6 – Alexios I Komnenos (1081 – 1118)
Alexios I Komnenos (sometimes spelled Alexius I Comnenus) was the founder of the Komnenian dynasty and is occasionally referred to as the ‘savior of the empire.’ Alexios was born in 1056 (some sources suggest it was 1048) and was part of a wealthy landowning family. His uncle Isaac I was emperor from 1057-1059. Alexios joined the army at a young age, and by 1081, he was in a position to take the throne from Nicephorus III. He inherited the crown after 50 years of weak leadership left the Byzantine Empire on the verge of collapse.
Although Alexios’ reign included constant warfare, he was able to stop the empire’s decline and help begin a financial, territorial and military recovery known as the Komnenian Restoration. Alexios’ first task was to fight back against a Norman invasion led by Robert Guiscard. The Byzantines were resilient and recovered after several defeats to eventually beat back the Normans; bribing the German King Henry IV with gold also helped! The next threat was the Pechenegs from across the Danube. Once again, the Byzantines suffered early losses only to grind down their opponents and crush their resistance.
The Seljuk Turks posed an even bigger threat, so Alexios appealed to the Papacy for help. The result was the First Crusade which began a series of conflicts that changed the course of history. This crusade lasted from 1095 to 1099 and ended when the Crusaders captured Jerusalem. It was also a success for Alexios as the Byzantine Empire regained some lost territory including Nicaea, Rhodes, Philadelphia and Sardis. The emperor lost much of his popularity in the last 20 years of his reign. One of the reasons for this was his persecution of followers of the Bogomil and Paulician heresies. Although Alexios was terminally ill in 1116, he still led his army in defense of Anatolian territories against the Turks. He defeated the Turks in 1117 at the Battle of Philomelion but died the following year.
There is some disagreement over the legacy of Alexios. Sources at the time suggested he helped keep the empire together at a critical juncture and set the scene for a revival that lasted until 1204. Modern historians suggest the Komnenians only used stopgap measures which did nothing to help the Byzantine Empire in the long term. To be fair to Alexios, he inherited a crisis and did what he believed was right by asking the West for help. Unfortunately, this action resulted in the Crusades and Western interference. Ultimately, the Crusaders sacked Constantinople in 1204. From that point on, the Byzantine Empire enduring a slow, lingering death.