Editing John II Komnenos (section)

==Military exploits==

Though he fought a number of notable pitched battles, the military strategy of John II relied on taking and holding fortified settlements in order to construct defensible frontiers. John personally conducted approximately twenty five sieges during his reign.<ref>Birkenmeier, pp. 86–87</ref>

===The Pechenegs destroyed (1122)===
In 1119–1121 John defeated the [[Seljuq Turks]], establishing his control over southwestern [[Anatolia]]. However, immediately afterwards, in 1122, John quickly transferred his troops to Europe to counter a [[Pechenegs|Pecheneg]] invasion across the [[Danube]] frontier into [[Paristrion]]. These invaders had been auxiliaries of [[Vladimir Monomakh]], the Prince of [[Kiev]]. John surrounded the Pechenegs as they burst into [[Thrace]], tricked them into believing that he would grant them a favourable treaty, and then launched a devastating surprise attack upon their fortified camp. The ensuing [[Battle of Beroia]] was hard-fought, John was wounded in the leg by an arrow, but by the end of the day the Byzantine army had won a crushing victory. The decisive moment of the battle was when John led the [[Varangian Guard]], largely composed of Englishmen, to assault defensive Pecheneg wagon [[laager]], employing their famous axes to hack their way in.<ref name="Choniates, p. 11">Choniates, p. 11</ref><ref>Kinnamos, p. 16</ref> The battle put an effective end to the Pechenegs as an independent people; many of the captives taken in the conflict were settled as soldier-farmers within the Byzantine frontier.<ref name="Angold 1984, p. 153">Angold (1984), p. 153</ref>

===Conflict with Venice (1124–1126)===
[[File:Император Иоанн II Комнин.jpg|right|thumb|250px|John II in full imperial regalia, Byzantine low relief sculpture in marble, early 12th century.]]
After his accession, John&nbsp;II had refused to confirm his father's [[Byzantine–Venetian treaty of 1082|1082 treaty]] with the [[Republic of Venice]], which had given the Italian republic unique and generous trading rights within the Byzantine Empire. Yet the change in policy was not motivated by financial concerns. An incident involving the abuse of a member of the imperial family by Venetians led to a dangerous conflict, especially as Byzantium had depended on Venice for its naval strength.  After a Byzantine retaliatory attack on [[Corfu|Kerkyra]], John exiled the Venetian merchants from Constantinople.  But this produced further retaliation, and a Venetian fleet of 72 ships plundered [[Rhodes]], [[Chios]], [[Samos]], [[Lesbos]], [[Andros]] and captured [[Kefalonia]] in the [[Ionian Sea]].<ref name="fleet">J. Norwich, ''Byzantium: The Decline and Fall'', 70</ref>  Eventually John was forced to come to terms; the war was costing him more than it was worth, and he was not prepared to transfer funds from the imperial land forces to the navy for the construction of new ships. John re-confirmed the treaty of 1082, in August 1126.<ref>Angold (1984), p. 154–155</ref>

===War with the Hungarians and Serbs (1127–1129 – chronology uncertain)===
 {{main|Byzantine–Hungarian War (1127–29)}}
John's marriage to the Hungarian princess [[Piroska of Hungary|Piroska]] involved him in the dynastic struggles of the [[Kingdom of Hungary]]. In giving asylum to Álmos, a blinded claimant to the Hungarian throne, John aroused the suspicion of the Hungarians. The Hungarians, led by [[Stephen II of Hungary|Stephen II]], then invaded Byzantium's Balkan provinces in 1127, with hostilities lasting until 1129; however, an alternative chronology has been suggested with the Hungarian attack and Byzantine retaliation taking place in 1125 with a renewal of hostilities in 1126.<ref name="Angold 1984, p. 154">Angold (1984), p. 154</ref><ref>Fine, pp. 235–236</ref>{{efn|The primary sources, Kinnamos and Choniates, give little detail about this campaign, no dates are specified, and what they do say differs considerably. The chronology presented here, 1127–1129, follows that of Angold and other scholars, Fine has the events taking place earlier, in 1125–1126.}} John launched a punitive raid against the [[Serbs]], who had dangerously aligned themselves with Hungary, many of whom were rounded up and transported to [[Nicomedia]] in Asia Minor to serve as military colonists. This was done partly to cow the Serbs into submission (Serbia was, at least nominally, a Byzantine protectorate), and partly to strengthen the Byzantine frontier in the east against the Turks. The Serbs were forced to acknowledge Byzantine suzerainty once again.<ref name="Angold 1984, p. 153"/> The Serbian campaign may have taken place between two distinct phases in the war against Hungary.<ref name="Fine, p. 235">Fine, p. 235</ref> The Hungarians attacked [[Belgrade]], [[Niš|Nish]] and [[Sofia]]; John, who was near [[Plovdiv|Philippopolis]] in Thrace, counterattacked, supported by a naval flotilla operating on the [[Danube]].<ref name="Choniates, p. 11"/>  After a challenging campaign, the details of which are obscure, the emperor managed to defeat the Hungarians and their [[Serbia]]n allies at the fortress of [[Battle of Haram|Haram]] or Chramon, which is the modern [[Banatska Palanka|Nova Palanka]]; many Hungarian troops were killed when a bridge they were crossing collapsed as they were fleeing from a Byzantine attack.<ref>Kinnamos, p. 18</ref> Following this the Hungarians renewed hostilities by attacking Braničevo, which was immediately rebuilt by John. Further Byzantine military successes, Choniates mentions several engagements, resulted in a restoration of peace.<ref name="Angold 1984, p. 154"/><ref>Choniates, pp. 11–12</ref><ref name="Urbansky46">A. Urbansky, ''Byzantium and the Danube Frontier'', 46</ref> The Byzantines were confirmed in their control of Braničevo, Belgrade and Zemun and they also recovered the region of [[Syrmia|Sirmium]] (called Frangochorion in Choniates), which had been Hungarian since the 1060s. The Hungarian pretender Álmos died in 1129, removing the major source of friction.<ref name="Fine, p. 235"/>

