Editing Alexios I Komnenos (section)

== Biography ==
Alexios was the son of [[John Komnenos (Domestic of the Schools)|John Komnenos]] and [[Anna Dalassene]],<ref name="Kazhdan 1991, p. 63">Kazhdan 1991, p. 63</ref> and the nephew of [[Isaac&nbsp;I Komnenos]] (emperor 1057–1059). Alexios' father declined the throne on the abdication of Isaac, who was thus succeeded by [[Constantine X Doukas]] (r. 1059–1067) and died as a monk in 1067. Alexios and his elder brother, [[Manuel Komnenos (kouropalates)|Manuel Komnenos]] served under [[Romanos&nbsp;IV Diogenes]] (r. 1068–1071) with distinction against the [[Seljuk Turks]].<ref name="Norwich 1995, p. 4">Norwich 1995, p. 4</ref><ref>[[Anna Dalassene#CITEREFGarland1999|Garland 1999]], p. 187.</ref> under [[Michael&nbsp;VII Doukas]] ''Parapinakes'' (1071–1078) and [[Nikephoros&nbsp;III Botaneiates]] (1078–1081), he was militarily employed, along with his elder brother [[Isaac Komnenos (brother of Alexios I)|Isaac]], against rebels in [[Asia Minor]], [[Thrace]], and in [[Epirus]].<ref name="EB1911">Bury 1911</ref>

In 1074, western mercenaries led by [[Roussel de Bailleul]] rebelled in Asia Minor,<ref name="Norwich 1995, p. 2">Norwich 1995, p. 2</ref> but Alexios successfully subdued them by 1076.<ref name="Alexiad, 1.1">"Alexiad", 1.1</ref> In 1078, he was appointed commander of the field army in the West by Nikephoros&nbsp;III.<ref name="Norwich 1995, p. 3">Norwich 1995, p. 3</ref> In this capacity, Alexios defeated the rebellions of [[Nikephoros Bryennios the Elder]] (whose son or grandson later married Alexios' daughter Anna) and [[Nikephoros Basilakes]], the first at the [[Battle of Kalavrye]] and the latter in a surprise night attack on his camp.{{citation needed|date=August 2018}}<ref>"Alexiad", 1.8</ref> Alexios was ordered to march against his brother-in-law [[Nikephoros Melissenos]] in 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 the [[Italo-Normans|Normans]] of Southern Italy, led by [[Robert Guiscard]].{{citation needed|date=April 2021}}

===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 a [[conspiracy (political)|conspiracy]] against Nikephoros&nbsp;III. The mother of Alexios, Anna Dalassene, was to play a prominent role in this coup d'état of 1081, along with the current empress, [[Maria of Alania]].<ref name="Garland 2007">Garland 2007</ref> First married to Michael&nbsp;VII Doukas and secondly to [[Nikephoros&nbsp;III Botaneiates]], she was preoccupied with the future of her son by Michael&nbsp;VII, [[Constantine Doukas (co-emperor)|Constantine Doukas]]. Nikephoros&nbsp;III intended to leave the throne to one of his close relatives,<ref name="Finlay 1854, p. 59">Finlay 1854, p. 59</ref> and this resulted in Maria's ambivalence and alliance with the Komnenoi, though the real driving force behind this political alliance was Anna Dalassene.<ref>"Alexiad", 2.2.1–2</ref>

The empress was already closely connected to the Komnenoi through Maria's cousin, Irene who had been married to Isaac Komnenos,<ref name="Finlay 1854, p. 59" /> thus the Komnenos brothers were able to treat her as member of the family's enlarged kinship. Furthermore, by espousing the custom of adoptive kingship, which was a social trend in the palace during the reign of [[Zoe Porphyrogenita|empress Zoe]], Maria had accepted to adopt Alexios as her son in order to aid the conspiracy.<ref name="Norwich 1995, p. 5">Norwich 1995, p. 5</ref> Maria was induced to do so on advice of her own "Alans", that is her Georgian entourage, and her eunuchs, the latter being instructed by Isaac Komnenos to talk the empress into. Apparently, Anna must have been informed of the arrangement of the adoptive kingship, and her tacit agreement on the matter allowed for the final conclusion of Alexios' adoption by the empress.<ref name="Garland 2007"/> As a result, Alexios became the adoptive brother of Constantine Doukas's, natural son of empress Maria. The completion of the adoptive kingship entailed as part of the ritual performed from the adoptive member's behalf pledging an oath of loyalty and allegiance to the heir of the throne, a typical practice in which the prospective member since he bore no blood relation and was not of imperial lineage he had to be tied to the emperor's person by a sacred oath. Therefore, both Alexios and his brother, Isaac pledged to safeguard the heir's rights to the throne.<ref>"Alexiad", 2,1,4–6, 2.3.2–3,2.3.4; cf. Bryennius 4.2, who dates the adoption to early in the reign of Botaneiates</ref>

