Alexander Megas Komnenos (Greek: Ἀλέξανδρος Μέγας Κομνηνός, romanized: Alexandros Megas Komnēnos; c. 1405–1459), also recorded as Skantarios (Greek: Σκαντάριος), was co-emperor of the Empire of Trebizond alongside his elder brother John IV Megas Komnenos c. 1451–1459. Alexander was the second son of the Trapezuntine emperor Alexios IV Megas Komnenos. John was exiled after a failed rebellion against their father in c. 1426, and Alexios made Alexander the designated heir. John returned to Trebizond in early 1429 and seized the throne, killing Alexios and forcing Alexander into exile.
While in exile, Alexander lived in Constantinople, as his sister Maria had married the Byzantine emperor John VIII Palaiologos. Alexander attempted to gain Byzantine and Genoese support in organizing an expedition to depose John and take the Trapezuntine throne for himself, but had little success. In late 1437, Alexander married Maria Gattilusio, daughter of Dorino I Gattilusio, the lord of Lesbos, also in an attempt to gain allies for the fight against his brother. At some point, John and Alexander reconciled as Alexander once more lived in Trebizond in the 1450s. Perhaps John was motivated by the fact that he lacked sons of his own and distrusted their only other brother, David, to invite Alexander back and designate him as heir and co-emperor c. 1451. Alexander predeceased John, dying c. 1459, though his son and only known child, Alexios V Megas Komnenos, briefly succeeded John as emperor in 1460.
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Early life
Alexander was born in 1405 c. as the second son of Alexios IV Megas Komnenos, who ruled the Empire of Trebizond from 1417 to 1429. He had two brothers; the elder John and the younger David, and at least three sisters, one of whom was Maria, who married the Byzantine emperor John VIII Palaiologos (r. 1425–1448). In the writings of contemporary historian Laonikos Chalkokondyles, Alexander is called Skantarios, a name seemingly of Turkish origin, perhaps related to İskender, the Turkish form of Alexander. George Finlay suggested in 1851 that Alexander was called Skantarios by his contemporaries and that this indicated Turkish influence in the Greek dialect of Trebizond. Certain modern scholars, such as Michel Kuršanskis, as well as the Prosopographisches Lexikon der Palaiologenzeit, favor using the name Skantarios rather than Alexander.