John II Komnenos
Encyclopedia
John II Komnenos (or Comnenus) (September 13, 1087 – April 8, 1143) was Byzantine Emperor from 1118 to 1143. Also known as Kaloïōannēs ("John the Beautiful"), he was the eldest son of Emperor Alexios I Komnenos and Irene Doukaina
. The second Emperor of the Komnenian restoration
of the Byzantine Empire, John was a pious and dedicated emperor who was determined to undo the damage his Empire had suffered at the battle of Manzikert
, half a century earlier.
In the course of his twenty-five year reign, John made alliances with the Holy Roman Empire
in the west, decisively defeated the Pechenegs in the Balkans
, and personally led numerous campaigns against the Turks
in Asia Minor
. John's campaigns fundamentally changed the balance of power in the east, forcing the Turks onto the defensive and restoring to the Byzantines many towns, fortresses and cities right across the peninsula. In the southeast, John extended Byzantine control from the Maeander in the west all the way to Cilicia
and Tarsus
in the east. In an effort to demonstrate the Byzantine emperor's role as the leader of the Christian
world, John marched into the Holy Land
at the head of the combined forces of Byzantium and the Crusader states
; yet despite the great vigour with which he pressed the campaign, John's hopes were disappointed by the treachery of his Crusader allies, who deliberately failed to fight against the Muslim
enemy at the crucial moment. Also under John, the empire's population recovered to about 10 million people.
The Latin historian William of Tyre
described John as short and unusually ugly, with eyes, hair and complexion so dark he was known as 'the Moor
'. Yet despite his physical appearance, John was known as Kaloïōannēs, "John the Handsome" or "John the Beautiful". The epithet referred not to his body but to his soul. Both his parents had been unusually pious and John surpassed them. Members of his court were expected to restrict their conversation to serious subjects only. The food served at the emperor's table was very frugal and John lectured courtiers who lived in excessive luxury. Despite his austerity, John was loved. His principles were sincerely held and his integrity great.
John was famed for his piety and his remarkably mild and just reign. He is an exceptional example of a moral ruler, at a time when cruelty was the norm. He never condemned anyone to death or mutilation. Charity was dispensed lavishly. For this reason, he has been called the Byzantine Marcus Aurelius. By the personal purity and piety of his character he effected a notable improvement in the manners of his age. Gifted with great self control and personal courage, John was an excellent strategist and an expert imperator
in the field, and through his many campaigns he devoted himself to the preservation of his empire.
He succeeded his father in 1118, but had already been proclaimed co-emperor by Alexios I on September 1, 1092. Niketas Choniates alone tells of the actions by which John II secured his own succession. Alexios I had favoured John to succeed him over his wife Irene's favourite, the Caesar
Nikephoros Bryennios, who was married to their daughter Anna Komnena. Alexios resorted to dissimulation in order to avert Irene's criticism of his choice and her demands that Nikephoros should succeed. As Alexios lay on his deathbed in the monastery of the Mangana on 15 August 1118, John, consorting with relatives whom he could trust, among whom was his brother, the sebastokratōr
Isaac Komnenos
, stole into the monastery and removed the imperial signet ring from his dying father. Then, taking up arms, he rode to the Great Palace, gathering the support of the citizenry who acclaimed him emperor. Irene was taken by surprise and was unable either to persuade her son to desist, or to induce Nikephoros to act against him. Although the palace guard at first refused to admit John without proof of his father's wishes, the mob surrounding the new emperor simply forced entry.
Alexios died the following night. John refused to join the funeral procession, in spite of his mother's urging, because his hold on power was so tenuous. However, in the space of a few days, his position was secure. In 1119, John II uncovered a conspiracy to overthrow him which implicated his mother and sister, who were duly relegated to monasteries. To safeguard his own succession, John crowned his own young son Alexios co-emperor in 1122.
, a Turk who had been given as a gift to John's father. Alexios had thought him a good companion for John, and so he had been brought up alongside John, who immediately appointed him as Grand Domestic upon his accession. The Grand Domestic was the commander in chief of the Byzantine armies. This was an extraordinary move, and a departure from the nepotism that had characterised the reign of his father Alexios. The imperial family harboured some degree of resentment at this decision, which was reinforced by the fact that they were required to make obeisance to John Axouch whenever they met him. Yet the emperor had complete confidence in his appointees, many of whom had been chosen on merit rather than their relation to him by blood. John's unwillingness to allow his family to interfere too much in his government was to remain constant for the rest of his reign.
, which had given the Italian republic unique and generous trading rights within the Byzantine Empire. Yet the change in policy was not motivated by financial concerns. An incident involving the abuse of a member of the imperial family by Venetians led to a dangerous conflict, especially as Byzantium had depended on Venice for its naval strength. After a Byzantine retaliatory attack on Kerkyra
, John exiled the Venetian merchants from Constantinople. But this produced further retaliation, and a Venetian fleet of 72 ships plundered Rhodes
, Chios
, Samos
, Lesbos, Andros
and captured Kefalonia
in the Ionian Sea
. Eventually John was forced to come to terms; the war was costing him more than it was worth, and he was not prepared to transfer funds from the imperial land forces to the navy for the construction of new ships. John re-confirmed the treaty of 1082. Nevertheless, this embarrassment was not entirely forgotten, and it seems likely that it played a part in inspiring John's successor (Manuel I Komnenos) to re-establish a powerful Byzantine fleet some years later.
