20/12/2023
Belgrade, Serbia 🇷🇸- Manuel I Komnenos, Byzantine emperor ("House Komnenos" (2022)/ "The Imperial Heir" (2023)) with the walls of the Belgrade Fortress behind.
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"But I think if you do something worthy to prove yourself as a worthy successor, she will come to respect you, and now I just have the right mission for you to do just that." -Manuel I Komnenos, "The Imperial Heir: A Byzantine Epic" (2023)
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Trivia: The Byzantine emperor Manuel I Komnenos (r. 1143-1180) is a major character in No Budget Films' Lego films "House Komnenos: A Byzantine Epic" (2022) and in its prequel film "The Imperial Heir: A Byzantine Epic". Manuel's character is based on the same historical character of the same name who was a Byzantine emperor in the 12th century. Although Manuel was born in 1118 as the youngest son of the newly crowned Byzantine emperor John II Komnenos (r. 1118-1143) with his Hungarian wife Piroska-Irene- and therefore a grandson of the Byzantine emperor Alexios I Komnenos (r. 1081-1118)- he does not appear in No Budget Films media until 1153- 10 years after becoming emperor- although in "The Imperial Heir" he mentions his origin story of how he became emperor which was not expected of him due to him being the youngest son. However, due to his father the emperor John II's untimely death in 1143 from a hunting accident which was preceded by the death of his 2 eldest sons and Manuel's older brothers Alexios and Andronikos, Manuel despite being the youngest son succeeded his father all while his surviving older brother Isaac was removed from the succession simply because his father did not see him as worthy due to his bad temper whereas Manuel had already proven his courage in battle and intelligence which is why he succeeded his father despite being the youngest son. In the first 20 years of his reign, Manuel dealt with the 2nd Crusade passing his empire, war with the Normans of Sicily, had a failed attempt to recapture Southern Italy from the Normans, and managed to make the Crusader state of Antioch a Byzantine vassal. By the time Manuel became emperor in 1143, he had been married to the German princess Bertha of Sulzbach who produced him a daughter being Maria who was born in 1152, however Bertha died in 1159 and thus Manuel in 1161 married the Norman princess Maria of Antioch from the Crusader Principality of Antioch. Manuel however first with Bertha and then with Maria failed to produce a son and thus in search for an heir, Manuel turned to the Kingdom of Hungary wherein he made a deal with its new king Stephen III (r. 1162-1172) wherein he would adopt Stephen's younger brother Bela who would then travel to Constantinople as his heir and thus Bela would inherit both his Kingdom of Hungary and Byzantium from his brother and Manuel respectively. Where the film "The Imperial Heir" opens in 1163, the Hungarian prince Bela is escorted to the Byzantine throne room in Constantinople's imperial Blachernae Palace where he is presented before Manuel. When Bela is presented at the throne room, Manuel making Bela feel welcome tells him that he will be educated in Constantinople to be a proper Roman prince and also that Bela will be adopted by him as his heir wherein Bela would be given both Manuel's daughter Maria in marriage, the imperial title of "despotes", and the name "Alexios". Manuel's plan however is opposed by his cousin Andronikos who does not approve of having a "foreign barbarian" be heir to the empire though Manuel simply tells Andronikos to leave due to opposing this plan as Manuel already made his succession plan clear. Aside from Andronikos, Manuel's wife Maria of Antioch too opposes Manuel's plan of having Bela as his heir, however Manuel tells her that having Bela as his heir is for the good of the empire as if Bela inherits Byzantium then the empire will be larger with the addition of the Kingdom of Hungary into it. Manuel also tells his wife that he is sure about Bela succeeding him as she failed to produce a son, though Maria warns Manuel that if she finally produces a son then Bela is off the succession plan. The King of Hungary Stephen III however refused to give the lands to Bela that were promised to the latter, thus Manuel uses this as a reason to declare war on Hungary in 1167. Here, the Byzantine forces led by Manuel's nephew the general Andronikos Kontostephanos clash with the Hungarians at the Battle of Sirmium all while Manuel who has fallen ill here stays at the camp together with Bela. At the camp, Manuel tells Bela his whole reason to why he declared war on Bela's brother Stephen III as well as Manuel's origin story on how he became emperor. With the battle