Byzantīnum Imperium
The Byzantine or Eastern Roman Empire, comprehending at first, in Asia, the country on this
side of the Euphrates, the coasts of the Black Sea, and Asia Minor; in Africa, Egypt; and in
Europe, all the countries from the Hellespont to the Adriatic and Danube. This survived the
Western Empire 1000 years, and was even increased by the addition of Italy and the coasts of
the Mediterranean. It commenced in 395, when Theodosius divided the Roman Empire between his
two sons, Arcadius and Honorius. The Eastern Empire fell to the elder, Arcadius, through whose
weakness it suffered many misfortunes. During his minority Rufinus was his guardian and
minister, between whom and Stilicho, the minister of the Western Empire, a fierce rivalry
existed. The Goths laid waste Greece; Eutropius, the successor, and Gainas, the murderer of
Rufinus, were ruined by their own crimes. The latter lost his life in a civil war excited by
him (A.D. 400). Arcadius and his Empire were now ruled by his proud and covetous wife,
Eudoxia, till her death (A.D. 404). The Isaurians and the Huns wasted the provinces of Asia
and the country along the Danube. Theodosius the younger succeeded his father (A.D. 408),
under the guardianship
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Coin of Arcadius; Coin of Honorius; Coin of Theodosius II.
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of his sister Pulcheria. Naturally of an inferior mind, his education had made him
entirely imbecile, and unfit for self-command. Pulcheria, who bore the title of Augusta,
administered the kingdom ably. Of the Western Empire, which had been ceded to Valentinian,
Theodosius retained western Illyria. The Greeks fought with success against the king of the
Persians, Varanes. The kingdom of Armenia, thrown into confusion by internal dissensions, and
claimed at the same time by the Romans and the Persians, became now an apple of contention
between the two nations (A.D. 440).
Attila (q.v.)
laid waste the dominions of Theodosius, and obliged him to pay tribute. After the death of her
brother, Pulcheria was acknowledged empress (A.D. 450), being the first woman who attained
this dignity. She gave her hand to the senator Marcian, and raised him to the throne. His
wisdom and valour averted the attacks of the Huns from the frontiers, but he did not support
the Western Empire in its wars against the Huns and Vandals with sufficient energy. He
afforded shelter to a part of the Germans and Sarmatians, who were driven to the Roman
frontiers by the incursions of the Huns. Pulcheria died before him, in 453. Leo I. (A.D. 457),
a prince praised by contemporary authors, was chosen successor of His expeditions against the
Vandals (A.D. 467) were unsuccessful. His grandson Leo would have succeeded him, but died a
minor shortly after him, having named his father, Zeno, his colleague (A.D. 474). The
government of this weak emperor, who was hated by his subjects, was disturbed by rebellions
and internal disorders of the Empire. The Goths depopulated their provinces till their king,
Theodoric, turned his arms against Italy (A.D. 489). Ariadné, widow of Zeno, raised
the minister Anastasius, whom she married, to the throne (A.D. 491). The nation, once excited
to discontents and tumults, could not be entirely appeased by the alleviation of their burdens
and by wise decrees. The forces of the Empire, being thus weakened, could not offer an
effectual resistance to the Persians and the barbarians along the Danube. To prevent their
incursions into the peninsula of Constantinople, Anastasius built the Long Wall, as it is
called. After the death of Anastasius the soldiers proclaimed Justin emperor (A.D. 518).
