Manuel Anemas was an aristocrat and military commander in the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

during the reigns of

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 ...

and

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 ...

Background and life

Manuel Anemas was a member of the

Anemas Anemas ( gr, Ἀνεμᾶς) was the name of a Byzantine Empire, Byzantine aristocratic family, attested from the 9th to the 15th centuries. The origin and etymology of the name are uncertain; it may be connected to ''anemos'', "wind", although th ...

family. Four Anemas brothers were involved in a serious conspiracy against

Alexios I Komnenos Alexios I Komnenos ( grc-gre, Ἀλέξιος Κομνηνός, 1057 – 15 August 1118; Latinized Alexius I Comnenus) was Byzantine emperor from 1081 to 1118. Although he was not the first emperor of the Komnenian dynasty, it was during ...

in 1105. It is remarkable that in the next generation a member of the same family, Manuel, married the ''

porphyrogenita Traditionally, born in the purple (sometimes "born to the purple") was a category of members of royal families born during the reign of their parent. This notion was later loosely expanded to include all children born of prominent or high-ranking ...

'' princess Theodora Komnene, daughter of John II and his empress, Eirene of Hungary. By this marriage John II may have been seeking to politically neutralise the threat of a potentially dangerous family. He was certainly pursuing a policy of bringing 'new blood' into the imperial family and governing circles. Manuel was celebrated by the Byzantine court poet

Theodore Prodromos Theodore Prodromos or Prodromus ( el, Θεόδωρος Πρόδρομος; c. 1100 – c. 1165/70), probably also the same person as the so-called Ptochoprodromos (Πτωχοπρόδρομος "Poor Prodromos"), was a Byzantine Greek writer, well ...

, who described him as a wise general and the "great tower of the

Rhomaioi The Greeks ( el, Έλληνες) have been identified by many ethnonyms. The most common native ethnonym is ''Hellen'' ( grc, Ἕλλην), pl. ''Hellenes'' (); the name ''Greeks'' ( la, Graeci) was used by the ancient Romans and gradually enter ...

", Rhomaioi being the Romans, as the Byzantines referred to themselves. Though Anemas appears to have been a prominent soldier little information on his exploits has survived. Manuel Anemas died in 1148; a funerary lament dated to Holy Week of that year by Prodromos, for "Kyrios'' Manuel Anemas, the most fortunate son-in-law of the late ''

basileus ''Basileus'' ( el, ) is a Greek term and title that has signified various types of monarchs in history. In the English-speaking world it is perhaps most widely understood to mean "monarch", referring to either a "king" or an "emperor" and al ...

'' and ''

autokrator ''Autokrator'' or ''Autocrator'' ( grc-gre, αὐτοκράτωρ, autokrátōr, , self-ruler," "one who rules by himself," whence English "autocrat, from grc, αὐτός, autós, self, label=none + grc, κράτος, krátos, dominion, power ...

'' of the Romans John the Purple-born", is extant.

Family

Manuel Anemas and Theodora Komnene had a number of children: * Alexios KomnenosHe adopted his mother's more prestigious surname. . ( or – 1155/57), married Anna Komnene Doukaina, a great-grandniece of Alexios I (possibly a granddaughter of Alexios' brother Isaac Komnenos). He died of some disease, possibly tuberculosis, and died at a young age; his wife followed soon after. The couple had one child, of whom nothing further is known. * A daughter, possibly named Irene (born ), she married an unknown husband, and had at least one daughter, Theodora, the wife of

Andronikos Lapardas Andronikos Lapardas or Andronicus Lapardas ( gr, Ἀνδρόνικος Λαπαρδάς) was a Byzantine general during the late Komnenian period. He is first attested as a participant of a synod on 2 March 1166, held at the imperial palace and pr ...

. * A daughter, possibly named Maria (born ), she married John Angelos, a nephew of

Constantine Angelos Constantine Angelos ( gr, Κωνσταντῖνος Ἄγγελος; – after 1166) was a Byzantine aristocrat who married into the Komnenian dynasty and served as a military commander under Manuel I Komnenos, serving in the western and north ...

and distinguished military commander. The marriage remained childless. * Eudokia (born ), she married the scholar

Theodore Styppeiotes Theodore Styppeiotes or Stypeiotes ( gr, Θεόδωρος Στυπ ��ιώτης, Theodōros Styp iōtēs) was a high-ranking bureaucrat of the Byzantine Empire and a member of the court of Emperor Manuel I Komnenos (). A well-educated and capable ma ...

, who became Manuel I's chief minister. The couple had several children, but only the name of one, Manuel, is known.

References

Bibliography

* *Kazhdan, A.P. and Epstein A.W. (1990) ''Change in Byzantine Culture in the Eleventh and Twelfth Centuries'', University of California Press * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Anemas, Manuel 12th-century Byzantine people Komnenos dynasty Year of birth unknown 1148 deaths Byzantine generals Generals of Manuel I Komnenos