Entry
John II Komnenos (1118–1143)
Maximilian Christopher George Lau 1,2
1
2
Department for Economic History, Hitotsubashi University, Tokyo 186-8601, Japan; max.lau@stb.ox.ac.uk
Department for Late Antique and Byzantine Studies, St Benet’s Hall, University of Oxford,
Oxford OX1 3LN, UK
Definition: John II Komnenos was the son of Emperor Alexios I Komnenos and Eirene Doukaina,
and brother of Princess Anna Komnene, the author of the Alexiad. Born in 1087, he was crowned soon
after his fifth birthday as co-emperor with his father, and in 1105, he was married to Piroska Árpád,
daughter of King Ladislaus I of Hungary and Adelaide of Rheinfelden. He is principally known
for continuing his father’s work of stabilising Byzantium after the crises of the eleventh century.
This included major wars of defence and conquest in both the Balkans and Anatolia, and especially
a major eastern expedition in 1137–1139. During this campaign, he conquered Cilicia, but he was
recalled to defend his borders against the Turks before he could make further conquests in Syria and
bring the crusader states under his aegis. He died in a hunting accident just before he returned to
Syria, with intentions to go to Jerusalem as well. His best-known iconographic representation is a
mosaic of him and his wife in the Great Church of 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.
Keywords: royal images; royal iconography; Byzantium; Komnenos; John II Komnenos
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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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
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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 amongst 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 youngest 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].
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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 youngest 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, yet
it nevertheless conveys intriguing elements of imperial iconography.
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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 argument that this specific combination of
iconography is more likely to depict the thirteenth century ruler Theodoros II KomnenosDoukas 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).
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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].
5. Coins
John’s reign had three indictional tax cycles in which new coins were produced:
1118–1122, 1122–1137 and 1137–1143, and coins were produced at the two imperial mints
of Constantinople and Thessaloniki [15] (DOC, pp. 1, 11, 30, 39, 41–47, 96–128, 181–274, esp.
245, 251, 253–254), (DOC, p. 97; [24] (pp. 48–49, 57, 107–108), [25–34]. In 1092, John’s father
Alexios had reformed Byzantine coinage after many years of devaluation, but John further
refined this system: he introduced more middle denomination coins that enabled a greater
amount of economic exchange than previously, and consequently, there is a great variety of
coins on which to see his iconography [15] (DOC, pp. 169, 255–256, 259–260. On imperial
costume and its iconography on coins in general, see: pp. 143–176. Images on Plate IX). A
noticeable trend in the iconography of his gold coins in particular is that they appear to
evidence John’s growing ambitions, which could bear relation to these coins being minted
for military expenditure.
Most of John’s coinage displays an enthroned Christ on the obverse, where he is
dressed in the typical iconographic classical clothing of the chiton and the himation. Christ
has a cruciform halo, holds a gospel book, and lifts a hand in blessing (Figures 4–8). In
John’s lower denomination coins, Christ is either depicted standing, or we only see his
head and shoulders. Some variant coinage displays an enthroned Virgin and Christ Child
(Figure 9), or some coins from Thessaloniki display the head and shoulders of St Demetrios,
warrior saint and patron of the second city of the empire (Figure 10).
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Figure 4. First Indiction Hyperpyron Nomisma, 1118–1122; impression on gold; New York; 1b.1.
Whittemore Collection. Published at [15] (DOC, pp. 256–259, 260–261. Images on Plate VIII).
Figure 5. Second Indiction Hyperpyron Nomisma, 1122–1137; impression on gold; Amsterdam;
2.2 Peirce 1948 from Schulman i.30. Published at [15] (Ibid, pp. 261–274. The issues from the mint at
Thessalonike have St Demetrios, the patron saint of the city, while those from Constantinople have St
George. Images on Plates VIII and IX).
