Philip of Alsace to Nikephoros III Botaneiates

Continued from previous post.

Philip of Alsace (1143 – 1 August 1191) was count of Flanders from 1168 to 1191. His reign began in 1157, while he acted as regent and co-count for his father, Thierry, who was frequently away on crusade. Philip defeated Floris III, Count of Holland and captured him in Bruges. Floris remained in prison until 1167, at which point he was ransomed in exchange for recognition of Flemish suzerainty over Zeeland.

Floris III of Holland (1141 – August 1, 1190), Count of Holland from 1157 to 1190.  Floris III was a loyal vassal to Frederick I Barbarossa. He accompanied the emperor on two expeditions to Italy in 1158 and 1176–1178. Frederick thanked him by making Floris part of the imperial nobility.

Frederick I Barbarossa (1122 – 10 June 1190) was a German Holy Roman Emperor. He believed that the restoration of order in Germany was a necessary preliminary to the enforcement of the imperial rights in Italy. Issuing a general order for peace, he made lavish concessions to the nobles. Abroad, Frederick intervened in the Danish civil war between Svend III and Valdemar I of Denmark and began negotiations with the Eastern Roman Emperor, Manuel I Comnenus.

Manuel I Komnenos (or Comnenus) (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.  The first test of Manuel's reign came in 1144, when he was faced with a demand by Raymond, Prince of Antioch for the cession of Cilician territories. However, due to a growing threat from Islamic forces, Raymond was forced to submit to Manuel ask for the protection of the Emperor.

Raymond of Poitiers (c. 1115 – 29 June 1149) was Prince of Antioch 1136–1149. When the Byzantine Emperor John II Comnenus had come south, partly to recover Cilicia from Leo of Armenia, and to reassert his rights over Antioch, Raymond was forced to pay homage. Raymond also had promise to cede his principality as soon as he was recompensed by a new fief, which John promised to carve out for him in the Muslim territory to the east of Antioch. The expedition of 1138, in which Raymond joined with John, and which was to conquer this territory, proved a failure.

John II Komnenos (or Latinised as Comnenus) (September 13, 1087 – April 8, 1143) was Byzantine Emperor from 1118 to 1143. Also known as Kaloïōannēs ("John the Good" or "John the Beautiful"), he was a pious and dedicated man who was determined to undo the damage his Empire had suffered at the battle of Manzikert, half a century earlier. John's closest adviser was his only intimate friend, John Axouch.

John Axouch or Axouchos, also transliterated as Axuch (flourished circa 1087 - circa 1150) was the commander-in-chief (megas domestikos) of the Byzantine Army during the reign of Emperor John II Komnenos, and the early part of the reign of his son Manuel I Komnenos. As an infant he had been captured by Crusaders at Nicaea in 1097. Given to Alexios I Komnenos as a present, he was raised in the imperial household.

Alexios I Komnenos, Latinized as Alexius I Comnenus (1056 – 15 August 1118—note that some sources list his date of birth as 1048), 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. Inheriting a collapsing empire and faced with constant warfare during his reign against both the Seljuq Turks in Asia Minor and the Normans in the western Balkans, Alexios was able to halt the Byzantine decline and begin the military, financial, and territorial recovery known as the Komnenian restoration. His appeals to Western Europe for help against the Turks were also the catalyst that triggered the Crusades.  Previous to his reign, Alexios served with distinction against the Seljuq Turks under the emperor Romanos IV Diogenes (1067–1071).

Romanos (or Romanus) IV Diogenes (c.1030 - 1072) 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. During his reign he was determined to halt the decline of the Byzantine military and stop Turkish incursions into the Byzantine Empire, but in 1071 he was captured and his army routed at the Battle of Manzikert.

Eudokia Makrembolitissa (or Eudocia Macrembolitissa) (c.1021–1096) was the second wife of the Byzantine emperor Constantine X Doukas. After his death (1067) she acted as regent and became the wife of Romanos IV Diogenes. After her son Michael VII was deposed in 1078 by Nikephoros III, Eudokia was recalled by the new emperor who offered to marry her. This plan did not come to pass, and Eudokia died as a nun.

Nikephoros III Botaneiates, Latinized as Nicephorus III Botaniates (c. 1002 – 10 December 1081) was Byzantine emperor from 1078 to 1081. He belonged to a family which claimed descent from the Byzantine Phokas family. Nikephoros Botaneiates had served as general from the reign of Constantine IX. Drawn to politics, he had been an active participant in the uprising that brought Isaac I to the throne in 1057, including a prominent role in the Battle of Petroe. Although considered a competent general, he suffered a number of humiliating setbacks throughout his career.


To be continued in the next post.