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Alexius III

(Encyclopedia)Alexius III (Alexius Angelus) ănˈjələs [key], d. after 1210, Byzantine emperor (1195–1203). He acceded to power by deposing and blinding his brother Isaac II. This act served as pretext for the ...

Alexius V

(Encyclopedia)Alexius V (Alexius Ducas Mourtzouphlos) do͞oˈkəsmo͝ortˈso͞oflŏs [key], d. 1204, Byzantine emperor (1204), son-in-law of Alexius III. The head of the Byzantine national party, he overthrew emper...

Alexius I

(Encyclopedia)Alexius I (Alexius Comnenus) əlĕkˈsēəs, kəmnēˈnəs [key], 1048–1118, Byzantine emperor (1081–1118). Under the successors of his uncle, Isaac I, the empire had fallen prey to anarchy and fo...

Alexius IV

(Encyclopedia)Alexius IV (Alexius Angelus), d. 1204, Byzantine emperor (1203–4), son of Isaac II. When his father was deposed, Alexius fled to Italy and then went to Germany. Encouraged by his brother-in-law, Phi...

Alexius II

(Encyclopedia)Alexius II (Alexius Comnenus), 1168–83, Byzantine emperor (1180–83), son and successor of Manuel I. His mother, Mary of Antioch, who was regent for him, alienated the population by favoring the La...

Angelus, Byzantine emperors

(Encyclopedia)Angelus ănˈjələs [key], family name and dynasty of three Byzantine emperors (1185–1204): see Isaac II; Alexius III; Alexius IV. ...

Isaac II

(Encyclopedia)Isaac II (Isaac Angelus) ănˈjələs [key], d. 1204, Byzantine emperor (1185–95, 1203–4). The great-grandson of Alexius I, he was proclaimed emperor by the mob that had killed the unpopular Andro...

Ducas

(Encyclopedia)Ducas dyo͞oˈkəs [key], Greek family and dynasty of Constantinople. Some of its members were Byzantine emperors—Constantine X, Michael VII, Alexius V, and John III. ...

Lascaris

(Encyclopedia)Lascaris lăsˈkərĭs [key], family name of the Greek emperors of Nicaea (see Nicaea, empire of). The empire was founded in 1204 by Theodore I, a son-in-law of Alexius III (Alexius Angelus). Theodore...

John II, Byzantine emperor

(Encyclopedia)John II (John Comnenus) kŏmnēˈnəs [key], 1088–1143, Byzantine emperor (1118–43), son and successor of Alexius I. He was crowned despite the intrigues of his sister, Anna Comnena, and of his mo...