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Documents for "Ancient History, Late Roman and Byzantine: Biographies":
  • Alaric I c.370-410, Visigothic king. He headed the Visigothic troops serving Emperor Theodosius I. After the emperor's death (395) the troops rebelled and chose Alaric as their leader (see Visigoths ). Alaric devastated Thrace, Macedonia, and Greece. Stopped, but not defeated, by Stilicho , he retired northward, and by an agreement with the Eastern emperor, Arcadius , occupied Epirus. In 401 he invaded Italy, where after some indecisive warfare he agreed to withdraw. Stilicho persuaded (407) the Romans to buy Alaric's alliance, but shortly afterward Emperor Honorius had Stilicho executed for treason. Alaric again invaded (408) Italy and laid seige to Rome. Raising the seige after an agreement with the Roman senate, Alaric again turned on Rome (409) and forced...
  • Alaric II d. 507, Visigothic king of Spain and of S Gaul (c.484-507), son and successor of Euric. He issued (506) at Toulouse the Breviary of Alaric for his Roman subjects. Alaric's adherence to Arianism gave Clovis I , king of the Franks, an easy pretext for attacking him in the name of orthodoxy. Alaric was defeated and slain at Vouillé (507), and the Visigoths lost all their possessions in Gaul except...
  • Alexius I (Alexius Comnenus) , 1048-1118, Byzantine emperor (1081-1118). Under the successors of his uncle, Isaac I , the empire had fallen prey to anarchy and foreign invasions. In 1081, Alexius, who had become popular as a general, overthrew Nicephorus III and was proclaimed emperor. The most immediate danger...
  • 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 Latin element...
  • Alexius III (Alexius Angelus) , 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 leaders of the Fourth Crusade (see Crusades ) to attack Constantinople (1203). The Crusaders made Isaac II and his son Alexius IV coemperors, Alexius III having fled. In 1204, Alexius III's son-in-law was briefly emperor as Alexius V. Another...
  • 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, Philip of Swabia, he obtained (1202) from the leaders of the Fourth Crusade (see Crusades ) the promise of help in deposing his uncle, Alexius III. Made joint emperor with Isaac II after the Crusaders entered Constantinople, he was overthrown for his subservience to his allies and was...
  • Alexius V (Alexius Ducas Mourtzouphlos) , d. 1204, Byzantine emperor (1204), son-in-law of Alexius III. The head of the Byzantine national party, he overthrew emperors Isaac II and Alexius IV (who had been installed by the Crusaders),...
  • Amalric I or Amaury I , c.1137-1174, Latin king of Jerusalem (1162-74); brother and successor of Baldwin III. He spent his reign in attempts to gain and hold the suzerainty of Egypt, but was balked by the Turkish...
  • Amalric II or Amaury II, c.1155-1205, Latin king of Jerusalem (1197-1205) and Cyprus (1194-1205); brother and successor (in Cyprus) of Guy of Lusignan. His title to Jerusalem was established through his marriage...
  • Anastasius I c.430-518, Roman emperor of the East (491-518); successor of Zeno, whose widow he married. He broke the power that the Isaurians had enjoyed since Leo I, made peace with Persia, maintained...
  • Andronicus I (Andronicus Comnenus) , 1120?-1185, Byzantine emperor (1183-85), nephew of John II. He acceded to the throne by strangling his cousin Alexius II. Though notorious in his younger years for his scandalous morals, he was a competent, if cruel, ruler. He took strict measures to protect the peasants against the great landowners, enforced honesty...
  • Andronicus II (Andronicus Palaeologus) , 1258-1332, Byzantine emperor (1282-1328), son and successor of Michael VIII. He devoted himself chiefly to church affairs, renewing the schism by renouncing (1282) the union established at the...
  • Andronicus III (Andronicus Palaeologus), c.1296-1341, Byzantine emperor (1328-41), grandson of Andronicus II, whom he deposed after a series of civil wars. His chief minister was John Cantacuzene (later Emperor...
  • Angelus family name and dynasty of three Byzantine emperors (1185-1204): see Isaac II ; Alexius III ; Alexius IV.
  • Anna Comnena b. 1083, d. after 1148, Byzantine princess and historian; daughter of Emperor Alexius I. She plotted, during and after her father's reign, against her brother, John II , in favor of her husband, Nicephorus Bryennius, whom she wished to rule as emperor. Having failed, she retired to a convent. There she wrote the Alexiad (finished in 1148), one of the outstanding Greek historical works of the Middle Ages. Covering the reign of Alexius I and the First Crusade, it tends to glorify her father and his family; however,...
  • Arcadius c.377-408, Roman emperor of the East (395-408), son and successor of Theodosius I. His brother, Honorius , inherited (395) the West. Henceforth the division between the Eastern and Western empires...
