Alexios I Komnenos overthrows the Byzantine emperor Nikephoros III Botaneiates, and, after his troops spend three days extensively looting Constantinople, is formally crowned on April 4.

Alexios I Komnenos

Byzantine emperor from 1081 to 1118

Alexios I Komnenos, Latinized as Alexius I Comnenus, was Byzantine emperor from 1081 to 1118. After usurping the throne, he was faced with a collapsing empire and constant warfare throughout his reign, Alexios was able to curb the Byzantine decline and begin the military,…

List of Byzantine emperors

The foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, which fell to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as legitimate rulers and exercised sovereign authority are included, to the exclusion of junior…

Nikephoros III Botaneiates

Byzantine Emperor from 1078 to 1081

Nikephoros III Botaneiates, Latinized as Nicephorus III Botaniates, was Byzantine Emperor from 7 January 1078 to 1 April 1081. He became a general during the reign of Byzantine Emperor Constantine IX Monomachos, serving with distinction during the Pecheneg revolt of 1048–1053.…

April 1

Day of the year

April 1 is the 91st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 274 days remain until the end of the year.

Constantinople

Capital of the Eastern Roman and Ottoman empires

Constantinople was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman, Byzantine, Latin and Ottoman empires between its consecration in 330 and 1930, when it was renamed Istanbul. Initially as New Rome, Constantinople was founded in 324 during the…