Alexius Comnenus (d. 1142)

Alexios Komnenos, latinised as Alexius Comnenus ( _el. polytonic|Ἀλέξιος Κομνηνός), 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 and died on the 2nd August 1142 [Choniates p.22] at Attalia, Pamphylia. He was an elder brother of the emperor Manuel I Komnenos, and had a twin sister, Maria Komnene (plus other siblings).

Life

Alexios was made co-emperor by his father in 1122, but died in 1142. This was the year before his father died following a hunting accident. The reign of John II is less well chronicled than those of his father, Alexios I, or successor, Manuel I, and coverage of the life of his son Alexios is very sparse.

A panegyrical poem by Theodore Prodromos was addressed to John and his son on the occasion of the coronation of Alexios. It hailed both rulers as "kings born of kings and emperors, reformers of old customs and privileges, with whom the august throne and sceptre-bearing are a paternal acquisition, a matter of inheritance." [Magdalino p. 422.]

His final illness is described: "...of the severest kind and of short duration, took the form of a rushing fever attacking the head as though it were an acropolis." [Choniates p.22] The location of Alexios' death, at Attalia, suggests that he was on campaign with his father, who had established this city as a base from which to pacify the inland areas around Lake Pousgousē (probably the modern Beyşehir Gölü). [Choniates pp. 21-22] Alexios' younger brother Andronikos was charged with escorting the body back to Constantinople, however, while discharging this duty, he too was taken ill and died. [Choniates p.374]

Family

The identity of his wife is uncertain. It is possible he was married twice. The first wife being Dobrodjeja Mstislavna of Kiev, a daughter of Mstislav I of Kiev. The second being Katay of Georgia, a daughter of David IV of Georgia. While both women are known to have married members of the Komnenoi family, several theories have been suggested as to the identities of their husband or husbands. [ [http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/BYZANTIUM%2010571204.htm#AlexiosKdied1142 Profile of Alexios Komnenos and his daughter in "Medieval Lands" by Charles Cawley] ]

His daughter Maria Komnene married the "pansebastos" Alexios Axuch. He was the son of John Axuch, the "megas domestikos" (commander-in-chief of the Byzantine army), who was a close friend of John II. [Choniates p.59] Alexios served as Duke of Cilicia and "Protostrator". [ [http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/BYZANTINE%20NOBILITY.htm#_Toc178348366 Profile of the Axuches family in "Medieval Lands" by Charles Cawley] ] Hovever he fell out of favor with Manuel I Komnenos in 1167. John Kinnamos and Niketas Choniates report that the accusations against him included practice of witchcraft. He and an unnamed "Latin" wizard were accused of causing the pregnancy of Maria of Antioch, the Empress consort, to result in a miscarriage. They suppossedly managed to do so by providing drugs to Maria. [ [http://www.roman-emperors.org/maryant.htm Lynda Garland and Andrew Stone, "Mary of Antioch"] ] Alexios ended his life as a monk. [ [http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/BYZANTINE%20NOBILITY.htm#_Toc178348366 Profile of the Axuches family in "Medieval Lands" by Charles Cawley] ] Maria Komnene, "wife of Alexios the protostrator" was mentioned in a seal. According to the "Dictionnaire historique et Généalogique des grandes familles de Grèce, d'Albanie et de Constantinople" (1983) by Mihail-Dimitri Sturdza, this Maria was suffering from insanity by the end of her life. [Mihail-Dimitri Sturdza, "Dictionnaire historique et Généalogique des grandes familles de Grèce, d'Albanie et de Constantinople" (1983), p. 276.]

They were possibly parents of John Komnenos Axuch. John was a short-lived rival emperor to Alexios III Angelos. On 31 July, 1200, John was proclaimed Emperor in Hagia Sophia. He was betrayed and killed by his own soldiers, defecting back to the service of Alexios. [ [http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/BYZANTINE%20NOBILITY.htm#_Toc178348366 Profile of the Axuches family in "Medieval Lands" by Charles Cawley] ] "A Genealogy of the Grand Komnenoi of Trebizond" by Kelsey Jackson Williams, gives his nickname as "John the Fat". [ [http://www.thepeerage.com/p21914.htm#i219134 Profile of John in Peerage.com] ] Theodora Axuchina, wife of Alexios I of Trebizond, is considered a probable daughter of John the Fat. [ [http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/BYZANTINE%20NOBILITY.htm#_Toc178348366 Profile of the Axuches family in "Medieval Lands" by Charles Cawley] ]

Footnotes

References

*cite book|last=Choniates |first=Niketas |authorlink=Niketas Choniates |others=transl. by H. Magoulias |title=O City of Byzantium: Annals of Niketas Choniates |year=1984 |location=Detroit |isbn=0-814-31764-2 |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=O8arrZPM8moC
*Magdalino, Paul (2002). The Empire of Manuel I Komnenos, 1143–1180. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-52653-1.