1183 - Events. Three-year old Emperor Go-Toba ascends to the throne of Japan after the forced abdication of his brother Emperor Antoku during the Genpei War William of Tyre excommunicated by the newly appointed Heraclius of Jerusalem, firmly ending their struggle for power Andronicus I Comnenus becomes the Byzantine emperor First written account of a sport resembling cricket, by Joseph of Exeter Peace of Constance 1183 - Births. ...

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• 1183 - Events
• 1183 - Births
• 1183 - Deaths

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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, later that year the crusader County of Edessa was engulfed by the tide of a resurgent jihad under Imad ad-Din Atabeg Zengi. With Raymond's eastern flank now dangerously exposed to this new threat, there seemed little option but to prepare for a humiliating visit to Constantinople. Raymond realised that immediate help from the west was out of the question, so swallowing his pride he mad ...

See also:

Manuel I Comnenus, Manuel I Comnenus - Accession to the throne, Manuel I Comnenus - The Second Crusade and Raynald of Chatillon, Manuel I Comnenus - The Italian campaign and Pope Alexander III, Manuel I Comnenus - The Danube frontier: Hungary is defeated Greece flourishes, Manuel I Comnenus - Manuel's invasion of Egypt, Manuel I Comnenus - Kilij Arslan II and the Seljuk Turks, Manuel I Comnenus - Character, Manuel I Comnenus - Assessment, Manuel I Comnenus - Family, Manuel I Comnenus - Sources

Read more here: » Manuel I Comnenus: Encyclopedia II - Manuel I Comnenus - The Second Crusade and Raynald of Chatillon

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, later that year the crusader County of Edessa was engulfed by the tide of a resurgent Islamic jihad under Imad ad-Din Atabeg Zengi. With Raymond's eastern flank now dangerously exposed to this new threat, there seemed little option but to prepare for a humiliating visit to Constantinople. Raymond realised that immediate help from the west was out of the question, so swallowing his prid ...

See also:

Manuel I Comnenus, Manuel I Comnenus - Accession to the throne, Manuel I Comnenus - The Second Crusade and Raynald of Chatillon, Manuel I Comnenus - The Italian campaign and Pope Alexander III, Manuel I Comnenus - The Danube frontier: Hungary is defeated Greece flourishes, Manuel I Comnenus - Manuel's invasion of Egypt, Manuel I Comnenus - Kilij Arslan II and the Seljuk Turks, Manuel I Comnenus - Character, Manuel I Comnenus - Assessment, Manuel I Comnenus - Family, Manuel I Comnenus - Sources

Read more here: » Manuel I Comnenus: Encyclopedia II - Manuel I Comnenus - The Second Crusade and Raynald of Chatillon

Maria Comnena was the daughter of Isaakios Comnenus. Isaakios was a son of the Emperor John II Comnenus and Piroska, daughter of King Ladislaus I of Hungary. Her sister was Theodora Comnena, who married King Baldwin III of Jerusalem and, as a widow, became the lover of the Emperor Andronicus I Comnenus. Maria Comnena married King Stephen IV of Hungary in 1156, but they had no children. ...

See also:

Maria Comnena, Maria Comnena - Queen consort of Hungary, Maria Comnena - Imperial Princess, Maria Comnena - Queen consort of Jerusalem, Maria Comnena - Sources

Read more here: » Maria Comnena: Encyclopedia II - Maria Comnena - Queen consort of Hungary

After the failure of the Third Crusade, there was little interest in Europe for another crusade against the Muslims. The Fourth Crusade was the last of the major crusades to be directed by the Papacy, before the Popes lost much of their power to the Holy Roman Empire and other secular monarchs. The later crusades were directed by individual monarchs, and even the Fourth quickly fell out of Papal control. In 1198, Pope Innocent III called for a new Crusade, which was largely ignored among European leaders. The Germans were struggling a ...

