Andronikos Kontostephanos
Encyclopedia
Andronikos Kontostephanos, Latinized Andronicus Contostephanus was a major figure in the Byzantine (Eastern Roman) Empire
during the reign of Manuel I Komnenos
; he was a general, admiral, politician and a leading aristocrat. He was born after 1125, when his parents married, and died after 1182, when he is last mentioned in the sources.
Andronikos Kontostephanos was the youngest son of Stephanos Kontostephanos, who held the title panhypersebastos and the rank of megas doux
, and the porphyrogenita princess Anna Komnene, daughter of the emperor John II Komnenos
and his empress Eirene of Hungary
, and thus the nephew of emperor Manuel I Komnenos
. Andronikos had two brothers, John, also a prominent military commander, and Alexios, and a sister, Eirene. The Kontostephanoi were an old Byzantine family and were at the heart of Byzantine politics and power through their intermarrying with the imperial house of the Komnenoi for generations. Andronikos himself is believed to have married a member of the Doukas family, another clan with imperial connections. He had four sons.
. Like his father he was appointed to the office of megas doux
(grand duke), the commander-in-chief of the Byzantine navy
and governor of the provinces of Hellas
, the Peloponnese
and Crete
. However, his greatest success was as a general rather than as an admiral. At some point, Andronikos was also appointed commander of the Varangian Guard
.
The earliest mention of Andronikos in high command was in 1144-5 when he was given a command, jointly with his brother John and a general named Prosuch, of a force sent to defend Cilicia
from the depredations of Raymond of Antioch
. As his parents married in 1125 he must have been under twenty years old at the time.
Andronikos’ father was killed at the siege of Corfu in 1149, when he commanded the Byzantine forces attempting to expel the Normans
of the Kingdom of Sicily
. Andronikos too was present at the siege and assumed his father's command, but failed to defeat the Normans.
The Hungarians
had defeated the Byzantines on the Danube frontier in 1165, and the following year Byzantine armies ravaged eastern Hungary in retaliation. In 1167 Manuel collected a very large army with the intention of ending the Hungarian threat to the empire’s Balkan possessions. Bad health prevented Manuel from taking to the field in person, and he entrusted his army to the command of Andronikos. The Byzantine army met the Hungarians in a pitched battle on the 8th of July near the fortified city of Zemun
. Andronikos’ skillful dispositions and the discipline of his troops gave the Byzantines a decisive victory at the Battle of Sirmium
. The Hungarians sued for peace on Byzantine terms and recognised the empire’s control over the region around Sirmium
, plus all of Bosnia, Dalmatia
and the area south of the Krka
River. Following the victory Manuel celebrated a triumphal entry
into Constantinople with Andronikos Kontostephanos riding by his side.
In 1169, Andronikos was appointed commander of a fleet of 230 ships carrying a Byzantine army to invade Egypt in alliance with the forces of Amalric
, King of Jerusalem
, in what was to be the last of a series of Crusader invasions of Egypt
. The combined armies laid siege to Damietta
in the Nile delta. The Byzantines prosecuted the siege with vigour, but as they were about to assault the city Amalric undermined them by arranging a negotiated surrender of Damietta. Andronikos, disgusted with Amalric’s double-dealing and with his soldiers in state of starvation, evacuated Egypt. He returned with his army by land through the crusader states of Palestine and Syria. Half of the Byzantine fleet was lost in a series of storms on its return journey.
Renewed friction between Venice and the Byzantines resulted in Manuel imprisoning all 20,000 Venetians in the empire and confiscating all of their property (1171). The Republic of Venice
retaliated by sending a fleet of 120 ships to capture and occupy Chios
. Andronikos commanded a fleet of 150 ships dispatched to drive off the Venetians, a task he accomplished.
Manuel attacked the Seljuk Sultanate of Rûm in 1176, with the intention of taking its capital, Konya, and destroying Turkish power in Anatolia. The Seljuk sultan Kilij Arslan II
ambushed Manuel’s impressively large army as it moved through the pass of Tivritze in mountainous border region between the two states. In the ensuing Battle of Myriokephalon
parts of the Byzantine force were very badly mauled; however, Andronikos Kontostephanos managed to get his division, bringing up the rear, through the pass with few casualties. He is credited with having persuaded his uncle the emperor, whose confidence had been severely shaken, to remain with his troops following the defeat. Through his influence with the emperor he was instrumental in facilitating the peaceful withdrawal of the Byzantine forces.
The following year (1177), Andronikos led a fleet of 150 ships in another attempt to conquer Egypt, but he returned home after landing at Acre
. He was dissuaded from continuing with the expedition by the refusal of Count Philip of Flanders, and many important nobles of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, to actively co-operate with the Byzantine force.
