John Komnenos (Latinized as Comnenus), nicknamed "the Fat" (Greek: Ἰωάννης Κομνηνὸς ὁ παχύς, romanized: Ioannis Komninos o pahys), was a Byzantine noble who attempted to usurp the imperial throne from Alexios III Angelos in a short-lived coup in Constantinople on 31 July 1201 (or 1200). The coup drew on opposition to the ruling Angelid dynasty among rival aristocratic families and the common people, who were dissatisfied by the dynasty's failures against external foes. John had previously been an obscure figure, but he became the figurehead of the uprising because of his imperial blood, as he was descended from the illustrious Komnenian dynasty (1081–1185). However, the real driving force behind his coup was probably the ambitious Alexios Doukas Mourtzouphlos. With the support of the capital's populace, the plotters managed to seize most of the Great Palace in Constantinople's southeastern corner, which the mob proceeded to loot, and John Komnenos was crowned in the Hagia Sophia. Alexios III, however, was secure in his residence in the northwestern Palace of Blachernae, and he sent forces by sea to land in the part of the Great Palace still held by the loyal Varangian Guard. Most of the urban mob dispersed for the night, and the Varangians had little difficulty in suppressing the coup. John Komnenos was captured and executed with many of his followers.
Origin and political background
John was ultimately of Greek and Turkish ancestry descending from both the Komnenoi and the Axouch. His father was the distinguished protostrator Alexios Axouch. The Axouchoi were a family of Turkish origin closely associated with the Komnenian dynasty and provided a number of distinguished generals. The two families also intermarried: John's mother Maria was the daughter of Alexios Komnenos, eldest son and co-emperor of Emperor John II Komnenos (r. 1118–1143). John was thus able to claim a pedigree comparable, if not superior, to the reigning Angeloi, albeit from the maternal side. The reign of Alexios III Angelos (r. 1195–1203) had been troubled from the outset: the aristocracy conspired against him, his pressing demand for new sources of revenue was blocked by the refusal of Senate, clergy and merchants to contribute, while the lower and middle classes of the imperial capital frequently displayed their discontent with riots against corrupt officials. The most notable of these was a large-scale uprising in February 1200 against the warden of the praetorium, Constantinople's chief prison, John Lagos, which was bloodily suppressed by imperial troops. John Komnenos was a rather unimportant figure in the court, and in a marginal note dating to the late 13th century, Alexios Doukas Mourtzouphlos, who briefly became emperor during Constantinople's final siege by the Fourth Crusade, was named as the real mastermind behind the coup. He was certainly supported by a wider circle of nobles from the Komnenian era, possibly even the brothers Alexios Komnenos and David Komnenos, who later founded the Empire of Trebizond (1204–1461). Thus the historian Michael Angold traces the coup's inception to the events of early 1199, when Alexios III married his two daughters Irene and Anna to the young noblemen Alexios Palaiologos and Theodore Laskaris respectively. This marriage not only spoke of increasing confidence for the Emperor, but also provided for the imperial succession and began the establishment of a separate aristocratic power-base, which must have displeased many noble families. However, the revolt was also fuelled by a general feeling of discontent and humiliation at the failures of the Angeloi, especially in terms of foreign policy. This much is evident from the — albeit embellished — account of the eyewitness Nicholas Mesarites, whereby John Komnenos's supporters proclaimed that henceforth everything would go well for Romania, that her enemies would be vanquished, and that the kings of all the earth would come to pay homage to Constantinople.
Coup
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