Manuel Maurozomes

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manuel_Maurozomes

Manuel Komnenos Maurozomes (Greek: Μανουήλ Κομνηνός Μαυροζώμης; died ca. 1230) was a Byzantine nobleman who in the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade tried to found an independent principality in Phrygia. His daughter was married to the Seljuk sultan Kaykhusraw I, and he eventually became governor (emir) of part of the region under Seljuk control; he was an influential figure in the Seljuk court until his death.

Little is known of Manuel's early life. The Maurozomai, possibly of Peloponnesian origin, rose to prominence in the 12th century and belonged to the aristocracy.[1] Manuel has traditionally been identified as a son of Theodore Maurozomes, who served as a general under Emperor Manuel I Komnenos (r. 1143–1180), and while earlier scholars, following Paul Wittek, made him the husband of an illegitimate daughter of the emperor, more recent scholars follow the reconstruction of Konstantinos Varzos, which makes her Manuel Maurozomes' mother, thus explaining his claim to the prestigious Komnenos name.

Around 1200, when the deposed Seljuk sultan Kaykhusraw I (r. 1192–1196 and 1205–1211) came to Constantinople, Maurozomes held, according to the Seljuk chronicler Ibn Bibi, the rank of Caesar in the Byzantine court.

During his stay in the Byzantine capital, Kaykhusraw was apparently baptized a Christian with Emperor Alexios III Angelos as his godfather, and married Manuel's daughter; thus Manuel became the ancestor of the Seljuk sultans Kayqubad I (r. 1220–1237) and Kaykhusraw II (r. 1237–1246)