# Fame.am profile — machine-readable export
# Canonical URL: https://fame.am/person/john-ii-komnenos
# Generated: 2026-09-02T01:37:36.510Z

schema: https://schema.org/Person
url: "https://fame.am/person/john-ii-komnenos"
name: "John II Komnenos"
slug: "john-ii-komnenos"
description: "He ruled Byzantium for a quarter-century, beat back Pechenegs and Turks, and reclaimed swaths of Anatolia — yet historians know far less about John II Komnenos than about his father or son, even as many call him the greatest emperor of his dynasty."
tagline: "Byzantine Emperor from 1118 to 1144"
image: "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Jean_II_Comnene.jpg"
gender: "male"
category:
  name: "Politicians"
  slug: "politicians"
profileType:
  name: "Politician"
  slug: "politician"
birthDate: "1087-09-13"
deathDate: "1143-04-08"
livingStatus: "DECEASED"
scores:
  popularity:           55.37
  momentum:             0.4474776612959967
  historical:           22.534564
  currentAttention:     0
  sourceConfidence:     60
  profileCompleteness:  60
  trendDirection:       "STABLE"
ranks:
  global:   null
  country:  null
  category: null
tags:
  - name: "Politicians"
    slug: "politicians"
  - name: "Politician"
    slug: "politician"
  - name: "Politics"
    slug: "politics"
  - name: "Medieval Era"
    slug: "medieval-era"
sources:
  - url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_II_Komnenos"
    title: "Wikipedia"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q41628"
    title: "Wikidata"
    type:  "WIKIDATA"
  - url: "https://pantheon.world/profile/person/John%20II%20Komnenos"
    title: "Pantheon 2.0"
    type:  "DATABASE"
  - url: "https://an.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuan_II_Comneno"
    title: "Chuan II Comneno"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%8A%D9%88%D8%AD%D9%86%D8%A7_%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AB%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%8A_%D9%83%D9%88%D9%85%D9%86%D9%8A%D9%86%D9%88%D8%B3"
    title: "يوحنا الثاني كومنينوس"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://arz.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%8A%D9%88%D8%AD%D9%86%D8%A7_%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AA%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%89_%D9%83%D9%88%D9%85%D9%86%D9%8A%D9%86"
    title: "يوحنا التانى كومنين"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://azb.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%A7%DB%8C%DA%A9%DB%8C%D9%86%D8%AC%DB%8C_%DA%98%D8%A7%D9%86_(%D8%A8%DB%8C%D8%B2%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%B3)"
    title: "ایکینجی ژان (بیزانس)"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://be.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%86%D0%B0%D0%B0%D0%BD_II_%D0%9A%D0%B0%D0%BC%D0%BD%D1%96%D0%BD"
    title: "Іаан II Камнін"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://bg.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%99%D0%BE%D0%B0%D0%BD_II_%D0%9A%D0%BE%D0%BC%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%BD"
    title: "Йоан II Комнин"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://bs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivan_II_Komnen"
    title: "Ivan II Komnen"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joan_II_Comn%C3%A8"
    title: "Joan II Comnè"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_II._Komnenos"
    title: "Jan II. Komnenos"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://cy.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ioan_II_Komnenos"
    title: "Ioan II Komnenos"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johannes_2._Komnenos"
    title: "Johannes 2. Komnenos"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johannes_II._(Byzanz)"
    title: "Johannes II. (Byzanz)"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://diq.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yannis_Komnenos_II"
    title: "Yannis Komnenos II"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://el.wikipedia.org/wiki/%CE%99%CF%89%CE%AC%CE%BD%CE%BD%CE%B7%CF%82_%CE%92%CE%84_%CE%9A%CE%BF%CE%BC%CE%BD%CE%B7%CE%BD%CF%8C%CF%82"
    title: "Ιωάννης Β΄ Κομνηνός"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://eo.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johano_la_2-a_Komneno"
    title: "Johano la 2-a Komneno"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_II_Comneno"
    title: "Juan II Comneno"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://et.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johannes_II_Komnenos"
    title: "Johannes II Komnenos"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://eu.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joan_II.a_Komneno"
    title: "Joan II.a Komneno"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://fa.wikipedia.org/wiki/%DA%98%D8%A7%D9%86_%D8%AF%D9%88%D9%85%D8%8C_%D8%A7%D9%85%D9%BE%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%AA%D9%88%D8%B1_%D8%A8%DB%8C%D8%B2%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%B3"
    title: "ژان دوم، امپراتور بیزانس"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johannes_II_Komnenos"
    title: "Johannes II Komnenos"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_II_Comn%C3%A8ne"
    title: "Jean II Comnène"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://gl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xo%C3%A1n_II_Comneno"
    title: "Xoán II Comneno"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://af.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johannes_II_Komnenos"
    title: "Johannes II Komnenos"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://als.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johannes_II._(Byzanz)"
    title: "Johannes II. (Byzanz)"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"

# bio (long form, separated for readability)
bio: |
  Born 13 September 1087 to a reigning emperor, John inherited the throne in 1118 with the rare status of porphyrogennetos and a singular mission: reverse the collapse that followed Manzikert half a century before. Over twenty-five years he forged an alliance with the Holy Roman Empire, crushed the Pechenegs, Hungarians, and Serbs in the Balkans, and led campaign after campaign into Asia Minor, pushing the Turks onto the defensive and recapturing towns and fortresses across Anatolia. He extended Byzantine control from the Maeander to Cilicia and Tarsus, marched into Muslim Syria at the head of combined Byzantine and Crusader armies, and saw the empire's population recover to some 10 million. His Crusader allies proved evasive; his domestic policies remain a mystery. He died 8 April 1143, remembered as "John the Beautiful" and praised by George Ostrogorsky as a ruler of clever prudence, purposeful energy, and principles beyond his time.