In 1119–1121 John defeated the Seljuq Turks, establishing his control over southwestern Anatolia
. However, immediately afterwards, in 1122, John quickly transferred his troops to Europe to fight off a Pecheneg invasion into Moesia
. These invaders had been auxiliaries of the Prince of Kiev
. John surrounded the Pechenegs as they burst into Thrace
, tricked them into believing that he would grant them a favourable treaty, and then launched a devastating surprise attack upon their larger camp. The ensuing Battle of Beroia
was hard fought, but by the end of the day John's army had won a crushing victory. This put an end to Pecheneg incursions into Byzantine territory, and many of the captives were settled as foederati
within the Byzantine frontier.
John then launched a punitive raid against the Serbs
, many of whom were rounded up and transported to Nicomedia
in Asia Minor to serve as military colonists. This was done partly to cow the Serbs into submission (Serbia was, at least nominally, a Byzantine protectorate), and partly to strengthen the Byzantine frontier in the east against the Turks. However, John's marriage to the Hungarian princess Piroska
involved him in the dynastic struggles of the Kingdom of Hungary
. Giving asylum to a blinded claimant to the Hungarian throne (called Álmos), John aroused the suspicion of the Hungarians, and was faced with an invasion in 1128. The Hungarians attacked Belgrade
, Braničevo, Nish
, Sofia
, and penetrated south as far as the outskirts of Philippopolis
. After a challenging campaign lasting two years, the emperor managed to defeat the Hungarians and their Serbia
n allies at the fortress of Haram
which is located in Nova Palanka
, and peace was restored.
from the empire, John II led an army to capture Laodicea
and Sozopolis
, therefore reestablishing the land links to the city. He undertook a campaign against the Danishmendid emirate in Malatya
on the upper Euphrates
from 1130 to 1135. Thanks to John's energetic campaigning, Turkish attempts at expansion in Asia Minor were halted, and John prepared to take the fight to the enemy. In order to restore the region to Byzantine control, John led a series of well planned and executed campaigns against the Turks, one of which resulted in the reconquest of the ancestral home of the Komneni at Kastamonu
, then he left a garrison of 2,000 men at Gangra. John quickly earned a formidable reputation as a wall-breaker, taking stronghold after stronghold from his enemies. Regions which had been lost to the empire ever since the Battle of Manzikert
were recovered and garrisoned. Yet resistance, particularly from the Danishmends of the north-east, was strong, and the difficult nature of holding down the new conquests is illustrated by the fact that Kastamonu was recaptured by the Turks even as John was in Constantinople celebrating its return to Byzantine rule. John persevered, however, and Kastamonu soon changed hands once more. John advanced into north eastern Anatolia, provoking the Turks to attack his army. Yet once again John's forces were able to maintain their cohesion, and the Turkish attempt to inflict a second Manzikert on the emperor's army backfired when the Sultan, discredited by his failure to defeat John, was murdered by his own people. In 1139, the Emperor marched one final time against the Danishmend Turks
, his army marched along the southern coast of the Black Sea
through Bithynia
, and Paphlagonia
. Turning south at Trebizond, he besieged but failed to take the city of Neocaesarea.
The emperor then directed his attention to the Levant, where he sought to re-inforce Byzantium's suzerainty over the Crusader States. In 1137 he conquered Tarsus
, Adana
, and Mopsuestia
from the Principality of Armenian Cilicia
, and in 1138 Prince Levon I of Armenia and most of his family were brought as captives to Constantinople. This opened the route to the Principality of Antioch
, where Prince Raymond of Poitiers
recognized himself the emperor's vassal in 1137, and John arrived there in triumph in 1138. There followed a joint campaign as John led the armies of Byzantium, Antioch and Edessa
against Muslim Syria. Although John fought hard for the Christian cause in the campaign in Syria, his allies Prince Raymond of Antioch and Count Joscelin II of Edessa sat around playing dice instead of helping John to press the siege of Shaizar
. These Crusader Princes were suspicious of each other and of John, and neither wanted the other to gain from participating in the campaign, while Raymond also wanted to hold on to Antioch, which he had agreed to hand over to John if the campaign was successful in capturing Aleppo
, Shaizar
, Homs
, and Hama
. While the emperor was distracted by his attempts to secure a German
alliance against the Normans
of Sicily
, Joscelin and Raymond conspired to delay the promised handover of Antioch's citadel to the emperor.
