Alexios IV Angelos - Wikipedia Alexios IV Angelos From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to navigation Jump to search Byzantine emperor from 1203 to 1204 "Alexios IV" redirects here. For the emperor of Trebizond, see Alexios IV of Trebizond. This article includes a list of general references, but it remains largely unverified because it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (February 2011) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Emperor and Autocrat of the Romans Alexios IV Angelos Emperor and Autocrat of the Romans 15th-century portrait of Alexios IV (from a 15th-century codex containing a copy of the Extracts of History by Joannes Zonaras) Byzantine emperor Reign 1 August 1203 – 5 February 1204 Predecessor Alexios III Angelos Successor Alexios V Doukas Co-Emperor Isaac II Angelos Born c. 1182 Died 8 February 1204 (aged 21) Constantinople Dynasty Angelos Father Isaac II Angelos Mother Irene (Palaiologos?) Religion Eastern Orthodox Alexios IV Angelos or Alexius IV Angelus (Greek: Ἀλέξιος Ἄγγελος) (c. 1182 – 8 February 1204) was Byzantine Emperor from August 1203 to January 1204. He was the son of Emperor Isaac II Angelos and his first wife, an unknown Palaiologina, who became a nun with the name Irene. His paternal uncle was his predecessor Emperor Alexios III Angelos. Contents 1 Prince in exile 2 Emperor 3 Deposition and death 4 See also 5 Notes 6 References Prince in exile[edit] The young Alexios was imprisoned in 1195 when Alexios III overthrew Isaac II in a coup. In 1201, two Pisan merchants were employed to smuggle Alexios out of Constantinople to the Holy Roman Empire, where he took refuge with his brother-in-law Philip of Swabia,[1] King of Germany. According to the contemporary account of Robert of Clari it was while Alexios was at Swabia's court that he met with Marquis Boniface of Montferrat, Philip's cousin, who had been chosen to lead the Fourth Crusade, but had temporarily left the Crusade during the siege of Zara in 1202 to visit Philip. Boniface and Alexios allegedly discussed diverting the Crusade to Constantinople so that Alexios could be restored to his father's throne. Montferrat returned to the Crusade while it wintered at Zara and he was shortly followed by Prince Alexios's envoys who offered to the Crusaders 10,000 Byzantine soldiers to help fight in the Crusade, maintain 500 knights in the Holy Land, the service of the Byzantine navy (20 ships) in transporting the Crusader army to Egypt, as well as money to pay off the Crusaders' debt to the Republic of Venice with 200,000 silver marks. Additionally, he promised to bring the Greek Orthodox Church under the authority of the pope. The Venetians and most of the Leaders were in favour of the plan; however, some were not, and there were defections, including Simon of Montfort. In 1202 the fleet arrived at Constantinople. Alexios was paraded outside the walls, but the citizens were apathetic, as Alexios III, though a usurper and illegitimate in the eyes of the westerners, was an acceptable emperor for the Byzantine citizens. Emperor[edit] Alexios comes to Zara to request the assistance of the Crusaders; sketch from a painting in the Doge's Palace, Venice On 18 July 1203 the Crusaders launched an assault on the city, and Alexios III immediately fled into Thrace. The next morning the Crusaders were surprised to find that the citizens had released Isaac II from prison and proclaimed him emperor, despite the fact that he had been blinded to make him ineligible to rule. The Crusaders could not accept this, and forced Isaac II to proclaim his son Alexios IV co-emperor on 1 August. Despite Alexios' grand promises, Isaac, the more experienced and practical of the two, knew that the Crusaders' debt could never be repaid from the imperial treasury. Alexios, however, had apparently not grasped how far the empire's financial resources had fallen during the previous fifty years. Alexios did manage to raise half the sum promised (100,000 silver marks), by appropriating treasures from the church and by confiscating the property of his enemies. He then attempted to defeat his uncle Alexios III, who remained in control of Thrace. The sack of some Thracian towns helped Alexios' situation a little, but meanwhile hostility between the restive Crusaders and the inhabitants of Constantinople was growing. In December 1203 violence exploded between the citizens of Constantinople and the Crusaders. Enraged mobs seized and brutally murdered