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Flnlay, George
History of the Byzantine
E. P. Button [19063
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Finlsy, George
History of the Byzantine
empire. E. P. Button [1906]
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L-l
EVERYMAN'S LIBRARY
EDITED BY ERNEST RHYS
HISTORY
HISTORY OF THE
BYZANTINE EMPIRE
BY GEORGE FINLAY
WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY V. K. R.
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EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION
" I WOULD rather," said a former president of Harvard University,
Professor Felton, "be the author of your histories than Prime
Minister of England." This was said in a letter to Finlay, reassuring
and solacing him in his day of dejection. So Atticus once com-
forted Cicero ; but it is to be feared that Finlay's case was one of
another order, less consolable. His misgivings were due to a sense
of disillusion over that very cause, the renaissance of a new Greece,
to which he had devoted his life with unswerving mind and single-
ness of purpose. And even that was not all. For his disappoint-
ment coincided with the beginning of his own physical decline, and
with the apparent signs too, for so he read them, that his services
to his day and generation had been in vain.
Now, we who look back along the steadfast line of his achieve-
ment, recognise how eminent it was, and how true was the prophecy
of his friend Felton, uttered almost fifty years ago. We see the
continuing effects of his labour, forty years long, as an historian,
and the heroic difficulty of his work as an active and practical
Philhellene. To gain an estimate of its force and quality, it is
almost enough to read the books of his Byzantine history that
follow ; but they ought to be read with the radiant hope of Finlay's
youth and his first great ardour in the Hellenic cause gleaming upon
the page.
Finlay, who died in Athens in 1875, was born at Faversham,
Kent, in 1799 ; that is a few months before Macaulay, a very different
master of history. His early circumstances were hardly such as to
foster his special qualities. He went to no university until he was
twenty, and had spent some months in a writer's office at Glasgow ;
and of his schooldays, three years in a Liverpool boarding-school
were, on his own showing, a lost and useless period.
But he was fortunate in having a mother who both loved history
herself and had the art of making it alive to the imagination of
her boy. When, then, Finlay went from Glasgow to Gottingen to
study Roman law, he was better primed than the mere chart of his
early years would seem to show. Moreover, he reached Germany
at a time when the promise of the new awakening of Greece was
61 1.8'
viii Editor's Introduction
bright, and he breathed the air of its revolt in a kind of intellectual
ecstasy. He drank in eagerly every word he could of the news of
the Greek cause, made friends with the one Greek student at the
college ; and at length, in the autumn of 1823, very shortly after the
news of Lord Byron's departure for Greece had been announced,
he too set off thither. He reached Cephalonia in November, and
met the poet; went on to Athens, and then to Missolonghi.
Probably it was there that he, like Lord Byron, laid the seeds
of the fever that afterwards seriously threatened him. It was in
April, 1824, that Byron died. Finlay had gone on meanwhile
to Italy, where and in Sicily he spent some time, returning to
Scotland to pass his examination in civil law. But that accom-
plished, he felt the power and the hope of Greece all dominant in
his mind. He could not resist the unsated desire he felt to return
and be in the very midst of the struggle. He left again for
its shores in 1825, there to remain for the rest of his life, nearly
half a century in all, with the intermission only of a few visits
home. In 1829 Greece was able to declare her independence
thanks to the aid of many enthusiastic adherents, who, like Byron
and Finlay, had been ready to give all they had to her cause.
Alas 1 Finlay lost nearly all he possessed, and often felt that he
had given his days as well as his wealth in vain in this sacrifice.
But Finlay, if he doubted at times, and felt that all he had done
and spent and written had been of no real avail, could never have
echoed Byron's plaint in " Childe Harold " for the companion
country :
There is the moral of all human tales ;
*Tis but the same rehearsal of the past,
First Freedom, and then Glory when that fails,
Wealth, vice, corruption, barbarism at last.
And History, with all her volumes vast,
Hath but one page ! . . . .
Long afterwards, it is true, in 1855, Finlay wrote in the retro-
spect :
" Had the hopes with which I joined the cause of Greece in 1823
been fulfilled, it is not probable that I should have abandoned the
active duties of life, and the noble task of labouring to improve the
land, for the sterile task of recording its misfortunes."
But Finlay was a philosopher in essence, if not always able to
be philosophical in the common sense about the discrepancy that
exists between human and; ideal effort and sheer achievement,
We turn back now to the record of his "sterile task" his
Editors Introduction ix
writing of Greek history. Its first results appeared in 1836, when
his book on the " Hellenic Kingdom and the Greek Nation," was
published. Then in 1844, his "Greece under the Romans n
followed in two volumes. His History of the Byzantine and
Greek Empires was completed in 1854. Two years later came the
volumes dealing with the Ottoman and Venetian Domination ; and
in 1 86 1, his History of the Greek Revolution. If his life-work
then seemed complete, he still did great service by his letters and
articles contributed to the " Athensum," the "Times," "Saturday
Review," and other papers and reviews. We have seen already
that his own feeling in these later years was one of much discourage-
ment. He had seen the light of a new and regenerate Greece
wax,- and then wane : and the decline was a more serious one,
viewed under his gravely human, philosophical estimate, than the
outer world could perceive. Then his own stock of vitality was
beginning to run low, and his faith in the validity of his life-work
considered purely as a literary and scholarly accomplishment and
apart from the good or evil fortune of his chosen and adopted
country had been weakened, in spite of the encouragements of his
peers and fellow-scholars men like the President of Harvard and
Professor Miiller. Probably, living away in Athens as he did, he
did not realise the full measure of his influence. But his was an
order of work that could not hope to attain a great vogue. Sound
and slow, without the surface brilliancy that made a Macaulay
enormously popular, it has power to affect the circle of scholars
and men who were the inner public of the time. It is not readily
to be known, however, if this has been achieved, and, at any rate,
the signs were not so deciphered by Finlay from his watch-tower
at Athens.
But of the total value of his historical work there is, there can be,
no question. He was the pioneer of the new movement which in
England led at last to the re-writing of history with an eye to
human development and social and economic change, -as it was
re- written for us by Green in his " History of the English People."
But Finlay, long before Green, had come to the same sense of the
true function of history. One passage, and a very remarkable one
it is, may be quoted to show how he confronted his great task :
" The vicissitudes which the great masses of the nations of the
earth have undergone in past ages have hitherto received very
little attention from historians, who have adorned their pages with
the records of kings, and the personal exploits of princes and great
men, or attached their narrative to the fortunes of the dominant
x Editor's Introduction
classes, without noticing the fate of the people. History, however,
continually repeats the lesson that powers, numbers, and the
highest civilisation of an aristocracy are, even when united, in-
sufficient to ensure national prosperity, and establish the power of
the rulers on so firm and permanent a basis as shall guarantee the
dominant class from annihilation. ... It is that portion only of
mankind, which eats bread raised from the soil by the sweat of its
brow, that can form the basis of a permanent material existence."
In this passage we have Finlay's idea of the philosophy of
history, and of the historian's exemplification of it in practice.
It was an idea that was present and that was most devotedly
pursued to the end in Finlay's own books. The test of a man's
performance in this, as in other forms of literature, is in the read-
ing ; and Finlay's readers, here and in other pages of his, will
decide what his final place is in the common ground where litera-
ture and history meet.
We might have added a word from the tribute paid to him by a
Greek contemporary on his death, who spoke of him as only Byron
among foreigners had been spoken of previously. But more to the
purpose here is that of the " Athenaeum," to which he had con-
tributed for some thirty-six years in all, at his death. In its obituary
notice, it spoke of the great loss caused to history and to English
literature by the death of this last of the old generation of Phil-
hellenes who had followed Byron's lead. And the loss to Greece
itself, it pointed out, was none the less, since the people needed a
Mentor so much and so unwillingly endured one.
" To Finlay," continued the writer in the " Athenaeum," his re-
searches taught "the practical lesson that the regeneration of
Greece was not to be sought in the reproduction of classic forms,
but in the rational development of the people as they are. ... It
was with this view that he contributed to the ' Times ' a remark-
able series of letters from Greece . . . which appear to have
produced a revolution in the Greek mind."
What, we cannot but ask, would Finlay have said had he wit-
nessed the melancholy sequel of the last Greek war, with its
exhibition of even deeper infirmities, with evidence of a far
graver disorder of state and people, than those he knew and those
he anticipated ?
Finlay's last publication was an edition, printed in Paris, of the
journal kept by Brue, interpreter to the French embassy, who
accompanied the Grand Vizier, Ali, in the Morean campaign of
1715, Finlay had purchased the MS. in 1843, and had drawn from
Editor's Introduction xl
It freely in his " Greece under the Ottoman and Venetian Domina-
tion.' 7
Another passage from the poet who helped to kindle and inspire
his Hellenic ardour is the best epilogue both to Finlay's sanguine
first hopes and his last troubled decline. It occurs in " The Siege
of Corinth " :
The waters murmured of their name ;
The woods were peopled with their fame.
The silent pillar, lone and grey,
Claimed kindred with their sacred clay ;
Their spirits wrapped the dusky mountain,
Their memory sparkled o'er the fountain j
The meanest rill, the mightiest river,
Rolled mingling with their fame for ever.
Despite of every yoke she bears
That land is Glory's still and theirs !
'Tis still a watchword to the earth :
When man would do a deed of worth
He points to Greece. . . .
V. R. R.
The following is a list of the published works of George
Finlay ( 1 799-1 875) :
The Hellenic Kingdom and the Greek Nation, 1836. Remarks
on the Topography of Oropia and Diacria, 1838. 'ETrtcrroA^ Trpos
TOVS 'A^vacovs (and other pamphlets on Greek Finance), 1844.
Greece under the Romans, 1844. On the Site of the Holy Sepul-
chre^ 1847. Greece to its Conquest by the Turks, 1851. Greece
under Ottoman and Venetian Dominion, 1856. The Greek
Revolution, 1861. 'Avn/cciy^eva vp@vra ev *EA.A,aSt, 1869.
7ra/>aT77pr;crets ITTI rrjs ev 'EA/^eTi^, etc., 1869. The French
Narrative of Benjamin Brue, 1 870. A History of Greece from
its Conquest by the Romans to the Present Time, B.C. 146-
A.D. 1864; 1877 [Clarendon Press reissue of his History, revised
by himself, and edited by Tozer].
Finlay also contributed to the " Times n (1864-70), "Athenaeum/*
and u Saturday Review."
CONTENTS
BOOK I
THE CONTEST WITH THE ICONOCLASTS
A.D. 717-867
CHAPTER PAGE
I. THE ISAUK.IAN DYNASTY. A.D. 717-797 .... 3
Sect. I. Characteristics of Byzantine History Its Divisions
Extent and Administrative Divisions of the Empire . . 3
Sect* 2. Reign of Leo III., (the Isaurian,} A.D. 717-741 14
Sect. 3. Constantine V., (Copronymus,) A.D. 741-775 . 43
Sect* 4. Reigns of Leo IV., (the Khazar,) Constantine VI.,
and Irene, A.D. 775-802 65
II. THE REIGNS OF NICEPHORUS I., MICHAEL I., AND LEO V.
THE ARMENIAN. A.D. 802-820 ..... 86
Sect. I. Nicephorus L, A.D. 802-811 86
Sect 2. Michael I., (Rhangabe\) A.D. 812-813 , . 100
Sect. 3. Leo V., (the Armenian,) A.D. 813-820 .105
III. THE AMORIAN DYNASTY. A.D. 820-867 - .119
Sect. I. Michael IL, (the Stammerer,) A.D. 820-829 . .119
Sect. 2. Theophilus, A.D. 829-842 132
Sect. 3. Michael III., (the Drunkard,) A.D. 842-867 . 149
IV. STATE OF THE BYZANTINE EMPIRE DOLING THE ICONO-
CLAST PERIOD 183
Sect. I. Public Administration Diplomatic and Commer-
cial relations 183
Sect. 2. State of Society among the people of the Byzan-
tine Empire in the eighth and ninth centuries , . 199
xlv Contents
BOOK II
BASILIAN DYNASTYPERIOD OF THE POWER
AND GLORY OF THE BYZANTINE EMPIRE
A.D. 867-1057
CHAPTER PAGK
I. CONSOLIDATION OF BYZANTINE LEGISLATION AND
DESPOTISM. A.D. 867-963 . . . . . . 213
Sect, i. Reign of Basil I., (the Macedonian,) A.D. 867-886 213
Sect. 2. Leo VI., (the Philosopher,) A.D. 886-912 . .241
Sect. 3. Alexander Minority of Constantine VII. (Por-
phyrogenitus) Romanus I. Lacapenus, A.D. 912-944 . . 263
Sect. 4. Constantine VII. (Porphyrogenitus) Romanus II.
945-9<>3 274
II* PERIOD OF CONQUEST AND MILITARY GLORY. A.D. 963-
1025 30I
Sect. i. Reigns of Nicephorns II., Phokas, and John I.
(Zimiskes), A.D. 963-976 301
Sect. 2. Reign of Basil II., (Bulgaroktonos,) A.D. 976-
I02 S 334
III. PERIOD OF CONSERVATISM ON THE EVE OF DECLINE. A.D.
1025-1057 359
Sect. i. Constantine VIIL, A. D. 1025-1028 . . . 359
Sect. 2. The Reigns of the husbands of Zoe, A.D. 1028-
1054 363
Sect. 3. Reigns of Theodora and Michael VI., (Stratiotikos,
or the Warlike,) A. D. 1054-1057 , . , . . .412
HISTORY OF THE
BYZANTINE EMPIRE
BOOK ONE
THE CONTEST WITH THE ICONOCLASTS
A.D. 717-367
CHAPTER I
THE ISAURIAN DYNASTY. A.D. 717-797
SECTION I
CHARACTERISTICS OF BYZANTINE HISTORY ITS DIVISIONS-
EXTENT AND ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISIONS OF THE EMPIRE
THE institutions of Imperial Rome had long thwarted the
great law of man's existence which impels him to better his
condition, when the accession of Leo the Isaurian to the
throne of Constantinople suddenly opened a new era in the
history of the Eastern Empire. Both the material and in-
tellectual progress of society had been deliberately opposed
by the imperial legislation. A spirit of conserval'jm per-
suaded the legislators of the Roman empire that its power
could not decline, if each order and profession of its citizens
was fixed irrevocably in the sphere of their own peculiar duties
by hereditary succession. An attempt was really made to
divide the population into castes. But the political kws which
were adopted to maintain mankind in a state of stationary
prosperity by these trammels, depopulated and impoverished
the empire, and threatened to dissolve the very elements of
society. The Western Empire, under their operation, fell a
prey to small tribes of northern nations ; the Eastern was so
depopulated that it was placed on the eve of being repeopled
by Sclavonian colonists, and conquered by Saracen invaders.
Leo III. mounted the throne, and under his government
the empire not only ceased to decline, but even began to
regain much of its early vigour. Reformed modifications
of the old Roman authority developed new energy in the
empire. Great political reforms, and still greater changes
in the condition of the people, mark the eighth century as
an epoch of transition in Roman history, though the im-
proved condition of the mass of the population is in some
degree concealed by the prominence given to the disputes
concerning image-worship in the records of this period. But
the increased strength of the empire, and the energy infused
into the administration, are forcibly displayed by the fact, that
4 The Contest with the Iconoclasts
the Byzantine armies began from this time to oppose a firm
barrier to the progress of the invaders of the empire.
When Leo III. was proclaimed Emperor, it seemed as if
no human power could save Constantinople from falling as
Rome had fallen. The Saracens considered the sovereignty
of every land, in which any remains of Roman civilisation
survived, as within their grasp. Leo, an Isaurian, and an
Iconoclast, consequently a foreigner and a heretic, ascended
the throne of Constantine, and arrested the victorious career
of the Mohammedans. He then reorganised the whole ad-
ministration so completely in accordance with the new exigen-
cies of Eastern society, that the reformed empire outlived
for many centuries every government contemporary with its
establishment.
The Eastern Roman Empire, thus reformed, is called by
modern historians the Byzantine Empire; and the term is
well devised to mark the changes effected in the government,
after the extinction of the last traces of the military monarchy
of ancient Rome. The social condition of the inhabitants
of the Eastern Empire had already undergone a considerable
change during the century which elapsed from the accession
of Heraclius to that of Leo, from the influence of causes to
be n'oticed in the following pages ; and this change in society
created a new phase in the Roman empire. The gradual pro-
gress of this change has led some writers to date the com-
mencement of the Byzantine Empire as early as the reigns
of Zeno and Anastasius, and others to descend so late as the
times of Maurice and Heraclius. 1 But as the Byzantine
Empire was only a continuation of the Roman government
under a reformed system, it seems most correct to date its
commencement from the period when the new social and
political modifications produced a visible effect on the fate of
the Eastern Empire. This period is marked by the accession
of Leo the Isaurian.
The administrative system of Rome, as modified by Con-
stantine, continued in operation, though subjected to frequent
reforms, until Constantinople was stormed by the Crusaders,
and the Greek church enslaved by papal domination. The
1 Clinton, Fasti Romani, Int. xiii, says, "The empire of Rome, properly so called,
ends at A.D. 476," which is the third year of Zeno. Numismatists place the commence-
ment of the Byzantine empire in the reign of Anastasius I. Saulcy, Essai de Classifi,*
cation des Suites Monetaires Byzantines. Gibbon tells us, " Tiberius by the Arabs,
and Maurice by the Italians, are distinguished as the first of the Greek Caesars, as the
founders of a new dynasty and empire. The silent revolution was accomplished before
the death of Herachus." Decline and Fall) vol. x. chap. liii. p. 154.
The Isaurian Dynasty 5
General Council of Nicsea, and the dedication of the im-
perial city, with their concomitant legislative, administrative,
and judicial institutions, engendered a succession of political
measures, whose direct relations were uninterrupted until
terminated by foreign conquest The government of Great
Britain has undergone greater changes during the last three
centuries than that of the Eastern Empire during the nine
centuries which elapsed from the foundation of Constantinople
in 330, to its conquest in 1204.
Yet Leo III. has strong claims to be regarded as the first
of a new series of emperors. He was the founder of a
dynasty, the saviour of Constantinople, and the reformer of
the church and state. He was the first Christian sovereign
who arrested the torrent of Mohammedan conquest; he im-
proved the condition of his subjects ; he attempted to purify
their religion from the superstitious reminiscences of Hellenism,
with which it was still debased, and to stop the development
of a quasi-idolatry in the orthodox church. Nothing can
prove more decidedly the right of his- empire to assume a
new name than the contrast presented by the condition of
its inhabitants to that of the subjects of the preceding dynasty.
Under the successors of Heraclius, the Roman Empire pre-
sents the spectacle of a declining society, and its thinly-
peopled provinces were exposed to the intrusion of foreign
colonists and hostile invaders. But, under Leo, society offers
an aspect of improvement and prosperity ; the old population
revives from its lethargy, and soon increases, both in number
and strength, to such a degree as to drive back all intruders
on its territories. In the records of human civilisation, Leo
the Isaurian must always occupy a high position, as a type of
what the central power in a state can effect even in a declining
empire.
Before reviewing the history of Leo's reign, and recording
his brilliant exploits, it is necessary to sketch the condition
to which the Roman administrative system had reduced the
empire. It would be an instructive lesson to trace the pro-
gress of the moral and mental decline of the Greeks, from the
age of Plato and Aristotle to the time of the sixth ecumenical
council, in the reign of Justinian II.; for the moral evils
nourished in Greek society degraded the nation, before the
oppressive government of the Romans impoverished and de-
populated Greece. When the imperial authority was fully
established, we easily trace the manner in which the inter-
6 The Contest with the Iconoclasts
communication of different provinces and orders of society
became gradually restricted to the operations of material
interests, and how the limitation of ideas arose from this
want of communication, until at length civilisation decayed.
Good roads and commodious passage-boats have a more direct
connection with the development of popular education, as we
see it reflected in the works of Phidias and the writings of
Sophocles, than is generally believed. Under the jealous
system of the imperial government, the isolation of place and
class became so complete, that even the highest members of
the aristocracy received their ideas from the inferior domestics
with whom they habitually associated in their own households
not from the transitory intercourse they held with able and
experienced men of their own class, or with philosophic and
religious teachers. Nurses and slaves implanted their ignorant
superstitions in the households where the rulers of the empire
and the provinces were reared; and no public assemblies
existed, where discussion could efface such prejudices. Family
education became a more influential feature in society than
public instruction; and though family education, from the
fourth to the seventh century, appears to have improved the
morality of the population, it certainly increased their super-
stition and limited their understandings. Emperors, senators,
landlords, and merchants, were alike educated under these
influences; and though the church and the law opened a
more enlarged circle of ideas, from creating a deeper sense
of responsibility, still the prejudices of early education cir-
cumscribed the sense of duty more and more in each suc-
cessive generation. The military class, which was the most
powerful in society, consisted almost entirely of mere bar-
barians. The mental degradation, resulting from superstition,
bigotry, and ignorance, which forms the marked social feature
of the period between the reigns of Justinian I. and Leo III.,
brought the Eastern Empire to the state of depopulation and
weakness that had delivered the Western a prey to small tribes
of invaders.
The fiscal causes of the depopulation of the Roman empire
have been noticed in a prior volume, as well as the extent
to which immigrants had intruded themselves on the soil of
Greece. 1 The corruption of the ancient language took place
at the same time, and arose out of the causes which dissemi-
nated ignorance. At the accession of Leo, the disorder in
* Greece under the. Romans^ 60, 70, 238,
The Isaurian Dynasty 7
ihe central administration, the anarchy in the provincial govern-
ment, and the ravages of the Sclavonians and Saracens, had
rendered the condition of the people intolerable. The Roman
government seemed incapable of upholding legal order in
society, and its extinction was regarded as a proximate event. 1
Ail the provinces between the shores of the Adriatic and the
banks of the Danube had been abandoned to Sclavonian tribes.
Powerful colonies of Sclavonians had been planted by Justinian
II. in Macedonia and Bithynia, in the rich valleys of the
Strymon and the Artanas. 2 Greece was filled with pastoral
and agricultural hordes of the same race, who became in many
districts the sole cultivators of the soil, and effaced the memory
of the names of mountains and streams, which will be im-
mortal in the world's literature. 3 The Bulgarians plundered
all Thrace to the walls of Constantinople. 4 Thessalonica was
repeatedly besieged by Sclavonians. 5 The Saracens had in-
undated Asia Minor with their armies, and were preparing to
extirpate Christianity in the East. Such was the crisis at which
Leo was proclaimed emperor by the army, in Amorium A.D.
7 j6 '
Yet there were peculiar features in the condition of the
surviving population, and an inherent vigour in the principles
of the Roman administration, that still operated powerfully
in resisting foreign domination. The people felt the necessity
of defending the administration of the law, and of upholding
commercial intercourse. The ties of interest consequently
ranged a large body of the inhabitants of every province round
the central administration at this hour of difficulty. The very
circumstances which weakened the power of the court of Con-
stantinople, conferred on the people an increase of authority,
and enabled them to take effectual measures for their own
defence. This new energy may be traced in the resistance
which Ravenna and Cherson offered to the tyranny of Justinian
II. The orthodox church, also, served as an additional bond
of union among the people, and, throughout the wide extent
1 This feeling can be traced as earl y as the reign of Maurice. Theophylactus Simo-
catta records that an angel appeared in a dream to the Emperor Tiberius II., and
uttered these words: "The Lord announces to thee, O emperor, that in thy reign th<
days of anarchy shall not commence." P. n, edit. Par.
2 Constant. Porphyr., De Them. ii. 23, edit. Band. Theophanes, 304, 305, 364
Nicephorus, P. C. 44, edit. Par.
3 Constant. Porphyr., De Them. ii. 25, Strabonis Epit. torn. iii. 386, edit. Coray.
" Their place of birth alone is mute
To sounds which echo farther west,
Than their sires' islands of the blest. "
Theophanes, 320. a Tafel, De Thessalonica ejusque Agro^ prol. xciv.
8 The Contest with the Iconoclasts
of the imperial dominions, its influences connected the local
feelings of the parish with the general interests of the church
and the empire. These misfortunes, which brought the state
to the verge of ruin, relieved commerce from much fiscal op-
pression and many monopolies. Facilities were thus given to
trade, which afforded to the population of the towns additional
sources of employment The commerce of the Eastern
Empire had already gained by the conquests of the bar-
barians in the West, for the ruling classes in the countries
conquered by the Goths and Franks rarely engaged in^ trade
or accumulated capital. 1 The advantage of possessing a
systematic administration of justice, enforced by a fixed legal
procedure, attached the commercial classes and the town
population to the person of the emperor, whose authority
was considered the fountain of legal order and judicial ^ im-
partiality. A fixed legislation, and an uninterrupted adminis-
tration of justice, prevented the political anarchy that prevailed
under the successors of Heraclius from ruining society in the
Roman empire ; while the arbitrary judicial power of provin-
cial governors, in the dominions of the caliphs, rendered
property insecure, and undermined national wealth.
There was likewise another feature in the Eastern Empire
which deserves notice. The number of towns was very great,
and they were generally more populous than the political^ state
of the country would lead us to expect Indeed, to estimate
the density of the urban population, in comparison with the
extent of territory from which it apparently derived its supplies,
we must compare it with the actual condition of Malta and
Guernsey, or with the state of Lombardy and Tuscany in the
middle ages. This density of population, joined to the great
difference in the price of the produce of the soil in various
places, afforded the Roman government the power of collect-
ing from its subjects an amount of taxation unparalleled in
modern times, except in Egypt, 2 The whole surplus profits
1 This fact explains the Increase In the numbers of the Jews, and their commercial
importance, in the seventh century. The conquered Romans were bound to their cor-
porations by their own law, to which they clung, and almost to the trades of their
fathers ; for the Romans were serfs of their corporations before serfdom was extended
by their conquerors to the soil. Compare Cod. Theodos. lib. x. t. 20, 1. 10, with Cod.
Justin, lib. xi. t. 8, and lib. xL x. 3. One of the three ambassadors sent by Charle-
piagne to Haroun Al Rashid was a Jew. He was doubtless charged with the commer-
cial business.
2 The peculiarities in Egypt, which enabled the government of Mehernet^Ali to
extract about two millions sterling annually from a population of two millions of
paupers 3 were the following : The surplus in the produce of the country makes the
price of the immense quantity produced in Upper Egypt very low. Government can,
consequently, either impose a tax on the produce of the upper country equal to the
The Isaurian Dynasty 9
of society were annually drawn into the coffers of the state,
leaving the inhabitants only a bare sufficiency for perpetuating
the race of tax-payers. History, indeed, shows that the agri-
cultural classes, from the labourer to the landlord, were unable
to retain possession of the savings required to replace that
depreciation which time is constantly producing in all vested
capital, and that their numbers gradually diminished.
After the accession of Leo III., a new condition of society
is soon apparent ; and though many old political evils con-
tinued to exist, it becomes evident that a greater degree of
personal liberty, as well as greater security for property, was
henceforth guaranteed to the mass of the inhabitants of the
empire. Indeed, no other government of which history has
preserved the records, unless it be that of China, has secured
equal advantages to its subjects for so long a period. The
empires of the caliphs and of Charlemagne, though historians
have celebrated their praises loudly, cannot, in their best days,
compete with the administration organised by Leo on this
point; and both sank into ruin while the Byzantine empire
continued to flourish in full vigour. It must be confessed
that eminent historians present a totally different picture of
Byzantine history to their readers. Voltaire speaks of it as
a worthless repertory of declamation and miracles, disgraceful
to the human mind. 1 Even the sagacious Gibbon, after enumer-
ating with just pride the extent of his labours, adds, " From
these considerations, I should have abandoned without regret
the Greek slaves and their servile historians, had I not re-
flected that the fate of the Byzantine monarchy is passively
connected with the most splendid and important revolutions
which have changed the state of the world." 2 The views of
Byzantine history, unfolded in the following pages, are frequently
difference of price at Siout and Alexandria, less the expense of transport, or it can con-
stitute itself the sole master of the transport on the Nile, and make a monopoly both of
the right of purchase and of freight. The expense of transport jte trifling, as the stream
carries a loaded boat steadily down the river, while the north wind drives an empty one
up against the current, almost with the regularity of a locomotive _ engine. The Nile
offers, in this manner, all the advantages of a railway, nature having constructed the
road, and supplied the locomotive power ; while a monopoly of their use is vested in the
hands of every tyrant who rules the country. Mehemet Ali, not content with this,
created an almost universal monopoly in favour of his government^ The whole produce
of the country was purchased at a tariff price, the cultivator being only allowed to
retain the means of perpetuating his class. The number of towns and the density^ of
population in the Byzantine empire arose from the immense amount of ^capital which
ages of security had expended in improving the soil, and from its cultivation as garden-
land with the spade and mattock. Both these facts are easily proved.
1 Le Pyrrhonisme de FHistoire, chap. xv. note 1. With this remark, the records of
an empire, which witnessed the rise and fall of the Caliphs and the Carlovingians, aro
dismissed by one who exclaimed, "fdterai aux nations le bandeau de Ferreur."
2 Declint and Fall> chap, xlviii.
io The Contest with the Iconoclasts
In direct opposition to these great authorities. The defects
and vices of the political system will be carefully noticed, but
the splendid achievements of the emperors, and the great
merits of the judicial and ecclesiastical establishments, will
be contrasted with their faults.
The history of the Byzantine empire divides itself into three
periods, strongly marked by distinct characteristics.
The first period commences with the reign of Leo III. in
716, and terminates with that of Michael IIL in 867, It
comprises the whole history of the predominance of the Icono-
clasts in the established church, and of the reaction which
reinstated the orthodox in power. It opens with the efforts
by which Leo and the people of the empire saved the Roman
law and the Christian religion from the conquering Saracens.
It embraces a long and violent struggle between the govern-
ment and the people, the emperors seeking to increase the
central power by annihilating every local franchise, and even
the right of private opinion, among their subjects. The con-
test concerning image-worship, from the prevalence of ecclesias-
tical idsas, became the expression of this struggle. Its object
was as much to consolidate the supremacy of the imperial
authority, as to purify the practice of the church. The em-
perors wished to constitute themselves the fountains of ecclesias-
tical as completely as of civil legislation.
The long and bloody wars of this period, and the vehement
character of the sovereigns who filled the throne, attract the
attention of those who love to dwell on the romantic facts of
history. Unfortunately, the biographical sketches and indi-
vidual characters of the heroes of these ages lie concealed in
the dullest chronicles. But the true historical feature of this
memorable period is the aspect of a declining empire, saved
by the moral vigour developed in society, and of the central
authority struggling to restore national prosperity. Never was
such a succession of able sovereigns seen following one another
on any other throne. The stern Iconoclast, Leo the Isaurian,
opens ths line as the second founder of the Eastern Empire.
His son, the fiery Constantine, who was said to prefer the
odour of the stable to the perfumes of his palaces, replanted
the Christian standards on the banks of the Euphrates. Irene,
the beautiful Athenian, presents a strange combination of
talent, heartlessness, and orthodoxy. The finance minister,
Nicephoras, perishes on the field of battle like an old Roman.
The Armenian Leo falls at the altar of his private chapel,
The Isanrian Dynasty u
murdered as lie is singing psalms with his deep voice, before
day-dawn. Michael the Amorian, who stammered Greek with
his native Phrygian accent, became the founder of an imperial
dynasty, destined to be extinguished by a Sclavonian groom.
The accomplished Theophilus lived in an age of romance,
both in action and literature. His son, Michael, the last of
the Amorian family, was the only contemptible prince of this
period, and he was certainly the most despicable buffoon that
ever occupied a throne.
The second period commences with the reign of Basil I. in
867, and terminates with the deposition of Michael VI. in
1057. During these two centuries the imperial sceptre was
retained by members of the Basilian family, or held by those
who shared their throne as guardians or husbands. At this
time the Byzantine empire attained its highest pitch of exter-
nal power and internal prosperity. The Saracens were pur-
sued into the plains of Syria. Antioch and Edessa were
reunited to the empire. The Bulgarian monarchy was con-
quered, and the Danube became again the northern frontier.
The Sclavonians in Greece were almost exterminated. Byzan-
tine commerce filled the whole Mediterranean, and legitimated
the claim of the emperor of Constantinople to the title of
Autocrat of the Mediterranean sea, 1 But the real glory of
this period consists in the power of the law. Respect for the
administration of justice pervaded society more generally than
it had ever done at any preceding period of the history of the
world a fact which our greatest historians have overlooked,
though it is all-important in the history of human civilisation.
The third period extends from the accession of Isaac I*
(Comnenus) in 1057, to the conquest of the Byzantine empire
by the Crusaders, in 1204. This is the true period of the
decline and fall of the Eastern Empire. It commenced by
a rebellion of the great nobles of Asia, who effected an inter-
nal revolution in the Byzantine empire by wrenching the
administration out of the hands of well-trained officials, and
destroying the responsibility created by systematic procedure.
A despotism supported by personal influence soon ruined the
scientific fabric which had previously upheld the imperial
power. The people were ground to the earth by a fiscal
rapacity, over which the splendour of the house of Comnenus
Constant. Porphyr. D* Them. ii. vj Aid rb r^v AbroKfdropa. KUV
" *
12 The Contest with the Iconoclasts
throws a thin veil. The wealth of the empire was dissipated,
its prosperity destroyed, the administration of justice corrupted,
and the central authority lost all control over the population,
when a band of 20,000 adventurers, masked as crusaders, put
an end to the Roman empire of the East.
In the eighth and ninth centuries the Byzantine empire
continued to embrace many nations differing from the Greeks
in language and manners. Even in religion there was a strong
tendency to separation, and many of the heresies noticed in
history assumed a national character, while the orthodox
church circumscribed itself more and more within the nation-
ality of the Greeks, and forfeited its ecumenical characteristics.
The empire still included within its limits Romans, Greeks,
Armenians, Isaurians, Lycaonians, Phrygians, Syrians, and
Gallo-Grecians. But the great Thracian race, which had once
been inferior in number only to the Indian, and which, in the
first century of our era, had excited the attention of Vespasian
by the extent of the territory it occupied, was now extermi-
nated. 1 The country it had formerly inhabited was peopled
by Sclavonian tribes, a diminished Roman and Greek popula-
tion only retaining possession of the towns, and the Bulgarians,
a Turkish tribe, ruling as the dominant race from Mount
Hemus to the Danube. The range of Mount Hemus gener-
ally formed the Byzantine frontier to the north, and its moun-
tain passes were guarded by imperial garrisons. 2 Sclavonian
colonies had established themselves over all the European
provinces, and had even penetrated into the Peloponnesus.
The military government of Strymon, above the passes in the
plain of Heraclea Sintica, was formed to prevent the country
to the south of Mounts Orbelos and Skomios from becoming
an independent Sclavonian province.
The provincial divisions of the Roman Empire had fallen
into oblivion. A new geographical arrangement into Themes
appears to have been established by Heraclius, when he recov-
ered the Asiatic provinces from the Persians : it was reorganised
by Leo, and endured as long as the Byzantine government. 3
The number of themes varied at different periods. The
1 Herodotus, v. 3. ^ Eustathius Thess., Comm. in Dianys. Periegetem, v. 323.
2 The country within Mount Hernus, called Zagora, was only ceded to the Bulgarians
in the reign of Michael III. Cont., Scrip, jost TkeoJ>h. % 102. Symeon Log., 440.
Cedrenus, i. 446; ii. 541.
8 The term thema> was first applied to the Roman legion. The military districts,
garrisoned^ by legions, were^then called tJumata^ and ultimately the word was used
merely to indicate geographical administrative divisions. Ducange. Glossariunt ittcd,
et inf. Greecitatis.
The Isaurian Dynasty 13
Emperor Constantino Porphyrogenitus, writing about the
middle of the tenth century, counts sixteen in the Asiatic
portion of the empire, and twelve in the European.
Seven great themes are particularly prominent in Asia
Minor, 1 Optimaton, Opsikion, the Thrakesian, the Anatolic,
the Bukellarian, the Kibyrraiot, and the Armeniac. In each
of these a large military force was permanently maintained,
under the command of a general of the province 5 and in
Opsikion, the Thrakesian, and the Kibyrraiot, a naval force
was likewise stationed under its own officers. The commanders
of the troops were called Strategoi, those of the navy Drangarioi.
Several subordinate territorial divisions existed, called Tourms,
and separate military commands were frequently established
for the defence of important passes, traversed by great lines of
communication, called Kleisouras. Several of the ancient
nations in Asia Minor still continued to preserve their national
peculiarities, and this circumstance has induced the Byzantine
writers frequently to mention their country as recognised
geographical divisions of the empire.
The European provinces were divided into eight continental
and five insular or transmarine themes, until the loss of the
exarchate of Ravenna reduced the number to twelve. Venice
and Naples, though they acknowledged the suzerainty of the
Eastern Empire, acted generally as independent cities. Sar-
dinia was lost about the time of Leo's accession, and the
circumstances attending its conquest by the Saracens are
unknown.
The ecclesiastical divisions of the empire underwent frequent
1 The Asiatic themes were i. Anatolikon, including parts of Phrygia, Lycaonia,
Isauria, Panophylia, and Pisldia. 2. The ArMeniac t including Pontus and Capp^a-
docia. 3. The^ Thraksia.n, part of Phrygia, Lydia, and Ionia. 4. Opsikion^ Mysia,
and part of Bithynia and Phrygia. 5. Optimaton^ the part of Bithynia towards the
Bosphorus. 6. Bukellarion, Galatia. 7. Paphlagonia. 8. Chaldia.^ the country about
Trebizond. 9. Mesopotamia.^ the trifling possessions of the empire on the Mesopota-
mian frontier. 10. Koloneia^ the country between Pontus and Armenia Minor, through
which the Lycus flows, near Neocassarea. . Sebasteia^ the second Armenia. Scrip,
post Thepgh. 112. 12. Lycandos t a theme formed by Leo VI. (the Wise) on the borders
of Armenia. 13. The Kibyrraiot, Caria, Lycia, and the coast of Cilicia. 14. Cyprus.
15. Sfitnos. 16. The s&gean. Cappadocia is mentioned as a theme. Scrip, jzest.
Theaph. 112 ; and Charsiania, Genesius, 46. They had formed part of the Armeniac
theme.
The twelve European themes were i. Thrace, z. Macedonia... 3. Strymon* 4.
Thessalonica. 5. Hellas. 6. Peloponnesus. 7, Cephallenia. 8. Nicopolis. 9. Dyrra-
chiunt. 10. Sicily, xi. Longibardia (Calabria.) 12. Cherson. The islands of the
Archipelago, which formed the i6th Asiatic theme, were the usual station of the Euro-
pean naval squadron, under the command of a Drungarias. They are often called
DodekannesoS) and their admiral was an officer of consideration at the end of the eighth
century. Theophanes^ 383. The list of the themes given by Constantino Porphyro-
genitus is a traditional, not an official document. Cyprus and Sicily had been conquered
by the Arabs long before he wrote.
14 The Contest with the Iconoclasts
modifications ; but after the provinces of Epirus, Greece, and
Sicily were withdrawn, from the jurisdiction of the Pope, and
placed under that of the Patriarch of Constantinople by
Leo III., that patriarchate embraced the whole Byzantine
empire. It was then divided into 52 metropolitan dioceses,
which were subdivided into 649 suffragan bishopricks, and 13
archbishopricks, in which the prelates were independent,
(aiJTOK<aA<H,) but without any suffragans. There were, more-
over, 34 titular archbishops. 1
SECTION II
REIGN OF LEO III. (THE ISAURIAN,) A.D. 7 1 7-741 2
Saracen war Siege of Constantinople Circumstances favourable to
Leo's reforms Fables concerning Leo Military, financial, and legal
reforms Ecclesiastical policy Rebellion in Greece Papal opposition
Physical phenomena.
When Leo was raised to the throne, the empire was
threatened with immediate ruin. Six emperors had been
dethroned within the space of twenty-one years. Four perished
by the hand of the public executioner, 3 one died in^Dbscurity,
after being deprived of sight, 4 and the other was only allowed
to end his days peacefully in a monastery, because Leo felt
the imperial sceptre firmly fixed in his own grasp. 5 Every
army assembled to encounter the Saracens had broken out
into rebellion. The Bulgarians and Sclavonians wasted Europe
up to the walls of Constantinople; the Saracens ravaged the
whole of Asia Minor to the shores of the Bosphorus.
. Amorium was the principal city of the theme Anatolikon. 6
The Caliph Suleiman had sent his brother, Moslemah, with a
numerous army, to complete the conquest of the Roman
empire, which appeared to be an enterprise of no extraordinary
difficulty, and Amorium was besieged by the Saracens. Leo,
who commanded the Byzantine troops, required some time
to concert the operations by which he hoped to raise the
siege. To gain the necessary delay, he opened negotiations
1 Compare Codinus, Notztia: Grcecorunt Eptscopafunt t with the index to the first
volume of Lequien, Oriens Christianus.
2 The most complete work on the history of the .tconolast period is that of
Schlosser, Geschichte der Bildersturmendcn Kaiser t 1812. ft is a work of learning, and
original research.
3 Leontius, Tiberius III., (Apsimar.) Justinian II., Philippics.
4 Anastasius II. ^ 8 Theodosius III.
6 Amorium was at the ruins called Hergan Kaleh. Hamilton, Researches in Asia,
Minor t i. 452. Leake's Tour in Asia Minor % 86.
The Isaurian Dynasty 15
with the invaders, and, under the pretext of hastening the
conclusion of the treaty, he visited the Saracen general engaged
in the siege with an escort of only 500 horse. The Saracens
were invited to suspend their attacks until the decision of
Moslemah who was at the head of another division of the
Mohammedan army could be known. In an interview
which took place with the bishop and principal inhabitants
of the Amorium, relating to the proffered terms, Leo con-
trived to exhort them to continue their defence, and assured
them of speedy succour. The besiegers, nevertheless, pressed
forward their approaches. Leo, after his interview with the
Amorians, proposed that the Saracen general should accom-
pany him to the headquarters of Moslemah. The Saracen
readily agreed to an arrangement which would enable him to
deliver so important a hostage to the commander-in- chief.
The wary Isaurian, who well knew that he would be closely
watched, had made his plan of escape. On reaching a narrow
defile, from which a cross road led to the advanced posts of
his own army, Leo suddenly drew his sabre and attacked the
Saracens about his person ; while his guards, who were pre-
pared for the signa^ easily opened a way through the two
thousand hostile cavalry of the escort, and all reached the
Byzantine camp in safety. Leo's subsequent military disposi-
tions and diplomatic negotiations induced the enemy to raise
the siege of Amorium, and the grateful inhabitants united
with the army in saluting him Emperor of the Romans. But
in his arrangements with Moslemah, he is accused by his
enemies of having agreed to conditions which facilitated the
further progress of the Mohammedans, in order to secure his
own march to Constantinople. On this march he was met by
the son of Theodosius III., whom he defeated. Theodosius
resigned his crown, and retired into a monastery j 1 while Leo
made his triumphal entry into the capital by the Golden Gate,
and was crowned by the Patriarch in the church of St. Sophia
on the 25th of March, 717.
The position of Leo continued to be one of extreme diffi-
culty. The Caliph Suleiman, who had seen one private
adventurer succeed the other in quick succession on the
imperial throne, deemed the moment favourable for the final
conquest of the Christians; and, reinforcing his brother's army,
1 Theodosius ended his life at Ephesus, where he was buried In the church of
St. Philip. He ordered that his tombstone should bear no inscription but the word
" Health."
1 6 The Contest with the Iconoclasts
he ordered him to lay siege to Constantinople. The Saracen
empire had now reached its greatest extent. From the banks
of the Sihun and the Indus to the shores of the Atlantic in
Mauretania and Spain, the orders of Suleiman were im-
plicitly obeyed. The recent conquests of Spain in the West,
and of Fergana, Cashgar, and Sind in the East, had animated
the confidence of the Mohammedans to such a degree that
no enterprise appeared difficult. The army Moslemah led
against Constantinople was the best appointed that had ever
attacked the Christians : it consisted of eighty thousand fight-
ing men. The caliph announced his intention of taking the
field in person with additional forces, should the capital of the
Christians offer a protracted resistance to the arms of Islam.
The whole expedition is said to have employed one hundred
and eighty thousand ; and the number does not appear to be
greatly exaggerated, if it be supposed to include the sailors of
the fleet, and the reinforcements which reached the camp
before Constantinople. 1
Moslemah, after capturing Pergamus, marched to Abydos,
where he was joined by the Saracen fleet. He then trans-
ported his army across the Hellespont, and, marching along
the shore of the Propontis, invested Leo in his capital both
by land and sea. The strong walls of Constantinople, the
engines of defence with which Roman and Greek art had
covered the ramparts, and the skill of the Byzantine engineers,
rendered every attempt to carry the place by assault hopeless,
so that the Saracens were compelled to trust to the effect of
a strict blockade for gaining possession of the city. They
surrounded their camp with a deep ditch, and strengthened it
with a strong dyke. Moslemah then sent out large detach-
ments to collect forage and destroy the provisions, which
might otherwise find their way into the besieged city. The
presence of an active enemy and a populous city required
constant vigilance on the part of a great portion of his land
forces.
The Saracen fleet consisted of eighteen hundred vessels of
war and transports. In order to form the blockade, it was
divided into two squadrons : one was stationed on the Asiatic
1 Compare Constantly Porphyrogenitus, De Adrn, Imp. chap, ax, p._74, with Weil,
Geschichte der Cftali/en, i. 566, 371 > note, and Price, Mattontmedan JSwt^ire, t. 518.
These numbers ^enable us to estimate the credit due to the Western chronicles concern-
ing the plundering expedition of AbcUel-Rahman into France, which was defeated by
Charles Mattel. Paulus DIaconus, lib. vi. chap. 47, says, that three hundred thousand
Saracens perished during the siege of Constantinople.
The Isaurian Dynasty 17
coast, in the ports of Eutropius 1 and Anthimus, to prevent
supplies arriving from the Archipelago ; the other occupied
the bays in the European shore of the Bosphorus above the
point of Galata, in order to cut off all communication with
;he Black Sea and the cities of Cherson and Trebizond.
The first naval engagement took place as the fleet was taking
up its position within the Bosphorus. The current, rendered
impetuous by a change of wind, threw the heavy ships and
transports into confusion. The besieged directed some fire-
ships against the crowded vessels, and succeeded in burning
several, and driving others on shore under the walls of
Constantinople. The Saracen admiral, Suleiman, confident
in the number of his remaining ships of war, resolved to
avenge his partial defeat by a complete victory. He placed
one hundred chosen Arabs, in complete armour, in each of
his best vessels, and, advancing to the walls of Constantinople,
made a vigorous attempt to enter the place by assault, as
it was entered long after by Doge Dandolo. Leo was well
prepared to repulse the attack, and, under his experienced
guidance, the Arabs were completely defeated. A number of
the Saracen ships were burned by the Greek fire which the
besieged launched from their walls. 2 After this defeat,
Suleiman withdrew the European squadron of his fleet into
the Sosthenian bay.
The besiegers encamped before Constantinople on the
1 5th August, 717. The Caliph Suleiman died before he was
able to send any reinforcements to his brother. The winter
proved unusually severe. The country all round Constanti-
nople remained covered with deep snow for many weeks.*
The greater part of the horses and camels in the camp of
Moslemah perished; numbers of the best soldiers, accustomed
to the mild winters of Syria, died from having neglected
to take the requisite precautions against a northern climate.
The difficulty of procuring food ruined the discipline of the
troops. These misfortunes were increased by the untimely
death of the admiral, Suleiman. In the mean time, Leo and
the inhabitants of Constantinople, having made the necessary
1 Mundi Burnou.
2 On the subject of Greek fire, see Du Feu Gregois, par Reinaud et Fave, chap. iiL,
Paris, 1845 ; and Memoire sur la DScowvcrte tres-anciennc en Asie de la, Poudre &
Catwn et des Armes a Feu, par Paravey, Paris, 1850. The efficacity of Greek fire arose
from the circumstance of the combatants being compelled to bring large masses into
more rapid and direct collision than in modern tactics.
3 Theophanes, 332, and Nicephorus, Pat. 35, with the ordinary love of the marvei-
lous, say the snow covered the ground for a hundred days.
1 8 The Contest with the Iconoclasts
preparations for a long siege, passed the winter in security,
A fleet, fitted out at Alexandria, brought supplies to Moslemah
In spring. Four hundred transports, escorted by men-of-war,
sailed past Constantinople, and, entering the Bosphorus, took
up their station at Kalos Agros. 1 Another fleet, almost
equally numerous, arrived soon after from Africa, and
anchored in the bays on the Bithynian coast. 2 These
positions rendered the current a protection against the fire-
ships of the garrison of Constantinople. The crews of the
new transports were in great part composed of Christians,
and the weak condition of Moslemah's army filled them with
fear. Many conspired to desert Seizing the boats of their
respective vessels during the night, numbers escaped to Con-
stantinople, where they informed the emperor of the exact
disposition of the whole Saracen force. Leo lost no time in
taking advantage of the enemy's embarrassments. Fireships
were sent with a favourable wind among the transports, while
ships of war, furnished with engines for throwing Greek fire,
increased the confusion. This bold attack was successful,
and a part of the naval force of the Saracens was destroyed.
Some ships fell a prey to the flames, some were driven on
shore, and some were captured by the Byzantine squadron.
The blockade was now at an end, for Moslemah's troops were
dying from want, while the besieged were living in plenty;
but the Saracen obstinately persisted in maintaining posses-
sion of his camp in Europe. It was not until his foraging
parties were repeatedly cut off, and all the beasts of burden
were consumed as food, that he consented to allow the
standard of the Prophet to retreat before the Christians.
The remains of his army were embarked in the relics of the
feet, and on the i5th August, 718, Moslemah raised the siege,
after ruining one of the finest armies the Saracens ever
assembled, by obstinately persisting in a hopeless under-
taking. 3 The troops were landed at Proconnesus, and
marched back to Damascus, through Asia Minor; but the
fleet encountered a violent storm in passing through the
Archipelago. The dispersed ships were pursued by the Greeks
1 Buyuk-dere, and not a place in Bithynia, as Lebeau, xii. 118, and Schlosser, 151,
Infer from Nicephoru^, Pat. 35. See Ducange, Const. Christ. 177; and Gyllius, De
Bosph. Throe, ii. chap, xviii. p. 301.
2 Theophanes, 332, says this fleet consisted of 360 transports. It anchored at Saty-
ros, Bryas, and Kartalimen.
S Theophanes, 334. Nicephorus, Pat. 35, however, says the siege lasted thirteen
months. The Mohammedan accounts report, that of the one hundred and eighty
thousand men who composed the expedition, only thirty thousand returned.
The I saurian Dynasty 19
of the islands, and so many were lost or captured, that only
five of the Syrian squadron returned home.
Few military details concerning Leo's defence of Constanti-
nople have been preserved, but there can be no doubt that it
was one of the most brilliant exploits of a warlike age. The
Byzantine army was superior to every other in the art of
defending fortresses. The Roman arsenals, in their best
days, could probably have supplied no scientific or mechanical
contrivance unknown to the corps of engineers of Leo's
army, for we must recollect that the education, discipline, and
practice of these engineers had been perpetuated in unin-
terrupted succession from the times of Trajan and Constan-
tine. We are not to estimate the decline of mechanical
science by the degradation of art, nor by the decay of military
power in the field. 1 The depopulation of Europe rendered
soldiers rare and dear, and a considerable part of the Byzan-
tine armies was composed of foreign mercenaries. The army
of Leo, though far inferior in number to that of Moslemah,
was its equal in discipline and military skill ; while the walls
of Constantinople were garnished with engines from the
ancient arsenals of the city, far exceeding in power and
number any with which the Arabs had been in the habit
of contending. The vanity of Gallic writers has magnified
the success of Charles Martel over a plundering expedition of
the Spanish Arabs into a marvellous victory, and attributed
the deliverance of Europe from the Saracen yoke to the
valour of the Franks. A veil has been thrown over the
talents and courage of Leo, a soldier of fortune, just seated
on the imperial throne, who defeated the long-planned
schemes of conquest of the caliphs Welid and Suleiman.
It is unfortunate that we have no Isaurian literature.
The catastrophe of Moslemah's army, and the state of the
caliphate during the reigns of Omar II. and Yesid II.,
relieved the empire from all immediate danger, and Leo was
enabled to pursue his schemes for reorganising the army and
defending his dominions against future invasions. The war
was languidly carried on for some years, and the Saracens
were gradually expelled from most of their conquests beyond
Mount Taurus. In the year 726, Leo was embarrassed by
seditions and rebellions, caused by his decrees against image-
1 It was in the time of Constantius, A.D. 357, that the largest obelisk at Rome was
transported from Alexandria. It stands at St. John Lateran, and is said to weigh 445
tons. (?) Sir Gardner Wilkinson makes the great^ obelisk at Karnak weigh less thaa
three hundred tons. Modern Egypt and Thebes, ii. 145.
2O The Contest with the Iconoclasts
worship. Hescham seized the opportunity, and sent t\ro
powerful armies to invade the empire. Csesarea was taken by
Moslemah; while another army, under Moawyah, pushing
forward, laid siege to Nicaea. Leo was well pleased to see
the Saracens consume their resources in attacking a distant
fortress ; but though they were repulsed before Nicsea, they
retreated without serious loss, carrying off immense plunder.
The plundering excursions of the Arabs were frequently
renewed by land and sea. In one of these expeditions, the
celebrated Sid-al-Battal carried off an individual who was set
up by the Saracens as a pretender to the Byzantine throne,
under the pretext -that he was Tiberius, the son of Justinian II.
Two sons of the caliph appeared more than once at the head
of the invading armies. In the year 739, the Saracen forces
poured into Asia Minor in immense numbers, with all their
early energy. Leo, who had taken the command of the
Byzantine army, accompanied by his son Constantine, marched
to meet Sid-al-Battal, whose great fame rendered him the
most dangerous enemy. A battle took place at Acroinon, in
the Anatolic theme, in which the Saracens were totally de-
feated. The valiant Sid, the most renowned champion of
Jslamism, perished on the field ; but the fame of his exploits
has filled many volumes of Moslem romance, and furnished
some of the tales that have adorned the memory of the Cid
of Spain, three hundred years after the victory of Leo. 1 The
Western Christians have robbed the Byzantine empire of its
glory in every way. After this defeat the Saracen power
ceased to be formidable to the empire, until the energy of
the caliphate was revived by the vigorous administration of
the Abassides.
Leo's victories over the Mohammedans were an indispens-
able step to the establishment of his personal authority. But
the measures of administrative wisdom which rendered his
reign a new era in Roman history, are its most important
feature in the annals of the human race. His military exploits
were the result of ordinary virtues, and of talents common in
every age ; but the ability to reform the internal government
of an empire, in accordance with the exigencies of society, can
1 Acroinon was doubtless at Sid-el-Ghazi, nine hours to the south of Esldshehr,
Dorylseum,) where the tomb of Sid-al-Battal-el-Ghazi is still shown. Leake, Asia
Minor, ax. Weil, Geschichtc der Ckalifen^ i. 638, calls the hero Abd Allah ; while
d'Herbelot, Bibliothiq-ue Orteniale^ voce "Batthal," calls him Abu Mohammed.
TheopbaneSj 345, calls him simply BardX. See also Hammer, Histoirc
Ottoman, par HelJert t i. 60, 372.
The Isaurian Dynasty 21
only be appreciated by those who have made the causes and
the progress of national revolutions the object of long thought.
The intellectual superiority of Leo may be estimated by the
incompetence of sovereigns in the present century to meet
new exigencies of society. Leo judiciously availed himself of
many circumstances that favoured his reforms. The inherent
vigour which is nourished by parochial and municipal respon-
sibilities, bound together the remnants of the free population
in the eastern Roman empire, and operated powerfully in
resisting foreign domination. The universal respect felt for
the administration of justice, and the general deference paid
to the ecclesiastical establishment, inspired the inhabitants
with energies wanting in the West. Civilisation was so gener-
ally diffused, that the necessity of upholding the civil and
ecclesiastical tribunals, and defending the channels of com-
mercial intercourse, reunited a powerful body of the people in
every province to the central administration, by the strongest
ties of interest and feeling.
The oppressive authority of the court of Constantinople
had been much weakened by the anarchy that prevailed
throughout the empire in the latter part of the seventh cen-
tury. The government had been no longer able to inundate
the provinces with those bands of officials who had previously
consumed the wealth of the curia ; and the cities had been
everywhere compelled to provide for their own defence by
assuming powers hitherto reserved to the imperial officers.
These new duties had inspired the people with new vigour,
and developed unexpected talents. The destructive responsi-
bility of fiscal guarantees and personal services, imposed by the
administration of imperial Rome as a burden on every class of
its subjects, from the senator to the ticket-porter, was lightened
when the Western Empire fell a prey to foreign conquerors,
and when the Eastern was filled with foreign colonists. 1 The
curiales and the corporations at last relieved themselves from
the attempt of the Roman government to fix society in a
stationary condition, and the relief was followed by immediate
improvement. Troubled times had also made the clergy more
anxious to conciliate public opinion than official favour. A
better and more popular class of bishops replaced the worldly
priest satirised by Gregory Nazianzenos. 2 The influence of
this change was very great, for the bishop, as the defender of
* Compare Cod, Theod. vi. n, De SenatoribuS) and xiv. xxii. Dt S
E Carmen, De Jtyiscttfzs, v. 150.
22 The Contest with the Iconoclasts
the curia, and the real head of the people in the municipality,
enjoyed extensive authority over the corporations of artisans
and the mass of the labouring population. From a judge he
gradually acquired the power of a civil governor, and the curia
became his senate. The ordinary judicial tribunals being cut
off from direct communication with the supreme courts,
peculiar local usages gained force, and a customary law arose
in many provinces restricting the application of the code of
Justinian. The orthodox church alone preserved its unity of
character, and its priests continued to be guided by principles
of centralisation, which preserved their connection with the
seat of the patriarchate at Constantinople, without injuring
the energetic spirit of their local resistance to the progress of
the Mohammedan power. Throughout the wide extent of the
Eastern Empire, the priesthood served as a bond to connect
the local feelings of the parish with the general interests of the
orthodox church. Its authority was, moreover, endeared to a
large body of the population from its language being Greek,
and from its holy legends embodying national feelings and
prejudices. Repulsive as the lives of the saints now appear to
our taste, they were the delight of millions for many centuries.
From the earliest period to the present hour, the wealth of
most of the cities in the East has been derived from their im-
portance as points of commercial communication. The insane
fury of the Emperor Justinian II., in devastating the flourish-
ing cities of Ravenna and Cherson, failed to ruin these places,
because they were then the greatest commercial entrepots of
the trade between India and Europe. But the alarm felt for the
ruin of commerce throughout the Christian world, during the
anarchy that existed in the last years of the seventh, and early
years of the eighth centuries, contributed much to render men
contented with the firm government of Leo, even though they
may have considered him a heretic. On the other hand, the
prevailing anarchy had relieved commerce both from much
fiscal oppression and many official monopolies. The moment
the financial burdens of the commercial classes were lightened,
they experienced all the advantage of possessing a systematic
administration of justice, enforced by a fixed legal procedure,
and consequently they very naturally became warm partisans
of the imperial authority, as, in their opinion, the personal
influence of the emperor constituted the true fountain of legal
order and judicial impartiality. A fixed legislation saved
society from dissolution during many years of anarchy.
The Isaurian Dynasty 23
The obscure records of the eighth century allow us to
discern through their dim atmosphere a considerable increase
of power in popular feelings, and they even afford some
glimpses of the causes of this new energy. The fermentation
which then pervaded Christian society marks the commence-
ment of modern civilisation, as contrasted with ancient times.
Its force arose out of the general diminution of slave labour.
The middle classes in the towns were no longer rich enough
to be purchasers of slaves, consequently the slave population
henceforward became a minority in the Eastern Empire ; and
those democratic ideas which exist among free labourers re-
placed the aristocratic caution, inseparable from the necessity
of watching a numerous population of slaves. The general
attention was directed to the equal administration of justice.
The emperor alone appeared to be removed above the influence
of partiality and bribery; under his powerful protection the
masses hoped to escape official and aristocratic oppression, by
the systematic observance of the rules of Roman law. The
prosperity of commerce seemed as directly connected with the
imperial supremacy as judicial equity itself, for the power of
the emperor alone could enforce one uniform system of
customs from Cherson to Ravenna. Every trader, and indeed
every citizen, felt that the apparatus of the imperial govern-
ment was necessary to secure financial and legal unity. Above
all, Leo, the conqueror of the hitherto victorious Saracens,
seemed the only individual who possessed the civil as well as the
military talents necessary for averting the ruin of the empire.
Leo converted the strong attachment to the laws of Rome
prevalent in society into a lever of political power, and
rendered the devotion felt for the personal authority of the
sovereign the means of increasing the centralisation of power
in the reformed fabric of the Roman administration. The
laws of Rome, therefore, saved Christianity from Saracen
domination more than the armies. The victories of Leo
enabled him to consolidate his power, and constitute the
Byzantine empire, in defiance of the Greek nation and the
orthodox church; but the law supplied him with this moral
power over society.
As long as Mohammedanism was only placed in collision
with the fiscality of the Roman government and the intolerance
of the orthodox church, the Saracens were everywhere vic-
torious, and found everywhere Christian allies in the provinces
they invaded. But when anarchy and misfortune had de-
24 The Contest with the Iconoclasts
stroyed the fiscal power of the state, and weakened the
ecclesiastical intolerance of the clergy, a new point of com-
parison between the governments of the emperors and the
caliphs presented itself to the attention. The question, how
justice was administered in the ordinary relations of life,
became of vital interest. The code of Justinian was com-
pared with that of the Koran. The courts presided over by
judges and bishops were compared with those of the Moolahs.
The convictions which arose in the breasts of the subjects of
the Byzantine emperors changed the current of events. The
torrent of Mohammedan conquest was arrested, and as long as
the Roman law was cultivated in the empire, and administered
under proper control in the provinces, the invaders of the
Byzantine territory were everywhere unsuccessful. The in-
habitants boasted with a just pride, that they lived under
the systematic rule of the Roman law, and not under the
arbitrary sway of despotic power. 1
Such was the state of the Roman empire when Leo com-
menced his reforms. We must now proceed to examine what
history has recorded concerning this great reformer. Some
fables concerning his life and fortunes owe their existence to
the aversion with which his religious opinions were regarded
by the Greeks, and they supply us with the means of forming
a correcter view of the popular mind than of the emperor's
life. At the same time, it must be recollected that they em-
body the opinions of only a portion of his subjects, adopted
towards the close of his reign.
Leo was born at Germanicia, a city of Armenia Minor, in
the mountains near the borders of Cappadocia and Syria. 2
Germanicia was taken by the Saracens, and the parents of
Leo emigrated with their son to Mesembria in Thrace. They
were persons of sufficient wealth to make the Emperor
Justinian II. a present of five hundred sheep, as he was ad-
vancing to regain possession of his throne with the assistance
1 Every emperor -was bound to make a confession of faith in a certain formula,
Kara T& ^Otju,6v. Genesius, n. Compare the coronation oath in Codinus, De Ojfficii*
ConpL chap, xvii., with Corpus Juris Civ. Cod. i. xiv. 4 and 5 ; Basilica^ Ii. vi. <j and
10; see also Constantine Porphyrogenitus, De A dm. Itnp. p. 64, edit. Band; in. 84,
edit. Bonn, and the Ecloga of Leo III. Leunclavius and Freher, Jus Grteco-Romaftutn^
i. 178, ii. 83, tit. ii. 4.
3 The family of Leo, being neither Greek nor Roman, was regarded by these nations
as foreign. The Isaurians appear to have been the subjects of the empire who had re-
tained the greatest share of their original nationality. The Armenians and Syrians,
though numerous, were always regarded as strangers rather than hereditary subjects.
Theophanes, 327, 330, and Anastasius, Hist. 128, called Leo a Syrian. He seems to
have considered himself an Armenian, and he married his daughter to an Armenian.
The Isaurian Dynasty 25
of the Bulgarians. This well-timed gift gained young Leo the
rank of spathaiios, the personal favour of the tyrant, and a
high command on the Lazian frontier. His prudence and
courage raised him, during the reign of Anastasius II., to
the command of the Anatolic theme.
But another history of his life, unknown to the early
historians, Theophanes and Nicephorus, though both these
orthodox writers were his bitter enemies and detractors, be-
came current in after times, and deserves notice as presenting
us with a specimen of the tales which then fed the mental
appetite of the Greeks. 1 Prodigies, prophecies, and miracles
were universally believed. Restricted communications and
neglected education were conducting society to an infantine
dotage. Every unusual event was said to have been predicted
by some prophetic revelation ; and as the belief in the pre-
science of futurity was universal, public deceivers and self-
deceivers were always found acting the part of prophets. It is
said to have been foretold to Leontius that he should ascend
the throne, by two monks and an abbot. 2 The restoration of
Justinian II. had been announced to him while he was in
exile by a hermit of Cappadocia. 3 Philippicus had it revealed
in a dream, that he was to become emperor; and he was
banished by Tiberius II., (Apsimar,) when this vision became
publicly known. 4 It is not, therefore, wonderful that Leo
should have been honoured with communications from the
other world; though, as might have been expected from his
heretical opinions, and the orthodoxy of his historians, these
communications are represented to have been made by agents
from the lower rather than the higher regions.
A circumstance which it was believed had happened to" the
Caliph Yezid I., proved most satisfactorily to the Greeks that
Satan often transacted business publicly by means of his agents
on earth. Two Jews for Jews are generally selected by the
orthodox as the fittest agents of the demon presented them-
selves to the caliph claiming the gift of prophecy. They
announced that, if he should put an end to the idolatrous
worship of images throughout his dominions, fate had predes-
tined him to reign for forty years over a rich and flourishing
empire. Yezid was a man 'of pleasure and a bigot, so that the
prophecy was peculiarly adapted to flatter his passions. The
1 Compare Theophanes, 336, who has no objections to calumniate Leo, with the later
writers, Cedrenus, 450 ; Zonaras, ii. 103 ; Const. Manasses, 86 ; Glycas, a8o ; Leo
Gramm., 173, edit. Bonn. 2 Theophanes, 307. Nicephorus, Pat. 25.
8 Theophanes, 313. * 73. 311, 319.
26 The Contest with the Iconoclasts
images and pictures which adorned the Christian churches were
torn down and destroyed throughout the caliph's dominions.
But Yezid was occupied carrying his decree into execution
when he died. His son, Moawyah II., sought the Jewish
prophets in vain. The prince of darkness concealed them
from his search, and transported them into the heart of Asia
Minor, where they had new services to perform.
A young man named Conon, who had quitted his native
mountains of Isauria, to gain his living as a pedlar in the
wealthier plains, drove his ass, laden with merchandise, to a
grove of evergreen oaks near a bubbling fountain, to seek rest
during the heat of the day, and count his recent gains. The
ass was turned loose to pasture in the little meadow formed
by the stream of the fountain, and Conon sat down in the
shade, by the chapel of St. Theodore, to eat his frugal meal.
He soon perceived two travellers resting like himself, and
enjoying their noontide repast. These travellers entered into
conversation with young Conon, who was a lad of remarkable
strength, beauty, and intelligence. They allowed the fact to
transpire that they were Jews, prophets and astrologers, who
had recently quitted the court of the caliph at Damascus,
which very naturally awakened in the mind of the young
pedlar a wish to know his future fortune, for he may have
aspired at becoming a great post-contractor or a rich banker.
The two Jews readily satisfied his curiosity, and, to his utter
astonishment, informed him that he was destined to rule the
Roman empire. As a proof of their veracity, the prophets
declared that they sought neither wealth nor honours for
themselves, but they conjured Conon to promise solemnly
that, when he ascended the throne, he would put an end to
the idolatry which disgraced Christianity in the East. If he
engaged to do this, they assured him that his fulfilling the will
of Heaven would bring prosperity to himself and to the empire.
Young Conon, believing that the prophets had revealed the
will of God, pledged himself to purify the Christian Church ;
and he kept this promise, when he ascended the throne as
Leo the Isaurian. But as the prophets had made no stipula-
tion for the free exercise of their own creed, and their interest
in Christianity pointed out the true faith, Leo did not con-
sider himself guilty of ingratitude, when, as emperor, he per-
secuted the Jewish religion with the greatest severity.
Such is the fable by which the later Byzantine historians
explain Leo's hostility to image-worship. This adventure ap-
me isaunan uynasty 27
peared to them a probable origin of the ecclesiastical reforms
which characterise Leo's domestic policy. In the bright days
of Hellenic genius, such materials would have been woven
into an immortal tale; the chapel of St Theodore, its fountain,
and its evergreen oaks, Conon driving his ass with the two
unearthly Jews reclining in the shade, would have formed a
picture immortal in the minds of millions ; but in the hands
of ignorant monks and purblind chroniclers, it sinks into a dull
and improbable narrative.
Unfortunately, it is almost as difficult to ascertain the
precise legislative and executive acts by which Leo reformed
the military, financial, and legal administration, as it is to
obtain an impartial account of his ecclesiastical measures.
The military establishment of the empire had gradually lost
its national character, from the impossibility of recruiting the
army from among Roman citizens. In vain the soldier 7 s son
was fettered to his father's profession, as the artisan was bound
to his corporation, and the proprietor to his estate. 1 Yet the
superiority of the Roman armies seems to have suffered little
from the loss of national spirit, as long as strict discipline was
maintained in their ranks. For many centuries the majority
of the imperial forces consisted of conscripts drawn from the
lowest ranks of society, from the rude mountaineers of almost
independent provinces, or from foreigners hired as mercen-
aries ; yet the armies of all invaders, from the Goths to the
Saracens, were repeatedly defeated in pitched battles. The
state maxims which separated the servants of the emperor
from the people, survived in the Eastern provinces after the
loss of the Western, and served as the basis of the military
policy of the Byzantine empire, when reformed by Leo.
The conditions of soldier and citizen were deemed incom-
patible. The law prevented the citizen from assuming the
position of a soldier, and watched with jealousy any attempt
of the soldier to acquire the rights and feelings of a citizen.
An impassable barrier was placed between the proprietor of
the soil, who was the tax-payer, and the defender of the state,
who was an agent of the imperial power. 2 It is true that, after
1 The tendency of Roman despotism to reduce society to caste Is remarkable. Cod,
Theod vii. xxu. 8. This feeling may be traced to the last days of the Byzantine power.
Gemistos Plethon, in the projects of reform at the beginning of the fifteenth century, by
which he hoped to save the Peloponnesus from the Turks, insists on the separation of
the classes of soldiers and taxpayers. See his memorial on the State of the Pelopon-
nesus, addressed to the despot Theodore, at the end of two books of Stobaeus, published
by Canter, printed by Christopher Plantin, Antwerp, 1575, folio, page 222. ^
2 A fixed number of conscripts was drawn from each province after the time of Con-
stantine; and the proprietors, who were prohibited from serving in person, had to
28 The Contest with the Iconoclasts
the loss of the Western provinces, the Roman armies were
recruited from the native subjects of the empire to a much
greater degree than formerly; and that, after the time of
Heraclius, it became impossible to enforce the fiscal arrange-
ments to which the separation of the citizen from the soldier
owed its origin, at least with the previous strictness. 1 Still the
old imperial maxims were cherished in the reign of Leo, and
the numerous colonies of Sclavonians, and other foreigners,
established in the empire, owed their foundation to the sup-
posed necessity of seeking for recruits as little as possible from
among the native population of agriculturists. These colonies
were governed by peculiar regulations, and their most im-
portant service was supplying a number of troops for the
imperial army. Isauria and other mountainous districts, where
it was difficult to collect any revenue by a land-tax, also sup-
plied a fixed military contingent. 2
Whatever modifications Leo made in the military system,
and however great were the reforms he effected in the organisa-
tion of the army and the discipline of the troops, the mass of
the population continued in the Byzantine empire to be ex-
cluded from the use of arms, as they had been in the Roman
times ; and this circumstance was the cause of that unwarlike
disposition, which is made a standing reproach from the days
of the Goths to those of the Crusaders. The state of society
engendered by this policy opened the Western Empire to the
northern nations, and the empire of Charlemagne to the
Normans. Leo's great merit was, that without any violent
furnish conscripts. They were allowed to hire any freeman, beggar, or barbarian, with
youth and strength. When the recruitment became still more difficult, on account of
the diminished population, the Emperor Valens commuted the conscription for a pay-
ment of thirty-six solidi for each conscript. Cod. Theod. vii. xiii. 7.
1 For the Roman legislation relating to the army, see Cod. Just. x. 33, 17 ; xi. 48, 18 ;
xii. 33, 2, 4. JDzg". xllx. 16, 9 and 13. Colons and serfs were prohibited from entering
the army even at those periods of public calamity which compelled the government to
admit slaves as recruits. The views of Gibbon, vol. Hi. chap. xvii. p. 65, require to be
modified.
2 An anecdote of the time of Theodosius II., A.D. 448, gives a correct idea of the
condition of the Greek population of the Eastern Empire, at least until the time of the
anarchy under Phocas. Priscus, the envoy of/Theodosius II. to Attila, mentions that,
in the Scythian territory, he was addressed in Greek by a man in the dress of the
country a circumstance which surprised him, as Latin was the customary language of
communication with foreigners, and few strangers, except the slaves brought from
Thrace and the coast of Illyria, ever spoke Greek. The man proved to be a Greek who
was living among the Huns. ^He contrasted his past condition, as a citizen under
the Roman emperors, with his present position as a freeman under Attila. The
Roman citizen, hejsaid, was compelled to trust for defence to the arms of others, because
the Roman despotism prohibited the use of arms to the citizen. In the time of war, con-
sequently, he was a prey either to^the enemy or to the mercenary troops of the emperor,
while in the time of peace his life was rendered intolerable by fiscal oppression ana
official injustice, JSxc. e Prisci Historia, 190. Corpus Scrfr. Hist. Byz. pars L, edit.
Bonn,
The Isaurian Dynasty 29
political change he infused new energy into the Byzantine
military establishment, and organised a force that for five
centuries defended the empire without acquiring the power of
domineering in the state. As the army was destitute of
patriotic feeling, it was necessary to lessen the influence of its
commanders. This was done by dividing the provinces into
themes, appointing a general of division for each theme, and
grouping together in different stations the various corps of
conscripts, subject nations, and hired mercenaries. 1 The
adoption likewise of different arms, armour, and manoeuvres
in the various corps, and their seclusion rrom close inter-
communication with the native legions, guarded against the
danger of those rebellious movements which in reality de-
stroyed the Western Empire. As much caution was displayed
in the Byzantine empire to prevent the army from endangering
the government by its seditions, as to render it formidable to
the enemy by its strength.
The finances are soon felt to be the basis of government in
all civilised states. Augustus experienced the truth of this as
much as Louis XIV. The progress of society and the
accumulation of wealth have a tendency to sink governments
into the position of brokers of human intelligence, wealth,
and labour ; and the finances form the symbol indicating the
quantity of these which the central authority can command.
The reforms, therefore, which it was in the power of Leo II L
to effect in the financial administration, must have proceeded
from the force of circumstances rather than from the mind of
the emperor. To this cause we must attribute the durability
of the fabric he constructed. He confined himself to arrang-
ing prudently the materials accumulated to his hand. But
no sovereign, and indeed no central executive authority, can
form a correct estimate of the taxable capacity of the people,
Want of knowledge increases the insatiable covetousness sug-
gested by their position ; and the wisest statesman is as likely
to impose ruinous burdens on the people, if vested with
despotic power, as the most rapacious tyrant. The people
alone can find ways of levying on themselves an amount of
taxation exceeding any burdens that the boldest despot could
hope to impose; for the people can perceive what taxes will
have the least effect in arresting the increase of the national
wealth.
1 Leo Is said to have had a body of Frank mercenaries in his service during tfa
siege of Constantinople. The authority is too modern to be implicitly relied aft.
A.bulpharagius, Ch. Ara. 130.
3O The Contest with the Iconoclasts
Leo, who felt the importance of the financial administration
as deeply as Augustus, reserved to himself the immediate
superintendence of the treasury ; and this special control over
the finances was retained by his successors, so that, during
the whole duration of the Byzantine empire, the emperors
may be regarded as their own ministers of finance. The
grand Logothetes, who was the official minister, was in reality
nothing more than the emperor's private secretary for the
department Leo unquestionably improved the central ad-
ministration, while the invasions of the Saracens and Bul-
garians made him extremely cautious in imposing heavy fiscal
burdens on the distant cities and provinces of his dominions.
But his reforms were certainly intended to circumscribe the
authority of municipal and provincial institutions. The free
cities and municipalities which had once been entrusted with
the duty of apportioning their quota of the land-tax, and
collecting the public burdens of their district, were now
deprived of this authority. All fiscal business was transferred
to the imperial officers. Each province had its own collectors
of the revenue, its own officials charged to complete the
registers of the public burdens, and to verify all statistical
details. The traditions of imperial Rome still required that
this mass of information should be regularly transmitted to
the cabinet of the Byzantine emperors, as at the birth of our
Saviour. 1
The financial acts of Leo's reign, though they show that he
increased the direct amount of taxation levied from his sub-
jects, prove nevertheless, by the general improvement which
took place in the condition of the people, that his reformed
system of financial administration really lightened the weight
of the public burdens. Still, there can be no doubt that the
stringency of the measures adopted in Greece and Italy, for
rendering the census more productive, was one of the causes
of the rebellions in those countries, for which his Iconoclastic
decrees served as a more honourable war-cry. In Calabria
and Sicily he added one-third to the capitation; he con-
fiscated to the profit of the treasury a tribute of three talents
and a half of gold which had been remitted annually to
Rome, and at the same time he ordered a correct register to
be kept of all the males born in his dominions. This last
1 Luke, chap, ii. v. i. Novel iii. of John Comnenus in Letmclavius, Jus Graeco~
Romanian, 147. Novel vi. of Manuel, i. 156. Montreuil, Histoirt du Droit Byzantin,
4ii. 107.
The Isaurian Dynasty 31
regulation excites a burst of indignation from the orthodox
historian and confessor Theophanes, who allows neither his
reason nor his memory to restrain his bigotry when recording
the acts of the first Iconoclast emperor. He likens Leo's
edict to Pharaoh's conduct to the children of Israel, and adds
that the Saracens, Leo's teachers in wickedness, had never
exercised the like oppression forgetting, in his zeal against
taxation, that the Caliph Abdelmelik had established the
haratch or capitation of Christians as early as the commence-
ment of the reign of Justinian II., A.D, 692. 1
An earthquake that ruined the walls of Constantinople,
and many cities in Thrace and Bithynia, induced Leo to
adopt measures for supplying the treasury with a special
fund for restoring them, and keeping their fortifications
constantly in a state to resist the Bulgarians and Saracens.
The municipal revenues which had once served for this
purpose had been encroached upon by Justinian I., 'and the
policy of Leo led him to diminish in every way the sphere of
action of all local authorities.
The care of the fortifications was undoubtedly a duty to
which the central government required to give its direct
attention ; and to meet the extraordinary expenditure caused
by the calamitous earthquake of 740, an addition of one-
twelfth was made to the census. This tax was called the
dikcraton^ because the payment appears to have been
generally made in the silver coins called keratia, two of
which were equal to a miliaresion, the coin which represented
one-twelfth of the nomisma, or gold Byzant. 2 Thus a calamity
which , diminished the public resources increased the public
1 Theophanes, 343. , v
2 Theophaues, 345. Constan. Manasses, 93. Glycas, 286, and the words ^<poA.a
and Kpd.Tiov in Ducange's Glossarium Med. ct Infinite Gratcttatis. It is very difficult
to determime which is the miliaresion, and which the keration, among the coins of the
Lower Empire we possess. I possess a medallion of Heraclius, and Heraclius Con-
stantine, A.D. 613-641, which weighs 100 grains ; another of Constantine IV. s (Pogo~
natus,) in bad preservation, which weighs only 88. These would seem to be imliaresia,
of which twelve were reckoned to a gold nomisma. Yet some think the silver coin of a
smaller size is the miliaresion. Of these I possess two, well preserved, of John L,
Zimiskes, and of Basil II., and Constantine VIIL, A.D. 970-1025, weighing each
44 grains. If the keration was the half of this piece, from being once the commonest
silver coin, it has now become the rarest. Of twenty-five gold nomismatain my posses-
sion, the heaviest is one of Manuel I., A.D. 1143-1180. ^The next is a solidus of Aelia
Verina, A.D. 457-474, in fine preservation, but which weighs only 68 grains. Seventy-
two or seventy-four nomismata were coined out of the pound weight of gold, which
contained 5256 English grains. Compare the observations of Pinder and Friedlauder
in their excellent dissertation, Die Miinzen Justinians> p. 12, with Const. Porpjiyr.,
De Ceremoniis Ante Byzantine, i. ^459 ; ii. 497, edit. Bonn. The present rarity of
Byzantine silver is no proof of its being rare formerly. It has been consumed in orna-
ments and base coin. The gold was preserved by its value as a circulating medium
from Scandinavia to India.
32 The Contest with the Iconoclasts
burdens. In such a contingency It seems that a paternal
government and a wise despot ought to have felt the necessity
of diminishing the pomp of the court, of curtailing the
expenses of ecclesiastical pageants, and of reforming the
extravagance of the popukr amusements of the hippodrome,
before imposing new burdens on the suffering population of
the empire. Courtiers, saints, and charioteers ought to have
been shorn of their splendour, before the groans of ^the
provinces were increased. Yet Leo was neither a luxurious
nor an avaricious prince ; but, as has been said already, no
despotic monarch can wisely measure the burden of taxation.
The influence of the provincial spirit on the legislation of
the empire is strongly marked in the history of jurisprudence
during Leo's reign. The anarchy which had long interrupted
the official communications between the provinces and the
capital lent an increased authority to local usages, and threw
obstacles in the way of the regular administration of justice,
according to the strict letter of the voluminous laws of Justinian.
The consequence was, that various local abridgments of the
law were used as guide-books, both by lawyers and judges, in
the provincial tribunals, where the great expense of procuring
a copy of the Justinianean collection prevented its use. Leo
published a Greek manual of law, which by its official sanction
became the primary authority in all the courts of the empire.
This imperial abridgment is called the Ecloga: it affords some
-evidence concerning the state of society and the classes of the
people for which it was prepared. Little notice is taken^ of
the rights of the agriculturists ; the various modes of acquiring
property and constituting servitudes are omitted. The Ecloga
has been censured for its imperfections by Basil L, the founder
of a legislative dynasty, who speaks of it as an insult to the
-earlier legislators; yet the orthodox lawgiver, while he pretended
to reject every act of the heretical Isaurian, servilely imitated
.all his political plans. The brevity and precision of Leo's
Ecloga were highly appreciated both by the courts of law and
the people, in spite of the heterodox opinions of its promul-
^ator. It so judiciously supplied a want long felt by a large
portion of society, that neither the attempt of Basil I. to sup-
plant it by a new official manual, nor the publication of the
great code of the Basilika in Greek, deprived it of value among
the jurisconsults of the Byzantine empire. 1
1 See the works of Zacharias, whose enlightened criticism has shed light on this
'Obscure period of history. Historian furtt GracO'Romani Delinea.tio % auct. C. .
14-41. 0' TTp6x i Ps v6pos, Heidelb., 1837, 8vo, p. xviii. &c.
The Isaurian Dynasty 33
The legislative labours of Leo were not circumscribed to
the publication of the Ecloga. He seems to have sanctioned
various minor codes, by which the regulations in use relating
to military, agricultural, and maritime law were reduced into
systematic order. The collections which are attached to the
copies of the Ecloga, under the heads of military, agricultural,
and Rhodian laws, cannot, however, be considered as official
acts of his reign ; still, they are supposed to afford us a correct
idea of the originals he published. Some abstract of the
provisions contained in the Roman legislation on military
affairs, was rendered necessary by the practice of maintaining
corps of foreign mercenaries in the capital. A military code
was likewise rendered necessary, in consequence of the changes
that took place in the old system, as the Asiatic provinces were
gradually cleared of the invading bands of Saracens. 1 The
agricultural laws appear to be a tolerably exact copy of the
enactments of Leo. The work bears the impress of the con-
dition of society in his time, and it is not surprising that the
title which perpetuated the merits and the memory of the
heterodox Leo was suppressed by orthodox bigotry. The
maritime laws are extremely interesting, from affording a
picture of the state of commercial legislation in the eighth
century, at the time when commerce and law saved the
Roman empire. The exact date of the collection we possess
is not ascertained. That Leo protected commerce, we may
infer from its reviving under his government ; whether he pro-
mulgated a code to sanction or enforce his reforms, or whether
the task was completed by one of his successors, is doubtful.
The whole policy of Leo's reign has been estimated by his
ecclesiastical reforms. These have been severely judged by
all historians, and they appear to have encountered a violent
opposition from a large portion of his subjects. The general
dissatisfaction has preserved sufficient authentic information
to allow of a candid examination of the merits and errors of
his policy. Theophanes considers the aversion of Leo to the
adoration of images as originating in an impious attachment
to the unitarianism of the Arabs. His own pages, however,
refute some of his calumnies, for he records that Leo perse-
cuted the unitarianism of the Jews, and the tendency to it in
the Montanists. 2 Indeed, all those who differed from the' most
3 MontreuH, Histoire du Droit Byzantin, i. 393.
2 TheophaneSj 336, 343. Montreuil, in his Histoire^ du Drcit Byzanttn t i. 148, cites
the law against the Jews and Montanists from Bonefidius, Juris Oricntalis Libri Tres,
34 The Contest with the Iconoclasts
orthodox acknowledgment of the Trinity, received very little
Christian charity at the hands of the Isaurian, who placed the
cross on the reverse of many of his gold, silver, and copper
coins, and over the gates of his palace, as a symbol for univer-
sal adoration. In his Iconoclast opinions, Leo is merely a
type of the more enlightened laymen of his age. A strong
reaction against the superstitions introduced into the Christian
religion by the increasing ignorance of the people, pervaded
the educated classes, who were anxious to put a stop to what
might be considered a revival of the ideas and feelings of
paganism. The Asiatic Christians, who were brought into
frequent collision with the followers of Mahomet, Zoroaster,
and Moses, were compelled to observe that the worship of the
common people among themselves was sensual, when compared
with the devotion of the infidels. The worship of God was
neglected, and his service transferred to some human symbol.
The favourite saint was usually one whose faults were found
to bear some analogy to the vices of his worshipper, and thus
pardon was supposed to be obtained for sin on easier terms
than accords with Divine justice, and vice was consequently
rendered more prevalent. The clergy had yielded to the
popular ignorance; the walls of churches were covered with
pictures which were reported to have wrought miraculous
cures ; their shrines were enriched by paintings not made with
hands ; 1 the superstitions of the people were increased, and
the doctrines of Christianity were neglected. Pope Gregory II.,
in a letter to Leo, mentions the fact, that men expended their
estates to have the sacred histories represented in paintings. 2
In a time of general reform, and in a government where
ecclesiastics acted as administrative officials of the central
authority, it was impossible for Leo to permit the church to
remain quite independent in ecclesiastical affairs, unless he
was prepared for the clergy assuming a gradual supremacy in
the state. The clergy, being the only class in the adminis-
tration of public affairs connected with the people by interest
and refers to Cedrenus. But most of the laws cited by Bonefidius from Cedrenus will
be found in Theophanes and the older Byzantine writers, not published when Bonefidius
made his compilation ; and reference ought to be made to these authorities. In this case,
what is called a law seems to have been a series of edicts. Theophanes says that the
Jews submitted to baptism and mocked the sacraments ; the more conscientious Mon-
tanists burned themselves in their places of worship.
1 A^etpOTrofojra. Nothing can better prove the extent to which superstition had
contaminated religion than the assertion of the Patriarch GermanoR, that miracles were
daily wrought by the images of Christ and the saints, and that balsam distilled from
the painted hand of an image of the Virgin Mary. Neander, History of the Christian
Rtligion and CJivrcft, (Torrey's translation,) iii. 206. 2 Neander, iii. aia.
The Isaurian Dynasty 35
and feelings, was always sure of a powerful popular support.
It appeared, therefore, necessary to the emperor to secure
them as sincere instruments in carrying out all his reforms,
otherwise there was some reason to fear that they might con-
stitute themselves the leaders of the people in Greece and
Asia, as they had already done at Rome, and control the
imperial administration throughout the whole Eastern Empire,,
as completely as they did in the Byzantine possessions in
central Italy.
Leo commenced his ecclesiastical reforms in the year 726,
by an edict ordering all pictures in churches to be placed so
high as to prevent the people from kissing them, and pro-
hibiting prostration before these symbols, or any act of public
worship being addressed to them. Against this moderate edict
of the emperor, the Patriarch Germanos and the Pope Gregory
II. made strong representations. The opposition of interest
which reigned between the church and the state impelled the
two bodies to a contest for supremacy which it required cen-
turies to decide, and both Germanos and Gregory were sincere
supporters of image-worship. To the ablest writer of the
time, the celebrated John Damascenus, who dwelt under
the protection of the caliph at Damascus, among Moham-
medans and Jews, this edict seemed to mark a relapse to
Judaism, or a tendency to Islamism. He felt himself called
upon to combat such feelings with all the eloquence and
power of argument he possessed. The empire was thrown
into a ferment ; the lower clergy and the whole Greek nation
declared in favour of image-worship. The professors of the
university of Constantinople, an institution of a Greek char-
acter, likewise declared their opposition to the edict. Liberty
of conscience was the watchword against the imperial authority.
The Pope and the Patriarch denied the right of the civil power
to interfere with the doctrines of the church; the monks every-
where echoed the words of John Damascenus, " It is not the
business of the emperor to make laws for the church. Apostles
preached the gospel ; the welfare of the state is the monarch's
care; pastors and teachers attend to that of the church." 1
The despotic principles of Leo's administration, and the severe
measures of centralisation which he enforced as the means
of reorganising the public service, created many additional
enemies to his government.
The rebellion of the inhabitants of Greece, which occurred'..
1 John Damascenus, Orctt. u. xa, quoted in Neander's History ', ui. 009.
36 The Contest with the Iconoclasts
in the year 727, seems to have originated in a dissatisfaction
with the fiscal and administrative reforms of Leo, to which
local circumstances, unnoticed by historians, gave peculiar
violence, and which the edict against image-worship fanned
into a flame. The unanimity of all classes, and the violence
of the popular zeal in favour of their local privileges and
superstitions, suggested the hope of dethroning Leo, and
placing a Greek on the throne of Constantinople. A naval
expedition, composed of the imperial fleet in the Cyclades,
and attended by an army from the continent, was fitted out
to attack the capital. Agallianos, who commanded the
imperial forces destined to watch the Sckvonians settled
in Greece, was placed at the head of the army destined to
assail the conqueror of the Saracens. The name of the new
emperor was Kosmas. In the month of April the Greek fleet
appeared before Constantinople. It soon appeared that the
Greeks, confiding in the goodness of their cause, had greatly
overrated their own valour and strength, or strangely over-
looked the resources of the Iconoclasts. Leo met the fleet as
it approached his capital, and completely defeated it. Agal-
lianos, with the spirit of a hero, when he saw the utter ruin of
the enterprise, plunged fully armed into the sea rather than
surrender. Kosmas was taken prisoner, with another leader,
and immediately beheaded. Leo, however, treated the mass
of the prisoners with mildness. 1
Even if we admit that the Greeks displayed considerable
presumption in attacking the Isaurian emperor, still we must
accept the fact as a proof of the populous condition of the
cities and islands of Greece, and of the flourishing condition
of their trade, at a period generally represented as one of
wretchedness and poverty. Though the Peloponnesus was
filled with Sclavonian emigrants, and the Greek peasantry were
in many districts excluded from the cultivation of the land in
the seats of their ancestors, nevertheless their cities then con-
tained the mercantile wealth and influence, which passed some
centuries later into the possession of Venice, Amalfi, Genoa,
and Pisa.