Notwithstanding his low birth, he maintained possession of the throne. Religious persecutions,
which he undertook at the instigation of the clergy, and various crimes into which he was
seduced by his nephew Justinian, disgrace his reign. After his early death, in 521, he was
succeeded by the same Justinian, to whom, though he deserves not the name of the Great, many
virtues of a ruler cannot be denied. He was renowned as a legislator, and his reign was
distinguished by the victories of his general Belisarius; but how unable he was to revive the
strength of his Empire was proved by its rapid decay after his death. Justin II., his
successor (A.D. 565), was an avaricious, cruel, weak prince, governed by his wife. The
Lombards tore from him part of Italy (A.D. 568). His war with Persia, for the possession of
Armenia, was unsuccessful; the Avari plundered the provinces on the Danube, and the violence
of his grief at these misfortunes deprived him of reason. Tiberius, his minister, a man of
merit, was declared Caesar, and the general Justinian conducted the war against Persia with success. The Greeks now allied themselves, for the first time, with the
Turks. Against his successor, Tiberius II. (A.D. 578), the empress Sophia and the general
Justinian conspired in vain. From the Avari the emperor purchased peace; from the Persians it
was extorted by his general Mauritius or Maurice (A.D. 582). This commander Tiberius declared
Caesar in the same year. Mauritius, under other circumstances, would have made an excellent
monarch, but for the times he wanted prudence and resolution. He was indebted for the
tranquillity of the eastern frontiers to the gratitude of King Chosroës II., whom, in
591, he restored to the throne from which he had been deposed by his subjects. Nevertheless,
the war against the Avari was unsuccessful, through the errors of Commentiolus. The army was
discontented and irritated, now by untimely severity and parsimony and now by timid
indulgence. It finally proclaimed Phocas, one of its officers, emperor. Mauritius was taken in
his flight and put to death (A.D. 602). The vices of Phocas and his incapacity for government
produced the greatest disorders in the Empire. Heraclius, son of the governor of Africa, took
up arms, conquered Constantinople, and caused Phocas to be executed (A.D. 610). He
distinguished himself only in the short period of the Persian War. During the first twelve
years of his reign the Avari, and other nations of the Danube, plundered the European
provinces, and the Persians conquered the coasts of Syria and Egypt. Having finally succeeded
in pacifying the Avari, he marched against the Persians (A.D. 622), and defeated them; but
during this time the Avari, who had renewed the war, made an unsuccessful attack on
Constantinople in 626. Taking advantage of an insurrection of the subjects of
Chosroës, he penetrated into the centre of Persia. By the peace concluded with
Siroës (A.D. 628) he recovered the lost provinces and the Holy Cross. But the Arabs,
who, meanwhile, had become powerful under Mohammed and the califs, conquered
Phœnicia, the countries on the Euphrates, Iudaea, Syria, and all Egypt (A.D.
631-641). Among his descendants there was not one able prince. He was succeeded by his son
Constantine III., probably in conjunction with his step-brother Heracleonas. The former soon
died, and the latter lost his crown and was mutilated. After him, Constans, son of
Constantine, obtained the throne (A.D. 642). His sanguinary spirit of persecution and the
murder of his brother Theodosius made him odious to the nation. The Arabs, pursuing their
conquests, took from him part of Africa, Cyprus, and Rhodes, and defeated him at sea (A.D.
653). Internal disturbances obliged him to make peace. After this he left Constantinople (A.D.
659), and in the following year carried on an unsuccessful war against the Lombards in Italy,
in which he lost his life at Syracuse (A.D. 660). Constantine IV., Pogonatus, son of Constans,
vanquished his Syracusan competitor Mezizius, and in the beginning of his reign shared the
government with his brothers Tiberius and Heraclius. The Arabs inundated all Africa and
Sicily, penetrated through Asia Minor into Thrace, and attacked Constantinople for several
successive years by sea (A.D. 669). Nevertheless, he made peace with them on favourable terms.
