Medieval and Manuscripts

Byzantine Empire under the Doukas dynasty

The Byzantine Empire was ruled by emperors of the Doukas dynasty between 1059 and 1081. There are six emperors and co-emperors of this period: the dynasty's founder, Emperor Constantine X Doukas (r. 1059–1067), his brother John Doukas, katepano and later Caesar, Romanos IV Diogenes (r. 1068–1071), Constantine's son Michael VII Doukas (r. 1071–1078), Michael's son and co-emperor Constantine Doukas, and finally Nikephoros III Botaneiates (r. 7 January 1078 – 1 April 1081), who claimed descent from the Phokas family. Under the rule of the Doukids, Byzantium was fighting a losing battle against the Seljuk Turks, losing most of its remaining possessions in Asia Minor following the catastrophic defeat at the Battle of Manzikert in 1071 and the following civil war after the death of Romanos IV Diogenes. Byzantium also incurred substantial loss of territory in the Balkans, to the Serbs, as well as losing its final foothold in Italy, to the Normans. Although the Komnenai temporarily restored the Empire during the 12th century with help from the Crusades, the empire crumbled again under the succeeding Angeloi, leading to the sacking of Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade. The empire never recovered fully from this blow and the fragmentation it brought, and entered a terminal decline under the Palaiologoi, marked by civil war and constant warfare with neighbouring states. The remnants were then gradually conquered by the Ottomans in the late medieval period, ending with the capture of Constantinople in 1453. In 1077, Alexios Komnenos, then a general, married Irene Doukaina, the great-niece of Constantine X. His marriage to a Doukaina made him senior to his elder brother Isaac, and it was Doukai financial and political support that largely facilitated the successful coup that brought him to the throne.

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See also

• ▸Chertsey Abbey
• ▸Agrinio
• ▸Church of the Holy Family (Barletta)

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Text from Wikipedia; plate via Wikimedia Commons. Text CC BY-SA 4.0; plate freely licensed (see Commons). Source record. Images and catalogue data are reproduced from open-access collections.