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| 1124 |
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| Intervention of the emperor on behalf of Bela II in Hungary, initiating a policy that continued throughout the century. The objective of the Comneni was to prevent the Hungarians from establishing control over the Slavic regions of Dalmatia, Croatia, and Serbia. Through the Peace of 1126 the emperor secured Branicova, a vital bridgehead on the Danube. | 1 |
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| 1134–37 |
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| Conquest of Cilician (Little) Armenia, which was allied with the Latin kingdom of Antioch. John forced Raymond of Antioch to do homage for his domain. | 2 |
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| 1143–80 |
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| Manuel I Comnenus, the son of John, an adroit statesman and ambitious soldier, and the greatest and most splendid of the Comneni. During his reign Constantinople came to be accepted as the capital of the Western world and the center of culture. Its brilliant art was imitated in the East and in the West. Manuel married a Latin princess (Maria of Antioch) and throughout his career cherished the hope of resurrecting a universal empire. Hence his association with and employment of Latin nobles, who intermarried with the Greek aristocracy; his constant toying with the idea of reunion with Rome; his designs on Italian territory; and his antagonism toward the Hohenstaufen emperors. All this tended to arouse much hostility among the Greeks (accentuated by the high-handed activities of the Italian traders), to cost the empire inordinate sums of money, and to involve repeated conflict with the Normans. The emperor's preoccupation in the west at the same time forced him to neglect the east, where the Seljuk sultanate of Iconium (Rum) was able to effect a marked recovery. | 3 |
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| 1147–58 |
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| War with Roger of Sicily. The Norman fleets ravaged Euboea and Attica, took and plundered Thebes and Corinth, carried away large numbers of the silk workers, who were established at Palermo. The emperor, having neglected the Byzantine fleet, was obliged to buy the aid of Venice with extensive trading rights (1148). The Venetians helped to reconquer Corfu (1149) and paved the way for the Byzantine conquest of Ancona (1151). But efforts to extend the Greek power in Italy met with failure (1154), and Manuel in the end had to agree to an inconclusive peace (1158). | 4 |
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| 1147–49 |
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| The Second Crusade (See 1147–49). The Crusaders almost came to blows with the Greeks at Constantinople; Manuel, by diplomacy, prevented a clash. The Greeks did nothing to prevent the defeat of the Crusaders in Anatolia. | 5 |
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| 1152–54 |
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| Successful war against the Hungarians, who attempted to make good their claims to Serbia and Bosnia. Peace was made in 1156, with the Hungarians recognizing the emperor's suzerainty. | 6 |
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| 1155 |
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| Trade privileges granted to Genoa, the emperor hoping thereby to counteract the domination of the Venetians. | 7 |
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| 1158–59 |
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| An expedition against Raymond of Antioch forced the latter to renew his homage. | 8 |
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| 1161 |
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| Kilidj Asrlan IV, sultan of Rum, made peace with the empire, recognizing the emperor's primacy. | 9 |
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| 1165–68 |
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| War with the Hungarians. The imperial forces took Dalmatia and in the final peace (1168) received also part of Croatia. The following years Manuel interfered actively in Hungarian dynastic affairs. Bela III was practically his vassal. | 10 |
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| 1170–77 |
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| War with Venice, the natural result of the Byzantine acquisitions in Dalmatia and Italy. The emperor arrested all Venetian traders in Constantinople and confiscated their goods, but with a neglected fleet he was able to do little. The Venetians conquered Ragusa (1171) and Chios (1171), though they failed in an attack on Ancona (1173). In 1175 the Venetians made an alliance with the Normans against the empire and thereby forced Manuel to yield. Through the Peace of 1176, the trade privileges were renewed and the emperor paid a heavy indemnity. | 11 |
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| 1176–77 |
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| War against the Seljuks. The Byzantines were defeated at Myriocephalon (1176), but in the next year Manuel defeated the enemy in Bithynia, while John Vatatzes drove the Seljuks out of the Meander Valley. | 12 |
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