. As Alexios was a child, power devolved on his mother, the empress Maria of Antioch
. Her rule proved very unpopular, especially with the aristocracy who resented her Latin (Western) origins. When Manuel’s cousin Andronikos Komnenos
made a bid for power in 1182 the Grand Duke Andronikos Kontostephanos, together with the general Andronikos Angelos, played a key role in allowing his forces to enter Constantinople. However, once in power, Andronikos Komnenos proved that he had a tyrannical nature and had a vehement desire to break the power and influence of the Byzantine aristocratic families. Kontostephanos and Angelos reacted by plotting to overthrow Andronikos. The plot was discovered and Andronikos Kontostephanos was captured, whilst Angelos escaped. The Grand Duke Andronikos and his four sons were punished with blinding
.
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
during the reign of Manuel I Komnenos
Manuel I Komnenos
Manuel I Komnenos was a Byzantine Emperor of the 12th century who reigned over a crucial turning point in the history of Byzantium and the Mediterranean....
; he was a general, admiral, politician and a leading aristocrat. He was born after 1125, when his parents married, and died after 1182, when he is last mentioned in the sources.
Background and family
Megas Doux
The megas doux was one of the highest positions in the hierarchy of the later Byzantine Empire, denoting the commander-in-chief of the Byzantine navy. It is sometimes also given by the half-Latinizations megaduke or megadux...
, and the porphyrogenita princess Anna Komnene, daughter of the emperor John II Komnenos
John II Komnenos
John II Komnenos was Byzantine Emperor from 1118 to 1143. Also known as Kaloïōannēs , he was the eldest son of Emperor Alexios I Komnenos and Irene Doukaina...
and his empress Eirene of Hungary
Piroska of Hungary
Saint Irene of Hungary, born Piroska, was a daughter of Ladislaus I of Hungary and Adelaide of Swabia. Her maternal grandparents were Rudolf of Rheinfeld and his second wife Adelheid of Savoy. Adelheid was a daughter of Otto of Savoy and Adelaide of Turin. She was the mother of the future emperor...
, and thus the nephew of emperor Manuel I Komnenos
Manuel I Komnenos
Manuel I Komnenos was a Byzantine Emperor of the 12th century who reigned over a crucial turning point in the history of Byzantium and the Mediterranean....
. Andronikos had two brothers, John, also a prominent military commander, and Alexios, and a sister, Eirene. The Kontostephanoi were an old Byzantine family and were at the heart of Byzantine politics and power through their intermarrying with the imperial house of the Komnenoi for generations. Andronikos himself is believed to have married a member of the Doukas family, another clan with imperial connections. He had four sons.
Military career
Andronikos was the leading Byzantine military figure during the reign of his uncle the emperor Manuel I KomnenosManuel I Komnenos
Manuel I Komnenos was a Byzantine Emperor of the 12th century who reigned over a crucial turning point in the history of Byzantium and the Mediterranean....
. Like his father he was appointed to the office of megas doux
Megas Doux
The megas doux was one of the highest positions in the hierarchy of the later Byzantine Empire, denoting the commander-in-chief of the Byzantine navy. It is sometimes also given by the half-Latinizations megaduke or megadux...
(grand duke), the commander-in-chief of the Byzantine navy
Byzantine navy
The Byzantine navy was the naval force of the East Roman or Byzantine Empire. Like the empire it served, it was a direct continuation from its imperial Roman predecessor, but played a far greater role in the defense and survival of the state then its earlier iterations...
and governor of the provinces of Hellas
Hellas (theme)
The Theme of Hellas was a Byzantine military-civilian province located in southern Greece. The theme encompassed parts of Central Greece, Thessaly and, until circa 800, the Peloponnese...
, the Peloponnese
Peloponnese (theme)
The Theme of the Peloponnese was a Byzantine military-civilian province encompassing the Peloponnese peninsula in southern Greece. It was established in circa 800, and its capital was Corinth.-History:...
and Crete
Byzantine Crete
The island of Crete came under the rule of the Byzantine Empire in two periods: the first extends from the late Roman period to the conquest of the island by Andalusian exiles in the late 820s, and the second from the island's reconquest in 961 to its capture by the competing forces of Genoa and...
. However, his greatest success was as a general rather than as an admiral. At some point, Andronikos was also appointed commander of the Varangian Guard
Varangian Guard
The Varangian Guard was an elite unit of the Byzantine Army in 10th to the 14th centuries, whose members served as personal bodyguards of the Byzantine Emperors....
.
