Death of Alexios I Komnenos, August 15, 1118.

Alexios I Komnenos (c.1057 – 15 August 1118) was Byzantine emperor from 1081 to 1118. Despite inheriting a crumbling empire and contending with continual warfare throughout his reign, Alexios managed to halt the Byzantine decline and start the military, financial, and territorial recovery known as the Komnenian restoration.

Early Life & Accession

Alexios was the son of John Komnenos and Anna Dalassene, and the nephew of Emperor Isaac I Komnenos. Upon Isaac’s abdication in 1059, Alexios’ father declined the throne, leading to the succession of Constantine X Doukas. Under the reigns of Michael VII Doukas Parapinakes (1071–1078) and Nikephoros III Botaneiates (1078–1081), Alexios and his elder brother Isaac were actively engaged in military campaigns against rebels in Asia Minor, Thrace, and Epirus.

While Byzantine troops were assembling for an expedition, the Doukas faction at court persuaded Alexios to join a conspiracy against Nikephoros III. Alexios’ mother, Anna Dalassene, played a key role in the ensuing coup d'état, collaborating with the current empress, Maria of Alania. Maria was concerned about the future of her son by Michael VII, Constantine Doukas, as Nikephoros III intended to leave the throne to one of his close relatives. To further aid the conspiracy, she adopted Alexios as her son, despite being only five years older than him. Consequently, Alexios and Constantine became adoptive brothers, and both Isaac and Alexios swore an oath to safeguard Constantine’s rights as emperor.

In 1081, Isaac and Alexios left Constantinople to raise an army against Nikephoros, while Anna negotiated with the emperor for their safety claiming her son was innocent. By doing this, she bought time for her sons to escape, distracted the emperor, and created a false sense of security. On April 1, 1081, after bribing the Western troops guarding the city, Isaac and Alexios Komnenos entered Constantinople victoriously.

During this period, Alexios was rumoured to be Empress Maria’s lover. However, his mother solidified the Doukas family connection by arranging his marriage to Irene Doukaina, granddaughter of Caesar John Doukas. To maintain Doukas’ support, Alexios restored Constantine Doukas as co-emperor and Anna was engaged to him. This situation changed drastically in 1087 when Alexios’ first son, John II Komnenos, was born. Anna’s engagement to Constantine was dissolved and the latter was deprived of his co-emperor status.

Reign

The thirty-seven-year reign of Alexios I Komnenos was marked by continuous struggle. At the outset, he faced several attacks from the Normans, led by Robert Guiscard and his son Bohemond, who captured Dyrrhachium and Corfu. Ultimately, the death of Guiscard in 1085 put an end to the Norman threat, allowing the Byzantines to recover most of their losses.

In 1090, the Pechenegs invaded Thrace, while Tzachas, the brother-in-law of the Sultan of Rum, launched a fleet and attempted to arrange a joint siege of Constantinople with them. Alexios overcame this crisis by allying with the Cumans, defeating the Pechenegs in 1091. However, in 1094, the Cumans began raiding imperial territories in the Balkans. Led by a pretender claiming to be Constantine Diogenes, a long-dead son of Emperor Romanos IV, they raided eastern Thrace until their leader was killed at Adrianople.

With the Balkans relatively pacified, Alexios turned his attention to Asia Minor, which had been almost completely overrun by the Seljuq Turks. By 1090, the emperor had taken reconciliatory measures towards the Papacy to seek Western support against them. However, Alexios sought mercenary forces from the West, not the immense hosts that arrived after the pope preached the First Crusade at the Council of Clermont later that year. This initial wave, known as the People’s Crusade, consisted mostly of unarmed peasants and serfs. Alexios struggled to supply these masses as they traversed his territories and hastily sent them to Asia Minor, where they were massacred by the Turks of Kilij Arslan I. The ensuing Prince’s Crusade proved to be more successful for Byzantium, as the emperor recovered several important cities and islands of western Asia Minor.

For many years, Alexios was strongly influenced by his mother, Anna Dalassene, a shrewd and highly capable politician. Unusually, he had her crowned as Augusta rather than his wife, Irene Doukaina, who was the rightful claimant to the title. Anna’s skill in helping him seize power and manage the aristocracy, along with her adeptness at resolving complex issues, made her a trusted and effective advisor and regent during Alexios’ absences.

Monetary Reforms

Under Alexios I, significant monetary reforms were implemented to address the declining quality of the Byzantine currency. In 1092, he discontinued the debased solidus (tetarteron and histamenon) and introduced a higher-quality gold coinage known as the hyperpyron. This new coin had a fineness of approximately .900–.950 and weighed 4.45 grams, though it was slightly smaller than its predecessor. Alongside the hyperpyron, he introduced two additional coins: the electrum aspron trachy, worth one-third of a hyperpyron and consisting of about 25% gold and 75% silver, and the billon aspron trachy (or stamenon), valued at 48 to the hyperpyron with a 7% silver wash. Copper coins, the tetarteron and noummion, were worth 18 and 36 of the billon aspron trachy, respectively.

Death & Legacy

Alexios I Komnenos passed away on August 15, 1118, after a tumultuous and impactful reign. His final years were marked by increasing personal and political challenges. Despite his illness, he continued to engage in military and administrative activities, notably conducting defensive operations in Bithynia and Mysia to protect his Anatolian territories from the Seljuq Turks.

Following his death, he was succeeded by his son, John II Komnenos, who continued many of his father’s policies and further stabilized and expanded the empire. Alexios’ death thus transitioned the empire from a period of recovery and consolidation into a new phase of stability and prosperity under his son’s reign.