attempt to consolidate his position, he tried to negotiate truce with the Byzantine emperor Basil II

Basil II

Basil II , known in his time as Basil the Porphyrogenitus and Basil the Young to distinguish him from his ancestor Basil I the Macedonian, was a Byzantine emperor from the Macedonian dynasty who reigned from 10 January 976 to 15 December 1025.The first part of his long reign was dominated...

. After the failure of the negotiations he continued the resistance, attempting unsuccessfully to push the Byzantines back. During his period of rule, Ivan Vladislav tried to strengthen the Bulgarian army, reconstructed many Bulgarian fortresses and even carried out a counter-offensive, but died at the Battle of Dyrrhachium

Battle of Dyrrhachium (1018)

The Battle of Dyrrhachium in February 1018 was a part of the Byzantine-Bulgarian Wars. It happened as the Bulgarian tsar Ivan Vladislav tried to establish his power on the southeastern coast of the Adriatic Sea...

in 1018. After his death his widow, Empress Maria

Maria, wife of Ivan Vladislav

Maria was the wife of tsar Ivan Vladislav of Bulgaria. She was the last empress-consort of the First Bulgarian Empire.Her antecedents are unknown. It is believed that Maria was married to Ivan Vladislav in the late 10th century. Her husband was the son of Aron, who was the brother of Emperor...

, the Patriarch and most of the nobility finally surrendered to Basil II, who soon suppressed the last remnants of resistance and brought about the end of the First Bulgarian Empire

First Bulgarian Empire

The First Bulgarian Empire was a medieval Bulgarian state founded in the north-eastern Balkans in c. 680 by the Bulgars, uniting with seven South Slavic tribes...

.

Ivan Vladislav left a mixed heritage, varying from a reputation of being ruthless murderer to a hero defending his country as best as he could. The descendants of Ivan Vladislav entered the Byzantine nobility

Byzantine aristocracy and bureaucracy

The Byzantine Empire had a complex system of aristocracy and bureaucracy, which was inherited from the Roman Empire. At the apex of the pyramid stood the Emperor, sole ruler and divinely ordained, but beneath him a multitude of officials and court functionaries operated the administrative...

and rose to the highest ranks of the hierarchy. Two women of his family became empresses of the Byzantine Empire and others became military commanders or high-ranking officials.

Life before the accession of the throne

Ivan Vladislav was the son of Aron

Aron of Bulgaria

Aron was a Bulgarian noble, brother of Emperor Samuil of Bulgaria and third son of Comita Nikola, Duke of Sofia. After the fall of the eastern parts of the country under Byzantine occupation in 971, he and his three brothers David, Moses and Samuil continued the resistance to the west...

, the brother of Emperor Samuel (r. 997–1014) of the Cometopuli dynasty. In 976 or 987 Samuel ordered his brother Aron executed for treason together with his entire family near Razmetanitsa. Ivan Vladislav was the only survivor, being spared through the intercession of his cousin, Samuel's son Gavril Radomir

Gavril Radomir of Bulgaria

. His life during the subsequent decades and until his accession is unknown.

Assumption of power

By 1015, Bulgaria had been embroiled in almost thirty years of war

Byzantine conquest of Bulgaria

The Byzantine conquest of Bulgaria lasted from 968 to 1018, and was a military conflict that marked the beginning of the second apogee of the Byzantine Empire, which managed to incorporate most of the Balkan Peninsula, controlled by the First Bulgarian Empire, ridding itself of one of its most...

with the Byzantine Empire

Byzantine Empire

, and Gavril Radomir had succeeded Samuel, who died on 6 October 1014 after the disastrous Battle of Kleidion

Battle of Kleidion

The Battle of Kleidion took place on July 29, 1014 between the Bulgarian Empire and the Byzantine Empire...

. However, from the outset Radomir's position was insecure: Ivan Vladislav, as a son of the elder of the Cometopouli brothers, could lay claim on the throne based on seniority. During that time the Byzantine king Basil II campaigned deep into Bulgarian territory. He retook the previously lost town of Voden (Edessa

Edessa, Greece

Edessa , is a city in northern Greece and the capital of the Pella regional unit, in the Central Macedonia region of Greece. It was also the capital of the defunct province of the same name.-Name:...

