The last (third) stage of the Middle Byzantine period covers the time from the accession of Alexei I Komnenos (1081) to the capture of Constantinople by the crusaders in 1204. This was the era of the Komnenos (1081-1185). Four of them left a deep mark in the history of Byzantium, and after the departure of the last, Andronicus I (1183-1185), the empire itself ceased to exist as a single state. The Comneni were fully aware of the critical situation of their state and energetically, like zealous householders (they were blamed by their contemporaries for turning the empire into their fiefdom), took economic, social, and political measures to save it. They delayed the collapse of the empire, but they could not consolidate its state system for a long time.
Agricultural relations. Economic and social policy of the Komnenos. For the history of Byzantium XII century. the manifestation of two opposite tendencies, which emerged already in the 11th century, is characteristic. On the one hand, there was an increase in agricultural production (in modern historiography this time is referred to as the "epoch of economic expansion"), on the other hand, the process of political disintegration progressed. The flourishing of the economy not only led to the strengthening of the state system, but, on the contrary, accelerated its further decomposition. The traditional organization of power in the center and in the provinces, the former forms of relations within the ruling class became an objective obstacle to further social development.
The Comneni faced an irresolvable alternative: in order to consolidate central authority and secure revenues for the treasury (a necessary condition for maintaining a strong army), they had to continue to protect small landownership and restrain the growth of large, as well as the distribution of awards and privileges. But this kind of policy infringed on the interests of the military aristocracy, which brought them to power and remained their social pillar. To solve this problem, the Komnenos (primarily Alexei I) tried in two ways, avoiding a radical breakdown of the socio-political system, which was considered an unshakable value. The idea of a change in "taxis" (time-honored legal order) was foreign to the Byzantine mentality. The introduction of innovations was considered a sin, unforgivable to the emperor.
Firstly, Alexei I became less likely than his predecessors to provide private individuals, churches and monasteries with tax exemptions and the right to settle on their land in the position of wigs of peasants who went bankrupt and did not pay taxes to the treasury. The grants of land from the state fund and from the estates of the ruling family to full ownership also became more stingy. Secondly, the distribution of benefits and awards, Alexei I began to strictly condition personal connections and relationships. His graces were either a reward for serving the throne, or a pledge to carry it, and preference was given to people who were personally devoted, primarily to representatives of the vast clan of Komnenos and families related to them.
The policy of the Komnenos could bring only temporary success - it suffered from internal contradictions: new forms of relations between representatives of the ruling class could become the basis for the revival of the state only with a radical restructuring of the centralized system of government, but it was precisely its strengthening that remained as before the main goal. Moreover, the distribution of awards and privileges to comrades-in-arms inevitably led, no matter how devoted to the throne they were at the moment, to the growth of large landownership, the weakening of the free peasantry, the fall in tax revenues and the strengthening of the very centrifugal tendencies against which it was directed. The military aristocracy overcame the bureaucratic nobility, but, retaining the former system of power and the central apparatus of government, it needed the services of the "bureaucrats" and, in carrying out its reforms, turned out to be their hostage, limiting itself to half measures.
By the turn of the XI-XII centuries. a significant part of the peasantry turned out to be in parikia. A large estate was fortified. By granting her master an excursion (full or partial exemption from taxes), the emperor seized his possessions from the control of the fiscus. An immunity similar to Western European immunity was issued: the patrimony of the court within its possessions, excluding the rights of higher jurisdiction associated with especially serious crimes. Some votchinniks expanded their demenial economy, increased the production of grain, wine, and livestock, becoming involved in commodity-money relations. A considerable number of them, however, preferred to accumulate wealth, most of which were many noble people in the 12th century. acquired not from the income of the patrimony, but from payments from the treasury and gifts from the emperor.
Shire Comneni began to favor pronia, mainly on the terms of military service. Contemporaries compared pronia with beneficiation. Under Manuel I Komnenos (1143-1180), a fundamentally new type of pronia arose - not on the lands of the treasury, but on the private lands of free taxpayers. In other words, the emperors asserted the right of the supreme property of the state to the lands of free peasants. The right to manage the territory granted to pronia, granted together with the right to appropriate state taxes, contributed to the rapid transformation of conditional land ownership into full, hereditary, and free taxpayers into wigs of the owner of pronia, which, in its social essence, turned into private ownership.
In search of funds, Alexei I and his immediate successors resorted to a ruinous practice for free taxpayers - tax farming (having paid to the treasury an amount that exceeded the officially established from the tax district, the farmer more than compensated for the costs with the help of the authorities). Alexei I also encroached on the share of the wealth of the clergy. He confiscated the treasures of the church for the needs of the army and the ransom of captives, granted the possessions of those monasteries that were in decline to secular persons for management with the obligation to establish the economy of the monasteries for the right to appropriate part of their income. He also carried out extraordinary audits of monastic lands, partially confiscating them, because the monks bought classes for next to nothing through corrupt officials and evaded taxes, not always having such a right.
Large estates in the second half of the XII century. began, in turn, to grant part of their possessions to their close associates, who became their "people". Some magnates had large detachments of warriors, which, however, did not consist mainly of vassals (fief relations in the empire remained poorly developed), but of numerous servants and mercenaries, fortified their estates and introduced orders, like a capital court. The deepening process of convergence of the social structure of the patrimony with that of Western Europe was also reflected in the mores of the nobility of the empire. New fashions penetrated from the West, tournaments began to be arranged (especially under Manuel I), the cult of knightly honor and military prowess was established. If out of 7 direct representatives of the Macedonian dynasty, only Basil II was the sovereign-warrior, then almost all Komnenos themselves led their army in battle. The power of the magnates began to spread to the territory of the district, often far beyond the boundaries of their own possessions. Centrifugal tendencies were growing. An attempt to curb the willfulness of the magnates and the arbitrariness of officials was made by the usurper, the cousin of Manuel I, Andronicus I. He reduced taxes, canceled their farming, increased the salaries of the rulers of the provinces, eradicated corruption and brutally suppressed the resistance of Manuel's former associates. The magnates rallied in hatred for Andronicus. Having taken away his throne and life as a result of a bloody coup, representatives of the landed aristocracy and the founders of the new Angela dynasty (1185-1204) practically eliminated the control of the central government over large land ownership. Lands with free peasants were generously distributed in pronia. The estates confiscated by Andronicus were returned to their former owners. Taxes were raised again. By the end of the XII century. a number of magnates of the Peloponnese, Thessaly, South Macedonia, Asia Minor, having established their power in entire regions, refused to obey the central government. There was a threat of the collapse of the empire into independent principalities.
