Byzantine Empire
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| 1059–1081 | |||||||||||||||||
 The Byzantine Empire in 1081 before the coronation ofAlexios I | |||||||||||||||||
| Capital | Constantinople | ||||||||||||||||
| Common languages | Greek,Armenian,Aromanian,Old Bulgarian,South Slavic languages | ||||||||||||||||
| Religion | Greek Orthodox Church | ||||||||||||||||
| Government | Bureaucratic semi-elective monarchy | ||||||||||||||||
| Emperor | |||||||||||||||||
• 1059–1067 | Constantine X Doukas | ||||||||||||||||
• 1071–1078 | Michael VII Doukas | ||||||||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||||||||
• Abdication ofIsaac I Komnenos | 1059 | ||||||||||||||||
• Coronation ofAlexios I | 1081 | ||||||||||||||||
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TheByzantine Empire was ruled by emperors of theDoukas dynasty between 1059 and 1081. There are six emperors and co-emperors of this period: the dynasty's founder, EmperorConstantine X Doukas (r. 1059–1067), his brotherJohn Doukas,katepano and laterCaesar,Romanos IV Diogenes (r. 1068–1071), Constantine's sonMichael VII Doukas (r. 1071–1078), Michael's son and co-emperorConstantine Doukas,[1][2] and finallyNikephoros III Botaneiates (r. 7 January 1078 – 1 April 1081), who claimed descent from thePhokas family.
Under the rule of the Doukids, Byzantium was fighting alosing battle against theSeljuk Turks, losing most of its remaining possessions inAsia Minor following the catastrophic defeat at theBattle of Manzikert in 1071 and the following civil war after the death ofRomanos IV Diogenes.Byzantium also incurred substantial loss of territory in theBalkans, to theSerbs, as well as losing its final foothold inItaly, to theNormans.
Although theCrusades gave the empire a temporary respiteduring the 12th century, it never recovered fully and eventually entered its period offragmentation andterminal decline under the pressure of theOttomans in thelate medieval period.
In 1077,Alexios Komnenos, then a general, marriedIrene Doukaina, the great-niece of Constantine X. His marriage to a Doukaina made him senior to his elder brotherIsaac, and it was Doukai financial and political support that largely facilitated the successful coup that brought him to the throne.[3]
TheDoukai of the 11th century provided several generals, governors. They seem to have come fromPaphlagonia, and were exceedingly wealthy, possessing extensive estates inAnatolia. The relationship of this group with the Doukai of the 9th and 10th centuries is unclear; the contemporary writersMichael Psellos andNicholas Kallikles affirm such a relationship, but Zonaras openly questioned it.[1][4][2][5]Before becoming emperor, Constantine X had married into the powerfulDalassenoi family, and took as a second wifeEudokia Makrembolitissa, niece of thePatriarchMichael Keroularios. Further dynastic matches were made with the clans of the Anatolian military aristocracy, including thePalaiologoi and thePegonitai.[6]
Constantine Doukas gained influence after he married, as his second wife,Eudokia Makrembolitissa, a niece of PatriarchMichael Keroularios.[7] In 1057, Constantine supported the usurpation ofIsaac I Komnenos, gradually siding with the court bureaucracy against the new emperor's reforms.[7] In spite of this tacit opposition, Constantine was chosen as successor by the ailing Isaac in November 1059, under the influence ofMichael Psellos.[8] Isaac abdicated, and on November 24, 1059, Constantine X Doukas was crowned emperor.[9]
The new emperor quickly associated two of his young sons in power,Michael VII Doukas andKonstantios Doukas,[citation needed] appointed his brotherJohn Doukas askaisar (Caesar), and embarked on a policy favorable to the interests of the court bureaucracy and the church.[7] Severely undercutting the training and financial support for the armed forces, Constantine X fatally weakened Byzantine defences[citation needed] by disbanding the Armenian local militia of 50,000 men at a crucial point of time, coinciding with the westward advance of theSeljuk Turks and their Turcoman allies.[10] Undoing many of the necessary reforms ofIsaac I, he bloated the military bureaucracy with highly paid court officials and crowded the Senate with his supporters.[11]
Constantine lost most ofByzantine Italy to theNormans underRobert Guiscard,[citation needed] except for the territory aroundBari, though a resurgence of interest in retainingApulia occurred under his reign, and he appointed at least fourcatepans of Italy:Miriarch,Maruli,Sirianus, andMabrica. He also suffered invasions byAlp Arslan inAsia Minor in 1064, resulting in the loss of the Armenian capital,[12] and by theOghuz Turks in theBalkans in 1065,[13] whileBelgrade was lost to the Hungarians.[14]
Already old and unhealthy when he came to power, Constantine died on May 22, 1067. His final act was to demand that only his sons succeed him, forcing his wifeEudokia Makrembolitissa to take a vow not to remarry.[15]
