Adrianos Komnenos
Encyclopedia
Adrianos Komnenos sometimes anglicized as Adrian or latinized as Adrianus Comnenus, was a Byzantine
aristocrat and general, and a younger brother of the Emperor Alexios I Komnenos
(r. 1081–1118).
(r. 1057–1059) and Anna Dalassene. According to the historian Nikephoros Bryennios, after John's death, Anna entrusted Adrianos and his younger brother Nikephoros to tutors, and gave them an encyclopedic education.
After Alexios' rise to power in 1081, Adrianos was raised to the new dignity of protosebastos, given the proceeds of the entire Kassandra peninsula in Chalcidice
. He was also entrusted with military commands in the campaigns of 1082–1083 against the Normans
of Robert Guiscard
and Bohemund in Thessaly
. In 1086, he succeeded Gregory Pakourianos
as domestikos ton scholon of the West, and in 1087, he fought in the Battle of Dristra against the Pechenegs, commanding the Frankish mercenary contingent in the Byzantine centre. The battle ended in a disastrous defeat, and Adrianos barely escaped being captured. Adrianos is mentioned in the Alexiad
as having participated in the 1091 campaign against the Pechenegs (along with the protostrator
Michael Doukas
, he supervised the construction of a bridge over the Evros river), but is not recorded in the final Battle of Levounion
.
Shortly after that, Adrianos had a major falling-out with his elder brother, the sebastokrator
Isaac: the sebastokrator held Adrianos responsible for the accusations of conspiring against the emperor that were raised against his son John, governor of Dyrrhachium. In 1094, Adrianos presided over the court that tried Nikephoros Diogenes
, the son of former emperor Romanos IV
(r. 1068–1071), who had tried to assassinate the Emperor. In the same year, he is recorded as having participated in the synod that condemned Leo of Chalcedon
.
His date of death is disputed: the commonly accepted date stems from a manuscript which records him retiring to a monastery under the monastic name John, and dying on 19 April 1105. B. Skoulatos however doubts this information, since Adrianos' name is absent from the dead listed in the Kecharitomene typikon
(written ca. 1118), but is present in the Pantokrator typikon of 1136. Hence Skoulatos has placed Adrianos' death some time between 1118 and 1136.
(born ca. 1062). A number of authors, including Paul Magdalino, Jean-Claude Cheynet and Konstantinos Varzos, identify Adrianos and Zoe with a John Komnenos and Anna "of the Doukai" (the latter being Zoe's supposed monastic name) who are mentioned in tomb inscriptions in the Pammakaristos Church
in Constantinople as the church's founders, along with their descendants. If this identity is correct, then the Adrianos' children were:
Byzantine
Byzantine usually refers to the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages.Byzantine may also refer to:* A citizen of the Byzantine Empire, or native Greek during the Middle Ages...
aristocrat and general, and a younger brother of the Emperor Alexios I Komnenos
Alexios I Komnenos
Alexios I Komnenos, Latinized as Alexius I Comnenus , was Byzantine emperor from 1081 to 1118, and although he was not the founder of the Komnenian dynasty, it was during his reign that the Komnenos family came to full power. The title 'Nobilissimus' was given to senior army commanders,...
(r. 1081–1118).
Life
He was the fourth and second-to-last son (and seventh overall child) of the domestikos ton scholon John Komnenos, the younger brother of Emperor Isaac I KomnenosIsaac I Komnenos
Isaac I Komnenos was Byzantine Emperor from 1057 to 1059, and the first reigning member of the Komnenos dynasty...
(r. 1057–1059) and Anna Dalassene. According to the historian Nikephoros Bryennios, after John's death, Anna entrusted Adrianos and his younger brother Nikephoros to tutors, and gave them an encyclopedic education.
After Alexios' rise to power in 1081, Adrianos was raised to the new dignity of protosebastos, given the proceeds of the entire Kassandra peninsula in Chalcidice
Chalcidice
Chalkidiki, also Halkidiki, Chalcidice or Chalkidike , is a peninsula in northern Greece, and one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Central Macedonia. The autonomous Mount Athos region is part of the peninsula, but not of the regional unit...
. He was also entrusted with military commands in the campaigns of 1082–1083 against the Normans
Normans
The Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...
of Robert Guiscard
Robert Guiscard
Robert d'Hauteville, known as Guiscard, Duke of Apulia and Calabria, from Latin Viscardus and Old French Viscart, often rendered the Resourceful, the Cunning, the Wily, the Fox, or the Weasel was a Norman adventurer conspicuous in the conquest of southern Italy and Sicily...
and Bohemund in Thessaly
Thessaly
Thessaly is a traditional geographical region and an administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, Thessaly was known as Aeolia, and appears thus in Homer's Odyssey....
