Editing Alexios III Angelos (section)

==Reign==
[[File:Aspron trachy of Alexios III Angelos.png|thumb|[[Aspron trachy]] of Alexios III alongside [[Constantine the Great]].]]
By 1190 Alexios had returned to the court of his younger brother, from whom he received the elevated title of ''[[sebastokrator|sebastokratōr]]''.  In March 1195 while Isaac II was away hunting in [[Thrace]], Alexios was acclaimed as emperor by the troops with the covert support of his wife [[Euphrosyne Doukaina Kamatera]]. Alexios captured Isaac at [[Stagira (ancient city)|Stagira]] in [[Macedonia (region)|Macedonia]], [[political mutilation in Byzantine culture|put out his eyes]], and thenceforth kept him a close prisoner, despite having previously been redeemed by Isaac from captivity at [[Antioch]] and showered with honours.{{sfn|Bury|1911}}

To compensate for this crime and to solidify his position as emperor, Alexios had to scatter money so lavishly as to empty his treasury, and to allow such licence to the officers of the army as to leave the Empire practically defenceless. These actions inevitably led to the financial ruin of the state. At Christmas 1196, Holy Roman Emperor [[Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor|Henry VI]] attempted to force Alexios to pay him a tribute of 5,000 pounds (later negotiated down to 1,600 pounds) of gold or face invasion. Alexios gathered the money by plundering imperial tombs at the church of the Holy Apostles and heavily taxing the people through the ''[[Alamanikon]]''. Because of Henry's death in September 1197, the gold was never dispatched. The Empress Euphrosyne tried in vain to sustain his credit and his court; Vatatzes, the favourite instrument in her attempts at reform, was [[assassination|assassinated]] by the emperor's orders.{{sfn|Bury|1911}}

In the east the Empire was overrun by the [[Seljuk Turks]]; from the north, the [[Kingdom of Hungary]] and the rebellious [[Bulgarians]] and [[Vlachs]] descended unchecked to ravage the Balkan provinces of the Empire, sometimes penetrating as far as Greece, while Alexios squandered the public treasure on his palaces and gardens and attempted to deal with the crisis through diplomatic means. The Emperor's attempts to bolster the empire's defences by special concessions to [[pronoia|''pronoiai'']] (notables) in the frontier zone backfired, as the latter increased their regional autonomy. Byzantine authority survived, but in a much weakened state. In 1197, local lord [[Dobromir Chrysos]] established himself in the region of [[Vardar Macedonia]], defying the imperial power for several years.{{sfn|Fine|1994|pp=29–30}}

During the first years of Alexios' reign, relations between Byzantium and [[Grand Principality of Serbia|Serbia]] were good, since his daughter [[Eudokia Angelina]] was married to Serbian Grand Prince [[Stefan Nemanjić|Stefan Nemanjić II]], who was granted the title of ''sebastokrator''. But in 1200, those relations deteriorated. The marriage between Stefan and Eudokia was dissolved, and the alliance between Serbia and Byzantium ended, leaving Byzantium without a single ally in Southeastern Europe.{{sfn|Fine|1994|p=46}}{{sfn|Ćirković|2004|pp=34–35}}