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Alexander

Alexander (Ἀλέξανδρος) is a male name of Greek origin. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history.

Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Aleksander, Aleksandre, Aleksandr and Alekzandr. Related names and diminutives include Iskandar, Alec, Alek, Alex, Alexandre, Aleks, Aleksa, Alasdair, Sasha, and Sander; feminine forms include Alexandra, Alexandria,and Sasha.

Etymology
The name Alexander originates from the Ἀλέξανδρος (Aléxandros; 'defending men' or 'protector of men'). It is a compound of the verb ἀλέξειν (aléxein; 'to ward off, avert, defend') and the noun ἀνήρ (anḗr, genitive: ἀνδρός, andrós; meaning 'man').

The earliest attested form of the name, is the Mycenaean Greek feminine anthroponym 𐀀𐀩𐀏𐀭𐀅𐀨, a-re-ka-sa-da-ra, (/Alexandra/), written in the Linear B syllabic script. Alaksandu, alternatively called Alakasandu or Alaksandus, was a king of Wilusa who sealed a treaty with the Hittite king Muwatalli II ca. 1280 BC; this is generally assumed to have been a Greek called Alexandros.

The name was one of the epithets given to the Greek goddess Hera and as such is usually taken to mean "one who comes to save warriors". In the Iliad, the character Paris is known also as Alexander. The name's popularity was spread throughout the Greek world by the military conquests of King Alexander III, commonly known as "Alexander the Great". Most later Alexanders in various countries were directly or indirectly named after him.

People known as Alexander
Alexander has been the name of many rulers, including kings of Macedon, of Scotland, emperors of Russia and popes.

Rulers of antiquity

 * Alexander (Alexandros of Ilion), more often known as Paris of Troy
 * Alexander of Corinth, 10th king of Corinth (816–791 BC)
 * Alexander I of Macedon
 * Alexander II of Macedon
 * Alexander III of Macedon, commonly known as Alexander the Great
 * Alexander IV of Macedon
 * Alexander V of Macedon
 * Alexander of Pherae despot of Pherae between 369 and 358 BC
 * Alexander I of Epirus king of Epirus about 342 BC
 * Alexander II of Epirus king of Epirus 272 BC
 * Alexander of Corinth, viceroy of Antigonus Gonatas and ruler of a rump state based on Corinth c. 250 BC
 * Alexander (satrap) (died 220 BC), satrap of Persis under Seleucid king Antiochus III
 * Alexander Balas, ruler of the Seleucid kingdom of Syria between 150 and 146 BC
 * Alexander Zabinas, ruler of part of the Seleucid kingdom of Syria based in Antioch between 128 and 123 BC
 * Alexander Jannaeus king of Judea, 103–76 BC
 * Alexander of Judaea, son of Aristobulus II, king of Judaea
 * Alexander Severus (208–235), Roman emperor
 * Julius Alexander, lived in the 2nd century, an Emesene nobleman
 * Domitius Alexander, Roman usurper who declared himself emperor in 308

Rulers of the Middle Ages

 * Alexander, Byzantine Emperor (912–913)
 * Alexander I of Scotland (c. 1078–1124)
 * Alexander II of Scotland (1198–1249)
 * Alexander Nevsky (1220–1263), Prince of Novgorod and Grand Prince of Vladimir
 * Alexander III of Scotland (1241–1286)
 * Nicholas Alexander of Wallachia, Voivode of Wallachia (died 1364)
 * Ivan Alexander of Bulgaria, tsar of Bulgaria (beginnings of the 14th century – 1371)
 * Aleksandr Mikhailovich of Tver, Prince of Tver as Alexander I and Grand Prince of Vladimir-Suzdal as Alexander II (1301–1339)
 * Sikandar Khan Ghazi, Vizier of Sylhet (from 1303)
 * Aleksander (1338–before 1386), Prince of Podolia (son of Narymunt)
 * Sikandar Shah Miri, better known as Sikandar Butshikan ("Sikandar the Iconoclast"), sixth sultan of the Shah Miri dynasty of Kashmir (1353–1413)
 * Sikandar Shah, Sultan of Bengal (1358–1390)
 * Alexander II of Georgia (1483–1510)
 * Alexandru I Aldea, ruler of the principality of Wallachia (1431–1436)
 * Eskender, Emperor of Ethiopia (1472–1494)
 * Alexander Jagiellon (Alexander of Poland), King of Poland (1461–1506)
 * Nuruddin Sikandar Shah, Sultan of Bengal (1481)
 * Alexandru Lăpuşneanu, Voivode of Moldavia (1499–1568)
 * Sikandar Shah of Gujarat, ruler of Gujarat Sultanate (died 1526)
 * Sikandar Shah Suri, Sur dynasty, Shah of Delhi (died 1559)
 * Alexandru II Mircea, Voivode or Prince of Wallachia (1529–1577)

Modern rulers

 * Alexander I of Russia (1777–1825), emperor of Russia
 * Alexander II of Russia (1818–1881), emperor of Russia
 * Alexander III of Russia (1845–1894), emperor of Russia
 * Alexander Karađorđević, Prince of Serbia (1842–1858)
 * Alexander of Bulgaria (1857–1893), first prince of modern Bulgaria
 * Alexandru Ioan Cuza, first prince of unified Romania (1859–1866)
 * Alexander I Obrenović of Serbia (1876–1903), king of Serbia
 * Alexander, Prince of Lippe (1831–1905), prince of Lippe
 * Alexander I of Yugoslavia (1888–1934), first king of Yugoslavia
 * Alexander, Crown Prince of Yugoslavia (born 1945), head of the Yugoslav Royal Family
 * Zog I, also known as Skenderbeg III (1895–1961), king of Albanians
 * Alexander of Greece (1893–1920), king of Greece
 * Leka, Crown Prince of Albania (1939–2011), king of Albanians (throne pretender)
 * Willem-Alexander, King of the Netherlands (born 1967), eldest child of Queen Beatrix and Prince Claus

Other royalty

 * Alexander, Judean Prince, one of the sons of Herod the Great from his wife Mariamne
 * Alexander Helios, Ptolemaic prince, one of the sons of Cleopatra and Mark Anthony
 * Alexander, Judean Prince, son to the above Alexander and Cappadocian princess Glaphyra
 * Alexander (d. 1418), son of Bulgarian tsar Ivan Shishman
 * Prince Alexander John of Wales (1871), short-lived son of Edward VII
 * Prince Alexandre of Belgium (1942–2009)
 * Prince Alfred of Edinburgh and Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1874–1899)
 * Olav V of Norway (Prince Alexander of Denmark) (1903–1991)

Religious leaders

 * Pope Alexander I (pope 97–105)
 * Alexander of Apamea, 5th-century bishop of Apamea
 * Pope Alexander II (pope 1058–1061)
 * Pope Alexander III (pope 1159–1181)
 * Pope Alexander IV (pope 1243–1254)
 * Pope Alexander V ("Peter Philarges" c. 1339–1410)
 * Pope Alexander VI (1492–1503), Roman pope
 * Pope Alexander VII (1599–1667)
 * Pope Alexander VIII (pope 1689–1691)
 * Alexander of Constantinople, bishop of Constantinople (314–337)
 * St. Alexander of Alexandria, Coptic Pope, Patriarch of Alexandria between 313 and 328
 * Pope Alexander II of Alexandria, Coptic Pope (702–729)
 * Alexander of Lincoln, bishop of Lincoln
 * Alexander of Jerusalem
 * See also Saint Alexander, various saints with this name

Antiquity

 * Alexander (artists), the name of a number of artists of ancient Greece and Rome
 * Alexander of Lyncestis (died 330 BC), contemporary of Alexander the Great
 * Alexander (son of Polyperchon) (died 314 BC), regent of Macedonia
 * Alexander (Antigonid general), 3rd-century BC cavalry commander under Antigonus III Doson
 * Alexander of Athens, 3rd-century BC Athenian comic poet
 * Alexander Aetolus, poet and member of the Alexandrian Pleiad
 * Alexander (son of Lysimachus), Macedonian royal
 * Alexander (grandson of Seleucus I Nicator), Greek Anatolian nobleman
 * Alexander (Aetolian general), briefly conquered Aegira in 220 BC
 * Alexander of Acarnania (died 191 BC), confidante of Antiochus III the Great
 * Alexander Isius, Aetolian military commander
 * Alexander Lychnus, early 1st-century BC poet and historian
 * Alexander Philalethes, 1st century BC physician
 * Alexander Polyhistor, Greek scholar of the 1st century BC
 * Alexander of Myndus, ancient Greek writer on zoology and divination
 * Alexander of Aegae, peripatetic philosopher of the 1st century AD
 * Alexander of Cotiaeum, 2nd-century Greek grammarian and tutor of Marcus Aurelius
 * Alexander Numenius, 2nd-century Greek rhetorician
 * Alexander Peloplaton, 2nd-century Greek rhetorician
 * Alexander of Abonoteichus (c. 105–170), Greek religious leader and imposter
 * Alexander of Aphrodisias, Greek commentator and philosopher
 * Alexander of Lycopolis, 4th-century author of an early Christian treatise against Manicheans
 * Alexander, a member of the Jerusalem Temple Sanhedrin mentioned in Acts 4:6

Middle Ages

 * Alexander of Hales, English theologian in the 13th century

Modern

 * Alexander (magician) (1880–1954), American stage magician specializing in mentalism

People with the given name
People with the given name Alexander or variants include:

 * Technoblade (1999–2022), American YouTuber, real name Alexander, surname not made public
 * Alexander Aigner (1909–1988), Austrian mathematician
 * Alexander Albon (born 1996), Thai-British racing driver
 * Aleksander Allila (1890–?), Finnish politician
 * Alexander Vasilyevich Alexandrov (1883–1946), Russian composer
 * Alexander Argov (1914–1995), Russian-born Israeli composer
 * Alexander Armah (born 1994), American football player
 * Alexander Armstrong (born 1970), British comedian and singer
 * Aleksandr Averbukh (born 1974), Israeli pole vaulter
 * Alex Baldock (born 1970), British businessman
 * Alec Baldwin (born 1958), American actor
 * Alexander Björk (born 1990), Swedish golfer
 * Alexander Borodin (1833–1887), Russian composer
 * Alexander Graham Bell (1847–1922), Scottish inventor of the first practical telephone
 * Aleksander Barkov (born 1995), Finnish ice hockey player
 * Alexander Calder (1898–1976), American sculptor best known for making mobiles
 * Aleksandr Davidovich (disambiguation), several people
 * Alexander Davidson (disambiguation), several people
 * Alexander Day (disambiguation), several people
 * Alexander Nicholas de Abrew Abeysinghe (1894–1963), Sri Lankan Sinhala politician
 * Alex DeBrincat (born 1997), American ice hockey player
 * Alexander Edmund de Silva Wijegooneratne Samaraweera Rajapakse (1866–1937), Sri Lankan Sinhala politician
 * Aleksandar Djordjevic (born 1967), Serbian basketball player
 * Alexander Dubček (1921–1992), leader of Czechoslovakia (1968–1969)
 * Alex Ebert (born 1978), American singer-songwriter
 * Alexander Lee (born 1988), also known as Alexander or Xander, South Korean singer, member of U-KISS
 * Alexander Exarch (1810–1891), Bulgarian revivalist, publicist and journalist, participant in the struggle for an independent Bulgarian Exarchate
 * Alex Ferguson (born 1941), Scottish football player and manager
 * Alexander Fleming (1881–1955), Scottish discoverer of penicillin
 * Alexander Zusia Friedman (1897–1943), Polish rabbi, educator, activist, and journalist
 * Aleksander Gabelic (born 1965), Swedish politician
 * Alex Galchenyuk (born 1994), American ice hockey player
 * Alexander Gardner (disambiguation), multiple people
 * Alexander Glazunov (1865–1936), Russian composer
 * Alexander Goldberg (born 1974), British rabbi, barrister, and human rights activist
 * Alexander Goldberg (chemical engineer), Israeli chemical engineer and President of the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology
 * Alexander Goldscheider (born 1950), Czech/British composer, producer and writer
 * Alexander Gomelsky (1928–2005), Russian head coach of USSR basketball national team for 30 years
 * Alexander Gordon (disambiguation), several people
 * Aleksandr Gordon (1931–2020), Russian-Soviet director, screenwriter and actor
 * Aleksandr Gorelik (1945–2012), Soviet figure skater
 * Alexander Gould (born 1994), American actor
 * Alexander Grothendieck (1928–2014), German-born French mathematician
 * Alexander Gustafsson (born 1987), Swedish mixed martial arts fighter
 * Alexander Haig (1924–2010), American general and politician
 * Alexander Hamilton (1755–1804), first United States Secretary of the Treasury and one of the founding fathers of the United States
 * Alexander Hamilton Jr. (1786–1875), American attorney and son of Alexander Hamilton
 * Alexander Hamilton Jr. (1816–1889), son of James Alexander Hamilton and grandson of Alexander Hamilton
 * Alexander Held (born 1958), German actor
 * Alexander Henn, German anthropologist
 * Alexander Henry (1823–1883), mayor of Philadelphia
 * Alex Higgins (1949–2010), Northern Irish snooker player
 * Alexander Hollins (born 1996), American football player
 * Alexander Holtz (born 2002), Swedish ice hockey player
 * Alex Horne (born 1978), British comedian
 * Alexander von Humboldt (1769–1859), Prussian naturalist and explorer
 * Alexander Ilečko (1937–2023), Slovak sculptor
 * Alex Jones (born 1974), American radio show host and conspiracy theorist
 * Aleksandr Kamshalov (1932–2019), Soviet politician
 * Alex Kapranos (born 1972), Scottish musician, author, songwriter and producer, front-man of Franz Ferdinand
 * Aleksandar Katai (born 1991), Serbian footballer
 * Alexander Kerensky (1881–1970) leader of Russian Provisional Government
 * Alexander Kerfoot (born 1994), Canadian ice hockey player
 * Alex Killorn (born 1989), Canadian ice hockey player
 * Alexander Klingspor (born 1977), Swedish painter and sculptor
 * Aleksandr Kogan (born 1985/86), Moldovan-born American psychologist and data scientist
 * Alexander Korda (1893–1956), Hungarian film director
 * Alexander Kucheryavenko (born 1987), Russian ice hockey player
 * Aleksander Kwaśniewski (born 1954), former President of Poland
 * Aleksander Lesser (1814–1884), Polish painter, illustrator, and art critic
 * Alexander Levinsky (1910–1990), Canadian ice hockey player
 * Alexander Ivanovich Levitov (1835–1877), Russian writer
 * Alexander Lévy (born 1990), French golfer
 * Alexandre Lippmann (1881–1960), French épée fencer
 * Alexander Ludwig (born 1992), Canadian actor
 * Alexander "Sandy" Lyle (born 1958), Scottish golfer
 * Alexander Lukashenko (born 1954), President of Belarus
 * Alex Manninger (born 1977), Austrian footballer
 * Alessandro Manzoni (1785–1873), Italian poet and novelist
 * Alexander "Ali" Marpet (born 1993), American football player
 * Aleksandr Marshal (born 1957), Russian singer, songwriter, and musician
 * Alexander Mattison (born 1998), American football player
 * Alexander McClure (1828–1909), American politician, editor and writer
 * Alexander Lyell McEwin (1897–1988), known as Lyell McEwin, Australian politician, Minister for Health
 * Alexander McQueen (1969–2010), British fashion designer and couturier
 * Alexander Michel Melki (born 1992), Swedish-Lebanese footballer
 * Alexander Mirsky (born 1964), Latvian politician
 * Alexander Francis Molamure (1888–1951), 1st Speaker of the State Council of Ceylon and 1st Speaker of the Parliament of Sri Lanka
 * Alessandro Moreschi (1858–1922), Italian castrato singer
 * Aleksandr Nikolayev (disambiguation), several people
 * Alexander Nikolov (boxer) (born 1940), Bulgarian boxer
 * Alex Norén (born 1982), Swedish golfer
 * Alexander Nylander (born 1998), Swedish ice hockey player
 * Alexander O'Neal (born 1953), American singer
 * Alexander Ovechkin (born 1985), Russian hockey player
 * Alexander Patch (1889–1945), American general during World War II
 * Aleksandr Panayotov, Russian-Ukrainian singer and songwriter
 * Alexander Pechtold (born 1965), Dutch politician
 * Alexander Penn (1906–1972), Israeli poet
 * Alexander Perera Jayasuriya (1901–1980), Sri Lankan Sinhala MP and Cabinet Minister
 * Alexander Pichushkin (born 1974), prolific Russian serial killer
 * Alex Pietrangelo (born 1990), Canadian ice hockey player
 * Alexander Piorkowski (1904–1948), German Nazi SS concentration camp commandant executed for war crimes
 * Alexander Ponomarenko (born 1964), Russian billionaire businessman
 * Alexander Pope (1688–1744), English poet
 * Alexander Popov (disambiguation), several people
 * Alexander Ptushko (1900–1973), Russian film director
 * Alexander Pushkin (1799–1837), Russian writer
 * Alexander Radulov (born 1986), Russian ice hockey player
 * Alexander Ragoza (1858–1919), Russian general in World War I
 * Alexander Raevsky (aviator) (1887—1937), Russian aviator
 * Alexander Rendell (born 1990), Thai actor and singer
 * Alex Rodriguez (born 1975), Major League Baseball star, won 3 AL MVP awards, also known as A-Rod
 * Alexander Rou (1906–1973), Russian film director
 * Alexander Rowe (born 1992), Australian athlete
 * Alexander Rudolph ("Al McCoy"; 1894–1966), American boxer
 * Alexander Rybak (born 1986), Belarusian-born Norwegian artist and violinist
 * Alexander Salkind (1921–1997), French film producer
 * Alexander Scholz (born 1992), Danish footballer
 * Alexander Scriabin (1872–1915), Russian composer and pianist
 * Alexander Selkirk (1676–1721), Scottish privateer and Royal Navy officer
 * Alexander Semin (born 1984), Russian hockey player
 * Aleksander Serov (born 1954), Russian singer
 * Alexander Serov (1820–1871), Russian composer
 * Alexander Shatilov (born 1987), Uzbek-Israeli artistic gymnast
 * Alexander Theodore "Sasha" Shulgin (1925–2014), American chemist, psychopharmacologist, and author
 * Alexander Sieghart (born 1994), Thai footballer
 * Alexander Skarsgård (born 1976), Swedish actor
 * Alexander Stafford, British politician
 * Alexander Stavenitz (1901–1960), Russian Empire-born American visual artist and educator
 * Alexander Suvorov (1730–1800), Russian military leader, considered a national hero, Count of Rymnik, Count of the Holy Roman Empire, Prince of Italy, and the last Generalissimo of the Russian Empire
 * Alexander McCall Smith (born 1948), Scottish writer
 * Alexander Solonik (1960–1997), Russian murder victim
 * Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (1918–2008), Russian writer, Nobel laureate, Soviet dissident
 * Alexander Steen (born 1984), Swedish ice hockey player
 * Alexander Stubb (born 1968), Finnish politician, president of Finland 2024-2030
 * Alexandre Texier (born 1999), French ice hockey player
 * Alexander Thorburn (1836–1894), Canadian politician
 * Alexander Tikhonov (born 1947), Russian biathlete
 * Alex Turner (born 1986), British musician, songwriter and producer, front-man of Arctic Monkeys and The Last Shadow Puppets
 * Alexander Vainberg (born 1961), Russian politician
 * Lex van Dam (born 1968), Dutch trader and TV personality
 * Alexander Van der Bellen (born 1944), President of Austria
 * Alexander Varchenko (born 1949), Russian mathematician
 * Aleksander Veingold (born 1953), Estonian and Soviet chess player and coach
 * Aleksandr Vlasov (disambiguation), several people
 * Alexander Volkanovski (born 1988), UFC Fighter
 * Alessandro Volta (1745–1827), Italian physicist
 * Alexander Wennberg (born 1994), Swedish ice hockey player
 * Alexander Wilson (disambiguation), several people
 * Alexander Wijemanne, Sri Lankan Sinhala lawyer and politician
 * Alex Zanardi (born 1966), Italian racing driver and paracyclist
 * Aleksandar Zečević (born 1996), Serbian basketball player in the Israeli Basketball Premier League
 * Oleksandr Zubov (born 1983), Ukrainian chess player and Grandmaster
 * Oleksandr Usyk (born 1987), Ukrainian professional boxer
 * Alexander Zverev (born 1997), German tennis player

In other languages

 * Afrikaans: Alexander
 * Albanian: Aleksandër
 * Albanian diminutive: Leka
 * Amharic: እስክንድር (Isikinidiri, Eskender)
 * Arabic: اسكندر (Iskandar)
 * Armenian: Ալեքսանդր (Aleksandr)
 * Asturian: Alexandru, Xandru
 * Azerbaijani: İsgəndər/Исҝәндәр/ایسگندر, Aleksandr/Александр/آلئکساندر
 * Basque: Alesander
 * Belarusian: Аляксандр (Aliaksandr), Алесь (Ales)
 * Bengali: সিকান্দর (Sikandor)
 * Bulgarian: Александър (Aleksandŭr), Сашко (Sashko)
 * Catalan: Alexandre/Aleixandre
 * Chinese:
 * Historical:
 * Traditional: 烏弋山離, Simplified: 乌弋山离, Baxter-Sagart:
 * Traditional and Simplified: 阿荔散, Baxter Romanization: 'a lejH sanH
 * Contemporary: Traditional: 亞歷山大, Simplified: 亚历山大, Pinyin: Yàlìshāndà, Jyutping: aa3 lik6 saan1 daai6, Wugniu: iá-liq-sé-da, BUC: Ā-lĭk-săng-dâi
 * Czech: Alexandr, Alexander
 * Danish: Aleksander, Alexander
 * Dutch: Alexander
 * Esperanto: Aleksandro
 * Estonian: Aleksander
 * English: Alexander
 * Finnish: Aleksanteri
 * French: Alexandre
 * Galician: Alexandre
 * Georgian: ალექსანდრე (Aleksandre)
 * German: Alexander
 * Greek
 * Mycenaean Greek: 𐀀𐀩𐀏𐀭𐀅𐀫 (Aléxandros)
 * Ancient Greek: Ἀλέξανδρος (Aléxandros)
 * Koine Greek: Ἀλέξανδρος (Aléxandros)
 * Modern Greek: Αλέξανδρος (Aléxandros)
 * Hawaiian: Alekanekelo
 * Hebrew: אלכסנדר (Aleksander)
 * Hindi: सिकंदर (Sikandar)
 * Hungarian: Sándor, Alexander, Elek
 * Icelandic: Alexander
 * Indonesian: Iskandar, Alexander
 * Irish: Alastar
 * Italian: Alessandro
 * Japanese: アレキサンダー (Arekisandā)
 * Korean: 알렉산더 (Alleksandeo)
 * Kazakh: Искандер (Iskander)
 * Kyrgyz: Искендер (Iskender)
 * Latin: Alexander
 * Latvian: Aleksandrs
 * Lithuanian: Aleksandras
 * Macedonian: Александар (Aleksandar), Сашко (Sashko, Saško)
 * Malay: Iskandar
 * Malayalam
 * Syriac Origin : ചാണ്ടി (t͡ʃaːɳʈI), ഇടിക്കുള (IʈIkkʊɭa)
 * Greek Origin : അലക്സിയോസ് (alaksIyos), അലക്സി (alaksI)
 * Anglican Origin : അലക്സാണ്ടര് (alaksa:ndar), അലക്സ് (alaks)
 * Mongolian: Александр (Alyeksandr)
 * Norwegian: Aleksander, Alexander
 * Pashto: سکندر (Sikandar)
 * Persian: الکساندر (Aleksânder), اسکندر (Eskandar)
 * Polish: Aleksander
 * Portuguese: Alexandre, Alexandro, Alessandro, Leandro
 * Punjabi: Sikandar
 * Romanian: Alexandru, Alex, Sandu
 * Russian: Александр (Aleksandr), Саша (Sasha)
 * Rusyn: Александер (Aleksander)
 * Sanskrit: अलक्षेन्द्र (Alakṣendra)
 * Scottish Gaelic: Alasdair
 * Scots: Alastair, Alistair, Alister, Sandy
 * Serbo-Croatian: Александар / Aleksandar
 * Slovak: Alexander
 * Slovene: Aleksander
 * Spanish: Alejandro
 * Swedish: Alexander
 * Tagalog: Alejandro
 * อเล็กซานเดอร์
 * Turkish: İskender
 * Ukrainian: Олександр (Oleksandr, sometimes anglicized Olexander), Сашко (Sashko), Олесь (Oles), Олелько (Olelko)
 * Urdu: سکندر (Sikandar)
 * Valencian: Alecsandro, Aleksandro, Aleixandre, Alexandre
 * Vietnamese: Alexander, A Lịch San
 * Welsh: Alexander
 * Yiddish: אלעקסאנדער (Aleksander)