The opposition Leo encountered only confirmed him in his
persuasion that it was indispensably necessary to increase the
power of the central government in the provinces. As he was
l Theophanes, 339. calls the insurgents Helladikm^ and Cedrenusj i. 454,^ copies^the
scornful expression. Had the insurrection been believed to have originated in religious
feeling, surely the orthodox confessor Theophanes would have regarded the sufferers as
The Isaurian Dynasty 37
sincerely attached to the opinions of the Iconoclasts, he was
led to connect his ecclesiastical reforms with his political
measures, and to pursue both with additional zeal In order
to secure the active support of all the officers of the adminis-
tration, and exclude all image-worshippers from power, he con-
voked an assembly, called a silention, consisting of the senators
and the highest functionaries in the church and state. In this
solemn manner it was decreed that images were to be removed
from all the churches throughout the empire. In the capital
the change met with no serious opposition. The population
of Constantinople, at every period of its history, has consisted
of a mixed multitude of different nations; nor has the majority
ever been purely Greek for any great length of time. Nicetas,
speaking of a time when the Byzandne empire was at the
height of its power, and when the capital was more a Greek
city than at any preceding or subsequent period, declares that
its population was composed of various races. 1 The cause of
image-worship was, however, generally the popular cause, and
the Patriarch Germanos steadily resisted every change in the
actual practice of the church until that change should be sanc-
tioned by a general council 2
The turn now given to the dispute put an end to the power
of the Eastern emperors in central Italy. The Latin provinces
of the Roman empire, even before their conquest by the bar-
barians, _ had sunk into deeper ignorance than the Eastern.
Civilisation had penetrated farther into society among the
Greeks, Armenians, and Syrians, than among the Italians,
Gauls, and Spaniards. Italy was already dissatisfied with the
Constantinopolitan domination, when Leo's fiscal and religious
reforms roused local interests and national prejudices to unite
in opposing his government. The Pope of Rome had long
been regarded by orthodox Christians as the head of the
church; even the Greeks admitted his right of inspection
over the whole body of the clergy, in virtue of the superior
dignity of the Roman see. 3 From being the heads of the
church, the popes became the defenders of the liberties of
the people. In this character, as leaders of a lawful opposi-
tion to the tyranny of the imperial administration, they grew
up to the possession of immense influence in the state. This
power, having its basis in democratic feelings and energies,
1 Nicetas. Alexius, ix. 152.
2 Nicephorus, Pat. 38, fcyeu o
* Sozomen, Hist. Ecclcs. iii, cbap. 8.
38 The Contest with the Iconoclasts
alarmed the emperors, and many attempts were made to cir-
cumscribe the papal authority. But the popes themselves did
more to diminish their own influence than their enemies, for
instead of remaining the protectors of the people, they aimed
at making themselves their masters. Gregory II., who occupied
the papal chair at the commencement of the contest with Leo,
was a man of sound judgment, as well as an able and zealous
priest He availed himself of all the advantages of his posi-
tion, as political chief of the Latin race, with prudence and
moderation; nor did he neglect the power he derived from
the circumstance that Rome was the fountain of religious
instruction for all western Europe. Both his political and
ecclesiastical position entitled him to make a direct opposition
to any oppressive measure of the emperor of Constantinople,
when the edicts of Leo III. concerning image-worship prompted
him to commence the contest, which soon ended in separating
central Italy from the Byzantine empire.
The possessions of the Eastern emperors in 1 taly were still
considerable. Venice, Rome, Ravenna, Naples, Bari, and
Tarentum were all capitals of well -peopled and wealthy
districts. The province embracing Venice and Rome was
governed by an imperial viceroy or exarch who resided at
Ravenna, and hence the Byzantine possessions in central
Italy were called the Exarchate of Ravenna. Under the
orders of the exarch, three governors or dukes commanded
the troops in Ravenna, Rome, and Venice. As the native
militia enrolled to defend the province from the Lombards
formed a considerable portion of the military force, the
popular feelings of the Italians exercised some influence
over the soldiery. The ConstantinopolitaD governor was
generally disliked, on account of the fiscal rapacity of which
he was^ the agent ; and nothing but the dread of greater
oppression on the part of the Lombards, whom the Italians
had not the courage to encounter without the assistance of
the Byzantine troops, preserved the people of central Italy
in their allegiance. They hated the Greeks, but they feared
the Lombards.
Gregory II. sent Leo strong representations against his first
edicts on the subject of image-worship, and after the silention
he repeated these representations, and entered on a more
decided course of opposition to the emperor's ecclesiastical
reforms, being then convinced that there was no hope of Leo
abandoning his heretical opinions. It seems that Italy, like
The Isaurian Dynasty 39
the rest of the empire, had escaped in some degree from the
oppressive burden of imperial taxation during the anarchy
that preceded Leo's election. But the defeat of the Saracens
before Constantinople had been followed by the establishment
of the fiscal system. To overcome the opposition made to
the financial and ecclesiastical reforms, the exarch Paul was
ordered to march to Rome and support Marinus, the duke,
who found himself unable to contend against the papal in-
fluence. 1 The whole of central Italy burst into rebellion at
this demonstration against its civil and religious interests. The
exarch was compelled to shut himself up in Ravenna ; for
the cities of Italy, instead of obeying the imperial officers,
elected magistrates of their own, on whom they conferred,
in some cases, the title of duke. 2 Assemblies were held, and
the project of electing an emperor of the West was adopted ;
but the unfortunate result of the rebellion of Greece damped
the courage of the Italians; and though a rebel, named Tiberius
Petasius, really assumed the purple in Tuscany, he was easily
defeated and slain by Eutychius, who succeeded Paul as exarch
of Ravenna. Luitprand, king of the Lombards, taking ad-
vantage of these dissensions, invaded the imperial territory,
and gained possession of Ravenna ; but Gregory, who saw the
necessity of saving the country from the Lombards and from
anarchy, wrote to Ursus, the duke of Venice, one of his warm
partisans, and persuaded him to join Eutychius. The Lom-
bards were defeated by the Byzantine troops, Ravenna was
recovered, and Eutychius entered Rome with a victorious
army. 3 Gregory died in 731. Though he excited the Italian
cities to resist the imperial power, and approved of the measures
they adopted for stopping the remittance of their taxes to Con-
stantinople, 4 he does not appear to have adopted any measures
for declaring Rome independent. That he contemplated the
possibility of events taking a turn that might ultimately lead
him to throw off his allegiance to the Emperor Leo, is never-
theless evident, from one of his letters to that emperor, in
which he boasts very significantly that the eyes of the West
were fixed on his humility, and that if Leo attempted to injure
the Pope, he would find the West ready to defend him, and
even to attack Constantinople. The allusion to the protection
of the king of the Lombards and Charles Martel was certainly,
1 The Latins accused Leo of ordering Marinus to assassinate the pope.
2 Anastasius, De Vit. PonL Rom. 69.
* Baronii, Ann. Eccles. xii. 343, No. xxvii. 4 Theophanes, 338.
4O The Contest with the Iconoclasts
in this case, a treasonable threat on the part of the Bishop of
Rome to his sovereign. 1 Besides this, Gregory IL excom-
municated the exarch Paul, and all the enemies of image-
worship who were acting under the orders of the emperor,
pretending to avoid the guilt of treason by not expressly
naming the Emperor Leo in his anathema, 2 On the other
hand, when we consider that Leo was striving to extend the
bounds of the imperial authority in an arbitrary manner, and
that his object was to sweep away every barrier against the
exercise of despotism in the church and the state, we must
acknowledge that the opposition of Gregory was founded in
justice, and that he was entitled to defend the municipal insti-
tutions and local usages of Italy, and the constitution of the
Romish church, even at the price of declaring himself a rebel.
The election of Gregory III. to the papal chair was con-
firmed by the Emperor Leo in the usual form ; nor was that
pope consecrated until the mandate from Constantinople
reached Rome. This was the last time the emperors of the
East were solicited to confirm the election of a pope. Mean-
while Leo steadily pursued his schemes of ecclesiastical
reform, and the opposition to his measures gathered strength.
Gregory III. assembled a council in Rome, at which the
municipal authorities, whose power Leo was endeavouring to
circumscribe, were present along with the nobles ; and in this
council the whole body of the Iconoclasts were excommuni-
cated. Leo now felt that force alone could maintain Rome
and its bishops in their allegiance. With his usual energy, he
despatched an expedition under the command of Manes, the
general of the Kibyrraiot theme, with orders to send the pope
a prisoner to Constantinople, to be tried for his treasonable
conduct. A storm in the Adriatic, the lukewarm conduct of
the Greeks in the imperial service, and the courage of the
people of Ravenna, whose municipal institutions enabled them
to act in an organised manner, caused the complete overthrow
of Manes. Leo revenged himself for this loss by confiscating
all the estates of the papal see in the eastern provinces of his
empire, and by separating the ecclesiastical government of
southern Italy, Sicily, Greece, Illyria, and Macedonia, from
the papal jurisdiction, and placing these countries under the
immediate authority of the Patriarch of Constantinople.
1 Hisioire des Sotwerains Pontzfes Remains, par le Chev. Artaud de Montor, i, 438.
This work is more remarkable for popish bigotry than for historical accuracy. Two
epistles of Gregory II. are preserved among: the acts of the second council of NIcaea f
yiii. 651, 674. 2 Theophanes, 342, A-nastasius, De Vit. Pont. Rom. 69.
The Isaurian Dynasty 41
From this time, A.D. 733, the city of Rome enjoyed political
independence under the guidance and protection of the popes ; l
but the officers of the Byzantine emperors were allowed to
reside in the city, justice was publicly administered by Byzan-
tine judges, and the supremacy of the Eastern Empire was
still recognised. So completely, however, had Gregory III.
thrown off his allegiance, that he entered into negotiations
with Charles Martel, in order to induce that powerful prince to
take an active part in the affairs of Italy. 2 The pope was now
a much more powerful personage than the Exarch of Ravenna,
for the cities of central Italy, which had assumed the control
of their local government, intrusted the conduct of their
external political relations to the care of Gregory, who thus
held the balance of power between the Eastern emperor and
the Lombard king. 3 In the year 742, while Constantino V.,
the son of Leo, was engaged with a civil war, the Lombards
were on the eve of conquering Ravenna, but Pope Zacharias
threw the whole of the Latin influence into the Byzantine
scale, and enabled the exarch to maintain his position until the
year 751, when Astolph, king of the Lombards, captured
Ravenna. 4 The exarch retired to Naples, and the authority
of the Byzantine emperors in central Italy ended.
The physical history of our globe is so intimately connected
with the condition of its inhabitants, that it is well to record
those remarkable variations from the ordinary course of nature
which strongly affected the minds of contemporaries. The
influence of famine and pestilence, during the tenth and
eleventh centuries, in accelerating the extinction of slavery,
has been pointed out by several recent writers on the subject,
though that effect was not observed by the people who lived at
the time. The importance of the late famine in Ireland, as a
political cause, must be felt by any one who attempts to trace
the origin of that course of social improvement on which the
Irish seem about to enter. The severity of the winter of 717
aided Leo in defeating the Saracens at Constantinople. In
the year 726, a terrific irruption of the dormant submarine
volcano at the island of Thera (Santorin) in the Archipelago,
was regarded by the bigoted image-worshippers as a manifesta-
1 Anastasius, De Vif. Pont. Rom 74.
2 Bossuet, Defcns Cltr. Gallic. ii. vi. chap, xviii.
3 Paulus Diaconus, vi, chap. 54.
4 The exarchate is usually said to have terminated in 752, after existing 184 years ;^
but there is an act of Astolph, dated at Ravenna, 4th July, 751- Fantucci, Monumenti
Rwoennati^ torn. v. p. xiii. and cciii. Muratori, Ant. ItttL v. 689.
C 2
42 The Contest with the Iconoclasts
tion of divine wrath against Leo's reforms. For several days
the sea between Thera and Therasia boiled up with great
violence, vomiting forth flames, and enveloping the neighbour-
ing islands in clouds of vapour and smoke. The flames were
followed by showers of dust and pumice-stone, which covered
the surface of the sea, and were carried by the waves to the
shores of Asia Minor and Macedonia, 1 At last a new island
rose out of the sea, and gradually extended itself until it
joined the older rocky islet called Hieron. 2
In the year 740, a terrible earthquake destroyed great part
of the walls of Constantinople. The statue of Arcadius, on
the Thepdosian column in Xerolophon, and the statue of
Theodosius over the golden gate, were both thrown down. 8
Churches, monasteries, and private buildings were ruined : the
walls of many cities in Thrace and Bithynia, particularly
Nicomedia, Prsenetus, and Nicsea, were so injured as to require
immediate restoration. This great earthquake caused the
imposition of the tax already alluded to, termed the dikeration.
Leo has been accused as a persecutor of learning. It is by
no means impossible that his Asiatic education and puritanical
opinions rendered him hostile to the legendary literature and
ecclesiastical art then cultivated by the Greeks ; but the
circumstance usually brought forward in support of his
barbarism is one of the calumnies invented by his enemies,
and re-echoed by orthodox bigotry. He is said to have
ordered a library consisting of 33,000 volumes, in the neigh-
bourhood of St. Sophia's, to be burned, and the professors of
the university to be thrown into the flames. A valuable
collection of books seems to have fallen accidentally a prey to
the flames during his reign, and neither his liberality nor the
public spirit of the Greeks induced them to display any
activity in replacing the loss. 4
3 Pumice-stone is sometimes found floating in the Archipelago at the present day,
and there is generally a good deal on the shore of Attica, near Cape Zoster, washed
thither from Santorin.
pany
with Professor Ross of Halle, a most accomplished and profound scholar, and Professor
C. Hitter, the great geographer of Berlin, in 1837.
3 Ducange, Constantinofolis Christiana, 78, 81. Scarlatos Byzantios, H KCOP-
ora-mj'otfTroAis, i. 289. The latter is a work of more pretension than value.
4 i. Constant. Manasses, 87. Schlosser, Gesckichte der bilderstHrmenden Kaiser.
163. Spanheim, Historia Imaginvm Restituta, 115. Maimbourg (Histoire de ZHeresii
des Iconoclast^ i. 58) believes and magnifies the accounts of the later Byzantine
chronicles, in spite of the silence of Leo's earlier enemies. According to Ephrsemius, v.
1007, a library of 120,000 volumes had been destroyed by fire in the reign of Zeno, in
The Isaurian Dynasty 43
Leo III. died in the year 741. He had crowned his son
Constantine emperor in the year 720, and married Mm to
Irene, the daughter of the Khan of the Khazars, in 733.
SECTION III
CONSTANTINE V., (COPRONYMUS,) A.D. 741-775
Character of Constantine V. Rebellion of Artavasdos Saracen War
Bulgarian War Internal condition of the empire Policy regarding
image-worship Physical phenomena Plague at Constantinople.
Constantine V., called Copronymus, 1 ascended the throne
at the age of twenty-two, hut he had already borne the title
of emperor as Ms father's colleague one and twenty years, for
the Byzantine empire preserved so strictly the elective type
of the Roman imperial dignity, that the only mode of securing
the hereditary transmission of the empire was for the reigning
emperor to obtain his son's election during his own lifetime.
Historians tell us that Constantine was a man possessing every
vice disgraceful to humanity, combined with habits and tastes
which must have rendered his company disgusting and his
person contemptible. Yet they record facts proving that he
possessed great talents, and that, even when his fortunes
appeared desperate, he found many devoted friends. The
obloquy heaped on his name must therefore he ascribed to the
blind passion inspired by religious bigotry. The age was not
one of forbearance and charity. The wisest generally con-
sidered freedom of opinion a species of anarchy incompatible-
with religious feeling, moral duty, and good government; con-
sequently, both iconoclasts and image-worshippers approved
of persecution, and practised calumny in favour of what each
considered the good cause. Constantine tortured the image-
worshippers they revenged themselves by defaming the
emperor. But the persecutions which rendered Constantine
a monster in the eyes of the Greeks and Italians, elevated
him to the rank of a saint in the opinion of a large body
of the population of the empire, who regarded the^wprship
of pictures as a species of idolatry abhorrent to Christianity.
His religious zeal, political success, courage, military talents^
which was the MS. of the Iliad and Odyssey, written with letters of gold on serpents 1
akin This MS. was 1*0 feet long. .
1 Constantine received his name of Copronymus from having defiled the baptismal
font when the Patriarch plunged him into the water according to the usage of the
Greek Church.
44 The Contest with the Iconoclasts
together with the prosperity that attended his government, all
conspired to make him the idol of the Iconoclasts, who
regarded his tomb as a sacred shrine until it was destroyed
by Michael the orthodox drunkard. 1
Constantine was able, prudent, active, and brave; but he
was not more tender of human suffering than monarchs
generally are. The Patriarch Nicephorus justly accuses him
of driving monks from their monasteries, and converting
sacred buildings into barracks. In modern times, orthodox
papist sovereigns have frequently done the same thing, without
exciting much ecclesiastical indignation. But when the
Patriarch assures us that the emperor's mind was as filthy
as his name, we may be allowed to suspect that his pen is
guided by orthodoxy instead of truth ; and when we find grave
historians recording that he loved the odour of horse-dung,
and carried on amours with old maids, we are reminded
of the Byzantine love of calumny which could delight in the
anecdotes of Procopius, and believe that the Emperor Justinian
was a man of such diabolical principles, that he was not
ashamed to walk about his palace for many hours of the night
without his head. 2 An account of the reign of Constantine by
an intelligent Iconoclast, even if he represented the emperor
as a saint, would be one of the most valuable illustrations
of the history of the eighth century which time could have
spared. He was accused of rejecting the practice of invoking
the intercession of the Virgin Mary, though it is admitted
he called her the Mother of God. He was also said to have
denied the right of any man to be called a saint ; and he had
even the audacity to maintain, that though the martyrs
benefited themselves by their sufferings, their merit, however
great it might be, was not a quality that could be transferred
to others. His enemies regarded these opinions as damnable
crimes. 8 Few reputations, however, have passed through such
an ordeal of malice as that of Constantine, and preserved so
many undeniable virtues.
Shortly after his succession, Constantine lost possession
of Constantinople through the treachery of his brother-in-law
Artavasdos, who assumed the title of emperor, and kept
possession of the throne for two years. Artavasdos was an
Armenian noble who had commanded the troops of the
3 Scriptores post Thcophancm. Symeon Log., 449. Georg. Hon., 541.
8 Nicephorus, Pat. 88. Suidas, v. Ktovo'TCU'r/j'OS, Procopius. Historia. Aft.a,nai %
53, tfo, edit. Bonn.
8 Neander, History of the Christian Religion^ ii. 218.
The Isaurian Dynasty 45
Armeniac theme in the reign of Theodosius III., and aided
Leo to mount the throne. He was rewarded with the hand
of Anna, the Isaurian ; s only daughter, and with the dignity
of caropalates, second only to that of Caesar, a rank then
usually reserved for the imperial blood. Artavasdos had
increased his influence by favouring the orthodox; his long
services in the highest administrative offices had enabled him
to attach many partisans to his personal cause in every branch
of the public service. The manner in which Constantine was
engaged in a civil war with his brother-in-law reflected no
dishonour on the character of the young emperor.
The Saracens had pushed their incursions into the Opsikian
theme, where the imperial guards, under the command of
Artavasdos, were stationed. Constantine took the field in
person to oppose the enemy, and advanced to the plains
of Krasos. Here he ordered Artavasdos, who was at Dory-
Iseum, to join him with the troops of the Opsikian theme.
The order alarmed Artavasdos, who seems to have been
already engaged in treasonable intrigues. Instead of obeying,
he assumed the title of emperor, and attacked Constantine so
unexpectedly, that the imperial army was easily dispersed, and
the young emperor could only avoid being taken prisoner by
galloping off alone. When his own horse sank from fatigue^
Constantine was compelled to seize a post-horse, which he
happened to find ready saddled, in order to continue his
flight. He was fortunate enough to reach Amorium in safety. 1
Artavasdos marched to Constantinople, where, it appears
from coins, he affected for some time to act as the colleague
of Constantine ; and it is possible that some treaty may have
been concluded between the brothers-in-law. 2 The usurper,
however, soon considered himself strong enough, with the
support of the orthodox, to set Constantine aside. The pope
acknowledged him as emperor, pictures were replaced in the
churches, a strong body of Armenian troops was collected,
and Nicephorus, the eldest son of Artavasdos, was crowned as
his father's colleague; while Niketas, the second, took the
command of the Armeniac theme, where the family possessed
great influence. All persons suspected of favouring Con-
stantine were persecuted as heretics hostile to picture-worship.
In the following year (742) Constantine assembled an army
composed chiefly of the troops of the Thrakesian and Anatolic
1 Theophanes, 347. Nicephorus, Pat. 38. Saint Martin, (Lsbeau % xli. 190.)
Krasos was a town of Phrygia Pacatiana.
a DC Saulcy, s$ai de Classification des Sui/tf Mon*ta,ir*s ByzAntints^ rst).
46 The Contest with the Iconoclasts
themes. With this force he marched to Chrysopolis, (Scutari,)
hoping that a party in Constantinople would declare in his
favour; but, being disappointed, he was compelled to with-
draw to Amorium, where he passed the winter. In spring,
Artavasdos marched to dislodge him, ordering his son Niketas
to bring up the Armenian troops to operate on the right flank
of the young emperor. All the country in the usurper's line
of march was ravaged, as if it was a territory he never hoped
to govern. Constantine, whose military genius had been culti-
vated by his father, formed a daring plan of campaign, and
executed it in the most brilliant manner. While his enemies
believed that they were advancing to attack him with superior
forces, he resolved to move forward with such celerity as to
become the attacking party, before they could approach near
enough to combine any simultaneous movements. His first
attack was directed against Artavasdos, whose numerous army
was inferior in discipline to that of Niketas, and over which he
expected an easier victory. A general engagement took place
near Sardis, on quitting the Kelvian plain, watered by the
Kaister. The victory was complete. The usurper was closely
pursued to Cyzicus, from whence he escaped by sea to
Constantinople. Constantine then moved forward to meet
Niketas, who was defeated in a bloody battle fought at
Modrina, in the Boukellarian theme, to the east of the San-
garius. The Armenian auxiliaries and the troops of the
Armeniac theme sustained their high reputation, and long
disputed the victory.
The emperor then marched to invest Constantinople, cross-
ing the Bosphorus with one division of his army, and sending
another, under the command of Sisinnios, the general of the
Thrakesian theme a to cross the Hellespont at Abydos, and
reduce the cities on the shores of the Propontis. The fleet of
the Kibyrraiot theme was ordered to blockade the capital by
sea. All communications with Greece, one of the strongholds
of the image-worshippers, were thus cut off. Constantine re-
pulsed every sally by land, and famine quickly made frightful
ravages in the dense population of the capital, where no pre-
parations had been made for a siege. Constantine acted on
this occasion in a very different manner from Artavasdos during
the campaign in Asia Minor. He felt that the people suddenly
besieged were his own subjects ; and his enemies record that
he allowed all the starving population to seek refuge in his
Camp. 1 i Nicephorus, p a t. 40, Tbeopbanes, 353-
The Isaurian Dynasty 47
Niketas quickly reassembled the fugitives of his own and
his father's army, and made an attempt to cut off Constantine's
communications in Bithynia ; but the emperor left the camp
before Constantinople, and, putting himself at the head of
the troops in Asia, again defeated Niketas near Nicomedia.
Niketas and the orthodox archbishop of Gangra were both
taken prisoners. The belligerent prelate was immediately
beheaded as a traitor; but Niketas was carried to Constan-
tinople, where he was exhibited before the walls laden with
fetters. Artavasdos still rejected all terms of capitulation, and
Constantine at last ordered a general assault, by which he cap-
tured the city on the 2nd November, 743. Artavasdos escaped
by sea to a fortress called Pyzanitis, in the Opsikian theme,
where he was soon after taken prisoner. His eyes, and those
of his sons, Nicephorus and Niketas, were put out; and in
this condition they were exhibited as a triumphal spectacle
to the inhabitants of Constantinople, at the chariot races given
by the emperor to celebrate his re-establishment on the throne.
His brother-in-law and nephews were then immured in a monas-
tery. Some of their principal adherents were beheaded. The
head of Vaktageios, the principal minister of the usurper, was
exhibited for three days in the Augusteon a custom per-
petuated by the Ottoman emperors in similar circumstances
until our own times, the heads of rebel viziers having adorned
the gate of the Serail during the reign of the late sultan. The
Patriarch Anastasios was pardoned, and allowed to remain in
possession of his dignity ; yet Theophanes says that his eyes
were put out, and he was exhibited in the circus, mounted on
an ass, and exposed to the scorn of the mob. 1 Sisinnios, who
had commanded one division of the emperor's army, was soon
found to be engaged in treasonable intrigues, and lost his eyes
forty days after he entered the capital in triumph with his
sovereign.
Constantine no sooner found himself firmly established on
the throne, than he devoted his attention to completing the
organisation of the empire traced out by his father. The
constant attacks of the Saracens and Bulgarians called him
1 Theophanes, 353. The Patriarch Nicephorus, who, in a fragment preserved by
Photius, (page 86,) has recapitulated all the misdeeds of Constantine with orthodox
exaggeration, makes no mention of this treatment of his predecessor. Anastasios con-
tinued to occupy the patriarchal throne ten years after the taking of Constantinople,
and died A.D. 753. There appears to be some accidental mistake in what Theophanes
says with regard to Anastasios, for both he and Nicephorus recount similar circum-
stances as accompanying the deposition and death of the successor of Anastasios, Con*
atantinos II. Theophanes, 372. Niceph., Pat. 48.
48 The Contest with the Iconoclasts
frequently to the head of his armies, for the state of society
rendered it dangerous to intrust large forces to the command
of a subject. In the Byzantine empire few individuals had
any scruple of violating the political constitution of their
country s if by so doing they could increase their own power.
The incursions of the Saracens first required to be repressed.
The empire of the caliphs was already distracted by the civil
wars which preceded the fall of the Ommiad dynasty. Con-
stantine took advantage of these troubles. He reconquered
Germanicia and Doliche, and occupied for a time a consider-
able part of Commagene; but as he found it impossible to
retain possession of the country, he removed the Christian
population to Thrace, where he founded several flourishing
colonies, long distinguished by their religious opinions from
the surrounding population, A.D. 746. 1 The Saracens attempted
to indemnify themselves for these losses by the conquest of
Cyprus. This island appears to have been reconquered by
Leo III., for it had been abandoned to the Mohammedans by
Justinian II. The fleet of the caliph sailed from Alexandria,
and landed an army at the port of Kerameia; but the fleet of
the Kibyrraiot theme arrived in time to blockade the enemy's
ships, and of a thousand Mohammedan vessels three only
escaped, A.D. 748. The war was continued. In 752 the
imperial armies took the cities of Melitene and Theodosiopolis,
but some years later the caliph Mansour recovered Melitene
and Germanicia : he seems, however, to have considered the
tenure of the last so insecure, that he transported the inhabi-
tants into Palestine. The Saracens invaded the empire almost
every summer, but these incursions led to no permanent con-
quests. The agricultural population along the frontiers of the
two empires must have been greatly diminished during these
successive ravages; for farm-buildings and fruit-trees were
constantly destroyed, and slaves formed the most valuable
booty of the soldiers. The mildness and tolerant government
of the emperor of Romania (for that name began now to be
applied to the part of Asia Minor belonging to the Byzantine
empire 2 ) was so celebrated in the East, in spite of his persecu-
tion of the image-worshippers at Constantinople, that many
Christians escaped by sea from the dominions of the Caliph
Al Mansour to settle in those of Constantine. 3 In the year
additi
holy!
j. 494. a Theopham
The Isaurian Dynasty 49
769 an exchange of prisoners took pkce, but without interrupt-
ing the course of hostilities, which were continued almost
incessantly on the frontiers of the two empires, 1
The vicinity of the Bulgarians to Constantinople rendered
them more dangerous enemies than the Saracens, though
their power was much inferior. The Bulgarians were a people
who looked on war as the most honourable means of acquir-
ing wealth, and they had long pursued it with profit : for as
long as the Byzantine frontiers were populous, they obtained
booty and slaves by their incursions: while, as soon as it
became depopulated by their ravages, they were enabled to
occupy new districts with their own pastoral hordes, and thus
increase their numbers and strength. To resist their incur-
sions, Constantine gradually repaired all the fortifications of
the towns on the northern frontier, and then commenced'
fortifying the passes, until the Bulgarians found their predatory
incursions attended with loss instead of gain. Their king
was now compelled to make the cause of the predatory bands
a national question, and an embassy was sent to Constanti-
nople to demand payment of an annual tribute, under the
pretext that some of the fortifications erected to guard the
passes were situated in the Bulgarian territory, but, in reality,
to replace the loss of the plunder which had enabled many of
the warlike Bulgarians to live in idleness and luxury. The
demands of the king were rejected, and he immediately
invaded the empire with a powerful army. The Bulgarians-
carried their ravages up to the long wall; but though they
derived assistance from the numerous Sclavonian colonies
settled in Thrace, they were defeated, and driven back into
their own territory with great slaughter, A.D. 757.
Constantine carried on a series of campaigns, systematically
planned, for the purpose of weakening the Bulgarian power.
Instead of allowing his enemy to make any incursions into
the empire, he was always ready to carry the war into their
territory. The difficulties of his enterprise were great, and he-
suiFered several defeats ; but his military talents and persever-
ing energy prevented the Bulgarians from profiting by any
partial success they obtained, and he soon regained the-
superiority. In the campaigns of 760, 763, and 765, Con-
stantine marched far into Bulgaria, and carried off immense-
booty. In the year 766 he intended to complete the conquest
of the country, by opening the campaign at the commence-
1 Theophanes, 374.
50 The Contest with the Iconoclasts
ment of spring. His fleet, which consisted of two thousand
six hundred vessels, in which he had embarked a considerable
body of infantry in order to enter the Danube, was assailed by
one of those furious storms that often sweep the Euxine.
The force which the emperor expected would soon render him
master of Bulgaria was suddenly ruined. The shores of the
Black Sea were covered with the wrecks of his ships and the
bodies of his soldiers. Cons tan tine immediately abandoned
all thought of continuing the campaign, and employed his
whole army in alleviating the calamity to the survivors, and in
securing Christian burial and funeral honours to the dead-
A truce was concluded with the enemy, and the Roman army
beheld the emperor as eager to employ their services in the
cause of humanity and religion, as he had ever been to lead
them to the field of glory and conquest. His conduct
on this occasion gained him as much popularity with the
people of Constantinople as with the troops. 1
In the year 774 he again assembled an army of eighty
thousand men, accompanied by a fleet of two thousand
transports, and invaded Bulgaria, The Bulgarian monarch
concluded a treaty of peace whichj however, was broken as
soon as Constantine returned to his capital But the emperor
was not unprepared, and the moment he heard that the enemy
had laid siege to Verzetia, one of the fortresses he had con-
structed to defend the frontier, he quitted Constantinople
in the month of October, and, falling suddenly on the be-
siegers, routed their army with great slaughter. The following
year his army was again ready to take the field; but as
" Constantine was on his way to join it he was attacked by
a mortal illness, which compelled him to retrace his steps.
Having embarked at Selymbria, in order to reach Constanti-
nople with as little fatigue as possible, he died on board the
vessel at the castle of Strongyle, just as he reached the walls
of his capital, on the 23rd September, 775- 2
The long war with the Bulgarians was carried on rather
with the object of securing tranquillity to the northern pro-
* Nicephorus, Pat. 47. ^ Theophanes, 368. The great services and victories of
'Constantine in the Bulgarian war were acknowledged by posterity, Leo Diaconus,
3:04, edit. Bonn.
* Strongyle is the same with the Cyclobion or Seven Towers. Banduri, /w/.
Orient. ii % 530, edit. Ven. Ducange, Const. Christ. 45, 102. Magnaura wa the
western point of Constantinople, Zonarus, ii. 89 ; though the authority of Theophanes,
294, would place it at the Hebdornon. Another passage, however, corrects this,
<p. 331,) and proves that both Magnaura and Cyclobion were without the chain which
closed the port at the points of the triangle towards the Propontis. Ducange, Const.
^Christ. 127. Gyllius seems wrong Dt Tojfog. Const* lib. iv. chap. 4.
The Isaurian Dynasty 51
vinces of the empire, than from any desire of a barren
conquest. The necessity of reducing the Sclavonian colonies
in Thrace and Macedonia to complete obedience to the
central administration, and of secluding them from all political
communication with one another, or with their countrymen in
Bulgaria, Servia, and Dalrnatia, imposed on the emperor the
necessity of maintaining strong bodies of troops, and suggested
the policy of forming a line of Greek towns and Asiatic
colonies along the northern frontier of the empire. When
this was done, Constantine began to root out the brigandage,
which had greatly extended itself during the anarchy which
preceded his father's election, and which Leo had never been
able to exterminate. Numerous bands lived by plunder, in a
state of independence, within the bounds of the empire. They
were called Skamars, and, like the Bagauds of Gaul, formed
organised confederacies of outlaws, originally consisting of
men driven to despair by the intolerable burden of taxation,
and the severity of the fiscal legislation. 1 When the incursions
of the Bulgarians had wasted the fields of the cultivator, the
government still called upon him to pay the full amount of
taxation imposed on his estate in prosperous times : his
produce, his cattle, his slaves, and his seed-corn were carried
away by the imperial officers. He could then only live by
plundering his fellow-subjects, who had hitherto escaped the
calamities by which he had been ruined j and thus the oppres-
sion of the imperial government was avenged on the society
that submitted to it without striving to reform its evils Con-
stantine rooted out these bands. A celebrated chief of the
Skamars was publicly executed at Constantinople with the
greatest barbarity, his living body being dissected by surgeons
after the amputation of his hands and feet The habitual
barbarity of legal punishments in the Byzantine empire can
hardly relieve the memory of Constantiae from the reproach
of cruelty, which this punishment proves he was ready to
employ against the enemies of his authority, whether brigands
or image-worshippers. His error, therefore, was not only
passing laws against liberty of conscience which was a fault
in accordance with the spirit of the age but in carrying
these laws into execution with a cruelty offensive to human
feelings. Yet on many occasions Constantine gave proofs of
humanity, as well as of a desire to protect his subjects. The
1 Compare Ducange, Glossarium Med. ei Tnfin. Latinitatis^ voce Baga-udtz^ with
Wallon, Histoirede T Esclavagc dans FAntiguitie> in. 287.
52 The Contest with the Iconoclasts
Sclavonians on the coast of Thrace, having fitted out some
piratical vessels, carried off many of the inhabitants of
Tenedos, Imbros, and Samothrace, to sell them as slaves.
The emperor on this occasion ransomed two thousand five
hundred of his subjects, preferring to lower his own dignity,
by paying a tribute to the pirates, rather than allow those who
looked to him for protection to pine away their lives in hope-
less misery. No act of his reign shows so much real greatness
of mind as this. He also concluded the convention with the
Saracens for an exchange of prisoners, which has been already
mentioned one of the earliest examples of the exchanges be-
tween the Mohammedans and the Christians, which afterwards
became frequent on the Byzantine frontiers. Man was ex-
changed for man, woman for woman, and child for child. 1
These conventions tended to save the lives of innumerable
prisoners, and rendered the future wars between the Saracens
and Romans less barbarous.
Constantine was active in his internal administration, and
his schemes for improving the condition of the inhabitants of
his empire were carried out on a far more gigantic scale than
modem governments have considered practicable. One of his
plans for reviving agriculture in uncultivated districts was by re-
peopling them with colonies of emigrants, to whom he secured
favourable conditions and efficient protection. On the banks
of the Artanas in Bithynia, a colony of two hundred thousand
Sclavonians was formed. 2 The Christian population of Ger-
manicia, Doliche, Melitene, and Theodosiopolis was established
in Thrace, to watch and restrain the rude Sclavonians settled
in that province ; and these Asiatic colonists long continued to
flourish and multiply. 3 They are even accused of spreading
the heretical opinions which they had brought from the East
throughout great part of western Europe, by the extent of their
commercial relations and the example of their prosperity and
honesty. 4 It is not to be supposed that the measures of Con-
stan tine's administration, however great his political abilities
^ Theophanes, 374.^ At this time the slave-trade was very active, and the Venetians
carried on a flourishing commerce in Christian slaves with the Mohammedans.
Anasrasius, De Vit. Pont. Rom, 79. JSjtist. Hadrian^ i. ep. xii. Even during tho
anarchy that prevailed in western Europe at the end of the seventh century, Roman
slave-merchants imported slaves from Britain, as we know from the anecdole of St.
Gregory, repeated by all our historians.
a Nicephorus, Pat. 44. Theophanes, 364.
3 Nicephorus, Pat. 43. Theophanes, 354, 360.
4 How far the Albigenses were indebted for their doctrines to these colonies is still a
question. See Schmidt, liistoire at Doctrine de la Secte des Catkatres ou Aibigeois*
3 Tols. 1849.
The Isaurian Dynasty 53
might be, were competent to remove many of the social evils
of his age. Agriculture was still carried on in the rudest
manner; and as communications were difficult and insecure,
and transport expensive, capital could hardly be laid out on
land to any extent with much profit. As usual under such
circumstances, we find years of famine and plenty alternating
in close succession. Yet the bitterest enemy of Constantine,
the abbot Theophanes, confesses that his reign was one of
general abundance. It is true, he reproaches him with load-
ing the husbandmen with taxes ; but he also accuses him of
being a new Midas, who made gold so common in the hands
of all that it became cheap. The abbot's political economy,
it must be confessed, is not so orthodox as his calumny. If
the Patriarch Nicephorus, another enemy of Constantine, is to
be believed, grain was so abundant, or gold so rare, that sixty
measures of wheat, or seventy measures of barley, were sold
for a nomisma, or gold Byzant 1 To guard against severe
drought in the capital, and supply the gardens in its im-
mediate vicinity with water, Constantine repaired the great
aqueduct of Valens. The flourishing condition of the towns
in Greece at the time is attested by the fact, that the best
workmen in cement were sought in the Hellenic cities and the
islands of the Archipelago. 2
The time and attention of Constantine, during his whole
reign, were principally engaged in military occupations. In
the eyes of his contemporaries, he was judged by his military
conduct. His strategic abilities and indefatigable activity
were the most striking characteristics of his administration.
His campaigns, his financial measures, and the abundance
they created, were known to all ; but his ecclesiastical policy
affected comparatively few. Yet by that policy his reign has
been exclusively judged and condemned in modern times.
The grounds of the condemnation are unjust. He has not,
like his father, the merit of having saved an empire from
ruin ; but he may claim the honour of perfecting the reforms
planned by his father, and of re-establishing the military power
of the Roman empire on a basis that perpetuated Byzantine
supremacy for several centuries. Hitherto historians have
1 Nicephorus, Pat. 48. Theophanes, 373. As a contrast to this cheapness, Theo-
phanes, 352, mentions that a measure of barley was sold for twelve nomismata while
Artavasdos was besieged in Constantinople.
2 Theophanes, 371. Six thousand nine hundred workmen were ^employed. One
thousand masons and two hundred plasterers were brought from Asia Minor and Pontus ;
five hundred workers in cement from Greece and the islands of the Archipelago ; five
thousand labourers from Thrace, with two hundred potters.
54 The Contest with the Iconoclasts
treated the events of his reign as an accidental assemblage
of facts; but surely, if he is to be rendered responsible for
the persecution of the image-worshippers, in which he took
comparatively little part, he deserves credit for his military
successes and prosperous administration, since these weie the
result of his constant personal occupation. The history of
his ecclesiastical measures, however, really possesses a deep
interest, for they reflect with accuracy the feelings and ideas
of millions of his subjects, as well as of the emperor.
Constantine was a sincere enemy of image-worship, and in
his age sincerity implied bigotry, for persecution was con-
sidered both lawful and meritorious. Yet with all his energy,
he was prudent in his first attempts to carry out his father's
policy. While he was struggling with Artavasdos, and labour-
ing to restore the discipline of his troops, and re-establish the
military superiority of the Byzantine arms, he left the religious
controversy concerning image-worship to the two parties of
the clergy who then disputed for pre-eminence in the church.
But when his power was consolidated, he steadily pursued his
father's plans for centralising the ecclesiastical administration
of the empire. To prepare for the final decision of the
question, which probably, in his mind, related as much to the
right of the emperor to govern the church, as to the question
whether pictures were to be worshipped or not, he ordered
the metropolitans and archbishops to hold provincial synods,
in order to discipline the people for the execution of the
edicts he proposed to carry in a general council of the
Eastern church. 1
This general council was convoked at Constantinople in the
year 754. It was attended by 338 bishops, forming the most
numerous assembly of the Christian clergy which had ever
been collected together for ecclesiastical legislation. Theo-
dosius, metropolitan of Ephesus, son of the Emperor
Tiberius III., presided, for the patriarchal chair had been
kept vacant since the death of Anastasios in the preceding
year. Neither the Pope nor the patriarchs of Antioch,
Alexandria, and Jerusalem sent representatives to this council,
which was solely composed of the Byzantine clergy, so that it
had no right to assume the rank of an ecumenical council.
Its decisions were all against image-worship, which it declared
to be contrary to Scripture. It proclaimed the use of images
* Thcophanes, 358, ^eXertix <jL\6vTta. Ka0' Kd,(TTTjv ir&Xu* rbv Aadv HirGiGe trpfa
The I saurian Dynasty 55
and pictures in churches to be a pagan and antichristian
practice, the abolition of which was necessary to avoid lead-
ing Christians into temptation. Even the use of the crucifix
was condemned, on the ground chat the only true symbol of
the incarnation was the bread and wine which Christ had
commanded to be received for the remission of sins. In its
opposition to the worship of pictures, the council was led into
the display of some animosity against painting itself; and
every attempt at embodying sacred subjects by what it styled
the dead and accursed art, foolishly invented by the pagans,
was strongly condemned. The common people were thus
deprived of a source of ideas, which, though liable to abuse,
tended in general to civilise their minds, and might awaken
noble thoughts and religious aspirations. We may fully agree
with the Iconoclasts in the religious importance of not
worshipping images, and not allowing the people to prostrate
themselves on the pavements of churches before pictures of
saints, whether said to be painted by human artists or miracu-
lous agency ; while at the same time we think that the walls
of the vestibules or porticoes of sacred edifices may with
propriety be adorned with pictures representing those sacred
subjects most likely to awaken feelings of Christian charity.
It is by embodying and ennobling the expression of feelings
common to all mankind, that modern artists can alone unite
in their works that combination of truth with the glow of
creative imagination which gives a divine stamp to many
pagan works. There is nothing in the circle of human
affairs so democratic as art. The council of 754, however,
deemed that it was necessary to sacrifice art to the purity of
religion. "The godless art of painting" was proscribed. All
who manufactured crucifixes or sacred paintings for worship,
in public or private, whether laymen or monks, were ordered
to be excommunicated by the church and punished by the
state. At the same time, in order to guard against the indis-
criminate destruction of sacred buildings and shrines pos-
sessing valuable ornaments and rich plate and jewels, by
Iconoclastic zeal, or under its pretext, the council commanded
that no alteration was to be made in existing churches, with-
out the special permission of the patriarch and the emperor
a regulation bearing strong marks of the fiscal rapacity of
the central treasury of the Roman empire. The bigotry of
the age was displayed in the anathema which this council
pronounced against three of the most distinguished and
56 The Contest with the Iconoclasts
virtuous advocates of image-worship, Germanos, the Patriarch
of Constantinople, George of Cyprus, and John Damascenus,
the last of the fathers of the Greek church. 1
The ecclesiastical decisions of the council served as the
basis for penal enactments by the civil power. The ^ success
of the emperor in restoring prosperity to the empire, induced
many of his subjects to believe that he was destined to reform
the church as well as the state, and few thinking men could
doubt that corruption had entered deep into both. _In many
minds there was a contest between the superstitions of
picture-worship and the feeling of respect for the emperor's
administration; but there were still in the Roman empire
many persons of education, unconnected with ^ the church,
who regarded the superstitions of the people with aversion.
To them the reverence paid by the ignorant to images said to
have fallen from heaven, to pictures painted by St. Luke, to
virgins who wept, and to saints who supplied the lamps
burning before their effigies with a perpetual fountain of oil,
appeared rank idolatry. 2 There were also still a few men of
philosophic minds who exercised the right of private judgment
on public questions, both civil and ecclesiastical, and who felt
that the emperor was making popular superstition^ the pretext
for rendering his power despotic in the church as in the state.
His conduct appeared to these men a violation ^of those prin-
ciples of Roman law and ecclesiastical legislation which
tendered the systematic government of society in the Roman
empire superior to the arbitrary rule of Mohammedan de-
spotism, or the wild license of Gothic anarchy. The Greek
church had not hitherto made it imperative on its members
to worship images; it had only tolerated popular abuse in
the reverence paid to these symbols so that the ignorant
monks who resisted the enlightened Iconoclasts might, by
liberal-minded men, be considered as the true defenders of
the right of private judgment, and as benefactors of mankind.
There is positive evidence that such feelings really existed,
and they could not exist without producing some influence
on society generally. Less than forty years after the death of
Constantine, the tolerant party was so numerous that it could
* The acts of this council are only known from tbe garbled portions preserved by its
enemies in the acts of the second council of Nicaea and the hostile historians, Coleti,
Ada. S. Concittorunt, torn. viii. 1457.
2 At Athens is a church of the blessed Virgin Mary, which has a lamp that burns
always, and never wants oil. 7/5* Travels o/Saewulf % 33. Early Travels in Pales-
tint) Bohn's edit.
The I saurian Dynasty 57
struggle in the imperial cabinet to save heretics from persecu-
tion, on the ground that the church had no authority to ask
that men should be condemned to death for matters of belief,
as God may always turn the mind of the sinner to repentance.
Theophanes has recorded the existence of these humane
sentiments in his eagerness to blame them. 1
Many of the clergy boldly resisted the edicts of Constantine
to enforce the new ecclesiastical legislation against images and
pictures. They held that all the acts of the council of Con-
stantinople were void, for a general council could only be
convoked by an orthodox emperor ; and they took upon them-
selves to declare the opinions of Constantine heterodox. The
monks engaged with eagerness in the controversy which arose,
The Pope, the patriarchs of Antioch, Alexandria, and Jeru-
salem, replied to the excommunications of the council by
condemning all its supporters to eternal perdition. The em-
peror, enraged at the opposition he met with, enforced the
execution of his edicts with all the activity and energy of his
character; his political as well as his religious views urged
him to be a persecutor. It is evident that policy and passion-
were as much connected with his violence against the image-
worshippers as religious feeling, for he treated many heretics
with toleration who appeared to be quiet and inoffensive sub-
jects, incapable of offering any opposition to his political and
ecclesiastical schemes. The Theopaschites, the Paulicians,
and the Monophysites enjoyed religious toleration during his
whole reign. 2
In the year 766 the edicts against image-worship were
extended in their application, and enforced with additional
rigour. The use of relics and the practice of praying to saints
were prohibited. Many monks, and several members of the
dignified clergy, were banished; stripes, loss of the eyes and
of the tongue, were inflicted as legal punishments for prostra-
tion before a picture, or praying before a relic. Yet, even at
this period of the greatest excitement, the emperor at times
displayed great personal forbearance; when, however, either
policy or passion prompted him to order punishment to be
inflicted, it was done with fearful severity. 3
Two cases may be mentioned as affording a correct elucida*
i Theophanes, 419,
d acrefi&j' 0dj>aroy. 2 Theophanes, 354, 360.
3 Theophanes, 370. Bonefidius (/*#.? Qrienta-U^ 4) quotes this edict against relica
from Ccdrcn.as, Mortrouil, i. 349*
58 The Contest with the Iconoclasts
tion of the personal conduct of Constantine. A hermit, named
Andreas the Kalybite, presented himself before the emperor,
and upbraided him for causing dissension in the church. " If
thou art a Christian, why dost thou persecute Christians? 7 '
shouted the monk to his prince, with audacious orthodoxy.
Constantine ordered him to be carried off to prison for insult-
ing the imperial authority. He was then called upon to sub-
mit to the decisions of the general council; and when he refused
to admit the validity of its canons, and to obey the edicts
;>f the emperor, he was tried and condemned to death. After
being scourged in the hippodrome, he was beheaded, and his
body, according to the practice of the age, was cast into the
-sea.
Stephen, the abbot of a monastery near Nicomedia, was
banished to the island of Proconnesus, on account of his firm
opposition to the emperor's edicts; but his fame for piety
drew numerous votaries to his place of banishment, who
flocked thither to hear him preach. This assembly of sedi-
tious and pious persons roused the anger of the civil authori-
ties, and Stephen was brought to Constantinople to be more
strictly watched. His eloquence still drew crowds to the door
of his prison ; and the reverence shown to him by his followers
vexed the emperor so much, that he gave vent to his mortifi-
cation by exclaiming " It seems, in truth, that this monk is
really emperor, and I am nothing in the empire." This
speech was heard by some of the officers of the imperial guard.
Like that of Henry II. concerning Thomas a Becket, it caused
the death of Stephen. He was dragged from his prison by
some of the emperor's guard, and cruelly murdered. The
-soldiery and the people joined in dragging his body through
the streets, and his unburied remains were left exposed in
the place destined to receive those of the lowest criminals.
Both Stephen and Andreas were declared martyrs, and re-
warded with a place in the calendar of Greek saints. 1
Orthodox zeal and party ambition combined to form a dan-
gerous conspiracy against Constantine. Men of the highest
rank engaged in the plot, and even the Patriarch Constantinos,
though himself an Iconoclast, appears to have joined the con-
spirators. He was removed from the patriarchate, and the
-dignity was conferred on a Sclavonian prelate, named Niketas. 2
1 Their festival is celebrated on the aSth November, old stylt.Mtnologiutn
<Gracorum fussu JSasilii Imji>. t 3 torn. fol. Urbini, 1727, torn. i. 216.
2 Glycas (284) has preserved an anecdote which affords an amusing illustration of
the fact that the Greek element in society at Constantinople was not yet the all-pre-
The Isaurlan Dynasty 59
The deposed Patriarch was brought to trial and condemned to
death. Constantinos, after his condemnation, and apparently
with the hope of having his life spared, signed a declaration
that he believed the worship of images to be idolatry, that the
decrees of the council of Constantinople contained the true
doctrines of the orthodox church, and that the faith of the
emperor was pure. This last article was added because the
patriarch was accused of having countenanced reports charging
the emperor with heterodox opinions concerning the Virgin.
If Constantinos expected mercy by his pliancy, he was mis-
taken. His sentence was carried into execution in the cruellest
manner. The head of the Greek church was placed on an ass,
with his face towards the tail, and conducted through the
streets of the capital, while the mob treated him with every
insult. On reaching the amphitheatre his head was struck off.
It may easily be supposed that, when the highest ecclesiastic
in the empire was treated in this manner in the capital, the
severity of the imperial agents in the distant provinces was
often fearfully tyrannical.
The spirit of ecclesiastical bigotry which has so often led
popes, princes, and Protestants to burn those who differed
from them in matters of opinion, gave the image-worshippers
as much fortitude to resist as it gave their opponents cruelty to
persecute. The religious and political reforms of the Isaurian
emperors were equally a subject of aversion to the Pope and
the Italians ; and all the possessions of the emperors in central
Italy had been rendered virtually independent, even before
Constantine convoked the council of Constantinople. His
struggle with the Saracens and Bulgarians had prevented his
making any effort in Italy. At Rome, however, the Popes
continued to acknowledge the civil and judicial supremacy of
the emperor of the East, even after the Lombards had con-
quered the exarchate of Ravenna. But the impossibility of
receiving any support from Constantine against the encroach-
ments of the Lombards, induced Pope Stephen to apply to
Pepin of France for assistance. Pope Paul afterwards carried
his eagerness to create a quarrel between Pepin and Constan-
tine so far, that he accused the emperor of hostile designs
dominant. The Patriarch Niketas may have spoken Latin better than Greek, for there
was something far from Hellenic in his accent and ideas. One day, reading the New
Testament, he pronounced the name of the evangelist MarfldToP, and not Ht'Lardcuov.
One of his suite observed that the vowels of the diphthong were not to be separated.
The Sclavonic patriarch, displeased at the correction, turned angrily round, and said,
" Don't talk nonsense ; my soul utterly abhors diphthongs and triphthongs I "
60 The Contest with the Iconoclasts
against Italy, which he was well aware Constantine had little
time or power to execute. 1 Pepin, who was anxious to gain
the aid of papal authority in his projects of usurpation, made a
donation of the exarchate of Ravenna to the papal see in the
year 755, though he had not the smallest right to dispose of it.
The donation, however, supplied the Pope with a pretext for
laying claim to the sovereignty over the country ; and there can
be no doubt that the papal government was at this period
very popular among the Italians, for it secured them the
administration of justice according to the Roman law, guaran-
teed to them a considerable degree of municipal independence,
and permitted them to maintain their commercial relations
with the Byzantine empire. The political dependence of
many of the cities in central Italy, which escaped the Lom-
bard domination, was not absolutely withdrawn from the
empire of the East until a new emperor of the West was
created, on the assumption of the imperial crown by Charle-
magne, to whom the allegiance of the Italians, who threw off
Constantine's authority, was at last transferred. 2
Some remarkable physical phenomena occurred during the
reign of Constantine. An unnatural darkness obscured the
sun from the zoth to the i5th of August in the year 746. It
terrified the inhabitants of Constantinople at the time it
occurred; and when the great pestilence broke out in the
following year, it was regarded as a prognostic of that calamity.
In the year 750, violent earthquakes destroyed whole towns
in Syria. In the month of October, 763, a winter of singular
severity commenced long before severe cold generally sets in
at Constantinople. The Bosphorus was frozen over, and
men passed on foot between Europe and Asia in several
places. The Black Sea was covered with ice from the Palus
Masotic to Mesembria. When the thaw began in the month
of February, 764, immense mountains of ice were driven
through the Bosphorus, and dashed with such violence against
the walls of Constantinople as to threaten them with ruin.
These icebergs were seventy feet in thickness; and Theo-
phanes mentions that, when a boy, he mounted on one of
them with thirty of his young companions. 3
One great calamity in the age of Constantine appears to
have travelled over the whole habitable world; this was the
great pestilence, which made its appearance in the Byzantine
1 Codex Carolines, ep. 34, 35. .V.D. 758. Schlosser, 219.
2 Anastasius, De Vitis Pont. J?Jm. 101, xoas. 3 Theophaues, 365.
The Isaurian Dynasty 61
empire as early as 745, It had previously carried off a con-
siderable portion of the population of Syria, and the Caliph
Yezid IIL perished of the disease in 744. From Syria it
visited Egypt and Africa, from whence it passed into Sicily.
After making great ravages in Sicily and Calabria, it spread to
Greece ; and at last, in the year 749, it broke out with terrible
violence in Constantinople, then probably the most populous
city in the universe. It was supposed to have been introduced,
and dispersed through Christian countries, by the Venetian
and Greek ships employed in carrying on a contraband trade
in slaves with the Mohammedan nations, and it spread where-
ever commerce extended. Monemvasia, one of the commer-
cial cities at the time, received the contagion with the return
of its trading vessels, and disseminated the disease over all
Greece, and the islands of the Archipelago. On the continent,
this plague threatened to exterminate the Hellenic race.
Historians have left us a vivid picture of the horrors of this
fearful visitation, which show us that the terror it inspired
disturbed the fabric of society. Strange superstitions pre-
occupied men's minds, and annihilated every sense of duty.
Some appeared to be urged by a demoniacal impulse to com-
mit heinous but useless crime, with the wildest recklessness.
Small crosses of unctuous matter were supposed to appear
suddenly, traced by an invisible hand on the clothes of
persons as they were engaged in their ordinary pursuits;
examples were narrated of their having appeared suddenly
visible to the eyes of the assembled congregation on the
vestments of the priest as he officiated at the altar. The
individual thus marked out was invariably assailed by the dis-
ease on his return home, and soon died. Crosses were con-
stantly found traced on the doors and outer walls of buildings ;
houses, palaces, huts, and monasteries were alike marked.
This was considered as an intimation that some of the inmates
were ordered to prepare for immediate death. In the
delirium of fear and the first paroxysms of the plague, many
declared that they beheld hideous spectres wandering about ;
these apparitions were seen flitting through the crowded streets
of the city, at times questioning the passengers, at times
walking into houses before the inmates, and then driving the
proprietors from the door. At times it was said that these
spectres had even attacked the citizens with naked swords.
That these things were not reported solely on the delusion
of the fancy of persons rendered insane by attacks of
62 The Contest with the Iconoclasts
disease, is asserted by a historian who was born about ten
years later, and who certainly passed his youth at Constanti-
nople. 1 The testimony of Theophanes is confirmed by the
records of similar diseases in other populous cities. The
uncertainty of life offers additional chances of impunity to
crime, and thus relaxes the power of the law, and weakens the
bonds of moral restraint. Danger is generally what man fears
little, when there are several chances of escape. The bold and
wicked, deriding the general panic, frequently make periods of
pestilence times of revelry and plunder ; the very individuals
charged as policemen to preserve -order in society, finding them-
selves free from control, have been known to assume the dis-
guise of demons, in order to plunder the terrified and super-
stitious with impunity. The predominant passions of all find
full scope when the feeling of responsibility is removed ; shame
is thrown aside, the most unfeeling avarice and the wildest
debauchery are displayed. But, at the same time, it is on
such fearful occasions that we see examples of the noblest
courage, the most devoted self-sacrifice and the purest charity.
Boccaccio and Defoe, in describing the scenes which occurred
at Florence in 1348, and at London in 1665, afford a correct
picture of what happened at Constantinople in 747.
The number of dead was so great, that when the ordinary
means of transporting the bodies to interment were insufficient,
boxes were slung over the pack-saddles of mules, into which
the dead were cast without distinction of rank. When the mules
became insufficient, low chariots were constructed to receive
piles of human bodies, and these frightful hearses were drawn
through the streets to receive their loads, by a crowd of men
who received a fixed sum of money with each body. Long
trenches were prepared without the walls to serve as graves
for hundreds of bodies, and into these the aged beggar and the
youthful noble were precipitated side by side. When all the
cemeteries around the capital were filled, and the panic kept
the mass of the population shut up in their dwellings, bodies
were interred in the fields and vineyards nearest to the city
gates, or they were cast into vacant houses and empty cisterns.
The disease prevailed for a year, and left whole houses tenant-
less, having exterminated many families. 2 We possess no
record of the number of deaths it caused, but if we suppose
the population of Constantinople at the time to have exceeded
a million, we may form an estimate of the probable loss it
1 Theophanes, 355. He was born A.D, 758. * Nkephorus, Pat. 43, 87.
The Isaurian Dynasty 63
sustained, by observing that, during the great plague at Milan*
in 1630, about eighty-six thousand persons perished in the
course of a year, in a population hardly exceeding one hun-
dred and fifty thousand souls. 1
After the plague had completely disappeared, the capital
required an immense influx of new inhabitants. To fill up
the void caused by the scourge, Constantine induced many
Greek families from the continent and the islands to emigrate
to Constantinople. These new citizens immediately occupied
a well-defined social position ; for whether artisans, tradesmen,,
merchants, or householders, they became members of estab-
lished corporations, and knew how to act in their new rela-
tions of life without embarrassment It was by the perfec-
tion of its corporate societies and police regulations, that the
Byzantine empire effected the translocation of the inhabitants*
of whole cities and provinces, without misfortune or discon-
tent. By modifying the fiscal severity of the Roman govern-
ment, by relieving the members of the municipality from the
ruinous obligation of mutual responsibility for the total
amount of the land-tax, and by relaxing the laws that fettered
children to the profession or handicraft of their parents, the
Byzantine administration infused new energy into an enfeebled
social system. It still preserved, as an inheritance from.
Rome, an intimate knowledge of the practical methods of
regulating the relative supplies of labour, food, and popula-
tion in the manner least likely to inconvenience the govern-
ment, though undoubtedly with little reference to the measures
best calculated to advance the happiness of the people. 2
This memorable pestilence produced as great changes irr
the provinces as in the capital. While the population of Con-
stantinople lost much of its Roman character and traditions
by the infusion of a large number of Greek emigrants, Greece
itself lost also much of its Hellenic character and ancient
traditions, by the departure of a considerable portion of its
native middle classes for Constantinople, and the destruction
of a large part by the plague itself. The middle classes of the
Hellenic cities flocked to Constantinople, while an inferior
class from the villages crowded to supply their place, and thus
a general translocation of the population was effected; and
1 La- Peste di Milano del 1630 dal Canonlco G. Ripamonti da.1 original Latino dan
, Francesco CusanL Milano, 1841. At Florence, one hundred thousand are said to have
dtcd of the plague; at London, ninety thousand.
- For the Byzantine system of taxation, as far as direct payment by the individual
ia concerned, see Zonaras, ii. 24 ; Cedrenus, 706-723 ; Mortreuil, Hi. 105.
64 The Contest with the Iconoclasts
though this emigration may have been confined principally tc
the Greek race, it must have tended greatly to separate the
future traditions of the people from those of an earlier period.
The Athenian or the Lacedemonian who settled at Constanti-
nople, lost all local characteristics; and the emigrants from
the islands, who supplied their place at Athens and Lacede-
mon, mingled their traditions and dialect with the Attic and
Doric prejudices of their new homes ; ancient traditions were
thus consigned to oblivion. The depopulation on the conti-
nent and in the Peloponnesus was also so great that the
Sclavonian population extended their settlements over the
greater part of the open country ; the Greeks crowded into the
towns, or into the districts immediately under the protection
of their walls. The Sclavonian colonies, which had been
gradually increasing ever since the reign of Heraclius, attained
at this time their greatest extension; and the depopulation
caused by this pestilence is said by the Emperor Constantine
Porphyrogenitus, who wrote two centuries later, to have been
so great, that the Sclavonians occupied the whole of the open
country in Greece and the Peloponnesus, and reduced it to a
state of barbarism. 1 The emperor perhaps confounded in
some degree the general translocation of the Greek population
itself with the occupation of extensive districts, then abandoned
to Sclavonian cultivators and herdsmen. It is certain, how-
ever, that from this time the oblivion of the ancient Hellenic
names of villages, districts, rivers, and mountains became
general; and the final extinction of those dialects, which
marked a direct affiliation of the inhabitants of particular
spots with the ancient Hellenic population of the same dis-
tricts, was consummated. The new names which came into
use, whether Sclavonian or Greek, equally mark the loss of
ancient traditions. 2
In closing the history of the reign of Constantine V., it is
necessary to observe that he deserves praise for the care with
which he educated his family. The most bigoted image-
worshippers inform us that he was so mild in his domestic
circle that he permitted his third wife to protect a nun named
Anthusa, who was a most devoted worshipper of images ; and
one of the emperor's daughters received from this nun both
her name and education. The Princess Anthusa was dis-
tinguished for her benevolence and piety ; she is said to have
1 De ThentatibuS) ii. 25.
2 Stra&onis Epitome^ edit. Almeloven, 1351-1261. Edit. Coray, torn. Hi. 373-386.
The Isaurlan Dynasty 65
founded one of the first orphan asylums established in the
Christian world; and her orthodox devotion to pictures
obtained for her a place among the saints of the Greek church,
an honour granted also to her godmother and teacher. 1
SECTION IV
REIGNS OF LEO IV., (THE KHAZAR,) CONSTANTINE VI., AND
IRENE, A.D. 775-802
Leo IV., A.D. 775-780 Irene regent for her son Restores image-
worship Second council of Nicsea Extinction of Byzantine authority
at Rome Constantine assumes the government Divorces Maria, and
marries Theodota Opposition of monks Persecution of Theodore
Studita Irene dethrones Constantine VI. Policy of reigns of Con-
stantine VI. and Irene Saracen war Bulgarian war.
Leo IV. succeeded his father at the age of twenty-five.
His mother, Irene, was the daughter of the emperor or ehagan
of the Khazars, then a powerful people, through whose terri-
tories the greater part of the commercial intercourse between
the Christians and the rich countries in eastern Asia was
carried on. Leo inherited from his mother a mild and
amiable disposition; nor does he appear to have been desti-
tute of some portion of his father's talents, but the state of his
health prevented him from displaying the same activity. His
reign lasted four years and a half, and his administration was
conducted in strict accordance with the policy of his father
and grandfather; but the weak state of his health kept .the
public attention fixed on the question of the imperial succes-
sion. Constantine V. had selected an Athenian lady, of great
beauty and accomplishments, named Irene, to be his son's
wife, and Leo had a son named Constantine, who was born in
the year 771. The indefinite nature of the imperial succes-
sion, and the infancy of Leo's child, gave the two half-brothers
of the emperor, who had been invested by their father with
the rank of Cassar, some hope of ascending the throne on
their brother's death. Leo conferred on his infant son the
title of Emperor, in order to secure his succession ; and this
was done in a more popular manner than usual, at the express
desire of the senate, in order to give the ceremony all the
character of a popular election. The young emperor's five
1 Menologium Grcrcorum^ torn. iii. 60-183. The festival of Constantino's daughter
was celebrated on the iyth April, and that of the nun Amlmsa on the z;tk July.
66 The Contest with the Iconoclasts
uncles the two Csesars, and the three who tore the title of
Nobilissimi were compelled to take the same oath of allegi-
ance as the other subjects. 1 Yet, shortly after this, the Caesar
Nicephorus formed a conspiracy to render himself master of
the government Leo, who felt that he was rapidly sinking
into the grave, referred the decision of his brother's guilt to a
Silention, which condemned all the conspirators to death.
Nicephorus was pardoned, but his partisans were scourged
and banished to Cherson. The death of Leo IV. happened
on the 8th of September, ySo, 2
Constantine was ten years old when his father died, so that
the whole direction of the empire devolved on his mother,
Irene, who had received the imperial crown from Constantine
V, ; for that emperor seems to have felt that the weak state of
Leo's health would require the assistance of Irene's talents.
The virtues Irene had displayed in a private station were
insufficient to resist the corrupting influence of irresponsible
power. Ambition took possession of her own soul, and it was
the ambition of reigning alone, not of reigning welL The
education of her son was neglected perhaps as a means of
securing her power ; favour was avowedly a surer road to pre-
ferment than long service, so that the court became a scene of
political intrigue, and personal motives decided most public
acts. As no organ of public opinion possessed the power
of awakening a sense of moral responsibility among tne officers
of state, the intrigues of the court ended in conspiracies, mur-
der, and treason.
The parties strugglixig for power soon ranged themselves
under the banners of th& ecclesiastical factions that had long
divided the empire. Little, probably, did many of the leaders
care what party they espoused in the religious question ; but
it was necessary to proclaim themselves members of an eccle-
siastical faction in order to secure a popular following. The
1 Theophanes, 380. Zonaras, ii. 114, where the popular character of the assembly
is expressly pointed out Koi &/jLQ<rav airctyres o$x' ot r ^ s Su'y/cX'iJroy (SovXys Kal
ol rov (TTparetijuaros fj.6vov, dXAd Kal o STJ^S^S o^Aos Kal fyiropoi Kal ol r&v
pyas7jpMv^irpocrryK6crav Kal #yypa0a irepl TQVTW QtBevro. This mention of
the corporation of artisans is curious.
2 I doubt whether the authority of Cedrenus, 469, negatived by the silence of earlier
zealots, can authorise our believing the anecdote that the Emperor Leo discovered
pictures of saints under Irene's pillow, and quarrelled with her in consequence ; nor do
I think_that the story_of his having taken one of the crowns from the church of St. Sophia
of any importance, since it could not have been the cause of his death. Divine venge-
ance certainly did not visit Leo with sudden death, whether he took the crown from
St. Sophia's or not. See the turn Constantine Porphyrogenitus gives the anecdote, D&
Adm t l*n$. 64.
The Isanrian Dynasty 67
Empress Irene was known to favour image-worship; as a
woman and a Greek, this was natural j yet policy would have
dictated to her to adopt that party as the most certain manner
of securing support powerful enough to counterbalance the
family influence of the Isaurian dynasty, which was now
wielded by the uncles of the young emperor. The conflict
between the image-worshippers and the Iconoclasts soon
commenced. The Csesar Nicephorus, who was as ambitious
as his sister-in-law, was eager to drive her from the regency.
He organised a conspiracy, in which several ministers and
members of the senate took part. Irene obtained full proof
of all its ramifications before the conspirators were prepared
to act, seized her five brothers-in-law, and compelled them to
enter the priesthood. In order to make it generally known
that they had assumed the sacerdotal character, they were
obliged to officiate during the Christmas ceremonies at the
high altar of St. Sophia's, while the young emperor and his
mother restored to the church the rich jewels of which it had
been deprived by the Iconoclast emperors. The intendant-
general of posts, the general of the Armeniac theme, the com-
mander of the imperial guard, and the admiral of the Archi-
pelago, who had all taken part in the conspiracy, were scourgecj,
and immured as monks in distant monasteries. Helpidios s
the governor of Sicily, assumed the title of emperor as soon as
he found that his participation in the plot was known at court ;
but he was compelled to seek shelter among the Saracens, in
whose armies he afterwards served. Nicephorus Doukas,
another conspirator, fled also to the Mohammedans. 1 Some
years later, when Constantine VI. had assumed the govern-
ment into his own hands, a new conspiracy was formed by the
partisans of his uncles (A.D. 792). The princes were then
treated with great severity. The Csesar Nicephorus was de-
prived of sight ; and the tongues of the others were cut out,
by the order of their nephew, not long before he lost his own
eyes by the order of his mother.
The influence of the clergy in the ordinary administration
of justice, and the great extent to which ecclesiastical legisla-
tion regulated civil rights, rendered councils of the church an
important feature in those forms and usages that practically
circumscribed the despotic power of the emperor by a frame-
1 Tbeophanes, 3*33, 384. Theophylactos, son of Rbangabe", was the admiral of the
Archipelago, or Drunganos of Dodekannesos. This is the earliest mention of the
twelve islands as a geographical and administrative division of the empire. It was
retained by the Crusaders when they conquered Greece.
68 The Contest with the Iconoclasts
work of customs, opinions, and convictions which he could
with difficulty alter, and rarely oppose without danger. The
political ambition of Irene, the national vanity of the Greeks,
and the religious feelings of the orthodox, required the sanction
of a constitutional public authority, before the laws against
image-worship could be openly repealed. The Byzantine
empire had at this time an ecclesiastical, though not a political
constitution. The will of the sovereign was alone insufficient
to change an organic law, forming part of the ecclesiastical
administration of the empire. It was necessary to convoke a
general council to legalise image-worship ; and to render such
a council a fit instrument for the proposed revolution, much
arrangement was necessary. No person was ever endued with
greater talents for removing opposition and conciliating per-
sonal support than the empress. The Patriarch Paul, a
decided Iconoclast, was induced to resign, and declare that he
repented of his hostility to image-worship, because it had cut
off the church of Constantinople from communion with the
rest of the Christian world. This declaration pointed out the
necessity of holding a general council, in order to establish
that communion. The crisis required a new Patriarch, of
stainless character, great ability, and perfect acquaintance
with the party connections and individual characters of the
leading bishops. No person could be selected from among
the dignitaries of the church, who had been generally ap-
pointed by Iconoclast emperors. The choice of Irene fell on
a civilian. Tarasios, the chief secretary of the imperial cabinet
a man of noble birth, considerable popularity, and a high
reputation for learning and probity was suddenly elevated to
be the head of the Greek church, and allowed to be not
unworthy of the high rank. The orthodox would probably
have raised a question concerning the legality of nominating a
layman, had it not been evident that the objection would
favour the interests of their opponents. The empress and her
advisers were not bold enough to venture on an irretrievable
declaration in favour of image-worship, until they had obtained
a public assurance of popular support. An assembly of the
inhabitants of the capital was convoked in the palace of Mag-
naura, in order to secure a majority pledged to the cause
of Tarasios. The fact that such an assembly was considered
necessary, is a strong proof that the strength of the rival
parties was very nearly balanced, and that this manifestation
of public opinion was required in order to relieve the empress
The Isaurian Dynasty 69
from personal responsibility. Irene proposed to the assembly
that Tarasios should be elected Patriarch, and the proposal
was received with general acclamation. Tarasios, however,
refused the dignity, declaring that he would not accept the
Patriarchate unless a general council should be convoked for
restoring unity to the church. The convocation of a council
was adopted, and the nomination of Tarasios ratified. Though
great care had been taken to fill this assembly with image-
worshippers, nevertheless several dissentient voices made them-
selves heard, protesting against the proceedings as an attack
on the existing legislation of the empire. 1
The Iconoclasts were still strong in the capital, and the
opposition of the soldiery was excited by the determination
of Tarasios to re-establish image-worship. They openly de-
clared that they would not allow a council of the church to be
held, nor permit the ecclesiastics of their party to be unjustly
treated by the court. More than one tumult warned the
empress that no council could be held at Constantinople. It
was found necessary to disperse the Iconoclastic soldiery in
distant provinces, and form new cohorts of guards devoted to
the court, before any steps could be publicly taken to change
the laws of the church. The experience of Tarasios as a
minister of state was more useful to Irene during the first
period of his patriarchate than his theological learning. It
required nearly three years to smooth the way for the meeting
of the council, which was at length held at Nicaea, in Septem-
ber, 787. Three hundred and sixty-seven members attended,
of whom, however, not a few were abbots and monks, who
assumed the title of confessors from having been ejected from
their monasteries by the decrees of the Iconoclast sovereigns.
Some of the persons present deserve to be particularly men-
tioned, for they have individually conferred greater benefits on
mankind by their learned labours, than they rendered to
Christianity by their zealous advocacy of image-worship in
this council. The secretary of the two commissioners who
represented the imperial authority was Nicephorus the his-
torian, subsequently Patriarch of Constantinople. 2 His sketch
of the history of the empire, from the year 602 to 770, is a
valuable work, and indicates that he was a man of judgment,
whenever his perceptions were not obscured^ by theological
and ecclesiastical prejudices. Two other eminent Byzantine
1 Theophanes, 386. Coleti, Acta S. Conciltontm, viii. 677. Schloascr, rjZ.
* Nicephorus was Patriarch from 806 to 815 ; he died in 8a8.
yo The Contest with the Iconoclasts
writers were also present. George, called Syncellus, from the
office he held under the Patriarch Tarasios. He has left us a
chronological work, which has preserved the knowledge of
many important facts recorded by no other ancient authority. 1
Theophanes,' the friend and companion of the Syncellus, has
continued this work; and his chronography of Roman and
Byzantine history, with all its faults, forms the best picture of
the condition of the empire that we possess for a long period.
Theophanes enjoyed the honour of becoming, at a kter day, a
confessor in the cause of image-worship ; he was exiled from
a monastery which he had founded, and died in the island of
Samothrace, A.D. Siy. 2
The second council of Nicsea had no better title than the
Iconoclast council of Constantinople to be regarded as a
general council of the church. The Pope Hadrian, indeed,
sent deputies from the Latin church; but the churches of
Jerusalem, Alexandria, and Antioch, whose patriarchs were
groaning under the government of the caliphs, did not dare
to communicate with foreign authorities. An attempt was
nevertheless made to deceive the world into a belief that they
were represented, by allowing two monks from Palestine to
present themselves as the syncelli of these patriarchs, without
scrutinising the validity of their credentials. Pope Hadrian,
though he sent deputies, wrote at the same time to Tarasios,
making several demands tending to establish the ecclesiastical
supremacy of the papal See, and complaining in strong terms
that the Patriarch of Constantinople had no right to assume
the title of ecumenic. The hope of recovering the estates of
the patrimony of St. Peter in the Byzantine provinces, which
had been sequestrated by Leo III., and of re-establishing the
supremacy of the See of Rome, made Hadrian overlook much
that was offensive to papal pride. 3
The second council of Nicsea authorised the worship of
images as an orthodox practice. Forged passages, pretending
to be extracts from the earlier fathers, and genuine from the
more modern, were quoted in favour of the practice. Simony
was already a prevailing evil in the Greek church. Many of
^ George Syncellus died in Boo. His chronography extends from Adam to Dio-
cletian.
2 The chronography of Theophanes extends from Diocletian, A.D. 285, to A.D. 813.
It is the best authority for Byzantine history after the time of Leo III. His life, by
Theodoras, abbot of Studion in Constantinople, is prefixed to the editions of the chrono-
Jchlosser, 279. Coleti, Actet S. Conciliorvm^ viii. 748. Nr*.nOer, iuJ. 228 (Ameri-
can translation).
The Isaurian Dynasty yi
the bishops had purchased their sees, and most of these natur-
ally preferred doing violence to their opinions rather than lose
their revenues. From this cause, unanimity was easily ob-
tained by court influence. The council decided that not only
was the cross an object of reverence, but also that the images
of Christ, and the pictures of the Virgin Mary of angels,
saints, and holy men, whether painted in colours, or worked in
embroidery in sacred ornaments, or formed in mosaic in the
walls of churches were all lawful objects of worship. At the
same time, in order to guard against the accusation of idolatry,
it was declared that the worship of an image, which is merely
a sign of reverence, must not be confounded with the adora-
tion due only to God. The council of Constantinople held in
754 was declared heretical, and all who maintained its doc-
trines, and condemned the use of images, were anathematised.
The patriarchs Anastasios, Constantinos, and Niketas were
especially doomed to eternal condemnation.
The Pope adopted the decrees of this council, but he
refused to confirm them officially, because the empress delayed
restoring the estates of St. Peter's patrimony. In the coun-
tries of western Europe which had formed parts of the Western
Empire, the superstitions of the image-worshippers were viewed
with as much dissatisfaction as the fanaticism of the Icono-
clasts ; and the council of Nicsea was as much condemned as
that of Constantinople by a large body of enlightened ecclesi-
astics. The public mind in the West was almost as much
divided as in the East ; and if a general council of the Latin
church had been assembled, its unbiassed decisions would
probably have been at variance with those supported by the
Pope and the council of Nicsea.
Charlemagne published a refutation of the doctrines of this
council on the subject of image-worship. His work, called the
Caroline Books, consists of four parts, and was certainly com-
posed under his immediate personal superintendence, though
he was doubtless incapable of writing it himself 1 At all
events, it was published as his composition. This work con-
demns the superstitious bigotry of the Greek image-worship-
pers in a decided manner, while at the same time it only
* The title of the first edition Is Ofas ittust. virt Caroli Magni Regis Francorum
efe conira, Synodum q-uce in Parti&us Gr&ti pro Adorandis I-mctginilms StaKde szve
Arroganter gesta est, etc. 1549. *&no. It was published by Jean du Tillet, (Eli
Phili,) afterwards bishop of Meaux. There is an edition, with a learned preface, by
Christopher A. Heumann. Hanover. 1731. ^ 8vo. Alcuin,^ of course, deserves all the
credit due to the literary and theological merits of the Caroline books.
72 The Contest with the Iconoclasts
blames the misguided zeal of the Iconoclasts. Altogether it is
a very remarkable production, and gives a more correct idea
of the extent to which Roman civilisation still survived in
Western society, and counterbaknced ecclesiastical influence,
than any other contemporary document. 1 In 794 Charle-
magne assembled a council of three hundred bishops at Frank-
fort; and, in the presence of the papal legates, this council
maintained that pictures ought to be placed in churches, but
that they should not be worshipped, but only regarded with
respect, as recalling more vividly to the mind the subjects
represented. 2 The similarity existing at this time in the
opinions of enlightened men throughout the whole Christian
world must be noted as a proof that general communications
and commercial intercourse still pervaded society with com-
mon sentiments. The dark night of medieval ignorance and
local prejudices had not yet settled on the West; nor had
feudal anarchy confined the ideas and wants of society to the
narrow sphere of provincial interests. The aspect of public
opinion alarmed Pope Hadrian, whose interests required that
the relations of the West and East should not become friendly.
His position, however, rendered him more suspicious of Con-
stantine and Irene, in spite of their orthodoxy, than of Charle-
magne, with all his heterodox ideas. The > Frank monarch,
though he differed in ecclesiastical opinions, was sure to be a
political protector. The Pope consequently laboured to
foment the jealousy that reigned between the Frank and
Byzantine governments concerning Italy, where the commer-
cial relations of the Greeks still counterbalanced the military
influence of the Franks. When writing to Charlemagne, he
accused the Greeks and their Italian partisans of every crime
likely to arouse the hostility of the Franks. They were re-
proached, and not unjustly, with carrying on an extensive
1 Charlemagne mentions that he had learned from his ambassadors, that though the
Greeks expended large sums on decorations and paintings, they allowed their churches
to fall to ruin ; and he contrasts the magnificent endowments of the Frank churches
with the meanness of the Greek. It is really surprising how few churches of any size
appear to have been constructed in the Byzantine empire, when we remember that for
many^centuries it^was the richest country in the world, and the one most occupied with
ecclesiastical ^affairs and church ceremonies. Several small Byzantine churches at
Athens^are said to have been constructed by Irene; common tradition says twelve. A
few exist ; some were destroyed during the war of the Revolution ; others were swept
away by the Bavarian plans of the town.
2 The council of Frankfort blames that of Nicaea for inculcating the worship of
images ; but the council really draws a distinction between the reverence it inculcates,
Tifut)Tit&i irpQ<TKtivT]oi5, and the devotion it condemns, \arpeta. This distinction, to
which, of course, the people paid no attention, serves the Greek church as a defence
a.gainst the accusation of idolatrous practice. For the opinions of the British clergy on
the Question, see Spelman, Ad Concilia. Magnar Britannia:, \. 73.
The Isaurian Dynasty 73
trade in slaves, who were purchased in western Europe, and
sold to the Saracens. The Pope knew well that this com-
merce was carried on in all the trading cities of the West, both
by Greeks and Latins; for slaves then constituted the prin-
cipal article of European export to Africa, Syria, and Egypt,
in payment of the produce of the East, which was brought
from those countries. The Pope seized and burned some
Greek vessels at Centumcellse, (Civita-Vecchia,) because the
crews were accused of kidnapping the people of the neigh-
bourhood. The violent expressions of Hadrian, in speaking
of the Greeks, could not fail to produce a great effect in
western Europe, where the letters of the Popes formed the
literary productions most generally read and studied by all
ranks. 1 His calumnies must have sunk deep into the public
mind, and tended to impress on Western nations that aversion
to the Greeks, which was subsequently increased by mercan-
tile jealousy and religious strife.
The extinction of the last traces of the supremacy of the
Eastern Empire at Rome was the most gratifying result of
their machinations to the Popes. On Christmas-day, A.D.
800, Charlemagne revived the existence of the Western Em-
pire, and received the imperial crown from Pope Leo III. in
the church of St. Peter's. Hitherto the Frank monarch had
acknowledged a titular supremacy in the Eastern Empire, and
had borne the title of Patrician of the Roman empire, as a
mark of dignity conferred on him by the emperors of Con-
stantinople ; but he now raised himself to an equality with the
emperors of the East, by assuming the title of Emperor of the
West. The assumption of the title of emperor of the Romans
was not an act of idle vanity. Roman usages, Roman pre-
judices, and Roman law still exercised a powerful influence
over the minds of the most numerous body of Charlemagne's
subjects; and by all the clergy and lawyers throughout his
dominions the rights and prerogatives of the Roman emperors
of the West were held to be legally vested in his person by
the fact of his election, such as it was, and his coronation
by the Pope. The political allegiance of the Pope to the
emperor, which was then undisputed, became thus transferred
1 Hadriani I. Epist. xa, 13, *' Nefandissimi Neapolitan! et Deo odibiles GrzcL".
Schlosser, 362. Pope Stephen III. had given an example of national calumny. H,e
wrote to Charlemagne " Perfida et foetentissimi Langobardorum gensqua: in numero
gentium nequaquam, computatur, de cujus natione et leprosorum. genus oriri certutn
est." It is a task of difficulty to extract impartial history from the record* of an u.e
when the bead of the Christian church used such language.
74 The Contest with the Iconoclasts
irom the emperor of the East to the emperor of the West as a
matter of course; while the papal rights of administration
over the former exarchate of Ravenna, the Pentapolis, and the
dukedom of Rome, acquired, under the protection of the
Franks, the character of a decided sovereignty. Many towns
of Italy at this time acquired a degree of municipal independ-
ence which made them almost independent republics. The
influence of Roman law in binding society together, the mili-
tary weakness of the papal power, and the rapid decline of the
central authority in the empire of the Franks, enabled these
towns to perpetuate their peculiar constitutions and inde-
pendent jurisdictions down to the French Revolution. 1
A female regency in an absolute government must always
render the conduct of public affairs liable to be directed by
court intrigues. When Irene wished to gain Charlemagne as
an ally, in order to deprive the Iconoclasts of any hope of
foreign assistance, she had negotiated a treaty of marriage
between her son and Rotrud, the eldest daughter of the Frank
monarch, A.D. 781. But when the question of image-worship
was settled, she began to fear that this alliance might become
the means of excluding her from power, and she then broke
off the treaty, and compelled her son to marry a Paphlagonian
kdy of the court named Maria, whom the young emperor soon
regarded with aversion. Constantine, however, submitted
quietly to his mother's domination until his twentieth year.
He then began to display dissatisfaction at the state of tutelage
in which he was held, and at his complete seclusion from pub-
lic business. A plan was formed by many leading men in the
administration to place him at the head of affairs, but it was
discovered before it was ripe for execution. Irene on this
occasion displayed unseemly violence, in her eagerness to
retain a power she ought immediately to have resigned. The
conspirators were seized, scourged, and banished. When her
son was conducted into her presence, she struck him, and
overwhelmed him with reproaches and insults. The young
emperor was then confined so strictly in the palace that all
communication with his friends was cut off.
This unprincipled conduct of the regent-mother became the
object of general reprobation. The troops of the Armeniac
theme refused to obey her orders, and marched to the capital
to deliver Constantine. On the way they were joined by
1 Niebubr's History qf Rome, from ike Pint Punic War to the Death of Con-
stantine, by L. Schmitz, i. 434.
The Isaurian Dynasty 75
o:her legions, and Irene found herself compelled to release
her son a who Immediately hastened to the advancing army.
A total revolution was effected at court. The ministers and
creatures of Irene were removed from office, and some who
had displayed particular animosity against Constantine were
scourged and beheaded. 1 Constantine ruled the empire for
about six years, (A.B. 790-797). But his education had been
neglected in a disgraceful manner, and his mind was perhaps
naturally fickle. Though he displayed the courage of his
family at the head of his army, his incapacity for business, and
his inconstancy in his friendships, soon lost him the support
of his most devoted partisans. He lost his popularity by
putting out the eyes of his uncle, Nicephoras, and cutting out
the tongues of his four uncles, who were accused of having
taken part in the plots of their brother. He alienated the
attachment of the Armenian troops by putting out the eyes of
their general, Alexis Mouselen, who had been the means
of delivering him from confinement. The folly of this last act
was even greater than the ingratitude, for it was done to gratify
the revengeful feelings of his mother. These acts of folly,
cruelty, and ingratitude destroyed his influence, and induced
his sincerest friends to make their peace with Irene, whom it
was evident her son would ultimately allow to rule the empire.
The unhappy marriage into which Constantine had been
forced by his mother, she at last converted into the cause of
his ruin. The emperor fell in love with Theodota, one of
his mother's maids of honour, and determined to divorce
Maria in order to marry her. Irene, whose ambition induced
her to stoop to the basest intrigues, flattered him in this
project, as it seemed likely to increase her influence and ruin
his- reputation. The Empress Maria was induced to retire
into a monastery, and the emperor expected to be able to
celebrate his marriage with Theodota without difficulty. But
the usage of the Byzantine empire required that the Patriarch
should pronounce the sentence of divorce, and this Tarasios,
who was a devoted partisan and active political agent of
Irene, long refused to do. The imprudence of Constantine,
and the insidious advice of Irene, soon involved the emperor
in a dispute with the whole body of monks, who had an over-
whelming influence in society. The Patriarch at last yielded
to the influence of Irene, so far as to allow his catechist to
give the veil to the Empress Maria, whom be pronounced
1 Theophanes, 391*.
yo me contest witn tne iconociasis
divorced, and then to permit the celebration of the emperor's
marriage with Theodota by Joseph, one of the principal clergy
of the patriarchal chapter, and abbot of a monastery in the
capital. 1
In the Byzantine empire, at this time, constant religious
discussions and pretensions to superior sanctity, had intro-
duced a profound religious spirit into the highest ranks of
society. Numbers of the wealthiest nobles founded monas-
teries, into which they retired. The manners, the extensive
charity, and the pure morality of these abbots, secured them
the love and admiration of the people, and tended to dis-
seminate a higher standard of morality than had previously
prevailed in Constantinople. This fact must not be over-
looked in estimating the various causes which led to the
regeneration of the Eastern Empire under the Iconoclast
emperors. Security of life and property, and all the founda-
tions of national prosperity, are more closely connected with
moral purity than the ruling classes are inclined to allow. It
may not be quite useless, as an illustration of the state of the
Byzantine empire, to remind the reader of the violence, in-
justice, and debauchery which prevailed at the courts of the
west of Europe, including that of Charlemagne. While the
Pope winked at the disorders in the palace of Charlemagne,
the monks of the East prepared the public mind for the
dethronement of Constantine, because he obtained an illegal
divorce, and formed a second marriage. The corruption of
morals, and the irregularities prevalent in the monasteries of
the West, contrast strongly with the condition of the Eastern
monks. 2
The habit of building monasteries as a place of retreat,
from motives of piety, was also adopted by some as a
mode of securing a portion of their wealth from confiscation,
in case of their condemnation for political crimes, peculiar
privileges being reserved in the monasteries so founded for
members of the founder's family. 3 At this time Plato, abbot
of the monastery of Sakkoudion, on Mount Olympus in
1 Theophanes, 397.
2 Mosheim, Institutes of Ecclesiastical History -, (translated by Murdoch,) ii. 143,
193; Soames edit. But not to wrong St. Eligius, see also Arnold, Introductory
Lectures on Modern History ', ioa. Maitland (TAt Dark Ages^ 102) makes the most
of Mosheim's error. The times, however, were not better than Mosheim represents
them.
8 The abuse of fictitious donations to monasteries had become so great an evil in
Western Europe, as to require numerous laws to restrain the practice. The Lombard
law allowed the granters to reserve the faculty of revoking these donations during their
lives, and itey reserved possession on paying a small annual sum as rent to the monas-
The Isaurian Dynasty 77
Bithynia, and his nephew Theodore, who was a relation of
the new Empress Theodota, were the leaders of a powerful
party of monks possessing great influence in the church.
Theodore (who is known by the name Studita, from having
been afterwards appointed abbot of the celebrated monastery
of Studion) had founded a monastery on his own property,
in which he assembled his father, two brothers, and a young
sister, and, emancipating all his household and agricultural
slaves, established them as lay brethren on the farms. Most
of the abbots round Constantinople were men of family and
wealth, as well as learning and piety; but they repaid the
sincere respect with which they were regarded by the people,
by participating in popular prejudices, so that we cannot
be surprised to find them constantly acting the part of dema-
gogues. Plato separated himself from all spiritual com-
munion with the Patriarch Tarasios, whom he declared to
have violated the principles of Christianity in permitting the
adulterous marriage of the emperor. His views were warmly
supported by his nephew Theodore, and many monks began
openly to preach both against the Patriarch and the emperor.
Irene now saw that the movement was taking a turn favourable
to her ambition. She encouraged the monks, and prepared
Tarasios for quitting the party of his sovereign, Plato and
Theodore were dangerous enemies, from their great reputa-
tion ^ and extensive political and ecclesiastical connections,
and into a personal contest with these men Constantine rashly
plunged.
Plato was arrested at his monastery, and placed in confine-
ment under the wardship of the abbot Joseph, who had
celebrated the imperial marriage. Theodore was banished to
Thessalonica, whither he was conveyed by a detachment of
police soldiers. He has left us an account of his journey,
which proves that the orders of the emperor were not carried
into execution with undue severity. 1 Theodore and his
attendant monks were seized by the imperial officers at a
distance from the monastery, and compelled to commence
tery. Charlemagne declared all such donations irrevocable, in order to check the evil.
The abuse existed among the Anglo-Saxons Lingard's History of England^ i. 517.
The Empress Irene /ounded the monastery of St. Euphrosyne, where her son Constan-
tine, Jais divorced wife Maria, and his two daughters were buried ; and also the monas-
tery in Prince's Island, to which she was sent after her dethronement, and before her
banishment to Lesbos.
1 Tkeodori Studita: Oj>f>. 230. Schlosser, 319. Some letters of Theodore Studita
are given by Baron ius. I have extracted the account of the journey from Schlosser,
Geschichte efer mtderst&rtHenden, Kaiser^ for I have not been able to supply myself
with the works of Theodore.
jB The Contest with the Iconoclasts
their journey on the first horses their escort could procure,
instead of being permitted to send for their ambling mules.
