By: Peyton Weathersby
Introduction
There has been a couple of bad emperors throughout the middle ages. Some bad emperors came from the Byzantine Empire. Andronikos I Komnenos was one of the first bad emperors in the Byzantine Empire. After his death, it became a chain reaction of bad emperors. This collapsed the government politically, caused many riots and sources of violence in the cities, and caused death. The following are some bad emperors of the Byzantine Empire.
The First Nightmare
Andronikos I Komnenos went to Constantinople, the capital of Byzantine. He overthrew Manuel and killed his wife Maria and his son. When he came to power, he developed an anti-Latin group. The development of the anti- Latin group allowed and caused a massacre of Latins in Constantinople. The massacre angered the Normans, who sacked the city Thessaloniki, which put Latin West and Orthadox East in a big disagreement. The people wanted him to establish a national government, but he failed miserably. He gained a lot of hatred from the aristocracy and they tried to overthrow him. He became paranoid after many failures and established a system to suppress guilty and the innocent. He was overthrown by Isaac
Angelos, who tied him to a pole in the middle of the city and let the people torture him to death.
This was Not Better
Isaac Angelos was the second worst emperor of Byzantine. He was very similar in ruling to Andronikos. Before he became emperor, he was a target of Andronikos regime because he was an aristocrat. He escaped his arrest by killing his detainers, then rode through the streets asking people for help. He won the throne for the Byzantine Empire. He became emperor, but lacked planning skills, spent money recklessly, and killed many people. His reign would come to an end by his brother, who killed him.
Third Time's a Charm
Alexios III Angelos was the brother of Isaac. After he disposed of his brother, he became emperor. He lacked political skills and spent money lavishly. This caused him to melt sacred church relics in order to pay people he owed off. The Roman Navy got so bad to where it only had twenty worm eaten hulks to put to sea, when the Crusaders raided the city. Also, he was a coward, when his nephew was sailing to the city to kill him and take the throne, he fled the city, despite his courtiers demanding a fight. The throne was left to his nephew Alexios IV Angelos.
The Nightmare Continues
Alexios IV Angelos took the throne with might and confidence. However, he lacked the political skills like his family. Later, he would share the throne with the Latin Crusaders because they helped him raid the city to kill his uncle. He began losing trust with the Crusaders due to the lack of promises. Then, he promised the construction of two churches, 200,000 silver marks and military help for the Crusaders in the Middle East. He only paid 60% of the price and stalled the payment later on. This stall caused the Crusaders to start stealing in order to pay themselves. He did nothing to stop them, which allowed them to continue stealing while he melt sacred church relics to pay the Crusaders . He gained a lot of hatred from the Latins which caused him and his father to be executed.
The Return of a Nightmare
The final bad emperor was Alexius V. Doukas. He wasn’t a member of the Angelos family. He lead an anti-Latin aristocracy and ordered Alexius IV not to pay back the Latins. He became popular because he went against his emperor and led a skirmish against the Latins. He later killed the emperor and declared himself emperor. He refused to respect the agreement with Byzantine and the Crusaders and issued attacks on them. He almost got himself and the Patriarch killed in an attack that he led against the Latins. In this battle, they lost the symbolic Imperial Standard of the Virgin Mary. The Crusaders then raided the city and destroyed parts of it in three days. Alexius ran from the city like a coward and met Alexius III. He gave him consent to marry his daughter, but blinded him shortly after. Alexius V was captured by the Crusaders, his allies and friends left him behind. He was put on trial for the murder of the last emperor and he was found guilty. He was executed by being hurled from a 100 feet column
It’s Over
In conclusion, these were the worst emperors in Byzantine history. Anyone who was a citizen at this time would have had a horrible experience because these bad emperors came almost in a line. It was bad emperors that lead the empire through generations. People had to deal with the economy failing, trade stopping, and many people dying during this time. These emperors were ruling only to suit themselves and not to help the city or people. Which is why many of them would end up dying in the end.
Sources
“Andronikos Komnenos.” The World of Acearia Wiki, https://the-world-of-acearia.fandom.com/wiki/Andronikos_Komnenos.
“Isaac II Angelos.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 8 Aug. 2015, https://sco.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_II_Angelos.
Limited, Alamy. “Stock Photo - Alexios III -Angelos.” Alamy, https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-alexios-iii-angelos-139500499.html.
“What Are Some of the Worst Byzantine Emperors?” Quora, https://www.quora.com/What-are-some-of-the-worst-Byzantine-emperors.
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