The phase of the Byzantine Empire from 867-1072 CE is commonly known as the Macedonian Dynasty (867-1056 CE), which the dates approximate. The Byzantine culture of the period was a military and aristocratic one with palaces serving "not only as imperial residences but also as administrative centres. They were placed prominently in the centre of cities and surpassed all other public buildings in scale and ostentation."
[1]
In the previous period the Byzantines responded to the Arab conquests with the creation of themes, whose local commander governors could raise taxes, that enabled the Byzantine elites and their thematic armies to respond more rapidly to external threats with the result of less centralized control. In this era the powers of the themes were drawn back: the number of officials within the thematic administrations increased and by the end of the period the strategos, military governor, was replaced by a krites (judge).
[2]
In the early eleventh century Basil II brought in a professional army directed from Constantinople called the tagmata, which lead to the disappearance of the thematic armies.
[3]
The professional Byzantine civil service and palace staff was "relatively small, and mostly composed of humble clerks or custodians", although there were some very rich bureaucrats and dignitaries.
[4]
In the 10th CE the most important official was the Grand Chamberlain, who worked in the Great Palace, and was especially influential during periods of regency or when the Emperor was on military campaign.
[5]
A significant codification of Byzantine law occurred in this period when Leo VI (886-912 CE) in six volumes and sixty books (variously called the Exavivlos or the Vasilika (Basilika)) presented in the Greek language "virtually all the laws in the Justinian Corpus, arranged here (as it had not been before) in a systematic manner."
[6]
A resurgence of literature began, in the early ninth CE, after the Iconoclasm had motivated copying and reading of religious literature. Intellectuals began to receive government positions under "iconoclast emperors". Emperor Theophilus founded Magnaura Palace school, "the empire’s first known public school since the reign of Heraclius."
[7]
The peak of Byzantine military power and international prestige was under Emperor Basil II who conquered the Bulgarian Empire and continued Byzantine expansion into Syria and Armenia.
[8]
[1]: (Bakirtzis 2008, 374) E Jeffreys. J Haldon. R Cormack. eds. 2008. The Oxford Handbook of Byzantine Studies. Oxford University Press. Oxford.
[2]: (Cheynet 2008, 522) E Jeffreys. J Haldon. R Cormack. eds. 2008. The Oxford Handbook of Byzantine Studies. Oxford University Press. Oxford.
[3]: (Cheynet 2008, 521) E Jeffreys. J Haldon. R Cormack. eds. 2008. The Oxford Handbook of Byzantine Studies. Oxford University Press. Oxford.
[4]: (Treadgold 1997, 552) Warren Treadgold. 1997. A History of the Byzantine State and Society. Stanford University Press. Stanford.
[5]: (Treadgold 1997, 550) Warren Treadgold. 1997. A History of the Byzantine State and Society. Stanford University Press. Stanford.
[6]: (Gregory 2010, 253-254) Timothy E Gregory. 2010. A History of Byzantium. Second Edition. Wiley-Blackwell. Chichester.
[7]: (Treadgold 1997, 559-561) Warren Treadgold. 1997. A History of the Byzantine State and Society. Stanford University Press. Stanford.
[8]: (Preiser-Kapeller 2015) Johannes Preiser-Kapeller. Institute for Medieval Research, Division of Byzantine Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences
| 35 T |
| Bzyantine Empire II |
| Constantinople |
| Eastern Roman Empire | |
| Byzantium | |
| The Macedonians | |
| Empire of the Romans | |
| Basileia ton Rhomaion | |
| Macedonian Dynasty | |
| Middle Byzantine Empire II |
| alliance with [---] |
| Christianity |
| Byzantine Empire III |
| [15,000,000 to 20,000,000] km2 |
| continuity |
| Succeeding: Byzantine Empire III (tr_byzantine_emp_3) [continuity] | |
| Preceding: Byzantine Empire I (tr_byzantine_emp_1) [continuity] |
| unitary state |
| 100,000 people | 867 CE |
| 100,000 people | 900 CE |
| 300,000 people | 900 CE |
| 200,000 people | 1000 CE |
| 300,000 people | 1000 CE |
| 520,000 km2 | 867 CE |
| 610,000 km2 | 900 CE |
| 810,000 km2 | 1000 CE |
| 1,150,000 km2 | 1050 CE |
| [7,500,000 to 8,500,000] people | 900 CE |
| [10,000,000 to 14,000,000] people | 1000 CE |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| absent |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| absent |
| absent |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| unknown |
| present |
| absent |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| absent |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| absent |
| present |
| unknown |
| present |
| absent |
| absent |
| present |
| present |
| absent |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| Year Range | Byzantine Empire II (tr_byzantine_emp_2) was in: |
|---|---|
| (867 CE 961 CE) | Konya Plain |
| (961 CE 1072 CE) | Crete Konya Plain |
"THE MACEDONIANS: BASIL I ΤΟ BASIL II (867-1025)" [1] Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων (Greek) - Basileia ton Rhomaion (“Empire of the Romans”). "The Macedonians" is not an official name of the polity, only the name of a dynasty. [2] Macedonian Dynasty. [3]
[1]: (Holmes 2008, 266) Jeffreys E, Haldon J and Cormack R eds. 2008. The Oxford Handbook of Byzantine Studies. Oxford University Press. Oxford.
[2]: (Preiser-Kapeller 2015) Institute for Medieval Research, Division of Byzantine Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences. Personal Communication.
[3]: (Gregory 2010, 242) Gregory, Timothy E. 2010. A History of Byzantium. Second Edition. Wiley-Blackwell. Chichester.
"THE MACEDONIANS: BASIL I ΤΟ BASIL II (867-1025)" [1] Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων (Greek) - Basileia ton Rhomaion (“Empire of the Romans”). "The Macedonians" is not an official name of the polity, only the name of a dynasty. [2] Macedonian Dynasty. [3]
[1]: (Holmes 2008, 266) Jeffreys E, Haldon J and Cormack R eds. 2008. The Oxford Handbook of Byzantine Studies. Oxford University Press. Oxford.
[2]: (Preiser-Kapeller 2015) Institute for Medieval Research, Division of Byzantine Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences. Personal Communication.
[3]: (Gregory 2010, 242) Gregory, Timothy E. 2010. A History of Byzantium. Second Edition. Wiley-Blackwell. Chichester.
"THE MACEDONIANS: BASIL I ΤΟ BASIL II (867-1025)" [1] Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων (Greek) - Basileia ton Rhomaion (“Empire of the Romans”). "The Macedonians" is not an official name of the polity, only the name of a dynasty. [2] Macedonian Dynasty. [3]
[1]: (Holmes 2008, 266) Jeffreys E, Haldon J and Cormack R eds. 2008. The Oxford Handbook of Byzantine Studies. Oxford University Press. Oxford.
[2]: (Preiser-Kapeller 2015) Institute for Medieval Research, Division of Byzantine Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences. Personal Communication.
[3]: (Gregory 2010, 242) Gregory, Timothy E. 2010. A History of Byzantium. Second Edition. Wiley-Blackwell. Chichester.
"THE MACEDONIANS: BASIL I ΤΟ BASIL II (867-1025)" [1] Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων (Greek) - Basileia ton Rhomaion (“Empire of the Romans”). "The Macedonians" is not an official name of the polity, only the name of a dynasty. [2] Macedonian Dynasty. [3]
[1]: (Holmes 2008, 266) Jeffreys E, Haldon J and Cormack R eds. 2008. The Oxford Handbook of Byzantine Studies. Oxford University Press. Oxford.
[2]: (Preiser-Kapeller 2015) Institute for Medieval Research, Division of Byzantine Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences. Personal Communication.
[3]: (Gregory 2010, 242) Gregory, Timothy E. 2010. A History of Byzantium. Second Edition. Wiley-Blackwell. Chichester.
"THE MACEDONIANS: BASIL I ΤΟ BASIL II (867-1025)" [1] Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων (Greek) - Basileia ton Rhomaion (“Empire of the Romans”). "The Macedonians" is not an official name of the polity, only the name of a dynasty. [2] Macedonian Dynasty. [3]
[1]: (Holmes 2008, 266) Jeffreys E, Haldon J and Cormack R eds. 2008. The Oxford Handbook of Byzantine Studies. Oxford University Press. Oxford.
[2]: (Preiser-Kapeller 2015) Institute for Medieval Research, Division of Byzantine Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences. Personal Communication.
[3]: (Gregory 2010, 242) Gregory, Timothy E. 2010. A History of Byzantium. Second Edition. Wiley-Blackwell. Chichester.
"THE MACEDONIANS: BASIL I ΤΟ BASIL II (867-1025)" [1] Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων (Greek) - Basileia ton Rhomaion (“Empire of the Romans”). "The Macedonians" is not an official name of the polity, only the name of a dynasty. [2] Macedonian Dynasty. [3]
[1]: (Holmes 2008, 266) Jeffreys E, Haldon J and Cormack R eds. 2008. The Oxford Handbook of Byzantine Studies. Oxford University Press. Oxford.
[2]: (Preiser-Kapeller 2015) Institute for Medieval Research, Division of Byzantine Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences. Personal Communication.
[3]: (Gregory 2010, 242) Gregory, Timothy E. 2010. A History of Byzantium. Second Edition. Wiley-Blackwell. Chichester.
"THE MACEDONIANS: BASIL I ΤΟ BASIL II (867-1025)" [1] Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων (Greek) - Basileia ton Rhomaion (“Empire of the Romans”). "The Macedonians" is not an official name of the polity, only the name of a dynasty. [2] Macedonian Dynasty. [3]
[1]: (Holmes 2008, 266) Jeffreys E, Haldon J and Cormack R eds. 2008. The Oxford Handbook of Byzantine Studies. Oxford University Press. Oxford.
[2]: (Preiser-Kapeller 2015) Institute for Medieval Research, Division of Byzantine Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences. Personal Communication.
[3]: (Gregory 2010, 242) Gregory, Timothy E. 2010. A History of Byzantium. Second Edition. Wiley-Blackwell. Chichester.
"When Basil II died in 1025 the Byzantine Empire’s frontiers extended from the Danube to the Euphrates. Byzantium’s only serious rivals were the Fatimids and Ottonians. But within fifty years Byzantium had collapsed."
[1]
Peak of military power and international prestige under Emperor Basil II (conquest of Bulgarian Empire, continuation of expansion towards Syria and Armenia).
[2]
[1]: (Holmes 2008, 271) Jeffreys E, Haldon J and Cormack R eds. 2008. The Oxford Handbook of Byzantine Studies. Oxford University Press. Oxford.
[2]: (Preiser-Kapeller 2015) Institute for Medieval Research, Division of Byzantine Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences
Basil I (r.867-886 CE) - Romanus IV Diogenes (r.1068-1071 CE) and Michael VII Ducas (r.1071-1078 CE).
[1]
867 CE: "Dynastic change to the so-called Macedonian Emperors, beginning of a period of renewed expansion and increasing societal complexity".
