AIMA prophecy

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The AIMA prophecy was a prophecy current during the reign of the Byzantine emperor, Manuel I Comnenus. It claimed to foretell that the initial letters of the names of the four emperors of the Comnenus dynasty would spell aima (αιμα), the Greek word for blood. The emperors had been, in order, Alexius I (A, alpha), Ioannes II (I, iota), and Manuel I (M, mu). Because of his belief that his successor's name would have to start with the letter alpha, Manuel had the name Alexius bestowed upon his son.

However, the reign of Alexius II lasted only three years, before he was deposed and killed by his cousin, Andronicus I Comnenus. A similar prophecy foretold that Andronicus would be succeeded in turn by an emperor who's name began with the letter I (iota). Andronicus thusly feared his throne would be usurped by another cousin, Isaac Comnenus of Cyprus. However, after an uprising Andronicus was killed and succeeded by Isaac II Angelus.

Sources

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  • Magdalino, Paul. The Empire of Manuel I Komnenos, 1993