But, on the other hand, the Bulgarians obliged him to pay a tribute (A.D. 680). Justinian II.,
his son and successor, weakened the power of the Maronites, but fought without success
against the Bulgarians and Arabs. Leonitius dethroned this cruel prince, had him mutilated,
and sent to the Tauric Chersonese (A.D. 695). Leonitius was dethroned by Apsimar, or Tiberius
III. (A.D. 698), who was himself dethroned by Trebelius, king of the Bulgarians, who restored
Justinian to the throne (A.D. 705); but Philippicus Bardanes rebelled anew against him. With
Justinian II. the race of Heraclius was extinguished. The only care of Philippicus was the
spreading of Monotheism, while the Arabs wasted Asia Minor and Thrace. In opposition to this
prince, who was universally hated, the different armies proclaimed their leaders emperors,
among whom Leo III., the Isaurian, obtained the hegemony (A.D. 713-714). Leo repelled the
Arabs from Constantinople, which
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Gold Coin of Leo III. (British Museum.)
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they had attacked for almost two years, and suppressed the rebellion excited by
Basilius and the former emperor Anastasius. From 726 the abolition of the worship of images
absorbed his attention, and the Italian provinces were allowed to become a prey to the
Lombards, while the Arabs plundered the Eastern provinces. After his death (A.D. 741) his son
Constantine V. ascended the throne, a courageous, active, and noble prince. He vanquished his
rebellious brother-in-law Artabasdus, wrested from the Arabs part of Syria and Armenia, and
overcame at last the Bulgarians, against whom he had been long unsuccessful. He died (A.D.
775), and was succeeded by his son Leo IV., who fought successfully against the Arabs; and
this latter, by his son Constantine VI., whose imperious mother Irené, his guardian
and associate in the government, raised a powerful party by the restoration of the worship of
images. He endeavoured in vain to free himself from dependence on her and her favourite
Stauratius, and died in 797, after having had his eyes put out.
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Gold Coin of Irené. (British Museum.)
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The war against the Arabs and Bulgarians was long continued; against the former it
was unsuccessful. The design of the empress to marry Charlemagne excited the discontent of the
patricians, who placed one of their own order, Nicephorus, upon the throne (A.D. 802).
Irené died in a monastery. Nicephorus became tributary to the Arabs, and fell in
the war against the Bulgarians (A.D. 811). Stauratius, his son, was deprived of the crown by
Michael I., and he in turn by Leo V. (A.D. 813). Leo was dethroned and put to death by Michael II. (A.D. 820). During the reign of the latter the Arabs conquered
Sicily, Lower Italy, Crete, and other countries. Michael prohibited the worship of images, as
did also his son Theophilus. Theodora, guardian of his son Michael III., put a stop to the
dispute about images (A.D. 841). During a cruel persecution of the Manichaeans, the Arabs
devastated the Asiatic provinces. The dissolute and extravagant Michael confined his mother in
a monastery. The government was administered in his name by Bardas, his uncle, and after the
death of Bardas by Basil, who was put to death by Michael (A.D. 867). Basil I., who came to
the throne in 867, was
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Gold Coin of Basil I. and his son Constantine. (British Museum.)
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not altogether a contemptible monarch. He died A.D. 886. The reign of his learned
son, Leo VI., was not very happy. He died A.D. 911. His son, Constantine VII.,
Porphyrogenitus, a minor when he succeeded his father, was placed under the guardianship of
his colleague Alexander, and after Alexander's death, in 912, under that of his mother
Zoé. Romanus Lacopenus, his general, obliged him, in 919, to share the throne with
him and his children. Constantine subsequently took sole possession of it again, and reigned
mildly but weakly. His son Romanus II. succeeded him in 959, and fought successfully against
the Arabs. To him succeeded, in 963, his general Nicephorus, who was put to death by his own
general, John Zimisces (A.D. 970), who carried on a successful war against the Russians. Basil
II., son of Romanus, succeeded this able prince. He vanquished
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Basil II. (From a Psalter at Paris.) (D'Agincourt, tav. 47.)
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the Bulgarians and the Arabs. His brother, Constantine I X.
(A.D. 1025),
was not equal to him. Romanus III. became emperor
(A.D. 1028) by a marriage with
Zoé, daughter of Constantine. This dissolute but able princess caused her husband
to be executed, and successively raised to the throne Michael IV.
