v45_0897 - ALESSIO I COMNENO Histamenon nomisma

ALEXIUS I COMNENUS

(4/04/1081-15/08/1118)

Alexis I is the ancestor of a dynasty that would reign over Constantinople until 1204, when it was taken by the Crusaders. On a monetary level, Alexis reformed the gold coinage and created a new species, the hyperfather, a new solidus of 20 carats fine. Alexis I had to fight against the Normans. He tried to treat with the Italian republics, Pisa and Venice. At the end of his reign, he watched in despair as the Crusaders captured Jerusalem. Far from bringing together the Christians, separated by the Great Schism of 1054, this new intervention was to be the source of many conflicts between Byzantines and Crusaders..