Alexios Angelos
Alexios Angelos was Emperor Isaac Angelos's brother, and later Emperor himself from 1195 to 1203.
History
In 1195, Alexios was in the court of Isaac Angelos at the Great Palace when Shahrizad told the tale of Youhanna Al Diyab. When she refused to finish the tale after the Emperor expressed his desire for her to continue, Alexios found her actions disrespectful. Isaac ultimately deferred to the storyteller, and Alexios withdrew his objection, noting – publicly – that the Emperor must have wanted to be disrespected.
It is likely that, at some point before these events, Alexios hired Modi of the Varangian Guard to steal the Eye of Odin from the Palace's archives. Shortly after Modi and Magni were relieved of their duties that evening, Modi robbed the Palace's archives, killing Abu Jafar Ahmad Ibn Yusuf Ibn Al-Kammad in the process. While Modi threw suspicion on a young Scotsman, Alexios accused Demona of taking the Eye of Odin, claiming to have overheard a discussion between the gargoyle and archivist earlier that evening. As the suspects were rounded up and taken to their respective cells, Alexios conferred with the Emperor.
After the Scotsman was revealed to be innocent and the true culprit was Modi, Alexios convinced the Emperor to let him go, noting his ten years of loyalty and arguing it would be unfair to expect Magni to apprehend him. Shahrizad, already aware of the Alexio's attitude from earlier that night, suggested that Modi might not be the only one to resent the Emperor. As a result, it is likely he heard Shahrizad tell the tale of Cain and Abel the following evening.
If Modi and Alexios were in league together, then Alexios probably never learned that the stolen Eye of Odin was, in fact, a duplicate, with the true talisman already swapped by Demona. ("Fallen From the Ranks...")
Appearances
Real World Background
Alexios Angelos (in Greek, Ἀλέξιος Ἄγγελος) would, in fact, later usurp his younger brother Isaac Angelos shortly after the events of the comic in the spring of 1195. He would reign as Alexios Komnenos, in an attempt to associate himself with the dynasty his brother deposed ten years earlier.
See Also
- Alexios Angelos at Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia
