bby_1110702 - ISAAC II ANGELUS Aspron trachy (scyphate)

ISAAC II ANGELUS

(09/12/1185 - 04/8/1195)

Isaac is a female descendant of Alexis I Comnenus. After the assassination of Andronicus I Comnenus after the capture of Thessalonica in 1185, Isaac II inherited a decaying Empire. Caught between Bulgarian power and the expansionist aims of the Crusaders, he was finally deposed and blinded by his older brother Alexis III Ange-Comnenus. Eight years later, after the capture of Constantinople by the Venetians, Isaac II regained the throne associated with Alexis IV Ange, his son. They were finally both assassinated by the populace on January 28, 1204. On April 12, 1204, the Crusaders took Constantinople, ransacked and looted the city.