over and won by the Byzantines, Manuel himself goes to the battlefield by horse congratulating his nephew Kontostephanos for winning it, though Manuel also gives his nephew new orders which is to attack Fatimid held Egypt together with the troops of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem. In 1169, the Byzantines assisted by the Crusaders of Jerusalem successfully attack the port of Damietta in Egypt, however rather than the city falling under Byzantine hands, the Crusaders take it for themselves, thus Kontostephanos returns to Constantinople humiliated reporting the failure of the expedition to Manuel who is here enraged at the King of Jerusalem Amalric for betraying them as Manuel previously had foreseen that this expedition of his to take Egypt would further enrich his empire. In the meantime in 1169 as well, Manuel's wife Maria finally produced him a son being Alexios thus removing Bela from the succession plan. Although Bela is frustrated that he has been removed from the succession, Manuel later tells him that he will still get to rule Hungary in the future and even be co-emperor of Byzantium with Manuel's son Alexios II in the rare case that Manuel will die sooner due to Alexios' young age which would make him not ready to rule alone yet. Manuel too tells Bela that with Bela's marriage to Manuel's daughter Maria being cancelled, he will instead be married to Manuel's sister-in-law Agnes of Antioch, half-sister of Manuel's wife Maria of Antioch in which Manuel tells Bela that if he married Agnes, then Bela would seem less and less a threat to the empress Maria of Antioch especially since they would be in a way related. Additionally, Manuel tells Bela that if Bela does something to prove himself worthy of being a successor then Maria of Antioch will come to respect him, and at that point Manuel had a plan for Bela to do just that. In 1171 meanwhile as seen in the film "The Imperial Heir", Manuel suddenly announces that he will break all ties with the Republic of Venice wherein he declares that all Venetians will be banned from trading in the Byzantine Empire and that their properties and ships will be confiscated all while all Venetians living in the Byzantine Empire are to be arrested. The reason for Manuel's decision to make Venice an enemy was mainly due to how the Venetians made money in Byzantine waters and not giving Byzantium what is due. With Venice declared an enemy of Byzantium, Manuel had also announced that he had got other Italian naval republics such as Pisa and Genoa as allies. Meanwhile in Venice, the people cry out for war against Byzantium after discovering Manuel's treatment towards Venetians in the Byzantine Empire, and although Venice's ruler or doge Vitale II Michiel considers negotiating peace with Manuel, he is eventually forced to declare war on Byzantium due to the people's demands. Word later gets to Manuel in Constantinople through his cousin and general Andronikos Angelos that Venice has declared war on Byzantium and is sending a fleet to invade it. Manuel then orders both his generals Kontostephanos and Angelos to prepare for war wherein Bela is to join them in order to have the mission to prove himself. In 1172 as the Byzantines battle the Venetians at the Greek island of Chios, intrigue breaks out in Constantinople's imperial palace all while Manuel and his wife Maria of Antioch argue again over Bela and the conflict with the Venetians. It is revealed here that Maria of Antioch sent Bela to battle the Venetians for him to die but Manuel did it anyway listening to her in order for Bela to prove himself in battle to be a worthy successor. Maria of Antioch too is not pleased with Manuel's decision to make Venice an enemy as they are a valuable trading partner but Manuel expresses that he made Venice an enemy because Byzantium no longer needs Venice who have just been a pain to the Byzantines all while the other Italian naval republics have proved to be better allies. At the same time too, over in the imperial palace, the court's French interpreter Aaron Isaakios has turned out to have been paid off by the Doge of Venice to assassinate Manuel as a second plan in case Venice's invasion of Byzantium fails. However, the conversation of the interpreter was overheard by the empress Maria of Antioch who understood everything he said due to French being her native language and so she calls Manuel to come in and deal with the plot. Before Manuel rushes into the scene, Maria of Antioch with her physical strength pinned down the interpreter right in time for Manuel to arrive with a contingent of his Varangian Guard and his daughter Maria. When discovering that the interpreter plotted to kill him, Manuel orders the interpreter blinded wherein a