Editing Komnenos (section)

==Komnenoi as emperors==
[[File:Alexius I.jpg|thumb|upright=0.65|Alexios I Komnenos]]
Under Alexios I and his successors the Empire was fairly prosperous and stable. Alexios moved the imperial palace to the [[Blachernae]] section of [[Constantinople]]. Much of [[Anatolia]] was recovered from the [[Seljuk Turks]], who had captured it just prior to Alexios' reign. Alexios also saw the [[First Crusade]] pass through Byzantine territory, leading to the establishment of the [[Crusader states]] in the east. The Komnenos dynasty was very much involved in [[crusade]]r affairs, and also intermarried with the reigning families of the [[Principality of Antioch]] and the [[Kingdom of Jerusalem]]; [[Theodora Komnene, Queen of Jerusalem|Theodora Komnene]], niece of [[Manuel I Komnenos]], married [[Baldwin III of Jerusalem]], and [[Maria Komnene, Queen of Jerusalem|Maria]], grandniece of Manuel, married [[Amalric I of Jerusalem]].

Remarkably, Alexios ruled for 37 years, and his son [[John II Komnenos|John II]] ruled for 25, after uncovering a conspiracy against him by his sister, the chronicler [[Anna Komnene]]. John's son Manuel ruled for another 37 years.

The Komnenos dynasty produced a number of branches. As imperial succession was not in a determined order but rather depended on personal power and the wishes of one's predecessor, within a few generations several relatives were able to present themselves as claimants. After Manuel I's reign the Komnenos dynasty fell into conspiracies and plots like many of its predecessors (and the various contenders within the family sought power and often succeeded in overthrowing the preceding kinsman); [[Alexios II Komnenos|Alexios II]], the first Komnenos to ascend as a minor, ruled for three years and his conqueror and successor [[Andronikos I Komnenos|Andronikos I]] ruled for two, overthrown by the Angelos family under Isaac II who was dethroned and blinded by his own brother Alexios III. The Angeloi were overthrown during the [[Fourth Crusade]] in 1204, by [[Alexios V Doukas]], a relative from the Doukas family.