Editing Manuel I Komnenos (section)

==Second Crusade and Raynald of Châtillon==
{{details|Second Crusade}}

===Prince of Antioch===
[[Image:Map Crusader states 1135-en.svg|thumb|The County of Edessa in the context of the other states of the [[Near East]] in 1135]]
The first test of Manuel's reign came in 1144, when he was faced with a demand by [[Raymond of Poitiers|Raymond]], [[Prince of Antioch]], for the cession of [[Cilicia|Cilician]] territories. However, later that year the crusader [[County of Edessa]] was engulfed by the tide of a resurgent Islamic [[jihad]] under [[Imad al-Din Zengi|Imad ad-Din Zengi]]. Raymond realized that immediate help from the west was out of the question. With his eastern flank now dangerously exposed to this new threat, there seemed little option but for him to prepare for a humiliating visit to Constantinople. Swallowing his pride, he made the journey north to submit to Manuel and ask for protection. He was promised the support that he had requested, and his allegiance to Byzantium was secured.<ref name="M173">J. Cinnamus, ''Deeds of John and Manuel Comnenus'', 33–35<br/>* P. Magdalino, ''The Empire of Manuel I Komnenos'', 40</ref>

===Expedition against Konya===
In 1146 Manuel assembled his army at the military base [[Lopadion]] and set out on a [[punitive expedition]] against [[Mesud I|Mas'ud]], the Sultan of [[Sultanate of Rum|Rûm]], who had been repeatedly violating the frontiers of the Empire in western [[Anatolia]] and [[Cilicia]].<ref name="Tread640">W. Treadgold, ''A History of the Byzantine State and Society'', 640</ref> There was no attempt at a systematic conquest of territory, but Manuel's army defeated the Turks at [[Afyonkarahisar|Acroënus]], before capturing and destroying the fortified town of [[Philomelion]], removing its remaining Christian population.<ref name="Tread640"/> The Byzantine forces reached Masud's capital, [[Konya]] (Iconium), and ravaged the area around the city, but could not assault its walls. Among Manuel's motives for mounting this [[Razzia (military)|razzia]] there included a wish to be seen in the West as actively espousing the crusading ideal; [[John Kinnamos|Kinnamos]] also attributed to Manuel a desire to show off his martial prowess to his new bride.<ref>J. Cinnamus, ''Deeds of John and Manuel Comnenus'', 47<br/>* P. Magdalino, ''The Empire of Manuel I Komnenos'', 42</ref> While on this campaign Manuel received a letter from [[Louis VII of France]] announcing his intention of leading an army to the relief of the crusader states.<ref>Magdalino, ''The Empire of Manuel I Komnenos'', p. 42</ref>

===Arrival of the Crusaders===
[[Image:Arrivée des croisés à Constantinople.jpg|thumb|left|Arrival of the Second Crusade before Constantinople, portrayed in Jean Fouquet's painting from around 1455–1460, ''Arrivée des croisés à Constantinople''.]]

Manuel was prevented from capitalising on his conquests by events in the Balkans that urgently required his presence. In 1147 he granted a passage through his dominions to two armies of the Second Crusade under [[Conrad III of Germany]] and [[Louis VII of France]]. At this time, there were still members of the Byzantine court who remembered the passage of the [[First Crusade]], a defining event in the collective memory of the age that had fascinated Manuel's aunt, [[Anna Komnene]].<ref name="AC333">A. Komnene, ''The Alexiad'', 333</ref>

Many Byzantines feared the Crusade, a view endorsed by the numerous acts of vandalism and theft practised by the unruly armies as they marched through Byzantine territory. Byzantine troops followed the Crusaders, attempting to police their behaviour, and further troops were assembled in Constantinople, ready to defend the capital against any acts of aggression. This cautious approach was well advised, but still the numerous incidents of covert and open hostility between the Franks and the Greeks on their line of march, for which it seems both sides were to blame, precipitated conflict between Manuel and his guests. Manuel took the precaution—which his grandfather had not taken—of making repairs to the [[Walls of Constantinople|city walls]], and he pressed the two kings for guarantees concerning the security of his territories. Conrad's army was the first to enter the Byzantine territory in the summer of 1147, and it figures more prominently in the Byzantine sources, which imply that it was the more troublesome of the two.{{Cref|a}} Indeed, the contemporary Byzantine historian [[Kinnamos]] describes a full-scale [[Battle of Constantinople (1147)|clash]] between a Byzantine force and part of Conrad's army, outside the walls of Constantinople. The Byzantines defeated the Germans and, in Byzantine eyes, this reverse caused Conrad to agree to have his army speedily ferried across to [[Üsküdar|Damalis]] on the Asian shore of the Bosphoros.<ref>Kinnamos, pp. 65–67</ref><ref>Birkenmeier, p. 110</ref>

After 1147, however, the relations between the two leaders became friendlier. By 1148 Manuel had seen the wisdom of securing an alliance with Conrad, whose sister-in-law [[Bertha of Sulzbach]] he had earlier married; he actually persuaded the German king to renew their alliance against [[Roger II of Sicily]].<ref name="M621">P. Magdalino, ''The Byzantine Empire'', 621</ref> Unfortunately for the Byzantine emperor, Conrad died in 1152, and despite repeated attempts, Manuel could not reach an agreement with his successor, [[Frederick Barbarossa]].{{Cref|b}}

