The Byzantine Empire Introduction After reading the book " History of World Civilizations ", I was most attracted to the chapter the Byzantine Empire.
Due to the special form of government (autocracy), a special form of Christianity (Orthodoxy) and many other features that are not peculiar to any type of civilization, it can be concluded that Byzantium should be separated from other types of civilizations, distinguishing it into its own, separate type.
The Byzantine Empire has quite clearly traced the features of both Eastern and Western civilizations, and also has many of its own, original and unique features.
While the Western Roman Empire was irrevocably "clarified", the Byzantine, or Greek, continued to exist for a good thousand years.
The great historian Ilovaisky explains the long existence of Byzantium by the fact that "religiosity served as a strong spiritual bond for the inhabitants of various parts of the empire."
But he immediately adds that the capital of Byzantium - Constantinople was perfectly fortified and almost inaccessible to barbarian invasions.
However, even a double and triple row of walls of any fortress, reflecting the invasions of barbarians, is not able to resist the extortion and bribery of officials - and Byzantium is partly an example of this.
Byzantium extended the life of Rome to
1453, but with all the appearance of prosperity and power, it is
there was only the agony of the Roman world.
Jacques Le Goff
The heiress of the Roman Empire Historians associate the birth of the Byzantine civilization with the foundation of its main city Constantinople.
Back in 324 AD, Emperor Constantine 1 (who ruled from 306 to 337) chose a new place for the capital - on the territory of the ancient Greek city of the colony of Byzantium, located on the shore of the Bosphorus.
On May 11, 330, the city, named Constantinople in honor of its founder, was officially proclaimed the capital of the Roman Empire.
But the history of Byzantium as an independent state begins later - from 395, when the Roman Empire broke up into Eastern and Western parts.
In 476, the Western Roman Empire fell under the blows of enemies, and Odoacer, the leader of the barbarian mercenaries, deposed the last Western Roman emperor Romulus Augustus, and sent the signs of imperial dignity to Constantinople.
From that moment on, Byzantium became the successor of the Roman Empire.
In the minds of the Byzantines, the idea of succession was very important: they called their empire the "Romaic Kingdom", i.e. the Roman Empire, Constantinople – "New Rome", and the Byzantine emperor was considered the only legitimate heir of the Roman Caesars.
(The name "Byzantium" appeared only in the Renaissance, it was invented by Italian scientists.)
"New Rome"
The "New Rome" was located very well: the sharp cape where the city was founded was washed on the one hand by the waters of the Sea of Marmara, and on the other by the winding Golden Horn Bay.
The bay was a convenient natural harbor: it seemed that nature itself had done everything possible to turn this place into a major port.
Here the main sea routes between the countries of the East and the West intersected.
Constantinople was also the most important military strategic point, which provided Byzantium with domination over the straits.
The location of Constantinople at the crossroads between East and West can serve as a symbol of the entire history of Byzantium a civilization whose history was connected with these two so different worlds.
By the end of the 4th century, it had become a major trade and craft center - the Byzantines called it "the workshop of splendor", "the workshop of the universe", which attracted merchants from various countries.
Its importance as a cultural center and a center of religious life was constantly growing.
The city was luxuriously rebuilt and grew: by the beginning of the 5th century there were already 150 thousand inhabitants in Constantinople, and in the first half of the 6th century – 375 thousand, the same as in Rome itself.
Constantinople for the Byzantines has always been the personification of their empire, its power and beauty.
Together with the fall of the capital in 1453, the life of the Byzantine civilization ended.
The city of cities, the light of the universe, the glory of the world, the mother of churches, the foundation of faith, the patron of the sciences and arts, the fatherland and the hearth of beauty.
Byzantine writers on Constantinople, 12th century.
The civilizational space of Europe In the first centuries of its existence, Byzantium had huge territories (about 750 million square kilometers).
They covered Asia Minor, the Balkan Peninsula, part of Mesopotamia and Armenia, Syria, Palestine, Egypt, the islands of Crete and Cyprus, Chersonesos in the Black Sea region and Lazica in the Caucasus, some areas of Arabia, the islands of the Eastern Mediterranean.
The most important trade routes ran through Byzantium: the famous "silk Road" to China, the "road of incense" - through Arabia to the ports of the Red Sea, the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean.
