TheHouse of Komnenos(pl.Komnenoi;Greek:Κομνηνός,pl.Κομνηνοί,[komniˈni]),LatinizedasComnenus(pl.Comneni), was aByzantine Greeknoblefamily who ruled theByzantine Empirein the 11th and 12th centuries. The first reigning member,Isaac I Komnenos,ruled from 1057 to 1059. The family returned to power underAlexios I Komnenosin 1081 who establishedtheir rulefor the following 104 years until it ended withAndronikos I Komnenosin 1185. In the 13th century, they founded and ruled theEmpire of Trebizond,a Byzantinerump statefrom 1204 to 1461.[1]At that time, they were commonly referred to asGrand Komnenoi(Μεγαλοκομνηνοί,Megalokomnenoi), a style that was officially adopted and used byGeorge Komnenosand his successors. Through intermarriages with other noble families, notably theDoukas,Angelos,andPalaiologos,the Komnenos name appears among most of the major noble houses of the late Byzantine world.
| Komnenos Κομνηνός Komnenian dynasty | |
|---|---|
| Country | Byzantine Empire Empire of Trebizond |
| Founded | 10th century 1057 (as imperial family) |
| Founder | Manuel Erotikos Komnenos (first known; possibly founder) Isaac I Komnenos (first emperor) |
| Final ruler | Andronikos I Komnenos (Byzantine Empire) David Megas Komnenos (Empire of Trebizond) |
| Final head | John Komnenos Molyvdos |
| Titles |
|
| Dissolution | 1719[citation needed] |
| Deposition | 1185 (Byzantine Empire) 1461 (Empire of Trebizond) |
Origins
editThe 11th-century Byzantine historianMichael Psellosreported that the Komnenos family originated from the village of Komne inThrace—usually identified with the "Fields of Komnene" (Κομνηνῆς λειμῶνας) mentioned in the 14th century byJohn Kantakouzenos—a view commonly accepted by modern scholarship.[2][3]The first known member of the family,Manuel Erotikos Komnenos,acquired extensive estates atKastamoninPaphlagonia,which became the stronghold of the family in the 11th century.[2][4]The family thereby quickly became associated with the powerful and prestigious military aristocracy (dynatoi) ofAsia Minor,so that despite coming from Thrace it came to be considered "eastern".[5]Aside from deriving legitimacy as rulers from familial links to the prominentDoukai(emperorsConstantine XandMichael VIIin particular), they also had a tradition linking them toClaudius Gothicus,the supposed grandfather ofConstantine the Great.Many classical monuments dedicated to Claudius stood in the vicinity ofKastra Komnenon,which according to historian Maximilian C. G. Lau may have increased his appeal in the eyes of the Komnenoi.[6][7]
The 17th-century French scholardu Cangesuggested that the family descended from a Roman noble family that followed Constantine the Great toConstantinople,from whose cousin but although such mythical genealogies were common—and are attested for the closely related Doukas clan as well—the complete absence of any such assertion in the Byzantine sources argues against Du Cange's view.[8]The Romanian historianGeorge Murnusuggested in 1924 that the Komnenoi were ofAromaniandescent, but this view too is now rejected.[8]Modern scholars consider the family to have been entirely ofGreekorigin.[8][9]
Manuel Erotikos Komnenos was the father ofIsaac I Komnenos(r. 1057–1059),[10]and grandfather, through Isaac's younger brotherJohn Komnenos,ofAlexios I Komnenos(r. 1081–1118).[11]
Founding the dynasty
editIsaac I Komnenos,astratopedarchof the East underMichael VI,founded the Komnenos dynasty ofByzantine emperors.In 1057 Isaac led a coup against Michael and was proclaimed emperor. Although his reign lasted only until 1059, when his courtiers pressured him to abdicate and become a monk, Isaac initiated many useful reforms. The dynasty returned to the throne with the accession ofAlexios I Komnenos,Isaac I's nephew, in 1081. By this time, descendants of all the previous dynasties of Byzantium seem to have disappeared from the realm, such as the importantSclerosandArgyrosfamilies. Descendants of those emperors lived abroad, having married into the royal families ofGeorgia,Russia,France,Persia,Italy,Germany,Poland,Bulgaria,HungaryandSerbia;this made it easier for the Komnenos family to ascend to the throne.
