Isaac II Angelos - Wikipedia Isaac II Angelos From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to navigation Jump to search Byzantine emperor from 1185 to 1195 and 1203 to 1204 Emperor and Autocrat of the Romans Isaac II Angelos Emperor and Autocrat of the Romans Portrait of Isaac II (from a 15th-century codex containing a copy of the Extracts of History by Joannes Zonaras) Byzantine emperor Reign 12 September 1185 – 8 April 1195 Predecessor Andronikos I Komnenos Successor Alexios III Angelos Reign 1 August 1203 – 25 January 1204 Predecessor Alexios III Angelos Successor Alexios V Doukas Co-Emperor Alexios IV Angelos Born September 1156 Died 25 January 1204 (aged 47) Constantinople Spouse Eirene Komnena or Palaiologina (ended 1185) Margaret of Hungary ​ ​ (m. 1185⁠–⁠1204)​ Issue 1st marriage: Anna-Euphrosyne Irene Angelina Alexios IV Angelos 2nd marriage: Manuel Angelos John Angelos Dynasty Angelos Father Andronikos Doukas Angelos Mother Euphrosyne Kastamonitissa Religion Greek Orthodox Isaac II Angelos (Greek: Ἰσαάκιος Ἄγγελος, romanized: Isaakios Angelos; September 1156 – January 1204) was Byzantine Emperor from 1185 to 1195, and again from 1203 to 1204. His father Andronikos Doukas Angelos was a military leader in Asia Minor (c. 1122 – aft. 1185) who married Euphrosyne Kastamonitissa (c. 1125 – aft. 1195). Andronikos Doukas Angelos was the son of Constantine Angelos and Theodora Komnene (b. 15 January 1096/1097), the youngest daughter of Emperor Alexios I Komnenos and Irene Doukaina. Thus Isaac was a member of the extended imperial clan of the Komnenoi. Contents 1 Rising by revolt 2 First reign 3 Second reign 4 Usurpers 5 Historical reputation 6 Family 7 See also 8 References 9 Sources 10 External links Rising by revolt[edit] Niketas Choniates described Isaac's physical appearance: "He had a ruddy complexion and red hair, was of average height and robust in body".[1] Killing of Stephen Hagiochristophorites, c. 1473, miniature by Jean Colombe in Les Passages d'outremer [fr], BNF. During the brief reign of Andronikos I Komnenos, Isaac was involved (alongside his father and brothers) in the revolt of Nicaea and Prousa. Atypically, the Emperor did not punish him for this disloyalty, and Isaac remained at Constantinople. On 11 September 1185, while Andronikos was absent from the capital, his lieutenant Stephen Hagiochristophorites moved to arrest Isaac. Isaac killed Hagiochristophorites and took refuge in the church of Hagia Sophia.[2] Andronikos was a capable ruler in some ways but was hated for his cruelty and his efforts to keep the aristocracy obedient. Isaac appealed to the populace, and a tumult arose that spread rapidly over the whole city. When Andronikos returned he found that he had lost popular support, and that Isaac had been proclaimed emperor. Andronikos attempted to flee by boat but was apprehended. Isaac handed him over to the people of the city, and he was killed on 12 September 1185. First reign[edit] Isaac II Angelos strengthened his position as emperor with dynastic marriages in 1185 and 1186. His niece Eudokia Angelina was married to Stefan, son of Stefan Nemanja of Serbia. Isaac's sister Theodora was married to the Italian marquis Conrad of Montferrat. In January 1186, Isaac himself married Margaret of Hungary (renamed Maria), daughter of King Béla III.[3] Hungary was one of the Empire's largest and most powerful neighbours, and Margaret also had the benefit of high aristocratic descent, being related to the royal families of Kiev, the Holy Roman Empire, Italy, Provence, and earlier Byzantine dynasties. Isaac inaugurated his reign with a decisive victory over the Norman[4] King of Sicily, William II, at the Battle of Demetritzes on 7 November 1185. William had invaded the Balkans with 80,000 men and 200 ships towards the end of Andronikos I's reign. Elsewhere Isaac's policy was less successful. In late 1185, he sent a fleet of 80 galleys to liberate his brother Alexius III from Acre, but the fleet was destroyed by the Normans of Sicily. He then sent a fleet of 70 ships, but it failed to recover Cyprus from the rebellious noble Isaac Komnenos, thanks to Norman interference. This fleet was misinterpreted by many in the Holy Land as naval support for the Muslim offensive in accordance with Isaac's alliance with Saladin.