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Byzantine Empire
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Byzantine Empire or Eastern Roman Empire
Ῥωμανία
was the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages,
Rhōmanía
centered on the capital of Constantinople, and
Romania
IMPERIUM ROMANUM
Roman Empire
ruled by emperors in direct succession to the
ancient Roman emperors. It was called the
Roman Empire, and also Romania (Greek:
←
330–1453
Ῥωμανία, Rhōmanía), by its inhabitants and its
→
neighbours. As the distinction between "Roman
Empire" and "Byzantine Empire" is purely a
modern convention, it is not possible to assign
a date of separation, but an important point is
the Emperor Constantine I's transfer in 324 of
the capital from Nicomedia (in Anatolia) to
Byzantium on the Bosphorus, which became
Constantinople (alternatively "New Rome").
[n 1]
Flag of the late Empire
Imperial emblem
(ca. 1350)
under the Palaiologo
During its existence of over a thousand years
the Empire remained one of the most powerful
economic, cultural, and military forces in
Europe, despite setbacks and territorial losses,
especially during the Roman–Persian and
Byzantine–Arab Wars. The Empire recovered
during the Macedonian dynasty, rising again to
become a pre-eminent power in the Eastern
Territorial development of the Empire
Capital
Greek, Latin
Religion
Roman paganism
until 391, Orthodox
Catholicism
(Eastern
Orthodoxy)
tolerated after the
Edict of Milan in
313 and state
religion after 391
Government
Emperor
- 306–337
Autocracy
rivalling the Fatimid Caliphate. After 1071,
however, much of Asia Minor, the Empire's
heartland, was lost to the Seljuk Turks. The
Komnenian restoration regained some ground
twelfth century, but following the death of
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byzantine_Empire
1
Language(s)
Mediterranean by the late tenth century,
and briefly re-established dominance in the
Constantinople
Constantine the
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Andronikos I Komnenos and the end of the
Komnenos dynasty in the late twelfth century
the Empire declined again. The Empire
received a mortal blow in 1204 by the Fourth
Crusade, when it was dissolved and divided
into competing Byzantine Greek and Latin
realms. Despite the eventual recovery of
Constantinople and re-establishment of the
Empire in 1261, under the Palaiologan
emperors, successive civil wars in the
fourteenth century further sapped the Empire's
strength. Most of its remaining territory was
lost in the Byzantine–Ottoman Wars,
culminating in the Fall of Constantinople and its
remaining territories to the Muslim Ottoman
Turks in the fifteenth century.
Contents
„
1 Nomenclature
„
2 History
„
2.1 Early History of the Roman
Empire
„
2.2 Division of the Roman Empire
„
2.3 Reconquest of the Western
„
- 1449–1453
Legislature
Byzantine Senate
Historical era
Late Antiquity-Late
Middle Ages
285
- Diocletian splits
imperial
administration
between east and
west
- Foundation of
2
Constantinople
- The deposition of
Romulus
Augustulus,
nominal emperor in
the west, brings
formal division of
the Roman Empire
to an end
- Pope Leo III,
hostile to the rule
of the Empress
Irene, attempts to
confer imperial
authority on the
Frankish king
Charlemagne
- East-West
Schism
- Fall of
Constantinople to
the Fourth Crusade
- Fall of
3
provinces
Constantinople
- Fall of Trebizond
2.4 The shrinking borders
Population
„
2.4.1 Heraclian dynasty
„
2.4.2 Isaurian dynasty to the
ascension of Basil I
„
Great
Constantine XI
2.5 Macedonian dynasty and
resurgence
„
2.5.1 Wars against the
Muslims
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byzantine_Empire
4
- 4th cent est.
- 8th cent (780
AD) est.
476
800
1054
1204
May 29, 1453
1461
34,000,000
7,000,000
4
12,000,000
4
10,000,000
- 11th cent (1025
AD) est.
- 12th cent (1143
AD) est.
- 13th cent (1281
AD) est.
Currency
May 11, 330
5,000,000
Solidus,
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„
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2.5.2 Wars against the
Hyperpyron
Bulgarian Empire
„
2.5.3 Relations with the
Kievan Rus'
„
2.5.4 The apex
„
2.6 Crisis and fragmentation
„
2.7 Komnenian dynasty and the
crusaders
„
2.7.1 Alexios I and the First
Crusade
„
2.7.2 John II, Manuel I and
the Second Crusade
„
2.7.3 Twelfth century
1
Constantinople (330–1204 and 1261–1453).
The capital of the Empire of Nicaea, the
empire after the Fourth Crusade, was at
Nicaea, present day İznik, Turkey.
2
Establishment date traditionally considered
to be the re-founding of Constantinople as
the capital of the Roman Empire (324/330)
[1]
although other dates are often used.
Date of end universally regarded as 1453,
despite the temporary survival of remnants in
3
[1]
Morea and Trebizond.
See Population of the Byzantine Empire for
more detailed figures taken provided by
4
McEvedy and Jones, "Atlas of world
population history", 1978, as well as Angeliki
E. Laiou, "The Economic History of
Byzantium", 2002.
Renaissance
„
„
2.8 Decline and disintegration
„
2.8.1 Dynasty of the Angeloi
„
2.8.2 Fourth Crusade
2.9 Fall
„
2.9.1 Empire in exile
„
2.9.2 Reconquest of
Constantinople
„
2.9.3 Rise of the Ottomans
and fall of Constantinople
„
„
2.10 Aftermath
3 Culture
„
3.1 Economy
„
3.2 Science, medicine, law
„
3.3 Religion
„
3.4 Art and literature
„
3.5 Government and bureaucracy
„
3.6 Diplomacy
„
3.7 Language
„
3.8 Legacy
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„
4 See also
„
5 Annotations
„
6 Notes
„
7 References
„
7.1 Primary sources
„
7.2 Secondary sources
„
8 Further reading
„
9 External links
„
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9.1 Byzantine studies, resources
and bibliography
„
9.2 Miscellaneous
Nomenclature
For more details on this topic, see Names of the Greeks.
The designation of the Empire as "Byzantine" began in Western Europe in 1557, when German
historian Hieronymus Wolf published his work Corpus Historiæ Byzantinæ, a collection of
Byzantine sources. "Byzantine" itself comes from "Byzantium" (a Greek city, founded by
colonists from Megara in 667 BC), the name of the city of Constantinople before it became the
capital of Constantine. This older name of the city would rarely be used from this point onward
except in historical or poetic contexts. The publication in 1648 of the Byzantine du Louvre
(Corpus Scriptorum Historiæ Byzantinæ), and in 1680 of Du Cange's Historia Byzantina further
[3]
popularized the use of Byzantine among French authors, such as Montesquieu.
It was not
until the nineteenth century, however, with the birth of modern Greece, that the term
"Byzantine" came into general use in the Western world. Before this time Greek had been used
for the Empire and its descendants within the Ottoman Empire.
The Empire was known to its inhabitants as the Roman Empire, the Empire of the Romans
(Latin: Imperium Romanum, Imperium Romanorum, Greek: Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn
[n 2]
Rhōmaíōn, Αρχη τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Arche tôn Rhōmaíōn), Romania
(Latin: Romania, Greek:
Ῥωμανία, Rhōmanía), the Roman Republic (Latin: Res Publica Romana, Greek: Πολιτεία τῶν
[5]
Ῥωμαίων, Politeίa tôn Rhōmaíōn),
and also as Rhōmaís (Ῥωμαΐς).
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[6]
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Although the empire had a multi-ethnic character during most of its history
Romano-Hellenistic traditions,
[8]
[n 3]
[9]
and preserved
it was usually known to most of its western and northern
contemporaries as the Empire of the Greeks
Greek element.
[7]
due to the increasing predominance of the
The use of the term Empire of the Greeks (Latin: Imperium Graecorum) in
the West to refer to the Eastern Roman Empire also implied a rejection of the empire's claim to
[10]
be the Roman Empire.
The claims of the Eastern Roman Empire to Roman inheritance had
been actively contested in the West at the time of the Roman Empress Irene of Athens, due to
the coronation of Charlemagne as Holy Roman Emperor year 800, by Pope Leo III, who,
needing help against enemies in Rome, saw the throne of the Roman Empire as vacant (lacking
a male occupant). Whenever the Popes or the rulers of the West made use of the name Roman
to refer to the eastern Roman Emperors, they preferred the term Imperator Romaniæ instead
of Imperator Romanorum, a title that Westerners maintained applied only to Charlemagne and
his successors.
[11]
By contrast, in the Persian, Islamic, and Slavic worlds, the Empire's Roman identity was
generally accepted. In the Islamic world it was known primarily as ‫( روم‬Rûm "Rome").
[12][13]
In modern historical atlases, the Empire is usually called the Eastern Roman Empire in maps
depicting the empire during the period AD 395 to AD 610, after the new emperor Heraclius
changed the official language from Latin to Greek (already the language known by the great
majority of the population); in maps depicting the Empire after AD 610, the term Byzantine
Empire usually appears.
History
Main article: History of the Eastern Roman Empire
Early History of the Roman Empire
History of the Byzantine
Empire
The Roman army succeeded in conquering a vast
collection of territories covering the entire Mediterranean
region and much of Western Europe. These territories
consisted of many different cultural groups, ranging from
primitive to highly sophisticated. Generally speaking, the
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This article is part of a series
Early Byzantine period
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eastern Mediterranean provinces were more urbanized
Constantinian and Valentinian
dynasties
Theodosian dynasty
Leonid dynasty
Justinian dynasty
and socially developed, having previously been united
under the Macedonian Empire and Hellenized by the
influence of Greek culture. In contrast, the western
regions had mostly remained independent from any
Middle Byzantine period
single cultural or political authority, and were still largely
Heraclian dynasty
Isaurian dynasty
Amorian dynasty
Macedonian dynasty
Komnenian dynasty
Angelid dynasty
rural and less developed. This distinction between the
long-established, Hellenized East and the younger,
Latinized West would persist and become increasingly
important in later centuries.
Late Byzantine period
Division of the Roman Empire
Fourth Crusade & Latin states
Nicaea, Epirus & Trebizond
Palaiologan dynasty
Main articles: Byzantium under the Constantinian and
Valentinian dynasties, Byzantium under the
Theodosian Dynasty, and Byzantium under the
Leonid Dynasty
By topics
Art · Government · Economy · Army ·
Navy
Byzantine Empire Portal
See also: Tetrarchy, Diocletian, Constantine I, and
Theodosius I
Diocletian created a new administrative system (the tetrarchy).
