biography
| name: |
Alexius I (Comnenus)
|
pronunciation:
[komneenus]
| sex:
| male
|
| lived:
| (1048–1118)
|
| biography:
| Byzantine emperor (1081–1118), the founder of the Comnenian dynasty, born in Istanbul. He defeated a major invasion mounted by the Normans of Sicily under Robert Guiscard (1081–2) and later under Bohemond I (1083); in alliance with the Cumans he destroyed the Patzinaks at Mount Levounion (1091). He built up a new fleet with the aim of re-establishing Byzantine rule in Asia Minor. This coincided with the arrival of the First Crusade (1096–1100), with which he co-operated to recover Crete, Cyprus, and the W coast of Anatolia. His reign is well known from the Alexiad, the biography written by his daughter, Anna Comnena. |
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