Printable View
i heard a tiny bit about a bzyantine emperor,i want to say alexis something but i think thats wrong,he supposedly died the gruesomest death a monarch had died up to that time.he was emperor after manuel i think(more than one manuel?manuel comnemus?
anyone know what im talking about?
There have been many interesting Byzantine deaths and other bits of violence. Odd bunch, the Byzantines.
When Leontios deposed Justinian II, he had Justinian's nose cut and mutilated; so he couldn't return. It was thought that a deformed man couldn't be emperor. The practice was called rhinokopia. That didn't stop Justinian, who regained the throne and was known as Justinian II Rhinotmetos ("cut nose") afterwards. Not really a death, but just typically Byzantine in flavor. He supposedly had a prosthetic nose made from gold to hide his disfigurement. Nose cutting wasn't used again.
Justinian's successor, Phillipikos Vardan ruled for only 2 years. When he was deposed, he was blinded; since nose cutting had proved ineffective. Apparently, usurpers hadn't quite yet caught on that maybe it would be easier to just outright kill their predecessors. ~;)
Constantine IV had a lovely mother, Irene, who deposed her own son. She had Constantine blinded and then locked in the room in which he had been born...for life. Maybe he was a difficult birth and she was just getting revenge for the labor pains.
Nikephorus I, who overthrew motherly Irene, was killed in battle by the Bulgars. The Bulgar King, Krum, had Nikephorus' skull made into a silver-lined drinking cup from which visiting Byzantine ambassadors were forced to drink toasts. I'm quite certain that the Bulgars wouldn't have piddled about with nose-cutting and blinding and locking in rooms. ~D
But, to get back to your original question:
Basil I certainly suffered a gruesome death. He was thrown from his horse while hunting when it reared up to face down Basil's chasing horse. Basil was thrown over the horse and impaled on the stag's horns. The stag is said to have run for 16 miles before being finally brought down so the emperor's body could be retrieved. Now that's a gruesome, if somewhat sickly comical, way to die.
Alexios V, who may be the one of whom you're thinking, was blinded by his father in-law, the former emperor Alexios III, and was then caught by crusaders and pushed from the top of the column of Theodosius to his death.
One small correction: Irene was mother of Constantine VI (not IV) and she had him blinded.Quote:
Originally Posted by Aenlic
And one in addition:
Andronicus I (1182-85) was killed in the streets of Constantinopole in awful way by mass of very angry citizens.