The AIMA Prophecy

When Emperor John II Comnenos chose his younger son Manuel over the older Isaac as his heir, some eyebrows were raised. One explanation offered by later historians is that he was following the AIMA Prophecy. Also called the "Blood Prophecy," it refers to the idea that the names of successive emperors in the Comnenian dynasty would spell AIMA, aima, Greek for "blood." The letter sequence was alpha, iota, mu, alpha.

The acronym begins with Alexios II, followed by his son Ioannes (John II), then Manuel. Manuel's eldest child was a daughter, Maria, whom he betrothed to Béla, son of the king of Hungary and Croatia (and later king himself). Manuel bestowed on Béla the name "Alexios" in case he was the only heir available should something happen to Manuel. When Manuel's second wife bore him a son, the son was named Alexios (of course). Typical naming convention was to give a son the name of his paternal grandfather, but Manuel must have been trying to adhere to the prophecy.

That son became Emperor Alexios II Comnenos, but after three years he was deposed (and killed) by his cousin, Andronikos I Comnenos. At this point, the AIMA sequence could begin again. Andronikos already had children prior to his plans to become emperor, and his eldest was named Manuel. He reigned only a couple years, and felt obliged to name his second son, Ioannes, as his heir so that the "A-I" part of the prophecy was in place. It was not to be, however. Another iota-bearing person was in the wings: Andronikos' cousin, Isaac II Angelos. Fearing that Isaac would take over, Andronikos' trusted friend and lieutenant tried to kill him; Isaac instead killed his attacker and fled to sanctuary in the Hagia Sophia. From there he appealed to the citizens of Constantinople for support, who decided he should replace Andronikos. That he did.

The AIMA Prophecy was broken...in Constantinople. The Byzantine Empire included the Empire of Trebizond stretched around the coastline of the Black Sea and was founded by Alexios I Megas Comnenos, a son of Manuel. The Comnenos clan ruled there, and the sequence restarted with Andronikos I Gidos, Ioannes I Axouchos, Manuel Megas Comnenos, and Andronikos II Megas Comnenos.

The Middle Ages loved acronyms and patterns that suggested an order to the universe. The AIMA Prophecy was just one example.

I mentioned in yesterday's post the character of John Axouch, a Turkish prisoner who rose in the Byzantine ranks. You can see his family name represented again above, indicating that he left a legacy tied to the Comnenos clan. Let's look at his rise to power tomorrow.