The economic development of the regions, in Byzantium, was not the same.
Greece, for example, has long been experiencing economic decline.
The main inhabitants of the empire were Thrace (a province of Byzantium in the Balkans) and Egypt, which was called the "bread pantry".
The glory of Egypt was the city of Alexandria - not only a cultural center, but also a craft center.
Viticulture, horticulture and cattle breeding were highly developed in Asia Minor.
Various crafts (the production of leather, woolen fabrics, metal products) have long flourished in the cities of Asia Minor, Palestine and Syria.
In general, Byzantium was sufficiently provided with raw materials, agricultural products, and minerals.
The internal economic life of the empire was relatively stable, unlike, say, Western Europe.
And it is not by chance that the Europeans described Byzantium for a long time as a fabulously rich country.
How noble and beautiful is Constantinople!
There are so many monasteries and palaces in it, built with amazing art!
How many amazing products are displayed on its squares and streets!
It would be too long and tedious to talk in detail about the abundance of all kinds of riches, about gold, silver, a thousand kinds of fabrics, holy relics that are located in this city, where at any time numerous ships bring everything that people need…
The testimony of the crusader, who in 1097 was at the reception of the Emperor Alexios 1 Komnenos, Byzantium inherited from Rome not only a lot of economically prosperous regions.
No less important was the abundance of cultural centers: after all, the Roman empire included the territories of once powerful civilizations.
In the 4th 6th centuries, the largest cities of the empire were Alexandria, Antioch (in Syria), Edessa (in Mesopotamia), Tyre and Beirut (in Phoenicia), Ephesus, Smyrna, Nicaea (in Asia Minor), Thessalonica and Corinth - in the European part.
Of great importance for the development of culture and economy was the fact that most of these regions were part of the Hellenistic monarchies, and then were united under the rule of Rome.
The population of the empire was diverse in national terms.
According to historians, its number reached 30-35 mlm.
people.
Among them are
There were Syrians, Jews, Armenians, Georgians, Copts who lived in Egypt, Greeks - they made up a large part of it.
The Romans were relatively not numerous, although it was Latin that remained the state language for a long time.
Only in 7 V. it was replaced by Greek.
Officially, the culture associated with the traditions of the ancient world was planted and developed in Byzantium, first of all.
But at the same time, the traditions of Eastern civilizations were absorbed, and this, of course, determined a lot in the fate of Byzantium.
The international situation of the empire throughout history was quite complicated: in the eyes of many states, including Western European ones, Byzantium was a rich prey.
However, this does not mean that Byzantium itself did not seek to expand its possessions.
For the first time in centuries of its existence, Byzantium waged wars, seeking to return parts of the former Roman Empire captured by the Germanic tribes.
In the 4th century, she managed to win a number of victories over the Vandals in North Africa and the Goths in Italy and Spain.
But this was a temporary success: Byzantium, drawn into other wars, could not hold its new possessions, the dream of restoring the former Roman Empire did not come true.
Byzantium was a successor civilization in relation to the Roman Empire.
At the same time, it was influenced by the traditions of Eastern civilizations, which lost their political independence, became part of the Roman Empire, but retained many features of their own culture.
The position of Byzantium between the East and the West was manifested in its peculiar historical development.
Features of feudalism in Byzantium
Like Western Europe, it has experienced great changes in the sphere of socio economic relations.
At the beginning of its history, Byzantium was still a half slave owning country.
It ended its existence at the stage when feudal relations finally won.
But feudalism in Byzantium had its own characteristics that distinguished it from Western Europe and from the countries of the East.
The reason for this was the external circumstances of its history, and the peculiarity of the Byzantine civilization as a whole.
Slavic tribes accelerated the transition to feudalism, but still the influence of the barbarians is not so strong as to strike at the old society.
The traditions of antiquity, therefore, turned out to be more stable compared to the West and went into the past with difficulty.
For several centuries of development, it combined elements of Eastern state feudalism and Western European.
Byzantium was brought closer to the East by a strong centralized government, which restrained the growth of large private land ownership, limited the autonomy of private feudal estates.
And yet feudalism in Byzantium was not completely "state" And this is natural: after all, the Roman empire inherited and preserved Roman law, which legalized private ownership of land.
The more the centralized power weakened.
The similarity of the Byzantine feudalism with the Western European one was all the more pronounced.
