ALE 



ALE 



•nd advcrfity. Alexius, and Ifaac, his elder brother, diftin- 

 giiilbed thci'iifclvcs in tliewaragainft the Turks, and adhered 

 fit 



On this occafion Alexius offered his fervices to Nicephorus 

 Botaniates, the fucceffor of Michael ; and with a 



to the 



ire. 



poifon, which public nimour imputed to his wife, or to 

 Greek emperor, Alexius, who had trembled for his emp 

 iiremperor Michael DucasT fll he exchanged the empire and now rejoiced in his deliverance. The Normans ^vithdrew 

 a mo^?rtic habit and the title of archbiOiop of Ephefus. their forces from Greece, and tranqu.lhty wa^^rellored. . h.s 



noble 



fraukntfs addrtffcd him : " Prince, my duty rendered me 

 your enemy ; the decrees of God and the people have made 

 me vour fubjech Judge of my future loyalty by my pall 

 oppofition." His fidelity and valour, as well as his humanity, 

 were fufficicntly evinced by his viflorious exploits agamft 

 the three rebels, Urfcl, Br\-ennius and Bafilarius, who dif- 

 lurbeJ the peace of the empire. But his refufal to march 

 agaiiift the fourth rebel, the huniand of his filler, cancelled 

 the merit and the nitmor)- of his pail fervices ; and the two 

 brothers, driven into rebellion and fupported by the army, 

 fucceeded in depofing Bot;uuatcs. Uiiac, though the elder 

 brother, was the fir'll to inveft Alexius with the name and 

 ciilVns of royalty ; and being fainted emperor by the army, 

 he marched imiiKdiately againil Conllaiitinople, which he 

 took and plundered ; and the fleet was induced by the in- 

 fluence of George Pala;ologus, to declare in his favour. 

 Botoniates refigned the empire, and Alexius, without further 

 conteft, afccndcd the throne, A. D. loSl. Having com- 

 penfated for the plunder of the churches and monalleries at 

 Conllantiuople, by eveiy penance compatible with the pof- 

 fedion of the empire, lie prepared for reftraining the con- 

 quells of the Turks, who had feized on feveral provinces, 

 and threatened to fubvcit the empire. The Turks, howeytr, 

 made overtures of peace, which were accepted by Alexius, 

 in coafequence of the hoflililies that were meditated againil 

 him in the well by Robert Guifcard, duke of Puglia and 

 Calabria. Robert, having landed at Buthrotum, in Epirus, 



war was fucceeded by another with the Scythians, who 

 paffing the Danube, laid walle a great part of Thrace, and 

 were guilty of many horrid cnielties. The generals of 

 Alexius, who were firll employed in oppofing them, fuf- 

 tained feveral defeats ; but they were at length completely 

 fubdued, with a very general fiaughter, by the emperor 

 himfelf. His next attention was engaged by the Turks, and 

 a"-ain by the Scythians ; but Alexius, having terminated his 

 coiitefts with both thefe enemies by a peace, returned to 

 Conllantinople ; where he was informed, that the Weftern 

 Chrillians were making great preparations for the recovery 

 of the Holy Land, at that time poffefled by the Turks and 

 Saracens. At the council of Placentia, held March, A.D. 

 1095, the ambaffadors of Alexius appeared to plead the 

 diitrefs of their fovereigu and the danger of Conftantinople, 

 which was divided only by a nan-ow fea from the victorious 

 Turks, the common enemies of the Chrillian name ; and 

 the relief of Conftantinople was included in the larger and 

 more diftant projeft of the deliverance of Jerufalcm. I'he 

 emperor's ambafladors had folicited a moderate fuccour, per- 

 haps of 10,000 foldicrs ; but when the Crufaders arrived, 

 A. D. 1096, he was aftonifiied by their number, and fluc- 

 tuated between hope and fear, between timidity and courage. 

 His condutl was irrefolute and ambiguous, and he has been 

 charged by the Latin writers, with the bafeft treachery. 