Varangian Guard does the job of blinding him. In the meantime, the Byzantines had defeated the Venetian invasion wherein Bela true enough proved himself in battle and thus Bela together with the generals Kontostephanos and Angelos return to Constantinople in a triumph all while in Venice their doge had been killed by his own people due to his failure on the invasion of Byzantium. Back in Constantinople, Manuel when hearing about all these successes including Venice's ally Serbia submitting once again to Byzantium as a vassal congratulates Kontostephanos, Angelos, and Bela for their work. When hearing of Bela's success, Manuel tells him that he has proven himself worthy of being an emperor and thus allowing Bela to now rest. The empress Maria of Antioch on the other hand apologizes to Bela for how she treated him in the past and that she now believes in him due to proving himself in battle whereas Manuel's daughter Maria Komnene expresses too that Bela has done a great job. Later on however, Manuel brings Bela the sad news that Bela's brother the King of Hungary Stephen III had died and thus letting Bela know that he is to no longer be Byzantine emperor in the future anymore as his people back in Hungary need him as their king. Manuel too tells Bela that Bela may have been destined to be King of Hungary after all though also that there may still be a chance for Bela to rule Byzantium if ever Manuel dies too early. Before Bela leaves for Hungary, Manuel then reminds Bela to come to Byzantium's aid whenever needed and to rule for the benefit of Byzantium. As Bela leaves the imperial palace here in 1172, Manuel says that he hopes to see Bela again and that it is about time Manuel should train his young son Alexios to succeed him. In the sequel film to "The Imperial Heir" being "House Komnenos", Manuel again appears although here his scenes are not chronological as he does not appear in the film's main sequence but in flashbacks. In the opening sequence of "House Komnenos" which is narrated by the young emperor and Manuel's son Alexios II Komnenos, he describes his father Manuel as strong, energetic, and decisive but being overconfident too which was his major flaw which made him believe he was the world's most powerful ruler and thus he aimed to show this by invading foreign kingdoms if they did not submit to him. Alexios also says that Manuel had a dream wherein the Byzantines and its neighbors would all work together but at the end Manuel would see his hopes and dreams in ruins when facing a major defeat in battle to the Seljuk Turks of Asia Minor at the Battle of Myriokephalon in 1176 and thus Manuel would never recover from this defeat and so just 4 years later in 1180 he died a broken man at the age of 61. The first scene in the main sequence of "House Komnenos" then shows Manuel's funeral in 1180, though later on as the generals Kontostephanos and Angelos converse while in Constantinople's streets, they discuss the Battle of Myriokephalon where they fought together with Manuel. In this battle, wherein Bela III now King of Hungary even sent Manuel troops as promised to him, the Byzantines are ambushed from both sides of the pass by the Seljuk Turks. Although the Byzantines are trapped in the pass, Angelos tells Manuel to push through thinking they would soon win though Manuel here does not agree believing that he will die if they continue which would then plunge the empire into chaos considering his son Alexios is still very young. As the battle rages on, Manuel is shot in the foot by an arrow and thus falls off his horse which gallops away all while Kontostephanos agrees with Manuel by telling him to retreat, stop the battle, and make peace with the Seljuks. Manuel together with Kontostephanos and Angelos true enough made it out of the battle alive although defeated, hence Manuel had to submit to a humiliating peace with the Seljuks. Manuel again appears in a flashback scene taking place in 1153 even before the events of "The Imperial Heir" wherein he has his treacherous cousin Andronikos imprisoned for life which is to show the great conflict between the cousins Manuel and Andronikos Komnenos and how it originated. Towards the end of the film "House Komnenos", Manuel appears again, here showing another take on the 1171 scene where Manuel declares the Republic of Venice an enemy wherein here he tells his young son Alexios to not trust any Venetians as they mean no good and thus Manuel orders all Venetians in his empire arrested and their properties confiscated and as Manuel tells this to his son, they observe a Venetian ship being burned by the Byzantines. Before the film "House Komnenos" ends, Alexios II now the full emperor in a vision sees himself together with his father Manuel.
