**1. Introduction**

John II Komnenos was born in the porphyra Chamber of the Great Palace of Constantinople in 1087 to Emperor Alexios I Komnenos and Eirene Doukaina, giving him his frequently used title of *porphyrogennetos*: 'purple-born' (for John II, see: [1]). Alexios had come to power in 1081 after a decade of civil wars and invasions following the defeat of Emperor Romanos IV Diogenes to the Seljuk Turks at the battle of Manzikert, and the loss of Bari, last Byzantine outpost in Italy, to the Normans. Alexios' mother, Anna Dalassene, arranged the marriage between Alexios and Eirene Doukaina—from the rival Doukas family—in order to forge a dominant coalition of leading families in Byzantium, and originally this had also seen Alexios' eldest child, Anna Komnene, betrothed to Constantine Doukas. However, with the birth of John and Constantine's death, Alexios could crown John as a new heir to the Komnenoi, though in rhetorical works John is also referred to as a Komnenos-Doukas. John's sister, Anna, wrote the famous *Alexiad* chronicling Alexios' reign, in which she describes the young John as having dark skin and eyes, and though our images of him do not show this, he is occasionally given the nickname of 'Black-John' in other sources, including by the crusader historian William of Tyre. He is also frequently referred to as Kaloioannes, 'Good-John', in both Greek and non-Greek texts, such was his positive reputation among contemporaries and those that followed him.

As a child, John was given as a hostage to the warriors of the First Crusade outside Constantinople in 1097, to stand surety for his father's good behavior. In 1105, he married Piroska-Eirene Árpád, daughter of King Ladislaus I of Hungary and Adelaide of Rheinfelden, as part of Alexios' plan to bring Hungary into an alliance with Byzantium against the Normans who had invaded the Balkans.

At Alexios' death in 1118, John saw off a challenge to his succession from his mother Eirene, sister Anna and her husband Nikephoros Bryennios, though the seriousness of that

**Citation:** Lau, M.C.G. John II Komnenos (1118–1143). *Encyclopedia* **2022**, *2*, 669–678. https://doi.org/ 10.3390/encyclopedia2020046

Academic Editors: Mirko Vagnoni and Raffaele Barretta

Received: 16 February 2022 Accepted: 17 March 2022 Published: 30 March 2022

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**Copyright:** © 2022 by the author. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/).

challenge has been debated by historians. To solidify his rule, John led opening campaigns in southwestern Anatolia, and by conquering Laodikeia and Sozopolis, he reopened the land route to Attaleia and brought all of western Anatolia under his aegis, allowing him to crown his own eldest son, Alexios, as co-emperor in 1119. John spent the 1120s mainly in the Balkans, first seeing off a major invasion of Pechenegs and Cumans, which he defeated at the battle of Beroea in 1122, and then dealing with an insurrection by the anti-Byzantine Serb prince Juraj of Raška against the pro-Byzantine King Gradinja, before having to see off a Hungarian invasion led by King Stephen II Árpád. These troubles allowed *Doux* Constantine Gabras of Trebizond to rebel in 1126, and they forced John to concede trading privileges to Venice in the same year; these they had enjoyed under Alexios, but John had not renewed them in 1118, leading to frequent Venetian raids on Byzantine islands from 1122 onwards.

Though John had settled his western provinces by 1130, there was then an attempted coup by his brother, *Sebastokrator* Isaac Komnenos. Isaac and his son fled the capital but then sought to forge a coalition against John amongs<sup>t</sup> his rivals in Anatolia, drawing John back into wars there. Over the course of several campaigns, John subjugated the north central Anatolian region of Paphlagonia, for which he celebrated a Roman Triumph in classical style in Constantinople in 1133. In response to an attack on Seleukeia by Prince Leo of Armenian Cilicia, an erstwhile ally of Isaac's, John invaded Cilicia in 1137 and captured the entire region in a lightning campaign that brought him to the gates of Antioch. Here, he sought to enforce the treaty of Devol whereby the rulers of Antioch were bound to hand over the city to him. By way of negotiation, John and the crusaders campaigned together in Syria against the Muslims, but they were unable to take Aleppo or Shaizar, partially due to the reluctance of the crusaders to fully support John. The emperor was then forced from Antioch by anti-Greek riots that followed his demand that the citadel of Antioch be handed over to him, and then he was recalled to the west by news of renewed Turkish aggression. John spent the years 1139–1142 campaigning once more in Anatolia, where he succeeded in putting down the rebellious Gabras of Trebizond, but he failed to take the city of Neakaisareia from the Turks. In 1142, he returned east to enforce his demands on Antioch, and he made his intentions clear that he planned to travel to Jerusalem as well. Before his designs could be acted upon, John cut his hand whilst hunting in Cilicia; the wound grew infected, and he was obliged to accede to his younges<sup>t</sup> son Manuel becoming his heir before he died in 1143.

