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Alexios was the son of Manuel I Komenos and Mary, daughter of Raymond, prince of Antioch. When his father died on Sept. 24, 1180, Alexios became emperor at the age of 11, with his mother as regent. She, in turn, entrusted the government to her favorite, the unpopular and incapable Alexios (Manuel's nephew). Because Mary was a Latin she was widely opposed, but plotters, who included Alexios II's sister Mary and her husband, Renier of Montferrat, failed to overthrow the regency. Andronicus I Komenos, Manuel's cousin, eventually succeeded in deposing the regency; he advanced through Asia Minor and was waiting at Chalcedon when anti-Latin riots broke out in the capital (May 1182). The regent Alexios was captured and blinded, and Andronicus entered the capital as the protector of Alexios II. He promptly had his opponents executed, including the dowager empress Mary, whose death warrant her son Alexios had to sign. Crowned co-emperor in September 1183, Andronicus subsequently had Alexios strangled. |
In the course of this saga, Manuel lived until 1186, and was able to oversee the education of his son. When Manuel died, Alexios took a stronger and more stable throne, without the need for a regent. This had led to a young emperor, beset on many sides external and internal, that now sits on the throne.
Andronicus never succeeded in overthrowing the young emperor. Instead, in an intricate and bizarre plot, Andronicus took his own life as a result of failure, and to ensure his family was not punished with him.