DYNASTIC TROUBLES. 101 bis tale. He alleged that his father had ordered him to be thrown into the sea, but that he had been saved by his intend- ed executioners. He made his way to Iconium, told his tale to the sultan, who professed to believe that he was the person he represented himself to be, and received from him promises of aid. These promises were so far kept that he was allowed to raise volunteers, with whom he devastated the country round the Meander. The leaders sent against him feared to attack, because of the belief which existed among their own followers that Alexis was what he claimed to be. Even the emperor's brother shared this fear; and the pretender might have given much more serious trouble than he did if he had not been murdered in a private _[uarrel. Hardly was his death known than another impostor took the same name, pretended to the same origin, and obtained a following in Paphlagonia. His career, however, was soon cut short by the imperial troops. There were many other pretenders in the provinces. Even the capital was not free from such attempts. A nephew of Andronicos, named Isaac, who had escaped from prison, took refuge in Hagia Sophia, endeavored to raise the people, was captured, and died under torture. Andronicos, a son of Alex- is Comnenos, who was Governor of Salonica, w^as accused of an attempt to make himself emperor, was brought to the cap- ital to answer the charge, and was condemned to lose his eyes. Nicetas mentions other pretenders, both in the provinces and in the capital, whose attempts similarly failed, and justly at- tributes these revolts mainly to the weakness with which Isaac governed. It must be added, also, that the attacks which had been made during a generation past upon the throne and upon the empire had destroyed the reputation which had surround- ed the sovereign authority. For centuries after the emperors had lost the attributes of divinity they had yet been regarded as sacred personages. Though the doctrine of the divine right of kings, as known in England two centuries ago, had not yet been invented, there had yet been a sanction hedging in a king in the sense that rebellion had been regarded as a sin of the deepest die, as well as the greatest of crimes. Moreover, the growth of the commercial spirit was rapidly changing the
