Isaac Komnenos (son of Alexios I)
He was raised to the high rank of sebastokrator by his older brother John II Komnenos in reward for his support, but they later fell out, as Isaac began to covet the throne.[4][5] The conferral of this highest court rank, created by Alexios I to honour his elder brother Isaac, marked its bearer as almost equal to the emperor.[6] Nevertheless, throughout his life, in almost all surviving texts or artifacts authored or funded by Isaac, he is known not by his rank, but rather by the title of Porphyrogenetos, which is often accompanied by an explicit reference to his father, Alexios I, rather than the reigning emperor, as was customary.The conspiracy was uncovered, but Isaac and his two sons managed to flee Constantinople and find refuge at the court of the Danishmendid emir Ghazi (r. 1104–1134) at Melitene.[8] Isaac remained in exile for six years, during which time he traversed most of Asia Minor and the Levant, seeking to create a broad alliance with other rulers, both Christian and Muslim, against his brother.The main sources for this period of his life are Choniates, the court poet Theodore Prodromos, and the Syriac patriarch and chronicler Michael the Syrian.[13] According to Michael the Syrian, news of these machinations enraged John II, who in 1132 embarked on a campaign against both the Turks and the Armenians, capturing two fortresses on the shores of the Black Sea.Informed of the conspiracy, John returned to the capital and thwarted their plans, but the Turks were able to counterattack and raid successfully into Byzantine territory, threatening the fortresses of Zinin and Sozopolis.The construction of the monastery, which was meant as his residence and final resting place, was of great emotional importance to Isaac, who invested considerable time and effort in it: although heavily ill at the time, he still went and supervised the monastery's construction almost daily, and personally authored its typikon (charter) in 1152, making meticulous provisions about its governance and assigning extensive grants to it, including his own estates at Ainos.[4][35] Isaac is identified as the author of a paraphrase of the Letter of Aristeas in politic verse, preserved in the Seraglio Octateuch, and as the likely patron of this luxurious manuscript.During his rule, he attempted much-needed reforms, but also stirred up much opposition within the aristocracy, and under the impact of the Norman invasion of 1185, he was overthrown and killed, marking the end of the Komnenian dynasty on the Byzantine throne.
SebastokratorByzantine EmpireChora ChurchConstantinopleJohn Tzelepes KomnenosAndronikos I KomnenosDynastyKomnenoiAlexios I KomnenosIrene DoukainaromanizedByzantine EmperorJohn II KomnenosAsia MinorLevantSeljuk TurksHeraclea PonticaManuel I KomnenosTheotokos KosmosoteiraThracedonor portraitKomnenian dynastyporphyrogennetospurpleNikephoros MelissenosCaesarAnna KomneneNikephoros Bryennios the YoungerAndronikosPorphyrogenetosHagia SophiaNiketas ChoniatesJohn KinnamosAlexiosSultanate of RumDanishmendidMeliteneTheodore ProdromosSyriacMichael the SyrianTrebizondConstantine GabrasChaldiaMesud IArmenian CiliciaMopsuestiaBlack SeaHoly LandaqueductSaint John the BaptistJordan RiverKing of JerusalemPrincipality of AntiochManuelJohn AxouchkatholikoncenobiticTheotokostypikonPantokrator MonasterypinkernesprotovestiariosMaria DoukainadeesisTheodore MetochitesepigraphsencomiumhexameterparaphraseLetter of Aristeaspolitic verseSeraglio OctateuchVolodar of PeremyshlPrimary ChronicleDavid IV of GeorgiaJohn KomnenosÇelebiLeo I, Prince of ArmeniaMuslimIkonionfoster sonMaria of AntiochAlexios II KomnenosNorman invasionGrand KomnenoiEmpire of TrebizonddemiseKazhdan, AlexanderThe Oxford Dictionary of ByzantiumMagdalino, PaulCentre for Byzantine Studies, University of ThessalonikiAndronikos KomnenosIsaac KomnenosManuel KomnenosNikephoros KomnenosManuel Erotikos KomnenosIsaac I KomnenosAdrianos KomnenosAlexios KomnenosConstantine KomnenosAdrianos/John IV, Archbishop of OhridMaria KomneneEudokia KomneneTheodora KomneneJohn Doukas KomnenosTheodora Komnene, Duchess of AustriaMaria Komnene, Queen of HungaryTheodora Komnene, Queen of JerusalemMaria Komnene, Queen of JerusalemTheodora Komnene, Princess of AntiochDavid KomnenosAlexios I Megas KomnenosJohn I AxouchosManuel I Megas KomnenosAndronikos II Megas KomnenosTheodora Megale KomneneGeorge Megas KomnenosJohn II Megas KomnenosAlexios II Megas KomnenosMichael Megas KomnenosAndronikos III Megas KomnenosBasil Megas KomnenosAnna AnachoutlouJohn III Megas KomnenosManuel II Megas KomnenosAlexios III Megas Komnenos