Komnenian Restoration - Manuel Komnenos - 1143-1180

1143-1180

Though Manuel was the youngest of John's four sons he was chosen to succeed his father due to his ability to listen to advice and learn from his mistakes (or so his father discerned). He continued the Komnenian restoration admirably, particularly in the Balkans where he consolidated Byzantine holdings and inflicted a crushing defeat on the Kingdom of Hungary in 1167 at the Battle of Sirmium. With this victory the Kingdom of Hungary was made a vassal of the Empire and, according to noted Byzantine historian Paul Magdalino, Byzantine control over the Balkans was at its most effective point since Late Antiquity.

Additionally Manuel opened up relations with the Western powers as he was a man who loved all things Western European and even organized regular jousting competitions. Because of this fondness, he increased diplomatic ties to the West, arranging alliances with the Pope and the Crusaders of the Outremer and successfully dealt with the troublesome Second Crusade that passed through his lands. Conversely, Western Europeans held him in great esteem, and he was described by the Latin historian William of Tyre as “beloved of God...a great-souled man of incomparable energy,” highlighting the goodwill he garnered with the previously hostile Western European powers. Indeed, of all the Byzantine emperors it is said that Manuel was the closest to healing the centuries old rift between the Christian Churches of the East and West, though he never fully achieved this goal.

But in Anatolia, Manuel's successes were more suspect, and his reign is highlighted by his defeat at the Battle of Myriokephalon in 1176 at the hands of the Seljuks. Historians have long debated the importance of this defeat, with some calling it an unmitigated disaster while others say that the emperor emerged from it with most of his army intact. All agree though that the era of Komnenian invincibility ended with this battle, and the empire never again took the offensive in Anatolia, a premonition for the coming weakness of the empire. Regardless of the true story, it is clear that after Myriokephalon Byzantine advances in Anatolia were forever halted and all they could do was merely maintain the status quo afterwards.