[14]
He associated himself with a
co-emperor, or Augustus. Each Augustus was then to adopt a young colleague, or Caesar, to
share in the rule and eventually to succeed the senior partner. After the abdication of Diocletian
and Maximian, however, the tetrachy collapsed, and Constantine I replaced it with the dynastic
[15]
principle of hereditary succession.
Constantine moved the seat of the Empire, and introduced
important changes into its civil and religious constitution.
[17]
In 330, he founded Constantinople as a second Rome
on the site of Byzantium, which was well-positioned astride
the trade routes between East and West.
The Baptism of Constantine
painted by Raphael's pupils
(1520–1524, fresco, Vatican City,
Constantine built upon the administrative reforms
introduced by Diocletian.
[14][18]
He stabilized the coinage
(the gold solidus that he introduced became a highly prized
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Apostolic Palace). Eusebius of
Caesaria records that, as was
customary among Christian
converts at the time, Constantine
delayed receiving baptism until
[16]
shortly before his death.
Page 7 of 52
[18]
and stable currency),
and made changes to the
structure of the army. Under Constantine, the Empire had
recovered much of its military strength and enjoyed a
period of stability and prosperity.
Under Constantine, Christianity did not become the
exclusive religion of the state, but enjoyed imperial
preference, since the Emperor supported it with generous
privileges. Constantine established the principle that emperors should not settle questions of
doctrine, but should summon general ecclesiastical councils for that purpose. The Synod of
Arles was convened by Constantine, and the First Council of Nicaea showcased his claim to be
[19]
head of the Church.
The state of the Empire in 395 may be described in terms of the outcome of Constantine's
work. The dynastic principle was established so firmly that the emperor who died in that year,
Theodosius I, could bequeath the imperial office jointly to his sons: Arcadius in the East and
Honorius in the West. Theodosius was the last emperor to rule over the full extent of the
[20]
empire in both its halves.
The Eastern Empire was largely spared the difficulties faced by the West in the third and fourth
centuries, due in part to a more established urban culture and greater financial resources,
which allowed it to placate invaders with tribute and pay foreign mercenaries. Theodosius II
further fortified the walls of Constantinople, leaving the city impervious to most attacks; the
walls were not breached until 1204. To fend off the Huns of Attila, Theodosius gave them
[21]
subsidies (purportedly 300 kg (700 lb) of gold).
Moreover, he favored merchants living in
Constantinople who traded with the Huns and other foreign groups.
His successor, Marcian, refused to continue to pay this exorbitant sum. However, Attila had
[22]
already diverted his attention to the Western Roman Empire.
After he died in 453, his
empire collapsed and Constantinople initiated a profitable relationship with the remaining Huns,
who would eventually fight as mercenaries in Byzantine armies.
[23]
After the fall of Attila, the Eastern Empire enjoyed a period of peace, while the Western Empire
collapsed (its end is usually dated in 476 when the Germanic Roman general Odoacer deposed
the titular Western Emperor Romulus Augustulus, but declined to replace him with another
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puppet).
To recover Italy, the emperor Zeno could only negotiate
with the Ostrogoths of Theodoric, who had settled in
Moesia. He sent the gothic king to Italy as magister militum
per Italiam ("commander in chief for Italy"). After the fall of
Odoacer in 493, Theodoric, who had lived in Constantinople
during his youth, ruled Italy on his own. Thus, by
suggesting that Theodoric conquer Italy as his Ostrogothic
Eastern Roman Empire,
c. AD 480.
kingdom, Zeno maintained at least a nominal supremacy in
[20]
that western land while ridding the Eastern Empire of an unruly subordinate.
In 491, Anastasius I, an aged civil officer of Roman origin, became emperor, but it was not until
498 that the forces of the new emperor effectively took the measure of Isaurian resistance.
[20]
Anastasius revealed himself to be an energetic reformer and an able administrator. He
perfected Constantine I's coinage system by definitively setting the weight of the copper follis,
the coin used in most everyday transactions.
[24]
He also reformed the tax system, and
permanently abolished the hated chrysargyron tax. The State Treasury contained the enormous
sum of 145,150 kg (320,000 lbs) of gold when he died.
Reconquest of the Western provinces
Main article: Byzantium under the Justinian Dynasty
Justinian I, who assumed the throne in 527, oversaw a
period of recovery of former territories. Justinian, the son of
an Illyrian peasant, may already have exerted effective
control during the reign of his uncle, Justin I (518–527).
[25]
In 532, attempting to secure his eastern frontier, Justinian
signed a peace treaty with Khosrau I of Persia agreeing to
pay a large annual tribute to the Sassanids. In the same
year, Justinian survived a revolt in Constantinople (the Nika
riots) which ended with the death of (allegedly) thirty
thousand rioters. This victory solidified Justinian's power.
[26]
Pope Agapetus I was sent to Constantinople by the
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Justinian I depicted on one of
the famous mosaics of the
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Ostrogoths king Theodahad, but failed in his mission to sign
a peace with Justinian. However, he succeeded in having
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Basilica of San Vitale, Ravenna.
the Monophysite Patriarch Anthimus I of Constantinople
denounced, despite Empress Theodora's support.
The western conquests began in 533, as Justinian sent his general Belisarius to reclaim the
former province of North Africa from the Vandals with an army of about 15,000 men. Success
came with surprising ease, but it was not until 548 that the major local independent tribes were
subdued.
[26]
In Ostrogothic Italy, the deaths of Theodoric the Great, his nephew and heir
Athalaric, and his daughter Amalasuntha had left her murderer Theodahad on the throne
despite his weakened authority. In 535, a small Byzantine expedition sent to Sicily met with
easy success, but the Goths soon stiffened their resistance, and victory did not come until 540,
when Belisarius captured Ravenna, after successful sieges of Naples and Rome.
[27]
Nevertheless, the Ostrogoths were soon reunited under the
command of Totila and captured Rome on 17 December
546; Belisarius was eventually recalled by Justinian in early
[28]
549.
The arrival of the Armenian eunuch Narses in Italy
(late 551) with an army of some 35,000 men marked
another shift in Gothic fortunes. Totila was defeated and
died at the Battle of Busta Gallorum. His successor, Teias,
Byzantine expansion during
was likewise defeated at the Battle of Mons Lactarius
Justinian's reign.
(October 552). Despite continuing resistance from a few
Goth garrisons and two subsequent invasions by the Franks and Alamanni, the war for the
[29]
Italian peninsula was at an end.
In 551, a noble of Visigothic Hispania, Athanagild, sought
Justinian's help in a rebellion against the king, and the emperor dispatched a force under
Liberius, who, although elderly, proved himself a successful military commander. The Byzantine
[30]
empire held on to a small slice of the Spania coast until the reign of Heraclius.
In the east, Roman-Persian Wars continued until 561 when Justinian's and Khosrau's envoys
agreed on a 50-year peace. By the mid-550s, Justinian had won victories in most theaters of
operation, with the notable exception of the Balkans, which were subjected to repeated
incursions from the Slavs. In 559, the Empire faced a great invasion of Kutrigurs and Sclaveni.
Justinian called Belisarius out of retirement, but once the immediate danger was over, the
emperor took charge himself. The news that Justinian was reinforcing his Danube fleet made
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the Kutrigurs anxious, and they agreed to a treaty which gave them a subsidy and safe passage
back across the river.
[26]
Justinian became universally famous because of his legislative work, remarkable for its
sweeping character.
[31]
In 529, a ten-man commission chaired by John the Cappadocian
revised the ancient Roman legal code, creating the new Corpus Juris Civilis, a collection of laws
that came to be referred to as "Justinian's Code".
During the sixth century, the traditional Greco-Roman culture was still influential in the Eastern
empire with prominent representatives such as the natural philosopher John Philoponus.
Nevertheless, the Christian philosophy and culture were in the ascendant and began to
dominate the older culture. Hymns written by Romanos the Melode marked the development of
the Divine Liturgy, while architects and builders worked to complete the new Church of the
Holy Wisdom, Hagia Sophia, designed to replace an older church destroyed in the course of the
Nika revolt. Hagia Sophia stands today as one of the major monuments of architectural history.
[20]
During the sixth and seventh centuries, the Empire was struck by a series of epidemics,
which would greatly devastate the population, contributing to a significant economic decline
[32]
and weakening of the Empire.
Thus, some historians trace to the period between Justinian's
death and the accession of Heraclius the transformation of Classical civilization into Eastern
Orthodox civilization.
After Justinian died in 565, his successor, Justin II refused to pay the large tribute to the
Persians. Meanwhile, the Germanic Lombards invaded Italy; by the end of the century only a
third of Italy was in Byzantine hands. Justin's successor, Tiberius II, choosing between his
enemies, awarded subsidies to the Avars while taking military action against the Persians.
Though Tiberius' general, Maurice, led an effective campaign on the eastern frontier, subsidies
failed to restrain the Avars. They captured the Balkan fortress of Sirmium in 582, while the
Slavs began to make inroads across the Danube. Maurice, who meanwhile succeeded Tiberius,
intervened in a Persian civil war, placed the legitimate Khosrau II back on the throne and
married his daughter to him. Maurice's treaty with his new brother-in-law brought a new statusquo to the east territorially, enlarged to an extent never before achieved by the empire in its six
century history, and much cheaper to defend during this new perpetual peace – millions of
solidi were saved by the remission of tribute to the Persians alone. After his victory on the
eastern frontier, Maurice was free to focus on the Balkans, and by 602 after a series of
successful campaigns he had pushed the Avars and Slavs back across the Danube.
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[20]
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The shrinking borders
Heraclian dynasty
Main article: Byzantium under the Heraclians
See also: Heraclius, Roman-Persian Wars, Byzantine-Arab Wars, and Revolt against
Heraclius
After Maurice's murder by Phocas, Khosrau used the pretext to reconquer the Roman province
[33]
of Mesopotamia.
Phocas, an unpopular ruler who was invariably described in Byzantine
sources as a "tyrant", was the target of a number of senate-led plots. He was eventually
deposed in 610 by Heraclius, who sailed to Constantinople from Carthage with an icon affixed
to the prow of his ship.
[34]
Following the ascension of Heraclius, the Sassanid advance pushed
deep into Asia Minor, also occupying Damascus and Jerusalem and removing the True Cross to
Ctesiphon.
[35]
The counter-offensive of Heraclius took on the character of a holy war, and an
[36]
acheiropoietos image of Christ was carried as a military standard.
Similarly, when
Constantinople was saved from an Avar siege in 626, the victory was attributed to the icons of
the Virgin which were led in procession by Patriarch Sergius about the walls of the city.