Romanos Diogenes was convicted of attempting to usurp the throne of the sons ofConstantine X Doukas in 1067, but he was pardoned by the regentEudokia Makrembolitissa, who chose him to be her husband and the guardian of her sons as emperor. Eudokia's decision was approved of byPatriarchJohn Xiphilinos, as due to the Seljuk threat, the army needed to be placed under the command of an able and energetic general. TheSenate agreed, and on January 1, 1068, Romanos married the empress and was crowned Emperor of the Romans.[17] Romanos IV was now the senior emperor and guardian of his stepsons and junior co-emperors,Michael VII,Konstantios Doukas, andAndronikos Doukas.[18]
The first military operations of Romanos took place in 1068 and did achieve a measure of success, although the Byzantine province of Syria came under threat by theSaracens ofAleppo who established themselves atAntioch.[19] Plans for the campaign season of 1069 were initially thrown into chaos by a rebellion by one of Romanos' Norman mercenaries,Robert Crispin, whose Frankish troops ravaged theArmeniac Theme even after Cripsin was captured and exiled toAbydos. At the same time, the land around Caesarea was again overrun by the Turks, forcing Romanos to spend precious time and energy in expelling the Turks from Cappadocia. Romanos managed to pacify the province, and marched towards theEuphrates viaMelitene, crossing atRomanopolis, in the hope of retakingAkhlat onLake Van to protect the Armenian frontier. The Turks were hemmed in within the mountains ofCilicia, but they managed to escape to Aleppo after abandoning their plunder. Romanos returned to Constantinople without the great victory he was hoping for.[20]
In 1070, Romanos was detained in Constantinople by administrative issues, and was unable to go on campaign himself. GeneralManuel Komnenos, nephew of the former emperorIsaac I, and elder brother to the future emperorAlexios was defeated and taken prisoner by a Turkish general namedKhroudj. Manuel convinced Khroudj to go to Constantinople and see Romanos in person to conclude an alliance. This triggered an attack on the part of the Seljuk SultanAlp Arslan, who managed to captureManzikert andArchesh.[21]
Even while Romanos negotiated with Alp Arslan over the return of Manzikert, he marched at the head of a large army with the intent of recovering the fortress.[22] This led to the fatefulBattle of Manzikert of 26 August 1071. Romanos decided to divide his army, dispatching a part to attack Akhlat, while continuing to advance on Manzikert with the main body of the army. He did manage to recapture Manzikert, but became aware of the Seljuk army rapidly approaching. Romanos ordered the forces attacking Akhlat to rejoin him, but these unexpectedly came across another large Turkish army, forcing them to retreat back into Mesopotamia.[23]
Facing a superior force, Romanos was further weakened by his Uzes mercenaries deserting to the enemy.[24] Arslan proposed a peace treaty with favourable terms for Romanos, but the emperor declined, hoping for a decisive military victory.[25] The battle lasted all day without either side gaining any decisive advantage, but as the emperor ordered a part of his centre to return to camp, the order was misunderstood and confusion ensued, which was taken advantage of byAndronikos Doukas, who commanded the reserves, and was the son ofCaesar John Doukas, to betray Romanos. Claiming that the emperor was dead, Andronikos marched away from the battle with some 30,000 men who were supposed to cover the army's retreat.[26]
When Romanos became aware of what had happened, he tried to recover the situation by making a defiant stand, fighting valiantly even after his horse had been killed under him, but he was wounded in the hand, which prevented him from wielding a sword, and was soon taken prisoner.[27] Arslan released the emperor against the substantial ransom of 1,500,000nomismata, with a further 360,000nomismata to be paid annually.[28]
In the meantime, the opposition faction scheming against Romanos IV decided to exploit the situation. TheCaesar John Doukas andMichael Psellos forced Eudokia to retire to a monastery, and they prevailed upon Michael VII to declare Romanos IV deposed.[29] They then refused to honor the agreement made between Arslan and the former emperor. As Romanos returned from captivity, he fought a battle against the Doukas family atDokeia, but was defeated.[30] He retreated to the fortress ofTyropoion, and from there toAdana in Cilicia. Pursued by Andronikos, he was eventually forced to surrender by the garrison at Adana upon receiving assurances of his personal safety.[31] John Doukas reneged on the agreement and sent men to have Romanoscruelly blinded on June 29, 1072, before sending him into exile toProte in theSea of Marmara. Without medical assistance, his wound became infected, and he soon endured a painfully lingering death.[citation needed]
When Romanos IV was defeated and captured, Michael VII remained in the background, while the initiative was taken by his uncleJohn Doukas and his tutorMichael Psellos.[29] They conspired to keep Romanos from regaining power after his release from captivity, while Michael felt no obligation to honor the agreement that Romanos struck with the Sultan.[citation needed] After the dispatch of Eudokia to a monastery, Michael VII was crowned again on October 24, 1071, as senior emperor.