 His gifts and promifes, however, infenfibly foothed the fierce 

 fpirit of the Weftern ftrangers ; and as aChriftian warrior, 

 he rekindled their zeal for the profecution of their holy 

 enterprize, which he engaged to fecond with his troops and 



and having advanced to Dyrrachium or Durazzo, which was treafures. By his flcill and dihgence, Alexius prevented the 



defended by a garrifon under the command of George Pa 

 lacologus, was tliere met by Alexius with a large army. In 

 a general aftion, which he commenced againft the advice of 

 hij wifeft captains, 061. 18, A.D. 1081, he fuftained a 

 defeat, which was attended with great lofs, and followed by 

 the furrenderof Durazzo, Feb. 8, A.D. 1082. Alexius 

 was affiduous in raifing new levies, and in order to obtain 

 neceffary fupplies, he prefumed, in a manner very offenfive 

 to the ecclefiaftics, to borrow the fuperfluous oniaments of 

 the churches. He alfo formed an alliance with Henry, em- 

 peror of Germany, who invaded Calabria, and whofe pro- 

 grefs demanded the hafty return of Robert. Bohemund, 

 the fon of Robert, was appointed his lieutenant in the eaft ; 

 but after reducing feveral places in Iltyricum, he was con- 

 ilrained, by a mutiny in the army, to repair to his father in 

 Italy. In October, A.D. 1084, Robert refumed the defign 

 of his callem conquefts, and made a fecond expedition into 

 Greece. Alexius, apprehending an attack, had obtained 

 a very confiderable fuccour to his naval forces from the re- 

 public of Venice. By the union of the Greeks and Vene- 

 tians, the Adriatic was covered with an hoftile fleet ; but 

 by the vigilance of Robert and the concunence of favourable 

 eircuniftances, the Norman troops were fafely difembarked 

 on the coaft of Epirus. The dominion of the fea was dif- 

 puted in three engagements, in light of the ifland of Corfu ; 

 in the two former, the fl:ill and numbers of the allies were 

 fuperior ; but in the third, the Normans obtained a final and 

 complete viftory. On this occafion, Anna Comnena, the 

 daughter of Alexius, and the writer of his hfe, deplores the 

 lofs of 13,000 of his fubjefts or allies. But in the ifle of 

 Cephalonia, the projefts of Robert were fatally blafted by 



union of any two confederate armies, at the fame moment, 

 under the walls of Conftantinople ; and he contented himfelf, 

 either from pride or prudence, with extorting from the 

 French princes an oath of honour and fidelity, and a folemn 

 promife, that they would either reftore, or hold, their Afiatic 

 conquefts, as the humble and loyal vaflals of the Roman 

 empire. Nice was the firft objeft of attack on the part of 

 the Crufaders, and the means of conqueft were fuppUed by 

 the prudence and induftry of Alexius ; he guarded with 

 jealous vigilance this important conqueft, and the city was 

 dehvered up to his lieutenant. When the crufaders after- 

 wards took pofleffion of Antioch, they elefled Bohemond 

 prince of that metropolis, aUedging that Alexius had vio- 

 lated his agreement, and under various pretences, declined 

 affording them the leaft afliftance. The coiifequtnce of this 

 appointment was a war between Bohemond and Alexius, 

 who fitted out a powerful fleet, which obtained a complete 

 viftory over that of the Crufaders, near Rhodes. He alfo re- 

 took Laodicea, which Bohemond had appropriated to himfelf, 

 as prince of Antioch. Alexius, by his endeavours to ftopf 

 the progrefs of the Chriftian princes in the Eaft, incenfed 

 the pope and the people to fuch a degree, that they con- 

 fidered him as an enemy to the Chriftian name, and fupplied 

 Bohemond with large fuccours to oppofe him. Bohemord, 

 thus aided, laid fiege to Durazzo ; but the place held out 

 tin the war was concluded by a negotiation. A.'exius, dif- 

 engaged from this conteft, marched in perfon againft the 

 Turks, who renewed their incurfions as far as Nice, and de- 

 feated them with great fiaughter. They returned, however, 

 the next year, and being difpirited by fucceffive defeats, they 

 fued for peace and obtained it. The remaining part of the 



an epidemical difeafe ; and he himfelf, in the 70th year of life of Alexius was devoted to the purpofe of healing the 

 kis age, expired in his tent ; not without the fufpicion of divifions, which at that time rent th-e Greek church. After 



a long 



