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A descendant of Alexius I, Isaac was chosen as emperor on the death by mob of
Andronicus I. Not really up to the task of dealing with all the empire's many problems, Isaac nevertheless acquitted himself with some dignity. He fought bravely in person against the ever
troublesome Bulgars, but eventually had to accept the existence of an independent Bulgarian state. The usurpation in Cyprus of Isaac Comnenus was defeated not by the Byzantines, but by Richard I of England, who kept the island for
himself. Having failed utterly to break the Bulgarians, Isaac was deposed, blinded and imprisoned by Alexius, his elder brother, who ascended the throne as Alexius III. In a curious
postscript, Isaac was briefly restored to his throne, along with his son, Alexius IV, in 1203, in the face of the invading crusaders who were about to capture Constantinople. The pair did not last long, and after six months were
both murdered. |
