Isaac II Angelos - Usurpers

Usurpers

Isaac's reign saw a number of pretenders rise up and attempt to wrest the throne from him. These included:

• Alexios Branas
• Theodore Mangaphas
• Pseudo-Alexios II
• Basil Chotzas – initiated a rebellion at Tarsia, near Nicomedia. Initially he had some success, but before long he was seized, blinded and cast into prison.
• Isaac Comnenus (nephew of Andronicus I Comnenus) – escaped from prison and fled to Hagia Sophia, where he proceeded to incite a mob. Eventually captured, he was suspended in the air and tortured in order to obtain the names of his accomplices. His internal organs suffered severe damage and he died the next day.
• Constantine Tatikios – secretly established a group of 500 individuals who hid in Constantinople. Though they managed to escape detection for some considerable time, he was informed against, captured and blinded.