Byzantine emperor (1185-1195 and 1203-1204).
The founder of the Angelos dynasty, Isaac came to the throne upon the violent overthrow of the last Komnenian emperor, Andronikos I (12 September 1185). He succeeded in expelling the Norman conquerors of Thessalonica (mod. Thessaloniki, Greece) from Macedonia in 1185-1186, but was unable to subdue either Isaac Komnenos, the rebellious ruler of Cyprus, or the Bulgarian Asenid dynasty, which (with Vlach and Cuman support) established the Second Bulgarian Empire, which Isaac was forced to recognize (1186/1187).
In 1189-1190 the depredations on Byzantine territory by the land army of the Third Crusade (1189-1192) led by the
Holy Roman Emperor, Frederick I Barbarossa, resulted in Isaac’s approach to Saladin, Ayyubid sultan of Egypt; Frederick threatened Constantinople (mod. Istanbul, Turkey) itself and forced Isaac to conclude the Treaty of Adrianople (February 1190), which obliged him to transport the crusader army across the Hellespont to Anatolia. In the early 1190s Isaac faced insurrections by the Serbs and Byzantine pretenders in Anatolia and the Balkans.
In April 1195, while preparing a campaign against the Serbs, Isaac was arrested and blinded by his brother, Alex-ios III Angelos, who seized the throne. Isaac remained a prisoner until August 1203, when he was freed by the victorious army of the Fourth Crusade (1202-1204) and restored to the throne with his son, Alexios IV Angelos, as co-emperor. The two Angeloi were overthrown by a coup led by Alexios V Doukas Mourtzouphlos (January 1204). Isaac died a broken man (28/29 February 1204) a few weeks following the assassination of his son (8 February).
-Alexios G. C. Savvides
See also: Alexios III Angelos (d. 1211); Byzantine Empire
Bibliography
Angold, Michael, The Byzantine Empire, 1025-1204: A Political History, 2d ed. (London: Longman, 1997).
Brand, Charles, Byzantium Confronts the West, 1180-1204 (Cambridge.: Harvard University Press, 1968).
Cheynet, Jean-Claude, Pouvoir et contestations a Byzance, 969-1210 (Paris: Publications de la Sorbonne, 1990).
Harris, Jonathan, Byzantium and the Crusades (London: Hambledon & London, 2003).
Lilie, Ralph-Johannes, Byzanz und die Kreuzzuge (Stuttgart: Kohlhammer, 2004).
Ostrogorsky, George, History of the Byzantine State, 2d ed. (Oxford: Blackwell, 1968).
Varzos, Constantine, Hyevealoyia tcov Kofivrivmv, vol. 2 (Thessaloniki: Byzantine Research Centre, 1984).
Vlachos, Theodoros, “Aufstande und Verschworungen wahrend der Kaiserzeit Isaakios II. Angelos, 1185-95,” BvCavriva 6 (1974), 155-167.
The title basileus (king) and even minting his own coinage, where he is portrayed in imperial garments. His rule, the last period of Byzantine control over the island, was ended by the arrival of the Third Crusade (1189-1192). In May 1191 King Richard I of England, using as a pretext Isaac’s maltreatment of crusader pilgrims in Cyprus and fearing his amicable relations with Saladin, landed at Limassol (mod. Lemesos). Richard’s forces defeated Isaac in two battles at Kolossi and Tremethousa, and occupied the entire island within 20 days.
Isaac was captured and delivered by Richard to the Hospitallers, who incarcerated him in the fortress of Margat (mod. Marqab, Syria), where he most probably died, although one account records that he was released around 1194 and then went to the Saljuqs of Rum, where he was poisoned after attempting to foment rebellion against Emperor Alexios III Angelos.
-Alexios G. C. Savvides
See also: Cyprus
Bibliography
Brand, Charles, Byzantium Confronts the West, 1180-1204 (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1968).
Coureas, Nicholas, “To What Extent Was the Crusaders’ Capture of Cyprus Impelled by Strategic Considerations?” Cyprus Research Centre Annual 19 (1992), 197-204.
Demosthenous, Anthoulles, “L’empire cypriote 1184-1191,” BvCavrivog Adfcog 12 (2001), 65-70.
Edbury, Peter W., The Kingdom of Cyprus and the Crusades, 1191-1374 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
1991).
Hill, George, History of Cyprus, 3 vols. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1940-1949).
Nerantze-Varmaze, Vassilike, Meaaicovucri laropia rtjg Kvnpov and ng ntjyeg (Thessaloniki: Vanias, 1995).
Nicolaou-Konnare, Angel, “The Conquest of Cyprus by Richard the Lionheart,” Cyprus Research Centre Annual 31 (2000), 25-123.
Rudt de Collenberg, Wipertus Hugues, “L’empereur Isaac de Chypre et sa fille (1155-1207),” Byzantion 38 (1968), 123-179.
World History
