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| 1180–83 |
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| Alexius II Comnenus, the son of Manuel, who ruled under the regency of his mother, Maria of Antioch. The regent relied almost entirely on Latins in her service. | 1 |
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| 1182 |
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| Revolt of the populace of Constantinople against the Latins, officials, and traders, who were brutally cut down in a great massacre. The mob forced the proclamation of Andronicus I Comnenus. | 2 |
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| 1183–85 |
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| Andronicus, an uncle of the boy-emperor. He ruled first as co-emperor but in 1183 had Alexius strangled and became sole ruler. Through persecution, confiscations, and executions, Andronicus cleaned the court circle; got rid of the hated Latins; abolished the sale of offices, sinecures, etc.; reformed the judiciary; lightened the taxes. All this was a policy directed against the powerful official and landed aristocracy and, had it been carried through, might have led to a thoroughgoing reform of the empire. | 3 |
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| 1185 |
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| The Norman attack. The Normans took Durazzo, sent an army and a navy against Salonika, which they stormed, and massacred the Greeks. This attack led to a revolt of the Greek nobility against Andronicus, who was deposed, tortured, and executed. | 4 |
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| 1185 |
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| Victory of the Byzantine general Alexius Branas over the Normans at Demetritsa. By 1191 the Normans were driven out of the Balkans and even out of Durazzo and Corfu. | 5 |
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| 1185–88 |
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| The great insurrection in Bulgaria, led by Peter and Asen. This was due primarily to the extortion of the imperial fiscal agents. The revolt was supported by the Cumans and resulted in the devastation of much of the Balkan region and the annihilation of much of the Greek population. Though at times successful, the Greek commanders were unable to suppress the movement, which resulted in the formation of a new Bulgarian state north of the Balkan Mountains (1188). | 6 |
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| 1185–95 |
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| ISAAC ANGELUS, leader of the insurgents. His accession meant a return of the old negligence and corruption. Within a brief time, the entire empire began to disintegrate. In the provinces, the powerful families (i.e., Sguros in Greece; Gabras at Trebizond) began to set up as independent potentates. | 7 |
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| 1187 |
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| Fall of Jerusalem. Isaac, in fear of another crusade, allied himself with Saladin. | 8 |
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| 1189 |
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| The Third Crusade (See 1189–92). Frederick Barbarossa was welcomed in Bulgaria by Asen, who offered him an army for use against the empire. But Frederick avoided friction, and Isaac did not oppose the crossing of the Crusaders into Anatolia. The death of Saladin (1193) relieved the danger from the east. | 9 |
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| 1190–94 |
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| Continuation of the war in Bulgaria. The Byzantine forces were defeated at Berrhoe (1190) and at Arcadiopolis (1194). | 10 |
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| 1195–1203 |
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| ALEXIUS III, the brother of Isaac, whom he deposed and blinded. | 11 |
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| 1196 |
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| The Western emperor, Henry VI, heir to the Norman domains, demanded Durazzo and Thessalonica. Alexius settled for a huge monetary payment, and Henry's death (1197) removed the immediate threat from that quarter. | 12 |
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