any foreigner they could lay hands upon, and the Crusaders felt that Alexios had not fulfilled his promises to them. Alexios refused their demands, and is quoted as saying, "I will not do any more than I have done." While relations with the Crusaders were deteriorating, Alexios had become deeply unpopular with the Greek citizenry, and with his own father. Blinded and nearly powerless, Isaac II resented having to share the throne with his son; he spread rumours of Alexios' supposed sexual perversity, alleging he kept company with "depraved men". The chronicler Nicetas Choniates dismissed Alexios as "childish" and criticized his familiarity with the Crusaders and his lavish lifestyle. At the beginning of January 1204, Alexios IV retaliated against the Crusaders by setting fire to 17 ships filled with inflammable materials and sending them against the Venetian fleet, but the attempt failed.[2] Deposition and death[edit] At the end of January 1204, the populace of Constantinople rebelled and tried to proclaim a rival emperor Nicholas Canabus who took sanctuary in the bowels of the Hagia Sophia. Alexios IV attempted to reach a reconciliation with the Crusaders, entrusting the anti-western courtier Alexios Doukas Murzuphlus with a mission to gain Crusader support. However, Alexios Doukas imprisoned both Alexios IV and his father on the night of 27–28 January 1204. Isaac II died soon afterwards, possibly of old age or from poison, and Alexios IV was strangled on 8 February. Alexios Doukas was proclaimed emperor as Alexios V. During Alexios IV's brief reign, the empire's territories along the Black Sea coast declared independence, leading to the Byzantine successor state known as the Empire of Trebizond. The volatile situation in Constantinople at the time ensured that the empire had neither the resources nor wherewithal to maintain control of Trebizond, resulting in a de facto recognition of its Independence, although de jure it remained an Imperial possession. See also[edit] Byzantine Empire portal List of Byzantine emperors Notes[edit] ^ Philip was married to Irene Angelina a sister of Alexios IV. ^ Nicolle, David (2011). The Fourth Crusade 1202-04 - the Betrayal of Byzantium. Oxford: Osprey Publishing Ltd. p. 65. ISBN 978 1 84908 319 5. References[edit] Angold, Michael, The Fourth Crusade (London and New York, 2004). Brand, C.M., 'A Byzantine Plan for the Fourth Crusade', Speculum, 43 (1968), pp. 462–75. Harris, Jonathan, Byzantium and the Crusades (2nd ed. London and New York, 2014). ISBN 978-1-78093-767-0 Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium, Oxford University Press, 1991, pp. 65–66. Phillips, Jonathan, The Fourth Crusade And The Sack Of Constantinople (London and New York, 2004). Plate, William (1867). "Alexios IV Angelos". In William Smith (ed.). Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. 1. Boston: Little, Brown and Company. p. 131. Savignac, David. "The Medieval Russian Account of the Fourth Crusade - A New Annotated Translation". Alexios IV Angelos Angelid dynasty Born: unknown 1182 Died: 8 February 1204 Regnal titles Preceded by Alexios III Angelos Byzantine emperor 1203–1204 with Isaac II Angelus Succeeded by Alexios V Doukas v t e Roman and Byzantine emperors and ruling empresses Principate 27 BC – AD 235 Augustus Tiberius Caligula Claudius Nero Galba Otho Vitellius Vespasian Titus Domitian Nerva Trajan Hadrian Antoninus Pius Marcus Aurelius Lucius Verus Commodus Pertinax Didius Julianus (Pescennius Niger) (Clodius Albinus) Septimius Severus Caracalla Geta Macrinus Diadumenian Elagabalus Severus Alexander Crisis 235–285 Maximinus Thrax Gordian I Gordian II Pupienus Balbinus Gordian III Philip the Arab Philip II Decius Herennius Etruscus Hostilian Trebonianus Gallus Volusianus Aemilianus Valerian Gallienus Saloninus Claudius Gothicus Quintillus Aurelian Ulpia Severina Tacitus Florian Probus Carus Carinus Numerian Gallic emperors Postumus (Laelianus) Marius Victorinus (Domitianus II) Tetricus I with Tetricus II as caesar Palmyrene emperors Vaballathus Zenobia Septimius Antiochus Dominate 284–395 Diocletian Maximian Galerius Constantius I Severus Constantine the Great Maxentius Licinius Maximinus Daza (Valerius Valens) (Martinian) Constantine II Constantius II Constans I Magnentius Vetranio Julian Jovian Valentinian I (west) Valens (east) Gratian (west) Valentinian II (west) Theodosius I Magnus Maximus Victor (Eugenius) Western Empire 395–480 Honorius Constantine III with son Constans