Byzantine city at the end of the 11th-12th centuries. Started in the IX-X centuries. the rise of crafts and trade led to the flourishing of provincial towns. The reform of the monetary system carried out by Alexei I, the increase in the mass of small change necessary for retail trade, the definition of a clear relationship between coins of different denominations improved monetary circulation. The trade relations of the rural district with the local city markets were expanded and strengthened. Fairs were periodically held in cities, near large monasteries and estates. Every autumn, merchants from all over the Balkan Peninsula and from other countries (including Russia) came to Thessalonica.
Unlike Western European cities, Byzantine cities were not under the jurisdiction of nobles. They were ruled by the governors of the sovereign, relying on the garrisons, which then consisted mainly of mercenaries. With the fall in income from taxes from the peasants, the importance of requisitions and duties from the townspeople grew. Cities were deprived of any tax, trade, political privileges. Attempts by the trade and craft elite to achieve more favorable conditions for their professional activities were still severely suppressed. Large patrimonial estates were introduced into the city markets, expanding wholesale trade with other merchants. They acquired houses in the cities, for warehouses, shops, ships, moorings, and increasingly traded without the mediation of city merchants. Foreign merchants, who received benefits from the emperor in exchange for military support, paid two to three times less duties than Byzantine merchants or did not pay them at all. The townspeople had to wage a hard struggle both with the magnates and with the state. The union of the central government with the cities against the recalcitrant magnates in Byzantium did not work out.
By the end of the XII century. signs of impending decline were barely visible in the provincial centers, but clearly manifested in the capital. The petty tutelage of the authorities, the system of restrictions, high taxes and duties, conservative principles of management stifled corporations. Craft and trade in the capital of Hireli. Italian merchants found an ever wider market for their goods, which began to surpass Byzantine in quality, but were much cheaper than them.
International position of Byzantium. Alexei I seized power in a military coup. From the first days of his reign, the new emperor had to overcome extraordinary difficulties. External enemies squeezed the empire in pincers: almost all of Asia Minor was in the hands of the Seljuk Turks, the Normans, having crossed from Italy to the Adriatic coast of the Balkans, captured the strategic fortress city of Dyrrhachium, ruined, defeating the troops of the empire, Epirus, Macedonia, Thessaly. And at the gates of the capital of the Pechenegs. First, Alexei I threw all his strength against the Normans. Only in 1085, with the help of Venice, whose merchants were granted rights
duty-free trade in the empire of the Normans managed to oust from the Balkans.
Even more formidable was the danger from the nomads. The Pechenegs left after the raids across the Danube - they began to settle within the empire. They were supported by the Cumans, whose hordes also invaded the peninsula. The Seljuks entered into negotiations with the Pechenegs on a joint attack on Constantinople. In desperation, the emperor turned to the sovereigns of the West, crying out for help and seriously seducing some circles in the West and played a role both in organizing the First Crusade and in the subsequent claims of Western lords to the wealth of the empire. Meanwhile, Alexei I managed to kindle enmity between the Pechenegs and the Polovtsians. In the spring of 1091, the Pecheneg horde was almost completely destroyed with the help of the Polovtsy in Thrace.
The diplomatic skill of Alexei I in his relations with the crusaders of the First Campaign helped him to return Nicaea at minimal cost, and then, after the victories of the Western knights over the Seljuks, mired in civil strife, to recapture the entire north-west of Asia Minor and the entire southern coast of the Black Sea. The position of the empire was strengthened. The head of the Principality of Antioch, Bohemond of Tarentum, recognized Antioch as a fief of the Byzantine Empire.
The works of Alexei I were continued by his son John II Komnenos (1118-1143). In 1122, he defeated the Pechenegs, who again invaded Thrace and Macedonia, and forever removed the danger from their side. Soon there was a clash with Venice, after John II deprived the Venetians who settled in Constantinople and other cities of the empire of trading privileges. The fleet of Venice retaliated by ravaging the islands and coasts of Byzantium, and John II relented, reaffirming the privileges of the Republic. The Seljuks also remained dangerous. John II conquered the southern coast of Asia Minor from them. But the struggle for Syria and Palestine with the crusaders only weakened the empire. The power of Byzantium was strong only in Northern Syria.
In the middle of the XII century. the center of foreign policy of the empire again moved to the Balkans. Manuel I (1143-1180) repelled a new onslaught of the Sicilian Normans on the Adriatic coast, about. Corfu, Thebes and Corinth, islands of the Aegean Sea. But attempts to transfer the war with them to Italy ended in failure. Nevertheless, Manuel subjugated Serbia, returned Dalmatia, put the kingdom of Hungary in vassal dependence. The victories cost a huge amount of effort and money. The intensified Iconian (Rum) Sultanate of the Seljuk Turks resumed pressure on the eastern borders. In 1176 they utterly defeated the army of Manuel I at Miriokefal. The empire was forced to go on the defensive everywhere.
Empire on the eve of the catastrophe of 1204 The deterioration of the position of the empire in the international arena and the death of Manuel I sharply aggravated the domestic political situation. The power was completely seized by the court camarilla, headed by the regent under the young Alexei II (1180-1183), Mary of Antioch. The treasury was plundered. The arsenals and equipment of the navy were taken away. Maria openly patronized the Italians. The capital seethed with indignation. In 1182 an uprising broke out. The rebels dealt with the inhabitants of the rich Italian quarters, turning them into ruins. Both Maria and then Alexei II were killed.
Andronicus I, who came to power on the crest of the uprising, sought support among the handicraft and trade circles of Constantinople. He stopped the extortion and arbitrariness of officials, abolished the so-called "coastal law" - a custom that allowed robbing wrecked merchant ships. Contemporaries report some revival of trade in the short reign of Andronicus. However, he was forced to partially compensate for the damage suffered by the Venetians in 1182 and restore their privileges. The international position of the empire worsened year by year: back in 1183. The Hungarians captured Dalmatia in 1184. Cyprus was laid aside. The higher nobility kindled the growing discontent of the inhabitants of the capital and weaved intrigues. The disgraced nobles appealed to the Normans for help, and they really again invaded the Balkans in 1185, captured and subjected to a merciless defeat of Thessalonica. Andronicus was blamed for everything. A conspiracy was made. Andronicus was seized and literally torn to pieces by the crowd on the streets of the city.
During the reign of Isaac II Angel (1185-1195, 1203-1204) and his brother Alexei III (1195-1203), the process of decomposition of the central government apparatus progressed rapidly. The emperors were powerless to influence the course of events. In 1186 the Bulgarians threw off the power of the empire, forming the Second Bulgarian Kingdom, and in 1190 the Serbs, who revived their statehood, were also independent. The empire was crumbling before our eyes. In the summer of 1203, the crusaders approached the walls of Constantinople, and Alexei III, refusing to lead the defense of the city, fled from the capital, which was in chaos, yielding the throne to his son Alexei IV (1203-1204), who had been overthrown by him, Isaac.