(A.D. 1034),
Michael V.
(A.D. 1041), and Constantine X.
(A.D. 1042). Russians and
Arabs meanwhile devastated the Empire. Her sister Theodora succeeded her on the throne
(A.D. 1053). Her successor, Michael VI.
(A.D. 1056), was dethroned
by Isaac Comnenus in 1057, who became a monk
(A.D. 1059). His successor,
Constantine XI., Ducas, fought successfully against the Uzes. Eudocia, his wife, guardian of
his sons Michael, Andronicus, and Constantine, was intrusted with the administration
(A.D. 1067), married Romanus IV., and brought him the crown. He carried on an
unsuccessful war against the Turks, who kept him for some time prisoner. Michael VII., son of
Constantine, deprived him of the throne
(A.D. 1071). Michael was dethroned by
Nicephorus III.
(A.D. 1078), and the latter by Alexius I., Comnenus
(A.D.
1081). Under his reign the crusades commenced. His son, John II., came to the throne
in 1118, and fought with great success against the Turks and other barbarians. The reign of
his son Manuel I., who succeeded him in 1143, was also not unfortunate. His son, Alexius II.,
succeeded
(A.D. 1180), and was dethroned by his guardian Andronicus, as was the
latter by Isaac
(A.D. 1185). After a reign disturbed from without and within,
Isaac was dethroned by his brother, Alexius III.
(A.D. 1195). The crusaders
restored him and his son Alexius IV., but the seditious Constantinopolitans proclaimed Alexius
V., Ducas Murzuphlus, emperor, who put Alexius IV. to death. At the same time Isaac II. died.
During the last reigns, the kings of Sicily had made many conquests on the coasts of the
Adriatic. The Latins now forced their way to Constantinople
(A.D. 1204),
conquered the city, and retained it, together with most of the European territories of the
Empire. Baldwin, count of Flanders, was made emperor; Boniface, marquis of Montferrat,
obtained Thessalonica as a kingdom, and the Venetians acquired a large extent of territory. In
Rhodes, Philadelphia, Corinth, and Epirus, independent sovereigns arose. Theodore Lascaris
seized on the Asiatic provinces, bore the title of emperor at Nice, and was, at first, more
powerful than Baldwin. A descendant of the Comneni, named Alexius, established a principality
at Trebisond, in which his great-grandson John took the title of emperor. Neither Baldwin nor
his successors were able to secure the tottering throne. He himself died in captivity among
the Bulgarians
(1206). To him succeeded Henry, his brother, with Peter,
brother-in-law of Henry, and his son Robert
(A.D. 1221). With the exception of
Constantinople, all the remaining Byzantine territory, including Thessalonica, was conquered
by John, emperor of Nice. Baldwin II., brother of Robert, under the guardianship of his
colleague, John Brienne, king of Jerusalem, died in 1237. Michael Palaeologus, king of Nice,
conquered Constantinople in 1261, and Baldwin died in the West a private person. The
sovereigns of Nice, up to this period, were Theodore Lascaris
(A.D. 1204); John
Ducas Patatzes, a good monarch and successful warrior
(A.D. 1222); Theodore II.,
his son
(A.D. 1259), who was deprived of the crown by Michael
Palaeologus
(A.D. 1260). In 1261, Michael took Constantinople from the Latins. He
laboured to unite himself with the Latin Church, but his son Andronicus renounced the
connection. Internal disturbances and foreign wars, particularly with the Turks, threw the
exhausted Empire into confusion. Andronicus III., his grandson, obliged him to divide the
throne
(A.D. 1322), and at length wrested it entirely from him. Andronicus died a
monk
(A.D. 1328). Andronicus IV., who ascended the throne in the same year, waged
war unsuccessfully against the Turks, and died A.D. 1341. His son John was obliged to share
the throne with his guardian, John Cantacuzenus, during ten years. The son of the latter,
Matthew, was also made emperor, but John Cantacuzenus resigned the crown, and Matthew was
compelled to abdicate
(A.D. 1355). Under the reign of John, the Turks first
obtained a firm footing in Europe, and conquered Gallipolis
(A.D. 1357). The
family of Palaeologus, from this time, were gradually deprived of their European territories,
partly by revolt and partly by the Turks. The Sultan Amurath took Adrianople A.D. 1361.