) and laid siege to the massive fortress of Maglen, situated to the north-west. Gavril Radomir did not have enough forces and was unable to interfere and could only watch the course of the events from the nearby Lake Ostrovo. His inability to cope with the Byzantine threat aroused discontent among the nobility and Ivan Vladislav became their chosen leader. The fall of Maglen sealed Gavril Radomir's fate—in the late summer of 1015, while hunting near Ostrovo (Arnissa

Arnissa

Arnissa is a town in the Pella Prefecture of Macedonia, Greece. It is located near the Lake Vegoritida and Mount Kaimakchalan and is the seat of the Vegoritida Municipality. It has a population of 1,550 .-History:...

), he was murdered by his cousin, perhaps at the behest of Byzantine agents. Ivan Vladislav then seized the Bulgarian throne and took steps to ensure his position against potential rivals.

First months of the reign

After assuming the throne, Ivan Vladislav immediately sent a delegation to Basil II, which arrived five days after the fall of Maglen. In his letter, Ivan Vladislav notified Basil that he had personally murdered Gavril Radomir and had seized all the power in the country and promised Basil deep humility and obedience, an act of submission which some in the nobility supported. After Ivan Vladislav firmly secured his hold on the throne, however, he openly declared to be against any kind of compromise with the Byzantines and quickly began to follow the determined policy of his predecessors against the ongoing Byzantine conquest. Basil II soon understood that Ivan Vladislav's letter was a ruse and plotted a retaliatory action, bribing the kavkhan
Kavkhan (title)
The kavhan was one of the most important officials in the First Bulgarian Empire. According to the generally accepted opinion, he was the second most important person in the state after the Bulgarian ruler. He had a number of responsibilities and concentrated huge power and authority. The kavhan...

Theodore, who was in Byzantine captivity, to murder the Bulgarian ruler. Theodore in turn paid a trusted man in Ivan Vladislav's employ to commit the murder, but in the event the assassin actually killed Theodore himself. In the meantime Basil II continued his march, forcing the Bulgarian emperor to retreat to the Albania

Albania

Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...

n mountains, and advanced into the heart of the Bulgarian state. The Byzantines took the capital Ohrid

Ohrid

Ohrid is a city on the eastern shore of Lake Ohrid in the Republic of Macedonia. It has about 42,000 inhabitants, making it the seventh largest city in the country. The city is the seat of Ohrid Municipality. Ohrid is notable for having once had 365 churches, one for each day of the year and has...

and burned the imperial palaces; news, however, arrived that Ivan Vladislav had laid siege to Dyrrhachium

Durrës

Durrës is the second largest city of Albania located on the central Albanian coast, about west of the capital Tirana. It is one of the most ancient and economically important cities of Albania. Durres is situated at one of the narrower points of the Adriatic Sea, opposite the Italian ports of Bari...

and that to the south the Bulgarian general Ibatzes had defeated the Byzantine rear army near Bitola

Battle of Bitola (1015)

The battle of Bitola took place near the town of Bitola, in Bulgarian territory, between a Bulgarian army under the command of the voivoda Ivats and a Byzantine army led by the strategos George Gonitsiates. It was one of the last open battles between the First Bulgarian Empire and the Byzantine...

. With his supply routes cut, Basil II had to retreat back to Thessalonica leaving a small garrison in Ohrid, which was swiftly retaken by the Bulgarians. Back in his base at Mosynopolis

Mosynopolis

Mosynopolis , known in late Antiquity as Maximianoupolis, was a Byzantine town in Thrace located on the Via Egnatia near the modern Greek city of Komotini. The town was destroyed by the Bulgarian tsar Kaloyan in 1207 after his victory over the Latin Empire in the battle of Mosynopolis...

, Basil divided the Byzantine army to harass the areas of Strumitsa and Sofia

Sofia

Sofia is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria and the 12th largest city in the European Union with a population of 1.27 million people. It is located in western Bulgaria, at the foot of Mount Vitosha and approximately at the centre of the Balkan Peninsula.Prehistoric settlements were excavated...

. In January 1016 the Byzantine emperor returned to Constantinople

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:...

