Manuel I Komnenos in the context of Latinisation of names

Béla III (Hungarian: III. Béla, Croatian: Bela III., Slovak: Belo III.; c. 1148 – 23 April 1196) was King of Hungary and Croatia between 1172 and 1196. He was the second son of King Géza II and Géza's wife, Euphrosyne of Kiev. Around 1161, Géza granted Béla a duchy, which included Croatia, central Dalmatia and possibly Sirmium. In accordance with a peace treaty between his elder brother, Stephen III, who succeeded their father in 1162, and the Byzantine Emperor Manuel I Komnenos, Béla moved to Constantinople in 1163. He was renamed to Alexios, and the emperor granted him the newly created senior court title of despotes. He was betrothed to the Emperor's daughter, Maria. Béla's patrimony caused armed conflicts between the Byzantine Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary between 1164 and 1167, because Stephen III attempted to hinder the Byzantines from taking control of Croatia, Dalmatia and Sirmium. Béla-Alexios, who was designated as Emperor Manuel's heir in 1165, took part in three Byzantine campaigns against Hungary. His betrothal to the emperor's daughter was dissolved after her brother, Alexios, was born in 1169. The emperor deprived Béla of his high title, granting him the inferior rank of kaisar.

Stephen III died on 4 March 1172, and Béla decided to return to Hungary. Before his departure, he pledged that he would never make war against the Byzantine Empire. Although the Hungarian prelates and lords unanimously proclaimed Béla king, Lucas, Archbishop of Esztergom opposed his coronation because of Béla's alleged simony. Finally, the Archbishop of Kalocsa crowned him king on 18 January 1173, with Pope Alexander III's approval. Béla fought with his younger brother, Géza, whom he held in captivity for more than a decade. Taking advantage of the internal conflicts in the Byzantine Empire after Emperor Manuel's death, Béla reoccupied Croatia, Dalmatia and Sirmium between 1180 and 1181. He occupied the Principality of Halych in 1188, but it was lost within two years.

The Second Crusade (1147–1149) was the second major crusade launched from Europe. The Second Crusade was started in response to the fall of the County of Edessa in 1144 to the forces of Zengi. The county had been founded during the First Crusade (1096–1099) by the future King Baldwin I of Jerusalem in 1098. While it was the first Crusader state to be founded, it was also the first to fall.

The Second Crusade was announced by Pope Eugene III, and was led in the east by European kings Louis VII of France and Conrad III of Germany, with help from a number of other European nobles. The armies of the two kings marched separately across Europe. After crossing Byzantine territory into Anatolia, both armies were separately defeated by the Seljuk Turks. The main Western Christian source, Odo of Deuil, and Syriac Christian sources claim that the Byzantine Emperor Manuel I Komnenos secretly hindered the crusaders' progress, particularly in Anatolia, where he is alleged to have deliberately ordered Turks to attack them. However, this alleged sabotage of the Crusade by the Byzantines was likely fabricated by Odo, who saw the Empire as an obstacle; moreover, Emperor Manuel had no political reason to do so. Louis and Conrad reached Jerusalem in 1148, where the remnants of their armies participated in an ill-advised attack on Damascus that ended in their retreat. Crusader efforts were successful in Iberia, where several territories—including Lisbon, the future capital of the Portuguese Empire—were conquered.

The Byzantine Empire was ruled by emperors of the Komnenos dynasty for a period of 104 years, from 1081 to about 1185. The Komnenian (also spelled Comnenian) period comprises the reigns of five emperors, Alexios I, John II, Manuel I, Alexios II and Andronikos I. It was a period of sustained, though ultimately incomplete, restoration of the military, territorial, economic and political position of the Byzantine Empire.

Byzantium under the Komnenoi played a key role in the history of the Crusades in the Holy Land, while also exerting enormous cultural and political influence in Europe, the Near East, and the lands around the Mediterranean Sea. The Komnenian emperors, particularly John and Manuel, exerted great influence over the Crusader states of Outremer, whilst Alexios I played a key role in the course of the First Crusade, which he helped bring about.

