| Andronikos I Komnenos | |
|---|---|
| Emperor and Autocrat of the Romans | |
.png) Miniature portrait of Andronikos I (from a 15th-century codex containing a copy of the Extracts of History by Joannes Zonaras) | |
| Byzantine emperor | |
| Reign | September 1183 – 12 September 1185 |
| Predecessor | Alexios II Komnenos |
| Successor | Isaac II Angelos |
| Co-emperor | John Komnenos |
| Born | c. 1118–1120 |
| Died | 12 September 1185 (aged 64–67) Constantinople (now Istanbul, Turkey) |
| Spouse | Unknown first wife Agnes of France |
| Issue | Manuel Komnenos John Komnenos Maria Komnene Alexios Komnenos Irene Komnene |
| Dynasty | Komnenos |
| Father | Isaac Komnenos |
| Mother | Irene |
Andronikos I Komnenos (Greek: Ἀνδρόνικος Κομνηνός; c. 1118/1120 – 12 September 1185), Latinized as Andronicus I Comnenus, was Byzantine emperor from 1183 to 1185. A nephew of John II Komnenos (r. 1118–1143), Andronikos rose to fame in the reign of his cousin Manuel I Komnenos (r. 1143–1180), during which his life was marked by political failures, adventures, scandalous romances, and rivalry with the emperor.
After Manuel's death in 1180, the elderly Andronikos rose to prominence as the accession of the young Alexios II Komnenos led to power struggles in Constantinople. In 1182, Andronikos seized power in the capital, ostensibly as a guardian of the young emperor. Andronikos swiftly and ruthlessly eliminated his political rivals, including Alexios II's mother and regent, Maria of Antioch. In September 1183, Andronikos was crowned as co-emperor and had Alexios murdered, assuming power in his own name. Andronikos staunchly opposed the powerful Byzantine aristocracy and enacted brutal measures to curb their influence. Although he faced several revolts and the empire became increasingly unstable, his reforms had a favorable effect on the common citizenry. The capture of Thessaloniki by William II of Sicily in 1185 turned the people of Constantinople against Andronikos, who was captured and brutally murdered.
Andronikos was the last Byzantine emperor of the Komnenos dynasty (1081–1185). He was vilified as a tyrant by later Byzantine writers, who denigrated him with the nickname "Misophaes" (Greek: μισοφαής, lit. 'hater of sunlight') in reference to the great number of enemies he had blinded. The anti-aristocratic policies pursued by Andronikos destroyed the Komnenian system implemented by his predecessors. His reforms and policies were reversed by the succeeding Angelos dynasty (1185–1204), which contributed to the collapse of imperial central authority. When the Byzantine Empire was temporarily overthrown in the Fourth Crusade (1204), Andronikos's descendants established the Empire of Trebizond, where the Komnenoi continued to rule until 1461.