[2]
[1]: (Haussig 1971, Chronological Table) Haussig, H W.trans Hussey, J M. 1971. History of Byzantine Civilization. Thames and Hudson.
[2]: (Preiser-Kapeller 2015) Institute for Medieval Research, Division of Byzantine Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences
"Emperors from the time of Basil II found it cheaper to call upon allies and dependents, such as Venice, to supply warships, than to pay for an expensive standing fleet at Constantinople."
[1]
From 11th CE "Byzantium had to depend more than before on its alliances with foreign peoples".
[2]
[1]: (Haldon 2008, 560) Jeffreys E, Haldon J and Cormack R eds. 2008. The Oxford Handbook of Byzantine Studies. Oxford University Press. Oxford.
[2]: (Gregory 2010, 281) Gregory, Timothy E. 2010. A History of Byzantium. Wiley-Blackweel. Chichester.
"The Byzantine Empire recognized neither the western Frankish Empire nor the Bulgarian Emperor. It spoke of the archontes Boulgaron, the princes of the Bulgars, and the reges Francias, the kings of Francia. The Byzantine Empire never gave up its claims to universal rule. It claimed to be at the apex of the family of kings; it was the father, they were the sons. ... It was only with the Arab rulers that there had long been some recognition of equality, and also with the Persian kings, which was reflected in the title of ’brother’ used in official documents." [1]
[1]: (Haussig 1971, 201) Haussig, H W.trans Hussey, J M. 1971. History of Byzantine Civilization. Thames and Hudson.
km squared. To the East, Christianity extended not only into the Middle East, but also as far as Central Asia, India and China. Westernmost reach was Ireland. In Africa present as far south as Ethiopia. [1] During this period in the Middle East, partly in response to Byzantine military campaigns, conditions became less conducive for non-Muslims living under Islam. In 923 CE "a year-long wave of persecutions by Muslims against Christians swept through the Middle East. Atrocities were committed in Egypt, Syria and Palestine; in Ascalon, Caesarea and Jerusalem churches were destroyed." [2]
[1]: (Preiser-Kapeller 2015) Institute for Medieval Research, Division of Byzantine Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences. Personal Communication.
[2]: (Haag 2012) Haag, M. 2012. The Tragedy of the Templars: The Rise and Fall of the Crusader States. Profile Books.
"In some of the central authorities Greek had established itself as the language of the chancery since the beginning of the fourth century, in contrast to the army, which retained Latin as the official military language until the beginning of the seventh century. Other imperial authorities, above all the ministry of justice, kept to the Latin language until the beginning of the seventh century." [1] Heraclius (r.610-641 CE) made Greek the official language. [2] "Greek (spoken by the population as first language in southern Balkans and most of Anatolia, as second language Empire-wide) and Latin (spoken by part of the population as first language in the remaining possessions in Italy), Languages of minorities, migrants and deportees: Syriac, Armenian (in some eastern provinces of Anatolia, also as languages of liturgy and sacred literature), Slavonic (Balkans, deportees to Anatolia)." [3]
[1]: (Haussing 1971) Haussig, H W. trans Hussey, J M. 1971. History of Byzantine Civilization. Thames and Hudson.
[2]: (Davidson 2011, 76-77) Davidson, P. 2011. Atlas of Empires. New Holland Publishers (UK) Ltd. London.
[3]: (Preiser-Kapeller 2015) Institute for Medieval Research, Division of Byzantine Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences)
Inhabitants.
Preiser-Kapeller
[1]
Constantinople 100,000: 867CE; 200,000: 1000 CE
Chase-Dunn
[2]
Constantinople 300,000: 900 CE; 300,000: 1000 CE
Modelski
[3]
Constantinople 500,000: 900 CE; 600,000: 1000 CE Unrealistic, even beyond most estimates for the period before the Justinianic plague
[4]
[1]: (Preiser-Kapeller 2015) Institute for Medieval Research, Division of Byzantine Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences)
[2]: (Chase-Dunn Spreadsheet)
[3]: (Modelski 2003, 49) Modelski, G. 2003. World Cities -3000 to 2000. FAROS 2000. Washington D.C.
[4]: (Preiser-Kapeller 2015) Institute for Medieval Research, Division of Byzantine Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences. Personal Communication.
Inhabitants.
Preiser-Kapeller
[1]
Constantinople 100,000: 867CE; 200,000: 1000 CE
Chase-Dunn
[2]
Constantinople 300,000: 900 CE; 300,000: 1000 CE
Modelski
[3]
Constantinople 500,000: 900 CE; 600,000: 1000 CE Unrealistic, even beyond most estimates for the period before the Justinianic plague
[4]
[1]: (Preiser-Kapeller 2015) Institute for Medieval Research, Division of Byzantine Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences)
[2]: (Chase-Dunn Spreadsheet)
[3]: (Modelski 2003, 49) Modelski, G. 2003. World Cities -3000 to 2000. FAROS 2000. Washington D.C.
[4]: (Preiser-Kapeller 2015) Institute for Medieval Research, Division of Byzantine Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences. Personal Communication.
Inhabitants.
Preiser-Kapeller
[1]
Constantinople 100,000: 867CE; 200,000: 1000 CE
Chase-Dunn
[2]
Constantinople 300,000: 900 CE; 300,000: 1000 CE
Modelski
[3]
Constantinople 500,000: 900 CE; 600,000: 1000 CE Unrealistic, even beyond most estimates for the period before the Justinianic plague
[4]
[1]: (Preiser-Kapeller 2015) Institute for Medieval Research, Division of Byzantine Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences)
[2]: (Chase-Dunn Spreadsheet)
[3]: (Modelski 2003, 49) Modelski, G. 2003. World Cities -3000 to 2000. FAROS 2000. Washington D.C.
[4]: (Preiser-Kapeller 2015) Institute for Medieval Research, Division of Byzantine Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences. Personal Communication.
Inhabitants.
Preiser-Kapeller
[1]
Constantinople 100,000: 867CE; 200,000: 1000 CE
Chase-Dunn
[2]
Constantinople 300,000: 900 CE; 300,000: 1000 CE
Modelski
[3]
Constantinople 500,000: 900 CE; 600,000: 1000 CE Unrealistic, even beyond most estimates for the period before the Justinianic plague
[4]
[1]: (Preiser-Kapeller 2015) Institute for Medieval Research, Division of Byzantine Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences)
[2]: (Chase-Dunn Spreadsheet)
[3]: (Modelski 2003, 49) Modelski, G. 2003. World Cities -3000 to 2000. FAROS 2000. Washington D.C.
[4]: (Preiser-Kapeller 2015) Institute for Medieval Research, Division of Byzantine Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences. Personal Communication.
Inhabitants.
Preiser-Kapeller
[1]
Constantinople 100,000: 867CE; 200,000: 1000 CE
Chase-Dunn
[2]
Constantinople 300,000: 900 CE; 300,000: 1000 CE
Modelski
[3]
Constantinople 500,000: 900 CE; 600,000: 1000 CE Unrealistic, even beyond most estimates for the period before the Justinianic plague
[4]
[1]: (Preiser-Kapeller 2015) Institute for Medieval Research, Division of Byzantine Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences)
[2]: (Chase-Dunn Spreadsheet)
[3]: (Modelski 2003, 49) Modelski, G. 2003. World Cities -3000 to 2000. FAROS 2000. Washington D.C.
[4]: (Preiser-Kapeller 2015) Institute for Medieval Research, Division of Byzantine Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences. Personal Communication.
in squared kilometers
963-969 CE: "The reign of Nicephorus II marked the beginning of an expansion that went beyond defensive needs."
[1]
Chase-Dunn
760,000: 880 CE; 750,000: 900 CE; 795,000: 920 CE; 841,000: 940 CE; 864,000: 950 CE; 886,000: 960 CE; 932,000: 980 CE; 1,000,000: 1000 CE; 1,233,000: 1020 CE; 1,229,000: 1040 CE; 1,107,000: 1050 CE; 986,000: 1060 CE
[2]
Estimates seem much too high for me, maybe relying on unrealistic assumption on the extent of Byzantine power in the Balkans etc. I have tried to circumscribe the Byzantine borders at a specific time for a specific region as exact as possible.
[3]
Preiser-Kapeller
[4]
520,000: 867 CE - loss of Sicily and Crete to the Arabs, regain of territories in Greece.
610,000: 900 CE - gain of territories on the Balkans and at the Eastern Frontier.
810,000: 1000 CE - conquest of Crete, Cyprus, Cilicia and Northern Syria as well as annexation of parts of Armenia and Bulgaria
1,150,000: 1050 CE - peak of territorial extension due to annexation of Bulgaria and most parts of Armenia
"610,000 in 900 CE; 810,000 in 1000 CE." Calculated using a GIS software by Alessio Palmisano.
[5]
[1]: (Treadgold 1997, 535) Treadgold, Warren. 1997. A History of the Byzantine State and Society. Stanford University Press. Stanford.
[2]: (Chase-Dunn Spreadsheet)
[3]: (Preiser-Kapeller 2015) Institute for Medieval Research, Division of Byzantine Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences. Personal Communication.
[4]: (Preiser-Kapeller 2015) Institute for Medieval Research, Division of Byzantine Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences
[5]: (Palmisano, Alessio. Personal Communication to Jill Levine, Dan Hoyer, and Peter Turchin. April 2020. Email)
in squared kilometers
963-969 CE: "The reign of Nicephorus II marked the beginning of an expansion that went beyond defensive needs."
[1]
Chase-Dunn
760,000: 880 CE; 750,000: 900 CE; 795,000: 920 CE; 841,000: 940 CE; 864,000: 950 CE; 886,000: 960 CE; 932,000: 980 CE; 1,000,000: 1000 CE; 1,233,000: 1020 CE; 1,229,000: 1040 CE; 1,107,000: 1050 CE; 986,000: 1060 CE
[2]
Estimates seem much too high for me, maybe relying on unrealistic assumption on the extent of Byzantine power in the Balkans etc. I have tried to circumscribe the Byzantine borders at a specific time for a specific region as exact as possible.
[3]
Preiser-Kapeller
[4]
520,000: 867 CE - loss of Sicily and Crete to the Arabs, regain of territories in Greece.
610,000: 900 CE - gain of territories on the Balkans and at the Eastern Frontier.
810,000: 1000 CE - conquest of Crete, Cyprus, Cilicia and Northern Syria as well as annexation of parts of Armenia and Bulgaria
1,150,000: 1050 CE - peak of territorial extension due to annexation of Bulgaria and most parts of Armenia
"610,000 in 900 CE; 810,000 in 1000 CE." Calculated using a GIS software by Alessio Palmisano.
[5]
[1]: (Treadgold 1997, 535) Treadgold, Warren. 1997. A History of the Byzantine State and Society. Stanford University Press. Stanford.
[2]: (Chase-Dunn Spreadsheet)
[3]: (Preiser-Kapeller 2015) Institute for Medieval Research, Division of Byzantine Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences. Personal Communication.