Constantine Manasses (Greek: Κωνσταντῖνος Μανασσῆς; c. 1130 – c. 1187) was a Byzantine chronicler who flourished in the 12th century during the reign of Manuel I Komnenos (1143–1180). He was the author of a Synopsis Chronike (Σύνοψις Χρονική, "summary chronicle"), which narrates history from the creation of the world to the end of the reign of Nikephoros III Botaneiates (1081), sponsored by Irene Komnene, the emperor's sister-in-law. It was probably written around 1150, shortly before Irene's death.

It consists of about 7,000 lines in political verse. It obtained great popularity and appeared in a free prose translation. It was translated into Bulgarian in the 14th century. This translation, which includes several miniatures, was commissioned by tsar Ivan Alexander between 1340 and 1345. An Arabic translation written in 1313 is now hosted at the British Library.

Desa (Serbian Cyrillic: Деса) was the Grand Prince of Serbia from ca. 1162 to ca. 1165. He was one of several sons of grand prince Uroš I (d. 1145). Sometime between 1153 and 1155, Desa tried to depose his brother, the ruling grand prince Uroš II, but failed to establish himself as a new ruler. Only later, after the abdication of their other brother, the next grand prince Beloš ca. 1162, Desa became the new ruler of Serbia. He tried to challenge the Byzantine suzerainty over Serbia, but was deposed by emperor Manuel I Komnenos. Before he became the grand prince, Desa ruled as prince of Duklja, Travunija and Zahumlje, ca. from 1149 to 1162.

The House of Angelos (/ˈændʒəloʊs, ˈæŋɡəloʊs/; pl. Angeloi; Greek: Ἄγγελος, pl. Ἄγγελοι) was a Byzantine Greek noble family that produced several emperors and other prominent nobles during the middle and late Byzantine Empire. The family rose to prominence through the marriage of its founder, Constantine Angelos, with Theodora Komnene, the youngest daughter of Emperor Alexios I Komnenos. As imperial relatives, the Angeloi held various high titles and military commands under Emperor Manuel I Komnenos. In 1185, following a revolt against Andronikos I Komnenos, Isaac II Angelos rose to the throne establishing the Angeloi as the new imperial family that ruled until 1204. The period was marked by the decline and fragmentation of the Byzantine Empire, culminating in its dissolution by the Fourth Crusade in 1204 under Alexios IV Angelos.

After the Fourth Crusade, another branch of the family managed to establish an independent state in Epirus, which quickly expanded to rule Thessaly and Macedonia. The members of this branch largely eschewed the use of the 'Angelos' surname in favour of the more prestigious 'Doukas' and 'Komnenos', and are collectively known as the Komnenodoukas (Κομνηνοδούκας) dynasty. In c. 1224, Theodore Komnenos Doukas conquered Thessalonica, and founded the Empire of Thessalonica, claiming the Byzantine imperial title in rivalry to the Empire of Nicaea. His empire quickly collapsed after the Battle of Klokotnitsa in 1230. Thessalonica was lost to Nicaea in 1246, and the prospects of recovering Constantinople were dashed at the Battle of Pelagonia in 1259, followed by the re-establishment of the Byzantine Empire under the Palaiologos dynasty in 1261. Often in rivalry to the new Byzantine regime, the Komnenodoukai nevertheless secured recognition and titles from Constantinople, and retained their control over Thessaly (ruled by a cadet line) and Epirus until 1318.
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The Byzantine Empire was ruled by emperors of the Angelos dynasty between 1185 and 1204 AD. The Angeloi rose to the throne following the deposition of Andronikos I Komnenos, the last male-line Komnenos to rise to the throne. The Angeloi were female-line descendants of the previous dynasty. While in power, the Angeloi were unable to stop the invasions of the Turks by the Sultanate of Rum, the uprising and resurrection of the Bulgarian Empire, and the loss of the Dalmatian coast and much of the Balkan areas won by Manuel I Komnenos to the Kingdom of Hungary.

