The Byzantine Empire - Pascack Valley Regional School District

204
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1453 Ottoman
Turks capture
Constantinople;
end of Byzantine
Emoire
1480 Expulsion of
Tatars from Russia
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partly
CHAPTER 9 ¯ Civilization
duced different versions of Christianity that were cup
turally as well as organizationally separate, even hostile.
The civilizations had little mutual contact. Until late in
this period, commercial patterns in both cases ran
south to north rather than east to west. During most of
the postclassical rnillennium, major portions of eastern
Europe were significantly more advanced than western
Europe !n politica! sophistication, cultural range, and
economm vitality. When the two civilizations did meet,
in this period and later, they met as distant cousins,
related but not close, kin.
The Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was shaped by the
decline of the Roman Empire and the rise of
the Arabs. The empire weathered many
attacks and flourished for several centuries.
senses began in the 4th
c.E., when the Romans set up their eastern
ple. This city quickly became the
center of the otherwise fading imperial
Emperor Constantine constructed a host of
ags, including Christian churches, in his
city, which was built on the foundations ofa previmodest
town called Byzantium. Soon, separate
the new metropolis, even
the western portion of the empire fell to the
They warded off invading Huns
&ile enjoying a solid tax base in
~he eastern Mediterranean.
was responsible fbr the Balkan peninnorthern
Middle East, the Mediterranean
h AtHca. Although for several centuries
the court language of the eastern empire,
the common tongue, and after E~nperorJusthe
6th century, it became the official ian-
Indeed, in the eyes of the easterners,
inferior, barbaric means of commu-
Knowledge of Greek enabled the scholars of
:reely in the ancient Athenand
literary classics and in the HeP
~ and scientific treatises.
from the high levels of
in the eastern Mediterranean.
into administration and trade as
Syrians, long excluded ti’om
inistrati0n, moved to Constantinople and
bureaucracy of the Byzantine
empire faced many foreign enemies,
in Eastern Europe: Byzantium and Orthodox Europe 197
although the pressure was less severe than that provided
by the Germanic tribes in the West. It responded by
yecruiting armies in the Middle East it,sel*; not by relying
on barbarian troops. Complex administration
around a remote emperor, who was surrounded by
elaborate ceremonies, increasingly defined the
empire’s political style.
The early history of the Byzantine Empire was rnarked
by a recurrent threat of invasion. Eastern empm’ors,
relying on their local military base plus able
generalship by upper-class Greeks, beat off
attacks by the Sassanian Empire in Persia and
by Germanic invaders. Then, in 533 c.~;., with
the empire’s borders reasonably secure, a Emperor
new emperm; Justinian, tried to reconquer
Just[Nan
western territory in a Iast futile effort to restore an
empire like that of Rome. He was sombre; autocratic,
and prone to grandiose ideas. A contemporary historian
named Procopius described him as "at once villainous
and arnenable; as people say colloquially, a
moron. He was never truthful with anyone but always
gu leful in what he said and did, yet easily hoodwinked
by any who wanted to deceive him." The emperor was
also heavily influenced by his wi~ Theodora, a courtesan
connected with Constantinople’s horse-racing
world, who was eager ~br power. Theodora stifferied
J stm~an s resolve in response to popular um’est and
pushed the plans for expansion.
Justinian’s positive conuibutions to tbe Byzantine
Empire lay in rebuilding Constantinople, ravaged by earlier
riots against high taxes, and systematizing the
Roman legal code. Extending later Roman architecture,
with its addition of domes to earlier classical styles, Justinian’s
builders created many new structures, the most
inspiring of which was the huge new church, the Hagia
Sophia, long one of the wonders of the Christian world.
This was an achievement in engineering as wei! as architecture,
tbr no one had previously been able to build the
sut~ports needed for a dome of its size. Justinian’s codificanon
of’ Roman law reached a goal earlier emperors
!tad sought but not achieved, summing up and reconciling
many prior edicts and decisions. Unified law not only
reduced conthsion but also united and organized the
new empire, paralleling the state’s bureaucracy. Updated
by later emperors, the code ultimately helped spread
Roman legal principles in various parts of Europe.