[[File:Seal of Alexios Komnenos as Grand Domestic of the West.jpg|thumb|250px|Seal of Alexios as "[[Domestic of the Schools|Grand Domestic of the West]]"]]

According to Anna Comnena's narrative in the Alexiad, Isaac and Alexios left Constantinople in mid-February 1081 to raise an army against Botaneiates.<ref>Norwich 1995, p. 6</ref> When the time was right and the army already marching to the capital, Anna Dalassene quickly and surreptitiously mobilised the remainder of the family and took sanctuary in the cathedral of [[Hagia Sophia]], wherefrom she negotiated with [[Nikephoros III Botaneiates]] for the safety of her family, while disclaiming her two sons' hostile actions against the emperor. Anna Comnena offers in detail the course of steps her grandmother took to be able to enter the church. Under the pretence of making a vesperal visit to worship at the church, she deliberately excluded the grandson of Botaneiates and his loyal tutor and met with her sons' Alexios and Isaac and went with them to the forum of Constantine.<ref name="Garland 2007"/> When the tutor discovered she had gone missing, he went looking for her to eventually find her on the palace's grounds. Yet again cunningly Anna convinced him that they would leave the palace shortly. However, the rest of the female members of her family in order to be allowed to gain entrance although the church was at that time closed, pretended to be pilgrims from [[Cappadocia]] who had been penniless and wanted to prostrate the holy icons before their return trip. Straboromanos and royal guards who were caught up with them, were summoned back to the palace.<ref name="Garland 2007"/> Anna then went on protesting for the safety of her family, that she feared of the emperor's wrath and that her sons were nothing but loyal subjects, despite the fact that Alexios and Isaac were discovered to be missing without the emperor's consent. She even suggested that a plot had been unravelling by enemies of the family to have them blinded and for that she had fled to the capital so they may continue to be of loyal service to the emperor.<ref>"Alexiad", 2.5.5</ref> She refused to go with them and demanded that they allow her to pray to the [[Mother of God]] for protection. This request was granted and Anna then manifested her true communicative and leadership capabilities:

{{Blockquote|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".<ref>"Alexiad", 2.5.6</ref>}}
[[File:Alexius I.png|thumb|right|200px|Alexios I in a 12th-century Greek manuscript, [[Vatican Library|Vatican library]]]]
Nikephoros&nbsp;III Botaneiates was forced into a public vow that he would grant protection to the family.<ref name="Garland 2007"/> 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 by [[Maria of Bulgaria]], mother of Irene Doukaina.<ref name="Garland 2007"/> 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.<ref>"Alexiad", 2.5.7–9</ref> 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.<ref name="Garland 2007"/> After bribing the Western troops guarding the city, Isaac and Alexios Komnenos entered the capital victoriously on 1 April 1081.<ref>Finlay 1854, p. 63</ref>

During this time, Alexios was rumored to be the lover of Empress [[Maria Bagrationi|Maria]], the daughter of King [[Bagrat&nbsp;IV of Georgia]], who had been successively married to [[Michael&nbsp;VII]] Doukas and his successor Nikephoros&nbsp;III Botaneiates, and who was renowned for her beauty.<ref>Norwich 1995, p. 10</ref> 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 to [[Irene Doukaina]], granddaughter of the [[John Doukas, Caesar|Caesar John Doukas]], the uncle of Michael&nbsp;VII, who would not have supported Alexios otherwise. As a measure intended to keep the support of the Doukai, Alexios restored [[Constantine Doukas (co-emperor)|Constantine Doukas]], the young son of Michael&nbsp;VII and Maria, as co-emperor.<ref>Norwich 1995, p. 12</ref>

This situation changed drastically, however, when Alexios' first son [[John&nbsp;II Komnenos]] was born in 1087:<ref name="Kazhdan 1991, p. 658">Kazhdan 1991, p. 658</ref> 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.<ref name="Kazhdan 1991, p. 658" />

