Isaac Comnenus was the last ruler of Cyprus before the Frankish conquest during the Third Crusade. He was a minor member of the Comnenus family, a great nephew of the Byzantine Emperor Manuel I Comnenus (1143–1180) and a grandson of the Sebastocrator Isaac. He should not be confused with the Byzantine emperor Isaac I Comnenus (ruled 1057–1059). The following account of his life is mainly based on the Byzantine historian Niketas Choniates. The Third Crusade (1189–1192) was an attempt by European leaders to reconquer the Holy Land from Saladin. ... Byzantine emperor Alexius I Comnenus The Comnenus family was an important family in the history of the Byzantine Empire. ... This is a list of Byzantine Emperors. ... Fresco of Manuel I Manuel I Comnenus Megas (November 28, 1118? - September 24, 1180) was Byzantine Emperor from 1143 to 1180. ... The Byzantine Empire had a complex system of aristocracy and bureaucracy. ... Isaac coin. ... Nicetas Choniates, sometimes called Acominatus, was an historian like his brother Michael whom he accompanied from their birthplace Chonae to Constantinople. ...

Emperor Manuel made Isaac governor of Isauria and the town of Tarsus in present-day eastern Turkey, where he started a war with the Armenians and was imprisoned by them. As Emperor Manuel had died in the meantime (1180), nobody seems to have greatly cared about Isaac's fate, and he remained a prisoner for a long time, which seems to have done nothing for his disposition in general. As he was married to an Armenian princess when on Cyprus, his terms of imprisonment may not have been too harsh. Isauria, in ancient geography, is a district in the interior of South Asia Minor, of very different extent at different periods, but generally covering much of what is now south-central Turkey. ... Tarsus is a city in present day Turkey, on the mouth of the Tarsus Cay (Cydnus) into the Mediterranean. ...

Finally his aunt Theodora Comnena, who had an affair with the new Emperor Andronicus I Comnenus (1123–1185) convinced the Emperor to contribute to his ransom, as did his stepfather Constantine Macroducas and Andronicus Ducas, another relative and a childhood friend, a sodomite and debaucher, als Niketas tells us. Strangely enough, the Templars (the Phreri, as Nicetas Choniates calls them) contributed as well. Billon trachy (a cup-shaped coin) of Andronicus I Comnenus (1183-1185) Andronicus I Comnenus (c. ... The Seal of the Knights — the two riders have been interpreted as a sign of poverty or the duality of monk/soldier. ... Nicetas Choniates (c. ...

When Isaac was released in 1185, he was obviously fed up with Imperial service. He used the rest of the money to hire a troop of mercenaries and sailed to Cyprus. He presented Imperial letters that ordered the local administration to obey him in everything and ruled like a governor, the letters and seals having been faked by himself.

Constantine Macroducas and Andronicus Ducas had had to stand surety for Isaac's fealty to the Emperor. When he failed to return, Andronicus had them arrested for treason, although Constantine had been his loyal supporter so far. Andronicus was afraid that Isaac would try to usurp the throne, as a water-oracle conducted by the courtier Stephanus Hagiochristophorites had given I (iota) as the initial of the next Emperor. When the prisoners were led out of prison to face the charges, Stephanus Hagiochristophorites started to stone them and forced the others to join him. Both prisoners were then impaled at the front of the Mangana palace. Another oracle gave the date when the next Emperor would start to rule, and Andronicus was greatly relieved, as the time was much too short for Isaac to make the crossing from Cyprus.

Meanwhile Isaac had taken many other Romans into his service. He created an independent patriarch of Cyprus, who crowned him as emperor. According to Nicetas, he soon started to plunder Cyprus, raping women and defiling virgins, imposing overly cruel punishments for crimes and stealing the possessions of the citizens. "Cypriots of high esteem, comparable to Job in riches now were seen begging in the streets, naked and hungry, if they were not put to the sword by this irascible tyrant." Furthermore, he had the foot of his old teacher Basileios Pentakenos hacked off, which Nicetas finds even more despicable. This article needs cleanup. ...

In 1185 Isaac II Angelus became Emperor after a popular uprising. He raised a fleet of 70 ships to take back Cyprus. The fleet was under the command of Joannes Kontostephanos and Alexius Comnenus, a nephew once removed of the Emperor. Neither seems to have been very fit, Joannes was quite old, and Alexios had been blinded by order of Andronicus. They landed in Cyprus, but Megareites, a pirate in the service of William II of Sicily (1166–1189) captured the ships after the troops had left them. Isaac, or more likely Megareites, won a victory over the troops and captured the trierarchs, whom he took off to Sicily, while the rest of the sailors remained on Cyprus, to fend for themselves as best they could. "Only much later did they return home, if they had not perished altogether." Isaac II Angelus (or Isaakios Angelos) (September 1156-1204), was the Byzantine emperor from 1185-1195, and again 1203-1204. ... William II (1153 - 1189), king of Sicily, was only thirteen years old at the death of his father William I when he was placed under the regency of his mother, Marguerite of Navarre. ...

Cape Andreas, where Isaac is said to have been taken prisoner by the Crusaders

In 1192, the "King of the Inglines" Richard I Plantagenet conquered the Island while on his way to Tyre. Isaac was taken prisoner near Cape St. Andreas on the Karpas penninsula, the northernmost tip of the island. According to tradition, Richard had promised Isaac not to put him into irons, so he was kept prisoner in chains of silver. Isaac was given over to the Knights of St. John, who kept him imprisoned in Margat near Tripoli till his death in 1194 or 1195. Zafer Burnu 2003 File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Richard I (September 8, 1157 – April 6, 1199) was King of England from 1189 to 1199. ... Tyre (Arabic الصور aṣ-Ṣūr, native Phoenician Ṣur, Latin Tyrus, Akkadian Ṣurru, Tiberian Hebrew צר Ṣōr, Greek Τύρος Týros) is an ancient Phoenician city in Lebanon on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, about 23 miles, in a direct line, north of Acre, and 20 south of Sidon. ... The Knights Hospitaller (the or Knights of Malta or Knights of Rhodes) is a tradition which began as a Benedictine nursing Order founded in the 11th century based in the Holy Land, but soon became a militant Christian Chivalric Order under its own charter, and was charged with the care... Margat, also known as Marqab (from the Arabic Qalaat al-Marqab, Castle of the Watchtower) was a Crusader fortress in modern Syria. ... Tripoli (Arabic طرابلس Trablus, academically transliterated Ṭarābulus) is the second-largest city in Lebanon. ...

Isaac is described as an irascible and violent man, "boiling with anger like a kettle on the fire", but Nicetas clearly is not very partial to him. The cruelties attributed to him pale somewhat in comparison with Emperor Andronicus. He seems to have been in league with William of Sicily, who was a powerful thorn in the side of the Empire, which helped him to hold the island as long as he did, and had close connections to sultan Saladin as well. This article is about the Muslim general; for the British armoured vehicle named after him, see Alvis Saladin. ...

External links

• Roman Emperors webpage brief biographyen:Isaac Doukas Comnène