Alexius I (ca. 1048-1118) was Byzantine emperor from 1081 to 1118. He saved the empire from almost certain disaster and led it through the first encounter with the Crusades.

Nephew of the emperor Isaac I Comnenus (reigned 1057-1059), Alexius was raised by his strong willed mother, Anna Dalassena. Even as a youth, he was noted for his great military successes. Surviving shifts in regime, Alexius became the strong right arm of successive emperors and put down a number of rebellions. Driven to revolt himself, he secured the support of other aristocratic leaders and was proclaimed emperor on April 4, 1081.

Saving the Empire

When Alexius assumed power, the empire seemed about to collapse. Internal affairs were in chaos, and external enemies closed on all sides for the kill. Asia Minor, the empire's former heartland and chief source of manpower and revenue, was all but lost since the disastrous Battle of Manzikert (1071) had...