The Comneni Dynasty
The Comneni dynasty ruled the Roman Empire from the
collapse of the Armenian Dynasty of Basil.
They ruled from 1081 to 1204, for more than a hundred years. They began
at a high point in Roman power. In 1096, it was Alexius Comnenus who
welcomed the First Crusade to
Constantinople and gave them help and advice in capturing Jerusalem
from the Seljuks. In
the 1190's the Comneni quarrelled with Richard
of England when he took Cyprus away from them on the Third
Crusade. But the Comneni dynasty got weaker and weaker, and finally
ended in crisis, with the Venetians
taking over the city.
