The Eastern Empire. R O 
public disasters, occasioned by the Turks, openly declared 
that the present state of the empire required the government 
of a hero, and not of a weak and timid woman. Among 
these declaimers appeared Romanus Diogenes, a man of an 
agreeable person and an illustrious birth. But Diogenes did 
not rest content with declamations;—he accompanied his 
words by his actions, and in consequence was accused of 
aiming at the sovereignty. Being brought before Eudocia 
to receive sentence of death for his treasonable designs, the 
empress was moved with compassion at the sight of a person 
who appeared too amiable in her eyes to be guilty of the 
imputed crime; and therefore, she not only pardoned him, 
but placed him at the head of her armies, and formed the 
design of admitting him as the partner of her empire and 
bed. Already, in her own heart, she had dispensed with 
her oath; and to conciliate all parties, it was only necessary 
to obtain the same indulgence from the patriarch John 
Xiphilin. , , , 
To him she dispatched a trusty eunuch, who m pretended 
confidence imparted to him, that the empress having fallen 
deeply in love with his nephew Bardas, was determined to 
marry him, and to divide with him the imperial authority, 
provided he would annul the oath she had taken, and per¬ 
suade the senate of the propriety of her conduct. The patri¬ 
arch dazzled with the idea of seeing his nephew invested 
with the purple, by his animated representations of the 
afflicted state of the empire, and by inveighing against the 
fatal effects of the rash oath extorted by the jealousy of the 
deceased emperor, easily obtained the concunence of the 
senate in his views. He then publicly restored to Eudocia 
the written oath of which he had been the depositai y, and 
exhorted her to espouse some person who might have power 
and abilities to protect the royal family and the empire. 
She heard with the most flattering attention, promised to 
weiffli his arguments, and a few days after, to the astonish¬ 
ment of the duped pontiff, married Romanus Diogenes, and 
caused him to be proclaimed emperor. The friends of the 
young princes were diverted from opposing this step by the 
tears of Eudocia, and the assurances of the fidelity of the new 
guardian. Thefortune of war, however, soon threw Roma¬ 
nus into the hands of Axan, the sultan of the Turks, which 
inflicted a deadly wound on the monarchy of the East. The 
sultan, indeed, treated him with every attention that could 
alleviate misfortune; and concluded with him a peace on as 
liberal terms as if he had been at liberty: but when Romanus 
obtained his release from his generous conqueror, he vainly 
sought for his wife and his subjects. The former had been 
thrust into a monastery by the influence of John Ducas, her 
brother-in-law, who proclaimed the eldest of his nephews; 
and the latter embraced the rigid maxim of the civil law, 
which declared, “ That a prisoner in the hands of his enemy 
is deprived of all the public and private rights of a Roman 
citizen.” The fruitless enterprizes of Romanus to regain his 
throne were succeeded by submission ; but, contrary to the 
faith of his capitulation, he was poisoned, and the poison acting 
too slowly, his eyes were put out in so cruel a manner that he 
died a few days after, in the fourth year of his reign. A.D. 1071. 
Under the triple reign of the house of Ducas, the two 
younger brothers were reduced to the vain honours of the 
purple ; while Michael the elder, surnamed Parapinaces, was 
so extremely indolent, that he left the whole power in the 
hands of John his uncle, which he secured by displacing 
or driving into exile all such as were capable of opposing 
him. This arbitrary mode of proceeding raised him many 
enemies. The Turks, who no longer contented themselves 
vfith irruptions on the frontiers, but had formed establish¬ 
ments in various parts of the empire, now found themselves 
called in by thedifferent factions, whose discords they foment¬ 
ed, and thus gained a permanent footing. Ruselius, a native 
of Gaul, obtained several advantages over them ; and this, 
reinforced by the weakness of the government which he 
served, inspired him with the resolution of declaring himself 
emperor. Alexius Comnenus, a young officer, but already 
advantageously known by his victories, was sent against 
Vol. XXII. No. 1505. 
