Religious Conflict

Religious conflict is a key theme in the Alexiad partly because Alexius is the leader of the Orthodox Church in the Byzantine Empire. The Orthodox Christian Church has a long history of Caesaro-Papism, which makes regional secular rulers the head of the Church. The Orthodox Church is technically managed by the Patriarch, but the Emperor has official religious duties. This was true in the Eastern Roman Empire from the days of Constantine the Great in the 4th century. For this reason, Alexius is responsible for the defense of Christianity as he understands it. This manifests itself in the book in four ways.

First, Alexius is required to abide by Christian principles. So at times he will call priests and confess his war crimes to them, or he and his family will look for a sign for God about some issue or other. Further, he pays respects to...