Andronikos I Komnenos facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Quick facts for kids Andronikos I Komnenos
Emperor and Autocrat of the Romans
Miniature portrait of Andronikos I (from a 15th-century codex containing a copy of the Extracts of History by Joannes Zonaras)
Byzantine emperor
Reign	September 1183 – 12 September 1185
Predecessor	Alexios II Komnenos
Successor	Isaac II Angelos
Co-emperor	John Komnenos

Born	c. 1117
Died	12 September 1185 (aged 67–68) Constantinople (now Istanbul, Turkey)
Wife Mistresses	Anna of France Eudokia Komnene Philippa of Antioch Theodora Komnene
Issue	Manuel Komnenos John Komnenos Maria Komnene Alexios Komnenos Irene Komnene
Dynasty	Komnenos
Father	Isaac Komnenos
Mother	Kata of Georgia

Andronikos I Komnenos was a Byzantine emperor who ruled from 1183 to 1185. He was born around 1117 and was a grandson of Emperor Alexios I Komnenos. Andronikos was known for his strong personality and for being a powerful leader. He was also called "Misophaes," meaning "hater of sunlight," because he had many enemies.

Andronikos's Early Life
Years of Travel and Exile
Becoming Emperor
Andronikos's Rule
The End of Andronikos's Reign
Family Life
See Also

Andronikos's Early Life

Andronikos Komnenos was born around 1118. We know a lot about him from the writings of a historian named Niketas Choniates. Andronikos was described as handsome, smart, active, and brave. He was a great general and a skilled politician.

His early years were a mix of enjoying life and serving in the military. In 1141, he was captured by the Seljuk Turks and held for a year. After being freed, he went to Constantinople. There, he became a favorite of his cousin, Emperor Manuel I Komnenos.

In 1152, Andronikos was given an important military command in Cilicia. After a defeat at the Battle of Mamistra, he returned to Constantinople. He was given another command, but he left it soon after. He returned to Constantinople and almost faced serious trouble from his family.

Years of Travel and Exile

Around 1153, Andronikos was part of a plan against Emperor Manuel and was put in prison. After several tries, he finally escaped in 1165. He faced many dangers, including being captured again. Eventually, he reached Kiev, where his cousin Yaroslav Osmomysl ruled.

While in Kiev, Andronikos made a deal with Emperor Manuel I. He joined Manuel with an army from Galicia to invade Hungary. They helped in the siege of Semlin. The campaign was successful, and Andronikos returned to Constantinople with Manuel I in 1168.

However, a year later, Andronikos refused to promise loyalty to Béla III of Hungary. Manuel wanted Béla to be his successor. Because of this, Andronikos was removed from the court. He was then given control of the province of Cilicia.

Still not in the emperor's good graces, Andronikos left and found safety with Prince Raymond of Poitiers in Antioch. He later went to King Amalric of Jerusalem. King Amalric gave him control of Lordship of Beirut. In Jerusalem, he met Theodora Komnene, the widow of King Baldwin III of Jerusalem.

To avoid the emperor's anger, Andronikos and Theodora fled to the court of Nur ad-Din, the ruler of Damascus. They then traveled through the Caucasus and Anatolia. They were welcomed by King George III of Georgia. Andronikos was given land in Kakheti, in eastern Georgia.

In 1173 or 1174, he joined the Georgian army on a trip to Shirvan. They went as far as the Caspian Sea. Finally, Andronikos and Theodora settled in the Komnenoi family lands at Oinaion, by the Black Sea. While Andronikos was away, his castle was attacked. Theodora and her two children were captured and sent to Constantinople.

To get them back, Andronikos humbly gave himself up to the emperor in early 1180. He appeared in chains and asked for forgiveness. He received it and was allowed to live in exile with Theodora at Oinaion.

Becoming Emperor

In 1180, Emperor Manuel died. His ten-year-old son, Alexios II Komnenos, became emperor. Alexios was too young to rule, so his mother, Maria of Antioch, became his guardian. People in Constantinople disliked Maria because she was from the West and favored Westerners. Many felt that Western merchants were taking over their wealth and opportunities.