[4]: (Preiser-Kapeller 2015) Institute for Medieval Research, Division of Byzantine Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences
[5]: (Palmisano, Alessio. Personal Communication to Jill Levine, Dan Hoyer, and Peter Turchin. April 2020. Email)
in squared kilometers
963-969 CE: "The reign of Nicephorus II marked the beginning of an expansion that went beyond defensive needs."
[1]
Chase-Dunn
760,000: 880 CE; 750,000: 900 CE; 795,000: 920 CE; 841,000: 940 CE; 864,000: 950 CE; 886,000: 960 CE; 932,000: 980 CE; 1,000,000: 1000 CE; 1,233,000: 1020 CE; 1,229,000: 1040 CE; 1,107,000: 1050 CE; 986,000: 1060 CE
[2]
Estimates seem much too high for me, maybe relying on unrealistic assumption on the extent of Byzantine power in the Balkans etc. I have tried to circumscribe the Byzantine borders at a specific time for a specific region as exact as possible.
[3]
Preiser-Kapeller
[4]
520,000: 867 CE - loss of Sicily and Crete to the Arabs, regain of territories in Greece.
610,000: 900 CE - gain of territories on the Balkans and at the Eastern Frontier.
810,000: 1000 CE - conquest of Crete, Cyprus, Cilicia and Northern Syria as well as annexation of parts of Armenia and Bulgaria
1,150,000: 1050 CE - peak of territorial extension due to annexation of Bulgaria and most parts of Armenia
"610,000 in 900 CE; 810,000 in 1000 CE." Calculated using a GIS software by Alessio Palmisano.
[5]
[1]: (Treadgold 1997, 535) Treadgold, Warren. 1997. A History of the Byzantine State and Society. Stanford University Press. Stanford.
[2]: (Chase-Dunn Spreadsheet)
[3]: (Preiser-Kapeller 2015) Institute for Medieval Research, Division of Byzantine Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences. Personal Communication.
[4]: (Preiser-Kapeller 2015) Institute for Medieval Research, Division of Byzantine Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences
[5]: (Palmisano, Alessio. Personal Communication to Jill Levine, Dan Hoyer, and Peter Turchin. April 2020. Email)
in squared kilometers
963-969 CE: "The reign of Nicephorus II marked the beginning of an expansion that went beyond defensive needs."
[1]
Chase-Dunn
760,000: 880 CE; 750,000: 900 CE; 795,000: 920 CE; 841,000: 940 CE; 864,000: 950 CE; 886,000: 960 CE; 932,000: 980 CE; 1,000,000: 1000 CE; 1,233,000: 1020 CE; 1,229,000: 1040 CE; 1,107,000: 1050 CE; 986,000: 1060 CE
[2]
Estimates seem much too high for me, maybe relying on unrealistic assumption on the extent of Byzantine power in the Balkans etc. I have tried to circumscribe the Byzantine borders at a specific time for a specific region as exact as possible.
[3]
Preiser-Kapeller
[4]
520,000: 867 CE - loss of Sicily and Crete to the Arabs, regain of territories in Greece.
610,000: 900 CE - gain of territories on the Balkans and at the Eastern Frontier.
810,000: 1000 CE - conquest of Crete, Cyprus, Cilicia and Northern Syria as well as annexation of parts of Armenia and Bulgaria
1,150,000: 1050 CE - peak of territorial extension due to annexation of Bulgaria and most parts of Armenia
"610,000 in 900 CE; 810,000 in 1000 CE." Calculated using a GIS software by Alessio Palmisano.
[5]
[1]: (Treadgold 1997, 535) Treadgold, Warren. 1997. A History of the Byzantine State and Society. Stanford University Press. Stanford.
[2]: (Chase-Dunn Spreadsheet)
[3]: (Preiser-Kapeller 2015) Institute for Medieval Research, Division of Byzantine Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences. Personal Communication.
[4]: (Preiser-Kapeller 2015) Institute for Medieval Research, Division of Byzantine Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences
[5]: (Palmisano, Alessio. Personal Communication to Jill Levine, Dan Hoyer, and Peter Turchin. April 2020. Email)
People.
Preiser-Kapeller
[1]
"My estimates may be more conservative than others."
[2]
5,500,000: 867 CE
7,300,00: 900 CE
10,000,000: 1000 CE
13,000,000: 1050 CE
12,000,000: 1025 CE.
[3]
"Between 850 and 1000 there is evidence for the regression of woodland in favour of arable land, an indication of a growing population (Dunn 1992: 242-8; Lefort 2002: 269)."
[4]
"... around 1025, although the empire occupied more or less the same amount of territory as in 750, it was more densely populated (at c.20 inhabitants per km2) and all in all more populous at roughly 18 million (between 10 and 18 million—Koder 1984/2001: 153; 19 million around 1025—Laiou 2002: 50-1; 18 million around 1050—Stein 1949-51:154)."
[4]
Estimates based on McEvedy and Jones (1978).
[5]
900 CE
Greece 1m, Anatolia 6.5m, southern Crimea ?m, small part of southern Italy m?.
950 CE
Small part of Greece 0.5m and southern Italy ?m, Anatolia 6.75m, southern Crimea ?m.
1000 CE
Greece 1m, Anatolia 7m, small part of southern Italy ?m.
1050 CE
Greece and Balkans 2m, Anatolia 7m, small part of southern Italy ?m.
According to Stein, Byzantine Empire (1951) Mid-11th Century time of Comneni: 10-12m.
[6]
[1]: (Preiser-Kapeller 2015) Institute for Medieval Research, Division of Byzantine Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences)
[2]: (Preiser-Kapeller 2015) Institute for Medieval Research, Division of Byzantine Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences. Personal Communication.
[3]: (Treadgold 1997, 570) Treadgold, Warren. 1997. A History of the Byzantine State and Society. Stanford University Press. Stanford.
[4]: (Stathakopoulos 2008, 312) Jeffreys E, Haldon J and Cormack R eds. 2008. The Oxford Handbook of Byzantine Studies. Oxford University Press. Oxford.
[5]: (McEvedy and Jones 1978) McEvedy, C. Jones, R. 1978. Atlas of World Population History. Allen Lane. London.
[6]: (Russell 1958) Russell, J C (1958) Late and Medieval Population. Transactions of the American Philosophical Society. New Series. Vol 48. No 3. pp. 1-152 citing Stein, E. 1949-1951. Introduction a l’histoire et aux institutions byzantines, Traditio 7: 154
People.
Preiser-Kapeller
[1]
"My estimates may be more conservative than others."
[2]
5,500,000: 867 CE
7,300,00: 900 CE
10,000,000: 1000 CE
13,000,000: 1050 CE
12,000,000: 1025 CE.
[3]
"Between 850 and 1000 there is evidence for the regression of woodland in favour of arable land, an indication of a growing population (Dunn 1992: 242-8; Lefort 2002: 269)."
[4]
"... around 1025, although the empire occupied more or less the same amount of territory as in 750, it was more densely populated (at c.20 inhabitants per km2) and all in all more populous at roughly 18 million (between 10 and 18 million—Koder 1984/2001: 153; 19 million around 1025—Laiou 2002: 50-1; 18 million around 1050—Stein 1949-51:154)."
[4]
Estimates based on McEvedy and Jones (1978).
[5]
900 CE
Greece 1m, Anatolia 6.5m, southern Crimea ?m, small part of southern Italy m?.
950 CE
Small part of Greece 0.5m and southern Italy ?m, Anatolia 6.75m, southern Crimea ?m.
1000 CE
Greece 1m, Anatolia 7m, small part of southern Italy ?m.
1050 CE
Greece and Balkans 2m, Anatolia 7m, small part of southern Italy ?m.
According to Stein, Byzantine Empire (1951) Mid-11th Century time of Comneni: 10-12m.
[6]
[1]: (Preiser-Kapeller 2015) Institute for Medieval Research, Division of Byzantine Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences)
[2]: (Preiser-Kapeller 2015) Institute for Medieval Research, Division of Byzantine Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences. Personal Communication.
[3]: (Treadgold 1997, 570) Treadgold, Warren. 1997. A History of the Byzantine State and Society. Stanford University Press. Stanford.
[4]: (Stathakopoulos 2008, 312) Jeffreys E, Haldon J and Cormack R eds. 2008. The Oxford Handbook of Byzantine Studies. Oxford University Press. Oxford.
[5]: (McEvedy and Jones 1978) McEvedy, C. Jones, R. 1978. Atlas of World Population History. Allen Lane. London.
[6]: (Russell 1958) Russell, J C (1958) Late and Medieval Population. Transactions of the American Philosophical Society. New Series. Vol 48. No 3. pp. 1-152 citing Stein, E. 1949-1951. Introduction a l’histoire et aux institutions byzantines, Traditio 7: 154
levels.
1. Capital
2. Capital of a province3. City in a province4. Town in a province5. Chorion - village community.6. Agridia - Hamlet ?. Farmstead
"Unlike the West, it did not originate as an independent peasant community with common meadowland and distribution of arable land, but was a taxable unit whose boundaries were defined by the fisc. The Byzantine rural community was only an economic unit in so far as this served the purpose of taxation. Membership of the village community resulted from inscription on the tax list. It was this principle which determined other forms of peasant settlements, individual farmsteads and hamlets. In Byzantine rural economy the most important role was played by the typical village settlement in which the farmsteads formed a close nucleus round which the arable land of the peasants was grouped. The Byzantines called this kind of settlement a chorion. In addition there were also individual farms situated in the middle of an agricultural estate. These were called ktesidia and for purposes of taxation were linked with the nearest village settlement as a taxable unit. The so-called hamlets (agridia), consisting of a widely distributed group of houses and farms, were treated in the same way."
[1]
Mainly Greek terminology, vaild for later period (9th cent. onwards)
[2]
[1]: (Haussig 1971, 174) Haussig, H W.trans Hussey, J M. 1971. History of Byzantine Civilization. Thames and Hudson.
[2]: (Preiser-Kapeller 2015, Personal Communication)
Note on Byzantine monks: "Monks took a leading role not only in determining theology but in shaping a whole view of Christian life that had lasting effects on the Byzantine church."
[1]
Early 10th CE in Constantinople the church hierarchy "was dominated by monks" who "tended to enjoy the greatest spiritual authority, first for their opposition to Iconoclasm and later for their personal sanctity". Their influence increased with the formation of large monasteries such as Theodore’s Monastery of Studius, in Constantinople, and those of Mount Olympus in Bithynia, Mount Latrus (near Ephesus) and Mount Athos (near Thessalonica). "Monks on mountains were far enough from the world to escape many of its distractions, but close enough to influence it."
[2]
1. Pope
Pope is primus inter pares among the five patriarchs.
[3]
1. Patriarch of Constantinople
"Patriarchs were elected by the standing synod in Constantinople, which presented three names to the emperor. He was entitled to choose one of these, or, if unable to accept any of the candidates, to choose the new patriarch himself."
[4]
Five Patriarchs (Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem).