, fearing an invasion, begged the emperor to only bring an army of 10,000 men with him. This resulted in John II deciding not to go. However, on Mount Taurus in Cilicia
, on April 8, 1143, he was accidentally infected by a poisoned arrow while out hunting. The poison set in, and shortly afterwards he died. John's final action as emperor was to choose his youngest son Manuel Komnenos to be his successor. John cited two main reasons for choosing Manuel over his older surviving son Isaac Komnenos: these were Isaac's irascibility, and the courage that Manuel had shown on campaign at Neocaesareia. Another theory alleges that the reason for this choice was the AIMA prophecy
which foretold that John's successor should be one whose name began with an "M". John's eldest son, the co-emperor Alexios
, had died in the summer of 1142.
Historian J. Birkenmeier has recently argued that John's reign was the most successful of the Komnenian period. In The development of the Komnenian army 1081–1180, he stresses the wisdom of John's approach to warfare, which focused on siege warfare rather than risky pitched battles. Birkenmeier argues that John's strategy of launching annual campaigns with limited, realistic objectives was a more sensible one than that followed by his son Manuel I
. According to this view, John's campaigns benefited the Byzantine Empire because they protected the empire's heartland, which lacked reliable borders, while gradually extending its territory in Asia Minor. The Turks were forced onto the defensive, while John kept his diplomatic situation relatively simple by allying with the Holy Roman Emperor against the Normans of Sicily.
Overall, what is clear is that John II Komnenos left the empire a great deal better off than he had found it. Substantial territories had been recovered, and his successes against the invading Pechenegs, Serbians and Seljuq Turks, along with his attempts to establish Byzantine suzerainty over the Crusader States in Antioch
and Edessa
, did much to restore the reputation of his empire. His careful, methodical approach to warfare had protected the empire from the risk of sudden defeats, while his determination and skill had allowed him to rack up a long list of successful sieges and assaults against enemy strongholds. By the time of his death he had earned near universal respect, even from the Crusaders, for his courage, dedication and piety. His early death meant his work went unfinished — his last campaign might well have resulted in real gains for Byzantium and the Christian cause.
John II Komnenos married Princess Piroska of Hungary
(renamed Irene), a daughter of King Ladislaus I of Hungary in 1104; the marriage was intended as compensation for the loss of some territories to King Coloman of Hungary. She played little part in government, devoting herself to piety and their large brood of children. Irene died on August 13, 1134 and was later venerated as Saint Irene. John II and Irene had 8 children:
Secondary
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:...
. The second Emperor of the Komnenian restoration
Komnenian restoration
The Komnenian restoration is the term used by historians to describe the military, financial and territorial recovery of the Byzantine Empire under the Komnenian dynasty, from the accession of Alexios I Komnenos in 1081, to the death of Manuel I Komnenos in 1180. The Komnenian restoration is also...
of the Byzantine Empire, John was a pious and dedicated emperor who was determined to undo the damage his Empire had suffered at the battle of Manzikert
Battle of Manzikert
The Battle of Manzikert , was fought between the Byzantine Empire and Seljuq Turks led by Alp Arslan on August 26, 1071 near Manzikert...
, half a century earlier.
In the course of his twenty-five year reign, John made alliances with the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
in the west, decisively defeated the Pechenegs in the Balkans
Balkans
The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
, and personally led numerous campaigns against the Turks
Turkic peoples
The Turkic peoples are peoples residing in northern, central and western Asia, southern Siberia and northwestern China and parts of eastern Europe. They speak languages belonging to the Turkic language family. They share, to varying degrees, certain cultural traits and historical backgrounds...
in Asia Minor
Asia Minor
Asia Minor is a geographical location at the westernmost protrusion of Asia, also called Anatolia, and corresponds to the western two thirds of the Asian part of Turkey...
. John's campaigns fundamentally changed the balance of power in the east, forcing the Turks onto the defensive and restoring to the Byzantines many towns, fortresses and cities right across the peninsula. In the southeast, John extended Byzantine control from the Maeander in the west all the way to Cilicia
Cilicia
In antiquity, Cilicia was the south coastal region of Asia Minor, south of the central Anatolian plateau. It existed as a political entity from Hittite times into the Byzantine empire...
and Tarsus
Tarsus (city)
Tarsus is a historic city in south-central Turkey, 20 km inland from the Mediterranean Sea. It is part of the Adana-Mersin Metropolitan Area, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in Turkey with a population of 2.75 million...
in the east. In an effort to demonstrate the Byzantine emperor's role as the leader of the Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
world, John marched into the Holy Land
Holy Land
The Holy Land is a term which in Judaism refers to the Kingdom of Israel as defined in the Tanakh. For Jews, the Land's identifiction of being Holy is defined in Judaism by its differentiation from other lands by virtue of the practice of Judaism often possible only in the Land of Israel...
at the head of the combined forces of Byzantium and the Crusader states
Crusader states
The Crusader states were a number of mostly 12th- and 13th-century feudal states created by Western European crusaders in Asia Minor, Greece and the Holy Land , and during the Northern Crusades in the eastern Baltic area...
