Andronikos III of Trebizond

For other uses, see Andronikos Komnenos.

Andronikos III Megas Komnenos
Emperor and Autocrat of all the East, of the Iberians and of Perateia
Coin depicting Andronikos III Megas Komnenos mounted on a horse
Emperor of Trebizond
Reign	October 1330 – 8 January 1332
Predecessor	Alexios II
Successor	Manuel II
Died	8 January 1332
Issue	Manuel II Megas Komnenos
Dynasty	Komnenos
Father	Alexios II Megas Komnenos
Mother	Djiadjak Jaqeli

Andronikos III Megas Komnenos, or Andronicus III (Greek: Ανδρόνικος Μέγας Κομνηνός, romanized: Andronikos Megas Komnēnos), (died 8 January 1332) was Emperor of Trebizond from 1330 to 1332. He was the eldest son of Emperor Alexios II of Trebizond and his Iberian wife, Djiadjak Jaqeli of Samckhe. According to Michael Panaretos, he reigned for 15 months, which suggests that there was an interregnum of five months — from the death of his father in May to October 1330.^[1]

Rustam Shukurov suggested that Andronikos and his son Manuel were named for their distant ancestors, Andronikos I Komnenos and his son Manuel the Sebastokrator, arguing that their portraits appeared on the walls of the Imperial palace hall.^[2]

One of his first actions when Andronikos became emperor was to put to death his two younger brothers, George Azachoutlou and Michael Achpougas. His other brother Basil managed to escape to Constantinople, where his uncle Michael was probably already residing.^[3]

On January 8, 1332, he died of bubonic plague like his father.^[4]

Upon his death Andronikos was briefly succeeded by his son, Manuel II. The sources have preserved no other details on the circumstances of Andronikos' short reign.^[3]

References

1. Panaretos, Chronicle, ch. 16. Greek text and English translation in Scott Kennedy, Two Works on Trebizond, Dumbarton Oaks Medieval Library 52 (Cambridge: Harvard University, 2019), p. 9
2. Shukurov, "AIMA: the blood of the Grand Komnenoi". Byzantine and Medieval Greek Studies, 19 (1995), p. 165
3. William Miller, Trebizond: The last Greek Empire of the Byzantine Era: 1204-1461, 1926 (Chicago: Argonaut, 1969), p. 43
4. Ahmet M. Zehiroglu, Trabzon Imparatorlugu 2 2016, Trabzon, (ISBN 978-605-4567-52-2) ; p.155

Andronikos III of Trebizond Komnenid dynasty Born: c. 1310 Died: 1332
Regnal titles
Preceded by Alexios II	Emperor of Trebizond 1330–1332	Succeeded by Manuel II