John is otherwise known for co-founding with his wife an immense philanthropic institution associated with a monastery dedicated to Christ Pantokrator ('ruler of all'). His best-known iconographic representation is a mosaic of him, his wife, the *Theotokos* and Christ in the Great Church of Hagia Sophia. Whilst there is also an image of him in a contemporary ornate gospel book, his most common representations are found on his many coin issues and seals (for a general bibliography on Byzantine iconography, see: [2]).

#### **2. The Hagia Sophia Mosaic**

The best-known depiction of John today was originally intended only for a very exclusive audience. The Great Church of Hagia Sophia ('Holy Wisdom') had been built by the Emperor Justinian in 537, and until the Ottoman conquest in 1453, it remained the patriarchal cathedral of the imperial capital of Constantinople. The south gallery of the Great Church was reserved for the emperor, his family, and the highest of courtiers to attend services, and it is here we find the mosaic of John, his wife Piroska-Eirene, and son Alexios, flanking the Virgin and child (Figure 1). We have no information regarding the author, date, or commissioning of this mosaic as it goes unmentioned in any source, though with Alexios being presented as an emperor, this side panel must postdate 1119. The presentation of money and the scroll by John and Eirene to the *Theotokos* and the infant Christ in the Hagia Sophia mosaic likely represent an unknown donation to the Great Church of Hagia Sophia itself, though the imperial couple also collaborated in the foundation of a monastery and major charitable foundation dedicated to Christ Pantokrator [2] (p. 147), [3–5].

**Figure 1.** John and Piroska-Eirene, with their son Alexios; mosaic; post 1119; Istanbul, Ayasofya, south gallery. Published in [2] (p. 147), [3–5] (p. 243).

This image emphasises the piety and philanthropy of the imperial family, and it has also been suggested that the frontal representation of the imperial couple in this mosaic emphasises their power and status in comparison with other mosaics where the imperial couple are depicted side on, in deference to Christ or the Holy figure next to them [2] (p. 147), [6]. This is the case for the only mosaic that can be seen alongside it today—that of the eleventh century Empress Zoe Porphyrogenita and her husband Emperor Constantine IX Monomachos—but pilgrim accounts describe that originally, there were multiple imperial portraits along this gallery, below the image of Christ Pantokrator on the central vault [2] (p. 148), [7–9]. Thus, the context of this image mirrored the standard ecclesiastical visual representation of the Pantokrator surrounded by angels. Furthermore, the depiction of Pentecost in the neighbouring vault parallels the mission of the emperor, as the Holy Spirit imparted authority upon the apostles to lead the Church on earth, and emperor continued their work of guiding Christians to the present day [2] (p. 148), [9] (p. 232–237).

The depiction is notable for portraying not only John and his wife but also his son and co-emperor Alexios on the corner wall to the right. This enjambment places an emphasis on their collegial rule and the legitimacy gained through this visual depiction of the continuity of the Komnenian dynasty. Though the inclusion of Christ and the Virgin is an act of piety, it also emphasises the origin of imperial power, and the legitimacy given to John and his son through their favour—the inclusion of saintly haloes around their heads emphasises this further. It has also been suggested that the specific choice of the Virgin and Christ-child (Emmanuel) might be a reference to the birth of the imperial couple's younges<sup>t</sup> child, Manuel, in 1118, as John succeeded his father Alexios ([10], it has been further noted that there is "a conspicuous expansion of interest in Marian themes and devotion" in the Komnenian period: [11]).