; yet despite the great vigour with which he pressed the campaign, John's hopes were disappointed by the treachery of his Crusader allies, who deliberately failed to fight against the Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
enemy at the crucial moment. Also under John, the empire's population recovered to about 10 million people.
The Latin historian William of Tyre
William of Tyre
William of Tyre was a medieval prelate and chronicler. As archbishop of Tyre, he is sometimes known as William II to distinguish him from a predecessor, William of Malines...
described John as short and unusually ugly, with eyes, hair and complexion so dark he was known as 'the Moor
Moors
The description Moors has referred to several historic and modern populations of the Maghreb region who are predominately of Berber and Arab descent. They came to conquer and rule the Iberian Peninsula for nearly 800 years. At that time they were Muslim, although earlier the people had followed...
'. Yet despite his physical appearance, John was known as Kaloïōannēs, "John the Handsome" or "John the Beautiful". The epithet referred not to his body but to his soul. Both his parents had been unusually pious and John surpassed them. Members of his court were expected to restrict their conversation to serious subjects only. The food served at the emperor's table was very frugal and John lectured courtiers who lived in excessive luxury. Despite his austerity, John was loved. His principles were sincerely held and his integrity great.
John was famed for his piety and his remarkably mild and just reign. He is an exceptional example of a moral ruler, at a time when cruelty was the norm. He never condemned anyone to death or mutilation. Charity was dispensed lavishly. For this reason, he has been called the Byzantine Marcus Aurelius. By the personal purity and piety of his character he effected a notable improvement in the manners of his age. Gifted with great self control and personal courage, John was an excellent strategist and an expert imperator
Imperator
The Latin word Imperator was originally a title roughly equivalent to commander under the Roman Republic. Later it became a part of the titulature of the Roman Emperors as part of their cognomen. The English word emperor derives from imperator via Old French Empreur...
in the field, and through his many campaigns he devoted himself to the preservation of his empire.
Succession
Caesar (title)
Caesar is a title of imperial character. It derives from the cognomen of Julius Caesar, the Roman dictator...
Nikephoros Bryennios, who was married to their daughter Anna Komnena. Alexios resorted to dissimulation in order to avert Irene's criticism of his choice and her demands that Nikephoros should succeed. As Alexios lay on his deathbed in the monastery of the Mangana on 15 August 1118, John, consorting with relatives whom he could trust, among whom was his brother, the sebastokratōr
Sebastokrator
Sebastokratōr was a senior court title in the late Byzantine Empire. It was also used by other rulers whose states bordered the Empire or were within its sphere of influence. The word is a compound of "sebastos" Sebastokratōr was a senior court title in the late Byzantine Empire. It was also used...
Isaac Komnenos
Isaac Komnenos (d. 1152)
Isaac Komnenos or Comnenus was the third son of Byzantine Emperor Alexios I Komnenos and Empress Irene Doukaina.-Life:He was the brother of Emperor John II Komnenos and the historian Anna Komnene...
, stole into the monastery and removed the imperial signet ring from his dying father. Then, taking up arms, he rode to the Great Palace, gathering the support of the citizenry who acclaimed him emperor. Irene was taken by surprise and was unable either to persuade her son to desist, or to induce Nikephoros to act against him. Although the palace guard at first refused to admit John without proof of his father's wishes, the mob surrounding the new emperor simply forced entry.
Alexios died the following night. John refused to join the funeral procession, in spite of his mother's urging, because his hold on power was so tenuous. However, in the space of a few days, his position was secure. In 1119, John II uncovered a conspiracy to overthrow him which implicated his mother and sister, who were duly relegated to monasteries. To safeguard his own succession, John crowned his own young son Alexios co-emperor in 1122.
John's government
These political intrigues probably contributed to John's style of rule, which was to appoint men from outside the imperial family to help him govern the empire. John's closest adviser was his closest friend, John AxuchJohn Axuch
John Axouch or Axouchos, also transliterated as Axuch was the commander-in-chief of the Byzantine Army during the reign of Emperor John II Komnenos, and the early part of the reign of his son Manuel I Komnenos.- Life :...
, a Turk who had been given as a gift to John's father. Alexios had thought him a good companion for John, and so he had been brought up alongside John, who immediately appointed him as Grand Domestic upon his accession. The Grand Domestic was the commander in chief of the Byzantine armies. This was an extraordinary move, and a departure from the nepotism that had characterised the reign of his father Alexios. The imperial family harboured some degree of resentment at this decision, which was reinforced by the fact that they were required to make obeisance to John Axouch whenever they met him. Yet the emperor had complete confidence in his appointees, many of whom had been chosen on merit rather than their relation to him by blood. John's unwillingness to allow his family to interfere too much in his government was to remain constant for the rest of his reign.
