Twelfth-century Byzantium is characterized by a striking artistic vitality and profound socio-political changes. The Constantinopolitan elites, led by the Komnenian dynasty initiated by Alexios I, were the driving force behind the renewed intellectual landscape and power dynamics of the century. Despite the wealth of studies devoted to the Komnenians, the sebastokrator Isaac (1093–after 1152) has received limited attention in modern scholarship. Yet, Isaac is a fascinating figure at the crossroads of different worlds. He was an intellectual, the author of the first running commentary on the Iliad ever written in Byzantium. He was a patron, sponsoring magnificent buildings and supporting artists in and outside the capital. He was a would-be usurper, attempting to seize the throne several times. He was a shrewd diplomat, forging alliances with Armenian, Turkish, and Latin rulers. Modern scholars have so far failed to see the interplay between Isaac’s multiple personae. Isaac the scholar is rarely brought into conversation with Isaac the usurper, Isaac the patron, or Isaac the world traveller. Bringing together experts from a range of disciplines, this book fills a significant gap in the literature. As the first comprehensive study of one of the protagonists of the Komnenian era, it is essential reading for students of the Byzantine Empire. In addition, the portrait of Isaac presented here provides scholars of pre-modern civilizations with a relevant case study. By exposing the permeability of the theoretical and geographical ‘borders’ we use to conceptualize the past, Isaac epitomizes the interconnectedness at the heart of the so-called Global Middle Ages.

Table of Contents:
Introducing Isaac Komnenos Valeria Flavia Lovato Ties of blood, bids for power: usurpation attempts during the reign of John II Komnenos Angeliki Papageorgiou Isaac in exile: Down and Out in Constantinople and Jerusalem? Maximilian Lau From Christ the Saviour to the Mother of God ‘Saviour of the World’: the sebastokrator Isaac and his place within the first Purple-born generation of the Komnenoi Vlada Stanković The sebastokrator Isaac at home Paul Magdalino Change and innovation in twelfth-century Byzantium: the case of hair and hairstyles Alex Rodriguez Suarez Komnenian book culture: tracing tastes, mapping networks, unravelling self-(re)presentation Kallirroe Linardou Notes on the construction of Isaac Komnenos’s imperial profile by Theodoros Prodromos Marina Loukaki The dignity of kingship asserted: Isaac’s ‘political’ notes on the Iliad Filippomaria Pontani Isaac Komnenos and the scholarship of a learned prince André-Louis Rey It runs in the family: Proclus, pronoia and the Komnenoi Aglae Pizzone Isaac Komnenos and the Letter of Aristeas: a Byzantine Ptolemy between Homer, Aristotle and the Bible Valeria Flavia Lovato Isaac Komnenos Porphyrogennetos as a founder: philosophical implications in architectural patronage Giulia Troncarelli A ‘barren and senseless shoot’, a ‘flawless ally’ and an ‘enkolpion of pearls’: Isaac at Kosmosoteira Margaret Mullett