[5] However the theory of a supposed alliance between Isaac and Saladin against the Third Crusade has been debunked by the historian Jonathan Harris.[6] Isaac's administration was dominated by two figures: his maternal uncle Theodore Kastamonites, who became virtually a co-emperor and handled all civil government until his death in 1193; and his replacement, Constantine Mesopotamites, who acquired even more influence over the emperor. The oppressiveness of his taxes, increased to pay his armies and finance his marriage, resulted in a Vlach-Bulgarian uprising[4] late in 1185. The rebellion led to the establishment of the Vlach-Bulgarian Empire under the Asen dynasty. In 1187 Alexios Branas, the victor over the Normans, was sent against the Bulgarians but turned his arms against his master and attempted to seize Constantinople, only to be defeated and slain[4] by Isaac's brother-in-law Conrad of Montferrat. Also in 1187 an agreement was made with Venice, in which the Venetian Republic would provide between 40 and 100 galleys at six months' notice in exchange for favorable trading concessions. Because each Venetian galley was manned by 140 oarsmen, there were about 18,000 Venetians still in the Empire even after Manuel I's arrests.[7] The Emperor's attention was next demanded in the east, where several claimants to the throne successively rose and fell. In 1189 the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa sought and obtained permission to lead his troops on the Third Crusade through the Byzantine Empire.[4] But Isaac was suspicious that Barbarossa wished to conquer Byzantium: the reasons for this suspicious attitude were the diplomatic contact of Frederick with the Bulgarians and the Serbians, foes of the Byzantine Empire during this period, also Barbarossa's previous feud with Manuel. The rumors of 1160s about a German invasion in the Byzantine Empire were still remembered in the Byzantine court during Isaac’s reign.[8] In retaliation Barbarossa's army occupied the city of Philippopolis and defeated a Byzantine army of 3,000 men that attempted to recapture the city.[9] The Byzantine troops managed to constantly and successfully harass the Crusaders but a group of Armenians revealed to the Germans the strategic plan of the Byzantines. The Crusaders, who outnumbered the Byzantines, caught them unprepared and defeated them.[10] Thus compelled by force of arms, Isaac II was forced to fulfill his engagements[4] in 1190, when he released imprisoned German emissaries who were held in Constantinople, and exchanged hostages with Barbarossa, as a guarantee that the crusaders would not sack local settlements until they departed the Byzantine territory. In March 1190, Barbarossa left Adrianople to Gallipoli at the Dardanelles to embark to Asia Minor.[11] By 1196, Isaac II had allowed the once powerful Byzantine navy to decline to only 30 galleys. The next five years were disturbed by continued warfare with Bulgaria, against which Isaac led several expeditions in person.[4] In spite of their promising start these ventures had little effect, and on one occasion in 1190 Isaac barely escaped with his life. The Byzantines suffered yet another major defeat in the battle of Arcadiopolis in 1194. Isaac organized yet another offensive against Bulgaria in 1195 in cooperation with the Kingdom of Hungary, but Alexios Angelos, the Emperor's older brother, taking advantage of Isaac's absence from camp on a hunting expedition, proclaimed himself emperor and was readily recognised by the soldiers as Emperor[4] Alexios III. Alexios then canceled the expedition. Isaac was blinded and imprisoned in Constantinople.