One of the greatest state formations of antiquity, in the first centuries of our era fell into decay. Numerous tribes, standing on the lower levels of civilization, destroyed much of the heritage of the ancient world. But the Eternal City was not destined to perish: it was reborn on the banks of the Bosphorus and for many years amazed contemporaries with its magnificence.
Second Rome
The history of the emergence of Byzantium dates back to the middle of the 3rd century, when Flavius Valery Aurelius Constantine, Constantine I (the Great) became the Roman emperor. In those days, the Roman state was torn apart by internal strife and besieged by external enemies. The state of the eastern provinces was more prosperous, and Constantine decided to move the capital to one of them. In 324, the construction of Constantinople began on the banks of the Bosphorus, and already in 330 it was declared the New Rome.
Thus began its existence Byzantium, whose history spans eleven centuries.
Of course, there was no talk of any stable state borders in those days. Throughout its long life, the power of Constantinople then weakened, then again gained power.
Justinian and Theodora
In many ways, the state of affairs in the country depended on the personal qualities of its ruler, which is generally characteristic of states with an absolute monarchy, to which Byzantium belonged. The history of its formation is inextricably linked with the name of Emperor Justinian I (527-565) and his wife, Empress Theodora, a very extraordinary woman and, apparently, extremely gifted.
By the beginning of the 5th century, the empire had turned into a small Mediterranean state, and the new emperor was obsessed with the idea of reviving its former glory: he conquered vast territories in the West, achieved relative peace with Persia in the East.
History is inextricably linked with the era of the reign of Justinian. It is thanks to his care that today there are such monuments of ancient architecture as a mosque in Istanbul or the Church of San Vitale in Ravenna. Historians consider one of the most notable achievements of the emperor to be the codification of Roman law, which became the basis of the legal system of many European states.
Medieval manners
Construction and endless wars demanded huge expenses. The Emperor raised taxes endlessly. Discontent grew in society. In January 532, during the appearance of the emperor at the Hippodrome (a kind of analogue of the Colosseum, which accommodated 100 thousand people), riots broke out, which grew into a large-scale riot. It was possible to suppress the uprising with unheard of cruelty: the rebels were persuaded to gather in the Hippodrome, as if for negotiations, after which they locked the gates and killed everyone to the last.
Procopius of Caesarea reports the death of 30 thousand people. It is noteworthy that his wife Theodora kept the emperor’s crown, it was she who convinced Justinian, who was ready to flee, to continue the fight, saying that she prefers death to flight: “royal power is a beautiful shroud.”
In 565, the empire included parts of Syria, the Balkans, Italy, Greece, Palestine, Asia Minor, and the northern coast of Africa. But the endless wars had an adverse effect on the state of the country. After the death of Justinian, the borders began to shrink again.
"Macedonian Revival"
In 867, Basil I came to power, the founder of the Macedonian dynasty, which lasted until 1054. Historians call this era the "Macedonian revival" and consider it the maximum flourishing of the world medieval state, which at that time was Byzantium.
The history of the successful cultural and religious expansion of the Eastern Roman Empire is well known to all the states of Eastern Europe: one of the most characteristic features of the foreign policy of Constantinople was missionary work. It was thanks to the influence of Byzantium that the branch of Christianity spread to the East, which after 1054 became Orthodoxy.
Cultural Capital of the European World
The art of the Eastern Roman Empire was closely associated with religion. Unfortunately, for several centuries, political and religious elites could not agree on whether the worship of sacred images was idolatry (the movement was called iconoclasm). In the process, a huge number of statues, frescoes and mosaics were destroyed.
Extremely indebted to the empire, history throughout its existence was a kind of custodian of ancient culture and contributed to the spread of ancient Greek literature in Italy. Some historians are convinced that the Renaissance was largely due to the existence of the New Rome.
During the era of the Macedonian dynasty, the Byzantine Empire managed to neutralize the two main enemies of the state: the Arabs in the east and the Bulgarians in the north. The history of victory over the latter is very impressive. As a result of a sudden attack on the enemy, Emperor Basil II managed to capture 14,000 prisoners. He ordered them to be blinded, leaving only one eye for every hundredth, after which he let the crippled people go home. Seeing his blind army, the Bulgarian Tsar Samuil suffered a blow from which he never recovered. Medieval customs were indeed very severe.
After the death of Basil II, the last representative of the Macedonian dynasty, the history of the fall of Byzantium began.
End rehearsal
In 1204, Constantinople surrendered for the first time under the onslaught of the enemy: enraged by an unsuccessful campaign in the "promised land", the crusaders broke into the city, announced the creation of the Latin Empire and divided the Byzantine lands between the French barons.
The new formation did not last long: on July 51, 1261, Michael VIII Palaiologos occupied Constantinople without a fight, who announced the revival of the Eastern Roman Empire. The dynasty he founded ruled Byzantium until its fall, but this rule was rather miserable. In the end, the emperors lived on handouts from Genoese and Venetian merchants, and even plundered church and private property in kind.
Fall of Constantinople
By the beginning, only Constantinople, Thessaloniki and small scattered enclaves in southern Greece remained from the former territories. Desperate attempts by the last emperor of Byzantium, Manuel II, to enlist military support were unsuccessful. On May 29, Constantinople was conquered for the second and last time.
The Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II renamed the city Istanbul, and the main Christian temple of the city, the Cathedral of St. Sophia, turned into a mosque. With the disappearance of the capital, Byzantium also disappeared: the history of the most powerful state of the Middle Ages ceased forever.
Byzantium, Constantinople and New Rome
It is a very curious fact that the name "Byzantine Empire" appeared after its collapse: for the first time it is found in the study of Hieronymus Wolf already in 1557. The reason was the name of the city of Byzantium, on the site of which Constantinople was built. The inhabitants themselves called it none other than the Roman Empire, and themselves - the Romans (Romeans).
The cultural influence of Byzantium on the countries of Eastern Europe can hardly be overestimated. However, the first Russian scientist who began to study this medieval state was Yu. A. Kulakovsky. "History of Byzantium" in three volumes was published only at the beginning of the twentieth century and covered the events from 359 to 717. In the last few years of his life, the scientist prepared the fourth volume of the work for publication, but after his death in 1919, the manuscript could not be found.
