Description: AlexiosI Komnenos(Greek: , 1057 15 August 1118;LatinizedAlexius I Comnenus) wasByzantineemperorfrom 1081 to 1118. Although he was not the first emperor of theKomnenian dynasty, it was during his reign that the Komnenos family came to full power and initiated a hereditary succession to the throne. Inheriting a collapsing empire and faced with constant warfare during his reign against both theSeljuq TurksinAsia Minorand theNormansin the westernBalkans, Alexios was able to curb the Byzantine decline and begin the military, financial, and territorial recovery known as theKomnenian restoration. His appeals to Western Europe for help against the Turks was also the catalyst that sparked theFirst Crusade.Alexios was the son ofJohn KomnenosandAnna Dalassene, and the nephew ofIsaacI Komnenos(emperor 10571059). Alexios' father declined the throne on the abdication of Isaac, who was thus succeeded byConstantine X Doukas(r. 10591067) and died as a monk in 1067. Alexios and his elder brother,Manuel Komnenosserved underRomanosIV Diogenes(r. 10681071) with distinction against theSeljuk Turks. UnderMichaelVII DoukasParapinakes(10711078) andNikephorosIII Botaneiates(10781081), he was militarily employed, along with his elder brotherIsaac, against rebels inAsia Minor,Thrace, and inEpirus. In 1074, western mercenaries led byRoussel de Bailleulrebelled in Asia Minor, but Alexios successfully subdued them by 1076. In 1078, he was appointed commander of the field army in the West by NikephorosIII. In this capacity, Alexios defeated the rebellions ofNikephoros Bryennios the Elder(whose son or grandson later married Alexios' daughter Anna) andNikephoros Basilakes, the first at theBattle of Kalavryeand the latter in a surprise night attack on his camp.[citation needed]Alexios was ordered to march against his brother-in-lawNikephoros Melissenosin Asia Minor but refused to fight his kinsman. This did not, however, lead to a demotion, as Alexios was needed to counter the expected invasion of theNormansof Southern Italy, led byRobert Guiscard. Conspiracy and revolt of the Komnenoi against Botaneiates While Byzantine troops were assembling for the expedition, the Doukas faction at court approached Alexios and convinced him to join aconspiracyagainst NikephorosIII. The mother of Alexios, Anna Dalassene, was to play a prominent role in this coup d'tat of 1081, along with the current empress,Maria of Alania. First married to MichaelVII Doukas and secondly toNikephorosIII Botaneiates, she was preoccupied with the future of her son by MichaelVII,Constantine Doukas. NikephorosIII intended to leave the throne to one of his close relatives, and this resulted in Maria's ambivalence and alliance with the Komnenoi, though the real driving force behind this political alliance was Anna Dalassene. The empress was already closely connected to the Komnenoi through Maria's cousin Irene's marriage to Isaac Komnenos, so the Komnenoi brothers were able to see her under the pretense of a friendly family visit. Furthermore, to aid the conspiracy Maria had adopted Alexios as her son, though she was only five years older than he. Maria was persuaded to do so on the advice of her own "Alans" and her eunuchs, who had been instigated by Isaac Komnenos. Given Anna's tight hold on her family, Alexios must have been adopted with her implicit approval. As a result, Alexios and Constantine, Maria's son, were now adoptive brothers, and both Isaac and Alexios took an oath that they would safeguard his rights as emperor. By secretly giving inside information to the Komnenoi, Maria was an invaluable ally.As stated in the Alexiad, Isaac and Alexios left Constantinople in mid-February 1081 to raise an army against Botaneiates. However, when the time came, Anna quickly and surreptitiously mobilized the remainder of the family and took refuge in theHagia Sophia. From there she negotiated with the emperor for the safety of family members left in the capital, while protesting her sons' innocence of hostile actions. Under the falsehood of making a vesperal visit to worship at the church, she deliberately excluded the grandson of Botaneiates and his loyal tutor, met with Alexios and Isaac, and fled for the forum of Constantine. The tutor discovered they were missing and eventually found them on the palace grounds, but Anna was able to convince him that they would return to the palace shortly. Then to gain entrance to both the outer and inner sanctuary of the church, the women pretended to the gatekeepers that they were pilgrims fromCappadociawho had spent all their funds and wanted to worship before starting their return trip. However, before they were to gain entry into the sanctuary, Straboromanos and royal guards caught up with them to summon them back to the palace. Anna then protested that the family was in fear for their lives, her sons were loyal subjects (Alexios and Isaac were discovered absent without leave), and had learned of a plot by enemies of the Komnenoi to have them both blinded and had, therefore, fled the capital so they may continue to be of loyal service to the emperor. She refused to go with them and demanded that they allow her to pray to theMother