Justinian’s military exploits had more ambiguous
results. The emperor wanted to recapture the old
Roman Empire itself. With the aid of a brilliant genm~l,
Bellsarlus, new gains were r~a?te’: in north AlHca and
Italy. Justinian’s forces made their temporary capital,

198
PART I1| ¯ The PostclassicN Period, 500-!450: New Faith and New Commerce
Ravenna, a key artistic center, embellished by some ~f
the most beaugfful Christian mosaics known anywhere m
the world (Figure 9.2). But the major Italian holdings
¯ - ble to witbstand Germanic pressure,
were short-hveCt, una
and north African territory was soon besieged as well.
Furthermore, Jusnman westward ambitions had
weakened the empire in its own sphere. Persian forces
attacked in the northern Middle East, while
new Slavic groups, moving into the Balkans,
pressed on another front (Map 9.1).Justinian
finally managed to create a new line of
The Byzantine defense and even pushed Persian ~{br~es back
Empire Under
Justinian
again, but some Middle Eastern terrltory was
lost. Furthermore, n!l these wars, ofi~nsive
and defensive alike, created new tax pressures on the
government and forcedJusdnian to exertions that contributed
to his death in 565 c.I~.
- - *--~.*;~ian’s successors began to con-
Ati~er some setbacKs,3uam*
centrate on defending the eastern empire itself. Persian
successes in the nortbern Middle East were reversed in
the 7th century, and the population was forcibly recon-
¯
verted to Cbristiamty. The
resultant empire, centered in
the southern Balkans and the western and central portions
of present-day Turkey, was a t~r cry from Rome’s
greatness. However, it was sufficient to amplify a rich
ATLANTIC
MAP 9.1 The Byzantine Empire
holdings outside the northeastern MedRerranean within 50 years after his death.
FIGUR~ 9.2 Dazzling mosaics from the early period of the
Byzantine Empire illustrate some of the highest achievements
of Byzantine religious art. This mosaic features a rather militant
Christ the Redeemer¯
Hellenistic culture and blend it more Ihally with Christianity
while advancing Roman achievements in engineering
and military tactics as well as law.
The Byzantine Empire was also strong enough to
withstand ’the great new threat of the 7th century, the

C H A P T E R 9 ¯ Civilization in Eastern Europe: Byzantium and Orthodox Europe 199
of the Arab Muslims, though not without massive
By tile mid-7th centugr; the Arabs had built a
that challenged Byzantine naval supremacy in the
Mediterranean while repeatedly attacking
They quickly swallowed tile empire’s
the easteru seaboard of the
~e northern Middle
as well. Arab cultural and commeralso
affected patterns of life in Constanterritory
was cut back to about half
earlier eastern Roman Empire.
Byzantine Empire held out nevertheless. A
r saege of tile capita! in 717-718 c.E. was beaten back,
~ because of a new weapon, a kind of napalm called
fire (a petroleum, quicklime, and sulfur mkxture)
Arab ships. The Arab threat was never
entirely. Furthermore, wars with tile Muslims
burdens to the empire, as in~aweakening
the position of small farmgreater
aristocratic estates and new power
population that
during its early cenmries--proz
recruits and pa~ing the bulk of the tmxes-into
greater dependence. Greater emphasis
, and navy.
the greatest Arab onslaughts had been faced,
run by a dizzying series of weak and
[ with seemcontinued¯
Conquest of the
9th century allowed the Muslims
shipping in the Mediterranean for
Slavic kingdoms, especially Bulgaria,
pressed Byzantine territory in the Balkans,
times military success and marriage
Byzantine control over the feisty Bulwhile
a Bulgarian king in tire
’ took the title of tsar, a Slavic version of the
FIGURE 9.8 A view of the intedor of the Hagia
Sophia--the Church of Holy Wisdom--in what is
today the city of Istanbul, This magnificent
church was built 532-537 c,E, under the reign of
the Emperor Justinian,
word Caesar, steady Byzantine pressure
through war eroded the regional kingdom.
In the llth century, the Byzantine emperor
Basil II, known as Bulgarohtonos, or slayer of
tile Bulgarians, used the empire’s wealth to bribe many
Bulgarian nobles and generals. He defeated the Bulgarian
army in 1014, blinding as many as 15,000 captive soldiers.
The sight of this tragedy brought on tile Bulgarian
king’s death. Bulgaria became part of the empire, its
aristocracy settling in Constantinople and merging with
the leading Greek families.
