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Accession of Alexios I Komnenos
In April 1081 Alexios I Komnenos seized power in Constantinople, overthrowing Nikephoros III and founding the Komnenos dynasty.
Timeline
- 1081Thrace to Constantinople · Byzantine EmpireAlexios allied with his maternal Doukas family and some theme commanders, marching north from Anatolia, breaking through Nikephoros III's defensive lines and approaching the imperial capital.
- 1081Constantinople · Byzantine EmpireAlexios's army entered Constantinople; under palace pressure Nikephoros III announced his abdication and entered a monastery, whereupon Alexios was crowned emperor at Hagia Sophia.
- 1081Constantinople · Byzantine EmpireAlexios reorganized the palace and military-political system, relying on family members and trusted commanders, and began strengthening the army and frontier defenses to meet the imminent Norman invasion and the Anatolian crisis.
Sources
- The Alexiad — Anna Komnene
- A History of the Byzantine State and Society — Warren Treadgold (1997)