John Doukas Komnenos (1128 – September 1176) was a son of Andronikos Komnenos. Through his father, he was a grandson of

Byzantine Emperor This is a list of the Byzantine emperors from the foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD, which marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, to its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as le ...

John II Komnenos John II Komnenos or Comnenus ( gr, Ἱωάννης ὁ Κομνηνός, Iōannēs ho Komnēnos; 13 September 1087 – 8 April 1143) was Byzantine emperor from 1118 to 1143. Also known as "John the Beautiful" or "John the Good" (), he ...

. He was '' doux'' (military governor) of

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

from 1155 until his death as well as being appointed a ''

protovestiarios ''Protovestiarios'' ( el, πρωτοβεστιάριος, "first ''vestiarios''") was a high Byzantine court position, originally reserved for eunuchs. In the late Byzantine period (12th–15th centuries), it denoted the Empire's senior-most fina ...

'' in 1148.

Life

In 1156, Cyprus was attacked by

Raynald of Châtillon Raynald of Châtillon (french: Renaud; 11254 July 1187), also known as Reynald or Reginald, was a Crusader knight of French origin but also Prince of Antioch from 1153 to 1160 or 1161, and Lord of Oultrejordain from 1175 until his death. He wa ...

and

Thoros II, Prince of Armenia Thoros II, Prince of Armenia, also known as Toros II the Great ( hy, Թորոս Բ) or Thoros II the Great, (unknown – February 6, 1169) was the sixth Lord of Armenian Cilicia from the Rubenid dynasty from 1144/1145–1169. Referred to as the � ...

; Thoros and Raynald both conducted widespread plundering of the island: the Franks and Armenians marched up and down the island robbing and pillaging every building that they saw,

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chris ...

es and

convent A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...

s as well as shops and private houses. The crops were burnt; the

herd A herd is a social group of certain animals of the same species, either wild or domestic. The form of collective animal behavior associated with this is called ''herding''. These animals are known as gregarious animals. The term ''herd'' is ...

s were rounded up, together with all the population, and driven down to the coast. John opposed the attack but was captured by Raynald and Thoros and was taken prisoner to

Antioch Antioch on the Orontes (; grc-gre, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου, ''Antiókheia hē epì Oróntou'', Learned ; also Syrian Antioch) grc-koi, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου; or Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπ� ...

. The nightmare lasted about three weeks; then, on the rumour of an imperial fleet in the offing, Raynald gave the order for re-embarkation. The ships were loaded up with booty; and every Cypriot was forced to ransom himself. John was presumably released from captivity in

, as he took part in the

Battle of Myriokephalon The Battle of Myriokephalon (also known as the Battle of Myriocephalum, gr, Μάχη του Μυριοκέφαλου, tr, Miryokefalon Savaşı or ''Düzbel Muharebesi'') was a battle between the Byzantine Empire and the Seljuk Turks in Phryg ...

under

Manuel I Komnenos Manuel I Komnenos ( el, Μανουήλ Κομνηνός, translit=Manouíl Komnenos, translit-std=ISO; 28 November 1118 – 24 September 1180), Romanization of Greek, Latinized Comnenus, also called Porphyrogennetos (; "born in the purple"), w ...

. The Byzantines were defeated and John Doukas died during the battle, shortly after 17 September 1176.

Marriage and children

John Doukas was married around 1146 to a woman later known as Maria, a Taronitissa, possibly daughter of John Taronites, '' pansebastos sebastos''. The couple had at least two children: #

Maria Maria may refer to: People * Mary, mother of Jesus * Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages Place names Extraterrestrial * 170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877 * Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, ...

(c. 1154 – 1208/1217), married firstly to

Amalric I of Jerusalem Amalric or Amaury I ( la, Amalricus; french: Amaury; 113611 July 1174) was King of Jerusalem from 1163, and Count of Jaffa and Ascalon before his accession. He was the second son of Melisende and Fulk of Jerusalem, and succeeded his older broth ...

; from this marriage she had a daughter, the future

Isabella I of Jerusalem Isabella I (1172 – 5 April 1205) was reigning Queen of Jerusalem from 1190 to her death. She was the daughter of Amalric I of Jerusalem and his second wife Maria Comnena, a Byzantine princess. Her half-brother, Baldwin IV of Jerusalem, engag ...

and then married secondly to

Balian of Ibelin Balian or Balyan may refer to: People *Balian of Ibelin (disambiguation), a name shared by several members of the Ibelin family from the crusader kingdoms of Jerusalem and Cyprus *Balian Buschbaum (born 1980), German pole vaulter *Roger Balian, 20t ...

, amongst the children produced from this marriage was

John of Ibelin, the Old Lord of Beirut John of Ibelin (c. 1179 – 1236), called the Old Lord of Beirut, was a powerful crusader noble in the 13th century, one of the best known representatives of the influential Ibelin family. The son of Balian of Ibelin and the dowager queen Ma ...

. #Alexios Komnenos, led a rebellion against

Andronikos I Komnenos Andronikos I Komnenos ( gr, Ἀνδρόνικος Κομνηνός; – 12 September 1185), Latinization of names, Latinized as Andronicus I Comnenus, was Byzantine emperor from 1183 to 1185. He was the son of Isaac Komnenos (son of Alexio ...

, but was captured, blinded and imprisoned,Niketas Choniates, Imperiii Andronici Comneni, Liber 1, 8, p. 384. died unmarried in 1187. # (probably)

Theodora Theodora is a given name of Greek origin, meaning "God's gift". Theodora may also refer to: Historical figures known as Theodora Byzantine empresses * Theodora (wife of Justinian I) ( 500 – 548), saint by the Orthodox Church * Theodora o ...

(fl. 1140) wife of

Bohemond III, prince of Antioch Bohemond III of Antioch, also known as Bohemond the Child or the Stammerer (french: Bohémond le Bambe/le Baube; 1148–1201), was Prince of Antioch from 1163 to 1201. He was the elder son of Constance of Antioch and her first husband, Raymond of ...

References

1128 births 1176 deaths 12th-century Byzantine people

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

Byzantine governors of Cyprus Byzantines killed in battle Protovestiarioi {{Byzantine-bio-stub