Manuel I Komnenos |Manuel I Komnenos| |Emperor of the Byzantine
Empire| Manuscript miniature of Manuel I (part of double
portrait with Maria of Antioch, Vatican Library, Rome) |Reign||5
April 1143 – 24 September 1180| |Born||28 November 1118|
|Died||24 September 1180(aged 61)| |Predecessor||John II
Komnenos| |Successor||Alexios II Komnenos| |Consort to||Bertha
of Sulzbach Maria of Antioch |Father||John II Komnenos|
|Mother||Irene of Hungary| Manuel I Komnenos (or Comnenus)
(Greek: Μανουήλ Α' Κομνηνός, Manouēl I Komnēnos) (28 November
1118 – 24 September 1180) was a Byzantine Emperor of the 12th
century who reigned over a crucial turning point in the history
of Byzantium and the Mediterranean. Eager to restore his empire
to its past glories as the superpower of the Mediterranean
world, Manuel pursued an energetic and ambitious foreign policy.
In the process he made alliances with the Pope and the resurgent
west, invaded the Kingdom of Sicily, successfully handled the
passage of the dangerous Second Crusade thr