2. Metropolitans and archbishops"the term ’bishop’ applies to patriarchs, metropolitans, archbishops, and bishops (both suffragan and assistant bishops or chorepiskopoi) throughout the Byzantine period. After the ’ecumenical’ patriarch of Constantinople, who after the seventh century occupied the only remaining patriarchal seat under Byzantine rule, metropolitans held the second highest rank in the Orthodox Church."
[4]
"The title ’archbishop’ emerged in special cases, for example in important cities such as Athens which did not possess a metropolitan."
[4]
3. Bishops and ChorepiskopoiBishops and Chorepiskopoi form one rank below the metropolitans and archbishops
[3]
"Chorepiskopoi (literally ’country bishops’) were assigned to rural communities and were subject to a bishop in a nearby city."
[4]
"After the fourth century, the powers and functions of chorepiskopoi were gradually restricted and they were allowed only to ordain clerics of the lower orders. After the second Council of Nicaea (787) which prohibited them from ordaining even readers (anagnostai) without episcopal assent (canon 14), this separate episcopal rank began to disappear (Jugie 1904)."
[4]
3. Priest"In the early Church, priests or presbyters served as advisers, teachers, and ministers who assisted the bishops to whom they were assigned."
[4]
4. Deacon"Deacon (diakonos, ’servant’)"
[5]
"Deacons assisted the priest or bishop at the Divine Liturgy, baptisms, and other sacraments. ... Various administrative and pastoral jobs were delegated to deacons from an early period; they helped bishops to dispense charity to the community, manage the diocese’s finances and property, and to deal with other official business (Laodikeia, canons 21, 23, 25). Deacons were subject to the authority of both bishops and priests, but they came to exercise considerable power, especially in the patriarchate of Constantinople."
[6]
4. Deaconess (diakonissa)Become more and more rare, would be of equal rank as deacon.
[3]
"The deaconess’s chief liturgical role was to assist at the baptisms of women; she also acted as a mediator between women parishioners and their bishops, kept order among female members of the congregation, and ministered especially to women."
[6]
5. Subdeacon"The rank of subdeacon provided a stepping-stone to that of deacon; its duties were similar to those of the deacon."
[7]
6. Reader (anagnostesj"A reader is a member of the lower clergy with the responsibility of reading, usually from the ambo, passages from the Epistles and the Old Testament prescribed for offices and the Divine Liturgy."
[7]
7. Minor orders"Other members of the minor clerical orders included doorkeepers, exorcists, cantors, and widows. All of these officials helped in either liturgical, administrative, or pastoral functions. Most would have received payment from their dioceses, or, in the case of private foundations, from their donors, but it is likely that most would have been engaged in secular professions in order to supplement their incomes."
[7]
[1]: (Treadgold 1997, 555) Treadgold, Warren. 1997. A History of the Byzantine State and Society. Stanford University Press. Stanford.
[2]: (Treadgold 1997, 554-555) Treadgold, Warren. 1997. A History of the Byzantine State and Society. Stanford University Press. Stanford.
[3]: (Preiser-Kapeller 2015, Personal Communication)
[4]: (Cunningham 2008, 529) Jeffreys E, Haldon J and Cormack R eds. 2008. The Oxford Handbook of Byzantine Studies. Oxford University Press. Oxford.
[5]: (Cunningham 2008, 530) Jeffreys E, Haldon J and Cormack R eds. 2008. The Oxford Handbook of Byzantine Studies. Oxford University Press. Oxford.
[6]: (Cunningham 2008, 531) Jeffreys E, Haldon J and Cormack R eds. 2008. The Oxford Handbook of Byzantine Studies. Oxford University Press. Oxford.
[7]: (Cunningham 2008, 532) Jeffreys E, Haldon J and Cormack R eds. 2008. The Oxford Handbook of Byzantine Studies. Oxford University Press. Oxford.
levels.
11th CE + ? "the strategos, commander of the thematic armies, essentially disappeared, replaced by the provincial governor (normally the kritis) who had previously been his subordinate."
[1]
Cheynet
"The reign of Basil II marked a real turning point in the transformation of the Byzantine administrative system and ruling classes, for it confirmed earlier developments and served as an obligatory point of reference for his successors. He sanctioned in a definitive manner the changeover to the professional army of the tagmata, thus ensuring the eventual disappearance of the thematic armies and the formation of a new hierarchy within the themes."
[2]
Preiser-Kapeller
[3]
1. Emperor
2. Domestikos of the Scholai3. Commanders of larger frontier commands (Dux, Katepanos)4. Strategoi of the themata5. Comanders of single units6. Commanders of subunits 100
6. Banda of 200 men each
’Leo never divided the banda of two hundred men each, but he ceased to use drungi of a thousand men, creasing more turmae instead. Within each bandum he increased the number of cavalry from forty to fifty’.
[4]
7. Leaders of cavalry and leader of infantry within Banda8. another level of infantry command? inferred by Ed9. Soldier
Haldon
After introduction of themes: "The difference between mobile field units and stationary frontier forces vanished."
[5]
Based on imperial administration c.700-1050 CE
[6]
Mixture of actual levels of command and of specific ranks
[7]
1. Emperor
2. Provincial military and navy3. Thematic generals (strategos)
2. Independent commands3. doukes katepans4. tagamata seconded to thematic duty
2. Imperial household3. Elite and household units (military)
2. droungarios of the imperial fleet
2. domestikoi of the Scholoi3. scholai, exkoubita, etc.
3. tagamata seconded to thematic duty
Haussig
"The military units also used Germanic designations. Thus a small military unit was called Foulkon which was how the German word Folk (Volk) was written. The subdivision of a nmerus was called by the German word Band (field banner), which became bandus. This process even went so far as to adopt part of the military organization of the German army. In the ninth century the Byzantine army still had the troops of the Optimates; this was originally the designation of a crack corps of the Gothic army. In the territory of the lower Danube the racial characteristics of the soldiers in the frontier zones were entirely respected. The tribal chieftains were even granted the position of Roan officers and in this capacity continued to rule over their people."
[8]
Regular guards had four divisions called tagmata: "The command of these troops stationed in Constantinople in the immediate neighbourhood of the imperial palace and the Hippodrome was in the hands of officers with the title of domesticus." The candidati (cavalry); excubiti (police duties); arithmus (marines); hikanatoi (crowd control).
[9]
1. Emperor
2. domesticus
3. candidati
4.
3. excubiti
4.
3. drungarius
4.
3. hikanatoi
4.
[1]: (Gregory 2010, 281) Gregory, Timothy E. 2010. A History of Byzantium. Wiley-Blackweel. Chichester.
[2]: (Cheynet 2008, 521) Jeffreys E, Haldon J and Cormack R eds. 2008. The Oxford Handbook of Byzantine Studies. Oxford University Press. Oxford.
[3]: (Preiser-Kapeller 2015) Institute for Medieval Research, Division of Byzantine Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences
[4]: (Treadgold 1997, 467) Warren Treadgold. 1997. A History of the Byzantine State and Society. Stanford University Press. California.
[5]: (Haldon 2008, 555) Jeffreys E, Haldon J and Cormack R eds. 2008. The Oxford Handbook of Byzantine Studies. Oxford University Press. Oxford.
[6]: (Haldon 2008, 549) Jeffreys E, Haldon J and Cormack R eds. 2008. The Oxford Handbook of Byzantine Studies. Oxford University Press. Oxford.
[7]: (Preiser-Kapeller 2015) Institute for Medieval Research, Division of Byzantine Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences. Personal Communication.
[8]: (Haussig 1971, 92) Haussig, H W. trans Hussey, J M. 1971. History of Byzantine Civilization. Thames and Hudson.
[9]: (Haussig 1971, 181-182) Haussig, H W.trans Hussey, J M. 1971. History of Byzantine Civilization. Thames and Hudson.
levels.
Based on imperial administration c.700-1050 CE
[1]
Note: Provinces still existed contemporaneous with the first themes. Last European themes set up about 900 CE: "Strymon theme to protect the passes over the Rhodope mountains; the theme of Nicopolis to secure the coastal region on the gulf of Patras; and the Dalmatian theme to secure Byzantine access to the Dalmatian islands."
[2]
1. Emperor
"In official titulature the older terms augoustos, autokrator, and despotes remained in use, but from the time of Herakleios the emperor was generally called basileus, whereas the Latinate augousta was preferred to basilissa for the empress."
[3]
"wished to be regarded as the emanation of the sun-god and claimed the same veneration as the Apostles of Christ"
[4]
from "the point of view of the ceremonial" the Christian Emperor "was still a god" in the pagan tradition. "His arrival was heralded by the raising of several curtains, like the appearance of the deity in the oriental mystery religions. Hence the meetings of the Emperor’s council held in this sacred setting were able to announce only decisions which had been discussed and settled outside this body (gremium)."
[5]
2. sakellarios (general fiscal supervisor)"In Constantinople, new offices and new actors emerged out of the old structures. For example, the sakellarios, at the head of the Sakellion, formerly a department of the Sacrum Cubiculum, became the chief officer of finance (Brandes 2002: 427-79; Haldon 1990:376-402)."
[6]
3. Military finance4. protonotarioi (thematic fiscal administration) - see below for additional levels
4. Prisons (Constantinople)5. Noumera
5. Walls
5. Praitorion
5. demes of Blues and Greens
5. scholai, exkoubita, etc.
3. General treasurysacellum (imperial treasury)
[7]
4. department for money payments in the sacellum
[7]
4. department for payments in kind in the sacellum
[7]
4. protonotarioi (thematic fiscal administration) - see below for additional levels
3. Special treasury
3. Public wardrobe
3. Grand curatorAfter the theme organization introduced "The curatores, the heads of the great estate zones, now paid this revenue [tax] direct to the imperial sacellum, the imperial treasury. Within the treasury, as in all financial departments of state, there were two departments, the sacellum for money payments and the vestiarium for payments in kind."
[7]
3. Curator of the Mangana
3. Orphanotrophos"There was an imperial administrative department for orphanages and for old peoples’ homes. Both these had their own special officials."
[7]
2. logothete of the dromos"In order to exercise some effective control over the themes, and particularly to safeguard the general interests of the state against the particularism of individual provinces, the office of logothete tou dromou was created. This high imperial official had the position of a commissioner with extraordinary powers. One of his most important duties was to provide for an army on the march. ... His competence included the supervision of imperial roads and post, and he also had the right to impose on any theme economic measures considered necessary to secure provisioning, maintenance and movement of troops on all routes within the Empire. With such authority this office attained so great an importance that the logothete tou dromou soon became the first minister of the Empire."
[8]
3. Transport4. Public post
2. Provincial military and navy3. Thematic generals (strategos)Themes introduced under Constantine IV 668-685 CE.
[9]
Commanders of theme called strategi
[10]
Military commander "dux" (highest rank) of a castella or "theme". Once castella set up in Asia Minor "The military zones took the place of the provinces and the military commanders became the provincial governors."
