Theodora Comnena (born c. 1145) was a niece of Byzantine emperor Manuel I Comnenus, and wife of King Baldwin III of Jerusalem. Events Pope Lucius II is succeeded by Pope Eugene III Nur ad-Din ascends to power in Syria Construction begins on Notre-Dame dChartres in Chartres, France Korean historian Kim Pusik compiled the historical text Samguk Sagi. ... 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. ... Baldwin III (1130-1162) was king of Jerusalem from 1143-1162. ...

Baldwin had taken control of the Kingdom of Jerusalem from his mother Queen Melisende in 1153. He was unmarried, however, and around 1157 it was decided by the Haute Cour that a wife should be sought from the Byzantine Empire, the most powerful and wealthy neighbour of the kingdom. A Byzantine alliance would hopefully also bring much-needed money and military assistance against Nur ad-Din, sultan of Syria and Jerusalem's greatest enemy. The Kingdom of Jerusalem was a short-lived country established in the 12th century by the First Crusade. ... A queen accepting fealty from a vassel, possibly Melisende herself, from the Melisende Psalter Melisende (1105 - September 11, 1161) was Queen of Jerusalem from 1131 to 1153. ... Events January 6 - Henry of Anjou arrives in England. ... Events Births 8 September - Richard I of England Deaths August 21 - Alfonso VII, king of Castile (b. ... The Haute Cour (High Court) was the feudal council of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. ... The Byzantine Empire is the term conventionally used to describe the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages, centered at its capital in Constantinople. ... Nur ad-din Abu al-Qasim Mahmud Ibn Imad ad-Din Zangi (also Nur ed-Din, Nur al-Din, or Nureddin) (1118 - May 15, 1174) was a member of the Zengid dynasty, and ruled Syria from 1146 to 1174. ...

Attard, archbishop of Nazareth, Humphrey II of Toron, constable of Jerusalem, Joscelin Piscellus, and William de Barris were sent to Constantinople to negotiate for a wife for the king (Attard died while on the mission). The ambassadors were delayed in Constantinople for almost an entire year but it was finally decided that Theodora, daughter of the sebastocrator Isaac Comnenus, brother of emperor Manuel, would be chosen as Baldwin's wife. She was at the time only 12 or 13 years old, but was already renowned for her beauty. Her dowry was worth 100 000 hyperpyra. William of Tyre estimated that her extravagant wedding clothes cost another 14 000 hyperpyra. As a dowry from Baldwin, Theodora was granted the city of Acre, which she would hold as her own should Baldwin die childless. This is about the Middle East city of Nazareth. ... Humphrey II of Toron (1117-1179) was lord of Toron and constable of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. ... There were six major officers of the Kingdom of Jerusalem: constable, marshal, seneschal, chamberlain, butler, and chancellor. ... Map of Constantinople. ... The Byzantine Empire had a complex system of aristocracy and bureaucracy. ... Anastasius 40 nummi and 5 nummi Byzantine currency, money used in the Eastern Roman Empire after the fall of the West, consisted of mainly two types of coins: the gold solidus and a variety of clearly valued bronze coins. ... William of Tyre (c. ... The Old City of Akko in the 19th or early 20th century, looking south-west from atop the Land Wall Promenade, the open space now a parking lot. ...

The ambassadors arrived in Jerusalem with Theodora in September of 1158. Aimery, the patriarch of Antioch, performed the marriage, as the patriarch of Jerusalem had not yet been consecrated. Baldwin was previously known for his frivolous lifestyle, but now became a devoted and loyal husband. Baldwin died only a few years later in 1162, and Theodora gained the city of Acre, as promised. Events January 11 - Vladislav II becomes King of Bohemia End of the formal reign of Emperor Go-Shirakawa of Japan, also the beginning of his cloistered rule, which will last to his death in 1192. ... The Latin Patriarch of Antioch was an office established in the aftermath of the First Crusade by Bohemund, the first Prince of Antioch. ... The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem is one of the Roman Catholic patriarchs of the east. The Patriarchate of Jerusalem is the oldest of Eastern Catholic Patriarchates, and the only one that still follows the Latin Rite. ...