Andronikos saw this unhappiness as a chance to become emperor himself. He left his retirement in 1182 and marched to Constantinople with an army. Alexios tried to make a deal with Andronikos, offering him a pardon and a high position. But Andronikos refused. He insisted that Maria should be sent to a convent.

The commander of the Byzantine navy, Andronikos Kontostephanos, and general Andronikos Angelos joined Andronikos. This helped his forces enter Constantinople.

Soon after Andronikos arrived, there was a terrible massacre of the city's Western inhabitants. Thousands of Westerners died. Andronikos was believed to have arranged the deaths of Alexios II's older sister, Maria, and her husband. He also had Empress Maria imprisoned and then killed.

Alexios II was forced to name Andronikos as co-emperor. Then, Alexios II was quickly put to death. In 1183, Andronikos, who was sixty-five, married twelve-year-old Agnes of France. Agnes had been planned to marry Alexios II. By November 1183, Andronikos made his younger son, John Komnenos, a co-emperor.

Andronikos's Rule

Andronikos's time as emperor was marked by very strict rules. He wanted to stop corruption and limit the power of the nobles. These nobles were rivals for his throne. He tried to fix the government by stopping the sale of official jobs. He also punished corrupt officials, sometimes very harshly. Most importantly, he worked to control the power of the wealthy landowners.

Ordinary people felt his laws were strict, but they also thought they were fair. They felt protected from greedy officials who had become corrupt under Emperor Manuel I. However, Andronikos became more and more suspicious and violent. The empire became a place of fear. In September 1185, he ordered the execution of all prisoners, exiles, and their families. He believed they were working with invaders. The nobles were very angry with him, and there were several revolts.

Stories of the chaos in the empire reached William II of the Kingdom of Sicily. William invaded with a large force of ships and soldiers. They marched to Thessalonica, which they attacked and robbed. Thousands of Greeks died. Andronikos quickly gathered five armies to stop the Sicilians from reaching Constantinople. But his forces failed and retreated. Andronikos also gathered a fleet of 100 ships to stop the Norman fleet. His successor, Isaac Angelos, would eventually drive out the invaders in 1186.

The End of Andronikos's Reign

Andronikos seemed determined to get rid of the aristocracy. On September 11, 1185, while he was away from the capital, his lieutenant, Stephen Hagiochristophorites, tried to arrest Isaac Angelos. Isaac's loyalty was questioned.

Isaac killed Hagiochristophorites and found safety in the church of Hagia Sophia. He called out to the people, and a riot quickly spread through the city. When Andronikos arrived, he found that Isaac had been declared emperor.

The deposed emperor tried to escape in a boat with his wife, Agnes. But they were captured. Isaac Angelos handed Andronikos over to the angry crowd. For three days, he was tied to a post and beaten. Finally, he was taken to the Hippodrome of Constantinople. He was hung by his feet between two pillars and killed. His body was left unburied for several years. He died on September 12, 1185. When news of the emperor's death spread, his son and co-emperor, John, was killed by his own soldiers.

Andronikos I was the last of the Komnenoi family to rule Constantinople. However, his grandsons, Alexios and David Komnenos, later founded the Empire of Trebizond in 1204. Their family branch was known as the "Great Komnenoi."

Family Life

Andronikos I Komnenos had children from his first wife, whose name is not known:

Manuel Komnenos (born 1145) served as an ambassador. He did not agree with his father's actions when Andronikos became emperor. Manuel was later blinded after his father's downfall. He was the father of Alexios I and David Komnenos, who founded the Empire of Trebizond.
John Komnenos (born 1159) traveled with his father during his exile. After Andronikos became emperor, John was crowned co-emperor in November 1183. He was killed in September 1185 after his father was overthrown.
Maria Komnene (born around 1166) married Theodore Synadenos in 1182. She later married a man named Romanos.

Andronikos I also had children with Theodora Komnene:

Alexios Komnenos (born 1170) fled to Georgia after 1185. He married into a noble family there.
Irene Komnene (born 1171) married Alexios Komnenos, a son of Emperor Manuel I. Her husband was involved in a plan against Andronikos and was blinded and imprisoned. Irene then became a nun.

Andronikos's second marriage to Anna of France did not result in children.