Komnene, daughter of Alexios I of Trebizond

Komnene was the wife of Andronikos I of Trebizond. Her first name is unknown. Komnene is the female form of "Komnenos", her family name.[1]

Family

She was the only known daughter of Alexios I of Trebizond and Theodora Axuchina. Her siblings included John I of Trebizond and Manuel I of Trebizond.[2]

Her paternal grandparents were Manuel Komnenos and of Rusudan. Her maternal grandfather was probably John Komnenos Axouch. John was a short-lived rival emperor to Alexios III Angelos. On 31 July 1200, John was proclaimed Emperor in Hagia Sophia. He was betrayed and killed by his own soldiers, defecting back to the service of Alexios. [3] "A Genealogy of the Grand Komnenoi of Trebizond" by Kelsey Jackson Williams, gives his nickname as "John the Fat".[4] Williams theorises that Komnene's maternal grandmother was a daughter of John II Komnenos and Piroska of Hungary.[5]

Empress

Komnene married Andronikos Gidos. The chronicle of Michael Panaretos gives his name as "Gidon". The origin of this family name is unknown. The article "Byzantine Trebizond:A Provincial Literary Landscape" by Jan Olof Rosenqvist suggests that it may originate in the first name Guido, indicating Italian origins.[6]

An Andronikos Gidos is recorded by Niketas Choniates to have served under Theodore I Laskaris, Emperor of Nicaea. In 1206, this Andronikos ambushed a force of three hundred troops of the Latin Empire at Tracheiai, near Nicomedia. The invading force had been lend by Henry of Flanders to David Komnenos as part of their alliance against Theodore I.[7] Whether this Gidos was her husband or a namesake relative of his is uncertain.[8]

On 1 February 1222, Alexios I died. He was succeeded not by his sons but by his son-in-law, Andronikos. Gidos was probably already a prominent member of the military, while his brothers-in-law were still underage.[8] Komnene was his Empress consort, succeeding her mother. Their marriage seems to have been childless. Andronikos died in 1235, succeeded by her brother John I of Trebizond.[2]

References

  1. ↑ Lundy, Darryl. "Peerage.com:"unknown daughter Comnene"". The Peerage.
  2. 1 2 Cawley, Charles, Profile of Alexios I and his children, Medieval Lands database, Foundation for Medieval Genealogy,
  3. ↑ Cawley, Charles, Profile of the Axuches family, Medieval Lands database, Foundation for Medieval Genealogy,
  4. ↑ Lundy, Darryl. "Profile of John in Peerage.com". The Peerage.
  5. ↑ Kelsey Jackson Williams, "A Genealogy of the Grand Komnenoi of Trebizond", Foundations: Journal of Foundation for Medieval Genealogy 2.3 (January 2007): page 174
  6. ↑ Jan Olof Rosenqvist, "Byzantine Trebizond:A Provincial Literary Landscape", page 17 Archived June 24, 2007, at the Wayback Machine.
  7. ↑ "O City of Byzantium: Annals of Niketas Choniatēs", page 352, 1984 translation by Harry J. Magoulias
  8. 1 2 Basileos Nestor , "The Empire of Trebizond Part 1"
Royal titles
Preceded by
Theodora Axuchina		 Empress consort of Trebizond
c. 1222–1235 		Succeeded by
Anna Xylaloe
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