Briefly, at the end of the 10th century, the Byzantine
emperor may have been the most power~hl
monarch on earth, with a capital city whose rich buildings
and abundant popular entertainments awed visitors
ti’om western Europe and elsewhere.
The Byzantine political system had remarkable similarities
to tile earlier patterns in China. The emperor was
held to be ordained by God, head of church as well as
state. He appointed church bishops and passed religious
and secular laws. The elaborate court rituals symbolized
the ideals of a divinely inspired, all-power~)l
ruler, although they otien immobilized rulers and
inhibited innovative policy.
At key points, women held the imperial throne
while maintaining the ceremonia! power of the office.
The experiences of Empress Theodora (981-1056),
namesake of Justinian’s powerthl wife, illustrate the
complex nature of Byzantine politics and the whims of
fate that affected women rulers. Daughter of an
emperor, Theodora was strong and austere; she
refused to marry the imperial heir; who then wed her
sister Zofi. Zoa was afraid of Theodora’s influence and
had her confined to a convent. A popular rebellion
against the new emperor installed Theodora and Zo~
jointly (and one assugm~ ugqasily) as empresses. Later,
Theodora managed to check unruly nobles and limit

200
New Faith and New Commerce
PART III o The Postclassical Period, 500-1450:
bureaucratic corruption, although her severe retaliation
against personal enemies brought criticism.
Supplementing the centralized imperial authority
was one of history most elaborate bureaucracies.
Trained in Greek classics, philosophy, and science in a
secular school system that paralleled ctmrch education
for the priesthood, Byzantine bureaucrats could be
recruited fi’om all social classes. As in China, aristocrats
predominated, but talent also counted among this
elite of highly educated scholars. Bureaucrats were specialized
into various offices, and officials close to tire
emperor were mainly eunuchs. Provincial governors
were appointed fi’om the center and were charged
with keeping tabs on military authorities. An elaborate
system of spies helped preserve loyalty while creatmg
intense distrust even among friends. It is small wonder
that the word Byzar~ti’rze came to refer m complex institutional
arrangements. State control of the church and
its appointment of head church oiticials was another
key aspect of the government structure.
Careful military organization arose as well, as Figqare
9.2 suggests. Byzantine rulers adapted the later Roman
system by recruiting troops locally and rewarding them
with grants of land in return for their military service.
The land could not be sold, but sons inherited its administration
in return for continued military responsibility.
Many outsiders, particularly Slavs and Armenian Christians,
were recruited ibr the army in this way. Increasingly,
hereditary ntilitary leaders assumed regional powm;
displacing more traditional and better-educated aristocrats.
One emperor; Michael II, was a product of dais system
and was notorious for his hatred of Greek education
and his overall personal ignorance. On the other hand,
the military system had obvious advantages in protecting
a state rec~rrendy under attack ii’om Muslims of various
sorts--Persians, Arabs, and later Turks--as well as
nomadic intruders from central Asia. Until the I5th century,
tbe Byzantine Empire eftkctively blocked the path
to Europe for most of these groups.
Socially and economically, the empire depended
on Constantinople’s control over the countryside, with
tbe bureaucracy regulating trade and centre!ling food
prices. The large peasant class was vital in supplying
goods and providing the bulk of tax revenues. Food
prices were kept artificially low, to content the numerous
urban lower classes, in a system supported largely
by taxes on the hard-pressed peasantry. Other cities
were modest in size--for example, Athens dwindled-because
the focus was on the capital city and its food
needs- The empire developed a fa~flung trading network
with Asta to the east and Russia and Scandinavia
re the n6rth. Silk production expanded in the empire,
with silkworms and techniques initially imported from
China, and various luxury products, including cloth,
carpets, and spices, were sent north. This gave the
empire a favorable trading position with less sophisticated
lands. Only China produced luxury goods of
comparable quality. The empire also traded actively
with India, the Arabs, and east Asia while receiving simpler
products from western Europe and Africa. At the
same time, the large merchant class never gained significant
political power, ira part because of the elaborate
network of government controls. In this,
Byzantium again resembled China and differed
notably from the looser social grid political network.s of
the West, where memhants were gaining greater votce.
Byzantine cultural life centered on the secular traditions
of Hellenism, so irrlportant in the education of
bureaucrats, and on the evolving traditions of Eastern,
or Orthodox, Christianity. The Byzantine strength lay in
preserving and commenting on past forms more than in
developing new ones. Art and architecture were exceptions;
a distinct Byzantine style deve!oped ti~irly early.