Upon their rise to the throne, the Komnenoi became intermarried with the previousDoukasdynasty: Alexios I marriedIrene Doukaina,the grandniece of Constantine X Doukas, who had succeeded Isaac I in 1059. Thereafter the combined clan was often referred to asKomnenodoukai(Κομνηνοδούκαι) and several individuals used both surnames together.[12]Several families descended from this wider clan, such asPalaiologos,Angelos,Vatatzes andLaskaris.Alexios and Irene's youngest daughter Theodora ensured the future success of the Angelos family by marrying into it: Theodora's grandsons became the emperorsIsaac II Angelos(reigned 1185–1195 and 1203–1204) andAlexios III Angelos(reigned 1195–1203).
Komnenoi as emperors
edit
Under Alexios I and his successors the Empire was fairly prosperous and stable. Alexios moved the imperial palace to theBlachernaesection ofConstantinople.Much ofAnatoliawas recovered from theSeljuk Turks,who had captured it just prior to Alexios' reign. Alexios also saw theFirst Crusadepass through Byzantine territory, leading to the establishment of theCrusader statesin the east. The Komnenos dynasty was very much involved incrusaderaffairs, and also intermarried with the reigning families of thePrincipality of Antiochand theKingdom of Jerusalem-Theodora Komnene,niece ofManuel I Komnenos,marriedBaldwin III of Jerusalem,andMaria,grandniece of Manuel, marriedAmalric I of Jerusalem.
Remarkably, Alexios ruled for 37 years, and his sonJohn IIruled for 25, after uncovering a conspiracy against him by his sister, the chroniclerAnna Komnene.John's son Manuel ruled for another 37 years.
The Komnenos dynasty produced a number of branches. As imperial succession was not in a determined order but rather depended on personal power and the wishes of one's predecessor, within a few generations several relatives were able to present themselves as claimants. After Manuel I's reign the Komnenos dynasty fell into conspiracies and plots like many of its predecessors (and the various contenders within the family sought power and often succeeded in overthrowing the preceding kinsman);Alexios II,the first Komnenos to ascend as a minor, ruled for three years and his conqueror and successorAndronikos Iruled for two, overthrown by the Angelos family under Isaac II who was dethroned and blinded by his own brother Alexios III. The Angeloi were overthrown during theFourth Crusadein 1204, byAlexios V Doukas,a relative from the Doukas family.
Later family
editSeveral weeks before the occupation of Constantinople by crusaders in 1204, one branch of the Komnenoi fled back to their homelands in Paphlagonia, along the easternBlack Seaand its hinterland in thePontic Alps,where they established theEmpire of Trebizond.Their first 'emperor', namedAlexios I,was the grandson of Emperor Andronikos I.[13]These emperors – theGrand Komnenoi(Megaloi KomnenoiorMegalokomnenoiin Greek) as they were known – ruled inTrebizondfor over 250 years, until 1461, whenDavid Komnenoswas defeated and executed by theOttoman sultanMehmed II.[14]Mehmed himself claimed descent from the Komnenos family viaJohn Tzelepes Komnenos.The Trapezutine branch of the Komnenos dynasty also held the name of Axouchos as descendants ofJohn Axouch,a Byzantine nobleman and minister to the Byzantine Komnenian Dynasty. A princess of the Trebizond branch is said to have been the mother of princeYahya(born 1585),[citation needed]who reportedly became a Christian yet spent much of his life attempting to gain the Ottoman throne.
Another branch of the family, descendants ofConstantine Angelos,founded theDespotate of Epirusin 1204, underMichael I Komnenos Doukas,great-grandson of Emperor Alexios I. This branch adopted the surnamesKomnenos Doukasand are known as such in modern scholarship. Helena Doukaina Komnene, a child of that branch of the family, marriedGuy I de la Rochethereby uniting the Komnenos and thede la Rochehouses, with Komnenos family members eventually becomingDukes of Athens.