The earliest mention of Andronikos in high command was in 1144-5 when he was given a command, jointly with his brother John and a general named Prosuch, of a force sent to defend Cilicia
Cilicia
In antiquity, Cilicia was the south coastal region of Asia Minor, south of the central Anatolian plateau. It existed as a political entity from Hittite times into the Byzantine empire...
from the depredations of Raymond of Antioch
Raymond of Antioch
Raymond of Poitiers was Prince of Antioch 1136–1149. He was the younger son of William IX, Duke of Aquitaine and his wife Philippa, Countess of Toulouse, born in the very year that his father the Duke began his infamous liaison with Dangereuse de Chatelherault.-Assumes control:Following the...
. As his parents married in 1125 he must have been under twenty years old at the time.
Andronikos’ father was killed at the siege of Corfu in 1149, when he commanded the Byzantine forces attempting to expel 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 the Kingdom of Sicily
Kingdom of Sicily
The Kingdom of Sicily was a state that existed in the south of Italy from its founding by Roger II in 1130 until 1816. It was a successor state of the County of Sicily, which had been founded in 1071 during the Norman conquest of southern Italy...
. Andronikos too was present at the siege and assumed his father's command, but failed to defeat the Normans.
The Hungarians
Kingdom of Hungary in the Middle Ages
The Kingdom of Hungary was formed from the previous Principality of Hungarywith the coronation of Stephen I in AD 1000. This was a result of the conversion of Géza of Hungary to the Western Church in the 970s....
had defeated the Byzantines on the Danube frontier in 1165, and the following year Byzantine armies ravaged eastern Hungary in retaliation. In 1167 Manuel collected a very large army with the intention of ending the Hungarian threat to the empire’s Balkan possessions. Bad health prevented Manuel from taking to the field in person, and he entrusted his army to the command of Andronikos. The Byzantine army met the Hungarians in a pitched battle on the 8th of July near the fortified city of Zemun
Zemun
Zemun is a historical town and one of the 17 municipalities which constitute the City of Belgrade, the capital of Serbia...
. Andronikos’ skillful dispositions and the discipline of his troops gave the Byzantines a decisive victory at the Battle of Sirmium
Battle of Sirmium
The Battle of Sirmium or Battle of Zemun was fought on July 8, 1167 between the Byzantine Empire , and the Kingdom of Hungary...
. The Hungarians sued for peace on Byzantine terms and recognised the empire’s control over the region around Sirmium
Syrmia
Syrmia is a fertile region of the Pannonian Plain in Europe, between the Danube and Sava rivers. It is divided between Serbia in the east and Croatia in the west....
, plus all of Bosnia, Dalmatia
Dalmatia
Dalmatia is a historical region on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea. It stretches from the island of Rab in the northwest to the Bay of Kotor in the southeast. The hinterland, the Dalmatian Zagora, ranges from fifty kilometers in width in the north to just a few kilometers in the south....
and the area south of the Krka
Krka
Krka is the name for several rivers :* Krka , tributary of the Adriatic Sea in Croatia* Krka , tributary of the Sava in Slovenia* Gurk River , tributary of the Drava in AustriaOther meanings:...
River. Following the victory Manuel celebrated a triumphal entry
Roman triumph
The Roman triumph was a civil ceremony and religious rite of ancient Rome, held to publicly celebrate and sanctify the military achievement of an army commander who had won great military successes, or originally and traditionally, one who had successfully completed a foreign war. In Republican...
into Constantinople with Andronikos Kontostephanos riding by his side.
Amalric I of Jerusalem
Amalric I of Jerusalem was King of Jerusalem 1163–1174, and Count of Jaffa and Ascalon before his accession. Amalric was the second son of Melisende of Jerusalem and Fulk of Jerusalem...
, King of Jerusalem
Kingdom of Jerusalem
The Kingdom of Jerusalem was a Catholic kingdom established in the Levant in 1099 after the First Crusade. The kingdom lasted nearly two hundred years, from 1099 until 1291 when the last remaining possession, Acre, was destroyed by the Mamluks, but its history is divided into two distinct periods....
, in what was to be the last of a series of Crusader invasions of Egypt
Crusader invasions of Egypt
The Crusader invasion of Egypt was a series of campaigns undertaken by the Kingdom of Jerusalem to strengthen its position in the Levant by taking advantage of the weakness of Fatimid Egypt....
. The combined armies laid siege to Damietta
Damietta
Damietta , also known as Damiata, or Domyat, is a port and the capital of the Damietta Governorate in Egypt. It is located at the intersection between the Mediterranean Sea and the Nile, about north of Cairo.-History:...
in the Nile delta. The Byzantines prosecuted the siege with vigour, but as they were about to assault the city Amalric undermined them by arranging a negotiated surrender of Damietta. Andronikos, disgusted with Amalric’s double-dealing and with his soldiers in state of starvation, evacuated Egypt. He returned with his army by land through the crusader states of Palestine and Syria. Half of the Byzantine fleet was lost in a series of storms on its return journey.