The Roman Empire In Byzantium was governed from the center, i.e. from Constantinople.
Tax lists were created there, tax collectors were sent from there, the court in Constantinople accepted complaints against the decision of the provincial courts.
And the highest principle in this system of control over the life of the country was considered to be the emperor and the dignitaries surrounding him.
The emperor had almost unlimited power: he could execute those who submitted, including the most senior ones, confiscate their property, remove them and appoint them to positions.
The emperor issued laws, was the highest judge, led the army and determined foreign policy.
In addition, although he was not the owner of all the lands of the empire, but his possessions were truly huge, and this significantly distinguished Byzantium from the Western European states.
Now the emperor takes care of everything and takes care of himself, and with God's help, all matters are directed and resolved by his care.
From the decrees of Emperor Leo 6 the Wise 886-912.
The state power suppressed the activity of various social strata and thus restrained many of the most important processes in the country.
The strength of the monarchy turned into weakness, fragmentation of society, in which a person was little connected with his social group.
And this, in turn, caused the need for strengthening power – as a factor that stabilizes civilization.
Army and Military Administration The empire had dangerous enemies on all its borders.
The protection of the territory was therefore one of the most important concerns of the emperors.
The most urgent task was to create a good army.
7 The national recruitment, which passed as a legacy of the Roman Empire, has always existed and retained its significance.
During the 7th century, a new system of military service appeared – the "system of military fiefs".
This system consists in the allotment of land on condition of military service, in order to ensure the permanent nature of this service; certain privileges were granted to allotment lands: the land becomes an inalienable hereditary possession, passing to one of the sons if the father becomes incapable of military service.
3
The other part of the Byzantine army consisted of mercenaries.
The empire willingly recruited soldiers from neighboring peoples, who supplied it with either whole squads led by their tribal leaders, or a large number of barbarians of various origins who were serving in the Byzantine army.
The emperor was a ruler who paid well.
The emperors willingly provided large command posts and high military ranks to foreigners, preferring them in the interests of personal security.
The army consisted of two parts: the line troops, very mobile, intended for large campaigns and always ready to be transferred to a particular area, and the border troops
This was a long standing system that has been preserved since the time of the Roman Empire.
There was a kind of defensive system of the empire.
Along the borders and obliquely, a telegraph was arranged in the form of a chain of watchtowers on the heights, ending with a large lighthouse near the palace of Constantinople: by means of lights lit on top of the towers, the news of the enemy's noticed movement reached the capital in a few hours.
But it was impossible to keep 1 large army and move it from one border to another.
Therefore, the successors of Heraclius applied the military device established by him on the borders throughout the empire.
The state was divided into themes, or military governorships Instead of bulky, slowly assembled armies, detachments from the local population appeared, obliged to protect only their native land.8 Without a doubt, this army also had great disadvantages.
But, despite this, this army was still a wonderful weapon of war, which allowed the Byzantine emperors not only to defend the empire, but even to expand its borders and win brilliant victories.
Spiritual life of Byzantium The spiritual heritage left by Byzantium still impresses with its diversity and richness.
In the Middle Ages, Byzantium was the "mentor" of the Slavic world: the southern and eastern Slavs owed it to the appearance of writing, they adopted political and theological ideas, moral norms from Byzantium, they learned to build churches and paint icons from Byzantine masters.
Western Europe also enjoyed the fruits of Byzantine culture.
The decline of Byzantium.
Between the West and the East, one of the first signs of Byzantine weakness was the capture of Constantinople by the Crusaders in 1204.
After that, the empire collapsed: the Epirus Kingdom was formed in the Balkans, the Trebizond Empire was formed on the Black Sea coast, the Nicene Empire was formed in the north - west of Asia Minor, the Crusaders created the Latin Empire, which occupied part of Thrace, central Greece and the Peloponnese.
The conquerors brought with them new customs and laws, subjected the Orthodox Church to persecution, forcing it to recognize the primacy of the Pope.
All this naturally caused the hatred of the local population.
In addition, the Latin Empire was torn apart by internal troubles and the struggle for the throne.
The state of the Crusaders turned out to be very weak and existed for about half a century.
Among the Byzantine states, the main enemy of the Latins was the powerful Nicene Empire.