Figure 6. Third Indiction Hyperpyron Nomisma, 1137–1143; impression on gold; Dumbarton Oaks,
Washington D.C.; 3b.3 Shaw 1947. Published at [15] (Ibid, pp. 261–274. The issues from the mint at
Thessalonike have St Demetrios, the patron saint of the city, while those from Constantinople have St
George. Images on Plates VIII and IX).
Figure 7. Aspron Trachy Nomisma, 1118–1143; impression on electrum; Dumbarton Oaks, Washington
D.C.; 8b.2 Schindler 1960 (Kallai i.33). Published at [15] (Ibid, pp. 261–274. The issues from the mint
at Thessalonike have St Demetrios, the patron saint of the city, while those from Constantinople have
St George. Images on Plates VIII and IX).
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Figure 8. Aspron Trachy Nomisma, 1118–1143; impression on electrum; Dumbarton Oaks, Washington D.C.; 8e.1 Peirce 1948 (H. Pl. 10.5). Published at [15] (Ibid, pp. 261–274. The issues from the mint
at Thessalonike have St Demetrios, the patron saint of the city, while those from Constantinople have
St George. Images on Plates VIII and IX).
Beginning with his gold coinage (Hyperpyron Nomisma), his first issue (1118–1122,
Figure 4) depicts John in a ceremonial loros and divitision costume on the reverse, holding
a patriarchal cross with the Virgin Mary. The hand of God also hovers above his head,
and John holds in his other hand the anexikakia (a silk covered scroll filled with dust to
symbolise humility) [15] (DOC, pp. 256–259, 260–261. Images on Plate VIII). These coins
emphasise his divinely ordained succession and his co-rule with the Theotokos, along with
his personal humility, but his next two issues display a progression from this humble piety.
His second issue (1122–1137, Figure 5) drops both the hand of God and the patriarchal
cross in favour of John holding the military labarum, and he is crowned directly by the
Virgin while still holding the anexikakia, while his third (1137–1143, Figure 6) shows him
being not only crowned by the Virgin, but this time John holds a globus cruciger [24–34].
John’s earlier humility was first militarised and later (as he set out on his eastern expedition
to Cilicia and Syria) replaced with an emphasis on the universal rule assigned him by
the Virgin.
In addition to these major coin issues, there was also a commemorative coin or medal
produced by Alexios, assumedly in 1092, to celebrate John’s coronation as infant: it displays
a beardless John in imperial regalia and holding the gospels on one side, and his imperial
parents Alexios and Eirene on the other, much like a modern commemorative coin (since it
not covered by a major coin catalogue, Magdalino has made the suggestion to me that it
may be a commemorative medal rather than a true coin [35,36]).
Figure 9. First Indiction Aspron Trachy Nomisma, 1118–1122; impression on billon; Dumbarton Oaks,
Washington D.C.; B.11.1 Bertelè 1956 (H. Pl. 11.3). Published at [15] (DOC, pp. 224, 226, 228, 231, 234,
images on Plates VIII and IX), [37].
Figure 10. First Indiction Tetaraton, 1118–1122; impression on copper; Oxford; HCR53126. Published
at [15] (DOC, pp. 224, 226, 228, 231, 234, 248–249, 264–267. Images on Plates VIII-X), [37].
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John’s lower denomination coins evidence signs of his ambition even earlier on. On
John’s much produced electrum coins (silver/gold alloy with c.75% silver, known as Aspron
Trachy Nomismata), we find John holding a patriarchal cross or the labarum with the martial
saints George or Demetrios on the obverse, with the saint dressed in armour and with
a drawn sword in his left hand (Figures 7 and 8 respectively) [15] (DOC, pp. 224, 226,
228, 231, 234, images on Plates VIII and IX; DOC, pp. 224, 226, 228, 231, 234, 248–249,
264–267. Images on Plates VIII-X, this image at https://hcr.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/collection/
4?page=65) (accessed on 10 February 2022), [37]. On some versions we the patriarchal
cross is depicted on three steps, drawing on iconography thought to relate to the cross that
Emperor Theodosius II (408–450) erected on Christ’s crucifixion site of Golgotha, which
was common on Byzantine coins and seals in the few centuries after him (Figure 7).