The great influence that the Byzantine Empire had on the history (as well as religion, culture, art) of many European countries (including ours) in the era of the gloomy Middle Ages is difficult to cover in one article. But we will still try to do this, and tell you as much as possible about the history of Byzantium, its way of life, culture and much more, in a word, using our time machine to send you to the time of the highest heyday of the Byzantine Empire, so get comfortable and let's go.
Where is Byzantium
But before going on a journey through time, first let's deal with the movement in space, and determine where is (or rather was) Byzantium on the map. In fact, at different points in historical development, the boundaries of the Byzantine Empire were constantly changing, expanding during periods of development and shrinking during periods of decline.
For example, this map shows Byzantium in its heyday and, as we can see at that time, it occupied the entire territory of modern Turkey, part of the territory of modern Bulgaria and Italy, and numerous islands in the Mediterranean Sea.
During the reign of Emperor Justinian, the territory of the Byzantine Empire was even larger, and the power of the Byzantine emperor also extended to North Africa (Libya and Egypt), the Middle East, (including the glorious city of Jerusalem). But gradually they began to be forced out of there first, with whom Byzantium was in a state of permanent war for centuries, and then the warlike Arab nomads, carrying in their hearts the banner of a new religion - Islam.
And here the map shows the possessions of Byzantium at the time of its decline, in 1453, as we see at that time its territory was reduced to Constantinople with the surrounding territories and part of modern Southern Greece.
History of Byzantium
The Byzantine Empire is the successor of another great empire -. In 395, after the death of the Roman Emperor Theodosius I, the Roman Empire was divided into Western and Eastern. This division was caused by political reasons, namely, the emperor had two sons, and probably, so as not to deprive any of them, the eldest son Flavius became the emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire, and the youngest son Honorius, respectively, the emperor of the Western Roman Empire. At first, this division was purely nominal, and in the eyes of millions of citizens of the superpower of antiquity, it was still the same one big Roman Empire.
But as we know, the Roman Empire gradually began to lean towards its death, which was largely facilitated by both the decline in morals in the empire itself and the waves of warlike barbarian tribes that now and then rolled onto the borders of the empire. And now, in the 5th century, the Western Roman Empire finally fell, the eternal city of Rome was captured and plundered by the barbarians, the end of antiquity came, the Middle Ages began.
But the Eastern Roman Empire, thanks to a happy coincidence, survived, the center of its cultural and political life was concentrated around the capital of the new empire, Constantinople, which became the largest city in Europe in the Middle Ages. The waves of barbarians passed by, although, of course, they also had their influence, but for example, the rulers of the Eastern Roman Empire prudently preferred to pay off gold rather than fight from the ferocious conqueror Attila. Yes, and the destructive impulse of the barbarians was directed precisely at Rome and the Western Roman Empire, which saved the Eastern Empire, from which, after the fall of the Western Empire in the 5th century, a new great state of Byzantium or the Byzantine Empire was formed.
Although the population of Byzantium consisted mainly of Greeks, they always felt themselves to be the heirs of the great Roman Empire and called them accordingly - "Romans", which in Greek means "Romans".
Since the 6th century, during the reign of the brilliant emperor Justinian and his no less brilliant wife (our website has an interesting article about this “first lady of Byzantium”, follow the link), the Byzantine Empire begins to slowly recapture the territories once occupied by barbarians. So the Byzantines from the barbarians of the Lombards captured significant territories of modern Italy, which once belonged to the Western Roman Empire, the power of the Byzantine emperor extends to northern Africa, the local city of Alexandria becomes an important economic and cultural center of the empire in this region. The military campaigns of Byzantium extend to the East, where for several centuries there have been continuous wars with the Persians.
The very geographical position of Byzantium, which spread its possessions on three continents at once (Europe, Asia, Africa), made the Byzantine Empire a kind of bridge between the West and the East, a country in which the cultures of different peoples were mixed. All this left its mark on social and political life, religious and philosophical ideas and, of course, art.
Conventionally, historians divide the history of the Byzantine Empire into five periods, we give a brief description of them:
- The first period of the initial heyday of the empire, its territorial expansion under the emperors Justinian and Heraclius lasted from the 5th to the 8th centuries. During this period, there is an active dawn of the Byzantine economy, culture, and military affairs.
- The second period began with the reign of the Byzantine emperor Leo III the Isaurian and lasted from 717 to 867. At this time, the empire, on the one hand, reaches the greatest development of its culture, but on the other hand, it is overshadowed by numerous turmoils, including religious ones (iconoclasm), which we will write about in more detail later.
- The third period is characterized on the one hand by the end of unrest and the transition to relative stability, on the other hand by constant wars with external enemies, it lasted from 867 to 1081. Interestingly, during this period, Byzantium was actively at war with its neighbors, the Bulgarians and our distant ancestors, the Russians. Yes, it was during this period that the campaigns of our Kyiv princes Oleg (Prophetic), Igor, Svyatoslav against Constantinople (as the capital of Byzantium Constantinople was called in Russia) took place.
- The fourth period began with the reign of the Komnenos dynasty, the first emperor Alexei Komnenos ascended the Byzantine throne in 1081. Also, this period is known as the “Komnenian Revival”, the name speaks for itself, during this period Byzantium revives its cultural and political greatness, somewhat faded after unrest and constant wars. The Komnenos turned out to be wise rulers, skillfully balancing in those difficult conditions in which Byzantium found itself at that time: from the East, the borders of the empire were increasingly pressed by the Seljuk Turks, from the West, Catholic Europe was breathing, considering the Orthodox Byzantines apostates and heretics, which is little better than infidel Muslims.
- The fifth period is characterized by the decline of Byzantium, which, as a result, led to its death. It lasted from 1261 to 1453. During this period, Byzantium is waging a desperate and unequal struggle for survival. The growing strength of the Ottoman Empire, the new, this time the Muslim superpower of the Middle Ages, finally swept away Byzantium.
Fall of Byzantium
What are the main reasons for the fall of Byzantium? Why did an empire that owned such vast territories and such power (both military and cultural) fall? First of all, the most important reason was the strengthening of the Ottoman Empire, in fact, Byzantium became one of their first victims, subsequently the Ottoman Janissaries and Sipahs would shake many other European nations on their nerves, even reaching Vienna in 1529 (from where they were knocked out only by the combined efforts of the Austrian and the Polish troops of King Jan Sobieski).
But in addition to the Turks, Byzantium also had a number of internal problems, constant wars exhausted this country, many territories that it owned in the past were lost. The conflict with Catholic Europe also had an effect, resulting in a fourth one, directed not against infidel Muslims, but against the Byzantines, these "wrong Orthodox Christian heretics" (from the point of view of Catholic crusaders, of course). Needless to say, the fourth crusade, which resulted in the temporary conquest of Constantinople by the crusaders and the formation of the so-called "Latin Republic" was another important reason for the subsequent decline and fall of the Byzantine Empire.
