ISAAC I., COIVINErNUS f ?-1 061 ) . Byzan tine Emperor from 1057 to 1059. 11e was the first of the line of the Comneni to ascend the throne, though his family had been for some time prominent in both military and civil capacities. In 1057 lie was proclaimed Emperor by the landed aristocracy in opposition to VI., whom he defeated and deposed. On his accession be found the affairs of the Empire in a very had condition; rebellion within, aggression without, and the treasury exhausted. lie sueeeedod m establishing a system of great economy in all hranehes of the administration. and, in order still further to lighten the burden of taxes on the people, called upon the clergy to contribute their share. But the clergy refused to endure the im position of any such burdens, and the Patriarch Miehael is reported to have even threatened him with deposition. Death delivered Isaac of this
formidable opponent, and the clergy were eom yelled to submit. In 1059 he repelled the Hun garians, who had encroached upon his possessions in the northwest, but soon afterwards lie was at tacked by a violent fever, and, believing his death approaching, appointed his famous general, Con stantine Ducas, as his successor. Ile recovered from his illness, but nevertheless resigned the crown and retired to a convent, where he died after two years. Isaac was not deficient in liter ary attainments. We still possess his Scholia on Homer, his favorite authcr; further, a work, Characteristics, dealing with the Greek and Tro jan chiefs mentioned in Homer; and, finally, a treatise entitled On the Works of Homer. Con sult Oman, The Byzantine Empire (London, 1892).