===War of attrition against the Anatolian Turks (1119–20, 1130–35, 1139–40)===
{{main|Byzantine-Seljuq Wars}}
{{Campaignbox Byzantine-Seljuk War}}
[[File:Ince minare sculpture 1.jpg|thumb|right|Seljuq period architectural fragment from Konya, showing Seljuq appropriation of the [[double-headed eagle]] often associated with Byzantium. [[Ince Minaret Medrese|Ince Minare Museum]], Konya. The naturalism of the sculpture looks more Greek than Syrian or Iranian in workmanship.]]

Early in John's reign the Turks were pressing forward against the Byzantine frontier in western Asia Minor. In 1119, the Seljuqs had cut the land route to the city of [[Antalya|Attaleia]] on the southern coast of Anatolia. John&nbsp;II and Axouch the Grand Domestic [[Siege of Laodicea (1119)|besieged]] and recaptured [[Laodicea on the Lycus|Laodicea]] in 1119 and [[Siege of Sozopolis|took]] [[Sozopolis, Pisidia|Sozopolis]] by storm in 1120, re-opening land communication with Attaleia.{{sfn|Holt|Lambton|Lewis|1995|p=240}} This route was especially important as it also led to Cilicia and the Crusader states of Syria.<ref name="Angold 1984, p. 153"/>

Following the end of hostilities with Hungary, John was able to concentrate on Asia Minor during most of his remaining years. He undertook annual campaigns against the [[Danishmendid]] emirate in [[Malatya]] (Melitene) on the upper [[Euphrates]] from 1130 to 1135. Thanks to his energetic campaigning, Turkish attempts at expansion in Asia Minor were halted, and John prepared to take the fight to the enemy. In order to restore the region to Byzantine control, he led a series of well planned and executed campaigns against the Turks, one of which resulted in the reconquest of the ancestral home of the Komnenoi at [[Kastamonu]] (Kastra Komnenon); he then left a garrison of 2,000 men at [[Gangra]]. John quickly earned a formidable reputation as a wall-breaker, taking one stronghold after another from his enemies. Regions that had been lost to the empire since the [[Battle of Manzikert]] were recovered and garrisoned. Yet resistance, particularly from the Danishmends of the northeast, was strong, and the difficult nature of holding the new conquests is illustrated by the fact that Kastamonu was recaptured by the Turks even as John was in Constantinople celebrating its return to Byzantine rule. John persevered, however, and Kastamonu soon changed hands once more.<ref name="Choniates, pp. 12-13"/><ref>Kinnamos, pp. 20–21</ref><ref>Angold (1984), p. 155</ref>

In the spring of 1139, the emperor campaigned with success against Turks, probably nomadic Turkomans, who were raiding the regions along the [[Sakarya River|Sangarios River]], striking their means of subsistence by driving off their herds.<ref>Choniates, p. 19</ref> He then marched for the final time against the [[Danishmends|Danishmend Turks]], his army proceeding along the southern coast of the [[Black Sea]] through [[Bithynia]] and [[Paphlagonia]]. The breakaway Byzantine regime of [[Constantine Gabras]] in [[Trabzon|Trebizond]] was ended, and the region of [[Chaldia]] brought back under direct imperial control. John then besieged but failed to take the city of [[Neocaesarea]], in 1140. The Byzantines were defeated by the conditions rather than by the Turks: the weather was very bad, large numbers of the army's horses died, and provisions became scarce.<ref>Choniates, pp. 20–21</ref><ref name="AD-1139">J. Norwich, ''Byzantium: The Decline and Fall'', 82</ref><ref name="Angold 1984, p. 157">Angold (1984), p. 157</ref>