[11]
4. Clerks (copyists and secretaries) of strategos"The strategi of the themes, whose rank was similar to that of a present-day commander-in-chief, received salaries ranging from 5 to 40 gold pounds according to the strategic importance of the theme. ... higher ranking officers were themselves responsible for certain outgoings, such as the payment of their clerks - copyists and secretaries."
[12]
4. protonotarioi (thematic fiscal administration)"The protonotarius was in charge of financial administration. In regional administration there was a division between departments for receipts and disbursement. The taxes collected by the tax-collectors (dioketai) in the various tax zones were paid into the chartularius’ office, entered and checked and then handed over to the protonotarius’ office. From these receipts the protonotarius had to cover the expenses of the theme." These outgoings included the soldiers’ pay, the salaries of officers and officials as well as expenditure for the upkeep of public welfare services, such as geriatric homes, orphanages and infirmaries."
[12]
5. Department for receipts
5. Department for disbursement
"These outgoings included the soldiers’ pay, the salaries of officers and officials as well as expenditure for the upkeep of public welfare services, such as geriatric homes, orphanages and infirmaries."
[12]
6. Official who paid the salaries of soldiers and/or government workers inferred7. Assistant/scribe of official who paid the salaries of soldiers and government workers inferred
7. Public welfare manager e.g. head of orphanage8. Worker in public welfare service e.g. nurse
4. kritai (justice)
4. chartoularioi (military administration)"The chartularius was the head of the taxation offices and his subordinates were in charge of the kataster of the peasants as well as the soldier-farmers."
[13]
5. dioketai (tax-collectors)"The taxes collected by the tax-collectors (dioketai) in the various tax zones were paid into the chartularius’ office, entered and checked and then handed over to the protonotarius’ office."
5. Book-keepers"Some officials came from banking circles (argyropratai). They were entrusted with book-keeping and accounts, and had to spend many years as money-changers or transacting loans before they ventured to jump into state service. They mostly got posts in the taxation department, first in provincial administration, and then, if they were successful, they would be recalled to the central offices in Constantinople."
[14]
5. anagrapheus (surveyor)"The chartularius was the head of the taxation offices and his subordinates were in charge of the kataster of the peasants as well as the soldier-farmers." "The Byzantine surveyor, the anagrapheus, the official responsible for the precise valuation of land for purposes of taxation"
[15]
6. Assistant/scribe inferred
2. Independent commands3. doukes katepans4. tagamata seconded to thematic duty
3. kleisourarchs
2. logothete of the herds3. optimatoi (logistics unit)
2. Prefect of Constantinople3. Judges of tribunals
2. quaestor (justice)quaestor sacri palatii (minster of justice) "had among his duties the preparation of the imperial laws and documents, for which he took over part of the responsibility with the authorization legi (’I have read’)."
[16]
3. judges of tribunals
3. kritai (thematic justice officals)
2. Minister of petitions
2. Master of ceremonies
2. Imperial household"The department for imperial possessions had a number of functions: there was the office responsible for the private wardrobe of the Emperor, the office for the care of the imperial table silver, the imperial art room, and finally even the imperial library."
[7]
3. Imperial table
3. Butler
3. Private wardrobe
3. Privy purse
3. Chancerypraepostius sacri cubiculi was the head of the imperial cabinet in the cubiculum (Imperial private chancery)
[4]
4. Minister of the inkwell
3. Chamberlaincubicularri (chamberlains) and secreti (private secretaries). "The imperial eunuchs, the cubicularii (koubikoularioi), also paid for their office. They formed the emperor’s escort and were a very influential body in the Palace."
[17]
4. diaitarioi"At the lower end of the scale, there were scores of minor employees of the Palace: diaitarioi, or servants attached to the various buildings, doorkeepers, lamplighters, etc., and there were certainly a great many slaves about whom we have little information. The employees of the Hippodrome and the circus factions were also on the rolls of the Palace."
[17]
4. Imperial bedchamber
3. Head of the Imperial Library4. Imperial Librarian inferred5. Assistant to an Imperial Librarian inferred6. Doorkeepers, lamplighters etc. inferred
3. Concierge of the Great Palace
3. Concierge of the Daphne Palace
3. Concierge of the Magnaura
3. Elite and household units (military)
2. droungarios of the imperial fleet
2. domestikoi of the Scholoi3. scholai, exkoubita, etc.
3. tagamata seconded to thematic duty
2. Imperial private entourage
2. Imperial stables3. protostrator
"The reign of Basil II marked a real turning point in the transformation of the Byzantine administrative system and ruling classes, for it confirmed earlier developments and served as an obligatory point of reference for his successors."
[18]
"This preponderance of civil officials became accentuated, and by the eleventh century the strategos had given way to the judge (krites) as the head of the thematic administration."
[19]
[1]: (Haldon 2008, 549) Jeffreys E, Haldon J and Cormack R eds. 2008. The Oxford Handbook of Byzantine Studies. Oxford University Press. Oxford.
[2]: (Haussig 1971, 96-97) Haussig, H W. trans Hussey, J M. 1971. History of Byzantine Civilization. Thames and Hudson.
[3]: (Featherstone 2008, 505) Jeffreys E, Haldon J and Cormack R eds. 2008. The Oxford Handbook of Byzantine Studies. Oxford University Press. Oxford.
[4]: (Haussig 1971, 54) Haussig, H W. trans Hussey, J M. 1971. History of Byzantine Civilization. Thames and Hudson.
[5]: (Haussig 1971, 55) Haussig, H W. trans Hussey, J M. 1971. History of Byzantine Civilization. Thames and Hudson.
[6]: (Cheynet 2008, 519) Jeffreys E, Haldon J and Cormack R eds. 2008. The Oxford Handbook of Byzantine Studies. Oxford University Press. Oxford.
[7]: (Haussig 1971, 181) Haussig, H W.trans Hussey, J M. 1971. History of Byzantine Civilization. Thames and Hudson.
[8]: (Haussig 1971, 180) Haussig, H W.trans Hussey, J M. 1971. History of Byzantine Civilization. Thames and Hudson.
[9]: (Haussig 1971, Chronological Table) Haussig, H W.trans Hussey, J M. 1971. History of Byzantine Civilization. Thames and Hudson.
[10]: (Haussig 1971, 178) Haussig, H W.trans Hussey, J M. 1971. History of Byzantine Civilization. Thames and Hudson.
[11]: (Haussig 1971, 95) Haussig, H W. trans Hussey, J M. 1971. History of Byzantine Civilization. Thames and Hudson.
[12]: (Haussig 1971, 171) Haussig, H W.trans Hussey, J M. 1971. History of Byzantine Civilization. Thames and Hudson.
[13]: (Haussig 1971, 174-175) Haussig, H W.trans Hussey, J M. 1971. History of Byzantine Civilization. Thames and Hudson.
[14]: (Haussig 1971, 179) Haussig, H W.trans Hussey, J M. 1971. History of Byzantine Civilization. Thames and Hudson.
[15]: (Haussig 1971, 175) Haussig, H W.trans Hussey, J M. 1971. History of Byzantine Civilization. Thames and Hudson.
[16]: (Haussig 1971, 53) Haussig, H W. trans Hussey, J M. 1971. History of Byzantine Civilization. Thames and Hudson.
[17]: (Featherstone 2008, 506) Jeffreys E, Haldon J and Cormack R eds. 2008. The Oxford Handbook of Byzantine Studies. Oxford University Press. Oxford.
[18]: (Cheynet 2008, 521) Jeffreys E, Haldon J and Cormack R eds. 2008. The Oxford Handbook of Byzantine Studies. Oxford University Press. Oxford.
[19]: (Cheynet 2008, 522) Jeffreys E, Haldon J and Cormack R eds. 2008. The Oxford Handbook of Byzantine Studies. Oxford University Press. Oxford.
Preiser-Kapeller says present.
[1]
"...the armies of the later eighth century and after consisted of several categories of soldier: regular professionals (the core of the thematic forces), the militia-like majority, full-time ’professional’ regiments (imperial units or tagmata) at Constantinople, foreign mercenaries (Khazars, Kurds, Turks, and others)."
[2]
"The thematic militias were not suitable for offensive operations, and so regular field armies with a more complex tactical structure, specialized fighting skills and weapons, and more offensive spirit began to evolve, partly under the direction of a developing elite of provincial landed military officers. Full-time professional units played a growing role as the state began to commute thematic military service for cash payments, which were then used to hire mercenaries. The result was a colourful and international army—remarked on by outside observers— consisting of both indigenous mercenary units as well as Russians, Normans, Turks, and Franks, both infantry and cavalry. Perhaps best-known among these are the famous Varangians (Russian and Scandinavian adventurers and mercenaries), first recruited during the reign of Basil II."
[3]
[1]: (Preiser-Kapeller 2015) Institute for Medieval Research, Division of Byzantine Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences)
[2]: (Haldon 2008, 555) Jeffreys E, Haldon J and Cormack R eds. 2008. The Oxford Handbook of Byzantine Studies. Oxford University Press. Oxford.
[3]: (Haldon 2008, 556) Jeffreys E, Haldon J and Cormack R eds. 2008. The Oxford Handbook of Byzantine Studies. Oxford University Press. Oxford.
Preiser-Kapeller says present. [1] Professional clergy. [2]
[1]: (Preiser-Kapeller 2015) Institute for Medieval Research, Division of Byzantine Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences)
[2]: (Cunningham 2008, 535) Jeffreys E, Haldon J and Cormack R eds. 2008. The Oxford Handbook of Byzantine Studies. Oxford University Press. Oxford.
Preiser-Kapeller says present. [1] "An officer’s pay was so high that even the lower commissions had large sums of gold at their disposal. They also had a very substantial share in war booty, which was theirs by law." [2] "As far as salaries went the military were generally better off than civil servants. Officers were exceedingly well paid. And an ordinary soldier also received more pay than an artisan could earn." [3]
[1]: (Preiser-Kapeller 2015) Institute for Medieval Research, Division of Byzantine Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences)
[2]: (Haussig 1971, 98) Haussig, H W. trans Hussey, J M. 1971. History of Byzantine Civilization. Thames and Hudson.
[3]: (Haussig 1971, 171) Haussig, H W.trans Hussey, J M. 1971. History of Byzantine Civilization. Thames and Hudson.
Preiser-Kapeller says present. [1] Customs building. "The route by which oriental goods came is well known. All ships coming from Syria and Egypt had to go to Attaleia, the great harbour in south-west Asia Minor. Only then were they allowed to continue their journey to Constantinople. At Atteleia the customs officials came on board and entered against the list of goods the duty payable to the customs. The rate of duty was very high." [2]
[1]: (Preiser-Kapeller 2015) Institute for Medieval Research, Division of Byzantine Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences)
[2]: (Haussig 1971, 172) Haussig, H W.trans Hussey, J M. 1971. History of Byzantine Civilization. Thames and Hudson.
Preiser-Kapeller says present.