[37]
The
main Sassanid force was destroyed at Nineveh in 627, and in 629 Heraclius restored the True
[38]
Cross to Jerusalem in a majestic ceremony.
The war had exhausted both the Byzantine and
Sassanid Empire, and left them extremely vulnerable to the Arab forces which emerged in the
[39]
following years.
The Romans suffered a crushing defeat at the Battle of Yarmuk in 636, and
[40]
Ctesiphon fell in 634.
The Arabs, now firmly in control of Syria and the Levant,
sent frequent raiding parties deep into Anatolia, and
between 674 and 678 laid siege to Constantinople itself.
The Arab fleet was finally repulsed through the use of Greek
Byzantine Empire by 650; by this
year it lost all of its southern
provinces except the Exarchate
of Carthage.
fire, and a thirty-years' truce was signed between the
[41]
empire and Ummayyad Caliphate.
The Anatolian raids
continued unabated, and accelerated the demise of classical
urban culture, with the inhabitants of many cities either
refortifying much smaller areas within the old city walls, or
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relocating entirely to nearby fortresses.
[42]
Constantinople
itself dropped substantially in size, from 500,000 inhabitants to just 40,000-70,000, as the city
lost its right to free grain in 618 following the loss of the south-east Mediterranean provinces
[43]
. The void left by the disappearance of the old semi-autonomous civic institutions was filled
by the theme system, which entailed the division of Anatolia into "provinces" occupied by
distinct armies which assumed civil authority and answered directly to the imperial
administration. This system may have had its roots in certain ad hoc measures taken by
Heraclius, but over the course of the seventh century it developed into an entirely new system
[44]
of imperial governance.
The withdrawal of massive numbers of troops from the
Balkans to combat the Persians and then the Arabs in the
east opened the door for the gradual southward expansion
of Slavic peoples into the peninsula, and, as in Anatolia,
many cities shrank to small fortified settlements.
[45]
In the
670s, the Bulgars were pushed south of the Danube by the
The Greek fire was first used by
arrival of the Khazars, and in 680 Byzantine forces which
the Byzantine Navy during the
had been sent to disperse these new settlements were
Byzantine-Arab Wars (from the
defeated. In the next year Constantine IV signed a treaty
Madrid Skylitzes, Biblioteca
with the Bulgar khan Asparukh, and the new Bulgarian state
Nacional de España, Madrid).
assumed sovereignty over a number of Slavic tribes which
[46]
had previously, at least in name, recognized Byzantine rule.
In 687–688, the emperor
Justinian II led an expedition against the Slavs and Bulgars which made significant gains,
although the fact that he had to fight his way from Thrace to Macedonia demonstrates the
[47]
degree to which Byzantine power in the north Balkans had declined.
The final Heraclian emperor, Justinian II, attempted to break the power of the urban
aristocracy through severe taxation and the appointment of "outsiders" to administrative posts.
He was driven from power in 695, and took shelter first with the Khazars and then with the
Bulgars. In 705 he returned to Constantinople with the armies of the Bulgar khan Tervel, retook
the throne, and instituted a reign of terror against his enemies. With his final overthrow in 711,
[48]
supported once more by the urban aristocracy, the Heraclian dynasty came to an end.
Isaurian dynasty to the ascension of Basil I
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Main articles: Byzantium under the Isaurians and Byzantium from the fall of Irene to the
ascension of Basil I
Leo III the Isaurian, turned back the Muslim assault in 718, and achieved victory with the
major help of the Bulgarian khan Tervel,who killed 32,000 Arabs with his army, at the expense
of the Arabs in 740. He also addressed himself to the task of reorganizing and consolidating the
themes in Asia Minor. His successor, Constantine V, won noteworthy victories in northern Syria,
and thoroughly undermined Bulgar strength.
In 826, the Arabs captured Crete, and successfully attacked Sicily, but on 3 September 863,
general Petronas attained a huge victory against Umar al-Aqta, the emir of Melitene. Under the
leadership of Krum the Bulgar threat also reemerged, but in 814 Krum's son, Omortag,
arranged a peace with the Byzantine Empire.
[49]
The eighth and ninth centuries were also dominated by controversy and religious division over
Iconoclasm. Icons were banned by Leo and Constantine, leading to revolts by iconodules
(supporters of icons) throughout the empire. After the efforts of Empress Irene, the Second
Council of Nicaea met in 787, and affirmed that icons could be venerated but not worshipped.
Irene is said to have endeavored to negotiate a marriage between herself and Charlemagne,
but, according to Theophanes the Confessor, the scheme was frustrated by Aetios, one of her
favourites.
[50]
In 813, Leo V the Armenian restored the policy of iconoclasm, but in 843
Empress Theodora restored the veneration of the icons with the help of Patriarch Methodios.
[51]
Iconoclasm played its part in the further alienation of East from West, which worsened
during the so-called Photian Schism, when Pope Nicholas I challenged Photios' elevation to the
patriarchate.
Macedonian dynasty and resurgence
Main article: Byzantium under the Macedonians
Wars against the Muslims
Main articles: Byzantine-Arab Wars (780–1180) and Muslim conquests
By 867, the empire had re-stabilised its position in both the
east and the west, and the efficiency of its defensive military structure enabled its emperors to
begin planning wars of reconquest in the east.
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The process of reconquest began with variable fortunes.
The temporary reconquest of Crete (843) was followed by a
crushing Byzantine defeat on the Bosporus, while the
emperors were unable to prevent the ongoing Muslim
conquest of Sicily (827–902). Using present day Tunisia as
their launching pad, the Muslims conquered Palermo in 831,
The Byzantine Empire, c. 867
Messina in 842, Enna in 859, Syracuse in 878, Catania in
AD.
900 and the final Byzantine stronghold, the fortress of
Taormina, in 902.
These drawbacks were later counterbalanced by a victorious expedition against Damietta in
Egypt (856), the defeat of the Emir of Melitene (863), the confirmation of the imperial authority
over Dalmatia (867), and Basil I's offensives towards the Euphrates (870s). Unlike the
deteriorating situation in Sicily, Basil I handled the situation in southern Italy well enough and
the province would remain in Byzantine hands for the next 200 years.
In 904, disaster struck the empire when its second city,
Thessaloniki, was sacked by an Arab fleet led by the
Byzantine renegade Leo of Tripoli. The Byzantine military
responded by destroying an Arab fleet in 908, and sacking
the city of Laodicea in Syria two years later. Despite this
revenge, the Byzantines were still unable to strike a decisive
blow against the Muslims, who inflicted a crushing defeat
on the imperial forces when they attempted to regain Crete
in 911.
The military successes of the
tenth century were coupled with
a major cultural revival, the socalled Macedonian Renaissance.
Miniature from the Paris Psalter,
an example of Hellenisticinfluenced art.
The situation on the border with the Arab territories
remained fluid, with the Byzantines alternatively on the
offensive or defensive. The Varangians, who attacked
Constantinople for the first time in 860, constituted another
new challenge. In 941 they appeared on the Asian shore of
the Bosporus, but this time they were crushed, showing the
improvements in the Byzantine military position after 907,
when only diplomacy had been able to push back the
invaders. The vanquisher of the Varangians was the famous
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general John Kourkouas, who continued the offensive with other noteworthy victories in
Mesopotamia (943): these culminated in the reconquest of Edessa (944), which was especially
celebrated for the return to Constantinople of the venerated Mandylion.
The soldier-emperors Nikephoros II Phokas (reigned 963–969) and John I Tzimiskes (969–976)
expanded the empire well into Syria, defeating the emirs of north-west Iraq and reconquering
Crete and Cyprus. At one point under John, the empire's armies even threatened Jerusalem, far
to the south. The emirate of Aleppo and its neighbours became vassals of the empire in the
[52]
east, where the greatest threat to the empire was the Fatimid caliphate.
After much
campaigning, the last Arab threat to Byzantium was defeated when Basil II rapidly drew 40,000
mounted soldiers to relieve Roman Syria. With a surplus of resources and victories thanks to
the Bulgar and Syrian campaigns, Basil II planned an expedition against Sicily to re-take it from
the Arabs there. After his death in 1025, the expedition set off in the 1040s and was met with
initial, but stunted success.
Wars against the Bulgarian Empire
For more details on this topic, see Byzantine-Bulgarian Wars.
The traditional struggle with the See of Rome continued,
spurred by the question of religious supremacy over the
newly Christianized Bulgaria. This prompted an invasion by
the powerful Tsar Simeon I in 894, but this was pushed
back by the Byzantine diplomacy, which called on the help
of the Hungarians. The Byzantines were in turn defeated,
however, at the Battle of Bulgarophygon (896), and obliged
to pay annual subsides to the Bulgarians. Later (912),
Simeon even had the Byzantines grant him the crown of
basileus (emperor) of Bulgaria and had the young emperor
Constantine VII marry one of his daughters. When a revolt
in Constantinople halted his dynastic project, he again
[52]
invaded Thrace and conquered Adrianople.
Emperor Basil II the Bulgar
Slayer (976–1025).
A great imperial expedition under Leo Phocas and Romanos Lekapenos ended again with a
crushing Byzantine defeat at the Battle of Acheloos (917), and the following year the Bulgarians
were free to ravage northern Greece as far as Corinth. Adrianople was captured again in 923
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and in 924 a Bulgarian army laid siege to Constantinople. The situation in the Balkans improved
only after Simeon's death in 927. In 968, Bulgaria was overrun by the Rus' under Sviatoslav I of
Kiev, but three years later, the emperor John I Tzimiskes defeated the Rus' and re-incorporated
eastern Bulgaria into the Empire.
Bulgarian resistance revived under the rule of the
Cometopuli dynasty, but the new emperor Basil II (reigned
976–1025) made the submission of the Bulgarians his
primary goal. Basil's first expedition against Bulgaria
however resulted in a humiliating defeat at the Gates of
The Empire under Basil II.
Trajan. For the next few years, the emperor would be
preoccupied with internal revolts in Anatolia, while the
Bulgarians expanded their realm in the Balkans. The war
was to drag on for nearly twenty years. The Byzantine victories of Spercheios and Skopje
decisively weakened the Bulgarian army, and in annual campaigns, Basil methodically reduced
the Bulgarian strongholds. Eventually, at the Battle of Kleidion in 1014 the Bulgarians were
[53]
completely defeated.
The Bulgarian army was captured, and it is said that 99 out of every
100 men were blinded, with the remaining hundredth man left with one eye so as to lead his
compatriots home. When Tsar Samuil saw the broken remains of his once gallant army, he died
of shock. By 1018, the last Bulgarian strongholds had surrendered, and the country became
part of the Byzantine empire. This victory restored the Danube frontier, which had not been
held since the days of the emperor Heraclius.