Infighting among the elite saw Byzantium lose substantial financial capability and military power. The previous policies of openness with Western Europe, followed by the sudden massacre of Latins under Andronikos, had preceded the rule of the Angeloi making enemies among Western European states. The weakening of the empire under the Angeloi dynasty resulted in the partitioning of the Byzantine Empire when in 1204, soldiers of the Fourth Crusade overthrew the last Angeloi Emperor, Alexios V Doukas.

Andronikos I Komnenos (Greek: Ἀνδρόνικος Κομνηνός, romanized: Andrónikos Komnēnós; c. 1118/1120 – 12 September 1185), Latinized as Andronicus I Comnenus, was Byzantine emperor from 1183 to 1185. A nephew of John II Komnenos (r. 1118–1143), Andronikos rose to fame in the reign of his cousin Manuel I Komnenos (r. 1143–1180), during which his life was marked by political failures, adventures, scandalous romances, and rivalry with the emperor.

After Manuel's death in 1180, the elderly Andronikos rose to prominence as the accession of the young Alexios II Komnenos led to power struggles in Constantinople. In 1182, Andronikos seized power in the capital, ostensibly as a guardian of the young emperor. Andronikos swiftly and ruthlessly eliminated his political rivals, including Alexios II's mother and regent, Maria of Antioch. In September 1183, Andronikos was crowned as co-emperor and had Alexios murdered, assuming power in his own name. Andronikos staunchly opposed the powerful Byzantine aristocracy and enacted brutal measures to curb their influence. Although he faced several revolts and the empire became increasingly unstable, his reforms had a favorable effect on the common citizenry. The capture of Thessaloniki by William II of Sicily in 1185 turned the people of Constantinople against Andronikos, who was captured and brutally murdered.

Andronikos Angelos Doukas (Greek: Ἀνδρόνικος Ἄγγελος Δούκας; c. 1133 – before 1185) was a Byzantine aristocrat related to the ruling Komnenos dynasty. During the reign of his cousin, Manuel I Komnenos, he served without success as a military commander against the Seljuk Turks, and as envoy to the Kingdom of Jerusalem. Following Manuel's death, in 1182, he was sent to stop the rebellion of Andronikos I Komnenos but was defeated and eventually defected to him. Shortly after, he led a failed conspiracy of leading aristocrats against Andronikos I. When it was discovered, Andronikos and his sons fled the Empire, ending up in Acre, where he died. He was the father of emperors Isaac II Angelos and Alexios III Angelos.

Géza II (Hungarian: II. Géza; Croatian: Gejza II.; Slovak: Gejza II.; 1130 – 31 May 1162) was King of Hungary and Croatia from 1141 to 1162. He was the oldest son of Béla the Blind and his wife, Helena of Serbia. When his father died, Géza was still a child and he started ruling under the guardianship of his mother and her brother, Beloš. A pretender to the throne, Boris Kalamanos, who had already claimed Hungary during Béla the Blind's reign, temporarily captured Pressburg (now Bratislava in Slovakia) with the assistance of German mercenaries in early 1146. In retaliation, Géza who came of age in the same year, invaded Austria and routed Henry Jasomirgott, Margrave of Austria, in the Battle of the Fischa.

Although the German–Hungarian relations remained tense, no major confrontations occurred when the German crusaders marched through Hungary in June 1147. Two months later, Louis VII of France and his crusaders arrived, along with Boris Kalamanos who attempted to take advantage of the crusade to return to Hungary. Louis VII refused to extradite Boris to Géza, but prevented the pretender from contacting his supporters in Hungary and managed to shepherd him to Constantinople with the rest of the crusaders. Géza joined the coalition that Louis VII and Roger II of Sicily formed against Conrad III of Germany and Byzantine emperor Manuel I Komnenos.

Stephen III (Hungarian: III. István, Croatian: Stjepan III.; Slovak: Štefan III.; summer of 1147 – 4 March 1172) was King of Hungary and Croatia between 1162 and 1172. He was crowned king in early June 1162, shortly after the death of his father, Géza II. However, his two uncles, Ladislaus and Stephen, who had joined the court of the Byzantine Empire, challenged his right to the crown. Only six weeks after his coronation, the Byzantine Emperor Manuel I Komnenos launched an expedition against Hungary, forcing the Hungarian lords to accept Ladislaus' rule. Stephen sought refuge in Austria, but returned and seized Pressburg (now Bratislava in Slovakia). Ladislaus, who died on 14 January 1163, was succeeded by Stephen's younger uncle and namesake, Stephen IV, without resistance, but his rule was unpopular. The young Stephen defeated his uncle on 19 June 1163 and expelled him from Hungary.