===Wars against the Normans, Pechenegs, and Tzachas===
{{Further|Byzantine–Norman Wars}}

The thirty-seven year reign of Alexios was full of struggle. At the outset he faced the formidable attack of the Normans, led by [[Robert Guiscard]] and his son [[Bohemond I of Antioch|Bohemond]], who took [[Dyrrhachium]] and [[Corfu]] and laid siege to [[Larissa]] in [[Thessaly]].<ref name="EB1911"/> Alexios suffered several defeats before he was able to strike back with success. He enhanced his resistance by an agreement with the German king [[Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor|Henry&nbsp;IV]], who, in exchange for 360,000 gold pieces, did attack the Normans in Italy,<ref>Norwich 1995, p. 21</ref> which forced the Normans to concentrate on their defenses at home in 1083–84. He also secured the alliance of [[Henry, Count of Monte Sant'Angelo]], who controlled the [[Gargano Peninsula]] and dated his charters by Alexios' reign. Henry's allegiance would be the last example of Byzantine political control on peninsular Italy. The Norman military danger subsided with the death of Guiscard in 1085, and the Byzantines recovered most of their losses.<ref>Norwich 1995, p. 25</ref>

Alexios next had to deal with disturbances in [[Thrace]], where the heretical sects of the [[Bogomils]] and the [[Paulicians]] revolted and made common cause with the [[Pechenegs]] from beyond the [[Danube]].<ref>Finlay 1854, p. 101</ref> Paulician soldiers in imperial service likewise deserted during Alexios' battles with the Normans.<ref>Finlay 1854, p. 78</ref> 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 near [[Plovdiv|Philippopolis]], 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 into [[Moesia]] to retaliate but failed to take Dorostolon ([[Silistra]]).<ref>Finlay 1854, p. 102</ref> During his retreat, the emperor was [[Battle of Dristra|confronted and defeated]] by the Pechenegs, who forced him to sign a truce and to pay protection money. In 1090 the Pechenegs invaded Thrace again,<ref>Finlay 1854, p. 104</ref> while [[Tzachas]], the brother-in-law of the Sultan of [[Sultanate of Rûm|Rum]], launched a fleet and attempted to arrange a joint siege of Constantinople with the Pechenegs.<ref>Norwich 1995, p. 26</ref> Alexios overcame this crisis by entering into an alliance with a horde of 40,000 [[Cumans]], with whose help he conquered the Pechenegs at [[Battle of Levounion|Levounion]] in Thrace on 29 April 1091.<ref>Norwich 1995, p. 27</ref>

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 be [[Constantine Diogenes (pretender)|Constantine Diogenes]], a long-dead son of the Emperor [[Romanos&nbsp;IV]],<ref>Finlay 1854, p. 86</ref> the Cumans crossed the mountains and raided into eastern Thrace until their leader was eliminated at [[Adrianople]]. With the Balkans more or less pacified, Alexios could now turn his attention to [[Asia Minor]], which had been almost completely overrun by the [[Seljuq Turks]].<ref>Finlay 1854, p. 108</ref>

===Byzantine–Seljuq Wars and the First Crusade===
{{further|Byzantine–Seljuq Wars|First Crusade}}
[[File:First.Crusade.Map.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Europe in 1097, during the [[First Crusade]]]]

By the time Alexios ascended the throne, the Seljuqs had taken most of Asia Minor. Alexios secured much of the coastal regions by sending peasant soldiers to raid the Seljuq camps, but this did not stop the Turks altogether.<ref>Finlay 1854, p. 111</ref> He also got military support from Western rulers like [[Robert I, Count of Flanders]] (Robert the Frisian). Robert, while returning from an armed [[pilgrimage]] to Jerusalem in 1086, spent time assisting the Byzantine Emperor against the Turks.<ref>[[Runciman, Steven]], ''The First Crusade'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1980), p. 32</ref> In one battle, Robert and three of his companions rode ahead of the main army, charging the forces under the command of [[Kerbogha]], whose forces were scattered completely.<ref>''The Alexiad of Anna Comnena'', Trans. E.R.A. Sewter (London: The Penguin Group, 1969), p. 351.</ref>