They were hurried forward for three days, resting during the
night at Kathara in Liviana, Lefka, and Phyraion. At the
last place they encountered a melancholy array of monks,
driven from the great monastery of Sakkoudion after the
arrest of Plato ; but -with these fellow-sufferers, though
ranged along the road, Theodore was not allowed to com-
municate, except by bestowing on them his blessing as he
rode past. He was then carried to Paula, from whence he
wrote to Plato that he had seen his sister, with the venerable
Sabas, abbot of the monastery of Studion. They had visited
him secretly, but had been allowed by the guards to pass the
evening in his society. Next night they reached Loupadion,
where the exiles were kindly treated by their host. At Tilin
they were joined by two abbots, Zacharias and Pionios, but
they were not allowed to travel in company. The journey
was continued by Alberiza, Anagegrammenos, Perperina,
Parium, and Horkos, to Lampsacus. On the road, the
bishops expressed the greatest sympathy and eagerness to
serve them ; but the bigoted Theodore declared that his con-
science would not permit him to hold any communication
with those who were so unchristian as to continue in com-
munion with Tarasios and the emperor.
From Lampsacus the journey was prosecuted by sea. A
pious governor received them at Abydos with great kindness,
and they rested there eight days. At Eleaus there was again
a detention of seven days, and from thence they sailed to
Lemnos, where the bishop treated Theodore with so much
attention that his bigotry was kid asleep. The passage from
Lemnos to Thessalonica was not without danger from the
piratical boats of the Sclavonians who dwelt on the coast of
Thrace, and exercised the trades of robbers and pirates as well
as herdsmen and shepherds. A favourable wind carried the
exiles without accident to Kanastron, from whence they
touched at Pallene before entering the harbour of Thes-
salonica, which they reached on the 25th March, 797. Here
they were received by a guard, and conducted through the
city to the residence of the governor. The people assembled
in crowds to view the pious opponents of their emperor;
while the governor received them with marks of persona!
respect, which showed him more anxious to conciliate the
powerful monks than to uphold the dignity of the weak
The I saurian Dynasty 79
emperor. He conducted Theodore to the cathedral, that he
might return thanks to God publicly for his safe arrival ; he
then waited on him to the palace of the archbishop, where he
was treated to a bath, and entertained most hospitably. The
exiles were, however, according to the tenor of the imperial
orders, placed in separate places of confinement; and even
Theodore and his brother were not permitted to dwell to-
gether. The day of their triumph was not far distant, and
their banishment does not appear to have subjected them to
much inconvenience. They were martyrs at a small cost.
As soon as Irene thought that her son had rendered himself
unpopular throughout the empire, she formed her plot for
dethroning him. The support of the principal officers in the
palace was secured by liberal promises of wealth and advance-
ment : a band of conspirators was then appointed to seize
Constantine, but a timely warning enabled him to escape to
Triton on the Propontis. He might easily have recovered
possession of the capital, had he not wasted two months in
idleness and folly. Abandoned at last by every friend, he
was seized by his mother's emissaries and dragged to Con-
stantinople. After being detained some time a prisoner in
the porphyry apartment in which he was born, his eyes were
put out on the i9th August, 797. 1 Constantine had given his
cruel mother public marks of that affection which he appears
really to have felt for her, and to which he had sacrificed his
best friends. He had erected a statue of bronze to her honour,
which Iqng adorned the hippodrome of Constantinople. 2
Irene was now publicly proclaimed sovereign of the
empire. She had for some time been allowed by her careless
son to direct the whole administration, and it was his con-
fidence in her maternal affection which enabled her to work
his ruin. She of course immediately released all the ecclesi-
astical opponents of her son from confinement, and restored
them to their honours and offices. The Patriarch Tarasios
was ordered to make his peace with the monks by excom-
municating his creature, the abbot Joseph ; and the closest
alliance was formed between him and his former opponents,
Plato and Theodore, the latter of whom was shortly after
rewarded for his sufferings by being elevated to the dignity of
abbot of the great monastery of Studion,
1 Gibbon, ix, 33. The authorities which prove that Constantine did not jdie of the
inhuman treatment he received, hut was living when Nicephorus dethroned his mother,
sure, Contin. Const. Porphyr. sc. j>. Theoph. 33. Leo Gramm. aoa, edit Bonn.
2 Cordinus, Dt Orig. Constantino^. 6au
8o The Contest with the Iconoclasts
The Empress Irene reigned five years, during which her
peace was disturbed by the political intrigues of her ministers.
Her life offers a more interesting subject for biography than
for history, for it is more striking by its personal details, than
important in its political effects. But the records of private
life in the age in which she lived, and of the state of society
at Athens, among which she was educated, are so few, that it
would require to be written by a novelist, who could combine
the strange vicissitudes of her fortunes with a true portraiture
of human feelings, coloured with a train of thought, and en-
riched with facts gleaned from contemporary lives and letters
of Greek saints and monks. 1 Born in a private station, and
in a provincial, though a wealthy and populous city, it must
have required a rare combination of personal beauty, native
grace, and mental superiority, to fill the rank of empress of
the Romans, to which she was suddenly raised, at the court
of a haughty sovereign like her father-in-law Constantine V.,
not only without embarrassment, but even with universal
praise. Again, when vested with the regency, as widow of an
Iconackst emperor, it required no trifling talent, firmness of
purpose, and conciliation of manner, to overthrow an ecclesi-
astical party which had ruled the church for more than half
a century. On the other hand, the deliberate way in which
she undermined the authority of her son, whose character she
had corrupted by a bad education, and the callousness with
which she gained his confidence in order to deprive him of
his throne, and send him to pass his life as a blind monk in
a secluded cell, proves that the beautiful empress, whose
memory was cherished as an orthodox saint, was endowed
with the thoughts and feelings of a demon. Strange to say,
when the object of Irene's crimes was reached, she soon felt
all the satiety of gratified ambition. She no longer took the
interest she had previously taken in conducting the public
business of the empire, and abandoned the exercise of her
power to seven eunuchs, whom she selected to perform the
duties of ministers of state. She forgot that her own eleva-
tion to the throne offered a tempting premium to success-
ful treason. Nicephorus, the grand treasurer, cajoled her
favourite eunuchs to join a plot, by which she was dethroned,
and exiled to a monastery she had founded in Prince's Island ;
but she was soon after removed to Lesbos, where she died in
5 There is a work on the life of Irene, by Abbi Mignot, Histoire de t Imptratrict
/rent. Amst. 1662. It is inexact as history, and worthless as biography.
The Isatirian Dynasty 81
a few months, almost forgotten. 1 Her fate after her death
was as singular as during her life. The unnatural mother was
canonised by the Greeks as an orthodox saint, and at her
native Athens several churches are still pointed out which
she is said to have founded, though not on any certain
authority. 2
Under the government of Constantine VI. and Irene, the
imperial policy, both in the civil administration and external
relations, followed the course traced out by Leo the Isaurian.
To reduce all the Sclavonian colonists who had formed
settlements within the bounds of the empire to complete
submission, was the first object of Irene's regency. The
extension of these settlements, after the great plague in 747,
began to alarm the government. Extensive districts in Thrace,
Macedonia, and the Peloponnesus, had assumed the form of
independent communities, and hardly acknowledged allegiance
to the central administration at Constantinople. Irene natur-
ally took more than ordinary interest in the state of Greece.
She kept up the closest communications with her family at
Athens, and shared the desire of every Greek to repress the pre-
sumption of the Sclavonians and restore the ascendancy of the
Greek population in the rural districts. In the year 783 she
sent Stavrakios at the head of a well-appointed army to
Thessalonica, to reduce the Sclavonian tribes in Macedonia to
direct dependence, and enforce the regular payment of
tribute. 3 From Thessalonica, Stavrakios marched through
Macedonia and Greece to the Peloponnesus, punishing the
Sclavonians for the disorders they had committed, and carry-
ing off a number of their able-bodied men to serve as soldiers
or to be sold as slaves. In the following year Irene led the
young Emperor Constantine to visit the Sclavonian settlements
in the vicinity of Thessalonica, which had been reduced to
absolute submission. Berrhoea, like several Greek cities, had
fallen into ruins ; it was now rebuilt, and received the name
of Irenopolis. Strong garrisons were placed in Philippopolis
and Auchialos, to cut off all communication between the
Sclavonians in the empire, and their countrymen under the
Bulgarian government. The Sclavonians in Thrace and
1 Irene must have felt that there was some justice in the saying by which the Greeks
characterised the hopeless demoralisation of her favourites : " If you have a eunuch,
kill him ; if you haven't one, buy one, and kill him."
2 ft is to St. Irene the martyr, and not to the imperial saint, that the present
cathedral of Athens is dedicated. The festival of the empress saint is on the jch
Aurust. Mrnfllogi-umi iii. 195.
3 Stavrakios was one of Irene's favourite eunuchs. Theophanes, 384.
82 The Contest with the Iconoclasts
Macedonia, though unable to maintain their provincial
independence, still took advantage of their position, when
removed from the eye of the local administration, to form
bands of robbers and pirates, which rendered the communica-
tions with Constantinople and Thessalonica at times insecure
both by land and sea. 1
After Irene had dethroned her son, the Sclavonian popu-
lation gave proofs of dangerous activity. A conspiracy was
formed to place one of the sons of Constantine V. on the
throne. Irene had banished her brothers-in-law to Athens,
where they were sure of being carefully watched by her
relations, who were strongly interested in supporting her cause.
The project of the partisans of the exiled princes to seize
Constantinople was discovered, and it was found that the chief
reliance of the Isaurian party in Greece was placed in the
assistance they expected to derive from the Sclavonian popu-
lation. The chief of Velzetia was to have carried off the sons
of Constantine V. from Athens, when the plan was discovered
and frustrated by the vigilance of Irene's friends. 2 The four
unfortunate princes, who had already lost their tongues, were
now deprived of their sight, and exiled with their brother
Nicephorus to Panormus, where they were again made tools
of a conspiracy in the reign of Michael I.
The war with the Saracens was carried on with varied
success during the reigns of Leo IV., Constantine VI., and
Irene. The military talents of Leo III. and Constantine V.
had formed an army that resisted the forces of the caliphs
under the powerful government of Mansur; and even after
the veterans had been disbanded by Irene, the celebrated
Haroun Al Rashid was unable to make any permanent
conquests, though the empire was engaged in war with the
Saracens, the Bulgarians, and the troops of Charlemagne at
the same time.
In the year 782, Haroun was sent by his father, the Caliph
Mahdy, to invade the empire, at the head of one hundred
thousand men, attended by Rabia and Jahja the Barmecid.
The object of the Mohammedan prince was, however, rather
directed to pillaging the country, and carrying off prisoners to
1 See the danger to which Theodore Studita was exposed, at page 78.
2 Theophanes, 400. It is difficult to fix the position of Vejzetia. The geographical
nomenclature of^the Sclavonians gives us the same repetition of the same names, in
widely-distant districts, that we find in our own colonies. Theophanes, 376, mentions
Verzetia as a frontier district of Bulgaria. This passage is remarkable for containing
the earliest mention of the Russians m Byzantme history.
The Isaurian Dynasty 83
supply the slave-markets of his father's dominions, than to
effect permanent conquests. The absence of a considerable
part of the Byzantine army, which was engaged in Sicily
suppressing the rebellion of Helpidios, enabled Haroun to
march through all Asia Minor to the shores of the Bosphoras,
and from the hill above Sutari to gaze on Constantinople,
which must then have presented a more imposing aspect than
Bagdad. Irene was compelled to purchase peace, or rather
to conclude a truce for three years, by paying an annual
tribute of seventy thousand pieces of gold, and stipulating to
allow the Saracen army to retire unmolested with all its
plunder; for Haroun and his generals found that their ad-
vance had involved them in many difficulties, of which an
active enemy might have taken advantage. Haroun Al
Rashid is said to have commanded in person against the
Byzantine empire in eight campaigns. Experience taught
him to respect the valour and discipline of the Christian
armies, whenever able officers enjoyed the confidence of the
court of Constantinople ; and when he ascended the throne,
he deemed it necessary to form a permanent army along the
Mesopotamian frontier, to strengthen the fortifications of the
towns with additional works, and add to their means of
defence by planting in them new colonies of Mohammedan
inhabitants. 1 During the time Constantine VI. ruled the
empire, he appeared several times at the head of the Byzan-
tine armies, and his fickle character did not prevent his
displaying firmness in the field. His popularity with the
soldiers was viewed with jealousy by his mother, who laboured
to retard his movements, and prevent him from obtaining
any decided success. The Saracens acknowledged that the
Greeks were their superiors in naval affairs ; but in the year 792
they defeated the Byzantine fleet in the gulf of Attalia with
great loss. The admiral, Theophilos, was taken prisoner, and
solicited by the caliph to abjure Christianity and enter his
service. The admiral refused to forsake his religion or serve
against his country, and Haroun Al Rashid was mean enough
to order him to be put to death.
When the Saracens heard that Constantine had been de-
throned, and the empire was again ruled by a woman whom
they had already compelled to pay tribute, they again plundered
Asia Minor up to the walls of Ephesus. Irene, whose ministers
were occupied with court intrigues, took no measures to resist
1 Weil, GeschicktederCl">K^n. \\. rrx
84 The Contest with the Iconoclasts
the enemy, and was once more obliged to pay tribute to the
caliph. 1 The annual incursions of the Saracens into the
Christian territory were made in great part for the purpose of
carrying away slaves ; and great numbers of Christians were
sold throughout the caliph's dominions into hopeless slavery.
Haroun, therefore, took the field in his wars with the Byzantine
empire more as a slave-merchant than a conqueror. Eut this
very circumstance, which made war a commercial speculation,
introduced humanity into the hostile operations of the Chris
tians and Mohammedans : the lower classes were spared, as
they were immediately sold for the price they would bring in
the first slave-market ; while prisoners of the better class were
retained, in order to draw from them a higher ransom than
their value as slaves, or to exchange them for men of equal
rank who had fallen into the hands of the enemy. This cir-
cumstance had at last brought about a regular exchange of
prisoners as early as the reign of Constantine V., A.D. 769.*
In the year 797, a new clause was inserted in a treaty for the
exchange of prisoners, binding the contracting parties to re-
lease aU supernumerary captives, on the payment of a fixed
sum for each individual. 3 This arrangement enabled the
Christians, who were generally the greatest sufferers, to save
theii^ friends from death or perpetual slavery, but it added to
the inducements of the Saracens to invade the empire. The
Byzantine, or, as they were still called, the Roman armies,
were placed at a disadvantage in this species of warfare. Their
discipline was adapted to defensive military operations, or to
meet the enemy on the field of battle, but not to act with
rapidity in plundering and carrying off slaves ; while the state
of society in Christian countries rendered the demand for
slaves less constant than in countries where polygamy pre-
vailed, and women were excluded from many of the duties of
domestic service.
The war on the Bulgarian frontier was carried on simul-
taneously with that against the Mohammedans. In the year
788, a Bulgarian army surprised the general of Thrace, who
had encamped carelessly on the banks of the Strymon, and
destroyed him, with the greater part of the troops. In 791,
1 Theophanes gives the Byzantine account of the Saracen war, which has been
compared with the Arabian authorities by Weil, Geschictt der Chalifen, ii 155.
2 Theophanes, 374.
^ * Three thousand seven hundred prisoners were exchanged, exclusive of the ad-
ditional individuals ransomed by the Christians. A similar treaty was concluded
between Haroun and Nicephorus in 805. Notices tt Extraits des MS. viii. 193.
The Isaurian Dynasty 85
Constantine VI. took the field In person against Cardam, king
of the Bulgarians, but the campaign was without any result: in
the following year, however, the Emperor was defeated in a
pitched battle, in which several of the ablest generals of the
Roman armies were slain. Yet, in 796, Constantine again led
his troops against the Bulgarians : though victorious, he obtained
no success sufficient to compensate his former defeat. The
effects of the military organisation of the frontier by Constan-
tine V. are visible in the superiority which the Byzantine
armies assumed, even after the loss of a battle, and the con-
fidence with which they carried the war into the Bulgarian
territory. 1
The Byzantine empire was at this period the country in
which there reigned a higher degree of order, and more justice,
than in any other. This is shown by the extensive emigra-
tion of Armenian Christians which took place in the year 787.
The Caliph Haroun Al Rashid, whose reputation among the
Mohammedans has arisen rather from his orthodoxy than his
virtues, persecuted his Christian subjects with great cruelty,
and at last his oppression induced twelve thousand Armenians
to quit their native country, and settle in the Byzantine
empire. 2 Some years later, in the reign of Michael III. the
drunkard, orthodoxy became the great feature in the Byzantine
administration; and, unfortunately, Christian orthodoxy strongly
resembled Mohammedanism in the spirit of persecution. The
Paulicians were then persecuted by the emperors, as the
Armenians had previously been by the caliphs, and fled for
toleration to the Mohammedans.
1 Theophanes, 391-394. Constantine VI. and his grandfather, Constantine V., sao
said to have been the only emperors before John I., Ziniskes, who defeated the Bul-
garians in their own country. Leo Diaconus, 104, edit. Bonn.
2 Cbamich, History of Armenia^ ii. 393.
CHAPTER II
THE REIGNS OF NICEPHORUS I., MICHAEL L, AXD
LEO V. THE ARMENIAN. A.D. 802-820
SECTION I
NICEPHORUS I. 8o2-8ll
His family and character Rebellion of Bardanes Tolerant ecclesiastical
policy Oppressive fiscal administration Relations with Charlemagne
Saracen war Defeat o/ Sclavonians at Patras Bulgarian war
Death of Nicephorus.
NICEPHORUS held the office of grand logathetes, or treasurer,
when he dethroned Irene. He was born at Seleucia, in
Pisidia, of a family which claimed descent from the Arabian
kings. His ancestor Djaballah, the Christian monarch of
Ghassan in the time of Heraclius, abjured the allegiance of
the Roman empire, and embraced the Mohammedan religion.
He carried among the stern and independent Moslems the
monarchical pride and arrogance of a vassal court. As he was
performing the religious rites of the pilgrimage in the mosque
at Mecca, an Arab accidentally trod on his cloak ; Djaballah,
enraged that a king should be treated with so little respect,
struck the careless Arab in the face, and knocked out some of
his teeth. The justice of the Caliph Omar knew no distinc-
tion of persons, and the king of Ghassan was ordered to make
satisfactory reparation to the injured Arab, or submit to the
law of retaliation. The monarch's pride was so deeply
wounded by this sentence that he fled to Constantinople, and
renounced the Mohammedan religion. 1 ' From this king the
Arabs, who paid the most minute attention to genealogy,
allow that Nicephorus was lineally descended. 2
The leading features of the reign of Nicephorus were politi-
cal order and fiscal oppression. His character was said to be
veiled in impenetrable hypocrisy ; yet anecdotes are recounted
1 Abulpharagius, Chron. Syr. 139. Oakley, History of the Saracens, i. 150. Eich-
horn, De Antiques. Hist. Arab Monumentis, 171, gives an account of the same event
from Ibn Kathaiba.
2 Conq-utte de ^Egyj>tt t par Wakedy, pubiiee par Hamaker, 66. Lebeau, ffistoir*
dv. Bats-Empire, xiv. 393, note 3, edit. St. Mariin.
Reign of Nicephorus I. 87
vhich indicate that he made no secret of his avarice, and the
5ther vices attributed to him. His orthodoxy was certainly
suspicious, but, on the whole, he appears to have been an able
ind humane prince. He has certainly obtained a worse reputa-
:ion in history than many emperors who have been guilty oi
greater crimes. Many anecdotes are recounted concerning
bis rapacity.
^ As soon as he received the Imperial crown, he bethought
himself of the treasures Irene had concealed, and resolved to
gain possession of them. These treasures are conceived by
the Byzantine historians to be a part of the Immense sums
Leo III. and Constantine V. were supposed to have accumu-
lated^ The abundance and low price of provisions which had
prevailed, particularly in the reign of Constantine V,, was
ascribed to the rarity of specie caused by the hoards accumu-
lated by these emperors* Irene was said to know where all
this wealth was concealed ; and though her administration had
been marked by lavish expenditure and a diminution of the
axes, still she was believed to possess immense sums. If we
believe the story of the chronicles, Nicephorus presented him-
self to Irene in a private garb, and assured her that he had
only assumed the imperial crown to serve her and save her
life. By flattery mingled with Intimidation, he obtained
possession of her treasures, and then, in violation of his
promises, banished her to Lesbos.
The dethroned Constantine had been left by his mother in
possession of great wealth. Nicephorus is accused of in-
gratiating himself into the confidence of the blind prince,
gaining possession of these treasures, and then neglecting
him. Loud complaints were made against the extortion of
the tax-gatherers in the reigns of Constantine VI. and Irene,
and Nicephorus established a court of review to revise the
accounts of every public functionary. But his enemies accused
him of converting this court into a means of confiscating the
property of the guilty, instead of enabling the sufferers to
recover their losses.
The accession of Nicephorus was an event unexpected
both by the people and the army ; and the success of a man
whose name was previously almost unknown beyond the
circle of the administration, held out a hope to every man of
influence that an emperor, who owed his elevation to a
conspiracy of eunuchs and a court intrigue, might easily be
driven from the throne. Bardanes, whom Nicephorus ap~
88 The Contest with the Iconoclasts
pointed general of the troops of five Asiatic themes to march
against the Saracens, instead of leading this army against
Haroun Al Rashid, proclaimed himself emperor. He was
supported by Thomas the Sclavonian, 1 as well as by Leo the
Armenian and Michael the Armorian, who both subsequently
mounted the throne. The crisis was one of extreme diffi-
culty, but Nicephoras soon convinced the world that he was
worthy of the throne. The rebel troops were discouraged
by his preparations, and rendered ashamed of their conduct
by his reproaches. Leo and Michael were gained over by a
promise of promotion ; and Bardanes, seeing his army rapidly
dispersing, negotiated for his own pardon. He was allowed
to retire to a monastery he had founded in the island of
Prote, but his estates were confiscated. Shortly after, while
Bardanes was living in seclusion as an humble monk, a band
of Lycaonian brigands crossed over from the Asiatic coast
and put out his eyes. As the perpetrators of this atrocity
were evidently moved by personal vengeance, suspicion fell so
strongly on the emperor, that he deemed it necessary to take
a solemn oath in public that he had no knowledge of the
crime, and never entertained a thought of violating the safe-
conduct he had given to Bardanes. This safe-conduct, it
must be observed, had received the ratification of the Pat-
riarch and the senate. Bardanes himself did not appear
to suspect the emperor; he showed the greatest resignation
and piety ; gave up the use of wheaten bread, wine, oil, and
fish, living entirely on barley cakes, which he baked in the
embers. In summer he wore a single leather garment, and in
winter a mantle of hair-cloth. In this way he lived con-
tentedly, and died during the reign of Leo the Armenian:
The civil transactions of the reign of Nicephorus present
some interesting facts. Though a brave soldier, he was
essentially a statesman, and his conviction that the finance
department was the peculiar business of the sovereign, and
the key of public affairs, can be traced in many significant
events. He eagerly pursued the centralising policy of his
Iconoclast predecessors, and strove to render the civil power
supreme over the clergy and the Church. He forbade the
Patriarch to hold any communications with the Pope, whom
he considered as the Patriarch of Charlemagne; and this
prudent measure has caused much of the virulence with which
his memory has been attacked by ecclesiastical and orthodox
1 Concerning Thomas, see pajje zoo, not i, and page tax. note *.
Reign of Nlcephorus L 89
historians. 1 The Patriarch Tarasios had shown himself no
enemy to the supremacy of the emperor, and he was highly
esteemed by Nicephoras as one of the heads of the party,
both in the church and state, which the emperor was anxious
to conciliate. When Tarasios died, A.D. 806, Nicephoras
made a solemn display of his grief. The body, ckd in the
patriarchal robes, crowned with the mitre, and seated on
the episcopal throne, according to the usage of the East, was
transported to a monastery founded by the deceased Patriarch
on the shores of the Bosphorus, where the funeral was per-
formed with great pomp, the emperor assisting, embracing the
body, and covering it with his purple robe. 2
Nicephorus succeeded in finding an able and popular
prelate, disposed to support his secular views, worthy to
succeed Tarasios. This was the historian Nicephoros. He
had already retired from public life, and was residing in a
monastery he had founded, though he had not yet taken
monastic vows. On his election, he entered the clergy, and
took the monastic habit This last step was rendered neces-
sary by the usage of the Greek church, which now only
admitted monks to the episcopal dignity. To give the
ceremony additional splendour, Stavrakios, the son of the
Emperor Nicephorus, who had received the imperial crown
from his father, was deputed to be present at the tonsure.
The Patriarch Nicephoros was no sooner installed than the
emperor began to execute his measures for establishing the
supremacy of the civil power. Tarasios, after sanctioning
the divorce of Constantine VI., and allowing the celebration
of his second marriage, had yielded to the influence of Irene
and the monks, and declared both acts illegal. The Emperor
Nicephorus considered this a dangerous precedent, and re-
solved to obtain an affirmation of the validity of the second
marriage. The new Patriarch assembled a synod, in which
the marriage was declared valid, and the abbot Joseph, who
had celebrated it, was absolved from all ecclesiastical censure.
The monastic party, enraged at the emperor seeking eman-
cipation from their authority, broke out into a furious opposi-
tion. Theodore Studita, their leader, calls this synod an
assembly of adulterers and heretics, and reproached the
Patriarch with sacrificing the interests of religion. 3 But
Nicephorus having succeeded in bringing about this explosion
1 Theophanes, 419. 2 Ibid. 407.
* In a letter to the Pope Ba.roniiAnna.les Ecclts. ix. 378, A.D. 806.
90 The Contest with the Iconoclasts
of monastic Ire on a question in which he had no persona!
interest, the people, who now regarded the unfortunate
Constantine VI. as hardly used on the subject of his marriage
with Theodota, could not be persuaded to take any part ^in
the dispute. Theodore's violence was also supposed to arise
from Ms disappointment at not being elected Patriarch,
Public opinion became so favourable to the emperor's
ecclesiastical views, that a synod assembled in 809 declared
the Patriarch and bishops to possess the power of granting
dispensations from rules of ecclesiastical law, and that the
emperor was not bound by legislative provisions enacted for
subjects, Nicephorus considered the time had now come
for compelling the monks to obey his authority. He ordered
Theodore Studita and Plato to take part in the ecclesiastical
ceremonies with the Patriarch; and when these refractory
abbots refused, he banished them to Prince's Island, and then
deposed them. Had the monks now opposed the emperor on
the reasonable ground that he was violating the ^ principles
on which the security of society depended, by setting up his
individual will against the systematic rules of justice, the
maxims of Roman law, the established usages of the empire,
and the eternal rules of equity, they would have found a
response in the hearts of the people. Such doctrines might
have led to some political reform in the government, and
to the establishment of some constitutional check on the
exercise of arbitrary power; and the exclamation of Theo-
dore, in one of his letters to the Pope, " Where now \s the
gospel for kings ?" might then have revived the spirit of
liberty among the Greeks.
At this time there existed a party which openly advocated
the right of every man to the free exercise of his own religious
opinions in private, and urged the policy of the government
abstaining from every attempt to enforce unity. Some of this
party probably indulged in as liberal speculations concerning
the political rights of men, but such opinions were generally
considered incompatible with social order. 1 The emperor,
however, favoured the tolerant party, and gave its members
a predominant influence in his cabinet Greatly to the dis-
satisfaction of the Greek party, he refused to persecute the
Paulicians, who had formed a considerable community in the
eastern provinces of Asia Minor ; and he tolerated the Athin-
gans in Pisidia and Lycaonia, allowing them to exercise their
1 Compare TheopJianes, 413 and 419,
Reign of Nicephoras I. 91
religion in peace, as long as they violated none of the laws of
the empire. 1
The financial administration of Nicephoras is justly accused
of severity, and even of rapacity. He affords a good personifi-
cation of the fiscal genius of the Roman empire, as described
by the Emperor Justin II. , upwards of three centuries earlier.- 2
His thoughts were chiefly of tributes and taxes ; and, unfortu-
nately for his subjects, his intimate acquaintance with financial
affairs enabled him to extort a great increase of revenue, with-
out appearing to impose new taxes. But though he is justly
accused of oppression, he does not merit the reproach of
avarice often urged against him. When he considered expendi-
ture necessary, he was liberal of the public money. He spared
no expense to keep up numerous armies, and it was not from
ill-judged economy, but from want of military talents, that his
campaigns were unsuccessful.
Nicephoras restored the duties levied at the entrance of the
Hellespont and the Bosphorus, which had been remitted by
Irene to purchase popularity after her cruelty to her son. 8 He
ordered all the provinces to furnish a stated number of able-
bodied recruits for the army } drawn from among the poor, and
obliged each district to pay the sum of eighteen nomismata
a-head for their equipment enforcing the old Roman prin-
ciple of mutual responsibility for the payment of any taxes, in
case the recruits should possess property liable to taxation. 4
One-twelfth was likewise added to the duty on public docu-
ments. An additional tax of two nomismata was imposed on
all domestic slaves purchased beyond the Hellespont. The
inhabitants of Asia Minor who engaged in commerce were
compelled to purchase a certain quantity of landed property
belonging to the fisc at a fixed valuation : and, what
tended to blacken the emperor's reputation more than
anything else, he extended the hearth-tax to the property
of ^the church, to monasteries, and charitable institutions,
which had hitherto been exempted from the burden ; and he
1 Theophancs, 413, For the Paulicians, see Gibbon, x. 169 ; Mosheim, II. 255 ;
Neanderj iii. 244,,
- u D)e noctuque pro utilitate reiptablzcas subtiliter cogitantes ilia properamus
renpvare, quanta^ in locls opnorttmis sunt necessaria et maxime pro tributis atque
reditibus, sine quibus impossible est aliquid agere prosperum." Const. Justini et Ti&.
vii. a. JDe A dscriptitiis et Colonis Corp. J-ur. Civ. ii, 512, 4to edit. ster.
3 Theophanes, 401.
4 Eighteen nomismata Isjtiear!y_ ^10. We see from this that the individual in the
ranks was more expensive in ancient than in modern times. He acted also a more
important part. Artillery was then inferior, and less expensive. We must not forget
that, during the period embraced in this volume, the Byzantine army was tbe finest in
the world.
92 The Contest with the Iconoclasts
enforced the payment of arrears from the commencement of
his reign. The innumerable private monasteries, which it was
the fashion to multiply, withdrew so much property from taxa-
tion that this measure was absolutely necessary to prevent
frauds on the fisc; but though necessary, it was unpopular.
Nicephorus, moreover, permitted the sale of gold ^ and silver
pkte dedicated as holy offerings by private superstition ; and,
like many modern princes, he quartered troops in monasteries.
It is also made an accusation against his government, that ^he
famished the merchants at Constantinople engaged in foreign
trade with the sum of twelve pounds' weight of gold, for which
they were compelled to pay twenty per cent interest It is
difficult, from the statements of the Byzantine writers concern-
ing the legislative acts, to form a precise idea of the emperor's
object in some cases, or the effects of the law in Bothers. His
enemies do not hesitate to enumerate among his crimes the
exertions he made to establish military colonies in the^ waste
districts on the Bulgarian frontier, secured by the line of
fortresses constructed by Constantine V. His object was to
cut off effectually all communication between the unruly
Sclavonians in Thrace and the population to the north. There
can be no doubt of his enforcing every claim of the govern-
ment with rigour. He ordered a strict census of all agricul-
turists who were not natives to be made throughout the
provinces, and the land they cultivated was declared to belong
to the imperial domain. He then converted these cultivators
into slaves of the fisc, by the application of an old law, which
declared that all who had cultivated the same land for the
space of thirty years consecutively, were restricted to the
condition of coloni^ or serfs attached to the soil. 1
The conspiracies which were formed against Nicephorus
cannot be admitted as evidence of his unpopularity, for the
best of the Byzantine monarchs were as often victims of secret
plots as the worst. The elective title to the empire rendered
the prize to successful ambition one which overpowered the
respect due to their country's laws in the breasts of the courtiers
of Constantinople. It is only from popular insurrections that
we can judge of the sovereign's unpopularity. The principles
of humanity that rendered Nicephorus averse to religious
persecution, caused him to treat conspirators with much less
cruelty than most Byzantine emperors. Perhaps the historians
* Theojjhanes, 411, 4x3, 414. Cedrenus, ii. 480. Cod. Justin. De Agricolis *t
C/nsztts, xi. 41-9.
Reign of Nlcephorus L 93
hostile to his government have deceived posterity, giving con-
siderable importance to insignificant plots, as we see modem
diplomatists continually deceiving their courts by magnifying
trifling expressions of dissatisfaction into dangerous presages
of widespread discontent. In the year 808, however, a con-
spiracy was really formed to pkce Arsaber a patrician, who
held the office of questor, or minister of legislation on the
throne. Though Arsaber was of an Armenian family, many
persons of rank were leagued with him ; yet Nicephoms only
confiscated his estates, and compelled him to embrace the
monastic life. 1 An attempt was made to assassinate the em-
peror by a man who rushed into the palace, and seized the
sword of one of the guards of the imperial chamber, severely
wounding many persons before he was secured. The criminal
was a monk, who was put to the torture, according to the
cruel practice of the time ; but Nicephoms, on learning that
he was a maniac, ordered him to be placed in a lunatic asylum.
Indeed, though historians accuse Nicephoms of inhumanity,
the punishment of death, in cases of treason, was never carried
into effect during his reign.
The relations of Nicephorus with Charlemagne were for
a short time amicable. A treaty was concluded at Aix-la-
Chapelle, in 803, regulating the frontiers of the two empires.
In this treaty, the supremacy of the Eastern Empire over
Venice, Istria, the maritime parts of Dalmatia, and the south
of Italy, was acknowledged; while the authority of the
Western Empire in Rome, the exarchate of Ravenna, and the
Pentapolis, was recognised by Nicephorus. 2 The commerce
of Venice with the East was already so important, and the
Byzantine administration afforded so many guarantees for the
security of property, that the Venetians, in spite of the
menaces of Charlemagne, remained firm in their allegiance to
Nicephorus. Istria, on the other hand, placed itself sub-
sequently under the protection of the Frank emperor, and
paid him a tribute of 354 marks. Pepin, king of Italy, was
also charged by his father to render the Venetians, and the
allies of the Byzantine empire in the north of Italy, tributary to
1 Arsaber and Bardanes were both of Armenian descent. Chaimch (or Tchamtchian)
says, " In this age, three Armenians were elected at different periods to the imperial
throne of the Greeks. Two of them, Vardan and Arshavir, only held that high post for
a few days. The other, Levond, (Leo V.) an Arzunian, reigned seven years. Not long
after, Prince Manuelj of the tribe of the Mamiconians, greatly distinguished himself at
the court of the emperor (Theophilus) by his undaunted valour and skill in war."
History of Armenia, (translated by Avdall.) vol. i. 399.
2 A. Dandolo. Muratori, Scrip. Rer. Itctl, xii.
94 The Contest with the Iconoclasts
the Franks ; but NIcephoras sent a fleet into the Adriatic, and
effectually protected his friends. A body of people, called
Orobiatse, who maintained themselves as an independent
community in the Apennines, pretending to preserve their
allegiance to the emperor of Constantinople, plundered
Populonium in Tuscany. They afford us proof how much
easier Charlemagne found it to extend his conquests than to
preserve order. 1 Venice, it is true, found itself in the end
compelled to purchase peace with the Frank empire, by the
payment of an annual tribute of thirty-six pounds of gold, in
order to secure its commercial relations from interruption ;
and it was not released from this tribute until the time of
Otho the Great. 2 It was during the reign of Nicephorus that
the site of the present city of Venice became the seat of the
Venetian government, Eivalto (Rialto) becoming the residence
of the duke and the principal inhabitants, who retired from
the continent to escape the attacks of Pepin. Heraclea-had
previously been the capital of the Venetian municipality. In
8 10, peace was again concluded between Nicephorus and
Charlemagne, without making any change in frontier of the
two empires.
The power of the caliphate was never more actively em-
ployed than under Haroun Al Rashid, but the reputation of
that prince was by no means so great among his contem-
poraries as it became in after times. Nicephorus was no
sooner seated on the throne, than he refused to pay the caliph
the tribute imposed on Irene. The Arabian historians pre-
tend that his refusal was communicated to Haroun in an in-
solent letter. 3 To resist the attacks of the Saracens, which he
well knew would follow his refusal, he collected a powerful
army in Asia Minor ; but this army broke out into rebellion,
and, as has been already mentioned, proclaimed Bardanes
emperor. The caliph, availing himself of the defenceless
state of the empire, laid waste Asia Minor; and when the
rebellion of Bardanes was extinguished, Nicephorus, afraid to
trust any of the veteran generals with the command of a large
army, placed himself at the head of the troops in Asia, and
was defeated in a great battle at Krasos in Phrygia. 4 After
this victory the Saracens laid waste the country in every
1 Egmhard, Ann. Franc. A.D. 809.
2 Constantine Porphyr. De Adm. Imp. chap. 28, A.D. 962.
3 Weil, Geschichte der Chalifen> ii. 159, gives the letter of the emperor and the
answer of the caliph. I cannot suppose they are authentic.
4 Theophanes, 406.
Reign of Nicephonis L 95
direction, until a rebellion in Chorasan compelled Harouis to
withdraw his troops from the Byzantine frontier, and gave
Nicephonis time to reassemble a new army. As soon as the
affairs in the East were tranquillised, the caliph again invaded
the Byzantine empire. Haroun himself fixed his headquarters
at Tyana, where he built a mosque, to mark that he annexed
that city to the Mohammedan empire. One division of his
army, sixty thousand strong, took and destroyed Ancyra.
Heraclea on Mount Taurus was also captured, and sixteen
thousand prisoners were carried off in a single campaign, 1 A,D.
806. Nicephonis, unable to arrest these ravages, endeavoured
to obtain peace ; and in spite of the religious bigotry which is
supposed to have envenomed the hostilities of Haroun, the
imperial embassy consisted of the bishop of Synnada, the
abbot of Gulaias, and the economos of Amastris. As winter
was approaching, and the Saracens were averse to remain
longer beyond Mount Taurus, the three ecclesiastical ambas-
sadors succeeded in arranging a treaty; but Nicephonis was
compelled to submit to severe and degrading conditions.
He engaged not to rebuild the frontier fortifications which had
been destroyed by the caliph's armies, and he consented to
pay a tribute of thirty thousand pieces of gold annually,
adding three additional pieces for himself, and three for his
son and colleague Stavrakios, which we must suppose to have
been medallions of superior size, since they were offered as
a direct proof that the emperor of the Romans paid a personal
tribute to the caliph. 2
Nicephorus seems to have been sadly deficient in feelings
of honour, for, the moment he conceived he could evade the
stipulations of the treaty without danger, he commenced
repairing the ruined fortifications. His subjects suffered for
his conduct. The caliph again sent troops to invade the
empire; Cyprus and Rhodes were ravaged; the bishop of
Cyprus was compelled to pay one thousand dinars as his ran-
som ; and many Christians were carried away from Asia Minor,
and settled in Syria.
The death of Haroun, in 809, delivered the Christians from
a barbarous enemy, who ruined their country like a brigand,
1 Gibbon, x. 55, adopts the opinion that the Pontic Heraclea was taken in an earlier
campaign : but St. Martin, in his notes to Lebeau, xii. 426, points out that this is not
probable. Theophanes. 407. Schlosser, 350. Weil, u. 160.
* If these tribute- pieces were medajlions Hke the celebrated medal of Justinian I,,
which was stolen from, the National Library at Paris, the sight of one would gladden
the heart of a numismatist. See Finder and Friedlander, Die Mftnzeh. Justinians,
96 The Contest with the Iconoclasts
without endeavouring to subdue it like a conqueror. Haroun's
personal valour, his charity, his liberality to men of letters, and
his religious zeal, have secured him interested panegyrics,
which have drowned the voice of justice. The hero of the
Arabkn Tales and the ally of Charlemagne is vaunted as one
of the greatest princes who ever occupied a throne. The dis-
graceful murder of the Barmecides, and many other acts of
injustice and cruelty, give him a very different character in
history. His plundering incursions into the Byzantine empire
might have been glorious proofs of courage in some petty
Syrian chieftain, but they degrade the ruler of the richest and
most extensive empire on the earth into a mere slave-dealer. 1
The Saracens continued their incursions, and in the year
8 1 1, Leo the Armenian, then lieutenant-governor of the
Armeniac theme, left a sum of thirteen hundred pounds* weight
of silver, which had been collected as taxes, at Euchaites,
without a sufficient guard. A band of Saracens carried off this
money ; and for his negligence Leo was ordered to Constanti-
nople, where the future emperor was scourged, and deprived
of his command. 2
The Sclavonian colonies in Greece were now so powerful
that they formed the project of rendering themselves masters
of the Peloponnesus, and expelling the Greek population.
The Byzantine expedition, in the early part of the regency of
Irene, had only subjected these intruders to tribute, without
diminishing their numbers or breaking their power. 3 The
troubled aspect of public affairs, after Nicephorus seized the
throne, induced them to consider the moment favourable for
gaining their independence. They assembled a numerous
force under arms, and selected Patras as their first object of
attack. The possession of a commercial port was necessary to
their success, in order to enable them to supply their wants
from abroad, and obtain a public revenue by the duties on the
produce they exported. Patras was then the most flourishing
harbour on the west coast of Greece, and its possession would
have enabled the Sclavonians to establish direct communica-
tions with, and draw assistance from, the kindred race
established on the shores of the Adriatic, and from the Saracen
1 The story of the three apples in the Arabian Nights gives a correct idea of the
violence and injustice of the celebrated caliph, whose hasty temper was well knownj. For
the causes of Haroun's injustice to the Barmecides, see Weil, Geschichte der Chc&ifen
ii. 137.
2 Theophanes, 414. Script, jost Thtoph. Anon. Cont. 7. Gcnesius, 6.
9 Theopbanes, 385.
Reign of Nicephorus I. 97
pirates, among whose followers the Saclavi, or Sclavonian
captives and renegades, made a considerable figure. 1 The
property of the Greeks beyond the protection of the wailed
towns was plundered, to supply the army destined to besiege
Patras with provisions, and a communication was opened with
a Saracen squadron of African pirates who blockaded the gulf. 3
Patras was kept closely Invested, until want began to threaten
the inhabitants with death, and compelled them to think of
surrender.
The Byzantine government had no regular troops nearer
than Corinth, which Is three days' march from Patras. But
the governor of the province who resided there was unable
Immediately to detach a force sufficient to attack the besieging
army. In the mean time, as the inhabitants were anxiously
waiting for relief, one of their scouts, stationed to announce
the approach of succours from Corinth, accidentally gave the
signal agreed upon. The enthusiasm of the Greeks was excited
to the highest pitch by the hopes of speedy deliverance, and,
eager for revenge on their enemies, they threw open the city
gates and made a vigorous attack on the besiegers, whom they
drove from their position with considerable loss.
The Byzantine general arrived three days after this victory.
His jealousy of the military success of the armed citizens
induced him to give currency to the popular accounts,
which he found the superstition of the people had already
circulated, that St. Andrew, the patron of Patras, had shown
himself on the field of battle. The devastations committed by
the Sclavonians, the victory of the Greeks, and the miraculous
appearance of the apostle at the head of the besieged, were all
announced to the Emperor Nicephorus, whose political views
rendered him more willing to reward the church for St. Andrew's
assistance, than to allow his subjects to perceive that their own
valour was sufficient to defend their property : he feared they
might discover that a well-constituted municipal government
would always be able to protect them, while a distant central
authority was often incapable, and generally indifferent. Nice-
phorus was too experienced a statesman, with the examples of
Venice and Cherson before his eyes, not to fear that such a
discovery among the Greek population in the Peloponnesus
would tend to circumscribe the fiscal energy of the Constant!-
nopolitan treasury. The church, and not the people, profited
1 Remaud, Invasions des Sarrazins en France, 237
2 Constant. Porphyr. DC Adm. hnj!>. chap. 49.
98 The Contest with the Iconoclasts
by the success of the Greeks : the imperial share of the spoil
taken from the Sclavonians, both property and slaves, was
bestowed on the church of St. Andrew ; and the bishops of
Methone, Lacedemon, and Corone, were declared suffragans
of the metropolitan of Patras. This charter of Nicephorus
was ratified by Leo VI., the Wise, in a new and extended
act. 1
The Bulgarians were always troublesome neighbours, as a
rude people generally proves to a wealthy population. Their
king, Crumn, was an able and warlike prince. For some time
after his accession, he was occupied by hostilities with the
Avars, but as soon as that war was terminated, he seized an
opportunity of plundering a Byzantine military chest, contain-
ing eleven hundred pounds of gold, destined for the payment
of the troops stationed on the banks of the Strymon.^ After
surprising the camp, dispersing the troops, murdering the
officers, and capturing the treasure, he extended his ravages
as far as Sardica, where he slew six thousand Roman soldiers.
Nicephorus immediately assembled a considerable army,
and marched to re-establish the security of his northern
frontier. The death of Haroun left so large a force at his
disposal that he contemplated the destruction of the Bulgarian
kingdom ; but the Byzantine troops in Europe were in a dis-
affected state, and their indiscipline rendered the campaign
abortive. The resolution of Nicephorus remained, neverthe-
less, unshaken, though his life was in danger from the sedi-
tious conduct of the soldiery ; and he was in the end com-
pelled to escape from his own camp, and seek safety in
Constantinople.
In 8 1 1, a new army, consisting chiefly of conscripts and
raw recruits, was hastily assembled, and hurried into the field.
In preparing for the campaign, Nicephorus displayed extreme
financial severity, and ridiculed the timidity of those who
counselled delay with a degree of cynicism which paints well
the singular character of this bold financier. Having resolved
to tax monasteries, and levy an augmentation of the land-tax
from the nobility for the eight preceding years, his ministers
endeavoured to persuade him of the impolicy of his proceed-
ings ; but he only exclaimed, " What can you expect ! God
has hardened iny heart, and my subjects can expect nothing
else from me." The historian Theophanes says that these
words were repeated to him by Theodosios, the minister to
1 LeuncUviu;, Jus Graeco^Romanum^ 278. Lequieu, Ortetts Ckristia.nus % ii; 179,
Reign of Nicephoras I. 99
whom they were addressed. 1 The energy of Nicephoras was
equal to his rapacity, but it was not supported by a corre-
sponding degree of military skill He led his army so rapid!)'
to Markelles, a fortress built by Constantine VI., within the
line of the Bulgarian frontier, that Cnimn, alarmed at his
vigour, sent an embassy to solicit peace. 2 This proposal was
rejected, and the emperor pushed forward and captured a resi-
dence of the Bulgarian monarch's near the frontiers, in which
a considerable amount of treasure was found. Crumn, dis-
pirited at this loss, offered to accept any terms of peace
compatible with the existence of his independence, but
Nicephorus would agree to no terms but absolute submis-
sion.
The only contemporary account of the following events is
in the chronicle of Theophanes, and it leaves us in doubt
whether the rashness of Nicephorus or the treason of his
generals was the real cause of his disastrous defeat. Even if
we give Crumn credit for great military skill, the success of
the stratagem, by which he destroyed a Byzantine army greatly
superior to his own, could not have been achieved without
some treasonable co-operation in the enemy's camp. It is
certain that an officer of the emperor's household had deserted
at Markelles, carrying away the emperor's wardrobe and one
hundred pounds' weight of gold, and that one of the ablest
engineers in the Byzantine service had previously fled to Bul-
garia. It seems not improbable, that by means of these
officers treasonable communications were maintained with the
disaffected in the Byzantine army.
When Nicephorus entered the Bulgarian territory, Crumn
had a much larger force in his immediate vicinity than the
emperor supposed. The Bulgarian troops, though defeated
in the advance, were consequently allowed to watch the move-
ments of the invaders, and intrench at no great distance with-
out any attempt to dislodge them. It is even said that Crumn
was allowed to work for two days, forming a strong palisade
to circumscribe the operations of the imperial army, while
Nicephorus was wasting his time collecting the booty found
in the Bulgarian palace ; and that, when the emperor saw the
work finished, he exclaimed, "We have no chance of safety
except by being transformed into birds ! " Yet even in this
1 Theoplu. ies, 414. Cedrenus, ii. 481. Zonaras, ii. 124. Theodosips perished with
his master, therefore these words were repeated while he was a favourite minister. It
may thence be inferred that some misconstruction has been put on the circumstances by
the prejudices of Theophanes. 2 Theophancs, 394.
zoo The Contest with the Iconoclasts
desperate position the emperor is said to have neglected the
usual precautions to secure his camp against; a night attack.
Much of this seems incredible,
Cramn made a grand nocturnal attack on the camp of
Nicephorus, just six days after the emperor had invaded the
Bulgarian kingdom. The Byzantine army was taken by sur-
prise, and their camp entered on every side ; the whole bag-
gage and military chest were taken ; the Emperor Nicephoras
and six patricians, with many officers of the highest rank,
were slain; and the Bulgarian king made a drinking-cup of
the skull of the emperor of the Romans, in which the
Sclavonian princes of the Bulgarian court pledged him in the
richest wines of Greece when he celebrated his triumphal
festivals. 1 The Bulgarians must have abandoned their strong
palisade when they attacked the camp, for a considerable por-
tion of the defeated army, with the Emperor Stavrakios, who
was severely wounded, Stephen the general of the guard, and
Theoctistos the master of the palace, reached Adrianople in
safety. Stavrakios was immediately proclaimed his father's
successor, and the army was able and willing to maintain him
on the throne, had he possessed health and ability equal to
the crisis. But the fiscal severity of his father had created a
host of enemies to the existing system of government, and in
the Byzantine empire a change of administration implied a
change of the emperor. The numerous statesmen who ex-
pected to profit by a revolution declared in favour of Michael
Rhangabe, an insignificant noble, who had married Procopia
the daughter of Nicephorus. Stavrakios was compelled by
his brother-in-law to retire into a monastery, where he soon
died of his wounds. He had occupied the throne two months.
SECTION II
MICHAEL I., (RHANGABi), A.D. 812-813
Religious zeal of Michael Bulgarian war Defeat of Michael.
Michael I. was crowned by the Patriarch Nicephoros, after
signing a written declaration that he would defend the church,
protect the ministers of religion, and never put the orthodox
to death. This election of a tool of the bigoted party in the
Byzantine church was a reaction against the tolerant policy of
* Theophancs, 416. Nicephorus was slain on the 25th July, Six.
Reign of Michael L 101
Nicephorus. The new emperor began Ms reign by remitting
all the additional taxes imposed by his predecessor which had
awakened clerical opposition. He was a weak, well-meaning
man ; but his wife Procopia was a lady of superior qualifica-
tions, who united to a virtuous and charitable disposition
something of her fathers vigour of mind. Michael's reign
proved the necessity of always having a firm hand to guide
that complicated administrative machine which the Byzantine
sovereigns inherited from the empire of Rome.
Michael purchased popularity in the capital by the lavish
manner in which he distributed the wealth left by Nicephorus
in the imperial treasury. He bestowed large sums on monas-
teries, hospitals, poor-houses, and other charitable institutions,
and he divided liberal gratuities among the leading members
of the clergy, the chief dignitaries of the state, and the highest
officers of the army. 1 His piety, as well as his party connec-
tions, induced him to admit several monks to a place in
his council ; and he made it an object of political importance
to reconcile the Patriarch Nicephoros with Theodore Studita.
But by abandoning the policy of his predecessor, after it had
received the Patriarch's sanction and become the law of the
church, Michael lost more in public opinion than he gained
by the alliance of a troop of bigoted monks, who laboured to
subject the power of the emperor and the policy of the state
to their own narrow ideas. The abbot Joseph, who had cele-
brated the marriage of the Emperor Constantine VI., was
again excommunicated, as the peace-offering which allowed the
bigots to renew their communion with the Patriarch.
The counsels of Theodore Studita soon involved the gov-
ernment in fresh embarrassment. To signalise his zeal for
orthodoxy, he persuaded the emperor to persecute the Icono-
clasts, who during the preceding reign had been allowed to
profess their opinions without molestation. It was also pro-
posed, in an assembly of the senate, to put the leaders of the
Paulicians and Athigans to death, in order to intimidate their
followers and persuade them to become orthodox Christians.
This method of converting men to the Greek church excited
strong opposition on the part of the tolerant members of the
senate; but the Patriarch and clergy having deserted the
coronation of his son Theophyluctu;,.
102 The Contest with the Iconoclasts
cause of humanity, the permanent interests of Christianity
were sacrificed to the cause of orthodoxy.
While the emperor persecuted a krge body of his subjects
on the northern and eastern frontiers of his empire, he ne-
glected to defend the provinces against the incursions of the
Bulgarians, who ravaged great part of Thrace and Macedonia,
and took several large and wealthy towns. The weight of
taxation which fell on the mass of the popuktion was not
lightened when the emperor relieved the clergy and the
nobility from the additional burdens imposed on them by
Nicephorus. Discontent spread rapidly. A lunatic girl,
pUced in a prominent position, as the emperor passed through
the streets of Constantinople, cried aloud "Descend from
thy seat ! descend, and make room for another ! " The con-
tinual disasters which were announced from the Bulgarian
frontier made the people and the army remember with regret
the prosperous days of Constantine V., when the slave-markets
of the capital were filled with their enemies. Encouraged by
the general dissatisfaction, the Iconoclasts formed a conspiracy
to convey the sons of Constantine V., who were living, blind
and mute, in their exile at Panormus, to the army. The plot
was discovered, and Michael ordered the helpless princes to
be conveyed to Aphinsa, a small island in the Propontis,
where they could be closely guarded. One of the conspirators
had his tongue cut out.
The wars of Mohammed Alemen and Almamun, the sons of
Haroun al Rashid, relieved the empire from all serious danger
on the side of the Saracens. But the Bulgarian war, to which
Michael owed his throne, soon proved the cause of his ruin.
The army and the people despised him, because he owed his
elevation, not to his talents, but to the accident of his mar-
riage, his popularity with the monks, and the weakness of his
character, which made him an instrument in the hands of a
party. Public opinion soon decided that he was unfit to rule
the empire. The year after the death of Nicephorus, Crumn
invaded the empire with a numerous army, and took the town
of Develtos. Michael left the capital accompanied by the
Empress Procopia, in order to place himself at the head of the
troops in Thrace ; but the soldiers showed so much dissatis-
faction at the presence of a female court, that the emperor
turned back to Constantinople from Tzourlou. . The Bulgarian
king took advantage of the disorder which ensued to capture
Anchialos, Berrhoea, Nicasa, and Probaton in Thrace; and
Reign of Michael I. 103
that province fell Into such a state of anarchy, that many of
the colonists established by Nicephoras in Philippopolis and
on the banks of the Strymon abandoned their settlements and
returned to Asia.
Cramn nevertheless offered peace to Michael, on the basis
of a treaty concluded between the Emperor Theodosius III.
and Cornesius, prior to the victories of the Iconoclast princes.
These terms, fixing the frontier at Meleona, and regulating
the duties to be paid on merchandise in the Bulgarian
kingdom, would have been accepted by Michael, but Crumn
availed himself of his success to demand that all deserters and
refugees should be given up. As the Bulgarians were in the
habit of ransoming the greater part of their captives at the
end of each campaign, and of killing the remainder, or selling
them as skves, this clause was introduced into the treaty
to enable Crumn to gratify his vengeance against a number of
refugees whom his tyranny had caused to quit Bulgaria, and
who had generally embraced Christianity. The emperor re-
mitted the examination of these conditions to the imperial
council, and in the discussion which ensued, he, the Patriarch
Nicephoros, and several bishops, declared themselves in favour
of the treaty, on the ground that it was necessary to sacrifice
the refugees for the safety of the natives of the empire who
were in slavery in Bulgaria, and to preserve the population
from further suffering. But Theoctistos the master of the
palace, the energetic Theodore Studita, and a majority of the
senators, declared that such conduct would be an indelible
stain to the Roman empire, and would only invite the
Bulgarians to recommence hostilities by the fear shown in
the concession. The civilians declared It would be an act of
infamy to consign to death, or to a slavery worse than death,
men who had been received as subjects ; and Theodore pro-
nounced that it was an act of impiety to think of delivering
Christians Into the hands of pagans, quoting St. John, "All
that the Father giveth me shall come to me, and him that
cometh to me I will in no wise cast out." 1 The emperor,
from motives of piety, yielded to the advice of Theodore.
Could he have adopted something of the firm character of the
abbot, he would either have obtained peace on his own terms,
or secured victory to his army.
While the emperor was debating at Constantinople, Crumn
pushed forward the siege of Mesembria, which fell into his
1 Gospel of St. John, vi. 37.
IO4 The Contest with the Iconoclasts
hands in November, 812. He acquired great booty, as the
place was a commercial town of considerable importance;
and he made himself master of twenty-six of the brazen tubes
used for propelling Greek fire, with a quantity of the com-
bustible material prepared for use in this artillery. Yet, even
after this alarming news had reached Constantinople, the weak
emperor continued to devote his attention to ecclesiastical
affairs instead of military. He seems to have felt that he was
utterly unfit to conduct the war in person ; yet the Byzantine
or Roman army demanded to be led by the emperor.
In the spring of 813, Michael had an army in the field
prepared to resist the Bulgarians; and Crumn, finding that
his troops were suffering from a severe epidemic, retreated.
The Emperor, proud of his success, returned to his capital.
The epidemic which had interrupted the operations of the
enemy was ascribed to the intervention of Tarasios, who had
been canonised for his services to orthodoxy; and the emperor,
in order to mark his gratitude for his unexpected acquisition
of military renown, covered the tomb of St. Tarasios with
plates of silver weighing ninety-five lb., an act of piety which
added to the contempt the army already felt for their sove-
reign's courage and capacity.
In the month of May, Michael again resumed the command
of the army, but instead of listening to the advice of the
experienced generals who commanded the troops, he allowed
himself to be guided by civilians and priests, or he listened to
the suggestions of his own timidity. There were at the time
three able officers in the army Leo the Armenian, the general
of the Anatolic theme; Michael the Amorian, who commanded
one wing of the army ; and John Aplakes, the general of the
Macedonian troops. Leo and Aplakes urged the emperor to
attack the Bulgarians ; but the Amorian, who was intriguing
against Theoctistos the master of the palace, seems to have
been disinclined to serve the emperor with sincerity. The
Bulgarians were encamped at Bersinikia, about thirty miles
from the Byzantine army; and Michael, after changing his
pkns more than once, resolved at last to risk a battle.
Aplakes, who commanded the Macedonian and Thracian
troops, consisting chiefly of hardy Sclavonian recruits, defeated
the Bulgarian division opposed to him ; but a panic seized a
party of the Byzantine troops; and Leo, with the Asiatic
troops, was accused of allowing Aplakes to be surrounded and
slain, when he might have saved him. Leo certainly saved
Reign of Leo V. 105
his own division, and made it the rallying-point for the
fugitives; yet he does not appear to have been considered
guilty of any neglect by the soldiers themselves. The em-
peror fed to Constantinople, while the defeated army retreated
to Adrianople.
Michael assembled his ministers in the capital, and talked
of resigning his crown ; for he deemed his defeat a judgment
for mounting the throne of his brother-in-law. Procopia and
his courtiers easily persuaded him to abandon his half-formed
resolution. The army in the mean time decided the fate
of the Empire. Leo the Armenian appeared alone worthy of
the crown. The defeated troops saluted him Emperor, and
marched "to Constantinople, where nobody felt inclined to
support the weak Michael; so that Leo was acknowledged
without opposition, and crowned in St. Sophia's on the
nth July, 813.
The dethroned emperor was compelled to embrace the
monastic life, and lived unmolested in the island of Prote,
where he died in 845. His eldest son, Theophylactus, who
had been crowned as his colleague, was emasculated, as well as
Ms brother Ignatius, and forced into a monastery. Ignatius
became Patriarch of Constantinople in the reign of Michael III. 1
SECTION III
LEO v., (THE ARMENIAN,) A.D. 2 813-820
Policy of Leo Treacherous attack on Crumn Victory over Bulgarians
Affairs of Italy and Sicily Moderation in ecclesiastical contests
Council favourable to Iconoclasts Impartial administration of justice
Conspiracy against Leo His assassination.
When Leo entered the capital, the Patriarch Nicephoros
endeavoured to convert the precedent which Michael I. had
given, of signing a written declaration of orthodoxy, into an
established usage of the empire ; but the new emperor excused
himself from signing any document before his coronation, and
afterwards he denied the right to require. 3 Leo was inclined
io6 The Contest with the Iconoclasts
to favour the Iconoclasts, but he was no bigot. The Asiatic
party in the army and in the administration, which supported
him, were both enemies to image-worship. To strengthen the
influence of his friends was naturally the first step of his
reign. Michael the Amorian, who had warmly supported his
election, was made a patrician. Thomas, another general, who
is said to have been descended from the Sclavonian colonists
settled in Asia Minor, was appointed general of the federates. 1
Manuel, an Armenian of the noble race of the Mamiconians,
received the command of the Armenian troops, and subse-
quently of the Anatolic theme. 2 At Christmas the title of
Emperor was conferred on Sembat, the eldest son of Leo, who
then changed his name to Constantine.
Leo was allowed little time to attend to civil business, for s
six days after his coronation, Crumn appeared before the walls
of Constantinople. The Bulgarian king encamped in the
suburb of St. Mamas, 3 and extended his lines from the
Biachernian to the Golden Gate; but he soon perceived that
his army could not long maintain its position, and he allowed
his troops to plunder and destroy the property of the citizens
in every direction, in order to hasten the conclusion of a
treaty of peace. Leo was anxious to save the possessions of
his subjects from ruin, Crumn was eager to retreat without
losing any of the plunder his army had collected. A treaty
might have been concluded, had not Leo attempted to get rid
of his enemy by an act of the basest treachery. A conference
was appointed, to which the emperor and the king were to
repair, attended only by a fixed number of guards. Leo laid
a plot for assassinating Crumn at this meeting, and the
Bulgarian monarch escaped with the greatest difficulty, leaving
his chancellor dead, and most of his attendants captives.
This infamous act was so generally approved by the perverted
religious feelings of the Greek ecclesiastics, that the historian
Theophanes, an abbot and holy confessor, in concluding his
chronological record of the transactions of the Roman em-
perors, remarks that the empire was not permitted to witness
Genesius ? ii., give the statement in the text, -which is confirmed by Ignatius in his life of
the Patriarch Nicephoros. Ada. Sanct Mart. 710. The authority of the Patriarch
Ignatius far outweighs every other. Schlosser, 391. f Neander, iii. 532. The Emperor
Leo doubtless made the customary general declaration of orthodoxy contained in the
coronation path, which had appeared so vague as to require the written supplement
signed by his predecessor.
1 Genesius, 3-14. Contin. Const. Porphyr. 32. W must conclude that one of the
parents of Thomas was a Sclavonian, the other an Armenian, (see p. 121, note 2).
" Cont. Const. Porphyr. 15-68.
3 Between Eyoub and the walls of Constantinople.
Reign of Leo V. 107
the death of Cramn by this ambuscade, In consequence of the
multitude of the people's sins. 1
The Bulgarians avenged the emperor's treachery on the
helpless inhabitants of the empire in a terrible manner. They
began by destroying the suburb of St. Mamas; palaces s
churches, public and private buildings were burnt to the
ground ; the lead was torn from the domes, which were fire-
proof; the vessels taken at the head of the port were added to
the conflagration; numerous beautiful works of art were
destroyed, and many carried off, among which particular
mention is made of a celebrated bronze lion, a bear, and a
hydra. 2 The Bulgarians then quitted their lines before
Constantinople, and marched to Selymbria, destroying on
their way the immense stone bridge over the river Athyras,
(Karason,) celebrated for the beauty of its construction. 8
Selymbria, Rhedestos, and Apres were sacked; the country
round Ganas was ravaged, but Heraclea and Panion resisted
the assaults of the invaders. Men were everywhere put to
the sword, while the young women, children, and cattle were
driven away to Bulgaria. Part of the army penetrated into
the Thracian Chersonese, and laid waste the country,
Adrianople was compelled to surrender by famine, and after
it had been plundered, the barbarians retired unmolested with
an incredible booty, and an innumerable train of slaves.
The success of this campaign induced a body of 30,000
Bulgarians to invade the empire during the winter. They
captured Arcadiopolis ; and though they were detained for a
fortnight, during their retreat, by the swelling of the river
Rheginas, (Bithyas,) Leo could not venture to attack them. 4
They regained the Bulgarian frontier, carrying away fifty thou-
sand captives and immense booty, and leaving behind them a
terrible scene of desolation. 5
Emboldened by the apparent weakness of the empire, Cramn
made preparations for besieging Constantinople, by collecting
all the machines of war then in use. 6 Leo thought it necessary
to construct a new waU beyond that in existence at the Blach-
1 Theophanes, 427.
2 Theophanes, 427. Leo Grammaticus, 446. Anonym., De Ant. Const.) No. 163,
No. 246, Gyllius. Banduri, Imp. Orient. . 416.
* Steph. Byz. A'Gtipas Plum, H. N. Iv. 11-18.
* Erginus ?' Scylax, 28. Plinii, H. N., 11-18. Hierocks, 31, and Constant, Por-
phyr. De Them. ii. 2, mention Ganos.
5 The booty consisted of Armenian blankets, carpets, clothing, and brazen pans.
Symeon Mag. 410. Con tin. at the end of Theophanes 434-
A Coruin, of Theophanes, 434, who gives a curious list of the ancient macli::is than
Sxs Use,
io8 The Contest with the Iconoclasts
ernkn gate, and to add a deep ditch, for in this quarter the
fortifications of the capital appeared weak. Crumn died be-
fore the opening of the campaign; and Leo, having by the
greatest exertion at last collected an army capable of taking
the field, marched to Mesembria. There he succeeded in
surprising the Bulgarians by a night attack on their camp.
The defeat was most sanguinary. The Bulgarian army was
annihilated, and the place where the dead were buried was
long called the Mountain of Leo, and avoided by the Bulgarians
as a spot of evil augury. After this victory the emperor in-
invaded Bulgaria, which he ravaged with as much cruelty as
Crumn had ever shown in plundering the empire. At last a
truce for thirty years was concluded with Montagon, the new
king. The power of these dangerous neighbours was so weak-
ened by the recent exertions they had made, and by the wealth
they had acquired, that for many years they were disposed to
remain at peace.
The influence of the Byzantine emperors in the West, though
much diminished by the conquests of Charlemagne, the inde-
pendence of the Popes, and the formation of two Saracen
kingdoms in Africa and Spain, continued, nevertheless, to be
very great, in consequence of the extensive mercantile con-
nections of the Greeks, who then possessed the most lucrative
part of the commerce of the Mediterranean.
At this time the Aglabites of Africa and the Ommiades of
Spain ruled a rebellious and ill-organised society of Moham-
medan chiefs of various races, which even arbitrary power
could not bend to the habits of a settled administration. Both
these states sent out piratical expeditions by sea, when their
incursions by land were restrained by the warlike power of
their neighbours, Michael I. had been compelled to send an
army to Sicily, to protect it from the incursions of pirates both
from Africa and Spain. Lampedosa had been occupied by
Saracen corsairs, and many Greek ships captured, before the
joint forces of the Dukes of Sicily and Naples, with the vessels
from Amalfi and Venice, defeated the plunderers and cleared
the sea for a while. The quarrels of the Aglabites and Omm-
iades induced the former to conclude a truce for ten years
with Leo, and to join the naval forces of the Greeks and
Venetians in attacking the Spanish Saracens. 1
The disturbances which prevailed in the East during the
caliphate of Almamun insured tranquillity to the Asiatic frontier
1 Schlosser, 403. Pope Leo's Letter. Coletti. Ada S. Concil, ix. 157.
Reign of Leo V. 109
of the empire, and allowed Leo to devote his whole attention
to the internal state of his dominions. The church was the
only public institution immediately connected with the feelings
of the whole population. By its conduct the people were
directly interested in the proceedings of the imperial govern-
ment Ecclesiastical affairs, offering the only field for the
expression of public opinion, became naturally the centre of
all political ideas and party straggles. Even in an administra-
tive point of view, the regular organisation of the clergy under
parish priests, bishops, and provincial councils, gave the church
a degree of power in the state which compelled the emperor
to watch it attentively. The principles of ecclesiastical inde-
pendence inculcated by Theodore Studita, and adopted by the
monks, and that portion of the clergy which favoured image-
worship, alarmed the emperor. This party inculcated a belief
in contemporary miracles, and in the daily intervention of God
in human affairs. All prudence, all exertion on the part of
individuals, was as nothing compared to the favour of some
image accidentally endowed with divine grace. That such
images could at any time reveal the existence of a hidden
treasure, or raise the possessor to high official rank, was the
common conviction of the superstitious and enthusiastic, both
among the laity and the clergy; and such doctrines were
especially favoured by the monks, so that the people, under
the guidance of these teachers, became negligent of moral
duties and regular industry. The Iconoclasts themselves ap-
pealed to the decision of Heaven as favouring their cause, by
pointing to the misfortunes of Constantine VI., Irene, Nice-
phorus, and Michael I., who had supported image-worship,
and contrasting their reigns with the victories and peaceful
end of Leo the Isaurian, Constantine V., and Leo IV., who
were the steady opponents of idolatry.
Leo V., though averse to image-worship, possessed so much
prudence and moderation, that he was inclined to rest satisfied
with a direct acknowledgment that the civil power possessed
the right of tolerating religious difference. But the army
demanded the abolition of image-worship, and the monks the
persecution of Iconoclasts. Leo's difficulties, in meddling
with ecclesiastical affairs, gave his policy a dubious character,
and obtained for him, among the Greeks, the name of the
Chameleon, Several learned members of the clergy were
opposed to image-worship ; and of these the most eminent
were the abbot John Hylilas, of the illustrious family of the
no The Contest with the Iconoclasts
Morochorzanians, and Anthony, bishop of Syllseum. John,
called, from his superior learning, the Grammarian, was
accused by the ignorant of studying magic ; and the ^nickname
of Lekanomantis was given him, because he was said to read
the secrets of futurity in a brazen basin. 1 The Iconoclasts
were also supported by Theodotos Kassiteras, son of the
patrician Michael Melissenos, whose sister had been the third
wife of Constantine V. These three endeavoured to persuade
Leo to declare openly against image-worship. On the other
hand, the majority of the Greek nation was firmly attached
to image-worship ; and the cause was supported by the Patri-
arch, by Theodore Studita, and a host of monks. The
emperor flattered himself that he should be able to bring
about an amicable arrangement to insure general toleration,
and commanded John Hylilas to draw up a report of the
opinions expressed by the earliest fathers of the church on
the subject of image-worship.
As soon as he was in possession of this report, he^ asked
the Patriarch to make some concessions on the subject of
pictures, in order to satisfy the army and preserve peace in
the church. He wished that the pictures should be placed
so high as to prevent the people making the gross display of
superstitious worship constantly witnessed in the churches.
But the Patriarch coldly pronounced himself in favour of
images and pictures, whose worship, he declared, was author-
ised by immemorial tradition, and the foundation of the
orthodox faith was formed according to the opinion of the
church on tradition as well as on Holy Scripture. He added
that the opinions of the church were inspired by the Holy
Spirit as well as the Scriptures. The emperor then proposed
a conference between the two parties, and the clergy was
thrown into a state of the greatest excitement at this pro-
position, which implied a doubt of their divine inspiration.
The Patriarch summoned his partisans to pass the night in
prayers for the safety of the church, in the cathedral of
St. Sophia. The emperor had some reason to regard this as
seditious, and he was alarmed at the disorders which must
evidently arise from both parties appealing to popular support,
He summoned the Patriarch to the palace, where the night
WSLS spent in controversy. Theodore Studita was one of those
who attended the Patriarch on this occasion, and his steady
assertion of ecclesiastical supremacy rendered him worthy,
1 See note 3, p. 132
Reign of Leo V. ITT
from his bold and uncompromising views, to have occupied
the chair of St Peter. ^ He declared plainly to the emperor
that he had no authority to interfere with the doctrines of
the^ church, since his rule only extended over the civil and
military government of the empire. The church had full
authority to govern itself. Leo was enraged at this boldness,
and dissatisfied with the conduct of the Patriarch, who
anathematised Anthony, the bishop of Syllseum, who was
viewed as the leader of the Iconoclasts ; but for the present
the clergy were only required to abstain from holding public
assemblies.
The Iconoclasts, however, now began to remove images
and pictures from the churches in possession of the clergy
of their party, and the troops on several occasions insulted
the image over the entrance of the imperial palace, which
had been once removed by Leo the Isaurian, and replaced
by Irene. The emperor now ordered it to be again removed,
on the ground that this was necessary to avoid public dis-
turbance. These acts induced Theodore Studita to call on
the monks to subscribe a declaration that they adhered firmly
to the doctrines of the church, with respect to image-worship,
as then established. The emperor, alarmed at the danger of
causing a new schism in the church, but feeling himself called
upon to resist the attacks now made on his authority, deter-
mined to relieve the civil power from the necessity of engaging
in a contest with the ecclesiastical, by assembling a general
council of the church, and leaving the two parties in the
priesthood to settle their own differences. As he was in
doubt how to proceed, it happened that both the Patriarch
and the abbot, John Hylilas, were officiating together in the
Christmas ceremonies while Leo was present, and that John,
in the performance of his duty, had to repeat the words of
Isaiah, "To whom then will ye liken God? or what will ye
compare unto him ? The workman melteth a graven image,
and the goldsmith spreadeth it over with gold, and casteth
silver chains." 1 In pronouncing these words, he turned to
the emperor, and uttered them in the most emphatic manner.
A few days after this scene, a band of mutinous soldiers broke
into the patriarchal palace and destroyed the pictures of the
saints with which the building was adorned, and committing
other disorders, until they were driven out by the regular
guard. At length, in the month of April, 815. Leo ordered
1 Isaiah, xl. iE> 19.
H2 The Contest with the Iconoclasts
a provincial synod to assemble at Constantinople, and before
this assembly the Patriarch Nicephoros was brought by force,
for he denied its competency to take cognisance of his
conduct. He was deposed, and confined in a monastery
which he had founded, where he survived twelve years a
time which he passed more usefully for the world, in com-
piling the historical works we possess, than he could have
passed them amidst the contests of the patriarchal dignity. 1
The bigotry of both parties rendered the moderate policy
of the emperor of no effect ; and public attention became so
exclusively absorbed by the state of the church, that ^it was
impossible for him to remain any longer neuter. His first
decided step was to nominate a new Patriarch hostile to
image-worship ; and he selected Theodotos Melissenos, a lay-
man already mentioned, who held a high post in the imperial
court. The example of the election of Tarasios prevented
the votaries of image-worship disputing the legality of the
election of a layman; but they refused to acknowledge
Theodotos, on the ground that the deposition of Nicephoros
was illegal, and that he was consequently still their lawful
Patriarch. Theodotos was nevertheless ordained and con-
secrated, A.D. 815. He was a man of learning and ability,
but his habits as a military man and a courtier were said to
be visible in his manners, and he was accused of living with
too great splendour, keeping a luxurious table, and indulging
habitually in society of too worldly a character.
A general council of the church was now held at Constanti-
nople, in which the new Patriarch, and Constantine the son of
Leo, presided ; for the emperor declined taking a personal part
in the dispute, in order to allow the church to decide on
questions of doctrine without any direct interference of the
civil power. This council re-established the acts of that held
in 754 by Constantine V., abolishing image-worship, and it
anathematised the Patriarchs Tarasios and Nicephoros, and all
image-worshippers. The clergy, therefore, who adhered to the
principles of the image-worshippers were, in consequence,
deprived of their ecclesiastical dignities, and sent into banish-
ment ; but the party revolutions that had frequently occurred
1 Nicephoros died A.D. 828. His works are Breviarium Historic-tan de Reims
Gestis &b Obit-u. Ma-tericu ad Constantinum usque Cofronymu-rtt) in the Byzantine-
collection, and a Chronogfraphia annexed to the work of Syncellus. The Patriarch
PhotJus, in a letter to the Emperor Basil I., mentions that Leo treated the deposed
Patriarch \vith indulgence. He enjoyed the use of his books and the society of hh
friends, as well as the possession of his private fortune. P/^/w: EjtstoLz, 97, paga
1.36, edit I/?nd,
Reign of Leo V. 113
In the Greek church had introduced a dishonourable system
of compliance with the reigning faction, and most of the
clergy were readier to yield up their opinions than their bene-
fices. 1 This habitual practice of falsehood received the mild
name of arrangement, or economy, to soften the public aversion
to such conduct. 2
The Iconoclast party, on this occasion, used its victory with
unusual mildness. They naturally drove their opponents from
their ecclesiastical offices ; and when some bold monks per-
sisted in preaching against the acts of the council, they
banished these non-conformists to distant monasteries ; but it
does not appear that the civil power was called upon to enforce
conformity with the customary rigour. 3 The council had
decided that images and pictures were to be removed from the
churches, and if the people resisted their removal, or the
clergy or monks replaced them, severe punishments were In-
flicted for this violation of the law. Cruelty was a feature
in the Byzantine civil administration, without any Impulse of
religious fanaticism.
Theodore Studita, who feared neither patriarch nor emperor,.
and acknowledged no authority in ecclesiastical affairs but
the church, while he recognised nothing as the church but
what accorded with his own standard of orthodoxy, set the
decrees of this council at defiance. He proceeded openly
through the streets of the capital, followed by his monks in
solemn procession, bearing aloft the pictures which had been
removed from the churches, to give them a safe asylum within
the walls of the monastery of Studion. For this display of
contempt for the law he was banished by the emperor to Asia
Minor; and his conduct in exile affords us a remarkable
proof of the practical liberty the monks had acquired by their
honest and steady resistance to the civil power. All eyes
were fixed on Theodore as the leader of the monastic party ;
and so great was the power he exerted over public opinion^
that the emperor did not venture to employ any illegal severity
against the bold monk he had imprisoned. Indeed, the
administration of justice in the Byzantine empire seems never
to have been more regular and equitable than during the
reign of Leo the Armenian.
1 The historian Theophanes, author of the Chronography, which has been at times.
our only, and often our best, guide in the preceding pages, was a noble exception to the
system of compliance He was among those who were banished, and died shortly aftes-
in exile in Samothrace.
% Q\KQVO/J,ICL was the word. Neander, iii. 541, 3 Pkotri Ej>. 97.
114 The Contest with the Iconoclasts
Theodore from his prison corresponded not only with the
most eminent bishops and monks of his party, and with
ladies of piety and wealth, but also with the Pope, to whom,
though now a foreign potentate, the bold abbot sent deputies,
as if he were himself an independent Patriarch in the Eastern
church. 1 His great object was to oppose the Iconoclasts
in every way, and prevent all those over whose minds he
exercised any influence from holding communion with those
who conformed to their authority- One thing seems to have
distressed and alarmed him, and he exerted all his eloquence
to expose its fallacy. The Iconoclasts declared that no one
could be a martyr for Christ's sake, who was only punished
by the usual power for image-worship, since the question at
issue had no connection with the truth of Christianity.
Theodore argued that the night of heresy was darker than
that of ignorance, and the merit of labouring to illuminate
it was at least as great. The Emperor Leo was, however, too
prudent to give any of Theodore's party the slightest hope
of claiming the crown of martyrdom. He persisted in his
policy of enforcing the decrees of the council with so much
mildness, and balancing his own expressions of personal
opinion with such a degree of impartiality that he excited the
dissatisfaction of the violent of both parties. 2
Even in a corrupted and factious society, most men appre-
ciate the equitable administration of justice. Interest and
ambition may indeed so far pervert the feelings of an adminis-
trative or aristocratic class, as to make the members of such
privileged societies regard the equal distribution of justice to
the mass of people as an infringement of their rights ; and
the passions engendered by religious zeal may blind those
under its influence to any injustice committed against men of
different opinions. Hence it is that a government, to secure
the administration of justice, must be established on a broader
basis than administrative wisdom, aristocratic pre-eminence,
or religious orthodoxy. In the Byzantine empire, public
opinion found no home among the mass of the population,
whose minds and actions were regulated and enslaved by
1 He seems to have been the chief mover of the foundation of the monastery of
St. Praxedes at Rome, in which the Greek monks who fled from persecution were
established by Pope Paschal. Anastassi de Vitis Pont. 150.
2 The letters of Theodore Studita furnish information concerning the mildness of
Leo's government. The fact that the banished abbot should carry on so extensive
a correspondence, proves that the liberty guaranteed by the laws of the Roman empire,
when these laws were equitably administered, was not an idle phrase at Constantinople
under the Iconoclasts.
Reign of Leo V. 115
administrative influence, by the power of the wealthy, and by
the authority of the clergy and the monks. 1 One result of
this state of society is visible in the violence of party passion
displayed concerning insignificant matters in the capital ; and
hence it arose at last that the political interests of the empire
were frequently disconnected with the subjects that exercised
the greatest influence on the fate of the government Tbe
moderation of Leo, which, had public opinion possessed any
vitality, ought to have rendered his administration popukr
with the majority of his subjects in the provinces, certainly
rendered it unpopular in Constantinople. Crowds, seeking
excitement, express the temporary feelings of the people before
deliberation has fixed the public opinion. Leo was hated by
the Greeks as an Armenian and an Iconoclast; and he was
disliked by many of the highest officers in the state and the
army for the severity of his judicial administration, and the
strictness with which he maintained moral as well as military
discipline, so that no inconsiderable number of the class who
directed state affairs were disposed to welcome a revolution,
Irene had governed the empire by eunuchs, who had put
up everything for sale; Nicephorus had thought of those
reforms only that tended to fill the treasury ; Michael I. had
been the tool of a bigoted faction. All these sovereigns had
accumulated opposition to good government.
Leo undertook the task of purifying the administration, and
he commenced his reforms by enforcing a stricter dispensation
of justice. His enemies acknowledged that he put a stop to
corruption with wonderful promptitude and ability. He re-
stored the discipline of the army, he repressed bribery in the
courts of justice, by strictly reviewing all judicial decisions,
and he re-established an equitable system of collecting the
revenue. 2 He repaired the fortresses destroyed by the Bul-
garians, and placed all the frontiers of the empire in a re-
spectable state of defence. All this, it was universally
acknowledged, was due to his personal activity in watching
over the proceedings of his ministers. Even the Patriarch
1 In the Byzantine, as in the Roman empire, the administration, including the em-
peror and all his servants, or, as the servants of the state were called, his household,
formed a class apart from the inhabitants of the empire, governed by different laws,
while the subjects under the civil laws of Rome were again separated into the rich and
the poor, oZ 8vva.TO and oi 7r&7)T$ f whom usage more than legislation constituted
into separate classes. , .
" A case of his personal decision, where the praetor had refused justice against a
senator is reported as a proof of his rigid attention to the casual administration of the
law. Genesius, 8; Contin. Const. Porphyr. 19. Mortreuil, i. 355, gives it from Bon-
fidius s y t who has extracted it from Cedrenus, ii. 4C3.
n6 The Contest with the Iconoclasts
Nicephoros, whom he had deposed, gave testimony to hi
merits as an emperor. When he heard of Leo's assassination
he exclaimed, "The church is delivered from a dangerou
enemy, but the empire has lost a useful sovereign."
The officers of the court, who expected to profit by a chang<
of measures, formed a conspiracy to overthrow Leo's govern
ment, which was joined by Michael the Amorian, who hac
long been the emperor's most intimate friend. The ambitior
of this turbulent and unprincipled soldier led him to thini
that he had as good a right to the throne as Leo ; and wher
he perceived that a general opposition was felt in Constanti-
nople to the emperor's conduct, his ambition got the bettei
of his gratitude, and he plotted to mount the throne. It was
generally reported that Leo had refused to accept the Imperial
crown, when proclaimed emperor by the army at Adrianople,
from his knowledge of the difficulties with which he would
have to contend, and that Michael forced him to yield his
assent, by declaring that he must either accept the crown, or
be put to death to make way for a new candidate. The
turbulent character of Michael gave currency to this anecdote,
Michael's conduct had long been seditious, when at length
his share in a conspiracy against the government was dis-
covered, and he was tried, found guilty, and condemned to
death. It is said by the chronicles that the court of justice
left it to the emperor to order his execution in any way he
might think proper, and that Leo condemned him to be
immediately cast into the furnace used for heating the baths of
the palace, and prepared to attend the execution in person.
It is needless to say that, though cruelty was the vice of the
Byzantine court, we must rank this story as a tale fitter
for the legends of the saints than for the history of the empire.
The event took place on Christmas-eve, when the empress,
hearing what was about to happen, and moved with corn-
passion for one who had long been her husband's intimate
friend, hastened to Leo, and implored him to defer the execu-
tion until after Christmas-day. She urged the sin of partici-
pating in the holy communion with the cries of the dying
companion of his youth echoing in his ear. Leo who,
though severe, was not personally cruel yielded to his wife's
entreaties, and consented with great reluctance to postpone
the punishment, for his knowledge of the extent of the con
spiracy gave him a presentiment of danger. After giving
orders for staying the execution, he turned to the empress and
Reign of Leo V. 117
said, " I grant your request : you think only of my eternal wel-
fare; but you expose my life to the greatest peril, and your
scruples may bring misfortune on you and on our children.' 9
Michael was conducted back to his dungeon, and the key
of his fetters was brought to Leo. It was afterwards told in
Constantinople that during the night the emperor was unable
to sleep. A sense of impending danger, disturbing his
imagination, impelled him to rise from his bed, envelop him-
self in a mantle, and secretly visit the cell in which Michael
was confined. There he found the door unlockedj and
Michael stretched on the bed of his jailor, buried in profound
sleep, while the jailor himself was lying on the criminal's bed
on the floor. The emperor's alarm was increased at this
spectacle. He withdrew to consider what measures he should
take to watch both the prisoner and the jailor. But Michael
had already many partisans within the walls of the palace, and
one of these had, having observed the emperor ? s nocturnal
visit to the criminal's cell, immediately awakened Michael
There was not a moment to lose. As a friendly confessor had
been introduced into the palace to afford the condemned
criminal the consolations of religion, this priest was sent to
Theoctistos to announce that, unless a blow was instantly
struck, Michael would at daylight purchase his own pardon by
revealing the names of the principal conspirators. This
message caused the conspirators to resolve on the immediate
assassination of the emperor.
The imperial palace was a fortress separated from the city
like the present serai of the sultan. It was the practice of
Leo to attend matins in his chapel, and as it was Christmas-
day, a number of the best singers in Constantinople were that
morning admitted at a postern-gate before daybreak, in order
to join in the celebration of the service, whose solemn chant
was then the admiration of the Christian world. 1 Leo, who
was of a religious turn of mind, delighted in displaying his
deep sonorous voice in the choir. He delayed his measures
for securing Michael and the jailor to hasten to the chapel, and
the conspirators availed themselves of his presence during the
celebration of divine service to execute their plans. Disguised
J Charlemange was profoundly affected by the solemn music of the Greek service
We may conclude that it bore a closer resemblance to the music of the Russian
church of to-day than to the nasal melody^ of modern Greek psalmody. See the
enthusiastic manner in which Joannes Cameniates speaks of Byzantine church-music in
the tenth century, Df Bxcidio Thessalomcatsi^ chap. x. ; Scriptures post Theopho,ncm t
p. 326,
n8 The Contest with the Iconoclasts
as choristers, with daggers concealed In their clothes, they
obtained admittance at the postern, and ranged themselves
among the singers in the imperial chapel.
The morning was dark and cold, and both the emperor and
the officiating chaplain were enveloped in furred mantles,
which, with the thick bonnets they wore as a protection against
the damp, effectually concealed their faces. But as soon as
the powerful voice of Leo was heard in the solemn hymns,
the assassins pressed forward to stab him. Some, however,
mistaking the chaplain for the emperor, wounded the priest,
whose cries revealed the mistake, and then all turned on Leo,
who defended himself for some time with the crucifix which
he snatched up. His hand was soon cut of}, and he fell be-
fore the communion-table, where his body was hewed in
pieces.
The assassins then hurried to the cell of Michael, whom
they proclaimed emperor, and thus consummated the revolu-
tion for which he was under sentence of death. Few sovereigns
of the Byzantine empire seem to have exerted themselves
more sincerely than Leo V. to perform the duties of their
station, yet few have received less praise for their good quali-
ties ; nor did his assassination create any reaction of public
opinion in his favour. Though he died with the crucifix in
his hand, he was condemned as if he had been a bigoted
Iconoclast His wife and children were compelled to adopt
a monastic life. 1
* For the reign of Leo V., see the anonymous author at the end of Theophanes ;
Leo Grammaticus, 445; the contxnuator of Theophanes, by order of Constantino
Porphyrogemtus, in Serif tores ^ost ThfojtJianem ; Synieon Log. et Ma?. 411, and
Georg. Mpn. 500 both in the Scriptores ost Theopk.; Genesius; Cedrenus, 487;
Zonares, ii. 152 ; and the shorter chronicles.
CHAPTER II!
THE AMORIAN DYNASTY, A.D. 820-867
SECTION I
MICHAEL IL, (THE STAMMERER,) A.D. 820-829
Birth of Michael II. Rebellion of Thomas Loss of Crete and Sicily
Michael's ecclesiastical policy Marriage and death.
MICHAEL IL was proclaimed emperor with the fetters on Ms
limbs; and the first spectacle of his reign was the jailor
delivering him from a felon's bonds. When relieved from his
irons, he proceeded to the church of St. Sophia, where he was
crowned by the Patriarch.
Michael II. was born in the lowest rank of society. He
had entered the army as a private soldier in early youth, but
his attention to his duties, and his military talents, quickly
raised him to the rank of general. His influence over the
troops aided in placing Leo V. on the imperial throne.
Amorium was his birthplace an important and wealthy city,
inhabited by a mixed population of various races and
languages, collected together by trading interests. 1 The
Phrygians, who formed the majority, still retained many
native usages, and some religious ideas adverse ^ to Greek
prejudices. Many Jews had also been established in the city
for ages, and a sect called the Athingans, who held that the
touch of many things was a contamination, had numerous
votaries. 2
The low origin of Michael, and the half-suppressed con-
tempt he disclosed for Greek learning, Roman jpride, and
ecclesiastical tradition, awakened some animosity in the
breasts of the pedants, the nobles, and the orthodox of
Constantinople. 8 It is not surprising, therefore, that the
1 See page 14, note 6.
2 The Athingans took their names from Oiyydvw, and the allusion is to Colossians,
ji t 2I _ Touch not, taste not, handle not. "
3 TTJ? 'EAA7?J>tK7;y Tratdevcriy foaTrrtfajy, Contin. Const, Porphyr. Sc. post Thcoph*
31 Abulpharagius (CVfc. Syr. 150) says Michael was the son of a converted Jew.
Niketas, in his Life of Ignatius, (Condi. Labb. viii. 1183,) says he was of the Sabbauan
heresy. Some moderns wish to make both the emperor and the Athingans gyP se y s
without any reason.
119
!2O The Contest with the Iconoclasts
Mstorians who wrote under the patronage of the enemies of
the Amorian dynasty should represent its founder as a horse-
Jockey, a heretic, and a stammerer. As he showed no par-
ticular favour to the Greek party in the Byzantine church, his
orthodoxy was questioned by the great body of the clergy;
and as he very probably expressed himself with hesitation in
the Greek language, as spoken at court, any calumny would
find credit with the Hellenic populace, who have always been
Jealous of strangers, and eager to avenge, by words, the com-
pliance they have been compelled to yield by deeds to foreign
masters.
Michael, however, had sagacity to observe the difficulties
which the various parties in the church and court had the
power of raising up against his administration. To gain time,
he began by conciliating every party. The orthodox, headed
by Theodore Studita and the exiled Patriarch Nicephoros, were
the most powerful. He flattered these two ecclesiastics, by
allowing them to return to the capital, and even permitted
Theodore to resume his functions as abbot of Studion ; but,
on the other hand, he refused to adopt their suggestions for a
reaction in favour of image-worship. He seems to have been
naturally inclined to religious toleration, and he was anxious
to repress all disputes within the pale of the church, as the
best means of maintaining the public tranquillity. In order to
give a public guarantee for the spirit of the civil power, which
he desired should characterise his reign, he held a silention to
announce toleration of private opinion in ecclesiastical ques-
tions ; but it was declared that the existing laws against the
exhibition of images and pictures in churches were to be
strictly enforced. 1 The indifference of Michael to the eccle-
siastical disputes which agitated a church, to many of whose
doctrines he was at heart adverse, did not create so violent an
opposition as the sincerer conduct of his predecessors, who
banished images on religious grounds.