Bajazet conquered almost all the European provinces except Constantinople, and obliged John to
pay him tribute. The latter was, some time after, driven out by his own son Manuel
(A.D.
1391). Bajazet besieged Constantinople, defeated an army of Western warriors under
Sigismund, near Nicopolis, and Manuel was obliged to place John, son of Andronicus, on his
throne. Timour's invasion of the Turkish provinces saved Constantinople for this time
(A.D. 1402). Manuel then recovered his throne, and regained some of the lost
provinces from the contending sons of Bajazet. To him succeeded his son John
(A.D.
1425), whom Amurath II. stripped of all his territories except Constantinople, and
extorted from him a tribute
(A.D. 1444). To the emperor John succeeded his
brother Constantine. With the assistance of his general, the Genoese Justinian, he withstood
the superior forces of the enemy with fruitless courage, and fell in the defence of
Constantinople, by the conquest of which, May 29th, A.D. 1453, Mohammed II. put an end to the
Greek or Byzantine Empire.
The events which have just been detailed are recorded by a series of Greek authors, known by
the general name of Byzantine historians. Their works relate to the history of the lower
Empire, from the fourth century to the conquest of Constantinople by the Turks, and to the
Turkish history for some period later. They display in their writings the faults of a
degenerate age, but are valuable for the information which they furnish, being the principal
source from which we obtain the history of the decay of the Eastern Empire. The most valuable
of the number are Zonaras, Nicetas, Nicephorus, and Chalcondylas. These four form a continued
history of the Byzantine Empire to the year 1470. Of the remaining authors, who give us
histories of detached portions of this same period, the following deserve particular mention,
and are given in chronological order:
1.
Procopins (q. v.);
2.
Agathias;
3.
Theophylactus;
4.
Nicephorus, patriarch of Constantinople;
5.
Johannes Scylitzes;
6.
Anna Comnena;
7.
Georgius Acropolita;
8.
Georgius Pachymeres;
9.
Johannes Cantacuzenus;
10.
Georgius Codinus;
11.
Constantinus Porphyrogenitus;
12.
Ducas;
13.
Anselmus Bandurius;
14.
Petrus Gyllius;
15.
Zosimus;
16.
Georgius Phranza. Besides editions of individual works or of entire authors, we have the
united works of these writers with a Latin translation in what is called the
Corpus
Scriptorum Hist. Byzantiae, 36 vols., by Labbé
(Paris,
1654-1711); reprinted at Venice in 1729-33; and a similar collection in 48 vols. begun
by Niebuhr, Bekker, Hase, and the Dindorfs (Bonn, 1828 foll.). See Krumbacher,
Geschichte der byzantinischen Litteratur (Munich, 1891). For an
account of the Eastern Empire, see Du
Cange, Hist. de l'Empire de Constantinople
sous les Empereurs François (1659); Gibbon,
Decline
and Fall of the Roman Empire; Hullmann, Geschichte der byzantischen
Handels (1808); Heyne,
Antiquitates Byzantinae
(1808-11); Lebeau,
Hist. du Bas-Empire (1824-36); Manast,
Esquisses Byzantines, 2d ed.
(1874); Finlay,
History of
Greece, 7 vols.
(1856; 2d ed. 1877); Gasquet,
L'Empire
Byzantin (Paris, 1888); Mahaffy,
The Greek World under Roman
Sway (London, 1890); Bury,
History of the Later Roman
Empire (London, 1890); and Oman,
Story of the Byzantine
Empire (N. Y. 1892).
