Isaac II Angelos

Uncommon card · No. 152867

Isaac II Komnenos Angelos or Angelus (Greek: Ἰσαάκιος Κομνηνός Ἄγγελος, romanized: Isaákios Komnēnós Ángelos; September 1156 – 28 January 1204) was Byzantine Emperor from 1185 to 1195, and co-Emperor with his son Alexios IV Angelos from 1203 to 1204. In an 1185 revolt against the Emperor Andronikos Komnenos, Isaac seized power and rose to the Byzantine throne, establishing the Angelos family as the new imperial dynasty. Born into a powerful family related to the Comneni , he possessed a certain legitimacy to hold imperial power and relied on various groups within the Byzantine aristocracy to consolidate his authority. Nevertheless, he was immediately confronted with the significant challenges facing the Byzantine Empire at the time. Indeed, revolts and secessions multiplied on several fronts, in addition to external threats such as the Normans , whom he struggled to repel upon his accession to the throne. Forced to replenish the Empire's coffers, he increased taxes and provoked a serious...

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