Michael 8 Palaiologos, an outstanding political figure and a brave military commander who seized the throne of Nicaea, conquered Constantinople in 1261 and partially restored the Byzantine Empire.
It was no longer possible to revive it in its former form.
Constantinople – the pride of the empire was ruined, the territory of Byzantium was sharply reduced.
The empire of Trebizond and Epirus retained their independence, the north of Thrace and Macedonia were in the hands of the Serbs and Bulgarians, many islands of the Aegean Sea were under the rule of Venice, and the Turks raided from the east.
Economically, Byzantium fell under the rule of the largest Italian cities of the republics Venice and Genoa.
In the first half of the XIV century, the Italian merchants monopolized not only the foreign trade of Byzantium, but also the domestic trade in food.
The Genoese controlled the trade of Constantinople.
The instability of Byzantium, caused by the civil war over the succession to the throne, developed into a powerful social movement against the large feudal aristocracy.
Meanwhile, the Ottoman Turks led an active offensive, rapidly advancing into the depths of the Balkan peninsula.
The death of Byzantium was delayed only because in 1402 the Turkish troops were defeated by Tamerlane.
However, the fate of the Roman Empire was already inevitable: in 1453, after a long siege, Constantinople fell.
The conquerors turned it into the capital of the Ottoman Empire and gave it a name – Istambul.
The military fortune was already leaning towards the Turks…And it was possible to see a spectacle full of shudders, for the Romans and Latenians, who were hindering those who were moving ladders to the walls, some were cut by them, while others, closing their eyes, fell from the wall, crushing their bodies and terribly losing their lives.
The Turks now began to put up ladders without hindrance and climbed the wall like flying eagles.
The Byzantine historian Mikhail Duka
About the last hours of the siege of Constantinople, XV century.
The causes of the death of Byzantium
The question of the reasons for the fall of a powerful civilization that existed for about 1000 years worries many historians.
Some put the difficult international situation in the foreground: Byzantium was weakened by the West and almost simultaneously it was subjected to a strong blow from the east - from the Turks.
Another reason stands out: the separation of Byzantium from the West, reinforced by the split of the churches.
Indeed, the Catholic Church offered military assistance in exchange for the union of the unity of the churches with the recognition of the Pope.
The Byzantine emperors were indeed ready to make this deal twice, including in 1439.
The Union was signed, but the main part of the population refused to accept it.
There were also those who preferred the Turkish conquerors to the Western ones.
It is better to see a reigning Turkish turban in the city than a Latin tiara!
(The headdress of the Pope.)
Luca Notara, Commander
The Constantinople fleet, 1452.
But internal contradictions are still considered the main factors.
From which the empire could not find a way out.
The era without the separate rule of Constantinople, the stronghold of centralized power, was coming to an end.
A large feudal nobility grew up in the provinces, which, fighting for power, created conditions for the decentralization of the country.
The commercial and artisan population, ruined by the Italians, lost confidence in the government, knowing that it would not protect their interests.
The protest of the peasantry was growing stronger, which not only paid heavy taxes in favor of the state, but also increasingly became dependent on local feudal lords.
The central government, which did not give up its positions to the end, reduced the activity of society, weakened it, and thereby the empire as a whole.
Statehood, which for a long time was the main well being of Byzantium, turned, due to its inertia, into a brake for its development.
Conclusion The preservation of Centralized Administration and the imperial court in Byzantium at first contributed to a relatively early revival of urban life and urban production, than the West is emerging from the economic decline.
Significant elements of ancient civilization and Roman law are preserved here.
However, the longer it takes, the more clearly the vices of the autocratic state appear: the venality of officialdom and notorious embezzlement; the slowness of the functioning of the state apparatus, traditionalism, closely intertwined with the idea of election that relaxes the will; the high cost of the state apparatus....
General property and social instability, which gave rise to arbitrariness on the one side, and selfishness and political indifferentism on the other.
This social instability, of course, was reflected in the nature of state power - with its external power and internal instability.
The weakness of the Byzantine Empire, which was revealed in the XI century and eventually led to the catastrophe of 1204, was not due to the development of feudal orders, not feudal fragmentation, but on the contrary, insufficient development of feudal orders.
The country suffered not from feudal dismemberment, but from bureaucratic centralization and from the civil and moral indifference generated by it, which engulfed the broad strata.