Also, the fall of Byzantium was greatly facilitated by the numerous political unrest that accompanied the final fifth stage in the history of Byzantium. So, for example, the Byzantine emperor John Palaiologos V, who ruled from 1341 to 1391, was overthrown from the throne three times (it is interesting that first by his father-in-law, then by his son, then by his grandson). The Turks, on the other hand, skillfully used the intrigues at the court of the Byzantine emperors for their own selfish purposes.
In 1347, the worst epidemic of the plague swept through the territory of Byzantium, black death, as this disease was called in the Middle Ages, the epidemic claimed about a third of the inhabitants of Byzantium, which was another reason for the weakening and fall of the empire.
When it became clear that the Turks were about to sweep away Byzantium, the latter began again to seek help from the West, but relations with the Catholic countries, as well as the Pope of Rome, were more than strained, only Venice came to the rescue, whose merchants traded profitably with Byzantium, and in Constantinople itself even had a whole Venetian merchant quarter. At the same time, Genoa, the former trade and political opponent of Venice, on the contrary, helped the Turks in every possible way and was interested in the fall of Byzantium (primarily with the aim of causing problems to its commercial competitors, the Venetians). In a word, instead of uniting and helping Byzantium resist the attack of the Ottoman Turks, the Europeans pursued their own interests, a handful of Venetian soldiers and volunteers, yet sent to help Constantinople besieged by the Turks, could no longer do anything.
On May 29, 1453, the ancient capital of Byzantium, the city of Constantinople, fell (later renamed Istanbul by the Turks), and the once great Byzantium fell with it.
Byzantine culture
The culture of Byzantium is the product of a mixture of cultures of many peoples: Greeks, Romans, Jews, Armenians, Egyptian Copts and the first Syrian Christians. The most striking part of Byzantine culture is its ancient heritage. Many traditions from the time of ancient Greece were preserved and transformed in Byzantium. So the spoken written language of the citizens of the empire was precisely Greek. The cities of the Byzantine Empire retained Greek architecture, the structure of Byzantine cities, again borrowed from ancient Greece: the heart of the city was the agora - a wide square where public meetings were held. The cities themselves were lavishly decorated with fountains and statues.
The best masters and architects of the empire built the palaces of the Byzantine emperors in Constantinople, the most famous among them is the Great Imperial Palace of Justinian.
The remains of this palace in a medieval engraving.
Ancient crafts continued to develop actively in Byzantine cities, the masterpieces of the local jewelers, craftsmen, weavers, blacksmiths, artists were valued throughout Europe, the skills of Byzantine masters were actively adopted by representatives of other peoples, including the Slavs.
Of great importance in the social, cultural, political and sports life of Byzantium were hippodromes, where chariot races were held. For the Romans, they were about the same as football is for many today. There were even their own, in modern terms, fan clubs rooting for one or another team of chariot hounds. Just as modern ultras football fans who support different football clubs from time to time arrange fights and brawls among themselves, the Byzantine fans of chariot racing were also very eager for this matter.
But besides just unrest, various groups of Byzantine fans also had a strong political influence. So once an ordinary brawl of fans at the hippodrome led to the largest uprising in the history of Byzantium, known as "Nika" (literally "win", this was the slogan of the rebellious fans). The uprising of Nika's supporters almost led to the overthrow of Emperor Justinian. Only thanks to the determination of his wife Theodora and the bribery of the leaders of the uprising, he was able to suppress.
Hippodrome in Constantinople.
In the jurisprudence of Byzantium, Roman law, inherited from the Roman Empire, reigned supreme. Moreover, it was in the Byzantine Empire that the theory of Roman law acquired its final form, such key concepts as law, law, and custom were formed.
The economy in Byzantium was also largely driven by the legacy of the Roman Empire. Each free citizen paid taxes to the treasury from his property and labor activity (a similar tax system was also practiced in ancient Rome). High taxes often became the cause of mass discontent, and even unrest. Byzantine coins (known as Roman coins) circulated throughout Europe. These coins were very similar to the Roman ones, but the Byzantine emperors made only a number of minor changes to them. The first coins that began to be minted in the countries of Western Europe, in turn, were an imitation of Roman coins.
This is what coins looked like in the Byzantine Empire.
Religion, of course, had a great influence on the culture of Byzantium, about which read on.
Religion of Byzantium
In religious terms, Byzantium became the center of Orthodox Christianity. But before that, it was on its territory that the most numerous communities of the first Christians were formed, which greatly enriched its culture, especially in terms of the construction of temples, as well as in the art of icon painting, which originated precisely in Byzantium.
Gradually, Christian churches became the center of the public life of Byzantine citizens, pushing aside the ancient agoras and hippodromes with their violent fans in this regard. Monumental Byzantine churches, built in the 5th-10th centuries, combine both ancient architecture (from which Christian architects borrowed a lot of things) and already Christian symbolism. The most beautiful temple creation in this regard can rightfully be considered the Church of St. Sophia in Constantinople, which was later converted into a mosque.
Art of Byzantium
The art of Byzantium was inextricably linked with religion, and the most beautiful thing that it gave to the world was the art of icon painting and the art of mosaic frescoes, which adorned many churches.
True, one of the political and religious unrest in the history of Byzantium, known as Iconoclasm, was connected with icons. This was the name of the religious and political trend in Byzantium, which considered icons to be idols, and therefore subject to extermination. In 730 Emperor Leo III the Isaurian officially banned the veneration of icons. As a result, thousands of icons and mosaics were destroyed.
Subsequently, the power changed, in 787 Empress Irina ascended the throne, who returned the veneration of icons, and the art of icon painting was revived with the same strength.
The art school of Byzantine icon painters set the traditions of icon painting for the whole world, including its great influence on the art of icon painting in Kievan Rus.
Byzantium, video
And finally, an interesting video about the Byzantine Empire.
Around the end of the 12th century. Byzantium was experiencing a period of rise in its power and influence in the world. After that, the era of its decline began, which progressed, which ended with the complete collapse of the empire and its disappearance forever from the political map of the world in the middle of the 15th century. It is unlikely that anyone could have predicted such an end to the brilliant state at the beginning of the 11th century, when the Macedonian dynasty was in power. In 1081 she was replaced on the throne by a no less imposing dynasty of emperors from the Komnenos family, which remained ruling until 1118.