The elevation of a new emperor, who possessed few claims
to distinction, awakened, as usual, the hopes of every ambitious
general. A formidable rival appeared in the person of Thomas,
the only officer of eminence who had remained faithful to the
rebel Bardanes, when Leo and Michael deserted his standard.
Thomas, as has been already mentioned, was appointed
general of the federates by Leo V., but, owing to some
circumstances which are not recorded, he had retired into the
1 Pagi ad Baron, Ann. JZccles, A.D. 821, torn. xiv.
The Amorian Dynasty 121
dominions of the caliph, and remained for some time on the
borders of Armenia. 1 His origin, whether Sclavonian or
Armenian, by separating him in an unusual degree from the
ruling classes in the empire for he was, like Michael, of a
very low rank in society caused him to be regarded as a friend
of the people ; and all the subject races in the empire espoused
his cause, which in many provinces took the form of an attack
on the Roman administration, rather than of a revolution to
place a new emperor on the throne. 2 This rebellion is re-
markable for assuming more of the character of a social
revolution than of an ordinary insurrection. 3 Thomas over-
ran all Asia Minor without meeting with any serious opposi-
tion even on the part of the towns ; so that, with the excep-
tion of the Armeniac theme and Opsikion, his authority was
universally acknowledged, and the administration was con-
ducted by his officers. He concluded an alliance with the
Saracens to enable him to visit Antioch, and receive the
imperial crown from the hands of the Patriarch Job. 4 This
alliance with the infidels tended to injure his popularity ; and
when he returned accompanied by large bodies of mercenary
troops, collected from the Mohammedan tribes on the
frontier, the public enthusiasm for his cause became sensibly
diminished. Thomas, too, feeling more confidence in the
power of his army, began to show himself careless of the
good-will of the people.
The only manner of putting an end to the war was by taking
Constantinople, and this Thomas prepared to attempt. An im-
mense fleet was assembled at Lesbos. Gregorios Pterotes, a
relation of Leo V., who had been banished to Skyros by
Michael, was sent into Thrace at the head of ten thousand
men to prepare for the arrival of Thomas, who soon followed
with the bulk of his army, and formed the siege of Constanti-
nople. Michael had taken every precaution for sustaining a long
siege, and Thomas seems to have committed a serious error
in attacking so strong a city, while the troops of the Armeniac
* Schlosser, GcschickU der fold* Kaiser \ 437. The letter of Michael to Louis I
Debonnaire. Baronii, Ann. Eccles, xiv. 62. Fleury, Hist* Eccles. lib, xlviiL art. 2. 4.
2 Compare Genesius, in. 14, with continuator, (Scrip, fast Tkeoph. 5,} who says
Thomas was born at the lake Gazouras. The town of Gazouria, near the river Iris m
Pontus, is mentioned by Strabo, lib. xii. chap. ii. 15, p. 547. Hamilton, Researches
in- Asia. Minor ^ i. 359. He is said to have lived long among the Saracens, and to have
given himself out for Constantine VI. Some of the reports seem irreconcilable, and look
as if the history of two persons had been confounded.
3 Contin. Scrip, post Ttuopk, 4, vrevt)ev Kal 5ov\oi Kara Sea-jroruv Kal err pa-
Kara raetroi/, Kal Xo%ayd? Kara, (rrpar'rjyfrou rty X 6 *P a
/c.r.X. 4 Contin. 35. Genesius, 15.
122 The Contest with the Iconoclasts
theme and of Opsikion were in sufficient strength to attack
his communications with the centre of Asia Minor, and main-
tain a constant communication with the garrison of Constan-
tinople from the coast of Bithynia. The army of Thomas,
though very numerous, was in part composed of an undisci-
plined rabble, whose plundering propensities increased the
difficulty of obtaining supplies. On the other hand, Con-
stantinople, though closely invested, was well supplied with
all kinds of provisions and stores, and the inhabitants dis-
played great firmness in opposing an enemy whom they saw
bent on plunder, while Michael and his son Tneoph ius per-
formed the duties of able generals. Two attempts were made
to storm the fortifications, one during the winter, in 821, and
the other in the spring of 822; and both were equally un-
successful, and entailed considerable loss on the besiegers.
In the mean time the partisans of Michael collected a fleet of
350 ships in the islands of the Archipelago and Greece ; and
this force, having gained a complete victory over the fleet
of Thomas, cut off the besiegers from communication with
Asia.
The Bulgarians, in order to profit by the civil war, invaded
the empire, and plundered the country from which the rebels
were compelled to draw their supplies. Thomas marched to
oppose them with a part of his army, but was defeated, and lost
the greater part of his baggage. He was so much weakened
by this defeat that Michael sallied out from Constantinople,
again routed him, and compelled the rebel army to retire to
Arcadiopolis, where Thomas was soon closely besieged. 1 For
five months the place was obstinately defended, but at last
Thomas was delivered up by his own followers ; and his
adopted son, who had been invested with the title of Emperor,
was captured shortly after in Byza. Both were hanged, after
their limbs had been cut off. 2 This junction of a son with
the reigning emperor as his successor, had become a rule of
the Byzantine constitution, which was rarely neglected by any
sovereign. Two chiefs attached to the party of Thomas con-
tinued for some time to defend the towns of Kabala and
Saniana in Asia Minor, until the latter place was betrayed by
one who bargained to be appointed archbishop of Neocesarea,
1 Genesius, 10; Georg. Mon. Script* fast Theofh. 384, mention Arcadiopolis.
Contin. 31, and the later writers, Cedrentis and Zonares. say Adrianople. Schlosser.
446 note.
2 Michael's own letter to Louis le Debonnaire is the authority for this cruelty, at
well as the early historians. Baronius, xiv. 64.
The Amorian Dynasty 123
a fact recorded In a satirical verse preserved by one of the
Byzantine historians. 1
. . f emai "kable civil war lasted nearly three years, and is
distinguished by some features of unusual occurrence from
most of the great rebellions in the Byzantine empire. The
large fleets collected on both sides prove that the popuktion
and wealth of the coasts and islands of the Archipelago had
not declined under the administration of the Iconoclasts,
though this part of the empire was likely to be least favoured
by the central power, as having attempted to dethrone Leo III.,
and having always firmly supported the party of the image-
worshippers. 2 The most numerous partisans of Thomas, and
those who gave the strong revolutionary impulse to the rebel-
lion at ^ its commencement, were that body of the Asiatic
population which national distinctions or religious opinions
excluded from participation in public and local affairs, and to
whom even the ecclesiastical courts were shut, on account of
their heretical opinions ; and to the ecclesiastical courts alone
recourse could be had for the equitable administration of
justice in some cases. The discontent of these classes, joined
to the poverty created by excessive taxation, supplied the army
of Thomas with those numerous bands of marauders, eager to
seek revenge, who spread desolation far and wide, alarmed all
men possessing property, and ultimately rained his enterprise.
The indiscipline of his troops, and his incapacity to apply any
remedy to the financial oppression and religious intolerance
against which the population of the Asiatic provinces had
taken up arms, alienated the minds of all who expected to find
in him an instrument for reforming the empire. But had
Thomas really been a man of a powerful mind, he might have
laid the foundation of a new state of society in the Eastern
Empire, by lightening the burden of taxation, carrying out
toleration for religious opinions, securing an impartial admin-
istration of justice even to heretics, and giving every class of
subjects, without distinction of nationality or race, equal
security for their lives and property. The spirit of the age
was, however, averse to toleration, and the sense of justice
was so defective that these equitable principles could only
have been upheld by the power of a well-disciplined mer-
cenary army.
Saniana was in the mountains of the theme Charsianon. Const. Porphyr* De
., lib. i. 6, page u. De Adm. Imp. chap. 50. Cont. Scrip. $o$t Tfoeph. 45*
2 Contin. 40. Genesius, 18.
124 The Contest with the Iconoclasts
The necessity of adopting a general measure for improving
the condition of the people was not felt by Michael II., even
when this rebellion was suppressed ; and though he saw that
some reduction of taxation to the lower classes was required, -
he restricted the boon to the Armeniac theme and Opsikion,
because these provinces had not joined Thomas in the civil
war; 1 and even in them he only reduced the hearth-tax to one-
half of the amount imposed by Nicephorus I. The rest of the
empire was oppressed more than usual, as a punishment. It
is certain that this unfortunate rebellion caused an immense
destruction of property in Asia Minor, and was no inconsider-
able cause of the accumulation of property in immense estates,
which began to depopulate the country, and prepare it for the
reception of a new race of inhabitants.
The state of society under every known government was at
this period troubled by civil wars. The seeds of these convul-
sions may, therefore, be sought in some general cause affecting
the relations of the various classes of men in the development
of social progress, and so far it lay beyond the immediate in-
fluence of the political laws of the respective governments,
whether Mohammedan or Christian. The frame of society in
the Saracen and Frank empires betrayed as many signs of
decay as in the Byzantine. One of the remarkable features of
the age is the appearance of bands of men, so powerful as to
set the existing governments everywhere at defiance. These
bands consisted in great part of men of what may be called
the middle and higher classes of society, driven by dissatisfac-
tion with their prospects in life to seek their fortunes as
brigands and pirates ; and the extent to which slavery and the
slave-trade prevailed, afforded them a ready means of recruit-
ing their forces with daring and desperate men. The feeling
which in our days impels nations to colonise new countries,
and improve uncultivated lands, in the ninth century led the
Saracens and Normans to ravage every country they could
enter, destroy capital, and consequently diminish cultivation
and population.
Crete and Sicily, two of the most valuable provinces of the
Byzantine empire, inhabited almost exclusively by Greeks, and
both in a high state of civilisation and prosperity, were con-
quered by the Saracens without offering the resistance that
might have been expected from the wealth and numbers of
the inhabitants. Indeed, we are compelled to infer that the
1 Contin. Scrip, post Theoph. 34. Theophanes, 4x1.
The Amorian Dynasty 125
change from the orthodox sway of the emperors of Constanti-
nople to the domination of the Mohammedans, was not con-
sidered by the majority of the Greeks of Crete and Sicily so
severe a calamity as we generally believe. In almost every
case in which the Saracens conquered Christian nations,
history unfortunately reveals that they owed their success
chiefly to the favour with which their progress was regarded by
the mass of the people. To the disgrace of most Christian
governments, it will be found that their administration was
more oppressive than that of the Arabian conquerors. Oppres-
sion commenced when the rude tribes of the desert adopted
the corruptions of a ruling class. The inhabitants of Syria
welcomed the first followers of Mahomet ; the Copts of Egypt
contributed to place their country under the domination of
the Arabs; the Christian Berbers aided in the conquest of
Africa. All these nations were induced, by hatred of the
government at Constantinople, to place themselves under the
sway of the Mohammedans, The treachery of the nobles,
and the indifference of the people, made Spain and the south
of France an easy prey to the Saracens. The conquest of
Crete and Sicily must be traced to the same causes, for if the
mass of the people had not been indifferent to the change, the
Byzantine government could easily have retained possession
of these valuable islands. The same disgraceful characteristic
of Christian monarchies is also apparent at a much later
period. The conquest of the Greeks, Servians, and Valla-
chians by the Othoman Turks was effected rather by the
voluntary submission of the mass of the Christians than by
the power of the Mohammedans. This fact is rendered
apparent by the effective resistance offered by the Albanians
under Scanderbeg. Church and state must divide between
them this blot on Christian society, for it is difficult to appor-
tion the share due to the fiscal oppression of Roman centrali-
sation, and to the unrelenting persecution of ecclesiastical
orthodoxy.
Crete fell a prey to a band of pirates. The reign of Al
Hakem, the Oramiade caliph of Spain, was disturbed by con-
tinual troubles ; and some theological disputes having created
a violent insurrection in the suburbs of Cordova, about 15,000
Spanish Arabs were compelled to emigrate in the year 815.
The greater part of these desperadoes established themselves
at Alexandria, where they soon took an active part in the civil
wars of Egypt. The rebellion of Thomas, and the absence
126 The Contest with the Iconoclasts
of the naval forces of the Byzantine empire from the Archi-
pelago, left the island of Crete unprotected. The Andalusian
Arabs in Alexandria availed themselves of this circumstance
to invade the island, and establish a settlement on it, in the
year 823.* Michael was unable to take any measures for
expelling these invaders, and an event soon happened in
Egypt which added greatly to the strength of this Saracen
colony. The victories of the lieutenants of the Caliph
Almamun compelled he remainder of the Andalusian Arabs
to quit Alexandria; so that Abou Hafs, called by Greeks
Apochaps, joined his countrymen in Crete with forty ships,
determined to make the new settlement their permanent home.
It is said by the Byzantine writers that they commenced their
conquest of the island by destroying their fleet, and construct-
ing a strong fortified camp, surrounded by an immense ditch,
from which it received the name of Chandak, now corrupted
by the Western nations into Candia. 2 The construction of
the new city, as the capital of their conquests, was part of the
Saracen system of establishing their domination. The founda-
tion of Cairo, Cairowan, Fez, Cufa, and Bagdat, was the
result of this policy. A new state of society, and new institu-
tions, were introduced with greater facility in a new residence.
The Saracen pirates derived some facilities towards render-
ing their conquests permanent, from the circumstance that
their bands generally consisted of young men, destitute of
domestic ties, who were seeking family establishments as well
as wealth. It was thus that they became real colonists, to
a much greater extent than is usually the case with conquerors
in civilised countries. The ease, moreover, with which the
Saracens, even of the highest rank, formed marriages with
the lower orders, and the equality which reigned among the
followers of the Prophet, presented fewer barriers to the increase
of their number than prevailed in the various orders and
classes of Byzantine society. The native population of Crete
was in a stationary, if not a declining condition, at the time
of the arrival of the Saracens, while these new colonists were
introduced into the country under circumstances extremely
1 Contin. Scrip, post Theopk. 35, 47. Genesius, at. The Saracens are said to have
established themselves first at Suda.
2 The favourable disposition of a portion of the- Cretans Is indicated by the tradi-
tion, that a native monk pointed out to the Saracens the site of Chandak ; and the
power of the islanders to^have offered a more effectual resistance than they did, is
shown by one district obtaining leave to preserve its own laws and usages, without any
interference on the part of the Saracens. This was probably Sphakia. Contin, 48.
Genesiuj, 21.
The Amorian Dynasty 127
favourable to a rapid increase of their numbers. History,
however, rarely enables us to mark, from age to age, the
increase and decrease of the different classes, tribes, and
nations concerning whose affairs it treats, though no fact is
more important to enable us to form a correct estimate of
the virtues and vices of society, to trace the progress of
civilisation, and understand the foundations of political power.
The Emperor Michael IL was at length, by the defeat of
Thomas, enabled to make some attempts to drive the in-
vaders out of Crete. The first expedition was intrusted to the
command of Photinos, general of the Anatolic theme, a man
of high rank and family; it was also strengthened by a re-
inforcement under Damianos, count of the imperial stables
and protospatharios ; but this expedition was completely
defeated. Damianos was slain, and Photinos escaped with
a single galley to Dia. The second attack on the Saracens
was commanded by Krateros, the general of the Kibyrraiot
theme, who was accompanied by a fleet of seventy ships of
war. The Byzantine historians pretend that their army was
victorious in a battle on shore, but that the Saracens, rallying
during the night, surprised the Christian camp, and captured
the whole fleet. Krateros escaped in a merchant vessel, but
was pursued and taken near Cos, where he was immediately
crucified by the Saracens.
The Saracens, having established their sovereignty over the
twenty-eight districts into which Crete was then divided, sent
out piratical expeditions to plunder the isknds of the Archi-
pelago and the coasts of Greece. Michael, alarmed lest more
of his subjects should prefer the Saracen to the Byzantine
government, fitted out a well-appointed fleet to cruise in the
Egean Sea, and named Oryphas to command it. A choice
of the best soldiers in the empire was secured, by paying a
bounty of forty byzants a man ; and in this, a most effective
squadron, with a body of experienced warriors on board, the
Byzantine admiral scoured the Archipelago. 1 The Saracen
pirates from Syria, Egypt, Africa, and Spain, who had been
stimulated by the successes of their countrymen to plunder
the Greeks, were pursued and destroyed; but Oryphas was
It is remarkable, as a Pf9( f * ne relative value of money, that thejprice^ of^a,
" " ' " * ""
of the circulating medium, and in the condition of the people throughout the Eastern,
Empire. Genesius, 23, Undoubtedly gold and silver^ mines must have been worked
to a considerable extent, in order to maintain this equilibrium.
128 The Contest with the Iconoclasts
unable to effect anything, when he attacked the Cretan colony
on shore. 1 This fleet was subsequently neglected; and, in
the first year of the reign of Theophilus, an imperial squadron
was totally destroyed by the Saracens, in a naval engagement
near Thasos, leaving the corsairs masters of the sea. The
isknds of the Archipelago were then plundered, and immense
booty in property and slaves was carried off. 2 The Saracens
retained possession of Crete for one hundred and thirty-five
years.
The conquest of Sicily was facilitated by the treachery of
Euphemios, a native Greek of high rank, who is said to have
carried off a nun, and whom the emperor ordered to be
punished by the loss of his nose ; for though Michael himself
espoused Euphrosyne, the daughter of Constantine VI., after
she had taken the veil, he did not intend that any of his sub-
jects should be allowed a similar license. Euphemios was
informed of the emperor's order in time to save his nose, by
exciting a sedition in Syracuse, his native city. 8 In this
tumult, Gregoras the Byzantine governor was slain. Michael
then deputed Photinos, whose unsuccessful expedition to
Crete has been already mentioned, to supply the place of
Gregoras, and carry on the war against the Saracens of Africa,
whom Euphemios had already invited into Sicily, to distract
the attention of the Byzantine military. Ziadet Allah, the
Aglabite sovereign of Cairowan, had paid particular attention
to his fleet, so that he was well prepared to carry on the war,
and delighted to gain an entrance for his troops into Sicily.
In June, 827, his admiral effected a junction with the ships of
Euphemios, who had been driven out of Syracuse, and the
Saracens landed at Mazara. Photinos was defeated in a battle
near Platana, and retreated to Enna. The Saracens occupied
Girgenti, but they were not strong enough to commence offen-
sive operations until the Byzantine fleet was driven off the coast
by the arrival of a squadron of ships from Spain, which joined
the Aglabites, and enabled fresh reinforcements to arrive from
Africa. The war was then carried on with activity : Messina
was taken in 831 ; Palermo capitulated in the following year;
1 Symeon, Mag. 414. ^ 2 Contin. 85.
3 The story that Euphemios carried off a nun is not quite sure, and looks something
like an invention of the orthodox, who wished to point out that the sin of Michael had
been punished by a divine judgment. John the Deacon, in his history of the Bishops of
Naples, only says that he fled to Africa with his wife and son. Muratori, Scrip. Rer.
Ita.licarum> i. pi. 2-313.. Euphemios is said to have been killed before the walls of
Syracuse, as he was inviting the inhabitants to throw off the oppressive government Of
the Byzantine emperors for the lighter yoke of the Saracens. Cedrenus, ii. 512.
The Amorian Dynasty 129
and Enna was besieged, for the first time 3 in 836. The war
continued with various success, as the invaders received assist-
ance from Africa, and the Christians from Constantinople.
The Byzantine forces recovered possession of Messina, which
was not permanently occupied by the Saracens until 843,
The Emperor Theophilus was too much engaged by his
military operations in Asia Minor to send effectual aid to the
Sicilians ;* while his father Michael II. had been too fond of
his ease on the throne to devote the requisite attention to the
business of the distant provinces. Michael III. thought of
nothing but his pleasures. At !ength s in the year 859, Enna
was taken by the Saracens. Syracuse, in order to preserve
its commerce from ruin, had purchased peace by paying a
tribute of 50,000 byzants ; and it was not until the reign of
Basil I., in the year 878, that it was compelled to surrender,
and the conquest of Sicily was completed by the Arabs. 2
Some districts, however s continued, either by treaty or by force
of arms, to preserve their municipal independence, and the
exclusive exercise of the Christian religion, within their terri-
tory, to a later period. 3
_The loss of Crete and Sicily seems to have been viewed
with strange apathy by the court at Constantinople. The
reason of this is probably to be attributed to the circumstance
that the surplus revenue was comparatively small, and the
defence of these distant possessions was found often to require
a military force, which it was deemed might be more advan-
tageously employed ne^ the capital. These feelings of the
statesmen at Constantinople were doubtless strengthened by
the circumstance that a portion of the population, both in
Crete and Sicily, had acquired a degree of municipal in-
dependence extremely adverse to the principles which guided
the imperial cabinet.
The bold and indefatigable abbot, Theodore Studita, still
struggled to establish the supremacy of the church over the
emperor in religious and ecclesiastical affairs. He appears
to deserve the credit of having discovered the necessity of
2 Theophilus seems to have named his brother-in-law, Alexis Mousel, Strategos and
Duke of Sicily, merely to send him into exile. Syrneon Mag. 418.
2 Ckronic&n Sic-ulum. Bibliothectt Hist. Regni Sicilia: A Carusfo, 6. Symeon Mag.
places the^ taking of Syracuse in the ninth year of Basil I., which would be nearly two
years earlier.
_ s The authorities for the^ conquest of Sicily are reviewed by Schlosser, Geschichte der
trild. Kaiser,, 455 ; and Weil, Geschichte der Chalifen.^ ii. 249. The Byzantine writers
who lived nearest to the time conceal the facts, as the ultimate loss of the island
reflected disgrace on Basil I., the grandfather of their patron Constantine VII.,
(Porphyrogeni tus).
F
130 The Contest with the Iconoclasts
creating a systematic restraint on the arbitrary authority of the
sovereign; but his scheme for making the ecclesiastical legisla-
tion superior to the executive power was defective, inasmuch
as it sought to confer on the church a more irresponsible
and dangerous authority than that of which the emperor would
have been deprived. Experience had not yet taught mankind
that no irresponsible power, whether it be intrusted to king or
priest, in a monarchy or a republic, can be exercised without
abuse. Until the law is superior to the executive government
there is no true liberty; but in the Byzantine empire the
emperor was above the law, and the imperial officials and the
clergy had a law of their own, and so the people were doubly
oppressed.
The conduct of Michael in conducting ecclesiastical busi-
ness indicates that he was not destitute of statesmanlike
qualities, though he generally thought rather of enjoying his
ease on the throne than of fulfilling the duties of his high
station. 1 During the civil war he was anxious to secure the
good-will of the monks and of the Greek party in the church.
He recalled Theodore from banishment, and declared himself
in favour of perfect toleration. This was far from satisfying
the enthusiastic abbot, and the bigoted ecclesiastics of his
party ; and after the establishment of tranquillity they incited
the image-worshippers to an open violation of the laws against
presenting pictures to the adoration of the people. Theodore
also engaged with fresh zeal in an extensive correspondence
with all persons of influence whom he knew to be favourable
to his party. The emperor ordered him to discontinue this
correspondence, as of a seditious tendency ; but the bold
abbot ventured to argue the case with Michael himself in a
long letter, which is preserved in his works. 2
The policy of forming friendly relations with the western
nations of Europe was every day becoming more apparent to
the rulers of the Byzantine empire, as the political influence
of the Popes extended itself, and the power of the western
nations increased. Michael II. , in order to prevent the dis-
contented image-worshippers from receiving support from the
Franks, opened negotiations with the Emperor Louis le
Debonnaire, in the hope of obtaining a condemnation of
image-worship similar to that of Charlemagne. In the year
1 Constantine Porphyrogenitus accuses Michael of neglecting the interests of the
empire in Dalmatia as much as in Sicily and Crete.- De Adm. Imp. chap. 29
a S. Theod. Stud. Ej>ist. t et alia. Scripta. Dogmatica, Paris, 1696, lib. ii. ep. 199,
The Amorian Dynasty 131
824, an embassy, bearing a vainglorious and bombastical
letter, announcing the defeat of Thomas, reached the court
of ^ Louis- 1 In this epistle Michael recapitulates the religious
principles which ought to guide the emperors of the Romans
in their ecclesiastical affairs. He alludes to the condemnation
of image-worship by the council of Frankfort, and declares
that he has not destroyed holy images and pictures, but only
removed them to such an elevation as was necessary to
prevent the abuses caused by popular superstition. 2 He
considers the councils held for the condemnation of image-
worship merely as local synods, and fully recognises the exist-
ence of a higher authority in general councils of the church,
giving, at the same time, his own confession of faith, in terms
which he knew would secure the assent of Louis and the
Frank clergy. ^ He then solicits the Frank emperor to induce
the Pope to withdraw his protection from the rebellious image-
worshippers who had fled from the Byzantine empire to Rome.
A synod was convoked at Paris in consequence of this com-
munication, which condemned the worship of images in the
same terms as the Caroline Books, and blamed the second
council of Nicasa for the superstitious reverence it had shown
for images, but, at the same time, approved of the rebuke
given to the^Eastern emperors, for their rashness in removing
and destroying images, by Pope Hadrian, A.D. 825. The
Emperor Louis was also requested by the synod to forward a
letter to Pope Eugenius, inviting him to write to the Emperor
Michael, in order to re-establish peace and unity in the
Christian church. But the Pope, the two emperors, and
Theodore Studita, were all afraid of plunging into ecclesias-
tical discussions at this period ; for public opinion had been
so exercised in these polemics, that it was impossible to fore-
see the result of the contest. Matters were therefore allowed
to go^ on during the reign of Michael without any open rupture.
The imprisonment of Methodios, afterwards Patriarch of Con-
stantinople, and the condemnation to death of Euthymios,
bishop of Sardis, were the only acts of extreme severity with
which the image-worshippers could reproach Michael; and
these seem to have originated from political and party motives
1 For this letter, see Barionus, torn. xiv. 66 ; Colet. ConciL ix. 642 ; Mansi Co-nci2.
xiv. 410.
_2 Pictures were sometimes^ made godfathers and godmothers at the baptism of
children. The sacramental wine was mixed with paint scraped from the figures of
saints, and the consecrated "bread was placed on the hand of the image to make it
co-partaker in the sacrament. Neander, iii. 546.
132 The Contest with the Iconoclasts
rather than from religious opinions, though the zeal of these
ecclesiastics rendered them eager to be considered as martyrs. 1
The marriage of Michael with Euphrosyne, the daughter of
Constantine VL, who had already taken the veil, was also
made a ground for exciting public reprobation against the
emperor. It is probable, however, that more ^importance is
given to this marriage, as a violation of religion, by Jater
writers, than it received among contemporaries. The Patriarch
absolved Euphrosyne from her vows, and the senate repeatedly
solicited the emperor to unite himself with the last scion of
Leo the Isaurian, the second founder of the Eastern Empire.
Michael affected to be averse to second marriages, and to
field only to the public wish. That the marriage of the
emperor with a nun excited the animosity of the monks,
who regarded marriage as an evil, and second marriages as a
delict, is very natural; and it would, of course, supply a fertile
source of calumnious gossip to the enemies of the Amorian
dynasty.
Michael II. died in October, 829, and was buried in a
sarcophagus of green Thessalian marble, in the sepulchral
chapel erected by Justinian in the Church of the Holy
Apostles. 2
SECTION II
THEOPHILUS, A.D. 829-842
Anecdotes concerning the Emperor's love of justice Concerning his
marriage Ecclesiastical persecution Love of art Colony on the
Don Saracen war Theophilus destroys Zapetra Motassem destroys
Amorium Death of Theophilus.
No emperor ever ascended the throne of Constantinople
Kath greater personal and political advantages than Theo-
)hilus. His education had been the best the age could
supply, and he possessed considerable talent and industry.
The general direction of his education had been intrusted
o John the Grammarian, one of the most accomplished as
rell as the most learned men of the time. 3 In arts and
1 Contin. Scri$. pest Theoh* 31. Genesms, 23.
2 Contin. Scvij.Jost Thcopk. 52.
s John Hylilas, as has been already mentioned, page zio, was called Lekanornant
y the people, because he was said to use a polished basin for the purpose of divination.
[e was Patriarch of Constantinople from 832 to 842. He was a member of the
istinguished family of the Morocharzanians. Contin. 96. Cedrenus, 536. St. Martin
mjectures that this family was of Armenian origin, and his brother's name was
rsaber, which, at least, Is an Armenian name. Contin. 97. Lebeau, xiii. 14.
The Amorian Dynasty 133
arms, In law and theology, the emperor was equally well
Instructed : his taste made him a lover of poetry, music, and
architecture; his courage rendered him a brave soldier, his
sense of justice a sound legislator- but his theology made
him a stern bigot ; and a discontented temperament of mind
prevented his accomplishments and virtues from producing a
harmonious union. All acknowledged his merit, none seemed
affectionately attached to his person ; and in the midst of his
power he was called the Unfortunate. During his father's
lifetime he had been intrusted with an active share in
the government, and had devoted particular attention to
the ecclesiastical department. He embraced the party of
the Iconoclasts with fervour; and though his father en-
deavoured to moderate his zeal, his influence seems to have
produced the isolated acts of persecution during the reign of
Michael, which were at variance with that emperor's general
policy.
Theophilus observed that the population of the empire was
everywhere suffering from the defects of the central govern-
ment, and he was anxious to remedy the evil. He erroneously
attributed the greatest part of the sufferings of the people to
the corruption of the administration, instead of ascribing it to
the fact that the central authorities assumed duties which they
were unable to execute, and prevented local bodies, who
could easily have performed these duties in an efficient
manner, from attempting to undertake them. Theophilus,
however, justly believed that a great reform might be effected
by improving the administration of justice, and he set about
the task with vigour ; still many of his measures for enforcing
equitable conduct on the part of the judges were so strongly
marked with personality, that his severity, even when
necessary, was stigmatised as crueL He was in the habit
of riding through the streets of Constantinople on a weekly
visit to the church of St Mary at Blachern, in order to afford
his subjects a public opportunity of presenting such petitions
as might otherwise never reach his hands. 1 The practice is
perpetuated in the Othoman empire to this day. The sultan
pays a public visit to one of the principal mosques of his
capital weekly for the same purpose. In both cases it may
be received as a proof of the want of a better and more
systematic control over the judicial administration of a mighty
empire. There was no emperor, in the reign of Theophilus,
1 Contln. Scrip, fost Theofh. 53.
134 The Contest with the Iconoclasts
to parade the streets of provincial towns, where control was
most wanted ; and there is no substitute for the sultan's pro-
cession to the mosque in the provincial cities of Turkey.
The first proof Theophilus gave of his love of justice was
so strangely chosen, that it was represented as originating in
the wish to get rid of some dangerous courtiers, rather than in
a sense of equity. He assembled the senate, and, exhibiting
to its astonished members the candelabrum of which one of
the branches had been struck off at the assassination of
Leo V., he demanded whether the laws of the empire and
divine justice did not both call for the punishment of the men
who had committed the double sacrilege of murdering their
emperor, and shedding his blood before the altar. Some
senators, prepared for the scene, suggested that, in order to
avert the vengeance of Heaven, it was necessary to put the
traitors to death. Theophilus immediately ordered the prefect
of Constantinople to arrest every person concerned in Leo's
assassination and bring them to trial, whether they belonged
to the party of the image-worshippers or of the Greek
ecclesiastics. They were all convicted, and executed in the
Hippodrome, vainly protesting against the injustice of their
sentence, since their deed had been ratified and pardoned by
the Emperor Michael II. , and the reigning emperor confirmed
that ratification by enjoying the profit of their act. 1
Other examples of the emperor's severity were less liable to
suspicion. A poor widow accused Petronas, the emperor's
brother-in-law, an officer of talents and courage, of having,
in violation of law, raised his house so high as to render
hers almost uninhabitable from want of air and light. The
laws concerning the disposition of private buildings in
Constantinople were always regarded as an important object
of imperial legislation. Theophilus ordered the grievance to
be redressed ; but the complaint was subsequently reiterated,
and the emperor discovered that his brother-in-law had dis-
obeyed his decision. He now gave orders that the newly-
built house should be levelled with the ground, and con-
demned Petronas to be scourged in the public highway. 2
Some time after this, Petronas was appointed to the high post
1 Leo Grammaticus, 440, edit. Par. ; 214, edit. Bonn.
2 The law of Zeno, giving the rules to be followed in constructing private houses at
Constantinople, is contained in the Corpus Juris CzvilisCod. Just. viii. 10-12, De
JEdificiis Pri-vatis. Dirksen has published a memoir containing much information
explanatory of this law, in the Transactions of the Berlin Academy for 1844: it is
entitled. Das Polizei-Gesetz des Kaisers Zeno iiber die laulichc Aulage dev
Prwathduser in Constantinople,
The Amorlan Dynasty 135
of ^governor of Cherson, and during the reign of his nephew,
Michael III., he defeated the Saracens in an important battle
in Asia Minor, as will be hereafter related. This anecdote
illustrates the state of society at the Byzantine court, by the
contrast it presents between the servile feelings of the Romans
and Greeks of Constantinople, and the independent spirit of
the Franks and Germans of western Europe. In the Eastern
Empire the shame of blows was nothing, and a bastinado
inflicted on an emperor's brother-in-law, who retained his
official rank, was not likely to be a very painful operation.
The degradation of the punishment was effaced by the
arbitrary nature of the power that inflicted it. The sense of
justice inherent in mankind is always wounded by the inflic-
tion ^of arbitrary punishment ; cruelty or caprice are supposed
to dictate the sentence; the public attention is averted from
the crime, and pity is often created when the sufferer really
deserves to be branded with infamy.
On another occasion, as Theophilus rode through the
streets, a man stepped forward, and, laying his hand on
the horse the emperor was riding, exclaimed, "This horse
is mine, O emperor!" On investigating the circumstances,
it appeared that the horse had really been taken by force from
its proprietor by an officer of rank, who wished to present
it to the emperor on account of its beauty. This act of
violence was also punished, and the proprietor received
two pounds' weight of gold as an indemnity for the loss he
had sustained. The horse was worth about one hundred
byzants. 1
Theophilus was also indefatigable in examining the police
details of the capital, and looking into the state of the markets.
It is true^that the abundance of provisions, and their price at
Constantinople, was a matter of great importance to the
Byzantine government, which, like the Roman, too often
sacrificed the prosperity of the provinces to the tranquillity of
the capital ; yet still the minute attention which Theophilus
gave to performing the duties of a prefect, indicate that he
was deficient in the grasp of intellect required for the clear
perception of the duties of an emperor.
The reign of Theophilus was an age of anecdotes and tales.
It had many poetic aspirations, smothered in chronicles and
legends of saints. Volumes of tales were then current which
would have given us a better insight into Byzantine manners
1 Seventy-two or seventy-four byrants weighed a pound. Leo Gramm. 454.
136 The Contest with the Iconoclasts
than the folios of the historians, who have preserved an outline
of a few of these stories. Theophilus seems to have been
a kind of Byzantine Haroun Al Rashid. Unfortunately the
Iconoclasts appear to have embodied more of this species
of literature in their habits than the orthodox, who delighted
in silly legends concerning saints rather than in imaginative
pictures of the deeds of men ; and thus the mirror of truth
has perished, while the fables that have been preserved are
neglected from their unnatural stupidity. 1
Theophilus was unmarried when he ascended the throne,
and he found difficulty in choosing a wife. 2 At last he
arranged with his stepmother, Euphrosyne, a project for
enabling him to make a suitable selection, or at least to make
his choice from a goodly collection. The ^ empress-mother
invited all the most beautiful and accomplished virgins at
Constantinople to a fte in her private apartments. $ When the
gaiety of the assembled beauties had removed their first shy-
ness, Theophilus entered the rooms, and walked forward with
a golden apple in his hand. Struck by the grace and beauty
of Eikasia, with whose features he must have been already ac-
quainted, and of whose accomplishments he had often heard,
he stopped to address her. The proud beauty ^felt herself
already an empress ; but Theophilus commenced his conversa-
tion with the ungallant remark, "Woman is the source of
evil -, " to which the young lady too promptly replied, " But
woman is also the cause of much good." The answer or the
tone jarred on the captious mind of the emperor, and he
walked on. His eye then fell on the modest features of the
young Theodora, whose eyes were fixed on the ground. To
her he gave the apple without risking a word. Eikasia, who
for a moment had felt the throb of gratified ambition, could
not recover from the shock. She retired into a monastery
which she founded, and passed her life dividing her time
between the practice of devotion and the cultivation of her
mind. She composed some hymns, which continued long
in use in the Greek church. 3 A short time after this, the
Empress Euphrosyne retired into the monastery of Gastria,
1 I presume few persons have now either time or opportunity to read much of the
Ada, Sanctorum^ fifty-three volumes of which were published at Antwerp from 1643 to
1793. This only goes as far as the i4th of October ; yet much of the social history of the
middle ages can be sought for in no other source.
2 It seems probable he was a widower, from the age of his daughters. See page
143, note 2.
3 Zonaras, ii. 141. Codinus, DC Orig. Const. 61, 104, Banduri, Imp. Oricntttle t
ii. 717, ed. Par. ; 527* ed. Ven.
The Amorian Dynasty 137
an agreeable retreat, selected also by Theoctlsta, the mother
of Theodora, as her residence. 1
Theodora herself is the heroine of another tale, illustrating
the corruption of the officials about the court, and the in-
flexible love of justice of the emperor. The courtiers in the
service of the imperial family had been in the habit of draw-
ing large profits from evading the custom-duties to which
other traders were liable, by engaging the emperor-colleague
or the empress in commercial adventures. The revenue of
the state and the commerce of the honest merchant both
suffered by this aristocratic mode of trading. Theophilus,
who knew of the abuse, learned that the young empress had
been persuaded to lend her name to one of these trading
speculations, and that a ship, laden with a valuable cargo in
her name, was about to arrive at Constantinople. In order
to put an end to these frauds by a striking example, he took
care to be informed as this ship entered the port. When this
vessel arrived, it displayed the imperial standard, and stood
proudly towards the public warehouses with a fair wind.
Theophilus, who had led the court to a spot overlooking the
port, pretending to be struck by the gallant appearance of
the vessel, demanded with what military stores she was laden,
and whence she came. The truth was soon elicited, and
when he obtained a full confession of the nature of the cargo,
he ordered it to be landed and publicly burned; for he said,
it was never heard that a Roman emperor or empress turned
trader. 2
The principles of toleration which had guided the imperial
administration during the preceding reigns were not entirely
laid aside by Theophilus, and though his religious bigotry was
strong, he preferred punishing the image-worshippers for dis-
obedience to the civil laws to persecuting them for their
ecclesiastical opinions. The emperor's own prejudices in
favour of the divine right of kings were as intolerant as his
aversion to image-worship, so that he may really have acted
as much on political as religious grounds. His father had
not removed pictures from the walls of churches when they
were placed in elevated situations; and had Theophilus
followed his example, Iconoclasts and image - worshippers
l Contra. 56. Gastria was certainly not selected as a place of exile, as modern
writers have supposed, or Euphrosyne would, in all^ probability, have been sent back to
the monastery at Prince's Island, which she had quitted to ascend the throne.
3 Contin. 55. Zonaras, ii, 143. The reference to Syria by Zonaras is, as Schlosser
observes, a mistake yiginating in the otiptas of the elder historian.
138 The Contest with the Iconoclasts
might at last have accepted the compromise, and dwelt peace-
ably together in the Eastern church. The monks, too, had
been wisely allowed considerable latitude within the walls of
their monasteries, though they were forbidden to preach
publicly to the people in favour of image-worship. Theophilus
was inclined to imitate the policy of Leo the Isaurian, but he
could not venture to dissolve the refractory monasteries and
imprison the monks. The government of the earlier Icono-
clasts reposed on an army organised by themselves, and ready
to enforce all their orders; but in the time of Theophilus,
the army neither possessed the same power over society, nor
was it equally devoted to the emperor.
In the year 832, an edict was issued prohibiting every dis-
play of picture-worship, and commanding that the word holy^
usually placed in letters of gold before the name of a saint,
should be erased. This edict was at times carried into
execution in an arbitrary and oppressive manner, and caused
discontent and opposition. 1 A celebrated painter of ecclesias-
tical subjects, named Lazaros, who acquired great fame during
the reign of Michael III., was imprisoned and scourged, but
subsequently released from confinement at the intercession of
Theodora. 2 Two monks, Theophanes the Singer and Theo-
dore Graptos, were much more cruelly treated, for, in addition
to other tortures, some verses were branded on the forehead
of Theodore, who from that circumstance received his sur-
name of Graptos. 3
Some time after the publication of this edict against image-
worship, John the Grammarian was elected Patriarch. Though
a decided opponent of image-worship, he was a man of a
larger intellect and more tolerant disposition than his imperial
pupil, over whose mind, however, he fortunately retained con-
siderable influence. 4 Still, when the emperor found his edict
unavailing, he compelled the Patriarch to assemble a synod,
1 Contin. 62.^ Cedrenus, 514.
2 Lazaros painted a picture of St. John the Baptist while he was suffering from the
stripes he received, which was reported to have performed many miraculous cures.
3 Schlosser, GescMchte der bild. Kaiser, 553.
4 The chronology of John's patriarchate presents some difficulties. Schlosser places
his election in 833866 his note, page 486. Pagi and Banduri in 832. /#. Orient, ii.
008. The length of his patriarchate is given differently in the various lists we possess.
Some fix it at nine years. Zonaras, ii. 153, says he was only six years Patriarch.
Symeon Mag., 421, says he was elected the eighth year of Theophilus. These two
writers consequently place his election in 837. The continuator (Scrij $o$t TJuojbha-
- --<--- .- *--* a t preceded his electio. * t ,
placed by_ Symeon Mag., 419, m the fifth year of Theophilus. Weil, GcschickU der
n, n. 297, considers that it occurred at the end of the year 833.
The Amorian Dynasty 139
which was induced to excommunicate all image-worshippers.
As the Patriarch was averse to these violent proceedings, it
can hardly be supposed that they produced much effect within
the pale of the church ; but they certainly tended to inflame
the zeal of those marked out for persecution, and strengthened
the rninds of the orthodox to perform what they considered
to be their duty, arming them with faith to resist the civil
power. The spirit of religious strife was awakened, and the
emperor was so imprudent as to engage personally in contro-
versies with monks and priests. These discussions ruffled his
temper and increased his severity, by exposing the lofty
pretensions he entertained of his dignity and talents to be
wounded by men who gloried in displaying their contempt for
all earthly power. Theophilus sought revenge for his injured
vanity. The monks who persisted in publicly displaying
images and pictures were driven from their monasteries ; and
many members of the clergy, distinguished for learning and
beloved for virtue, were imprisoned and scourged. Yet, even
during the height of his resentment, the emperor winked at
the superstition of those who kept their opinions private,
tolerated the prejudices of the Empress Theodora, and at her
request released Methodios, the future Patriarch of Constanti-
nople, from prison. 1
The wealth of the Byzantine empire was at this peried very
great, and its industry in the most flourishing condition,
Theophilus, though engaged in expensive and disastrous wars,
found the imperial revenue so much increased by the aug-
mented commerce of his subjects, that he was able to indulge
an inordinate passion for pomp and display. His love of art
was gratified by the fantastic employment of rich materials in
luxurious ornament, rather than by durable works of useful
grandeur. His architectural taste alone took a direction at
times advantageous to the public. The walls of Constanti-
nople towards the sea were strengthened, and their height
increased. He founded an hospital, which remained one of
l Gibbon, Decline and Fa.ll, ix. 42, has exaggerated the cruelty of the punishments
inflicted by Theophilus. Schlosser, 524, remarks that he has found no authority to
authorise the reproaches of excessive tyranny. Even the Jesuit Maimbourg, Histozre
d& VHerlsit des Iconoclastes, iL 233, mentions the imprisonment of Methodios with
a dead robber, and the branding verses on the foreheads of Theodore and Theophanes,
(if the latter suffered this punishment,) as the most inhuman acts of Theophilus.
Contin. 65.
The story that Theodora persuaded her husband to believe that some images of
saints in her possession were only dolls for her children's amusement, is a popular
anecdote more deserving of a place in the dull Legends of the Saints than in the
Byzantine tales.
140 The Contest with the Iconoclasts
the most useful institutions of the city to the latest days of
Byzantine history; 1 but, at the same time, he gratified his
love of display in architecture, by constructing palaces, at an
enormous expense, in no very durable manner. One of these,
built in imitation of the great palace of the caliphs at Bagdat,
was erected at Bryas, on the Asiatic shore. 2 The varied form,
the peculiar arches, the coloured decorations, the mathematical
tracery, and the rich gilding, had induced John the Gram-
marian, when he visited the Caliph Motassem as ambassador
from Theophilus, to bring back drawings and plans of this
building, which was totally different from the Byzantine style
then in use. Other buildings constructed by Theophilus are
described by historians in a way that indicates they must have
been far superior in magnificence to the works of preceding or
following emperors. 3
Theophilus was also an enthusiastic admirer of music, and
as church-music was in his time one of the principal amuse-
ments of persons of taste, musical science was devoted to add
to the grandeur and solemnity of ecclesiastical ceremonies.
In works of art, the emperor's taste appears not to have been
very pure. A puerile vanity induced him to lavish enormous
sums in fabricating gorgeous toys of jewellery. In these orna-
ments, singular mechanical contrivances were combined with
rich figures to astonish the spectator. A golden plane-tree,
covered with innumerable artificial birds, that warbled and
fluttered their wings on its branches, vultures that screamed,
and lions that roared, stood at the entrance of the hall of
state. Invisible organs, that filled the ceilings of the apart-
ments with soft melody, were among the strange things that
Theophilus placed in the great palace of Constantinople.
They doubtless formed the theme of many Byzantine tales, of
which we still see a reflected image in the Arabian Nights. 4
^ Two laws of Theophilus deserve especial notice : one ex-
hibits him in the character of a capricious tyrant ; the other
reveals the extent to which elements adverse to Roman and
Greek nationality pervaded Byzantine society. The first of
these edicts ordered all the Romans that is, all the subjects
1 Codinus, De Orzg. Const. 28. Banduri, Imp. Orient, ii. 648.
2 Contin. 61. Ducange, Const. Christ. lib. iv. 177.
3 Symeon Mag., 450, tells us that Leo, a great mathematician, invented a kind of
telegraph, with a dial, in the palace of Theophilus in Constantinople, which reported
; Glycas, 292; Cedrenus,
feuuiuM, ami .uc i*u waters, ivxany ot tuese worKs were exeucted under the direction
of John Hylilas and Leo the Mathematician. See post.
The Amorlan Dynasty 141
of the empire, to wear their hair cropped short, under the
pain of the bastinado. Theophilus pretended that he wished
to restore old Roman fashions, but the world believed that the
flowing locks of others rendered him ashamed of his own bald
head. The other law declared that the marriage of Persians
and Romans did in no way derogate from the rights of those
who were citizens of the empire; and it shows that a very
great emigration of Persian Christians from the dominions of
the caliphs must have taken place, or such a law would not
have become necessary. Theophobus, one of the most dis-
tinguished leaders of the Persians, who claimed descent from
the Sassanides, married Helena, the emperor's sister. 1 "
The wide extended frontiers of the empire required Theo-
philus to maintain relations with the sovereigns of a large
portion of Asia and Europe. To secure allies against his great
enemy, the Caliph of Bagdat, he renewed the ancient alliance
of the emperors of Constantinople with the sovereign of the
Khazars; but this people was now too much occupied in
defending its own territories against a new race of intruders,
called Patzinaks, to renew their invasions of the northern
provinces of the Mohammedan empire. The progress of the
Patzinaks alarmed Theophilus for the security of the Byzantine
commerce with the northern nations, from which the imperial
treasury drew immense duties ; and he sent his brother-in-law
Petronas (whom, as we have mentioned, he had condemned
to be scourged) to Cherson, which was then a free city like
Venice, with orders to construct a fortress on the banks of the
Don. This commercial colony, called Sarkel, was used as the
trading depot with the north. 2 A friendly intercourse was
kept up with Louis le Debonnaire and his son Lothaire. The
Venetians were invited to assist in the naval war for the
defence of Sicily and southern Italy against the Saracens of
Africa. 3 An embassy was sent to Abderrahman II. , the caliph
of Spain, to secure the commerce of the Greeks in the West
from any interruption, and to excite the Ommiad caliph to
hostilities against the Abassides of Bagdat. 4
When Theophilus ascended the throne, the Byzantine and
1 Contin. 67-70.
2 Cherson was then governed by a president and senate, elected by^ the citizens,_and
no governor -was sent from Constantinople. Theophilus succeeded in reducing it to
complete dependence. See J>ost, Contin. 76. Constant. Porphyr. De Adw. Imp. n.
chap. 42. Now Bielaveja, near Tcherkask, the capital of the Don Cossacks. Lehrberg,
Unters-uchungen zur erl&utcrung der alter* Gcsckichtc Russtends. Petersburg, ii6.
Cedrenus, 415. s Dandolo, Chron* viii. 4-6.
4 Murphy's History ftht Mohammedan Empire in Spain t 93 ; A.D. 839.
142 The Contest with the Iconoclasts
Saracen empires enjoyed peace ; but they were soon involved
in a fierce contest, which bears some resemblance to the
mortal combat between the Roman and Persian empires in
the time of Heraclius. Almamun, who ruled the caliphate
from 813 to 833, was a magnificent and liberal sovereign, dis-
tinguished for Ms love of science and literature, and^eager to
surpass the Greeks in knowledge and the Romans in arms.
Though not himself a soldier, his armies were commanded by
several celebrated generals. The want of a moral check on
the highest officials of arbitrary governments usually prevents
the existence of a sense of duty in political relations, and
hence rebellions and civil wars become prevalent. In the
reign of Aimanrun, the disturbances in Persia reduced the
population, whether fire-worshippers or Christians, to despair ;
and a great number, unable to live in their native country,
escaped into the Byzantine empire, and established themselves
at Sinope. This immigration seems to have consisted chiefly
of Christians, who feared equally the government of Almamun
and the rebel Babek, who, though preaching the equality of
all mankind, was accused of allowing every license to his own
followers. The Persian troops at Sinope were placed under
the command of Theophobos, and their number was increased
by an addition of seven thousand men, when Afshin, the
general of the Caliph Motassem, defeated Babek, and ex-
tinguished the civil war in Persia. 1
The protection granted by Theophilus to refugees from the
caliph's dominions, induced Almamun to invade the empire in
the year 831 ; and the Saracen general, Abu Chazar, com-
pletely defeated the Byzantine army, commanded by Theo-
philus in person. The emperor repaired this disgrace in the
following year by gaining a victory over the Saracens in
Charsiana, which he celebrated with great pomp and vain-
glory in the hippodrome of Constantinople. 2 Almamun
revenged the defeat of his generals by putting himself at the
head of his army, ravaging Cappadocia, and capturing Her-
acleia.
1 The Babek who is said by the Byzantine historians to have fled into the empire with
seven thousand followers, was certainly a different person from the celebrated leader of
the rebellion. The arrival of this refugee is placed before the commencement of the war
between Theophilus and Almamun, A.D. 831. The great rebel Babek sustained an im-
portant defeat in 833, when many of his followers fled into Armenia and the Byzantine
provinces, according to the Arabian historians ; but he still^continued the war in Adzer-
bijan, Compare Contin. 70 j Symeon Mag. 415 ; Cedrenus, ii. 533 ; and Weil, Geschichtt
der Chalifen t ii. 239.
2 Constant. Porphyr. De Ceremoniis A-ulas Byzantines, 290, edit. Leich ; torn. L 503,
edit. Bonn. Reiske considers that this account of the triumph of Theophilus refers to
his return after the destruction of Zapctra. Tom. ii. 590.
The Amorian Dynasty 143
The armies of the Byzantine empire at this period consisted
in great part of foreign mercenaries. Some secondary causes,
connected with the development of society, which have escaped
the notice of historians, operated to render the recruitment of
armies more than usually difficult among the civilised portions
of mankind, and caused all the powerful sovereigns of the age
to exclude their native subjects as much as possible from the
use of arms. In the Saracen empire this feeling led to the
transference of all military power Into the hands of Turkish
mercenaries ; and in the Frank empire it led to the exposure
of the country, without defence, to the incursions of the
Normans. It is true that jealousy of the Arab aristocracy
in one case, and fear of the hostile disposition of the Roman-
ised population in the other, had considerable influence on
the conduct of the caliphs and the Western emperors. The
Byzantine empire, though under the influence of similar
tendencies, was saved from a similar fate by a higher degree
of political civilisation. The distrust of Theophilus for his
generals was shown by the severity with which he treated
them. Manuel, one of the best officers of the empire, dis-
gusted at his suspicions, fled to the Saracens, and served with
distinction in their armies against the rebels of Chorasan. 1
Alexis Mousel, an Armenian, who received the favourite
daughter of Theophilus in marriage, with the rank of Qesar,
was degraded and scourged in consequence of his father-in-
law's suspicions. 2
Immediately after the death of Almamun, the emperor sent
John the Grammarian on an embassy to Motassem, who had
succeeded his brother as caliph. The object of this embassy
was to conclude a lasting peace, and at all events to persuade
Manuel, whose fame in the war of Chorasan had reached the
ears of Theophilus, to return home. With the caliph the
negotiations appear not to have been as successful as the em-
peror expected, but with Manuel they succeeded perfectly.
The magnificence of John on this occasion gave rise to many
wonderful tales, and the Greeks were long amused by the
1 See tlie romantic account of the exploits of Manuel, which, as they set chronology
at defiance, cannot be received as historical. Contm. 74; Cedrenus. ii. 527.
2 It would seem, that Theophilus had been married before his father's death. Maria
the wife of Alexios was the youngest of five daughters, and her marriage, even accord-
ing to Symeon Mag., who says she was the daughter of Theodora, took place in the
third year of the reign of Theophilus, (4x7, 418). We must suppose that Theophilus had
two wives named Theodora, and was a widower at his father's death, after which he
married the second. But even then difficulties will be found, and the chronology of this
period Is singularly confused. Thelda, the eldest daughter of Theophilus, received the
imperial title from her father before the birth of Michael III.
144 The Contest with the Iconoclasts
accounts of the marvellous wealth displayed by the priestly
ambassador.
Not very long after this embassy, Theophilus, availing him-
self of the troubles occasioned in the caliph's dominions
by the civil wars arising out of the heretical opinions concern-
ing the human composition of the Koran, which had been
favoured by Almamun, invaded the caliph's dominions. The
Byzantine troops ravaged the country to the south of Melitene,
anciently called Commagene, defeated the Saracens with great
loss, captured Zapetra, and penetrated as far as Samosata,
which Theophilus also took and destroyed. Zapetra, or
Sosopetra, lay about two days' journey to the west of the road
from Melitene to Samosata. 1 The Greeks pretended that it was
the birthplace of Motassem, and that the caliph sent an
embassy to the emperor entreating him to spare the town,
which he offered to ransom at any price ; but Theophilus dis-
missed the ambassadors and razed Zapetra to the ground. 2
This campaign seems to have been remarkable for the cruelty
with which the Mohammedans were treated, and the wanton
ravages committed by the Persian emigrants in the Byzantine
service. The Saracens repeated one of the tales in connection
with this expedition which was current among their country-
men, and applied, as occasion served, from the banks of the
Guadalquivir to those of the Indus. In Spain it was told
of Al Hakem, in Asia of Motassem. A female prisoner, when
insulted by a Christian soldier, was reported to have exclaimed
in her agony, " Oh, shame on Motassem J " a The circum-
stance was repeated to the caliph, who learned at the same
time that the unfortunate woman was of the tribe of Hashem,
and consequently, according to the clannish feelings of the
Arabs, a member of his own family. Motassem swore by
the Prophet he would do everything in his power to revenge
her.
In the mean time Theophilus, proud of his easy victories,
returned to Constantinople, and instead of strengthening his
frontier, and placing strong garrisons near the mountain-
passes, brought his best troops to Constantinople to attend on
his own person. As he entered the hippodrome in a chariot
1 Abulfeda, cited by Weil, K. 309, note 2.
2 Contin. 77. Genesius, 31, says^ it was the birthplace of Motassem's mother.
Symeon Mag., 421, places the destruction of Zapetra in the seventh year of Theophilus.
* Gibbon, x. 68. The story, as told of Motassem, is given by Price, Mohttnttneda.n
History, ii. 147 ; as told of Al Hakem, by Murphy, History of the Mokammedo.*
Empire in SJ>ain t 90.
The Amorian Dynasty 145
drawn by four white horses, wearing the colours of the blue
faction, his happy return was hailed by the people with loud
shouts. His welcome was more like that of a successful
charioteer than of a victorious general.
The Persian mercenaries, whose number had now increased
to thirty thousand, were placed in winter-quarters at Sinope
and Amastris, where they began to display a seditious spirit ;
for Theophilus could neither trust his generals nor acquire the
confidence of his soldiers. These mercenaries at last broke
out into rebellion, and resolved to form a Persian kingdom in
Pontus, They proclaimed their general Theophobus king ;
but that officer had no ambition to insure the ruin of Ms
brother-in-law's empire by grasping a doubtful sceptre ; and he
sent assurances to Theophilus that he would remain faithful to
his allegiance, and do everything in his power to put an end
to the rebellion. Without much difficulty, therefore, this army
of Persians was gradually dispersed through the different
themes, but tranquillity was obtained by sacrificing the
efficiency of one of the best armies in the empire.
Motassem, having also re-established tranquillity in the
interior of his dominions, turned his whole attention to
the war with the Byzantine empire. A well-appointed army
of veterans, composed of the troops who had suppressed the
rebellion of Babek, was assembled on the frontiers of Cilicia,
and the caliph placed himself at the head of the army, on the
banks of the Cydnus, in the year 838. 1 A second army
of thirty thousand men, under Afshin, advanced into the
empire at a considerable distance to the north-east of the
grand army, under the immediate orders of the caliph.
Afshin had suppressed the rebellion of Babek after it had
lasted twenty years, and was considered the ablest general of
the Saracens. On hearing that the army of Afshin had in-
vaded Lykandos, Theophilus intrusted the defences of the
Cilician passes, by which the caliph proposed to advance,
to Aetios, the general of the Anatolic theme, and hastened to
stop the progress of Afshin, whose army, strengthened by
a strong body of Armenians under Sembat the native governor
of the country, and by ten thousand Turkish mercenaries, who
were then considered the best troops in Asia, was overrunning
dea
1 Contin. 78. Symeon Mag. 423. This last places the defeat of Theophilus and the
death of Manuel in the ninth year of Theophilus, and the taking of Amorium in
the tenth. The reign of Theophilus commenced in October 829. They evidently oc-
curred in one campaign, and the Arabian historians give the asrd September, 838, as the
date of the capture of Amorium. Weil, ii 315.
146 The Contest with the Iconoclasts
Cappadocia, Theophilus, apprehensive that this army might
turn his flank, and alarmed lest the Armenians and Persians,
of which it was part composed, might seduce those of the
same nations in his service, was anxious to hasten an engage-
ment. The battle was fought at Dasymon, where the Byzan-
tine army, commanded by Theophobus and Manuel, under the
immediate orders of Theophilus, attacked the Saracens. The
field was fiercely contested, and for some time it seemed as if
victory would favour the Christians; but the admirable
discipline of the Turkish archers decided the fate of the day.
In vain the emperor exposed his person with the greatest
valour to recover the advantage he had lost ; Manuel was
compelled to make the most desperate efforts to save him,
and induce him to retreat. The greater part of the Byzantine
troops fled from the field, and the Persian mercenaries alone
remained to guard the emperor's person. During the night,
however, Theophilus was informed that the foreigners were
negotiating with the Saracens to deliver him up a prisoner,
and he was compelled to mount his horse, and ride almost
unattended to Chiliokomon, where a portion of the native
troops of the empire had rallied. 1 From thence he retired to
Donylseum, where he endeavoured to assemble an army
to defend Amorium, Manuel died of the wounds he received
in saving the emperor.
While Theophilus was marching to his defeat, the advanced
guard of the Caliph's army, under Ashnas 2 and Wassif,
threaded the Cilician passes in the direction of Tyana ; and
Aetios, unable to resist their advance, allowed the main body
of the Saracens to penetrate into the central plains of Asia
Minor without opposition. Abandoning the whole of the
Anatolic theme to the invaders, he concentrated his forces
under the walls of Amorium. After ravaging Lycaonia and
Pisidia, Motassem marched to besiege Amorium. The capture
of this city, as the birthplace of the Amorian dynasty, had
been announced by the caliph to be the object of the cam-
paign ; and it was said that 130,000 men had marched out of
Tarsus with AMORIUM painted on their shields. Motassem
expected to carry the place by assault, and the defeat of
Theophilus by his lieutenants inspired him with the hope
of carrying his arms to the shores of the Bosphorus, and
1 Strabo, lib. xii. 561. North of Amasir, the native place of the geographer.
a ^ Ashnas was a Tuxk. Motassem had collected at this time about 70,000 Turlcs in his
service. Weil, ii. 304.
The Amorian Dynasty 147
plundering the Asiatic suburb of Constantinople. But all his
attempts to storm Amorium, though repeated with fresh troops
on three successive days, were defeated by Aetios, who had
thrown himself into the city with the best soldiers in his
army, and the caliph found himself obliged to commence
a regular siege. Theophflus now sued for peace. The bishop
of Amorium and the leading citizens offered to capitulate, for
the numerous army within the walls soon exhausted the
provisions. But Motassem declared that he would neither
conclude a peace nor grant terms of capitulation ; vengeance
was what he sought, not victory, Amorium was valiantly
defended for fifty-five days, but treachery at length enabled
the caliph to gratify his passion, just as he was preparing
to try the fortune of a fourth general assault. The traitor who
sold his post and admitted the Saracens into the city was
named Voiditzes. In this case both the Christian and
Mohammedan accounts agree in ascribing the success of the
besiegers to treason in the Christian ranks, and the defence
appears to have been conducted by Aetios both with skill and
valour. 1 The cruelty of Motassem far exceeded that of
Theophilus. Thirty thousand persons were massacred, and
the inhabitants who were spared were sold as slaves. The
city of Amorium was burned to the ground, and the walls
destroyed. The ambassadors sent by Theophilus to beg for
peace had been detained by the caliph, to witness his con-
quest. They were now sent back with this answer, " Tell your
master that I have at last discharged the debt contracted
at Zapetra."
Motassem, however, perceived that a considerable change
had taken place in the empire since the days in which the
Saracens had besieged Constantinople. He did not even
consider it prudent to attempt advancing to the shores of the
Bosphorus, but returned to his own dominions, carrying with
him Aetios and forty officers of rank captured in Amorium.
For seven years these men were vainly urged to embrace the
Mohammedan faith; at last they were put to death by Vathek,
the son of Motassem, and they are regarded as martyrs by the
orthodox church. 2 Theophilus is said to have offered the
Caliph Motassem the sum of 2400 Ib. of gold to purchase
peace, and the deliverance of all the Christians who had been
1 Continuator, 81.
2 Their martyrdom Is celebrated on 6th March. It occurred in 845. Menofogiurt
Gracvrttm, Hi. 7.
148 The Contest with the Iconoclasts
taken prisoner during the war; but the caliph demanded in
addition that a Persian refugee named Naser, and Manuel, of
whose death he appears not to have been assured, should also
be given up, Theophilus refused to disgrace himself by
delivering up Naser, and the treaty was broken off. Naser
was shortly after killed in an engagement on the frontier.
The war was prosecuted for some years in a languid manner,
and success rather inclined to the Byzantine arms. The port
of Antioch, on the Orontes, was taken and plundered by a
Greek fleet; the province of Melitene was ravaged as far as
Marash; Abou Said, who had defeated and slain Naser, was
in turn himself defeated and taken prisoner. At kst a truce
seems to have been concluded, but no exchange of prisoners
took place. 1
Theophilus never recovered from the wound his pride
received at Amorium. The frequent defeats he sustained in
those battles where he was personally engaged, contrasted
with the success of his generals, rankled in his melancholy
disposition. His sensitive temperament and the fatigues of
his campaigns undermined his health. To divert his mind,
he indulged his passion for building ; and so great were the
resources of the Byzantine treasury, that even at this period of
misfortune he could lavish enormous sums in idle ornament
It would have been well, both for him and for the Christian
world, had he employed some of this wealth at an earlier
period in fortifying the frontier and diminishing the burden of
the land-tax. He now erected a new chapel called Triconchos,
a circus for public races, a staircase called Sigma, a whisper-
ing gallery called the Mystery, and a magnificent fountain
called Phiala. 2 But the emperor's health continued to decline,
and he perceived that his end was not very distant.
Theophilus prepared for death with prudence and courage,
but with that suspicion which disgraced his character. A
council of regency was named to assist Theodora. His
habitual distrust induced him to exclude Theophobos from
this council. He feared lest Theophobos might seize the
throne by means of the army, or establish an independent
kingdom in the Armeniac theme by means of the Persian
mercenaries. The conspiracy on the night after the defeat at
Dasymon had augmented the jealousy with which the emperor
1 No exchange of prisoners took place until September, 845. Weil, ii. 343.
2 Contin. 62, 86. Symeon Mag. 424. An account of the buildings of Theopbilus
will be found in the History of Art, by Dr. Carl Schnaase. Geschickte derbildendett
K-Qnste im MitUlalUr. Altchristliche und Mohammedaniscke Kunst. i. 151.
The Amorian Dynasty 149
regarded his brother-in-law ever after the rebellion of the
Persian troops at Sinope and Amastris. He now resolved to
secure his son's throne at the expense of his own conscience,
and ordered Theophobos to be beheaded. Recollecting the
fortune of his father, and the fate of Leo the Armenian, he
commanded the head of his brother-in-law to be brought to
his ^ bedside. The agitation of the emperor's mind, after
issuing this order, greatly increased his makdy ; and* when
the lifeless head of his former friend was placed before him,
he gazed long and steadily at its features, his mind doubtless
wandering over the memory of many a battle-field in which
they had fought together. At last he slowly exclaimed,
" Thou art no longer Theophobos, and I am no more Theo-
philus : " then, turning away his head, he sank on his pillow,
and never again opened his lips.
SECTION III
MICHAEL in., (THE DRUNKARD,) A.D. 842-867
Regency of Theodora Moral and religious reaction Restoration of
Image- worship Rebellion of the Sclavonians in the Peloponnesus
Saracen war Persecution of the Paulicians Personal conduct of
Michael III. Wealth in the treasury Bardas Ignatios and Photius
Origin of papal authority in the church General council in 861
Bulgarian war Saracen war Victory of Petronas Russians attack
Constantinople State of the court Assassinations Origin of the
tale of Belisarius Assassination of Michael III. by Basil the
Macedonian.
Michael the son of Theophilus was between three and four
years old when his father died. His mother Theodora, having
been crowned empress, was regent in her own right. The will
of her husband had joined with her, as a council of ad-
ministration, Theoktistos, the ablest statesman in the empire ;
Manuel, the uncle of the empress ; and Bardas, her brother. 1
Thekla, an elder sister of Michael, had also received the title
of Empress before her father's death.
The great struggle between the Iconoclasts and the image-
worshippers was terminated during the regency of Theodora,
and she is consequently regarded by the orthodox as a pattern
of excellence, though she countenanced the vices of her son,
1 Theoktistos was a eunuch, and held the office of logothetes of the dromos,- a kind
of postmaster-general. He was made kanicleios, or keeper of the purple ink, with
which the emperor signed. The postmaster was a most important officer in the Sarace'a
as well as in the Byzantine empire at this time.
150 The Contest with the Iconoclasts
by being present at his most disgraceful scenes of debauchery.
The most remarkable circumstance, at the termination of this
long religious contest, is the immorality which invaded all
ranks of society. The moral and religious sincerity and
strictness which, during the government of the early Icono-
clasts, had raised the empire from the verge of social dissolu-
tion to dignity and strength, had subsequently been supplanted
by a degree of cant and hypocrisy that became at last
intolerable. The sincerity of both the ecclesiastical parties,
In their early contests, obtained for them the respect of the
people ; but when the political question concerning the sub-
jection of the ecclesiastical to the civil power became the
principal object of dispute, official tyranny and priestly am-
bition only used a hypocritical veil of religious phrases for the
purpose of concealing their interested ends from popular
scrutiny. As usual, the people saw much farther than their
rulers supposed, and the consequence was that, both parties
being suspected of hypocrisy, the influence of true religion
was weakened, and the most sacred ties of society rent asunder.
The Byzantine clergy showed themselves ready on all occasions
to flatter the vices of the civil government : the monks were
eager for popular distinction, and acted the part of dema-
gogues ; while servile prelates and seditious monks were both
equally indifferent to alleviating the people's burdens.
Every rank of society at last proclaimed that it was weary
of religious discussion and domestic strife. Indifference to
the ecclesiastical questions so long predominant, produced
indifference to religion itself, and the power of conscience
became dormant ; enjoyment was soon considered the object
of life ; and vice, under the name of pleasure, became the
fashion of the day. In this state of society, of which the
germs were visible in the reign of Theophilus, superstition
was sure to be more powerful than religion. It was easier to
pay adoration to a picture, to reverence a relic, or to observe
a ceremony, than to regulate one's conduct in life by the
principles of morality and the doctrines of religion. Pictures,
images, relics, and ceremonies became consequently the great
objects of veneration. The Greek population of the empire
had identified its national feelings with traditional usages
rather than with Christian doctrines, and its opposition to the
Asiatic puritanism of the Isaurian, Armenian, and Amorian
emperors, ingrafted the reverence for relics, the adoration of
pictures and the worship of saints, into the religious fabric of
The Amorian Dynasty 151
the Eastern church, as essentials of Christian worship. What-
ever the church has gained in this way, in the amount of
popular devotion, seems to have been lost to popular morality.
The senate at this time possessed considerable influence
in administrative business. It was called upon to ratify the
will of Theophilus, and a majority of its members were gained
over to the party of the empress, who was known to favour
image-worship. 1 The people of Constantinople had always been
of this party; and the Iconoclasts of the higher ranks, tired of
the persecutions which had been the result of the ecclesiastical
quarrel, desired peace and toleration more than victory. The
Patriarch, John the Grammarian, and some of the highest
dignitaries in the church, were, nevertheless, conscientiously
opposed to a species of devotion which they thought too
closely resembled idolatry, and from them no public com-
pliance could be expected. Manuel, however, the only
member of the regency who had been a fervent Inconoclast,
suddenly abandoned the defence of his opinions; and his
change was so unexpected that it was reported he had been
converted by a miracle. A sudden illness brought him to the
point of death, when the prayers and the images of the monks
of Studion as suddenly restored him to health. Such was the
belief of the people of Constantinople, and it must have been
a belief extremely profitable to the monks.
It was necessary to hold a general council in order to effect
the restoration of image-worship; but to do this as long as
John the Grammarian remained Patriarch was evidently im-
possible. The regency, however, ordered him to convoke a
synod, and invite to it all the bishops and abbots sequestered
as image-worshippers, or else to resign the patriarchate. John
refused both commands, and a disturbance occurred, in which
he was wounded by the imperial guards. The court party
spread a report that he had wounded himself in an attempt to
commit suicide the greatest crime a Christian could commit.
The great mechanical knowledge of John, and his studies in
natural philosophy, were already considered by the ignorant
as criminal in an ecclesiastic ; so that the calumnious accusa-
tion, like that already circulated of his magical powers, found
ready credence among the orthodox Greeks. The court seized
the opportunity of deposing him. He was first exiled to a
monastery, and subsequently, on an accusation that he had
picked out the eyes in a picture of a saint, he was scourged,
1 Continuator, 85.
152 The Contest with the Iconoclasts
and his own eyes were put out. His mental superiority was
perhaps as much the cause of his persecution as his religious
opinions.
Methodios, who had been released from imprisonment by
Theophilus at the intercession of Theodora, was named
Patriarch, and a council of the church was held at Con-
stantinople in 842, to which all the exiled bishops, abbots,
and monks who had distinguished themselves as confessors in
the cause of image-worship were admitted. Those bishops
who remained firm to their Iconoclastic opinions were expelled
from their Sees, and replaced by the most eminent confessors.
The practices and doctrines of the Iconoclasts were formally
anathematised, and banished for ever from the orthodox
church. A crowd of monks descended from the secluded
monasteries of Olympus, Ida, and Athos, to revive the
enthusiasm of the people in favour of images, pictures, and
relics ; and the last remains of traditional idolatry were care-
fully interwoven with the established religion in the form of
the legendary history of the saints. 1
A singular scene was enacted in this synod by the Empress
Theodora. She presented herself to the assembled clergy,
and asked for an act declaring that the church pardoned all
the sins of her deceased husband, with a certificate that
divine grace had effaced the record of his persecutions. When
she saw dissatisfaction visible in the looks of a majority of the
members, she threatened, with frank simplicity, that if they
would not do her that favour, she would not employ her
influence as empress and regent to give them the victory over
the Iconoclasts, but would leave the affairs of the church in
their actual situation. The Patriarch Methodios answered,
that the church was bound to employ its influence in relieving
the souls of orthodox princes from the pains of hell, but,
unfortunately, the prayers of the church had no power to
obtain forgiveness from God for those who died without the
pale of orthodoxy. The church was only intrusted with the
keys of heaven to open and shut the gates of salvation to the
living the dead were beyond its help. Theodora, however,
determined to secure the services of the church for her
deceased husband. She declared that in his last agony
Theophilus had received and kissed an image she laid on
his breast. Although it was more than probable that the
agony had really passed before the occurrence happened, her
1 Geneslus, 39.
The Amoriae Dynasty 153
statement satisfied Methodios and the synod, who consented
to absolve its dead emperor from excommunication as an
Iconoclast, and admit him into the bosom of the orthodox
church, declaring that, things having happened as the Empress
Theodora certified in a written attestation, Theophilus had
found pardon from God. 1
The victory of the image-worshippers was celebrated by the
installation of the long-banished pictures in the church of
St. Sophia, on the igth February, 842, just thirty days after
the death of Theophilus. This festival continues" to be
observed in the Greek church as the feast of orthodoxy on the
first Sunday in Lent. 2
The first military expedition of the regency was to repress
a rebellion of the Sclavonians in the Peloponnesus, which had
commenced during the reign of Theophilus. On this occasion
the mass of the Sclavonian colonists was reduced to complete
submission, and subjected to the regular system of taxation ;
but two tribes settled on Mount Taygetus, the Ezerits and
MelingSj succeeded in retaining a certain degree of indepen-
dence, governing themselves according to their own usages,
and paying only a fixed annual tribute. For the Ezerits this
tribute amounted to three hundred pieces of gold, and for the
MeHngs to the trifling sum of sixty. The general who com-
manded the Byzantine troops on this occasion was Theoktistos
Briennios, who held the office of protospatharios. 3
In the mean time Theoktistos the regent, anxious to obtain
that degree of power and influence which, in the Byzantine as
in the Roman empire, was inseparable from military renown,
took the command of a great expedition into Cholcis, to con-
quer the Abasges. His fleet was destroyed by a tempest, and
his troops were defeated by the enemy. In order to regain
the reputation he had lost, he made an attempt in the follow-
ing year to reconquer the island of Crete from the Saracens.
But while he was engaged in the siege of Chandax, (Candia,)
the report of a revolution 'at Constantinople induced him to
quit his army, in order to look after his personal interests and
political intrigues. The troops suffered severely after they were
1 Continuator, 95.
2 Pagi ad Baron, xiv. 266, note xv. The Patriarch Methodios did not escape the
calumny which had been employed by his partisans against his predecessor. An accusa-
tion of adultery was brought against him, but the Patriarch is said to have proved its
falsity to the assembled clergy in a singular manner. Continuator, 99.
3 Constantine Porphyr. De Adm. Imj(>. chap. 50. This Theoktistos must^not be
confounded with the regent, who never returned successful from any expedition.
Contin. rao".
154 The Contest with the Iconoclasts
abandoned by their general, whom they were compelled at
last to follow, 1
The war with the caliph of Bagdat still continued, and the
destruction of a Saracen fleet, consisting of four hundred
galleys, by a tempest off Cape Chelidonia, in the Kibyrraiot
theme, consoled the Byzantine government for its other losses.
The caliph had expected, by means of this great naval force,
to secure the command of the Archipelago, and assist the
operations of his armies in Asia Minor. The hostilities on
the Cilician frontier were prosecuted without any decided
advantage to either party, until the unlucky Theoktistos placed
himself at the head of the Byzantine troops. His incapacity
brought on a general engagement, in which the imperial army
was completely defeated, at a place called Mauropotamos,
near the range of Mount Taurus. 2 After this battle, an officer
of reputation, (Theophanes, from Ferganah,) disgusted with
the severity and blunders of Theoktistos, deserted to the
Saracens, and embraced Islamism. At a subsequent period,
however, he again returned to the Byzantine service and the
Christian religion. 3
In the year 845, an exchange of prisoners was effected on
the banks of the river Lamus, a day's journey to the west of
Tarsus. This was the first that had taken place since the
taking of Amorium. The frequent exchange of prisoners
between the Christians and the Mussulmans always tended to
soften the miseries of war; and the cruelty which inflicted
martyrdom on the forty-two prisoners of rank taken at
Amorium in the beginning of this year, seems to have been
connected with the interruption of the negotiations which had
previously so often facilitated these exchanges. 4
A female regency was supposed by the barbarians to be of
necessity a period of weakness. The Bulgarians, under this
impression, threatened to commence hostilities unless the
Byzantine government consented to pay them an annual
subsidy. A firm answer on the part of Theodora, accompanied
1 Contin. 126. About this time Weil, ii. 343, mentions that a Cretan fleet threatened
to blockade the Hellespont. 2 Georg. MOIL Scrip, post Theoph. 529.
3 Leo Gramm. 457, 461, Georg. Mon. 533. Guards from Fergana (<f>apydvot
dvdpes) are mentioned as having "been sent to Italy in the time of Romanus L, A.D.
93 5-- Constant. Porphyr. De Ceremoniis Aulee Byzantines, 381, 434, edit. Leich. It
must be observed, however, that there was a country called Fergunna, and Franganea
Civitates, among the Sclavonians in PolaHa, Schafarik Slawischt Alterthiimer, ii.
607, 630. So extensive were the relations of the Byzantine empire, that it is not easy to
decide between the Sclavonians of the West and the Turks of the East.
4 Abulpharagius, Ch. Arab. 167. Constant. Porphyr. De Cer. Aula: Byzaniintz.
The Amorian Dynasty 155
by the display of a considerable military force on the frontier,
however, restrained the predatory disposition of King Bogoris
and his subjects. Peace was re-established after some trifling
hostilities, an exchange of prisoners took place, the commer-
cial relations between the two states became closer ; and many
Bulgarians, who had lived so long in the Byzantine empire as
to have acquired the arts of civilised life and a knowledge of
Christianity, returning to their homes, prepared their country-
men for receiving a higher degree of social culture, and with
it the Christian religion.
The disturbed state of the Saracen empire, under the
Caliphs Vathek and Motawukel, would have enabled the
regency to enjoy tranquillity, had religious zeal not impelled
the orthodox to persecute the inhabitants of the empire in the
south-eastern provinces of Asia Minor. The regency unfortu-
nately followed the counsels of the bigoted paxty, which
regarded the extinction of heresy as the most important duty
of the rulers of the state. A numerous body of Christians
were persecuted with so much cruelty that they were driven to
rebellion, and compelled to solicit protection for their lives
and property from the Saracens, who seized the opportunity
of transporting hostilities within the Byzantine frontiers.
The Paulicians were the heretics who at this time irritated
the orthodoxy of Constantinople. They were enemies of
image-worship, and showed little respect to the authority of a
church establishment, for their priests devoted themselves to
the service of their fellow-creatures without forming themselves
into a separate order of society, or attempting to establish a
hierarchical organisation. Their social and political opinions
were viewed with as much hatred and alarm by the ecclesi-
astical counsellors of Theodora, as the philanthropic principles
of the early Christians had been by the pagan emperors of
Rome. The same calumnies were circulated among the
orthodox against the Paulicians, which had been propagated
amongst the heathen against the Christians. The populace of
Constantinople was taught to exult in the tortures of those
accused of manicheanism, as the populace of Rome had been
persuaded to delight in the cruelties committed on the early
Christians as enemies of the human race.
From the time of Constantine V. the Paulicians had generally
enjoyed some degree of toleration ; but the regency of Theodora
resolved to consummate the triumph of orthodoxy, by a cruel
persecution of all who refused to conform to the ceremonies of
156 The Contest with the Iconoclasts
the established church. Imperial commissioners were sent
into the Paulician districts to enforce ecclesiastical union, and
every individual who resisted the invitations of the clergy was
either condemned to death or his property was confiscated.
It is the boast of orthodox historians that ten thousand Pauli-
cians perished in this manner. Far greater numbers, however,
escaped into the province of Melitene, where the Saracen emir
granted them protection, and assisted them to plan schemes of
revenge. 1
The cruelty of the Byzantine administration at last goaded
the oppressed to resistance within the empire j and the injustice
displayed by the officers of the government induced many, who
were themselves Indifferent on the religious question, to take
up arms against oppression. Karbeas, one of the principal
officers on the staff of Theodotos Melissenos, the general
of the Anatolic theme, hearing that his father had been cruci-
fied for his adherence to the doctrines of the Paulicians, fled to
the emir of Melitene, and collected a body of five thousand
men, with which he invaded the empire. 2 The Paulician
refugees were established, by the caliph's order, in two cities
called Argaous, and Amara ; but their number soon increased
so much, by the arrival of fresh emigrants, that they formed a
third establishment at a place called Tephrike, (Divreky,) in
the district of Sebaste, (Sivas,) in a secluded country of diffi-
cult access, where they constructed a strong fortress, and dwelt
in a state of independence. 8 Omar, the emir of Melitene, at
the head of a Saracen army, and Karbeas with a strong body
of Paulicians, ravaged the frontiers of the empire. They were
opposed by Petronas, the brother of Theodora, then general of
the Thrakesian theme. The Byzantine army confined its
operations to defence; while Alim, the governor of Tarsus,
having been defeated, and civil war breaking out in the
Saracen dominions in consequence of the cruelties of the
Caliph Motawukel, the incursions of the Paulicians were con-
fined to mere plundering forays. In the mean time a
considerable body of Paulicians continued to dwell in several
provinces of the empire, escaping persecution by outward
conformity to the Greek church, and by paying exactly all the
l Continuator, 103. 2 ifcd., 103.
3 St. Martin, Mlmoires sur fArmente, I. 188. The secluded position of Divreky
made it the seat of an almost independent band of Kurds when it was visited by Otter
in 1743. Voyage en Turquie et en Perse t ii. 306. It contains at present about two
thousand houses, situated in a fertile valley amidst luxuriant gardens. Ainsworth,
Travels and Researches in Asia, Minor ^ ii. 7
The Amorian Dynasty 157
dues levied on them by the Byzantine clergy. The whole force
of the empire was not directed against the Paulicians until
some years later, during the reign of Basil I. 1
In the year 852, the regency revenged the losses inflicted
by the Saracen pirates on the maritime districts of the empire,
by invading Egypt A Byzantine fleet landed a body of
troops at Damietta, which was plundered and burned : the
country round was ravaged, and six hundred female slaves
were carried away. 2
Theodora, like her female predecessor Irene, displayed
considerable talents for government. She preserved the
tranquillity of the empire, and increased its prosperity in
spite of her persecuting policy ; but, like Irene, she neglected
her duty to her son in the most shameful manner. In the
series of Byzantine sovereigns from Leo III. (the Isaurian) to
Michael III., only two proved utterly unfit for the duties of
their station, and both appear to have been corrupted by the
education they received from their mothers. The unfeeling
ambition of Irene, and the heartless vanity of Theodora, were
the original causes of the folly of Constantine VI. and the
vices of Michael III. The system of education generally
adopted at the time seems to have been singularly well
adapted to form men of ability, as we see in the instances of
Constantine V., Leo IV., and Theophilus, who were all edu-
cated as princes and heirs to the empire. Even if we take
the most extended view of Byzantine society, we shall find
that the constant supply of great talents displayed in the
public service must have been the result of careful cultivation
and judicious systematic study. No monarchical government
can produce such a long succession of able ministers and
statesmen as conducted the Byzantine administration during
the eighth, ninth, and tenth centuries. The remarkable de-
ficiency of original genius during this period only adds an
additional proof that the mind was disciplined by a rigid
system of education.
Theodora abandoned the care of her child's education to
her brother Bardas, of whose taste and talents she may have
been a very incompetent judge, but of whose debauched
manners she must have seen and heard too much. With the
assistance of Theoktistos she arrogated to herself the sole
1 Concerning the Paulicians, see Mosheim, Soames' edit. ii. 251. Neander, ill. 243.
Gibbon, x. 168.
2 We owe the knowledge of .this expedition to the Arabic Chronicle of Abui-
pharagius, p. 170.
158 The Contest with the Iconoclasts
direction of the public administration; and viewed with in-
difference the course of idleness and profligacy by which
Bardas corrupted the principles of her son in his endeavour
to secure a mastery over his mind* Both mother and uncle
appear to have expected to profit by the young emperor's
vices. Bardas soon became a prime favourite, as he not
only afforded the young emperor every facility for gratifying
his passions, but supported him in the disputes with the
regency that originated on account of his lavish expenditure.
Michael at last came to an open quarrel with his mother. He
had fallen in love with Eudocia, the daughter of Inger, of the
great family of the Martinakes, a connection which both
Theodora and Theoktistos viewed with alarm, as likely to
create a powerful opposition to theii political influence. 1 To
prevent a marriage, Theodora succeeded in compelling
Michael, who was then in his sixteenth year, to marry
another lady named Eudocia, the daughter of Dekapolitas.
The young debauchee, however, made Eudocia Ingerina his
mistress, and, towards the end of his reign, bestowed her in
marriage on Basil the Macedonian as a mark of his favour.
She became the mother of the Emperor Leo VI., the Wise. 2
This forced marriage enabled Bardas to excite the animosity
of Michael against the regency to such a degree that he was
persuaded to sanction the murder of Theoktistos, whose able
financial administration was so generally acknowledged that
Bardas feared to contend openly with so honest a minister.
Theoktistos was arrested by order of the young emperor, and
murdered in prison. The majority of Michael III. was not
immediately proclaimed, but Bardas was advanced to the
office of Master of the Horse, and assumed the direction of
the administration. He was consequently regarded as the
real author of the murder of Theoktistos. 8
Theodora, though her real power had ceased, continued to
occupy her place as empress-regent ; but in order to prepare
for her approaching resignation, and at the same time prove
the wisdom of her financial administration, and the value of
1 A prophecy is said to have announced that this family should give the empire a
longer succession of emperors than the Amorian dynasty. Continuator, 75.
- There seems a doubt whether Eudocia Ingenna's first son, after her marriage with
Basil, was named Constantine. Symeon Mag. 449 ; Leo. Gramm. 472 ; or Leo George
the Monk, 540 ; and Leo Grammaticus himself, at page 468, edit. Par. This child,
whether the one or the other, was generally supposed to be the child of Michael III.
3 Theophanes of Fergana, who had returned and become captain of the guard, was
one of the murderers. Symeon Mag. 435. George Mon. 533. The history of the
murder is detailed in the Continuator, 105, and Genesius, 42.
The Amorian Dynasty 159
the services of Theoktistos, by whose counsels she had been
guided, she presented to the senate a statement of the condi-
tion of the imperial treasury. By this account It appeared
that there was then an immense accumulation of specie in the
coffers of the state. The sum is stated to have consisted of
109,000 Ib. of gold, and 300,000 Ib. of silver, besides immense
stores of merchandise, jewels, and plate. The Empress
Theodora was evidently anxious to guard against all responsi-
bility, and prevent those calumnious accusations which she
knew to be common at the Byzantine court. The immense
treasure thus accumulated would probably have given im-
mortal strength to Byzantine society, had it been left in the
possession of the people, by a wise reduction in the amount
of taxation, accompanied by a judicious expenditure for the
defence of the frontiers, and for facilitating the conveyance of
agricultural produce to distant markets. 1
The Empress Theodora continued to live in the imperial
pakce, after the murder of Theoktistos, until her regency
expired, on her son attaining the age of eighteen. 2 Her
residence there was, however, rendered a torture to her mind
by the unseemly exhibitions of the debauched associates of
her son. The eagerness of Michael to be delivered from her
presence at length caused him to send both his mother and
his sisters to reside in the Carian Pakce, and even to attempt
persuading the Patriarch Ignatius to give them the veil.
After her banishment from the imperial palace, Theodora
still hoped to recover her influence with her son, if she could
separate him from Bardas ; and she engaged in intrigues with
her brother's enemies, whose secret object was his assassina-
tion. 3 This conspiracy was discovered, and only tended to
increase the power of Bardas. He was now raised to the
dignity of curopalat. Theodora and the sisters of Michael
were removed to the monastery of Gastria, the usual residence
of the ladies of the imperial family who were secluded from
1 Continuator, 108. Symeon Mag;. 436.^ The gold may have equalled 3,250,0:0
sovereigns, and the silver 4,000,000 crown-pieces, equal perhaps in value to more than
double that sum at Constantinople, and probably more valuable than four times that
sum m the rest of Europe. But all comparisons of the value of money at different
times must be jnere conjecture. Coin travels along bad roads with greater difficulty
than merchandise.
2 He was more than three years old at his father's death. Continuator, 92, Ke
reigned with Theodora more than fourteen years. Krug. Chronologic der Byzantznr %
3. Theoktistos was murdered in the thirteenth year of his reign. Symeon Mag. 435.
frrom the conclusion of Theodora's regency Michael reigned upwards of eleven years.
S. Nicehori Chron. ad cal. Syncelli Ckron* 403. Many anecdotes confirm this
chronology. Schlosser, 572. 3 Symeon Mag, 433. Georg. Mon. 534.
160 The Contest with the Iconoclasts
the world. After the death of Bardas, however, Theodora
recovered some influence over her son ; she was allowed to
occupy apartments in the palace of St. Mamas, and it was at a
party in her rural residence at the Anthemian Palace that
Michael was assassinated. 1 Theodora died in the first year
of the reign of Basil I. ; and Thekla, the sister of Michael,
who had received the imperial title, and was as debauched in
her manners as her brother, continued her scandalous life
during great part of Basil's reign ; 2 yet Theodora is eulogised
as a saint by the ecclesiastical writers of the Western as well
as the Eastern church, and is honoured with a place in the
Greek calendar.
Encouraged by the counsels and example of Bardas, Michael
plunged into every vice. His orgies obtained for him the
name of the Drunkard ; but, in spite of his vicious conduct,
his devotion to chariot-races and his love of festivals gave
him considerable popularity among the people of Constanti-
nople. The people were amused by his follies, and the
citizens profited by his lavish expenditure. Many anecdotes
concerning his vices have been preserved, but they are deserv-
ing of detailed notice only as proofs of the great demoraliza-
tion then existing at Constantinople, for, as facts concerning
Michael, it is probable they have received their colouring
from the flatterers of the dynasty of his assassin. Michael's
unworthy conduct, however, ultimately rendered him con-
temptible to all classes. Had the emperor confined himself
to appearing as a charioteer in the Hippodrome, it would
have been easily pardoned ; but he carried his extravagance so
far as to caricature the ceremonies of the orthodox church,
and publicly to burlesque the religious processions of the
clergy. The indifference of the people to this ribaldry seems
doubly strange, when we reflect on the state of superstition
into which the Constantinopolitans had fallen, and on the
important place occupied by the Eastern church in Byzantine
society. Perhaps, however, the endeavours which had been
made, both by the church and the emperors, to render church
ceremonies an attractive species of public amusement, had
tended to prepare the public mind for this irreverent carica-
ture. It is always imprudent to trifle with a serious subject,
and more especially with religion and religious feelings. At
this time, music, singing, eloquence, magnificence of costume,
1 Symeon Mag. 451. Georg. Mon. 541. Leo Graram. 468, edit. Par. j 250, edit.
Bonn. 2 Georg. Mon. 545. Leo Gramm. 471.
