GOTHIC

The Gothic Era in Western Europe coincided with the end of the Middle Byzantine and, for the most part, the Late Byzantine era, a period of gradual decline that ended with the fall of Constantinople to the Ottomans. A notable figure of this era was Alexios I Komnenos, emperor from 1081 to 1118 and founder of the Komnenian dynasty. Assuming the throne at a time of acute administrative, economic and military disarray, Alexios, with considerable effort, succeeded in stabilising and consolidating the Byzantine state. He fought long wars against powerful enemies such as the Normans, the Pechenegs and the Seljuk Turks, while he also dealt successfully with the challenge of the First Crusade, recovering substantial territories of the empire. He reformed the monetary system and reorganised the economy, which experienced a revival. Meanwhile, the literary renaissance that had begun in the 9th century was still ongoing, and Byzantine art continued to produce masterpieces. The Gothic made its way into the Greek world via the Crusaders, leaving us such interesting monuments as the Palace of the Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller in Rhodes. A detail of the Palace was selected for the background of the coin portraying Alexios.