Variants and diminutives

 * Alex
 * Alexsander
 * Alexey
 * Sasha/Sash
 * Sandy
 * Xander

title: Alexander


text:
Alexander I

Alexander I may refer to:

 * Alexander I of Macedon, king of Macedon from 495–454 BC
 * Alexander I of Epirus (370–331 BC), king of Epirus
 * Alexander I Theopator Euergetes, surnamed Balas, ruler of the Seleucid Empire 150-145 BC
 * Pope Alexander I (died 115), early bishop of Rome
 * Pope Alexander I of Alexandria (died 320s), patriarch of Alexandria
 * Alexander I of Scotland (c. 1078 – 1124), king of Scotland
 * Aleksandr Mikhailovich of Tver (1301–1339), prince of Tver as Alexander I
 * Alexander I of Georgia (1386–?), king of Georgia
 * Alexander I of Moldavia (died 1432), prince of Moldavia
 * Alexander I of Kakheti (1445–1511), king of Kakheti
 * Alexander Jagiellon (1461–1506), king of Poland
 * Alexander I of Russia (1777–1825), emperor of Russia
 * Alexander of Battenberg (1857–1893), prince of Bulgaria
 * Alexander I of Serbia (1876–1903), king of Serbia
 * Alexander I of Yugoslavia (1888–1934), king of Yugoslavia
 * Alexander of Greece (1893–1920), king of Greece

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Alexander I


text:
Alexander II

Alexander II may refer to:

 * Alexander II of Macedon, king of Macedon from 370 to 368 BC
 * Alexander II of Epirus (died 260 BC), king of Epirus in 272 BC
 * Alexander II Zabinas, king of the Greek Seleucid kingdom in 128–123 BC
 * Alexander (912–913), Eastern Roman emperor
 * Pope Alexander II of Alexandria, ruled in 702–729
 * Patriarch Alexander II of Alexandria
 * Pope Alexander II (died 1073), pope from 1061 to 1073
 * Alexander II of Scotland (1198–1249), king of Scots
 * Alexander II of Imereti (died 1510), king of Georgia and of Imereti
 * Alexander II of Kakheti (1527–1605), king of Kakheti
 * Alexander II Mircea
 * Alexander II of Russia (1818–1881), emperor of Russia
 * Alexander II of Yugoslavia (born 1945), crown prince of Serbia

title: Alexander II


text:
Alexander III

Alexander III may refer to:

 * Alexander III of Macedon (356 BC – 323 BC), also known as Alexander the Great
 * Alexander (Byzantine emperor) (870–913), Byzantine emperor
 * Pope Alexander III (1100s–1181)
 * Alexander III of Vladimir, grand duke of Vladimir (1328–1331), prince of Suzdal
 * Alexander III of Scotland (1241–1286), king of Scotland
 * Alexander III of Imereti (1609–1660), king of Imereti
 * Alexander III of Russia (1845–1894), emperor of Russia
 * Pont Alexandre III, an arch bridge that spans the Seine in Paris
 * Russian battleship Imperator Aleksandr III, Russian warship
 * Alexander III of Antioch (1869–1958), Greek Orthodox patriarch of Antioch

title: Alexander III


text:
Alexander Aetolus

Alexander Aetolus (Ἀλέξανδρος ὁ Αἰτωλός, Alexandros ho Aitōlos) or Alexander the Aetolian  was a Hellenistic Greek poet and grammarian, who worked at the Library of Alexandria and composed poetry in a variety of genres, now almost entirely lost. He is the only known Aetolian poet of antiquity.

Life and works
Alexander was a native of Pleuron in Aetolia. A contemporary of Callimachus and Theocritus, he was born c. 315 BC, and according to the Suda the names of his parent were Satyros and Stratokleia. By the 280s he was one of a group of literary scholars working at the Library of Alexandria, where Ptolemy II Philadelphus commissioned him to organize and correct the texts of the tragedies and satyr plays in the collection of the Library. Later, along with Antagoras and Aratus, he spent time at the court of the Macedonian king Antigonus II Gonatas.

In addition to his work as a scholar, Alexander was a versatile poet who produced verse in a variety of meters and genres, although only about 70 lines of his work survive, mostly in short fragments quoted by later sources. He was admired for his tragedies, which earned him a place among the seven Alexandrian tragedians who constituted the so-called Tragic Pleiad. One of his tragedies (or perhaps a satyr play), the Astragalistai ("Knucklebone-players"), described the killing of a fellow student by the young Patroklos. Alexander also wrote epics or epyllia, of which a few names and short fragments survive: the Halieus ("Fisherman"), about the sea-god Glaukos, and the Krika or Kirka (perhaps "Circe"?) The longest surviving example of his work is a 34-line excerpt from the Apollo, a poem in elegiac couplets, which tells the story of Antheus and Cleoboea. A few other elegiac fragments are quoted by other authors, and two epigrams in the Greek Anthology are usually considered his work. Ancient sources also describe him as a writer of kinaidoi (obscene verses, known euphemistically as "Ionic poems") in the manner of Sotades. A short fragment in anapestic tetrameters compares the gruff and sullen personality of Euripides with the honeyed quality of his poetry.

Editions

 * A. Meineke, Analecta alexandrina (Berlin 1843), pp. 215–251.
 * J. U. Powell, Collectanea alexandrina: Reliquiae minores poetarum graecorum aetatis ptolemaicae, 323–146 A.C. (Oxford 1925), pp. 121–129.
 * E. Magnelli, Alexandri Aetoli testimonia et fragmenta (Florence 1999).
 * J. L. Lightfoot, Hellenistic Collection (Loeb Classical Library: Cambridge, Mass. 2009), pp. 99–145 (with English translation).

title: Alexander Aetolus


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Alexander Jannaeus

Alexander Jannaeus (Ἀλέξανδρος Ἰανναῖος Aléxandros Iannaîos; Yannaʾy; born Jonathan יהונתן) was the second king of the Hasmonean dynasty, who ruled over an expanding kingdom of Judaea from 103 to 76 BCE. A son of John Hyrcanus, he inherited the throne from his brother Aristobulus I, and married his brother's widow, Queen Salome Alexandra. From his conquests to expand the kingdom to a bloody civil war, Alexander's reign has been described as cruel and oppressive with never-ending conflict. The major historical sources of Alexander's life are Josephus's Antiquities of the Jews and The Jewish War.

The kingdom of Alexander Jannaeus was the largest and strongest known Jewish state outside of biblical sources, having conquered most of Palestine's Mediterranean coastline and regions surrounding the Jordan River. Alexander also had many of his subjects killed for their disapproval of his handling of state affairs. Due to his territorial expansion and adverse interactions with his subjects, he was continuously embroiled with foreign wars and domestic turmoil.

Family
Alexander Jannaeus was the third son of John Hyrcanus by his second wife. When Aristobulus I, Hyrcanus' son by his first wife, became king, he deemed it necessary for his own security to imprison his half-brother. Aristobulus died after a reign of one year. Upon his death, his widow, Salome Alexandra had Alexander and his brothers released from prison. One of these brothers is said to have unsuccessfully sought the throne.

Alexander, as the oldest living brother, had the right not only to the throne, but also to Salome, the widow of his deceased brother, who had died childless. Although she was thirteen years older than him, he married her in accordance with the Jewish law of levirate marriage. By her he had two sons: the eldest, Hyrcanus II, became high priest in 62 BCE; and Aristobulus II, who was high priest from 66 - 62 BCE and started a bloody civil war with his brother, ending in his capture by Pompey the Great.

Like his brother, Alexander was an avid supporter of the aristocratic priestly faction known as the Sadducees. His wife Salome came from a Pharisaic family. Her brother was Simeon ben Shetach, a famous Pharisee leader. Salome was more sympathetic to their cause, and protected them throughout his turbulent reign.

Like his father, Alexander served as high priest. This raised the ire of the religious authorities who insisted that these two offices should not be combined. According to the Talmud, Alexander was a questionable desecrated priest, rumour had it that his mother was captured in Modi'in and violated, and, in the opinion of the Pharisees, was not allowed to serve in the temple. This infuriated the king and he sided with the Sadducees who defended him. This incident led the king to turn against the Pharisees, and he persecuted them until his death.

War with Ptolemy Lathyrus
Alexander's first expedition was against the city of Ptolemais. While Alexander went ahead to besiege the city, Zoilus of Dora took the opportunity to see if he could relieve Ptolemais in hopes of establishing his rule over coastal territories. Alexander's Hasmonean army quickly defeated Zoilus's forces. Ptolemais then requested aid from Ptolemy IX Lathyros, who had been banished by his mother Cleopatra III. Ptolemy founded a kingdom in Cyprus after being cast out by his mother.

The situation at Ptolemais was seized as an opportunity by Ptolemy to possibly gain a stronghold and control the Judean coast in order to invade Egypt by sea. An individual named Demaenetus convinced the inhabitants of their imprudence in requesting Ptolemy's assistance. They realised that by allying themselves with Ptolemy, they had unintentionally declared war on Cleopatra. When Ptolemy arrived at the city, the inhabitants denied him access.

Alexander too didn't want to be involved in a war between Cleopatra and Ptolemy, so he abandoned his campaign against Ptolemais and returned to Jerusalem. After offering Ptolemy four hundred talents and a peace treaty in return for Zoilus's death, Alexander met him with treachery by negotiating an alliance with Cleopatra. Once he had formed an alliance with Ptolemy, Alexander continued his conquests by capturing the coastal cities of Dora and Straton's Tower.

As soon as Ptolemy learned of Alexander's scheme, he was determined to kill him. Ptolemy put Ptolemais under siege, but left his generals to attack the city, while he continued to pursue Alexander. Ptolemy's pursuit caused much destruction in the Galilee region. Here he captured Asochis on the Sabbath, taking ten thousand people as prisoners. Ptolemy also initiated an unsuccessful attack on Sepphoris.

Battle of Asophon
Ptolemy and Alexander engaged in battle at Asophon near the Jordan River. Estimated to have fifty to eighty thousand soldiers, Alexander's army consisted of both Jews and pagans. At the head of his armed forces were his elite pagan mercenaries. They were specialised in Greek-style phalanx. One of Ptolemy's commanders, Philostephanus, began the first attack by crossing the river that divided both forces.

The Hasmoneans had the advantage. Philostephanus held back a certain amount of his forces whom he sent to recover lost ground. Perceiving them as vast reinforcements, Alexander's army fled. Some of his retreating forces tried to push back, but quickly dispersed as Ptolemy's forces pursued Alexander's fleeing army. Thirty to fifty thousand Hasmonean soldiers died.

Ptolemy's forces at Ptolemais succeeded in capturing the city. He then continued to conquer much of the Hasmonean kingdom, occupying the entirety of northern Judea, the coast, and territories east of the Jordan River. While doing so, he pillaged villages and ordered his soldiers to cannibalise women and children to create psychological fear towards his enemies. At the time, Salome Alexandra was notified of Cleopatra's approachment to Judea.

Intervention of Cleopatra III
Realising that her son had amassed a formidable force in Judea, Cleopatra appointed Jewish generals Ananias and Chelkias to command her forces. She went with a fleet towards Judea. When Cleopatra arrived at Ptolemais, the people refused her entry, so she besieged the city. Ptolemy, believing Syria was defenseless, withdrew to Cyprus after his miscalculation. While in pursuit of Ptolemy, Chelkias died in Coele-Syria.

