Andronikos Komnenos Euphorbenos (; ) was a

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

aristocrat and military commander, who served as governor of

Cilicia Cilicia () is a geographical region in southern Anatolia, extending inland from the northeastern coasts of the Mediterranean Sea. Cilicia has a population ranging over six million, concentrated mostly at the Cilician plain (). The region inclu ...

in 1162–1163. Andronikos Euphorbenos was the second son of Nikephoros Euphorbenos Katakalon and the

purple-born 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 Maria Komnene, a daughter of Emperor

Alexios I Komnenos Alexios I Komnenos (, – 15 August 1118), Latinization of names, Latinized as Alexius I Comnenus, was Byzantine Emperor, Byzantine emperor from 1081 to 1118. After usurper, usurping the throne, he was faced with a collapsing empire and ...

(). He was likely born around 1105/1108, but his life is mostly obscure; it is unknown whether he married or had offspring. In February 1147, along with his older brother Alexios, he attended a church synod at the

Palace of Blachernae The Palace of Blachernae (). was an imperial Roman 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 palace is now ...

, which deposed Patriarch Kosmas II Attikos. Euphorbenos followed a military career, but the only office he is known to have held was that of '' doux'' (regional military governor) of

, which he held in 1162–1163. In Cilicia he was confronted by the local Armenian lord,

Thoros II Thoros II (; died 6 February 1169), also known as Thoros the Great, was the sixth lord of Armenian Cilicia from the Rubenid dynasty from 1144/1145Kurkjian 1958, p. 506 until 1169. Thoros (together with his father, Leo I and his brother, Roupen) ...

, who aimed to reassert the region's independence from the Byzantine rule. Following the Cilician campaign of Emperor

Manuel I Komnenos Manuel I Komnenos (; 28 November 1118 – 24 September 1180), Latinized as Comnenus, also called Porphyrogenitus (; " born in the purple"), was a Byzantine emperor of the 12th century who reigned over a crucial turning point in the history o ...

() in 1158, Thoros had recognized the emperor's suzerainty. While the Byzantines established their control over the Cilician plain, Thoros remained free, and in control of his own military forces and the mountainous interior, as the emperor's nominal vassal. In 1162, Thoros' half-brother,

Stephen Stephen or Steven is an English given name, first name. It is particularly significant to Christianity, Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; he is w ...

, was found murdered outside the walls of Tarsus, after being invited by Euphorbenos to a banquet in the city the previous day. Even though Stephen was a rival, this provided Thoros with a suitable pretext for attacking the Byzantine holdings in the area, although Euphorbenos strenuously denied any involvement in the deed. Euphorbenos was unable to stop the Armenian prince, who captured the fortresses of Mamistra,

Anazarbus Anazarbus, also known as Justinopolis (, medieval Ain Zarba; modern Anavarza; ), was an ancient Cilician city. Under the later Roman Empire, late Roman Empire, it was the capital of Cilicia Secunda. Roman emperor Justinian I rebuilt the city ...

and

Vahka Feke () is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Adana Province, Turkey. Its area is 1,218 km2, and its population is 15,833 (2022). It is 122 km from the city of Adana, 620 m above sea-level, a small town on attracti ...

and massacred their garrisons. In the interest of unity against the Muslims, King

Amalric of Jerusalem Amalric (; 113611 July 1174), formerly known in historiography as , was the king of Jerusalem from 1163 until his death. He was, in the opinion of his Muslim adversaries, the bravest and cleverest of the crusader kings. Amalric was the younger ...

mediated between Thoros and the Byzantines, leading to Euphorbenos being recalled and replaced with Constantine Kalamanos. His subsequent fate is unknown.

References

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Euphorbenos, Andronikos Komnenos 1100s births 12th-century deaths 12th-century Byzantine military personnel Byzantine governors of Cilicia Generals of Manuel I Komnenos Year of death unknown

Andronikos Andronicus or Andronikos () is a classical Greek name. The name has the sense of "male victor, warrior". Its female counterpart is Andronikè (Ἀνδρονίκη). Notable bearers of the name include: People *Andronicus of Olynthus, Greek general ...

Euphorbenos family