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Byzantine Empire Dbq Analysis

Decent Essays

Another way the crusades led to the fall of the Byzantine Empire was the presence of weak leadership. For instance, Emperor Alexius is anxious to gain loyalty and strength because his empire is weaker internally; therefore he forces loyalty oaths. Alexius’s need to make other leaders take an oath proves he was not a strong enough leader to deserve the respect of the people, therefore resulting in the people revolting, causing everlasting internal damage (Doc 2.) A chronicler is a person who writes accounts of important or historical events or people. Therefore, it is Anna Comnena’s job to write down her father’s actions and interactions, she is unbiased because she shows the weakness of her father and does not write to boast about how great her father is. All in all, Anna writes in a …show more content…

The Hagia Sophia was one of the greatest Orthodox churches built by Justinian. Alexius IV in other words destroys the empire and lowers religious values. The empire and the emperor must be so vulnerable and powerless to have to burn religious icons in order to pay enemies. In essence, the melting of religious icons demonstrates the emperor’s weakness to sustain society. The turning against religious values made the citizens of the Byzantine Empire revolt, causing more internal conflict, which allows the Turks to devise ways to conquer the "holy lands" (Doc5.) Jonathon’s Phillips secondary source includes a primary a source where the tone is miserable and the person who is watching this empire crumble is in horror and complete sadness. This document shows Alexius IV has come to his last resort and began to destroy his one unifying element in his society. Alexius IV had to choose religion or the protection of his empire, and as most emperors would, he chose to protect society rather than preserving religion. The excerpt from The Letter of Alexius, the reader can clearly see the vulnerability of the

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