[1]
"The officials brought into association with the central administration in this way were not only the members of certain privileged families. They were often men who had risen from lower social classes by reason of their own ability."
[2]
"Provincials, the best example being Michael Attaleiates, benefited from social mobility based on talent at a time of the development of the schools of Constantinople."
[3]
Women and men from humble origins could rise to positions of power
[4]
. Woman played "leading part in state affairs and society... political constitution did not exclude women from the throne"
[5]
Nepotism (when? how widespread?)
"It often happened that certain particularly energetic civil servants through their unusual activity in the central departments gave their office far greater importance than really belonged to it. They took great care to ensure that the importance gained by this usurpation of the responsibilities of other departments was retained, and with this in mind they appointed suitable successors, colleagues or men drawn from their own circle of relatives."
[2]
"The administration, in spite of the great services it rendered to the State, was honeycombed with vices. As places were sold, so were favours and justice. To make a fortune and gain advancement, merit was of less use than intrigue...".
[6]
[1]: (Preiser-Kapeller 2015) Institute for Medieval Research, Division of Byzantine Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences)
[2]: (Haussig 1971, 182) Haussig, H W.trans Hussey, J M. 1971. History of Byzantine Civilization. Thames and Hudson.
[3]: (Cheynet 2008, 522) Jeffreys E, Haldon J and Cormack R eds. 2008. The Oxford Handbook of Byzantine Studies. Oxford University Press. Oxford.
[5]: (Tanner, Previte-Orton, Brooke 1923, 757) Tanner, J, Previte-Orton, C, Brooke, Z eds. (1923) Charles Diehl, The Cambridge Medieval History, Volume IV, The Eastern Roman Empire 171-1453 [2]
[6]: (Tanner, Previte-Orton, Brooke 1923, 775) Tanner, J, Previte-Orton, C, Brooke, Z eds. (1923) Charles Diehl, The Cambridge Medieval History, Volume IV, The Eastern Roman Empire 171-1453 [3]
Preiser-Kapeller says present. [1] "The council composed of professional officials was also preserved in the Byzantine state. This distinguishes it from the western states of the middle ages." [2]
[1]: (Preiser-Kapeller 2015) Institute for Medieval Research, Division of Byzantine Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences)
[2]: (Haussig 1971, 54) Haussig, H W. trans Hussey, J M. 1971. History of Byzantine Civilization. Thames and Hudson.
There is no state-sponsored examination system as in China from the Tang or Song-period onwards.
[1]
However (private) professional training was available which might have involved exams. "The allocation of chairs showed that the university as it existed in the first half of the fifth century, had sunk to the level of an institution for professional training. The universal nature of a real university had been lost since the days of the Alexandrines. Here young men now received the education necessary to equip them for the higher offices in the civil service."
[2]
[1]: (Preiser-Kapeller 2015) Institute for Medieval Research, Division of Byzantine Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences. Personal Communication.
[2]: (Haussig 1971, 81) Haussig, H W. trans Hussey, J M. 1971. History of Byzantine Civilization. Thames and Hudson.
People who have an education in laws and serve as representatives of clients in courts were present.
[1]
"In the fourth century ... we find scarcely any professionals in the field of law. On the contrary, this century is known for its dramatic shortcomings in comparison with the previous Roman jurisprudence, while on the other hand the new Byzantine law schools did not arise before the end of the fifth century."
[2]
"These schools were attended by practically everyone who wanted a public appointment. There were for instance the notaries. They began as legal copyists of documents (donations, wills) and deed of sale. After a lengthy private practice they would then get an appointment as judge in one of the provinces and then, after some years in office, with the help of influential friends would enter the imperial chancery."
[3]
[1]: (Preiser-Kapeller 2015) Institute for Medieval Research, Division of Byzantine Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences. Personal Communication.
[2]: (Fögen 1994, 60) Fögen M T, in Laiou A E eds. 1994. Law and Society in Byzantium, 9th-12th Centuries. Dumbarton Oaks.
[3]: (Haussig 1971, 179) Haussig, H W.trans Hussey, J M. 1971. History of Byzantine Civilization. Thames and Hudson.
Preiser-Kapeller says present.
[1]
"These schools were attended by practically everyone who wanted a public appointment. There were for instance the notaries. They began as legal copyists of documents (donations, wills) and deed of sale. After a lengthy private practice they would then get an appointment as judge in one of the provinces and then, after some years in office, with the help of influential friends would enter the imperial chancery."
[2]
In mid-11th CE, Constantine IX "founded a bureau for private legal cases, calling its overseer epi ton kriseon. Provincial judges were to set their verdicts down in writing and deposit copies of them with this bureau, in order to be free of all suspicion."
[3]
[1]: (Preiser-Kapeller 2015) Institute for Medieval Research, Division of Byzantine Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences)
[2]: (Haussig 1971, 179) Haussig, H W.trans Hussey, J M. 1971. History of Byzantine Civilization. Thames and Hudson.
[3]: (Attaleiates 2012, 37) Attaleiates, Michael in Kaldellis, Anthony and Krallis, Dimitris trans. 2012. The History: Michael Attaleiates. Harvard University Press. Cambridge.
"The Byzantine Empire’s legal system dated back to the original Roman Laws of the Twelve Tables and continued through every imperial reign’s additions and alterations. In addition, the intersections between religion and politics were also embedded into the legal system so that it became difficult to separate cannon (i.e., religious) from civil law in the way they were separated in the west. When the emperor Justinian commissioned the collection and codification of all Roman law into one massive encyclopedic source, this was the first time in over a thousand years of Roman legal practice that such a task had been attempted."
[1]
"Codex Justinianus (in the form of simplified extracts esp. translation into Greek - "Basilika" - under Basil I and Leon VI at the end of the 9th century).
[2]
Leo VI (886-912 CE) who followed Basil I: "set up a legal commission that carried out his father’s intent to codify all of existing Byzantine law. This was accomplished in a work of 60 books that occupied six volumes, variously called the Exavivlos or the Vasilika (Basilika). The Vasilika was comprehensive, presenting in the Greek language virtually all the laws in the Justinian Corpus, arranged here (as it had not been before) in a systematic manner."
[3]
(Actually Leo VI was the son of Michael III who had Basil the Macedonian divorce his wife so he could marry his mistress whom had become pregnant with his son and only heir out-of-wedlock and he was politically/legally unable to marry again).
[4]
Leo VI’s created Novels (New Laws) to address the latest legal concerns.
[5]
Epanagoge 879-886 CE.
[6]
[1]: (Mitchell 2007, 53) Mitchell, Linda Elizabeth. 2007. Family Life in the Middle Age. Greenwood Publishing. Westport.
[2]: (Preiser-Kapeller 2015) Institute for Medieval Research, Division of Byzantine Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences)
[3]: (Gregory 2010, 253-254) Gregory, Timothy E. 2010. A History of Byzantium. Second Edition. Wiley-Blackwell. Chichester.
[4]: (Treadgold 1997) Warren Treadgold. 1997. A History of the Byzantine State and Society. Stanford University Press. California.
[5]: (Gregory 2010, 254) Gregory, Timothy E. 2010. A History of Byzantium. Second Edition. Wiley-Blackwell. Chichester.
[6]: (Haussig 1971, Chronological Table) Haussig, H W.trans Hussey, J M. 1971. History of Byzantine Civilization. Thames and Hudson.
"Court of the Hippodrome", "Court of the Velum" very well documented - see the entry on "Judges" in the Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium, for instance.
[1]
Courts. However: "There is no text explaining in so many words what courts existed in Constantinople at any one time."
[2]
[1]: (Preiser-Kapeller 2015) Institute for Medieval Research, Division of Byzantine Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences. Personal Communication.
[2]: (Macrides 1994, 60) Macrides R J, in Laiou A E eds. 1994. Law and Society in Byzantium, 9th-12th Centuries. Dumbarton Oaks.
Preiser-Kapeller says present. [1] Eleventh century: "Emperors from the aristocratic magnate class give up a planned economy." [2] State-supplied food sent to markets (macella) which in Constantinople "were normally located by the fora and the Strategion (M. Mango 2000)." [3] "The market-places (agorai) built in the early Byzantine period follow Roman models (e.g. the oval Forum erected by Constantine I in Constantinople, the circular agora of Justiniana Prima built by Justinian I), so much so that the Forum Tauri in Constantinople was laid out by Theodosios I in imitation of Trajan’s Forum in Rome." [4]
[1]: (Preiser-Kapeller 2015) Institute for Medieval Research, Division of Byzantine Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences)
[2]: (Haussig 1971, Chronological Table) Haussig, H W.trans Hussey, J M. 1971. History of Byzantine Civilization. Thames and Hudson.
[3]: (Hennessey 2008, 213) Jeffreys E, Haldon J and Cormack R eds. 2008. The Oxford Handbook of Byzantine Studies. Oxford University Press. Oxford.
[4]: (Bakirtzis 2008, 374) Jeffreys E, Haldon J and Cormack R eds. 2008. The Oxford Handbook of Byzantine Studies. Oxford University Press. Oxford.
Preiser-Kapeller says present. [1] According to Haussig (1971) "a highly developed use of land, particularly by means of irrigation, as in Egypt and Syria, was unknown to the Byzantine economy, where no progress had been made in working and cultivating the soil" [2] Territory of Egypt and Syria not held in this period. However Harvey (2008): "Landowners had the resources to make improvements to their properties, in particular the construction of irrigation systems, and to specialize in cash crops like vines and olives." [3] Vines and olives are typically grown in Greece and Turkey.
[1]: (Preiser-Kapeller 2015) Institute for Medieval Research, Division of Byzantine Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences)
[2]: (Haussig 1971, 175-176) Haussig, H W.trans Hussey, J M. 1971. History of Byzantine Civilization. Thames and Hudson.
[3]: (Harvey 2008, 634) Jeffreys E, Haldon J and Cormack R eds. 2008. The Oxford Handbook of Byzantine Studies. Oxford University Press. Oxford.
Preiser-Kapeller says present.
[1]
Castella settlements on the lower Danube "had common granaries for corn".
[2]
Such as in Constantinople: "Two granaries near the Marmara, the Alexandrina and Theodosianum, stored some of the grain from Egypt, while some was held in three granaries to the north, near the Srategion and Prosphorion harbour."
[3]
[1]: (Preiser-Kapeller 2015) Institute for Medieval Research, Division of Byzantine Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences)
[2]: (Haussig 1971, 92-93) Haussig, H W. trans Hussey, J M. 1971. History of Byzantine Civilization. Thames and Hudson.
[3]: (Hennessey 2008, 213) Jeffreys E, Haldon J and Cormack R eds. 2008. The Oxford Handbook of Byzantine Studies. Oxford University Press. Oxford.