Byzantium was considered one of the most powerful and wealthy states in the world, its possessions covered a vast territory - about 1 million square meters. km with a population of 20-24 million people. The capital of the state, Constantinople, with its million-strong population, majestic buildings, countless treasures for the European peoples, was the center of the entire civilized world. The gold coin of the Byzantine emperors - the bezant - remained the universal currency of the Middle Ages. The Byzantines considered themselves the main custodians of the cultural heritage of antiquity and at the same time the stronghold of Christianity. No wonder the sacred writings of Christians around the world - the Gospels - were also written in Greek.
The growing power of the Byzantine Empire was reflected in an active foreign policy, which rested on military achievements as much as on the missionary activities of the church. According to the revived ideology of Byzantine ecumenism, the empire retained its historical and legal rights to all territories that were once part of it or were dependent on it. The return of these lands was considered a priority of Byzantine foreign policy. The troops of the empire won one victory after another, adding to it new provinces in the Middle East, southern Italy, Transcaucasia, and the Balkans. The Byzantine navy, equipped with "Greek fire", drove the Arabs out of the Mediterranean.
The missionary activity of the Orthodox Church acquired an unprecedented scope before. its main destinations were the Balkans, Eastern and Central Europe. In a fierce competition with Rome, Byzantium managed to win in Bulgaria, including it in the orbit of Byzantine culture and politics. A huge success of imperial foreign policy was the Christianization of Russia. Byzantine influences became more and more tangible in the territory of Moravia and Pannonia.
Until the 20th century. the classical Byzantine model of civilization finally took shape with all the features of its state, socio-economic and cultural life, which fundamentally distinguished it from Western Europe. The most characteristic feature of Byzantium was the omnipotence of a centralized state in the form of an unlimited autocratic monarchy. At its center was the emperor, who was considered the only legitimate heir to the Roman rulers, the father of a great family of all peoples and states that belonged to the sphere of influence of Byzantium. The all-pervading control of a rigidly centralized state machine over society, its petty regulation and constant guardianship would be impossible without a powerful caste of state officials. This model had a clear hierarchy of positions and titles, consisting of 18 classes and 5 categories - a kind of "Table of Ranks". The faceless army of bureaucrats in the center and locally carried out fiscal, administrative, judicial and police functions with zeal and perseverance, which for the population turned into an ever-growing burden of taxes and duties, the flourishing of corruption and servility. Public service provided a person with an honorable place in society, became the main source of its income.
The church was an extremely important component of Byzantine statehood. It ensured the spiritual unity of the country, educated the population in the spirit of imperial patriotism, and played a colossal role in the foreign policy of Byzantium. In the X-XI centuries. the number of monasteries and monks continued to grow, as well as church and monastic land ownership. Although, according to the Byzantine tradition, the church was subordinated to the authority of the emperor, its role in the socio-political and cultural life was constantly growing. To the extent that the power of the emperors weakened, the church became the main bearer of the doctrine of Byzantine ecumenism.
at the same time, in Byzantium, unlike the countries of the West, a civil society with its inherent corporate ties and institutions, a developed system of private property, did not form. The personality there seemed to be one on one with the emperor and God. Such a social system has received in modern historiography the apt name of individualism without freedom.
A characteristic feature of the socio-economic development of Byzantium in the IX-XV centuries. can be considered the dominance of the village over the city. Unlike Western Europe, in Byzantium, feudal relations in the countryside developed very slowly. Private ownership of land remained extremely weak. The long existence of the peasant community, the widespread use of slave labor, state control and tax pressure determined the nature of social development in the countryside. However, over time, large landed estates arose that belonged to secular and church owners. They became the main centers of handicraft production and trade.
The progressive degradation of the city turned out to be another feature of the socio-economic development of Byzantium. In contrast to Western Europe, the city did not become the main center and factor of progress there. Byzantine cities had almost nothing in common with the ancient ones. They rather resembled large villages in appearance, monotonous architecture, primitive amenities, close ties of their inhabitants with agriculture. Traditions of a special urban culture, self-government, awareness of their own municipal interests with their inherent rights and obligations of residents have not been formed in the country. The city was under the strict control of the state. In the Byzantine cities, corporate professional associations of artisans and merchants did not take shape according to the guild model. In the last decades of the existence of the empire, its cities actually turned into an annex to rural crafts and trade, developed in feudal estates.
One of the consequences of the decline of the Byzantine city was the degradation of trade. Byzantine merchants gradually lost their capital and influence in society. The state did not protect their interests. The main monetary income of the social elite was brought not by trade, but by public service and land ownership. Therefore, almost all of the external and internal trade of Byzantium eventually passed into the hands of the Venetian and Genoese merchants.
Byzantine culture experienced an upsurge compared to the previous period, which was especially noticeable in literature, architecture, fine arts, and education. In the XI century. in Constantinople, the university was revived with the faculties of philosophy and law. The works of Byzantine culture of this time are especially large-scale, magnificent, decorated with complex symbols and allegories. The revival of cultural life was accompanied by a new surge of interest in the achievements of the ancient era. Byzantine society never lost interest in antiquity. The libraries kept priceless texts of ancient thinkers, writers, statesmen and lawyers, who copied in numerous scriptoriums, retold and commented on by the then Byzantine intellectuals. True, turning to antiquity did not at all mean a break with medieval church culture. On the contrary, church figures became the main experts in ancient texts. Admiration for the ancient heritage was mostly formal, closely combined with Orthodox orthodoxy. Perhaps that is why the ancient tradition in Byzantium, unlike the West, did not become an impulse for the emergence of a new cultural trend - humanism - and did not lead to the Renaissance.
The control of the state and the church over cultural life increased, contributed to its unification and canonization. A pattern, a time-honored tradition, reigned in cultural life. The Orthodox clergy cultivated the mood of asceticism, avoidance of vigorous activity, passive-gazing attitude towards the outside world. The self-consciousness of the ordinary Byzantine was saturated with fatalism and pessimism. All these trends in the spiritual life of society were embodied in hesychasm, a religious and philosophical doctrine developed by the monk Gregory Palim and officially recognized by the Orthodox Church at the local council in 1351. The victory of hesychasm over humanism and rationalism greatly contributed to the lag of Byzantium from the West and can be considered an intellectual harbinger the decline of the country.
Rise of the Byzantine Empire in the XI-XII centuries. was the last in its thousand-year history. It was not accompanied by reforms that would have made it possible to modernize the archaic system of state administration and liberate individual opportunities and class interests. Everyone was fighting for power, but no one had the courage or desire for change. It was not lucky to breathe new life into the ossified society in its development. As a result, Byzantium became a field of struggle between the civilizations of East and West, which rapidly progressed, represented by the world of Islam and Catholicism.