Conflict with Venice
After his accession, John II had refused to confirm his father's 1082 treaty with the Republic of VeniceRepublic of Venice
The Republic of Venice or Venetian Republic was a state originating from the city of Venice in Northeastern Italy. It existed for over a millennium, from the late 7th century until 1797. It was formally known as the Most Serene Republic of Venice and is often referred to as La Serenissima, in...
, which had given the Italian republic unique and generous trading rights within the Byzantine Empire. Yet the change in policy was not motivated by financial concerns. An incident involving the abuse of a member of the imperial family by Venetians led to a dangerous conflict, especially as Byzantium had depended on Venice for its naval strength. After a Byzantine retaliatory attack on Kerkyra
Corfu
Corfu is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea. It is the second largest of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the edge of the northwestern frontier of Greece. The island is part of the Corfu regional unit, and is administered as a single municipality. The...
, John exiled the Venetian merchants from Constantinople. But this produced further retaliation, and a Venetian fleet of 72 ships plundered Rhodes
Rhodes
Rhodes is an island in Greece, located in the eastern Aegean Sea. It is the largest of the Dodecanese islands in terms of both land area and population, with a population of 117,007, and also the island group's historical capital. Administratively the island forms a separate municipality within...
, Chios
Chios
Chios is the fifth largest of the Greek islands, situated in the Aegean Sea, seven kilometres off the Asia Minor coast. The island is separated from Turkey by the Chios Strait. The island is noted for its strong merchant shipping community, its unique mastic gum and its medieval villages...
, Samos
Samoš
Samoš is a village in Serbia. It is situated in the Kovačica municipality, in the South Banat District, Vojvodina province. The village has a Serb ethnic majority and its population numbering 1,247 people .-See also:...
, Lesbos, Andros
Andros
Andros, or Andro is the northernmost island of the Greek Cyclades archipelago, approximately south east of Euboea, and about north of Tinos. It is nearly long, and its greatest breadth is . Its surface is for the most part mountainous, with many fruitful and well-watered valleys. The area is...
and captured Kefalonia
Kefalonia
The island of Cephalonia, also known as Kefalonia, Cephallenia, Cephallonia, Kefallinia, or Kefallonia , is the largest of the Ionian Islands in western Greece, with an area of . It is also a separate regional unit of the Ionian Islands region, and the only municipality of the regional unit...
in the Ionian Sea
Ionian Sea
The Ionian Sea , is an arm of the Mediterranean Sea, south of the Adriatic Sea. It is bounded by southern Italy including Calabria, Sicily and the Salento peninsula to the west, southern Albania to the north, and a large number of Greek islands, including Corfu, Zante, Kephalonia, Ithaka, and...
. Eventually John was forced to come to terms; the war was costing him more than it was worth, and he was not prepared to transfer funds from the imperial land forces to the navy for the construction of new ships. John re-confirmed the treaty of 1082. Nevertheless, this embarrassment was not entirely forgotten, and it seems likely that it played a part in inspiring John's successor (Manuel I Komnenos) to re-establish a powerful Byzantine fleet some years later.
Successes against the Pechenegs and Hungarians
Anatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
. However, immediately afterwards, in 1122, John quickly transferred his troops to Europe to fight off a Pecheneg invasion into Moesia
Moesia
Moesia was an ancient region and later Roman province situated in the Balkans, along the south bank of the Danube River. It included territories of modern-day Southern Serbia , Northern Republic of Macedonia, Northern Bulgaria, Romanian Dobrudja, Southern Moldova, and Budjak .-History:In ancient...
. These invaders had been auxiliaries of the Prince of Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
. John surrounded the Pechenegs as they burst into Thrace
Thrace
Thrace is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe. As a geographical concept, Thrace designates a region bounded by the Balkan Mountains on the north, Rhodope Mountains and the Aegean Sea on the south, and by the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara on the east...
, tricked them into believing that he would grant them a favourable treaty, and then launched a devastating surprise attack upon their larger camp. The ensuing Battle of Beroia
Battle of Beroia
The Battle of Beroia was fought between the Pechenegs and Emperor John II Komnenos of the Byzantine Empire in the year 1122 in what is now Bulgaria, and resulted in the disappearance of the Pecheneg people as an independent force....
was hard fought, but by the end of the day John's army had won a crushing victory. This put an end to Pecheneg incursions into Byzantine territory, and many of the captives were settled as foederati
Foederati
Foederatus is a Latin term whose definition and usage drifted in the time between the early Roman Republic and the end of the Western Roman Empire...
within the Byzantine frontier.
John then launched a punitive raid against the Serbs
Serbs
The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...