One renegade member of the family, also namedIsaac Komnenos,established a separate "empire" onCyprusin 1184, which lasted until 1191, when the island was taken from him byRichard I of Englandduring theThird Crusade.His daughter, called theDamsel of Cyprus,marriedThierry of Flandersduring theFourth Crusadeand tried to claim the island.
When the Byzantine Empire wasrestoredin 1261 at Constantinople, it was ruled by a family closely related to the Komnenoi, thePalaiologoi.The Palaiologoi ruled until thefall of Constantinopleto the Ottoman Turks in 1453.
The last descendant of the dynasty is often considered to have beenJohn Komnenos Molyvdos,[15]a distinguishedOttoman Greekscholar and physician, who becamemetropolitan bishopofSideandDristra,and died in 1719.
In 1782, theCorsican GreeknotableDemetrio Stefanopoliobtainedletters patentfromLouis XVI of Francerecognizing him as the descendant and heir of the Emperors of Trebizond.[16]
Komnenian ancestry in Western Europe
editIrene Angelina,daughter of Isaac II Angelos and thus a descendant of Alexios I Komnenos, marriedPhilip of Swabia(1177–1208), theKing of Germany.From this union many of the royal and aristocratic families ofWestern Europecan trace a line of descent.[17]
Family tree of the House of Komnenos
editSee also
editReferences
editCitations
edit- ^Chisholm, Hugh,ed. (1911)..Encyclopædia Britannica.Vol. 6 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 793.
- ^abODB,"Komnenos" (A. Kazhdan), pp. 1143–1144.
- ^Varzos 1984a,p. 25.
- ^Varzos 1984a,pp. 25–26.
- ^Varzos 1984a,p. 26 (note 8).
- ^Magdalino, Paul; Macrides, Ruth (2022). "Theodore Prodromos, Carmina historica, I". In James, Liz; Nicholson, Oliver; Scott, Roger (eds.).After the Text: Byzantine Enquiries in Honour of Margaret Mullett.London: Routledge. pp. 32–38.
- ^Lau, Maximilian C. G. (2023).Emperor John II Komnenos: Rebuilding New Rome 1118-1143.Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 65–66.
{{cite book}}:CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^abcVarzos 1984a,p. 26.
- ^Koytcheva 2007,p. 115–122.
- ^Varzos 1984a,pp. 39, 41.
- ^Varzos 1984a,pp. 39, 49, 52.
- ^Varzos 1984a,p. 27.
- ^A. A. Vasiliev,"The Foundation of the Empire of Trebizond (1204-1222)",Speculum,11(1936), pp. 3-37
- ^Discussed by Ruth Macrides, "What's in the name 'Megas Komnenos'?"Archeion Pontou,35(1979), pp. 236-245
- ^Varzos 1984a,p. 32.
- ^Rousseau, Hervé (1966). "La duchesse d'Abrantès, Napoléon et les Comnène".Revue des Deux Mondes:44–52.JSTOR44592112.
- ^Bruno W. Häuptli (2007). "IRENE (Angelou) von Byzanz". In Bautz, Traugott (ed.).Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL)(in German). Vol. 28. Nordhausen: Bautz. cols. 858–862.ISBN978-3-88309-413-7.
Sources
edit- Cameron, Averil(Ed.) (2003)Fifty Years of Prosopography: The Later Roman Empire, Byzantium and Beyond,Oxford University Press.
- Koytcheva, Elena (2007)."The Komnenoi" Familia et Domus "".Études balkaniques(4): 115–122.ISSN0324-1645.
- Kazhdan, Alexander,ed. (1991).The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium.Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press.ISBN0-19-504652-8.
- Varzos, Konstantinos (1984).Η Γενεαλογία των Κομνηνών[The Genealogy of the Komnenoi](PDF)(in Greek). Vol. A. Thessaloniki:Centre for Byzantine Studies, University of Thessaloniki.OCLC834784634.
- Varzos, Konstantinos (1984).Η Γενεαλογία των Κομνηνών[The Genealogy of the Komnenoi](PDF)(in Greek). Vol. B. Thessaloniki:Centre for Byzantine Studies, University of Thessaloniki.OCLC834784665.