Though previous Byzantine emperors had used "basileus kai autokrator Romaion" ("Emperor and Autocrat of the Romans"), Alexios III's title separated "basileus" from the rest and replaced its position with "augoustos" ("Augustus", the old Roman imperial title), creating the possible interpretation that Alexios III was simply "an" emperor ("Basileus") and besides that also the "moderator Romanorum" ("Autocrat of the Romans") but not explicitly "the" Roman emperor, so that he was no longer in direct competition with his rival in Germany and that his title was less provocative to the West in general.