[52]
Relations with the Kievan Rus'
For more details on this topic, see Rus'–Byzantine War.
Between 850 and 1100, the Empire developed a mixed
relationship with a new state that emerged to the north
across the Black Sea, that of the Kievan Rus'. This
relationship would have long-lasting repercussions in the
history of East Slavs. Byzantium quickly became the main
trading and cultural partner for Kiev, but relations were not
always friendly. The most serious conflict between the two
powers was the war of 968–971 in Bulgaria, but several
Rus' raiding expeditions against the Byzantine cities of the
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Kievan Rus' under the walls of
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Black Sea coast and Constantinople itself are also recorded.
Although most were repulsed, they were concluded by trade treaties that were generally
favourable to the Rus'.
Rus'-Byzantine relations became closer following the marriage of the porphyrogenita Anna to
Vladimir the Great, and the subsequent Christianization of the Rus': Byzantine priests, architects
and artists were invited to work on numerous cathedrals and churches around Rus', expanding
Byzantine cultural influence even further. Numerous Rus' served in the Byzantine army as
mercenaries, most notably as the famous Varangian Guard.
The apex
The Byzantine Empire then stretched from Armenia in the east to Calabria in Southern Italy in
the west.
[52]
Many successes had been achieved, ranging from the conquest of Bulgaria, to the
annexation of parts of Georgia and Armenia, to the total annihilation of an invading force of
Egyptians outside Antioch. Yet even these victories were not enough; Basil considered the
continued Arab occupation of Sicily to be an outrage. Accordingly, he planned to reconquer the
island, which had belonged to the Roman world since the First Punic War. However, his death
[52]
in 1025 put an end to the project.
The eleventh century was also momentous for its religious events. In 1054, relations between
the Eastern and Western traditions within the Christian Church reached a terminal crisis.
Although there was a formal declaration of institutional separation, on 16 July, when three
papal legates entered the Hagia Sophia during Divine Liturgy on a Saturday afternoon and
placed a bull of excommunication on the altar, the so-called Great Schism was actually the
culmination of centuries of gradual separation.
Crisis and fragmentation
Byzantium soon fell into a period of difficulties, caused to a large extent by the undermining of
the theme system and the neglect of the military. Nikephoros II (963–969), John Tzimiskes and
Basil II changed the military divisions (τάγματα, tagmata) from a rapid response, primarily
defensive, citizen army into a professional, campaigning army increasingly manned by
mercenaries. Mercenaries, however, were expensive and as the threat of invasion receded in
the tenth century, so did the need for maintaining large garrisons and expensive fortifications.
[54]
Basil II left a burgeoning treasury upon his death, but neglected to plan for his succession.
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None of his immediate successors had any particular military or political talent and the
administration of the Empire increasingly fell into the hands of the civil service. Efforts to revive
the Byzantine economy only resulted in inflation and a debased gold coinage. The army was
now seen as both an unnecessary expense and a political threat. Therefore, native troops were
cashiered and replaced by foreign mercenaries on specific contract.
[55]
At the same time, the Empire was faced with new, ambitious enemies. Byzantine provinces in
southern Italy faced the Normans, who arrived in Italy at the beginning of the eleventh
century. During a period of strife between Constantinople and Rome which ended in the EastWest Schism of 1054, the Normans began to advance, slowly but steadily, into Byzantine Italy.
[56]
It was in Asia Minor, however, that the greatest disaster would take place. The Seljuq Turks
made their first explorations across the Byzantine frontier into Armenia in 1065 and in 1067.
The emergency lent weight to the military aristocracy in Anatolia who, in 1068, secured the
election of one of their own, Romanos Diogenes, as emperor. In the summer of 1071, Romanos
undertook a massive eastern campaign to draw the Seljuks into a general engagement with the
Byzantine army. At Manzikert, Romanos not only suffered a surprise defeat at the hands of
Sultan Alp Arslan, but was also captured. Alp Arslan treated him with respect, and imposed no
[55]
harsh terms on the Byzantines.
In Constantinople, however, a coup took place in favor of
Michael Doukas, who soon faced the opposition of Nikephoros Bryennios and Nikephoros
Botaneiates. By 1081, the Seljuks expanded their rule over virtually the entire Anatolian plateau
from Armenia in the east to Bithynia in the west and founded their capital at Nicaea, just 55
miles (88 km) from Constantinople.
[57]
Komnenian dynasty and the crusaders
For more details on this topic, see Byzantium under the Komnenoi.
See also: Byzantine-Seljuk wars
Alexios I and the First Crusade
For more details on this topic, see Alexios I Komnenos.
See also: First Crusade
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After Manzikert, a partial recovery (referred to as the
Komnenian restoration) was made possible by the efforts of
[58]
The first emperor of this
the Komnenian dynasty.
dynasty was Isaac I (1057–1059) and the second Alexios I.
At the very outset of his reign, Alexios faced a formidable
attack by the Normans under Robert Guiscard and his son
Bohemund of Taranto, who captured Dyrrhachium and
Corfu, and laid siege to Larissa in Thessaly. Robert
The Byzantine Empire and the
Sultanate of Rûm before the
Guiscard's death in 1085 temporarily eased the Norman
Crusades.
problem. The following year the Seljuq sultan died, and the
sultanate was split by internal rivalries. By his own efforts,
Alexios defeated the Pechenegs; they were caught by surprise and annihilated at the Battle of
[20]
Levounion on 28 April 1091.
Having achieved stability in the West, Alexios could turn his attention to the severe economic
[59]
difficulties and the disintegration of the empire's traditional defences.
However, he still did
not have enough manpower to recover the lost territories in Asia Minor and to advance against
the Seljuks. At the Council of Piacenza in 1095, Alexios' envoys spoke to Pope Urban II about
the suffering of the Christians of the East, and underscored that without help from the West
they would continue to suffer under Muslim rule. Urban saw Alexios' request as a dual
[60]
opportunity to cement Western Europe and enhance papal power.
On 27 November 1095,
Pope Urban II called together the Council of Clermont, and urged all those present to take up
arms under the sign of the Cross and launch an armed pilgrimage to recover Jerusalem and the
[20]
East from the Muslims. The response in Western Europe was overwhelming.
Alexios had anticipated help in the form of mercenary forces
from the West, but was totally unprepared for the immense
and undisciplined force which soon arrived in Byzantine
territory. It was no comfort to Alexios to learn that four of
The very brief first coinage of
the Thessaloniki mint, which
Alexios opened as he passed
through in September 1081 on
the eight leaders of the main body of the Crusade were
Normans, among them Bohemund. Since the crusade had
to pass through Constantinople, however, the Emperor had
some control over it. He required its leaders to swear to
restore to the empire any towns or territories they might
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his way to confront the invading
Normans under Robert Guiscard.
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conquer from the Turks on their way to the Holy Land. In
[61]
return, he gave them guides and a military escort.
Alexios was able to recover a number of important cities
and islands, and in fact much of western Asia Minor. Nevertheless, the crusaders believed their
oaths were invalidated when Alexios did not help them during the siege of Antioch (he had in
fact set out on the road to Antioch, but had been persuaded to turn back by Stephen of Blois,
[62]
who assured him that all was lost and that the expedition had already failed).
Bohemund,
who had set himself up as Prince of Antioch, briefly went to war with the Byzantines, but
agreed to become Alexios' vassal under the Treaty of Devol in 1108, which marked the end of
[63]
Norman threat during Alexios' reign.
John II, Manuel I and the Second Crusade
Main articles: John II Komnenos and Manuel I Komnenos
Alexios' son John II Komnenos succeeded him in 1118, and
was to rule until 1143. John was a pious and dedicated
emperor who was determined to undo the damage his
empire had suffered at the Battle of Manzikert, half a
century earlier.
[64]
Famed for his piety and his remarkably
mild and just reign, John was an exceptional example of a
[65]
moral ruler, at a time when cruelty was the norm.
For
this reason, he has been called the Byzantine Marcus
Aurelius. In the course of his twenty-five year reign, John
made alliances with the Holy Roman Empire in the West,
decisively defeated the Pechenegs at the Battle of Beroia,
[66]
Medieval manuscript depicting
the Capture of Jerusalem during
the First Crusade.
and personally led numerous campaigns against the
Turks in Asia Minor. John's campaigns fundamentally changed the balance of power in the east,
forcing the Turks onto the defensive and restoring to the Byzantines many towns, fortresses
[67]
and cities right across the peninsula.
He also thwarted Hungarian, and Serbian threats
during the 1120s, and in 1130 allied himself with the German emperor Lothair III against the
[68]
Norman King Roger II of Sicily.
In the later part of his reign, John focused his activities on
the East. He defeated the Danishmend emirate of Melitene, and reconquered all of Cilicia, while
forcing Raymond of Poitiers, Prince of Antioch, to recognize Byzantine suzerainty. In an effort
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to demonstrate the Byzantine emperor's role as the leader of the Christian world, John marched
into the Holy Land at the head of the combined forces of Byzantium and the Crusader states;
yet despite the great vigour with which he pressed the campaign, John's hopes were
[69]
disappointed by the treachery of his Crusader allies.
In 1142 John returned to press his
claims to Antioch, but he died in the spring of 1143 following a hunting accident. Raymond was
emboldened to invade Cilicia, but he was defeated and forced to go to Constantinople to beg
mercy from the new emperor.
[70]
John's chosen heir was his fourth son, Manuel I Komnenos,
who campaigned aggressively against his neighbours both
in the west and in the east. In Palestine, he allied himself
with the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem and sent a large
fleet to participate in a combined invasion of Fatimid Egypt.
Manuel reinforced his position as overlord of the Crusader
states, with his hegemony over Antioch and Jerusalem
secured by agreement with Raynald, Prince of Antioch, and
[71]
Amalric, King of Jerusalem respectively.
Byzantine Empire in violet,
c.1180, at the end of the
Komnenian period.
In an effort to
restore Byzantine control over the ports of southern Italy, he sent an expedition to Italy in
1155, but disputes within the coalition led to the eventual failure of the campaign. Despite this
military setback, Manuel's armies successfully invaded the Kingdom of Hungary in 1167,
defeating the Hungarians at the Battle of Sirmium. By 1168, nearly the whole of the eastern
Adriatic coast lay in Manuel's hands.
[72]
Manuel made several alliances with the Pope and
Western Christian kingdoms, and successfully handled the passage of the Second Crusade
through his empire.