Preiser-Kapeller says present. [1] Cisterns of St Mocius, Philoxenus and Illus (Yerebatansaray), Acqueduct of Valens in Constantinople. [2] "Over 150 covered cisterns and reservoirs survive of the complex water programme, the most impressive of which is the Basilica Cistern (Yerebatansaray) (Crow and Bayliss 2005)." [3]
[1]: (Preiser-Kapeller 2015) Institute for Medieval Research, Division of Byzantine Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences)
[2]: (Haussig 1971, 166) Haussig, H W. trans Hussey, J M. 1971. History of Byzantine Civilization. Thames and Hudson.
[3]: (Hennessey 2008, 213) Jeffreys E, Haldon J and Cormack R eds. 2008. The Oxford Handbook of Byzantine Studies. Oxford University Press. Oxford.
Preiser-Kapeller says present. [1] Certain streets paved with marble or other stone. [2] Road building, repairing and administration. [3] Dromos: "administrative department responsible for foreign affairs and the maintenance of the road network among other duties". [4]
[1]: (Preiser-Kapeller 2015) Institute for Medieval Research, Division of Byzantine Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences)
[2]: (Bakirtzis 2008, 376) Jeffreys E, Haldon J and Cormack R eds. 2008. The Oxford Handbook of Byzantine Studies. Oxford University Press. Oxford.
[3]: (Belke 2008, 295-308) Jeffreys E, Haldon J and Cormack R eds. 2008. The Oxford Handbook of Byzantine Studies. Oxford University Press. Oxford.
[4]: (Harvey 2003, xiv) Harvey, Alan. 2003. Economic Expansion in the Byzantine Empire, 900-1200. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge.
Preiser-Kapeller says present. [1] "Commerce in the city was dependent on the four major harbours: the Prosphorion and the Neorion (naval dockyard) on the Golden Horn, and two artificial harbours on the Marmara Coast, built by Julian and Theodosius I (Magdalino 2000). Both state-supplied food (annona) (bread, wine, and oil, distributed until the seventh century) and privately marketed food were distributed from the harbours to warehouses (horrea) and then to bakeries, shops, and markets (macella), which were normally located by the fora and the Strategion (M. Mango 2000)." [2] "Bari, the capital of Byzantine Italy, and Chandax, the capital of Crete, were both sizeable ports." [3]
[1]: (Preiser-Kapeller 2015) Institute for Medieval Research, Division of Byzantine Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences)
[2]: (Hennessey 2008, 213) Jeffreys E, Haldon J and Cormack R eds. 2008. The Oxford Handbook of Byzantine Studies. Oxford University Press. Oxford.
[3]: (Treadgold 1997, 573) Treadgold, Warren. 1997. A History of the Byzantine State and Society. Stanford University Press. Stanford.
Preiser-Kapeller says present. [1] Bridges. [2]
[1]: (Preiser-Kapeller 2015) Institute for Medieval Research, Division of Byzantine Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences)
[2]: (Belke 2008, 295-308) Jeffreys E, Haldon J and Cormack R eds. 2008. The Oxford Handbook of Byzantine Studies. Oxford University Press. Oxford.
Preiser-Kapeller says present. [1] Legal texts, legislative documents, theological writings, chronicles and more. [2] Letters: "The total of extant letters may number somewhere around 15,000; there are upward of 150 major letter-collections dating between 300 and 1500." [3]
[1]: (Preiser-Kapeller 2015) Institute for Medieval Research, Division of Byzantine Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences)
[2]: (Haldon 2008, 21-29) Jeffreys E, Haldon J and Cormack R eds. 2008. The Oxford Handbook of Byzantine Studies. Oxford University Press. Oxford.
[3]: (Mullett 2008, 885) Jeffreys E, Haldon J and Cormack R eds. 2008. The Oxford Handbook of Byzantine Studies. Oxford University Press. Oxford.
"Archaeological evidence provides us with insights into many key aspects of medieval life: dwellings, fortifications, diet, clothing, tools, and items of daily existence, as well as providing information on the production and distribution of luxury goods." [1] E.g. pictures and artefacts.
[1]: (Haldon 2008, 26) Jeffreys E, Haldon J and Cormack R eds. 2008. The Oxford Handbook of Byzantine Studies. Oxford University Press. Oxford.
Preiser-Kapeller says present. [1] Tenth century: "Enyclopedias of agriculture, medicine and veterinary medicine." [2] Michael Psellus (1018-?1078 CE): "Commentaries on Plato and Aristotle. Treatises on scientific problems. Letters, orations, legal works. Contemporary history (976-1077)." [2] Leo the Mathematician had an international reputation for his knowledge of geometry, mechanics and medicine and he "devised a warning system of watch fires linking the Arab frontier with the capital, which was capable of transmitting twelve different messages." [3]
[1]: (Preiser-Kapeller 2015) Institute for Medieval Research, Division of Byzantine Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences)
[2]: (Haussig 1971, Chronological Table) Haussig, H W.trans Hussey, J M. 1971. History of Byzantine Civilization. Thames and Hudson.
[3]: (Treadgold 1997, 561) Treadgold, Warren. 1997. A History of the Byzantine State and Society. Stanford University Press. Stanford.
Preiser-Kapeller says present. [1] Psellus. [2] "The outstanding theologians of the Byzantine period, John of Damascus and Anastasius of Sinai, lived and worked under Arab rule." They "provided some of the leaders of the monastic movement." [3]
[1]: (Preiser-Kapeller 2015) Institute for Medieval Research, Division of Byzantine Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences)
[2]: (Tanner, Previte-Orton, Brooke 1923, 766) Tanner, J, Previte-Orton, C, Brooke, Z eds. (1923) Charles Diehl, The Cambridge Medieval History, Volume IV, The Eastern Roman Empire 171-1453 [4]
[3]: (Haussig 1971, 210-211) Haussig, H W.trans Hussey, J M. 1971. History of Byzantine Civilization. Thames and Hudson.
Preiser-Kapeller says present. [1] Encyclopaedias such as agricultural manuals. [2] Military manuals such as Tactica by or for Leo VI (886-912 CE) - this particular work compiled 903 CE or 907 CE - which offered advice such as "it is easier and less costly to wear out a Frankish army by skirmishes, protracted operations in desolate districts, and the cutting off of its supplies, than to attempt to destroy it at a single blow." [3] The ’Book of the Eparch’ under Leo VI (886-912 CE) "provided rules and regulations for trade and trade organizations in Constantinople. [4]
[1]: (Preiser-Kapeller 2015) Institute for Medieval Research, Division of Byzantine Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences)
[2]: (Haussig 1971, 176) Haussig, H W.trans Hussey, J M. 1971. History of Byzantine Civilization. Thames and Hudson.
[3]: (O’Rourke 2010, 7-10) O’Rourke, M. 2010. The Land Forces of the Roman (Byzantine) Empire in the 10th Century. Canberra.
[4]: (Gregory 2010, 254) Gregory, Timothy E. 2010. A History of Byzantium. Second Edition. Wiley-Blackwell. Chichester.
Preiser-Kapeller says present. [1] Michael Psellus (1018-?1078 CE): "Commentaries on Plato and Aristotle. Treatises on scientific problems. Letters, orations, legal works. Contemporary history (976-1077)." [2] John Italus. [3] Advice to kings genre: Constantine VII sought to compile "works that would be useful for the administration of the empire and the success of his son as emperor": "He apparently compiled the De administrando imperio (on foreign policy), the De thematibus (on provincial government), and the De ceremoniis (on imperial ceremony)." [4] Michael Attaleiates book The History also may belong in the advice for kings genre. It was addressed to the Emperor [5] and he states he covers events and "added the causes why they happened the way they did" and "the virtues and vices of the rulers and other men in power, weaving in also certain scientific matters concerning natural phenomena" [6]
[1]: (Preiser-Kapeller 2015) Institute for Medieval Research, Division of Byzantine Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences)
[2]: (Haussig 1971, Chronological Table) Haussig, H W.trans Hussey, J M. 1971. History of Byzantine Civilization. Thames and Hudson.
[3]: (Tanner, Previte-Orton, Brooke 1923, 764) Tanner, J, Previte-Orton, C, Brooke, Z eds. (1923) Charles Diehl, The Cambridge Medieval History, Volume IV, The Eastern Roman Empire 171-1453 [5]
[4]: (Gregory 2010, 262) Gregory, Timothy E. 2010. A History of Byzantium. Second Edition. Wiley-Blackwell. Chichester.
[5]: (Kaldellis and Krallis 2012, 3) Kaldellis, Anthony. Krallis, Dimitris. 2012. The History: Michael Attaleiates. Harvard University Press. Cambridge.
[6]: (Kaldellis and Krallis 2012, 7) Kaldellis, Anthony. Krallis, Dimitris. 2012. The History: Michael Attaleiates. Harvard University Press. Cambridge.
Preiser-Kapeller says present. [1] E.g. tax assessment known as the kataster, "a central tax list covering all the cultivatable land". [2]
[1]: (Preiser-Kapeller 2015) Institute for Medieval Research, Division of Byzantine Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences)
[2]: (Haussig 1971, 174) Haussig, H W.trans Hussey, J M. 1971. History of Byzantine Civilization. Thames and Hudson.
Preiser-Kapeller says present. [1] Michael Psellus (1018-?1078 CE): "Commentaries on Plato and Aristotle. Treatises on scientific problems. Letters, orations, legal works. Contemporary history (976-1077)." [2] Michael Psellos (1018 - c1081 CE) Chronographia was a history, first person viewpoint, covering 976-1078 CE, much based on own experiences. [3] The History of Michael Attaleiates. Covers approximately 1034-1079 CE with some gaps. "The main focus of the work overall appears to be the east, especially the warfare against the Seljuks under Romanos IV." [4] Constantine Prophyrogenitus, Leo Diaconus and Chroniclers George Monachus and Simeon Magister. Psellus, Michael Attaliates and Chronicler Scylitzes.
[1]: (Preiser-Kapeller 2015) Institute for Medieval Research, Division of Byzantine Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences)
[2]: (Haussig 1971, Chronological Table) Haussig, H W.trans Hussey, J M. 1971. History of Byzantine Civilization. Thames and Hudson.
[3]: (Gregory 2010, 279) Gregory, Timothy E. 2010. A History of Byzantium. Wiley-Blackweel. Chichester.
[4]: (Kaldellis and Krallis 2012, xv) Kaldellis, Anthony. Krallis, Dimitris. 2012. The History: Michael Attaleiates. Harvard University Press. Cambridge.
Preiser-Kapeller says present.
[1]
Tenth century: "Dictionary of the Suda. Works on imperial traditions. New hagiographical collection (Symeon Metaphrastes)."
[2]
[1]: (Preiser-Kapeller 2015) Institute for Medieval Research, Division of Byzantine Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences)
[2]: (Haussig 1971, Chronological Table) Haussig, H W.trans Hussey, J M. 1971. History of Byzantine Civilization. Thames and Hudson.