The war abruptly came to an end with Ptolemy fleeing to Cyprus. Alexander then approached Cleopatra. Bowing before her, he requested to retain his rule. Cleopatra was urged by her subordinates to annex Judea. Ananias demanded she consider the residential Egyptian Jews who were the main support of her throne. This induced Cleopatra to modify her longings for Judea. Alexander met her demands and suspended his campaigns. These negotiations took place at Scythopolis. Cleopatra died five years later. Confident, after her death, Alexander found himself free to continue with new campaigns.

Transjordan and coastal conquest

Alexander captured Gadara and fought to capture the strong fortress of Amathus in the Transjordan region, but was defeated. He was more successful in his expedition against the coastal cities, capturing Raphia and Anthedon. In 96 BCE, Jannaeus defeated the inhabitants of Gaza. This victory gained Judean control over the Mediterranean outlet of the main Nabataean trade route. Alexander initially returned his focus back to the Transjordan region where, avenging his previous defeat, he destroyed Amathus.

Battle of Gaza
Determined to proceed with future campaigns despite his initial defeat at Amathus, Alexander set his focus on Gaza. A victory against the city wasn't so easily achieved. Gaza's general Apollodotus strategically employed a night attack against the Hasmonean army. With a force of two thousand less-skilled soldiers and ten thousand slaves, Gaza's military was able to deceive the Hasmonean army into believing they were being attacked by Ptolemy. The Gazans killed many and the Hasmonean army fled the battle. When morning exposed the delusive tactic, Alexander continued his assault but lost a thousand additional soldiers.

The Gazans remained defiant in hopes that the Nabataean kingdom would come to their aid. The city eventually suffered defeat due to its own leadership. Gaza at the time was governed by two brothers, Lysimachus and Apollodotus. Lysimachus convinced the people to surrender, and Alexander peacefully entered the city. Though he at first seemed peaceful, Alexander suddenly turned against the inhabitants. Some men killed their wives and children out of desperation, to ensure they wouldn't be captured and enslaved. Others burned down their homes to prevent the soldiers from plundering. The town council and five hundred civilians took refuge at the Temple of Apollo, where Alexander had them massacred.

War with Obodas I
The Judean Civil War initially began after the conquest of Gaza around 99 BCE. Due to Jannaeus's victory at Gaza, the Nabataean kingdom no longer had direct access to the Mediterranean Sea. Alexander soon captured Gadara, which together with the loss of Gaza caused the Nabataeans to lose their main trade routes leading to Rome and Damascus. After losing Gadara, the Nabataean king Obodas I launched an attack against Alexander in a steep valley at Gadara, where Alexander barely managed to escape. After his defeat in the Battle of Gadara, Jannaeus returned to Jerusalem, and was met with fierce Jewish opposition.

Feast of Tabernacles
During the Jewish holiday Sukkot, Alexander Jannaeus, while officiating as the High Priest at the Temple in Jerusalem, demonstrated his displeasure against the Pharisees by refusing to perform the water libation ceremony properly: instead of pouring it on the altar, he poured it on his feet. The crowd responded with shock at his mockery and showed their displeasure by pelting him with etrogim (citrons). They made the situation worse by insulting him. They called him a descendant of a captive woman and unsuitable to hold office and to sacrifice. Outraged, he killed six thousand people. Alexander also had wooden barriers built around the altar and the temple preventing people from going near him. Only the priests were permitted to enter. This incident during the Feast of Tabernacles was a major factor leading up to the Judean Civil War.

War with Demetrius III and conclusion of the Civil War

After Jannaeus succeeded early in the war, the rebels asked for Seleucid assistance. Judean insurgents joined forces with Demetrius III Eucaerus to fight against Jannaeus. Alexander had gathered six thousand two hundred mercenaries and twenty thousand Jews for battle. Demetrius had forty thousand soldiers and three thousand horses. There were attempts from both sides to persuade each other to abandon positions, but were unsuccessful. The Seleucid forces defeated Jannaeus at Shechem, and all of Alexander's mercenaries were killed in battle.

This defeat forced Alexander to take refuge in the mountains. In sympathy towards Jannaeus, six thousand Judean rebels ultimately returned to him. In fear of this news, Demetrius withdrew. War between Jannaeus and the rebels who returned to him continued. They fought until Alexander achieved victory. Most of the rebels died in battle, while the remaining rebels fled to the city of Bethoma until they were defeated.

Jannaeus had brought the surviving rebels back to Jerusalem where he had eight hundred Jews, primarily Pharisees, crucified. Before their deaths, Alexander had the rebels' wives and children executed before their eyes as Jannaeus ate with his concubines. Alexander later returned the land he had seized in Moab and Galaaditis from the Nabataeans in order to have them end their support for the Jewish rebels. The remaining rebels who numbered eight thousand, fled by night in fear of Alexander. Afterward, all rebel hostility ceased and Alexander's reign continued undisturbed.

Final campaigns
From 83-80 BCE, Alexander continued campaigning in the east. The Nabataean king Aretas III managed to defeat Alexander in battle. However, Alexander continued expanding the Hasmonean kingdom into Transjordan. In Gaulanitis, he captured the cities of Golan, Seleucia, and Gamala. In Galaaditis, the cities of Pella, Dium, and Gerasa. Alexander had Pella destroyed because its inhabitants refused to Judaize.

He is believed to have expanded and fortified the Hasmonean palace near Jericho.

Death

For the last three years of his life, Alexander Jannaeus suffered from the combined effects of alcoholism and quartan ague (malaria).

After a reign of 27 years, he died c. 76 BCE at the age of forty-nine, during the siege of Ragaba.

In Josephus's "Antiquities," he presents an account that differs from his earlier "War" and Syncellus's accounts. According to Josephus, Jannaeus fell fatally ill on the battlefield at Ragaba, with his wife Salome Alexandra present. Jannaeus instructed her to hide his death until she captured Ragaba and to subsequently share power with the Pharisees. He also requested that she allow the Pharisees to abuse his corpse, believing they would then give him an honorable burial, despite this request violating Deuteronomy 21:22-23. This request is interpreted as Jannaeus seeking atonement for previously violating this commandment by abusing the bodies of crucified Pharisees. Kenneth Atkinson writes that Josephus's style and wording suggest Jannaeus died in Jerusalem and never reached Ragaba. Josephus may have concealed this fact to hide the undignified nature of this death.

Alexander's reign ended with a significant political decision, naming his wife as successor and granting her the authority to appoint the next high priest.

title: Alexander Jannaeus


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Alexander IV

Alexander IV may refer to:
 * Pope Alexander IV (1199 or c. 1185–1261)
 * Alexander IV of Macedon (323 BC–309 BC), son of Alexander the Great
 * Alexander IV of Imereti (died 1695), of the Bagrationi Dynasty, king of Imereti (western Georgia)

title: Alexander IV


text:
Alexander V

Alexander V may refer to:

 * Alexander V of Macedon (died 294 BCE)
 * Antipope Alexander V (c. 1339–1410)
 * Alexander V of Imereti (c. 1703/4–1752)

title: Alexander V


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Alexandrists

The Alexandrists were a school of Renaissance philosophers who, in the great controversy on the subject of personal immortality, adopted the explanation of the De Anima given by Alexander of Aphrodisias.

According to the orthodox Thomism of the Catholic Church, Aristotle rightly regarded reason as a facility of the individual soul. Against this, the Averroists, led by Agostino Nifo, introduced the modifying theory that universal reason in a sense individualizes itself in each soul and then absorbs the active reason into itself again. These two theories respectively evolved the doctrine of individual and universal immortality, or the absorption of the individual into the eternal One.

The Alexandrists, led by Pietro Pomponazzi, assailed these beliefs and denied that either was rightly attributed to Aristotle. They held that Aristotle considered the soul as a material and therefore a mortal entity which operates during life only under the authority of universal reason. Hence the Alexandrists denied that Aristotle viewed the soul as immortal, because in their view, since they believed that Aristotle viewed the soul as organically connected with the body, the dissolution of the latter involves the extinction of the former.

title: Alexandrists


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Alexios I Komnenos

Alexios I Komnenos (Ἀλέξιος Κομνηνός, c. 1057 – 15 August 1118), Latinized Alexius I Comnenus, was Byzantine emperor from 1081 to 1118. Inheriting a collapsing empire and faced with constant warfare during his reign, Alexios was able to curb the Byzantine decline and begin the military, financial, and territorial recovery known as the Komnenian restoration. His appeals to Western Europe for help against the Seljuk Turks was the catalyst that sparked the First Crusade. Although he was not the first emperor of the Komnenian dynasty, it was during his reign that the Komnenos family came to full power and initiated a hereditary succession to the throne.

The son of John Komnenos and a nephew of Isaac I Komnenos, Alexios served with distinction under three Byzantine emperors. In 1081, he led a rebellion against Emperor Nikephoros III Botaneiates and took the throne for himself. He immediately faced an invasion of western Balkans by the Normans under Robert Guiscard and his son Bohemond. Despite initial defeats, Alexios secured an alliance with Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV and drove back the Normans, recovering most of Byzantine losses by 1085. In 1091, he achieved a decisive victory over the Pechenegs at the Battle of Levounion in Thrace with the help of Cuman allies.

Later in the 1090s, Alexios directed his attention towards Asia Minor, most of which had fallen to the Seljuk Turks. Desiring western support, he took reconciliatory measures towards the Papacy, and in 1095 his envoys made a formal appeal to Pope Urban II at the Council of Piacenza. At the subsequent Council of Clermont, Pope Urban formally called the First Crusade, which began a year after and concluded with much of western Anatolia restored to Byzantine rule. On Alexios' death in 1118, he was suceeeded by his son John II Komnenos.

Biography
Alexios was the son of John Komnenos and Anna Dalassene, and the nephew of Isaac I Komnenos (emperor 1057–1059). Alexios' father declined the throne on the abdication of Isaac, who was thus succeeded by Constantine X Doukas (r. 1059–1067) and died as a monk in 1067. Alexios and his elder brother, Manuel Komnenos served under Romanos IV Diogenes (r. 1068–1071) with distinction against the Seljuk Turks. under Michael VII Doukas Parapinakes (1071–1078) and Nikephoros III Botaneiates (1078–1081), he was militarily employed, along with his elder brother Isaac, against rebels in Asia Minor, Thrace, and in Epirus.

In 1074, western mercenaries led by Roussel de Bailleul rebelled in Asia Minor, but Alexios successfully subdued them by 1076. In 1078, he was appointed commander of the field army in the West by Nikephoros III. In this capacity, Alexios defeated the rebellions of Nikephoros Bryennios the Elder (whose son or grandson later married Alexios' daughter Anna) and Nikephoros Basilakes, the first at the Battle of Kalavrye and the latter in a surprise night attack on his camp. Alexios was ordered to march against his brother-in-law Nikephoros Melissenos in Asia Minor but refused to fight his kinsman. This did not, however, lead to a demotion, as Alexios was needed to counter the expected invasion of the Normans of Southern Italy, led by Robert Guiscard.

Conspiracy and revolt of the Komnenoi against Botaneiates
While Byzantine troops were assembling for the expedition, the Doukas faction at court approached Alexios and convinced him to join a conspiracy against Nikephoros III. The mother of Alexios, Anna Dalassene, was to play a prominent role in this coup d'état of 1081, along with the current empress, Maria of Alania. First married to Michael VII Doukas and secondly to Nikephoros III Botaneiates, she was preoccupied with the future of her son by Michael VII, Constantine Doukas. Nikephoros III intended to leave the throne to one of his close relatives, and this resulted in Maria's ambivalence and alliance with the Komnenoi, though the real driving force behind this political alliance was Anna Dalassene.

