Background
Manuel was a legitimate son of the sebastokratōr John Doukas.
Manuel was a legitimate son of the sebastokratōr John Doukas.
After his brother"s defeat and capture by the Bulgarians at the Battle of Klokotnitsa in 1230, Manuel was allowed by Ivan Asen II to rule in Thessalonica and its environs with the title of despotes. At one point Manuel tried to establish contacts with the Papacy, but in 1232 the longstanding breach with the Eastern Patriarchate at Nicaea was finally healed. Manuel was unsuccessful in seeking the support of Prince Geoffrey II Villehardouin of Achaea and was forced to flee to Asia Minor.
After a spell among the Seljuks of Rum and in Nicaea, Manuel returned to Greece with Nicaean support in 1239 and captured several fortresses including Larissa and Pharsalos from Theodore"s son John Komnenos Doukas, establishing himself as ruler of Thessaly.
Theodore and John had to agree to a division of the family lands. Manuel married Serbian princess Jefimija, sister of Stefan Nemanjić (r 1196–1228).
There is no information of them having any children. Manuel may have had a daughter named Helena, who married William of Verona, triarch of Euboea.
