Alexios Branas or Alexius Branas (died 1187) was a Byzantine nobleman and military leader of the late 12th century. // Events May 1 - Battle of Cresson - Saladin defeats the crusaders July 4 - Saladin defeats Guy of Lusignan, King of Jerusalem, at the Battle of Hattin. ... Byzantine Empire at its greatest extent c. ...

Alexios Branas was doubly linked to the imperial Komnenos family. He was the son of Michael Branas and of Maria Komnene, who was the great-niece of Alexios I Komnenos. He himself married Anna Batatzaina; she was the niece of Manuel I Komnenos, and her sister, Theodora, was Manuel's lover. Byzantine emperor Alexius I Comnenus Alexius I (1048–August 15, 1118), Byzantine emperor (1081–1118), was the third son of John Comnenus, the nephew of Isaac I Comnenus (emperor 1057–1059). ... Manuel I Komnenos, or Comnenus, (Greek: Μανουήλ Α Κομνηνός, ManouÄ“l I KomnÄ“nos), November 28, 1118 – September 24, 1180), was a Byzantine Emperor of the 12th century who reigned over a crucial turning point in the history of Byzantium and the Mediterranean. ...

Branas was one of relatively few generals who never rebelled against Andronikos I Komnenos, fighting for him successfully against the forces of Béla III of Hungary in 1183, against a rebellion led by Andronikos, Isaac and Alexios Angelos in 1184, and against the Norman invaders of Thessalonica under William II of Sicily in 1185. Billon trachy (a cup-shaped coin) of Andronikos I Komnenos (1183-1185) Andronikos I Komnenos or Andronicus I Comnenus (Greek: Ανδρόνικος Α’ Κομνηνός, Andronikos I KomnÄ“nos) (c. ... Béla III of Hungary (Hungarian , Slovak: Belo III), born in 1148, was King of Kingdom of Hungary circa 1172-1196. ... Events Three-year old Emperor Go-Toba ascends to the throne of Japan after the forced abdication of his brother Antoku during the Genpei War William of Tyre excommunicated by the newly appointed Heraclius of Jerusalem, firmly ending their struggle for power Andronicus I Comnenus becomes the Byzantine emperor Births... Isaac II Angelos or Angelus (Greek: Ισαάκιος Β’ Άγγελος, Isaakios II Angelos) (September 1156 - January, 1204) was Byzantine emperor from 1185 to 1195, and again from 1203 to 1204. ... Alexios III Angelos or Alexius III Angelus (Greek: Αλέξιος Γ Άγγελος) (c. ... // Events Abbeville receives its commercial charter. ... The White Tower The Arch of Galerius Map showing the Thessaloníki prefecture Thessaloníki (Θεσσαλονίκη) is the second-largest city of Greece and is the principal city and the capital of the Greek region of Macedonia. ... William II crowned by Christ, mosaic in Monreale Cathedral. ... Events April 25 - Genpei War - Naval battle of Dan-no-ura leads to Minamoto victory in Japan Templars settle in London and begin the building of New Temple Church End of the Heian Period and beginning of the Kamakura period in Japan. ...

In 1187, shortly after the accession of Isaac II Angelos, Branas was sent to counter the Vlach-Bulgarian Rebellion. This time he did rebel. He was defeated by Conrad of Montferrat, the emperor's brother-in-law, who commanded the centre of the imperial forces in the battle. Branas wounded Conrad, who nevertheless unhorsed him, his lance striking the cheekpiece of his helmet. Branas was then beheaded by Conrad's supporting footsoldiers. The head was taken to the imperial palace, where it was treated like a football, and was then sent to Branas's wife Anna, who (according to the historian Niketas Choniates) reacted bravely to the shocking sight. The Vlach-Bulgarian Rebellion was a revolt of the Vlachs and Bulgarians living in the Byzantine Empire, caused by a tax increase. ... Imaginary portrait of Conrad by François-Édouard Picot, c. ... Nicetas Choniates, sometimes called Acominatus, was an historian like his brother Michael whom he accompanied from their birthplace Chonae to Constantinople. ...

It was probably after his death that his son, Theodore Branas, became the lover of the dowager Empress Anna (Agnes of France): they were together by 1193 according to the Western chronicler Alberic of Trois-Fontaines. Alexios Branas also had a daughter, probably named Eudokia, who married Isaac Angelos, son of the sebastocrator John Doukas. Theodosius Branas or Theodore Branas. ... Agnes of France (1171 - after 1207) was a daughter of Louis VII of France by his third wife Adèle of Champagne. ... // Saladin dies, and the lands of the Kurdish Ayyubid dynasty of Egypt and Syria are split among his descendants. ... Alberic of Trois-Fontaines ( Aubri (Aubry) de Trois-Fontaines; Latin, Albericus Trium Fontanum) (d. ... Painting of Emperor Basil II, exemplifying the Imperial Crown handed down by Angels. ... John Ducas (born about 1126; died about 1200) was the eldest son of Theodora Comnena porphyrogenita and Constantine Angelus. ...

Sources

• O city of Byzantium: annals of Niketas Choniates tr. Harry J. Magoulias (Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1984) especially pp. 208-214.
• K. Varzos, I genealogia ton Komninon (Thessalonica, 1984) vol. 2 pp. 394-417, 540-543.