Although still advised by Michael Psellos and John Doukas, Michael VII became increasingly reliant on his finance ministerNikephoritzes.[32] The emperor's chief interests, shaped by Psellos, were in academic pursuits, and he allowed Nikephoritzes to increase both taxation and luxury spending without properly financing the army. As an emperor he was incompetent, surrounded by sycophantic court officials, and blind to the empire collapsing around him.[citation needed] The underpaid army tended to mutiny, and the Byzantines lostBari, their last possession inItaly, to theNormans ofRobert Guiscard in 1071.[29] Simultaneously, they faced a serious revolt in the Balkans, where they faced an attempt for the restoration of theBulgarian state.[32] Although this revolt was suppressed by the general Nikephoros Bryennios,[32] the Byzantine Empire was unable to recover its losses inAsia Minor.
After Manzikert, the Byzantine government sent a new army to contain theSeljuk Turks under Isaac Komnenos, a brother of the future emperorAlexios I Komnenos, but this army was defeated and its commander captured in 1073.[33] The problem was made worse by the desertion of the Byzantines' western mercenaries, who became the object of the next military expedition in the area, led by theCaesar John Doukas.[33] This campaign also ended in failure, and its commander was likewise captured by the enemy. The victorious mercenaries now forced John Doukas to stand as pretender to the throne. The government of Michael VII was forced to recognize the conquests of the Seljuks in Asia Minor in 1074, and to seek their support.[citation needed] A new army under Alexios Komnenos, reinforced by Seljuk troops sent byMalik Shah I, finally defeated the mercenaries and captured John Doukas in 1074.[34]
These misfortunes caused widespread dissatisfaction, exacerbated by the devaluation of the currency, which gave the emperor his nicknameParapinakēs, "minus a quarter".[citation needed]
In 1078 two generals,Nikephoros Bryennios andNikephoros Botaneiates, simultaneously revolted in the Balkans and Anatolia, respectively.[34] Botaneiates gained the support of the Seljuk Turks,[citation needed] and he reached Constantinople first.
Nikephoros Botaneiates marched uponNicaea, where he proclaimed himself emperor. In the face of the threat posed by Nikephoros Bryennios, his election was ratified by the aristocracy and clergy, while Michael VII resigned the throne with hardly a struggle on 31 March 1078 and retired into theMonastery of Stoudios.[35][a]
On 24 March 1078,[35] Nikephoros III Botaneiates entered Constantinople in triumph and was crowned byPatriarch Kosmas I of Constantinople. With the help of his generalAlexios Komnenos, he defeated Nikephoros Bryennios and other rivalsat Kalavrye but failed to clear the invading Turks out of Asia Minor.[37]
Alexios was ordered to march against his brother-in-lawNikephoros Melissenos in Asia Minor but refused to fight his kinsman.[citation needed] This did not, however, lead to a demotion, as Alexios was needed to counter the expected invasion of theNormans of Southern Italy, led byRobert Guiscard.[38] The Doukas faction at court approached Alexios and convinced him to join aconspiracy against Nikephoros III.[38] The mother of Alexios, Anna Dalassena, was to play a prominent role in this coup d'état of 1081, along with the current empress,Maria of Alania.[39] To aid the conspiracy Maria adopted Alexios as her son, though she was only five years older than he.[40] Alexios and Constantine, Maria's son, were now adoptive brothers, and both Isaac and Alexios took an oath that they would safeguard his rights as emperor.[41]
Isaac and Alexios left Constantinople in mid-February 1081 to raise an army against Botaneiates.[42] After bribing the Western troops guarding the city, Isaac and Alexios Komnenos entered the capital victoriously on 1 April 1081.[43] Alexios was crowned emperor, establishing theKomnenos dynasty.
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