, many of whom were rounded up and transported to Nicomedia
Nicomedia
Nicomedia was an ancient city in what is now Turkey, founded in 712/11 BC as a Megarian colony and was originally known as Astacus . After being destroyed by Lysimachus, it was rebuilt by Nicomedes I of Bithynia in 264 BC under the name of Nicomedia, and has ever since been one of the most...
in Asia Minor to serve as military colonists. This was done partly to cow the Serbs into submission (Serbia was, at least nominally, a Byzantine protectorate), and partly to strengthen the Byzantine frontier in the east against the Turks. However, John's marriage to the Hungarian princess Piroska
Piroska of Hungary
Saint Irene of Hungary, born Piroska, was a daughter of Ladislaus I of Hungary and Adelaide of Swabia. Her maternal grandparents were Rudolf of Rheinfeld and his second wife Adelheid of Savoy. Adelheid was a daughter of Otto of Savoy and Adelaide of Turin. She was the mother of the future emperor...
involved him in the dynastic struggles of 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...
. Giving asylum to a blinded claimant to the Hungarian throne (called Álmos), John aroused the suspicion of the Hungarians, and was faced with an invasion in 1128. The Hungarians attacked Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
, Braničevo, Nish
NISH
NISH is United States non-profit agency that supports other agencies which provide employment opportunities for people who are blind or disabled.-Background:...
, 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...
, and penetrated south as far as the outskirts of Philippopolis
Plovdiv
Plovdiv is the second-largest city in Bulgaria after Sofia with a population of 338,153 inhabitants according to Census 2011. Plovdiv's history spans some 6,000 years, with traces of a Neolithic settlement dating to roughly 4000 BC; it is one of the oldest cities in Europe...
. After a challenging campaign lasting two years, the emperor managed to defeat the Hungarians and their Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
n allies at the fortress of Haram
Haram
The Arabic term has a meaning of "sanctuary" or "holy site" in Islam.-Etymology:The Arabic language has two separate words, and , both derived from the same triliteral Semitic root . Both of these words can mean "forbidden" and/or "sacred" in a general way, but each has also developed some...
which is located in Nova Palanka
Backa Palanka
Bačka Palanka is a city and municipality located in Serbia, on left bank of the Danube, at 45.15° North, 19.24° East...
, and peace was restored.
Campaigns against the Turks
John was then able to concentrate on Asia Minor, which became the focus of his attention for most of his remaining years. The Turks were pressing forward against the Byzantine frontier in western Asia Minor, and John was determined to drive them back. In 1119, the Seljuqs had cut off AntalyaAntalya
Antalya is a city on the Mediterranean coast of southwestern Turkey. With a population 1,001,318 as of 2010. It is the eighth most populous city in Turkey and country's biggest international sea resort.- History :...
from the empire, John II led an army to capture Laodicea
Laodicea on the Lycus
Laodicea on the Lycus was the ancient metropolis of Phrygia Pacatiana , built on the river Lycus , in Anatolia near the modern village of Eskihisar , Denizli Province,...
and Sozopolis
Sozopolis, Pisidia
Sozopolis in Pisidia, called Apollonia during Seleucid times, was an ancient town in the region of Pisidia, now in the Asian part of Turkey. It is not to be confused with the Thracian Sozopolis in present-day Bulgaria....
, therefore reestablishing the land links to the city. He undertook a campaign against the Danishmendid emirate in Malatya
Malatya
Malatya ) is a city in southeastern Turkey and the capital of its eponymous province.-Overview:The city site has been occupied for thousands of years. The Assyrians called the city Meliddu. Following Roman expansion into the east, the city was renamed in Latin as Melitene...
on the upper Euphrates
Euphrates
The Euphrates is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia...
from 1130 to 1135. Thanks to John's energetic campaigning, Turkish attempts at expansion in Asia Minor were halted, and John prepared to take the fight to the enemy. In order to restore the region to Byzantine control, John led a series of well planned and executed campaigns against the Turks, one of which resulted in the reconquest of the ancestral home of the Komneni at Kastamonu
Kastamonu
Kastamonu is the capital district of the Kastamonu Province, Turkey. According to the 2000 census, population of the district is 102,059 of which 64,606 live in the urban center of Kastamonu. The district covers an area of , and the town lies at an elevation of...
, then he left a garrison of 2,000 men at Gangra. John quickly earned a formidable reputation as a wall-breaker, taking stronghold after stronghold from his enemies. Regions which had been lost to the empire ever since the Battle of Manzikert
Battle of Manzikert
The Battle of Manzikert , was fought between the Byzantine Empire and Seljuq Turks led by Alp Arslan on August 26, 1071 near Manzikert...
were recovered and garrisoned. Yet resistance, particularly from the Danishmends of the north-east, was strong, and the difficult nature of holding down the new conquests is illustrated by the fact that Kastamonu was recaptured by the Turks even as John was in Constantinople celebrating its return to Byzantine rule. John persevered, however, and Kastamonu soon changed hands once more. John advanced into north eastern Anatolia, provoking the Turks to attack his army. Yet once again John's forces were able to maintain their cohesion, and the Turkish attempt to inflict a second Manzikert on the emperor's army backfired when the Sultan, discredited by his failure to defeat John, was murdered by his own people. In 1139, the Emperor marched one final time against the Danishmend Turks
Danishmends
The Danishmend dynasty was a Turcoman dynasty that ruled in north-central and eastern Anatolia in the 11th and 12th centuries. The centered originally around Sivas, Tokat, and Niksar in central-northeastern Anatolia, they extended as far west as Ankara and Kastamonu for a time, and as far south as...
