Andronikos Komnenos (son of Alexios I)
Andronikos Komnenos was a Byzantine prince and military commander. The second-born son of Emperor Alexios I Komnenos, he was named sebastokrator and participated in the Battle of Philomelion against the Seljuk Turks. He opposed the succession of his older brother John II Komnenos to the throne in 1118, but was allowed to remain at court, and served in at least two of John II's campaigns in the Balkans. He died of an illness in 1130/31. His wife and offspring are relatively obscure, and may have died early.
Portrait of the father of Andronikos, Emperor Alexios I Komnenos, from a 12th-century Greek manuscript
Alexios I Komnenos, Latinized Alexius I Comnenus, was Byzantine emperor from 1081 to 1118. Although he was not the first emperor of the Komnenian dynasty, it was during his reign that the Komnenos family came to full power and initiated a hereditary succession to the throne. 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 curb 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 was the catalyst that sparked the First Crusade.
Portrait of Alexios within the Panoplia Dogmatica written by Euthymios Zigabenos
Seal of Alexios as "Grand Domestic of the West"
Low relief depicting Alexios I, Campiello de Cà Angaran, Venice, early 12th century.
Scyphate (cup-shaped) hyperpyron minted under Manuel I Komnenos