Manuel I Comnenus
| Manuel I Komnenos | |
|---|---|
Manuscript miniature of Manuel I (part of double portrait with Maria of Antioch, Vatican Library, Rome)
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| Emperor of the Byzantine Empire | |
| Reign | 8 April 1143 – 24 September 1180 |
| Predecessor | John II Komnenos |
| Successor | Alexios II Komnenos |
| Born | 28 November 1118 |
| Died | 24 September 1180 (aged 61) |
| Spouse |
Bertha of Sulzbach Maria of Antioch |
| Issue |
Maria Komnene Alexios II Komnenos |
| House | Komnenoi |
| Father | John II Komnenos |
| Mother | Irene of Hungary |
Manuel I Komnenos (or Comnenus; Greek: Μανουήλ Α' Κομνηνός, Manouēl I Komnēnos; 28 November 1118 – 24 September 1180) was a Byzantine Emperor of the 12th century who reigned over a crucial turning point in the history of Byzantium and the Mediterranean. His reign saw the last flowering of the Komnenian restoration, during which the Byzantine Empire had seen a resurgence of its military and economic power, and had enjoyed a cultural revival.
Eager to restore his empire to its past glories as the superpower of the Mediterranean world, Manuel pursued an energetic and ambitious foreign policy. In the process he made alliances with the Pope and the resurgent West. He invaded the Norman Kingdom of Sicily, although unsuccessfully. The passage of the potentially dangerous Second Crusade was adroitly managed through his empire. Manuel established a Byzantine protectorate over the Crusader states of Outremer. Facing Muslim advances in the Holy Land, he made common cause with the Kingdom of Jerusalem and participated in a combined invasion of Fatimid Egypt. Manuel reshaped the political maps of the Balkans and the eastern Mediterranean, placing the kingdoms of Hungary and Outremer under Byzantine hegemony and campaigning aggressively against his neighbours both in the west and in the east.
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