The Amorian Dynasty 161
and scenic effect, had all been carefully blended with archi-
tectural decoration of the richest kind in the splendid church
of St. Sophia, to excite the admiration and engage the atten-
tion. The consequence was, that religion was the thing least
thought of by the people, when they assembled together at
ecclesiastical festivals. Their object was to enjoy the music,
view the pageantry, and criticise the performers. Michael
gratified the supercilious critics by his caricatures, and gave
variety to the public entertainments by the introduction of
comedy and farce. The necessity of this was felt in the
Roman Catholic church, which authorised similar saturnalia,
to prevent the ground being occupied by opponents. The
Emperor Michael exhibited a clever but very irreverent carica-
ture of the ecclesiastical processions of the Patriarch and
clergy of Constantinople. The masquerade consisted of an
excellent buffoon arrayed in the patriarchal robes, attended by
eleven mimic metropolitan bishops in full costume, em-
broidered with gold, and followed by a crowd disguised as
choristers and priests. This cortege^ accompanied by the
emperor in person, as if in a solemn procession, walked
through the streets of the capital singing ridiculous songs to
psalm tunes, and burlesque hymns in praise of debauchery,
mingling the richest melodies of Oriental church-music with
the most discordant nasal screams of Greek popular ballads.
This disgraceful exhibition was frequently repeated, and on
one occasion encountered the real Patriarch, whom the
buffoon saluted with ribald courtesy, without exciting a burst
of indignation from the pious Greeks. 1
The depravity of society in all ranks had reached the most
scandalous pitch. Bardas, when placed at the head of the
public administration, took no care to conceal his vices ; he
was accused of an incestuous intercourse with his son's wife,
while the young man held the high office of generalissimo of
the European troops. 2 Ignatius the Patriarch was a man of
the highest character, eager to obtain for the church in the
East that moral supremacy which the papal power now
arrogated to itself in the West. Disgusted with the vices of
Bardas, he refused to administer the sacrament to him on
Advent Sunday, when it was usual for all the great dignitaries
1 Contirmator, 124. If the fable of the female Pope Joanna proves anything, It
may be received as evidence that the state of society in Rome was little better than at
Constantinople. The imaginary female pope was supposed to be a contemporary of the
real drunken emperor.
8 Symeon Mag. 439 ; /jLovoarpaTtjybs r&v ovrttcuir.
1 62 The Contest with the Iconoclasts
of the empire to receive the holy communion from the hands
of the Patriarch, A.D. 857. Bardas, to revenge himself for
this public mark of infamy, recalled to the memory of the
young emperor the resistance Ignatius had made to Theo-
dora's receiving the veil, and accused him of holding private
communication with a monk who had given himself out to be
a son of Theodora, born before her marriage with Theophilus.
As this monk was known to be mad, and as many senators
and bishops were attached to Ignatius, it would have been
extremely difficult to convict the Patriarch of treason on such
an accusation ; and there appeared no possibility of framing
any charge of heresy against him. Michael was, however,
persuaded to arrest him on various charges of having com-
mitted acts of sedition, and to banish him to the island of
Tenebinthos.
It was now necessary to look out for a new Patriarch, and
the circumstances required" that the successor of Ignatius
should be a man of high character as well as talent, for the
deposed Patriarch had occupied no ordinary position. His
father and his maternal grandfather (Michael I. and Niceph-
orus I.) had both filled the throne of Constantinople; he
was celebrated for his piety and his devotion to the cause of
the church. But his party zeal had already raised up a strong
opposition to his measures in the bosom of the church ; and
Bardas took advantage of these ecclesiastical dissensions to
make the contest concerning the patriarchate a clerical strug-
gle, without bringing the state into direct collision with the
church, whose factious spirit did the work of its own degrada-
tion. Gregory, a son of the Emperor Leo V., the Armenian,
was Bishop of Syracuse. He had been suspended by the
Patriarch Methodios for consecrating a priest out of his
diocese. During the patriarchate of Ignatius, the hereditary
hostility of the sons of two rival emperors had perpetuated
the quarrel, and Ignatius had probably availed himself with
pleasure of the opportunity offered him of excommunicating
Gregory as some revenge for the loss of the imperial throne.
It was pretended that Gregory had a hereditary aversion to
image-worship, and the suspicions of Methodios were magni-
fied by the animosity of Ignatius into absolute heresy. 1 This
dispute had been referred to Pope Benedict III., and his
1 Geneslus, 47. Symeon Mag. 443. Schlosser, p. 592, points out that Gregory, one
of the sons of Leo the Armenian, was the same person with Gregory Asbestas, arch*
bishop of Syracuse. Cold* Condi, x. 698. Kicetas, Vit# fgnatii.
The Amorian Dynasty 163
decision in favour of Ignatius had Induced Gregory and his
partisans, who were numerous and powerful, to call in question
the legality of the election of Ignatius. Bardas, availing
himself of this ecclesiastical contest, employed threats, and
strained the influence of the emperor to the utmost, to induce
Ignatius to resign the patriarchate; but in vain. It was,
therefore, decided that Photius should be elected Patriarch
without obtaining a formal resignation of the office from
Ignatius, whose election was declared null.
^Photius, the chief secretary of state, who was thus suddenly
raised to the head of the Eastern church, was a man of high
rank, noble descent, profound learning, and great personal
influence. If we believe his own declaration, publicly and
frequently repeated, he was elected against his will ; and there
seems no doubt that he could not have opposed the selection
of the emperor without forfeiting all rank at court, and per-
haps incurring personal danger. 1 His popularity, his intimate
acquaintance with civil and canon law, and his family alliance
with the imperial house, gave him many advantages in his new
rank. Like his celebrated predecessors, Tarasios and Niceph-
orus, he was a layman when his election took place. On the
2oth December 857, he was consecrated a monk by Gregory,
archbishop of Syracuse ; on the following day he became an
anagnostes; the day after, a sub-deacon; next day he was
appointed deacon; and on the 24th he received priest's
orders. He was then formally elected Patriarch in a synod,
and on Christmas-day solemnly consecrated in the church of
St. Sophia. 2
The election of Photius, which was evidently illegal, only
increased the dissensions already existing in the church ; but
they drew oiF the attention of the people in some degree from
political abuses, and enabled Bardas to constitute the civil
power judge in ecclesiastical matters. Ignatius and the lead-
ing men of his party were imprisoned and ill treated; but
even the clergy of the party of Photius could not escape
1 Photius was the grand-nephew of the Patriarch Tarasios, who like himself had
been raised from the post of secretary of state to rule the church. Letter of Photius to
Pope Nicholas in Htstoire de Pkotius, par l'Abb6 Jager, 44^ J a prejudiced and not
very accurate work. Irene, sister of the Empress Theodora, was married to Sergius,
the brother of Photius Ducange, Fam, Aug. JByz. 133. Continuator, 109. Cedrenus,
545. The Abb6 Ja^er says that Arsaber, who married another sister of Theodora,
(Kalomeria,) was uncle to Photius.
2 Baronius, A nncdes Eccles. xiv. ; Coleti, Concilia-rum ColLix.. yjoAy^PhotiiEpistolce^
London, 1651, are the chief sources of ecclesiastical history for this peiiod. The account
of Photius in the work of Haukins, De Byza.ntina.rum Rerunt Scriptoribus Crracis^
P. 269, deserves attention.
164 The Contest with the Iconoclasts
being insulted and carried before the ordinary tribunals, if
they refused to comply with the iniquitous demands of the
courtiers, or ventured to oppose the injustice of the govern-
ment officials. Photius soon bitterly repented having rendered
himself the agent of such men as Bardas and Michael ; and
as he knew their conduct and characters before his election,
we may believe the assertion he makes in his letters to Bardas
himself, and which he repeats to the Pope, that he was com-
pelled to accept the patriarchate against his wish. 1
In the mean time, Ignatius was allowed so much liberty by
the crafty Bardas, who found Photius a less docile instrument
than he had expected, that his partisans assembled a synod in
the church of Irene for forty days. In this assembly Photius
and his adherents were excommunicated. Bardas, however,
declared in favour of Photius, and allowed him to hold a
counter-synod in the Church of the Holy Apostles, in which
the election of Ignatius was declared uncanonical, as having
been made by the Empress Theodora in opposition to the
protest of several bishops. 2 The persecution of Ignatius was
renewed; he was exiled to Mitylene, and his property was
sequestrated, in the hope that by these measures he would be
induced to resign the patriarchal dignity. Photius, however,
had the sense to see that this persecution only increased hi?
rival's popularity, and strengthened his party; he therefore
persuaded the emperor to recall him, and reinstate him in the
possession of his private fortune. Photius must have felt
that his own former intimacy with his debauched relation
Bardas, and his toleration of the vices of Michael, had fixed
a deep stain on his character in the eyes of all sincere
Christians.
It was now necessary to legalise the election of Photius,
and obtain the ratification of the deposition of Ignatius by a
general council of the church ; but no general council could
be convoked without the sanction of the Pope. The Em-
peror Michael consequently despatched ambassadors to Rome,
to invite Pope Nicholas I. to send legates to Constantinople,
for the purpose of holding a general council, to put an end to
the dissensions in the Eastern Church. Nicholas appointed
two legates, Zacharias and Rodoald, who were instructed to
examine into the disputes concerning the patriarchate, and
Photii Etistoloi) in. and vi. Schlosser, 602, The Histoire de Photiv,s, by tbs
Jager, gives a letter to Pope Nicholas confirming this unwillingness, pp. 34 and 433.
Schiosser, 603.
The Amorian Dynasty 165
also to demand the restitution of the estates belonging to the
patrimony of St. Peter in Calabria and Sicily, of which the
papal See had been deprived in the time of Leo III.
The Pope, moreover, required the emperor to re-establish
the papal jurisdiction over the Illyrian provinces, and recog-
nise its right to appoint the archbishop of Syracuse, and
confirm the election of all the bishops in the European
provinces of the empire.
The Popes were how beginning to arrogate to themselves
that temporal power over the whole church which had grown
out of their new position as sovereign princes ; but they based
their temporal ambition on that spiritual power which they
claimed as the rock of St. Peter, not on the donation of
Charlemagne. The truth is, that the first Christian emperors
had laid a firm foundation for the papal power, by constituting
the Bishop of Rome a kind of secretary of state for Christian
affairs. He was employed as a central authority for communi-
cating with the bishops of the provinces; and out of this
circumstance it very naturally arose that he acted for a con-
siderable period as a minister of religion and public instruction
in the imperial administration, which conferred immense
power in a government so strictly centralised as that of the
Roman empire. 1 The Christian emperors of the West, being
placed in more direct collision with paganism than those of
the East, vested more extensive powers, both of administration
and police, in the Bishop of Rome, and the provincial bishops
of the Western Church, than the clergy attained in the East.
This authority of the bishops increased as the civil and military
power of the Western Empire declined ; and when the imperial
city became a provincial city of the Eastern Empire, the popes
became the political chiefs of Roman society, and inherited no
small portion of the influence formerly exercised by the
imperial administration over the provincial ecclesiastics. It is
true, the Bishops of Rome could not exercise this power
without control, but, in the opinion of a majority of the
subjects of the barbarian conquerors in the West, the Pope
was the legal representative of the civilisation of imperial
Rome as well as the legitimate successor of St Peter, and the
guardian of the rock on which Christianity was founded.
Unless the authority of the popes be traced back to their
1 Lex Tkeodosii et Valeniinittni, aptid Scripiorcs rerum Francic. et Gallic, torn, .
7 63. See Thierry, Historic de la. Conqulte da FAnglcierrc ; Notes et Pieces Jusf> ;
Cod. Tkeod. xvi. tit. 2, De Episcopis Ecclzsiis et Clericis ; Cod, Justin i. 3, *
st Clericis.
1 66 The Contest with the Iconoclasts
original position as archbishops of Rome and patriarchs of the
Western Empire, and the institutions of the papal church be
viewed as they originally existed in connection with the
imperial administration, the real value of the papal claims to
universal domination, founded on traditional feelings, cannot
be justly estimated. The popes only imitated the Roman
emperors in their most exorbitant pretensions; and the
vicious principles of Constantine, while he was still a pagan,
continue to exert their corrupt influence over the ecclesiastical
institutions of the greater part of Europe to the present day.
The popes early assumed that Constantine had conferred on
the Bishop of Rome a supreme ecclesiastical jurisdiction over
the three European divisions of his dominions, when he
divided the empire into four prefectures. 1 There were, indeed,
many facts which tended to support this claim. Africa, in so
far as it belonged to the jurisdiction of the European pre-
fectures, acknowledged the authority of the Bishop of Rome ;
and even after the final division of the empire, Dacia, Mace-
donia, Thessaly, Epirus, and Greece, though they were
separated from the prefecture of Illyricum, and formed a new
province of the Eastern Empire, continued to be dependent on
the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Pope. The Patriarch of
Antioch was considered the head of the church in the East.
Egypt formed a peculiar district in the ecclesiastical, as it did
in the civil administration of the Roman empire, and had its
own head, the Patriarch of Alexandria. The Patriarchs of
Jerusalem and Constantinople were modern creations. The
bishop of Jerusalem, who had been dependent on the Patriarch
of Antioch, received the honorary title of Patriarch at the
council of Nicaea, and the Emperor Theodosius II. conferred
on him an independent jurisdiction over the three Palestines,
the two Phoenicias, and Arabia ; but it was not until after the
council of Chalcedon that his authority was acknowledged by
the body of the church, and it was then restricted to the three
Palestines, A,D. 451.
The bishop of Byzantium had been dependent on the
metropolitan or exarch of Heraclea before the translation of
the imperial residence to his See, and the foundation of Con-
stantinople. In the council held at Constantinople in 381, he
was first ranked as Patriarch, because he was the bishop of the
capital of the Eastern Empire, and placed immediately after
the Bishop of Rome in the ecclesiastical hierarchy. St. "Chry-
1 Zosimus, is. 33.
The Amorlan Dynasty 167
sostom and Ms successors exercised the patriarchal jurisdiction,
both in Europe and Asia, over the Eastern Empire, just
as the popes of Rome exercised it in the Western, yielding
merely a precedence in ecclesiastical honour to the representa-
tive of St. Peter.* In spite of the opposition of the bishops of
old Rome, the bishops of new Rome thus attained an equality
of power which made the popes tremble for their supremacy,
and they regarded the Patriarchs of Constantinople rather as
rivals than ^ as joint rulers of the church. Their ambitious
jealousy, joined to the aspiring arrogance of their rivals, caused
all the evils they feared. The disputes between Ignatius and
Photius now gave the Pope hopes of re-establishing the
supremacy of Rome over the whole church, and of rendering
the Patriarchs of the East merely vicegerents of the Roman
See.
The Papal legates sent by Nicholas were present at a general
council held at Constantinople in the year 86 1, which was
attended by three hundred and eighteen bishops. Bardas and
Photius had succeeded in securing the goodwill of the majority
of the Eastern clergy. They also succeeded in gaining the
support of the representatives of the Pope, if they did not
purchase it. Ignatius, who was residing in his mother's palace
of Posis, was required to present himself before the council.
He was deposed, though he appealed to the Pope's legates,
and persisted in protesting that the council did not possess a
legal right to depose him. It is said that a pen was placed
forcibly between his fingers, and a cross drawn with it, as his
signature to the act of deposition. He was then ordered to
read his abdication, on the day of Pentecost, in the Church of
the Holy Apostles ; but, to avoid this disgrace, he escaped in
the disguise of a slave to the Prince's Islands, and concealed
himself among the innumerable monks who had taken up their
abode in these delicious retreats. Bardas sent Oryphas with
six galleys to examine every one of the insular monasteries in
succession, in order to arrest the fugitive; but the search
was vain. After the termination of the council, Ignatius re-
turned privately to his maternal palace, where he was allowed
to remain unmolested. 2 The discussions of this council are
* Socrates, Hist. Eccks. vii. 28. Cod. Theodosiamts, xvl. torn. 2. lib. 45. Council
of Chalcedon, gth, xjth, and aSth canons.
2 He was said to have been indebted to an earthquake for this mild treatment.
Bardas was frightened, and Photius was looked upon as impious for declaring from the
pulpit that earthquakes were produced by physical causes acting upon the waters under
the earth, and not from divine wrath to awaken mankind to a sense of _their sins.
Symeon Mag. 445. Photius, like his predecessor, John the Grammarian, was too
1 68 The Contest with the Iconoclasts
said by its enemies to have been conducted in a very tumul-
tuous manner; but as the majority was favoured by the Patriarch,
the papal legates, and the imperial administration, it is not
likely that any confusion was allowed within the walls of the
council, even though the party of Ignatius was supported by
the Empresses Theodora and Eudock, and by the great ^body
of the monks. The Emperor Michael, with great impartiality,
refused to throw the whole weight of his authority in either
scale. The truth is, that, being somewhat of a freethinker as
well as a debauchee, he laughed at both parties, saying that
Ignatius was the patriarch of the people, Photius the patriarch
of Bardas, and Gryllos (the imperkl buffoon) his own
patriarch. 1 Nevertheless, Ignatius was deposed, and the acts
of the council were ratified by the papal legates. 2
The legates of the Pope certainly yielded to improper
influence, for, besides approving the measures of the Byzan-
tine government with reference to the patriarchate, they
neglected to demand the recognition of the spiritual authority
of the papal see in the terms prescribed by their instructions.
They were consequently disavowed on their return to Rome.
The party of Ignatius appealed to the Pope, who, seeing that
no concessions could be gained from Michael, Bardas, or
Photius, embraced the cause of the deposed Patriarch with
warmth. A synod was convoked at Rome; Photius was
excommunicated, in case he should dare to retain possession
of the patriarchal chair, after receiving the papal decision in
favour of Ignatius, A.D. 863. Gregory, the archbishop of
Syracuse, who had ordained Photius, was anathematised, and
declared a schismatic, as well as all those who held com-
munion with him, if he continued to perform the sacerdotal
functions. When the acts of this synod were communicated
to Michael by papal letters, the indignation of the emperor
was awakened by what he considered the insolent interference
of a foreign priest in the affairs of the empire, and he replied
in a violent and unbecoming letter. He told his Holiness that
he had invited him to send legates to the general council at
Constantinople, from a wish to maintain unity in the church,
learned for the populace, and his knowledge was attributed to personal intercourse with
demons, who in that age were supposed to act as professors of Hellenic literature.
Symeon gives some curious anecdotes to the disadvantage of Photius.
1 Gryllos, whom the emperor had employed to enact the patriarch, received from the
people the name of the hog, from his low debauchery.
2 This council is called by the Greeks the first and second, from having been held in
two'separate series of sessions, it seems that it re-enacted the acts of the synod held by
PJxotius in 857.
The Amorian Dynasty 169
not because the participation of the Bishop of Rome was
necessary to the validity of the acts of the Eastern Church.
This was all very reasonable ; but he went on to treat the Pope
and the Latin clergy as barbarians, because they were Ignorant
of Greek. For this Insult, however, the emperor received a sharp
and well-merited rebuke from Pope Nicholas, who asked him
why he styled himself Emperor of the Romans, if he thought the
language of the Roman empire and of the Roman church a
barbarous one. It was a greater disgrace, in the opinion of
the Pope, for the Roman emperor to be Ignorant of the Roman
language, than for the head of the Roman church to be
Ignorant of Greek.
Nicholas had nothing to fear from the power of Michael, so
that he acted without the restraint imposed on Gregory II. In
his contest with Leo the Isaurian. Indeed, the recent success
of the Pope, In his dispute with Lothaire, king of Austrasla,
gave him hopes of coming off victorious, even In a quarrel
with the Eastern emperor. He did not sufficiently under-
stand the effect of more advanced civilisation and extended
education on Byzantine society. Nicholas, therefore, boldly
called on Michael to cancel his insolent letter, declaring that
it would otherwise be publicly burned Dy the Latin clergy ;
and he summoned the rival Patriarchs of Constantinople to
appear in person before the papal court, that he might hear
and decide their differences.
This pretension of the Pope to make himself absolute
master of the Christian church, awakened the spirit of resist-
ance at Constantinople, and caused Photius to respond by
advancing new claims for his See. He Insisted that the
Patriarchs of Constantinople were equal in rank and authority
to the Popes of Rome. The disputes of the clergy being the
only subject on which the government of the Eastern Empire
allowed any expression of public opinion, the whole attention
of society was soon directed to this ecclesiastical quarrel.
Michael assembled a council of the church in 866, at which
pretended representatives of the patriarchs of Antioch,
Alexandria, and Jerusalem were present: and in this assembly
Pope Nicholas was declared unworthy of his See, and excom-
municated. There was no means of rendering this sentence
of excommunication of any effect, unless Louis II., the
emperor of the West, could be induced, by the hatred he bore
to Nicholas, to put it in execution. Ambassadors were sent to
urge him to depose the Pope, but the death of Michael sud-
170 The Contest with the Iconoclasts
denly put an end to the contest with Rome, for Basil I. em-
braced the party of Ignatius.
The contest between Rome and Constantinople was not
merely a quarrel between Pope Nicholas and the Patriarch
Photius. There were other causes of difference between the
two Sees, in which Ignatius was as much opposed to papal
pretensions as Photius. Not to mention the old claim of
Rome to recover her jurisdiction over those provinces of the
Byzantine empire which had been dissevered from her
authority, a new conflict had arisen for supremacy over the
church in Bulgaria. When the Bulgarian king Crumn invaded
the empire, after the defeat of Michael I., he carried away so
many prisoners that the Bulgarians, who had already made
considerable advances in civilisation, were prepared, by their
intercourse with these skves, to receive Christianity. A Greek
monk, Theodore Koupharas, who remained long a prisoner in
Bulgaria, converted many by his preaching. During the inva-
sion of Bulgaria by Leo V., a sister of King Bogoris was
carried to Constantinople as a prisoner, and educated with
care. The Empress Theodore exchanged this princess for
Theodore Koupharas, and on her return she introduced the
Christian religion into her brother's palace.
War subsequently broke out between the Bulgarian monarch
and the empire, and Michael and Bardas made an expedition
against the Bulgarians in the year 86 1. 1 The circumstances
of the war are not detailed ; but in the end the Bulgarian
king embraced Christianity, receiving the name of Michael
from the emperor, who became his sponsor. To purchase
this peace, however, the Byzantine emperor ceded to the Bul-
garians all the country along the range of Mount Hsemus,.
called by the Greeks Sideras, and by the Bulgarians Zagora, of
which Debeltos is the chief town. 2 Michael pretended that the
cession was made as a baptismal donation to the king. The
change in the religion of the Bulgarian monarch caused some
discontent among his subjects, but their opposition was soon
vanquished with the assistance of Michael, and the most re-
fractory were transported to Constantinople, where the wealth
and civilisation of Byzantine society produced such an impres-
sion on their minds that they readily embraced Christianity. 3
1 Symeon Mag. 440. In the^ fourth year of Michael's sole government.
2 The Continuator, 102, attributes this treaty to the Empress Theodora, but the date
seems more precisely given by Symeon Magister, 440, Gcorg. Mon. 534. This district
had been ceded to the Bulgarians by Justinian II., but recovered by Constantine V.
8 Leo Gramm. 462. For the conversion of the Bulgarians, Contin. 101 ; Cedrenus,
ii. 540 ; Zonaras, ii. 156".
The Amorian Dynasty 171
The ^ Bulgarian monarch, fearing lest the influence of the
Byzantine clergy on his Christian subjects might render him in
some degree dependent on the emperor, opened communi-
cations with Pope Nicholas for the purpose of balancing the
power of the Greek clergy by placing the ecclesiastical affairs
of his kingdom under the control of the Latins. He expected
also to derive some political support for this alliance, when he
saw the eagerness of the Pope to drive the Eastern clergy out
of Bulgaria, Pope Nicholas appears to have thought that
Photius would have made great concessions to the papal See,
in order to receive the pallium from Rome; but when that
Patriarch treated the question concerning the ecclesiastical
jurisdiction of the Eastern church in Bulgaria as a political
affair, and referred its decision to the imperial cabinet, the
Pope sent legates into Bulgaria, and the churches of Rome
and Constantinople were involved in a direct conflict for the
ecclesiastical patronage of that extensive kingdom. At a
later period, when Ignatius was re-established as Patriarch,
and the general council of 869 was held to condemn the acts
of Photius, Pope Hadrian found Ignatius as little inclined to
make any concessions to the papal See in Bulgaria as his
deposed rival, and this subject remained a permanent cause of
quarrel between the two churches.
Michael, Chough a drunkard, was not naturally deficient in
ability, activity, or ambition. Though he left the ordinary
administration of public business in the bands of Bardas, on
whom he conferred the title of Csesar, which was then almost
equivalent^ to a recognition of his title as heir-apparent to the
empire, still he never allowed him to obtain the complete
control over the whole administration, nor permitted him
entirely to crush his opponents in the public service. 1 Hence
many officers of rank continued to regard the emperor, with
all his vices, as their protector in office. Like all the emperors
of Constantinople, Michael felt himself constrained to appear
frequently at the head of his armies. The tie between the
emperor and the soldiers was perhaps strengthened by these
visits, but it can hardly be supposed that the personal
1 The nomination of Bardas as Csesar took place in the year 862, at Easter, accord-
ing to Genesius, 46. But Symeon Magister places it in the third year of Michael, or
860, v. hile he places the victory of Petronas (which Genesius says preceded it) in the
fifth, or 862. George the Monk and Leo Grammaticus follow the same order as Symeon;
while the Continuator, 114, agrees with Genesius, and places the nomination of Bardas
after the victory of Petronas. Yet the nomination of Bardas seems to be rightly fixed
by Genesius, while the Arabian historians prove that the battle of Petronas occurred in
863, See page 172, note 3.
172 The Contest with the Iconoclasts
presence of Michael added much to the efficiency of military
operations.
The war on the frontiers of the Byzantine and Saracen
empires was carried on by Omar, the emir of Melitene, with-
out interruption, in a series of plundering incursions on a
gigantic scale. These were at times revenged by daring
exploits on the part of the Byzantine generals. In the year
856, Leo, the imperial commander-in-chief, invaded the
dominions of the caliph. After taking Anazarba, he crossed
the Euphrates at Samosata, and advanced with his army into
Mesopotamia, ravaging the country as far as Amida. The
Saracens revenged themselves by several plundering incursions
into the different parts of the empire. To stop these attacks,
Michael put himself at the head of the army, and laid siege
to Samosata without effect Bardas accompanied the emperor
rather to watch over his own influence at court, than to assist
his sovereign in obtaining military glory. The following year
Michael was engaged in the campaign against the Bulgarians,
of which the result has been already mentioned. In 860, he
led an army of 40,000 European troops against Omar of
Melitene, who had carried his plundering incursions up to the
walls of Sinope. 1 A battle took place in the territory of
Dasymon, near the spot which had witnessed the defeat of
Theophilus, and the overthrow of Michael was as complete as
that of his father. The same difficulties in the ground which
had favoured the retreat of Theophilus enabled Manuel, one
of the generals of Michael, to save the army. 2
The war was still prosecuted with vigour on both sides. In
863, Omar entered the Armeniac theme with a large force, and
took Amisus. Petronas, the emperor's uncle, who had now
acquired considerable military experience and reputation as
general of the Thrakesian theme, was placed at the head of
the Byzantine army. 3 He collected his forces at Aghionoros,
_ * The Arabian historians pretend that Omar carried off 17,000 slaves, and Karbeas,
with his Paulicians, 5000 in one expedition. Ali Ibu Yahia, governor of Tarsus, was
equally^ successful. Abulpharajjius (Bar Hebraeus) says that in a previous campaign the
Byzantine army had made 20,000 prisoners. Weil, Gesckickte der Ckalifen, Ii. 363,
note 2, and 365. These devastations deserve notice, as causes of the depopulation of
the country.
2 Continuator, no. Genesius, 44. It is evident that the details of the battle of
Theophilus have been mixed up with those of this battle. The exploits attributed to
the two Manuels are a mere transcript. There is so much confusion in the narrative
and chronology of Michael's war with the Saracens, that it would occupy too much
space to examine its details. See Weil, ii., 365, note i.
3 For the date, see Abulfeda, Annal. Muss. ii. 209. Abulpharagius, Cfc.. Syr. 171,
249th year of the Hegira, from 23d February 863 to iath February 864. Also Well,
ii. 380, note 6.
The Amorian -Dynasty 173
near Ephesus, and when Ms army was reinforced by a strong
body of Macedonian and Tkracian troops, marched towards
the frontier In several divisions, which he concentrated in such
a manner as to cut off the retreat of Omar, and enclose him
with an overwhelming force. The troops under Nasar, the
general of the Boukelkrian theme, strengthened by the Anne-
.liac and Paphlagonian legions, and the troops of the theme
Koloneia, enclosed the Saracens on the north. Petronas
himself, with the Thrakesian, Macedonian, and Thracian
legions, secured the passes and advanced from the west; while
the troops of the Anatolic, Opsikian, and Cappadocian
themes, with the divisions of the Kleisourarchs of Seleucia
and Charsiana, having secured the passes to the south, cut off
the direct line of Omar's retreat. An impassable range of
rocky mountains, broken into precipices, rendered escape to
the eastward impracticable. The headquarters of Petronas
were established at Poson, a place situated on the frontiers
of the Paphlagonian and Armeniac themes, near the river
Lalakon, which flows from the north to south. Omar had
encamped in a plain without suspecting the danger lurking in
its rugged boundary to the east. He suddenly found himself
enclosed by the simultaneous advance of the various divisions
of the Byzantine army, and closely blockaded. He attempted
to escape by attacking each division of the enemy in succes-
sion, but the strength of the positions selected by the imperial
officers rendered aU his attacks vain. Omar at last fell in the
desperate struggle ; and Petronas, leading fresh troops into the
plain to attack the weary Saracens, completed the destruction
of their army. The son of Omar contrived to escape from the
field of battle, but he was pursued and taken prisoner by the
Kleisourarch of Charsiana, after he had crossed the Halys. 1
When Petronas returned to Constantinople, he was allowed to
celebrate his victory with great pomp and public rejoicings.
The Byzantine writers estimated the army that was destroyed
at 40,000, while the Arabian historians reduced their loss to
only 2000 men. Public opinion in the empire of the caliph,
however, considered the defeat as a great calamity; and its
real importance may be ascertained from the fact, that alarm-
l It is not easy to determine the spot where this battle was fought. Genesius calls
the place Abysianps, and says it was five hundred miles from ^Aminsos, page 46. A
valley in the vicinity was called Gyris. Continuator, 113. Edrisi, ii. 308, places the
valley Merdj Aluskuf twenty-four miles north-west of Baranda, (Laranda), on the road
from Tarsus to Abydos. This would place it in the Anatolic theme, among the
Lycaonian counter-forts of Taurus, and would lead to the supposition that Omaz was
retreating to gain Tarsus, in order to place his booty in security. See Weil, ii. 381.
174 The Contest with the Iconoclasts
ing seditions broke out against the government when the news
reached Bagdat 1 After this victory, too, Jhe eastern frontier
enjoyed tranquillity for some time.
In the year 865, a nation hitherto unknown made its first
appearance in the history of the world, where it was destined
to act no unimportant part. Its entrance into the political
system of the European nations was marked by an attempt to
take Constantinople, a project which it has often revived, and
which the progress of Christian civilisation seems to indicate
must now be realised at no very distant date, unless the
revival of the Bulgarian kingdom to the south of the Danube
create a new Sclavonian power in the east of Europe capable
of arresting its progress. In the year 862, Rurik, a Scandina-
vian or Varangian chief, arrived at Novgorod, and laid the
first foundation of the state which has grown into the Russian
empire. The Russian people, under Varangian domination,
rapidly increased in power, and reduced many of their neigh-
bours to submission. 2 Oskold and Dir, the princes of Kiof,
rendered themselves masters of the whole course of the
Dnieper, and it would seem that either commercial jealousy or
the rapacity of ambition produced some collision with the
Byzantine settlements on the northern shores of the Black
Sea; but from what particular circumstances the Russians
were led to make their daring attack on Constantinople is not
known. 3 The Emperor Michael had taken the command of
an army to act against the Saracens, and Oryphas, admiral of
the fleet, acted as governor of the capital during his absence.
Before the Emperor had commenced his military operations, a
fleet of two hundred Russian vessels of small size, taking ad-
vantage of a favourable wind, suddenly passed through the
Bosphorus, and anchored at the mouth of the Black River in
the Propontis, about eighteen miles from Constantinople." 4
This Russian expedition had already plundered the shores of
the Black Sea, and from its station within the Bosphorus it
ravaged the country about Constantinople, and plundered the
Prince's Islands, pillaging the monasteries, and slaying the
monks as well as the other inhabitants. The emperor, in-
l Weil, ii. 381. 2 photii Ejistotet p. 58.
8 La Chronique de Nestor, traduite par L. Paris, i. 22.
4 K6\7TOS f^Xa.5 is the bay at the mouth of the Athyras, Buyuk Tchekmadje. The
Russian vessels are called jJtov6 v\a ; they must have been only decked boats, and
twenty men to each will be an ample allowance. They cannot therefore have carried
more than 4000 men when they passed the Bosphorus. The expedition seems not unlike
those against which, about this time, Alfred had to contend in England, and Charles the
Bald in France.
The Amoriaii Dynasty 175
formed by Oryphas of the attack on his capital, hastened to
its defence. Though a daring and cruel enemy, the Russians
were by no^means formidable to the strength and discipline of
the Byzantine forces. It required no great exertions on the
part of the imperial officers to equip a force sufficient to attack
and put_to flight these invaders; but the barbarous cruelty of
the soldiers and sailors, and the wild daring of their Varangian
leaders, made a profound impression on the people of Con-
stantinople, suddenly rendered spectators of the miseries of
war, ^in their most hideous form, in a moment of perfect
security. We need not, therefore, be surprised to find that the
sudden destruction of these dreaded enemies by the drunken
emperor, of whom the citizens of the capital entertained pro-
bably even more contempt than he merited as a soldier, was
ascribed to the miraculous interposition of the Virgin of the
Blachern, rather than to the superior military tactics and over-
whelming numbers of the imperial forces. How far this ex-
pedition of the Russians must be connected with the enter-
prising spirit of that vigorous band of warriors and pirates
from Scandinavia, who, under the name of Danes, Normans,
and Varangians, became the sovereigns of Normandy, Naples,
Sicily, England, and Russia, is still a subject of learned dis-
cussion. 1
About the same time a fleet, manned by the Saracens of
Crete, plundered the Cyclades, and ravaged the coast of Asia
Minor, carrying off great booty and a number of slaves. 2 It
would seem that the absence of the Emperor Michael from
Constantinople at the time of the Russian attack was con-
nected with this movement of the Saracens.
Our conceptions of the manner in which the Byzantine
empire was governed during Michael's reign, will become
more precise if we enter into some details concerning the
court intrigues and personal conduct of the rulers of the
state. The crimes and assassinations, which figure as the
prominent^ events of the age in the chronicles of the time,
were not, it is true, the events which decided the fate of the
2 Continuator, 122. This fleet consisted of twenty KOVftQapiuv, seven ya\4as t and
some ffasroi&pcLS ; but it would perhaps be difficult to determine the size and class of
these different vessels.
176 The Contest with the Iconoclasts
people; and they probably excited less interest among con-
temporaries who lived beyond the circle of court favour, than
history would lead us to suppose. Each rank of society had
its own robberies and murders to occupy its attention. The
state of society at the court of Constantinople was not amen-
able to public opinion, for few knew much of what passed
within the walls of the great palace; but yet the immense
machinery of the imperial administration gave the emperors*
power a solid basis, always opposed to the temporary vices of
the courtiers. The order which rendered property secure,
and enabled the industrious classes to prosper, through the
equitable administration of the Roman law, nourished the
vitality of the empire, when the madness of a Nero and the
drunkenness of a Michael appeared to threaten political order
with ruin. The people, carefully secluded from public busi-
ness, and almost without any knowledge of the proceedings
of their government, were in all probability little better
acquainted with the intrigues and crimes of their day than we
at present. They acted, therefore, when some real suffering
or imaginary grievance brought oppression directly home to
their interests or their feelings. Court murders were to them
no more than a tragedy or a scene in the amphitheatre, at
which they were not present.
Bardas had assassinated Theoktistos to obtain power , yet,
.with all his crimes, he had great natural talents and some
literary taste. He had the reputation of being a good lawyer
and a just judge; and after he obtained power, he devoted
his attention to watch over the judicial department as the
surest basis of popularity. ' Nevertheless, we find the govern-
ment of Michael accused of persecuting the wealthy, merely
for the purpose of filling the public treasury by the confisca-
tion of their property. This was an old Roman fiscal re-
source, which had existed ever since the days of the republic*
and whose exercise under the earlier emperors calls forth the
bitterness of Tacitus in some of his most vigorous pages.
After Bardas was elevated to the dignity of Csesar, his mature
age gave him a deeper interest in projects of ambition than in
the wild debauchery of his nephew. He devoted more time
to public business and grave society, and less to the wine-cup
and the imperial feasts. New boon-companions assembled
round Michael, and, to advance their own fortunes, strove to
awaken some jealousy of the Caesar in the breast of the
emperor. They solicited the office of spies to watch the
The Amorlan Dynasty 177
conduct of one who, they said, was aspiring to the crown.
Michael, seeing Bardas devoted to improving the administra-
tion of justice, reforming abuses in the army, regulating the
affairs of the church, and protecting learning, felt how much
he himself neglected his duties, and naturally began to
suspect his uncle. The reformation of the Csesar was an act
of sedition against the worthless emperor.
The favourite parasite of Michael at this time was a man
named Basil, who from a simple groom had risen to the rank
of lord chamberlain. Basil had attracted the attention of
the emperor while still a stable-boy in the service of an officer
of the court. The young groom had the good fortune to
overcome a celebrated Bulgarian wrestler at a public wrestling-
match. The impression produced by this victory over the
foreigner, who had been long considered invincible, was
increased by a wonderful display of his power in taming the
wildest horses, for he possessed the singular natural gift of
subduing horses by a whisper. 1 The emperor took him into
his service as a groom ; but Basil's skill as a sportsman soon
made him a favourite and a companion of one who showed
little discrimination in the choice of his associates. At the
imperial orgies, Basil's perseverance as a boon-companion,
and his devotion to all the whims of the emperor, raised him
quickly to the highest offices of the court, and he was placed
in constant attendance on his sovereign. These favours
awakened the jealousy of Bardas, who suspected the Mace-
donian groom of the power of whispering to Michael as well
as to horses. At the same time it secured Basil the support
of all the Caesar's enemies, who considered a drunken groon\
even though he had risen to great power at court, as a person
not likely to be their rival in ministerial offices.
Basil, however, soon received a very high mark of Michael's
personal favour. He was ordered to divorce his wife and
marry Eudocia Ingerina, who had long been the emperor's
mistress ; and it was said that the intercourse continued after
she became the, wife of the chamberlain. 2 Every ambitious
and debauched officer about the court now looked to the fall
of Bardas as the readiest means of promotion. Symbatios an
1 Basil rendered an ungovernable horse belonging to the emperor as tame as a, sheep v
by stretching out his hand to its ear. Leo Gramm. 458. _ _ f
2 The chronicles of Michael's reien accuse the emperor of encouraging a criminal
intercourse between Basil and Thekla his elder sister, apparently as a recompense for
his own intimacy with Eudocia Ingerina after she became Basil's wife. Symeon Mag.
446. Georg, Mon. 536. Leo. Gramm. 464. A> a further illustration of the conduct afi
these ladies, see Leo Gramm. 471, 472 ; Georg. Mon. 545, sects, viii. and xii.
178 The Contest with the Iconoclasts
Armenian, a patrician and postmaster of the empire, who was
the son-in-law of Bardas, dissatisfied with his father-in-law for
refusing to gratify his inordinate ambition, joined Basil in
accusing the Csesar of plotting to mount the throne. The
emperor, without much hesitation, authorised the two intriguers
to assassinate his uncle.
An expedition for reconquering Crete from the Saracens was
about to sail. The emperor, the Csesar, and Basil all partook
of the holy sacrament together before embarking in the fleet,
which then proceeded along the coast of Asia Minor to Kepos
in the Thrakesian theme. 1 Here the army remained encamped,
under the pretext that a sufficient number of transports had
not been assembled. Bardas expressed great dissatisfaction at
this delay; and one day, while he was urging Michael to give
orders for the immediate embarkation of the troops, he was
suddenly attacked by Symbatios and Basil, and murdered at
the emperor's feet. Basil, who, as chamberlain, had conducted
Mm to the imperial tent, stabbed him in the back.
The accomplished but unprincipled Bardas being removed,
the project of invading Crete was abandoned, and Michael
returned to the capital. On entering Constantinople, however,
it was evident that the assassination of his uncle had given
universal dissatisfaction. Bardas, with all his faults, was the
best of Michael's ministers, and the failure of the expedition
against Crete was attributed to his death. As Michael passed
through the streets, a monk greeted him with this bitter salu-
tation : " All hail, emperor ! all hail from your glorious cam-
paign ! You return covered with blood, and it is your own ! "
The imperial guards attempted in vain to arrest the fanatic ;
the people protected him, declaring he was rnad.
The assassination of Bardas took place in spring 866 ; and
on the 26th of May, Michael rewarded Basil by proclaiming
him his colleague, with the title of Emperor. 2
Symbatios expected that his participation in his father-in-
law's murder would have secured him the title of Cassar ; but
he soon perceived he had injured his own fortunes by his crime.
He now sought to obtain by open force what he had failed to
gain by private murder. He succeeded in drawing Peganes,
who commanded the troops in the Opsikian theme, into his
conspiracy. The two rebels took up arms, and proclaimed
that their object was not to dethrone Michael, but to depose
Basil. Though they drew together a considerable body of
1 Probably near Halicarnassus or Cnidtss. 8 Continuator, 129.
The Amorian Dynasty 179
troops, rendered themselves masters of a great extent of
country, and captured many merchant-ships on their passage
to Constantinople, they did not venture to attack the capital.
Their plan was ill concerted, for before the end of the summer
they had allowed themselves to be completely surrounded by
the imperial troops. Peganes was taken prisoner at Kotaeion,
and conducted to Constantinople, where his eyes were put
out He was then placed in the Milion, with a platter in his
hand, to ask charity from the passers-by. Symbatios was
subsequently captured at Keltizene. When he reached Con-
stantinople, he was conducted before Michael. Peganes was
brought out to meet him, with a censer of earthenware filled
with^burning sulphur instead of incense. Symbatios was then
deprived of one of his eyes, and his right hand was cut oft
In this condition he was placed before the palace of Lausus,
with a dish on his knees, as a common beggar. After ex-
hibiting his rebellious officers in this position for three days,
Michael allowed them to be imprisoned in their own houses.
When Basil mounted the throne, they were pardoned as men
no longer dangerous.
The degrading punishment to which two men of the highest
rank in the empire were subjected, made a deep impression
on the people of Constantinople. The figure of Peganes -a
soldier of high reputation standing in the Miiion, asking for
an obolos, with a platter in his hand like a blind beggar,
haunted their imagination, and, finding its way into the
romances of the age, was borrowed to illustrate the greatest
vicissitudes of court favour, and give colouring to the strongest
pictures of the ingratitude of emperors. The fate of Peganes
and Symbatios, woven into a tale called the Life of Belisarius,
in which the interest of tragic sentiment was heightened by
much historical and local truth, has gained immortality in
European literature, and confounded the critical sagacity of
eminent modern writers. 1
One of the few acts which are recorded of the joint reign
1 Compare Const. Porphyr. Basilius Macedo (Scrfy. ost TJtcaph* 150, 163,) with
Symeon Mag. 449 ; Georg. Hon. 540 ; and Leo Gramm. 467 ; and for the resemblance
with the fable of Belisarius, the anonymous author of Antiquities of Constantinople. \
in Banduri, Ivnfieriutn. Orientate^ i. 7, and Joannis Tzetzae. Hist. Variarutn. CkiluuZeSy
94, edit. Kiesslmgu ; also Lord Mahon, Life of Belisarius^ who tries to support the
fable; and "Belisarius was he blind?" in JBlackwoecE s Magazine for May 1847,
where the connection of the fable with history is pointed out. It may be worth men-
tioning, moreover, that Zacharias, Histories Juris Graco-Romani^ Delineatio^ 58 ; arid
Mortreuil, Histoire du Droit Byzantin^ ii. 499, have both fallen into an error in sup-
posing this Symbatios, who had lost an eye and his right hand during the reign cf
Michael III., to be the same person as the Symbatios or Sabbatios who assisted Leo VI.
in the revision of the Basilika.
i8o The Contest with the Iconoclasts
of Michael and Basil was the desecration of the tomb of
Constantine V. (Copronynius). This base act was perpetrated
to flatter a powerful party in the church, of which the leading
members were hostile to Bardas, on account of his persecution
of Ignatius. The precarious position of Photius after the
murder of his patron, and the inherent subserviency of the
Greek ecclesiastical dignitaries, made him ready to counten-
, ance any display of orthodoxy, however bigoted, that pleased
the populace. The memory of Constantine V. was still
cherished by no inconsiderable number of Iconoclasts. Com-
mon report still boasted of the wealth and power to which
the empire had attained under the just administration of the
Iconoclast emperors, and their conduct served as a constant
subject of reproach to Michael. The people, however, were
easily persuaded that the great exploits of Constantine V.,
and the apparent prosperity of his reign, had been the work
of the devil. The sarcophagus in which the body of this
great emperor reposed was of green marble, and of the richest
workmanship. By the order of the drunken Michael and the
Sclavonian groom Basil, it was broken open, and the body,
after having lain for upwards of ninety years in peace, was
dragged into the circus, where the body of John the Gram-
marian, torn also from the tomb, was placed beside it. The
remains of these great men were beaten with rods to amuse
the vilest populace, and then burned in the Amastrianon
the filthiest quarter of the capital, and the place often used
for the execution of malefactors. 1 The splendid sarcophagus
of Constantine was cut in pieces by order of Michael, to
form a balustrade in a new chapel he was constructing at
Pharos.
The drunkenness of Michael brought on delirium tremens,
and rendered him liable to fits of madness. He observed
that Basil's desire to maintain the high position he had
reached produced the same reformation in his conduct which
had been visible in that of Bardas. The Emperor Basil
became a very different man from Basil the groom. The
change was observed by Michael, and it rendered him dis-
satisfied with his colleague. In one of his fits of madness
he invested another of the companions of his orgies, named
Basiliskian, with the imperial title.
1 Georg. Mpn. 540. Leo. Gramm. 467. The anonymous author of the Ant. Con'
stant. (Banduri, Imp. Orient ale, 20) says that the Amastrianon was a favourite resort
of demons ; see the notes to torn. Ii. 558,
The Amorian Dynasty 181
In such a court there could be little doubt that the three
emperors, Michael, Basil, and Basiliskian, could not long
hold joint sway. It was probably soon a race who should be
the first murdered, and in such cases the ablest man is gener-
ally the most successful criminal. Basil, having reason to
fear for his own safety, planned the assassination of Ms bene-
factor with the greatest deliberation. The murder was carried
into execution after a supper-party given by Theodora to her
son in the palace of Anthiinos," where he had resolved to
spend a day hunting on the Asiatic coast. Basil and his wife,
Eudocia Ingerina, were invited by the empress-mother to
meet her son, for all decency was banished Yrom this most
orthodox court. Michael, according to his usual habit, was
carried from the supper-table in a state of intoxication, and
Basil accompanied his ' colleague to his chamber, of which he
had previously rendered the lock useless. Basiliskian, the
third of this infamous trio, was sleeping, in a state of intoxica-
tion, on the bed placed in the imperial apartment for the
chamberlain on duty. The chamberlain, on following his
master, found the lock of the door useless and the bolts
broken, but did not think of calling for assistance to secure
the entrance in the palace of the empress-mother.
Basil soon returned, attended by John of Chaldia, a Persian
officer named Apelates, a Bulgarian named Peter, Constantine
Toxaras, his own father Bardas, his brother Marines, and his
cousin Ayleon. The chamberlain immediately guessed their
purpose, and opposed their entry into the chamber. Michael,
disturbed by the noise, rose from his drunken sleep, and was
attacked by John of Chaldia, who cut off both his hands
with a blow of his sabre. The emperor fell on the ground.
Basiliskian was slain in the mean time by Apelates. Con-
stantine Toxaras, with the relatives of Basil, guarded the door
and the corridor leading to the apartment, lest the officers of
the emperor or the servants of Theodora should be alarmed
by the noise. The shouts of the chamberlain and the cries
of Michael alarmed Basil and those in the chamber, and they
rushed into the corridor to secure their retreat But the
tumult of debauchery had been often as loud, and the cries
of murder produced no extraordinary sensation where Michael
was known to be present. All remaining silent without, some
of the conspirators expressed alarm lest Michael should not
be mortally wounded. John of Chaldia, the boldest of the
assassins, returned to make his work sure. Finding the
1 82 The Contest with the Iconoclasts
emperor sitting on the floor uttering bitter lamentations, he
plunged his sword into his heart, and then returned to assure
Basil that all was finished.
The conspirators crossed over to Constantinople, and
having secured their entrance into the imperial palace by
means of two Persians, Eulogios and Artabasd, who were on
guard, Basil was immediately proclaimed sole emperor, and
the death of Michael III. was publicly announced. In the
morning the body of Michael was interred in a monastery at
Chrysopolis, near the palace of Anthimos. Theodora was
allowed to direct the funeral ceremonies of the son whom her
own neglect had conducted to an early and bloody death.
The people of Constantinople appear to have taken very
little interest in this infamous assassination, by which a small
band of mercenary adventurers transferred the empire of the
Romans from the Amorian dynasty to a Macedonian groom,
whose family reigned at Constantinople for two centuries, with
greater power and glory than the Eastern Empire had attained
since the days of Justinian,
CHAPTER IV
STATE OF THE BYZANTINE EMPIRE DURING THE
ICONOCLAST PERIOD
SECTION I
PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION DIPLOMATIC AND COMMERCIAL
RELATIONS
Constantinople neither a Greek nor a Roman city The Greek race not
the dominant people in the empire Circumstances which modified
despotic power Extent of the empire Military strength Loss o
Italy, Sicily, and Crete Embassy of John the Grammarian to Bagdat
Commercial policy Wealth.
IN ancient times, when the civilisation of the Greek people
had attained its highest degree of moral culture, the Hellenic
race was assailed almost simultaneously by the Persians, Car-
thaginians, and Tyrrhenians. The victories obtained over these
enemies are still regarded as the triumphs on which the politi-
cal civilisation of Europe, and of the great dwelling-place of
liberty beyond the Atlantic, is based. The age of Leo the
Isaurian found the government of the Byzantine empire in a
position not very dissimilar from that of the Greek race in the
time of Miltiades. The Athenian people fought for the poli-
tical progress of human civilisation on the plain of Marathon.
Leo battled for the empire of law and administration behind
the walls of Constantinople; the victory of Miltiades secured
only one hundred and fifty years of liberty to the Greeks, that
of the Iconoclast gave nearly five centuries of despotic power
to a system hostile to the development of the human intellect.
The voice of fame has conferred immortal glory on the doubt-
ful virtues of the Athenian general, and treated with neglect
the profound statesmanship of the stern Isaurian sovereign ;
and it has done so not unjustly, for the gratitude of all suc-
ceeding ages is due to those who extend the political ideas
of mankind, whereas those who only preserve property must
be satisfied with the applause of the proprietors. Neverthe-
less the Iconoclast period of Byzantine history presents a
valuable study to the historian, both in what it did and what
183
184 The Contest with the Iconoclasts
it left undone in the greatness of the Imperial administra-
tion, and the littleness of the people who were its subjects.
The Byzantine empire passed through a more dangerous
ordeal than classic Greece, inasmuch as patriotism is a surer
national bulwark than mechanical administration. The strug-
gle for the preservation of Constantinople from the Saracens
awakens no general feelings and noble aspirations; It only
teaches those who examine history as political philosophers,
what social and administrative tendencies a free people ought
carefully to avoid. On this subject the scanty annals of the
Greek people, as slaves of the Byzantine emperors, though far
from an attractive chapter in history, are filled with much
premonitory instruction for nations in an advanced social
condition.
Neither the emperors of Constantinople, though they styled
themselves Emperors of the Romans, nor their subjects,
though calling themselves Roman citizens, sought at this
period to identify themselves with the reminiscences of the
earlier Roman Empire. The Romans of Italy and the Greeks
of Hellas had both now fallen very low in public opinion. 1
Constantinople, as a Christian capital, claimed to be the
mistress of a new world, and the emperors of the East con-
sidered themselves masters of all the territories of pagan
Rome, because the dominion over all Christians was a right
Inherent in the emperor of the orthodox. But Constantinople
was founded as an antagonist to old Rome, and this antago-
nism has always been a portion of its existence. As a Chris-
tian city, its church and its ecclesiastical language always stood
in opposition to the church and ecclesiastical language of
Rome. The thoughts of the one were never transferred in
their pure conception to the mind of the other. For several
centuries Latin was the language of the court, of the civil
government, and of the higher ranks of society at Constanti-
nople. In the time of Leo IIL, and during the Byzantine
Empire, Greek was the language of the administration and
the people, as well as of the church j but we are not to sup-
pose, from that circumstance, that the inhabitants of the city
considered themselves as Greeks by descent. Even by the popu-
lace the term would have been looked upon as one of
reproach, applicable as a national appellation only to the
State of the Byzantine Empire 185
lower orders of society in the Hellenic themes. The people
of Constantinople, and of the Byzantine empire at large, in
their civil capacity, were Romans, and in their religious,
orthodox Christians ; in no social relation, whether of race or
nationality, did they consider themselves Greeks,
At the time of the succession of Leo III., the Hellenic
race occupied a very subordinate position in the empire. The
predominant influence in the political administration was in
the hands of Asiatics, and particularly of Armenians, who
filled the highest military commands. The family of Leo the
Isaurian was said to be of Armenian descent ; Nicephoras I.
was descended from an Arabian family; Leo V. was an
Armenian ; Michael II., the founder of the Amorian dynasty,
was of a Phrygian stock. So that for a century and a half,
the Empress Irene appears to be the only sovereign of pure
Greek blood who occupied the imperial throne, though it is
possible that Michael Rhangabe was an Asiatic Greek. Of the
numerous rebels who assumed the title of Emperor, the
greater part were Armenians. 1 Indeed, Kosmas, who was
elected by the Greeks when they attacked Constantinople in
the year 727, was the only rebel of the Greek nation who
attempted to occupy the throne for a century and a half.
Artabasdos, who rebelled against his brother-in-law, Constan-
tine V., was an Armenian. Alexis Mousel, strangled by order
of Constantine VI. in the year 790 ; Bardan, called the Turk,
who rebelled against Nicephoras I. ; Arsaber, the father-in-law
of Leo V., convicted of treason in 808 ; and Thomas, who
revolted against Michael IL, were all Asiatics, and most of
them Armenians. Another Alexis Mousel, who married
Maria, the favourite daughter of Theophilus; Theophobos,
the brother-in-law of the same emperor; and Manuel, who
became a member of the council of regency at his death,
were likewise of foreign Asiatic descent. Many of the
Armenians in the Byzantine empire at this time belonged to
the oldest and most illustrious families of the Christian world,
and their connection with the remains of Roman society at
Constantinople, in which the pride of birth was cherished, is a
proof that Asiatic influence had eclipsed Roman and Greek
in the government of the empire. Before this happened, the
Roman aristocracy transplanted to Constantinople must have
i See the conjectures of St. Martin on the Armenian origin of these officers, in his
edition of Lebeau, Histoire d-u Bos-Empire, xii. 355* note 3 ; 44, note 3 ; 431, note 2 ;
also, The History 0f_Armenia> by Father Michael Chamich, translated by J. Avdali ;
Calcutta, 1827 ; vol. i. pp. 395) 399*
i86 The Contest with the Iconoclasts
become nearly extinct The names which appear as belong-
ing to the aristocracy of Constantinople, when it became
thoroughly Greek, make their first appearance under the
Iconoclasts; and the earliest are those of Doukas, Skleros,
and Melissenos. 1 The order introduced into society by the
political and ecclesiastical reforms of Leo III., gave a per-
manence to high birth and great wealth, which constituted
henceforth a claim to high office. A degree of certainty
attended the transmission of all social advantages which never
before existed in the Roman empire. This change would
alone establish the fact that the reforms of Leo III. had ren-
dered life and property more secure, and consequently circum-
scribed the arbitrary power of preceding emperors by stricter
forms of administrative and legal procedure. An amusing
instance of the influence of aristocratic and Asiatic prejudices
at Constantinople, will appear in the eagerness displayed by
Basil I., a Sclavonian groom from Macedonia, to claim descent
from the Armenian royal family. The defence of this absurd
pretension is given by his grandson, Constantine VII. (Por-
phyrogenitus.) 2
It is difficult to draw an exact picture of the Byzantine
government at this period, for facts can easily be collected,
which, if viewed in perfect isolation, would, according to our
modern ideas, warrant the conclusion, either that it was a
tyrannical despotism, or a mild legal monarchy. The personal
exercise of power by the emperor, in punishing his officers
with death and stripes, without trial, and his constant inter-
ference with the administration of justice, contrast strongly
with the boldness dispkyed by the monks and clergy in
opposing his power. In order to form a correct estimate of
the real^ position occupied by the Byzantine empire in the
progressive improvement of the human race, it is necessary to
compare it, on one hand, with the degraded Roman empire
which it replaced ; and on the other 3 with the arbitrary govern-
ment of the Mohammedans, and the barbarous administration
of the^northern nations, which it resisted. The regularity of
its civil, financial, and judicial administration, the defensive
power of its military and naval establishments, are remarkable
in an age of temporary measures and universal aggression.
The state of education, and the moral position of the clergy,
certainly offer favourable points of comparison, even with the
* Theophanes, inc. Contin. 428. Script. Pest Theoph. 14.
2 Const. Porphyr. Vita. Basilii, 133. *
State of the Byzantine Empire 187
brilliant empires of Haroim Al Rashid and Charlemagne. On
the other hand 5 fiscal rapacity was the incurable canker of the
Byzantine, as it had been of the Roman government. From
it arose all those precautionary measures which reduced
society to a stationary condition. No class of men was in-
vested with a constitutional or legal authority to act as de-
fenders of the people's rights against the fiscality of the
imperial administration. Insurrection, rebellion, and revolu-
tion were the only means of obtaining either reform or justice,
when the interests of the treasury were concerned. Yet even
in this branch of its administration no other absolute govern-
ment ever displayed equal prudence and honesty. Respect
for the law was regarded by the emperors as self-respect ; and
the power possessed by the clergy, who in some degree partici-
pated in popular feelings, contributed to temper and restrain
the exercise of arbitrary rule.
Yet the Byzantine empire, however superior it might be to
contemporary governments, presents points of resemblance,
which prove that the social condition of its population was
in no inconsiderable degree affected by some general causes
operating on the general progress of human civilisation in the
East and the West The seventh century was a period of
disorganisation in the Eastern Empire, and of anarchy in all
the kingdoms formed out of the provinces of the Western.
Even throughout the dominions of the Saxacens, in spite
of the power and energy of the central administration of the
caliphs, the nations under its rule were in a declining state.
The first step towards the constitution of modern society,
which renders all equal in the eye of the law, was made
at Constantinople about the commencement of the eighth
century. The reign of Leo III. opens a new social era for
mankind, as well as for the Eastern Empire; for when he
reorganised the frame of Roman society, he gave it the seeds of
the peculiar features of modern times. Much of this ameliora-
tion is, without doubt, to be attributed to the abilities of the
Iconoclast emperors; but something may be traced to the
infusion of new vigour into society from popular feelings, of
which it is difficult to trace the causes or the development.
The Byzantine empire, though it regained something of the
old Roman vigour at the centre of its power, was unable
to prevent the loss of several provinces; and Basil I. succeeded
to an empire of smaller extent than Leo III., although to one
that was far richer and more powerful. The exarchate of
i88 The Contest with the Iconoclasts
Ravenna, Rome, Crete, and Sicily had passed under the
dominion of hostile states. Venice had become completely
independent On the other hand. It must be remembered,
that In 717 the Saracens occupied the greater part of Asia
Minor and Cyprus, from both which they had been almost
entirely expelled before 867. The only conquest of which
the emperors of Constantinople could boast was the complete
subjugation of the allied city of Cherson to the central
administration. Cherson had hitherto enjoyed a certain
degree of political independence which had for centuries
secured its commercial prosperity. Its local freedom was
destroyed in the time of Theophilus, who sent his brother-
in-law Petronas to occupy It with an army, and govern it
as an Imperial province. The power of the emperor was,
however, only momentarily Increased by the destruction of
the liberties of Cherson j the city fell rapidly from the degree
of wealth and energy which had enabled it to afford military
aid to Constantine the Great, and to resist the tyranny of
Justinian IL 3 and lost much of Its commercial importance.
Historians generally speak of the Byzantine empire at this
period as If it had been destitute of military power. Events
as far removed from one another, In point of time, as our own
misfortunes in India at the Black Hole of Calcutta, and the
massacre of Cabul, are cited to prove that the Byzantine
government was Incapable, and the Byzantine army feeble
and unwarlike. The truth is this, the Byzantine empire was
a highly civilised society, and consequently its tendencies
were essentially defensive when those of the rest of the world
were aggressive. The Saracens, Franks, and Bulgarians were
nations devoted to war, and yet the Byzantine empire effect-
ually resisted and long outlived these empires of warriors.
No contemporary government possessed a permanent military
establishment so perfectly organised as the emperor of Con-
stantinople, nor could any bring into the field, on a sudden
exigency, a better appointed army. The caliphs had the
power of deluging the frontier provinces with larger bodies
of light troops than could be prevented from plundering the
country, for the imperial armies were compelled to act on
the defensive in order to secure the fortified towns, and
defensive warfare can rarely protect all the assailable points
of an extensive frontier. Whole provinces were therefore
often laid waste and depopulated ; yet, under the Iconoclast
emperors, the Byzantine territories increased in prosperity.
State of the Byzantine Empire 189
The united attacks of the Saracens, Bulgarians, and Franks
inflicted trifling evils on the Byzantine empire, compared with
what the predatory incursions of small bands of Normans
inflicted on the empire of the successors of Charlemagne,
or the incessant rebellions and civil wars on the dominions
of the caliphs.
The Saracens devoted all the Immense wealth of their
empire to their military establishment, and they were certainly
more formidable enemies to the Byzantine emperors than the
Farthians had been to the Romans ; yet the emperors of Con-
stantinople resisted these powerful enemies most successfully.
The Saracen troops were no way inferior to the Byzantine in
arms, discipline, artillery, and military science; their cavalry
was mailed from head to foot, each horseman bearing a lance,
a scimitar, and a bow slung over his shoulder. Their dis
cipline was of the strictest land, and their armies moved not
only with catapultas and military engines for field service, but
also with all the materials and machines requisite for besieging
cities. Under Kassim a band of six thousand men ventured
to invade India; 1 yet the caliphs never thought of encounter-
ing the Byzantine army unless with immense numbers of their
chosen warriors ; and they sustained more signal defeats from
the emperors of Constantinople than from all the other
enemies they encountered together. The bloody contests and
hard-fought battles with the armies of the caliphs in Asia
Minor, entitle the Byzantine army to rank for several centuries
as one of the best the world has ever seen.
The Bulgarians were likewise dangerous enemies. Their
continual wars gave them no mean knowledge of military
science j and the individual soldiers, from their habits of life,
possessed the greatest activity and powers of endurance. In
the wars at the end of the eighth and the beginning of the
ninth centuries they fought completely armed in steel, and
possessed military engines of every kind then known. We
have the testimony of a Byzantine writer, that the armies of
Crumn were supplied with every warlike machine discovered
by the engineering knowledge of the Romans. 2
In all the scientific departments of war, hi the application
of mechanical and chemical skill to the art of destruction,
and in the construction of engines for the attack and defence
1 Elphinston's History of the Mohammedans in lndia t i. 512.
a Tiie army of Crtimn consisted of 30,000 6\<wl$T]poi. See also the list of military
engines. Theopbanes, Incent. Con. 434*
190 The Contest with the Iconoclasts
of fortresses, there can be no doubt that the Byzantine
engineers were no way Inferior to the Roman; for in the
arsenals of Constantinople, the workmen and the troops had
been uninterruptedly employed from generation to generation
in executing and improving the same works. Only one im-
portant invention seems to have been made, which changed,
in some degree, the art of defence on shore, and of attack at
sea : this was the discovery of Greek fire, and the method of
launching it to a certain distance from brazen tubes. 1
The aristocracy of the Byzantine empire, though not ex-
clusively devoted to war, like the nobility of other contem-
porary nations, was still deeply imbued with the military
spirit. No people can boast of a greater number of warlike
sovereigns than the Byzantine empire, from the accession of
Leo III. to the death of Michael III. During this period of
a century and a half, not one of the emperors failed to appear
at the head of the army; and Leo III., Constantine V.,
Leo V., Michael II., and Theophilus, were experienced
generals; the careless Constantine VI. and the debauched
Michael III. appeared to greater advantage in the camp than
in the capital ; and it was only the weak, religious persecutor,
Michael Rhangabe, who was absolutely contemptible as a
soldier.
Amidst this military energy, nothing seems more remarkable
than the indifference with which the loss of central Italy, and
the islands of Crete and Sicily, was viewed by the Byzantine
government. 2 It would seem that the value of these distant
provinces was estimated at Constantinople solely by the
amount of revenue they produced to the imperial treasury,
and that when the expenses of a province absorbed all its
revenues, or its reconquest was found to entail a degree of
outlay that was never likely to be repaid, the emperors were
often indifferent at the loss.
The foundation of the Frank empire by Charles Martel
very nearly corresponds with the organisation of the Byzantine
by Leo III. The invasion of Italy by Pepin, A.D. 754, and
the temporal authority conceded to the popes, compelled the
1 De Feu Gregois^ des Feux de Guerre, et des Origines de la. Poudre a Canon,
par Reinaud et Fav6, 79. Mhnvire sur la Decouvcrte TrZs-ancienne en Asie et
dans llndo'Perse de la Poudre a Canon et des Armes <i feu. par le Chev. de Paravey :
Paris, 1850.
2 The exarchate extended from the Po to Fermo, and included all the country
between the Adriatic and the Apennines. The Pentapolis, now the Marca d'Ancona,
comprised the country from Rimini to Fermo. ^The duchy of Rome embraced the
patrimony of St. Peter and the Campagna. This territory, filled as it then was with
cities, towns, and slaves, may have contained a population of 2,000,000 of inhabitants.
State of the Byzantine Empire 191
Byzantine emperors to enter into negotiations with Charle-
magne on a footing of equality. The importance of main-
taining friendly relations with Constantinople is said by
Eginhard to have influenced Charlemagne in affecting to
receive the imperial crown from the Pope by surprise; he
wished to be able to plead that his election as emperor of the
West was unsought on his part Interest silenced pride on
both sides, and diplomatic relations were established between
the two emperors of the East and the West ; embassies and
presents were sent from Constantinople to Charlemagne and
Ms successors, treaties were concluded 3 and the Byzantine
government became in some degree connected with the inter-
national system of medieval Europe. 1 The superiority still
held by the court of Constantinople in public opinion, is
manifest in the Greek salutations with which the Pope flattered
Charlemagne at the commencement of his letters ; yet Greek
official salutations had only lately supplanted Latin at Con-
stantinople itself. 2
The political alliances and diplomatic relations of the
Byzantine court were very extensive ; but the most important
were those with the Khan of the Khazars, who ruled all the
northern shores of the Caspian Sea, and with the Ommiad
caliphs of Spain. Scandinavian ambassadors who had passed
through Russia visited the splendid court of Theophilus ; but
their mission related rather to mercantile questions, or to the
manner of furnishing recruits to the mercenary legions at
Constantinople, than to political alliance. 3
The remarkable embassy of John the Grammarian, who was
sent by Theophilus as ambassador to the Caliph Motassem,
deserves particular notice, as illustrating the external character
of Byzantine diplomacy. 4 The avowed object of the mission
1 Michael II. sent a copy of the works attributed to Dionysius the Areopagite to-
Louis le Dbonnaire, as a valuable present, in 824. The regency of Theodora attached
considerable importance to the embassies sent to Lothaire and Louis II. -Schlosser, 566*
2 Constant. Porphyr. De Ceremon. Ante Byzantines t ii. 29.
3 Schlosser, Geschichte der Bilderstrtnender Kaiser, 488.
4 There is some difficulty in fixing the precise date of this embassy. Weil, with
great probability, places it at the end of 833, ii. 297. Compare Continuator, 60; Symeon
Mag., 419 ; Genesms, 29; Leo Gramm. 452, edit.^Par. ; 218, edit. Bonn. ; also note 4 at
page 138 of this volume. The people of Constantinople regarded Leo, the archbishop of
Thessalpnica, as a necromancer or magician, as well as John, on account o_f the great
mechanical works executed under his direction. This need not appear surprising, when
we recollect that English tradition ascribes feats of magic to a hero so modern as Sir
Francis Drake, for executing the aqueduct that supplies Plymouth with water. It was
completed with wonderful celerity, and hence the people relate that Sir Francis made a.
contract with the devil, in virtue of which the water flowed after his horse's feet as he
galloped from the spring to the town. Roger Bacon, on account of his rare knowledge
as a natural philosopher, and Faustus as the first printer, were both supposed to have
unlawful dealings with the other world.
192 The Contest with the Iconoclasts
was to conclude a treaty of peace, but the ambassador had
secret instructions to employ every art of persuasion to induce
Manuel, one of the ablest generals of the empire, who had
distinguished himself greatly in the civil wars of the Saracens,
to return to his allegiance. The personal qualities of John
rendered Mm peculiarly well suited to this embassy. To
great literary attainments he joined a degree of scientific
knowledge, which gained him the reputation of a magician,
and he was perfectly acquainted with the Arabic ^language,
All these circumstances insured him a good reception at the
court of Bagdat, which had been so lately and so long
governed by the Caliph Almamun, one of the greatest en~
couragers of science and literature who ever occupied a
throne. The Byzantine ambassador was equally celebrated
for his knowledge of medicine, architecture, mechanics, mathe-
matics, chemistry, astronomy, and astrology; and probably
even the Caliph Motassem, though a free-thinker, and a dis-
believer in the divine origin of the Koran, shared so much of
the popular belief as to credit the tale that the learned Chris-
tian priest could read the secrets of futurity in a brazen basin,
and felt great curiosity to converse with a man who possessed
this rare gift of brazen magnetism.
On quitting Constantinople, John was furnished with the
richest furniture, splendid carpets, damasked silk hangings,
and plate chased and inlaid with the most beautiful orna-
ments, taken from the imperial palaces, to which was added
400 Ib. of gold for the current expenses of the embassy.
According to the usage of the East, the ambassador was
lodged at Bagdat in a palace furnished by the ^caliph. The
magnificent style in which the diplomatic priest installed him-
self in the apartments he reserved for his own use made a
sensation at the court of Motassem, though many then living
had witnessed the splendour of Haroun Al Rashid.^ This
lavish display of wealth was better adapted to gratify the
vanity of Theophilus than to advance the conclusion of a last-
ing peace. If we could place implicit confidence in the
stories recorded by the Byzantine writers, of various tricks to
which the ambassador resorted in order to augment the
wonder of the Saracen nobles at the enormous wealth of the
Christians, we should be inclined to question the judgment of
John himself. His conduct could only have originated in
personal pride ; and the course attributed to him would have
been more likely to excite the Mohammedans to active war-
State of the Byzantine Empire 193
fare, where they had prospect of plundering so rich an enemy,
than of persuading them to conclude a treaty of peace.
One anecdotej dwelt on with peculiar satisfaction, deserves
to be recorded. John possessed a splendid golden basin and
ewer, richly chased and ornamented with jewels, and of this
he made a great display. Throughout the East, and in many
parts of European Turkey at the present day, where knives
and forks are not yet in use, it is the practice to wash the
hands immediately before commencing a meal, and on rising
from the table. A servant pours water from a ewer over the
hands of the guest, while another holds a basin to receive it as
it falls. ^ This, being done by each guest in turn, would leave
ample time for observing the magnificent golden utensils of
John at^the entertainments he was in the habit of giving to
the leading men in Bagdat At a grand entertainment given
by the Byzantine ambassador to the principal nobility of the
caliph's court, the slaves rushed into the hall where the guests
were assembled, and informed John, in a state of great alarm,
that his magnificent golden basin was not to be found. The
Saracens eagerly suggested measures for its recovery; but
John treated the affair with indifference, and calmly ordered
his steward to give the slaves another. Soon two slaves ap-
peared, one bearing in his hand a golden ewer, and the other
a basin, larger and more valuable, if not more elegant, than
that which it was supposed had been stolen. These had been
hitherto kept concealed, on purpose to attract public attention
by this pitiful trick,
John, however 9 gained the respect of the Saracens by Ms
disinterested conduct, for he declined to receive any present
of value for himself, even from the caliph. Motassem, there-
fore, presented him with a hundred Christian captives; but
even then he sent immediately to Theophilus, to beg him to
return a like number of Saracen prisoners to the caliph. No
general exchange of prisoners, however, appears to have been
effected at the time of this embassy, which, with other circum-
stances, affords a proof that the avowed object of the embassy
totally failed. When John returned to Constantinople, he
persuaded the Emperor Theophilus to construct the palace of
Bryas in the varied style of Saracenic architecture, of which
those who have seen the interior of the palaces at Damascus,
or the work of Owen Jones on the Alhambra, can alone form
an adequate idea.
The great wealth of the Byzantine government at this period
H
194 The Contest with the Iconoclasts
derived from the commercial pre-eminence it then enjoyed
among the nations of the earth. The commerce of Europe
centred at Constantinople in the eighth and ninth centuries
more completely than it has ever since done in any one city. 1
The principles of the government, which reprobated monopoly,
and the moderation of its duties, which repudiated^ privileges,
were favourable to the extension of trade. While Charle-
magne rained the internal trade of his dominions by fixing a
raaanram of prices, and destroyed foreign commerce under
the persuasion that, by discouraging luxury, he could enable
Ms subjects to accumulate treasures which he might after-
wards extort or filch into his own treasury, Theophilus pro-
hibited the persons about his court from engaging in mercantile
speculations, lest by so doing they should injure the regular
channels of commercial intercourse, by diminishing the profits
of the individual dealer. 2 Theophilus proclaimed that com-
merce was the principal source of the wealth of his people,
and that as many derived their means of subsistence from
trade, and drew from it alone the funds for payment of the
public burdens, any interference with the liberty of commerce
was a public as well as a private injury. The political im-
portance of the commercial classes induced Irene, when she
usurped the empire, to purchase their favour by diminishing
the duties levied at the passages of the Bosphorus and the
Hellespont. 3
During this period the western nations of Europe drew
their supplies of Indian commodities from Constantinople,
and the Byzantine empire supplied them with all the gold coin
in circulation for several centuries.
The Greek navy, both mercantile and warlike, was the most
numerous then in existence. Against the merchantships of the
Greeks, the piratical enterprises of the Egyptian, African, and
Spanish Arabs were principally directed. Unfortunately we
possess no authentic details of the commercial state of the
Byzantine empire, nor of the Greek population during the
Iconoclast period, yet we may safely transfer to this time the
records that exist proving the extent of the Greek commerce
under the Basilian dynasty. Indeed, we may remember that,
as the ignorance and poverty of western Europe was much
1 The short reign of Theodosius III. was distinguished by the conclusion of a very
important jcommercxal treaty, which was taken as the basis of the fiscal stipulations for
a long period. Theophanes, 421, not. 665; or 113, edit. Ven.
2 Compare the Capitularies of Charlemagne, A.D. 805, art. 5, with the conduct of
Theophilus. Continuator, 55. > Theopaaues, 401.
State of the Byzantine Empire 195
greater in the eleventh and twelfth centuries than in the
eighth and ninth, we may conclude that Byzantine commerce
was also greater.
The influence of the trade of the Arabians with the East
indies on the supply of the markets of western Europe has
been overrated, and that of the Greeks generally lost sight of.
This is, in some degree, to be attributed to the circumstance
that the most westerly nations, in the times preceding the
Crusades, were better acquainted with the commerce and the
literature of the Arabs of Spain than with that of the Byzan-
tine Greeks, and also to the preservation of an interesting
account of the extensive voyages of the Arabs in the Indian
seas during this very period, when we are deprived of all
records of Byzantine commerce. 1 The Byzantine markets
drew their supplies of Indian and Chinese productions from
Central Asia, passing to the north of the caliph's dominions
through the territory of the Khazars to the Black Sea. This
route was long Frequented by the Christians, to avoid the
countries In the possession of the Mohammedans, and was the
highway of European commerce for several centuries. Though
it appears at present a far more difficult and expensive route
than that by the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean, it was really
safer, more rapid, and more economical, in the eighth, ninth,
and tenth centuries. This requires no proof to those who are
acquainte 1 with caravan life in the East, and who reflect on
the imperfections of ancient navigation, and the dangers
which sailing vessels of any burden are exposed to in the Red
Sea. When the Venetians and Genoese began to surpass the
Greeks in commercial enterprise, they endeavoured to occupy
this route ; and we have some account of the line it followed,
and the manner in which it was carried on, after the East had
been thrown into confusion by the conquests of the Crusaders-
and Tartars, in the travels of Marco Polo. 2 For several
centuries the numerous cities of the Byzantine empire sup-
plied the majority of the European consumers with Indian
wares, and it was in them alone that the necessary security of
property existed to preserve large stores of merchandise.
Constantinople was as much superior to every city in the
civilised world, in wealth and commerce, as London now is to
1 See Relation dcs Voyages faits far les Arabes et Persons dans tlnde et a la-
Chine dans U gevse Stick, Traduction et Eclaircissements par Reinaud; Abul-
pharagius. Hist. JDyn. 284.
2 The Travels of Marco Polo, greatly amended and enlarged, by Hugh Murray*
F.R.S.E. Edinburgh, 1844.
196 The Contest with the Iconoclasts
the other European capitals. And It must also be borne In
mind, that the countries of Central Asia were not then In the
racfe and barbarous condition Into which they have now sunk,
since nomade nations have subdued them. On many parts of
the road traversed by the caravans, the merchants found a
numerous and wealthy population ready to traffic In many
articles sought after both in the East and West; and the
single commodity of furs supplied the traders with the means
of adding greatly to their profits.
Several circumstances contributed to turn the great highway
of trade from the dominions of the caliphs to Constantinople.
The Mohammedan law, which prohibited all loans at Interest,
and the arbitrary nature of the administration of justice, ren-
dered all property, and particularly commercial property, in-
secure. 1 Again, the commercial route of the Eastern trade,
by the way of Egypt and the Red Sea, was suddenly rendered
both difficult and expensive, about the year 767, by the Caliph
Ai Mansur, who closed the canal connecting the Nile with the
Red Sea, The harvests of Egypt, which had previously filled
the coast of Arabia with plenty, could no longer be transported
in quantity to the ports of the Red Sea ; living became expen-
sive; the population of Arabia declined; and the carrying
trade was ruined by the additional expenditure required. The
caliph certainly by this measure impoverished and depopu-
lated the rebellious cities of Medina and Mecca to such a
degree as to render their military and political power less
dangerous to the central authority at Bagdat, but at the same
time he ruined the commerce of Egypt with India and the
eastern coast of Southern Africa. Since that period, this
most important line of communication has never been
restored, and the coarser articles of food, of which Egypt
can produce Inexhaustible stores, are deprived of their
natural market in the arid regions of Arabia. 2 The hostile
relations between the caliphs of Bagdat and Spain likewise
1 The picture presented by the Oriental historians of the oppressive rule of the caliphs
shows how_ little security existed under the most powerful of the Abassides. Price has
the following passage in the history of A! Mansur., and his testimony is confirmed by
the recent excellent work of Weil, Geschichtt der Chalifen. : *' But the sufferings of the
inhabitants of Bagdat had reached that point beyond which there was no further endur-
ance, A licentious banditti had re-established its sway in that unhappy city; the
women, the slaves, the property of the inhabitants of every rank and description, had
once more "become the prey of robbers and outlaws, who regarded neither the authority
of Mansur nor of any other person. "History of tJu Mohammedan Empire, ii. 132.
2 The last mejntion of this canal by a European author is in Dicuil, who had heard
a monk named Fidelis relate that he navigated on a branch of the Nile from Babylon
<old Cairo) to the Red Sea, Dfcuill,.&7&r de Mensitra. Orbis Terra:, chap, yi, ju 6.
JR.chcrckes Gfagrapk* tt Critiques^ par Letronne, 23.
State of the Byzantine Empire 197
induced a considerable portion of the Mohammedan popula-
tion on the shores of the Mediterranean to maintain close
commercial relations with Constantinople. 1
A remarkable proof of the great wealth of society at this
period Is to be found in the immense amount of specie in
circulation. We have already noticed that the Byzantine
empire furnished all the western nations of Europe with gold
coin for several centuries; and when the hoards of the
Mohammedan conquerors of India fell a prey to European
invaders, it was found that the gold coins of the Byzantine
emperors formed no small part of their treasures. The sums
accumulated by Al Mansur and Theophilus were so great,
that no extortion could have collected them unless the
people had been wealthy, and great activity had existed
in the commercial transactions of the age. It is true
that the Caliph Al Mansur was remarkable for his extreme
parsimony during twelve years of his reign. During this
period he is said to have accumulated a treasure amounting
to six hundred millions of dirhems in silver, (about
^13,750,000,) and fourteen millions of dinars of gold,
G6,4i 7,000,) or at the rate of ^1,680,000 a-year. 2 The
Emperor Theophilus, whose lavish expenditure in various
ways has been recorded, left a large sum in the imperial
treasury at his death, which, when increased by the prudent
economy of the regency of Theodora, amounted to one
thousand and ninety-nine centenaries of gold, three thousand
centenaries of silver, besides plate and gold embroidery, that,
on being melted down, yielded two hundred centenaries of
gold. The gold may be estimated as equal to about four
millions and a half of sovereigns, and the weight of silver as
equal to ^930,000, and the remainder of the treasure as equal
to 800,000 sovereigns, making the whole equal to a metallic
coinage of 5,230,000 sovereigns, and of course far exceeding
that sum in its exchangeable value, from the comparative
scarcity of the precious metals, and the more circumscribed
circulation of money. There does not appear to be any
1 Cardonne, Hi&toire de VAfrigue et de TEspagne sous la Domination
2 The name of Abou Dowaneck (the Father of a Farthing) was given^to Al^ Mansur
on account of his avarice. Almamun is said to have expended 300,000 dinars in trans-
lating the works of the Greeks, Gx37>5> ) -Price, ii. 142. Weil, u. 8 3l note 2, says
that, according to Cod, Goth. f. 21, Al Mansur left 900,000,000 dinars, and 60,000,000 du-
hems ; and also that the treasure left by Haxoun Al Rashid amounted to 900,000,000
dinars, and twice as many dirhems. ii. 127, note 3. It is needless to say that either
there must here be a fault of the copyist or gross exaggeration.
198 The Contest with the Iconoclasts
exaggeration In this account of the sums left in the Byzantine
treasury at the termination of the regency of Theodora, for
the historians who have transmitted it wrote tinder the govern-
ment of the BasiHan dynasty, and under circumstances which
afforded access to official sources of information. The
Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus, their patron, who
lived in the third generation after Theodora, would not have
authorised any misrepresentation on such a subject. 1
Some further confirmation of the general wealth of the
countries on the shores of the Mediterranean, in which com-
merce was allowed some degree of liberty, is found in the
wealth of Abderrahman III., in Spain, who is said to have
possessed an annual revenue of 5,480,000 dinars, though some
historians have calculated the whole income of his treasury at
12,945,000, which would be equal to ^5,500,000 sterling. 2
The poverty of Europe at a later period, when the isolation
caused by the feudal system had annihilated commerce and
prevented the circulation of the precious metals, cannot be
used as an argument against the probability of this wealth
having existed at the earlier period of which we are treating. 3
In contrasting the state of commercial society in the Byzan-
tine and Saracen empires, we must not overlook the existence
of one social feature favourable to the Mohammedans. The
higher classes of the Byzantine empire, imbued with the old
Roman prejudices, looked on trade of every kind as a debas-
ing pursuit, unsuitable to those who were called by birth or
position to serve the state, while the Saracens still paid an
outward respect to the antique maxims of Arabian wisdom,
which inculcated industry as a source of independence even
to men of the highest rank. In deference to this injunction,
the Abassid caliphs were in the habit of learning some trade,
and selling the produce of their manual labour, to be em-
ployed in purchasing the food they consumed. 4
Perhaps we may also hazard the conjecture, that a consider-
able addition had, shortly before the reign of Theophilus,
been made to the quantity of precious metals in existence by
the discovery of new mines. We know, indeed, that the
1 Scrip.post Theoph. Contin. 107. Symeon Mag. 436.
2 Murphy's Mofiantrttedan Empire in Spain^ 303.
3 After the conquests of Henry V. In France, the revenues of the crown of England
in 1431 amounted only to 53,000 sterling; annually. Michelet, Hist, de France, iii.
658. edit. Brax.
4 In ancient times a Roman citizen who became an artisan was expelled from his
tribe. OtSevl y&p %7jv Tw/icuW otfre Ka.7rr)\ov o#re ^a/jor^^ fiiov &X.GLV.
Dion. Halicar. ix. 25.
State of the Byzantine Empire 199
Saracens in Spain worked mines of gold and silver to a con-
siderable extent, and we may therefore infer that they did the
same in many other portions of their vast dominions. At the
same time, whatever was done with profit by the Saracens was
sure to be attempted by the Christians under the Byzantine
government. The abundance of Byzantine gold coins still in
existence leads to the conclusion that gold was obtained in
considerable quantities from mines within the circuit of the
Eastern Empire.
SECTION II
STATE OF SOCIETY AMONG THE PEOPLE OF THE BYZANTINE
EMPIRE IN THE EIGHTH AND NINTH CENTURIES
Decline of civilisation Influence of the Greek church Slavery Ideo-
logic spirit of the people State of science and art Literature.
The wealth of nations depends in a great degre on their
commerce, but the health and strength of a people is derived
from its agricultural industry. The population which is pressed
into large cities by commercial pursuits, or crowded into
little space by manufacturing industry even the wanderers
with the caravan and the navigators of snips rarely per-
petuate their own numbers. All these hunters after riches
require to be constantly recruited from the agricultural popula-
tion of their respective countries. This constant change,
which is going on in the population of cities, operates power-
fully in altering the condition of society in each successive
generation. Hence we find the nature of society in Con-
stantinople strongly opposed to the principles of the Byzantine
government. The imperial government, as has been already
mentioned, inherited the conservative principles of Roman
society, and, had it been possible, would have fettered the
population to its actual condition, and reduced the people to
castes. The laws of Providence opposed the laws of Rome,
and society dwindled away. The ruling classes in the Western
Empire had expired before their place was occupied by the
conquering nations of the north. In the Eastern Empire,
the change went on more gradually; the towns and cities
were far nore numerous, but many of them embraced within
their own walls an agricultural population, which not only
recruited the population engaged in trade, but also sent off
continual colonies to maintain the great cities of the
200 The Contest with the Iconoclasts
and especially Constantinople. This great capital, recruited
from distant towns, and from nations dissimilar in manners
and language, was consequently always undergoing great
changes, yet always preserving its peculiar type of a city
destitute of any decided nationality, and of homogeneity in
its society. It became In turn a Roman, an Asiatic, and a
Greek city, as the Roman, the Asiatic, or the Greek aristocracy
acquired the predominant influence in the administration.
Under the Iconoclasts, it was decidedly more an Asiatic city
than either a Greek or a Roman. Whether the Asiatics, the
Greeks, or the Sckvonians formed the greater number of the
Inhabitants, cannot be ascertained. The aristocracy was cer-
tainly Asiatic, the middle classes and artisans were chiefly
Greeks, but the lowest rabble, the day labourers, the porters,
and the domestic servants, when not slaves, appear to have
consisted principally of the Sclavonians of Thrace^ and Mace-
donia, who, like the Emperor Basil the Macedonian, entered
the city with a wallet on their shoulder to seek their fortune.
A similar condition of society exists to-day, and thousands of
labourers may be seen weekly arriving at Constantinople in
the steamers from the Asiatic coast of the Black Sea, and
from the coasts between Smyrna, Thessalonica, and the capital
The causes of decline in society throughout the Roman
world have been already noticed, and the nature of the im-
provement which took place In the Eastern Empire during
the reigns of Leo III. and his successors has been pointed
out It is now necessary to examine why the improvement
of society so soon assumed a stationary aspect, and arrested
the revival of civilisation. We must not forget that the
empire was still Roman in its name, traditions, and prejudices.
The trammels, binding the actions and even the thoughts of
the various classes, were very slightly relaxed, and the per-
manent relaxation had been made in the interest of the
government, not of the people. Men of every rank were
confined within a restricted circle, and compelled to act in
their individual spheres in one unvarying manner. Within
the imperial palace the incessant ceremonial was regarded as
the highest branch of human knowledge. It was multiplied
into a code, and treated as a science. In the church, tradi-
tion, not gospel, was the guide, and the innumerable forms
and ceremonies and liturgies were hostile to the exercise of
thought and the use of reason. Among the people at large,
though the curia! system of castes had been broken down,
State of the Byzantine Empire 201
still the trader was fettered to Ms corporation, and often ta
his quarter or his street, where he exercised his calling amidst
men of the same profession. The education of the child ?
and the tendencies of society, both prevented the individual
from acquiring more than the confined knowledge requisite
for his position in the empire. No learning, no talent, and
no virtue could conduct either to distinction or wealth, unless
exercised according to the fixed formulas that governed the
state and the church. Hence even the merchant, who travelled
over all Asia, and who supported the system by the immense
duties he furnished to government, supplied no new ideas to
society, and perhaps passed through life without acquiring
many.
This peculiar constitution of society affords us the explana-
tion of the causes which have created some of the vices
in the character of the Greeks of later times, which are
erroneously supposed to be an inheritance of the days of
liberty. The envy and jealousy produced by party contests,
in small cities acting as independent governments, was
certainly very great, and, we may add, quite natural, where
men were violent from their sincerity, and political institutions
rendered law imperfect The envy and jealousy of modern times
were baser feelings, and had their origin in meaner interests.
Roman society crowded men of the same professions together,
and in some measure excluded them from much intercourse
with others. The consequence was, that a most violent
struggle for wealth, and often for the means of existence,
was created amongst those living in permanent personal con*
tact. Every man was deeply interested in rendering himself
superior to his nearest neighbour ; and as the fixed condition
of everything in the empire rendered individual progress
unattainable, the only method of obtaining any superiority
was by the depreciation of the moral or professional character
of a rival, who was always a near neighbour. Envy and
calumny were the feelings of the mind which Roman society
under the emperors tended to develop with efficacy in every
rank. The same cause produces the same effect in the Greek
bazaar of every Turkish town of the present day, where trades-
men of the same profession are crowded into the same street.
When it is impossible to depreciate the merit of the material
and the workmanship, it is easy to calumniate the moral
character of the workman. *
The influence of the Greek church on the political fabric
202 The Contest with the Iconoclasts
of the empire had been long In operation, yet It had failed to
infuse a sound moral spirit Into either the administration or
the people. Still It may be possible to trace some of the
secondary causes which prepared the way for the reforms
of Leo III. to the sense of Justice, moral respect, and real
religious faith, infused Into the mass of the population by
a comparison of the doctrines of Christianity with those of
Mohammedanism. But the blindness of the age has concealed
from our view many of the causes which Impelled society to
co-operate with the Iconoclast emperors in their career^ of
Improvement and re-organisation. That the moral condition
of the people of the Byzantine empire under the Iconoclast
emperors was superior to that of any equal number of the
human race In any preceding period, can hardly be doubted.
The bulk of society occupied a higher social position in the
time of Constantine Copronymus than of Pericles; the masses
had gained more by the decrease of slavery and the extension
of free labour than the privileged citizens had lost Public
opinion, though occupied on meaner objects, had a more
extended basis, and embraced a larger class. Perhaps, too,
the war of opinions concerning ecclesiastical forms or subtleties
tended to develop pure morality as much as the ambitious
party-struggles of the Pnyx. When the merits and defects
of each age are fairly weighed, both will be found to offer
lessons of experience which the student of political history
ought not to neglect.
There may be some difference of opinion concerning the
respective merits of Hellenic 3 Roman, and Byzantine society,
but there can be none concerning the superiority of Byzantine
over that which existed in the contemporary empires of the
Saracens and the Franks. There we find all moral restraints
weakened, and privileged classes or conquering nations ruling
an immense subject population, with very little reference to
law, morality, or religion. Violence and Injustice claimed
at Bagdat an unbounded license, until the Turkish mercenaries
extinguished the caliphate, and it was the Norman invaders
who reformed the social condition of the Franks. Moham-
medanism legalised polygamy with all its evils in the East.
