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Manuel Kamytzes
Manuel Kamytzes Komnenos Doukas Angelos (Greek: Μανουήλ Καμύτζης Κομνηνός Δούκας Ἄγγελος; c. 1150 – after 1202) was a Byzantine general who was active in the late 12th century, and led an unsuccessful rebellion in 1201–02, against his cousin, Emperor Alexios III Angelos.
A member of the Kamytzes family, the Byzantine high nobility and cousin of emperors Isaac II Angelos and Alexios III Angelos, Kamytzes served as a senior military commander in the Balkans, with the rank of protostrator, from 1185/86 until 1199. For Isaac II he fought against the Norman invaders in 1185 and the uprising of Alexios Branas in 1186/87. Kamytzes twice campaigned against the Vlach–Bulgarian rebellion in the northern Balkans, as well as against Cuman raiders in the same region. In 1189, he clashed with the German contingent of the Third Crusade, under Frederick I Barbarossa, as they crossed Byzantine territory.
Under Alexios III, Kamytzes campaigned unsuccessfully against the Bulgarian rebel leader Ivanko in 1197. In early 1199, as Alexios III briefly fell gravely ill, Kamytzes was one of the imperial relatives who put themselves forward for the throne. Later in the year, he was captured by Ivanko, but the Emperor not only refused to ransom him, but also confiscated his possessions and imprisoned his family. Enraged at this treatment, Kamytzes joined his son-in-law, Dobromir Chrysos, in rebellion in 1201. Kamytzes captured Thessaly, but was quickly abandoned by Chrysos and defeated by the Imperial armies in 1202. Kamytzes probably fled to Bulgaria, where he died.
Born around 1150, Manuel Kamytzes was the son of Constantine Kamytzes and Maria Angelina Komnene. From his mother, Manuel inherited the prestigious surnames of "Angelos", "Doukas", and "Komnenos", linking him to three Byzantine imperial dynasties. In his only surviving lead seal, Manuel himself uses only the surnames of Kamytzes and "Komnenodoukas".
Manuel's father is only known from funeral elegies by the court poets Theodore Prodromos and the so-called "Manganeios Prodromos", who laud him as a distinguished general ("the diamond spear of the Younger Rome") and record that he held the rank of sebastos. His mother was the firstborn child of Constantine Angelos, the founder of the Angelos family. Her mother, Theodora, was a purple-born princess, the daughter of the Byzantine emperor Alexios I Komnenos (r. 1081–1118). Manuel had siblings, but their number or names are unknown.
Manuel Kamytzes is first mentioned in 1185, during the reign of Andronikos I Komnenos (r. 1183–1185), Kamytzes' first cousin, once removed. According to a brief notice by Archbishop Eustathius of Thessalonica, Kamytzes participated as a commander in the campaign against the Italo-Normans who were besieging Thessalonica, but no details are given.
In 1185, Isaac II Angelos (r. 1185–1195, 1203–1204), a first cousin on his mother's side, took the throne, and Kamytzes received the title of protostrator. By this time, this rank was reserved for very prominent aristocrats with close family ties to the reigning dynasty. Kamytzes played an important role in the suppression of the revolt of the general Alexios Branas, which broke out during the summer of 1186, or, more likely, in 1187. Kamytzes and Branas were bitter enemies at court, so Kamytzes made his entire fortune available to the Emperor for use against the rebel, and himself commanded the left wing of the Imperial army under Conrad of Montferrat that defeated and killed the rebel before the Walls of Constantinople.
In September 1187, Isaac II marched out to campaign against the Vlach–Bulgarian uprising of Asen and Peter, that had been gaining ground in the northern Balkans with the aid of Cuman mercenaries. At Lardeas, the Byzantines came upon a Cuman raiding force of 6,000 men. In the ensuing battle, in which Kamytzes commanded one of the Imperial army's detachments, the Cuman raiders were routed and their prisoners, some 12,000, were liberated.