The adaptation of Rotnan domed buildings, the elaboration
of powerful and richly colored religious mosaics,
and a tradition of icon paintings--paintings of saints
FI6~RI~ 9.4 Just as theologians through the (
worked to understand Christ’s message, so to(
struggled to capture his image. This powerful mosaic
at the Church of Chora in Istanbul was created in
of the 14th century. Notice the difference betweer
and the images,of Ghrist common in Western
place more emphasis on suffering end less on divine

n with less sophistiluxm7
goods of
also traded activelg
a while receiving sireand
Africa. At the
never gained sigof
the elabo-
In this,
and differed
~f
secular tra
of
excep~
Women and Power
Byzantium
This mosaic, developed between 1034-1042, portrays the
ZoO, her consort, and Christ (in the center). Zo~
later rule jointly with her sister Theodora, despite
earlier struggle for power.
C H A P T E R 9 ~ Civilization in Eastern Europe: Byzantium and Orthodox Europe 201
does this mosaic provide about
between Zo~ and her husband?
often richly ornamented-this
artistic impulse and its marriage with
’. The icons’ blue and gold backgrounds set
dressed l~lig’ious figures were meant to repbrilliance
of heaven.
lit ~e~’~ee~
politics, as well as the empire’s eco-
~ia and northeastern Europe,
What does it suggest about the relationship between church
and state in Byzantium and about ways religion might be
used to bolster political power? (Interpreting the haloes is
a good start in answering this question.) Why, in terms of
the appropriation of Christian tradition, are three figures
represented? Can this picture be used to comment on
women’s conditions in the empire? What sense of history
and religion made it reasonable to show Christ between two
11 th-century people?
lstanbul, St. Sophia, Mosaic in the South Tribune:
Christ with the Empress ZoO, who is presenting him
with a scroll listing her donations to the church, and
her consort, Monomachus, who is offering him a
purse conta n ng go d co ns,
helped explain the growing break between its eastern version
of Chl%tianity and the western version headed by
the pope in Rome. There were many milestones
in this rift. D~krent rituals developed as tile
Western church translated tile Greek Bible into
Latin in the 4th century, Later, Byzantine
emperors deeply resented papal attempts to Twelfthloosen
state conu’ol over the Eastern c}mrch to Centtg~
make it com%rm more fully to their own idea of Image of
C~rist
church-state relations. Contact between the two
branches of ChristianW trail@ of~; though neither the
Eastern nor Western church cared to make a definitive

202
pART Ill ~ The Postclassical Period, 500-1450: New Faith and New Commerce
"For if I am subject to the Muslim,
at least he wifl not force me
m share his faith. But if I have
m be under the Frankish rule
FIGURE 9,5 The Byzantine Empire developed a distinctively stylized religious art, adapted from
earlier Roman painting styles and conveying the solemnity of the holy figures of the faith¯ This
11 th-centu~ miniature features the holy women at the sepulchre of Christ,
break. The Eastern church acknowledged the pope as
first among equals, but papal directives had no hold in
tt~e Byzantine church, where state control loomed larger.
Religious art conveyed diii?rent styles and belie[~, as Figures
9.4 and 9.5 suggest. Even monastic movements operated
according to different rules.
Then, in 1054, an ambitious church patriarch in
Constantinople raised a host of old issues, including a
quarrel over what kind of bread to use for the celebra-
tion of Christ’s last supper in the church liturgy. The
bread quarrel was an old one, relating to ritual use of
bread m Chr*st s d y. Patriarch Michael now revived the
issue. Must bread used for communion be baked without
yeast? The patriarch also attacked the Roman
Catholic practice, developed some centuries earlier, of
insisting on celibacy for its priests; Eastern Orthodox
priests could marry. Delegations of the two churches discussed
these disputes, but this led only to new bitterness.
The Roman pope iinally excommunicated the patriarch
and his [bllowers, banishing them from Christian fe!lowship
and the sacraments. The patriarch responded
by excommunicating all Roman Catholics. Thus, the
split between the Roman Catholic church and Eastern
Orthodoxy--the Byzantine or Greek, as well as the Russi£n
Orthodox, Serbian Orthodox, and others--became
formal and has endured to this day. A late-l~th