Consolidation

Meanwhile, Ivan Vladislav consolidated his positions in the mountains of Albania and Macedonia. As early as October 1015 he began the reconstruction of many strongholds destroyed during the war, including the fortress at Bitola

Bitola

Bitola is a city in the southwestern part of the Republic of Macedonia. The city is an administrative, cultural, industrial, commercial, and educational centre. It is located in the southern part of the Pelagonia valley, surrounded by the Baba and Nidže mountains, 14 km north of the...

(as testified in the Bitola inscription

Bitola inscription

The Bitola inscription is a medieval stone inscription written in Old Church Slavonic. It was found in 1956 during the demolition of an old Ottoman mosque in the town of Bitola, Republic of Macedonia and it is now kept at the Institute and Museum of Bitola epigraphic monument as "a marble slab with...

). In 1016 he invited his vassal Prince Jovan Vladimir

Jovan Vladimir

Jovan Vladimir or John Vladimir was ruler of Duklja, the most powerful Serbian principality of the time, from around 1000 to 1016. He ruled during the protracted war between the Byzantine Empire and the First Bulgarian Empire...

of Dioclea

Dioclea

Dioclea is a genus of flowering plants in the pea family, Fabaceae, that is native to the Americas. The seeds of these legumes are buoyant drift seeds, and are dispersed by rivers....

, who was married to Gabriel Radomir's sister Theodora Kosara, to come to his court. The emperor probably desired to seize the prince and so secure his western flank. The Prince was determined to attend the invitation of Tsar, but his wife Theodora Kosara did not trust the murderer of her brother, and fearing for her husband's life persuaded him not to go. Ivan Vladislav however vowed not to threaten his vassal's life, and sent him a golden cross as a proof of good will. Jovan Vladimir still hesitated, saying that God was nailed to a wooden not golden cross, but Ivan Vladislav repeated his vow and gave him a guarantee of safe-conduct, also guaranteed by the Bulgarian patriarch David. Eventually Jovan Vladimir travelled to the court of the Tsar in Prespa

Prespa (medieval town)

Prespa was a medieval town, situated in the homonymous area in south-western Macedonia. It was a residence and burial place of the Bulgarian emperor Samuel and according to some sources capital of the First Bulgarian Empire and seat of the Bulgarian Patriarchate in the last decades of the 10th...

, but upon his arrival on 22 May, he was immediately beheaded, and the emperor refused to allow the burial of his body. It was not until a number of miraculous events related to the corpse of the prince were observed that Vladislav returned the body to Kosara.

In the spring of 1016 Basil II led his armies along the Struma valley and besieged the strong fortress of Pernik

Pernik

Pernik is a city in western Bulgaria with a population of 81,052 . It is the main city of Pernik Province and lies on both banks of the Struma River in the Pernik Valley between the Viskyar, Vitosha and Golo Bardo mountains.Originally the site of a Thracian fortress founded in the 4th century BC,...

. The fort's defence was headed by the capable commander Krakra

Krakra of Pernik

Krakra of Pernik , also known as Krakra Voevoda or simply Krakra, was an 11th-century feudal lord in the First Bulgarian Empire whose domain encompassed 36 fortresses in what is today southwestern Bulgaria, with his capital at Pernik...

, who remained loyal to the Bulgarian cause. As all the previous attempts against Pernik, the 88-day siege was a failure, costing the Byzantines many casualties before they were forced to retreat south and regroup at Mosynopolis.

Fighting in 1017

In the early days of 1017 the Byzantine emperor renewed his campaigns. He sent David Arianites

David Arianites

David Arianites was a high-ranking Byzantine commander of the early 11th century.He hailed from the noble Arianites family of Constantinople. He initially held the title of patrikios, and became a senior general under Basil II. In 1017 Basil II invaded Bulgaria with a large army including Rus'...

and Constantine Diogenes

Constantine Diogenes

Constantine Diogenes was a prominent Byzantine Greek general of the early 11th century, active in the Balkans.Constantine Diogenes is the first notable member of the noble Cappadocian Diogenes family, which played an important role in 11th-century Byzantium. Constantine began his career as a...

to pillage along the River Vardar

Vardar

The Vardar or Axios is the longest and major river in the Republic of Macedonia and also a major river of Greece. It is long, and drains an area of around . The maximum depth of river is ....

and captured the castle of Longos. After that he marched south and besieged Kastoria

Kastoria

Kastoria is a city in northern Greece in the periphery of West Macedonia. It is the capital of Kastoria peripheral unit. It is situated on a promontory on the western shore of Lake Orestiada, in a valley surrounded by limestone mountains...