The first to strike were the Seljuk Turks. The heavy defeat that the Byzantine army suffered from them in 1176 shook the "building" of the empire so that cracks appeared in it both outside and inside. The empire was engulfed in the flames of civil war. From under its influence liberated Orthodox Bulgaria and Serbia. However, this was only a prelude to the next shock.
In 1204, Constantinople was captured and mercilessly robbed by the crusader army. The Byzantine Empire temporarily ceased to exist. On its territory, the Catholic Latin, Orthodox Nicaean, Trebizond empires and the Epirus state were formed. And although in 1261 Emperor Michael VIII of Nicaea was lucky to return the ancient capital and restore the Byzantine Empire, it never rose to the heights of its former glory and power. The Byzantine emperors of the new Palaiologos dynasty no longer dreamed of territorial conquests, striving to preserve what they had.
Byzantine society split into three main groups according to its foreign policy orientation. The minority, represented by the educated elite, was looking for alliance and help in the West, showing a willingness to pay for this with the loss of ecclesiastical sovereignty or even the adoption of Catholicism. However, each time agreements on religious union were officially concluded, in particular in 1274 and 1439, they ran into fierce resistance from the Orthodox Church and the general population, hostile to the West. Purely religious matters concealed deep fundamental differences between the two Christian civilizations - Western and Eastern, and their organic synthesis was then impossible.
In opposition to the so-called Latinophiles, a party of Turkophiles formed in Byzantium, convinced that the Turkish turban was better for their homeland than the papal tiara. At the same time, the main argument was the belief in the religious tolerance of Muslims. There was also a large group of so-called orthodox people who urged not to change anything and leave everything as it is. The Orthodox countries, in turn, did not show the ability to consolidate, fighting with Byzantium on the side of either Muslims or Catholics. It didn't take long to pay off.
Since the 60s of the XIV century. the Turkish sultans moved on to the systematic conquest of the Balkans. In 1362 they captured the large Byzantine city of Adrianople, moving their capital here. The victory for the Turks in the battle of Kosovo in 1389, in which they defeated the Serbian and Bosnian troops, was decisive for the fate of the Balkan countries. In 1392, Macedonia fell victim to the conquerors, and a year later, the Bulgarian capital Tir-novo.
Battle of Kosovo. In 1356r. the Turks crossed the Aegean and invaded Europe, in 1362r. captured Thessaloniki and Adrianople - the two most important Greek cities after Athens. Only Serbia put up serious resistance, and in Kosovo the ruler of Serbia, Lazar, gathered an army of 15-20 thousand, consisting of Serbs, Bulgarians, Bosnians, Albanians, Poles, Hungarians and Mongols. The Turkish army of M glad numbered 27-30 thousand people. During the battle, a Serbian warrior entered the Turkish camp, pretending to be a deserter, and mortally wounded Murad with a poisoned dagger. The Turks were at first confused, but during the battle they managed to inflict a general defeat on the army, which, according to legend, spoke seven different languages. Lazar was captured and brutally killed, Serbia had to pay tribute to the Turks, and the Serbs had to serve in the Turkish army. The battle on the Kosovo field, the exploits of the Serbian soldiers, who fought heroically with the enemy, were reflected in the Serbian heroic epic. In 1448, the army under the command of the Hungarian prince Janos Hunyadi once again fought against the Turks in Kosovo. This battle was the last attempt to save Constantinople, but at the decisive moment of the battle, the Wallachian allies of the Hungarian prince went over to the side of the Turks, who again won a decisive victory. Five years later, the Turks finally occupied Constantinople.
By the time the West realized the scale of the Turkish threat, it was already too late. Both crusades against the Ottoman Empire, organized by Catholic countries, ended in disaster. The Crusader troops were defeated by the Turks in the battle of Nikopol in 1396 and near Varna in 1444. The last act of this drama was the fall of Constantinople in 1453. The Byzantine Empire ceased to exist, there was no one to defend it, except for a handful of civilians and several hundred desperate Italian mercenaries - condottieri.
However, Byzantinism as a cultural phenomenon continued to exist in the life of the peoples of the region. Its traditions were partially assimilated by the Ottoman Empire - the heir of Byzantium in the geopolitical aspect, partially passed to Muscovy - the only Orthodox country at that time that retained its independence.
The end has come. But at the beginning of the 4th c. the center of the state moved to the calmer and richer eastern, Balkan and Asia Minor provinces. Soon Constantinople, founded by Emperor Constantine on the site of the ancient Greek city of Byzantium, became the capital. True, the West also had its own emperors - the administration of the empire was divided. But it was the sovereigns of Constantinople who were considered elders. In the 5th century The Eastern, or Byzantine, as they said in the West, the empire withstood the attack of the barbarians. Moreover, in the VI century. its rulers conquered many lands of the West occupied by the Germans and held them for two centuries. Then they were Roman emperors, not only in title, but also in essence. Having lost by the IX century. a large part of the western possessions, Byzantine Empire nevertheless continued to live and develop. She existed before 1453., when the last stronghold of her power - Constantinople fell under the pressure of the Turks. All this time, the empire remained in the eyes of its subjects as a legitimate successor. Its inhabitants called themselves Romans, which in Greek means "Romans", although the main part of the population were Greeks.
The geographical position of Byzantium, which spread its possessions on two continents - in Europe and Asia, and sometimes extended power to the regions of Africa, made this empire, as it were, a link between East and West. The constant bifurcation between the eastern and western worlds became the historical destiny of the Byzantine Empire. The mixture of Greco-Roman and Eastern traditions left its mark on public life, statehood, religious and philosophical ideas, culture and art of Byzantine society. However, Byzantium went on its own historical way, in many respects different from the fate of the countries of both the East and the West, which determined the features of its culture.
Map of the Byzantine Empire
History of the Byzantine Empire
The culture of the Byzantine Empire was created by many nations. In the first centuries of the existence of the Roman state, all the eastern provinces of Rome were under the rule of its emperors: Balkan Peninsula, Asia Minor, southern Crimea, Western Armenia, Syria, Palestine, Egypt, northeast Libya. The creators of the new cultural unity were the Romans, Armenians, Syrians, Egyptian Copts and the barbarians who settled within the borders of the empire.
The most powerful cultural layer in this cultural diversity was the ancient heritage. Long before the emergence of the Byzantine Empire, thanks to the campaigns of Alexander the Great, all the peoples of the Middle East were subjected to the powerful unifying influence of ancient Greek, Hellenic culture. This process is called Hellenization. Adopted Greek traditions and immigrants from the West. So the culture of the renewed empire developed as a continuation of the mainly ancient Greek culture. Greek language already in the 7th century. reigned supreme in the written and oral speech of the Romans (Romans).