===Cyprus invaded===
[[Image:Image-Manuel-Pope.jpg|thumb|right|Letter by Manuel I Komnenos to [[Pope Eugene III]] on the issue of the crusades ([[Constantinople]], 1146, [[Vatican Secret Archives]]): with this document, the Emperor answers a previous papal letter asking [[Louis VII of France]] to free the [[Holy Land]] and reconquer [[Edessa]]. Manuel answers that he is willing to receive the French army and to support it, but he complains about receiving the letter from an envoy of the [[King of France]] and not from an ambassador sent by the Pope.<ref name="Vat">
[http://asv.vatican.va/en/doc/1146.htm Letter by the Emperor Manuel I Komnenos] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070202070010/http://asv.vatican.va/en/doc/1146.htm |date=2 February 2007 }}, Vatican Secret Archives.
</ref>]]

Manuel's attention was again drawn to Antioch in 1156, when [[Raynald of Châtillon]], the new Prince of Antioch, claimed that the Byzantine emperor had reneged on his promise to pay him a sum of money and vowed to attack the Byzantine province of [[Cyprus]].<ref name="R238">P. P. Read, ''The Templars'', 238</ref> Raynald arrested the governor of the island, John Komnenos, who was a nephew of Manuel, and the general Michael Branas.<ref name="R239">P. P. Read, ''The Templars'', 239</ref> The Latin historian [[William of Tyre]] deplored this act of war against fellow Christians and described the atrocities committed by Raynald's men in considerable detail.<ref>William of Tyre, ''Historia'', XVIII, [http://thelatinlibrary.com/williamtyre/18.html#10 10]</ref> Having ransacked the island and plundered all its wealth, Raynald's army mutilated the survivors before forcing them to buy back their flocks at exorbitant prices with what little they had left. Thus enriched with enough booty to make Antioch wealthy for years, the invaders boarded their ships and set sail for home.<ref>[[Carole Hillenbrand|C. Hillenbrand]], ''The Imprisonment of Raynald of Châtillon'', 80<br/>* T. F. Madden, ''The New Concise History of the Crusades'', 65</ref> Raynald also sent some of the mutilated hostages to Constantinople as a vivid demonstration of his disobedience and his contempt for the Byzantine emperor.<ref name="R239"/>

Manuel responded to this outrage in a characteristically energetic way. In the winter of 1158–59, he marched to Cilicia at the head of a huge army; the speed of his advance (Manuel had hurried on ahead of the main army with 500 cavalry) was such that he managed to surprise the [[Armenians|Armenian]] [[Thoros II, Prince of Armenia|Thoros of Cilicia]], who had participated in the attack on Cyprus.<ref name="M67">P. Magdalino, ''The Empire of Manuel I Komnenos'', 67</ref> Thoros fled into the mountains, and Cilicia swiftly fell to Manuel.<ref>Jeffreys, Elizabeth; Jeffreys, Michael (2015) "A Constantinopolitan Poet Views Frankish Antioch". In: Chrissis, Nikolaos G.; Kedar, Benjamin Z.; Phillips, Jonathan (eds.) ''Crusades'', Ashgate, {{ISBN|978-1-472-46841-3}}, vol. 14, p. 53</ref>

===Manuel in Antioch===
Meanwhile, news of the advance of the [[Byzantine army (Komnenian era)|Byzantine army]] soon reached Antioch. Raynald knew that he had no hope of defeating the emperor, and in addition knew that he could not expect any aid from King [[Baldwin III of Jerusalem]]. Baldwin did not approve of Raynald's attack on Cyprus, and in any case had already made an agreement with Manuel. Thus isolated and abandoned by his allies, Raynald decided that abject submission was his only hope. He appeared dressed in a sack with a rope tied around his neck, and begged for forgiveness. Manuel at first ignored the prostrate Raynald, chatting with his courtiers; William of Tyre commented that this ignominious scene continued for so long that all present were "disgusted" by it.<ref>B. Hamilton, ''William of Tyre and the Byzantine Empire'', 226<br/>* William of Tyre, ''Historia'', XVIII, [http://thelatinlibrary.com/williamtyre/18.html#23 23]</ref> Eventually, Manuel forgave Raynald on condition that he would become a vassal of the Empire, effectively surrendering the independence of Antioch to Byzantium.<ref name="Stone"/>

[[File:Principality of Antioch under byzantine protection.png|thumb|left|Antioch under Byzantine protection (1159–1180){{sfn|Muir|1963|p=16}}{{sfn|Angold|1997|loc=map 3}}]]

Peace having been restored, a grand ceremonial procession was staged on 12 April 1159 for the triumphant entry of the Byzantine army into the city, with Manuel riding through the streets on horseback, while the Prince of Antioch and the [[King of Jerusalem]] followed on foot. Manuel dispensed justice to the citizens and presided over games and tournaments for the crowd. In May, at the head of a united Christian army, he started on the road to Edessa, but he abandoned the campaign when he secured the release by [[Nur ad-Din Zangi|Nur ad-Din]], the ruler of [[Syria]], of 6,000 Christian prisoners captured in various battles since the second Crusade.<ref name=Norwich>Z. N. Brooke, ''A History of Europe, from 911 to 1198'', 482<br/>* P. Magdalino, ''The Empire of Manuel I Komnenos'', 67<br/>* J. H. Norwich, ''A short history of Byzantium''</ref> Despite the glorious end of the expedition, modern scholars argue that Manuel ultimately achieved much less than he had desired in terms of imperial restoration.{{Cref|c}}

Satisfied with his efforts thus far, Manuel headed back to Constantinople. On their way back, his troops were surprised in line of march by the Turks. Despite this, they won a complete victory, routing the enemy army from the field and inflicting heavy losses. In the following year, Manuel drove the Turks out of [[Isauria]].<ref name="P121">K. Paparrigopoulos, ''History of the Greek Nation'', Db, 134</ref>