Brisieis

Which Byzantine leader do you find the most interesting and why?

Labienus

My favorite one is undoubtedly Alexios I Komnenos. When he became emperor, the empire was suffering attacks from every direction(Turks in Anatolia, Pechenegs in the Danube region, Normans in Albania, etc.) and was falling apart, yet he managed to change completely its fortune.

Alexios' greatest asset was his political cunning and vision. I especially like how he dealt with the crusaders.

clement

Justinian and Heraclius are interesting but my personal favorites are John I Tzimiskes, Basil II, Alexios I Komnenos and John Komnenos.

Kirialax

I too am particularly fascinated by Alexios I Komnenos, enough so that I'm spending this entire academic year writing my honours' thesis on his life, policies, empire, and the Alexiad. I'm even applying to continue to study Alexios and the Alexiad at either Birmingham or Oxford next year, although funding constraints will likely see my working on early Byzantine history. The paper I'm working on right at this moment deals with some issues in reading the Alexiad, and I intend to submit it for publication in an undergraduate journal in the next few weeks.

Constantine V would probably be my second favourite, although Nikephoros Ouranos (a general of Basil II) and Michael Lachanodrakon (a general in the late eighth century) are also particularly fascinating. One can also not forget Tatikios and Boutoumites, the commanders of Alexios. Alexios V Mourzouphlos is another fascinating figure. In the non-military realm, Theodore the Stoudite and the patriarch Nikephoros I are well worth investigating, as are Cyril of Alexandria and Nestorius.

M.E.T.H.O.D.

I like Alexios I Komnenos for the reasons stated by Labienus.
Justinian I because he recaptured great portions of the former Western Roman Empire(even if this proved to be anachronistic) and supervised the creation of the greatest work about law in history(even thanks to his minister Tribonian): the Corpus Iuris Civilis, that preserved Roman traditions , the foundation for Medial law and for many legal principles still alive today.

I like Basil II Bulgaroktonos(Bulgar Slayer) for his military prowess.
Michael VIII, the man who reconquered Constantinople and defeated the "Franks" and restored many of its institutions.
Last but not least I appreciate the last(this time for real) emperor Constantine XI Palaiologos for his bravery and self sacrifice during the siege and subsequent capture of Constantinople by the Ottomans led by Mehmed II "The Conqueror".

Qymaen

Both Constantine "the Great", Justinian I, and Theodosius I are my three favorites.

Yaunâ

Alexios I Komnenos is definetely on my top list (As Manuel Komnenos and Heraclius and others), although the Komnenian period was a period during which the court and the aristocracy were much related, especially that of the landowners. I believe that along with the rise of the Venetian and Genoese merchants of Constantinople of course (the privileges that Alexios I Komnenos gave to the Venetian merchants was a big mistake) these were some of the reasons of the economic decline of the Empire.

cannelidis1

I really like Constantine Palaeologus. He was a great leader born in the wrong era of Byzantine history. The determination he had to make a last stand for Constantinople and her people is admirable. He refused to be the Emperor who lost the city of Constantinople to the Turks.

Kirialax

I'd blame it on Byzantine chauvinism, instead. Jonathan Harris has argued that the economic concessions that Alexios gave actually increased the wealth of the empire, because it brought more Italians to the east. The removal of the kommerkion did not really hurt the coffers with the increased traffic because they simply weren't charging it twice anymore. They were still charging it: the Byzantine merchants who were dealing with the Venetians were still paying it, and that cost was undoubtedly reflected back upon the prices the Italians paid. The Komnenian emperors seem to have been richer in general and the Empire more economically viable after Alexios reformed the currency. Urban life appears again, populations rise substantially, the gold standard coin which had been in serious decline in the eleventh century was restored to its former glory.

DreamWeaver

I rather like Heraclius