. In 1086, he succeeded Gregory Pakourianos
Gregory Pakourianos
Gregory Pakourianos was a politician and military commander in the Byzantine service. He was the founder of the Monastery of the Mother of God Petritzonitissa in Bachkovo and author of its typikon...
as domestikos ton scholon of the West, and in 1087, he fought in the Battle of Dristra against the Pechenegs, commanding the Frankish mercenary contingent in the Byzantine centre. The battle ended in a disastrous defeat, and Adrianos barely escaped being captured. Adrianos is mentioned in the Alexiad
Alexiad
The Alexiad is a medieval biographical text written around the year 1148 by the Byzantine historian Anna Comnena, daughter of Emperor Alexius I....
as having participated in the 1091 campaign against the Pechenegs (along with the protostrator
Protostrator
Prōtostratōr was a Byzantine court office, originating as the imperial stable master, which in the last centuries of the Empire evolved into one of the senior military offices...
Michael Doukas
Michael Doukas (protostrator)
Michael Doukas was a member of the Doukas family, a relative of the Emperor Alexios I Komnenos and a senior military figure, with the rank of protostrator, during Alexios' reign. His life is only known through the Alexiad of Anna Komnene and the history of her husband, Nikephoros Bryennios.- Life...
, he supervised the construction of a bridge over the Evros river), but is not recorded in the final Battle of Levounion
Battle of Levounion
The Battle of Levounion was the first decisive Byzantine victory of the Komnenian restoration. On April 29, 1091, an invading force of Pechenegs was heavily defeated by the combined forces of the Byzantine Empire under Alexios I Komnenos and his Cuman allies....
.
Shortly after that, Adrianos had a major falling-out with his elder brother, the sebastokrator
Sebastokrator
Sebastokratōr was a senior court title in the late Byzantine Empire. It was also used by other rulers whose states bordered the Empire or were within its sphere of influence. The word is a compound of "sebastos" Sebastokratōr was a senior court title in the late Byzantine Empire. It was also used...
Isaac: the sebastokrator held Adrianos responsible for the accusations of conspiring against the emperor that were raised against his son John, governor of Dyrrhachium. In 1094, Adrianos presided over the court that tried Nikephoros Diogenes
Nikephoros Diogenes
Nikephoros Diogenes , latinized as Nicephorus Diogenes, was the son of Byzantine Emperor Romanos IV Diogenes and Eudokia Makrembolitissa. Crowned co-emperor during his father's reign, he later served as a general during the reign of Emperor Alexios I Komnenos, scoring successes in the Byzantine...
, the son of former emperor Romanos IV
Romanos IV
Romanos IV Diogenes was a member of the Byzantine military aristocracy who, after his marriage to the widowed empress Eudokia Makrembolitissa was crowned Byzantine emperor and reigned from 1068 to 1071...
(r. 1068–1071), who had tried to assassinate the Emperor. In the same year, he is recorded as having participated in the synod that condemned Leo of Chalcedon
Leo of Chalcedon
Leo of Chalcedon was an 11th-century Eastern Orthodox bishop at Chalcedon who opposed the appropriation of church treasures by Byzantine emperor Alexios I Komnenos between 1081 and 1091.Alexios I was in a desperate situation upon ascending the throne in 1081...
.
His date of death is disputed: the commonly accepted date stems from a manuscript which records him retiring to a monastery under the monastic name John, and dying on 19 April 1105. B. Skoulatos however doubts this information, since Adrianos' name is absent from the dead listed in the Kecharitomene typikon
Typikon
The Typikon, or Typicon; plural Typika is a liturgical book which contains instructions about the order of the various Eastern Orthodox Christian church services and ceremonies, in the form of a perpetual calendar...
(written ca. 1118), but is present in the Pantokrator typikon of 1136. Hence Skoulatos has placed Adrianos' death some time between 1118 and 1136.
Family
Adrianos married the porphyrogenita princess Zoe Doukaina, the third daughter of Emperor Constantine X Doukas (r. 1059–1067) and Eudokia MakrembolitissaEudokia Makrembolitissa
Eudokia Makrembolitissa was the second wife of the Byzantine emperor Constantine X Doukas. After his death she acted as regent and became the wife of Romanos IV Diogenes...
(born ca. 1062). A number of authors, including Paul Magdalino, Jean-Claude Cheynet and Konstantinos Varzos, identify Adrianos and Zoe with a John Komnenos and Anna "of the Doukai" (the latter being Zoe's supposed monastic name) who are mentioned in tomb inscriptions in the Pammakaristos Church
Pammakaristos Church
Pammakaristos Church, also known as the Church of Theotokos Pammakaristos , in 1591 converted into a mosque and known as Fethiye Mosque and today partly a museum, is one of the most famous Byzantine churches in Istanbul, Turkey...
in Constantinople as the church's founders, along with their descendants. If this identity is correct, then the Adrianos' children were:
- Eudokia Komnene, married Alexios Tarchaneiotes
- Andronikos Komnenos, married Eudokia Doukaina
- Alexios Komnenos, a sebastosSebastosSebastos was an honorific used by the ancient Greeks to render the Roman imperial title of Augustus. From the late 11th century on, during the Komnenian period, it and variants derived from it formed the basis of a new system of court titles for the Byzantine Empire. The female form of the title...
. He was betrothed to Irene Axouchina and married Irene Synadene - Adrianos Komnenos