The empress was already closely connected to the Komnenoi through Maria's cousin Irene's marriage to Isaac Komnenos, so the Komnenoi brothers were able to see her under the pretense of a friendly family visit. Furthermore, to aid the conspiracy Maria had adopted Alexios as her son, though she was only five years older than he. Maria was persuaded to do so on the advice of her own "Alans" and her eunuchs, who had been instigated by Isaac Komnenos. Given Anna's tight hold on her family, Alexios must have been adopted with her implicit approval. As a result, Alexios and Constantine, Maria's son, were now adoptive brothers, and both Isaac and Alexios took an oath that they would safeguard his rights as emperor. By secretly giving inside information to the Komnenoi, Maria was an invaluable ally.

As stated in the Alexiad, Isaac and Alexios left Constantinople in mid-February 1081 to raise an army against Botaneiates. However, when the time came, Anna quickly and surreptitiously mobilized the remainder of the family and took refuge in the Hagia Sophia. From there she negotiated with the emperor for the safety of family members left in the capital, while protesting her sons' innocence of hostile actions. Under the falsehood of making a vesperal visit to worship at the church, she deliberately excluded the grandson of Botaneiates and his loyal tutor, met with Alexios and Isaac, and fled for the forum of Constantine. The tutor discovered they were missing and eventually found them on the palace grounds, but Anna was able to convince him that they would return to the palace shortly. Then to gain entrance to both the outer and inner sanctuary of the church, the women pretended to the gatekeepers that they were pilgrims from Cappadocia who had spent all their funds and wanted to worship before starting their return trip. However, before they were to gain entry into the sanctuary, Straboromanos and royal guards caught up with them to summon them back to the palace. Anna then protested that the family was in fear for their lives, her sons were loyal subjects (Alexios and Isaac were discovered absent without leave), and had learned of a plot by enemies of the Komnenoi to have them both blinded and had, therefore, fled the capital so they may continue to be of loyal service to the emperor. She refused to go with them and demanded that they allow her to pray to the Mother of God for protection. This request was granted and Anna then manifested her true communicative and leadership capabilities:

"She was allowed to enter. As if she were weighed down with old age and worn out by grief, she walked slowly and when she approached the actual entrance to the sanctuary made two genuflections; on the third she sank to the floor and taking firm hold of the sacred doors, cried in a loud voice: 'Unless my hands are cut off, I will not leave this holy place except on one condition: that I receive the emperor's cross as guarantee of safety'." Nikephoros III Botaneiates was forced into a public vow that he would grant protection to the family. Straboromanos tried to give Anna his cross, but for her it was not large enough for all bystanders to witness the oath. She also demanded that the cross be personally sent by Botaneiates as a vow of his good faith. He obliged, sending a complete assurance for the family with his own cross. At the emperor's further insistence, and for their own protection, they took refuge at the convent of Petrion, where they were eventually joined by Maria of Bulgaria, mother of Irene Doukaina. Botaneiates allowed them to be treated as refugees rather than as guests. They were allowed to have family members bring in their own food and were on good terms with the guards from whom they learned the latest news. Anna was highly successful in three important aspects of the revolt: she bought time for her sons to steal imperial horses from the stables and escape the city; she distracted the emperor, giving her sons time to gather and arm their troops; and she gave a false sense of security to Botaneiates that there was no real treasonous plot against him. After bribing the Western troops guarding the city, Isaac and Alexios Komnenos entered the capital victoriously on 1 April 1081.

During this time, Alexios was rumored to be the lover of Empress Maria, the daughter of King Bagrat IV of Georgia, who had been successively married to Michael VII Doukas and his successor Nikephoros III Botaneiates, and who was renowned for her beauty. Alexios arranged for Maria to stay on the palace grounds, and it was thought that he was considering marrying her. However, his mother consolidated the Doukas family connection by arranging the Emperor's marriage to Irene Doukaina, granddaughter of the Caesar John Doukas, the uncle of Michael VII, who would not have supported Alexios otherwise. As a measure intended to keep the support of the Doukai, Alexios restored Constantine Doukas, the young son of Michael VII and Maria, as co-emperor.

This situation changed drastically, however, when Alexios' first son John II Komnenos was born in 1087: Anna's engagement to Constantine was dissolved, and she was moved to the main Palace to live with her mother and grandmother. Alexios became estranged from Maria, who was stripped of her imperial title and retired to a monastery, and Constantine Doukas was deprived of his status as co-emperor.

Wars against the Normans, Pechenegs, and Tzachas
The thirty-seven year reign of Alexios was full of struggle. At the outset he faced the formidable attack of the Normans, led by Robert Guiscard and his son Bohemond, who took Dyrrhachium and Corfu and laid siege to Larissa in Thessaly. Alexios suffered several defeats before he was able to strike back with success. He enhanced his resistance by an agreement with the German king Henry IV, who, in exchange for 360,000 gold pieces, did attack the Normans in Italy, which forced the Normans to concentrate on their defenses at home in 1083–84. He also secured the alliance of Henry, Count of Monte Sant'Angelo, who controlled the Gargano Peninsula and dated his charters by Alexios' reign. Henry's allegiance would be the last example of Byzantine political control on peninsular Italy. The Norman military danger subsided with the death of Guiscard in 1085, and the Byzantines recovered most of their losses.

Alexios next had to deal with disturbances in Thrace, where the heretical sects of the Bogomils and the Paulicians revolted and made common cause with the Pechenegs from beyond the Danube. Paulician soldiers in imperial service likewise deserted during Alexios' battles with the Normans. As soon as the Norman threat had passed, Alexios set out to punish the rebels and deserters, confiscating their lands. This led to a further revolt near Philippopolis, and the commander of the field army in the west, Gregory Pakourianos, was defeated and killed in the ensuing battle. In 1087 the Pechenegs raided into Thrace, and Alexios crossed into Moesia to retaliate but failed to take Dorostolon (Silistra). During his retreat, the emperor was confronted and defeated by the Pechenegs, who forced him to sign a truce and to pay protection money. In 1090 the Pechenegs invaded Thrace again, while Tzachas, the brother-in-law of the Sultan of Rum, launched a fleet and attempted to arrange a joint siege of Constantinople with the Pechenegs. Alexios overcame this crisis by entering into an alliance with a horde of 40,000 Cumans, with whose help he conquered the Pechenegs at Levounion in Thrace on 29 April 1091.

This put an end to the Pecheneg threat, but in 1094 the Cumans began to raid the imperial territories in the Balkans. Led by a pretender claiming to be Constantine Diogenes, a long-dead son of the Emperor Romanos IV, the Cumans crossed the mountains and raided into eastern Thrace until their leader was eliminated at Adrianople. With the Balkans more or less pacified, Alexios could now turn his attention to Asia Minor, which had been almost completely overrun by the Seljuq Turks.

Byzantine–Seljuq Wars and the First Crusade

By the time Alexios ascended the throne, the Seljuqs had taken most of Asia Minor. Alexios was able to secure much of the coastal regions by sending peasant soldiers to raid the Seljuq camps, but these victories were unable to stop the Turks altogether. He also got military support from Western rulers like Robert I Count of Flanders (Robert the Frisian) returning from an armed pilgrimage to Jerusalem in 1086 spending time assisting the Byzantine Emperor against the Turks. In one battle Robert and three of his companions rode ahead of the main army charging the forces under the command of Kerbogha, whose forces were scattered completely.

As early as 1090, Alexios had taken reconciliatory measures towards the Papacy, with the intention of seeking western support against the Seljuqs. In 1095 his ambassadors appeared before Pope Urban II at the Council of Piacenza. The help he sought from the West was some mercenary forces, not the immense hosts that arrived, to his consternation and embarrassment, after the pope preached the First Crusade at the Council of Clermont later that same year. This was the People's Crusade: a mob of mostly unarmed poor peasants and serfs, led by the preacher Peter the Hermit, fleeing from hunger in their home regions to a promised land of milk and honey. Not quite ready to supply this number of people as they traversed his territories, the emperor saw his Balkan possessions subjected to further pillage at the hands of his own allies. Eventually Alexios dealt with the People's Crusade by hustling them on to Asia Minor. There, they were massacred by the Turks of Kilij Arslan I at the Battle of Civetot in October 1096.

The "Prince's Crusade", the second and much more formidable host of crusaders, gradually made its way to Constantinople, led in sections by Godfrey of Bouillon, Bohemond of Taranto, Raymond IV of Toulouse, and other important members of the western nobility. Alexios used the opportunity to meet the crusader leaders separately as they arrived, extracting from them oaths of homage and the promise to turn over conquered lands to the Byzantine Empire. Transferring each contingent into Asia, Alexios promised to supply them with provisions in return for their oaths of homage. The crusade was a notable success for Byzantium, as Alexios recovered a number of important cities and islands. The siege of Nicaea by the crusaders forced the city to surrender to the emperor in 1097, and the subsequent crusader victory at Dorylaion allowed the Byzantine forces to recover much of western Asia Minor. John Doukas re-established Byzantine rule in Chios, Rhodes, Smyrna, Ephesus, Sardis, and Philadelphia in 1097–1099. This success is ascribed by Alexios' daughter Anna to his policy and diplomacy, but by the Latin historians of the crusade to his treachery and deception. In 1099, a Byzantine fleet of ten ships was sent to assist the crusaders in capturing Laodicea and other coastal towns as far as Tripoli. The crusaders believed their oaths were made invalid when the Byzantine contingent under Tatikios failed to help them during the siege of Antioch; Bohemund, who had set himself up as Prince of Antioch, briefly went to war with Alexios in the Balkans, but he was blockaded by the Byzantine forces and agreed to become a vassal of Alexios by the Treaty of Deabolis in 1108.

Around this time, in 1106, the twenty fifth year of his reign, Hesychius of Miletus records that the sky suddenly darkened and a "violent southern wind" blew the great statue of Constantine at the Strategion from its column, killing a number of men and women nearby.

In 1116, though already terminally ill, Alexios conducted a series of defensive operations in Bithynia and Mysia to defend his Anatolian territories against the inroads of Malik Shah, the Seljuq Sultan of Iconium. In 1117 he moved onto the offensive and pushed his army deep into the Turkish-dominated Anatolian Plateau, where he defeated the Seljuq sultan at the Battle of Philomelion.

Personal life
During the last twenty years of his life Alexios lost much of his popularity. The years were marked by persecution of the followers of the Paulician and Bogomil heresies —one of his last acts was publicly to burn at the stake Basil, a Bogomil leader, with whom he had engaged in a theological dispute. In spite of the success of the First Crusade, Alexios also had to repel numerous attempts on his territory by the Seljuqs in 1110–1117.

Alexios was for many years under the strong influence of an eminence grise, his mother Anna Dalassene, a wise and immensely able politician whom, in a uniquely irregular fashion, he had crowned as Augusta instead of the rightful claimant to the title, his wife Irene Doukaina. Anna Dalassene's ability to help him seize power and control the aristocracy, as well as her ability to understand and resolve dilemmas, assured Alexius that her mother was a capable counsel and managing partner by his side, and a sane and trusted regent in his absence. Alexios was never happier than when taking part in military exercises and he assumed personal command of his troops whenever possible. As such, Dalassene was the effective administrator of the Empire during Alexios' long absences in military campaigns: she was constantly at odds with her daughter-in-law and had assumed total responsibility for the upbringing and education of her granddaughter Anna Komnene.

Succession
Alexios' last years were also troubled by anxieties over the succession. Although he had crowned his son John II Komnenos co-emperor at the age of five in 1092, his wife Irene Doukaina wished to alter the succession in favor of their daughter Anna and Anna's husband, Nikephoros Bryennios the Younger.

Pretenders and rebels
Apart from all of his external enemies, a host of rebels also sought to overthrow Alexios from the imperial throne, thereby posing another major threat to his reign. Due to the troubled times the empire was enduring, he had by far the greatest number of rebellions against him of all the Byzantine emperors. These included:

Pre First Crusade

 * Raictor, a Byzantine monk who claimed to be the emperor Michael VII. He presented himself to Robert Guiscard who used him as a pretext to launch his invasion of the Byzantine Empire.
 * A conspiracy in 1084 involving several senators and officers of the army. This was uncovered before too many followers were enlisted. In order to conceal the importance of the conspiracy, Alexios merely banished the wealthiest plotters and confiscated their estates.
 * Tzachas, a Seljuq Turkic emir who assumed the title of emperor in 1092.
 * Constantine Humbertopoulos, who had assisted Alexios in gaining the throne in 1081 conspired against him in 1091 with an Armenian called Ariebes.
 * John Komnenos, Alexios' nephew, governor of Dyrrachium, accused of a conspiracy by Theophylact of Bulgaria.
 * Theodore Gabras, the quasi-independent governor of Trebizond and his son Gregory.
 * Michael Taronites, the brother-in-law of Alexios.
 * Nikephoros Diogenes, the son of emperor Romanos IV.
 * Pseudo-Leo Diogenes, an impostor who assumed the identity of another of Romanos' sons, Leo Diogenes.
 * Karykes, the leader of a revolt in Crete.
 * Rhapsomates, who tried to create an independent kingdom in Cyprus.

