Editing Andronikos I Komnenos (section)

== Legacy ==
Andronikos's fall from power ended the rule of the [[Byzantine Empire under the Komnenos dynasty|Komnenos dynasty]], which had governed the Byzantine Empire since 1081. He was vilified as a tyrant in Byzantine writings after his death.{{Sfn|Harris|2020|loc=12.2}} The later [[Angelos|Angeloi]] emperors made it official imperial policy that Andronikos had been a tyrant, echoed in all texts addressed to them or their officials. This policy included changing earlier texts; in the writings of [[Theodore Balsamon]], for instance, all references to Andronikos as ''basileus'' (emperor) were replaced by ''tyrannos''.{{Sfn|Kaldellis|2024|p=700}}  [[Nicetas Choniates]], a contemporary historian, called Andronikos "Misophaes" ({{langx|grc|μισοφαής}}, {{lit|hater of sunlight}}) in reference to the great number of enemies he had blinded.{{sfn|Lascaratos|1999}}

The earlier Komnenoi emperors had instituted the Komnenian system of administration, family rule, and financial and military obligations. This system allowed the empire to achieve prosperity and some internal stability. It also greatly increased the power and wealth of the landowning provincial aristocracy.{{Sfn|Birkenmeier|2002|p=155}} Aristocrats had become able to run their administrations at will, exploit common citizens,{{Sfn|Kislinger|2019|p=77}} and withhold funds from the central government to use for their own purposes.{{Sfn|Birkenmeier|2002|p=155}} At its extreme, this could allow for independent local governments, such as that of Isaac Komnenos in Cyprus and the later realm ruled by [[Leo Sgouros]] in the [[Peloponnese]].{{Sfn|Birkenmeier|2002|p=155}} The power and abuses of the aristocracy was a very real issue, recognized by Andronikos, which ultimately contributed to the empire's catastrophic decline after his death.{{Sfn|Harris|2020|loc=12.2}}

Through his reforms and brutal suppression, Andronikos destroyed the Komnenian system,{{Sfn|Birkenmeier|2002|p=155}} though his death ended all attempts to curb the power of the aristocracy.{{Sfn|Gregory|2010|p=309}} Over the course of the subsequent [[Byzantine Empire under the Angelos dynasty|Angelos dynasty]], aristocratic power instead increased and the empire's central authority collapsed.{{Sfn|Gregory|2010|p=309}} Though blame for Byzantine decline has in the past been levied at Andronikos's brutal rule, his brutal efforts did little damage to the empire's long-term stability since they were largely confined to the ruling class, mostly in Constantinople itself.{{Sfn|Harris|2020|loc=12.2}} His domestic reforms were largely sensible, though imposed too hastily, and his brutal fall from power after a short reign stopped any chance of repairing the system.{{Sfn|Harris|2020|loc=12.2}} The Angeloi emperors, Isaac II Angelos ({{Reign}}1185–1195) and [[Alexios III Angelos]] ({{Reign}}1195–1203), faced problems of manpower directly resulting from the increasingly decentralized empire.{{Sfn|Birkenmeier|2002|p=156}}

The historian [[Paul Magdalino]] suggested in 1993 that Andronikos's reign saw the setting of the precedents that allowed the [[Fourth Crusade]] (1202–1204) to transpire, including an increasingly anti-Latin foreign policy as well as the phenomenon of relatives of the imperial family traveling abroad in the hope of securing foreign intervention in imperial politics.{{Sfn|Magdalino|2008|p=660}}

Several scholars, including Jonathan Bate and Geoffrey Bullough have suggested that [[William Shakespeare]]'s play ''[[Titus Andronicus|The Lamentable Tragedy of Titus Andronicus]]'' was loosely based on Andronikos's life.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AGIqAAAAMAAJ&q=Titus+Andronicus |title=The Tragedy of Titus Andronicus, Volume 30 |date=1922 |publisher=[[The MacMillan Company]] |editor=Stoll, Elmer Edgar |page=xvi |access-date=April 24, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://thesis.unipd.it/retrieve/0665557b-eb8c-4a16-a29e-147329f7c7ca/Cinzia_Russo_-_thesis_-_Titus_Andronicus_-_no_illustrations.pdf |title=THE REPRESENTATION OF DEATH IN TITUS ANDRONICUS |date=2011|publisher=University of Padua, Faculty of Literature and Philosophy, Department of Anglo-Germanic and Slavic Languages and Literatures|editor=Alessandra Petrina and Cinzia Russo |page=18|access-date=May 19, 2025}}</ref>