[4] Second reign[edit] After eight years of captivity, Isaac II was raised from the dungeon to the throne once more[4] after the arrival of the Fourth Crusade and the flight of Alexios III from the capital. Both his mind and body had been enfeebled by confinement,[4] and his son Alexios IV Angelos was associated on the throne as the effective monarch. Heavily beholden to the crusaders, Alexios IV was unable to meet his obligations and his vacillation caused him to lose the support of both his crusader allies and his subjects. At the end of January 1204 the influential court official Alexios Doukas Mourtzouphlos took advantage of riots in the capital to imprison Alexios IV and seize the throne as Emperor Alexios V. At this point Isaac II died, allegedly of shock, while Alexios IV was strangled on 8 February. Usurpers[edit] Several pretenders rose up and attempted to wrest the throne from Isaac during his reign. These included: Alexios Branas Theodore Mangaphas Pseudo-Alexios II Basil Chotzas – initiated a rebellion at Tarsia, near Nicomedia. Initially he had some success, but before long he was seized, blinded, and cast into prison.[12] Isaac Comnenus (nephew of Andronicus I Comnenus) – escaped from prison and fled to Hagia Sophia, where he proceeded to incite a mob. Eventually captured, he was suspended in the air and tortured in order to obtain the names of his accomplices. His internal organs suffered severe damage and he died the next day.[12] Constantine Tatikios – secretly established a group of 500 individuals who hid in Constantinople. Though they managed to escape detection for some considerable time, he was informed against, captured, and blinded.[12] Historical reputation[edit] Isaac has the reputation as one of the most unsuccessful rulers to occupy the Byzantine throne.[4] Surrounded by a crowd of slaves, mistresses, and flatterers, he permitted his empire to be administered by unworthy favourites, while he squandered the money wrung from his provinces on costly buildings and expensive gifts to the churches of his metropolis.[4] In 1185, the Empire lost Lefkada, Kefallonia, and Zakynthos to the Normans. In the same year the Vlach – Bulgarian Empire was restored after the rebellion of the brothers Asen and Peter, thus losing Moesia and parts of Thrace and Macedonia. After that Cilicia was retaken by the Armenians, and Cyprus wrested from the empire by the Franks. Family[edit] Isaac II's first wife's name, Herina (i.e., Irene), is found on the necrology of Speyer Cathedral, where their daughter Irene is interred. [13][14] Isaac's wife was possibly the daughter of Andronikos I Komnenos, Byzantine Emperor (died 1185). A potential foreign origin is also given to her due to having the same name as her daughter, contrary to long-standing Greek custom. Their third child was born in 1182 or 1183 and she was dead or divorced by 1185, when Isaac remarried. Their children were: Anna-Euphrosyne Angelina, married to Roman the Great. Irene Angelina, married first to Roger III of Sicily and secondly to Philip of Swabia. Isaac is the ancestor of all European monarchs now reigning through Irene's children by Philip. Alexios IV Angelos. By his second wife, Margaret of Hungary (who took the baptismal name "Maria"), Isaac II had two sons: Manuel Angelos (b. after 1195 – d. 1212), he was evidently the elder son, being contemplated in 1205 to ascend the Byzantine throne[15] John Angelos (b. ca. 1193 – d. 1259). He migrated to Hungary and ruled over Syrmia and Bacs (1227–42) as a vassal of king Béla IV of Hungary. See also[edit]  Byzantine Empire portal References[edit] ^ Choniates, Nicetas (1984). O city of Byzantium : annals of Niketas Choniatēs. Translated by Magoulias, Harry J. Detroit: Wayne State University Press. p. 248. ISBN 0814317642. OCLC 10605650. ^ Harris 2007, p. 71. ^ Burkhardt 2016, p. 50. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Isaac II. (Angelus)" . Encyclopædia Britannica. 14 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 858. ^ Brand, Charles M. (1962). "The Byzantines and Saladin, 1185-1192: Opponents of the Third Crusade". Speculum. 37 (2): 167–181. doi:10.2307/2849946. JSTOR 2849946. ^ Harris, Jonathan (2014). Byzantium and the Crusades (Second ed.). London: Bloomsbury. pp. 140–141. ISBN 9781780937366. OCLC 891400633. ^ J. Norwich, A History of Venice, 121 ^ Harris, Jonathan (2014). Byzantium and the Crusades (Second ed.). London: Bloomsbury. p. 142. ISBN 9781780937366. OCLC 891400633. ^ W. Treadgold, A History of the Byzantine State and Society, 658 ^ Choniates, Nicetas (1984). O city of Byzantium : annals of Niketas Choniatēs. Translated by Magoulias, Harry J. Detroit: Wayne State University Press. p. 224. ISBN 0814317642. OCLC 10605650. ^ Freed 2016, pp. 494–504. ^ a b c Harry J. Magoulias, 'O city of Byzantium: annals of Niketas Choniatēs', Wayne State University Press, 1984, pg 233 ^ Klaniczay, Gabor. Holy Rulers and Blessed Princesses: Dynastic Cults in Medieval Central Europe. Translated by Eva Palmai. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 2002, pp. 99-100. ^ The first wife of Isaac II is usually considered to be a Byzantine noblewoman of unknown name. In an Italian edition of the chronicle of Nicetas Choniates "Greatness and catastrophe of Byzantium" can be found an interesting note to the XIV Book. The names of Isaac II's first wife and eldest daughter, unknown from Byzantine sources, are found in an obituary in the Cathedral of Speyer, the pantheon of German kings. Here, the wife of Philip of Swabia is said to be the daughter of Isaac and Irene (there is reference to the following article: R. Hiestand, Die erste Ehe Isaaks II. Angelos und seine Kinder, in Jahrbuch der Osterreichischen Byzantinisk, XLVII 1997 pp. 199–208). This Irene could be identified with the daughter of George Paleologus Ducas Comnenus; the son of this one, Andronicus Paleologus Comnenoducas is known as gambrox (gamma alpha mu beta rho o x) of Isaac II. ^ Rodd, Rennell. The Princes of Achaia and the Chronicles of Morea: A Study of Greece in the Middle Ages. 1. Sources[edit] Angold, Michael, The Byzantine Empire: A Political History, 1025–1204, 2nd edition (London and New York, 1997) Brand, Charles M. (1968). Byzantium Confronts the West, 1180–1204. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. LCCN 67-20872. OCLC 795121713. Burkhardt, Stefan (2016). "Between empires: South-eastern Europe and the two Roman Empires in the Middle Ages". In Jaritz, Gerhard; Szende, Katalin (eds.). Medieval East Central Europe in a Comparative Perspective: From Frontier to Lands in Focus. Routledge. Nicetas Choniates, Historia, ed. J.-L. Van Dieten, 2 vols. (Berlin and New York, 1975); trans. as O City of Byzantium, Annals of Niketas Choniates, by H. J. Magoulias (Detroit; Wayne State University Press, 1984). Freed, John (2016). Frederick Barbarossa: The Prince and the Myth. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-122763. Harris, Jonathan (2007). Constantinople: Capital of Byzantium. Hambledon Continuum. Harris, Jonathan, Byzantium and the Crusades (London: Bloomsbury, 2nd ed., 2014). ISBN 978-1-78093-767-0 Harris, Jonathan, 'Collusion with the infidel as a pretext for military action against Byzantium', in Clash of Cultures: the Languages of Love and Hate, ed. Sarah Lambert and Helen Nicholson (Turnhout, 2012), pp. 99–117 Head, C. (1980) Physical Descriptions of the Emperors in Byzantine Historical Writing, Byzantion, Vol. 50, No. 1 (1980), Peeters Publishers, pp. 226–240 Hiestand, Rudolf, 'Die Erste Ehe Isaaks II Angelus und Seine Kinder', Jahrbuch der Osterreichischen Byzantinistik, 47 (1997). Kazhdan, Alexander, ed. (1991). The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-504652-8. McDaniel, Gordon L. (1984). "On Hungarian-Serbian Relations in the Thirteenth Century: John Angelos and Queen Jelena" (PDF). Ungarn-Jahrbuch. 