Editing Alexios I Komnenos (section)

==Legacy==
[[File:Resurrection seal of Alexios I Komnenos.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Rare seal of Alexios I with a depiction of the [[Resurrection]]]]
Alexios I had overcome dangerous crises and stabilised the Byzantine Empire, inaugurating a century of imperial prosperity and success.<ref name="Norwich 1995, p. 61" /> He had also profoundly altered the nature of the Byzantine government.<ref name="Finlay 1854, p. 69">Finlay 1854, p. 69</ref> 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.<ref name="Kazhdan 1991, p. 1479" /> This measure, which was intended to diminish opposition, was paralleled by the introduction of new courtly dignities, like that of ''[[panhypersebastos]]'' given to Nikephoros Bryennios, or that of ''[[sebastokrator]]'' given to the emperor's brother Isaac Komnenos.<ref name="Finlay 1854, p. 69" /> 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 Alexios&nbsp;I Komnenos was related to him by either descent or marriage.