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In No Budget Films media, Manuel I Komnenos has a major appearance in both films "House Komnenos: A Byzantine Epic" (2022) and in its prequel "The Imperial Heir: A Byzantine Epic" (2023). Manuel's character was first introduced in "House Komnenos" despite only appearing in flashback sequences and not in the main sequence of the film. In "House Komnenos", Manuel appears in 3 flashback sequences; first being the Battle of Myriokephalon in 1176 where he is severely defeated, the next one a flashback scene dating back to 1153 wherein he imprisons his cousin Andronikos, and lastly in a scene dating back to 1171 wherein he declares the Republic of Venice an enemy of the Byzantine Empire. The opening sequence of "House Komnenos" meanwhile narrated by Manuel's son Alexios II Komnenos gives an overview of Manuel's character and his achievements. Due to appearing in only 3 flashback scenes in "House Komnenos" which are also not chronological, Manuel in the entirety of the film only has 3 speaking lines. In the prequel film "The Imperial Heir" on the other hand, Manuel together with the Hungarian prince Bela- later King Bela III of Hungary- are its leading characters and in this film, Manuel has the most screen-time and speaking lines. Regarding historical accuracy to Manuel's character in No Budget Films media, most of his character arc is historically accurate except for the scene in "The Imperial Heir" where the court interpreter attempted to kill him as in real history there was no assassination attempt by the court interpreter to kill Manuel, however there was still a plot against him in real history which Manuel dealt with by having the court interpreter blinded just like in the film. Other than that, history does not really record how the relationship between Manuel and Bela was, hence in "The Imperial Heir" they were portrayed to be close to each other. Meanwhile in "House Komnenos", as seen in the Battle of Myriokephalon scene, Manuel had fought in the battle which he exactly did in real history though the film shows him shot by an arrow in the foot during the battle which may have not happened in real history. As for Manuel's personality and character, in both films he appears in, he is portrayed as a very complex character who is very overconfident of being the Byzantine emperor and thus highly arrogant and egotistic wherein he looks down on anyone who is not a Byzantine thus leading him to declare war on whoever he wants simply because he wants to project his image as the most powerful ruler in the world. However, despite Manuel's overconfident and arrogant nature, NBF media also shows a human side to him as seen in "The Imperial Heir" with his relationship with Bela which shows Manuel as caring for him. Other than that, Manuel is also depicted in NBF media as someone that cares for the future of his empire which is why he adopted Bela as his heir in the first place and chooses to fight anyone he pleases as it could benefit the empire. In the opening scene of "House Komnenos" meanwhile, Manuel's more human side is seen again wherein he suffers from depression due to his defeat to the Seljuks at the Battle of Myriokephalon in 1176 which thus led to his untimely death just 4 years later. Now in terms of appearance, Manuel in the majority of his scenes in NBF media has the same look- which is seen in this image- consisting of long dark brown hair, a bearded face with a scar on one eye and the classic Byzantine "imperial robe" attire which includes a black coat with a white centerpiece held together by a belt and over that a black cape with gold trimmings and golden shoulder pads all while he occasionally is seen holding a golden sword like in this image. In the Battle of Myriokephalon scene in "House Komnenos" however, Manuel is seen wearing the same attire as usual except this time with the addition of a golden crown over his head. Only twice in NBF media does Manuel have a different appearance which is in the flashback scene of his coronation as emperor in 1143 as seen in "The Imperial Heir" wherein he wears a black military outfit and despite having the same hairpiece as his older self he has a younger face without a beard there and the second time Manuel has a different appearance is at his death scene at the opening monologue of "House Komnenos" where the old and depressed Manuel here has long gray hair. In NBF media, Manuel I Komnenos' character was voiced over by Angelo Lacson in "House Komnenos" and by Powee Celdran in "The Imperial Heir".