. Under the walls of the town Basil II received messages from Tzitzikios, the Byzantine strategos
Strategos
Strategos, plural strategoi, is used in Greek to mean "general". In the Hellenistic and Byzantine Empires the term was also used to describe a military governor...

of Dorostolon (Silistra

Silistra

Silistra is a port city of northeastern Bulgaria, lying on the southern bank of the lower Danube at the country's border with Romania. Silistra is the administrative centre of Silistra Province and one of the important cities of the historical region of Southern Dobrudzha...

), that Ivan Vladislav had sent Krakra to negotiate assistance from the Pechenegs and that they were crossing the Danube

Danube

The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....

. The Byzantine emperor immediately abandoned the siege and hurried northwards, but in the vicinity of Lake Ostrovo he learned that the Pechenegs were unwilling to risk war. Returning south, Basil II captured Setina, where Samuel used to have a palace and acquired for himself the large amount of provisions that were stored there. Ivan Vladislav, who was closely monitoring the Byzantine movements, ambushed

Battle of Setina

The battle of Setina took place in the autumn of 1017 near the village of Setina in modern northern Greece between the armies of Bulgaria and Byzantium. The result was a Byzantine victory.- Prelude :...

the troops who were under the command of Constantine Diogenes, who would have perished had not Basil II come to relieve him. According to John Skylitzes

John Skylitzes

John Skylitzes, latinized as Ioannes Scylitzes was a Greek historian of the late 11th century. He was born in the beginning of 1040's and died after 1101.- Life :Very little is known about his life...

, the Emperor charged alone in front of his army to Diogenes' rescue. When the Bulgarians saw him, they shouted "Run, the Emperor" ("") and retreated in panic. Contented with their victory, the Byzantines moved on to Voden and returned to Constantinople.

Death

In the early 1018 Ivan Vladislav besieged Dyrrhachium, but in February he was killed under the walls of the city. The accounts of his death are contradictory. According to some he became victim of a plot and was killed by his servants; according to others, he perished in battle. The Bulgarian additions to the Skylitzes Chronicle are more detailed, saying that Ivan Vladislav dueled with the strategos of Dyrrhachium, the patrikios Niketas Pegonites, on horseback, and while fighting, two Byzantine infantrymen from the audience rushed to the emperor and wounded him mortally in the belly. A later Byzantine historian claimed that the duel was fair and Pegonites stabbed Ivan Vladislav in the chest with his spear, killing him instantly. The Chronicle of the Priest of Duklja

Chronicle of the Priest of Duklja

The Chronicle of the Priest of Duklja is a medieval chronicle originally written by a Catholic monk of the Cistercian order by the name of Roger for the Croatian Ban Paul Šubić because an order form by Ban Šubić and a quote of Catholic monk have been discovered...

reports an altogether different story: while having a meal in his camp, the emperor was attacked by an unknown soldier, in whom Ivan Vladislav seemed to have recognized the murdered Jovan Vladimir. Terrified, he cried for help but no one rushed to his rescue and the unknown soldier mortally wounded the Bulgarian ruler.

His death marked the effective end of the Bulgarian Empire. Ivan Vladislav's sons were young and inexperienced, and even the strongest Bulgarian leaders doubted the advisability of further resistance. Upon learning of the death of the Tsar, Basil II left Constantinople. In Adrianople

Edirne

Edirne is a city in Eastern Thrace, the northwestern part of Turkey, close to the borders with Greece and Bulgaria. Edirne served as the capital city of the Ottoman Empire from 1365 to 1453, before Constantinople became the empire's new capital. At present, Edirne is the capital of the Edirne...

he was met by the brother of Krakra who acknowledged Byzantine authority. His example was followed by the larger part of the Bulgarian nobility who pledged loyalty to Basil II, giving up their fortresses. In Serres

Serres

Serres is a city in Greece, seat of the Serres prefecture.Serres may also refer to:Places:* Serres, Germany, a part of Wiernsheim in Baden-WürttembergIn France:* Serres, Aude in the Aude département...

