Andronikos II of Trebizond

Who was Andronikos II of Trebizond?

Andronikos II Megas Komnenos or Andronicus II,. Emperor of Trebizond from 1263 to 1266. He was the eldest son of Manuel I of Trebizond by his first wife, Anna Xylaloe, a Trapezuntine noblewoman.

During the three years of his reign Trebizond continued to flourish as a trading centre - two merchants from Marseilles were there in 1263 and 1264 carrying a letter of introduction from Charles of Anjou, Count of Provence.

His reign is significant for only one thing, the loss of his father's conquest of Sinope. Along with it, he lost a last hope of reconquest of Constantinople and ceased to impinge upon the affairs of the Byzantine Empire. According to Fallmerayer, the Mongol suzerainty accepted by Manuel I ended at the death of Hulagu Khan in 1265, but this theory is disputed and probably erroneous in view of subsequent events and the deposition of his successor George.

Andronikos was succeeded by his half-brother George.