Andronikos I Komnenos
| Andronikos I Komnenos Ανδρόνικος Α’ Κομνηνός |
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| Emperor of the Byzantine Empire | |
| Reign | 24 September 1183 – 12 September 1185 |
| Predecessor | Alexios II Komnenos |
| Successor | Isaac II Angelos |
| Born | c. 1118 |
| Died | 12 September 1185 (aged 66–67) Constantinople |
| Wife Mistresss |
Anna of France Eudokia Komnene Philippa of Antioch Theodora Komnene |
| Issue |
Manuel Komnenos John Komnenos Maria Komnene Alexios Komnenos Eirene Komnene |
| Dynasty | Komnenoi |
| Father | Isaac Komnenos |
| Mother | Irene of Galicia or Kata of Georgia |
Andronikos I Komnenos (Greek: Ανδρόνικος Αʹ Κομνηνός, Andrónikos I Komnēnós; c. 1118 – 12 September 1185), usually Latinized as Andronicus I Comnenus, was Byzantine Emperor from 1183 to 1185. He was the son of Isaac Komnenos and the grandson of the emperor Alexios I.
Andronikos Komnenos was born around 1118. He was handsome and eloquent, active, hardy, courageous, a great general and an able politician, but also licentious. His early years were spent alternately in pleasure and in military service.
In 1141 he was taken captive by the Seljuq Turks and remained in their hands for a year. On being ransomed, he went to Constantinople, where he was held at the court of his cousin, the Emperor Manuel I Komnenos, to whom he was a great favourite. Here the charms of his niece, Eudoxia, attracted him and she became his mistress. In 1152, accompanied by Eudoxia, he set out for an important command in Cilicia. Failing in his principal enterprise, an attack upon Mopsuestia, he returned but was again appointed to the command of a province. This second post he seems also to have left after a short interval, for he appeared again in Constantinople and narrowly escaped death at the hands of the brothers of Eudoxia.
About 1153, a conspiracy against the Emperor in which Andronikos participated was discovered, and he was thrown in prison. After repeated unsuccessful attempts, he escaped in 1165. After passing through many dangers, including captivity in Vlach territory, he reached Kiev, where his cousin Yaroslav Osmomysl of Galicia held court. While under the protection of Yaroslav, Andronikos formed an alliance with the Emperor Manuel I, and with a Galician army he joined Manuel in the invasion of Hungary, assisting at the siege of Semlin. The campaign was successful, and Andronikos returned to Constantinople with Manuel I in 1168; a year later, however, Andronikos refused to take the oath of allegiance to the future king Béla III of Hungary, whom Manuel desired to become his successor. Andronikos was removed from court but received the province of Cilicia.
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Wikipedia