  • Ataulf d. 415, Visigothic king (410-15). Succeeding his brother-in-law, Alaric I , he abandoned Alaric's scheme of southward expansion and led the Visigoths out of Italy into S Gaul (France) in 412. He sought...
  • Athanaric d. 381, Visigothic chieftain. He led the Visigoths against Emperor Valens and negotiated a favorable peace in 369. A pagan, he persecuted the Christians, and, possibly for that reason, he was involved...
  • Attila d. 453, king of the Huns (445-53). After 434 he was coruler with his brother, whom he murdered in 445. In 434, Attila obtained tribute and great concessions for the Huns in a treaty with the Eastern Roman emperor...
  • Avitus d. 456?, Roman emperor of the West (455-56). He was proclaimed emperor in Gaul with the support of the Visigoths but was deposed by Ricimer. He was elected bishop of Placentia but died soon afterward....
  • Baldwin I 1171-1205, 1st Latin emperor of Constantinople (1204-5). The count of Flanders (as Baldwin IX), he was a leader in the Fourth Crusade (see Crusades ). After the seizure of Constantinople (1204), the...
  • Baldwin I (Baldwin of Boulogne), 1058?-1118, Latin king of Jerusalem (1100-1118), brother and successor of Godfrey of Bouillon , whom he accompanied on the First Crusade (see Crusades ). Separating from the main army after the successful siege of Nicaea, Baldwin followed Tancred into Cilicia and seized (1097) Tarsus from him. He wrested (1097) Edessa from the Muslims and as count of Edessa defended the city until elected ruler of Jerusalem. His election marked the triumph...
  • Baldwin II 1217-73, last Latin emperor of Constantinople (1228-61), brother and successor of Robert of Courtenay. He began his personal rule only after the death (1237) of his father-in-law, John of Brienne...
  • Baldwin II (Baldwin of Le Bourg), d. 1131, Latin king of Jerusalem (1118-31), count of Edessa (1100-1131); cousin and successor of Baldwin I. He accompanied Godfrey of Bouillon on the First Crusade and was...
  • Baldwin III 1130-62, Latin king of Jerusalem (1143-62), son and successor of Fulk. Until 1152 he ruled with his mother, Melisende. In his reign began the decay of Latin power in the East. Edessa fell to the...
  • Baldwin IV (Baldwin the Leper), c.1161-1185, Latin king of Jerusalem (1174-85), son and successor of Amalric I. Raymond , count of Tripoli, was regent from 1174 to 1176. Baldwin was constantly engaged, except...
  • Basil I (Basil the Macedonian) , c.813-886, Byzantine emperor (867-86). His ancestors probably were Armenians or Slavs who settled in Macedonia. He became (c.856) the favorite of Emperor Michael III. In 886, Basil, with the aid of Michael, assassinated Michael's uncle and chief minister, Bardas, and was made coemperor. Michael's feeling toward Basil began to change and in 867 Basil had him...
  • Basil II c.958-1025, Byzantine emperor (976-1025), surnamed Bulgaroktonos [Bulgar slayer]. With his brother, Constantine VIII, he nominally succeeded his father, Romanus II, in 963, but had no share in the...
  • Basiliscus d. c.477, usurper at Constantinople (475-76). He was responsible for the failure of the expedition sent (468) against the Vandals by his brother-in-law Leo I. He usurped the throne during the reign...
  • Belisarius c.505-565, Byzantine general under Justinian I. After helping to suppress (532) the dangerous Nika riot (see Blues and Greens ), he defeated (533-34) the Vandals of Africa, and captured their king. In 535 he was given command of the expedition to recover Italy from the Ostrogoths. He took Naples and Rome (536) and, after...
  • Bohemond I c.1056-1111, prince of Antioch (1099-1111), a leader in the First Crusade (see Crusades ); elder son of Robert Guiscard. With his father he fought (1081-85) against the Byzantine emperor Alexius I. When his father's duchy of Apulia passed to his younger brother Roger, Bohemond made war against him and obtained S Apulia as a fief. In 1096 he joined the Crusaders. He swore the oath of fealty...
  • Boniface d. 432, Roman general. He defended (413) Marseilles against the Visigoths under Ataulf. Having supported Galla Placidia in her struggle with her brother, Emperor Honorius, Boniface fled to Africa in 422. There, as semi-independent governor, he supported (424) Valentinian III against the usurper John and was rewarded with the title count of Africa. Recalled in 427, he rebelled; a civil war between Africa and the imperial government began. This struggle prepared the way...
  • Cassiodorus (Flavius Magnus Aurelius Cassiodorus Senator) , c.485-c.585, Roman statesman and author. He held high office under Theodoric the Great and the succeeding Gothic rulers of Italy, who gave him the task of putting into official Latin their state...
