John Komnenos Kontostephanos ( el, Ἰωάννης Κομνηνός Κοντοστέφανος; ca. 1128 – 1176/82) was a

Byzantine 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 ...

aristocrat who served as provincial governor and military commander under his uncle, Emperor Manuel I Komnenos.

Family

Born ca. 1128, John Kontostephanos was the eldest son of Stephen Kontostephanos, who held the title ''

panhypersebastos The title of ( gr, πανυπερσέβαστος, , venerable above all) was a Byzantine court title created by Alexios I Komnenos () using the imperial root (the Greek translation of ). It was always conferred to members of aristocratic familie ...

'' and the rank of '' megas doux'', and the "purple-born" princess Anna Komnene, daughter of Emperor

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 ...

(r. 1118–43) and his empress

Irene of Hungary Irene of Hungary (Greek: Είρήνη, born Piroska; 1088 – 13 August 1134) was a Byzantine empress by marriage to John II Komnenos. She is venerated as a saint. Life The name Piroska was a Hungarian derivation of the Latin name Prisca, lite ...

; he was thus the nephew of Emperor Manuel I Komnenos (r. 1143–80). John had two younger brothers,

Alexios Alexius is the Latinized form of the given name Alexios ( el, Αλέξιος, polytonic , "defender", cf. Alexander), especially common in the later Byzantine Empire. The female form is Alexia ( el, Αλεξία) and its variants such as Alessia ...

and Andronikos, both prominent military commanders, and a sister, Irene. The Kontostephanoi were an aristocratic Byzantine family that rose to occupy a prominent place at the heart of Byzantine politics and power through their intermarrying with the imperial house of the

Komnenoi Komnenos ( gr, Κομνηνός; Latinized Comnenus; plural Komnenoi or Comneni (Κομνηνοί, )) was a Byzantine Greek noble family who ruled the Byzantine Empire from 1081 to 1185, and later, as the Grand Komnenoi (Μεγαλοκομνην� ...

. Andronikos himself married in ca. 1145/6 an unnamed member of the aristocracy—his wife has often been misidentified by modern scholars with the Theodora who married John's namesake first cousin. The couple had at least one son, named Stephen.

Career

John's early life is unknown, and he first appears in November 1162 in a document concerning a property dispute of the

Great Lavra The Monastery of Great Lavra ( el, Μονή Μεγίστης Λαύρας) is the first monastery built on Mount Athos. It is located on the southeastern foot of the Mount at an elevation of . The founding of the monastery in AD 963 by Athanasi ...

monastery. At the time he served as '' doux'' (governor) of

Thessalonica Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...

, with the parallel roles of ''

apographeus ''Apographeus'' ( el, ἀπογραφεύς) was a fiscal official in the last centuries of the Byzantine Empire. The office first appears in the Komnenian period, either under Alexios I Komnenos () or at any rate by the third quarter of the 12th c ...

'' and ''

exisotes ''Exisōtēs'' ( el, ἐξισώτης) was a fiscal official in the last centuries of the Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primaril ...

'' (tax assessor). He is then mentioned among the attendants of a

synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word ''wikt:synod, synod'' comes from the meaning "assembly" or "meeting" and is analogous with the Latin ...

at the

Blachernae Palace The Palace of Blachernae ( el, ). was an imperial Byzantine residence in the suburb of Blachernae, located in the northwestern section of Constantinople (today located in the quarter of Ayvansaray in Fatih, Istanbul, Turkey). The area of the palac ...

in March 1166, along with his brother Alexios. John also appears to have taken part in his uncle Manuel I's campaigns, but with the exception of the campaign of 1176 against the

Seljuk Sultanate of Rum fa, سلجوقیان روم () , status = , government_type = Hereditary monarchyTriarchy (1249–1254) Diarchy (1257–1262) , year_start = 1077 , year_end = 1308 , p1 = B ...

, this is not explicitly attested. Even in the latter, he is only mentioned in the summer of 1176, when his brother Alexios died of an illness at Lopadion. It is hence unclear if he participated 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 Phrygi ...

on 17 September. As he is not mentioned thereafter, it is possible that he was one of the many members of the aristocracy who perished in the battle. According to Konstantinos Varzos, John was most likely dead by 1182, when his brother Andronikos rebelled against the usurper

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

References

Sources

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kontostephanos, John 1120s births 12th-century Byzantine people Byzantine governors of Thessalonica

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 people of the Byzantine–Seljuk wars Generals of Manuel I Komnenos Year of death unknown