John Axouch

Axouch wisely refused, realising that such a gift would further sour his relations with the imperial family and make him unpopular with the higher aristocracy.

[6] Thanks in part to the abilities of Axouch, the new emperor was able to deal with the initial difficulties of asserting his authority over the imperial family without alienating them entirely.

In the taking of Laodicea from the Seljuk Turks in 1119, Axouch conducted the siege,[1] which then allowed John II a swift victory when he arrived on the scene.

Leaving Manuel and the army in Cilicia, Axouch travelled rapidly and reached Constantinople before news of John's death; once in the capital he secured control of the imperial treasuries and regalia, and the persons of the two princes, whom he confined to the Pantokrator Monastery.

Axouch was faithful to the wishes of John II, although he is recorded as having tried hard to persuade the dying emperor that his elder surviving son Isaac was the better candidate to succeed.

[12] Axouch was also the one responsible for the introduction of an oath of allegiance to the new emperor in the coronation ceremony, a practice which lasted until the end of the Empire.

[13] At the emperor's table during a campaign in 1145–1146, a heated debate occurred, with comparisons being made between the martial qualities of Manuel and his father.

It has been suggested that Axouch's possession of the imperial seal before 1145–1146 meant that he was, in addition to his military duties, the head of the civil administration of the Empire.

He had a lively interest in theology, and is known to have asked searching questions of the theologian Nicholas of Methone concerning the nature of the 'indwelling of the Holy Spirit within the apostles'.

[19] John II led virtually all of the important campaigns conducted during his reign personally; as a result of this circumstance, Axouch is one of the few Byzantine commanders of this period to receive the notice of contemporary historians and chroniclers.

It has been suggested that the Axouch family, given their Turkish origins, formed a pro-Seljuk faction at the Byzantine court, in opposition to a pro-Western (Latin) clique.