The Greek emperor Alexios in the first vitae of St Simeon Nemanja

In the wider context of references to the "Greek" i.e. Byzantine Emperors in the first saints? lives of the Nemanjic dynasty, we turn our attention here to the nature and historical background of references to the Byzantine Emperor Alexios III Angelos in the founder?s Vita of the Venerable Simeon Nemanja by St Sava (written as a prologue of the Typikon for Studenica monastery), and the reasons for the omission of any such reference from the Vita of St Simeon Nemanja written by Stefan the First Crowned, both viewed in the context of the impact of current political circumstances on the historiographical criteria applied by the two writers as they assembled these official texts of celebrative, but also of historical and commemorative nature.