, his army marched along the southern coast of the Black Sea
Black Sea
The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean...
through Bithynia
Bithynia
Bithynia was an ancient region, kingdom and Roman province in the northwest of Asia Minor, adjoining the Propontis, the Thracian Bosporus and the Euxine .-Description:...
, and Paphlagonia
Paphlagonia
Paphlagonia was an ancient area on the Black Sea coast of north central Anatolia, situated between Bithynia to the west and Pontus to the east, and separated from Phrygia by a prolongation to the east of the Bithynian Olympus...
. Turning south at Trebizond, he besieged but failed to take the city of Neocaesarea.
Campaigns in the Holy Land
Tarsus (city)
Tarsus is a historic city in south-central Turkey, 20 km inland from the Mediterranean Sea. It is part of the Adana-Mersin Metropolitan Area, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in Turkey with a population of 2.75 million...
, Adana
Adana
Adana is a city in southern Turkey and a major agricultural and commercial center. The city is situated on the Seyhan River, 30 kilometres inland from the Mediterranean, in south-central Anatolia...
, and Mopsuestia
Mopsuestia
Mopsuestia , later Mamistra, is the ancient city of Cilicia Campestris on the Pyramus river located approximately 20 km east of ancient Antiochia in Cilicia .The founding of this city is attributed in legend to the soothsayer, Mopsus, who lived before the Trojan war, although...
from the Principality of Armenian Cilicia
Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia
The Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia , also known as the Cilician Armenia, Kingdom of Cilician Armenia or New Armenia, was an independent principality formed during the High Middle Ages by Armenian refugees fleeing the Seljuk invasion of Armenia...
, and in 1138 Prince Levon I of Armenia and most of his family were brought as captives to Constantinople. This opened the route to the Principality 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:...
, where Prince Raymond of Poitiers
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...
recognized himself the emperor's vassal in 1137, and John arrived there in triumph in 1138. There followed a joint campaign as John led the armies of Byzantium, Antioch and Edessa
County of Edessa
The County of Edessa was one of the Crusader states in the 12th century, based around Edessa, a city with an ancient history and an early tradition of Christianity....
against Muslim Syria. Although John fought hard for the Christian cause in the campaign in Syria, his allies Prince Raymond of Antioch and Count Joscelin II of Edessa sat around playing dice instead of helping John to press the siege of Shaizar
Shaizar
Shaizar, Shayzar or Saijar was a medieval town and fortress in Syria, ruled by the Banu Munqidh dynasty, which played an important part in the Christian and Muslim politics of the crusades.- Early history :...
. These Crusader Princes were suspicious of each other and of John, and neither wanted the other to gain from participating in the campaign, while Raymond also wanted to hold on to Antioch, which he had agreed to hand over to John if the campaign was successful in capturing Aleppo
Aleppo
Aleppo is the largest city in Syria and the capital of Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Syrian governorate. With an official population of 2,301,570 , expanding to over 2.5 million in the metropolitan area, it is also one of the largest cities in the Levant...
, Shaizar
Shaizar
Shaizar, Shayzar or Saijar was a medieval town and fortress in Syria, ruled by the Banu Munqidh dynasty, which played an important part in the Christian and Muslim politics of the crusades.- Early history :...
, Homs
Homs
Homs , previously known as Emesa , is a city in western Syria and the capital of the Homs Governorate. It is above sea level and is located north of Damascus...
, and Hama
Hama
Hama is a city on the banks of the Orontes River in west-central Syria north of Damascus. It is the provincial capital of the Hama Governorate. Hama is the fourth-largest city in Syria—behind Aleppo, Damascus, and Homs—with a population of 696,863...
. While the emperor was distracted by his attempts to secure a German
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
alliance against the Normans
Normans
The Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...
of Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
, Joscelin and Raymond conspired to delay the promised handover of Antioch's citadel to the emperor.
Premature death
John planned a new expedition to the East, including a pilgrimage to Jerusalem on which he planned to take his army with him. King Fulk of JerusalemFulk of Jerusalem
Fulk , also known as Fulk the Younger, was Count of Anjou from 1109 to 1129, and King of Jerusalem from 1131 to his death...
, fearing an invasion, begged the emperor to only bring an army of 10,000 men with him. This resulted in John II deciding not to go. However, on Mount Taurus in Cilicia
Cilicia
In antiquity, Cilicia was the south coastal region of Asia Minor, south of the central Anatolian plateau. It existed as a political entity from Hittite times into the Byzantine empire...