  • Chilperic I d. 584, Frankish king of Neustria (561-84), son of Clotaire I. He feuded bitterly with his brother Sigebert I , who had inherited the E Frankish kingdom that came to be known as Austrasia. Their struggle became savage after Chilperic and his mistress and future wife, Fredegunde , murdered (567) Chilperic's second wife, Galswintha; she was the sister of Sigebert's wife, Brunhilda. In the wars between the two brothers, Sigebert overran Neustria before his death (575). Later, Chilperic was murdered, probably at the instigation of Brunhilda. The feud was inherited by...
  • Comnenus family name of several Byzantine emperors— Isaac I , Alexius I , John II , Manuel I , Alexius II , and Andronicus I —who reigned in the 11th and 12th cent., and of the historian, Princess...
  • Conrad d. 1192, Latin king of Jerusalem (1192), marquis of Montferrat, a leading figure in the Third Crusade (see Crusades ). He saved Tyre from the Saracens and became (1187) its lord. In 1189 he joined Guy of Lusignan at the siege of Akko , but a year later he sought to displace Guy as king of Jerusalem. To establish a claim to the crown he married Isabella, daughter of Amalric I. A compromise (1191) between the two men was short...
  • Constantine IV c.652-685, Byzantine emperor (668-85), son and successor of Constans II. He defended Constantinople against the annual naval attacks of the Muslims, who finally withdrew in 678; Greek fire was a conspicuous weapon in the defense. Severely defeated (679) by the Bulgars, Constantine ceded them territory S of the Danube, where they founded a kingdom. In 680 he summoned the Third Council...
  • Constantine V (Constantine Copronymus), 718-75, Byzantine emperor (741-75), son and successor of Leo III. An able general and administrator, he fought successfully against the Arabs, Slavs, and Bulgars, improved the water supply of Constantinople, forcibly resettled the city after a great plague, and...
  • Constantine VI b. c.770, Byzantine emperor (780-97), son and successor of Leo IV. His mother, Irene , was regent until 790, when she was deposed by a military revolt. Constantine recalled her in 792 and made her joint ruler. His subsequent acts of cruelty and his divorce and immediate remarriage...
  • Constantine VII (Constantine Porphyrogenitus), 905-59, Byzantine emperor (913-59). He acceded after the brief reign of his uncle Alexander, who succeeded Constantine's father, Leo VI. A regency (913-20) was...
  • Constantine XI (Constantine Palaeologus), d. 1453, last Byzantine emperor (1449-53), brother and successor of John VIII. To secure Western aid against the Turkish assault on what remained of the empire, he...
  • Cornaro, Caterina 1454-1510, queen of Cyprus. A celebrated Venetian beauty, she was married in 1472 to James II of Cyprus, who was eager to secure Venetian support. James II died in 1473, and his infant son, James...
  • Ducas Greek family and dynasty of Constantinople. Some of its members were Byzantine emperors—Constantine X, Michael VII, Alexius V , and John III.
  • Ermanaric d. c.375, king of the Ostrogoths. He extended his power over other barbarian tribes and thus built up in eastern Europe an empire stretching from the Dneister River north to the Don and east to...
  • Eudocia d. 460, Roman empress of the East; daughter of an Athenian Sophist. She was selected by Pulcheria as the wife of Theodosius II , whom she married (421) after being baptized and changing her name from Athenaïs to Eudocia. She became powerful at court, but the victim of intrigues, she retired to Jerusalem, where she devoted...
  • Eudocia Macrembolitissa fl. 11th cent., Byzantine empress. At the death of her husband, Constantine X, she married Romanus IV.
  • Eudoxia d. 404, Roman empress of the East (395-404), daughter of a Frankish general and wife of Arcadius. She had a great influence upon her weak husband. She helped bring about the downfall of Eutropius...
  • Euric d. c.484, king of the Visigoths (466-c.484), brother and successor of Theodoric II. He made Toulouse his capital and under him the Visigothic kingdom reached its greatest extent, including the...
  • Eutropius d. 399, consul of East Roman Emperor Arcadius. A eunuch of the palace, he brought about the marriage (395) of Arcadius and Eudoxia and succeeded Rufinus as chief minister. He repelled (398) an invasion of Huns and was the first eunuch to be appointed (399) consul. He was hated for his cruelty and avarice; his fall, however, was caused by the enmity...
  • Flor, Roger de d. c.1306, German commander of Spanish mercenaries, b. Italy. He entered the order of the Knights Templars and fought (1291) at Acre (see Akko , but he was obliged to leave the order when accused of theft. He subsequently served as vice admiral under Frederick II of Sicily and after 1302 became the leader of a band of Spanish adventurers...