In 1071 the Eastern Roman Empire
suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of the Seljuk Turks near Manzikert. In the following 9 years, the Turkic forces
would conquer all of Anatolia - a province that had been consistently under Roman control
for over 1100 years. The Byzantine elite would be unable to adequately
face the eastern threat, being preoccupied with a prolonged political crisis, with each
Roman emperor having to deal with multiple revolts and usurpers simultaneously. It is within this volatile environment that
one young byzantine nobleman would rise through the ranks of the Roman military and eventually
become Emperor - his name was Alexios Komnenos. Alexios was the nephew of Isaac Komnenos yet
another Byzantine general, turned emperor. His short reign ended with an illness that
would force him to abdicate the throne to a member of the massively influential Doukas
family - Constantine X. Fully realizing the massive power of this
aristocratic family, Alexios understood from a young age that it was better to have the
Doukases as your friends than enemies. The young boy entered military service in
his early teens and gradually rose through the ranks of the Byzantine army. It was within the Service of Michael VII Doukas,
an emperor largely responsible for the loss of most of the Anatolian peninsula, that Alexios’
military talent would first shine. The young Komnenian commander played a crucial
role in the subduing of a rebellion in Asia minor, led by a former Norman mercenary named
Russel Balliol, between 1074 and 1076. In 1077 the Doukas family was stripped of
the imperial purple with the overthrow of Michael VII and his replacement with Nikephoros
III Botaneiates. The new emperor was a highly competent and
an experienced Anatolian general. However, for Nikephoros his old age would
prove to be a huge burden. Together with his brother Isaac II, Alexios
was relocated to the Balkans where he was eventually promoted to the position of commander
of the Western field armies. The year 1078 would prove to be crucial for
the young Komnenian general. Within the span of one-year Alexios scored
3 major victories, first against the usurper Nikephoros Bryeninos, then against another
claimant, Nikephoros Basilakes, before crushing a Pecheneg army near the walls of Adrianople. In the meantime, the current emperor Nikephoros
III made a decision that would lead to his eventual deposition. The old ruler chose his nephew as his successor
instead of the claimant supported by the Doukas family, Constantine, the son of the former
emperor Michael and his wife who was also the current spouse of Nikephoros - a princess
named Maria of Alania. Maria and the Doukas family conspired with
Alexios Komnenos, whom they believed would be more loyal to their interests. Upon learning of this betrayal in 1081, Nikephoros
accused Alexios of treason. However, unbeknownst to the emperor, Komnenos
had escaped the capital. Alexios and his brother Isaac raised an army
and entered Constantinople by convincing the German guards of the Theodosian walls to let
them in. Cornered, Nikephoros III abdicated the throne
in favor of Alexios. Constantine, the son of Maria and Michael,
became the junior emperor, but being too young, he held no real political power. Following this swift deposition, Alexios lost
control over his armies which looted and plundered Constantinople for 3 days. This, however, was a minor inconvenience compared
to the trouble brewing in the West. Southern Italy had just come under the control
of a Norman nobleman named Robert Guiscard. Playing the local Lombard and Byzantine counts
against each other, the former Norman mercenaries who once had served the Italian noblemen,
eventually consolidated control over the whole of Sicily and the southern Apennine peninsula
under the clan of De Hauteville. In 1080 Robert Guiscard began planning an
invasion of the rich Byzantine province of Epirus. A year later, he landed with his forces near
the Byzantine fortress of Dyrrhachium and besieged it Wasting no time, Alexios gathered his armies
to face the Normans. However, the Byzantines suffered a humiliating
defeat, with the Emperor narrowly escaping death. This defeat was not enough to crush Alexios’
spirit. Trough a series of bribes , the shrewd Roman
spurred dissent in southern Italy and turned the Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV against the
Normans, forcing Robert to return to the peninsula. But the cunning old cunning Norman left his
son, Bohemond of Taranto, in charge of the Byzantine campaign, who in turn conquered
nearly all of Epirus in the years that followed. Alexios tried to stop the Norman advance but
failed miserably once again. The Byzantine emperor was crushed on two occasions
by Bohemond – first near the fortress of Ioannina and then at Arta. However, for the resilient Komnenos giving
up was never an option. In one decisive encounter in 1083, not far
from Larissa, Alexios annihilated Bohemond’s army, forcing the Normans to flee back to
Italy. With the help of the maritime republic of
Venice, the Byzantines recaptured most of the fortresses conquered by the Western knights. Robert Guiscard returned to Greece a year
later in 1084, but died from a fever before he could accomplish much. In the following years, Alexios, like his
predecessors, was forced to deal with multiple minor revolts and conspiracies while trying
to secure some of the coastal regions of Anatolia from the Turks, with partial success. But then, distressing news came from the north. In the late 1080s, groups from the Cuman and
Pecheneg steppe tribal confederations crossed the river Danube and began plundering the
provinces of the Empire. The fierce nomadic warriors reached as far
as Thrace by 1091. But Alexios had discovered that a rift had
occurred between the Pechenegs and the Cumans, and he managed to bring the former to his
side. In the spring of 1091, the emperor led a massive
Byzantine-Cuman force and crushed the Pechenegs at the battle of mount Levounion, forcing