, Krakra along with the commanders of 35 castles met the emperor and surrendered, and in Strumitsa he received a message sent by the Empress-dowager Maria to negotiate the surrender of the capital and the country. Basil II richly awarded those who surrendered, allowing them to keep their lands, wealth and titles. Short-lived resistance continued under Ivan Vladislav's eldest son Presian II

Presian II of Bulgaria

Presian II was emperor of Bulgaria for a short time in 1018. The year of his birth may have been 996/997; he may have died in exile in 1060/1061...

and his brothers, but they also surrendered by the end of 1018.

Legacy

Living more than one hundred years after Ivan Vladislav, the historian known as the Priest of Duklja, who wrote from a Dukljan perspective, was outraged by the murder of Jovan Vladimir, and wrote that after the Tsar died, he was "forever connected with the angels of Satan". Many modern Bulgarian historians, including Vasil Zlatarski

Vasil Zlatarski

Vasil Nikolov Zlatarski was a Bulgarian historian-medievalist, archaeologist, and epigraphist.- Life :Vasil Zlatarski was born in Veliko Tarnovo in 1866, the youngest child of the teacher Nikola Zlatarcheto who was a prominent activist in the educational movement and the religious and national...

, also criticize the emperor, claiming that his actions hastened the fall of Bulgaria and that instead of raising the morale of the nation he turned into a murderer and was unable to cope with the intrigues and the corruption in court. Steven Runciman

Steven Runciman

The Hon. Sir James Cochran Stevenson Runciman CH — known as Steven Runciman — was a British historian known for his work on the Middle Ages...

is also critical of the emperor, noting that his assassination of Gavril Radomir unleashed a general confusion where each noble started looking out for his own personal interests, but nevertheless credits him with "a considerable ruthless energy". Jordan Andreev is more favourable to Ivan Vladislav, noting that he had reasons for his acts—he had to revenge the murder of his family according to the old Bulgarian pagan beliefs, but he only killed Gavril Radomir and his wife without harming the rest of Gavril Radomir's family. He had to cope with Jovan Vladimir who, as a husband of one of Samuel's daughters, was a threat to his position, and had also attempted a compromise with the Byzantines. According to Andreev, Ivan Vladislav's struggle to defend the Bulgarian state and his heroic death serve to mitigate his ill deeds. He cites a Byzantine historian who claimed that during Ivan Vladislav's reign the Byzantine state "hanged in the balance, because that barbarian like Goliath resisted the Romans and they were all despaired by that invincible foe." The Polish historian Kazimierz Zakrzewski

Kazimierz Zakrzewski

Kazimierz Zakrzewski was a Polish historian and publicist, a professor of the University of Warsaw....

also writes with sympathy for the last ruler of the First Empire, in light of the fact that Ivan Vladislav managed to sustain a guerilla war which he skilfully run until his death.

Ivan Vladislav Point

Ivan Vladislav Point

Ivan Vladislav Point is a point on the north coast of Rugged Island off the west coast of Byers Peninsula of Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica formed by an offshoot of Cherven Peak...

on Rugged Island

Rugged Island (South Shetland Islands)

Rugged Island is an island long and wide, lying west of Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands. Surface area . The island's summit San Stefano Peak rises to above sea level. Rugged Island is located at...

in the South Shetland Islands

South Shetland Islands

The South Shetland Islands are a group of Antarctic islands, lying about north of the Antarctic Peninsula, with a total area of . By the Antarctic Treaty of 1959, the Islands' sovereignty is neither recognized nor disputed by the signatories and they are free for use by any signatory for...

, Antarctica is named after Ivan Vladislav of Bulgaria.