===Campaigning in Cilicia and Syria (1137–1138)===
[[File:Siege de Shaizar (1138).jpg|thumb|350px|right|John II directs the Siege of Shaizar while his allies sit inactive in their camp, French manuscript 1338]]

In the Levant, the emperor sought to reinforce Byzantine claims to suzerainty over the [[Crusader State]]s and to assert his rights over Antioch.  In 1137 he conquered [[Tarsus (city)|Tarsus]], [[Adana]], and [[Mopsuestia]] from the [[Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia|Principality of Armenian Cilicia]], and in 1138 Prince [[Leo I, Prince of Armenia|Levon&nbsp;I of Armenia]] and most of his family were brought as captives to Constantinople.<ref>Kinnamos, pp. 21–22</ref><ref name="cilicia">J. Norwich, ''Byzantium: The Decline and Fall'', 76</ref> This opened the route to the [[Principality of Antioch]], where [[Raymond of Poitiers]], Prince of Antioch, and [[Joscelin&nbsp;II of Edessa|Joscelin II]], [[County of Edessa|Count of Edessa]], recognized themselves as vassals of the emperor in 1137. Even [[Raymond II, Count of Tripoli|Raymond II]], the [[County of Tripoli|Count of Tripoli]], hastened northwards to pay homage to John, repeating the homage that his predecessor had given John's father in 1109.<ref>Runciman, p. 309</ref> There then followed a joint campaign as John led the armies of Byzantium, Antioch, and Edessa against Muslim Syria. Aleppo proved too strong to attack during an [[Siege of Aleppo (1138)|attempted siege]], but the fortresses of Balat, [[Bizaah|Biza'a]], [[Atarib|Athareb]], [[Maarat al-Numaan|Maarat al-Numan]], and [[Kafartab]] were taken by assault.<ref>Runciman, p. 215</ref>

Although John fought hard for the Christian cause in the campaign in Syria, his allies Prince Raymond of Antioch and Count Joscelin&nbsp;II of Edessa remained in their camp playing [[dice]] and feasting instead of helping to press the siege of the city of [[Siege of Shaizar|Shaizar]]. The Crusader Princes were suspicious of each other and of John, and neither wanted the other to gain from participating in the campaign. Raymond also wanted to hold on to Antioch, which he had agreed to hand over to John if the campaign was successful in capturing [[Aleppo]], [[Shaizar]], [[Homs]], and [[Hama]]. Latin and Muslim sources describe John's energy and personal courage in prosecuting the siege. The city was taken, but the citadel defied assault. The Emir of Shaizar offered to pay a large indemnity, become John's vassal, and pay yearly tribute. John had lost all confidence in his allies, and a Muslim army under [[Imad ad-Din Zengi|Zengi]] was approaching to try to relieve the city, therefore the emperor reluctantly accepted the offer.<ref>Runciman, pp. 215–217</ref> The emperor was distracted by a Seljuq raid on Cilicia and developments in the west, where he was pursuing a [[Holy Roman Empire|German]] alliance directed against the threat posed by the [[Normans]] of [[Sicily]]. Joscelin and Raymond conspired to delay the promised handover of Antioch's citadel to the emperor, stirring up popular unrest in the city directed at John and the local Greek community. John had little choice but to leave Syria with his ambitions only partially realised.<ref>Angold (1984), p. 156</ref>

===Final campaigns (1142)===
In early 1142 John campaigned against the Seljuqs of Iconium to secure his lines of communication through Attalia ([[Antalya]]). During this campaign his eldest son and co-emperor [[Alexios Komnenos (co-emperor)|Alexios]] died of a fever. Having secured his route, John embarked on a new expedition into Syria determined to reduce Antioch to direct imperial rule.<ref>Choniates p. 22</ref> This expedition included a planned pilgrimage to Jerusalem on which he intended to take his army. King [[Fulk of Jerusalem]], fearing that the emperor's presence with overwhelming military force would constrain him to make an act of homage and formally recognise Byzantine suzerainty over his kingdom, begged the emperor to bring only a modest escort. Fulk cited the inability of his largely barren kingdom to support the passage of a substantial army.<ref name="Runciman, pp. 212-213, 222-224"/><ref name="pilgrimage">J. Harris, ''Byzantium and The Crusades'', p. 86</ref> This lukewarm response resulted in John&nbsp;II deciding to postpone his pilgrimage. John descended rapidly on northern Syria, forcing Joscelin II of Edessa to render hostages, including his daughter,  as a guarantee of his good behaviour. He then advanced on Antioch demanding that the city and its citadel be surrendered to him. Raymond of Poitiers played for time, putting the proposal to the vote of the Antiochene general assembly. With the season well advanced John decided to take his army into winter quarters in Cilicia, proposing to renew his attack on Antioch the following year.<ref name="Angold 1984, p. 157"/>