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Alexios II Komnenos
Last child emperor of the Byzantine Komnenos dynasty (r. 1180–1183), son of Manuel I and Maria of Antioch; deposed and killed by Andronikos Komnenos.
Timeline
- 1169–1180Constantinople · Byzantine EmpireEldest son of Manuel I and Maria of Antioch, Alexios was designated heir from childhood, growing up in court education and the Komnenos political network; he had not yet ruled in his own right before 1180.
- 1180–1182Constantinople · Byzantine EmpireAfter Manuel's death in 1180, Alexios II succeeded to the throne, with real power held by his mother Maria and the regency council. Andronikos Komnenos rose in revolt the same year, plunging the empire into civil war and court purges.
- 1182–1183Constantinople · Byzantine EmpireAfter Andronikos entered the capital, Maria's regency faction collapsed; Alexios nominally remained on the throne but was entirely powerless, and was murdered in 1183, marking the direct end of Komnenos rule.
Sources
- Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium, s.v. Alexios II Komnenos — Alexander Kazhdan et al. (1991)
- The Byzantine Revival, 780-842 — Warren Treadgold (1988)