the nomads out of the Empire’s borders. Alexios could now turn his attention towards
the domestic affairs of the Empire. He attempted to tackle the massive inflation
of the Byzantine currency, as the Empire’s coinage had been increasingly debasing since
1071 – a process exacerbated by Alexio’s predecessor, Nikephoros, who decreased the
quantity of gold and silver in Byzantine coins, in an attempt to increase the amount of currency
in circulation, so he could pay his armies, political supporters and help the numerous
poor Anatolian immigrants. Alexios reformed both the taxation and monetary
systems of the empire. He began minting a new gold coin, the “Nomisma”,
and later ordered that taxes be at least partially collected in this currency instead of in the
old debased one. The Emperor also introduced new titles for
the nobility with which he would reward family members and loyal supporters. The famous title of Sebastokrator, which was
roughly equivalent to Caesar, is a notable example. Alexios also reformed the Roman Army, making
it increasingly reliant on mercenaries and resembling more the European feudal armies
at the time. The emperor could now begin planning the reconquest
of the lost Byzantine lands in Anatolia. In 1095, he sent an appeal to Pope Urban II,
asking for support from the Christian kingdoms of Europe against the encroaching Muslim enemy
that was the Seljuk Empire. The holy pontiff, seeing an opportunity to
unite the unruly European nobility under a Christian cause, called for a crusade - a
reconquest of all holy cities of the Levant. Promising atonement for sins to all who
went to reclaim the sacred land. This promise was too tempting to ignore, not
only for the warrior nobility but for the lowest social casts as well. In 1096 a massive unorganized army of western
European peasants led by a man named Peter the Hermit entered the Byzantine territory,
making sure to plunder and terrorize the local orthodox population on their way. Alexios was surely surprised to see this unorganized
mob in front of Constantinople, claiming to be the holy army sent by the pope. The emperor lost no time and was quick to
ship the peasant horde to the Anatolian shores, where they were quickly be annihilated by
the Turks. Meanwhile, in Europe, a massive force of fierce
knights led by the most renowned warrior noblemen of the time was gathering, ready to reconquer
the Levant from the grip of the Saracens. One of the leaders of this crusader army was
Bohemond of Taranto, the old Norman enemy of Alexios. Expecting only a few thousand mercenaries,
Alexios was surely not expecting to see one of the largest armies ever assembled in medieval
Europe in front of Constantinople's walls. Rightfully being distrustful of the Catholic
Latins, the Byzantine emperor made them swear an oath to return every piece of land they
conquer back to the Byzantine Empire. An oath which the leaders of the crusade would
be all too eager to neglect only a couple of years later. In 1097 the Roman and Crusader Armies would
enter Anatolia. The first major Christian success would be
the capture of the major city of Nicea which would open its doors to the byzantine forces. The Crusaders then headed towards the holy land,
defeating two Seljuk Armies at Doryleum and Hearclea. In the meantime, Alexios focused on securing
Western Anatolia. In the same year of 1097, the major city Smyrna,
which had been previously captured by a former Byzantine general of Turkish descent named
Tzachas, fell to the Byzantine general John Doukas. During the following two years, the Romans
would reclaim the islands of Chios, Rhodes, and the major strongholds of Ephesus, Sardis,
and Philadelphia. In the meantime, the crusaders had reconquered
nearly all holy cities of the Levant after a series of prolonged sieges and battles with
the Seljuk and Fatimid empires. In clear opposition to their oaths, the leaders
of the First Crusade formed independent principalities, turning their backs on Constantinople. On the other hand, the crusader armies proved
to be enough of a distraction for the Seljuks, which enabled the Byzantines to reclaim the
entirety of Western Anatolia by the year 1100. The remainder of Alexios’ reign was a time
of relative peace for the empire. He dealt with more plots against his rule and
focused on quelling the growing heretical movements. Paulicians and Bogomils were persecuted, and
heretical thinkers such as John Italos were condemned. These policies eroded some of Alexios’ popularity
during the latter half of his rule. In 1107, Bohemond of Taranto, having returned
to Europe from his holdings in the Middle East, invaded Byzantium once more. The Norman would begin another siege on the
fortress of Dyrrhachium. However, Alexios was quick to react and managed
to block the Norman camp until Bohemond was forced to negotiate. The prince of Antioch agreed to a humiliating
treaty of Devol, making his holdings in the Levant subject to the Byzantine empire. In 1117, after repelling multiple Turkish
attempts on his territory, Alexios embarked on one last campaign against the Seljuks,
defeating Malik Shah, the Turkic ruler of Iconium, at the battle of Philomelion. In August of 1118, eastern Roman Emperor Alexios
Komnenos died from an illness that had been troubling him for years. He is regarded as one of the most competent
rulers to ever sit on the throne in Constantinople. Having inherited an empire that was on the
verge of collapse, Alexios’ resilience, sharp thinking, and political instinct, enabled
him to overcome all troubles and begin a process of restoration that would be continued by
his successors. His son John II Komnenos would continue his
father’s work with equal, if not greater, success. But that, is a topic for another video.
I think the visualisation of how the Romans conquered most of western Asia minor by 1100 is a bit wrong. If im not mistaken John Doukas will campaign hard for about 5 years and John Komnenos will campaign further before the alleged 1100 map of the Byzantines is achieved