Komnene

Aramaic kmn for “concealment”, “deception”

A possible pun-etymology for Komnene would be the Semitic root kmn / ḫmn for “concealment”, “undercover” or “ambushing”. The cryptocrats love all these things.

Modern Arabic & Syriac Aramaic show the general meaning of “secrecy” even better. In Arabic, the root is written with Ḫa and not Kaph.

What to make of the trailing N in Komnene? N and even NN are a very common suffixes in Hebrew & Aramaic grammar, indicating verbal nouns, agential nouns & adjectives, pronouns. The phrase kmn-nˀ may mean something like “I am hidden”. There are even Komnene-like nouns such as כמנון kmnwn for “craftiness” & כמינתן kmyntn for “deceptiveness”. I cannot infer the intended grammar though, without having access to the exact Aramaic spelling of Komnene.

We may conclude that kmn for “hidden” is definitely part of the punnery in the name Komnene. It may be just another variant of the “hidden leader”, or something more specific.

The “ambush” in Komnene history

It’s possible that the specific word kmn for “secrecy” was not just picked by the cryptocrats for the general meaning, but also for the concrete meaning of “ambushing” & “conspiring”. An intentional pun with ambush would be supported by the official story in that Isaac I Komnenos allegedly plotted against emperor Michael IV Bringas and overthrew him.

The son of the general Manuel Erotikos Komnenos, he was orphaned at an early age, and was raised under the care of Emperor Basil II. He made his name as a successful military commander, serving as commander-in-chief of the eastern armies between c. 1042 and 1054. In 1057 he became the head of a conspiracy of the dissatisfied eastern generals against the newly crowned Michael VI Bringas.

Wikipedia: Isaac I Komnenos

I cannot say whether that was an actual conspiracy, with aristocrats actually physically fighting each other, or just a reshuffle of power with a reappointment of visible governors. I personally suspect it to be more of the latter, because I generally believe that overall unity, and peaceful settlements of conflicts, is the strength and of the cryptocrats.

That the “fight” may not have been all that bloody, and that the official story may be a lie to a large degree, is once again supported by unbelievable details, such as ultra-wealthy powermongers becoming humble monks upon “defeat”:

Patriarch Michael Keroularios convinced Michael VI to abdicate in Isaac’s favor on 31 August 1057. The emperor duly followed the patriarch’s advice and became a monk. He retired to his private home and died there by 1059.

Wikipedia: Michael VI Bringas

Another hint is that the name Isaac officially means “joke”, so “Isaac Komnenos” means “mock conspiracy” when pronounced as a Semitic phrase. The conspiracy itself was thus perhaps just a joke by the cryptocrats.

The actual “conspiracy” may thus have been not the revolt, but the mocking of the revolt, where Erotikos Komnenos and his purported opponent Bardas Skleros seemed to get along really well with each other. Skleros surrendered to Erotikos on an aces and eights day.

Manuel maintained the city’s defence with some success, even though the besiegers managed to undermine and collapse one of its towers, until the lack of food became acute. At that point Manuel was able to fool Skleros, by pretending that he had mountains of wheat and was considering joining him, into allowing him and the inhabitants to depart freely for Constantinople. Manuel re-appears in 989, when he was sent as an envoy to Skleros, who had once more risen in revolt against Basil II, to persuade him to surrender. Manuel was successful in his task, and the elderly rebel ended his revolt and gave himself up on 11 October.

Wikipedia: Manuel Erotikos Komnenos

Like many other wars, this revolt may have really been set up by the top plutocrats, to see who among the commoners would actually fight against them, and then weed those people out after they had joined the fake revolt.