In the West, licentiousness was unbounded, in defiance of
the precepts of Christianity. Charles Martel, Pepin, and
Charlemagne are said all to have had two wives at a time, and
a numerous household of concubines. But on turning to the
Byzantine empire, we find that the Emperor Constantine VI.
State of the Byzantine Empire 203
prepared the way for his own ruin by divorcing Ms first wife
and marrying a second, in what was considered an illegal
manner. The laws of the Franks attest the frequency of
female drunkenness; and the whole legislation of Western
Europe, during the seventh and eighth centuries, Indicates great
Immorality, and a degree of social anarchy, which explains
more clearly than the political events recorded in history, the
real cause of the fall of one government after another. 1 The
superior moral tone of society in the Byzantine empire was
one of the great causes of its long duration ; It was its true
conservative principle.
The authority exercised by the senate, the powers possessed
by synods and general councils of the church, and the im-
portance often attached by the emperors to the ratification
of their laws by silentia and popular assemblies, mark a
change in the Byzantine empire In strong contrast with the
earlier military empire of the Romans. The highest power
in the state had been transferred from the army to the laws of
the empire no inconsiderable step in the progress of political
civilisation. The influence of those feelings of humanity
which resulted from this change, are visible in the mild treat-
ment of many unsuccessful usurpers and dethroned emperors.
During the reign of NIcephorus L, the sons of Constantine V.,
Bardanes, and Arsaber, were all living in monasteries, though
they had all attempted to occupy the throne. Constantine VI,
and Michael I. lived unmolested by their successors.
The marked feature of ancient society was the division
of mankind Into two great classes freemen and slaves. The
proportion between these classes was liable to continual varia-
tion, and every considerable variation produced a correspond-
ing alteration in the laws of society, which we are generally
unable to follow. The progress of the mass of the population
was, however, constantly retarded until the extinction of
slavery. But towards that boon to mankind, great progress
was made in the Byzantine empire during the eighth and ninth
centuries. The causes that directly tended to render free
labour more profitable than it had been hitherto, when applied
to the cultivation of the soil, and which consequently operated
more immediately in extinguishing predial slavery, and re-
pressing the most extensive branch of the slave-trade, by
supplying the cities with free emigrants, cannot be indicated
with precision. It has been very generally asserted that we
1 Cka.rUmagne t par Capefigue, L 5*, 185.
204 The Contest with the Iconoclasts
ought to attribute the change to the influence of the Christian
religion. If this be really true, cavillers might observe that
so powerful a cause never in any other case produced its^effects
so tardily. Unfortunately, however, though ecclesiastical
influence has exercised immense authority over the internal
policy of European society, religious influence has always been
comparatively small; and though Christianity has laboured
to abolish slavery, it was often for the interest of the church
to perpetuate the institution. Slavery had, in fact, ceased to
exist in most European countries, while many Christians still
upheld its legality and maintained that its existence was not
at variance with the doctrines of their religion. 1
The precise condition of slaves in the Byzantine empire at
this period must be learned from a careful study of the im-
perial legislation of Rome, compared with later documents.
As a proof of the improved philanthropy of enlightened men
during the Iconoclast period, the testament of Theodore
Studita deserves to be quoted. That bold and independent
abbot says, " A monk ought not to possess a slave, neither for
Ms own service, nor for the service of his monastery, nor for
the culture of its lands ; for a slave is a man made after the
image of God;" but he derogates in some degree from _ his
own merits, though he gives a correct picture of the feelings
of his time, by adding, "and this, like marriage, is only allow-
able in those living a secular life." 2
The foundation of numerous hospitals, and other charitable
institutions, both by emperors and private individuals, is also
a proof that feelings of philanthropy as well as religion had
penetrated deeply into men's minds.
The theologic spirit which pervaded Byzantine society is to
be attributed as much to material causes as to the intellectual
condition of the Greek nation. Indeed, the Greeks had ^at
times only a secondary share in the ecclesiastical controversies
in the Eastern church, though the circumstance of those con-
troversies having been carried on in the Greek language has
made the nations of western Europe attribute them to a
1 For the extent to which the slave-trade was carried on bjr the Latin Christians, see
Marin. Storia civile e politico, del Ctmmercio de' Veneziana^ li. 52.
2 Sanctt Theodori Stvdite Epistoles aZfatfve Script* Dogmatica, in the fifth volume
tfSirmondz Opera. Varia, p. 66. On the subject of Roman and Byzantine slavery, see
. , . .
Blair, An Inquiry into the State of Slavery amongst the Romans; Biot, De t
de? Escla&age ttncien. en Occident',
moting the Abolition of Slavery in
fAtttifuit/i in 3 volumes. This la
society under the Roman emperors.
Blar, n nqury nto te ae o avery amongs e omans o, e ovn
de? Escla&age ttncien. en Occident', Babington, The Influence of Christianity in Pro-
moting the Abolition of Slavery in Europe; and Walton, Histoirede rEsclavage dans
i in 3 volumes. This last work is a valuable addition to our knowledge of
State of the Byzantine Empire 205
philosophic, speculative, and polemic spirit inherent in the
Hellenic mind. A very slight examination of history Is
sufficient to prove, that several of the heresies which disturbed
the Eastern church had their origin in the more profound
religious Ideas of the Oriental nations, and that many of the
opinions called heretical were, In a great measure, expressions
of the mental nationality of the Syrians, Armenians, Egyp-
tians, and Persians, and had no connection whatever with the
Greek mind.
Even the contest with the Iconoclasts was a dispute In
which the ancient Oriental opinions concerning the operations
of mind and matter were as much concerned, as the Greek
contest between the necessity of artificial symbols of faith on
the one hand, and the duty of developing the intellectual
faculties by cultivating truth through the reason, not the
Imagination, on the other. The ablest writer on the Greek
side of the question, John Damascenus, was a Syrian, and not
a Greek. The political struggle to establish the centralisation
of ecclesiastical and political power was likewise quite as
Important an element in the contest as the religious question ;
and as soon as it appeared firmly established, the emperors
became much more inclined to yield to popular prejudices.
The victory of the image-worshippers tended to exalt a party
in the Eastern church devoted to ecclesiastical tradition, but
little inclined to cultivate Hellenic literature or cherish Hel-
lenic ideas, which it considered hostile to the legendary lore
contained in the lives of the saints. From the victory of this
party, accordingly, we find a more circumscribed circle of
intellectual culture began to prevail in the Byzantine empire.
John the Grammarian, Leo the Mathematician, and Photius,
who acquired his vast literary attainments as a layman, were
the last profound and enlightened Byzantine scholars; they
left no successors, nor has any Greek of the same intellectual
calibre since appeared in the world.
A greater similarity of thought and action may be traced
throughout the Christian world in the eighth century than in
subsequent ages. The same predominance of religious feeling
and ecclesiastical ceremonials ; the same passion for founding
monasteries and raising discussions; the same disposition to
make life subservient to religion, to make all amusements
ecclesiastical, and to embody the enjoyment of music, paint-
ing, and poetry in the ceremonies of the church; the same
abase of the right of asylum to criminals by the ecclesiastical
206 The Contest with the Iconoclasts
authorities, and the same antagonsim between the church and
the state, is visible in the East and the West 1
The orthodox church was originally Greek; the seven
general councils whose canons had foced its doctrines were
Greek ; and the popes, when they rose into importance, could
only adopt a scheme of theology already framed. ^ The reli-
gious or theological portion of Popery, as a section of the
Christian church, is really Greek ; and it is only the ecclesiasti-
cal, political, and theocratic peculiarities of the fabric which
can be considered as the work of the Latin church. The
general unity of Christians was, however, prominent in good
as well as evil, for if the missionary labours of Boniface among
the Germans, at the commencement of the eighth century,
reflect glory on the Latin church, the conversion of the
Bulgarians in the middle of the ninth, by the ministry of
Methodios and Kyrillos, is honourable to the Byzantine.
These two monks, natives of Thessalonica, where they lived
surrounded by a fierce tribe of Sclavonians, devoted them-
selves to study the language of these troublesome neighbours.
Under the regency of the Empress Theodora, they rendered
their knowledge of the Sclavonian dialect the means of propa-
gating Christianity and advancing the cause of civilisation, by
visiting Bulgaria in the character of missionaries^ They are
universally allowed to have conducted their mission in a
Christian spirit, and to have merited the great success that
attended their labours. 2
The great improvement which took place in the administra-
tion of justice, and the legal reforms effected by Leo III. and
Constantine V., have been already noticed. Leo V. and
Theophilus also gained the greatest praise, even from their
adversaries, for the strict control they established over the
forms of proceeding and the decisions of the courts of law.
The legal monuments of this period, however, by no means
correspond with the extent of the administrative improvement
which took place. The era of legislative greatness in the
Byzantine empire was under the Basilian dynasty, but it was
under the Iconoclast emperors that new vigour was infused
into the system, and the improvements were made winch laid
1 The influence of the monks during the Iconoclast contest became so great that the
monasteries on Olympus, Athos, and Ida formed themselves into small republics, and
almost aspired at li>ang independent of the civil power, Genesius, 39. The Emperor
Theophilos, a man by no means under the dirsct influence of the clergy, formed a new-
asylum for criminals at the silver tomb of his beloved daughter Maria. Leo Gramm. 451.
' * Mosheim, Ecclesiastical History \ ii. aSo Soaaies. Nandcr, History o/ tht
n Rfligw?* and Church^ iii. 307* Torrey.
State of the Byzantine Empire 207
the foundation of the stability, wealth, and power of the
Byzantine empire.
The scientific attainments of the educated dass in the
Byzantine empire were unquestionably very considerable.
Many were invited to the court of the Caliph Aimamun, and
contributed far more than Ms own subjects to the reputation
that sovereign has deservedly gained in the history of science.
The accurate measurement of the earth's orbit in his time
seems to show that astronomical and mathematical knowledge
had at no previous period attained a greater height ; and if the
Byzantine authorities are to be credited, one of their learned
men, Leo the Mathematician, who was afterwards archbishop
of Thessalonica, was invited to the court of the caliph, because
he was universally recognised to be superior to all the scientific
men at Bagdat in mathematical and mechanical knowledge, 1
A proof that learning was still cultivated in the distant pro-
vinces of the Byzantine empire, and that schools of some
eminence existed in Greece, is to be found in the fact that
Leo, when a layman, retired to a college in the island of Andros
to pursue his studies, and there laid the foundation of the
scientific knowledge by which he acquired his reputation.
After he was compelled, on account of his opposition to
image-worship, to resign the archbishopric of Thessalonica, the
general respect felt for his learning obtained for him from
Bardas Caesar the appointment of president of the new uni-
versity, founded at Constantinople in the reign of Michael III.,
in which chairs of geometry and astronomy had been estab-
lished, as well as the usual instruction in Greek literature. 2
It was under the direction of Leo that several of those
remarkable works of jewellery, combined with wonderful
mechanical contrivances, were executed for the Emperor Theo-
philus, which have been already mentioned. 3 The perfection
1 Almamun's astronomers calculated the length of the year at 365 days 3 hours 46
minutes and 30 seconds. The true length is 363 days 5 hours 48 minutes and 48 seconds.
Niebuhr has pointed out the exactitude attained by the Etruscans in fixing the length
of the solar year. Hist. ofRome^ i. 274, The Mexican calendar in use before the dis-
covery of America was the most perfect before the Gregorian. Humboldt, V*us des
Cordilleres et Manwmns des Peul$ Indigenes de lAwerigite, 125. For the obligations
of the Arabs to the Byzantines from the time of Mansur, see Weil, ii. Si, 84, 93. Greek
physicians and Greek cooks are mentioned in the Arabian Nights. The Caliph Mansur
was attended by Greek and Indian physicians.
2 The history of Leo is given at length by the Continuator, 115. He wassailed the
great philosopher, and it is said that AJmamun wrote to Theophilus requesting him to
send Leo to the court of Bagdat. Leo studied grammar and poetry at Constantinople ;
rhetoric, philosophy, and the pure sciences at Andros. In the year 869 he was present
in the Church of the Virgin, called Sigma C, when it fell in consequence of the shock of
an earthquake, and all the congregation, with the exception of Leo and a few otherSj
perished. Syroeon Mag. 454. 3 See page 140
208 The Contest with the Iconoclasts
of the telegraph by ire-signals, from the frontiers of the empire
to the shores of the Bosphoras, and the machinery by which
the signals were communicated to a dial placed in the imperial
council-chamber, were also the work of Leo. 1 The fame which
still attended distinguished artists and mechanicians at Con-
stantinople shows us that the love of knowledge and art was
not entirely extinct ; and the relics of Byzantine jewellery,
often found buried in the most distant regions of Europe,
prove that a considerable trade was carried on in these works.
Even the art of statuary was not entirely neglected, for it
has been noticed already that Constantino VI. erected a statue
of bronze in honour of his mother Irene. 2 Painting, however,
was more universally admired, and mosaics were easily adapted
to private dwellings. There were many distinguished painters
in the Byzantine empire at this time, and there is reason to
think that some of their productions were wonderful displays
of artistic skill, without giving credit to the miraculous powers
of the works of Lazaros. The missionary Methodios is re-
corded to have awakened the terror of the King of the Bulga-
rians by a vivid representation of the tortures of the damned,
in a painting combining the natural portraiture of frightful
realities mixed with horrors supplied from a fertile imagina-
tion. The sombre character of Byzantine art was well adapted
to the subject, and the fame Methodios acquired among his
contemporaries, as well as from those in after times who saw
his paintings, may be accepted as a proof that they possessed
some touches of nature and truth. It would be unfair to
decide peremptorily on the effect of larger works of art from
the illuminated Byzantine manuscripts which still exist. Art
is subject to strange vicissitudes in very short periods, as may
be seen by any one who compares a guinea of the reign of
George III. with a coin of Cromwell or even Queen Anne, or
who looks at Whitehall and the National Gallery. 3
The literature of the ancient world was never entirely
neglected at Constantinople, so that the intellectual culture of
each successive period must always be viewed in connection
with the ages immediately preceding. The literary history of
Constantinople consequently opens immediately a field of
1 Contlnuator, is2. Symeon Mag. 450. Const. Manasses, 107.
2 Codinus, De Orig. ConsfyL 6s.
3 The MSS. of the works of St. Gregory of Nazianzus, in the National Library at
Paris, and of the Menologitim of Basil in the Library of the Vatican, with their rich
decorations and miniatures, belong to the ninth century. The copy of the Menologium
*as prepared for the Emperor Basil I,
State of the Byzantine Empire 209
Inquiry too wide to be entered on In the limited space assigned
to this political history. The works of the classic writers of
Hellas, of the legists of Rome, and of the fathers of Christian
theology, all exercised a direct influence on Byzantine literature
at every period of Its existence, until Constantinople was con-
quered by the Turks. It has been too much the practice of
the literary historians of Europe to underrate the positive
knowledge of ancient literature possessed by the learned in
the East during the eighth and ninth centuries. What has
been often called the dawn of civilisation, even in the West,
was nothing more than an acquaintance with the bad models
transmitted from the last ages of ancient literature. It is as
great an error as to suppose that the English of the present
day are Ignorant of sculpture, because they are occupied in
adorning the new Houses of Parliament with deformed statues ;
and of architecture, because they have built a gallery for their
pictures ill suited to the desired object 1
The most eminent Byzantine writers of this period were
George Syncellus, Theophanes, the Patriarch NIcephorus, and
perhaps John Malalas, in history; John Damascenus (who
perhaps may be considered as a Syrian) and Theodore Studita*
in theology ; and Photius, In general literature.
During the middle ages the Greek scientific writers became
generally known in western Europe by means of translations
from Arabic versions, and this circumstance has induced many
to draw the conclusion that these works were better known
and more popular among the Arabs at Cordova, Cairo, and
Bagdat, than among the Greeks at Constantinople. The
Almagest of Ptolemy affords an example of this double
translation and erroneous inference.
1 M. Guizot, from not paying sufficient attention to this fact, has mistaken the
sophistry of the second century for the rays of a supposed dawn of civilisation in the:
eighth. In his excellent Histoire de la. Civilisation, en. France > ii. 183, he gives speci-
mens of a disjbutatio between Alcuin and Pepin, the son of Charlemagne, which he:
considers as an example of the eager curiosity with which the human mind, while
young and ignorant, views every unexpected combination of ideas. Unfortunately the
work he thus characterises is a verbal translation from Secundus, an Athenian sophist of
the time of Hadrian, or a transcript of part of an ttltercaiio attributed to Hadrian and
Epictetus. See O#uscula Groecorw*t Veterunt Sententiosa. et MoraUa. Oreilius, i. 2i3,
HISTORY OF THE
BYZANTINE EMPIRE
BOOK TWO
BASILIAN DYNASTY
PERIOD OF THE POWER AND GLORY
OF THE BYZANTINE EMPIRE
A.D. 867-1057
CHAPTER I
CONSOLIDATION OF BYZANTL\ 7 E LEGISLATION AND
DESPOTISM. A.D. 867-963
SECTION I
REIGN OF BASIL I. (THE MACEDONIAN,) A,D. 867-886
Personal history of Basil Ecclesiastical administration Financial legis-
lation Military administration Paallcian war Campaigns in Asia
Minor Saracens ravage Sicily and Italy Court and character of
Basil L
THE history of Basil I. has been transmitted to us by writers
who compiled their works under the eye of his grandson, the
Emperor Constantine VIL, and by that grandson with his
own pen. Under such auspices, history is more likely to
conceal than to divulge the whole truth, and nothing but the
truth. One instance of falsification may be mentioned. The
imperial compilations would fain persuade us that the Scla-
vonian groom was a man of noble descent, 1 and that he
could trace that descent either through a line of paternal or
maternal ancestors to Constantine, to the Arsacidae, and to
Alexander the Great, yet they allow that his father laboured
as a poor peasant in the neighbourhood of Adrianople, until
Basil himself, despising the cultivation of the paternal farm,
sought to improve his fortune by wandering to the capital.
We are told by other authorities that Basil was a Sclavonian,
and we know that the whole of Thrace and Macedonia was
at this period cultivated by Sclavonian colonists. His father's
family had been carried away captive into Bulgaria when
Basil was almost an infant, at the time Crumn took Adria-
nople, A.D. 813. During the reign of Theophilus, some of
the Byzantine captives succeeded in taking up arms and
marching off into the empire. Basil, who was among the
1 The Armenian historians claim Basil as a countryman, but it seems they on]y
echo the genealogy invented at Constantinople to flatter the emperor. Chamicb,
History of Armemc^ ii. 8. Lebeau, xiii. 180, 4, and 479. Gibbon, ix. 48. Hamsa of
Ispahan says he was of Sclavonian race. Reiske, Comwentarii ad Constant^ Perphyr.
de Ceremoniis Autos Byz. torn* ii. p. 451, edit. Bonn. There is a confirmation of this
in the expression Kara, 7r6$pe&J>, Genesius, 53, according to Kopitar,
Ixxi- See Constant. Porphyr. BasUius^ 138 ; and Ephraemius, xxi.
213
214 Basilian Dynasty
number, after serving the governor of Macedonia for a time,
resolved to seek Ms fortune in Constantinople. 1 He departed,
carrying all Ms worldly wealth in a wallet on Ms shoulders,
and reached the capital on a summer's evening without know-
ing where to seek a night's rest. Fatigued with Ms journey,
lie sat down in the portico of the church of St. Diomed, near
the Adrianople gate, and slept there all night In a short
time he found employment as a groom in the service of a
courtier named Theophiiitzes, where Ms talent of taming un-
ruly horses, Ms large head, tall figure, and great strength,
rendered Mm remarkable ; while his activity, zeal, and intelli-
gence secured Mm particular notice from Ms master, and
rapid promotion in Ms household. 2
Theophilitzes was sent into the Peloponnesus on public
business by the Empress Theodora, while she was regent;
and Basil, who accompanied Ms master, fell sick at Patras
with the fever, still so prevalent in the Morea. Here he was
fortunate enough to acquire the protection of an old lady of
immense wealth, whose extraordinary liberality to the un-
known youth induces us to suppose that she was herself of
Sclavonian race. 3 She made Basil a member of her family,
by uniting him with her own son John, in those spiritual ties
of fraternity wMch the Greek church sanctions by peculiar
rites ; and she bestowed on him considerable wealth when he
was able to return to his master. It would appear that Basil
had already acquired a position of some rank, for the widow
Danielis furnished him with a train of thirty slaves. The
riches Basil acquired by the generosity of his benefactress
were employed in purchasing an estate in Macedonia, and in
making liberal donations to his own relations. He still con-
tinued in the service of TheopMlitzes, but his skill in wrestling
and taming horses at last introduced Mm to the Emperor
Michael, who immediately became Ms patron. His progress
as boon-companion, friend, colleague, and murderer of this
benefactor, has been already recounted.
The elevation of a man like Basil to the throne of Con-
stantinople was a strange accident; but the fact that he
reigned for nineteen years seems still more singular, when we
recollect that he could neither boast of military service nor
administrative knowledge. Nothing can prove more com-
1 Symeon Mag. 434. 2 Constant. Porphyr. &a$iliu$ t 144.
* Nilcetas, a Sclavonian of Peloponnesus, celebrated for his pride, was connected by
mama^e with Constantino Porphyrogenitus, the grandson of Basil. See infra.
Legislation and Despotism 215
pletdy the perfection of the governmental machine at the
time of his accession, than the circumstance that a man with-
out education could so easily be moulded into a tolerable
emperor. Personally, he could have possessed no partisans
either in the army or the administration ; nor is it likely that
he had many among the people. We are tempted to con-
jecture that he was allowed to establish himself on the throne s
because less was known about him than about most of the
other men of influence at court, and consequently less evil
was laid to his charge, and less personal opposition was created
by his election. He succeeded in maintaining his position
by displaying unexpected talents for administration. Able
and unprincipled, he seems to have pursued a line of conduct
which prevented the factions of the court, the parties in the
church, the feelings of the army, and the prejudices of the
people, from ever uniting in opposition to his personal
authority. His knowledge of the sentiments of the people
rendered him aware that financial oppression was the most
dangerous grievance both to the emperor and the empire ; he
therefore carefully avoided increasing the public burdens, and
devoted his attention to the establishment of order in every
branch of the public service.
The depravity and impiety of Michael III. had disgusted
the people. Basil, in order to proclaim that his conduct was
to be guided by different sentiments, seized the opportunity
of his coronation in the Church of St. Sophia to make a
public display of his piety. After the ceremony was con-
cluded, he knelt down at the high altar and cried with a loud
voice, " Lord, thou hast given me the crown ; I deposit it at
thy feet, and dedicate myself to thy service." The crimes and
intrigues of courts are often kept so long secret in despotic
governments, that it is possible few of those present who
heard this declaration were aware that a few hours only had
elapsed since the hypocritical devotee had buried his sword
in the bosom of his sovereign and benefactor.
For two years Basil made no changes in the government
of the church. Photius, the actual Patriarch, was unpopular
from his connection with the family of the late emperor, and
the toleration he had shown for the vices of the court, while
Ignatius, his deposed predecessor, possessed a powerful body
of partisans among the people and the monks. Basil attached
this numerous and active party to his interest by reinstating
Ignatius in the patriarchate; but at the same time he con-
216 Basllian Dynasty
trived to avoid exciting any violent opposition on the part of
Photiiis, by keeping up constant personal communications
with that accomplished and able ecclesiastic. Photius was
at the head of a party possessed of no inconsiderable weight
in the church and the public administration. The aristo-
cratic classes, and the Asiatics generally, favoured his cause ;
while the people of Constantinople and the Greeks of Europe
were warm supporters of Ignatius.
The arbitrary authority of the emperor over the church is
as strongly displayed in the treatment of Photius by Basil, as
in the persecution of Ignatius by Bardas and Michael.
Photius had occupied the patriarchal chair for ten years, and
though his election may have been irregular, his ecclesiastical
authority was completely established ; and there appeared no
chance that anything would occur to disturb it, when Basil,
to gain a body of active political partisans, suddenly rein-
stated Ignatius. It is said that Photius reproached the em-
peror with the murder of his benefactor ; but as that Patriarch
was allowed to remain in office for about two years, his de-
position must be ascribed entirely to political motives. The
fact is, that Basil was anxious to secure the support of the
monks in the East, and of the Pope of Rome in the West,
yet he feared to quarrel with the party of Photius. 1
The negotiations with the Pope had occupied some time,
but when they were brought to a conclusion, a general council
was held at Constantinople, which is called by the Latins the
eighth general council of the church. Only one hundred and
two bishops could be assembled on this occasion, for the
greater part of the dignified clergy had been consecrated by
Photius, and many adhered to his party. 2 Photius himself
was compelled to attend, but his calm and dignified attitude
deprived his enemies of the triumph they had expected.
The acts of the council of 86 1, by which Ignatius had been
deposed, were declared to be forgeries, and the consecration
of Photius as a priest was annulled. The accusation of
forgery was generally regarded as false, since it rested only on
some slight changes which had been made in the translation
of the Pope's letter to the emperor, and these changes had
been sanctioned by the papal legates who were present in the
1 Photius baptised Stephen, the son of Basil, on Christmas-day, 868. Symeon
Mag, 454. Georg Mon. 544. Leo Grarnm. 471.
2 This council commenced on the sth October, 860, and terminated on the lath
February, 8jre. The entire acts are only preserved in the Latin translation of
Anastasius Bibhothecanus. A Greek abridgment exists.
Legislation and Despotism 217
council. The Latins, who expect the Greeks to tolerate them
in lengthening the Creed, have made a violent outcry against
the Greeks, on this occasion, for modifying a papal letter in
a Greek translation. The compliancy of Basii f the reintegra-
tion of Ignatius, and the subservient disposition of the council
of ^ 869, induced the Pope to suppose that the time had
arrived when it would be possible to regain possession of the
estates belonging to the patrimony of St Peter in the pro-
vinces of the Eastern Empire, which had been confiscated by
Leo. III., and that the supremacy of the See of Rome over
the kingdom of Bulgaria might now be firmly established.
He even hoped to gain the power of controlling the ecclesi-
astical affairs of the Eastern church. Such pretensions,
however, only required to be plainly revealed to insure
unanimous opposition on the part of the emperor, the clergy,
and the^ people throughout the Byzantine empire. Ignatius
and Basil showed themselves as firm in resisting papal usurpa-
tion as Photius and Michael.
In the mean time, Photius was banished to the monastery
of Skepes; and we possess several of his letters, written
during^ the period of his disgrace, which give a more favour-
able^ view of his character than would be formed from his
public life alone. They afford convincing proof of the falsity
of some of the charges brought against him by his opponents.
The real fault of Photius was, that the statesman, and not the
Christian, was dominant in his conduct as Patriarch ; but this
has been a fault so general at Home, at Constantinople, and
at Canterbury, that he would have incurred little censure in
the^West had he not shown himself a devoted partisan of his
national church, and a successful enemy of papal ambition.
The majority of the Eastern bishops, in spite of his exile,
remained attached to his cause, and it was soon evident to
Basil that his restoration was the only means of restoring
unity to the Greek church. Accordingly, when Ignatius died
in the year 878, Photius was reinstated as Patriarch, and
another general council was assembled at Constantinople.
This council, which is called the eighth general council of
the church by the Eastern Christians, was attended by three
hundred and eighty-three bishops. The Emperor Basil, the
Pope, and Photius, all resolved to temporise, and each played
his own game of diplomacy and tergiversation, in the hope of
ultimately succeeding. The Pope proved the greatest loser,
for his legates were bribed or at least the Latins say so to
218 Baslllan Dynasty
yield up everything that Basil and Photius desired. They arc
even accused of having allowed a covert attack on the ortho-
doxy of Rome, in lengthening the Creed, by the addition of
the words "and the Son/" to pass unchallenged. 1 The passion
displayed by the clergy of the Greek and Latin churches,
during the quarrels between Ignatius and Photius, makes it
difficult to ascertain the truth. It appears, however, that Pope
John VIII. would have restored the Nicene Creed to its
original form, by expunging the clause which had been added,
if he could have secured the concessions he required from the
Eastern church and the Byzantine emperor to his political
pretensions. Certainly this is to be implied from the letter
addressed to Photius ; but papal writers have since defended
the consistency and infallibility of the popes, by asserting that
the copy of the letter annexed to the acts of the council is
a forgery. If either of the churches committed a tithe of the
iniquities with which they charge one another, we must allow
that Christianity exercised very little influence on the priestly
character during the ninth century.
When the Emperor Leo VI. succeeded his father Basil,
Photius was again banished, in order to make way for the
emperor's brother Stephen to occupy the patriarchal throne.
Photius was exiled to a monastery in Armenia, A.D. 886, and
he died in this retirement in the year 891, leaving behind him
the reputation of having been the most accomplished and
learned man of his time, and one of the last enlightened
scholars in the East. Even Leo treated him with respect;
and in his letter to the Pope announcing his exile, he spoke
of it as a voluntary resignation, which may, perhaps, be
accounted a proof that it was the result of a political negotia-
tion. As this distinguished man was one of the most dangerous
opponents of papal ambition prior to the time of Luther, his
conduct has been made the object of innumerable misrepre-
sentations; and the writers of the Romish church even now
can rarely discuss his conduct in moderate language, and with
equitable feelings. 2
The most interesting point of dispute to the heads of the
Eastern and Western churches in their quarrels, for some
time, was the supremacy over the church of the Bulgarians.
This was a momentous political question to the Byzantine
1 This council commenced in November, 879, and terminated 13th March, 880.
Its acts are to be found in the collections of Hardouin and Coletti.
_ 2 The work ^of Abbe Jager may be cited as a proof Histoire de Phoiius. It is
violent m its opinions, and inaccurate in its facts.
Legislation and Despotism 219
emperors, independent of its ecclesiastical importance to the
patriarchs of Constantinople, for papal influence was sure to
be employed in a manner hostile to the Eastern Empire.
Besides this, as the claim of Rome to supremacy over
Bulgaria rested on the ancient subjection of the Danubian
provinces to the archbishopric of Thessalonica, in the times
when that archbishopric was immediately dependent on the
papal See, the establishment of papal authority in Bulgaria
would have afforded good ground for commencing a struggle
for withdrawing Thessalonica itself from the jurisdiction of
the Patriarch of Constantinople, and placing it under the
control of the Pope of Rome. The conduct of the emperors
of Constantinople in these ecclesiastical negotiations was
therefore the result of sound policy, and it was marked with
moderation and crowned with success.
The financial administration of Basil was, on the whole,
honourable to his government. At his accession, he gave out
that he found only 300 Ib. of gold, and a small quantity of
silver coin in the imperial treasury. 1 This served as a pretext
for a partial resumption of some of the lavish grants of
Michael to worthless favourites, and in this way Basil collected
30,000 Ib. of gold without increasing the public burdens.
With this supply in hand for immediate wants, lie was enabled
to take measures for effecting the economy necessary to make
the ordinary revenues meet the demands of the public service.
His personal experience of the real sufferings of the lower
orders, and the prudence imposed by his doubtful position,
prevented him, during the whole course of his reign, from
augmenting the taxes ; and the adoption of this policy insured
to his government the power and popularity which constituted
him the founder of the longest dynasty that ever occupied the
throne of Constantinople. Though his successors were, on
the whole, far inferior to his predecessors of the Iconoclast
period in ability, still their moderation, in conforming to the
financial system traced out by Basil, gave the Byzantine
empire a degree of power it had not previously possessed.
The government of the Eastern Empire was always syste-
matic and cautious. Reforms were slowly effected ; but when
the necessity was admitted, great changes were gradually com-
pleted. Generations, however, passed away without men
1 Symeon Mag., 436, says thirteen centenaries of gold and nine sacks of miliaresiaj
so that the ten may have been omitted by a copyist IB the Life of Basil by Constantino
Porpbyrogenittis, 159.
22O Basillan Dynasty
noticing how far they had quitted the customs of their fathers,
and entered on new paths leading to very different habits,
thoughts, and Institutions. The reign of no one emperor. If we
except that of Leo the Isaurian, embraces a revolution in the
institutions of the state, completed In a single generation ;
hence it is that Byzantine history loses the Interest to be
derived from individual biography. It steps over centuries,
marking rather the movement of generations of mankind than
the acts of individual emperors and statesmen, and it becomes
a didactic essay on political progress instead of a living
picture of man's actions. In the days of the liberty of Athens,
the life of each leader embraces the history of many revolu-
tions, and the mind of a single individual seems often to
guide or modify their course ; but in the years of Constantl-
nopolltan servitude, emperors and people are borne slowly
onward by a current of which we are not always certain that
we can trace the origin or follow the direction. These obser-
vations receive their best development by a review of the
legislative acts of the Basilian dynasty. It was reserved to
Basil I. and his son Leo VI. to complete the reorganisation of
the empire commenced by Leo III. ; for the promulgation of
a revised code of the laws of the empire. In the Greek lan-
guage, was the accomplishment of an idea impressed on the
Byzantine administration by the great Iconoclast reformer, and
of which his own Ecloga or manual was the first imperfect
expression.
The legal reforms of the early Iconoclast emperors were
sufficient to supply the exigencies of the moment, in the state
of anarchy, ignorance, and disorder to which the provinces of
the empire were then reduced by the ravages of the Scla-
vonians, Bulgarians, and Saracens. But when the vigorous
administration of the Isaurian dynasty had driven back these
invaders, and re-established order and security of property,
the rapid progress of society called for additional improve-
ments, and for a systematic reform in the legislation of the
empire. Enlarged views concerning the changes which it was
necessary to make in the compilations of Justinian were
gradually adopted. Nicephorus L and Leo V. (the Armenian)
seem to have confined their attention to practical reforms in
the dispensation of justice, by improving the forms of proce-
dure in the existing tribunals ; " but when Bardas was charged
with the judicial department, during the reign of Michael III.,
the necessity of a thorough revision of the laws of the empire
Legislation and Despotism 221
began to be deeply felt. Bardas was probably ambitious of
the glory of effecting this reform as the surest step to the
imperial throne. The legal school at Constantinople, which
he ^encouraged, certainly prepared the materials for the great
legislative work that forms the marked feature In consolidating
the power of the Baslllan dynasty. 1
The legislative views of BasH I. were modelled in conformity
to the policy impressed on the Byzantine empire by Leo III.
They were directed to vest all legislative power in the hands of
the emperor, and to constitute the person of the sovereign
the centre of law as much as of financial authority and
military power. 2 The senate had continued to act as a legis-
lative council from time to time during the Iconoclast period,
and the -emperors had often invited it to discuss Important
laws, in order to give extraordinary solemnity to their sanc-
tion. Such a practice suggested the question whether the
senate and the people did not still possess a right to share in
the legislation of the empire, which opportunity might consti-
tute into a permanent control over the Imperial authority in
this branch of government. The absolute centralisation of
the legislative authority in the person of the emperor was the
only point which prevented the government of the Byzantine
empire from being theoretically an absolute despotism, when
BasH I. ascended the throne, and he completed that centrali-
sation. Though the senate consisted of persons selected by
the sovereign, and though it acted generally as a subservient
agent of the executive power, still, as some of the most
powerful men in the empire were usually found among its
members. Its position as a legislative council Invested it with a
degree of political influence that might have checked the
absolute power of the emperor. Basil deprived it of all parti-
cipation in legislative functions, and restricted its duties solely
to those of an administrative council 8 At the same time,
the privileges formerly possessed by the provincial proprietors,
the remains of the Roman curise, or of the more recently
formed municipalities that had grown up to replace them, were
swept away as offensive to despotic power. Cherson had been
robbed of Its free institutions as early as the reign of Theo-
1 Contimiator, Serif, post Theoph. 119. Zonaras, ii. i6x. Kcti roOj
roi/s TroKtTtKoiJs afqpijffai. irerotifice, <J>OLTV adrds e& rck &/ccurr?Jpta ^f&j teal
TTJS TQ&TWV yvdxreus cr^e56v ^/cXeXoturv/as; Trarrdircun.?. 'H fifr o$v ras
^Trumj/ias mi yxa^^/xara raO B<p$a tTTrovS
2 Constant. Porphyr. jBas&tus, 161-163.
* Leonu Novella ', Ixxviii. Corpus Juris CitnSs.
222 Basllian Dynasty
pfalliis, 1 But the total abolition of municipal institutions by
Imperial edict was certainly rather theoretical than practical.
The long series of progressive alterations in society, which
had destroyed the efficacy of the older municipalities, had
replaced them by new societies and corporations having con-
and local objects, too far beneath the sphere of action of
the central administration to excite any jealousy on the part
of those deputed to exercise the imperial power. The bishops
now lost their position of defenders of the people, for as
they were chosen by the sovereign, the dignitaries of the
Byzantine church were remarkable for their servility to the
civil power.
The promulgation of the Basilika may^ be ^ considered as
marking the complete union of all legislative, executive,
judicial, financial, and administrative power in the person of
the emperor. . The church had already been reduced to com-
plete submission to the imperial authority. Basil, therefore,
may claim to be the emperor who established _ arbitrary
despotism as the constitution of the Roman empire. The
divine right of the sovereign to rule as God might be
pleased to enlighten his understanding and soften his heart,
was henceforth the recognised organic law of the Byzantine
empire.
The compilation of the laws of Justinian is one of the
strangest examples of the manner in which sovereigns vitiate
the most extensive and liberal reforms, by their conservative
prejudices in practical details. Justinian reconstructed the
legislation of the Roman empire, in order to adapt it to the
wants of the people who spoke Greek ; yet he restricted the
benefit of his new code, by promulgating it in Latin, though
that language had ceased to be in use among three quarters of
his civilised subjects. The conservative principles of the im-
perial government, and the pride of the higher classes of Con-
stantinople in then* Roman origin, induced the emperor to
cling to the use of the Latin language as marking their con-
nection with past ages, and drawing a line of separation be-
tween the government and the mass of the people. Justinian
himself pronounced the condemnation of his own conduct by
publishing his latest laws in Greek, and thus leaving his legis-
lation dispersed in sources promulgated in two different
languages.
A Greek school of legists, founded long before the time of
l Ltonis Novella, xlvi. xlvii. Continuator, 76.
Legislation and Despotism 223
Justinian, but which flourished during his reign, did much
to remedy this defect, by translating the Latin body of the
law. Greek translations of the Institutions, the Pandects, the
Code, and the Edicts, as well as Greek commentaries on these
works, soon replaced the original Latin texts, and became the
authorities that guided the courts of law throughout the
Eastern Empire. The decline of knowledge, and the anarchy
that prevailed during the century in which the empire was
ruled by the Heraclian dynasty, caused the translations of the
larger works to be neglected, and the writings of commenta-
tors, who had published popular abridgments, to be generally
consulted. The evil of this state of things was felt so strongly
when Leo III. had restored some degree of order throughout
the empire, that, as we have already mentioned, he promul-
gated an official handbook of the kw, called the Edoga.
From that time the subject of legislative reform occupied the
attention of the imperial government, as well as of those pro-
fessionally engaged in the administration of justice; and It
appears certain that Bardas had made considerable progress
towards the execution of those legislative reforms which were
promulgated by Basil L, and completed by Leo VI. Indeed,
it appears probable that the project was conceived as early as
the time of Theophilus, whose personal knowledge of the law
was greater than was possessed by his successors, who have
gained a high place in history as law reformers.
The precise share which the predecessors of Basil are
entitled to claim in the legislative labours of the Basilian
dynasty cannot be determined with exactitude, but that it is
not inconsiderable, is evident from the internal evidence
afforded by the works themselves. Certainly divine right to
rule the state as emperor could never have rendered the
Sclavonian groom, who had qualified for the throne as the
boon-companion of Michael the Drunkard, a fit person to
direct the progress of legislation. All that could be expected
from him was, that he should learn to appreciate the import-
ance of the subject, and adopt the labours of the jurisconsults
who had assisted Bardas. It seems, therefore, probable that
he envied the popularity the Caesar had gained by his atten-
tion to legal business, and understood fully that there was no-
surer mode of acquiring the goodwill of all classes than by
becoming himself a law reformer. Basil, however, though
eager to obtain the glory of publishing a new code, remained
utterly ignorant of legislation, and personally incapable of
224 Basilian Dynasty
guiding the work. A consequence of Ms eagerness to obtain
the desired end, and of his ignorance of what was necessary to
the proper performance of the task, is apparent in the first
legal work published by his authority, called the Procheiron,
or manual of law. The primary object of this publication was
to supplant the Ecloga of Leo III., in order to efface the
memory of the reforms of the Iconoclasts, 1 The Procheiron
appears to have been promulgated as early as the year 870,
and it bears marks of having been hurried into premature
publicity. 2 The first half of the work is executed in a com-
pletely different manner from the latter part. In the earlier
titles, the texts borrowed from the Institutions, Pandects,
Code, .and Novels of Justinian, are arranged in regular order,
and are followed by the modern laws ; but this well-arranged
plan is abandoned in the latter titles, apparently in con-
sequence of a sudden determination having been adopted to
hurry forward the publication. The much-abused Ecloga of
Leo III. was then adopted as the most available guide-book,
and, in conjunction with the Institutes and Novels, became
the principal source consulted. The Pandects and the Code
were neglected, because they required too much time and
study for their arrangement
This fact suggests the conclusion that a commission of
jurisconsults had been named as revisers of the law, who had
been sitting from the time of Bardas ; and these lawyers had
systematically proceeded to compile a manual of the law in
forty titles, and a new civil code or revision of the old law in
sixty books, in which they had made considerable progress,
when Basil suddenly hurried forward the premature publica-
tion of the manual in the form it now bears. It is impossible
that the same spirit can have directed the latter portion of
the work which dictated the compilation of the earlier. The
science of Bardas is visible in the one, the ignorance of Basil
in the other. For many years Basil remained satisfied with
his performance as a legislator, for he was unable to appreciate
the legal wants of the empire; but the subject was again
forced on his attention by the confusion that prevailed in the
sources of the law, to which the tribunals were still compelled
to refer.
At length, in the year 884, a new code, embracing the
We must recollect that Basil was the colleague of Michael III., when the tomb of
Legislation and Despotism 225
whole legislation of the empire in one work, was published
under the title of the Revision of the Old Law. The respect
paid to the laws of Rome was so deeply implanted in the
minds of the people, that new laws, however superior they
might have been, could not have insured the same solid basis
for their support, which was claimed by a legislation aspiring
to be regarded merely as the legitimate representative of the
Roman jurisprudence, clothed in a Greek dress. The code of
Basil was nothing but a compilation formed from the Greek
translations of Justinian's laws, and the commentaries on
them which had received the sanction, of the Byzantine tri-
bunals and legal schools. But this revision of the old law
was hurried forward to publicity on account of some special
reason, suggested either by imperial vanity or accidental
policy. In the Procheiron, Basil had announced that the
revised code about to be promulgated consisted of sixty books,
yet, when he published it, the work was divided into forty.
This premature edition was, however, again revised by
Leo VI.; and it is the new and more complete code pub-
lished by that emperor in sixty books, as originally announced,
which we now possess under the title of Basilika, or imperial
laws ; but no perfect manuscript has been preserved. 1
The object proposed in the Basilian legislation was too
simple not to have been long in agitation before the precise
plan on which it was ultimately executed was adopted. Th&
Basilika is merely a reunion, in one work, of all the sources of
Roman law in vigour at the time, without any attempt to con-
dense them into clearer and more precise rules. Every
preceding law or maxim of jurisprudence actually in force, is
arranged under its own head in a series of books and titles,
distributed so as to facilitate their use in the courts of law and
chambers of counsel. 2 Some modern commentaries have been
added to the work as we possess it, which appear not to have
formed part of the original text.
After the promulgation of the first edition of the Basilika,
Basil published a second legal manual, to serve as an intro-
duction to its study. It is called the Epanagoge, but it
appears never to have attained the popularity of the Ecloga
and the Procheiron.
The Basilika remained the law of the Byzantine empire
1 A new edition of the Basilika, in the imperfect state in which it has reached us, has
been lately published hy Heimbach, in five quarto volumes.
Leo's edict at the commencement of Heimbach's edition of the Basilika.
226 Basilian Dynasty
until its conquest by the Franks, and It continued In use as
the national law of the Greeks at Nicsea, Constantinople, and
Trebizondj and in the Morea, until they were conquered by
the Ottomans. The want of a system of law growing up oat
of the social exigencies of the people, and interwoven In Its
creation with the national institutions, is a serious defect In
Greek civilisation. Since the time of the Achalan league, the
Greeks have not possessed a national government, and they
have never possessed a national system of laws ; hence their
communal Institutions and municipal rights have received only
such protection as the church could afford them ; and even the
church was generally the subservient Instrument of the Roman,
Byzantine, and Turkish governments. The evil still exists
the spirit of Bavarian law and French centralisation have
prevented an admirable basis for municipal liberties, which
existed in the communal institutions, from receiving legislative
development In the spirit of the nation. The pedantry of
PhanariotSj who cling to Byzantine prejudices, induced the
rulers of liberated Greece to declare the Basillka, of which no
perfect copy exists, to be the law of the new Greek kingdom. 1
Basil found the army In a much better state than the
financial administration; for, even amidst the disorders of
Michael's reign, measures had been taken to maintain the dis-
cipline of the troops. Basil had, consequently, only to maintain
the army on the footing on which he found It, without augment-
ing the power of the generals he intrusted with the command of
large armies. Being personally without either military experi-
ence or scientific knowledge, Basil can only be considered
responsible for the general direction of the military affairs of
his reign ; and in this he does not appear to have displayed
much talent. He allowed the Saracens to take Syracuse, while
he kept the marines of the Imperial navy employed In digging
the foundations of a new church, and the ships in transporting
marbles and building materials for its construction. 2 Basil,
indeed, like all his predecessors, appeared more than once at
the head of his armies in the East ; for this was a duty which
no emperor of Constantinople since Leo III. had ventured
to neglect. It is probable, however, that his presence was
calculated rather to restrain than to excite the activity of his
generals, who were sure to be rendered responsible for any
1 On the subject of Byzantine legislation and law, se the able sketch of Zacharia,
fltsiorue Juris Grcrco-Rometni Delineatio. and the valuable and learned work of
Mortreuil, Histvire 4v Drrit Byzantin^ 3 vols. Lo Gramm. 473.
Legislation and Despotism 227
want of success, and to be deprived of every merit in case of
victory; while any brilliant personal exploit, which eclipsed
the glory of the emperor, might have the effect of making
them objects of jealousy.
The principal military operation of Basil's reign was the
war he carried on with the Patilicians, This sect first made
its appearance in Armenia about the middle of the seventh
century, in the reign of Constans IL, and it was persecuted by
that emperor. Constantine IV., (Pogonatus,) Justinian IL,
and Leo III., all endeavoured to extirpate the heresy as one
which threatened the unity of the church; for unity in
religious opinions was then regarded as the basis of the
prosperity of the empire, and a portion of its political con-
stitution. 1 Constantine V., after taking Melitene, transported
numbers of Asiatic colonists into Thrace, many of whom were
converts to the Paulician doctrines. 2 Under this emperor and
his immediate successors they enjoyed toleration, and made
many converts in Pontus, Cappadocia, Phrygia, and Pisidia. 2
Nicephoras allowed them all the rights of citizens, and they
continued to be loyal subjects, until Michael I. commenced
persecuting them in the most barbarous manner. This circum-
stance, though it affords the orthodox historian Theophanes
great delight, ultimately prepared the way for the depopulation
of Asia Minor. 4 These cruelties continued under Leo V.,
until some of the Paulicians, rising in rebellion, slew the
bishop of Neoca^sarea, and the imperial commissioners
engaged in torturing them, and withdrew into the province of
Melitene, under the protection of the caliph. From this
period they are often found forming the vanguard of the
Saracen invasions into the south-eastern provinces of the
Byzantine empire. Under Michael II. and Theophilus some
degree of religious toleration was restored, and the Paulicians
within the bounds of the empire were allowed to hold their
religious opinions in tranquillity. But their persecution re-
commenced during the regency of Theodora ; and the cruelty
with which they were treated drove such numbers into rebellion,
that they were enabled to found an independent republic, as
has been already mentioned. 5 If we believe the friends of
the Paulicians, they were strict Christians, who reverenced the
1 The Montanxsts, in the edict of Leo III., (Theophanes, 336,) are supposed by
Baronlus to be Manicheans, which was then often an epithet for Paulicians Notes in
Tkeophanem^ p. 72, edit. Ven. See page 33 of this volume.
2 Theophanes, 354 and 360. See pages 48 and 57 of this volume.
S Theophanes, 413. 4 Ibid. 419- 8 See P a S e ^ <>* this volume.
228 Basllian Dynasty
teaching of St Paul, and proposed Mm as their sole guide and
legislator ; but If we credit their enemies, they were Mani-
cheans, who merged Christianity in their heretical opinions.
The little republic founded by the Paulicians at Tephrike,
against which the armies of the Emperor Michael III. had
contended without any decided success, though it owed its
foundation to religious opinion, soon became a place of refuge
for all fugitives from the Byzantine empire ; and its existence
as a state, on the frontier of a bigoted and oppressive govern-
ment, became a serious danger to the rulers of Constantinople.
Chrysochir, the son of Karbeas, succeeded his father in the
command of the armed bands of Tephrike, and supported his
army by plundering the Byzantine provinces, as the Danes or
Normans about the same time maintained themselves by their
expeditions in France and England. The number of prisoners
taken by the Paulicians was so great that Basil found himself
compelled to send an embassy to Tephrike, for the purpose of
ransoming his subjects. Petras Siculus, the ambassador,
remained at Tephrike about nine months, but was unable to
elect any peaceable arrangement with Chrysochir. He has,
however, left us a valuable account of the Paulician com-
munity. 1 During his residence at Tephrike, he discovered
that the Paulicians had sent ambassadors into Bulgaria, to
induce the king of that newly converted country to form an
alliance with them, and missionaries to persuade the people to
receive their doctrines, which were prevalent in some districts
of Thrace. The ravages committed by the Paulician troops,
the bad success of the embassy of Peter Siculus, and the
danger of an increase of the power of Chryoschir by new
alliances, determined Basil at length to make a powerful effort
for the destruction of this alarming enemy. It was evident
nothing short of extermination could put an end to their
plundering expeditions.
In 871, Basil made his first attack on the Paulicians; but,
after destroying some of their villages, he suffered a severe
check, and lost a considerable portion of his army, he himself
only escaping in consequence of the valour of Theophylactus,
the father of the future emperor, Romanus I., who by this
exploit brought himself forward in the army. 2 Fortunately
* Petri Siculi Historia Manich&cmim seu Paulicianorum^ Gr. and Lat. Gieseler
Getting. 1846.
2 For the first campaign against the Paullcians, see Symeon Mag. 455 ; Georg. Mon.
544 ; and Leo Gramm. 471 ; and for the second, compare Constant. Porphyr., Basiltus*
166, and Cedrenus, 570.
Legislation and Despotism 229
for Basil, the repeated seditions of the Turkish mercenaries
at Badgat had weakened the power of the caliphate; a suc-
cession of revolutions had caused the deposition and murder
of several caliphs within the space of a few years, and some
of the distant provinces of the immense empire of the Abas-
sides had already established independent governments. 1 The
Paulicians, therefore, at this period could obtain no very
important aid from the Saracens, who, as we are informed by
Basil's son, the Emperor Leo VI., in his work on military
tactics, were regarded as the best soldiers in the world, and
far superior both to the Bulgarians and Franks, Basil had
found little difficulty in driving all the plundering bands of
the Paulicians back into their own territory; but it was
dangerous to attempt the siege of Tephrike as long as the
enemy could assemble an army to attack the rear of the
besiegers in the frontier towns of the caliph's dominions.
The empires ^ of Constantinople and Bagdat were at war,
though hostilities had for some time been languidly carried
on. Basil now resolved to capture or destroy the fortified
towns which had afforded aid to the Paulicians. After
ravaging the territory of Melitene, he sent his general, Christo-
phoros, with a division of the army to capture Sozopetra and
Samosata; while he himself crossed the Euphrates, and laid
waste the country as far as the Asanias. On his return, the
emperor fought a battle with the Emir of Melitene, who had
succeeded in collecting an army to dispute his progress. The
success of this battle was not so decided as to induce Basil
to besiege either Melitene or Tephrike, and he returned to
Constantinople leaving his general to prosecute the war. In
the mean time, Chrysochir, unable to maintain his troops
without plunder, invaded Cappadocia, but was overtaken by
Christophoros at Agranes, where his movements were circum-
scribed by the superior military skill of the Byzantine general
Chrysochir found himself compelled to retreat, with an active
enemy watching his march. Christophoros soon surprised
the Paulician camp, and Chrysochir was slain in the battle.
His head was sent to Constantinople, that the Emperor Basil
might fulfil a vow he had made that he would pierce it with
three arrows. Tephrike was taken not long after, and
destroyed. The town of Catabatala, to which the Paulicians
1 From the year 861 to 870 the throne of Bagdat was occupied by five caliphs, three
of whom were dethroned. Egypt and Chorasan rebelled during this oeriod, and several
Independent dynasties arose.
230 Basfllan Dynasty
retired after the loss of Tephrike, was captured in the succeed-
ing campaign, and the Pauiician troops, enable to continue
their plundering expeditions, either retreated into Armenia
or dispersed. Many found means of entering the Byzantine
service, and were employed in southern Italy against the
African Saracens. 1
The war with the Saracens continued, though it was not
prosecuted with vigour by either party. In the year 876, the
Byzantine troops gained possession of the fortress of Lulu,
the bulwark of Tarsus, which alarmed the Caliph Almutamid
for the safety of his possessions in Cilicia to such a degree,
that he intrusted their defence to Ms powerful vassal, Touloun,
the viceroy of Egypt. 2 In the following year, the Emperor
Basil, hoping to extend his conquests, again appeared at the
head of the army of Asia, and established his headquarters at
Csesarea. His object was to drive the Saracens out of Cilicia,
but he only succeeded in ravaging the country beyond the
passes of Mount Taurus up to the suburbs of Germanicia,
Adana, and Tarsus, without being able to gain possession of
any of these cities, 2 After the emperor's return to Con-
stantinople, the commander-in-chief of the army, Andrew the
Sclavonian, continued to ravage the Saracen territory, and
destroyed an army sent to oppose him on the banks of the
river Podandos. This defeat was, however, soon avenged by
the Mohammedans, who routed Stypiotes, the successor of
Andrew, with great loss, as he was preparing to besiege
Tarsus. In the thirteenth year of his reign, (780,) Basil again
invaded the caliphate, but failed in an attempt to take
Germanicia. The war was subsequently allowed to languish,
though the Saracens made several plundering expeditions
against the Christians, both by land and sea ; but the fortress
of Lulu, and some other castles commanding the passes of
Mount Taurus, remained in the possession of the Byzantine
troops.
The Saracens of Africa had for some time past devastated
the shores of every Christian country bordering on the
Mediterranean, and plundered the islands of the Ionian Sea
and the Archipelago as regularly as the Paulicians had ravaged
Asia Minor. Basil was hardly seated on the throne before an
embassy from the Sclavonians of Dalmatia arrived at Con-
1 Const. Porphyr. "Basil, "192.
2 JHd., 172. Weil, Gesckicbte der Ckalzfen, u. 472.
s Const Pcarpbyr. "Basil," 173. Symeon Mag. 456. Cedrenus, 574,
Legislation and Despotism 231
stantinopie* to solicit his aid against these corsairs, A Saracen
fleet of thirty-six ships had attacked Dalmatia, in which a few
Roman cities still existed, maintaining a partial independence
among the Sclavonian tribes, who had occupied ail the
country. Several towns were taken by the Saracens 3 and
Ragusa, a place of considerable commercial importance, was
closely besieged. 1 Basil lost no time in sending assist-
ance to the inhabitants. A leet of a hundred vessels,
under the admiral Niketas Oryphas, was prepared for sea
with all possible expedition: and the Saracens, hearing of
his approach, hastily abandoned the siege of Ragusa, after
they had invested it for fifteen months. The expedition of
Oryphas re-established the imperial influence in the maritime
districts of Dalmatia, and obtained from the Sclavonians a
direct recognition of the emperor's sovereignty. They re-
tained their own government, and elected their magistrates;
and their submission to the Byzantine empire was purchased
by their being permitted to receive a regular tribute from
several Roman cities, which, in consideration of this payment,
were allowed to occupy districts on the mainland without the
neighbouring Sclavonians exercising any jurisdiction over such
property. The Roman inhabitants in the islands on the
Dalmatian coast had preserved their allegiance to the Eastern
emperors, and maintained themselves independent of the
Sclavonians, who had conquered and colonised the mainland^
receiving their governors and judges from the central
authority at Constantinople. 2
As early as the year 842, two rival princes, of Lombard
race, who disputed the possession of the duchy of Beneven-
tum, solicited assistance from the Saracens ; and the Infidels,
indifferent to the claims of either, but eager for plunder,
readily took part in the quarrel. A body of Saracens from
Sicily, who had arrived for the purpose of assisting one of the
Christian claimants, resolved to secure a firm establishment in
Italy on their own account. To effect this they stormed the
city of Bari, though it belonged to their own ally. At Bari
they formed a camp for the purpose of ravaging Italy, and
made it their station for plundering the possessions of the
1 Const. Porphyr* " Basil," 179. The towns taken by the Saracens were Boutuma,
Rosa, and the lower Dekateras.~Const. Prophyr, JDe Adm. Imp. chap. 30.
2 Const. Porphyr. De Adm. lmj>. chap. xxx. p. 146, edit. Bonn. The tribute paid
by the Roman cities to the Sclavonians was as follows : Aspalathus (Spalatro,) 200
nomismata or gold byzants ; Tetrangurium, (Trail,) Opsara, Arbe, Bekla, each roo ;
Jadcra, (near 2ara,) no J and Ragusa, for its rural district, 72
232 Baslllan Dynasty
Frank and Byzantine empires on the coast of the Adriatic.
In 846, other bands of Sicilian Saracens landed at the mouth
of the Tiber, and plundered the churches of St. Peter and
St. Paul, both then without the walls of Rome. ^Indeed, the
"mistress of the world" was only saved from falling into the
hands of the Mohammedans by the troops of the Emperor
Louis II. (850). Shortly after, Pope Leo IV. fortified the
suburb of the Vatican, and thus pkced the church of St. Peter
in security in the new quarter of the town called the Leonine
city. 1 From this period the ravages of the Saracens in Italy
were incessant, and the proprietors who dwelt in the country
were compelled to build fortified towers, strong enough to
resist any sudden attacks, and so high as to be beyond the
reach of fire kindled at their base. The manners formed by
this state of social insecurity coloured the history of Italy with
dark stains for several centuries. In the year 867, the
Emperor Louis II. exerted himself to restrain the ravages of
the Saracens, He laid siege to Ban, and sent ambassadors
to Constantinople to solicit the co-operation of a Byzantine
fleet The fleet of Oryphas, strengthened by the naval forces
of the Dalmatian cities, was ordered to assist the operations
of the Western emperor ; but the pride of the court of Con-
stantinople (more sensitive than usual), prevented the conclu-
sion of a treaty with a sovereign who claimed to be treated as
emperor of the West. 2 In February, 871, Louis carried the
city of Ban by assault, and put the garrison to the sword.
The Franks and Greeks disputed the honour of the conquest,
and each attempted to turn it to their own profit, so that the
war was continued in a desultory manner, without leading to
any decided results ; and the cultivators of the soil were in
turn plundered by the Lombard princes, the Saracen corsairs,
and the German and Byzantine emperors. The Saracens
again attacked Rome, and compelled Pope John VIIL to
purchase their retreat by engaging to pay an annual tribute of
25,000 merks of silver. The south of Italy was a scene of
political confusion. The Dukes of Naples, Amalfi, and
Salerno joined the Saracens in plundering the Roman terri-
1 A.D. ^852. Voltaire, Annales de I 'Empire, A.D. 847. Estai sur les Mceurs t
chap. xxviK.
2 The naval force of the Sclavonians In the Adriatic was not inconsiderable. The
Chrovatians alone had eighty galleys, (sagenas,) carrying each forty men, and one
hundred kondnras or boats, carrying twenty, besides merchant-ships. Though a com-
mercial people, they then abstained from piracy, which we know, from Venetian
Mstory, all the Sclavonians in the Adriatic were addicted to at a later period. Con-
stant. Porphyr. DeAdm* Imp. chap. 30, p. 250, edit. Bonn.
Legislation and Despotism 233
tory ; but Pope John VIII., placing Hmseif at the head of the
Roman troops, fought both with Christians and Mohamme-
dans, won battles, and cut off the heads of Ms prisoners, with-
out the slightest reference to the canons of the church. The
bishop of Naples, as bold a warrior as the Pope, dethroned
his own brother, and put out Ms eyes, on the pretext that he
had allied himself with the Infidels; yet, when the bishop
had possessed himself of his brother's dukedom, he also kept
up communications with the Saracens, and aided them in
plundering the territory of Rome. This lawless state of afiairs
induced the Italians to turn for security to the Byzantine
empire^ The troops of Basil rendered themselves masters of
Bari^ without difficulty, and the extent of the Byzantine
province in southern Italy was greatly extended by a series of
campaigns, in which Nicephoras Phokas, grandfather of the
emperor of the same name, distinguished himself by his pru-
dent conduct and able tactics. 1 The Saracens were at last
expelled from all their possessions in Calabria. The Byzan-
tine government formed its possessions into a province called
the Theme of Longobardia, but this province was constantly
liable to vary in its extent; and though Gaeta, Naples 5
Sorrento, and Amalfi acknowledged allegiance to the Emperor
of Constantinople, his authority was often very little respected
in these cities.
While Basil was successful in extending his power in Italy,
the Saracens revenged themselves in Sicily by the conquest of
Syracuse, which fell into their hands in 878, and placed them
in possession of the whole island. The city, though besieged
on the land side by the Saracens established in Sicily, and
blockaded by a fleet from Africa, made a gallant defence, and
might have been relieved had the emperor shown more
activity, or intrusted the force prepared for its relief to a
competent officer. The expedition he sent, though it was
delayed until nothing could be effected without rapid move-
ments, wasted two months in the port of Monemvasia, where
it received the news of the fall of Syracuse. The loss of the
last Greek city in Sicily was deeply felt by the people of the
Byzantine empire, on account of its commercial importance ;
and it was reported that the news of so great a calamity to
the Christian world was first made known to the inhabitants
1 The Emperor Leo. VI. t in his work on military tactics, cites the campaign of
tficephortis Phokas, in which he took Tarsus, as an example of able generalship.
Institutions MiUtedres d* SEmperntr Leon It PhUosopki^ traduites par. M. Joly d
Vlaixeroy, torn, ii., p. 75.
234 Baslllan Dynasty
of Greece by an assembly of demons, who met in the forest
of Helos, on the banks of the Eurotas, to rejoice In the
event, where their revels were witnessed by a Laconian
shepherd 1 Basil, however, seems to have treated the ruin of
a Greek city as a matter of less Importance than did Satan.
The daring with which the Saracens carried on their naval
expeditions over the Mediterranean at this period Is a re-
markable feature In the state of society. The attacks of the
Danes and Normans on the coasts of England and France
were not more constant nor more terrible.
Some of these expeditions deserve to be noticed, in order
to point out the great destruction of capital, and the dis-
organisation of society they caused, For some years they
threatened the maritime districts of the Eastern Empire with
as great a degree of insecurity as that from which society had
been delivered by Leo III. In the year 88 1, the emir of
Tarsus, with a fleet of thirty large ships, laid siege to Chalcis,
on the Euripus; but Oiniates, the general of the theme of
Hellas, having assembled the troops in his province, the emir
was killed In an attempt to storm the place, and the Saracen
expedition was completely defeated. 2 Shortly after this, the
Saracens of Crete ravaged the Islands of the Archipelago with
a fleet of twenty-seven large ships and a number of smaller
vessels. 3 Entering the Hellespont, they plundered the Island
of Proconnesus ; but they were at last overtaken and defeated
by the imperial fleet under Oryphas. Undismayed by their
losses, they soon fitted out a new fleet, and recommenced
their ravages, hoping to avoid the Byzantine admiral by
doubling Cape Taenarus, and plundering the western shores
of Greece. Niketas Oryphas, on visiting the port of Ken-
chrees, found that the corsairs were already cruising off the
entrance of the Adriatic, He promptly ordered all his galleys
to be transported over the isthmus of Corinth by the ancient
tram-road, which had been often used for the same purpose in
earlier times, and which was still kept In such a state of
repair that all his vessels were conveyed from sea to sea in
a single night. 4 The Saracens, surprised by this sudden
arrival of a fleet from a quarter where they supposed there
1 Constant, Porphyr. 'Basil,' 191. Cedrenus, ii. 585.
2 Constant. Porphyr " Basil," 184. Cedrenus, ii. 580.
* Constant. Porphyr. "Basil," 18*;.
* The breadth of the istiimus is about four geographical miles 5950 metres.
Zooaras calls the vessels triremes, but they were certainly^ with only two banks of oars,
aad ware probably the kind of galley called dromones. ii. 171,
Legislation and Despotism 235
was no naval force, fought with less courage than usual, and
lost their whole fleet. The cruelty with which the captives,
especially the renegades, were treated, was to the last degree
inhuman, and affords sad proof of the widespread misery and
deep exasperation their previous atrocities had produced, as
well as of the barbarity of the age. No torture was spared
by the Byzantine authorities. 1 Shortly after this an African
fleet of sixty vessels, of extraordinary size, laid waste Zante
and Cephallenia. Nasar, the Byzantine admiral, who suc-
ceeded Niketas Oryphas, while in pursuit of this fleet, touched
at Methone to re-victual; but at that port all his rowers
deserted, and Ms ships were detained until the general of the
Peloponnesian theme replaced them by a levy of Mardaites
and other inhabitants of the peninsula, 2 The Byzantine
naval force 9 even after this contrariety, was again victorious
over the Saracens ; and the war of pillage was transferred into
Sicily, where the Greeks laid waste the neighbourhood of
Palermo, and captured a number of valuable merchant-ships,
with such an abundant supply of oil that it was sold at Con-
stantinople for an obolos the litra.
During these wars, Basil recovered possession of the island
of Cyprus, but was only able to retain possession of it for
seven years, when the Saracens again reconquered it*
Much of Basil's reputation as a wise sovereign is due to Ms
judicious adoption of administrative reforms, called for by the
disorders introduced into the government by the neglect of
Michael III. His endeavours to lighten the burden of taxa-
tion, without decreasing the public revenues, was then a rare
merit. But the eulogies which his grandson and other
flatterers have heaped on his private virtues deserve but little
credit. The court certainly maintained more outward de-
cency than in the time of his predecessor, but there are many
proofs that the reformation was merely external. Thekla, the
sister of the Emperor Michael III., who had received the
imperial crown from her father Theophilus, had been the
concubine of Basil, with the consent of her brother. After
Basil assassinated the brother, he neglected and probably
feared the sister, but she consoled herself with other lovers.
It happened that on some occasion a person employed in the
household of TheHa waited on the emperor, who, with the
1 Constant. Porphyr. " Basil," iS6.
2 Mardaites are mentioned by Constant. Porphyr. " Basil,** iSj, bat whether they
were ?o called because they were descendants of a Syrian colony Is not certain,
3 Constant. Porphyr. JDe Tk#m'itilw t \, ?. 15.
236 Basilian Dynasty
rade facetiousness he Inherited from the stable-yard, asked
the domestic, "Who lives with your mistress at present?"
The Individual (Neatokomites) was immediately named, for
shame was out of the question in such society. But the
jealousy of Basil was roused by this open installation^ of a
successor in the favours of one who had once occupied a
place on the throne he had usurped, and he ordered Neatoko-
mites to be seized, scourged, and immured for life in a monas-
tery. It is said that he was base enough to order Thekla to
be ill-treated, and to confiscate great part of her private
fortune. 1 The Empress Eudocia Ingerina avenged Thekla,
by conducting herself on the throne in a manner more
pardonable in the mistress of Michael the Drunkard than in
the wife of Basil When her amours were discovered, the
emperor prudently avoided scandal, by compelling her lover
to retire privately into a monastery.
The most interesting episode in the private history of Basil
Is the friendship of Danielis, the Greek lady of Patras. As
she had laid the foundation of his wealth while he was only a
servant of Theophilitzes, we may believe that she was eager to
see him when she heard that he was seated on the imperial
throne. But though she might boast of having been the first
to perceive the merits of Basil, she must have doubted whether
she would be regarded as a welcome visitor at court Basil,
however, was not ungrateful to those who had assisted him in
his poverty, and he sent for the son of his benefactor, and
raised him to the rank of protospatharios. The widow also
received an invitation to visit Constantinople, and see her
adopted son seated on the throne which, it was said, she had
long believed he was destined by heaven to fill; for it had
been reported that, when Basil first entered the cathedral of
St. Andrew at Patras, a monk was seized with a prophetic
vision, and proclaimed that he was destined to become
1 This same Joannes Neatokomites had of old been a rival of Basil, for he had
attempted to put the Caesar Bardas on his guard against the conspiracy by which he
lost his life. Leo. Grarnm. 244, edit. Bonn. Thekla has been usually called the sister
of Basil and the concubine of Michael III. Gibbon has adopted this view, for he says,
" Basil was raised and supported by a disgraceful marriage with a royal concubine,
(Eudocia,) and the dishonour of his sister, (Thekla,) who succeeded to her place."
Vol. ix, p. 51. Lebeau, xiii. 284, is more decided, and more detailed. Georg. Mon.
545, in ^recounting the anecdote, certainly calls Thekla the sister of the emperor, and
from this it is inferred she must have been the sister of the reigning emperor Basil ; but
a comparison^ of Leo. Gramm. D. 242, edit. Bonn., and p. 256, (the Latin translation
calls her the sister of Michael, without this being said in the Greek text, where a word
has fallen out,) and_ especially Symeon Mag. 446, and Georg. Mon. 536, prove that she
was the sister jof Michael III. ; and though she had been compelled to adopt the monastic
dress, to deprive her of the title of Empress, by her brother, was by him bestowed on
Basil
Legislation and Despotism 237
emperor. This prophecy Danlells had heard and believed.
The Invitation must have afforded her the highest gratification,
as a proof of her own discernment in selecting one who
possessed affection and gratitude, as weH as great talents and
divine favour. The old lady was the possessor of a princely
fortune, and her wealth indicates that the state of society
in the Peloponnesus was not very dissimilar in the ninth
century from what it had been in the first centuries of our
era, under the Roman government, when Caius Antonius and
Eurykles were proprietors of whole provinces, and Herodes
Atticus possessed riches that an emperor might have envied. 1
The lady Daniels set off from Patras in a litter or covered
couch, carried on the shoulders of ten slaves; and the train
which followed her, destined to relieve these litter-bearers,
amounted to three hundred persons. . When she reached Con-
stantinople, she was lodged in the apartments of the palace of
Magnaura appropriated for the reception of princely guests.
The rich presents she had prepared for the emperor astonished
the inhabitants of the capital, for no foreign monarch had
ever offered gifts of equal value to a Byzantine sovereign.
The skves that bore the gifts were themselves a part of the
present, and were all distinguished for their youth, beauty,
and accomplishments. Four hundred young men, one hun-
dred eunuchs, and one hundred maidens, formed the living
portion of this magnificent offering. A hundred pieces of the
richest coloured drapery, one hundred pieces of soft woollen
cloth, two hundred pieces of linen, and one hundred of cam-
bric, so fine that each piece could be enclosed in the joint of
a reed. To all this a service of cups, dishes, and plates
of gold and silver was added. 2 When Danielis reached Con-
stantinople, she found that the emperor had constructed a
magnificent church as an expiation for the murder of his bene-
factor, Michael III. She sent orders to the Peloponnesus to
manufacture carpets of unusual size, in order to cover the
whole floor, that they might protect the rich mosaic pavement,
in which a peacock with outspread tail astonished every one
who beheld it by the extreme brilliancy of its colouring.
Before the widow quitted Constantinople, she settled a con-
siderable portion of her estates in Greece on her son, the
1 Greece under the Romans, 58.
2 The Emperor Constantlne Porphyrogenitus, who knew something about tba.
matter, says that the old lady knew that eunuchs are collected about the court like blue-
bottle flies round a sheep-fold. P. 195. A curious dissertation might be written as a
commentary on the presents.
238 Basilian Dynasty
protospatharios, and on her adopted child the emperor, in
joint property.
After Basil's death, she again visited Constantinople ; her
own son was also dead> so she constituted the Emperor Leo
VI. her sole heir. On quitting the capital for the last time,
she desired that the protospathar Zenobios might be de-
spatched to the Peloponnesus, for the purpose of preparing a
register of her extensive estates and immense property. She
died shortly after her return ; and even the imperial officers
were amazed at the amount of her wealth: the quantity of
gold coin, gold and silver plate, works of art in bronze,
furniture, rich stuffs in linen, cotton, wool, and silk, cattle and
slaves, palaces and farms 3 formed an inheritance that enriched
even an emperor of Constantinople. The slaves, of which the
Emperor Leo became the proprietor, were so numerous that
he ordered three thousand to be enfranchised and sent to the
theme of Longobardia, as Apulia was then called, where they
were put in possession of land, which they cultivated as serfs.
After the payment of many legacies, and the division of a part
of the landed property, according to the dispositions of the
testament s the emperor remained possessor of eighty farms or
Tillages. This narration furnishes a curious glimpse into the
condition of society in Greece during the latter part of the
ninth century^ which is the period when the Greek race began
to recover a numerical superiority, and prepare for the con-
solidation of Its political ascendancy over the Sclavonian
colonists in the Peloponnesus. Unfortunately, history supplies
us with no contemporary facts that point out the precise
causes of the diminution of the relative numbers of the
Sclavonians, and the rapid increase in the absolute numbers
of the Greek agricultural population. We are left to seek for
explanations of these facts in the general laws which regulate
the progress of population and the decline of society,
The steps by which Basil mounted the throne were never
forgotten by the political and military adventurers, who con-
sidered the empire a fit reward for a successful conspirator.
John Kurkuas, a patrician of great wealth, who commanded
the Ikanates, expected to seize the crown as a lawful prize,
and engaged sixty-six of the leading men in the public ad-
ministration to participate in his design. The plot was
revealed to Basil by some of the conspirators, who perceived
they could gain more by a second treachery than by persisting
in their first treason. Kurkuas was seized, and his eyes were
Legislation and Despotism 239
put out: the other conspirators were scourged in the hippo-
drome ; ^ their heads were shaved, their beards burned off, and
.Her being paraded through the capital they were exiled, and
their estates confiscated. The clemency of Basil in inflicting
these paternal punishments, instead of exacting the penalties
imposed by the law of treason, is lauded by his interested
historians. The fate of Kurkuas, however, only claims our
notice, because he was the father of John Kurkuas, a general
whom the Byzantine writers consider as a hero worthy to be
compared with Trajan and Belisarius. Kurkuas was also the
great-grandfather of the Emperor John Zimiskes, one of
the ablest soldiers who ever occupied the throne of Constanti-
nople. 1
Though Basil founded the longest dynasty that ruled the
Byzantine empire, the race proceeded from a corrupt source.
Constantine, the son of Basil's first wife, Maria, was regarded
with much affection by his father, and received the imperial
crown in the year 868, but died about the year 879. The loss
was severely felt by the emperor, who expressed an eager
desire to be assured that his favourite child enjoyed eternal
felicity. The abbot Theodores Santabaren took advantage of
this paternal solicitude to impose on the emperor's superstition
and credulity. A phantom, which bore the likeness cf Con-
stantine, met the emperor while he was hunting, and galloped
towards him, until it approached so near that Basil could
perceive the happy expression of his son's face. It then faded
from his sight; but the radiant aspect of the vision satisfied
the father that his deceased son was received to grace.
Leo, the eldest child of Eudocia, was generally believed to
be the son of Michael the Drunkard ; and though Basil had
conferred on him the imperial crown in his infancy, (A.D. 870,)
he seems never to have regarded him with feelings of affection.
It would seem he entertained the common opinion concerning
the parentage of Leo. The latter years of Basil were clouded
with suspicion of his heir, who he feared might avenge the
murder of Michael, even at the risk of becoming a parricide.
Whether truly or not, young Leo was accused of plotting
against Basil's life before he was sixteen years of age. 2 The
accusation was founded on the discovery of a dagger con-
1 Const. Porphyr. " Basil," 172. Symeon Mag. 460.
2 ^Georg. Mon. 541;^ Leo Gramm. 468 ; Zonaras, II. 166, indicate that Leo was
considered the son of Michael III, Symeon Mag. 455. Georg. Mon., at page 544. and
Leo Gramm., at page 471, (edit. Par.,) speak of Alexander as the legitimate child
of Basil in opposition to Leo. Leo was crowned 6th January, 870. Krug. 39.
240 BasIIIan Dynasty
cealed in the boot of the young prince, while he was In
attendance on his father at a hunting-party, when Byzantine
etiquette demanded that he should be unarmed. The his-
torians who wrote under the eye of Leo's son, Constantine
Porphyrogenitus, pretend that the abbot Theodoros Santa-
baren persuaded Leo to conceal the weapon for his own
defence, and then informed Basil that his son was armed
to attempt his assassination. The charge underwent a full
examination, during which the young emperor was deprived
of the insignia of the imperial rank; but the result of the
investigation must have proved his innocence, for, in spite
of the suspicions rooted in Basil's mind, he was restored to his
rank as heir-apparent. 1
The cruelty displayed by Basil in his latter days loosens the
tongues of his servile historians, and indicates that he never
entirely laid aside the vices of his earlier years. While
engaged in hunting, to which he was passionately devoted,
a stag that had been brought to bay rushed at him, and,
striking its antlers into his girdle, dragged him from his horse.
One of the attendants drew his hunting-knife, and, cutting the
girdle, saved the emperor's life; but the suspicious despot,
fearing an attempt at assassination, ordered his faithful servant
to be immediately decapitated. The shock he received from
the stag brought on a fever, which terminated his eventful life,
and he ended his reign, as he had commenced it, by the
murder of a benefactor. Though he was a judicious and able
sovereign, he has been unduly praised, because he was one
of the most orthodox emperors of Constantinople in the
opinion of the Latin as well as of the Greek church. 2
1 The people of TJhessalonica still show a tower, in which they say Leo was confined
during the time^he was deprived of the imperial title. I could not succeed in obtaining
permission to visit it. Perhaps some Byzantine inscription in the walls has caused the
tradition. A private English traveller, who has neither wealth nor titles, does not meet
with the same facilities in literary researches as a foreigner.
2 Basil's determination to keep on good terms with the Pope, his zeal in building
churdbes,_and his eagerness to baptize Jews, made him powerful friends in his own age,
whose opinions have been reflected in modern history : but Zonaras represents him as an
ignorant and superstitious bigot. It is needless to say that he cannot have composed
the advice to his hopeful son, Leo the Philosopher, which appears la the Byzantine
Collection as iiis work.
Legislation and Despotism 241
SECTION II
LEO vi, (THE PHILOSOPHER,) A.D. 886-912
Character and court of Leo VI. Ecclesiastical administration Legisla-
tion Saracen war Taking of ThessaJonica Bulgarian war.
Leo the Philosopher gave countenance to the rumour that
he was the son of Michael III. by one of the first acts of his
reign. He ordered the body of the murdered emperor to
be transported from Chrysopolis, where it had been interred
by Theodora, and entombed it with great ceremony in the
Church of the Holy Apostles.
In every characteristic of a sovereign Leo differed from
Basil, and almost every point of difference was to the disad-
vantage of the philosopher. The ease with which the throne
was retained by a man such as Basil had appeared before he
became sole emperor, is explained, when we see a trifling
pedant like Leo ruling the empire without difficulty. The
energy which had re-established the Eastern Empire under
the Iconoclasts was now dormant, and society had degenerated
as much as the court. When the foundations of the Byzantine
government were laid by Leo III., the mass of society was as
eager to reform its own vices as the emperor was to improve
the administration; but when Basil mounted the throne, the
people were as eager to enjoy their wealth as the emperor
to gratify his ambition. The emperors of Constantinople, as
the throne was to a certain degree elective, are generally types
of their age; and though Leo the Philosopher succeeded
as the son and successor of Basil, no sovereign ever represented
the character of his age better. He typifies the idle spirit
of conservatism as correctly as Constantine V. does the
aggressive energy of progress.
Leo VI. was a man of learning and a lover of luxurious
ease, a conceited pedant and an arbitrary but mild despot.
Naturally of a confined intellect, he owes his title of "the
Philosopher," or "the Learned," rather to the ignorance of
the people, who attributed to him an acquaintance with the
secrets of astrological science, than either to his own attain-
ments, or to any remarkable patronage he bestowed on learned
men. 1 His personal character, however, exercised even greater
1 Leo's works consist of some poetical oracles and hymns, and a treatise on military
tactics. The oracles are published at the end of Codinus, De Antiguitatibus Con.
stantinofolitanisi and the Tactics in Lame's edition of the works of Meursius, torn, vi
There is a French translation of the tactics by Joly de Maizcroy.
242 Basilian Dynasty
influence on the public administration of the empire than that
of Ms predecessors, for the government was now so completely
despotic that the court, rather than the cabinet, directed the
business of the state. Hence It was that the empire met with
disgraceful disasters at a period when Its force was sufficient to
hare protected all Its subjects. The last traces of the Roman
constitution were now suppressed, and the trammels of an
inviolable court ceremonial, and the Invariable routine of
administrators and lawyers, were all that was preserved of the
institutions of an earlier and grander period. The extinction
of the Roman empire, and complete consolidation of Byzantine
despotism, Is recorded in the edicts of Leo, suppressing the
old municipal system, and abolishing senatus-consulta.* The
language of legislation became as despotic as the acts of the
emperor were abitrary. Two Patriarchs, Photlus and Nikolaos,
were removed from the government of the church by the
emperor's order. Leo lived In open adultery on a throne
from which Constantine VI. had been driven for venturing on
a second marriage while his divorced wife was living. Yet
Zoe, the fourth wife of Leo VI., gave birth to the future
emperor, Constantine Porphyrogenitus, in the purple chamber
of the Imperial palace, before the marriage ceremony had been
performed. 2 A Saracen renegade, named Samonas, was for
years the prime favourite of the infatuated Leo, who raised
him to the rank of patrician, and allowed him to stand god-
father to his son Constantine, though great doubts were enter-
tained of the orthodoxy, or perhaps of the Christianity, of this
disreputable favourite. 3 The expenditure of the imperial
household was greatly increased ; the revenue previously
destined to the service of the empire was diverted to the
gratification of the court, and corruption was Introduced into
every branch of the administration by the example of the
emperor, who raised money by selling places. The Emperor
Basil, lilce his predecessors, had been contented to make use
of a galley, with a single bank of oars, in his visits to the
country round Constantinople; but Leo never condescended
to move unless in a dromon of two banks of oars, rowed by
two hundred men and two of these vessels were constantly
maintained as imperial yachts. 4 Constantine Porphyrogenitus
recounts an anecdote concerning the corruption of his father's
1 Leonis Ntmellte. Const, xlvi. Ixxviii. a Con tin. Const. Porphyr. " Leo," 2*8*
3 Contirraatoiy 231. Symeon Mag. 468.
4 Const. Porphyr. De Adm, Imp chap. 51.
Legislation and Despotism 243
court, which deserves particular notice, as proving, on the
best^ evidence that the emperor encouraged the system by
sharing in its profits. Ktenas, a rich man in holy orders^ and
the best public singer of the time 5 was extremely anxious
to possess acknowledged rank at the imperial court. He
secured the support of Samonas, the Saracen grand-chamber-
Iain, and hoped to obtain the rank of protospatharios, by
offering to make the emperor a present of forty pounds' weight
of gold, the pay of the office amounting only to a pound of
gold annually. The Emperor Leo refused, declaring, as his
son tells us, that it was a transaction unworthy of the imperial
dignity, and that it was a thing unheard of to appoint a clerk
protospatharios. The old man, however, by the means of
Samonas, increased his offers, adding to Ms first proposal
a pair of earrings, worth ten pounds of gold, and a richly-
chased table of silver gilt, also worth ten pounds of gold.
This addition produced so great an effect on Leo's mind, that,
according to his own declaration, he disgraced the imperial
dignity, for he made a member of the clergy a protospatharios.
Constantine then chuckles at his father's good fortune; for
after receiving sixty pounds* weight of gold, the new protos-
patharios only lived to draw two years' pay. 1
The strongest contrast between the administration of Leo
and Basil was visible in the financial affairs of the empire.
Though the direct taxes were not increased, the careless
conduct of Leo, and his neglect to maintain the strict control
over the tax-gatherers exercised by his father, allowed every
species of abuse to creep into this branch of government, and
the people were subject to the severest oppression, 2 Monopolies
were also created in favour of the creatures of the court, which
were the cause of great complaints, and one of these ultimately
involved the empire in a most disastrous war, with the Bul-
garians.
The state of the church in the Byzantine empire was always
1 Const. Porphyr. De Adm, Imp. chap. 50, page 232, edit. Bonn.
2 Constantine Pprphyrogenitus mentions the case of an illiterate man being ap-
pointed judge-admiral, a lawyer being joined with him as deputy to prepare the
decisions. The administration of the kingdom of Greece was organised^ in a similar
manner by Count Armansperg, under the especial protection of Great Britain : and King
Otho has since been liberally calumniated for following a bad system, which he has been
weak enough to persist in. A good picture of the abuses of authority m a civilised age,
even in a country where the freedom of the press existed, is given by Sir Walter Scott.
Ths Chronicles of the Ca.nongae "The Surgeon's Daughter,** chap. ai. Emigrants
are said to fare often little better at Liverpool in the present day. Yet too ;much_ power
ought not to be conferred on any central government, for if society cannot cure iu own
evilSj they will continue to exist-
244 Basilian Dynasty
important, as ecclesiastical affairs afforded the only opportunity
for the expression of public opinion. A considerable body of
the clergy was more closely connected with the people, by
feelings and interests, than with the court At this time,
however, all classes enjoyed a degree of sensual abundance
that rendered society torpid, and few were inclined to take
part in violent contests. The majority of the subjects^of the
Byzantine empire, perhaps, never felt greater aversion ^ to
the conduct of the government, both In civil and ecclesiastical
matters; and we may attribute the parade Leo made of his
divine right to govern both the state and the church, to the
fact that he was folly aware of the popular feeling ; but^ no
class of men saw any probability of bettering their condition,
either by revolution or change, so that a bad government
began to be looked upon as one of the unavoidable evils
of an advanced state of civilisation, and as one of the in-
evitable calamities which Heaven itself had interwoven in
man's existence.
The Emperor Leo VI. deposed the Patriarch Photius with-
out pretending any religious motive for the change. The
object was to confer the dignity on his brother Stephen, who
was then only eighteen years of age. Photius retired into
a monastery, where, as has been already mentioned, he was
treated with respect by Leo, who pretended that his resigna-
tion was a voluntary act Photius survived his deposition
about five years, more universally respected, and probably
happier, than when he sate on the patriarchal throne, though
he had been excommunicated by nine popes of Rome. Leo
dispkyed a mean spirit in his eagerness to punish the abbot
Theodores Santabaren, whom he regarded as the author of his
degradation and imprisonment during his father's reign. Fail-
ing to procure evidence to convict the abbot of any crime, he
ordered him to be scourged and exiled to Athens. His eyes
were subsequently put out by the emperor's order. But Leo,
though a tyrant, was not implacable, and some years later
Theodoros was recalled to Constantinople, and received a
pension.
The predominance of ceremonial feelings in religion is
shown in a remarkable manner by the legislative acts of the
Byzantine government, relating to the observance of the
Sabbath. As early as the reign of Constantine the Great,
A.D. 321, there is a law commanding the suspension of all
civil business on Sunday; and this enactment is enforced
Legislation and Despotism 245
by a law of Theodosius L, in 3S6. 1 During the contests con-
cerning Image-worship, society was strict in all religious
observances, and great attention was paid to Sunday. In the
year ^906, 'Leo the Philosopher, who was hi from affecting the
practice of piety, even while he made a parade of ecclesiastical
observances, revoked all the exemptions which the law had
hitherto made in favour of the performance of useful labour on
Sunday, and forbade even necessary agricultural work, as dis-
honouring the Lord's day. Arguing with the bigotry of the
predestinarian, that the arbitrary will of God, and not the fixed
laws which he has revealed to man, gives abundant harvests to
the earth, the emperor regards the diligence of the agriculturist
as of no avail. Fate became the refuge of the human mind
when the government of Rome had rendered the improvement
of pagan society hopeless; superstition assumed its place
among the Christians, and the stagnation in the Byzantine
empire persuaded men that no prudence in the conduct
of their affairs could better man's condition.
Ecclesiastical affairs gave Leo very little trouble during his
reign, but towards its end he was involved in a dispute with
the Patriarch Nikokos the mystic. After the death of Leo's
third wife, without male issue, the emperor, not wishing to
violate openly the laws of the Eastern church, enforced by his
own legislation, which forbade fourth marriages, installed
the beautiful Zoe Carbonopsina, a grand-niece of the historian
Theophanes, as his concubine in the palace* 2 Zoe gave birth
to a son in the purple chamber, who was the celebrated
emperor and author, Constantine VII. (Porphyrogenitus).
The young prince was baptised in the Church of St. Sophia
by the Patriarch Nikolaos, but that severe ecclesiastic only
consented to officiate at the ceremony on receiving the
emperor's promise that he would not live any longer with his
concubine. Three days after the baptism of Constantine, the
Emperor Leo celebrated his marriage with Zoe, and conferred
on her the imperial title, thus keeping his promise to the
Patriarch in one sense. But Nikolaos, indignant at having
been paltered with in a double sense, degraded the priest who
performed the nuptial ceremony, and interdicted the entry of
the church to Leo. The emperor only thought it necessary to
pay so much respect to the interdict as to attend the church
1 Cod. Tkeod. Ii. tit. viii. 18, De Fenis.
2 Basil had prohibited fourth marriages. Mortreuil, Ii. 280 ; and Leo himself bad
subjected third marriages to ecclesiastical censure. Const, xc.
246 Basllian Dynasty
ceremonies by a private door; and the people, caring little
about the quarrel, laughed when they saw the imperial philo
sopher showing so much wit. Leo, however, took measures to
gain the Pope's goodwill, and when assured of papal support,
he deposed Nikolaos and appointed Euthymios the syncellus
his successor. The new Patriarch, though he had been
a monk on Mount Olympus, recognised the validity ^ of the
emperor's fourth marriage, on the pretext that the public good
required the ecclesiastical laws to yield to the exigencies
of the state. The populace, to excuse their Patriarch, believed
a report that the emperor had threatened, in case the Patriarch
refused to recognise the validity of his marriage with Zoe, to
publish a law allowing every man to marry four wives at the
same time. This rumour, notwithstanding its absurdity, affords
strong proof of the power of the emperor, and of the credulity
with which the Greeks received every rumour unfavourable to
their rulers. 1
The legislative labours of Leo's reign are more deserving
of attention than his ecclesiastical skirmishes, though he only
followed in the traces of his father, and made use of materials
already prepared to his hand. We have already noticed that
he published a revised edition of the Basilika, to which he
added a considerable amount of supplementary legislation.
Byzantine law, however, even after it had received all the
improvements of Basil and Leo, was ill suited to serve as
a practical guide to the population of the empire. The
Basilika is an inspiration of imperial pride, not a work
whose details follow the suggestions of public utility. Whole
titles are filled with translations of imperial edicts, useless
in the altered circumstances of the empire; and one of the
consequences of the ill-devised measure of adopting an old
code was, that no perfect copy of the Basilika has been pre-
served. Many books fell into neglect, and have been entirely
lost. The sovereigns of the Byzantine empire, except while it
was ruled by the Iconoclasts, felt that their power rested
on the fabric of the PwOman administration, not on their own
strength.
