Byzantine Empire, also called the Later or Eastern Roman Empire

It was the direct continuation of the Roman Empire, and inherited all its traditions. The history of the Byzantine Empire starts with the adoption of Christianity and foundation of Constantinople by Constantine I, the Great, and traces the transformation of the Roman Empire into a late medieval Greek state. Despite many changes, there was continuity: Constantine XI in 1453 was the direct heir of Constantine the Great; he was the Roman Emperor, an autocrat, and in Christian terms, the one true representative on earth of the one God. Another legacy from the Romans was the centralised government run by a large bureaucracy. From the 11th century, however, this was eroded by the growing power of the hereditary nobility.

Continuity exists in the cultural sphere too. The Byzantine ideal was to emulate the past, both classical and Christian, and this attitude was maintained till the end of the Empire, though gradually a more popular culture gained acceptance. Christianity was an essential feature of the Empire. Orthodoxy was the state religion, and church and state were closely linked. As the latter grew more impotent, so the church gained in prestige and power.

The final division between East and West in the Roman Empire came after the death of Theodosius I (395) and the accession of his elder son, Arcadius, in the East marked its supremacy. Both parts now suffered the attacks of barbarians, Goths, Vandals or Huns, but the East with its greater resources generally succeeded in deflecting their attacks westwards, where the last emperor was deposed in 476. The East was also troubled by an intermittent war with the Persians, and regular religious conflicts. The most serious were the heresies of the Nestorians and Monophysites that found many adherents in Egypt, Syria and Armenia. The emperors tried to find a compromise doctrine but only managed to alienate all parties, in particular the Papacy. Peace only came when these areas were lost to the Arabs. Nevertheless, the Empire was rich enough for Justinian I (527-65) to embark on grand schemes of reconquest and building, but after his death the situation rapidly became critical. He had left the economy exhausted and successors suffered the consequences. The newly won provinces of Italy and Spain were not secure and soon lost. The Balkans was overrun by Avars and Slavs, and in the east, where disaffection and heresy were rife, the Persian war resumed with particular violence. Heraclius (610-41) for a time remedied the military situation, only to see Egypt and Syria fall at once to the Arabs whose advance seemed irresistible. It was in fact checked at Constantinople itself, where the victories of Constantine IV (678) and Leo III (718) over the besieging Arab forces can be compared with that of Charles Martel in France.

The period from Heraclius to Leo III (717-40) is when the Empire took on its specifically Byzantine and medieval characteristics. Territorially it was reduced to South Italy and Sicily, the Balkan peninsular, and Asia Minor. The loss of the Latin and Catholic west and the Monophysite Syrians and Egyptians left it Greek and Orthodox. Many of the Roman institutions vanished too: the cities, once so prominent, became forts or perished, as did their municipal traditions. Instead of the estates of the Late Roman Empire, there emerged a free peasantry. In the provinces the division of civil and military power was replaced by the military government in new units called themes. The central armies were largely broken up, and distributed round these, and recruited from the new class of peasants. In the 8th and 9th centuries the military situation stabilised. War with the Arabs in the east became more an affair of raids and counter raids, and the Byzantines had several successes. In the Balkans, though Slav irruptions ceased and Byzantine authority began to expand, the Bulgars established themselves south of the Danube and presented a potent threat. Italy however was left to the Lombards. Consequently the Popes turned to the Franks for protection, and in 800 the Byzantine theory of universal empire was formally shattered by the coronation of Charlemagne as 'Roman Emperor'. Sicily too was gradually lost to the Arab. The chief feature of this era was Iconoclasm, which was not a purely religious phenomenon, but had distinct political and social aspects. Proclaimed by Leo III (730), the controversy lasted until 842, with a break from 787 to 815, when Orthodoxy was restored by Irene. From the first it caused opposition, in Byzantium and in the West, which soon grew bitter.

The next period was the golden age of the Byzantine Empire. In the east its armies went from strength to strength, and under Nicephorus II Phocas and John I Zimisces (969-76) the war took on the atmosphere of a crusade. In the Balkans, Byzantine control was finally affirmed, despite repeated and costly wars with Bulgaria. The Russians too were brought within the imperial orbit. Relations with the West continued to deteriorate: there were several clashes with the Papacy and the Germans. Within the Empire, the thematic system of provincial government had become standard, but as offensive wars grew commoner, centralised armies re-emerged and so did the division between civil and military functions. The bureaucracy gained in power. Trade and industry prospered and the towns and cultural activities revived. However, after the death of Basil II (1025), this system began to decay. The peasantry, the basis of government revenue, was being impoverished, and falling prey to landowners who were able to extort privileges from the emperors. Extravagance and mismanagement weakened imperial finances and the coinage was debased. Overconfidence lead to the neglect of the army and defences. There was also growing strife between the bureaucratic establishment at Constantinople and the military one of provincial landowners. Eventually a representative of one of the latter, Alexius I Comenus (1081-1118) seized power. By then the survival of the Empire was in doubt, for it was caught between Turks from the east and Normans from Italy; the frontiers were only stabilised when much had been lost. Alexius reformed the administration and finances, but could not prevent regular revolts. Nonetheless the Empire prospered, until under the weak Angeli (1185-1204) it collapsed altogether. The Turks and Bulgarians again advanced, and the Empire began to fragment. Mutual hostility between it and the West sharpened, in particular during the Crusades, and was encouraged by the dominance the Italians took in trade. This lead to the sack of Constantinople by the Fourth Crusade in 1204, and the creation of a Latin Empire. Venice was the main beneficiary; most of the other conquests proved ephemeral, and within two decades had been lost. Constantinople itself was recaptured by the Byzantines in 1261. The Byzantine Empire never fully recovered.

Three successor empires emerged-Trebizond , Epirus and Nicea, which from the weakest position became the most powerful. There a prosperous base was established from which Epirus and the Latin Empire were reconquered. In this period the Empire came to be dominated by the nobility and took on a form similar to the feudal Latin Empire. Separatist tendencies flourished, and spread within the imperial family, and the country was repeatedly ravaged by civil wars. The arts and scholarship however flourished and they were an important factor in stimulating the Renaissance.

After 1261 the Empire's external situation grew increasingly severe. The immediate threats from the West were warded off by Michael VIII Palaeologus (1258-82); instead the Empire looked there for aid against the Turks. To further their claims the emperors set up talks between the Orthodox and Catholic churches. A union was finally negotiated at Florence in 1439, but was rejected by most Byzantines. However no significant help materialised, and the Crusades of Nicopolis (1396) and Varna (1444) were miserably defeated. The Empire also became commercially dependent on Venice and Genoa, and was usually the main casualty in their frequent conflicts. In the Balkans, the Serbian Empire eclipsed the Bulgarians, but, there as in Asia the Ottoman Turks swept all before them. The Empire's Asian provinces were neglected and lost; Nicea was taken in 1331, and in 1354 the Turks crossed into Europe. By 1389 they had subdued Serbia and Bulgaria, and the Byzantines had had to acknowledge their sovereignty. Sultan Bajazet's defeat by Tamerlane (1402) gave them a reprieve, but the Ottomans soon recovered. The final assault on Constantinople was led by Mohammed II in 1453. The city fell on 29 May and the Byzantine Empire came to an end.

© JM Dent/Historybookshop.com

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