Renewed friction between Venice and the Byzantines resulted in Manuel imprisoning all 20,000 Venetians in the empire and confiscating all of their property (1171). The Republic of Venice
Republic of Venice
The Republic of Venice or Venetian Republic was a state originating from the city of Venice in Northeastern Italy. It existed for over a millennium, from the late 7th century until 1797. It was formally known as the Most Serene Republic of Venice and is often referred to as La Serenissima, in...
retaliated by sending a fleet of 120 ships to capture and occupy Chios
Chios
Chios is the fifth largest of the Greek islands, situated in the Aegean Sea, seven kilometres off the Asia Minor coast. The island is separated from Turkey by the Chios Strait. The island is noted for its strong merchant shipping community, its unique mastic gum and its medieval villages...
. Andronikos commanded a fleet of 150 ships dispatched to drive off the Venetians, a task he accomplished.
Manuel attacked the Seljuk Sultanate of Rûm in 1176, with the intention of taking its capital, Konya, and destroying Turkish power in Anatolia. The Seljuk sultan Kilij Arslan II
Kilij Arslan II
Kilij Arslan II was a Seljuk Sultan of Rûm from 1156 until his death in 1192.As Arnold of Lübeck reports in his Chronica Slavorum, he was present at the meeting of Henry the Lion with Kilij-Arslan during the former's pilgrimage to Jerusalem in 1172...
ambushed Manuel’s impressively large army as it moved through the pass of Tivritze in mountainous border region between the two states. In the ensuing Battle of Myriokephalon
Battle of Myriokephalon
The Battle of Myriokephalon, also known as the ', or in Turkish, was a battle between the Byzantine Empire and the Seljuk Turks in Phrygia on September 17, 1176. The battle was a strategic reverse for the Byzantine forces, who were ambushed when moving through a mountain pass...
parts of the Byzantine force were very badly mauled; however, Andronikos Kontostephanos managed to get his division, bringing up the rear, through the pass with few casualties. He is credited with having persuaded his uncle the emperor, whose confidence had been severely shaken, to remain with his troops following the defeat. Through his influence with the emperor he was instrumental in facilitating the peaceful withdrawal of the Byzantine forces.
The following year (1177), Andronikos led a fleet of 150 ships in another attempt to conquer Egypt, but he returned home after landing at Acre
Acre, Israel
Acre , is a city in the Western Galilee region of northern Israel at the northern extremity of Haifa Bay. Acre is one of the oldest continuously inhabited sites in the country....
. He was dissuaded from continuing with the expedition by the refusal of Count Philip of Flanders, and many important nobles of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, to actively co-operate with the Byzantine force.
Political intrigues and an unfortunate fate
Following the death of Manuel in 1180 the succession fell to his son Alexios II KomnenosAlexios II Komnenos
Alexios II Komnenos or Alexius II Comnenus , Byzantine emperor , was the son of Emperor Manuel I Komnenos and Maria, daughter of Raymond, prince of Antioch...
. As Alexios was a child, power devolved on his mother, the empress Maria of Antioch
Maria of Antioch
Maria of Antioch was a Byzantine empress as the wife of the Byzantine Emperor Manuel I Komnenos. She was the daughter of Constance of Antioch and her first husband Raymond of Poitiers...
. Her rule proved very unpopular, especially with the aristocracy who resented her Latin (Western) origins. When Manuel’s cousin Andronikos Komnenos
Andronikos I Komnenos
Andronikos I Komnenos was Byzantine Emperor from 1183 to 1185). He was the son of Isaac Komnenos and grandson of Emperor Alexios I Komnenos.-Early years:...
made a bid for power in 1182 the Grand Duke Andronikos Kontostephanos, together with the general Andronikos Angelos, played a key role in allowing his forces to enter Constantinople. However, once in power, Andronikos Komnenos proved that he had a tyrannical nature and had a vehement desire to break the power and influence of the Byzantine aristocratic families. Kontostephanos and Angelos reacted by plotting to overthrow Andronikos. The plot was discovered and Andronikos Kontostephanos was captured, whilst Angelos escaped. The Grand Duke Andronikos and his four sons were punished with blinding
Political mutilation in Byzantine culture
Mutilation in the Byzantine Empire was a common method of punishment for criminals of the era but it also had a role in the Empire's political life. The mutilation of political rivals by the Emperor was deemed an effective way of sidelining from the line of succession a person who was seen as a...
.