Alexios III Angelos Αλέξιος Γ’ Άγγελος |
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Alexios III from Promptuarii Iconum Insigniorum
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Emperor of the Byzantine Empire | |
Reign | 1195–1203 |
Predecessor | Isaac II Angelos |
Successor | Isaac II Angelos and Alexios IV Angelos |
Born | c. 1153 |
Died | 1211 |
Spouse | Euphrosyne Doukaina Kamatera |
Issue | Eirine Angelina Anna Komnene Angelina Eudokia Angelina |
Dynasty | Angelos dynasty |
Father | Andronikos Doukas Angelos |
Mother | Euphrosyne Kastamonitissa |
Alexios III Angelos (Greek: Αλέξιος Γ' Άγγελος) (c. 1153 – 1211) was Byzantine Emperor from March 1195 to July 17/18, 1203. A member of the extended imperial family, Alexios came to throne after deposing, blinding, and imprisoning his younger brother Isaac II Angelos. The most significant event of his reign was the attack of the Fourth Crusade on Constantinople in 1203, on behalf of Alexios IV Angelos. Alexios III took over the defense of the city, which he mismanaged, then fled the city at night with one of his three daughters. From Adrianople, and then Mosynopolis, he unsuccessfully attempted to rally his supporters, only to end up a captive of Marquis Boniface of Montferrat. He was ransomed, sent to Asia Minor where he plotted against his son-in-law Theodore Laskaris, but was eventually arrested and spent his last days confined to the Monastery of Hyakinthos in Nicaea, where he died.
Alexios III Angelos was the second son of Andronikos Doukas Angelos and Euphrosyne Kastamonitissa. Andronikos was himself a son of Theodora Komnene Angelina, the youngest daughter of Emperor Alexios I Komnenos and Irene Doukaina. Thus Alexios Angelos was a member of the extended imperial family. Together with his father and brothers, Alexios had conspired against Emperor Andronikos I Komnenos (c. 1183), and thus he spent several years in exile in Muslim courts, including that of Saladin.