#### **3. The Gospel Book (***Tetraevangelion***, Vat.Urb.gr.2)**

This small (7.25 × 4.75 inches) gospel book is lavishly decorated throughout, and its dedication tells us that it was prepared for the family of the emperor of the Romans, though we again have no information as to its author or commissioning (Figure 2) [12,13]. It has traditionally been dated to post-1122 on the basis of this image of John and his son Alexios as co-emperors, though as the dating of Alexios' coronation has more recently been shown to be 1119 due in particular to references in Neapolitan charters, the dating of this book can also be brought earlier ([1,14], first noted in: [15]). As with the mosaic, this image was therefore intended for the intimate audience of the Komnenian inner circle, ye<sup>t</sup> it nevertheless conveys intriguing elements of imperial iconography.

**Figure 2.** Coronation of John and Alexios by Christ; illumination; post 1119; Vatican Library, Tetraevangelion, Vat.Urb.gr.2, Dedication Image. Published in [2] (p. 147), [3–5] (p. 196).

The collegial rule of John and his son Alexios is once again emphasised as the seated Christ crowns both rulers at once, who stand equally tall under him, and it is notable that the seated Christ is the same figure who will appear on most of John's coinage and seals. Notably, Christ is flanked by personifications of Mercy and Justice, and some commentators have suggested that the personification of 'Mercy' may be based on Piroska-Eirene or one of her daughters, and also that her counterpart 'Justice' may represent the young Alexios' wife (this identification is aided by the image of an imperial figure at the start of the Gospel of Matthew in the same book who recalls both the mosaic and this crowning image, with both commentators agreeing that this image represents Piroska-Eirene [10] (pp. 181–182, 272), [5] (pp. 160–161). Common to the mosaic above, John's coins and seals, the two emperors are otherwise shown crowned, wearing the ceremonial *division* and *loros* costume, and they hold the military *labarum* while they stand on a decorated dais.

#### **4. Uncertain and Lost Images**

Two decorative stone roundels (Tondi) of unknown provenance have also been claimed to depict John on the basis of facial likeness to the above images (Figure 3, c.f. Figure 1, Figure 2) [15] (*DOC*, pp. 145–150), [16,17]. Now found at the Campiello Angaran, Venice and Dumbarton Oaks, Washington D.C., these relief sculptures each depict a full-length frontal figure of an emperor, standing on a footstool and wearing a crown, *divitision* with a crossed *loros* above it, and a mantle fastened on the right shoulder by a plain round *fibula*, while the emperor holds a military *labarum* flag and a *globus cruciger*, symbol of worldly dominion under God. John uses much of this iconography on his coins, so this identification cannot be ruled out; however, Karagiorgou's argumen<sup>t</sup> that this specific combination of iconography is more likely to depict the thirteenth century ruler Theodoros II Komnenos-Doukas is convincing. Karagiorgou also makes the point that the iconography of Theodoros' coins owes much to those of John's, so this roundel does testify to the enduring power the image of John II had to shape Byzantine iconography a century later [17] (p. 148, c.f. Coins, below).

**Figure 3.** Unknown Emperors; Figural Roundels; unknown date and provenance; now found at the Campiello Angaran, Venice (L) and Dumbarton Oaks (R). Published in [15] (*DOC*, p. 149), [16,17] (Figures 1 and 2).

Furthermore, there is a relationship between this image and a lost image of John, mentioned as part of the decoration of new living quarters in the Blachernai Palace of Constantinople, commissioned by John himself shortly after the death of his father in 1118. A poem by the court doctor Nikephoros Kallikles describes the decoration of these living quarters as including depictions of John's father Alexios defeating Normans, Pechenegs and Turks, followed by an image of the deceased Alexios and then the living John, mourning but with the sun [15] (*DOC*, p. 149), [18,19]. Solar imagery is common to Roman imperial imagery back to antiquity, but John is specifically compared to the sun in multiple court orations and other poems by the pre-eminent court rhetor, Theodore Prodromos (see in particular: Theodore Prodromos Poems I, IV, V, VI, IX, X, XI, XII, XIV, XV, XIX In [20]). John's iconography therefore appears to have drawn on this ancient tradition for at least one lost work, and possibly others. Indeed, this reuse of solar imagery may have contributed to the development of the later Byzantine ceremony of *prokypsis*, which had as its focus the ceremonial appearance of the emperor as light, in an evolution of the ecclesiastical kathisma ceremony [21–23].
