The Truth About Alexius Comnenus
Alexius Comnenus is a well-known Byzantine Emperor not least because his daughter, Anna, wrote one of the greatest works of medieval literature about him called “The Alexiad.”
It’s a cracking read, full of vivid character descriptions, battle scenes, back-stabbing politics and written in an epic style that echoes the Roman and Greek classics.
It’s not just central to the history of Byzantium, but also to the Crusades since she’s our main non-western commentator on the First Crusade, and wrote some of the best descriptions of its fiery leaders such as Count Bohemond.
It is of course, a tribute, or a hagiography to use that term, to her father who emerges as an Odysseus-like hero. She describes him thus:“His dark eyebrows were curved, and beneath them the gaze of his eyes was both terrible and kind. When he came into a gathering and began to speak, you were conscious from the moment he opened his mouth of the fiery eloquence of his tongue…”
Alexius has gone down in history as the man who saved Byzantium largely because that’s what his daughter has told us. But historians are now questioning whether that was true and, in today's podcast episode, I want to suggest his reign was failing by 1095.
And that was the real reason for his appeal to the Pope for help against the Turks which led to one of the greatest events in world history: The First Crusade.
NEW BOOK: THE INHERITORS OF ROME
The final book in my series on the Fall of the Roman Empire, The Inheritors of Rome, is now out in eBook and print on Amazon. The audiobook will be out next year.
Thank you again for your continued interest and support.
Have a great weekend!
Nick
PS I'd be delighted if you wanted to forward this email to a friend who might be interested.
Nick Holmes, c/o Puttenham Press Ltd, Unit 121195, PO Box 6945, London, W1A 6US
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