John Komnenos (son of Andronikos I)

His father appointed him co-emperor over his older brother Manuel, but when Andronikos was deposed on 12 September 1185, John was also seized and killed.

[2] It was not until late 1178 or early 1179 that Andronikos was allowed back to the Byzantine capital, bringing John, along with his niece and mistress Theodora Komnene and their children, with him.

When at last he criticized his father for his persecution of the aristocracy, according to Eustathius of Thessalonica, he received the rebuke that he and Manuel were "women", who could not rule securely until all the leading men of the state were eliminated, so that only the common people remained.

According to Niketas Choniates, one of Andronikos' leading ministers, the megas hetaireiarches Constantine Tripsychos, was accused by his bitter rival the logothetes tou dromou Stephen Hagiochristophorites of uttering disparaging remarks on John's character and qualities, comparing him with the jester Zintziphitzes, a common and vulgar man known in the taverns and streets of the capital.

According to the eyewitness account of Eustathius of Thessalonica, the besieged called and prayed upon "Good John" to come and save them, but in vain; after the city fell, the Normans mockingly repeated these pleas to the captive Thessalonians.