Pope Adrian IV - The Byzantine Alliance

The Byzantine Alliance

In 1155, Byzantine Emperor Manuel Comnenus invaded the Italian peninsula from the south, landing his forces in the region of Apulia. Making contact with local rebels who were hostile to the Sicilian crown, Greek forces quickly overran the coastlands and began striking inland. Pope Adrian IV watched these developments with some satisfaction. The Papacy was never on good terms with the Normans of Sicily, except when under duress by the threat of direct military action. Having the Eastern Roman Empire on its southern border was preferable to Adrian than having to constantly deal with the troublesome Normans. Therefore, negotiations were hurriedly carried out, and an alliance was formed between Adrian and Manuel. Adrian undertook to raise a body of mercenary troops from Campania. Meanwhile, Manuel dreamed of restoration of the Roman Empire; this was, however, at the cost of a potential union between the Orthodox and the Catholic Church. Negotiations for union of the eastern and western churches, which had been in a state of schism since 1054, soon got underway. The combined Papal-Byzantine forces joined with the rebels against the Normans in Southern Italy, achieving a string of rapid successes as a number of cities yielded either to the threat of force or the lure of gold. The future looked bleak for the Sicilians.

It was at this point, just as the war seemed decided in the allies' favour, that things started to go wrong. The Greek commander Michael Palaeologus alienated some of his allies by his arrogance, and this stalled the campaign as rebel Count Robert of Loritello refused to speak to him. Although the two were reconciled, the campaign lost some of its momentum. Yet worse was to come: Michael was soon recalled to Constantinople. Although his arrogance had slowed the campaign, he was a brilliant general in the field, and his loss was a major blow to the allied campaign. The turning point was the Battle for Brindisi, where the Sicilians launched a major counter attack by both land and sea. At the approach of the enemy, the mercenaries who were serving in the allied armies demanded impossible increases in their pay; when this was refused, they deserted. Even the local barons started to melt away, and soon Adrian's Byzantine allies were left hopelessly outnumbered. The naval battle was decided in the Sicilians' favour, and the Byzantine commander was captured. The defeat at Brindisi put an end to the restored Byzantine reign in Italy, and by 1158 the Byzantine Army had left Italy.

Hopes for a lasting alliance with the Byzantine Empire had also come up against insuperable problems. Pope Adrian IV's conditions for a union between the eastern and western church included recognition of his religious authority over Christians everywhere, and the Emperor's recognition of his secular authority; neither East nor West could accept such conditions. Adrian's secular powers were too valuable to be rendered and Manuel's subjects could never have accepted the authority of the distant Bishop of Rome. In spite of his friendliness towards the Roman Church, Adrian never felt able to honour Manuel with the title of "Augustus". Ultimately, a deal proved elusive, and the two churches remained divided.