See also:

Fourth Crusade, Fourth Crusade - Background, Fourth Crusade - Attack on Zara, Fourth Crusade - Diversion to Constantinople, Fourth Crusade - Further attacks on Constantinople, Fourth Crusade - Final capture of Constantinople; outcome

Read more here: » Fourth Crusade: Encyclopedia II - Fourth Crusade - Background

Manuel had two wives. His first marriage, in 1146, was to Bertha of Sulzbach, a sister-in-law of Conrad III of Germany. She died in 1159. Children: Maria Comnena (1152-1182), wife of Renier of Montferrat. Anna Comnena (1154-1158). Manuel's second marriage was to Maria (renamed Xena upon their marriage), a daughter of Raymond and Constance of Antioch, in 1161. His su ...

See also:

Manuel I Comnenus, Manuel I Comnenus - Accession to the throne, Manuel I Comnenus - The Second Crusade and Raynald of Chatillon, Manuel I Comnenus - The Italian campaign and Pope Alexander III, Manuel I Comnenus - The Danube frontier: Hungary is defeated Greece flourishes, Manuel I Comnenus - Manuel's invasion of Egypt, Manuel I Comnenus - Kilij Arslan II and the Seljuk Turks, Manuel I Comnenus - Character, Manuel I Comnenus - Assessment, Manuel I Comnenus - Family, Manuel I Comnenus - Sources

Read more here: » Manuel I Comnenus: Encyclopedia II - Manuel I Comnenus - Family

As a young man, Manuel had been determined to restore by force of arms the predominance of the Byzantine Empire in the Mediterranean countries. By the time he died in 1180, 37 years had passed since that momentous day in 1143 when, amid the wilds of Cilicia, his father had proclaimed him emperor. These years had seen Manuel involved in conflict with his neighbours on all sides. Manuel's father and grandfather before him had worked patiently to undo the damage done by the battle of Manzikert and its aftermath. Thanks to their heroic efforts, ...

See also:

Manuel I Comnenus, Manuel I Comnenus - Accession to the throne, Manuel I Comnenus - The Second Crusade and Raynald of Chatillon, Manuel I Comnenus - The Italian campaign and Pope Alexander III, Manuel I Comnenus - The Danube frontier: Hungary is defeated Greece flourishes, Manuel I Comnenus - Manuel's invasion of Egypt, Manuel I Comnenus - Kilij Arslan II and the Seljuk Turks, Manuel I Comnenus - Character, Manuel I Comnenus - Assessment, Manuel I Comnenus - Family, Manuel I Comnenus - Sources

Read more here: » Manuel I Comnenus: Encyclopedia II - Manuel I Comnenus - Assessment

Manuel was a brave general and an even more skillful diplomat and statesman. Famous for his charisma and his love of the West, he became a personal friend of the Western Emperor Conrad III, and even treated his injuries after the failure of the Second Crusade. Indoctrinated with the idea of a universal Empire, and with a passion for theological debate, he was also perhaps the only chivalrous Emperor-Knight of Byzantium. He is a representative of a new kind of Byzantine ruler who was influenced by the contact with the western crusaders. The c ...

See also:

Manuel I Comnenus, Manuel I Comnenus - Accession to the throne, Manuel I Comnenus - The Second Crusade and Raynald of Chatillon, Manuel I Comnenus - The Italian campaign and Pope Alexander III, Manuel I Comnenus - The Danube frontier: Hungary is defeated Greece flourishes, Manuel I Comnenus - Manuel's invasion of Egypt, Manuel I Comnenus - Kilij Arslan II and the Seljuk Turks, Manuel I Comnenus - Character, Manuel I Comnenus - Assessment, Manuel I Comnenus - Family, Manuel I Comnenus - Sources

Read more here: » Manuel I Comnenus: Encyclopedia II - Manuel I Comnenus - Character

Maria Comnena (1149-1182) was the eldest daughter of the Emperor Manuel I Comnenus by his first wife, Bertha of Sulzbach. She was known as Maria Porphyrogenita because she had been "born in the purple", i.e. born to a reigning emperor. She was engaged at different times to King Bela III of Hungary and King William II of Sicily, but politics prevented either marriage from taking place. Finally, in 1179, Maria Porphyrogenita was married to Renier of Montferrat, who was renamed "John" and given the title of Caesar. After th ...