of Godfor protection. This request was granted and Anna then manifested her true theatrical and manipulative capabilities: She was allowed to enter. As if she were weighed down with old age and worn out by grief, she walked slowly and when she approached the actual entrance to the sanctuary made two genuflections; on the third she sank to the floor and taking firm hold of the sacred doors, cried in a loud voice: "Unless my hands are cut off, I will not leave this holy place except on one condition: that I receive the emperor's cross as guarantee of safety". Alexios I manuscript illustration NikephorosIII Botaneiates was forced into a public vow that he would grant protection to the family.Straboromanos tried to give Anna his cross, but for her it was not large enough for all bystanders to witness the oath. She also demanded that the cross be personally sent by Botaneiates as a vow of his good faith. He obliged, sending a complete assurance for the family with his own cross. At the emperor's further insistence, and for their own protection, they took refuge at the convent of Petrion, where they were eventually joined byMaria of Bulgaria, mother of Irene Doukaina. Botaneiates allowed them to be treated as refugees rather than as guests. They were allowed to have family members bring in their own food and were on good terms with the guards from whom they learned the latest news. Anna was highly successful in three important aspects of the revolt: she bought time for her sons to steal imperial horses from the stables and escape the city; she distracted the emperor, giving her sons time to gather and arm their troops; and she gave a false sense of security to Botaneiates that there was no real treasonous plot against him. After bribing the Western troops guarding the city, Isaac and Alexios Komnenos entered the capital victoriously on 1 April 1081. During this time, Alexios was rumored to be the lover of EmpressMaria, the daughter of KingBagratIV of Georgia, who had been successively married toMichaelVIIDoukas and his successor NikephorosIII Botaneiates, and who was renowned for her beauty. Alexios arranged for Maria to stay on the palace grounds, and it was thought that he was considering marrying her. However, his mother consolidated the Doukas family connection by arranging the Emperor's marriage toIrene Doukaina, granddaughter of theCaesar John Doukas, the uncle of MichaelVII, who would not have supported Alexios otherwise. As a measure intended to keep the support of the Doukai, Alexios restoredConstantine Doukas, the young son of MichaelVII and Maria, as co-emperor and a little later betrothed him to his own first-born daughterAnna, who moved into the Mangana Palace with her fianc and his mother. This situation changed drastically, however, when Alexios' first sonJohnII Komnenoswas born in 1087: Anna's engagement to Constantine was dissolved, and she was moved to the main Palace to live with her mother and grandmother. Alexios became estranged from Maria, who was stripped of her imperial title and retired to a monastery, and Constantine Doukas was deprived of his status as co-emperor. Nevertheless, he remained on good terms with the imperial family and succumbed to his weak constitution soon afterwards. Wars against the Normans, Pechenegs, and Tzachas The thirty-seven year reign of Alexios was full of struggle. At the outset he faced the formidable attack of the Normans, led byRobert Guiscardand his sonBohemund, who tookDyrrhachiumandCorfuand laid siege toLarissainThessaly (seeBattle of Dyrrhachium).[citation needed]Alexios suffered several defeats before he was able to strike back with success. He enhanced his resistance by bribing the German kingHenryIVwith 360,000 gold pieces to attack the Normans in Italy, which forced the Normans to concentrate on their defenses at home in 108384. He also secured the alliance ofHenry, Count of Monte Sant'Angelo, who controlled theGargano Peninsulaand dated his charters by Alexios' reign. Henry's allegiance would be the last example of Byzantine political control on peninsular Italy. The Norman danger subsided with the death of Guiscard in 1085, and the Byzantines recovered most of their losses. Alexios next had to deal with disturbances inThrace, where the heretical sects of theBogomilsand thePauliciansrevolted and made common cause with thePechenegsfrom beyond theDanube. Paulician soldiers in imperial service likewise deserted during Alexios' battles with the Normans. As soon as the Norman threat had passed, Alexios set out to punish the rebels and deserters, confiscating their lands. This led to a further revolt nearPhilippopolis, and the commander of the field army in the west, Gregory Pakourianos, was defeated and killed in the ensuing battle. In 1087 the Pechenegs raided into Thrace, and Alexios crossed intoMoesiato retaliate but failed to take Dorostolon (Silistra). During his retreat, the emperor was surrounded and worn down by the Pechenegs, who forced him to sign a truce and to pay protection money. In 1090 the Pechenegs invaded Thrace again,whileTzachas, the brother-in-law of the Sultan ofRum, launched a fleet and attempted to arrange a joint siege of Constantinople