Family

By his wife Maria

Maria, wife of Ivan Vladislav

, Ivan Vladislav had several children. Maria was named zoste patrikia
Zoste patrikia
Zōstē patrikia was a Byzantine court title reserved exclusively for women. A very high title, its holder ranked as the first woman after the empress herself in the imperial court.-History and functions:...

by Basil II, and the descendants

Aaronios

The Aaronios or Aaron were a Byzantine noble family of Bulgarian origin, being descended from Emperor Ivan Vladislav of Bulgaria ....

of Ivan Vladislav entered Byzantine service, becoming part of the Byzantine nobility and forming close ties with the Komnenos

Komnenos

Komnenós or Comnenus was the name of a ruling family of the Eastern Roman Empire , who halted the political decline of the Empire from c.1081 to c.1185.-Origins:...

clan in particular. Some of them rose to prominence, including Catherine

Catherine of Bulgaria

Catherine of Bulgaria was a daughter of Ivan Vladislav of Bulgaria and his wife Maria.- Family :She was a sister of Presian II of Bulgaria and Alusian of Bulgaria. She was also a paternal aunt of Maria of Bulgaria.She married Isaac I Komnenos...

and Anna who both became Byzantine empresses. His second son Alusian

Alusian of Bulgaria

Alusian was a Bulgarian and Byzantine noble who ruled as emperor of Bulgaria for a short time in 1041.-Life:Alusian was the second son of Emperor Ivan Vladislav of Bulgaria by his wife Maria...

took part of the Uprising of Petar Delyan against Byzantine rule but eventually betrayed the Bulgarian cause.

(† 1015, reign 1014-1015)
| colspan="2" | Theodora Kosara

Theodora Kosara of Bulgaria

Theodora Kosara of Bulgaria was the daughter of Tsar Samuil of Bulgaria and Kosara of Bulgaria.Theodora Kosara fell in love with Jovan Vladimir of Doclea who was prisoner of her father Samuil...

| colspan="2" | Miroslava

Miroslava of Bulgaria

Miroslava was one of the daughters of tsar Samuil of Bulgaria and Kosara of Bulgaria. Princess Miroslava fell in love with the Byzantine noble captive Ashot Taronites, who was of Armenian origin, and threatened to commit suicide if she was not allowed to marry him...

Maria, wife of Ivan Vladislav

Alusian of Bulgaria

Alusian was a Bulgarian and Byzantine noble who ruled as emperor of Bulgaria for a short time in 1041.-Life:Alusian was the second son of Emperor Ivan Vladislav of Bulgaria by his wife Maria...

Catherine of Bulgaria

wife of Isaac I Komnenos

Isaac I Komnenos

Isaac I Komnenos was Byzantine Emperor from 1057 to 1059, and the first reigning member of the Komnenos dynasty...

|- style="vertical-align: top"
| colspan="2" | Presian

Presian II of Bulgaria

Presian II was emperor of Bulgaria for a short time in 1018. The year of his birth may have been 996/997; he may have died in exile in 1060/1061...

Theodore Aaronios

Theodore Aaronios was one of the latter members of the Aaronios family in the 11th century Byzantine Empire.Theodore served as governor of Taron. He was killed in battle with the Turks in 1055.-References:...

Alexios I Komnenos

Alexios I Komnenos, Latinized as Alexius I Comnenus , was Byzantine emperor from 1081 to 1118, and although he was not the founder of the Komnenian dynasty, it was during his reign that the Komnenos family came to full power. The title 'Nobilissimus' was given to senior army commanders,...

Irene Doukaina

Irene Doukaina or Ducaena was the wife of the Byzantine emperor Alexios I Komnenos, and the mother of the emperor John II Komnenos and of the historian Anna Komnene.-Succession of Alexios and Irene:...

wife of Alexios I Komnenos
| colspan="2" style="border-right: solid black 1px; " | Theodora
| colspan="2" | John Doukas

John Doukas (megas doux)

John Doukas was a member of the Doukas family, a relative of the Emperor Alexios I Komnenos and a senior military figure of his reign. As governor of Dyrrhachium he secured the imperial possessions in the western Balkans against the Serbs...

Michael Doukas (protostrator)

Michael Doukas was a member of the Doukas family, a relative of the Emperor Alexios I Komnenos and a senior military figure, with the rank of protostrator, during Alexios' reign. His life is only known through the Alexiad of Anna Komnene and the history of her husband, Nikephoros Bryennios.- Life...

protostrator
|}

Life before the accession of the throne

Assumption of power

First months of the reign

Consolidation

Fighting in 1017

Death

Legacy

Family

External links