II Constantius III Joannes Valentinian III Petronius Maximus Avitus Majorian Libius Severus Anthemius Olybrius Glycerius Julius Nepos Romulus Augustulus Eastern/ Byzantine Empire 395–1204 Arcadius Theodosius II Marcian Leo I Leo II Zeno Basiliscus Marcus Anastasius I Dicorus Justin I Justinian I Justin II Tiberius II Constantine Maurice with son Theodosius as co-emperor Phocas Heraclius Constantine III Heraklonas Constans II Constantine IV with brothers Heraclius and Tiberius and then Justinian II as co-emperors Justinian II (first reign) Leontios Tiberius III Justinian II (second reign) with son Tiberius as co-emperor Philippikos Anastasios II Theodosius III Leo III the Isaurian Constantine V Artabasdos Leo IV the Khazar Constantine VI Irene Nikephoros I Staurakios Michael I Rangabe with son Theophylact as co-emperor Leo V the Armenian with Symbatios-Constantine as junior emperor Michael II the Amorian Theophilos Michael III Basil I the Macedonian Leo VI the Wise Alexander Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos Romanos I Lekapenos with sons Christopher, Stephen and Constantine as junior co-emperors Romanos II Nikephoros II Phokas John I Tzimiskes Basil II Constantine VIII Zoë (first reign) and Romanos III Argyros Zoë (first reign) and Michael IV the Paphlagonian Michael V Kalaphates Zoë (second reign) with Theodora Zoë (second reign) and Constantine IX Monomachos Constantine IX Monomachos (sole emperor) Theodora Michael VI Bringas Isaac I Komnenos Constantine X Doukas Romanos IV Diogenes Michael VII Doukas with brothers Andronikos and Konstantios and son Constantine Nikephoros III Botaneiates Alexios I Komnenos John II Komnenos with Alexios Komnenos as co-emperor Manuel I Komnenos Alexios II Komnenos Andronikos I Komnenos with John Komnenos as co-emperor Isaac II Angelos Alexios III Angelos Alexios IV Angelos Nicholas Kanabos (chosen by the Senate) Alexios V Doukas Empire of Nicaea 1204–1261 Constantine Laskaris Theodore I Laskaris John III Doukas Vatatzes Theodore II Laskaris John IV Laskaris Byzantine Empire 1261–1453 Michael VIII Palaiologos Andronikos II Palaiologos with Michael IX Palaiologos as co-emperor Andronikos III Palaiologos John V Palaiologos John VI Kantakouzenos with John V Palaiologos and Matthew Kantakouzenos as co-emperors John V Palaiologos Andronikos IV Palaiologos John VII Palaiologos Andronikos V Palaiologos Manuel II Palaiologos John VIII Palaiologos Constantine XI Palaiologos Italics indicates a junior co-emperor, while underlining indicates a usurper. Authority control General VIAF 1 WorldCat Other SUDOC (France) 1 Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Alexios_IV_Angelos&oldid=1027384485" Categories: Angelid dynasty 1180s births 1204 deaths 12th-century Byzantine people 13th-century Byzantine emperors 13th-century murdered monarchs Christians of the Fourth Crusade Deaths by strangulation Eastern Orthodox monarchs Byzantine prisoners and detainees Assassinated Byzantine emperors Sons of Byzantine emperors Hidden categories: Articles with short description Short description is different from Wikidata Articles lacking in-text citations from February 2011 All articles lacking in-text citations Articles containing Greek-language text Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers Wikipedia articles with SUDOC identifiers Wikipedia articles with WORLDCATID identifiers Navigation menu Personal tools Not logged in Talk Contributions Create account Log in Namespaces Article Talk Variants Views Read Edit View history More Search Navigation Main page Contents Current events Random article About Wikipedia Contact us Donate Contribute Help Learn to edit Community portal Recent changes Upload file Tools What links here Related changes Upload file Special pages Permanent link Page information Cite this page Wikidata item Print/export Download as PDF Printable version In other projects Wikimedia Commons Languages Afrikaans Alemannisch العربية Aragonés تۆرکجه Беларуская Български Català Čeština Dansk Deutsch Ελληνικά Español Euskara فارسی Français Galego 한국어 Հայերեն Hrvatski Bahasa Indonesia Italiano ქართული Latina Magyar Македонски മലയാളം مصرى Nederlands 日本語 Norsk bokmål Polski Português Română Русский Shqip Slovenščina Српски / srpski Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Suomi Svenska ไทย Türkçe Українська Tiếng Việt Zazaki 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 7 June 2021, at 16:26 (UTC). 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