c. 1182–1204 · Byzantine co-emperor (1203–1204)
Alexios IV Angelos
Son of the deposed Isaac II Angelos; by making great promises to the leaders of the Fourth Crusade he diverted the army to Constantinople, became co-emperor in 1203 and was killed in early 1204.
BIOGRAPHICAL DOSSIER
Life and historical role
Life and political setting
Alexios's father Isaac II had been deposed and blinded by his brother Alexios III in 1195. The young Alexios escaped from Constantinople in 1201, went to the West and sought support at the court of his brother-in-law Philip of Swabia.
Role in the Crusades
In the winter of 1202–1203 he promised the crusade leaders at Zara that if restored he would pay their debts to Venice, provide troops and money for the Egyptian campaign and bring the Byzantine church under Rome. When the crusaders attacked Constantinople in July 1203, Alexios III fled; Alexios was made co-emperor with his father. But he could not keep his promises; he was deposed in a palace coup in January 1204 and strangled in early February on the orders of Alexios V Mourtzouphlos.
Historical significance and source problems
Alexios IV's death and the unpaid debts were the direct pretext for the crusaders' capture and sack of the city in April 1204. Villehardouin, Robert of Clari and Niketas Choniates assess his promises and weaknesses from different angles.
Biographical information is linked to the sources shown on the page and to the connected event records. Disputed dates are given as approximate, gaps are not filled by conjecture, and later literary or visual depictions are not treated as contemporary portraits.