As early as 1090, Alexios had taken reconciliatory measures towards the [[Papacy]],<ref>Norwich 1995, p. 30</ref> with the intention of seeking western support against the Seljuqs. In 1095 his ambassadors appeared before [[Pope Urban II]] at the [[Council of Piacenza]].<ref>Main historic authority on the proceedings of this event is [[Bernold of Constance]].</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Somerville |first=Robert |date=2011 |title=Pope Urban II's Council of Piacenza - Chapter I |url=https://academic.oup.com/book/26300/chapter-abstract/194553385 |access-date=31 October 2023 |website=academic.oup.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Johnston |first=Ruth A. |url=https://ruthjohnston.com/AllThingsMedieval/?p=4434 |title=All Things Medieval: An Encyclopedia of the Medieval World |publisher=Greenwood |year=2011 |isbn=978-0313364624 |language=en}}</ref> The help he sought from the West was some mercenary forces, not the immense hosts that arrived, to his consternation and embarrassment, after the pope preached the [[First Crusade]] at the [[Council of Clermont]] later that same year.<ref>Norwich 1995, p. 31</ref> This was the [[People's Crusade]]: a mob of mostly unarmed poor peasants and serfs, led by the preacher [[Peter the Hermit]], fleeing from hunger in their home regions to a promised land of milk and honey.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Snell |first=Melissa |date=2018 |title=The People's Crusade |url=https://www.thoughtco.com/the-peoples-crusade-1788840 |access-date=31 October 2023 |website=ThoughtCo |language=en}}</ref> 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.<ref>Norwich 1995, p. 33</ref> Eventually Alexios dealt with the People's Crusade by hustling them on to Asia Minor. There, they were massacred by the Turks of [[Kilij Arslan I]] at the [[Battle of Civetot]] in October 1096.<ref name="Kazhdan 1991, p. 1479">Kazhdan 1991, p. 1479</ref>

The "Prince's Crusade", the second and much more formidable host of Crusaders, gradually made its way to Constantinople, led in sections by [[Godfrey of Bouillon]], [[Bohemond I of Antioch|Bohemond of Taranto]], [[Raymond IV, Count of Toulouse|Raymond IV of Toulouse]], and other important western nobles.<ref>Norwich 1995, p. 36</ref> Alexios met the Crusader leaders separately as they arrived, extracting from them oaths of homage and the promise to turn over conquered lands to the Byzantine Empire.<ref>Finlay 1854, p. 123</ref> 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. The [[siege of Nicaea]] by the Crusaders forced the city to surrender to the emperor in 1097, and the subsequent Crusader victory at [[Battle of Dorylaeum (1097)|Dorylaion]] enabled Alexios to recover much of western Asia Minor.<ref name="Norwich 1995, p. 42">Norwich 1995, p. 42</ref> [[John Doukas (megas doux)|John Doukas]] re-established Byzantine rule in [[Chios]], [[Rhodes]], [[Smyrna]], [[Ephesus]], [[Sardis]], and [[Alaşehir|Philadelphia]] in 1097–1099. 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.<ref name="EB1911"/> In 1099, he sent a Byzantine fleet of ten ships to assist the Crusaders in capturing [[Laodicea in Syria|Laodicea]] and other coastal towns as far as [[Tripoli, Lebanon|Tripoli]]. The Crusaders believed their oaths were made invalid when the Byzantine contingent under [[Tatikios]] failed to help them during the [[siege of Antioch]];{{sfn|Thomas|2016}} Bohemund, who had set himself up as [[Principality of Antioch|Prince of Antioch]], did not return the ancient city, despite his previous agreement with Alexios.<ref name="Norwich 1995, p. 42" /> He [[Siege of Dyrrhachium (1107–1108)|briefly went to war]] with Alexios in the Balkans, but he was blockaded by the Byzantine forces and agreed to become a vassal of Alexios by the [[Treaty of Devol|Treaty of Deabolis]] in 1108.<ref>Norwich 1995, p. 48</ref>

Around this time, in 1106, the twenty-fifth year of his reign, [[Hesychius of Miletus]] records that the sky suddenly darkened and a "violent southern wind" blew the great statue of [[Constantine the Great|Constantine]] at the [[Strategion]] from its column, killing a number of men and women nearby.<ref>''[[Patria of Constantinople]]''</ref>

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 of [[Malik Shah (Rûm)|Malik 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 the [[Battle of Philomelion]].{{sfn|Sewter|1969|pp=481–487}}