Andronicus, Theodora's great-uncle, visited the kingdom in 1166 and was named lord of Beirut by Baldwin's brother and successor Amalric I. Andronicus invited Theodora to Beirut, and the two eloped to Damascus, or as William says, Andronicus abducted her in collusion with Nur ad-Din. It was likely not an abduction; Andronicus was already married, and had already had an affair with Philippa, sister of Bohemund II of Antioch, and he was likely trying to escape persecution by his cousin Emperor Manuel. As there was no legal marriage, Acre was returned to Amalric. Amalric had also married a Byzantine princess, Maria Comnena, and the imperial alliance remained intact. Andronicus I Comnenus, Byzantine emperor, son of prince Isaac Comnenus, and grandson of Alexius I Comnenus, was born about the beginning of the 12th century. ... Events Marko III succeeds Yoannis V as patriarch of Alexandria. ... Central Beirut (2004) Beirut ( Arabic بيروت - the French name, Beyrouth, was also commonly used in English in the past) is the capital, largest city and chief seaport of Lebanon. ... Amalric I (also Amaury or Aimery) (1136-1174) was king of Jerusalem from 1162 to 1174. ... Damascus by night, the green spots are minarets Damascus (Arabic officially دمشق Dimashq, colloqially ash-Sham الشام) is the capital city of Syria and one of the worlds oldest cities. ... Bohemund II Guiscard (1108-1131) was the Prince of Antioch between 1111 and 1131. ... Maria Comnena (c. ...

At the court of Nur ad-Din in Damascus, Andronicus and Theodora had two children together, Alexius and Irene, although Andronicus was inevitably excommunicated. They also travelled to Baghdad, and Andronicus was eventually made lord of a castle in Paphlagonia in the Sultanate of Rüm. Excommunication is religious censure which is used to deprive or suspend membership in a religious community. ... A street map of Baghdad Average temperature (red) and precipitations (blue) in Baghdad Baghdad (بغداد) is the capital of Iraq and the Baghdad Province. ... Paphlagonia was an ancient area on the northern central Black Sea coast of Anatolia, situated between Bithynia and Pontus, separated from Galatia by a prolongation to the east of the Bithynian Olympus. ... The Sultanate of Rûm was a Seljuk sultanate in Anatolia from 1077 to 1307. ...

The date of Theodora's death is unknown, but she had already died before 1182 when Andronicus usurped the Byzantine throne. Events Canute VI crowned king of Denmark Serbia allies itself with Hungary to gain independence First Sejm, or Polish Parliment, convenes at Łęczyca Jews expelled from Paris by Philip Augustus Maronites reestablish their affiliation with Catholicism Venetians massacred during a riot in Constantinople Raynald of Chatillon instigates another war between...

Another Theodora Comnena was the wife of Bohemund III of Antioch and sister of Queen Maria Comnena. A third Theodora Comnena was the wife of Henry II of Austria and mother Leopold V of Austria. Bohemund III of Antioch (1144-1201), also know as the Stammerer, was ruler of the principality of Antioch (a crusader state) from 1163 to his death. ... Heinrich (Henry) II, (born 1107, died January 13, 1177), Count Palatine of the Rhine 1140-1141, Margrave of Austria from 1141 to 1156, Duke of Bavaria from 1143 to 1156, Duke of Austria 1156-1177, was a prince from the dynasty of Babenberg. ... Leopold V (1157-December 31, 1194), the Virtuous, was a Babenberg duke of Austria from 1177 to 1194 and Styria from 1192 to 1194. ...

Sources

• William of Tyre, A History of Deeds Done Beyond the Sea, trans. E.A. Babcock and A.C. Krey. Columbia University Press, 1943.
• Bernard Hamilton, "Women in the Crusader States: The Queens of Jerusalem", in Medieval Women, edited by Derek Baker. Ecclesiatical History Society, 1978.
• Steven Runciman, A History of the Crusades, vol. II: The Kingdom of Jerusalem. Cambridge University Press, 1952.