Post First Crusade

 * Salomon, a senator of great wealth who in 1106 engaged in a plot with four brothers of the Anemas family.
 * Gregory Taronites, another governor of Trebizond.
 * The illegitimate descendant of a Bulgarian prince named Aron formed a plot in 1107 to murder Alexios as he was encamped near Thessalonica. The presence of the empress Irene and her attendants, however, made the execution of the plot difficult. In an attempt to have her return to Constantinople, the conspirators produced pamphlets that mocked and slandered the empress, and left them in her tent. A search for the author of the publications uncovered the whole plot, yet Aron was only banished due to his connection to the royal line of Bulgaria, whose blood also flowed in the veins of the empress Irene.

Reform of the monetary system
Under Alexios the debased solidus (tetarteron and histamenon) was discontinued and a gold coinage of higher fineness (generally .900–.950) was established in 1092, commonly called the hyperpyron at 4.45 grs. The hyperpyron was slightly smaller than the solidus.

It was introduced along with the electrum aspron trachy worth a third of a hyperpyron and about 25% gold and 75% silver, the billon aspron trachy or stamenon, valued at 48 to the hyperpyron and with 7% silver wash and the copper tetarteron and noummion worth 18 and 36 to the billon aspron trachy.

Legacy
Alexios I had overcome dangerous crises and stabilized the Byzantine Empire, inaugurating a century of imperial prosperity and success. He had also profoundly altered the nature of the Byzantine government. By seeking close alliances with powerful noble families, Alexios put an end to the tradition of imperial exclusivity and co-opted most of the nobility into his extended family and, through it, his government. Those who did not become part of this extended family were deprived of power and prestige. This measure, which was intended to diminish opposition, was paralleled by the introduction of new courtly dignities, like that of panhypersebastos given to Nikephoros Bryennios, or that of sebastokrator given to the emperor's brother Isaac Komnenos. Although this policy met with initial success, it gradually undermined the relative effectiveness of imperial bureaucracy by placing family connections over merit. Alexios' policy of integration of the nobility bore the fruit of continuity: every Byzantine emperor who reigned after Alexios I Komnenos was related to him by either descent or marriage.

Family
By his marriage with Irene Doukaina, Alexios I had the following children:
 * 1) Anna Komnene (1 December 1083–1148/55), in her infancy she was betrothed to Constantine Doukas, and with him treated as co-ruler by her father until after the birth of John II. In 1097 she married Nikephoros Bryennios the Younger, later raised to Caesar. Highly ambitious, after Alexios' death she tried unsuccessfully to usurp the throne. She then withdrew to a monastery, where she wrote her history of Alexios' reign. The couple had several children, but only four survived her.
 * 2) Maria Komnene (19 September 1085 – after 1136), initially betrothed to Gregory Gabras, but married to Nikephoros Katakalon. The couple had several children, but only two sons are known by name.
 * 3) John II Komnenos (13 September 1087 – 8 April 1143), who succeeded as emperor.
 * 4) Andronikos Komnenos (18 September 1091 – 1130/31), was named sebastokrator and participated in several campaigns until his death from disease. He married Irene, likely a Russian princess, and had at least two sons.
 * 5) Isaac Komnenos (16 January 1093 – after 1152), sebastokrator.
 * 6) Eudokia Komnene (14 January 1094 – c. 1129), who married the son of Constantine Iasites.
 * 7) Theodora Komnene (15 January 1096) who married (1) Constantine Kourtikes and (2) Constantine Angelos. By him she was the grandmother of Emperors Isaac II Angelos and Alexios III Angelos, as well as the progenitor of the ruling dynasty of the Despotate of Epirus. Through Isaac II's daughter Irene Angelina's children by Philip of Swabia, she is an ancestor of many European royal families, including all European monarchs currently reigning.
 * 8) Manuel Komnenos, born February 1097 and known only from a manuscript now in Moscow, died probably soon after his birth
 * 9) Zoe Komnene, born March 1098 and known only from a manuscript now in Moscow, died probably soon after her birth

title: Alexios I Komnenos


text:
Alexis (poet)

Alexis (Ἄλεξις;  350s – 288 BC) was a Greek comic poet of the Middle Comedy period. He was born in Thurii (in present-day Calabria, Italy) in Magna Graecia and taken early to Athens, where he became a citizen, being enrolled in the deme Oion (Οἶον) and the tribe Leontides. It is thought he lived to the age of 106 and died on the stage while being crowned. According to the Suda, a 10th-century encyclopedia, Alexis was the paternal uncle of the dramatist Menander and wrote 245 comedies, of which only fragments now survive, including some 130 preserved titles.

Life
He appears to have been rather addicted to the pleasures of the table, according to Athenaeus. He had a son named Stephanus (Στέφανος) who was also a comic poet.

He won his first Lenaean victory in the 350s BC, most likely, where he was sixth after Eubulus, and fourth after Antiphanes. While being a Middle Comic poet, Alexis was contemporary with several leading figures of New Comedy, such as Philippides, Philemon, Diphilus, and even Menander. There is also some evidence that, during his old age, he wrote plays in the style of New Comedy.

Plutarch says that he lived to the age of 106 and 5 months, and that he died on the stage while being crowned victor. He was certainly alive after 345 BC, for Aeschines mentions him as alive in that year. He was also living at least as late as 288 BC, from which his birth date is calculated. According to the Suda he wrote 245 comedies, of which only fragments including some 130 titles survive. His plays include Meropis, Ankylion, Olympiodoros, Parasitos (exhibited in 360 BC, in which he ridiculed Plato), Agonis (in which he ridiculed Misgolas), and the Adelphoi and the Stratiotes, in which he satirized Demosthenes, and acted shortly after 343 BC. Also Hippos (316 BC) (in which he referred to the decree of Sophocles against the philosophers), Pyraunos (312 BC), Pharmakopole (306 BC), Hypobolimaios (306 BC), and Ankylion.

Because he wrote a lot of plays, the same passages often appear in more than 3 plays. It was said that he also borrowed from Eubulus and many other playwrights in some of his plays. According to Carytius of Pergamum, Alexis was the first to use the part of the parasite. Alexis was known in Roman times; Aulus Gellius noted that Alexis' poetry was used by Roman comedians, including Turpilius and possibly Plautus.

Surviving titles and fragments
Only fragments have survived from any of Alexis's plays – about 340 in all, totaling about 1,000 lines. They attest to the author's wit and refinement, which Athenaeus praises. The surviving fragments also show that Alexis invented a great many words, mostly compound words, that he used normal words in an unusual way, and made strange and unusual forms of common words. The main sources of the fragments of Alexis are Stobaeus and Athenaeus.

The following 139 titles of Alexis's plays have been preserved:

 * Achaiis ("The Achaean Woman")
 * Adelphoi ("The Brothers")
 * Agonis, or Hippiskos
 * Aichmalotos ("The Prisoner of War")
 * Aiopoloi ("Goat-Herders")
 * Aisopos ("Aesop")
 * Aleiptria ("Female Physical Trainer")
 * Ampelourgos ("The Vine-Dresser")
 * Amphotis
 * Ankylion
 * Anteia
 * Apeglaukomenos
 * Apobates ("The Trick Rider")
 * Apokoptomenos
 * Archilochos
 * Asklepiokleides
 * Asotodidaskalos ("Teacher of Debauchery")
 * Atalante
 * Atthis
 * Bomos ("The Altar")
 * Bostrychos ("Lock of Hair")
 * Brettia ("The Bruttian Woman")
 * Choregis
 * Daktylios ("The Ring")
 * Demetrios, or Philetairus
 * Diapleousai ("Women Sailing Across The Sea")
 * Didymoi ("The Twins")
 * Dis Penthon ("Twice Grieving")
 * Dorkis, or Poppyzousa ("Lip-Smacking Woman")
 * Dropides
 * Eis To Phrear ("Into The Well")
 * Eisoikizomenos ("The Banished Man")
 * Ekkeryttomenos
 * Ekpomatopoios ("The Cup-Maker")
 * Epidaurios ("The Man From Epidaurus")
 * Epikleros ("The Heiress")
 * Epistole ("The Letter")
 * Epitropos ("The Guardian", or "Protector")
 * Eretrikos ("Man From Eretria")
 * Erithoi ("Weavers"), or Pannychis ("All-Night Festival")
 * Galateia ("Galatea")
 * Graphe ("The Document")
 * Gynaikokratia ("Government By Women")
 * Helene ("Helen")
 * Helenes Arpage ("Helen's Capture")
 * Helenes Mnesteres ("Helen's Suitors")
 * Hellenis ("The Greek Woman")
 * Hepta Epi Thebais ("Seven Against Thebes")
 * Hesione ("Hesione")
 * Hippeis ("Knights")
 * Homoia
 * Hypnos ("Sleep")
 * Hypobolimaios ("The Changeling")
 * Iasis ("The Cure, or Remedy")
 * Isostasion
 * Kalasiris
 * Karchedonios ("The Man From Carthage")
 * Katapseudomenos ("The False Accuser")
 * Kaunioi ("The Men From Kaunos")
 * Keryttomenos ("The Proclaimed Man")
 * Kitharodos ("The Citharode")
 * Kleobouline ("Cleobuline")
 * Knidia ("The Woman From Cnidus")
 * Koniates ("Plasterer")
 * Kouris ("The Lady Hairdresser")
 * Krateuas, or Pharmakopoles ("Pharmacist")
 * Kybernetes ("The Pilot or Helmsman")
 * Kybeutai ("The Dice-Players")
 * Kyknos ("The Swan")
 * Kyprios ("The Man from Cyprus")
 * Lampas ("The Torch")
 * Lebes ("The Cauldron")
 * Leukadia ("Woman From Leucas"), or Drapetai ("Female Runaways")
 * Leuke ("Leprosy," or possibly "The White Poplar")
 * Lemnia ("The Woman From Lemnos")
 * Linos ("Linus")
 * Lokroi ("The Locrians")
 * Lykiskos
 * Mandragorizomene ("Mandrake-Drugged Woman")
 * Manteis ("Diviners," or "Seers")
 * Meropis ("Meropis")
 * Midon ("Midon")
 * Milesia ("Milesian Woman")
 * Milkon ("Milcon")
 * Minos ("Minos")
 * Mylothros ("The Miller")
 * Odysseus Aponizomenos ("Odysseus Washing Himself")
 * Odysseus Hyphainon ("Odysseus Weaving Cloth")
 * Olympiodoros
 * Olynthia ("The Woman From Olynthos")
 * Opora ("Autumn")
 * Orchestris ("The Dancing-Girl")
 * Orestes ("Orestes")
 * Pallake ("The Concubine")
 * Pamphile
 * Pankratiastes
 * Parasitos ("The Parasite")
 * Pezonike
 * Phaidon, or Phaidrias
 * Phaidros ("Phaedrus")
 * Philathenaios ("Lover of the Athenian People")
 * Philiskos
 * Philokalos, or Nymphai ("Nymphs")
 * Philotragodos ("Lover of Tragedies")
 * Philousa ("The Loving Woman")
 * Phryx ("The Phrygian")
 * Phygas ("The Fugitive")
 * Poietai ("Poets")
 * Poietria ("The Poetess")
 * Polykleia ("Polyclea")
 * Ponera ("The Wicked Woman")
 * Pontikos ("The Man From Pontus")
 * Proskedannymenos
 * Protochoros ("First Chorus")
 * Pseudomenos ("The Lying Man")
 * Pylaia
 * Pyraunos
 * Pythagorizousa ("Female Disciple of Pythagoras")
 * Rhodion, or Poppyzousa ("Lip-Smacking Woman")
 * Sikyonios ("The Man From Sicyon")
 * Skeiron
 * Sorakoi
 * Spondophoros ("The Libation-Bearer")
 * Stratiotes ("The Soldier")
 * Synapothneskontes ("Men Dying Together")
 * Syntrechontes
 * Syntrophoi
 * Syrakosios ("Man From Syracuse")
 * Tarantinoi ("Men From Tarentum")
 * Thebaioi ("Men From Thebes")
 * Theophoretos ("Possessed by a God")
 * Thesprotoi ("Men From Thesprotia")
 * Theteuontes ("Serfs")
 * Thrason ("Thrason")
 * Titthe ("The Wet-Nurse")
 * Tokistes ("Money-Lender"), or Katapseudomenos ("The False Accuser")
 * Traumatias ("The Wounded Man")
 * Trophonios ("Trophonius")
 * Tyndareos ("Tyndareus")

Editions of fragments

 * Augustus Meineke. Poetarum Graecorum comicorum fragmenta, (1855).
 * Theodor Kock. Comicorum Atticorum fragmenta, i. (1880).
 * Colin Austin and Rudolf Kassel. Poetae Comici Graeci. vol. 2.

title: Alexis (poet)


text:
Alexios II Komnenos

Alexios II Komnenos (14 September 1169  – September 1183), Latinized Alexius II Comnenus, was Byzantine emperor from 1180 to 1183. He ascended to the throne as a minor. For the duration of his short reign, the imperial power was de facto held by regents.

