John II Megas Komnenos (Greek: Ἰωάννης Μέγας Κομνηνός, Iōannēs Megas Komnēnos) (c. 1262 – 16 August 1297) was Emperor of Trebizond from June 1280 to his death in 1297. He was the youngest son of Emperor Manuel I and his third wife, Irene Syrikaina, a Trapezuntine noblewoman. John succeeded to the throne after his full-brother George was betrayed by his archons on the mountain of Taurezion. It was during his reign that the style of the rulers of Trebizond changed; until then, they claimed the traditional title of the Byzantine emperors, "Emperor and Autocrat of the Romans", but from John II on they changed it to "Emperor and Autocrat of all the East, the Iberians, and the Transmarine Provinces", although Iberia had been lost in the reign of Andronikos I Gidos.[1]
John is the first ruler of Trebizond for whom we know more than a few incidents and hints; there is enough information to compose a connected narrative of the first part of his reign. The chronicle of Michael Panaretos, which is often terse and even cryptic, is relatively full for John's reign, and external sources add further details to Panaretos' account. Emperor John II faced many challenges to his rule, which partly explains his marriage to the daughter of the Byzantine emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos.
This insecurity may explain the sole instance where two emperors of Trebizond appear on the coins of this polity: John and his oldest son, Alexios.[2] By associating himself with his son Alexios on these coins, John may be advertising his choice for his successor.
^William Miller, Trebizond: The last Greek Empire of the Byzantine Era: 1204–1461, 1926 (Chicago: Argonaut, 1969), p. 29
^Otto Retowski, Die Muenzen der Komnenen von Trapezunt, 1911 (Braunschweig: Klinkhardt & Biermann, 1974), pp. 129–131
and 24 Related for: John II of Trebizond information
JohnII Megas Komnenos (Greek: Ἰωάννης Μέγας Κομνηνός, Iōannēs Megas Komnēnos) (c. 1262 – 16 August 1297) was Emperor ofTrebizond from June 1280 to his...
The Empire ofTrebizond, or Trapezuntine Empire, was a successor state of the Byzantine Empire that existed during the 13th through to the 15th century...
John IV Megas Komnenos (Greek: Ιωάννης Μέγας Κομνηνός, Iōannēs Megas Komnēnos) (died April 1460) was Emperor ofTrebizond from 1429 until his death. He...
elder son ofJohnII and Eudokia Palaiologina. Alexios proved to be a skillful and energetic ruler, under whose rule the Empire ofTrebizond reached the...
Emperor ofTrebizond from 1460 to 1461. He was the third son of Emperor Alexios IV ofTrebizond and Theodora Kantakouzene. Following the fall ofTrebizond to...
John I Komnenos Axouchos (Greek: Ιωάννης Κομνηνός Ἀξούχος, romanized: Iōannēs Komnēnos Axouchos) was Emperor ofTrebizond from 1235 to 1238. One editor...
the founder of the Empire ofTrebizond and its ruler from 1204 until his death in 1222. The two brothers were the only male descendants of the Byzantine...
Emperor ofTrebizond from 1238 until his death. He was the son of Emperor Alexios I and his wife, Theodora. At the time Manuel reigned, the Empire of Trebizond...
Emperor ofTrebizond from 1235 to 1238 JohnIIofTrebizond (c. 1262–August 16, 1297), Emperor ofTrebizond from 1280 to 1297 John III ofTrebizond (c. 1321–1362)...
was co-emperor of the Empire ofTrebizond alongside his elder brother John IV Megas Komnenos c. 1451–1459. Alexander was the second son of the Trapezuntine...
Empress ofTrebizond from 1284 to 1285. All Michael Panaretos tells us about her is that she was a daughter of Emperor Manuel I ofTrebizond by Rusudan...
Manuel II Megas Komnenos (Greek: Μανουήλ Μέγας Κομνηνός, Manouēl Megas Komnēnos) (c. 1324–1333) was Emperor ofTrebizond for eight months in 1332. Manuel...
had died prematurely or of his paternal grandfather, Emperor Alexios IIofTrebizond. His personal appearance was described by George Finlay as "extremely...
Foundation of the Western Empire. New York: The Macmillan Company. OCLC 14739796. Bucossi, Alessandra; Rodriguez Suarez, Alex, eds. (2016). JohnII Komnenos...
and of the Algarves JohnIIof Salerno (died c. 994) JohnIIof the Sedre, Syrian Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch in 631–648 JohnIIofTrebizond (c. 1262–1297)...
in Pera, in the vicinity of Constantinople, or remaining in Trebizond. Later sources state that the Ottoman sultan Mehmed II, who had conquered Constantinople...
David VI of Georgia) and Eudokia Palaiologina (married JohnIIofTrebizond). Michael also had two illegitimate daughters by his mistress of the Diplovatatzina...
quarter of the 14th century, some of that conflict had its origins in his marital actions. Basil was a younger son of Emperor Alexios IIofTrebizond and...
was the daughter ofJohn IV ofTrebizond and Bagrationi who married the Aq Qoyunlu ruler Uzun Hasan in 1458. She became the mother of Halima Alamshah Hatun...
George ofTrebizond was betrayed and overthrown in 1280, the 1281 Papadopoulos revolt against JohnII, and the Siege ofTrebizond (1282) by David VI of Georgia...
of her brother, became a consort of Bayezid II. Çiçek Hatun. Mother of Şehzade Cem. Anna Hatun. Daughter of the Greek emperor ofTrebizond David II Komnenos...
after 1341) was Empress regnant ofTrebizond from April 6, 1340, to July 17, 1341. She was an illegitimate daughter of the Byzantine Emperor Andronikos...