with the Pechenegs.Alexios overcame this crisis by entering into an alliance with a horde of 40,000Cumans, with whose help he crushed the Pechenegs atLevounionin Thrace on 29 April 1091. This put an end to the Pecheneg threat, but in 1094 the Cumans began to raid the imperial territories in the Balkans. Led by a pretender claiming to beConstantine Diogenes, a long-dead son of the EmperorRomanosIV,the Cumans crossed the mountains and raided into eastern Thrace until their leader was eliminated atAdrianople. With the Balkans more or less pacified, Alexios could now turn his attention toAsia Minor, which had been almost completely overrun by theSeljuq Turks. ByzantineSeljuq Wars and the First Crusade Further information:ByzantineSeljuq WarsandFirst Crusade Europe in 1097, during theFirst Crusade By the time Alexios ascended the throne, the Seljuqs had taken most of Asia Minor. Alexios was able to secure much of the coastal regions by sending peasant soldiers to raid the Seljuq camps, but these victories were unable to stop the Turks altogether.As early as 1090, Alexios had taken reconciliatory measures towards thePapacy,with the intention of seeking western support against the Seljuqs. In 1095 his ambassadors appeared beforePope Urban IIat theCouncil of Piacenza. The help he sought from the West was simply somemercenaryforces, not the immense hosts that arrived, to his consternation and embarrassment, after the pope preached theFirst Crusadeat theCouncil of Clermontlater that same year. This was thePeople's Crusade: a mob of mostly unarmed pilgrims led by the preacherPeter the Hermit. Not quite ready to supply this number of people as they traversed his territories, the emperor saw his Balkan possessions subjected to further pillage at the hands of his own allies. Eventually Alexios dealt with the People's Crusade by hustling them on to Asia Minor. There, they were massacred by the Turks ofKilij Arslan Iat theBattle of Civetotin October 1096. The "Prince's Crusade", the second and much more formidable host of crusaders, gradually made its way toConstantinople, led in sections byGodfrey of Bouillon,Bohemond of Taranto,Raymond IV of Toulouse, and other important members of the western nobility. Alexios used the opportunity to meet the crusader leaders separately as they arrived, extracting from them oaths of homage and the promise to turn over conquered lands to theByzantine Empire. Transferring each contingent into Asia, Alexios promised to supply them with provisions in return for their oaths of homage. The crusade was a notable success for Byzantium, as Alexios recovered a number of important cities and islands. Thesiege of Nicaeaby the crusaders forced the city to surrender to the emperor in 1097, and the subsequent crusader victory atDorylaionallowed the Byzantine forces to recover much of western Asia Minor. John Doukasre-established Byzantine rule inChios,Rhodes,Smyrna,Ephesus,Sardis, andPhiladelphiain 10971099. This success is ascribed by Alexios' daughter Anna to his policy and diplomacy, but by the Latin historians of the crusade to his treachery and deception. In 1099, a Byzantine fleet of ten ships was sent to assist the crusaders in capturingLaodiceaand other coastal towns as far asTripoli. The crusaders believed their oaths were made invalid when the Byzantine contingent underTatikiosfailed to help them during thesiege of Antioch; Bohemund, who had set himself up asPrince of Antioch, briefly went to warwith Alexios in the Balkans, but he was blockaded by the Byzantine forces and agreed to become a vassal of Alexios by theTreaty of Deabolisin 1108. Around this time, in 1106, the twentieth year of his reign,Hesychius of Miletusrecords that the sky suddenly darkened and a "violent southern wind" blew the great statue ofConstantineat the Strategion from its column, killing a number of men and women nearby. In 1116, though already terminally ill, Alexios conducted a series of defensive operations in Bithynia and Mysia to defend his Anatolian territories against the inroads ofMalik Shah, the Seljuq Sultan of Iconium. In 1117 he moved onto the offensive and pushed his army deep into the Turkish-dominated Anatolian Plateau, where he defeated the Seljuq sultan at theBattle of Philomelion. Personal life Personal life Low relief depicting Alexios I, Campiello de C Angaran,Venice, early 12th century. During the last twenty years of his life Alexios lost much of his popularity. The years were marked by persecution of the followers of thePaulicianandBogomilheresies one of his last acts was to publicly burn at the stakeBasil, a Bogomil leader, with whom he had engaged in a theological dispute. In spite of the success of the First Crusade, Alexios also had to repel numerous attempts on his territory by the Seljuqs in 11101117. Alexios was for many years under the strong influence of aneminence grise, his motherAnna Dalassene, a wise and immensely able politician whom, in a uniquely irregular fashion, he had crowned asAugustainstead of the rightful claimant to the title, his wife Irene Doukaina.Alexios was never happier than when taking part in military exercises and he assumed personal command of his troops whenever