Early years
Born in the purple at Constantinople, Alexios was the long-awaited son of Emperor Manuel I Komnenos (who gave him a name that began with the letter alpha as a fulfillment of the AIMA prophecy) and Maria of Antioch. In 1171 he was crowned co-emperor, and in 1175 he accompanied his father at Dorylaion in Asia Minor in order to have the city rebuilt. On 2 March 1180, at the age of eleven, he was married to Agnes of France aged 10, daughter of King Louis VII of France. She was thereafter known as Anna, and after Alexios' murder three years later, Anna would be remarried to the person responsible, Andronikos, then aged 65.

Regency of Maria and Alexios
When Manuel I died in September 1180, Alexios II succeeded him as emperor. At this time, however, he was an uneducated boy with only amusement in mind. The imperial regency was then undertaken by the dowager empress and the prōtosebastos Alexios Komnenos (a namesake cousin of Alexios II), who was popularly believed to be her lover.

The regents depleted the imperial treasury by granting privileges to Italian merchants and to the Byzantine aristocracy. When Béla III of Hungary and Kilij Arslan II of Rum began raiding within the Byzantine western and eastern borders respectively, the regents were forced to ask for help to the pope and to Saladin. Furthermore, a party supporting Alexios II's right to reign, led by his half-sister Maria Komnene and her husband the caesar John, stirred up riots in the streets of the capital.

The regents managed to defeat the party on April 1182, but Andronikos Komnenos, a first cousin of Manuel I, took advantage of the disorder to aim at the crown. He entered Constantinople, received with almost divine honours, and overthrew the government. His arrival was celebrated by a massacre of the Latins in Constantinople, especially the Venetian merchants, which he made no attempt to stop.

Regency of Andronikos and death
On 16 May 1182 Andronikos, posing as Alexios' protector, officially restored him on the throne. As for 1180, the young emperor was uninterested in ruling matters, and Andronikos effectively acted as the power behind the throne, not allowing Alexios any voice in public affairs. One after another, Andronikos suppressed most of Alexios' defenders and supporters: his half-sister Maria Komnene, the caesar John, his loyal generals Andronikos Doukas Angelos, Andronikos Kontostephanos and John Komnenos Vatatzes,  while Empress Dowager Maria was put in prison.

In 1183, Alexios was compelled to condemn his own mother to death. In September 1183, Andronikos was formally proclaimed emperor before the crowd on the terrace of the Church of Christ of the Chalkè. Probably by the end of the same month, Andronikos ordered Alexios' assassination; the young emperor was secretly strangled with a bow-string and his body thrown in the Bósporos.

In the years following Alexios' mysterious disappearance, many young men resembling him tried to claim the throne. In the end, none of those pseudo-Alexioi managed to become emperor.

Portrayal in fiction
Alexios is a character in the historical novel Agnes of France (1980) by Greek writer Kostas Kyriazis. The novel describes the events of the reigns of Manuel I, Alexios II, and Andronikos I through the eyes of Agnes.

title: Alexios II Komnenos


text:
Alexios III Angelos

Alexios III Angelos (c. 1153 – 1211), Latinized as Alexius III Angelus, was Byzantine Emperor from March 1195 to 17/18 July 1203. He reigned under the name Alexios Komnenos (Ἀλέξιος Κομνηνός) associating himself with the Komnenos dynasty (from which he was descended cognatically).

A member of the extended imperial family, Alexios came to the throne after deposing, blinding and imprisoning his younger brother Isaac II Angelos. The most significant event of his reign was the attack of the Fourth Crusade on Constantinople in 1203, on behalf of Alexios IV Angelos.

Alexios III took over the defence of the city, which he mismanaged, and then fled the city at night with one of his three daughters. From Adrianople, and then Mosynopolis, he attempted unsuccessfully to rally his supporters, only to end up a captive of Marquis Boniface of Montferrat. He was ransomed and sent to Asia Minor where he plotted against his son-in-law Theodore I Laskaris, but was eventually captured and spent his last days confined to the Monastery of Hyakinthos in Nicaea, where he died.

Early life
Alexios III was the second son of Andronikos Doukas Angelos and Euphrosyne Kastamonitissa. Andronikos was himself a son of Theodora Komnene, the youngest daughter of Emperor Alexios I Komnenos and Irene Doukaina. Thus, Alexios III was a member of the extended imperial family. Together with his father and brothers, Alexios had conspired against Emperor Andronikos I Komnenos (c. 1183), and thus he spent several years in exile in Muslim courts, including that of Saladin.

His younger brother Isaac II was threatened with execution under orders of Andronikos I, their first-cousin once-removed, on 11 September 1185. Isaac made a desperate attack on the imperial agents and soon killed their leader Stephen Hagiochristophorites. He then took refuge in the church of Hagia Sophia and from there appealed to the populace. His actions provoked a riot, which resulted in the deposition of Andronikos I and the proclamation of Isaac as Emperor. Alexios was now closer to the imperial throne than ever before.

Reign
By 1190 Alexios had returned to the court of his younger brother, from whom he received the elevated title of sebastokratōr. In March 1195 while Isaac II was away hunting in Thrace, Alexios was acclaimed as emperor by the troops with the covert support of his wife Euphrosyne Doukaina Kamatera. Alexios captured Isaac at Stagira in Macedonia, put out his eyes, and thenceforth kept him a close prisoner, despite having previously been redeemed by Alexios from captivity at Antioch and showered with honours.

To compensate for this crime and to solidify his position as emperor, Alexios had to scatter money so lavishly as to empty his treasury, and to allow such licence to the officers of the army as to leave the Empire practically defenceless. These actions inevitably led to the financial ruin of the state. At Christmas 1196, Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI attempted to force Alexios to pay him a tribute of 5,000 pounds (later negotiated down to 1,600 pounds) of gold or face invasion. Alexios gathered the money by plundering imperial tombs at the church of the Holy Apostles and heavily taxing the people through the Alamanikon. Because of Henry's death in September 1197, the gold was never dispatched. The Empress Euphrosyne tried in vain to sustain his credit and his court; Vatatzes, the favourite instrument in her attempts at reform, was assassinated by the emperor's orders.

In the east the Empire was overrun by the Seljuk Turks; from the north, the Kingdom of Hungary and the rebellious Bulgarians and Vlachs descended unchecked to ravage the Balkan provinces of the Empire, sometimes penetrating as far as Greece, while Alexios squandered the public treasure on his palaces and gardens and attempted to deal with the crisis through diplomatic means. The Emperor's attempts to bolster the empire's defences by special concessions to pronoiai (notables) in the frontier zone backfired, as the latter increased their regional autonomy. Byzantine authority survived, but in a much weakened state. In 1197, local lord Dobromir Chrysos established himself in the region of Vardar Macedonia, defying the imperial power for several years.

During the first years of Alexios' reign, relations between Byzantium and Serbia were good, since his daughter Eudokia Angelina was married to Serbian Grand Prince Stefan Nemanjić II, who was granted the title of sebastokrator. But in 1200, those relations deteriorated. The marriage between Stefan and Eudokia was dissolved, and the alliance between Serbia and Byzantium ended, leaving Byzantium without a single ally in Southeastern Europe.

Fourth Crusade
Soon, Alexios was threatened by a new and more formidable danger. In 1202, soldiers assembled at Venice to launch the Fourth Crusade. Alexios IV Angelos, the son of the deposed Isaac II, had recently escaped from Constantinople and now appealed for support to the crusaders, promising to end the East–West Schism, to pay for their transport, and to provide military support if they would help him depose his uncle and ascend to his father's throne.

The crusaders, whose objective had been Egypt, were persuaded to set their course for Constantinople, arriving there in June 1203, proclaiming Alexios IV as emperor, and inviting the populace of the capital to depose his uncle. Alexios III took no effective measures to resist, and his attempts to bribe the crusaders failed. His son-in-law, Theodore I Laskaris, who was the only one to attempt anything significant, was defeated at Scutari, and the siege of Constantinople began. Misgovernment by Alexios III had left the Byzantine navy with only 20 worm-eaten hulks by the time the crusaders arrived.

In July, the crusaders, led by the aged Doge Enrico Dandolo, scaled the walls and took control of a major section of the city. In the ensuing fighting, the crusaders set the city on fire, ultimately leaving 20,000 people homeless. On 17 July, Alexios III finally took action and led 17 divisions from the Gate of St. Romanus, vastly outnumbering the crusaders. His courage failed, however, and the Byzantine army returned to the city without a fight. His courtiers demanded action, and Alexios III promised to fight. Instead, that night (17/18 July), Alexios III hid in the palace, and finally, with one of his daughters, Eirene, and as much treasure (1,000 pounds of gold) as he could collect, got into a boat and escaped to Develtos in Thrace, leaving his wife and his other daughters behind. Isaac II, drawn from his prison and robed once more in the imperial purple, received his son, Alexios IV, in state.

Life in exile
Alexios III attempted to organize resistance to the new regime from Adrianople and then Mosynopolis, where he was joined by the later usurper Alexios V Doukas in April 1204, after the definitive fall of Constantinople to the crusaders and the establishment of the Latin Empire. At first, Alexios III received Alexios V well, even allowing him to marry his daughter Eudokia Angelina. Later, Alexios V was blinded and deserted by his father-in-law, who fled from the crusaders into Thessaly. Here Alexios III eventually surrendered, with Euphrosyne, to Marquis Boniface of Montferrat, who was establishing himself as ruler of the Kingdom of Thessalonica.

Alexios III attempted to escape Boniface's "protection" in 1205, seeking shelter with Michael I Komnenos Doukas, the ruler of Epirus. Captured by Boniface, Alexios and his retinue were sent to Montferrat before being brought back to Thessalonica in c. 1209. At that point the deposed emperor was ransomed by Michael I, who sent him to Asia Minor, where Alexios' son-in-law Theodore – now emperor of Nicaea – was holding his own against the Latins. Here Alexios conspired against his son-in-law after the latter refused to recognize Alexios' authority, receiving the support of Kaykhusraw I, the sultan of Rûm. In the Battle of Antioch on the Meander in 1211, the sultan was defeated and killed, and Alexios was captured by Theodore. Alexios was then confined to a monastery at Nicaea, where he died later in 1211.