[73]
In the east, however, Manuel suffered a major defeat at the Battle of Myriokephalon, in 1176,
against the Turks. Yet the losses were quickly made good, and in the following year Manuel's
forces inflicted a defeat upon a force of "picked Turks".
[74]
The Byzantine commander John
Vatatzes, who destroyed the Turkish invaders at the Battle of Hyelion and Leimocheir, not only
brought troops from the capital but also was able to gather an army along the way; a sign that
the Byzantine army remained strong and that the defensive program of western Asia Minor was
still successful.
[75]
Twelfth century Renaissance
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For more details on this topic, see Byzantine civilisation in the twelfth century.
See also: Komnenian army
John and Manuel pursued active military policies, and both deployed considerable resources on
sieges and on city defenses; aggressive fortification policies were at the heart of their imperial
military policies.
[76]
Despite the defeat at Myriokephalon, the policies of Alexios, John and
Manuel resulted in vast territorial gains, increased frontier stability in Asia Minor, and secured
the stabilization of the empire's European frontiers. From c.1081 to c.1180, the Komnenian
[77]
army assured the empire's security, enabling Byzantine civilization to flourish.
This allowed the Western provinces to achieve an economic revival which continued until the
close of the century. It has been argued that Byzantium under the Komnenian rule was more
prosperous than at any time since the Persian invasions of the seventh century. During the
twelfth century, population levels rose and extensive tracts of new agricultural land were
brought into production. Archaeological evidence from both Europe and Asia Minor shows a
considerable increase in the size of urban settlements, together with a notable upsurge in new
towns. Trade was also flourishing; the Venetians, the Genoese and others opened up the ports
of the Aegean to commerce, shipping goods from the Crusader kingdoms of Outremer and
[78]
Fatimid Egypt to the west and trading with the Byzantine Empire via Constantinople.
In artistic terms, there was a revival in mosaic, and regional schools of architecture began
[79]
producing many distinctive styles that drew on a range of cultural influences.
During the
twelfth century the Byzantines provided their model of early humanism as a renaissance of
interest in classical authors. In Eustathius of Thessalonica Byzantine humanism found its most
characteristic expression.
[80]
Decline and disintegration
Main article: Decline of the Byzantine Empire
Dynasty of the Angeloi
Main article: Byzantium under the Angeloi
Manuel's death on 24 September 1180 left his 11-year-old son Alexios II Komnenos on the
throne. Alexios was highly incompetent at the office, but it was his mother, Maria of Antioch,
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and her Frankish background that made his regency unpopular.
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[81]
Eventually, Andronikos I
Komnenos, a grandson of Alexios I, launched a revolt against his younger relative and managed
to overthrow him in a violent coup d'état. Utilizing his good looks and his immense popularity
with the army, he marched on to Constantinople in August 1182, and incited a massacre of the
Latins.
[82]
After eliminating his potential rivals, he had himself crowned as co-emperor in
September 1183; he eliminated Alexios II and even took his 12-year-old wife Agnes of France
for himself.
[82]
Andronikos began his reign well; in particular, the measures he took to reform the government
of the empire have been praised by historians. According to George Ostrogorsky, Andronikos
was determined to root out corruption: Under his rule the sale of offices ceased; selection was
based on merit, rather than favoritism; officials were paid an adequate salary so as to reduce
the temptation of bribery. In the provinces Andronikos' reforms produced a speedy and marked
[83]
improvement.
The aristocrats were infuriated against him, and to make matters worse,
Andronikos seems to have become increasingly unbalanced; executions and violence became
increasingly common, and his reign turned into a reign of terror.
[84]
Andronikos seemed almost
to seek the extermination of the aristocracy as a whole. The struggle against the aristocracy
turned into wholesale slaughter, while the emperor resorted to ever more ruthless measures to
[83]
shore up his regime.
Despite his military background, Andronikos failed to deal with Isaac Komnenos, Béla III who
reincorporated Croatian territories into Hungary, and Stephen Nemanja of Serbia who declared
his independence from Byzantium. Yet none of these troubles would compare to William II of
[85]
Sicily's invasion force of 300 ships and 80,000 men, arriving in 1185.
Andronikos mobilized a
small fleet of 100 ships to defend the capital but other than that he was indifferent to the
populace. He was finally overthrown when Isaac Angelos, surviving an imperial assassination
[86]
attempt, seized power with the aid of the people and had Andronikos killed.
The reign of Isaac II, and, still more, that of his brother
Alexios III, saw the collapse of what remained of the
centralized machinery of Byzantine government and defense. Although, the Normans were
driven out of Greece, in 1186 the Vlachs and Bulgars began a rebellion that was to lead to the
formation of the Second Bulgarian Empire. The internal policy of the Angeloi was characterized
by the squandering of the public treasure, and the fiscal maladministration. Byzantine authority
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was severely weakened, and the growing power vacuum at
the center of the empire encouraged fragmentation. There
is evidence that some Komnenian heirs had set up a semi[87]
independent state in Trebizond before 1204.
According
to Alexander Vasiliev, "the dynasty of the Angeloi, Greek in
its origin, [...] accelerated the ruin of the Empire, already
weakened without and disunited within."
[88]
Iconium was won by the Third
Fourth Crusade
Crusade.
For more details on this topic, see Fourth Crusade.
In 1198, Pope Innocent III broached the subject of a new
crusade through legates and encyclical letters.
[89]
The
stated intent of the crusade was to conquer Egypt, now the
centre of Muslim power in the Levant. The crusader army
that arrived at Venice in the summer of 1202 was
somewhat smaller than had been anticipated, and there
were not sufficient funds to pay the Venetians, whose fleet
was hired by the crusaders to take them to Egypt. Venetian
policy under the aging and blind but still ambitious Doge
Enrico Dandolo was potentially at variance with that of the
Pope and the crusaders, because Venice was closely related
[90]
commercially with Egypt.
The Entry of the Crusaders into
Constantinople, by Eugène
Delacroix (1840).
The crusaders accepted the suggestion that in lieu of payment
they assist the Venetians in the capture of the (Christian) port of Zara in Dalmatia (vassal city
[91]
of Venice, which had rebelled and placed itself under Hungary's protection in 1186).
city fell in November 1202 after a brief siege.
[92]
The
Innocent, who was informed of the plan but
his veto disregarded, was reluctant to jeopardize the Crusade, and gave conditional absolution
to the crusaders—not, however, to the Venetians.
[90]
After the death of Theobald III, Count of Champagne, the leadership of the Crusade passed to
Boniface of Montferrat, a friend of the Hohenstaufen Philip of Swabia. Both Boniface and Philip
had married into the Byzantine imperial family. In fact, Philip's brother-in-law, Alexios Angelos,
son of the deposed and blinded emperor Isaac II Angelos, had appeared in Europe seeking aid
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and had made contacts with the crusaders. Alexios offered to reunite the Byzantine church with
Rome, pay the crusaders 200,000 silver marks, and join the crusade with 200,000 silver marks
and all the supplies they needed to get to Egypt.
[93]
Innocent was aware of a plan to divert the
Crusade to Constantinople and forbade any attack on the city, but the papal letter arrived after
the fleets had left Zara.
The crusaders arrived at the city in the summer of 1203,
Alexios III fled from the capital, and Alexios Angelos was
elevated to the throne as Alexios IV along with his blind
father Isaac. However, Alexios IV and Isaac II were unable
to keep their promises and were deposed by Alexios V.
Eventually, the crusaders took the city on 13 April 1204.
Constantinople was subjected by the rank and file to pillage
Map to show the partition of the
and massacre for three days. Many priceless icons, relics,
empire following the Fourth
and other objects later turned up in Western Europe, a
Crusade, c. 1204.
large number in Venice. According to Choniates, a prostitute
[94]
was even set up on the Patriarchal throne.
When
Innocent III heard of the conduct of his crusaders, he castigated them in no uncertain terms.
But the situation was beyond his control, especially after his legate, on his own initiative, had
[52][90]
absolved the crusaders from their vow to proceed to the Holy Land.
When order had
been restored, the crusaders and the Venetians proceeded to implement their agreement;
Baldwin of Flanders was elected emperor and the Venetian Thomas Morosini chosen patriarch.
The lands parcelled out among the leaders did not include all the former Byzantine possessions.
[90]
The Byzantine rule continued in Nicaea, Trebizond, and Epirus.
Fall
Empire in exile
After the sack of Constantinople in 1204 by Latin Crusaders, two Byzantine successor states
were established: the Empire of Nicaea, and the Despotate of Epirus. A third one, the Empire of
Trebizond was created a few weeks before the sack of Constantinople by Alexios I of
Trebizond. Of these three successor states, Epirus and Nicaea stood the best chance of
reclaiming Constantinople. The Nicaean Empire struggled, however, to survive the next few
decades, and by the mid-thirteenth century it lost much of southern Anatolia.
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[95]
The
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weakening of the Sultanate of Rûm following the Mongol Invasion in 1242–43 allowed many
Beyliks and ghazis to set up their own principalities in Anatolia, weakening the Byzantine hold
[96]
on Asia Minor.
In time, one of the Beys, Osman I, created an empire that would conquer
Byzantium. However, the Mongol Invasion also gave Nicaea a temporary respite from Seljuk
attacks allowing it to concentrate on the Latin Empire only north of its position.
Reconquest of Constantinople
Main article: Byzantium under the Palaiologoi
The Empire of Nicaea, founded by the Laskarid dynasty,
managed to reclaim Constantinople from the Latins in
1261 and defeat Epirus. This led to a short-lived revival
of Byzantine fortunes under Michael VIII Palaiologos,
The Byzantine Empire c. 1263
but the war-ravaged empire was ill-equipped to deal
with the enemies that now surrounded it. In order to
maintain his campaigns against the Latins, Michael pulled troops from Asia Minor, and levied
crippling taxes on the peasantry, causing much resentment.
[97]
Massive construction projects
were completed in Constantinople to repair the damages of the Fourth Crusade, but none of
these initiatives was of any comfort to the farmers in Asia Minor, suffering raids from fanatical
ghazis.
Rather than holding on to his possessions in Asia Minor, Michael chose to expand the Empire,
gaining only short- term success. To avoid another sacking of the capital by the Latins, he
forced the Church to submit to Rome, again a temporary solution for which the peasantry hated
[98]
Michael and Constantinople.
The efforts of Andronikos II and later his grandson Andronikos
III marked Byzantium's last genuine attempts in restoring the glory of the empire. However,
the use of mercenaries by Andronikos II would often backfire, with the Catalan Company
ravaging the countryside and increasing resentment towards Constantinople.