12 (1982–1983): München, 1984: 43–50. Moravcsik, Gyula (1970). Byzantium and the Magyars. Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó. Ostrogorsky, George (1956). History of the Byzantine State. Oxford: Basil Blackwell. Savignac, David. "The Medieval Russian Account of the Fourth Crusade – A New Annotated Translation". Treadgold, Warren (1997). A History of the Byzantine State and Society. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. ISBN 0-8047-2630-2. Varzos, Konstantinos (1984). Η Γενεαλογία των Κομνηνών [The Genealogy of the Komnenoi] (PDF) (in Greek). B. Thessaloniki: Centre for Byzantine Studies, University of Thessaloniki. pp. 807–840. OCLC 834784665. External links[edit] Foreign policy of the Angeli from A History of the Byzantine Empire by Al. Vasilief Isaac II Angelos Angelid dynasty Born: September 1156 Died: January 1204 Regnal titles Preceded by Andronikos I Komnenos Byzantine emperor 1185–1195 Succeeded by Alexios III Angelos Preceded by Alexios III Angelos Byzantine emperor 1203–1204 with Alexios IV Angelos (1203–1204) Succeeded by Alexios V Doukas v t e Roman and Byzantine emperors and ruling empresses Principate 27 BC – AD 235 Augustus Tiberius Caligula Claudius Nero Galba Otho Vitellius Vespasian Titus Domitian Nerva Trajan Hadrian Antoninus Pius Marcus Aurelius Lucius Verus Commodus Pertinax Didius Julianus (Pescennius Niger) (Clodius Albinus) Septimius Severus Caracalla Geta Macrinus Diadumenian Elagabalus Severus Alexander Crisis 235–285 Maximinus Thrax Gordian I Gordian II Pupienus Balbinus Gordian III Philip the Arab Philip II Decius Herennius Etruscus Hostilian Trebonianus Gallus Volusianus Aemilianus Valerian Gallienus Saloninus Claudius Gothicus Quintillus Aurelian Ulpia Severina Tacitus Florian Probus Carus Carinus Numerian Gallic emperors Postumus (Laelianus) Marius Victorinus (Domitianus II) Tetricus I with Tetricus II as caesar Palmyrene emperors Vaballathus Zenobia Septimius Antiochus Dominate 284–395 Diocletian Maximian Galerius Constantius I Severus Constantine the Great Maxentius Licinius Maximinus Daza (Valerius Valens) (Martinian) Constantine II Constantius II Constans I Magnentius Vetranio Julian Jovian Valentinian I (west) Valens (east) Gratian (west) Valentinian II (west) Theodosius I Magnus Maximus Victor (Eugenius) Western Empire 395–480 Honorius Constantine III with son Constans II Constantius III Joannes Valentinian III Petronius Maximus Avitus Majorian Libius Severus Anthemius Olybrius Glycerius Julius Nepos Romulus Augustulus Eastern/ Byzantine Empire 395–1204 Arcadius Theodosius II Marcian Leo I Leo II Zeno Basiliscus Marcus Anastasius I Dicorus Justin I Justinian I Justin II Tiberius II Constantine Maurice with son Theodosius as co-emperor Phocas Heraclius Constantine III Heraklonas Constans II Constantine IV with brothers Heraclius and Tiberius and then Justinian II as co-emperors Justinian II (first reign) Leontios Tiberius III Justinian II (second reign) with son Tiberius as co-emperor Philippikos Anastasios II Theodosius III Leo III the Isaurian Constantine V Artabasdos Leo IV the Khazar Constantine VI Irene Nikephoros I Staurakios Michael I Rangabe with son Theophylact as co-emperor Leo V the Armenian with Symbatios-Constantine as junior emperor Michael II the Amorian Theophilos Michael III Basil I the Macedonian Leo VI the Wise