3co THE EMPEROR AND IMPERIAL ADMINISTRATION
and he became the commander-in-chief of the whole army in
the tenth century, when the Emperors no longer took the
field in person. The estimates of the number of troops in the
tagmata vary greatly: they range from 4,000 and more down
to 1,500. In the ninth century the total number of the
troops has been calculated at 120,000, as against 150,000 in
Justinian's time; but considering the greatly lessened extent
of imperial territory" in the ninth century the former figure
is a proof of the increased military needs of the Empire.
The pay of the soldiers was relatively small. But it must
be remembered that the military landholdings established by
the theme system were in themselves a considerable com-
pensation for the owners. In his first year of service the
soldier of the themes received one $olidu$ in cash; in later
years the amount increased until in the twelfth year he
received the maximum pay of twelve solidi. The soldiers of
the tagmata and the subordinate officers of the themes
probably reached a maximum allowance of eighteen solidL
The soldiers' holdings were middle-sized peasant estates and
formed the backbone of the whole military system. And for
this reason the Emperors did their utmost to protect them
from the pressure of the great landowners. It is true that in
the end this protection failed, since the aristocracy of Con-
stantinople always sought and found land in which to invest
the capital accumulated in their hands. For this reason, and
as a result of a certain neglect of the army by the central
administration, during the eleventh century the defences of
the Empire were weakened; the consequences of the defeat
at Manzikert (1071) and the permanent establishment of the
Seljuk Turks in Asia Minor led directly to the collapse of the
system which had existed up to that time. Therefore when
we find 'soldiers* estates' in later years, the words can hardly
be used in the original sense, for the owners were, it would
seem, the so-called Pronoiarii. By the pronoia (provision)
landed property, to which was attached the obligation of
supplying soldiers, was granted to superior officers, and the
income from these estates belonged to them during their
lifetime, but could not be inherited; this arrangement bears
a certain resemblance to the Western feudal system. More-
over, attempts were made to check the depopulation caused