Unknown in this period. "Within the Byzantine Empire, the billion trachy functioned as a virtual token or quasi-token coin. Its equivalence to the hyperpyron was legislated, and, in 1136, it was worth 1/48 of an hyperpyron, that is to say, one gold coin was worth 48 billion trachea or stamena. The intrinsic value of the billion trachy (based on its silver content) would have been much lower. It was, then, against this token coin that the denier and the mark were exchanged." [1]
[1]: (Laiou 2001, 172) Laiou A E, Mottahedeh R P. 2001. The Crusades from the Perspective of Byzantium and the Muslim World. Dumbarton Oaks.
"the solidus, later known as the nomisma, was the standard gold coin introduced by Constantine the Great in 309, which was to retain its weight and fineness well into the tenth century." 72 solidi were struck to the Byzantine pound (litra). [1]
[1]: (Entwhistle 2002, 611) Entwhistle, C. in Laiou A E eds. 2002. The Economic History of Byzantium: From the Seventh through the Fifteenth Century. Dumbarton Oaks. Washington D.C. and Jeffreys E, Haldon J and Cormack R eds. 2008. The Oxford Handbook of Byzantine Studies. Oxford University Press. Oxford. pp.38-46
Preiser-Kapeller says present. [1] "Like their ancestors the antique Romans, the Byzantines dug camp every night, surrounding it with a ditch and palisade." [2]
[1]: (Preiser-Kapeller 2015) Institute for Medieval Research, Division of Byzantine Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences)
[2]: (O’Rourke 2010, 8) O’Rourke, M. 2010. The Land Forces of the Roman (Byzantine) Empire in the 10th Century. Canberra.
Preiser-Kapeller says present. [1] "Like their ancestors the antique Romans, the Byzantines dug camp every night, surrounding it with a ditch and palisade." [2]
[1]: (Preiser-Kapeller 2015) Institute for Medieval Research, Division of Byzantine Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences)
[2]: (O’Rourke 2010, 8) O’Rourke, M. 2010. The Land Forces of the Roman (Byzantine) Empire in the 10th Century. Canberra.
Preiser-Kapeller says present. [1] Byzantines imported steel swords from the Baltic and the forest peoples of Russia. [2] "The timber and beaches of Chalybia could always provide it, but villages in less fortunate areas may hardly have qualified for the Iron Age. On the other hand the armouries of Constantinople itself were capable of producing numbers of complex bronze, iron and steel weapons at short notice - for example for the Cretan expedition of 949." [3] Al-Kindi (801-870 CE) in a letter to the Caliph of Baghdad mentions that "swords may be made out of shaburqan by Rus, Slavs & Byzantines". Shaburqan meant ’hard iron.’ Al-Kindi also said the Byzantines and others also made narmahan (’soft iron’). [4]
[1]: (Preiser-Kapeller 2015) Institute for Medieval Research, Division of Byzantine Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences)
[2]: (Cunliffe 2015, 378) Barry W Cunliffe. 2015. Steppe, Desert, and Ocean: The Birth of Eurasia. Oxford University Press. Oxford.
[3]: (Bryer 1988, 41) Anthony Bryer. 1988. Peoples and settlement in Anatolia nad the Caucasus: 800-1900. Variorum Publishing.
[4]: (Williams 2012, 27-29) Alan Williams. 2012. The Sword and the Crucible: A History of the Metallurgy of European Swords Up to the 16th Century. BRILL. Leiden.
Counter weight trebuchet almost certainly to have been used by the sieges of Zevgminom 1165 CE and Nicaea 1184 CE. The Byzantine Empire used two types of this trebuchet: bricola (gravity powered, single pole) and tresle-framed, or trebuchet. Helepoleis used at seige Laodicea 1104 CE, at Mylos, Aretai, Durazzo, Kastoria, Apollonias Dristra, Chios, Abydos. Alexios I possibly helped invent the helepolis and counter-weight trebuchet. [1] First use of the counter-weight trebuchet 1165 CE at Byzantine siege of Zevgminon. [2]
[1]: (Chevedden 2000, 75-82 [ http://www.jstor.org/stable/1291833])
[2]: (Turnball 2002) Turnball, S. 2002. Siege Weapons of the Far East (1): AD 612-1300. Osprey Publishing.
Late Byzantine small and made little impact on events. [1] "The so-called “Greek fire” was a kind of flame-thrower first deployed on ships against the Arab fleet during the siege of Constantinople 674/678 CE (reportedly introduced by an architect named Kallinikos who had flead from Syria to the capital); later on, we also have reports about the usage of this weapon on land (at sieges) and in a smaller version as handheld arm." [2]
[1]: (Bartusis 1997, 334-336) Bartusis, M (1997) The Late Byzantine Army: Arms and Society, 1204-1453, University of Pennsylvania Press
[2]: (Preiser-Kapeller 2015) Institute for Medieval Research, Division of Byzantine Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences)
Preiser-Kapeller says absent. [1] Bombards, first mentioned at 1393 CE. Early 15th century, arquebus. Not much evidence heavy firearms under Byzantine control. Probably occurred albeit a rare event. [2]
[1]: (Preiser-Kapeller 2015) Institute for Medieval Research, Division of Byzantine Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences)
[2]: (Bartusis 1997, 334-340) Bartusis, M (1997) The Late Byzantine Army: Arms and Society, 1204-1453, University of Pennsylvania Press
There are different definitions of a crossbow. Present on one definition. [1] "Whether Byzantine soldiers also used the hand-held crossbow, some evidence for which exists from the late Roman period (as opposed to the much larger frame- or swivel-mounted weapon used as field or siege-artillery, which certainly did continue in use), seems doubtful." [2]
[1]: (Johannes Preiser-Kapeller 2015) Institute for Medieval Research, Division of Byzantine Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences)
[2]: (Haldon 2008, 477) Jeffreys E, Haldon J and Cormack R eds. 2008. The Oxford Handbook of Byzantine Studies. Oxford University Press. Oxford.
"a mid-tenth-century text (Dain 1938: §39.4) gives some details on the bow used by Byzantine soldiers: the basic model remained that of the Hunnic bow, adopted in the fifth and sixth century, measuring from 45 to 48 inches in length, with arrows of 27 inches (McGeer 1995; Breccia 2004)." [1]
[1]: (Haldon 2008, 477) Jeffreys E, Haldon J and Cormack R eds. 2008. The Oxford Handbook of Byzantine Studies. Oxford University Press. Oxford.
Sometimes used as pack animal in the context of warfare?
Preiser-Kapeller says present. [1] Shields. [2] Varangian guard carried a round shield.
[1]: (Preiser-Kapeller 2015) Institute for Medieval Research, Division of Byzantine Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences)
[2]: (Haldon 2008, 477) Jeffreys E, Haldon J and Cormack R eds. 2008. The Oxford Handbook of Byzantine Studies. Oxford University Press. Oxford.
Preiser-Kapeller says present. [1] "The mid-tenth-century heavy cavalryman is described in several sources, in particular the Praecepta militaria ascribed to the emperor Nikephoros II Phokas, and was protected by a lamellar klibaniony with splinted arm-guards, sleeves, and gauntlets, the latter from coarse silk or quilted cotton. From the waist to the knee he wore thick felt coverings, reinforced with mail; over the klibanion was worn a sleeveless quilted or padded coat (the epilorikon); and to protect the head and neck an iron helmet with mail or quilting attached and wrapped around the face. The lower leg was protected by splinted greaves of bronze." [2]
[1]: (Preiser-Kapeller 2015) Institute for Medieval Research, Division of Byzantine Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences)
[2]: (Haldon 2008, 476-477) Jeffreys E, Haldon J and Cormack R eds. 2008. The Oxford Handbook of Byzantine Studies. Oxford University Press. Oxford.
Preiser-Kapeller says present. [1] "The mid-tenth-century heavy cavalryman is described in several sources, in particular the Praecepta militaria ascribed to the emperor Nikephoros II Phokas, and was protected by a lamellar klibaniony with splinted arm-guards, sleeves, and gauntlets, the latter from coarse silk or quilted cotton. From the waist to the knee he wore thick felt coverings, reinforced with mail; over the klibanion was worn a sleeveless quilted or padded coat (the epilorikon); and to protect the head and neck an iron helmet with mail or quilting attached and wrapped around the face. The lower leg was protected by splinted greaves of bronze." [2]
[1]: (Preiser-Kapeller 2015) Institute for Medieval Research, Division of Byzantine Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences)
[2]: (Haldon 2008, 476-477) Jeffreys E, Haldon J and Cormack R eds. 2008. The Oxford Handbook of Byzantine Studies. Oxford University Press. Oxford.
Preiser-Kapeller says present. [1] "The mid-tenth-century heavy cavalryman is described in several sources, in particular the Praecepta militaria ascribed to the emperor Nikephoros II Phokas, and was protected by a lamellar klibaniony with splinted arm-guards, sleeves, and gauntlets, the latter from coarse silk or quilted cotton. From the waist to the knee he wore thick felt coverings, reinforced with mail; over the klibanion was worn a sleeveless quilted or padded coat (the epilorikon); and to protect the head and neck an iron helmet with mail or quilting attached and wrapped around the face. The lower leg was protected by splinted greaves of bronze." [2] Varangian guard wore an iron helmet.
[1]: (Preiser-Kapeller 2015) Institute for Medieval Research, Division of Byzantine Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences)
[2]: (Haldon 2008, 476-477) Jeffreys E, Haldon J and Cormack R eds. 2008. The Oxford Handbook of Byzantine Studies. Oxford University Press. Oxford.
Preiser-Kapeller says present. [1] "The mid-tenth-century heavy cavalryman is described in several sources, in particular the Praecepta militaria ascribed to the emperor Nikephoros II Phokas, and was protected by a lamellar klibaniony with splinted arm-guards, sleeves, and gauntlets, the latter from coarse silk or quilted cotton. From the waist to the knee he wore thick felt coverings, reinforced with mail; over the klibanion was worn a sleeveless quilted or padded coat (the epilorikon); and to protect the head and neck an iron helmet with mail or quilting attached and wrapped around the face. The lower leg was protected by splinted greaves of bronze." [2]
[1]: (Preiser-Kapeller 2015) Institute for Medieval Research, Division of Byzantine Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences)
[2]: (Haldon 2008, 476-477) Jeffreys E, Haldon J and Cormack R eds. 2008. The Oxford Handbook of Byzantine Studies. Oxford University Press. Oxford.
Preiser-Kapeller says present. [1] Great martime power with an imperial fleet, until 13th Century. Fleet, like army, separated into imperial and theme-based ships. 907 CE imperial (Constantinople) fleet had 60 dromons, martime themes had 42 dromons. Each dromon had crew of 300 men (230 rowers, 70 marines). Lighter ships, pamphylians, manned by 130-160, ousiai, manned by 108-110. Ships used Greek fire. [2]
[1]: (Preiser-Kapeller 2015) Institute for Medieval Research, Division of Byzantine Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences)
[2]: (Tanner, Previte-Orton, Brooke 1923, 741-742) Tanner, J, Previte-Orton, C, Brooke, Z eds. (1923) Charles Diehl, The Cambridge Medieval History, Volume IV, The Eastern Roman Empire 171-1453 [6]