Life
Isaac was the second-eldest son and third child of the Domestic of the Schools John Komnenos and Anna Dalassene. As such he belonged to the highest aristocracy of mid-11th century Byzantium, being the nephew of Emperor Isaac I Komnenos (r. 1057–1059). In 1071 or 1072, the Emperor Michael VII Doukas (r. 1071–1078) married him to Irene, a Georgian princess and cousin to Michael's empress, Maria of Alania.
In the 1070s, following the disastrous Battle of Manzikert, Isaac was employed as military commander in Anatolia against the Seljuk Turks. In 1073, as Domestic of the Schools of the East (i.e. commander-in-chief of the eastern field army), he was captured by the Turks, and was released only after ransom was paid. In the next year, he was again sent East as doux of Antioch, he quelled local unrest, but was again captured by the Turks and had to be ransomed by the citizens of the city.
In the reign of Nikephoros III Botaneiates (r. 1078–1081) he enjoyed the emperor's favour, and plotted at court, using his influence with Empress Maria to advance the position of the Komnenos clan; especially that of his younger brother Alexios, who was directly related to the ruling Doukid dynasty through his marriage to Irene Doukaina. When Alexios finally made his move and rebelled against Nikephoros III, it was Isaac who placed the emperor's purple boots on him; and thereafter he proved one of his most loyal, steadfast and enthusiastic supporters. Alexios in turn rewarded him by awarding him with the new title of sebastokrator which marked him as a near-equal; in the words of Anna Komnene, an "emperor without the purple".
Read more about this topic: Isaac Komnenos (brother Of Alexios I)
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