Stephen IV attempted to regain his throne with Emperor Manuel I's support, but the latter made peace with Stephen III. He agreed to send his younger brother, Béla, to Constantinople and to allow the Byzantines to seize Béla's duchy, which included Croatia, Dalmatia and Sirmium. In an attempt to recapture these territories, Stephen III waged wars against the Byzantine Empire between 1164 and 1167, but could not defeat the Byzantines.

Maria Komnene (or Comnena) (Greek: Μαρία Κομνηνή, Maria Komnēnē; Constantinople, March 1152 – July 1182) was the eldest daughter of the Emperor Manuel I Komnenos by his first wife, Bertha of Sulzbach. She was known as the Porphyrogennete (Πορφυρογέννητη) or Porphyrogenita because she had been "born in the Purple Chamber", i.e. born in the Palace at Constantinople to the wife of a reigning emperor.

Maria was probably born in March 1152. According to Cinnamus, she was given the title Augusta at her birth. In 1163 she was engaged to the future King Béla III of Hungary; Manuel, no longer expecting to father a legitimate son, was at that time ready to designate Béla (whom he had given the new court dignity of despotes and had renamed "Alexios") as his eventual successor. This engagement was broken off in 1169, soon after Manuel's son Alexios was born. Maria was then engaged to King William II of Sicily, but this engagement, too, was broken off by her father. Finally, in 1179, Maria was married to Renier of Montferrat, who was renamed "John" and given the title of Caesar.

Pope Alexander III (c. 1100/1105 – 30 August 1181), born Roland (Italian: Rolando), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 September 1159 until his death in 1181.

A native of Siena, Alexander became pope after a contested election, but had to spend much of his pontificate outside Rome while several rivals, supported by Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa, claimed the papacy. Alexander rejected Byzantine Emperor Manuel I Komnenos' offer to end the East–West Schism, sanctioned the Northern Crusades, and held the Third Council of the Lateran. He canonized Thomas Becket and Bernard of Clairvaux. The city of Alessandria in Piedmont is named after him.

A Byzantine–Hungarian War was fought between Byzantine and Hungarian forces in the Balkans from 1180 to 1185. Taking advantage of the internal conflicts in the Byzantine Empire after Emperor Manuel's death, Béla III of Hungary reoccupied Croatia, Dalmatia and Syrmia, restoring Hungarian suzerainty over these territories after fourteen years.

The Byzantine army of the Komnenian era or Komnenian army was a force established by Byzantine emperor Alexios I Komnenos during the late 11th/early 12th century. It was further developed during the 12th century by his successors John II Komnenos and Manuel I Komnenos. From necessity, following extensive territorial loss and a near disastrous defeat by the Normans of southern Italy at Dyrrachion in 1081, Alexios constructed a new army from the ground up. This new army was significantly different from previous forms of the Byzantine army, especially in the methods used for the recruitment and maintenance of soldiers. The army was characterised by an increased reliance on the military capabilities of the immediate imperial household, the relatives of the ruling dynasty and the provincial Byzantine aristocracy. Another distinctive element of the new army was an expansion of the employment of foreign mercenary troops and their organisation into more permanent units. However, continuity in equipment, unit organisation, tactics and strategy from earlier times is evident. The Komnenian army was instrumental in creating the territorial integrity and stability that allowed the Komnenian restoration of the Byzantine Empire. It was deployed in the Balkans, Italy, Hungary, Russia, Anatolia, Syria, the Holy Land and Egypt.

The hyperpyron (Greek: νόμισμα ὑπέρπυρον, nómisma hypérpyron lit. 'highly refined') was a Byzantine coin in use during the late Middle Ages, replacing the solidus as the Byzantine Empire's standard gold coinage in the 11th century. It was introduced by emperor Alexios I Komnenos.