ANDRONICUS I, was the younger brother of John, the son of Isaac, and the grandson of Alexius Comne nus. Ile was remarkable for the strength and beauty of his person, his dexterity in arms, persuasive elo quence, and ferocious courage. "In every deed of mis chief," says Gibbon, "he had a heart to resolve, a head to contrive, and a hand to execute." He was the fa vourite of his cousin, the emperor Manuel; from whom he received the dutchies of Naissus, Braniseba, and Cas toria; and with whose niece, Eudocia, he openly main tained a licentious intercourse. He soon betrayed his ingratitude and treachery ; engaged in a treasonable correspondence with the king of Hungary, and the German emperor ; was arrested by the command of Manuel, and confined above 12 years, in a tower of the palace of Constantinople. After many repeated and ingenious attempts, he at length effected his escape ; and made his way, with astonishing resolution and dex terity, to the court of the grand duke of Russia, at Kiow. Capable of assuming the manners of every climate, he soon acquired the esteem and confidence of the Russian prince ; and by persuading him to join his arms with those of Manuel, he procured his own forgiveness, and restoration to his country. His ambition soon revived, and he refused to swear allegiance to the prince of Hungary, who had become the presumptive heir of the empire, by marrying the daughter of Manuel. He was punished by an honourable exile to the command of the Cilician frontier ; and in this station he again incurred the resentment of the emperor, by seducing Philippa, the sister of the empress. When his licentious plea sures were obstructed, he collected a band of adven turers, undertook the pilgrimage of Jerusalem, and ob tained the lordship of Berytus, on the coast of Phcenicia. In this neighbourhood resided Theodora, who was a princess of his own nation and family, widow of Baldwin III, king of Jerusalem; and who soon became the third victim of his vicious passions. In order to avoid the vengeance of Manuel, he took his flight from Palestine, accompanied by his concubine, passed through Damas cus, Bagdad, and other cities of Persia, and at length fixed his residence among the Turks of Asia Minor, where he employed himself and his followers in preda tory excursions against the Christians of Trebizond.
At length, Theodora having been apprehended by the governor of Trebizond, and sent to Constantinople ; Andronicus hastened to throw himself at the feet of his sovereign, caused himself to be dragged to the foot of the throne by an iron chain, with which he had encir cled his neck; implored and obtained a final pardon ; but was condemned by the just suspicion of the emperor to reside at a dis,anee Iron' court. The death of Manuel
in 1177, the minority ot his successor, Alexius Comne nus, and the disorders which were excited by the mis conduct of the empress dowager, opened a wide field to the ambitious Andronicus. Called upon by the patri arch and the people, to quell the insurrections, which raged in the capital, he soon found means to procure his election as the associate of Alexius in the empire ; imprisoned and put to death the empress mother ; stran gled his young ward and colleague, with the bowstring; and seized the Roman sceptre as the reward of his crimes. He put to death, or drove into exile, the rela tives of the imperial family, and all who possessed suffi cient ability and influence to oppose his designs. He treated, with the utmost barbarity, the inhabitants of Nice, and of several other cities, which he had subdued ; and was continually shedding the blood of distinguished families in Constantinople. Superstitious as well as inhuman, he was made to believe, that he should be slain and succeeded by a person, whose name began with the syllable IS ; and he immediately took measures to despatch every eminent man of that description. He had therefore given orders, that Isaac Angelus, who was related to the royal family, should be appre hended ; but he boldly cut his way through the officers, who came for that purpose, took refuge in one of the temples, and intreated the people to grant him protec tion and assistance. Exasperated by the multiplied barbarities of their tyrant, they immediately proclaimed Isaac Angelus emperor, seized upon Andronicus, thrust out his eyes, tormented him for three days, suspended him by the feet between two pillars, and then put him to death in the most brutal manner. lie is said to have endured these tortures with great magnanimity, and to have acknowledged the justice of God in thus requiting his own cruelties. He reigned two years, and was dethroned in the manner related, in 1183. Sec Esprin chard. Hist. Auguste, vol. ii. p. 238. Tursellin. Hist. 1. viii. c. 8. Nicetas, Hist. Aug. Andron. Mod. Un. Hist. vol. xvii. p. 159, 162. Gibbon's History, vol. ix. chap. 48. (q)