Emperor Alexius Comnenus
Founder of the Comnenus dynasty, Alexius (also Alexios Komnenos; sometimes spelled "Alexis") was emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire at the time of the First Crusade. He succeeded in strengthening the empire after its defeats by the Normans and Turks. He is the subject of a biography by his learned daughter, Anna Comnena.
Alexius was the third son of John Comnenus and a nephew of Emperor Isaac I. From 1068 to 1081, during the reigns of Romanus IV, Michael VII, and Nicephorus III, he served in the military; then, with the help of his brother Isaac, his mother Anna Dalassena, and his powerful in-laws the Ducas family, he seized the throne from Nicephorus III.
For more than half a century the empire had suffered from ineffective or short-lived leaders. Alexius was able to drive the Italian Normans from western Greece, defeat Turkic nomads who'd been invading the Balkans, and halt the encroachment of the Seljuq Turks. He also negotiated agreements with Sulayman ibn Qutalmïsh of Konya and other Muslim leaders on the empire's eastern border. At home he strengthened the central authority and built up military and naval forces, thus increasing imperial strength in portions of Anatolia (Turkey) and the Mediterranean.
These actions helped stabilize Byzantium, but other policies would cause difficulties for his reign. Alexius made concessions to powerful landed magnates which would serve to weaken the authority of himself and future emperors. Although he maintained the traditional imperial role of protecting the Eastern Orthodox Church and repressed heresy, he also seized funds from the Church when necessary, and would be called to account for these actions by the ecclesiastical authorities.
Alexius is well known for appealing to Pope Urban II for help in driving the Turks from Byzantine territory. The resulting influx of Crusaders would plague him for years to come.
Important Dates
Crowned: April 4, 1081
Died: Aug. 15, 1118
From Your Guide
Dark Legacy
A brief introduction to the roles of Alexius and Pope Urban II in the origins of the First Crusade.
On the Web
Alexius Comnenus
This brief introduction to the emperor is part of Dr. Knox's overview on the First Crusade, at Boise State University.Alexius I Comnenus
Substantial and well-hyperlinked biography at Wikipedia.
In Print
The links below will take you to a site where you can compare prices at booksellers across the web. More in-depth info about the book may be found by clicking on to the book's page at one of the online merchants.
The Alexiad of Anna Comnena
translated by E. R. SewterA History of the Byzantine State
by George OstrogorskyA Short History of Byzantium
by John Julius Norwich
Related Resources
Byzantine Studies
A multilevel index of useful and interesting sites related to general Byzantine studies, Art and Architecture, Music, and more about the Eastern Roman Empire.The Crusades
The religious wars, the people who fought them, and the ideologies that drove them.
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