Theodora Comnena ^{1 2}

  General Notes:

Theodora Comnena was a niece of Byzantine emperor Manuel I Comnenus, and wife of King Baldwin III of Jerusalem. She was the daughter of the sebastocrator Isaac Comnenus, a son of Emperor John II Comnenus and brother of Emperor Manuel I Comnenus. Her sister Maria married King Stephen IV of Hungary.

Baldwin III had taken control of the Kingdom of Jerusalem from his mother and regent Queen Melisende in 1153. He was unmarried, however, and around 1157 it was decided by the Haute Cour that a wife should be sought from the Byzantine Empire, the kingdom's most powerful and wealthy neighbour. A Byzantine alliance would hopefully also bring much-needed money and military assistance against Nur ad-Din, sultan of Syria and Jerusalem's greatest enemy.

Attard, archbishop of Nazareth, Humphrey II of Toron, constable of Jerusalem, Joscelin Piscellus, and William de Barris were sent to Constantinople to negotiate a marriage for the king (Attard died while on the mission). The ambassadors were delayed in Constantinople for almost an entire year but it was finally decided that Theodora would be chosen as Baldwin's wife. She was at the time only 12 or 13 years old, but was already renowned for her beauty. Her dowry was worth 100 000 hyperpyra, and William of Tyre estimated that her extravagant wedding clothes cost another 14 000 hyperpyra. As a dowry from Baldwin, Theodora was granted the city of Acre, which she would hold as her own should Baldwin die childless.

The ambassadors arrived in Jerusalem with Theodora in September of 1158. Aimery, the patriarch of Antioch, performed the marriage, as the patriarch of Jerusalem had not yet been consecrated. Baldwin was previously known for his frivolous lifestyle, but now became a devoted and loyal husband. The marriage was short and childless: Baldwin died only a few years later in 1162, leaving Theodora a widow at age 16. Theodora gained the city of Acre, as promised.

A few years later in 1166, Theodora's kinsman Andronicus, a cousin of Emperor Manuel, visited the kingdom and was named lord of Beirut by Baldwin's brother and successor Amalric I. Andronicus invited Theodora to Beirut, and the two eloped to Damascus, or as William says, Andronicus abducted her in collusion with Nur ad-Din. It was likely not an abduction; Andronicus was already married, and had already had an affair with Philippa, a sister of Bohemund II of Antioch and of Manuel's wife Maria of Antioch, and he was likely trying to escape persecution by Manuel, who did not approve of these incestuous affairs. As there was no legal marriage, Acre was returned to Amalric. Amalric had also married a Byzantine princess, Maria Comnena, and the imperial alliance remained intact.

At the court of Nur ad-Din in Damascus, Andronicus and Theodora had two children together, Alexius and Irene, although Andronicus was inevitably excommunicated. They also travelled to Baghdad, and then to the the Sultanate of Rüm where Andronicus was made lord of a castle in Paphlagonia.

Andronicus returned home to Constantinople in 1180, where he reconciled with Manuel before the emperor died that year. Theodora's ultimate fate is unknown, but she did not accompany Andronicus to Constantinople, so she was probably dead or discarded by that year. Manuel, and also died young.

Another Theodora Comnena was the wife of Bohemund III of Antioch and sister of Queen Maria Comnena. A third Theodora Comnena was the wife of Henry II of Austria and mother of Leopold V of Austria.

Theodora married King Baldwin III of Jerusalem, son of Fulk V the Younger of Anjou and Melisende of Jerusalem, in Sep 1158. (King Baldwin III of Jerusalem was born circa 1131 and died circa 10 Feb 1162-1163 in Beirut, Lebanon.) The cause of his death was poisoned.