Family
By his marriage to Euphrosyne Doukaina Kamatera, Alexios had three daughters:
 * Eirene Angelina, who married (1) Andronikos Kontostephanos, and (2) Alexios Palaiologos, by whom she was the grandmother of Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos.
 * Anna Komnene Angelina, who married (1) the sebastokratōr Isaac Komnenos, great-nephew of emperor Manuel I Komnenos, and (2) Theodore I Laskaris, emperor of Nicaea.
 * Eudokia Angelina, who married (1) Serbian King Stefan Nemanjić II, then (2) Emperor Alexios V Doukas, and (3) Leo Sgouros, ruler of Corinth.

title: Alexios III Angelos


text:
Alexios V Doukas

Alexios V Doukas (died December 1204), Latinized as Alexius V Ducas, was Byzantine emperor from February to April 1204, just prior to the sack of Constantinople by the participants of the Fourth Crusade. His family name was Doukas, but he was also known by the nickname Mourtzouphlos or Murtzuphlus (Μούρτζουφλος), referring to either bushy, overhanging eyebrows or a sullen, gloomy character. He achieved power through a palace coup, killing his predecessors in the process. Though he made vigorous attempts to defend Constantinople from the crusader army, his military efforts proved ineffective. His actions won the support of the mass of the populace, but he alienated the elite of the city. Following the fall, sack, and occupation of the city, Alexios V was blinded by his father-in-law, the ex-emperor Alexios III, and later executed by the new Latin regime. He was the last Byzantine emperor to rule in Constantinople until the Byzantine recapture of Constantinople in 1261.

Origins and character
Though in possession of the surname used by a leading Byzantine aristocratic family, there is very little definitely known concerning the ancestry of Alexios Doukas Mourtzouphlos. The noble Doukas clan were not the only Doukai, as the surname was also employed by many families of humble origins. It has been claimed that Alexios Doukas was a great-great-grandson of the emperor Alexios I Komnenos ((r. 1081 – 1118)) in the female line (cognatic descent). This is not improbable, as all other Byzantine emperors, and the majority of attempted usurpers, of the period had a connection with the former imperial house of the Komnenoi, either by descent or marriage. A more precise theory has been proposed, that he was the son of an Isaac Doukas, and was the second cousin of Alexios IV Angelos ((r. 1203 – 1204)). His date of birth is also unknown, but it is sometimes given as c. 1140 because he was considered "old" in 1204. A letter sent to Pope Innocent III, stated that Alexios Doukas Mourtzouphlos was 'a blood relation' of Alexios IV Angelos.

The contemporary historian Niketas Choniates was dismissed from office as logothete of the sekreta by Mourtzouphlos. His assessment of the emperor's character might therefore be biased; however, Choniates allows that he was extremely clever by nature, though arrogant in his manner and lecherous.

Political intrigues and usurpation
The participation of Alexios Doukas Mourtzouphlos in the attempted overthrow of Alexios III Angelos ((r. 1195 – 1203)) by John Komnenos the Fat in 1200 had led to his imprisonment. Mourtzouphlos was probably imprisoned from 1201 until the restoration to the throne of Isaac II Angelos ((r. 1185 – 1195)), the brother and predecessor of Alexios III. Isaac II, along with his son Alexios IV Angelos, were restored to the throne through the intervention of the leaders of the Fourth Crusade in July 1203. On release, Mourtzouphlos was invested with the court position of protovestiarios (head of the imperial finances). He had been married twice but was allegedly the lover of Eudokia Angelina, a daughter of Alexios III.

By the beginning of 1204, Isaac II and Alexios IV had inspired little confidence among the people of Constantinople with their efforts to protect the city from the Latin crusaders and their Venetian allies, and the citizens were becoming restless. The crusaders were also losing patience with the emperors; they rioted and set fires in the city when the money and aid promised by Alexios IV was not forthcoming. The fires affected about a sixth of the area of Constantinople and may have made up to a third of the population homeless; the dislocation and desperation of those affected eventually sapped the will of the people to resist the crusaders. Alexios Doukas Mourtzouphlos emerged as a leader of the anti-Latin movement in the city. He won the approval of the populace by his valour in leading an attack on the Latins at "Trypetos Lithos"; in this clash his mount stumbled and he would have been killed or captured had a band of youthful archers from the city not defended him. Mourtzouphlos exploited the hatred of the people for the Latins to serve his personal ambition.

The citizens of Constantinople rebelled in late January 1204, and in the chaos an otherwise obscure nobleman named Nicholas Kanabos was acclaimed emperor, though he was unwilling to accept the crown. The two co-emperors barricaded themselves in the Palace of Blachernae and entrusted Mourtzouphlos with a mission to seek help from the crusaders, or at least they informed him of their intentions. Instead of contacting the crusaders, Mourtzouphlos, on the night of 28–29 January 1204, used his access to the palace to bribe the "ax-bearers" (the Varangian Guard), and with their backing arrest the emperors. Choniates states that Mourtzouphlos, when bribing the guards, had the help of a eunuch with access to the imperial treasury. The support of the Varangians seems to have been of major importance in the success of the coup, though Mourtzouphlos also had help from his relations and associates. The young Alexios IV was eventually strangled in prison; while his father Isaac, both enfeebled and blind, died at around the time of the coup, his death variously attributed to fright, sorrow, or mistreatment. Kanabos was initially spared and offered an office under Alexios V, but he refused both this and a further summons from the emperor and took sanctuary in the Hagia Sophia; he was forcibly removed and killed on the steps of the cathedral.

Emperor
The timing of the deaths of the deposed emperors and of Kanabos, and their relation to the coronation of Alexios V are problematic. Alexios V appears to have been acclaimed emperor as early as the night he moved against the Angeloi co-emperors, on 27 January. He was crowned soon after, on or around 5 February.

Finding the treasury empty, the new emperor confiscated money from the aristocracy and high officials to be put to public use. These actions endeared Alexios V to the citizens, but alienated his relations and other prominent supporters. Once in firm control, Alexios V closed the gates of the city to the crusaders and strengthened the fortifications. Sword in hand, he was active in leading attacks on sorties made by the crusaders in search of supplies. On 2 February, Henry of Flanders led a part of the crusader army to Filea (or Phileas), in order to obtain food supplies. As he returned towards Constantinople, Alexios V attacked his rearguard. The Byzantines were defeated, the imperial standard and an important icon of the Virgin (the Panagia Nikopoios) were captured. The Byzantines lost some of their best soldiers in the clash, and Alexios V was lucky to escape alive. At about this time Alexios V attempted to destroy the crusader fleet with fire-ships, but to little effect.

The loss of the icon, traditionally seen as a physical embodiment of divine protection for the city, was a severe psychological blow. Its possession by the crusaders convinced many of the population of Constantinople that the victory of the Westerners was now divinely sanctioned, as a punishment for the sins of the Byzantines.

Around 8 February, Alexios V met the Doge of Venice, Enrico Dandolo, for peace talks. The conditions demanded by the Venetian, however, were too harsh for the Byzantines to consider. Choniates states that the meeting was brought to a close by a sudden attack by crusader cavalry on Alexios V and his entourage, the emperor narrowly escaping capture. Alexios IV was probably killed the same day; the insistence by the crusaders that he be restored to the throne may have precipitated his death. When news of the death of Alexios IV reached the crusaders, relations between them and Alexios V deteriorated further. The forcible expulsion of all Latins resident in Constantinople in March seems to have been the tipping point which led the crusaders to begin actively negotiating amongst themselves regarding the partition of the Byzantine Empire. They also began to prepare for their final assault on the city, which took place the following month.

The fall of Constantinople, flight and death
The defenders of Constantinople held out against a crusader assault on 9 April. The crusaders' second attack three days later, however, proved too strong to repel. Breaking through the walls near the Petria Gate, the crusaders entered the city and looted the Blachernae Palace. Alexios V attempted to rally the people to the defence of the city, but with no success. Alexios V then boarded a fishing boat and fled the city towards Thrace on the night of 12 April 1204, accompanied by Eudokia Angelina and her mother Euphrosyne Doukaina Kamatera. In the Hagia Sophia Constantine Laskaris was acclaimed as emperor, but being unable to persuade the Varangians to continue the fight, in the early hours of 13 April he also fled, leaving Constantinople under crusader control.

Alexios V and his companions eventually reached Mosynopolis, which had been occupied by the deposed emperor Alexios III Angelos and his followers. At first they were well received, with Alexios V marrying Eudokia Angelina. Later, however, Alexios III arranged for his new son-in-law to be made captive and blinded, thereby rendering him ineligible for the imperial throne. Having been abandoned by both his supporters and his father-in-law, Alexios V was captured near Mosynopolis, or possibly in Anatolia, by the advancing Latins under Thierry de Loos in November 1204. On his return to Constantinople as a prisoner, Alexios V was tried for treason against Alexios IV. In his trial the blind ex-emperor argued that it was Alexios IV who had committed treason to his country, through his intention to invite the crusaders to enter Constantinople in force. On being condemned, he was executed by novel means: he was thrown to his death from the top of the Column of Theodosius.

The new, alien, Latin regime of conquerors in Constantinople may have viewed the public trial and execution of the man who murdered the last "legitimate emperor" as a way to cast an aura of legitimacy on themselves. Alexios V was the last Byzantine Emperor to reign in Constantinople before the establishment of the Latin Empire, which controlled the city for the next 57 years, until it was recovered by the Nicaean Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos in 1261.

title: Alexios V Doukas


text:
Talk:Alternate history

'Alternative', not 'alternate'.
'Alternative history' is an exclusively British English term according to this article, when in fact it is simply correct English, as any good dictionary will attest.

The title of the page should be 'Alternative history' and in the first sentence it should be noted 'often incorrectly referred to as Alternate history '. --217.42.52.22 (talk) 13:39, 21 February 2017 (UTC)H. A. Lynch

 * Doesn't matter. "Alternate history" is what it's called in American English, and that's what the article used when it was first started. See Talk:Alternate history/Archive 3 for a 2015 discussion, and links there to previous discussions on the subject. - BilCat (talk) 13:51, 21 February 2017 (UTC)

Tumblr site
There's also the Tumblr site The Alt-Historian, "A Neo-Atomic Tango Thru a World of Dreams: We travel, record, observe, and document-- and are always home just in time for supper."

Thnidu (talk) 19:00, 25 May 2022 (UTC)

Removal of almost purely speculative map
I have removed from the article this map which is inspired from The Man in the High Castle because it is almost entirely speculative and much more precise than what is actually contained in the book. There was already a discussion (in fact 3 discussions) concerning that map in Talk:Hypothetical Axis victory in World War II with two RfC. In both conclusions of the RfCs it was pointed that this map (and other similar maps as well) should not be included in the article due to WP:OR. Sapphorain (talk) 09:44, 7 February 2023 (UTC)

 * How is the map based on the show WP:OR though? The content of that map is contained in the show. -- 2804:248:FB9F:C100:EC87:10EF:7444:BFC1 (talk) 01:12, 9 February 2023 (UTC)
 * Man_High_Castle_(TV_Series)_map.png (I reproduce the map discussed here). Once again any such map, which is not reproduced or copied from a reliable source confirming its accurateness, is by definition WP:OR. A discussion between wikipedia users in order to decide whether or not some map is in accordance with the work it is supposed to describe is perfectly useless, because wikipedia users cannot replace a needed citation. A statement such as "The content of that map is contained in the show" must be confirmed by a reliable source before "that map" can be inserted in a wikipedia article. --Sapphorain (talk) 08:49, 9 February 2023 (UTC)

 * Well, here is a picture taken from the show:

 * -- 2804:248:FB9F:C100:BC3A:860A:304C:D25C (talk) 05:39, 10 February 2023 (UTC)
 * Yes, that’s more convincing. The picture is a little fuzzy but the U.S. part is clear. The country eastwards is called « Greater Nazi Reich », though, not « Great Nazi Reich ». With this corrected and the Wikimedia Commons file sourced with this picture and an indication of where it comes from (in which part of which episode?), I guess I would have no more objection.--Sapphorain (talk) 13:53, 10 February 2023 (UTC)
 * Oh I forgot, but the intro actually shows a map of the U.S. too:
 *
 * As for the spelling, this version of the map has the correct spelling:
 * -- 2804:248:FB02:7600:447D:5C93:8F8:5DD8 (talk) 21:43, 13 February 2023 (UTC)

title: Talk:Alternate history