Hello everyone and welcome to the history of Byzantium, Episode 191, the sack of Annie.

In our last episode we moved from the death of Monomachos to the elevation of Isaac,

Komni-Nos. In between we waved goodbye to the Macedonian dynasty and the short reign of Michael VI.

The reigns of Theodora, Herunus and the aging Michael had brought the empire to a point where the

last drops of Basil II's legitimacy had finally run dry. Basil spent his life trying to tame the army

to stop it from imposing its will on the palace, and he'd been very successful.

But by the time Monomachos was on the throne, the military were getting twitchy.

Two army rebellions failed to unseat him, but now in 1057 they succeeded in getting one of their

own on the throne. And just in time too, it's been nine years since the outbreak of the Petscheneg

and the financial crisis it provoked has yet to be seriously tackled.

Isaac Komni-Nos was born around 1007. His father, Manuil, was one of Basil II's most loyal generals.

Manuil died in 1020 and entrusted the care of his two sons to the emperor himself.

Basil lodged Isaac and younger brother John at the studios monastery. This kept them close to

the court and ensured they would receive a first-class education. Basil also arranged for Isaac

to marry one of the Bulgarian princesses that he'd scooped up during his victory lap of the Balkans.

Isaac joined the imperial bodyguard and was then promoted to become a general,

eventually rising to the position of senior east and commander during the reign of Manu-Machos.

It was this seniority that led his co-conspirators to choose the 50-year-old Isaac as the new emperor

when they rose in revolt in 1057. And for those of you wondering, the more famous Komni-Nos

Alexias is Isaac's nephew. At this moment, a precocious toddler.

Isaac sailed into the city the same day that Michael VI took his monastic vows and according to

Selos began work immediately on restoring the empire to good health.

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