See also:

Maria Comnena, Maria Comnena - Queen consort of Hungary, Maria Comnena - Imperial Princess, Maria Comnena - Queen consort of Jerusalem, Maria Comnena - Sources

Read more here: » Maria Comnena: Encyclopedia II - Maria Comnena - Imperial Princess

In spite of his military prowess Manuel achieved but in a slight degree his object of restoring the Byzantine Empire. In fact he succeeded in unifying many of his neighbors in common hatred as enemies, rather than playing one foe against the other. His victories were counterbalanced by defeats, some of them costly not just in terms of lost opportunities, but also in terms of the expense to the Imperial Treasury. Manuel was criticized for raising taxes: the money thus raised was spent lavishly at the cost of his citizens. The expenses incurre ...

See also:

Manuel I Comnenus, Manuel I Comnenus - Accession to the throne, Manuel I Comnenus - The Second Crusade and Raynald of Chatillon, Manuel I Comnenus - The Italian campaign and Pope Alexander III, Manuel I Comnenus - The Danube frontier: Hungary is defeated Greece flourishes, Manuel I Comnenus - Manuel's invasion of Egypt, Manuel I Comnenus - Kilij Arslan II and the Seljuk Turks, Manuel I Comnenus - Character, Manuel I Comnenus - Assessment, Manuel I Comnenus - Family, Manuel I Comnenus - Sources

Read more here: » Manuel I Comnenus: Encyclopedia II - Manuel I Comnenus - Assessment

Manuel was a brave general and an even more skillful diplomat and statesman. Famous for his charisma and his love of the West, he became a personal friend of the Western Emperor Conrad III, and even treated his injuries after the failure of the Second Crusade. Endowed with a fine physique and great personal courage, Manuel had devoted himself whole-heartedly to a military career. Indoctrinated with the idea of a universal Empire, and with a passion for theological debate, he was also perhaps the only chivalrous Emperor-Knight of Byzantium. H ...

See also:

Manuel I Comnenus, Manuel I Comnenus - Accession to the throne, Manuel I Comnenus - The Second Crusade and Raynald of Chatillon, Manuel I Comnenus - The Italian campaign and Pope Alexander III, Manuel I Comnenus - The Danube frontier: Hungary is defeated Greece flourishes, Manuel I Comnenus - Manuel's invasion of Egypt, Manuel I Comnenus - Kilij Arslan II and the Seljuk Turks, Manuel I Comnenus - Character, Manuel I Comnenus - Assessment, Manuel I Comnenus - Family, Manuel I Comnenus - Sources

Read more here: » Manuel I Comnenus: Encyclopedia II - Manuel I Comnenus - Character

On his northern frontier Manuel expended considerable effort to preserve the conquests made by Basil II over one hundred years earlier and maintained, sometimes tenuously, ever since. He forced the rebellious Serbs to vassalage (1150-1152) and made repeated attacks upon the Hungarians with a view to annexing their territory along the Sava. In the wars of 1151-1153 and 1163-1168 Manuel led his troops into Hungary and a spectacular raid deep into enemy territory yielded substantial war booty. In 1168, a decisive victory near Zemun enabl ...

See also:

Manuel I Comnenus, Manuel I Comnenus - Accession to the throne, Manuel I Comnenus - The Second Crusade and Raynald of Chatillon, Manuel I Comnenus - The Italian campaign and Pope Alexander III, Manuel I Comnenus - The Danube frontier: Hungary is defeated Greece flourishes, Manuel I Comnenus - Manuel's invasion of Egypt, Manuel I Comnenus - Kilij Arslan II and the Seljuk Turks, Manuel I Comnenus - Character, Manuel I Comnenus - Assessment, Manuel I Comnenus - Family, Manuel I Comnenus - Sources

Read more here: » Manuel I Comnenus: Encyclopedia II - Manuel I Comnenus - The Danube frontier: Hungary is defeated Greece flourishes

The crusaders were opposed to Isaac, as they had never met him and did not believe he was part of their deal with Alexius, but the Byzantines did not want Alexius, who was just as unknown to them, to rule by himself. Isaac soon realized that Alexius' promises were impossible to keep, and Alexius was forced to rescind on his bargain as the imperial treasury was empty. Alexius also had to deal with the growing hatred by the citizens of Constantinople for the "Latins" in their midst. Factions opposed to the Latins frequently attacked any crusad ...