[99]
Rise of the Ottomans and fall of Constantinople
Main article: Byzantine-Ottoman wars
Things went worse for Byzantium during the civil wars that followed after Andronikos III died. A
six-year long civil war devastated the empire, and an earthquake at Gallipoli in 1354 devastated
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the fort, allowing the Ottomans (who were hired as mercenaries
during the civil war by John VI Kantakouzenos) to establish
themselves in Europe.
[100]
By the time the Byzantine civil wars had
ended, the Ottomans had defeated the Serbians and subjugated them
as vassals. Following the Battle of Kosovo, much of the Balkans
became dominated by the Ottomans.
[101]
The Emperors appealed to the west for
help, but the Pope would only consider
sending aid in return for a reunion of the
The siege of
Eastern Orthodox Church with the See of
Constantinople in
Rome. Church unity was considered, and
1453 according to a
fifteenth century
occasionally accomplished by imperial
French miniature.
decree, but the Orthodox citizenry and
clergy intensely resented the authority of
[102]
Rome and the Latin Rite.
Some western troops arrived to bolster
Eastern Mediterranean
just before the fall of
Constantinople.
the Christian defence of Constantinople, but most Western rulers,
distracted by their own affairs, did nothing as the Ottomans picked apart the remaining
Byzantine territories.
[103]
Constantinople by this stage was underpopulated and dilapidated. The population of the city
had collapsed so severely that it was now little more than a cluster of villages separated by
fields. On 2 April 1453, Sultan Mehmed's army of some 80,000 men and large numbers of
irregulars laid siege to the city.
[104]
Despite a desperate last-ditch defense of the city by the
massively outnumbered Christian forces (c. 7,000 men, 2,000 of whom were foreign
[103]
),
Constantinople finally fell to the Ottomans after a two-month siege on 29 May 1453. The last
Byzantine emperor, Constantine XI Palaiologos, was last seen casting off his imperial regalia
and throwing himself into hand-to-hand combat after the walls of the city were taken.
[105]
Aftermath
Main article: Legacy of Byzantium
Mehmed II went on to conquer the Greek statelets of Mistra in 1460 and Trebizond in 1461.
The nephew of the last Emperor, Constantine XI, Andreas Palaeologos had inherited the
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defunct title of Byzantine Emperor and used it from 1465 until his death in 1503.
[11]
By the end
of the fifteenth century, the Ottoman Empire had established its firm rule over Asia Minor and
parts of the Balkan peninsula. Mehmed II and his successors continued to consider themselves
proper heirs to the Byzantine Empire until the demise of the Ottoman Empire in the early
twentieth century. Meanwhile, the Danubian Principalities harboured Orthodox refugees,
including some Byzantine nobles.
At his death, the role of the emperor as a patron of Eastern Orthodoxy was claimed by Ivan III,
Grand Duke of Muscovy. He had married Andreas' sister, Sophia Paleologue, whose grandson,
Ivan IV, would become the first Tsar of Russia (tsar, or czar, meaning caesar, is a term
traditionally applied by Slavs to the Byzantine Emperors). Their successors supported the idea
that Moscow was the proper heir to Rome and Constantinople. The idea of the Russian Empire
as the new, Third Rome was kept alive until its demise with the Russian Revolution of 1917.
[106]
Culture
Economy
For more details on this topic, see Byzantine economy.
The Byzantine economy was among the most advanced in Europe and
the Mediterranean for many centuries. Europe, in particular, was unable
to match Byzantine economic strength until late in the Middle Ages.
Constantinople was a prime hub in a trading network that at various
times extended across nearly all of Eurasia and North Africa, in particular
Byzantine Culture
Art • Architecture • Gardens
Literature • Music
Aristocracy &
being the primary western terminus of the famous silk road. Some
Bureaucracy • Diplomacy
scholars argue that, up until the arrival of the Arabs in the seventh
Economy • Law
century, the Empire had the most powerful economy in the world. The
Arab conquests, however, would represent a substantial reversal of
fortunes contributing to a period of decline and stagnation. Constantine
V's reforms (c. 765) marked the beginning of a revival that continued
Army • Navy
Calendar • Coinage • Cuisine
Dance • Dress
Medicine • Science
until 1204. From the tenth century until the end of the twelfth, the Byzantine Empire projected
an image of luxury, and the travelers were impressed by the wealth accumulated in the capital.
All this changed with the arrival of the Fourth Crusade, which was an economic catastrophe.
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[107]
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The Palaiologoi tried to revive the economy, but the late Byzantine state would not gain
full control of either the foreign or domestic economic forces. Gradually, it also lost its influence
on the modalities of trade and the price mechanisms, and its control over the outflow of
[108]
precious metals and, according to some scholars, even over the minting of coins.
One of the economic foundations of the empire was trade. Textiles must have been by far the
most important item of export; silks were certainly imported into Egypt, and appeared also in
[109]
Bulgaria, and the West.
The state strictly controlled both the internal and the international
trade, and retained the monopoly of issuing coinage. The government exercised formal control
over interest rates, and set the parameters for the activity of the guilds and corporations, in
which it had a special interest. The emperor and his officials intervened at times of crisis to
ensure the provisioning of the capital, and to keep down the price of cereals. Finally, the
government often collected part of the surplus through taxation, and put it back into
circulation, through redistribution in the form of salaries to state officials, or in the form of
investment in public works.
[110]
Science, medicine, law
For more details on Byzantine medicine, see Byzantine science.
The writings of Classical antiquity never ceased to be cultivated in
Byzantium. Therefore, Byzantine science was in every period closely
connected with ancient philosophy, and metaphysics.
[111]
Although at
various times the Byzantines made magnificent achievements in the
application of the sciences (notably in the construction of the Hagia
Sophia), after the sixth century Byzantine scholars made few novel
The frontispiece of the
Vienna Dioscurides,
which shows a set of
seven famous
physicians.
contributions to science in terms of developing new theories or
extending the ideas of classical authors.
[112]
Scholarship particularly
lagged during the dark years of plague and the Arab conquests, but
then during the so-called Byzantine Renaissance at the end of the
first millennium Byzantine scholars re-asserted themselves becoming
experts in the scientific developments of the Arabs and Persians,
[113]
particularly in astronomy and mathematics.
In the final century of the Empire, Byzantine grammarians were those principally responsible for
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carrying, in person and in writing, ancient Greek grammatical and literary studies to early
Renaissance Italy.
[114]
During this period, astronomy and other mathematical sciences were
taught in Trebizond; medicine attracted the interest of almost all scholars.
[115]
In the field of law, Justinian I's reforms had a clear effect on the evolution of jurisprudence,
[116]
and Leo III's Ecloga influenced the formation of legal institutions in the Slav world.
Religion
Further information: Roman Catholic, Byzantine Papacy, Eastern Orthodox Church, Oriental
Orthodoxy, Nestorianism, Jews of the Byzantine Empire
According to Joseph Raya, "Byzantine culture and
Orthodoxy are one and the same."
[117]
The survival of the
Empire in the East assured an active role of the Emperor in
the affairs of the Church. The Byzantine state inherited from
pagan times the administrative, and financial routine of
administering religious affairs, and this routine was applied
to the Christian Church. Following the pattern set by
Eusebius of Caesarea, the Byzantines viewed the Emperor
As a symbol and expression of
the universal prestige of the
as a representative or messenger of Christ, responsible
Patriarchate of Constantinople,
particularly for the propagation of Christianity among
Justinian built the Church of the
pagans, and for the "externals" of the religion, such as
administration and finances. The imperial role, however, in
the affairs of the Church never developed into a fixed,
[118]
legally defined system.
Holy Wisdom of God, Hagia
Sophia, which was completed in
the short period of four and a
half years (532–537).
It is a popular misconception that Christianity was ever fully united or that even Christians in
the Byzantine Empire were united throughout the Empire's history. The imperial Roman Church,
what came to be known as the Eastern Orthodox Church, never represented all Christians in
the Empire. Nestorianism, a view promoted the Nestorius, a fifth century Patriarch of
Constantinople, split from the imperial Church leading to what is today the Assyrian Church of
the East. In a greater schism during the sixth century the Oriental Orthodox churches split from
the imperial Church over the declarations of the Council of Chalcedon. Aside from these
communions, Arianism and other Christian sects existed in the early Empire, although by the
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time of Rome's fall in the fifth century Arianism was mostly confined to the Germanic peoples of
Western Europe. By the Empire's late stages, though, Eastern Orthodoxy represented most
Christians in what remained of the Empire. Jews were a significant minority in the Empire
throughout its history. Despite periods of persecution, they were generally tolerated, if not
always embraced, during most periods.
With the decline of Rome, and internal dissension in the other Eastern patriarchates, the church
of Constantinople became, between the sixth and eleventh centuries, the richest and most
[119]
influential center of Christendom.
Even when the Empire was reduced to only a shadow of
its former self, the Church, as an institution, had never exercised so much influence both inside
and outside of the imperial frontiers. As George Ostrogorsky points out:
The Patriarchate of Constantinople remained the center of the Orthodox world, with
subordinate metropolitan sees and archbishoprics in the territory of Asia Minor and the Balkans,
now lost to Byzantium, as well as in Caucasus, Russia and Lithuania. The Church remained the
most stable element in the Byzantine Empire.
[120]
Art and literature
Main articles: Byzantine art and Byzantine literature
See also: Byzantine music and Byzantine dress
Byzantine art is almost entirely concerned with religious
expression and, more specifically, with the impersonal
translation of carefully controlled church theology into
artistic terms. Byzantine forms were spread by trade and
conquest to Italy and Sicily, where they persisted in
modified form through the twelfth century, and became
formative influences on Italian Renaissance art. By means
of the expansion of the Eastern Orthodox church, Byzantine
forms spread to eastern European centers, particularly
Russia.
[121]
Influences from Byzantine architecture,
particularly in religious buildings, can be found in diverse
regions from Egypt and Arabia to Russia and Romania.
Miniatures of the sixth century
Rabula Gospel display the more
abstract and symbolic nature of
Byzantine art.
In Byzantine literature, therefore, four different cultural
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elements are to be reckoned with: the Greek, the Christian, the Roman, and the Oriental.
Byzantine literature is often classified in five groups: historians and annalists, encyclopedists
(Patriarch Photios, Michael Psellos, and Michael Choniates are regarded as the greatest
encyclopedists of Byzantium) and essayists, and writers of secular poetry (The only genuine
heroic epic of the Byzantines is the Digenis Acritas). The remaining two groups include the new
literary species: ecclesiastical and theological literature, and popular poetry. Of the
approximately two to three thousand volumes of Byzantine literature that survive, only three
hundred and thirty consist of secular poetry, history, science and pseudo-science.
