Background and Family
Andronikos Kontostephanos was the youngest son of Stephanos Kontostephanos, who held the title panhypersebastos and the rank of megas doux, and the porphyrogenita princess Anna Komnene, daughter of the emperor John II Komnenos and his empress Eirene of Hungary, and thus the nephew of emperor Manuel I Komnenos. Andronikos had two brothers, John, also a prominent military commander, and Alexios, and a sister, Eirene. The Kontostephanoi were an old Byzantine family and were at the heart of Byzantine politics and power through their intermarrying with the imperial house of the Komnenoi for generations. Andronikos himself is believed to have married a member of the Doukas family, another clan with imperial connections. He had four sons.
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