See also:

Fourth Crusade, Fourth Crusade - Background, Fourth Crusade - Attack on Zara, Fourth Crusade - Diversion to Constantinople, Fourth Crusade - Further attacks on Constantinople, Fourth Crusade - Final capture of Constantinople; outcome

Read more here: » Fourth Crusade: Encyclopedia II - Fourth Crusade - Further attacks on Constantinople

Boniface, meanwhile, had left the fleet before it sailed from Venice, and had visited his cousin Philip of Swabia. The reasons for his visit are a matter of debate; he may have realized the Venetians' plans and left to avoid excommunication, or he may have wanted to meet with Byzantine Prince Alexius Angelos, Philip's brother-in-law and the son of the recently deposed Byzantine emperor Isaac II. Alexius had fled to Philip when his father was overthrown in 1195, but it is unknown whether or not Boniface knew he was at Philip's court. In any c ...

See also:

Fourth Crusade, Fourth Crusade - Background, Fourth Crusade - Attack on Zara, Fourth Crusade - Diversion to Constantinople, Fourth Crusade - Further attacks on Constantinople, Fourth Crusade - Final capture of Constantinople; outcome

Read more here: » Fourth Crusade: Encyclopedia II - Fourth Crusade - Diversion to Constantinople

Main article: Siege of Zara Since there was no binding agreement amongst the crusaders that all should sail from Venice, many chose to sail from other ports, particularly Flanders, Marseilles, and Genoa. By 1201 the crusader army was collected at Venice, though with far fewer troops than expected. The Venetians, under the aged and possibly blind doge Enrico Dandolo, would not let the crusaders leave without being paid the full amount agreed to originally of 85,000 silver marks, but the crusaders could only pay some 51,000, and ...

See also:

Fourth Crusade, Fourth Crusade - Background, Fourth Crusade - Attack on Zara, Fourth Crusade - Diversion to Constantinople, Fourth Crusade - Further attacks on Constantinople, Fourth Crusade - Final capture of Constantinople; outcome

Read more here: » Fourth Crusade: Encyclopedia II - Fourth Crusade - Attack on Zara

The crusaders were eventually able to knock holes in the walls, small enough for a few knights at a time to crawl through; the Venetians were also successful at scaling the walls from the sea, though there was extremely bloody fighting with the Varangians. The crusaders captured the Blachernae section of the city in the northwest and used it as a base to attack the rest of the city, but while attempting to defend themselves with a wall of fire, they ended up burning down even more of the city than they had the first time. Eventually, the cru ...

See also:

Fourth Crusade, Fourth Crusade - Background, Fourth Crusade - Attack on Zara, Fourth Crusade - Diversion to Constantinople, Fourth Crusade - Further attacks on Constantinople, Fourth Crusade - Final capture of Constantinople; outcome

Read more here: » Fourth Crusade: Encyclopedia II - Fourth Crusade - Final capture of Constantinople; outcome

Having distinguished himself in his father's war against the Seljuk Turks, in 1143 Manuel was nominated emperor by his father, in preference to his elder surviving brother. Yet his succession was by no means assured: he was still at his father's deathbed in the wilds of Cilicia, far from the capital at Constantinople. It was vital that he should return to the capital as soon as possible; but he still had to organise his father's funeral. Tradition also meant that he needed to organise the foundation of a monastery on the spot where his fathe ...