Alexander Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos Romanos I Lekapenos with sons Christopher, Stephen and Constantine as junior co-emperors Romanos II Nikephoros II Phokas John I Tzimiskes Basil II Constantine VIII Zoë (first reign) and Romanos III Argyros Zoë (first reign) and Michael IV the Paphlagonian Michael V Kalaphates Zoë (second reign) with Theodora Zoë (second reign) and Constantine IX Monomachos Constantine IX Monomachos (sole emperor) Theodora Michael VI Bringas Isaac I Komnenos Constantine X Doukas Romanos IV Diogenes Michael VII Doukas with brothers Andronikos and Konstantios and son Constantine Nikephoros III Botaneiates Alexios I Komnenos John II Komnenos with Alexios Komnenos as co-emperor Manuel I Komnenos Alexios II Komnenos Andronikos I Komnenos with John Komnenos as co-emperor Isaac II Angelos Alexios III Angelos Alexios IV Angelos Nicholas Kanabos (chosen by the Senate) Alexios V Doukas Empire of Nicaea 1204–1261 Constantine Laskaris Theodore I Laskaris John III Doukas Vatatzes Theodore II Laskaris John IV Laskaris Byzantine Empire 1261–1453 Michael VIII Palaiologos Andronikos II Palaiologos with Michael IX Palaiologos as co-emperor Andronikos III Palaiologos John V Palaiologos John VI Kantakouzenos with John V Palaiologos and Matthew Kantakouzenos as co-emperors John V Palaiologos Andronikos IV Palaiologos John VII Palaiologos Andronikos V Palaiologos Manuel II Palaiologos John VIII Palaiologos Constantine XI Palaiologos Italics indicates a junior co-emperor, while underlining indicates a usurper. Authority control General Integrated Authority File VIAF 1 WorldCat National libraries Italy Vatican Other SUDOC (France) 1 Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Isaac_II_Angelos&oldid=1027192449" Categories: Angelid dynasty 12th-century Byzantine emperors 13th-century Byzantine emperors 1156 births 1204 deaths Christians of the Third Crusade Christians of the Fourth Crusade Eastern Orthodox monarchs Byzantine people of the Byzantine–Bulgarian Wars Hidden categories: Wikipedia articles incorporating a citation from the 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica with Wikisource reference Articles with short description Short description is different from Wikidata Use dmy dates from August 2020 Articles containing Ancient Greek (to 1453)-language text Articles containing Greek-language text Instances of Lang-el using second unnamed parameter CS1: long volume value CS1 Greek-language sources (el) Wikipedia articles with GND identifiers Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers Wikipedia articles with ICCU identifiers Wikipedia articles with VcBA identifiers Wikipedia articles with SUDOC identifiers Wikipedia articles with WORLDCATID identifiers Navigation menu Personal tools Not logged in Talk Contributions Create account Log in Namespaces Article Talk Variants Views Read Edit View history More Search Navigation Main page Contents Current events Random article About Wikipedia Contact us Donate Contribute Help Learn to edit Community portal Recent changes Upload file Tools What links here Related changes Upload file Special pages Permanent link Page information Cite this page Wikidata item Print/export Download as PDF Printable version In other projects Wikimedia Commons Languages Afrikaans العربية Aragonés تۆرکجه Беларуская Български Català Čeština Deutsch Ελληνικά Español Euskara فارسی Français Galego 한국어 Hrvatski Bahasa Indonesia Italiano ქართული Latina Lietuvių Magyar Македонски مصرى Nederlands 日本語 Norsk bokmål Polski Português Română Русский Slovenščina Српски / srpski Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Suomi Svenska ไทย Türkçe Українська Tiếng Việt Zazaki 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 6 June 2021, at 16:54 (UTC). 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