[122]
While
the most flourishing period of the secular literature of Byzantium runs from the ninth to the
twelfth century, its religious literature (sermons, liturgical books and poetry, theology,
devotional treatises etc.) developed much earlier with Romanos the Melodist being its most
prominent representative.
[123]
Government and bureaucracy
See also:
Byzantine
aristocracy
and
The themes c. 650.
The themes c. 950.
bureaucracy
In the Byzantine state, the emperor was the sole and absolute ruler, and his power was
[11]
regarded as having divine origin.
By the end of the eighth century, a civil administration
focused on the court was formed as part of a large-scale consolidation of power in the capital
(the rise to pre-eminence of the position of sakellarios is related to this change).
[124]
The most
important reform of this period is the creation of themes, where civil and military administration
is exercised by one person, the strategos.
[11]
Despite the occasionally derogatory use of the word "Byzantine", the Byzantine bureaucracy
had a distinct ability for reinventing itself in accordance with the Empire's situation. The
Byzantine system of titulature and precedence makes the imperial administration look like an
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ordered bureaucracy to modern observers. Officials were arranged in strict order around the
emperor, and depended upon the imperial will for their ranks. There were also actual
administrative jobs, but authority could be vested in individuals rather than offices.
[125]
In the
eighth and ninth centuries, civil service constituted the clearest path to aristocratic status, but,
starting in the ninth century, the civil aristocracy was rivaled by an aristocracy of nobility.
According to some studies of Byzantine government, eleventh century politics were dominated
by competition between the civil and the military aristocracy. During this period, Alexios I
undertook important administrative reforms, including the creation of new courtly dignities and
offices.
[126]
Diplomacy
For more details on this topic, see Byzantine diplomacy.
After the fall of Rome, the key challenge to the Empire was to maintain a set of relations
between itself and its neighbors. When these nations set about forging formal political
institutions, they often modeled themselves on Constantinople. Byzantine diplomacy soon
[127]
managed to draw its neighbors into a network of international and inter-state relations.
This network revolved around treaty making, and included the welcoming of the new ruler into
the family of kings, and the assimilation of Byzantine social attitudes, values and institutions.
[128]
Whereas classical writers are fond of making ethical and legal distinctions between peace
[129]
and war, Byzantines regarded diplomacy as a form of war by other means.
[129]
Bulgar threat could be countered by providing money to the Kievian Rus.
For example, a
The Orthodox
Church also maintained a diplomatic function, and the spread of Orthodox Christianity was a
key diplomatic goal of the Empire.
Diplomacy in the era was understood to have an intelligence-gathering function on top of its
pure political function. The Bureau of Barbarians in Constantinople handled matters of protocol
and record keeping for any matters dealing with "Barbarians", and thus had, perhaps, a basic
[130]
intelligence function itself.
J.B. Bury believed that the office exercised supervision over all
foreigners visiting Constantinople, and that they were under the supervision of the Logothete of
the Course.
[131]
While on the surface a protocol office—its main duty was to ensure foreign
envoys were properly cared for and received sufficient state funds for their maintenance, and it
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kept all the official translators—it clearly had a security function as well. On Strategy, from the
sixth century, offers advice about foreign embassies: "[Envoys] who are sent to us should be
received honourably and generously, for everyone holds envoys in high esteem. Their
attendants, however, should be kept under surveillance to keep them from obtaining any
information by asking questions of our people."
[132]
Byzantines availed themselves of a number of diplomatic practices. For example, embassies to
the capital would often stay on for years. A member of other royal houses would routinely be
requested to stay on in Constantinople, not only as a potential hostage, but also as a useful
pawn in case political conditions where he came from changed. Another key practice was to
overwhelm visitors by sumptuous displays.
[127]
According to Dimitri Obolensky, the
preservation of civilization in Eastern Europe was due to the skill and resourcefulness of
Byzantine diplomacy, which remains one of Byzantium's lasting contributions to the history of
[133]
Europe.
Language
For more details on this topic, see Medieval Greek.
The original language of the government of the Empire,
which owed its origins to Rome, had been Latin and this
continued to be its official language until the seventh
century AD when it was effectively changed to Greek by
Heraclius. Scholarly Latin would rapidly fall into disuse
among the educated classes although the language would
continue to be at least a ceremonial part of the Empire's
culture for some time.
[134]
Additionally, Vulgar Latin
continued to be a minority language in the Empire, and
among the Thraco-Roman populations it gave birth to the
(Proto-)Romanian language.
[135]
Likewise, on the coast of
The Mudil Psalter, the oldest
complete psalter in the Coptic
language (Coptic Museum,
Egypt, Coptic Cairo).
the Adriatic Sea, another neo-Latin vernacular developed,
which would later give rise to the Dalmatian language. In the Western Mediterranean provinces
temporarily acquired under the reign of Justinian I, Latin continued to be used both as a
spoken language and the language of scholarship.
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Apart from the Imperial court, administration and military, the primary language used in the
eastern Roman provinces even before the decline of the Western Empire had always been
Greek, having been spoken in the region for centuries before Latin.
[136]
Indeed early on in the
life of the Roman Empire, Greek had become the common language in the Christian Church,
the language of scholarship and the arts, and, to a large degree, the lingua franca for trade
[137]
between provinces and with other nations.
The language itself for a time gained a dual
nature with the primary spoken language, Koine, existing alongside an older literary language
[138]
with Koine eventually evolving into the standard dialect.
Many other languages existed in the multi-ethnic Empire as well, and some of these were given
limited official status in their provinces at various times. Notably, by the beginning of the Middle
Ages, Syriac and Aramaic had become more widely used by the educated classes in the far
eastern provinces.
[139]
Similarly Coptic, Armenian, and Georgian became significant among the
educated in their provinces,
[140]
and later foreign contacts made the Slavonic, Vlach, and
[141]
Arabic languages important in the Empire and its sphere of influence.
Aside from these, since Constantinople was a prime trading center in the Mediterranean region
and beyond, virtually every known language of the Middle Ages was spoken in the Empire at
[142]
some time, even Chinese.
As the Empire entered its final decline the Empire's citizens
became more culturally homogeneous and the Greek language became integral to their identity
and their religion.
[143]
Legacy
Main article: Legacy of Byzantium
As the only stable long-term state in Europe during the
Middle Ages, Byzantium isolated Western Europe from newly emerging forces to the East.
Constantly under attack, it distanced Western Europe from Persians, Arabs, Seljuk Turks, and
for a time, the Ottomans. The Byzantine-Arab Wars, for example, are recognized by some
[144]
historians as being a key factor behind the rise of Charlemagne,
and a huge stimulus to
feudalism and economic self-sufficiency.
For centuries, western historians used the terms Byzantine and Byzantinism as bywords for
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decadence, duplicitous politics and complex bureaucracy,
and there was a strongly negative assessment of Byzantine
[145]
civilization and its legacy in Southeastern Europe.
Byzantinism in general was defined as a body of religious,
political, and philosophical ideas which ran contrary to those
of the West.
[146]
The twentieth and twenty-first centuries,
however, have seen attempts by historians in the West to
understand the Empire in a more balanced and accurate
fashion including its influences on the West, and as a result
the complex character of Byzantine culture has received
King David in robes of a
more attention and a more objective treatment than
Byzantine Emperor. Miniature
[146]
previously.
from the Paris Psalter.
If the existence of the Ancient Roman Empire (including the
Western Roman Empire) and that of the Eastern Roman/Byzantine Empire be added, the whole
Roman empire had existed for 1480 years.
See also
„
Legacy of the Roman Empire
Lists:
„
List of Byzantine Empire-related topics
„
List of Byzantine civil wars
„
List of Byzantine inventions
„
List of Byzantine wars
Annotations
1. ^ The first instance of the designation "New Rome" in an official document is found in the canons
of the First Council of Constantinople (381), where it is used to justify the claim that the patriarchal
[2]
seat of Constantinople is second only to that of Rome.
2. ^ Romania (or Rhōmanía) was a popular name of the empire
[4]
used unofficially, meaning "land of
the Romans". It does not refer to modern Romania.
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3. ^ "Imperium Graecorum", "Graecia", "Yunastan", etc, other western names used were "the empire
of Constantinople" (imperium Constantinopolitanum) and "the empire of Romania" (imperium
Romaniae)
Notes
1. ^
ab
Kazhdan 1991, p. 344.
2. ^ Benz 1963, p. 176.
3. ^ Fox, What, If Anything, Is a Byzantine?.
4. ^ Fossier & Sondheimer 1997, p. 104.
5. ^ Nation and Liberty: the Byzantine Example
6. ^ Cinnamus 1976, p. 240.
7. ^ Ahrweiler & Laiou 1998, p. 3; Mango 2002, p. 13.
8. ^ Gabriel 2002, p. 277.
9. ^ Ahrweiler & Laiou 1998, p. vii; Davies 1996, p. 245; Moravcsik 1970, pp. 11–12; Lapidge, Blair &
Keynes 1998, p. 79; Winnifrith & Murray 1983, p. 113; Gross 1999, p. 45; Hidryma Meletōn
Chersonēsou tou Haimou 1973, p. 331.
10. ^ Franks, Romans, Feudalism and Doctrine.
11. ^
abcd
"Hellas, Byzantium". Encyclopaedia The Helios..
12. ^ Tarasov 2004, p. 121.
13. ^ El-Cheikh 2004, p. 22.
14. ^
ab
Bury 1923, p. 1.
15. ^ Gibbon (1906), Part II Chapter 14: 200.
16. ^ Eusebius, IV, lxii.
17. ^ Gibbon 1906, III, 168 PDF (2.35 MB).
18. ^
ab
Esler 2004, p. 1081.
19. ^ Bury 1923, p. 63.
20. ^
abcdefg
"Byzantine Empire". Encyclopædia Britannica..
21. ^ Nathan, Theodosius II (408–450 AD)
22. ^ Treadgold 1995, p. 193.
23. ^ Alemany 2000, p. 207; Treadgold 1997, p. 184.
24. ^ Grierson 1999, p. 17.
25. ^ "Byzantine Empire". Encyclopædia Britannica.; Evans, Justinian (AD 527–565).
26. ^
abc
Evans, Justinian (AD 527–565)
27. ^ Bury 1923, 180–216.
28. ^ Bury 1923, 236–258
29. ^ Bury 1923, 259–281
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30. ^ Bury 1923, 286–288
31. ^ Vasiliev, The Legislative Work of Justinian and Tribonian.
