A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology. By various writers. Ed. by William Smith. Illustrated by numerous engravings on wood.

CALO-JOANNES. CALO-JOANNES. 581
Calocyrus Sextus. By Jos. Sim. Assemani, in his to such a degree, that he ventured to abolish the
extremely rare but very valuable work, Bibliotheca punishment of death, and deserved to be called the
Juris Orientalis Canonici et Civilis, 5 vols. 4to. Byzantine Marcus Aurelius. His relations with
Rome, 1762-6 (ii. c. 20, p. 403), Calocyrus is his brother Isaac were a model of brotherly affecsupposed to have been posterior to Cyrillus (whom tion, and though their friendship was on one occahe cites, Basil. vol. v. p. 44), and to have lived sion disturbed by the slander of some courtiers, it
after the time of Alexius Comnenus. The passages was but for a short time. The reign of Caloin Fabrot's edition of the Basilica, where Calocyrus Joannes is a series of wars, and each war was a
is mentioned, are given as follows in Fabricius, triumph for the Greek arms. But while Nicetas
Bibl. Grace. vol. xii. p. 440: " Calocyrus JCtus, and Cinnamus, the chief sources, dwell with proii. 543; Calocyrus Sextus, iv. 403, v. 26, 39, 77, lixity on the description of so many glorious deeds,
180, 269, 292, 324, 325, 410, 423, 459, 587; they have neglected to give us a satisfactory expoProconsul (Fabroto interpreti Dux), v. 37, 44, 78, sition of the emperor's administration, and their
82, 121, 144, 179, 237, 238, 253, 263, 341, 414, chronology is very confused. This circumstance
430, 432, 436, 487, 537; Cyrillo Junior. v. 44." has probably induced Gibbon to relate the reign of
Reiz (Excurs. xx. ad Theophilum, p. 1234) se- Calo-Joannes without any chronology except the
lects the following passages under the head " Me- dates of his accession and his death. Le Beau,
morabilia ex Scholiis Basilicorum, quae faciunt ad in his HIistoire du Bas Empire (vol. xix. 1. 86),
indagandam aetatem JCtorum, maxime eorum qui gives a careful chronology which he has established
sub Imperatore Justiniano Magno floruerunt." by comparing the Latin historians, especially GuiCalocyrus ad Basilica Comment. iv. 403, -v. 39, lielmus Tyrensis and Otho Frisingensis; and Du
v. 292. Nic. Comnenus Papadopoli (Praenot. Cange (Familiae Byzantinae, pp. 178, 179) gives.Afyslag. p. 345) cites an interpretation (Synopsis an account of the different statements respecting
Septima) by Calocyrus, of the Novells of Leo, and the year in which Calo-Joannes died. We follow
(p. 371 of the same work) cites the notes of Sixtus Le Beau and Du Cange.
or Sextus, JCtus and Nomophylax, on the Novells. The wars of Calo-Joannes with the different
In both these passages, Papadopoli (or, as he is princes of the Turks lasted during his whole reign
usually styled, Nic. Comnenus) probably refers to with scarcely any interruption. In the first camthe same person; but his gross infidelity (which is paign, in 1119, he took Laodiceia, and spared the
exposed by Heimbach, Anecdota, i. pp. 219-222) lives of the garrison, and in 1120 he took Sozopolis.
renders his testimony, when unsupported, nearly An invasion of the Petchenegues or Patzinacitae,
worthless, who had crossed the Danube, called him to Thrace,
(Suarez, Noiitia Basilicorum, ed. Pohl. ~ 42, p. and in 1122 he obtained a complete victory over
136, nn. (0) et (X); Stockmann ad Bachii Hist. them in Macedonia, giving the example at once of
Jurisp. Rom. p. 675, citing Van Vryhoff, Observ. a general and a soldier. This war was finished to
Jur. Civ. c. 26, p. 134, Amst. 1747, 8vo.; Heimbach, the advantage of the Greeks: the Petchenegues
de Basilicorum Origine, &c. p. 74, &c.) [J. T. G.] returned into their Scythian steppes, and great
CALO-JOANNES or JOANNES II. COM- numbers of them who had been made prisoners reNE'NUS (KaXo-lIwivves 6 KoItegoeds), one of the ceived lands from the emperor in the very districts
greatest and best emperors of the East, the eldest which their brethren had laid waste. In 1123 he
son and successor of Alexis I. Comnenus, was born took the field against the revolted Servians, who
in 1088. His real name was Joannes. His were supported by Stephen II., king of Hungary,
diminutive stature, tawny complexion, and ugly who took Belgrade and Branizova. But in the
features, distinguished him, not to his advan- following year, 1124, Calo-Joannes advanced with
tage, from among the other princes of the hand- a strong army, took Francochorium near Sirmiunm,
some Comnenian race; and it would seem that conquered the country between the Save and the
his name Calo-Joannes, or John the Handsome, Danube, and forced the king to desist from farther
was a nickname, were we not justified in believing attempts on the Greek empire. According to the
that that name was given him for the beauty of Greek historians, the advantages of this war were
his mind. His virtues were acknowledged by his rather on the side of king Stephen; while, strange
father, who, when urged on his death-bed to leave enough, the Hungarian annalists attribute both
the empire to Bryennius, his excellent son-in-law, victories and advantages to the Greeks. Thence
resisted the persuasion of his wife and his daughter Calo-Joannes turned once more against the Turks
Anna, and appointed Calo-Joannes his successor. of Iconium, and took Castamonia- and Gangra,
The new emperor ascended the throne on the 15th which his garrisons were, however, obliged to surof August, 1118. It is related under ANNA COM- render to the Turks a short time afterwards. The
NENA and NICEPIHORUS BRYENNIUS, that their emperor was more fortunate, in 1131, against the
conspiracy to depose Calo-Joannes and to make Armenians of Cilicia, or Armenia Minor, under.
Bryennius emperor, proved abortive, and that the their prince Livo or Leo, who was vanquished in
property of both was confiscated. The emperor several engagements; and in 1137, all his domiw-as especially protected by his younger brother, nions were annexed to the Greek empire, and reIsaac Sebastocrator, and by his minister, Axuch, a ceived the name of the fourth Arneniea. This con-.
Turk who had been made prisoner during the reign quest brought him in contact with Raymond, prince
of Alexis I., and who, joining great talents and of Antioch, who, according to the treaties made
knowledge with honesty and affable manners, ad- between Alexis I. and. prince oemond I. of Anvanced from one eminent post to another, till he tioch, was obliged to recognize the Greek emperor
became magnus domesticus, or prime minister, an as his liege lord, but refused doing so, till Calooffice which he held during the whole reign of Joannes compelled him, partly by negotiations,
Calo-Joannes. The conspiracy of Anna and Bry- partly by threats. The emperor entered Antioch
ennius was the only event that troubled the reign in 1138, and prince Raymond and the count of
of Calo-Joannes, who won the hearts of his subjects Edessa held the bridles of his horse, as a token of