Alexios III Angelos

Alexios III Angelos - Byzantine emperor in 1195-1203 he.
***

Alexei belonged to a wealthy and influential family of Angels. In 1183, Mr.. with his brothers and father, he participated in a conspiracy against Andronicus Comnenus, and then, fleeing from the wrath of the emperor, for a long time wandering in Palestine between ismailetyanami (Choniates: 6, 3, 7). After the younger brother Alexei Isaac against all expectations became emperor, Alex put a lot of forces trying to take away his throne. Finally, in 1195, during a campaign against the Bulgarians, luck smiled at him. Arriving in Kipselly, Isaac went hunting. At this time, accomplices grabbed Alexis, though forcibly brought to the royal tent, and proclaimed emperor. They immediately joined by the whole army, all the court household of Isaac and his entire council. Learning of this, Isaac tried to escape but was captured and blinded (Choniates: 5, 3, 8).

Once in power, Alexei, according to Choniates, without any considerations of order and began to distribute the money that Isaac was carrying on the war. When all the money went, he began to give asylum estates, lands, and various public duties. When this was not left, then went in motion various honorary positions. He did not, to pick one or the other of the noble people or make them in the near or relevant degree, but every once raised up to the very highest and most important level. Then the Emperor has dissolved the troops home, not paying any attention to the robbery of the Bulgarians. People, and the synod of Patriarch reacted calmly to the coup (Choniates: 6, 1; I-2).

The new monarch was amiable and good-natured character. Everybody was open to him free access. He does not push away, do not put out their eyes, do not cut off the hands and feet, and one for all time of his reign is not condemned to death (Choniates: 6, 3, 10). Despite these advantages, he was the ruler of a weak and utterly worthless. Everyone thought that immediately after the coronation, and bringing things right the emperor take up arms, to campaign and to immediately eliminate not only all the current difficulties, but also to correct the mistakes of his brother. However, everything turned out the opposite. How would have reached the top of their desires and getting something that has long been sent to all his wishes, he gave himself completely idle. Abandoning the management of public affairs, he only did that bargain in gold, listened to all sorts of reports and responded to requests of their former associates. He ruthlessly both hands soril money, so that in the short term they all scattered pockets of people, many of which the Emperor did not even know.

. Meanwhile, war and riots shook the empire of Romans, from the recent greatness of which no trace
. Less than three months after the reign of Alexei, as news came of the appearance of the pretender (already third in a row), posing as the Emperor Alexei II, who was executed Andronik Comnenus. He captured many cities, upset the whole of Asia, but was soon put to death an unknown killer. Thrace and Macedonia were terribly devastated by the Bulgarians and Polovtsy, and the Turks pressed the Romans in Asia and took Dadivr. Western Emperor Henry VI, son of Frederick Barbarossa, demanded Alexei annual tribute, and otherwise threatened invasion of Epirus and Illyria. To pay the requested amount of them, Alex had robbed all the tombs of former emperors (Choniates 6, 1, 3, 5 - 7). But these were only minor difficulties compared with those that had to endure in the late Alexei of his reign. In 1202, Mr.. his nephew, also Alex, the son of the deposed and blinded Isaac, was able to flee from Constantinople. In Venice, he sought the protection of the leaders of the Fourth Crusade, which was just about to sail to Egypt. Crusaders, pretended that they touched the fate of the deposed Isaac, and the summer of 1203, Mr.. their ships were under the walls of Constantinople. Fleet Romans during the reign of the angels came in full decline, and by this time practically no longer existed. The Crusaders broke the chain, blocking the entrance to the Golden Horn bay, and brought their ships almost to the town fortifications. Then, from the Byzantines only met little resistance, they landed at the Kozma-Demyanskoe monastery and built a camp here.

. Alexios III is hardly any from the first day of the siege harbored in his heart the thought of escape, and wholly absorbed by it, do not wear weapons, and no sign of the enemy, but sat idly by and watched what was going on
. His relatives, dignitaries and relatives with a handful of cavalry and a small detachment of infantry appeared once out of the walls, as if to show that the city is not quite empty, but that is limited. Only the occasional horse collision. In mid-July, the Crusaders made a strong attack - briefly seized part of the wall and set fire to the adjacent city buildings. Only then did the emperor donned armor and gathered around him a small detachment. But, just going out of the wall, he immediately retreated in shame, giving its attempt to drag even more arrogance and audacity of the enemy. Returning to the palace, he began immediately to prepare for the run, and that same night secretly left the capital, taking with him the treasury and daughter Irina. On the boat he crossed in Develt and waited for the turn to take further events (Choniates: 6, 3, 8,10).

After the flight Alexei people in their most restrictive position of the newly elevated to the throne of the blind Isaac II. Learning of this, Alex fled to Andrianopol, tried to gather troops against his brother, but was ousted leader of the Crusaders Marquis Boniface, Marquess of Montferrat. Then he took refuge in Larissa (Choniates: 7, 3). In the spring of 1204, Mr.. Crusaders took Constantinople and then easily captured most of the European possessions of the empire. Marquis Boniface married the widow of Isaac and Mary had been proclaimed ruler of Thessalonica. Alex came to him, abdicated the imperial dignity, and settled in Almiro (Choniates: 9, 9). Soon, however, he was caught by the Marquis that was trying to make an outrage against the invaders, and exiled to Montferrand. Having a few years freedom, Alex gave his daughter for the ruler of Corinth Evdokia Leo Zgura. A time he lived with his daughter, but after learning that his son is going to grab, he fled to Epirus to his cousin Michael. Hence, after learning that his other son Theodore Lusk-rice proclaimed himself emperor of Nicaea Romans, he made his way to Asia to the Turks and met the very friendly reception at the Sultan. Having secured his support, Alex tried to take away the throne from Theodore. Sultan began to send letters to Lascaris and demand that he handed over power to father -. Theodore refuses. In the course followed the lead weapons: the sultan with his army came near Antioch-on-Menander, summed up the walls of rams and began to make attacks. Suddenly, the emperor appeared and attacked the besiegers. Sultan fell in a fierce battle, but Alex was taken prisoner by his son-in. He treated them very gently - he shot marks royal power and ordered to live in the monastery Iakinf. Here, several years later, Alex died (Acropolis: 9,10).