The Military Struggle Of Byzantine Empire In The East During The Period Of John Ⅱ Of Komnenos Dynasty

At the beginning of the Komnenos dynasty,the empire was plagued by internal and external crises.During the reign of Alexius I,a series of military and diplomatic activities gradually solved the domestic and foreign political crises and foreign invasions from the frontier,and maintained the smooth operation of the empire.In the East,Alexius intended to gradually restore imperial control over Asia Minor and Syria,but the still-defensive empire still lacked the ability to launch large-scale military operations against the aggressive Latin princes,and although the Treaty of Devor established the vassal relationship between the Byzantine Empire and the Principality of Antioch,it was difficult to realize it effectively.After the succession of John II,a stable internal political environment and a gradual recovery of military power allowed the emperor to refocus on military conquests in the East,trying to solve the Antioch problem left by Alexius,while hoping to further expand the empire’s influence over the Crusader states.But before that,John needed to provide a relatively stable rear environment for his military struggle in the East,to defuse the military encroachments of the Pechenegs and Hungarians from the western frontier,and to unite diplomatically with the Holy Roman Empire to check the Norman kingdoms of Italy.In the east,in order to open up the land route from Constantinople to Syria,John II gradually expanded the defense line in eastern Asia Minor,and through diplomatic pressure and forceful deterrence,suppressed the Turkic forces in the Asia Minor peninsula so that they would not dare to encroach on imperial territory and provided a degree of security for further military operations.John’s military expedition to Syria,which began with the rapid conquest of Cilicia,on the one hand put an end to the long-standing chaos in Cilicia and brought it back under imperial rule,and on the other hand eliminated worries for subsequent military operations and gave the emperor a solid rear base in Cilicia.After the first siege of Antioch,John II succeeded in reaching an agreement with the Duke of Antioch to exchange other Syrian cities for Byzantine imperial dominion over the Principality of Antioch,but the joint military attack on Syria led by John ultimately failed due to passive resistance from the crusader leaders.John,who entered the city of Antioch,had to withdraw from the city due to intrigues within the city.The first expedition was unsuccessful and John retreated to Cilicia to rest and prepare for a second military expedition,but it came to an abrupt end due to the unexpected death of the emperor.Thus,the reign of John II ended with the defeat of the Empire in the military struggle in the East.This paper takes the Eastern military struggle of John II as the main line and the historical facts of John’s military and diplomatic activities in the East and the West of the Empire as the content,focusing on exploring the cause and purpose of the eastern military struggle of the Empire and the important role played by the Principality of Antioch in this process.Based on the results of the military struggle,this paper analyzes John’s wrong choice in military strategy and the new ruling relationship between Byzantine Empire and Antiochus determined by John in the future,and analyzes the unfavorable factors that ultimately lead to the defeat of the Komnenos Dynasty in the eastern military struggle.