1081 1082 1083 1084 1085 1086 1087 1088 1089 1090
The Byzantine emperor Nicephorus III abdicates under pressure from his general Alexius Comnenus, now 33, who seizes power with support from his brother Isaac, his mother, Anna Dalessena, and the Ducas family of his wife, Irene (see 1079). He is crowned April 4, signs a commercial treaty with Venice, and will reign until his death in 1118 as Alexius I Comnenus, restoring at least some of the strength that has been lost in the past 50 years as a result of losses to the Normans and Turks. The Norman Robert Guiscard invades the Balkans with his tall and handsome son Marc, who is nicknamed Bohemond after a legendary giant. They land in Epirus and lay siege to the Byzantine city of Durazzo (see 1082).
The German king Heinrich IV invades Italy and places Matilda of Canossa (la gran contessa of Tuscany) under the imperial ban for supporting Pope Gregory VII. Heinrich accepts the Lombard crown at Pavia and forces a council to recognize the archbishop of Ravenna as Pope Clement III.