The East, unlike the West, did not experience devastating barbarian raids. Because there was no terrible cultural decline. Most of the ancient Greco-Roman cities continued to exist in the Byzantine world. In the first centuries of the new era, they retained their former appearance and structure. As in Hellas, the agora remained the heart of the city - a vast square where public meetings were previously held. Now, however, people increasingly gathered at the hippodrome - a place of performances and races, announcements of decrees and public executions. The city was decorated with fountains and statues, magnificent houses of local nobility and public buildings. In the capital - Constantinople - the best masters erected monumental palaces of emperors. The most famous of the early ones - the Great Imperial Palace of Justinian I, the famous conqueror of the Germans, who ruled in 527-565 - was erected over the Sea of Marmara. The appearance and decoration of the capital's palaces reminded of the times of the ancient Greek-Macedonian rulers of the Middle East. But the Byzantines also used the Roman urban planning experience, in particular the plumbing system and baths (terms).
Most of the major cities of antiquity remained centers of trade, crafts, science, literature and art. Such were Athens and Corinth in the Balkans, Ephesus and Nicaea in Asia Minor, Antioch, Jerusalem and Berytus (Beirut) in Syro-Palestines, Alexandria in ancient Egypt.
The collapse of many cities in the West led to the shift of trade routes to the east. At the same time, barbarian invasions and conquests made land roads unsafe. Law and order were preserved only in the possessions of the emperors of Constantinople. Therefore, the "dark" centuries filled with wars (V-VIII centuries) became sometimes heyday of Byzantine ports. They served as transit points for military detachments sent to numerous wars, and as stations for the strongest Byzantine fleet in Europe. But the main meaning and source of their existence was maritime trade. The commercial relations of the Romans stretched from India to Britain.
Ancient crafts continued to develop in the cities. Many products of early Byzantine masters are real works of art. The masterpieces of Roman jewelers - made of precious metals and stones, colored glass and ivory - aroused admiration in the countries of the Middle East and barbarian Europe. Germans, Slavs, Huns adopted the skills of the Romans, imitated them in their own creations.
Coins in the Byzantine Empire
For a long time, only Roman coins circulated throughout Europe. The emperors of Constantinople continued to mint Roman money, making only minor changes to their appearance. The right of the Roman emperors to power was not questioned even by fierce enemies, and the only mint in Europe was proof of this. The first in the West to dare to start minting his own coin was the Frankish king in the second half of the 6th century. However, even then the barbarians only imitated the Roman model.
Legacy of the Roman Empire
The Roman heritage of Byzantium is even more noticeable in the system of government. Politicians and philosophers of Byzantium did not get tired of repeating that Constantinople is the New Rome, that they themselves are Romans, and their power is the only empire protected by God. The branched apparatus of the central government, the tax system, the legal doctrine of the inviolability of the imperial autocracy remained in it without fundamental changes.
The life of the emperor, furnished with extraordinary splendor, admiration for him were inherited from the traditions of the Roman Empire. In the late Roman period, even before the Byzantine era, palace rituals included many elements of Eastern despotisms. Basileus, the emperor, appeared before the people only accompanied by a brilliant retinue and an impressive armed guard, who followed in a strictly defined order. They prostrated themselves before the basileus, during the speech from the throne they covered him with special curtains, and only a few received the right to sit in his presence. Only the highest ranks of the empire were allowed to eat at his meal. The reception of foreign ambassadors, whom the Byzantines tried to impress with the greatness of the emperor's power, was especially pompously arranged.
The central administration was concentrated in several secret departments: the Shvaz department of the logotheta (steward) of the genikon - the main tax institution, the department of the military cash desk, the department of mail and external relations, the department for managing the property of the imperial family, etc. In addition to the staff of officials in the capital, each department had officials sent on temporary assignments to the provinces. There were also palace secrets that controlled the institutions that directly served the royal court: food, wardrobe, stables, repairs.
Byzantium retained Roman law and foundations of Roman judiciary. In the Byzantine era, the development of the Roman theory of law was completed, such theoretical concepts of jurisprudence as law, law, custom were finalized, the difference between private and public law was clarified, the foundations for regulating international relations, the norms of criminal law and process were determined.
The legacy of the Roman Empire was a clear tax system. A free citizen or peasant paid taxes and duties to the treasury from all types of his property and from any kind of labor activity. He paid for land ownership, and for a garden in a city, and for a mule or sheep in a barn, and for a room for rent, and for a workshop, and for a shop, and for a ship, and for a boat. Practically not a single product on the market passed from hand to hand, bypassing the watchful eye of officials.
Warfare
Byzantium also preserved the Roman art of waging a "correct war." The empire carefully kept, copied and studied ancient strategons - treatises on martial arts.
Periodically, the authorities reformed the army, partly because of the emergence of new enemies, partly to meet the capabilities and needs of the state itself. The basis of the Byzantine army became the cavalry. Its number in the army ranged from 20% in late Roman times to more than one third in the 10th century. An insignificant part, but very combat-ready, became cataphracts - heavy cavalry.
navy Byzantium was also a direct inheritance of Rome. The following facts speak of his strength. In the middle of the 7th century Emperor Constantine V was able to send 500 ships to the mouth of the Danube to conduct military operations against the Bulgarians, and in 766 - even more than 2 thousand. The largest ships (dromons) with three rows of oars took on board up to 100-150 soldiers and about the same rowers.
An innovation in the fleet was "greek fire"- a mixture of oil, combustible oils, sulfur asphalt, - invented in the 7th century. and terrified enemies. He was thrown out of the siphons, arranged in the form of bronze monsters with open mouths. Siphons could be turned in different directions. The ejected liquid spontaneously ignited and burned even on water. It was with the help of "Greek fire" that the Byzantines repulsed two Arab invasions - in 673 and 718.
Military construction was excellently developed in the Byzantine Empire, based on a rich engineering tradition. Byzantine engineers - builders of fortresses were famous far beyond the borders of the country, even in distant Khazaria, where a fortress was built according to their plans
The large seaside cities, in addition to the walls, were protected by underwater breakwaters and massive chains that blocked the entrance of the enemy fleet to the bays. Such chains closed the Golden Horn in Constantinople and the Gulf of Thessaloniki.
For the defense and siege of fortresses, the Byzantines used various engineering structures (ditches and palisades, tunnels and embankments) and all kinds of tools. Byzantine documents mention battering rams, mobile towers with bridges, stone-throwing ballistas, hooks for capturing and destroying enemy siege devices, cauldrons from which boiling tar and molten lead were poured onto the heads of the besiegers.