M E. The Eastern Empire. 329 
him, and this rebellion was quelled by the captivity of 
Ruselius. 
Soon after, however, two generals of the same name of 
Nicephorus, but distinguished by the surnames of Bryennius 
and Botaniates, placed themselves at the head of the Euro¬ 
pean and Asiatic legions, and assumed the purpTe, the one at 
Adrianople, the other at Nice. Bryennius soon displayed his 
standards before the gates of Constantinople; but instead of 
meeting with support, as he expected, his troops were repulsed 
by the inhabitants: while Botaniates, advancing with slow 
and cautious steps, was received with the acclamations of the 
people, and the approbation of the senate. The feeble empe¬ 
ror preferred resigning the crown to the perpetual fatigues of 
defending it; and was rewarded with a monastic habit, and 
the title of archbishop of Ephesus. He left a son, Constan¬ 
tine, born and educated in the purple; and a daughter of the 
family of Ducas afterwards intermarried with, and confirmed 
the succession of the Comnenian dynasty. 
Alexius, whose history will now deserve to be detailed, 
the nephew of the emperor Isaac, and the third son of John 
Comnenus, who had refused the imperial sceptre, was one 
of the last who deserted the cause of Michael, and probably 
would have preserved his fidelity longer, had not that empe¬ 
ror made a voluntary resignation of his power. In his first 
interview with Botaniates, “ Prince,” said Alexius, “ my 
duty rendered me your enemy; the decrees of God and the 
people have made me your subject: judge of my future loy¬ 
ally by my past opposition.” The successor of Michael heard 
him with complacency, and entertained him with esteem and 
confidence. The soldiers, who had been gradually assem¬ 
bled in the vicinity of the capital, devoted themselves to the 
cause of a gallant and injured general; and Alexius, with the 
applause of the army, and by the generous consent of his elder 
brother, was invested with the imperial purple. • Constantino¬ 
ple was surprised ; and the aged Botaniates,yielding to the ad¬ 
vice of the patriarch Cosmas, resigned the empire rather than 
sufferthe capital to be stained with Christian blood. Proceeding 
to the principal church, he deposited his imperial robes on the 
altar, and from thence retired to a cloister, where he assumed 
the habit of a monk. 
The article Croisade has already, in great measure, antici¬ 
pated what belongs to the present period of our history; and 
under Arabia, all that is interwoven with the Roman history 
of the Saracens, has received due notice.—In the former of 
those articles, the care with which Alexius divided the cru¬ 
saders, and the timid, though prudent policy which he ob¬ 
served towards them in general, have been mentioned. After 
the fanatic warriors of the cross had conquered and quar¬ 
relled, the cautious policy of the emperor of the east possessed 
him of several advantages. He had early secured Nice; and 
the Turks, menacedfrom that important station, evacuated the 
vicinity of Constantinople ; while the imperial banner was 
soon displayed from the islesof Rhodes and Chios; and from 
the Hellespont to the banks of the Mseander, and the rocky 
shores of Pamphylia, the authority of the emperor was once 
more restored. 
The murmurs of the Latins, however, loudly accused the 
conduct and sincerity of Comnenus ; they had sworn alle¬ 
giance to him in hopes of protection, but his selfish desertion 
of them implied a dissolution of the obligation. Thepower 
of the sultans had been shaken by successive victories; 
they retired to Iconium, three hundred miles from the walls of 
Constantinople ; and the first crusade may justly be said to 
have delayed the fall of the declining empire of the East. 
The disorders of the times at once formed the glory and the 
misfortune of Alexius. At the head of his armies, he was 
bold iu action, skilful in stratagem, patient of fatigue, ready 
to improve his advantages, and rising from his defeat with 
inexhaustible vigour. In his intercourse with the Latins he 
was subtle and discerning; and he balanced, with superior 
policy, the interests and the passions of the champions of the 
first crusade ; but the long duration and severity of his reign, 
wearied the patience of Constantinople, and before Alexius 
expired, he had lost the love and reverence of his subjects. 
4 P E ven 
