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Manuel I Komnenos, or Comnenus (Greek: Μανουήλ Α' Κομνηνός, Manouēl I Komnēnos), November 28, 1118 – September 24, 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 Italy, successfully handled the passage of the dangerous Second Crusade through his empire, and established a Byzantine protectorate over the Crusader kingdoms of Outremer. Facing Muslim advances in the Holy Land, he made common cause with the Kingdom of Jerusalem and participated in a combined invasion of Fatimid Egypt. Manuel reshaped the political maps of the Balkans and the east Mediterranean, placing the kingdoms of Hungary and Outremer under Byzantine hegemony and campaigning aggressively against his neighbours both in the west and in the east. However, towards the end of his reign Manuel's achievements in the east were compromised by a serious defeat at Myriokephalon, which in large part resulted from his arrogance in attacking a well-defended Seljuk position.

The Latin historian William of Tyre described Manuel as "beloved of God… a great-souled man of incomparable energy," whose "memory will ever be held in benediction." Manuel was further extolled by Robert of Clari as a "generous and worthy man." Such a good press among Catholic writers was highly unusual for a Byzantine ruler, and this positive reputation has led some modern historians to view him as an inspired innovator who concentrated on cooperation rather than confrontation in his dealings with the Crusaders and the West. (Read more...)