possible.As such, Dalassene was the effective administrator of the Empire during Alexios' long absences in military campaigns: she was constantly at odds with her daughter-in-law and had assumed total responsibility for the upbringing and education of her granddaughter Anna Komnene. Succession Alexios' last years were also troubled by anxieties over the succession. Although he had crowned his sonJohnII Komnenosco-emperor at the age of five in 1092, his wife Irene Doukaina wished to alter the succession in favor of their daughter Anna and Anna's husband,Nikephoros Bryennios the Younger.Bryennios had been madekaisar(Caesar) and received the newly created title ofpanhypersebastos("honoured above all"), and remained loyal to both Alexios and John. Pretenders and rebels Apart from all of his external enemies, a host of rebels also sought to overthrow Alexios from the imperial throne, thereby posing another major threat to his reign. Due to the troubled times the empire was enduring, he had by far the greatest number of rebellions against him of all the Byzantine emperors.These included: Pre First CrusadeEl Raictor, a Byzantine monk who claimed to be the emperorMichaelVII. He presented himself toRobert Guiscardwho used him as a pretext to launch his invasion of theByzantine Empire. A conspiracy in 1084 involving several senators and officers of the army. This was uncovered before too many followers were enlisted. In order to conceal the importance of the conspiracy, Alexios merely banished the wealthiest plotters and confiscated their estates. Tzachas, aSeljuq Turkicemirwho assumed the title of emperor in 1092. Constantine Humbertopoulos, who had assisted Alexios in gaining the throne in 1081 conspired against him in 1091 with anArmeniancalled Ariebes. John Komnenos, Alexios' nephew, governor ofDyrrachium, accused of a conspiracy byTheophylact of Bulgaria. Theodore Gabras, the quasi-independent governor ofTrebizondand his sonGregory. Michael Taronites, thebrother-in-lawof Alexios. Nikephoros Diogenes, the son of emperorRomanosIV. Pseudo-Leo Diogenes, an impostor who assumed the identity of another of Romanos' sons, Leo Diogenes. Karykes, the leader of a revolt inCrete. Rhapsomates, who tried to create an independent kingdom inCyprus. Post First Crusade Salomon, asenatorof great wealth who in 1106 engaged in a plot with four brothers of theAnemasfamily. Gregory Taronites, another governor of Trebizond. The illegitimate descendant of aBulgarianprince named Aron formed a plot in 1107 to murder Alexios as he was encamped nearThessalonica. The presence of the empress Irene and her attendants, however, made the execution of the plot difficult. In an attempt to have her return toConstantinople, the conspirators produced pamphlets that mocked and slandered the empress, and left them in her tent. A search for the author of the publications uncovered the whole plot, yet Aron was only banished due to his connection to the royal line of Bulgaria, whose blood also flowed in the veins of the empress Irene. Reform of the monetary system Scyphate(cup-shaped)hyperpyronminted underManuel I Komnenos Under Alexios the debasedsolidus(tetarteronandhistamenon) was discontinued and a gold coinage of higher fineness (generally .900.950) was established in 1092, commonly called thehyperpyronat 4.45 grs. Thehyperpyronwas slightly smaller than thesolidus. It was introduced along with theelectrumaspron trachyworth a third of ahyperpyronand about 25% gold and 75% silver, thebillonaspron trachyorstamenon,valued at 48 to thehyperpyronand with 7% silver wash and the coppertetarteronandnoummionworth 18 and 36 to the billonaspron trachy. Alexios' reform of the Byzantine monetary system was an important basis for the financial recovery and therefore supported the so-calledKomnenian restoration, as the new coinage restored financial confidence. Legacy Rare seal of Alexios I with a depiction of theResurrection AlexiosI had overcome a dangerous crisis and stabilized the Byzantine Empire, inaugurating a century of imperial prosperity and success.He had also profoundly altered the nature of the Byzantine government.By seeking close alliances with powerful noble families, Alexios put an end to the tradition of imperial exclusivity and co-opted most of the nobility into his extended family and, through it, his government. Those who did not become part of this extended family were deprived of power and prestige.This measure, which was intended to diminish opposition, was paralleled by the introduction of new courtly dignities, like that ofpanhypersebastosgiven to Nikephoros Bryennios, or that ofsebastokratorgiven to the emperor's brother Isaac Komnenos. Although this policy met with initial success, it gradually undermined the relative effectiveness of imperial bureaucracy by placing family connections over merit. Alexios' policy of integration of the nobility bore the fruit of continuity: every Byzantine emperor who reigned after AlexiosI Komnenos was related to him by either descent or marriage.
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Historical Period: Byzantine (300-1400 AD)
Era: Ancient
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