In John’s billon coinage (6–10% silver to copper alloy), John stands alone in a short
military cloak, the sagion, rather than the loros, holding both a labarum and an anexikakia or
globus cruciger (with earlier coinage displaying the anexikakia and later coinage the globus
cruciger), while the obverse shows the Virgin and Christ child (Figure 9) [15,37].
On John’s lowest denomination coinage, the tetaraton (copper), we see either a standing John with labarum, crown, and military cloak, akin to Figure 9, or his head and
shoulders, as in Figure 10, that also displays the head and shoulders of St Demetrios on the
obverse [15,37].
6. Seals
John’s seals portray an enthroned Christ on the obverse and John himself on the reverse
(Figure 11) [38,39]. The iconography of Christ is the same as John’s coinage, showing Christ
with a cruciform halo, and the standard iconographic classical clothing of the chiton and
the himation. In all known examples, John is depicted standing, wearing a loros and crown,
and he is holding in his left hand a globus cruciger, and in his right, the military labarum.
These are similar to the iconography of John’s coinage, though no seal has exactly the
same combination of regalia as a specific coin. Though many surviving seals are in poor
condition, from those in a better state we can see that John’s titles are often more prominent
than the coins (which, as shown above, usually display a simple ιῶ as a short form of
Ioannes, perhaps with one title). The standard formula appears to have been ᾿Ιωἀννῃ
δεσπóτῃ τῷ πoρϕυρoγεννήτῳ, drawing on John’s status as porphyrogennetos ‘born in the
purple’ and despotes, lord or master, though this is given in shortened form.
Figure 11. Seal of John; Zacos Collection, Geneva; Inv. CdN 2004-582. Published in [38,39].
7. Conclusions
Though John’s dynastic project is marked in his portrait in both Hagia Sophia and the
gospel book, neither of these was a public image in the same way as his coinage or seals.
The proximity of his wife and son in these images may therefore have been emphasised
to this highest of court audiences, which might have included some potential rivals from
within the imperial family, but to the wider world it was only John and his personal
iconography that was presented.
Turning to these coins, seals and perhaps other images that did have a wider audience,
any emperor of the latter centuries of Byzantium had most of a millennium’s worth of
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iconography to choose from to emphasise his specific ideological program. John’s use of
the labarum and globus cruciger had been common in the iconography of his predecessors,
but far less so was the anexikakia, the cross on steps, solar imagery, and indeed the hand
of God in addition to the Theotokos, Christ, St. George, or St. Demetrios. This diversity in
iconography is also marked, as is the progression on his gold coinage from emphasising
John’s piety, humility, and legitimacy to a more confident assertion of universal authority.
It appears that in the earlier parts of John’s reign, he was far more anxious to emphasise
the former, and he drew on a great diversity of iconography to do so. This may reflect
the challenge he received at his accession from his mother Eirene Doukaina and sister
Anna Komnene, followed by the attempted coup of his brother, Isaac, in 1130. Far more
secure in later years, John emphasised his claim to universal rule with his iconography as
he conquered Cilicia and sought to do the same to Syria and the crusaders of the Levant.
This confidence he handed on to his successor Manuel, whose iconography follows John’s
in many respects. It is also a testament to John’s iconographical program that one of the
first emperors who ruled from Nicaea after the fall of Constantinople, John III Vatatzes,
minted gold coinage that directly copied the iconography of John II [15] (DOC, pp. 475–477;
Papadopoulou, Coinage, p. 183). This, together with the possibility of the roundels being
those of Theodore II Komnenos-Doukas, evidences the effectiveness and longevity of both
John’s reign and its accompanying iconography.
Funding: This research received no external funding.
Conflicts of Interest: The author declares no conflict of interest.
Entry Link on the Encyclopedia Platform: https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/21150.
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