The collection of the edicts or " novels " of Leo, inserted
in the editions of the Corpus Juris Civilis, has rendered the
legislation of Leo more generally known than his revised
edition of the Byzantine code. These edicts were published
for the purpose of modifying portions of the law, as pro-
1 Gor;j. Mon. 559,
Legislation and Despotism 247
mulgated In the Basilika. The greater number are addressed
to Sty Manas, who is supposed to have been the father of Zoe s
Leo's second wife, and it is thought they were published
between the years 887 and 893, while Sty llanos was master
of the offices and logothetes. 1
The military events of Leo*s reign were marked by several
disgraceful defeats ; but the strength of the empire was not
seriously affected by the losses sustained, though the people
often suffered the severest misery. The Asiatic frontier was
generally defended with success. Nicephoras Phokas, who
had distinguished himself In Italy during the reign of Basil,
acquired additional glory by his activity as general of the
Thrakesian theme. The Saracens, nevertheless, continued to
make destructive inroads into the empire, as It was found
Impossible to watch every point where they could assemble an
army. In the year 887, the town of Hysela In Charslana was
taken, and its Inhabitants carried away Into slavery. 2 In 888,
Samos was plundered, and the governor, with many of the
inhabitants, made prisoner. In 89 3, the fortress of Koron
in Cappadocia was taken. 3 In 901, reciprocal Incursions were
made by the Christians and Mohammedans, but the Byzantine
troops were more successful than the Saracen, for they pene-
trated as far as the district of Aleppo, and carried off fifteen
thousand prisoners. This advantage was compensated by the
victories of the Saracen fleet, which took and plundered the
island of Lemnos, 4 The Saracen fleet also, in the year 902,
took and destroyed the city of Demetrias in Thessaly, where
all the inhabitants who could not be carried away, and sold
with profit as slaves, were murdered. 5 During these calamities,
Leo, in imitation of his father, employed the resources of the
state, which ought to have been devoted to putting the naval
forces of the empire In an efficient condition, in building
a new church, and in constructing a monastery for eunuchs. 6
Before the end of Leo's reign, the Isolated and independent
position assumed by several of the Saracen emirs on the
frontier, enabled the Byzantine generals to make some per-
manent conquests. Melias, an Armenian who had distin-
guished himself in the Bulgarian war, gained possession of the
1 Zacharia, Del^teettio^ 50. As a proof of the mental movement throughout Europe,
it may be observed that the legislation of Alfred is contemporary with that of Leo VI.
Christian society was moved by some impulses which operated both in England and
Constantinople. 2 Continuator, " Leo," 2iS. 3 Symeon Mag. 462.
* Continuator, " Leo," 225. Symeon Mag. 463. Weil, ii. +92.
5 Continuator, 204. Symeon Mag. 463. Cameniates, De Exctdio
* (Jeorg. Moru 556. Symeon Mag. 453-
248 Basilian Dynasty
country between Mount Amanus and the Euphrates, and this
district was formed into a new theme called Lykandos. 1 The
Saracens were also driven from the city of Theodosiopolis
by Leo Katakalon, and the Araxes was constituted the
boundary of the empire towards the Iberians. 2
The ruinous effects of the piratical system of warfare
pursued by the Saracen fleets, and the miseries it inflicted
on thousands of Christian families in the Byzantine empire,
deserves a record in the page of history. Fortunately we
do not require, in describing what really happened, to indulge
the imagination by painting what probably occurred, for
time has spared the narrative of one of the sufferers, in
which the author describes his own fate, and the calamities
he witnessed, with the minute exactitude of truth and
pedantry. Many severe blows were inflicted on the By-
zantine empire by the daring enterprises of the Moham-
medans, who took advantage of the neglected state of the
imperial navy to plunder the richest cities of Greece. But
the most terrible catastrophe the Christians suffered was the
sack of Thessalonica, the second city of the empire in popu-
lation and wealth. Of this event Johannes Cameniates, an
ecclesiastic of the order of Readers, and a native of the
place, has left us a full account He shared all the dangers
of the assault, and after the capture of his native city he
was carried prisoner to Tarsus, in order to be exchanged at
one of the exchanges of prisoners which took place between
the Christians and Saracens from time to time in that city. 3
Thessalonica is situated at the head of an inner basin
terminating the long gulf stretching up to the northward,
between the snowy peaks and rugged mountains of Olympus
and Ossa to the west, and the rich shores of the Chalcidice
and the peninsula of Cassandra to the east. The bay, on
which the city looks down, affords a safe anchorage; and
in the tenth century an ancient mole enclosed an inner port
within its arms, where the largest vessels could land or receive
their cargoes as in a modern dock. This port bounded the
city on the south, and was separated from it by a wall about
a mile in length running along the shore. Within, the houses
1 Constant. Porphyr. D* Adm. ///. chap. 50, p. 228, edit. Bonn. D*
p. 32, edit. Bonn.
J Constant. Porphyr. De Adnt. ImJ>. chap. 45, p. aoi, edit Bonn.
_ s Joannes Cameniates held the office of Kubuklesios or crozier-bearer to the Arch-
bishop of Tbessalomca. His narrative is contained in the voL^^e *T the Byzantine
historians entitled Scrijtorts jost Tktojhaium.
Legislation and Despotism 249
rose gradually, until the upper part of the city was crowned
with an acropolis, separata! from the hills behind by a nigged
precipice. This citadel is now called the Seven Towers. Two
ravines, running to the sea from the rocky base of the
acropolis, serve as ditches to the western and eastern walls
of the city, which to this day follow the same line, and present
nearly the same aspect as in the reign of Leo the Philosopher.
Their angles at the sea, where they join the wall along the
port, are strengthened by towers of extraordinary size. The
Egnatian Way, which for many centuries served as the high-
road for the communications between Rome and Constanti-
nople, formed a great street passing in a straight line through
the centre of the city from its western to its eastern wall. This
relic of Roman greatness, with its triumphal arches, still forms
a marked feature of the Turkish city; but the moles of the
ancient port have fallen to ruin, and the space between the
sea-wall and the water is disfigured by a collection of filthy
huts. Yet the admirable situation of Thessalonica, and the
fertility of the surrounding country, watered by several noble
rivers, still enables it to nourish a population of upwards
of sixty thousand souls. Nature has made it the capital and
seaport of a rich and extensive district, and under a good
government it could not fail to become one of the largest and
most flourishing cities on the shores of the Mediterranean. 1
Leo of Tripolis was the most active, daring, and skilful
of the Saracen admirals. He was born of Christian parents,
at Attalia in Pamphylia, but became a renegade, and settled
at Tripolis in Syria after he embraced the Mohammedan faith.
In the year 904, Leo sailed from Tarsus with a fleet of fifty-
four ships, each carrying two hundred men, besides their
officers and a few chosen troops. The ablest corsairs in the
East were assembled for this expedition, and a rumour of the
unusual care that was shown in fitting out the fleet reached
the court of the idle philosopher at Constantinople. He
foresaw that some daring attack on his dominions would be
made, and would fain have placed the imperial navy in a con-
dition to defend the islands and shores of the Egean; but
though the commerce of Greece could have supplied sailors to
1 The population is said to have varied from 50,000 to 70,000 during" the present
century. Cameniates mentions that upwards of 22,000 young men, women, and
1 -i i J i _, _ 3 *^i_ _ i .1 t__j i>.i_^ i_^: ._ j, ^1 .. ^.v
_apposu- -
state of society is considered, it may be doubted whether it formed a greater portion
the population of Thessalonica was then 220,000. De Exddio Thcssal* bcxiii.
250 BasiHan Dynasty
man the largest force, the negligence and Incapacity of the
admiralty had been so great, that several years of misfortune
were required to raise the Byzantine fleet to the condition
from which it had fallen. The naval force that was now sent
to defend the empire did not venture to encounter the Saracen
fleet, but retired before it, seeking shelter within the Helles-
pont, and leaving the whole Archipelago unprotected. In the
mean time fugitives reached Constantinople, who reported
that the enemy proposed to attack Thessalonica.
The walls of Thessalonica had been originally of great
strength, but the fortifications were in a neglected state, and
the city was almost without a garrison of regular troops. The
sea-wall was in want of repair, and parts were so low that
it was not difficult to mount the battlements from the yards of
the ships in the port. On the land side the floors of the
towers that flanked the walls had in some places fallen into
such a state of decay, that the communications of the defenders
on the curtains were interrupted. The emperor, when in-
formed of the defenceless state of the place, increased the
confusion by his injudicious meddling. He sent a succession
of officers from the capital with different instructions, fresh
counsels, and new powers ; and, as usually happens in similar
cases, each of his deputies availed himself of his authority to
alter the plan of defence adopted by his predecessor. As
might be expected under such circumstances, the Saracens
arrived before the fortifications were repaired, and before the
arrangements for defence were completed.
The most alarming defect in the fortifications was the con-
dition of the wall that ran along the border of the port. It
was too low, without the necessary towers to afford a flanking
defence, and in several places the depth of the water ad-
mitted ships to approach close to the quay that ran under its
battlements. Petronas, the first officer sent by the emperor,
thinking that there was not sufficient time to raise the wall or
construct new towers, adopted measures for preventing the
approach of the enemy's ships. To effect this, he transported
to the port the sculptured sarcophagi, and immense blocks of
marble that then adorned the Hellenic tombs on both sides
of the Egnatian Way, without the western and eastern gates
of the city, and' commenced laying them in the sea at some
distance from the quay. His object was to form a mole
reaching within a few feet of the surface of the water, against
which the enemy might run their ships, and leave them
Legislation and Despotism 251
exposed, for some time, to the missiles and Greek fire of the
defenders of the city. But the inhabitants of Thessalonica
showed themselves insensible of danger before it approached,
and incapable of defending themselves when it arrived.
Their whole confidence was placed in St. Demetrius, who had
never deceived them not in their emperor, whose armies and
fleets were every day defeated. They knew that Thessalonica
had often repulsed the attacks of the Sclavonians in the
seventh and eighth centuries ; they boasted that it had never
been taken by pagan or unbelievers ; and they believed that,
whenever it had been besieged, St. Demetrius had shown
himself active in its defence : it was therefore the universal
opinion, that as patron saint he would now defend a place in
which he had a strong personal interest ; for in no other spot
on earth was he worshipped by so numerous, so wealthy, and
so devoted a community. 1 The fate of Thessalonica proves
the wisdom of Leo III. in endeavouring to exterminate the
worship of images and saints.
Petronas had not made much progress with his work when
he was superseded by an officer named Leo, who was ap-
pointed general of the theme of Thessalonica. Leo, finding
that the wall towards the port was not higher than the im-
mense stem-galleries of the ships then in use, ordered the
undertaking of Petronas to be suspended, and every nerve to
be strained to raise the wall. Reports became every day
more alarming. At one time it was announced that the
Saracen fleet had pursued the Byzantine admiral, Eustathios
Argyros, up the Hellespont as far as Parium. Afterwards
it became certain that it had quitted the Hellespont and-
reached Thasos. The people of the city would not, however,
shake off their apathy, and their confidence in St. Demetrius.
They showed little aptitude for building or for military disci-
pline ; the wall advanced slowly, and the militia did not seem
likely to defend it with alacrity, even should it be completed.
At this conjuncture a third officer arrived from Constantinople,
named Niketas. His arrival was of itself sufficient to produce
some disorder; but, unfortunately, an accident that happened
shortly after threw everything into confusion, Leo and
Niketas met on horseback to inspect the defences of the city ;
the horse of Leo reared, threw his rider, and injured his right
thigh and side in such a manner that his life was in danger,
1 J. Cameniates, De Ejctie&o Thessal> dhap. viiL Tafel, Df Thessahnica, ejusgu
t proleg. IvHL civ.
252 Basilian Dynasty
and for several days be was unable to move. This accident
invested Niketas with the chief command.
Niketas seems to have had more military experience than
his predecessor, and he felt that the citizens of Thessalonica,
though they formed a numerous militia, were not to be
depended on for defending the place. He therefore endea-
voured to assemble a body of troops accustomed to war,
by calling on the general of the theme of Strymon to send
some of the federate Sclavonians from his government ; but
the envy or negligence of the general, and the avarice and
ill-will of the Sdavonian leaders, prevented the arrival of any
assistance from that quarter. Though Niketas threatened to
report the misconduct of the general of Strymon to the
emperor, he could obtain no addition to the garrison, except
a few ill-equipped Sdavonian archers from the villages in the
plains near the city. The generals seemed all to place too
much confidence in human prudence; the people preferred
relying on St. Demetrius and heaven. To secure the divine
aid, a solemn procession of all the clergy and citizens, accom-
panied by every stranger residing in Thessalonica, headed by
the archbishop and the civil and military authorities, visited
the church of St. Demetrius. Public prayers were offered
up day and night with great fervour; but long after, when
Joannes Cameniates recorded that the intervention of St.
Demetrius had proved unavailing, he acknowledged that God
permitted the destruction of Thessalonica to show mankind
that nothing renders the divine ear accessible to the inter-
cession of the saints but pious life and good deeds.
The Saracens stopped a short time at Thasos to prepare
engines for hurling stones, and other machines used in sieges.
At last, as the inhabitants of Thessalonica were leaving their
houses at daybreak, to attend morning prayer, on Sunday the
29th of July 904, a rumour arose that the enemy was already
in the gulf, and only concealed from view by Cape Ekvolos.
The unwarlike city was filled with lamentations, tumult, and
alarm ; but the citizens enrolled in the militia armed them-
selves, amidst the tears of their wives and children, and
hastened to the battlements. The anxious crowd had not long
to wait before fifty-four ships were seen rounding the cape in
succession with all sail, set. The sea-breeze bore them rapidly
forward, and before noon they were at anchor close to the
city. The entrance of the port between the moles was shut
by a chain ; and to prevent this chain from being broken by
Legislation and Despotism 253
hostile ships impelled by the strong sea-breezes of the summer
months, several vessels had been sunk across the mouth.
Leo of Tripolis immediately reconnoitred the fortifications^
and examined the unfinished work of Petxoiias, in order to
ascertain if it were still practicable to approach the wall
beyond its junction with the mole. After this examination
was completed a desultory attack was made on the place to
occupy the attention of the garrison, and induced the besieged
to show all their force and means of defence.
Next day the Saracens landed and attacked the gate Roma,
which was situated in the eastern wall, and not far from the
sea. Seven of the engines constructed at Thasos were placed
in battery, and an attempt was made to plant scaling-ladders
against the fortifications, tinder cover of a shower of stones f
darts, and arrows; but a vigorous sally of the Byzantine
troops repulsed the assault and captured the ladders. In the
afternoon the plan of attack was changed. It was resolved to
force an entrance by burning down two of the four gates in
the eastern wall. The gate Roma and the gate Cassandra, on
the Egnatian Way, were selected. Waggons filled with dry
wood, pitch, and sulphur, were covered over by fishing-boats
turned upside down, to prevent those on the wall from setting
fire to the combustibles at a distance. Sheltered by these
boats, the Saracen sailors pushed the waggons close to the
gates, and when they had lighted their fires, they escaped to
their companions with their shields over their heads, while
the rising flames, the stones from the baHistae, and the arrows
of the archers, distracted the attention of the defenders of the
wall. The iron plates on the doors were soon heated red-hot,
and, the door-posts being consumed, the gates fell; but
when the fire burned low, an inner gateway was seen closed
with masonry, and well protected by flanking towers, so that
the Saracens gained nothing by the success of this project
But the real object of the besiegers in all these preliminary
operations had only been to draw off the attention of the
Greeks from the point where most danger was to be appre-
hended. The second night of the siege was a sleepless one
for both parties. The inhabitants, seriously alarmed at the
daring courage and contempt of death displayed by the assail-
ants, deemed it necessary to keep up a strict watch along the
whole circuit of the fortifications, lest some unguarded spot
should be found by the besiegers during the darkness. On
board the fleet an incessant noise of hammers, and of Arabs
254 Basilian Dynasty
and Ethiopians shouting, with a constant moving of lights,
proclaimed that active preparation was going on for renewing
the attack.
When Leo of Tripolis reconnoitred the fortifications, he
had ascertained that his ships could approach the wall in
several places, and he had carefully marked the spots. The
interval had been employed in getting everything ready for an
attack in this quarter, and now the night was devoted to com-
plete the work, in order that the besieged might remain in
ignorance of the design until the moment of its execution.
It was necessary to form stages, in which the assailants could
overlook the defenders of the place, and from which they
could descend on the wall. The project was executed with
ability and promptitude in a very simple manner. Two ships
were bound firmly together by cables and chains, and the
long yards of the Immense lateen sails then in use were
reversed, so as to extend far beyond the bows of the double
ship. These yards were strong enough to support a framework
of wood capable of containing a small body of men, who
were protected by boards on the sides from missiles, while
shrouds kept up a constant communication with the deck
below. These cages, when swung aloft from the yards, could
be elevated above the battlements where the sea-wall was
lowest, and to the besieged looked like the tops of towers
suddenly raised out of the sea. In the morning the double
ships were rowed into their positions, and the fight commenced
between the besiegers in their hanging towers and the de-
fenders on the ramparts. Stones, arrows, pots filled with
flaming combustibles, and fire launched from long brazen
tubes, the composition of which had been at an earlier period
a secret known only in the Byzantine arsenal, now came pour-
ing down from above on the Greeks, who were soon driven
from the battlements. The Ethiopians of the Alexandrian
ships were the first to make good their footing on the wall,
and as soon as they had cleared the whole line of the fortifica-
tions towards the sea from its defenders, they broke open the
gates, and the crews of the other ships rushed into the city.
The sailors employed to collect the booty entered with their
drawn swords, wearing only their trousers, in order that no
plunder might be abstracted secretly. The militia fled with-
out a thought of further resistance : the Sclavonians escaped
from a gate in the citadel, which they had secured as a means
of retreat
Legislation and Despotism 255
The Saracens divided themselves into bands, and com-
menced slaughtering every person they found in the streets f
though they encountered crowds of women and children, who
had rushed out of their houses to learn the cause of the
unusual commotion. A number of the inhabitants endeavoured
to escape by the Golden Gate, which formed the entrance of
the Egnatian Way into the city from the west, but the crowd
rendered it impossible to throw open the doors. A party of
Ethiopians came upon the people as they were straggling to
effect their purpose. Hundreds were crushed to death or
suffocated, and the blacks stabbed the rest, without sparing
age or sex. John Cameniates, Ms father, his uncle, and two-
brothers, fled towards the wall that separates the town from
the citadel, intending to conceal themselves in a tower until
the first fury of the assailants was assuaged. They had hardly
ascended the wall when a band of Ethiopians reached the
place in pursuit of a crowd of people, whom they murdered
before the eyes of the terrified family. The Ethiopians then
mounted the wall, but a tower was between them and Cameni-
ates, of which the floor was in such a "ruinous condition that
it seemed dangerous to pass. As the enemy paused, John
Cameniates deemed the moment favourable to implore mercy,
and running quickly over a beam that remained unbroken, he
threw himself at the feet of the black captain, promising that
he would reveal where a treasure was hidden, in case his own
life and that of his relations was spared. His confidence won
the favour of the barbarians, one of whom understood Greek,
and the family was taken under their protection ; yet as they
were marching through the streets, Cameniates received two
wounds from an Ethiopian belonging to another band. On
their way to the port the prisoners were carried into the
convent of Akroullios, where they found the chief of the
Ethiopians seated in the vestibule. After hearing the promises
of old Cameniates, he rose and entered the church, in which
about three hundred Christians had been collected. There,
seating himself cross-legged on the altar, he made a signal to
his followers, who immediately put all to death, leaving only
the family of Cameniates. From this hideous spectacle they
were conducted to the Saracen admiral.
After Leo of Tripolis had heard what Cameniates had to
say, he sent a guard to convey the treasure to the port.
Fortunately the hoard, which contained all the wealth of
many members of the family, was found untouched, for had
256 Baslllan Dynasty
it not satisfied the avarice of the chiefs, 'the whole family
would have been murdered, as happened In many other cases.
This treasure was received by Leo only as a ransom for the
lives of Ms prisoners, who were embarked in order to be
exchanged at Tarsus for Saracens in captivity among the
Christians. Cameniates found Leo, the general of the theme
of Thessalonica, Niketas, the third envoy of the emperor, and
Rodophyies, a eunuch of the imperial household, who had
stopped as he was conveying a hundred pounds 7 weight of
gold to the Byzantine army in Italy, all among the prisoners.
Rodophyies was brought before the Saracen admiral, who had
learned from the captives that he was intrusted with treasure.
The eunuch boldly replied that he had performed his duty to
the emperor, by sending away the gold to the general of the
theme of Strymon as soon as the enemy approached; and
when Leo of TripoHs found that this was true, he flew into a
passion, and ordered Rodophyies to be beaten to death on
the spot 1
Several days were spent in collecting the booty in the city,
in releasing such of the captives as had friends in the neigh-
bourhood able to purchase their liberty by the payment of a
second ransom, and in negotiating the exchange of two
hundred persons, for whom an officer of the emperor named
Simeon engaged that an equal number of Saracen captives
should be delivered up at Tarsus. When all other business
was settled, the Saracens threatened to burn the city, and
succeeded in forcing the general of Strymon to deliver up the
gold for which Rodophyies had lost his life, in order to save
the place from destruction. The hostile fleet quitted the har-
bour of Thessalonica ten days after the capture of the city.
Cameniates was embarked in the ship of the Egyptian admiral,
who served under Leo of Tripolis. The crew consisted of
two hundred men and eight hundred captives ; men, women,
and children were crowded together on the lower deck. These
unfortunate people, all of whom were of the higher ranks,
suffered indescribable misery, and many died of hunger, thirst,
and suffocation before they reached the island of Crete, where,
after a fortnight's confinement, they were allowed to land for
the first time. The fleet had deviated from its course in order
- Cameniates calls the sum intrusted to Rodophyies two talents, by which he of
course means centners ; other authors call It only one hundred pounds. Continuator,
"Leo," 226. Symeon Mag. 4.66. Georg. MOB. 558. Leo Gramm, 277, edit. Bonn.
Concerning the variety of weight in ancient talents, see Hussey, Essay on Ancient
Weights and Mont* i 28-42.
Legislation and Despotism 257
to avoid falling In with the Byzantine squadron, for it was im-
possible to fight when every ship was crowded with prisoners.
It had therefore remained six days at Patmos and two at
Naxos, which was then tributary to the Saracens at Crete.
The fleet anchored at Zontarion, a port opposite the island
of Dia, which afforded better shelter than the harbour of
Chandax, and where it could obtain the seclusion necessary
for dividing the slaves and spoil among the different parties
composing the expedition, in order that each might hasten
home before the autumnal storms commenced. The whole
of the captives were landed, and three days were spent by
them in endeavouring to find their relations, and unite
families that had been dispersed, many of which were again
separated by the new division. As not only the fifty-four
ships of Leo's fleet, but also several Byzantine men-of-war and
merchantmen, taken in the port of Thessalonica, had been
filled with prisoners, it is not surprising that the number, even
after the loss sustained on the passage, still amounted to
twenty-two thousand souls. Of these, with the exception
of the small number reserved for exchange at Tarsus, all con-
sisted of young men and women in the flower of their youth,
or children remarkable for the bloom of their beauty: they
had been saved from the slaughter of the older Inhabitants, or
selected from those seized in the houses, because they were
sure of commanding a high price in the slave-markets of the
East. When all the booty had been landed, the spoil was
divided by lot, and then the fleet dispersed, the ships sailing
from Crete directly to Alexandria, or to the different ports of
Syria to which they belonged. Many of the unfortunate
prisoners, exposed to sale in the slave-markets of Fostal, the
capital of Egypt and Damascus, were transported to Ethiopia
and Arabia, and even to the southern parts of Africa; the
more fortunate were re-purchased from those to whose share
they had fallen, by the Cretans, and by them re-sold to their
friends.
The island of Crete had become a great slave-mart, in con-
sequence of the extensive piracies of its Saracen population ;
and at this time the slave-trade was the most profitable
branch of commerce in the Mediterranean ! 1 A large portion
1 The prevalence of piracy on the coast of Attica, about the end of the twelfth
century, after the Saracens Sad been long expelled from the Grecian seas, is proved
by the Memorial of the Athenians to the JSmperor Alexios III., A.D. 1195-1203, drawn
tip by their archbishop. Michael Akominatos. Tafel, Thessatonica,, p. 4.63, where
r%v \en\aalav ru>v BaXarrlfay \yarQf, is spoken of.
258 Basillan Dynasty
of the Greek inhabitants of Crete having embraced Moham-
medanism, and established communications with the Christian
slave-merchants in the Byzantine empire, carried on a regular
trade in purchasing Byzantine captives of wealthy families,
and arranging exchanges of prisoners with their relations. As
these exchanges were private speculations, and not, like those
at TarsuSj under the regulation of an official cartel, the
Christians were generally compelled to pay a considerable
sum as redemption-money, in order to deliver their relatives,
in addition to releasing a Saracen captive. After the buying
and selling of the captives from Thessalonica had been carried
on for several days, the Saracens embarked their prisoners for
their ultimate destination. The wife of one of the brothers of
Cameniates was purchased by a Cretan slave-merchant, but he
had the misery of seeing his mother, his wife, and two of his
children, (for the third had died during the voyage,) embarked
in a ship belonging to Sidon. Cameniates, with his father,
and the greater part of the captives set apart for the exchange
at Tarsus, were put on board a Byzantine man-of-war, the
upper deck of which was occupied by the Saracens, while
the Christians were crowded on the lower, in filth and dark-
ness.
On the passage from Crete to Syria, an event happened
which shows that Leo, the Saracen admiral, was a man of
energy and courage, well fitted for his daring occupation, and
by no means so deaf to the calls of humanity, in the hour
of the most terrific danger, as his ferocious conduct after
the taking of Thessalonica might lead us to believe. A violent
storm threatened one of the smaller galleys with destruction,
for it broke in the middle an accident to which ancient ships,
from their extreme length and want of beam, were very liable.
The Saracens on board were near the admiral's ship, and that
in which Cameniates was embarked, and they requested Leo
to order the crew of the Byzantine man-of-war to throw all the
captives overboard and receive them. The order was given,
allowing the crew to quit the sinking ship, but the violence of
the wind had driven the ship in which Cameniates was em-
barked to such a distance that the signals of the admiral were
unnoticed or unheeded. Leo, however, ordered his own ship
to be brought as near the galley as possible, and succeeded in
saving, not only the Saracen crew, but every Christian on
board, though the crews and captives of the two vessels
amounted to upwards of one thousand persons. The Byzan-
Legislation and Despotism 259
tine generalSj Leo and Niketas, who were on board Leo's sbip s
recounted the circumstances to Cameniates, and declared that
their ship was Ill-calculated to contain so great a crowd, and
was navigated with great difficulty. After refitting at Cyprus,
the squadron reached Tripolls on the 1410 of September. The
father of Cameniates died there, before the prisoners were
removed to Tarsus. While waiting at Tarsus, in fear of death
from the unhealthlness of the place, Camenktes wrote the
account of his sufferings, from which the preceding narrative
has been extracted ; and we must pardon what he calls the
feebleness, but what others are more likely to term the In-
flation of his style, on account of the interesting matter
embalmed In its verbosity. The worthy Anagnostes appears
to have returned to his native city, and obtained the office of
kouboukleslos to the archbishop.
The taking of Thessalonlca affords a sad lesson of the
inefficiency of central governments, which deny the use of
arms to the people, to defend the wealthy and unfortified cities
of an extensive empire. The tendency of a court to expend
the revenues of the state on the pageantry of power, on
palaces, churches, and fetes in the capital, without bestowing
a thought on the destruction of a village or the loss of a
parish,^ reveals to us one of the paths by which despotic
power invariably tends to degrade the mass of human civilisa-
tion.
The wealth the Saracens had obtained at Thessalonlca
invited them to make fresh attacks on the empire, until at last
the public sufferings compelled the Emperor Leo, in the
last year of his reign, to make a vigorous attempt to put
an end to the piracies of the Cretans, A.D. 912. Himerios,
who had gained a naval victory over the Saracens in the year
909, was intrusted with the command of a powerful fleet, and
commenced his operations by clearing the Archipelago of the
Cretan pirates. His fleet consisted of forty dromons or war-
galleys of the largest size, besides other vessels ; and it was
manned by twelve thousand native sailors, besides seven
hundred Russians, who are considered worthy of especial
enumeration. A powerful army, under the orders of Romanus
the future emperor, was assembled at Samos for the purpose
of besieging Chandax ; but after eight months of insignificant
demonstrations, the expedition was defeated with great loss by
the Saracens, under the command of Leo of Tripolis and
Damian, off the coast of Samos. Himerios escaped with
260 Baslllan Dynasty
difficulty to Mitylene, but Romanus saved the remains of the
imperial force. 1
In southern Italy, everything was in such a state of con-
fusion that it is not worth while following the political changes
it suffered. The dukes of Naples, Gaeta, Salerno and Amalfi
were at times the willing subjects of the Byzantine emperor,
and at times their personal ambition induced them to form
alliances with the Saracens of Africa and Sicily, or, with the
Pope and the Romans, to carry on war with the Byzantine
generals of the theme of Longibardia (Apulia). The Italian
population, as in ancient times, consisted of many nations
living under different laws and usages, so that only a powerful
central government, or a system of political equality, could
preserve order in the discordant elements. The state of civilisa-
tion rendered the first difficult, the second impossible. The
popes were always striving to increase their power, allying
themselves alternately with the Franks and the Byzantines;
the native Italian population in the cities was struggling
for municipal independence \ a powerful aristocracy, of Ger-
manic origin, was contending for power; the Byzantine
authorities were toiling to secure an increase of revenue, and
the whole peninsula was exposed to the plundering incursions
either of the Hungarians or of the Saracens. In this scene of
confusion the Emperor Leo was suddenly compelled to take an
active part by the loss of Bari, which was seized by the Duke
of Beneventum. A Byzantine army regained possession of
that city, and revenged the injury the Greeks had suffered by
taking Beneventum, which, however, only remained in pos-
session of the imperial troops for four years. The Byzantine
fleet in Italy was subsequently defeated by the Sicilian
Saracens in the Straits of Messina. In short, the administra-
tion of Leo the Philosopher in Italy was marked by his usual
negligence and incapacity, and the weakness of his enemies
alone preserved the Byzantine possessions.
The kingdom of Bulgaria had for a considerable period
proved a quiet neighbour and useful ally. It formed a
barrier against the Turkish tribes, whom the ruin of the
1 Constantino Porphyrogenitus gives a curious account of the forces that composed
tins expedition. DC Ceremon* Auto. Byzant,, torn. I 651. edit. Bonn. Contin. 232.
Symeon Log. 470. The imperial fleet in the Egean Sea amounted usually to sixty
active service, carried *wo hundred and thirty rowers and sailors, and seventy soldiers
or marines.
Legislation and Despotism 261
Khazar empire drove into Europe. Leo, however, allowed
himself to be Involved in hostilities with the Bulgarians by
the avarice of Ms ministers. Stylianos, the father of his
second wife Zoe, established a monopoly of the Bulgarian
trade in favour of two Greek merchants. To conceal the ex-
tortions to which this monopoly gave rise, the depdt of the
Bulgarian commerce was removed from Constantinople to
Thessalonica. 1 The Bulgarians, whose interest suffered by
this fraud, applied to their King Simeon for protection ; and
when the Emperor Leo, after repeated solicitations, took
no steps to redress the injustice, the Bulgarian monarch
declared war. An almost uninterrupted peace of seventy-four
years had existed between the sovereigns of Constantinople
and Bulgaria, for only temporary and trifling hostilities had
occurred since the treaty between Leo V. and Mortagan in
814. Bogoris called, after his baptism, Michael had
governed his kingdom with great prudence, and not only con-
verted all his subjects to Christianity, but also augmented
their means of education and wellbeing. His own religious
views induced him to join the Eastern church, and he sent his
second son Simeon to Constantinople for his education. Bogoris
retired into a monastery, and left the throne to his eldest son
Vladimir, about the year 885. The disorderly conduct of
Vladimir drew his father from his retreat, who was compelled
to dethrone and put omt the eyes of this unworthy prince^
before immuring him in a monastery. He then placed hi
second son Simeon on the throne, (A.B. 888,) and, retiring
again to his cell, died a monk, A.D. 907,
Simeon proved an able and active monarch. His education
at Constantinople had enlarged his mind, but inspired him
with some contempt for the meanness and luxury of the
Byzantine court, and for the pedantry and presumption of the
Greek people. He was himself both a warrior and a scholar,
but he followed the military system of the Bulgarians, and
wrote in his native language. 2 The Bulgarian nation had now
attained the position occupied some centuries before by the
Avars. They were the most civilised and commercial of all
the northern barbarians, and formed the medium for supply-
1 At this time Theophano, the first wife of Leo, was still living, and Zoe was only the
emperor's concubine. Stylianos, who is supposed to be the same to whom the Neraclte
of Leo are addressed, is called Zaoutzes by^ the Continuator, 220. The name is con-
nected with the Turkish Chiaous. See TfoSflriot in Ducange, Glossarium med. et. inf.
Greecitatis.
2 I follow Schafarick, Slawischce AlUrth&mer t ii. 185, in preference to Ducange,
Families Byzantines.
262 Basillan Dynasty
ing the greater part of Germany and Scandinavia with the
necessary commodities from Asia, and with Byzantine manu-
factures and gold. 1 This extensive and flourishing trade had
gone on Increasing ever since a treaty, fixing the amount
of duties to be levied on the Byzantine frontier, had been
concluded in the year 716, during the reign of Theodosius III.
The stipulations of that treaty had always formed the basis on
which the commercial relations between the two states had
been re-established, at the conclusion of every war ; but now
two Greek merchants, Stavraklos and Kosmas, bribed Mousi-
kos, a eunuch In the household of Stylianos, to procure an
Imperial ordinance for transferring the whole of the Bulgarian
trade to Thessalonica. These Greeks, having farmed the cus-
toms, felt that they could carry on extortions at a distance
which could not be attempted as long as the traders could
bring their goods to Constantinople, and place themselves
under the Immediate protection of the central administration. 2
The monopoly, though it inflicted great losses both on the
Greek and Bulgarian traders, was supported by the favourite
minister of the emperor, who refused to pay any attention
to the reclamations of the Bulgarian government in favour
of its subjects. Simeon, who was not of a disposition to
submit to contemptuous treatment, finding that he had no
hope of obtaining redress by peaceable means, invaded the
empire. The Byzantine army was completely defeated, and
the two generals who commanded were slain in the first battle,
But Simeon tarnished his glory by his cruelty : he ordered the
noses of all the prisoners to be cut off, and sent the Byzantine
soldiers, thus mutilated, to Constantinople. Leo, eager to
revenge this barbarity, sent a patrician, Niketas Skleros, to
urge the Hungarians, a Turkish tribe which had recently
quitted the banks of the Don to occupy the country still
possessed by its descendants, to attack the Bulgarians. They
did so, and defeated them. They sold their prisoners to the
Emperor Leo, who was compelled, shortly after, to deliver
them to Simeon, King of Bulgaria, without ransom, in order
to purchase peace ; for the Magyars were defeated in a second
battle, and retired from the contest Leo, like many absolute
sovereigns, had conceived too high an idea of his power and
prerogatives to pay any respect to his engagements, when
1 Theophylactus Simocatta says X^yercu y&p & rots tdvevi ro?s 2/cf 0i/toir rb
TU>V 'A/?dpwv -uireTvai frrpexforoTOV ^i/Ao?, 175. Theophanes, 421.
2 Contlnuator, " Leo, "220.
Legislation and Despotism 263
he thought it for Ms advantage to forget his promises. He
took the earliest opportunity of seeking for revenge, and
having assembled what he supposed was an invincible army,
he sent Leo Katakalon, his best general, to invade Bulgaria,
This army was completely destroyed at a place called Bnl-
garophygoSj and after this lesson Leo was glad to conclude
peace, A.D % &g$. 1
About the same time the oppressive conduct of the imperial
governor at Cherson caused an insurrection of the inhabitants,
in which he was murdered.
Leo, in spite of his title of "the Philosopher, 5 * was not a
man in whose personal history mankind can feel much
interest. Though his reign was undisturbed by rebellion or
civil war, his life was exposed to frequent dangers. His con-
cubine Zoe discovered a conspiracy against him, and another
was revealed by the renegade Samonas, and became the origin
of his great favour at court. The prime conspirator was
scourged and exiled to Athens. In 902, an attempt was
made to murder Leo in the church of St Mokios by a mad-
man, who was armed only with a stick. The blow was broken
by the branch of a chandelier, yet the emperor received a
severe wound. 2
Leo died in the year 912, after a reign of twenty-five years
and eight months.
SECTION III
ALEXANDER MINORITY OF CONSTANTINE VII. (PORPHYRO-
GENITUS) ROMANUS I. LECAPENUS, A.D. 912-944
Reign of Alexander, A.D. 912-913 Minority of Constantine VII., 913-
920 Sedition of Constantine Dukas Byzantine army defeated by
Symeon, King of Bulgaria Intrigues at Constantinople Romanus I.
makes himself emperor, A.D. 920-944 Conspiracies against his
government Dethroned by his son Stephen.
Alexander, who succeeded to the throne, or rather to the
government of the empire, on the death of his brother Leo,
(for he had long borne the title of Emperor,) was more
degraded in his tastes, and more unfit for his station, than
Michael the Drunkard. Fortunately for his subjects, he
reigned only a year; yet he found time to inflict on the
empire a serious wound, by rejecting the offer of Simeon,
1 There is some difficulty in arranging the chronology of the Bulgarian war.
Symeon Mag. 462. a Contlnuator, "Leo." 222, 224, 225.
264 Baslllan Dynasty
king of Bulgaria, to renew the treaty concluded with. Lea
Alexander, like Ms predecessor, had a taste for astrology:
and among his other follies he was persuaded that an ancient
bronze statue of a boar in the Agora was his own genius.
TMs work of art was consequently treated with the greatest
reverence; it was adorned with new tusks and other orna-
ments, and its reintegration in the hippodrome was celebrated
as a public festival, not only with profane games, but even
with religious ceremonies, to the scandal of the orthodox. _ ^
Leo VI. had undermined the Byzantine system of adminis-
tration, which Leo III. had modelled on the traditions of
imperial Rome. He had used his absolute . power to confer
offices of the highest trust on court favourites notoriously in-
capable of performing the duties intrusted to them. The
systematic rales of promotion in the service of the govern-
ment ; the administrative usages which were consecrated into
kws; the professional education which had preserved the
science of government from degenerating with the literature
and language of the empire, were for the first time habitually
neglected and violated The administration and the court
were confounded in the same mass, and an emperor, called
the Philosopher, is characterised in history for having reduced
the Eastern Empire to the degraded rule of an Oriental and
arbitrary despotism. Alexander carried this abuse to a great
extent, by conferring high commands on the companions of
his debaucheries, and by elevating men of Sclavonian and
Saracen origin to the highest dignities.
The only act of Alexander's reign that it is necessary to
particularise, is the nomination of a regency to act during the
minority of his nephew Constantine. The Patriarch Nikolaos,
who had been reinstated in office, was made one of its mem-
bers; but Zoe Carbopsina, the young emperor's mother, was
excluded from it.
Constantine VII. was only seven years old when he became
sole emperor. The regency named by Alexander consisted
of six members exclusive of the Patriarch, two of whom,
named Basilitzes and Gabrilopulos, were Sclavonians, who
had attained the highest employments and accumulated great
wealth by the favour of Alexander. 2 The facility with which
all foreigners obtained the highest offices at Constantinople,
and the rare occurrence of any man of pure Hellenic race in
i Contin: 834. 2?rxew afrrov eti). alSota Kal &$&rras T$ X
vtrey. 2 Contin. 233.
Legislation and Despotism 265
power, is a feature of the Byzantine government that requires
to be constantly borne in mind, as it is a proof of the tenacity
with which the empire clung to Roman traditions, and re-
pudiated any identification with Greek nationality.
It is difficult, in the period now before us, to select facts
that convey a correct impression of the condition, both of the
government and the people. The calamities and crimes we
are compelled to mention tend to create an opinion that the
government was worse, and the condition of the inhabitants
of the empire more miserable than was really the case.
The ravages of war and the incursions of pirates wasted only
a small portion of the Byzantine territory, and ample time
was afforded by the long intervals of tranquillity to repair the
depopulation and desolation caused by foreign enemies. The
central government still retained institutions that enabled it
to encounter many political storms that ruined neighbouring
nations ; yet the weakness of the administration, the vices of
the court, and the corruption of the people during the reigns
of Constantine Porphyrogenitus and his father-in-law Ro-
manus L, seemed to indicate a rapid decay in the strength of
the empire, and they form a heterogeneous combination with
the institutions which still guaranteed security for life and
property to an extent unknown in every other portion of the
world, whether under Christian or Mohammedan sway. The
merits and defects of the Byzantine government are not found
in combination in any other portion of history, until we
approach modem times.
Hereditary succession was never firmly established in the
Byzantine empire. The system of centralisation rendered the
prime-minister, who carried on the administration for a minor
or a weak sovereign, virtually master of the empire. Against
this danger Alexander had endeavoured to protect his nephew,
by creating a regency of six members, no one of whom could
aspire at becoming the colleague of young Constantine. But
the arbitrary nature of the imperial power created a feeling of
insecurity in the minds of all officials, as long as that power
eras not vested in a single individual. This feeling inspired
svery man of influence with the hope of being able to render
bdmself sole regent, and with the desire of assuming the title
Df Emperor, as the only method of permanently maintaining
:he post of guardian to the young prince. The most popular
man of the time was Constantine Dukas, who had fled to the
Saracens with his father Andronikos, in order to escape the
266 Basiltan Dynasty
anger of Leo VI. His father had embraced Mohammedanism,
but Dtikas bad thrown himself on the mercy of Leo rather
than forsake his religion, and had been rewarded by a com-
mand on the south-eastern frontier. For three years he served
with distinction, and his valour and liberality rendered him
popular among the soldiers. The death of Alexander found
him commanding a division of the Byzantine army in Asia
Minor, with the rank of general of the imperial guard ; and
a party of the officers of state, knowing Ms boundless ambition,
fixed their eyes on him as the man most likely to overthrow
the regency. Even the Patriarch Nikolaos was privy to the
schemes of those who urged Dukas to repair secretly to
Constantinople, for this ambitious ecclesiastic expected more
authority over a young man possessing absolute power, than
over six wary statesmen experienced in every department of
public business.
As soon as Dukas reached the capital, he was proclaimed
emperor by his partisans, who had already prepared the troops
and the people for a change; and he marched immediately
to the pakce of Chalke, where the young emperor resided,
and of which he expected to gain possession without difficulty.
His attack was so sudden that he rendered himself master
of the outer court but the alarm was soon given, and all the
entries into the palace were instantly closed. John Eladas,
one of the members of the regency, assumed the command
of the guards on duty, and a furious battle was fought in
the court. The rebels were repulsed, and the horse of Dukas
slipping on the flags of the pavement he was slain. Three
thousand men are said to have fallen in this short tumult,
in which both parties displayed the most daring courage.
The conspirators who fell were more fortunate than those
who were taken by the regency, for these latter were put to
death with inhuman cruelty; and the Patriarch was justly
censured for the apathy he showed when men were tortured,
of whose plots he had been cognisant 1 Several persons
of jhigh rank were beheaded, and some were hung on the
Asiatic shore opposite the imperial palace. The wife of
Constantine Dukas was compelled to take the veil, and
banished to her property in Paphlagonia, where she founded
a monastery. Stephen, her only surviving son, was made
a eunuch, and every other male of the noble house of Dukas
perished on this occasion. The family that afterwards bore
1 Zonaras, ii. 184.
Legislation and Despotism 267
the name, and ascended the throne of Constantinople, was of
more modern origin. 1
The affection of the young emperor for his mother, and the
intrigues of the different members of the regency, who ex-
pected to increase their influence by her favour, reinstated
Zoe Carbopsina in the palace, from which she had been
expelled by Alexander. As she had received the imperial
crown, she shared the sovereign authority with the regents
as a matter of right, and through the influence of John
EladaSj she soon became the absolute mistress of the public
administration. Zoe thought of little but luxury and amuse-
ment. Her administration was unfortunate ? and a complete
defeat of the Byzantine army by the Bulgarians created
a general feeling that the direction of public affairs ought no
longer to be intrusted to a woman of her thoughtless dis-
position.
The evils inflicted on the inhabitants of Thrace by Simeon,
king of Bulgaria, after his rupture with Alexander, equalled
the sufferings of the empire during the earlier incursions of the
Huns and Avars. In the year 913, shortly after Alexander's
death, Simeon marched up to the walls of Constantinople
almost without opposition; but he found the city too well
garrisoned to admit of his remaining long in its vicinity : he
retired after an ineffectual attempt to settle the terms of a
treaty in a conference with the Patriarch. In 914 he again
invaded the empire, and in this campaign Adrianople was
betrayed into his hands by its governor, an Armenian named
Pankratakas, who, however, as soon as the Bulgarians retired,
restored it to the Byzantine government.
A Turkish tribe, called by the Byzantine writers Patzinaks,
who had contributed to destroy the flourishing monarchy of
the Khazars, had driven the Magyars or Hungarians before
them into Europe, and at this period had extended their
settlements from the shores of the Sea of Azof and the falls
of the Dnieper to the banks of the Danube. They were thus
neighbours of the Russians and the Bulgarians, as well as of
the Byzantine province of Cherson. 2 They were nomades,
and inferior in civilization to the nations in their vicinity, by
whom they were dreaded as active and insatiable plunderers,
1 Zonaras, II. 372. Leo Gramm.. 492. Ducange, Fatn. Byz. too.
2 Tfae_ Patzmaks are called also Petchenegs. The Magyars are called Turks by
Constantine Porphyrogenitus, in his curious work, De Administra.ndo Imferio, chap.
4, 5. The Patzinaks, Magyars, Uzes, and Kumans, who all made their first appearance
in Europe about this time, were Turkish tribes.
268 Basllian Dynasty
always ready for war and eager for rapine. The regency of the
Empress Zoe, la order to give the people of Thrace some
respite from the ravages of the Bulgarians, concluded an
affiance with the Patzinaks, who engaged, on receiving a sum
of money, to act in co-operation with the imperial forces.
They were to attack the Bulgarians in the rear, the means of
crossing the Danube being furnished by the Byzantine govern-
ment. Zoe in the mean time, trusting to negotiations she
was carrying on at Bagdat for securing tranquillity in Asia
Minor, transferred the greater part of the Asiatic army to
Europe, and prepared to carry the war into the heart of
Bulgaria, and compel Simeon to fight a battle, in order to
prevent his country being laid waste by the Patzinaks. A
splendid army was reviewed at Constantinople, and placed
undo: the command of Leo Phokas, a man possessing great
influence with the aristocracy, and a high military reputation.
Before the troops marched northward they received new arms
and equipments ; liberal advances of pay were made to the
soldiers, and numerous promotions were made among the
officers. The second in command was Constantine the Libyan,
one of the conspirators in the plot of Dukas, who had escaped
the search of the regency until he obtained the pardon of
Zoe's government The fleet appointed to enter the mouth
of the Danube, in order to transport the Patzinaks over the
river, was placed under the command of Romanus the grand
admiral
Leo Phokas pressed forward, confident of success; but
Homanus felt no inclination to assist the operation of one
whom a successful campaign would render the master of the
empire. He is accused of throwing impediments in the way
of the Patzinaks, and delaying to transport them over the
Danube at the time and place most likely to derange the
operations of the Bulgarians. The conduct of Leo was rash,
that of Romanus treacherous. Simeon was enabled to con-
centrate all his forces and fight a battle at a place called
Achelous, in which the Byzantine army was defeated, with an
immense loss both in officers and men, 1 (2oth August 917).
1 Achelous seems to have been the name of both a river and fortress In Bulgaria,
River : Contin. 240. Symeon Mag. 476. Georg. MOD. 569. Leo Gramm. 491.
Fortress: Cedrenus, '613. See Krug, Chronologic der Byz. 130, note * * The defeat
took place jiear Anchialus. Leo Diaconus, 124, edit Bonn. The name Achelous seems
to have misled Gibbon into a singular complication of errors. His words are, " On
rlassic ground, on the banks of the Achelous, the Greeks were defeated : their horn
ras broken by the strength of the barbaric Hercules." He transports the battle into
jrxeece, calls the Asiatic troops of Leo Phokas Greeks ; and grows more poetical than
>rid, whom he quotes. Decline and Fall, vol. x. aoi.
Legislation and Despotism 269
Leo escaped to Mesembria, where he attempted to rally the
fugitives; but Romanus, as soon as he heard of the disaster,
sailed, directly to Constantinople without attempting to make
any diversion for the relief of his countrymen, or endeavouring
to succour the defeated troops as he passed Mesembria. He
was accused of treason on his return, and condemned to lose
his sight ^ but he retained possession of the fleet by the support
of the sailors; and the empress, who began to perceive her
unpopularity, countenanced his disobedience, as she expected
to make use of his support.
The partisans of Leo openly urged his claims to be placed
at the head of the administration, as the only man capable
by his talents of preventing a revolution; and the chamber*
lain Constantine urged Zoe to appoint him a member of the
regency, and invest him with the conduct of public affairs.
The empress began to distrust Romanus, from the pre-
ponderating power he possessed as long as the fleet remained
in the vicinity of the capital The fleet was therefore ordered
into the Bkck Sea ; but Romanus had already received secret
encouragement to oppose the designs of Leo from Theodore,
the governor of the young emperor, and he delayed sailing,
under the pretext that the sailors would not put to sea until
their arrears were paid. The crisis was important; so the
chamberlain Constantine visited the fleet with the money
necessary for paying the sailors, determined to hasten its
departure, and perhaps to arrest the grand admiral This
step brought ^ matters to an issue. Romanus seized the
money and paid the sailors himself, keeping the chamberlain
under arrest ^ This daring conduct on the part of a man
hitherto considered as deficient in ambition as well as
capacity, spread alarm in the palace, for it revealed to the
empress that there was another pretender to supreme power.
Zoe immediately despatched the Patriarch Nikolaos, and
some of the principal officers of state, to visit the fleet
in order to induce the sailors to return to their allegiance;
but the populace, eager for change, and delighted to see the
government in a state of embarrassment, attacked the envoys
with stones, and drove them back into the palace. The
empress, at a loss what measures to adopt, vainly sought
for information concerning the causes of this sudden revolu-
tion. At last Theodore, the young emperor's governor,
declared that the conduct of Leo Phokas and the chamber-
lain Constantine had caused the popular dissatisfaction, for
2jo Basilian Dynasty
Leo had rained the army and Constantine had corrupted the
administration. He suggested that the easiest mode of
putting an end to the existing embarrassments would be for
the young Emperor Constantine to assume the supreme
power into his own hands. This was done ? and the young
prince, or rather his tutor Theodore in his name, invited the
Patriarch and one of the regents named Stephen to consult
on the measures to be adopted, though both were known to
be hostile to his mother's administration. This produced an
Immediate revolution at court The principal officers of state
attached to the party of Phokas were dismissed from their
employmentSj which were conferred on men pledged to
support the new advisers of the young emperor. Leo, not
perceiving that Romanes was directly connected with the
new administration, proposed a coalition, but received from
that wary intriguer only assurances of friendship and support,
while he openly obeyed the orders of the new ministers,
Romanus, however, was soon informed by his friend Theo-
dore that the Patriarch and Stephen had resolved to remove
him from his command, that they might render him as
harmless as Leo: bold measures were therefore rendered
necessary, and without hesitation the admiral ranged his
fleet in hostile array under the walls of the palace Bukoleon.
His friends within, under the direction of the patrician
Niketas, invited him to enter and protect the young emperor,
and at the same time forced the Patriarch and Stephen to
retire. 1 The Emperor Constantine had been already pre-
disposed in favour of Romanus by his tutor, so that he
received the insurgent admiral in a friendly manner. The
young prince, accompanied by the court, repaired to the
chapel in Pharo, where Romanus took an oath of fidelity on
the wood of the true cross, and was invested with the offices
of grand master and grand heteriarch, or general of the
foreign guards, on the 25th of March gig, 2
Before a month elapsed, the fortunes of Romanus were
further advanced by the charms of his daughter Helena.
1 This Niketas was a Sclavonian landed proprietor in the Peloponnesus, whose
daughter was married to Christopnoros the eldest son of Romanus. His ass-like
Sclavonian visage, to use an expression which amused the courtiers of Constantinople,
and has troubled modern scholars, excited the spleen of his imperial rel :tive. Compare
Contin. 243, Constant. Porphyr. Ds Tkemat. 25, edit. Banduri, and note at page 284 of
this volume.
% The date is given by the Coatinuaror, 243 ; Symeon Mag. 478. But the chronology ot
this period is reviewed with learning and accuracy by Krug, Kritisc&e-r Ve-rsuch Zur
cLuf&l&rung der Byzantinischen Chronologic, tftii besonderer Rucksicht auf die friihere
Gesckichtt Russlands ; St Petersburg, iSio, p. 133,
Legislation and Despotism 271
Constantlne VII. became deeply smitten with her beauty,
and the ambition of the father precipitated the marriage in
order to secure the title of Basileopater, which gave him pre-
cedence over every other officer of state, 27th April 919.
He was now even more than prime-minister, and his position
excited deeper envy. Leo Phokas took up arms in Bithynia
and marched to Chrysopolis, (Scutari), declaring that his
object was to deliver the young emperor from restraint; but
his movement was so evidently the result of disappointed
ambition that he found few to support him, and he was soon
taken prisoner and deprived of sight. Another conspiracy,
having for its object the assassination of the Basileopater,
also failed. The Empress Zoe was accused of attempting to
poison him, and immured in a monastery. The governor
Theodore, perceiving that he no longer enjoyed the confidence
of the friend he had contributed to elevate, began to thwart
the ambitious projects of Romanus, and was banished to his
property in Opsikion. Romanus, finding that there was now
nothing to prevent his indulging his ambition, persuaded his
son-in-law to confer on him the title of Caesar, and shortly
after to elevate him to the rank of emperor. He was crowned
as the colleague of Constantine Porphyrogenitus by the
Patriarch Nikokos in the Church of St Sophia, on the i7th
December gig. 1
Few men ever possessed the absolute direction of public
affairs in the Byzantine empire without assuming the imperial
title, even though they had no intention of setting aside the
sovereign whose throne they shared. It was well understood
that there was no other means of securing then* position, for
as long as they remained only with the rank of prime-minister
or Caesar, they were exposed to lose their sight, or be put to
death by a secret order of the sovereign, obtained through
the intrigues of a eunuch or a slave. But as soon as they
assumed the rank of emperor of the Romans, their person
was sacred, being protected both by the law of high treason
and the force of public opinion, which regarded the emperor
as the Lord's anointed. Two of the greatest sovereigns who
ever sate on the throne of Constantinople, Nicephorus II.
(Phokas), and John I. (Zimiskes), shared the throne with
Basil II. and Constantine VIII., as Romanus I. did with
Constantine VII.
Romanus was a man whose character was too weak to
* Krug, 140.
272 Basllian Dynasty
admit of enlarged Ylews. His vanity was hurt by the fact
thai lie occupied only the second place in the empire,
and to gratify his passion for pageantry, and secure the place
of honour in the numerous ceremonies ^of the Byzan-
tine court, he usurped the place of his son-in-law, and con-
ferred the imperial crown on his own wife Theodora, and
on his eldest son Christophoros, giving both precedence over
the hereditary emperor. Romanus had served in his youth as
a marine, and he had risen to the highest rank without
rendering himself remarkable either for his valour or ability; *
die successful career of his family, therefore, naturally excited
the dissatisfaction of the aristocracy and the ambition of
every enterprising officer. His reign was disturbed by a
series of conspiracies, all having for their avowed object the
restoration of Constantine Porphyrogenitus to his legitimate
rights, though, probably, the real object of the conspirators
was to gain possession of the power and position occupied by
Romanus. In the year 921, the great officers of the empire
the grandmaster of the palace, the minister of fortifications,
and the director-general of charitable institutions were dis-
covered plotting. Shortly after, a patrician, with the aid of
the captain of the guard of Maglabites or mace-bearers, 2 un-
dismayed by the preceding failure, again attempted to dethrone
Romanus; and a third conspiracy a planned by the treasurer
and keeper of the imperial plate 3 one of the chamberlains,
and the captain of the imperial galley, was organised. All
were discovered, and the conspirators were punished. In 924,
BoEas, a patrician, rebelled on the frontiers of Armenia, but
his troops were defeated by the celebrated general ^ John
Kurkuas, and he was confined in a monastery. Again, in
926, one of the ministers of state and the postmaster-general
formed a plot, which proved equally abortive.
As years advanced, the feeble character of Constantine
Porphyrogenitus became more apparent His want of talent,
and his devotion to literature and art, warned the ablest
statesmen to avoid compromising their fortunes by supporting
the cause of one so little qualified to defend his own rights.
Romanus, too, having assumed his three sons, Christophoros,
Stephanos, and Constantinos, as his colleagues, and placed
i His son-in-law calls him an illiterate person of no rank. 'Idtdtmjs K<d dypdfjt,-
/wtros dv&pwTros. Const. Porphyr, De. Adm. Imp. p. 66, edit. Band.
* When troops wore plate armour, tiie iron mace was a more effectual weapon than
the sword in single combat.
Legislation and Despotism 273
his son Theophylaktos on the patriarchal throne* considered
his power perfectly secure. The spirit of discontent was,
nevertheless, very prevalent ; the people in the capital and the
provinces were as little inclined to favour the usurping family
as the nobility. An impostor, born in Macedonia, made his
appearance in the theme Opsikion, where he announced him-
self to be Constantine Dukas ; and though taken, and con-
demned to lose his hand like a common forger, he was
enabled to raise a second rebellion after his release. He pro-
cured an artificial hand of brass, with which he wielded Ms
sword j the common people flocked round him, and resisted
the government with so much determination that he was
captured with difficulty, and, to revenge the display he had
made of the weakness of Romanus's power, he was burned
alive in the Amastrianon at Constantinople. 1
In early life Romanus had been a votary of pleasure, but
when the possession of every wish for three-and-twenty years
had tamed his passions, he became a votary of superstition.
Feelings of religion began to affect his mind, and at last he
allowed it to be discovered that he felt some remorse for
having robbed his son-in-law of his birthright, in order to
bestow the gift on his own children, who treated him with
less respect than their brother-in-law. Christophoros was
dead, and Stephanos, impelled either by fear that his father
would restore Constantine Porphyxogenitus to the first place
in the government, or excited by the usual unprincipled
ambition that perraded the Byzantine court, resolved to
secure the possession of supreme authority by deposing his
father. Romanus was seized by the agents of his son and
carried off to the island of Prote, where he was compelled to
embrace the monastic life. Constantinos, his younger son,
though he had not been privy to the plot, readily joined in
profiting by his father's ill-treatment. Such crimes, however,
always excite indignation in the breasts of the people ; and in
this case the inhabitants of Constantinople, hearing vague
rumours of scenes of dethronement, banishment, and murder,
in the imperial palace, became alarmed for the life of their
lawful sovereign, Constantine Porphyrogenitus. They felt an
attachment to the injured prince, whom they saw constantly at
all the church ceremonies, degraded from his hereditary
place; his habits were known, many spoke in his praise,
nobody could tell any evil of him. A mob rushed to the
1 Contin. 261.
274 Basillae Dynasty
palace, and* filling the courts, Insisted on seeing the lawful
emperor. His appearance Immediately tranquilllsed the popu-
lace, but hopes were awakened in the breasts of many intriguers
by this sudden display of his Influence. A new vista of
intrigue was laid open, and the most sagacious statesmen saw
that his establishment on the throne as sole emperor was the
only means of maintaining order. Every man in power
became a partisan of his long-neglected rights, and a restora-
tion was effected without opposition. The Emperors Stephanos
and Constantinos were seized by the order of Constantine
VIL, while they were sitting at a supper-party, and compelled
to adopt the monastic habit, 2/th January 945. 1
SECTION IV.
CONSTANTINE VIL (PORPHYROGENITUS) ROMANUS II.
945-963.
Character of CoBStantlne VIL, A.D. 945-959 Literary works Death
Conspiracies at court Pride of Byzantine government Internal con-
dition of the empire Sclavonians in the Peloponnesus Mainates
Saracen war Bulgarian war Character of Romanus II., 959~9 6 3
Conquest of Crete Condition of Greece.
We are principally indebted to the writings of the Emperor
Constantine Porphyrogenitus, or to works compiled by his
order, for our knowledge of Byzantine history during the
latter half of the ninth and earlier half of the tenth cen-
turies. His own writings give us a picture of his mind, for^he
generally communicates his information as it occurs to him-
self, without hunting for classic and ecclesiastical phrases, and
seeking for learned allusions and antiquated words to confuse
and astonish his readers, as was the fashion with most of the
2 I may here correct Saulcy, Essai de Classification des Suites -monetaiv-es Byzan-
ti*t$i 234,' and Victor Langiols, in the new edition of Letires d-u Baron. Ma.rcka.nt sur
la Nitini$matiqwe % 89. After all, Marchant was right in attributing the coins usually
ascribed to Romanus II. to Romanus I. The surfrappe engraved by Langlois is too
imperfect to fix any point as incontestably as he supposes.^ In my^own collection I
possess three good examples of Constantine VIL, with his long visage struck over
Romanus. I possess, moreover, a coin of Constantine and Romanus II. struck over
Romanus I., which is certainly decisive. I own I had entertained no doubt of the
correctness of Marchant's attribution before meeting with these examples, from the
great number of the coins I had met with in the Peloponnesus, and which I supposed
must have been brought to pay the troops of Romanus I. employed^ there against the
Sclavonians. I possess a Romanus I., also struck over one of the incertains of John
Zimiskes, as they are called, but which appear to date from the reign of Basil I. The
coins attributed by Saulcy, 201, to Basil I. and Constantine his son, also belongj in some
cases at least, to Basil II. and Constantine VIII. I possess a piece in copper, in which
the youth of both princes leaves no doubt on the subject.
Legislation and Despotism 275
Byzantine nobles who affected the literary character. Of Ms
person we have a correct description in the writings of Ms
dependants. He was tall and well made, with broad shoulders,
a long neck, and a long face. This last feature is represented
in caricature on some of the coins of Ms reign. His skin was
extremely fair, Ms complexion ruddy, Ms eyes soft and expres-
sive, Ms nose aquiline, and Ms carriage straight as a cypress.
He was a lover of good cheer, and kept the best of cooks,
and a cellar of excellent wine of all the choicest kinds ; but
he indulged in no excesses, and Ms morals were pure. He
was reserved and mild in Ms intercourse with his familiars,
eloquent and liberal to his dependants, so that we must not
wonder that Ms panegyrists forgot Ms defects. In a despotic
sovereign, such a character could not fail to be popular. 1
Constantino's long seclusion from public business had been
devoted to the cultivation of Ms taste in art, as well as to
serious study. He was a proficient in mathematics, astro-
nomy, arcMtecture, sculpture, painting, and music. The
works of Ms pencil were of course lauded as equal to the
pictures by Apelles ; Ms voice was often heard in the solemn
festivals of the church. An encyclopedia of Mstorical know-
ledge of wMch a part only has reached our time, but even
tMs part has preserved many valuable fragments of ancient
historians and treatises on agriculture and the veterinary art,
were compiled under Ms inspection. 2
The Mstorical works written by Ms order were a chronicle
in continuation of the Chronography of Theophanes, embrac-
ing the period from the reign of Leo V., (the Armenian,) to
the death of Michael III. The name of the writer is said to
be Leontios. A second work on the same period, but in-
cluding the reign of Basil I., was also written by Genesius ;
and a third work, by an anonymous continuator, carried
Byzantine Mstory down to the commencement of the reign of
Ms son Romanus II. 3
The writings ascribed to Constantine Mmself are peculiarly
1 Continuator, 292.
2 The fragments relating to the latter portion of Roman history are collected in the
first volume of the edition of the Byzantine historians published at Bonn Dsxippi*
Eunapti^ Petri JPazrzczz, Priscz, Ma.lcJtz % Menandri hisioriaruin quce $uptrsun.t t
iSaq, 3vo.
3 The attention of the Emperor Constantine was naturally directed to continuing the
work of Theoohanes, as that celebrated annalist was his mother's uncle. De Adm.
Imp, chap. x.\ii. page 76, edit. Bonn. The continuation of Theophanes, and the
history of the successors of Basil I., are contained in the volume of the Byzantine his-
torians entitled Scriptores post TJieopfuLnem* Genesius was jirst printed in the
Venetian edition, but a more correct text is given in the Bonn edition.
276 Basillan Dynasty
valuable, for several relate to subjects treated by no other
author. The life of his grandfather, Basil L, tells some truths,
from vanity, that an experienced flatterer would have con-
cealed for fear of wounding family pride. 1 A short geographi-
cal notice of the themes or administrative divisions of the
Byzantine empire gives us the means of connecting medieval
with ancient geography. But the emperor's most valuable
work is a treatise on the government of the empire, written
for the use of his son Romanus, which abounds with con-
temporary information concerning the geographical limits and
political relations of the people on the northern frontier of the
empire and of the Blade Sea, with notices of the Byzan-
tine power in Italy, and of the condition of the Greeks and
Sclavonians in the Peloponnesus, of which we should other-
wise know almost nothing. 2 Two essays on military tactics
one relating to naval and military operations with the regular
troops of the empire, and the other to the usages of foreigners
contain also much information. 3 The longest work, how-
ever, that Constantine wrote, and that on which he prided
himself most, was an account of the ceremonies and usages of
the Byzantine court It is probably now the least read of his
writings, yet it has been edited with care, though it is pub-
lished without an index which merited more than a trans-
lation. 4
The government of Constantine was on the whole mild and
equitable, and the empire during his reign was rich and
flourishing. When he became despotic master of the East, he
continued to think and act very much as he had done in his
forced seclusion. He displayed the same simplicity of manner
and goodness of heart. His weakness - prevented him from
being a good sovereign, but his humanity and love of justice
preserved him from being a bad one, and he continued all his
life to be popular with the mass of his subjects. His kind
disposition induced him to allow his son, Romanus II., to
marry Theophanp, a girl of singular beauty, and of the most
graceful and fascinating manners, but the daughter of a man in
i The Life of Basil Is contained in Scrigtorcs ost Theofkantm*
2 The works De Thtmatibus and De Administrando Imperio are contained In
Bandun s Imperium Orientals, and in the Bonn collection. The work De Adm. Im6.
was terminated in the year 952. Krug, 266.
3 The^best edition of these treatises is contained in the sixth volume of the works
of Meursius.
* Part of the work De Ceremoniis AuLx Byzantinee has been interpolated at a. later
period, and hence some have conjectured that the whole is the compilation of the
Emperor Consiantine YJUJU The only complete edition of the Notes is that of Bonn.
Legislation and Despotism 277
mean circumstances. The Byzantine historians, who are more
frequently the chroniclers of aristocratic scandal than of
political history, and whose appetite for popular calumny
swallows the greatest improbabilities, have recorded that Theo-
phano repaid the goodness of the emperor by inducing
Romanus to poison his father. 1 They pretend that the chief
butler was gained s and that Constantine partook of a beverage,
in which poison was mingled with medicine prescribed by his
physician. Accident prevented him from swallowing enough
to terminate his life, but the draught injured a constitution
already weak. To recover from the languor into which he fell,
he made a tour in Bithynia in order to enjoy the bracing air
of Mount Olympus, and visit the principal monasteries and
cells of anchorites, with which the mountain was covered.
But his malady increased, and he returned to Constantinople
to die, gth Nov. 959.
The picture which we possess of the conduct of Constantine
in his own family is so amiable, that we are compelled to
reject the accusations brought against Romanus and Theo-
phano ; we can no more believe that they poisoned Constan-
tine, than we can credit all the calumnies against Justinian
recounted by Procopius. To perpetrate such a crime,
Romanus would have been one of the worst monsters of
whose acts history has preserved a record ; and a character so
diabolical would have revealed its inherent wickedness during
the four years he governed the empire with absolute power.
Yet he appears only as a gay, pleasure-loving, pleasure-hunting
prince. His father and his sisters always regarded him with the
tenderest affection. Agatha, the youngest, was her father's
constant companion in his study, and acted as his favourite
secretary. Seated by his side, she read to him all the official
reports of the ministers; and when his health began to fail,
it was through her intermediation that he consented to trans-
act public business. That such a proceeding created no
alarming abuses, and produced neither serious complaints nor
family quarrels, is more honourable to the heart of the princess
than her successful performance of her task to her good sense
and ability. It proves that affection, and not ambition,
prompted her conduct. Historians and novelists may recount
that Romanus, who lived in affectionate intercourse with
such a father and sister, became a parricide, but the tenor of
1 Cedrenus 641, and Zonaras, i. 195, both accuse Theophano and Roman us o!
parricide.
278 Basillan Dynasty
actual life rejects the possibility of any man acting suddenly,
and for once, as a monster of iniquity. 1
The necessity of a safety-valve for political dissatisfaction,
such as is afforded by a free press or a representative assembly,
to prevent sedition, is evident, when we find a popular prince
like Constantine exposed to numerous conspiracies. Men
will not respect laws which appear to their minds to be in-
dividual privileges, and not national institutions. Conspira-
cies then form an ordinary method of gambling for improving
a man's fortune, and though few could aspire at the imperial
throne, every man could hope for promotion in a change.
Hence, we find a plot concocted to place the old Romanus I.
again on the throne. Partisans were even found who laboured
for the worthless Stephanos, who was successively removed to
Proconessus, Rhodes, and Mitylene. Constantinos also, who
was transported to Tenedos and then to Samothrace, made
several attempts to escape. In the last he killed the captain
of his guards, and was slain by the soldiers. The conspirators
in all these plots were treated with comparative mildness, for
the punishment of death was rarely inflicted either by
Romanus I. or Constantine VII.
In spite of the wealth of the empire, and though the
government maintained a powerful standing army and regular
navy, there were many signs of an inherent weakness in the
state. The emperors attempted to make pride serve as a veil
for all defects. The court assumed an inordinate degree of
pomp in its intercourse with foreigners. This pretension
exposed it to envy ; and the affectation of contempt assumed
by the barbarians, who were galled hy Byzantine pride, has
been reflected through all succeeding history, so that we find
even the philosophic Gibbon sharing the prejudices of Luit-
prand. Constantine Porphyrogenitus has fortunately left us
an unvarnished picture of this senseless presumption, written
with the foolish simplicity of an emperor who talks of what a
statesman would feel inclined to conceal. He tells of the
diplomatic arts and falsehoods to be used in order to prevent
foreign princes obtaining a dress or a crown similar to that
worn by the emperor of Constantinople; and he seems to
consider this not less important than preventing them from
obtaining the secret of Greek fire. Foreign ambassadors are
to be told that such crowns were not manufactured on earth,
but had been brought by an angel to the great Constantine,
1 Con tan, z36.
Legislation and Despotism 279
the first Christian emperor; that they have always been
deposited In the sacristy of St Sophia's, under the care of
the Patriarch, and are only to be used on certain fixed cere-
monies. The angel pronounced a malediction on any one
who ventured to use them, except on the occasions fixed
by Immemorial usage; and the Emperor Leo IV., who had
neglected this divine order, and placed one on his head, had
quickly died of a brain fever. Similar tales and excuses were
to be Invented, in order to refuse the demands of princes
who wished to Intermarry with the imperial family ; and the
bestowal of Greek fire was to be eluded In the same way. 1
The attachment of the people had once rendered the
Patriarch almost equal to the emperor In dignity, but the
clergy of the capital were now more closely connected with the
court than the people. The power of the emperor to depose
as well as to appoint the Patriarch was hardly questioned, and
of course the head of the Eastern church occupied a very in-
ferior position to the Pope of Rome. The church of Con-
stantinople, filled with courtly priests, lost Its political In-
fluence, and both religion and civilisation suffered by this
additional centralisation of power in the Imperial cabinet
From this period we may date the decline of the Greek
church.
The Patriarch Nikolaos, the mystic who had been deposed
by Leo VI. for opposing his fourth marriage, (A.D. 908,) was
reinstated by Alexander, who acted in opposition to most of
his brother's measures, A.D. 912. After Romanus I. was estab-
lished on the throne, Nikolaos yielded so far to the pre-emi-
nence of the civil power as to consent to a union with the
party of his successor, Euthymios, and to own that the mar-
riage of Leo had been sanctified by the act of the Patriarch
de facto. This was done to avoid what Nikolaos called scandal
in the church, but the political experience of the bigoted
ecclesiastic having shown him that he must look for support
and power to the emperor, and not to the people, he became
at last as subservient to the court as the mild Euthymios had
ever been. On the death of Nikolaos, (925,) Stephen the
eunuch, who was archbishop of Amasia, was appointed his
successor, who, after a patriarchate of three years, was suc-
ceeded by Tryphon, (A.D, 928.) Tryphon held the office pro-
visionally until Theophylaktos, the son of the Emperor
Romanus L, should have attained the full age for ordination ;
1 Constant, Porphyr. De Adm. Imp. chap. 13.
280 Basilian Dynasty
but in order to avoid too great scandal In the church, Tryphon
was deposed a year before Theophylaktos was appointed. The
imperial youth was then only sixteen years of age, but Ms
father obtained a papal confirmation of his election by means
of Alberic, consul and patrician of Rome, who kept his own
brother. Pope John XL, a prisoner at the time. Legates were
sent to Constantinople, who installed Theophylaktos in the
patriarchal chair on the 2nd February 933. The highest order
of priests in the corporation then called the Church, both in
the East and West, insulted Christianity. The crimes and
debauchery of the papal court were, however, more offensive
than the servility and avarice of the Greek hierarchy. John
XL was appointed Pope at the age of twenty-five, through the
influence of Ms mother Marosia, (A.D. 931.) Marosia and
her second husband, Guy of Tuscany, had dethroned, and it
is supposed murdered, John X., of the family of Cenci.
John XL, as we have mentioned, was imprisoned by Ms
brother Alberic, and died in confinement, a victim to the
political intrigues of his brother and his mother. Alberic
ruled Rome for about thirty years, and during that time the
popes were only the patriarchs of the Latin church. On
Alberic's death, his son Octavian succeeded him as patrician,
and became Pope at the age of eighteen, under the name of
John XII., (A.D. 956.) He is generally considered the greatest
criminal that ever occupied the papal throne, 1
The conduct of the Patriarch Theophylaktos was not much
worse than might have been expected from a young man
whose father had provided him with a bishopric, merely that
he might enjoy a suitable rank and revenue. As long as his
father could keep persons about the young man capable of
controlling his conduct, outward decency was preserved ; but
age soon rendered him independent of advice, and he openly
indulged tastes extremely unsuitable to his ecclesiastical dig-
nity. He lived like a debauched young prince, and sold
ecclesiastical preferments to raise money for his pleasures.
He converted the celebration of divine service at St. Sophia's
into a musical festival, adorned with rich pageantry. His
passion for horses and for hunting exceeded that of the
Emperor Basil L, and it caused his death, as it had done that
1 Baron ins, Ann. Ecctes. Bellarmjne, according to Daunon. calls him almost &&
worst of the popes. De Rom. Pont. ii. chap. jag. Montor, Hisioire des Struveroins
Pontzfes Romozns, ii. 94, says, " Quant a rautorit religieuse, il fut severe, mais, pape
legitlme, il usait d'un droit recount." Historians doubt whether he was murdered on
account of his cruelties or his adulteries.
Legislation and Despotism 281
of the imperial groom. The patriarchal stables are said to
have contained two thousand ^horses. The magnificence of
the building, and the manner In which his favourite steeds
were fed, bathed, and perfumed, was one of the wonders of
Constantinople. On one occasion, as Theophylaktos was
officiating at the high altar of St Sophia's, a slave crept up to
him and whispered that his favourite mare had foaled. The
congregation was alarmed by the precipitation with which the
" most holy " pontiff finished the service. The young Patriarch
threw aside his ecclesiastical vestments as quickly as possible,
and ran to the stable. After satisfying himself that everything
was done for the comfort of the mare and foal, he returned to
Ms cathedral to occupy his place in the procession. The
people of Constantinople submitted to receive religious in-
struction from this festival and hunting loving Patriarch for
twenty years; but strange must have been the reports that
circulated through the provinces of the empire concerning the
impious proceedings, profane songs, indecent dances, and
diabolical ceremonies, with which he defiled the Church of the
Divine Wisdom, could we look into the secret history of some
provincial Procopius. The death of Theophylaktos was in
keeping with his life. One of his horses, as self-willed as the
Patriarch, and as unfit for its duty, dashed him against a wali
The accident brought on a dropsy, and he died in 956, after
having too long disgraced the Greek church, and made St
Sophia's an opera-house. 1 He was succeeded by Polyeuktos,
an ecclesiastic whose parents had marked him out for an
ecclesiastical life, 2
It has been said that the general condition of the inhabi-
tants of the Byzantine empire was prosperous; but in a
despotic government, any negligence on the part of the central
administration is infallibly followed by cruelty and extortion
on the part of some of its distant agents, who exercise a
power too great to be left uncontrolled without the certainty
of abuse. The weakness both of Romanus I. and Constan-
tine VII. allowed considerable disorder to prevail at Con-
stantinople, and the grossest acts of tyranny to be committed
in the provinces. Chases, a man of Saracen extraction, was
raised to high office by the companions of the debauchery of
1 These expressions are not stronger than those of Cedrenus, 638, who was scandal-
ised by the remains of the mummeries Introduced Into the cathedral service by
Theopbylaktos, and which were^ perpetuated to his time.
2 The practice of making; children eunuchs to insure their promotion in the church
was common at this time in the Byzantine empire.
282 Basilian Dynasty
Alexander, and was governor of the theme of Hellas during
the minority of Constantine. His insatiable avarice and in-
famous profligacy at last drove the inhabitants of Athens to
despairs and as he was attending divine service in the great
temple of the Acropolis once dedicated to the Divine
Wisdom of the pagans they rose in tumult, and stoned their
oppressor to death at the altar. 1 A governor of Cherson had
been murdered for oppression at the end of the reign of Leo
the Philosopher. John Muzalon, the governor of Calabria,
now shared the same fate* As no attention was paid by such
officers to protecting the commercial lines of trade either by
sea or land, the navigation of the Archipelago and the
Adriatic was infested by pirates, and the great roads of Asia
and Europe were dangerous from the bands of brigands s who
remained unmolested in their vicinity. Urso Participatio, the
seventh doge of Venice, sent his son Petro to Constantinople
to announce his election, and concert measures to protect the
commerce of the Adriatic against the Saracen and Sclavonian
pirates. Petro was honoured with the title of protospatharios,
and received many valuable presents from the emperor. But
no measures were adopted for protecting trade ; and as the
son of the doge of Venice returned home, he was seized by
Michael, duke of Sclavonia, and delivered to Simeon, king of
Bulgaria. The Sclavonian kept the presents he had received,
and the Bulgarian compelled his father to pay a large ransom
for his release. 2
Hugh of Provence, king of Italy, sent an embassy to
Romanus I. The Sclavonians in the neighbourhood of
Thessalonica attacked the ambassadors, but the Italians of
their suite defeated the brigands, and captured several, whom
they carried to Constantinople and delivered to the emperor
for punishment 3
1 Contra. 240. An anecdote recorded by the Byzantine writers deserves notice,
though it f may be an example of Individual wickedness, not general demoralisation.
An Athenian named Rendakios (who may have been of Sclavonian descent, as he was a
relative of the patrician Niketas), ruined by debauchery and debt, laid a plot to murder
Ms father. The old man quitted Athens to live in tranquillity at Constantinople, but
was taken by pirates and carried to Crete. Rendakios pretended that his father was
dead, took possession of the family property, sold it, and removed to Constantinople.
HJS attempt to commit parricide became known, and he was compelled to seek an
asylum, in the precincts of St. Sophia's ; but an order was given to arrest him. He con-
trived to escape, and forged letters of recommendation from the Emperor Romanus to
Simeon, king of Bulgaria, but was captured, and condemned to lose his sight.
Contin.a 47 . 2 Muratori, Annalz <? Italia., v. 270. Lebeau, xiii. 403.
3 The stepfather of Luitprand the historian, who was afterwards ambassador from
Otho to Nicephorus II., was one of the envoys. Among the presents were two im-
mense boar-hounds^ These dogs were so enraged at the appearance the Emperor
Romanus made in his imperial robes, that they took him for a wild animal, and were so
Legislation and Despotism 283
Weak, however, as the Byzantine empire may appear to us,
it presented a very different aspect to all contemporary govern-
ments; for In every other country the administration was
worse, and property and life were much more insecure. Its
alliance was consequently eagerly sought by every independent
state, and the court of Constantinople was visited by am-
bassadors from distant parts of Europe, Africa, and Ask. The
Greeks were then the greatest merchants and capitalists in the
world, and their influence was felt not only by all the nations
professing Christianity, but by the rival caliphs of Bagdat
and Cordova, and the hostile Mohammedan princes of Egypt
and Mauritania ; it extended even to the Saxon monarchs of
England. 1
The Sclavonians of the Peloponnesus, who had gained a
temporary independence during the latter part of the reign of
Theophilus, remained tranquil from the time of their subjection
by Theodora's regency, until the careless administration of
Romanus L again invited them to rebel Two tribes, the
Melings and Ezerites, who dwelt round Mount Taygetus in a
state of partial independences conceived the hope of deliver-
ing themselves from the Byzantine yoke, and boldly refused to
pay the usual tribute. 2 Krinites Arotras, the general of the
Peloponnesian theme, was ordered to reduce them to obedience,
but he was unable to make them lay down their arms until he
had laid waste their country from March to November, with-
out allowing them either to reap or sow. On their submission,
their tribute was increased, and each tribe was obliged to pay
six hundred byzants annually. But disturbances occurring not
long afterwards among the Byzantine officers, and a new tribe
called the Sclavesians entering the peninsula, the Melings and
Ezerites sent deputies to the Emperor Romanus to solicit a
reduction of their tribute. The peaceable inhabitants saw
their property threatened with plunder and devastation if the
Melings and Ezerites should unite with the Sclavesians ; the
central government was threatened with the loss of the revenues
of the province ; so the eqperor consented to issue a golden
bull, or imperial charter with a golden seal, fixing the tribute
of the Melings at sixty gold byzants, and that of the Ezerites
at three hundred, as it had been before their rebellion.
eager to worry him that they could hardly be held by their keepers from attacking him
on his throne. Ltiitprand, De Rebus suo Tempore in JSurgfia. gestzs, ill. chap. 5.
Moratori v 422. Lebeau, xiii. 445, 1 Kemble, n. introd. x.
2 The classic name of Taygetus was already forgotten, and the mountain was called
as at present, Pentadaktylos. Const. Porph. De Adm. //. chap. 50.
284 Basilian Dynasty
Hie Sdavoaian population of the Peloponnesus was not
confined to the tributary districts ; nor, indeed, were these the
only Sclavonians who retained their own local administration.
The whole country, from the northern bank of the Alpheus to
the sources of the Ladon and Erymanthus, was in their pos-
session, and they governed it according to their national usages
until the Crusaders conquered Greece. A considerable body
of the Sclayonians had also begun to adopt Byzantine civilisa-
tion, and some of the wealthiest contended for the highest
places in the administration of the empire. The patrician
Mketas took an active share in the intrigues which placed the
imperial crown on the head of Romanus. His pride and pre-
sumption, as well as Ms Sclavonian descent, are ridiculed by
the Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus, though the patrician
had formed an alliance with the imperial family. 1
From this time we hear nothing more of the Sclavonians
settled in the Peloponnesus, until the peninsula was invaded
by the Crusaders, after they had taken Constantinople, and
established the Frank empire of Romania, (A.D. 1204).
The condition of the town of Maina and the district about
Cape Tsenaras presents us with a picture of the vicissitudes
the Greeks had suffered during the decline of the Roman
empire. The population of this rugged promontory consisted
of the poorer class of agricultural Laconians, and it kept pos-
session of this arid district when the Sclavonians seized the
rich plain of the Eurotas, and drove the Greeks out of Sparta.
The strangers occupied all the rich pastures on Mount Taygetus,
but want of water prevented their advance along the promon-
tory of Tsenaras, and the fortified town of Maina enabled the
inhabitants to defend their liberty, and support themselves by
exporting oil. This secluded country long remained in a state
of barbarism, and the rural population soon relapsed into
idolatry, from which they were not converted to Christianity
until the reign of Basil I. In the time of Constantine Por-
phyrogenitus, the town of Maina was a place of some com-
mercial importance, and was governed by an officer appointed
by the general of the Peloponnesian theme; but the district
continued to pay only four hundred pieces of gold to the im-
1 The daughter of Niketas was the wife of the Emperor Christophoros, the eldest
son of Romanus I, The verse of a Byzantine poet, which Constantine mentions was
applied to Niketas, has caused much learned discussion. The words seem to say that
the patrician had an ass-like Sciavonian visage
i ii. 6. Kopitar, MisctUanea. GratcotZawica, p. 63.
Legislation and Despotism 285
perial treasury, which was the amount levied on It in the days
of the Roman empire. 1
It was fortunate for the Byzantine empire that the caliphate
of Bagdat had lost its former military power, for if an active
enemy on the southern frontier had taken advantage of the
embarrassments caused by an enterprising warrior like Simeon,
king of Bulgaria, In the north, the empire might have been
reduced to the deplorable condition from which it had been
raised by the vigour of the Iconoclasts. But repeated rebel-
lions had separated many of the richest provinces from the
caliphate, and the tyranny of a religious sway, that enforced
unity of faith by persecution, compelled heresy to appeal to
the sword on every difference of opinion. This additional
cause of ruin and depopulation, added to the administrative
anarchy that was constantly on the increase in the caliph's
dominions, had greatly weakened the Saracen power. The
innumerable discussions which a formal orthodoxy created in
the Greek church were trifling in comparison with those which
the contemplative tendencies of the Asiatic mind raised in the
bosom of Islam.
Several independent dynasties were already founded within
the dominions of the caliph of Bagdat, which were disturbed
by several sects besides the Earmathians. Yet, amidst all
their civil wars, the Mohammedans made continual incursions
into Asia Minor, and the Byzantine troops avenged the losses
of the Christians by ravaging Syria and Mesopotamia, Slaves
and cattle were carried off by both parties, whether victors or
vanquished, so that the country became gradually depopulated ;
and in succeeding generations we find the richest provinces
between the Halys, the Euphrates, and the Mediterranean in
a state of desolation. The suburbs of the towns were reduced
to ashes ; valleys, once swarming with inhabitants, and culti-
vated with the spade, so that they could support millions, were
reduced to sheep-walks. During the regency of Zoe, Damian,
emir of Tyre, with a powerful fleet under his command, at-
tacked Strobelos in Caria, but he was repulsed; 2 and in the
following year the Byzantine army made an irruption into the
territories of Germanicia and Samosata, and carried off fifty
thousand prisoners, according to the accounts of the Arabian
historians. The empress-regent would have willingly concluded
* De Adm. /##*. chap. 50, page 224, edit. Bonn.
2 Strobelos was the ancient Myndos. It is called an island by the Byzantine writers
from its peninsular situation.. Const. Porphyr. De Them. p. 15, edit. Bonn.
286 Basilian Dynasty
peace with the Saracens at this time, for she was compelled to
transport the greater part of the Asiatic army Into Europe to
resist Simeon, king of Bulgaria, and it appears that a truce and
exchange of prisoners took place. The Byzantine arms had
been so much more successful than the Saracen during the
preceding campaigns, that when all the Christians had been
exchanged, the number of Mohammedans still unredeemed
was so great that the caliph had to pay a hundred and twenty
thousand pieces of gold for their release, according to the
stipulated price fixed by the convention. 1
Romanus I., who had obtained the throne by means of the
support of the navy, appears to have paid more attention to
keep It in good order than his predecessors. In the year 926,
Leo of Tripolis, who visited the Archipelago, seeking to repeat
his exploits at Thessalonica, was encountered in the waters
of Lemnos by the imperial squadron under John Radenos,
and so completely defeated that it was with difficulty he saved
his own ship.
The wars of the Karmathians brought the caliphate into
such a disturbed state that the Christians of Armenia again
raised their banner, and, uniting their forces with the Byzantine
generals, obtained great successes over the Saracens. John,
the son of that Kurkuas, who had been deprived of sight for
conspiring against Basil I., was appointed commander-in-chief
by Romanus, and commenced a career of conquest ably fol-
lowed up a few years later by the Emperors Nicephorus II.
and John I. (Zimiskes.) The military skill of John Kurkuas,
the high discipline of Ms army, and the tide of conquest which
flowed with his presence, revived aspirations of military re-
nown long dormant at Constantinople. The learned were
pleased to compare him with Trajan and Belisarius, the heroes
of the Western and Eastern Empires.
As early as the reign of Leo. VI., the Armenians under
Melias had made considerable progress. The territory they
delivered from the yoke of the Mohammedans was formed into
a small theme, called Lykandps, and Melias was named its
general, with the rank of patrician. 2 From the year 920 to
942, John Kurkuas was almost unintc ruptedly engaged against
the Saracens. In 927 he ravaged the province of Melitene,
and took the capital, of which, however, he only retained
^ l Weil, Geschickte dcr Chalifen., ii. 635. The Byzantine ambassador was at Ba^dat
sn July, 917.
2 Constant Porphyr. Dtt Adm. Imp. chap, 50, page 228.
Legislation and Despotism 287
possession for a month. 1 Two years after, the Saracen emir
of Melitene, finding himself unable to resist the Byzantine
armies, engaged to pay tribute to the emperor. In the mean
time, the Armenians, with the assistance of a division of
Byzantine troops, had pushed their conquests to the lake of
Van, and forced the Saracens of Aklat and Betlis not only to
pay tribute, but to allow the cross to be elevated in their cities
higher than the domes of their mosques. The long series of
annual incursions recorded by the Byzantine and Arabian
writers may be described in the words plunder, slavery, de-
population. In the campaign of 941, the Byzantine troops
are said to have reduced fifteen thousand Saracens to slavery.
But the exploit which raised the reputation of John Kurkuas
to the highest pitch of glory, was the acquisition of the
miraculous handkerchief, with a likeness of our Saviour visibly
impressed on its texture ; a relic which the superstition of the
age believed had been sent by Christ himself to Abgarus,
prince of Edessa. In the year 942, John Kurkuas crossed the
Euphrates, plundered Mesopotamia as far as the banks of the
Tigris, took Nisibis, and kid siege to Edessa. The in-
habitants of the city purchased their safety by surrendering the
miraculous handkerchief. The victorious general was removed
from his command shortly after, and the relic was transported
to Constantinople by others. 2
The parallel drawn by the people of Constantinople between
John Kurkuas and Belisarius, seems imperfectly borne out by
the conquests of the later general ; but the acquisition of a
relic weighed, in those days, more than that of a kingdom.
Yet, perhaps, even the miraculous portrait of Edessa would not
have been compared with the conquest of the Vandal and
Gothic monarchies, had the two-and-twenty years of John
Kurkuas's honourable service not been repaid by courtly
ingratitude* In the plenitude of his fame, the veteran was
accused of aspiring at the empire, and removed from all his
employments. Romanus L, like Justinian, when he examined
the accusation, was convinced of its falsity, but he was jealous
and mean-spirited. 3
1 Contiii. 257. Weil, !!. 637.
2 Georg. Mon. 590. Contin. 268. Krug. 225. In this age there was a vehement
desire to gain possession of relics. Chamich, History of Armenia, H. 82.
3 Manuel, a judge and protospatharios, wrote a work in eight books on the exploits
of John Kurkuas. As the holy handkerchief of Edessa was brought to Constantinople
after his disgrace, xsth August, 943, his name is not mentioned by the servile historians,
of the empire in connection with its capture. This fact shows to what extent thes*
writers conceal the truth. Compare Contin. 365, and Krug. 224.
288 Basillan Dynasty
During the government of Constantino VII., the war was
continued with vigour on both sides. Self Addawalah, the
Hamdanlte, called by the Greeks Chabdan, who was emir of
Aleppo, Invaded the empire with powerful armies. 1 ^ Bardas
PhokaSj the Byzantine general, displayed more avarice than
energy $ and even when replaced by his son Nicephoras, the
future emperor, victory was not immediately restored to the
imperial standards. But towards the end of Constantine's
reign 9 Nicephoras, having removed various abuses both in the
military and civil service, which had grown out of the gains
arising from the traffic in plunder, and slaves captured in the
annual forays of the troops, at last prepared an army calcula-
ted to prosecute the war with glory. The result of this labour
became visible in the reign of Ronianus II.
After the conquest of Crete, the whole disposable force of
the empire in Asia was placed under the command of Niceph-
oniSj who, according to the Arabians, opened the campaign
of 962 at the head of one hundred thousand men. 2 The
Saracens were unable to oppose this army in the field; Doliche,
Hierapolis, and Anazarba were captured, and Nicephoras ad-
vanced to Aleppo, where Seif Addawalah had collected an
army to protect his capital The position of the Hamdanite
was turned by the superior tactics of the Byzantine general,
his communications with Ms capital cut off, his army at last
defeated, and his palace and the suburbs of Aleppo occupied.
