ALEXANDER I

born Dec. 23 [Dec. 12, old style], 1777, St. Petersburg, Russia died Dec. 1 [Nov. 19, O.S.], 1825, Taganrog Russian in full Aleksandr Pavlovich emperor of Russia (180125), who alternately fought and befriended Napoleon I during the Napoleonic Wars but who ultimately (181315) helped form the coalition that defeated the emperor of the French. He took part in the Congress of Vienna (181415), drove for the establishment of the Holy Alliance (1815), and took part in the conferences that followed. born Dec. 16 [Dec. 4, old style], 1888, Cetinje, Montenegro died Oct. 9, 1934, Marseille king of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes (192129) and of Yugoslavia (192934), who struggled to create a united state out of his politically and ethnically divided collection of nations. The second son of Peter Karageorgevic (king of Serbia 190318 and king of the Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes 191821) and Zorka of Montenegro, Alexander spent his early youth in Geneva with his father, then in exile from Serbia, and in 1899 went to St. Petersburg, where he entered the Russian imperial corps of pages (1904). In 1909, however, when his elder brother renounced his right of succession, Alexander, having become heir apparent, joined his family in Serbia. A distinguished commander in the Balkan Wars of 191213, Alexander was appointed regent of Serbia by the ailing king Peter (June 24, 1914) and during World War I served as commander in chief of Serbia's armed forces, entering Belgrade in triumph on Oct. 31, 1918. As prince regent, he proclaimed the creation of the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, on Dec. 1, 1918. The instability of the new state was demonstrated by an attempted assassination on the day (June 28, 1921) that Alexander swore an oath to uphold the constitution. Nevertheless, on August 16 he succeeded his father as king and on June 8, 1922, he married Marie, a daughter of Ferdinand I of Romania. Later Alexander attempted to consolidate the rival nationality groups and political parties into a unified state. During the 1920s mounting political tensions forced numerous changes in government ministers and culminated in the murder of several Croat deputies by a Montenegrin deputy during a Skuptina (parliament) session (June 20, 1928). The Croat members then withdrew from the Skuptina; and, because Alexander could neither negotiate a satisfactory compromise for restructuring the body nor form an effective government, he dissolved it, abolished the constitution of 1921, and established a royal dictatorship (Jan. 6, 1929). Continuing his efforts to unify his subjects, he changed the name of the country to Yugoslavia (Oct. 3, 1929), outlawed all political parties based on ethnic, religious, or regional distinctions, reorganized the state administratively, and standardized legal systems, school curricula, and national holidays. He also tried to relieve the peasantry's financial difficulties, and he eased relations with Bulgaria (1933) and engaged Yugoslavia in the Little Entente (with Czechoslovakia and Romania) and the Balkan Entente, an alliance with Greece, Turkey, and Romania (1934). In the process Alexander created a police state that required military support for survival. When a new constitution was promulgated (Sept. 3, 1931), the dictatorship was, in effect, given a legal foundation. Although Alexander's acts were at first well received, demands for a return to democratic forms intensified by 1932, when a major economic crisis resulting from the worldwide depression added to political dissatisfaction. As a result, Alexander seriously considered restoring a parliamentary form of government; but before he was able to do so, he was assassinated by an agent of Croatian separatists while making a state visit to France. born c. 1080 died April 1124, probably Stirling, Stirlingshire, Scot. Alexander I of Scotland king of Scotland from 1107 to 1124. The son of King Malcolm III Canmore (reigned 105893), Alexander succeeded to the throne upon the death of his brother King Edgar (ruled 10971107). In accordance with Edgar's instructions, Alexander allowed his younger brother and heir, David, to rule southern Scotland. Alexander probably acknowledged King Henry I of England as his overlord. He married Henry's illegitimate daughter, Sibylla, and in 1114 he led a Scottish contingent in Henry's Welsh campaigns. Nevertheless, Alexander strove to preserve the independence of the Scottish Church from the English Church and to assert his will over the Scottish bishops. The outcome of these struggles was inconclusive at his death. He was succeeded by David (David I, 112453), who ruled over the whole of Scotland. born April 5, 1857, Verona, Venice died Nov. 17, 1893, Graz, Austria the first prince of modern autonomous Bulgaria. The son of Prince Alexander of Hesse (previously created prince of Battenberg upon his morganatic marriage) and a favourite nephew of Alexander II of Russia, Alexander served during 1877 with the Russian forces in the Russo-Turkish War (187778), which resulted in the autonomy of Bulgaria. In accordance with the provisions of the Congress of Berlin (1878), Alexander was elected constitutional prince of the newly autonomous Bulgarian state on April 29, 1879, but he had to deal with a strong Russian interference in domestic affairs. Saddled with what he regarded as an absurd liberal constitution, however, he set himself to undermining the state's constitutional bases, first dissolving the national assembly (1880) and then suspending the constitution and assuming for himself plenary powers (1881). With the deterioration of his relations with Russia after the accession of Alexander III, however, he restored the constitution (1883) and accepted a new liberalconservative coalition government to combat Russian influence. When the annexation of Eastern Rumelia by Bulgaria (September 1885) further exacerbated Russo-Bulgarian relations, the Tsar was determined to drive Prince Alexander from his throne. In Serbia passions were also aroused, and war resulted (November 1885). Alexander successfully led Bulgarian troops against the Serbs and by late November 1885 had pushed into Serbian territory. Under Austrian pressure, however, he was forced to accept an armistice and a peace confirming the status quo (Treaty of Bucharest, March 1886), though he later won the recognition of the Great Powers for Eastern Rumelia's union with Bulgaria (April 1886). Finally, a pro-Russian officers' coup on Aug. 21, 1886, forced him to abdicate, and under heavy guard he was conducted out of the country. He returned shortly to reclaim his crown but, after failing to win the support of Russia, formally abdicated on Sept. 7, 1886. He later assumed the title Graf von Hartenau and served as a general in the Austrian Army. died c. 450 BC byname Alexander Philhellene, or Alexander The Wealthy 10th king of ancient Macedonia, who succeeded his father, Amyntas I, about 500 BC. More than a decade earlier, Macedonia had become a vassal state of Persia; and in 480 Alexander was obliged to accompany Xerxes I in a campaign through Greece, though he secretly aided the Greek allies. With Xerxes' apparent acquiescence, Alexander seized the Greek colony of Pydna and advanced his frontiers eastward to the Strymon, taking in Crestonia and Bisaltia, with the rich silver deposits of Mt. Dysorus. It was probably Alexander who organized the mass of his people as a hoplite army called pezhetairoi (foot companions), with rudimentary political rights, to act as a counterweight to the nobility, the cavalry hetairoi (companions). His byname, the Philhellene, indicates his efforts to win Greek sympathies; and he obtained admission to the Olympic games. From Persian spoil he erected a golden statue at Delphi, and he entertained the poet Pindar at his court. Additional reading N. Schilder, Imperator Aleksandr Pervy, 4 vol. (18901904), in Russian; Grand-Duke Nicolas Mikhailovitch, Le Tsar Alexandre Ier, 2 vol. (1900); and A. Vandal, Napolon et Alexandre, 3 vol. (189196), though old, are still the three most important biographies written since the authorsand especially the two first mentionedhad access to many state and family papers. Two good studies in English are Martha E. Almedingen, The Emperor Alexander I (1964); and Michael Jenkins, Arakcheev: Grand Vizier of the Russian Empire (1969).