32. ^ Bray 2004, pp. 19–47; Haldon 1990, pp. 110–111; Treadgold 1997, pp. 196–197.
33. ^ Foss 1975, p. 722.
34. ^ Haldon 1990, p. 41; Speck 1984, p. 178.
35. ^ Haldon 1990, pp. 42–43.
36. ^ Grabar 1984, p. 37; Cameron 1979, p. 23.
37. ^ Cameron 1979, pp. 5–6, 20–22.
38. ^ Haldon 1990, p. 46; Baynes 1912, passim; Speck 1984, p. 178.
39. ^ Foss 1975, pp. 746–47.
40. ^ Haldon 1990, p. 50.
41. ^ Haldon 1990, pp. 61–62.
42. ^ Haldon 1990, pp. 102–114.
43. ^ The Inheritance of Rome, Chris Wickham, Penguin Books Ltd. 2009, ISBN 978-0-670-02098-0
(page 260)
44. ^ Haldon 1990, pp. 208–215; Kaegi 2003, pp. 236, 283.
45. ^ Haldon 1990, pp. 43–45, 66, 114–115.
46. ^ Haldon 1990, pp. 66–67.
47. ^ Haldon 1990, p. 71.
48. ^ Haldon 1990, pp. 70–78, 169–171; Haldon 2004, pp. 216–217; Kountoura-Galake 1996, pp. 62–
75.
49. ^ "Byzantine Empire". Encyclopædia Britannica.; "Hellas, Byzantium". Encyclopaedia The Helios.
50. ^ Garland 1999, p. 89.
51. ^ Parry 1996, pp. 11–15.
52. ^
abcdef
Norwich 1998.
53. ^ Angold 1997.
54. ^ Treadgold 1997, pp. 548–549.
55. ^
ab
Markham, The Battle of Manzikert.
56. ^ Vasiliev, Relations with Italy and Western Europe.
57. ^ "Byzantine Empire". Encyclopædia Britannica. 2002.; Markham, The Battle of Manzikert.
58. ^ Magdalino 2002, p. 124.
59. ^ Birkenmeier 2002.
60. ^ Harris 2003; Read 2000, p. 124; Watson 1993, p. 12.
61. ^ Komnene 1928, X, 261.
62. ^ Anna Komnene, XI, 291
63. ^ Anna Komnene, XIII, 348–358; Birkenmeier 2002, p. 46.
64. ^ Norwich 1998, p. 267.
65. ^ Ostrogorsky 1969, p. 377.
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66. ^ Birkenmeier 2002, p. 90.
67. ^ Stone, John II Komnenos
68. ^ "John II Komnenos". Encyclopædia Britannica.
69. ^ Harris 2003, p. 84.
70. ^ Brooke 2008, p. 326.
71. ^ Magdalino 2002, p. 74; Stone, Manuel I Comnenus.
72. ^ Sedlar 1994, p. 372.
73. ^ Magdalino 2002, p. 67.
74. ^ Birkenmeier 2002, p. 128.
75. ^ Birkenmeier 2002, p. 196.
76. ^ Birkenmeier 2002, pp. 185–186.
77. ^ Birkenmeier 2002, p. 1.
78. ^ Day 1977, pp. 289–290; Harvey 2003.
79. ^ Diehl, Byzantine Art
80. ^ Tatakes & Moutafakis 2003, p. 110.
81. ^ Norwich 1998, p. 291.
82. ^
83. ^
ab
ab
Norwich 1998, p. 292.
Ostrogorsky 1969, p. 397.
84. ^ Harris 2003, p. 118.
85. ^ Norwich 1998, p. 293.
86. ^ Norwich 1998, pp. 294–295.
87. ^ Angold 1997; Paparrigopoulos & Karolidis 1925, p. 216.
88. ^ Vasiliev, Foreign Policy of the Angeloi.
89. ^ Norwich 1998, p. 299.
90. ^
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91. ^ Britannica Concise, 9383275/Siege-of-Zara Siege of Zara.
92. ^ Geoffrey of Villehardouin 1963, p. 46.
93. ^ Norwich 1998, p. 301.
94. ^ Choniates, The Sack of Constantinople.
95. ^ Kean 2006; Madden 2005, p. 162; Lowe-Baker, The Seljuks of Rum.
96. ^ Lowe-Baker, The Seljuks of Rum.
97. ^ Madden 2005, p. 179; Reinert 2002, p. 260.
98. ^ Reinert 2002, p. 257.
99. ^ Reinert 2002, p. 261.
100. ^ Reinert 2002, p. 268.
101. ^ Reinert 2002, p. 270.
102. ^ Runciman 1990, pp. 71–72.
103. ^
ab
Runciman 1990, pp. 84–85.
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104. ^ Runciman 1990, pp. 84–86.
105. ^ Hindley 2004, p. 300.
106. ^ Seton-Watson 1967, p. 31.
107. ^ Magdalino 2002, p. 532, [1].
108. ^ Matschke 2002, pp. 805–806, [2].
109. ^ Laiou 2002, p. 723, [3].
110. ^ Laiou 2002, pp. 3–4, [4].
111. ^ Anastos 1962, p. 409.
112. ^ Cohen 1994, p. 395; Dickson, Mathematics Through the Middle Ages.
113. ^ King 1991, pp. 116–118.
114. ^ Robins 1993, p. 8.
115. ^ Tatakes & Moutafakis 2003, p. 189.
116. ^ Troianos & Velissaropoulou-Karakosta 1997, p. 340.
117. ^ Raya, The Byzantine Church and Culture.
118. ^ Meyendorff 1982, p. 13.
119. ^ Meyendorff 1982, p. 19.
120. ^ Meyendorff 1982, p. 130.
121. ^ "Byzantine Art". Encyclopædia Britannica.
122. ^ Mango 2005, pp. 233–234.
123. ^ "Byzantine Literature". Catholic Encyclopedia. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03113a.htm.
124. ^ Louth 2005, p. 291; Neville 2004, p. 7.
125. ^ Neville 2004, p. 34.
126. ^ Neville 2004, p. 13.
127. ^
ab
Neumann 2006, pp. 869–871.
128. ^ Chrysos 1992, p. 35.
129. ^
ab
Antonucci 1993, pp. 11–13.
130. ^ Otto Seeck, 'Notitia Dignitatum accedunt Notitia Urbis Constantinopolitanae Laterculi
Prouinciarum' (Berlin, Apud Weidmannos 1876) pp 31-33.
131. ^ J.B. Bury, The Imperial Administrative System in the Ninth Century (London, 1911), p. 93.
132. ^ Anonymous, Byzantine Military Treatise on Strategy, in Three Byzantine Military Treatise on
Strategy, George T. Dennis, ed., (Washington D.C.: Dumbarton Oaks, 1985). para. 43/p. 125
133. ^ Obolensky 1994, p. 3.
134. ^ Apostolides 1992, pp. 25–26; Wroth 1908, Introduction, section 6
135. ^ Sedlar 1994, pp. 403–440.
136. ^ Millar 2006, p. 279
137. ^ Bryce 1901, p. 59; McDonnell 2006, p. 77; Millar 2006, pp. 97–98.
138. ^ Greek Language, Encyclopædia Britannica
139. ^ Beaton 1996, p. 10; Jones 1986, p. 991; Versteegh 1977, Chapter 1.
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140. ^ Campbell 2000, p. 40; Hacikyan et al. 2002, Part 1.
141. ^ Baynes 1907, p. 289; Gutas 1998, Chapter 7, Section 4; Shopen 1987, p. 129.
142. ^ Beckwith 1986, p. 171; Halsall 2006.
143. ^ Kaldellis 2008, Chapter 6; Nicol 1993, Chapter 5.
144. ^ Pirenne, Henri
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Mediaeval Cities: Their Origins and the Rivival of Trade (Princeton, New Jersey, 1925). ISBN
0691007608
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See also Mohammed and Charlemagne (London 1939) Dover Publications (2001). ISBN 0486-42011-6.
145. ^ Angelov 2001, p. 1.
146. ^
ab
Angelov 2001, pp. 7–8.
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Further reading
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Ahrweiler, Helene (2000). Les Europeens. Paris: Herman.
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Haldon, John (2001). The Byzantine Wars: Battles and Campaigns of the Byzantine Era. Stroud:
Tempus Publishing. ISBN 0752417959.
„
Hussey, J. M. (1966). The Cambridge Medieval History, Volume IV — The Byzantine Empire Part I,
Byzantium and its Neighbors. Cambridge University Press.
„
Runciman, Steven (1966). Byzantine Civilisation. Edward Arnold (Publishers). ISBN 1566195748.
„
Runciman, Steven (1990). The Emperor Romanus Lecapenus and his Reign. University Press
(Cambridge).
„
Toynbee, Arnold J. (1972). Constantine Porphyrogenitus and His World. Oxford University Press.
ISBN 019215253X.
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External links
Byzantine studies, resources and bibliography
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Ciesniewski, C. The Byzantine Achievement, Clio History Journal, 2006.
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Adena, L. The Enduring Legacy of Byzantium, Clio History Journal, 2008.
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WHAT, IF ANYTHING, IS A BYZANTINE? By Clifton R. Fox.
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The Cambridge Medieval History (IV) The Eastern Roman Empire (717-1453).
„
Byzantine studies homepage at Dumbarton Oaks. Includes links to numerous electronic
texts.
„
Byzantium: Byzantine studies on the Internet. Links to various online resources.
„
Translations from Byzantine Sources: The Imperial Centuries, c. 700-1204. Online
sourcebook, maintained by Paul Stephenson.
„
De Re Militari. Resources for medieval history, including numerous translated sources on
the Byzantine wars.
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Medieval sourcebook: Byzantium. Numerous primary sources on Byzantine history.
„
Bibliography on Byzantine Material Culture and Daily Life. Hosted by the University of
Vienna; in English.
„
Constantinople Home Page. Links to texts, images and videos on Byzantium.
„
Byzantium in Crimea: political history, art and culture.
Miscellaneous
„
De Imperatoribus Romanis. Scholarly biographies of many Byzantine emperors.
„
The Fall of the Empire. Byzantine Lesson (2007). (Russian: Гибель империи.
Византийский урок) The movie explicating the political and economical reasons for the
fall of the Byzantine Empire, filmed by Russian Orthodox Church.
„
12 Byzantine Rulers by Lars Brownworth of The Stony Brook School; audio lectures.
NYTimes review.
„
18 centuries of Roman Empire by Howard Wiseman (Maps of the Roman/Byzantine
Empire throughout its lifetime)
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byzantine_Empire"
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