See also:

Manuel I Comnenus, Manuel I Comnenus - Accession to the throne, Manuel I Comnenus - The Second Crusade and Raynald of Chatillon, Manuel I Comnenus - The Italian campaign and Pope Alexander III, Manuel I Comnenus - The Danube frontier: Hungary is defeated Greece flourishes, Manuel I Comnenus - Manuel's invasion of Egypt, Manuel I Comnenus - Kilij Arslan II and the Seljuk Turks, Manuel I Comnenus - Character, Manuel I Comnenus - Assessment, Manuel I Comnenus - Family, Manuel I Comnenus - Sources

Read more here: » Manuel I Comnenus: Encyclopedia II - Manuel I Comnenus - Accession to the throne

Control of Egypt was a decades-old dream of the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem. Only a Byzantine alliance could accomplish this goal, however, and in the 1160s both Manuel and King Amalric I of Jerusalem married Crusader and Byzantine princesses respectively: Manuel married Amalric's cousin Maria of Antioch in 1162, while Amalric married Manuel's grand-niece Maria Comnena in 1167. In 1168 a formal alliance was negotiated, and in 1169 he sent a joint expedition with King Amalric I of Jerusalem to Egypt. The expedition was a dramatic demonstrat ...

See also:

Manuel I Comnenus, Manuel I Comnenus - Accession to the throne, Manuel I Comnenus - The Second Crusade and Raynald of Chatillon, Manuel I Comnenus - The Italian campaign and Pope Alexander III, Manuel I Comnenus - The Danube frontier: Hungary is defeated Greece flourishes, Manuel I Comnenus - Manuel's invasion of Egypt, Manuel I Comnenus - Kilij Arslan II and the Seljuk Turks, Manuel I Comnenus - Character, Manuel I Comnenus - Assessment, Manuel I Comnenus - Family, Manuel I Comnenus - Sources

Read more here: » Manuel I Comnenus: Encyclopedia II - Manuel I Comnenus - Manuel's invasion of Egypt

In the same year the emperor made war upon Roger II of Sicily, whose fleet had captured Corfu and plundered the Greek towns, but in 1148 Roger was defeated with the help of the Venetians. In 1149 Manuel recovered Corfu and prepared to take the offensive against the Normans. With an army mainly composed of mercenary Italians he invaded Sicily and Apulia, and with the help of disaffected local barons including Count Robert of Loritello, achieved astonishingly rapid progres ...

See also:

Manuel I Comnenus, Manuel I Comnenus - Accession to the throne, Manuel I Comnenus - The Second Crusade and Raynald of Chatillon, Manuel I Comnenus - The Italian campaign and Pope Alexander III, Manuel I Comnenus - The Danube frontier: Hungary is defeated Greece flourishes, Manuel I Comnenus - Manuel's invasion of Egypt, Manuel I Comnenus - Kilij Arslan II and the Seljuk Turks, Manuel I Comnenus - Character, Manuel I Comnenus - Assessment, Manuel I Comnenus - Family, Manuel I Comnenus - Sources

Read more here: » Manuel I Comnenus: Encyclopedia II - Manuel I Comnenus - The Italian campaign and Pope Alexander III

Manuel had made an agreement with the Seljuks, following his earlier victory over them, that certain frontier regions, including the city of Sivas, should be handed over to him in return for some quantity of cash. However, when it became clear that the Seljuks had no intention of honouring their side of the bargain, Manuel decided that it was time to deal with the Turks once and for all. Therefore, he assembled the full imperial army, and marched against the Seljuk capital, Iconium (Konya). Yet the imperial army was large and unwieldy - acco ...

See also:

Manuel I Comnenus, Manuel I Comnenus - Accession to the throne, Manuel I Comnenus - The Second Crusade and Raynald of Chatillon, Manuel I Comnenus - The Italian campaign and Pope Alexander III, Manuel I Comnenus - The Danube frontier: Hungary is defeated Greece flourishes, Manuel I Comnenus - Manuel's invasion of Egypt, Manuel I Comnenus - Kilij Arslan II and the Seljuk Turks, Manuel I Comnenus - Character, Manuel I Comnenus - Assessment, Manuel I Comnenus - Family, Manuel I Comnenus - Sources

Read more here: » Manuel I Comnenus: Encyclopedia II - Manuel I Comnenus - Kilij Arslan II and the Seljuk Turks