, on April 8, 1143, he was accidentally infected by a poisoned arrow while out hunting. The poison set in, and shortly afterwards he died. John's final action as emperor was to choose his youngest son Manuel Komnenos to be his successor. John cited two main reasons for choosing Manuel over his older surviving son Isaac Komnenos: these were Isaac's irascibility, and the courage that Manuel had shown on campaign at Neocaesareia. Another theory alleges that the reason for this choice was 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...
which foretold that John's successor should be one whose name began with an "M". John's eldest son, the co-emperor Alexios
Alexius Comnenus (d. 1142)
Alexios Komnenos, latinised as Alexius Comnenus , was the eldest son of the Byzantine emperor John II Komnenos and his wife Eirene of Hungary. He was born in February 1106 at Balabista in Macedonia, was made co-emperor with his father at 16 or 17 years of age and died on the 2nd August 1142 at...
, had died in the summer of 1142.
John's achievement
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....
. According to this view, John's campaigns benefited the Byzantine Empire because they protected the empire's heartland, which lacked reliable borders, while gradually extending its territory in Asia Minor. The Turks were forced onto the defensive, while John kept his diplomatic situation relatively simple by allying with the Holy Roman Emperor against the Normans of Sicily.
Overall, what is clear is that John II Komnenos left the empire a great deal better off than he had found it. Substantial territories had been recovered, and his successes against the invading Pechenegs, Serbians and Seljuq Turks, along with his attempts to establish Byzantine suzerainty over the Crusader States in 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:...
and Edessa
County of Edessa
The County of Edessa was one of the Crusader states in the 12th century, based around Edessa, a city with an ancient history and an early tradition of Christianity....
, did much to restore the reputation of his empire. His careful, methodical approach to warfare had protected the empire from the risk of sudden defeats, while his determination and skill had allowed him to rack up a long list of successful sieges and assaults against enemy strongholds. By the time of his death he had earned near universal respect, even from the Crusaders, for his courage, dedication and piety. His early death meant his work went unfinished — his last campaign might well have resulted in real gains for Byzantium and the Christian cause.
Family
Piroska of Hungary
Saint Irene of Hungary, born Piroska, was a daughter of Ladislaus I of Hungary and Adelaide of Swabia. Her maternal grandparents were Rudolf of Rheinfeld and his second wife Adelheid of Savoy. Adelheid was a daughter of Otto of Savoy and Adelaide of Turin. She was the mother of the future emperor...
(renamed Irene), a daughter of King Ladislaus I of Hungary in 1104; the marriage was intended as compensation for the loss of some territories to King Coloman of Hungary. She played little part in government, devoting herself to piety and their large brood of children. Irene died on August 13, 1134 and was later venerated as Saint Irene. John II and Irene had 8 children:
- Alexios Komnenos, co-emperor from 1122 to 1142
- Maria Komnene (twin to Alexios), who married John Roger Dalassenos
- Andronikos KomnenosAndronikos Komnenos (son of John II Komnenos)Andronikos Komnenos was the third child and second son of the Byzantine Emperor John II Komnenos and his Hungarian wife, Piroska .-Life and Death:Andronikos was made sebastokratōr at an unknown date...
(died 1142) - Anna Komnene, who married Stephen Kontostephanos
- Isaac KomnenosIsaac Komnenos (d. 1154)Isaac Komnenos or Comnenus , was the third son of Byzantine Emperor John II Komnenos by Piroska of Hungary.-Life:Shortly before his death in 1143, John II Komnenos designated his fourth son Manuel as his heir, although the third son, Isaac, was still alive...
(died 1154) - Theodora Komnene, who married Manuel Anemas
- Eudokia Komnene, who married Theodore Vatatzes
- Manuel I Komnenos (died 1180)
See also
- The Komnenian armyKomnenian armyThe Komnenian Byzantine army or Komnenian army was the force established by Byzantine emperor Alexios I Komnenos during the late 11th/early 12th century, and perfected by his successors John II Komnenos and Manuel I Komnenos during the 12th century. Alexios constructed a new army from the ground...
- John II Comnenus' Hungarian campaigns
- An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Emperors
Sources
PrimarySecondary
- Michael AngoldMichael AngoldMichael Angold is Professor Emeritus of Byzantine History and Honorary Fellow in the University of Edinburgh.-Biography:Michael Angold was educated at the University of Oxford...
, The Byzantine Empire 1025–1204, a political history, Longman, 1997 (Second Edition) - Jonathan Harris, Byzantium and the Crusades, Hambledon and London, 2003.
- The Oxford Dictionary of ByzantiumOxford Dictionary of ByzantiumThe Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium is a three volume historical dictionary published by the English Oxford University Press. It contains comprehensive information in English on topics relating to the Byzantine Empire. It was edited by the late Dr. Alexander Kazhdan, and was first published in 1991...
, Oxford University Press, 1991. - Paul Magdalino, The Empire of Manuel I Komnenos 1143–1180, Cambridge University Press, 1993.
- John Julius Norwich, A short history of Byzantium, Penguin, 1998.
- K. Varzos, Ē genealogia tōn Komnēnōn, Thessalonikē, 1984.
- Andrew B. Urbansky, Byzantium and the Danube Frontier, Twayne Publishers, 1968