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Manuel Kamytzes
Manuel Kamytzes Komnenos Doukas Angelos (Greek: Μανουήλ Καμύτζης Κομνηνός Δούκας Ἄγγελος; c. 1150 – after 1202) was a Byzantine general who was active in the late 12th century, and led an unsuccessful rebellion in 1201–02, against his cousin, Emperor Alexios III Angelos.
A member of the Kamytzes family, the Byzantine high nobility and cousin of emperors Isaac II Angelos and Alexios III Angelos, Kamytzes served as a senior military commander in the Balkans, with the rank of protostrator, from 1185/86 until 1199. For Isaac II he fought against the Norman invaders in 1185 and the uprising of Alexios Branas in 1186/87. Kamytzes twice campaigned against the Vlach–Bulgarian rebellion in the northern Balkans, as well as against Cuman raiders in the same region. In 1189, he clashed with the German contingent of the Third Crusade, under Frederick I Barbarossa, as they crossed Byzantine territory.
Under Alexios III, Kamytzes campaigned unsuccessfully against the Bulgarian rebel leader Ivanko in 1197. In early 1199, as Alexios III briefly fell gravely ill, Kamytzes was one of the imperial relatives who put themselves forward for the throne. Later in the year, he was captured by Ivanko, but the Emperor not only refused to ransom him, but also confiscated his possessions and imprisoned his family. Enraged at this treatment, Kamytzes joined his son-in-law, Dobromir Chrysos, in rebellion in 1201. Kamytzes captured Thessaly, but was quickly abandoned by Chrysos and defeated by the Imperial armies in 1202. Kamytzes probably fled to Bulgaria, where he died.
Born around 1150, Manuel Kamytzes was the son of Constantine Kamytzes and Maria Angelina Komnene. From his mother, Manuel inherited the prestigious surnames of "Angelos", "Doukas", and "Komnenos", linking him to three Byzantine imperial dynasties. In his only surviving lead seal, Manuel himself uses only the surnames of Kamytzes and "Komnenodoukas".
Manuel's father is only known from funeral elegies by the court poets Theodore Prodromos and the so-called "Manganeios Prodromos", who laud him as a distinguished general ("the diamond spear of the Younger Rome") and record that he held the rank of sebastos. His mother was the firstborn child of Constantine Angelos, the founder of the Angelos family. Her mother, Theodora, was a purple-born princess, the daughter of the Byzantine emperor Alexios I Komnenos (r. 1081–1118). Manuel had siblings, but their number or names are unknown.
Manuel Kamytzes is first mentioned in 1185, during the reign of Andronikos I Komnenos (r. 1183–1185), Kamytzes' first cousin, once removed. According to a brief notice by Archbishop Eustathius of Thessalonica, Kamytzes participated as a commander in the campaign against the Italo-Normans who were besieging Thessalonica, but no details are given.
In 1185, Isaac II Angelos (r. 1185–1195, 1203–1204), a first cousin on his mother's side, took the throne, and Kamytzes received the title of protostrator. By this time, this rank was reserved for very prominent aristocrats with close family ties to the reigning dynasty. Kamytzes played an important role in the suppression of the revolt of the general Alexios Branas, which broke out during the summer of 1186, or, more likely, in 1187. Kamytzes and Branas were bitter enemies at court, so Kamytzes made his entire fortune available to the Emperor for use against the rebel, and himself commanded the left wing of the Imperial army under Conrad of Montferrat that defeated and killed the rebel before the Walls of Constantinople.
In September 1187, Isaac II marched out to campaign against the Vlach–Bulgarian uprising of Asen and Peter, that had been gaining ground in the northern Balkans with the aid of Cuman mercenaries. At Lardeas, the Byzantines came upon a Cuman raiding force of 6,000 men. In the ensuing battle, in which Kamytzes commanded one of the Imperial army's detachments, the Cuman raiders were routed and their prisoners, some 12,000, were liberated.