George, Emperor of Trebizond

George Megas Komnenos (Greek: Γεώργιος Μέγας Κομνηνός, "Geōrgios Megas Komnēnos"), (c. 1255– after 1284), Emperor of Trebizond from 1266 to 1280. He was the elder son of Emperor Manuel I and his third wife, Irene Syrikaina, a Trapezuntine noblewoman.

George succeeded his elder half brother Andronikos II in 1266. He pursued an anti-aristocratic policy and allied himself with Charles of Anjou and the anti-Unionists against the Byzantine Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos. This, and his apparent failure to provide effective support against the Mamluks of Egypt, provoked the ire of his overlord, the Mongol Ilkhan Abaqa. Abaqa was a Byzantine ally and apparently summoned George to appear in his presence. George was betrayed to the Mongols by his courtiers on his way to the Ilkhan's residence in Tabriz in 1280 and lost his throne. His younger brother John II replaced him.

Although some Armenian chronicles report that George was executed by the Ilkhan, they are mistaken, since he survived and was released after Abaqa's death in 1282. In 1284 he invaded Trebizond, attempting to recover his throne. However, he was defeated again and his forces destroyed, but George himself managed to escape and spent a while wandering the mountains before he was captured. We know nothing of him since then. George's exile and adventures earned him the nickname "the Wanderer" or "the Vagabond" (Πλάνος, "Planos") in the Chronicle of Michael Panaretos.

By an unknown marriage or mistress, George had an unnamed daughter, who married a Georgian nobleman. Another possible daughter (or sister) married King Demetre II of Georgia.

References

* "The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium", Oxford University Press, 1991.
* A. Bryer, "The Fate of George Komnenos, Ruler of Trebizond (1266–1280)," "Byzantinische Zeitschrift" 66 (1973) 332-350.
* W. Miller, "Trebizond: The Last Greek Empire of the Byzantine Era", Chicago, 1926.