A sedition of the Arab troops, and a quarrel between the in-
habitants and the garrison, enabled Nicephoras to enter the
city, but the citadel defied his attacks. On the approach of
a Saracen army from Damascus, Nicephoras abandoned his
conquest, carrying away immense booty from the city of
Aleppo, and retaining possession of sixty forts along the range
of Mount Taurus as the result of his campaign.
The disastrous defeat of the Byzantine army by the Bul-
garians at Achelous was the primary cause of the elevation of
Romanus I. to the throne ; and as emperor, he conducted the
war quite as ill as he had directed the operations of the fleet
when admiral, though he could now derive no personal ad-
vantage from the disasters of his country. In 921, the warlike
monarch of the Bulgarians advanced to the walls of Constan-
tinople, after defeating a Byzantine army under John Rector.
The imperial palace of the fountains, and many villas about
1 Leo DIaconus, note, page 415, edit. Bonn. D'Herbelot, fTamadan len Hamdoun,
Weil, m. 14. 2 Leo DIaconus, 378, edit. Bonn.
Legislation and Despotism 289
the city, were burned, and Simeon retired unmolested with im-
mense booty. The city of Adrianople was taken in one cam-
paign by treachery, lost and reconquered in another by famine. 1
In the month of September 923, Simeon again encamped
before the walls of Constantinople, after having ravaged the
greater part of Thrace and Macedonia with extreme barbarity,
destroying the fruit-trees and burning the houses of the
peasantry. He offered, however, to treat of peace, and pro-
posed a personal interview with Romanus L, who was com-
pelled to meet Ms proud enemy without the walls, in such
a way that the meeting had the appearance of a Roman em-
peror suing for peace from a victorious barbarian. Romanus,
when he approached the ground marked out for the interview,
saw the Bulgarian army salute Simeon as an emperor with
loud shouts and music, while the body-guard of the Bulgarian
king, resplendent with silver armour, astonished the people of
Constantinople by its splendour, and the veteran soldiers of the
empire by its steady discipline. 2 It seems that the rebellion
of the Sclavonians in the Peloponnesus filled Romanus with
anxiety; but he affected to solicit peace from motives of
religion and humanity, that he might alleviate the sufferings
of his subjects. The basis of peace was settled at this con-
ference, and Simeon retired to his own kingdom laden with
the plunder of the provinces and the gold of the emperor.
The Byzantine writers omit to mention any of the stipulations
of this treaty, so that there can be no doubt that it was far
from honourable to the empire. 3 It must be remarked, how-
ever, that they are always extremely negligent in their notice
of treaties, and have not transmitted to us the stipulations of
any of those concluded with the Khazars, or other nations
through whose territory a great part of the commercial inter-
course of the Byzantine empire with India and China was
1 The second capture of Adrianople is placed by all the Byzantine writers in th
loth indiction, A.D. 922; but Krug gives reasons for placing it in the year ga^Cfovj*.
der Byz 155.
2 Simeon is supposed to have formed an alliance with the Pope, who sent him a royal
crown to reward his hostilities against the Byzantine empire and church. Schafarik,
Slfwische AlterthUmer^ ii. 187.
3 There can be no doubt, however, that one of the stipulations of this treaty was the
public acknowledgment of the independence of the Bulgarian church, and the official
recognition of the archbishop of Dorostylon as Patriarch of Bulgaria, both by the em-
peror and the Patriarch of Constantinople. The fact is proved by the list of the pri-
mates of Bulgaria given by Ducange, Font. A-ug. Byz* 175. The patriarchal dignity in
Bulgaria was abolished by John I. (Zimiskes), when he conquered the country in 972,
The Greek writers err in asserting that the head of the Bulgarian church was ever
officially recognised as a patriarch by the church of Constantinople. Le Quien, Orient
Christia.nHs> i. iaa7, and ii. 287, and Neale's Htstery *f the Holy Eastern Church^ vol
i. p. 44, afford no information on this curious question.
290 Basilian Dynasty
oiij and from which the wealth of Constantinople was
in a derived,
then turned his arms against the^ Servians and
Croatians, His cruelty in these hostilities is said to have sur-
anything ever witnessed. The inhabitants were every-
deliberately murdered, and all Servia was so depopulated
that its richest plains remained uncultivated for jmany years.
Every inhabitant not skin was carried Into Bulgaria to be sold
as a skve ; and the capital was so completely destroyed, that,
seven years after the retreat of the invaders, only fifty men
found in its vicinity, living as hunters. 1 At last the
army was completely defeated by the Croatians,
whom the cruelty of Simeon had driven to despair. Simeon
shortly after, and Servia placed itself under the protection
of the Byzantine government.
Bulgaria had been formidable at this time by the talents of
Simeon rattier than its own power. It was now threatened
with invasion by the Magyars, who were carrying on plunder-
ing incursions into Germany, Italy, and even into France,
Peter, who had succeeded Ms father Simeon, was anxious to
secure his southern frontier by forming a closer union with
the empire : he married Maria, the daughter of the Emperor
Christophoros, and a long peace followed this alliance. But
the ties of allegiance were not very powerful among the Bul-
garian people, and a rebellion was headed by Michael the
brother of Peter. The rebels maintained themselves in a state
of independence after Michael's death, and when they were at
last compelled to emigrate, they entered the territory of the
empire, and, passing through the themes of Strymon, Thes-
salonica, and Hellas, seized on Nicopolis, and retained posses-
sion of that city and the surrounding country for some time.
It seems that the incursion of Sclavesians into the Pelopon-
nesus was connected with this inroad of the Bulgarians. 2
Thrace bad not enjoyed sufficient respite from the ravages
of the Bulgarians to recover its losses, before it was plundered
by the Hungarians, who advanced to the walls of Constanti-
lople in 934- 3 The retreat of these barbarians was purchased
:>y a large sum of money, paid in the Byzantine gold coinage,
vhich was then the most esteemed currency throughout the
William the Conqu ,. ..
OTusement. Hume, Hist, of England, chap. iv. 2 Cedrenus, 628.
3 Con tin. a6a. Symeon Mag. 488. Georg. Mon. 588. Leo Gramm. 506,,
Legislation and Despotism 291
known world. In 943, the Hungarians again ravaged Tfaiace s
and their retreat was again purchased with gold. 1 The last
year of the reign of Constantine VII. was again marked by
an invasion of the Hungarians, who approached Constanti-
nople; but on this occasion they were defeated by the imperial
troops, who attacked their camp during the night. 2
The Byzantine wars in Italy present a series of vicissitudes
connected with political intrigues, based on no national
object, and leading to no general result. The imperial
generals at times united with the Saracens to plunder the
Italians, and at times aided the Italians to oppose the
Saracens; sometimes occupied to accumulate treasures for
themselves, and at others to extend the influence of the
emperor. One of the Byzantine governors, named Krinitas,
carried his avarice so far as to compel the people of Calabria
(Apulia) to sell their grain at a low price, and then, having
created a monopoly of the export trade in his own favour,
sold it at an exorbitant profit to the Saracens of Africa.
Constantine VII., hearing of this extortion, dismissed him
from all employment, and confiscated his wealth; but the
people who were governed by deputies possessing such powers
were sure to be the victims of oppression. 3
During the regency of Zoe (A.D. 915), Eustathios, the
governor of Calabria, concluded a treaty with the caliph of
Africa, by which the Byzantine authorities in Italy were bound
to pay a yearly tribute of 22,000 gold byzants, and the caliph
engaged to restrain the hostilities of the Saracens of Sicily.
This tribute was subsequently reduced to 1 1 ,000 byzants, but the
treaty remained in force until the reign of the Emperor Nice-
phorus II. 4 Even this distant province in the south of Italy
was not safe from the plundering incursions of the Hungarians,
who in the year 948 embarked on the Adriatic, and ravaged
Apulia under the walls of Otranto. The general interests of
Christianity, as well as the extent of Byzantine commerce,
induced the Byzantine government to aid Hugh of Provence
and the Genoese in destroying the nest of Saracen pirates
established at Fraxinet, in the Alps, to the eastward of Nice, 5
Romanus II. was only twenty-one years of age, when he
ascended the throne. He bore a strong resemblance to his
1 m A Hungarian prince named Bulograd visited Constantinople about 050, and was
baptised. He was subsequently taken prisoner while engaged plundering in Germany.,
and hung by the Emperor Otho. Ccdrenus, 636. Krag, 264.
2 Cont. 288. Symeon Mag. 496. * Cedrenus, 652.
4 /., 652. 5 Muratori, Annali < Italia, v. 319.
292 BasIHaE Dynasty
in person, and possessed much of bis good-nature and
mildness of disposition, but lie was of a more active and
determined character. Unfortunately, he indulged in every
species of pleasure with an eagerness that rained his ^health
and reputation, though Ms judicious selection of ministers
prevented its injuring the empire. He was blamed for in-
humanity, in compelling Ms sisters to enter a monastery ; but
as Ms object was a political one, in order to prevent their
marriage, lie was satisfied with their taking the veil, though
they refused to wear the monastic dress ; and he allowed them
to live as they thought fit, and dispose of their own private
fortunes at will. His own object was obtained if he prevented
any of the ambitious nobles from forming an alliance with
them, wMch would have endangered the hereditary right of
his own children. His good-nature is avouched by the fact,
that when Basilios called the Bird, a favourite minister of
Ms father engaged a number of patricians in a conspiracy
to seize the throne, he allowed none of the conspirators to be
put to death. Though he spent too much of Ms time sur-
rounded by actors and dancers, both the administration of
civil and military affairs was well conducted during his reign.
His greatest delight was in hunting, and he spent much of
Ms time in the country surrounded by his gay companions, Ms
horses* and his dogs. His excesses in pleasure and fatigue
soon rained Ms constitution ; but when he died at the age of
twenty-four, the people, who remembered Ms tall well-made
figure and smiling countenance, attributed Ms death to poison.
His wife, whose beauty and graceful manner never won the
public to pardon a low alliance, wMch appeared to then-
prejudices to disgrace the majesty of the purple, was accused
of tMs crime, as well as of having instigated the death of her
father-in-law. 1 Romanus on his death-bed did not neglect
Ms duty to the empire. He had observed that his able prime-
minister, Joseph Bringas, had begun to manifest too great
jealousy of Nicephoras Phokas; he therefore left it as his
dying injunction that Nicephoras should not be removed from
the command of the army employed against the Saracens.
Joseph Bringas, who conducted the administration during
the reign of Romanus II., was a man of talent and integrity.
His worst act, in the eyes of his contemporaries, was, that he
withdrew a eunuch, named John Cherinas, from a monastery
into wMch he had been exiled by Constantine VI L, and con-
1 Leo Diaconus, 31, edit. Bonn.
Legislation and Despotism 293
ferred on Mm the dignity of patrician, with the command of
the foreign guards. The Patriarch protested in vain against
this act of sacrilege ; Bringas wanted a man to command the
guard, over whom he knew the leading nobles could exercise
no influence ; so the monk quitted his frock, put on armour,
and became a leading man at court Sisinios, one of the
ablest and most upright men in the public service, was made
prefect of Constantinople, and rendered the administration of
justice prompt and equitable. A general scarcity tried the
talents and firmness of Bringas, and he met the difficulty by
his great exertions, though it occurred at the very time it was
necessary to make extraordinary preparations to provision the
expedition against Crete. Every measure to alleviate the
public distress was taken in a disinterested spirit. Everything
required for the army was immediately paid for ; to prevent
speculation in corn, the exportation of provisions from the
capital was prohibited a law which may often be rendered
necessary as a temporary measure of police, though it is a
direct violation of the permanent principles of sound com-
mercial policy.
The great event of the reign of Romanus II. was the
conquest of Crete. The injury inflicted on Byzantine com-
merce by the Saracen corsairs, fitted out in the numerous
ports on the north side of that island, compelled many of the
Greek islands of the Archipelago to purchase protection from
the rulers of Crete by the payment of a regular tribute. The
trade of Constantinople and its supplies of provisions were
constantly interrupted, yet several expeditions against Crete,
fitted out on the largest scale, had been defeated. The over-
throw of that undertaken in the reign of Leo. VI. has been
noticed. 1 Romanus I. was unwilling to revive the memory of
his share in that disaster, and left the Cretans undisturbed
during his reign ; but Constantine VII., towards the end of
his reign, prepared an expedition on a very grand scale, the
command of which he intrusted to a eunuch named Gongyles.
This expedition was completely defeated ; the Byzantine camp
was taken, and the greater part of the force destroyed. Gon-
gyles himself escaped with difficulty. 2
Romanus was hardly seated on the throne before he
resolved to wipe off the disgrace the empire had suffered.
* See page 259.
2 Leo Diaconus, 6. Cedrenus, 640. Zonaras, it. 195. Constant. Porphyr. JD&
. Avlae Byst. lib. u. chap. 45; rol. L 664, edit. Bonn. Krug, 293.
294 Basilian Dynasty
The of protecting the commerce of the capital and
the of Greece was to conquer the island of Crete, and
all the Saracen population. Romanus determined to fit
out an expedition on a scale suitable for this undertaking, and
lie knew that In NIcephoras Phokas he possessed a general
to the enterprise. Bricgas aided the emperor with zeal
energy, and gave no countenance to the endeavours that
some courtiers made to awaken the jealousy of Romanus,
tew much glory might accrue to NIcephoras from the
successful termination of so great an undertaking.
The expedition was strong In numbers and complete in Its
equipments. The fleet consisted of dromons and chelands.
The dromon was the war-galley, which had taken the place of
the triremes of the ancient Greeks and the qulnqueremes
of the Romans; it had only two tiers of rowers, and the
largest carried three hundred men, of whom seventy were
marine soldiers. The chelands were smaller and lighter
vessel adapted for rapid movements, and fitted with tubes for
launching Greek fire, and their crews seem to have varied
from 120 to 1 60 men. More than three hundred large trans-
ports attended the ships of war, freighted with military
machines and stores. 1 We are not to suppose that the
dromons and chelands were all fitted for war; a few only
were required for that purposej and the rest served as trans-
ports for the army, and the provisions necessary for a winter
campaign. The land forces consisted of chosen troops from
the legions of Asia and Europe, with Armenian, Sclavonian, and
Russian aimHaries. The port of Phygela, near Ephesus,
served as the place of rendezvous for the ships collected from
the coasts of Greece and the Islands of the Egean. 2 Every-
thing was ready In the month of July 960, and Nicephorus
disembarked his troops In Crete without sustaining any loss,
though the Saracens attempted to oppose the operation. The
city of Chandax was prepared to defend itself to the last
extremity, and the Mohammedans In the rest of the island
took active measures for resisting the progress of the Byzantine
troops, and preventing their deriving any supplies from the in-
terior. Chandax was too strongly fortified to be taken with-
3 Symeon Mag. 498, gives us the enumeration of the vessels composing the expedi-
tion. He says there were a thousand dromons, two thousand chelandia, and three
hundred and sixty transports, and he is an author deserving attention. Our Admiralty
built at one time a class of frigates called donkey, frigates ; perhaps the Byzantine
government was no better advised.
2 Strabo calls itPygela, xiv. 639. Contin. Roman us 297. Symeon Mag. 498.
Legislation and Despotism 295
ant a regnlar siege, so that the first operation of Nicephoras
was to Invest It in form. To insure the fail of the place, even
at the risk of prolonging the siege, he began his operations by
forming a complete circumvallation round Ms camp and naval
station, which he connected with the sea on both sides of the
city, and thus cut the enemy off from all communication with
the Saracens In the country. The pirates of Chandax had
often been at war with all the world, and they had fortified
their stronghold in such a way that It could be defended with
a small garrison, while the bulk of their forces were cruising
In search of plunder. The repeated attacks of the Byzantine
emperors had also warned them of the dangers to which they
were ^ exposed. Towards the land, a high wall protected
the city ; It was composed of sun-dried bricks, but the mortar
of which they were formed had been kneaded with the hair of
goats and swine into a mass almost as hard as stone, and it was
so broad that two chariots could drive abreast on its summit
A double ditch of great depth and breadth strengthened the
work, and rendered approach difficult
One of the parties sent out by Nicephorus to complete the
conquest of the Island having been cut off, he was compelled
to take the field in person as soon as he had completed his
arrangements for blockading the fortress during the winter.
The Saracens, encouraged by their success, had assembled an
army, and proposed attempting to relieve the besieged city,
when they were attacked In their position, and routed with
great loss. The Byzantine general, in order to intimidate the
defenders of Chandax, ordered the heads of those slain in
the country to be brought to the camp, stimulating the activity
of his soldiers in this barbarous service by paying a piece
of silver for every head. They were then ranged on spears
along the whole hne of the circumvallation towards the fortifi-
cations of the city ; and the number of slain was so great, that
many more were cast into the place by means of catapults, in
order to let the besieged see the full extent of the loss of their
countrymen.
A strict blockade was maintained during the whole winter.
When the weather permitted, light galleys cruised before the
port, and at all times several of the swiftest dromons and
chelands were kept ready to pursue any vessel that might
either attempt to enter or quit the port. But though the
Saracens were reduced to suffer great privations, they showed no
disposition to surrender, and Nicephorus pressed on the siege as
296 Basillan Dynasty
spring advanced with mines and battering-rams. At last a
practicable breach was effected, and the place was taken by
storm on the ylh of May, 961. 1 The accumulated wealth of
many years of successful piracy was abandoned to the troops,
but a rich booty and numerous slaves were carried to Con-
stantinopie, and shown in triumph to the people.
To complete the conquest of the island, it was necessary to
exterminate the whole of the Saracen population. To effect
this, the fortifications of Chandax were levelled with the
ground, and a new fortress called Temenos, situated on a high
and ragged Mil* about twelve miles inland, was constructed
and garrisoned by a body of Byzantine and Armenian troops.
Many Saracens, however, remained in the island, but they
were reduced to a state approaching servitude. The greater
part of the Greek population in some parts of the island had
embraced Mohammedanism during the 135 years of Saracen
domination. When the island was reconquered, an Armenian
monk named Nikon became a missionary to these Infidels, and
he had the honour of converting numbers of the Cretans back
to Christianity. 2 As soon as the conquest of the island was
completed, the greater part of the army was ordered to Asia
Minor; but Nicephoras was invited by the emperor to visit
Constantinople, where he was allowed the honour of a triumph.
He brought Kunip, the Saracen emir of Crete, a prisoner in
his train. 3
We may here pause to take a cursory view of the state of
Greece during the ninth and tenth centuries. The preceding
pages have noticed the few facts concerning the fortunes^ of
this once glorious land that are preserved in the Byzantine
annals, but these facts are of themselves insufficient to explain
how a people, whose language and literature occupied a pre-
dominant position In society, enjoyed neither political power
nor moral pre-eminence as a nation. The literary instruction
of every child in the empire who received any intellectual
culture was thoroughly Greek : its first prayers were uttered in
that language : its feelings were refined by the perusal of the
choicest passages of the Greek poets and tragedians, and its
1 Leo Dlaconus, xi, edit Bonn. The name Chandax was corrupted into Candia, and
extended to the wisole Island, by the Venetians.
a Baromus, Anna2. Eccles. A.D. 961. F. Cornelius, Crete Sacra, L aofi ; ii. 240*
3 Leo Diaconus, 28, 430, edit. Bonn. Krag, 314. There is a contemporary poem in
five cantos (acroases) on the conquest of Crete, by Tbeodasius, a deacon, which _gives^a
tolerably correct, though not a very poetical, picture of the war. It was published in
the Creta Sacra, of Cornelias, and is given in the volume of the Byzantine historians
thai contains Leo Diaconus, printed at Bonn.
Legislation and Despotism 297
opening mind was enlarged by the writings of the Greek
historians and philosophers ; but here the influence ended, for
the moral education of the citizen was purely Roman. The
slightest glance into history proves that the educated classes
in the Byzantine empire were generally destitute of all sympathy
with Greece, and looked down on the Greeks as a provincial
and alien race. The fathers of the church and the ecclesi-
astical historians, whose works were carefully studied, to com-
plete the education of the Byzantine youth, and to prepare
them for public life, quickly banished all Hellenic fancies from
their minds as mere schoolboy dreams, and turned their
attention to the atmosphere of practical existence in church
and state. Byzantine society was a development of Roman
civilisation, and hence the Byzantine mind was practical and
positive : administration and kw were to it what liberty and
philosophy had been to the Hellenes of old. The imagination
and the taste of Hellas had something in their natural superi-
ority that was repulsive to Byzantine pedantry, while their
paganism excited the contempt of ecclesiastical bigots, A
strong mental difference was therefore the permanent cause of
the aversion to Greece and the Greeks that is apparent in
Byzantine society, and which only begins to disappear after
the commencement of the eleventh century. Its operation is
equally visible in the Hellenic race, in whom the spirit of
local patriotism has always been powerful, and it kept them
aloof from the Byzantine service, so that the native Greeks
really occupy a less prominent figure in the social and political
history of the empire than they were entitled to claim.
The great social feature of the Hellenic race, during the
ninth and tenth centuries, is the stationary condition of society,
for the apathy resulting from the secret protestation of the
Greek mind against Roman influence was confined to the
higher classes. The eighth century was unquestionably a
period of great activity, increase, and improvement among the
Greeks, as among every other portion of the population of the
Eastern Empire. But after the subjection of the Sclavonian
colonists in the first years of the ninth century, and the re-
establishment of extensive commercial relations over the whole
Mediterranean, Greek society again relapsed into a stationary
condition. There is no doubt that the general aspect of the
country had undergone a total change ; and its condition in
the tenth century was as different from its condition in the
seventh, as the state of the southern provinces of Russia, in
298 Basllian Dynasty
the present century, Is from their state In the thirteenth, after
the devastations of the Tartars. Numerous new cities had
been built 1
The legendary history of the Greek monasteries tells us
that the country was once utterly deserted, that the rugged
limestone mountains were overgrown with forests and thick
brushwood, and that Into these deserted spots holy hermits
retired to avoid the presence of pagan Sclavonlans, who
occupied the rich plains and pastoral slopes of the lower
hills. In these retreats the holy anchorites dreamed that
they were dwelling In cells once occupied by saints of an
earlier day men who were supposed to have fled from
Imaginary persecutions of Roman emperors, who had de-
populated whole provinces by their hatred to Christianity,
Instead of by administrative oppression ; and the hermits saw
visions revealing where these predecessors had concealed
portraits painted by St. Luke himself, or miraculous pictures,
the work of no human hand. Such Is perhaps a not unapt
representation of a large part of the rural districts of Greece
during the seventh century. The immense extent of the
private estates of a few rich individuals, from the time of
Augustus to that of Leo the Philosopher, left whole provinces
depopulatedj and fit only to be used as pasture. Landlords,
robbers, pirates, and slavery had all conspired to reduce
Greece to a state of degradation and depopulation before the
Sclavonkns colonised her soil.
The vigorous administration of the Iconoclasts restored
order, reduced the aristocracy to obedience, subdued the
Sclavonlans, and revived Industry and commerce. The state
of Greece was again changed, the Greek population increased
as If they had been new colonists settled on a virgin soil, and
from the end of the ninth century to the invasion of the
Crusaders, Greece was a rich and flourishing province. The
material causes of this wealth are as evident as the moral
causes of Its political insignificance. The great part of the
commerce of the Mediterranean was in the hands of the
Greeks ; the wealth and laws of the Byzantine empire placed
ample capital at their command ; the silk manufacture was to
Thebes and Athens what the cotton manufacture now is to
Manchester and Glasgow; Monemvasia was then what Venice
1 Of tiiese some were constructed on ancient sites, like Lacaedemon, others replaced
neighbouring ancient cities, like Monemvasia, Piada, Nikli, Veligosti, Andravida, and
Arkadlau
Legislation and Despotism 299
became at a later period ; the slave-trade, though It filled the
world with misery, and Christian society with demoralisation,
brought wealth to the shores of Greece. The mass of the
agricultural population, too, enjoyed as much prosperity as
the commercial The produce of the country was abundant,
and labour bore a far higher price than has ever been the
case in western Europe. This was a natural result of the
state of things in the vicinity of every town and village in
Greece. The nature of all the most valuable produce of the
land rendered the demand for labour at particular seasons
very great; and this labour yielded immense profits, for it
fructified olive groves, vineyards, and orchards of the choicest
kinds, formed by the accumulated capital of ages. The
labour of a few days created an amount of produce which
bore no comparison with its cost, and Greece at this time
possessed a monopoly of the finer kinds of oil, wine, and
fruit Moreover, the pastoral habits of the Sclavonians, who
still occupied large provinces at a distance from the principal
towns, prevented the cultivation of corn over a great extent
of country; and the ruin of the excellent roads, which in
ancient times had admitted of the transport of huge blocks
of marble, and the march of armies accompanied by elephants
over the roughest mountains, rendered the transport of grain
to any considerable distance impossible. All these circum-
stances rendered labour valuable. The cultivation of grain by
spade husbandry was often a matter of necessity, so that the
agricultural kbourer could easily maintain a position of com-
parative ease and abundance.
In this state of society, the only chance of improvement
lay in the moral advancement of the citizen, which required
the union of free local institutions with a well-organised
central administration of the state, and a system for distri-
buting justice over which the highest political power could exert
no influence. Unfortunately no central government on the
continent of Europe, which has possessed strength sufficient
to repress local selfishness, and the undue power of privileged
classes, has ever yet avoided fiscal oppression ; and this was
the case in the Byzantine empire. The social condition of
the Greeks nourished intense local selfishness; the central
operation of the Byzantine government led to severe fiscal
exactions. The result of the political and financial, as well
as of the moral state of the country, was to produce a
stationary condition of society. Taxation absorbed all the
3QO Basilian Dynasty
annual profits of industry; society offered no invitation to
form new plantations, or extend existing manufactures, and
the age afforded no openings for new enterprises ; each
generation moved exactly in the limits of that which had
preceded it, so that Greece, though in a state of material
prosperity, was standing on the brink of decline. That
decline commenced the moment the Italians were enabled
to avail themselves of the natural resources of their country.
Amalfi, Pisa, Genoa, and Venice, freed from the fiscal oppres-
sion of a central government, became first the rivals and
then the superiors of the Greeks in commerce, industry, and
wealth.
CHAPTER II
PERIOD OF CONQUEST AND MILITARY GLORY,
A.D. 963-1025
SECTION I
REIGNS OF NICEPHORUS II., PHOKAS, AND JOHN I. (ZIMISKES).
A.D. 963-976
Administration of Joseph Bringas Character of Nicephorus II., 963-969
Public administration Saracen war Affairs in Sicily, Italy, and
Bulgaria Assassination of Nicephorus IL Character of John I.,
969-976 Coronation Rebellions of the family of Nicephorus II.
(Phokas) Russian war Republic of Cherson Saracen war Death
of John I.
THE Empress Theophano was left by Romanus II. regent for
her sons, but as she was brought to bed of a daughter only
two days before her husband's death, the whole direction
of public business remained in the hands of Joseph Bringas,
whose ability was universally acknowledged, but whose severity
and suspicious character rendered him generally unpopular.
His jealousy soon involved him in a contest for power with
Nicephorus Phokas, who, however, did not venture to visit
Constantinople until his personal safety was guaranteed by the
Empress Theophano and the Patriarch Polyeuktes. Nicephorus
was allowed to celebrate his victories in Syria by a triumph, in
which he displayed to a superstitious crowd the relics he had
obtained by his victories over the Mohammedans; and the
piety of the age attached as much importance to these as his
troops did to the booty and slaves with which they were
enriched. 1 Bringas saw that the popularity of Nicephorus and
the powerful influence of his family connections must soon
gain him the title of Emperor, and his jealousy appears to
have precipitated the event he feared. He formed a plot
to have the victorious general seized, in order that his eyes
might be put out. Nicephorus being informed of his danger,
and having secured the support of the Patriarch by his devout
conduct, persuaded Polyeuktes to take prompt measures to
1 Cedrenus, 646. Zonaras, ii. 198.
301
302 Baslllan Dynasty
protect him from the designs of Bringas. The senate was
convoked, and the Patriarch proposed that Nicephoras should
be intrusted with the command of the army in Asia, according
to the kst will of Romanus II. 1 Bringas did not venture
to oppose this proposal of the Patriarch, which was eagerly
adopted; and Nicephoras, after taking an oath never to injure
the children of Romanus, his kwfui sovereigns, proceeded
to take the command of all the Byzantine forces in Asia.
Bringas still pursued his schemes; he wrote to John
Zimiskes, the ablest and most popular of the generals under
the orders of Nicephoras, offering him the supreme command
if he would seize the general-in-chief, and send him to Con-
stantinople as a prisoner. Zimiskes was the nephew of
Nicephoras; but his subsequent conduct shows that con-
science would not have arrested Mm in the execution of any
project for his own aggrandisement. On the present occasion,
he may have thought that the power of Bringas was not likely
to be permanent, and he may have known that he would show
little gratitude for any service; while the popularity of
Nicephoras with the troops made fidelity to his general the
soundest policy. Zimiskes carried the letter of the prime-
minister to Nicephoras, and invited him to assume the im-
perial title, as the only means of securing his own life and
protecting his friends. It is said that John Zimiskes and
Romanus Kurkuas were compelled to draw their swords,
and threaten to kill their uncle, before he would allow himself
to be proclaimed emperor. The same thing had been said
of Leo V. (the Armenian), that he was compelled to mount
the throne by his murderer and successor, Michael II. 2
Nicephoras at kst yielded, and marched immediately from
Csssarea to Chrysopolis, where he encamped. Bringas found
little support in the capital. Basilios, the natural son of the
Emperor Romanus L, armed his household, in which he had
three thousand skves, and, exciting a sedition of the populace,
sallied into the streets of Constantinople, and attacked the
houses of the ministers, most of whom were compelled to seek
an asylum in the churches. 3 Nicephoras was invited to enter
the capital, where he was crowned by the Patriarch Polyeuktes,
in St Sophia's, on the i6th of August, 963. 4
The family of Phokas was of Cappadocian origin, and had
1 Leo^Diaconus, 34. 2 iMd., 38. Zonaras, H. 198.
3 Basilios was the son of a Sclavonian woman ; like many eminent men of his time,
he was a eunuch. Leo Diaconus, 94. * Leo Diaconus, 48.
Period of Conquest 303
now for three generations supplied the empire with dis-
tinguished generals. 1 Nicephorus proved an able emperor,
and a faithful guardian of the young emperors; but his
personal bearing was tinged with military severity, and his
cold phlegmatic temper prevented his using the arts necessary
to gain popularity either with the courtiers or the citizens.
His conduct was moral, and he was sincerely religious ; but he
was too enlightened to confound the pretensions of the church
with the truth of Christianity, and, consequently, in spite
of his real piety, he was calumniated by the clergy as a
hyjpocrite. 2 Indeed, there was little probability that a strict
military disciplinarian, who ascended the throne at the age of
fifty-one, should prove a popular prince, when he succeeded
a young and gay monarch like Romanus II.
The coronation of Nicephorus was soon followed by his
marriage with Theophano, a match which must have been
dictated to the beautiful widow by ambition and policy rather
than love ; though the Byzantine writers accuse her of a pre-
vious intrigue with the veteran general, and record that she
exerted great authority over him by her persuasive manners.
The marriage ceremony was performed by the Patriarch, but
shortly after its celebration he forbade the emperor to enter
the chancel of St. Sophia's, where the imperial throne was
placed, declaring that even the emperor must submit to the
penance imposed by the orthodox church on second marriages,
which excluded the contracting party from the body of the
church for a year. 2 The hostile feeling, on the part of Poly-
euktes, that produced this insolence, also encouraged a report
that Nicephorus had acted as godfather to one of the children
of Romanus and Theophano a connection which, according
to the Greek church, forms an impediment to marriage. The
Patriarch appears to have adopted this report without considera-
tion, and threatened to declare the marriage he had celebrated
null; he had even the boldness to order the emperor to sepa-
rate from Theophano immediately. But this difficulty was
removed by the chaplain who had officiated at the baptism.
1 Luitprand. 347. Cedrenus, 727.
2 Nicephorus sent a hundred pounds' weight of gold from the spoils of Crete to found
the monastery of the great Laura on Mount Athos, to which it was said he proposed to
retire and St. Athanasios, a monk whom he charged with this commission, became
afterwards indignant when Nicephorus put a crown on his head in place of shavm^it.
The fanatic thought that he should have preferred the idle life of a cell to the active
duties of a palace. Leo Diaconus, notes, 426. St. Athanasios reorganised the monastic
communities of Mount Athos between A.D. 959~9 6 9- Montfoucon, / al&og
Graca, 452-454. 2 Zonaras, note of Ducange, ii. 87 ; note 25, edit. Ven.
304 Basillan Dynasty
He came forwards and declared on oath that Nicephoras had
not been present, nor had he, the priest, ever said so. _ The
Patriarch found himself compelled to withdraw his opposition,
aad s to cover Ms defeat, he allowed Nicephonis ^to enter the
church without remark. This dispute left a feeling of irrita-
tion on the mind of the emperor, and was probably the cause
of some of his severities to the clergy, while it certainly as-
sisted in rendering him unpopular among his bigoted subjects.
Hicephorus had devoted great attention to improving the
discipline of the Byzantine army! and s as it consisted in great
part of mercenaries, this could only be done by a liberal ex-
penditure. His chief object was to obtain troops of the best
qualty s and all the measures of his civil administration were
directed to fill the treasury. An efficient army was the chief
support of the empire; and it seemed, therefore, to Nicephonis
that the first duty of an emperor was to secure the means of
maintaining a numerous and weE-appointed military force.
Perhaps the people of Constantinople would have applauded
his maxims and his conduct, had he been more liberal in
lavishing the wealth he extorted from the provinces on festivals
and shows in the capital, A severe famine, at the commence-
ment of his reign, increased his unpopularity. This scarcity
commenced in the reign of Romanus II., and, among the
reports circulated against Joseph Bringas, it was related that
he had threatened to raise the price of wheat so high, that,
for a piece of gold, a man should only purchase as much as
he could carry away in his pockets. It is very probable that
the measures adopted by Kicephorus tended to increase the
evil, though Zonaras, in saying that he allowed each merchant
to use his own interest as a law, would lead us to infer that he
abolished monopolies and maximums, and left the trade in
grain free. 1 The fiscal measures of his reign, however, in-
creased the burden of taxation. He retrenched the annual
largesses of the court, and curtailed the pensions granted to
courtiers. The worst act of his reign, and one for which the
Byzantine historians have justly branded him with merited
odium, was his violation of the public faith, and the honour
of the Eastern Empire, by adulterating the coin, and issuing
a debased coin, called the tetarteron. This debased money
Zotiaras. it 303-206. Cedrenus, 660. The price of a modios of wheat having
* __ "Vt * . i L i r__ i _i*n; \ ~L 1J i.. f ^t_ _
Period of Conquest 305
he employed to pay the debts of the state, while the taxes
continued to be exacted in the old and pure coin of the em-
pire. The standard of the coinage of the Eastern Empire, it
must always be borne in mind, remained always the same
until the taking of Constantinople by the Crusaders. The
gold coins of Leo III. and of Isaac II. are of the same weight
and purity ; and the few emperors who disgraced their reigns
by tampering with the currency have been branded with in-
famy. Perhaps there is no better proof of the high state of
political civilisation in Byzantine society. 1 But the strong
grounds of dissatisfaction against Nicephorus were ripened
into personal animosity by an accidental tumult in the hippo-
drome, in which many persons lost their Hves. It happened
that, while the troops were going through the evolutions of
a sham-fight, a report arose that the emperor intended to
punish the people, who had thrown stones at him, and in-
sulted him as he passed through the streets. This caused
a rush out of the enclosures, and many persons, men, women,
and children, perished. The citizens, of course, insisted that
the massacre was premeditated. 2
The whole reign of Nicephorus was disturbed by the ill-will
of the clergy, and one of his wisest measures met with the
most determined opposition. In order to render the military
service more popular among his native subjects, and prevent
the veterans from quitting the army under the influence of
religious feelings distorted by superstition, he wished the clergy
to declare that all Christians who perished in war against the
Saracens were martyrs in the cause of religion. But the
Patriarch, who was more of a churchman than a patriot, con-
sidered it greater gain to the clergy to retain the power of
granting absolutions, than to bestow the most liberal donation
of martyrs on the church ; and he appealed to the canons of
St. Basil to prove that all war was contrary to Christian disci-
pline, and that a Christian who killed an enemy, even in war
'with the Infidels, ought to be excluded from participating in
the holy sacrament for three years. With a priesthood sup-
porting such religious opinions, the Byzantine empire had, need
of an admirable system of administration, and a series of
brave and warlike emperors, to perpetuate its long existence. a
In the first year of his reign, Nicephorus endeavoured to
A Zonaras. ii. 203. Cedrenus, 658. ,,...-
* Leo Dlaconus witnessed the insults Nicephorus bore, and admired his equanimity
but a woman was burnt for throwing a stone at him. P. 65. Zonaras, u. 303.
* Zonaras, iL 203. Cedrenus, 658.
306 Basilian Dynasty
restrain the passion for founding monasteries that then reigned
almost universally. Many converted their family residences
Into monastic buildings, in order to terminate their lives as
monks, without changing their habits of life. The emperor
prohibited the foundation of any new monasteries and hospi-
tals, enacting that only those already In existence should be
maintained; and he declared a!! testamentary donations of
landed property In favour of the church void. 1 He also ex-
cited the anger of the clergy, by forbidding any ecclesiastical
election to be made until the candidate had received the Im-
perial approbation. He was In the habit of leaving the
wealthiest sees vacant, and either retained the revenues or
compelled the new bishop to pay a large portion of his re-
ceipts annually Into the imperial treasury. 2
Nicephoras was so well aware of his unpopularity, that he
converted the great palace Into a citadel, which he made
capable of defence with a small garrison. As the army was
devoted to him, he knew that beyond the walls of Constanti-
nople he was In no danger. In estimating the character and
conduct of Nicephoras II. , we must not forget that his
enemies have drawn his portrait, and that, unfortunately for
his reputation, modern historians have generally attached more
credit to the splenetic account of the Byzantine court by
Lultprand, the bishop of Cremona, than diplomatic despatches
of that age are entitled to receive. Luitprand visited Con-
stantinople as ambassador from the German emperor, Otho
the Great, to negotiate a marriage between young Otho and
Theophano, the stepdaughter of Nicephoras. Otho expected
that the Byzantine emperor would cede his possessions in
southern Italy as the dowry of the princess ; Nicephoras ex-
pected the German emperor would yield up the suzerainty over
Beneventum and Capua for the honour of the alliance. As
might be expected, from the pride and rapacity of both parties,
the ambassador failed in his mission ; but he revenged himself
by libelling Nicephorus ; and his picture of the pride and sus-
picious policy of the Byzantine court in its intercourse with
foreigners gives his libel some value, and serves as an apology
for his virulence. 3
2 The Ncvellee of Nicephorus. Leo Diaconus, 309.
2 Luitprand. Leo Diaconus, 371.
3 The value of the bishop's evidence as an avTOTTTys may be estimated from his say-
fBg_that Bardas. the father of Nicephorus, appeared to be a hundred and fifty years old.
Laitprand had visited Constantinople in 942, as ambassador of Bcrenger, with a present
of eunuchs, which Verdun then exported. Ke then saw the singing tree, the lions of
Period of Conquest 307
The darling object of Nlcephoras was to break the power of
the Saracens, and extend the frontiers of the empire In Syria
and Mesopotamia. In the spring of 964, he assembled an
army against Tarsus, which was the fortress that covered the
Syrian frontier. The river Cydnus flowed through the city,
dividing It into two portions, which were united by three
bridges. The place was populous, well fortified, and amply
supplied with every means of defences so that the emperor was
compelled to raise the siege, and lead his army against Adana,
which he took. He then formed the siege of Slopsuestia, and s
employing his men to run a subterraneous gallery under the
wails, he prevented the besieged from observing the operation
by throwing the earth taken from the excavation Into the
Pyramus during the night. When his mine was completed,
the beams which supported the wails were burned 3 and as soon
as the rampart fell, the Byzantine army carried the place by
storm. Next- year (965), Nicephoras again formed the siege
of Tarsus with an army of forty thousand men. The place was
inadequately supplied with provisions; and though the -in-
habitants were a warlike race, who had long carried on
incursions into the Byzantine territory, they were compelled to
abandon their native city, and retire into Syria, carrying with
them only their personal clothing. A rich cross, which the
Saracens had taken when they destroyed the Byzantine army
under Stypiotes in the year 877, was recovered, and placed in
the church of St. Sophia at Constantinople. The bronze gates
of Tarsus and Mopsuestia, which were of rich workmanship,
were also removed, and placed by Nicephoras in the new-
citadel he had constructed to defend the palace. 1 In the
same year Cyprus was reconquered by an expedition under the
command of the patrician Niketas.
For two years the emperor was occupied at Constantinople by
the civil administration of the empire, by a threatened invasion
of the Hungarians, and by disputes with the king of Bulgaria ;
but in 968 he again resumed the command of the army in the
East. Early in spring he marched past Antioch at the head of
eighty thousand men, and, without stopping to besiege that
city^ he rendered himself master of the fortified places in its
neighbourhood, in order to cut it off from all relief from the
metal that roared, and the eagle that flapped its wings. Luitgrajidi Hist. lib. vi.
chap. i. Dara, Histoire de Venise^ L 92. The account of Luitprand's embassy to
NIcephorus is in Muratori, Scrip* Rer. ItaL torn. ii. 479 ; and in the volume of the
Byzantine Collection published at Bonn, which contains iJeo Diaconus.
l Leo Diaconus, 61, Zonaras, ii, 201,
308 Rasilian Dynasty
caHpii of Bagdat He then pushed forward Ms conquests ;
Laodicea, Hieiapolis, Aleppo, Area, and Emesa were taken,
aad Tripoiis and Damasciis paid tribute to save their territory
from being laid waste. In this campaign many reHcs were
surrendered by the Mohammedans. 1 In consequence of the
approach of winter, the emperor led his army into winter
quarters* and deferred forming the siege of Antioch until the
ensuing spring. He left the patrician Burtzes in a fort on the
Black Mountain, with orders to watch the city, and prevent
the inhabitants from collecting provisions and military stores.
The remainder of the army, under the command of Peter, was
stationed in Cilacia. 2 As he was anxious to reserve to himself
the glory of restoring Antioch to the empire, he ordered his
Leutenants not to attack the city during his absence. But one
of the spies employed by Burtzes brought him the measure of
the height of a tower which it was easy to approach, and the
temptation to take the pkce by surprise was not to be resisted.
Accordingly, on a dark winter night, while there was a heavy fall
of snow, Burtzes placed himself at the head of three hundred
chosen men, and gained possession of two of the towers of An-
tioch. 1 He immediately sent off a courier to Peter, requesting
Mm to advance and take possession of the city ; but Peter, from
fear of the emperor's jealousy, delayed moving to the assistance
of Burtzes for three days. During this interval, however, Burtzes
defended himself against the repeated attacks of the whole
population with great difficulty. The Byzantine army at
length arrived, and Antioch was annexed to the empire after
having remained 328 years in the power of the Saracens. The
Emperor Nicephorus, instead of rewarding Burtzes for his
energy, dismissed both him and Peter from their commands.
The Fatimite caliph Moe'z reigned at Cairowan, and was
1 The most remarkable of these relics were an old garment and a bloody tress of hair,
said to have belonged to John the Baptist, and the tile with the miraculous portrait of
our Saviour, which last was taken at Hierapolis, Cedrenus, 656. Zonaras, ii. 201.
This tile was probably an ancient terra-cotta, with a head of Jupiter resembling the
received type of the Saviour. The sword of Mahomet was also taken in this campaign,
for the Mohammedans were as much votaries of relics in this age as the Christians.
2 Peter was a eunuch ; he distinguished himself in single combat with a Russian
champion, whom he killed with his lance. Leo Diaconus, 109.
3 The towers of Antioch present very much the appearance they did when they were
attacked b^ Burtzes. ^ " They are about thirty feet square, and project each way so as to
defend the interior side, as well as the exterior face of the wall : the latter is from fifty
to sixty feet high, and eight or ten feet broad at top, which is covered with cut stones
terminated in a cornice. The towers have interior staircases, and three loop-holed
stages resting on brick arches, the uppermost having a small platform ; and there is a
small cistern beneath. Low doors afford a passage along the parapet, so that these
structures may be regarded as a chain of small castles connected by a curtain, rather
than as simple towers. "Colonel Chesney. The Expedition for the Survey of the rivers
Euphrates and Tigris, Vol. i. p. 426,
Period of Conquest 309
already contemplating the conquest of Egypt. Nicephores
not only refused to pay him the tribute of eleven thousand
gold byzants, stipulated by Romanus L, but even sent an
expedition to wrest Sicily from the Saracens, The chief
command was intrusted to Niketas, who had conquered
Cyprus; and the army, consisting chiefly of cavalry, was
more particularly placed under the orders of Manuel Phokas,
the emperor's cousin, a daring officer. 1 The troops were
landed on the eastern coast, and Manuel rashly advanced,
until he was surrounded by the enemy and slain. Niketas
also had made so little preparation to defend his position,
that his camp was stormed, and he himself taken prisoner
and sent to Africa. Nicephoras, who had a great esteem for
Niketas in spite of this defeat, obtained his release by send-
ing to Moez the sword of Mahomet, which had fallen into
his hands in Syria. Niketas consoled himself during his
captivity by transcribing the works of St. Basil, and a MS.
of his penmanship still exists in the National Library at
Paris. 2
The affairs of Italy were, as usual, embroiled by local
causes. Otho, the emperor of the West, appeared at the
head of an army in Apulia, and having secured the assistance
of Pandulf, prince of Beneventum, called Ironhead, carried
on the war with frequent vicissitudes of fortune. Ironhead
was taken prisoner by the Byzantine general, and sent captive
to Constantinople. But the tyrannical conduct of the Byzan-
tine officials lost all that was gained by the superior discipline
of the troops, and favoured the progress of the German arms.
Society had fallen into such a state of isolation, that men
were more eager to obtain immunity from all taxation than
protection for industry and property, and the advantages of
the Byzantine administration ceased to be appreciated.
The European provinces of the empire were threatened
with invasion both by the Hungarians and Bulgarians. In
966, Nicephoras was apprised of the intention of the Hun-
garians, and he solicited the assistance of Peter, king of
Bulgaria, to prevent their passing the Danube. Peter refused,
for he had been compelled to conclude a treaty of peace with
1 He was the son of Lo Phokas, the rival of Romanus I.
2 Leo Diaconus, 67, 76. Cedrenus seems to consider the conqueror of Cyprus and
the prisoner of Sicily different persons; but we can hardly suppose there were too
eunuchs of the name of Niketas who were patricians, and held the office of drungarios
or admiral. Pp. 654, 655. The MS. is mentioned by Montfaucon, Pal, Gretca^ 45;
and by Hase, in his notes to Leo Diaconus, 443.
3io Basllian Dynasty
the Hungarians, who had invaded Bulgaria a short time
before. It is even said that Peter took advantage of the
difficulty In which Nicephoras appeared to be placed, by the
numerous wars that occupied his troops, to demand payment
of the tribute Romanus I. had promised to Simeon. 1 Nlce-
phorasj In order to punish the insolence of one whom he
regarded as Ms inferior, sent Kalokyres, the son of the
governor of Ctierson, as ambassador to Russia, to invite
Swiatoskff, the Varangian prince of Kieff, to invade Bulgaria,
and intrusted Mm with a sum of fifteen hundred pounds'
weight of gold, to pay the expenses of the expedition. Kalo-
kyres proved a traitor : he formed an alliance with Swiatoslaff,
proclaimed himself emperor, and involved the empire in a
Moody war with the Russians.
Unpopular as Nicephoras II. was in the capital, his reign
was unusually free from rebellions of the troops or insurrec-
tions in the provinces. His life was terminated in his own
palace by domestic treachery. His beautiful wife Theophano,
and Ms valiant nephew John Zimiskes, were his murderers.
Theophano was said to have been induced to take part in the
conspiracy from love for Zimiskes, whom she expected to A
marry after he mounted the throne. Zimiskes murdered his
friend and relation from motives of ambition. 2 A band of
conspirators, selected from the personal enemies of the
emperor, among whom was Burtzes, accompanied John
Zimiskes at midnight to the palace wall overlooking the pont
of Bukoleon, and the female attendants of the empress hoisted
them up from their boat in baskets. Other assassins had
been concealed in the palace during the day, and all marched
to the apartment of the emperor. Nicephorus was sleeping
tranquilly on the floor for he retained the habits of his
military life amidst the luxury of the imperial palace.
Zimiskes awoke him with a kick, and one of the conspirators
gave him a desperate wound on the head, while Zimiskes
insulted Ms uncle with words and blows : the others stabbed
Mm in the most barbarous manner. The veteran, during Ms
sufferings, only exclaimed, "O God! grant me thy mercy,"
John I. was immediately proclaimed emperor by the mur-
1 Leo DIaconus, 61.
2 A report was spread that Nicephoras Intended to make eunuchs of Basil and
Constantine^ and declare his brother Leo his successor. Zonaras, iL 207. This was
probably an invention of Theophano, but it met with little credit, and her crime was
scribed to her_ warmth of temperament and the coldness of her husband. There
was a great fashion of filling monasteries with eunuchs at this time.
Period of Conquest 311
derers. The body of Nicephoras was thrown into the court,
and left ail day on the snow exposed to public view, that
everybody might be convinced he was dead. In the evening
it was privately interred.
Thus perished Nicephoras Phokas on the icth December
969 a brave soldier, an able general, and, with all his defects,
one of the most virtuous men and conscientious sovereigns
that ever occupied the throne of Constantinople. Though
born of one of the noblest and wealthiest families of the
Eastern Empire, and sure of obtaining the highest offices at
a proud and luxurious court, he chose a life of hardship in
pursuit of military glory ; and a contemporary historian, who
wrote after his family had been ruined by proscription, and
his name had become odious, observes, that no one had ever
seen him indulge in revelry or debauchery even in his youth. 1
John L was a daring warrior and an able general. 2 He
was thoughtless, generous, and addicted to the pleasures of
the table, so that, though he was by no means a better
emperor than Nicephoras, he was far more popular at Con-
stantinople : hence we find that his base assassination of his
sovereign and relative was easily pardoned and forgotten,
while the fiscal severity of his predecessor was never forgiven.
The court of Constantinople was so utterly corrupt, that it
was relieved from all sense of responsibility ; the aristocracy
knew no law but fear and private interest, and no crime was
so venial as successful ambition. The throne was a stake
for which every courtier held it lawful to gamble, who was
inclined to risk his eyes or his life to gain an empire. Yet
we must observe that both Nicephorus and John were men
of nobler minds than the nobles around them, for both
respected the rights and persons of then* wards and legitimate
princes, Basil and Constantine, and contented themselves
with the post of prime-minister and the rank of emperor.
The chamberlain Basilios had been rewarded by Niceph-
orus, for his services in aiding him to mount the throne,
with the rank of President of the Council, a dignity created
1 Leo DiaconuSj 78.
2 The name Tzimlskes, an Armenian word, was given to John on account of his
short stature. Leo Diaconus, 92, 454 : Lebeau, Hhtoire dv Bas-Em^ire, xlv. 100.
The name is written in a fearful manner, and with variations not adapted to render
it euphonious, by Avdall in his translation of Chamich. History of Armtnia, IL 77,
ox. He calls him Johannes Chimishkik in one passage, and in another, Chumusluk
Keurjan. He was born at Hierapolis, on the Euphrates, in the present pashalik of
Amida or Diyar-bekr, called by Avdall Chumushkazak, and by Saint Martin,
Tchemeschgedzeg. Memoires surV Armenia i. 95.
312 Basillan Dynasty
on purpose. He was now intrusted by John with the com-
plete direction of the civil administration. The partisans of
Nicephoras were removed from all offices of trust, and their
places filled by men devoted to Zimiskes, or hostile to the
family of Phokas. All political exiles were recalled, and a
parade of placing the young emperors, Basil and Constantine,
on an equality with their senior colleague was made, as an
insinuation that they had hitherto been retained in an un-
worthy state of inferiority. At the same time, measures were
adopted to prevent the rabble of the capital from plundering
the houses of the wealthy nobles who had been dismissed
from their appointments, which was a usual proceeding at
every great political revolution in Constantinople. 1
The coronation of John L was dekyed by the Patriarch
for a few days, for Polyeulttes lost no opportunity of showing
his authority. He therefore refused to perform the ceremony
until Zimiskes declared that he had not imbued his hands in
the blood of his sovereign. He pointed out his fellow-
conspirators, Leo Vakntes and Atzypotheodoros, as the
murderers, and excused himself by throwing the whole blame
of the murder on the Empress Theophano. The officers thus
sacrificed were exiled, and the empress was removed from
the imperial palace. 2 John was then admitted to the favour
of the Patriarch, on consenting to abrogate the law of Niceph-
orus, providing that the candidates for ecclesiastical digni-
ties should receive the emperor's approbation before their
election, and promising to bestow all his private fortune in
charity. After his coronation, he accordingly distributed one-
half of his fortune among the poor peasants round Constanti-
nople, and employed the other in founding an hospital for
lepers, in consequence of that disease having greatly increased
about this time. He also increased his popularity by re-
mitting the tribute of the Armeniac theme, which was his
2 Cedrenus, 663. Gold coins, with the effigies of Nicephorns II. and Basil II. ,
attest that Basil preserved all the honours of Ms rank. Leo Diaconus, 04.
2 Theophano was sent to the island of Prote, but escaped, and sought asylum in St.
Sophia's. The chamberlain Basllios took her thence By force, and she was exiled to a
monastery in the Armeniac theme, founded by her murdered husband. Her indignation
on hearing the sentence was so great, that she reviled Zimiskes, and boxed the ears of
the chamberlain, whom she called a barbarian and a Scythian. Leo Diaconus, 99.
Cedrenus, 664, Gibbon is wrong in saying " she assaulted with words and blows her
son Basil ; " but Lebeau has committed the same error. Cedrenus says distinctly it was
the celebrated eunuch she assaulted, and he was the son of a Scythian woman. There
as not a word about her proclaiming the illegitimacy of the young Basil, nor indeed
any reason to suppose he was present, from the accounts of Leo Diaconus, Cedrenus,
and Zonaras. On the contrary, when Basil became the ruler of the empire, he recalled
Ms mother from banishment.- Cedrenus, 684.
Period of Conquest 313
native province, and by adding to the largesses which it was
customary for the emperor to distribute. 2
The Patriarch Polyeuktes died about three months after the
coronation, and Zimiskes selected Basilios, a monk of Mount
Olympus, as his successor ; and without paying any respect to
the canons which forbid the interference of the laity in the
election of bishops, he ordered him to be installed in his
dignity. The monk proved less compliant than the emperor
expected- After occupying the patriarchal chair about five
years, he was deposed for refusing to appear before the
emperor to answer an accusation of treason. The Patriarch
declared the emperor incompetent to sit as his judge, asserting
that he could only be judged or deposed by a synod or genera!
council of the church. He was nevertheless banished to a
monastery he had built on the Scamander, and from which he
is called Scamandrinos. Antonios, the abbot of Studion, was
appointed Patriarch in his place.
The family of Phokas had so long occupied the highest
military commands, and disposed of the patronage of the
empire, that it possessed a party too powerful to be im-
mediately reduced to submission. The reign of John was
disturbed by more than one rebellion excited by its members.
Leo, the brother of Nicephoras, had distinguished himself by
gaining a great victory over the Saracens in the defiles of
Kylindros, near Andrassos, while his brother was occupied
with the conquest of Crete. During the reign of Nicephoras
he held the office of curopalates, but had rendered himself
hated on account of his rapacity. His second son, Bardas
Phokas, held the office of governor of Koloneia and Chaldia
when Nicephoras was murdered, and was banished to Amasia.
Bardas was one of the best soldiers and boldest champions in
the Byzantine army. In the year 970 he escaped from con-
finement, and rendered himself master of Csesarea, where he
assumed the title of Emperor. In the mean time his father,
escaping from Lesbos, and his elder brother Nicephoras from
Imbros, attempted to raise a rebellion in Europe. These two
were soon captured, and John, satisfied that he had rained
the family when he murdered the Emperor Nicephoras, spared
their lives, and allowed the sentence which condemned them
to lose their eyes to be executed in such a way that they
retained their eyesight. Bardas, however, gave the emperor
some trouble, and it was necessary to recall Bardas Skleros
1 Leo Diacouus, 100.
314 Basilian Dynasty
from the Russian war to take the command against him. 1
Phokas, when deserted by his army, escaped to a castle he
had fortified as a place of refuge, where he defended himself
until Skleros persuaded him to surrender, on a promise that
he should receive no personal injury. ZImiskes, who admired
Ms daring coiirage a condemned him to reside in the island of
Chios, and adopt the monastic robe. His father Leo, who
escaped a second time from confinement, and visited Con-
stantinople in the hope of rendering himself master of the
during the absence of the emperor, was discovered,
and dragged from St. Sophia's, in which he sought an asylum.
His eyes were then put out, and his immense estates con-
fiscated.
John, in order to connect himself with the Basilian dynasty,
married Theodora, one of the daughters of Constantine VII.
(Porphyrogenitus.) Another more important marriage is passed
unnoticed by the Byzantine writers. Zimiskes, finding that he
could ill spare troops to defend the Byzantine possessions in
Italy against the attacks of the Western emperor, released
Pandulf of Beneventum, after he had remained three years a
prisoner at Constantinople, and by his means opened amicable
communications with Otho the Great. A treaty of marriage
was concluded between young Otho and Theophano, the
sister of the Emperors Basil and Constantine. The nuptials
were celebrated at Rome on the i4th of April 972 ; and the
talents and beauty of the Byzantine princess enabled her to
act a prominent and noble part in the history of her time. 2
A curious event in the history of the Eastern Empire, which
ought not to pass unnoticed, is the transportation of a number
of heretics, called by historians Manicheans, from the eastern
provinces of Asia Minor, to increase the colonies of Paulicians
and other heretics already established round Philippopolis.
This is said to have been done by the Emperor John, by
advice of a hermit named Theodores, whom he elevated to
the dignity of Patriarch of Antioch. The continual mention
of numerous communities of heretics in Byzantine history
proves that there is no greater delusion than to speak of the
unity of the Christian church. Dissent appears to have been
quite as prevalent, both in the Eastern and Western churches,
before the time of Luther, as it has been since. Because the
Greeks and Italians have been deficient in religious feeling,
1 The family of Slderos is mentioned In the reign of Nicephorus I. Incert.
49* 2 Muratori, AiMaK dfltalta, v. 435.
Period of Conquest 315
and their superior knowledge enabled them to affect contempt
for other races, the history of dissent has been neglected,
and religions investigation decried under the appellation of
heresy. 1
The Russian war was the great event of the reign of John
Zimiskes. The military fame of the Byzantine emperor, who
was unquestionably the ablest general of his time, the greatness
of the Russian nation, whose power now overshadows Europe,
the scene of the contest, destined in- our day to be again the
battle-field of Russian armies in a more successful campaign,
and the political interest which attaches to the first attempt of
a Russian prince to march by land to Constantinoplej all
combine to give a practical as well as a romantic interest to
this war. 2
The first Russian naval expedition against Constantinople
in 865 would probably have been followed by a series of
plundering excursions, like those carried on by the Danes and
Normans on the coasts of England and France, had not the
Turkish tribe called the Patzinaks rendered themselves
masters of the lower course of the Dnieper, and become
instruments in the hands of the emperors to arrest the activity
of the bold Varangians. The northern rulers of Kief were
the same rude warriors thatpnfested England and France, but
the Russian people was then in a more advanced state of
society than the mass of the population in Britain and GauL
The majority of the Russians were freemen ; the majority of
the inhabitants of Britain and Gaul were serfs. The com-
merce of the Russians was already so extensive as to influence
the conduct of their government, and to modify the military
ardour of their Varangian masters. But this commerce, after
the fall of the Khazar empire, and the invasion of Europe by
the Magyars and Patzinaks, was carried on under obstacles
which tended to reduce its extent and diminish its profits,
and which it required no common degree of skill and per-
severance to overcome. The wealth revealed to the rapacious
* Cedrenus, 665. It cannot be surprising that dissent was prevalent when we read
how the clergy behaved. The Pope or anti-Pope, called Boniface VII., assassinated
Benedict VI., and, after despoiling the Vatican, fled to Constantinople, A.D. 074. In
o&t he returned to Rome, dethroned the reigning Pope,^ John XIV., who perished in
prison, and occupied the papal throne himself. He died in the following year.
2 Gibbon observes the singular undeclinable Greek word used to designate the
Russians, *PcSs. It occurs twice in the Septuagint, but our translation makes no
mention of the Russians. Ezek. xxviii. 2 ; xxix. i. The Russians appear also to be
mentioned twice in the Koran. Al Fourlcan, v. 39 ; Sale's Koran> chap. 25 (the Rass
on which Sale has a note is supposed to mean the Russians) ; and The Letter " Kaf"
v. ii. Sale, chap. 50. See Hammer, Surles Origines Russcs.
316 Basilian Dynasty
chiefs of Kief by the existence of this trade invited
to Constantinople which appeared to be the centre
of riches.
After the defeat In $6$ s the Russians induced their rulers to
envoys to Constantinople to renew commercial inter-
invite Christian missionaries to visit their country;
no inconsiderable portion of the people embraced Chris-
tianity, though it continued long after better known to the
Russian merchants than* to the Varangian warriors. 1 The
commercial relations of the Russians with Cherson and Con-
stantinople were now carried on directly, and numbers of
Russian traders took up their residence in these cities. The
ferst commercial treaty between the Russians of Kief and
the Byzantine empire was concluded in the reign of Basil I. 2
The intercourse increased from that time. In the year 902,
seven hundred Russians are mentioned as serving on board
the Byzantine fleet with high pay; in 935, seven Russian
vessels, with 415 men, formed part of a Byzantine expedition
to Italy; and in 949, six Russian vessels, with 629 men, were
engaged in the unsuccessful expedition of Gongyles against
Crete. 1 In 966, a corps of Russians accompanied the un-
fortanate expedition of Niketas to Sicily. 4 There can be no
doubt that these were all Varangians, familiar, like the Danes
and Normans in the West, with the dangers of the sea, and
not native Russians, whose services on board the fleet could
have been of little value to the masters of Greece.
But to return to the history of the Byzantine wars with the
Russians. In the year 907, Oleg, who was regent of Kief
during the minority of Igor the son of Rurik, assembled
an army of Varangians, Sclavonians, and Croatians, and,
collecting two thousand vessels or boats of the kind then used
on the northern shore of the Euxine, advanced to attack
Constantinople. The exploits of this army, which pretended
to aspire at the conquest of Tzaragrad, or the City of the
Caesars, were confined to plundering the country round Con-
stantinople; and it is not improbable that the expedition was
undertaken to obtain indemnity for some commercial losses
sustained by imperial negligence, monopoly, or oppression.
1 Continnator, 123. Cedrenus, 551. Pkotii Sfisielat, 58. Compare the observations
of Wilken on the conversion of the Russians, with Wilken, Ultr die Verkaltnisse de*
Ritssen xum ByzantiniscJien Reich t 90. Karamsm, Histoire de la Russie t L 148.
2 Zonaras, XL 173.
* Constant^PorjAyr.^ Ceremonus Avlac By&> i. 652, 660, 664, edit. Bonn.
* The Arabian historian Novairi, quoted by Karamsin.
Period of Conquest 317
The subjects of the emperor were murdered, and the Russians
amused themselves with torturing their captives in the most
barbarous manner. At length Leo purchased their retreat by
the payment of a large sum of money. Such is the account
transmitted to us by the Russian monk Nestor, for no Byzan-
tine writer notices the expedition which was doubtless nothing
more than a plundering incursion, in which the city of Con-
stantinople was not exposed to any danger. 1 These hostilities
were terminated by a commercial treaty in 912, and its con-
ditions are recorded in detail by Nestor. 2
In the year 941, Igor made an attack on Constantinople,
impelled either by the spirit of adventure, which was the
charm of existence among all the tribes of Northmen, or else
roused to revenge by some violation of the treaty of 912.
The Russian flotilla, consisting of innumerable small vessels,
made its appearance in the Bosphonis while the Byzantine
fleet was absent in the Archipelago. 3 Igor landed at different
places on the coast of Thrace and Bithynia, ravaging and
plundering the country; the inhabitants were treated with
incredible cruelty; some were crucified, others were burned
alive, the Greek priests were killed by driving nails into their
heads, and the churches were destroyed. Only fifteen ships
remained at Constantinople, but these were soon fitted up with
additional tubes for shooting Greek fire. This force, trifling
as it was hi number, gave the Byzantines an immediate superi-
ority at sea, and the patrician Theophanes sailed out of the
port to attack the Russians. Igor, seeing the small number
of the enemy's ships, surrounded them on all sides, and en-
deavoured to carry them by boarding; but the Greek fire
became only so much more available against boats and men
crowded together, and the attack was repulsed with fearful
loss. In the mean time, some of the Russians who landed in
Bithynia were defeated by Bardas Phokas and John Kurkuas,
and those who escaped from the naval defeat were pursued and
slaughtered on the coast of Thrace without mercy. The Em-
peror Romanus ordered all the prisoners brought to Constan-
tinople to be beheaded. Theophanes overtook the fugitive
ships in the month of September, and the relics of the ex-
1 If the Russians really on this occasion transported their fleet over some neck of
{and, In imitation of the exploit of Niketas Orypbas at the isthmus of Corinth, it may
have been near Cberson, but not near Constantinople. La Chronique de Nestor^ tra~
duite en Fraitfatse par Louis Paris^ i. 36. 2 Nestor, i. 39. Krug, 108
3 The Byzantine writers and Nestor speak of ten thousand boats, but Luitprand,
whose stepfather was then at Constantinople as ambassador from Hugh, king of Italy*
says there were more than a thousand. Lwtyrandi Hist. r. 6.
318 Basilian Dynasty
were Igor effecting his escape with only
a few The Russian Chronicle of Nestor says that, in
the year 944* Igor, assisted by other Varangians, and by the
prepared a second expedition, but that the inhabi-
of Cherson so the Emperor Romanns by their
of Its magnltade 3 that he sent ambassadors, who met
Igor at the of the Danube, and sued for peace on terms
to Igor and his boyards consented. This is probably
a salve applied to the vanity of the people of Kief by
chronicler ; but it is certain that a treaty of peace was
concluded between the emperors of Constantinople and the
princes of Kief in the year 945- 2 The stipulations of this
treaty prove the importance attached to the commerce carried
on by the Russians with Cherson and Constantinople. The
two Russo-Byzantine treaties preserved by Nestor are docu-
ments of great importance in tracing the history of civilisation
b the east of Europe. The attention paid to the commercial
interests of the Russian traders visiting Cherson and Constan-
tinople* and the prominence given to questions of practical
utility instead of to points of dynastic ambition, may serve as
a. contrast to many modern treaties in the west of Europe. 3
The trading classes would not have been powerful enough to
command this attention to their interests on the part of the
warlike Varangians, had a numerous body of free citizens not
been closely connected with the commercial prosperity of
Russia. Unfortunately for the people, the municipal indepen-
dence of their cities, which had enabled each separate com-
munity to acquire wealth and civilisation, was not joined to
any central institutions that insured order and a strict adminis-
tration of justice, consequently each city fell separately a prey
to the superior military force of the comparatively barbarian
Varangians of Scandinavia. The Varangian conquest of Russia
had very much the same effect as the Danish and Norman con-
quests in the West. Politically, the nation appeared more
1 Contin. "Romanes Lecapenus, 1 " 363. L<eo Gramm. 506. Symeon Mag. 490.
Nestor, L 54. Kjrug 1 , iSfi.
2 The French translation of Nestor gives 945 as the date of the treaty, but Romanus,
colleague on the 6th April 945. Krug , aio, considers the treaty as concluded by Con-
stantino VII. and Romanus II., and it must have been ratified in the Interval before
Igor's death, which happened before the end of 945.
$ Commerce, as a means of increasing power and population, was beginning to excite
the attention of the barbarians in western Europe. Athelstan, 925-941, enacted a law
to confer tie privileges of a thane on any English merchant who had made three voyages
to a foreign country on bis own account. Wil^dnSj Leg. Sax. 71.
Period of Conquest 319
powerful, but the condition of all ranks of the people socially
was much deteriorated. It was, however, the Tartar invasion
which separates the modem and the medieval history of Russia,
and which plunged the country into the state of barbarism and
slavery from which Peter the Great first raised It.
The cruelty of the Varangian prince Igor, after his return
to Russia, caused Mm to be murdered by his rebellious sub-
jects. 1 Olga, Ms widow, became regent for their son Swiatoslaff.
She embraced the Christian religion, and visited Constanti-
nople in 957, where she was baptised. The Emperor Con-
stantine Porphyrogenitus has left us an account of the ceremony
of her reception at the Byzantine court. 2 A monk has pre-
served the commercial treaties of the empire, an emperor
records the pageantry that amused a Russian princess. The
high position occupied by the court of Kief in the tenth cen-
tury is also attested by the style with which It was addressed
by the court of Constantinople. The golden bulls of the
Roman emperor of the East, addressed to the prince of Russia,
were ornamented with a pendent seal equal in size to a double
solidus, like those addressed to the kings of France. 3
We have seen that the Emperor Nicephoras II. sent the
patrician Kalokyres to excite Swiatoslaff to invade Bulgaria,
and that the Byzantine ambassador proved a traitor and as-
sumed the purple. Swiatoslaff soon invaded Bulgaria at the
head of a powerful army, which the gold brought by Kalokyres
assisted him to equip, and defeated the Bulgarian army in a
great battle, A.D. 968. Peter, king of Bulgaria, died shortly
after, and the country was involved in civil broils ; taking ad-
vantage of which, Swiatosiaff took Presthkva the capital, and
rendered himself master of the whole kingdom. Nicephoras
now formed an alliance with the Bulgarians, and was preparing
to defend them against the Russians, when Swiatoslaff was
compelled to return home, in order to defend his capital
against the Patzinaks. Nicephorus assisted Boris and Romanus^
the sons of Peter, to recover Bulgaria, and concluded an offen-
sive and defensive alliance with Boris, who occupied the throne.
After the assassination of Nicephorus, Swiatoslaff returned to
invade Bulgaria with an army of 60,000 men, and his enter-
prise assumed the character of one of those great invasions
which had torn whole provinces from the Western Empire.
1 Leo Diaconos, 106, calls his murderers Germans, meaning doubtless Northmen.
2 Qedrenus, 636. Const. Porphyr. De Cer. A-ul. Byz. I. 594, edit Bonn. Krug,.
367. Const. Porphyr. De Cer. Aul. Byz. I. 690. Krug, 280,
320 Basllian Dynasty
His army was increased by a treaty with the Patzinaks and ao
alliance with the Hungarians, so that he began to dream of
the conquest of Constantinople, and hoped to transfer the
empire of the East from the Romans of Byzantium to the
Russians. It was fortunate for the Byzantine empire that it
was ruled by a soldier who knew how to profit by its superiority
in tactics and discipline. The Russian was not ignorant of
strategy, and having secured his flank by his alliance with the
Hungarians, he entered Thrace by the western passes of
Mount Hsemus, then the most frequented road between Ger-
many and Constantinople, and that by which the Hungarians
were in the habit of making their plundering incursions into
the empire.
John Zimiskes was occupied in the East when Swiatoslaff
completed the second conquest of Bulgaria and passed Mount
Hsemus, expecting to subdue Thrace during the emperor's
absence with equal ease, A,D. 970. The empire was still suffer-
ing from famine. 1 SwiatoslafF took Philippopolis, and mur-
dered twenty thousand of the inhabitants. An embassy sent
by Zimiskes was dismissed with a demand of tribute, and the
Russian army advanced to Arcadiopolis, where one division
was defeated by Bardas Skleros, and the remainder retired
again behind Mount Hasmus. 2
In the following spring, 971, the Emperor John took the
field at the head of an army of fifteen thousand infantry and
thirteen thousand cavalry, besides a bodyguard of chosen
troops called the Immortals, and a powerful battery of field
and siege engines. 3 A fleet of three hundred galleys, attended
by many smaller vessels, was despatched to enter the Danube
and cut off the communications of the Russians with their
own country. 4
Military operations for the defence and attack of Con-
stantinople are dependent on some marked physical features
of the country between the Danube and Mount Hsemus.
The Danube, with its broad and rapid stream, and line of
1 Leo Diaconus, 103.
2 Leo Diaconus, 105 ; see a note at page 472, by Hase, on the chronology of this
period. I follow that generally received on the authority of Nestor.^
3 The numbers are given by Leo Diaconus, 130. Cedrenus gives five thousand
infantry and four thousand cavalry, 672; Zonaras ii. axx, the same number. The
proportion affords some insight into the constitution of Byzantine armies at this period
of military glorjr. The cavalry served as the model for European chivalry, but the
sword of the legionary could still gain a battle.
* Leo Diaconus, 129, calls the larger vessels triremes, though they certainly had not
more than two tiers of oars. Of the smaller he says, <TW<4/xa Xl/i/3ots Kal d/carlot*, a
OIVWS ovo/j.dov<ri.
Period of Conquest 321
fortresses on its southern bank, would be an impregnable
barrier to a military power possessing an active ally in
Hungary and Servia ; for it is easy to descend the river and
concentrate the largest force on any desired point of attack,
to cut off the communications or disturb the flanks of the
invaders. Even after the line of the Danube is lostj that of
Mount Hsemus covers Thrace; and it formed a rampart to
Constantinople in many periods of danger under the Byzantine
emperors. It was then traversed by three great military roads
passable for chariots. The first, which has a double gorge,
led from Philippopolis to Sardica by the pass called the Gates
of Trajan (now Kapou Dervend), throwing out three branches
from the principal trunk to Naissos and Belgrade, 1 The
great pass forms the point of communication likewise with
the upper valley of the Strymon, from Skupi to Ulpiana, and
the northern parts of Macedonia. Two secondary passes
communicate with this road to the north-east, affording
passage for an army that of Kezanlik, and that of Isladi;
and these form the shortest lines of communication between
Philippopolis and the Danube about Nicopolis, through
Bulgaria. The second great pass is towards the centre of
the range of Haemus, and has preserved among the Turks
its Byzantine name of the Iron Gate. 2 It is situated on the
direct line of communication between Adrianople and Roust-
chouk. Through this pass a good road might easily be con-
structed. The third great pass is that to the east, forming
the great line of communication between Adrianople and the
Lower Danube near Silistria (Dorystolon). It is called b7
the Turks Nadir Dervend. The range of Haemus has several
other passes independent of these, and its parallel ridges
present numerous defiles. The celebrated Turkish position
at Shoumla is adapted to cover several of these passes, con-
verging on the great eastern road to Adrianople.
The Emperor John marched from Adrianople just before
Easter, when it was not expected that a Byzantine emperor
would take the field. He knew that the passes on the great
eastern road had been left unguarded by the Russians, and
he led his army through all the defiles of Mount Hsemus
without encountering any difficulty. The Russian troops
stationed at Presthlava, who ought to have guarded the passes,
1 Ammianus Marcellinus, xxi. 10. Sozornenes, Hist. JEccles. ii. 32. Nicephorui
Giregoras, i. 231. Sardica is Triaditza, now Sophia.
* Cedrenus, 784, 5t& rijs \yofJt,4vtjs 'EtiSypas. The Turks call it Demir kapou.
M
322 Basillan Dynasty
marched out to meet the emperor when they heard he had
entered Bulgaria, Their whole army consisted of Infantry;
but the soldiers were covered with chain armour, and accus-
tomed to resist the light cavalry of the Patzinaks and other
Turkish tribes. 1 They proved, however, no match for the
heavy-armed lancers of the imperial army; and, after a
vigorous resistance, were completely routed by John
Zimiskes, leaving eight thousand five hundred men on the
field of battle. On the following day Presthkva was taken
by escalade, and a body of seven thousand Russians and
Bulgarians, who attempted to defend the royal palace, which
was fortified as a citadel, were put to the sword after a gallant
defence. Sphengelos, who commanded this division of the
Russian force, and the traitor Kalokyres, succeeded in
escaping to Dorystolon, where SwiatoslafT had concentrated
the rest of the army ; but Boris, king of Bulgaria, with all his
family, was taken prisoner in his capital
The emperor, after celebrating Easter in Presthlava, ad-
vanced by Pliscova and Dinea to Dorystolon, where Swiatoslaff
still hoped for victory, though his position was becoming
daily more dangerous. The Byzantine fleet entered the
Danube and took up its station opposite the city, cutting off
all the communications of the Russians by water, at the
same time that the emperor encamped before the walls and
blockaded them by land. Zimiskes, knowing he had to deal
with a desperate enemy, fortified his camp with a ditch and
rampart according to the old Roman model, which was tra-
ditionally preserved by the Byzantine engineers. The Russians
enclosed within the walls of Dorystolon were more numerous
than their besiegers, and Swaitoslaff hoped to be able to open
his communications with the surrounding country, by bring-
ing on a general engagement in the plain before all the
defences of the camp were completed. He hoped to defeat
the attacks of the Byzantine cavalry by forming his men in
squares, and, as the Russian soldiers were covered by long
shields that reached to their feet, he expected to be able, by
advancing his squares like moving towers, to clear the plain
of the enemy. But while the Byzantine legions met the
Russians in front, the heavy-armed cavalry assailed them with
their long spears in flank, and the archers and slingers under
cover watched coolly to transfix every man where an opening
1 The Russians then wore armour similar to that worn by the Normans in western
Europe At a later period. Leo Diaconus,xo8, 144.
Period of Conquest 323
allowed their missiles to penetrate. The battle nevertheless
lasted aU day, but in the evening the Russians were com-
pelled, in spite of their desperate valour, to retire into Dory-
stolon without having effected anything. The infantry of the
north now began to feel its inferiority to the veteran cavalry
of Asia sheathed in plate armour, and disciplined by long
campaigns against the Saracens. Swiatoslaff, however, con-
tinued to defend himself by a series of battles rather than
sorties, in which he made desperate efforts to break through
the ranks of his besiegers in vain, until at length it became
evident that he must either conclude peace, die on the field
of battle, or be starved to death in Dorystolon. Before re-
signing himself to his fate, he made a last effort to cut his
way through the Byzantine army; and on this occasion the
Russians fought with such desperation, that contemporaries
ascribed the victory of the Byzantine troops, not to the
superior tactics of the emperor, nor to the discipline of a
veteran army, but to the personal assistance of St. Theodore,
who found it necessary to lead the charge of the Roman
lancers, and shiver a spear with the Russians himself, before
their phalanx could be broken. The victory was complete,
and Swiatoslaff sent ambassadors to the emperor to offer
terms of peace.
The siege of Dorystolon had now lasted more than two
months, and the Russian army, though reduced by repeated
losses, still amounted to twenty-two thousand men. The
valour and contempt of death which the Varangians had dis-
played in the contest, convinced the emperor that it would
cause the loss of many brave veterans to insist on their laying
down their arms ; he was therefore willing to come to terms,
and peace was concluded on condition that Swiatoslaff should
yield up Dorystolon, with all the plunder, slaves, and
prisoners in possession of the Russians, and engage to swear
perpetual amity with the empire, and never to invade either the
territory of Cherson or the kingdom of Bulgaria ; while, on the
other hand, the Emperor John engaged to allow the Russians
to descend the Danube in their boats, to supply them with two
medimni of wheat for each surviving soldier, to enable them to
return home without dispersing to plunder for their subsistence,
and to renew the old commercial treaties between Kief and
Constantinople, 1 July, 971.
1 Leo Diaconus, 155. I presume the medimnus means here the common measure
about a bushel, without any reference to Attic measures. A part of the treaty is given
by Nestor, with the date. Trad. Franc, i. 100.
324 Basilian Dynasty
After the treaty was concluded, Swiatoslaff desired to have a
personal Interview with Ms conqueror. John rode down to the
tank of the Danube clad in splendid armour, and accompanied
by a brilliant suite of guards on horseback. The short figure
of the emperor was no disadvantage where he was distinguished
by the beauty of his charger and the splendour of his arms,
while his fair countenance, light hair, and piercing blue eyes
fixed the attention of all on his bold and good-humoured face,
which contrasted well with the dark and sombre visages of his
attendants. Swiatoslaff arrived by water in a boat, which he
steered himself with an oar. His dress was white, differing in
no way from that of those under him, except in being cleaner.
Sitting in the stem of his boat, he conversed for a short time
with the emperor, who remained on horseback close to the
beach. The appearance of the bold Varangian excited much
curiosity, and is thus described by a historian who was intimate
with many of those who were present at the interview : the
Russian was of the middle stature, well formed, with strong
neck and broad chest His eyes were blue, his eyebrows
thick, his nose flat, and his beard shaved, but his upper lip was
shaded with long and thick mustaches. The hair of his head
was cropped close, except two long locks which tiung Gown on
each side of his face, and were thus worn as a mark of his
Scandinavian race. In his ears he wore golden earrings
ornamented with a ruby between two pearls, and his expression
was stern and fierce. 1
Swiatoslaff immediately quitted Dorystolon, but he was
obliged to winter on the shores of the Euxine, and famine
thinned his ranks. In spring he attempted to force his way
through the territory of the Patzinaks with his diminished
army. He was defeated, and perished near the cataracts of the
Dnieper. Kour, prince of the Patzinaks, became the possessor
of his skull, which he shaped into a drinking-cup, and adorned
with the moral maxim, doubtless not less suitable to his own
skull, had it fallen into the hands of others, " He who covets
the property of others, oft loses his own. 7 ' We have already
had occasion to record that the skull of the Byzantine emperor,
Nicephorus I., had ornamented the festivals of a Bulgarian
king ; that of a Russian sovereign now figured in the tents of
a Turkish tribe,
The results of the campaign were as advantageous to the
Byzantine empire as they were glorious to the Emperor John.
1 Leo Diaconus, 156.
Period of Conquest 325
Bulgaria was conquered, a strong garrison established in Dory-
stolon, and the Danube once more became the frontier of the
Roman empire. The peace with the Russians was uninter-
rupted until about the year 988, when, from some unknown
cause of quarrel, Vladimir the son of Swiatoslaff attacked and
gained possession of Cherson by cutting off the water.
The Greek city of Cherson, situated on the extreme verge
of ancient civilisation, escaped for ages from the impoverish-
ment and demoralisation into which the Hellenic race was
precipitated by the Roman system of concentrating all power
in the capital of the empire. 1 Cherson was governed for
centuries by its own elective magistrates, and it was not until
towards the middle of the ninth century that the Emperor
Theophilus destroyed its independence. The people, how-
ever, still retained in their own hands some control over their
local administration, though the Byzantine government lost no
time in undermining the moral foundation of the free institu-
tions which had defended a single city against many barbarous
nations that had made the Roman emperors tremble. 2 The
inhabitants of Cherson long looked with indifference on the
favour of the Byzantine emperor, cherished the institutions of
Hellas, and boasted of their self-government. 3 A thousand
years after the rest of the Greek nation was sunk in irremedi-
able slavery, Cherson remained free. Such a phenomenon as
the existence of manly feeling in one city, when mankind
everywhere else slept contented in a state of political degrada-
tion, deserved attentive consideration. Indeed, we may be
better able to appreciate correctly the political causes that cor-
rupted the Greeks in the Eastern Empire, if we can ascertain
those which enabled Cherson, though surrounded by powerful
enemies and barbarous nations, to preserve
** A Homer's language murmuring in her streets,
And in her haven many a mast from Tyre. 39
The history of mankind in every age shows us that the
material improvement of the people, the first great public
1 Cherson replaced the ancient Chersonesos, and Sevastopol now stands near its
ruins. Strabo, vii. 308. Scylax, 29. Hudson.
2 Constantino Porphyrogenitus is very particular in explaining the meaaures to be
adopted in case of insurrections in Cherson. He shows it was in possession of a
numerous commercial navy, though it imported wheat, wine, and other necessaries. De
Adm. Intjt. 53.
3 There is a very late testimony to these facts in a fragment published by Hase, in
his notes to Leo Diaconus, p. 503, edit. Bonn a,$ror6(J,(ar 8t /tdXiora
326 Basllian Dynasty
works of utffity, and the extension of commerce and trade,
are effected by the Impulsion of local institutions. Such
progress is the expression of the popular feeling that excites
every man to better the condition of the mass of humanity.
Order, unfortunately, too often expresses only the feelings
of the class possessing wealth. Its necessity^may be felt^by
all, but the problem of connecting it with equity, and making
it dependent on justice, is not easily solved, and ^hence
the pretext of its maintenance serves for the creation ^of
irresponsible power. The government in which the family
and the parish occupy the most important part will ever be
the best, for it will secure to honesty and truth that deference
which a more extended circle attempts to transfer to the con-
ventional virtues of honour and politeness. It is in the family
and the parish that the foundation of all virtue is laid, long
before the citizen enters the camp, the senate, or the court.
The twelve nomes of Egypt doubled the extent and wealth of
the country by digging the Canal of Joseph, and forming the
lake Moeris, before the Pharaohs became conquerors and
builders of pyramids. The energy of municipal institutions
filled the Mediterranean and the Euxine with Greek colonies.
Rome rose to greatness as a municipality; centralisation
arrested her progress and depopulated the world. Great
Britain, with her colonies and Indian empire, affords an
instance of the superiority of the individual patriotism and
self-respect generated by local institutions over the strict
obedience and scientific power conferred by the centralisation
of authority. But the respective merits of self-government and
of central authority, by the weight of scientific power, are
in the course of receiving their fullest development under the
two mighty empires of the United States of America and
of Russia. Both these governments have displayed con-
summate ability in the conduct of their respective political
systems, and the practical decision of the problem, whether
local or central government is the basis of the political institu-
tions best adapted to the improvement of man, as a moral and
social being, seems by Providence to have been intrusted
to the cabinet of the emperor of Russia, and to the people of
the United States of America.
In the reign of Diocletian, while Themistos was president
of Cherson, Sauromates, king of Bosporos, passing along the
eastern shores of the Euxine, invaded the Roman empire.
He overran Lazia and Pontus without difficulty, but on the
Period of Conquest 327
banks of the Halys he found the Roman army assembled
under the command of Constantlus Chlorus. On hearing of
this invasion, Diocletian sent ambassadors to invite the people
of Cherson to attack the territories of the king of Bosporus, in
order to compel him to return home. Cherson, holding
the rank of an allied city, could not avoid conceding that
degree of supremacy to the Roman emperor which a small
state is compelled to yield to a powerful protector, and the in-
vitation was received as a command. Chrestos had succeeded
Themistos in the presidency ; he sent an army against Bos-
poros, and took the city. But the Cher,sonites, though brave
warriors, sought peace, not conquest, and they treated the
royal family and all the inhabitants of the places that had
fallen into their hands, in a way to conciliate the goodwill of
their enemies. Their successes forced Sauromates to conclude
peace and evacuate the Roman territory, in order to regain
possession of his capital and family. As a reward for their
services, Diocletian granted the Chersonites additional security
for their trade, and extensive commercial privileges through-
out the Roman empire.
In the year 332, when Constantine .the Great, in his declin-
ing age, had laid aside the warlike energy of his earlier years,
the Goths and Sarmatians invaded the Roman empire. The
emperor called on the inhabitants of Cherson, who were then
presided over by Diogenes, to take up arms. They sent a
force well furnished with field-machines to attack the Goths,
who had already crossed the Danube, and defeated the
barbarians with great slaughter. Constantine, to reward their
promptitude in the service of the empire, sent them a golden
statue of himself in imperial robes, to be placed in the hall of
the senate, accompanied with a charter ratifying every privilege
and commercial immunity granted to their city by preceding
emperors. He bestowed on them also an annual supply of
the materials necessary for constructing the warlike machines
of which they had made such good use, and pay for a thousand
artillerymen to work these engines. 1 This subsidy continued
to be paid in the middle of the tenth century, in the time of
Constantine Porphyrogenitus.
Years passed on, and Sauromates, the grandson of him who
invaded the empire in the time of Diocletian, determining to
l Constant. Porphyr. D u Adm* Imp. chap. 53, torn. iii. p. 251, ^edit. Bonn. The
emperor also sent rings with his portrait engraved, to be used in certain official
communications.
328 Basllian Dynasty
efface the memory of his grandfather's disgrace, declared war
with Cherson. He was defeated by Vyskos, the president of
Cherson } at Kapha, and compelled to conclude a treaty of
peace, by which Kapha was declared the frontier of the terri-
tory of Cherson. Another Sauromates, having succeeded to
the throne of Bosporos, determined to regain possession of
Kapha, when Phamakes was president of Cherson. A single
combat between the gigantic king and the patriotic president,
in which Sauromates was slain, terminated this war. The
dynasty of the Sauromatan family ended, and Bosporos, be-
coming a free city in alliance with Cherson, raised a statue
to Phamakes as a testimony of his moderation and philan-
thropy.
Again, after an interval of years, Lamachos was president
of Cherson, but the people of Bosporos, corrupted by the
memory of a court, and loving pageantry better than liberty,
had elected a king named Asandros. The Bosporians pro-
posed that the son of Asandros should marry the only daughter
of Lamachos, in order to draw closer the alliance between the
two states ; and to this the Chersonites consented, but only
on condition that the young Asander should take up his
residence in Cherson, and engage never to return to Bosporos
not even to pay the shortest visit to the king his father, or
any of his relations under pain of death. The marriage was
celebrated, and Asander dwelt with the young Gycia in the
palace of Lamachos, which was a building of regal splendour,
covering four of the quadrangles marked out by the intersec-
tion of the streets in the quarter of Cherson called Sousa, and
having its own private gate in the city walls. Two years after
the celebration of this marriage, Lamachos died ; his daughter
inherited the whole of his princely fortune, and Zetho was
elected president of Cherson. At the end of a year, Gycia
went out to decorate her father's tomb, and wishing to honour
his memory with the greatest solemnity, she received permis-
sion from the president and senate to entertain the whole
body of the citizens of Cherson, with their wives and children,
at a funeral banquet on the anniversary of her father's death as
long as she lived. The celebration of this festival suggested
to her husband a plan of rendering himself tyrant of Cherson,
and for two years he collected men and warlike stores secretly
from Bosporos, by means of the ships employed in his com-
mercial affairs. These he concealed in the immense ware-
houses enclosed within the walls of his wife's palace. Three
Period of Conquest 329
of his own followers from Bosporos were alone entrusted with
the secret of his plot. After a kpse of two years, Asander
had collected two hundred Bosporians, with their armour, in
the palace of Gycia, and was waiting for the approaching
anniversary of the death of Lamachos to destroy the Hberty of
Cherson.
It happened at this time that a favourite maid of Gycia,
offending her mistress, was ordered to be banished from her
presence, and confined in a room over the warehouse in which
the Bosporians were concealed. As the girl was sitting alone^
singing and spinning, her spindle dropped, and rolled along
the floor till it fell into a hole near the wall, from which she
could only recover it by raising up one of the tiles of the
pavement. Leaning down, she saw through the ceiling a
crowd of men in the warehouse below, whom she knew by
their dress to be Bosporians, and soldiers. She immediately
called a servant, and sent him to her mistress, conjuring her
to come to see her in her prison. Gycia, curious to see the
effect of the punishment on her favourite, visited her im-
mediately, and was shown the strange spectacle of a crowd of
foreign soldiers and a magazine of arms concealed in her own
palace. The truth flashed on her mind ; she saw her husband
was plotting to become the tyrant of her native city, and every
feeling of her heart was wounded.
She assembled her relations, and by their means communi-
cated secretly with the senate, revealing the plot to a chosen
committee, on obtaining a solemn promise that when she died
she should be buried within the walls of the city, though such
a thing was at variance with the Hellenic usages of Cherson.
Whether from the danger of attacking two hundred heavy-
armed men, or to avoid war with Bosporos, the president and
senate of Cherson determined to destroy the conspiracy by
burning the enemy in their place of concealment, and Gycia
willingly gave her ancestral palace to the flames to save her
country.
When the day of the anniversary of her father's funeral
arrived, Gycia ordered the preparations for the annual feast
to be made with more than ordinary liberality, and Asander
was lavish in his distribution of wine; but due precautions
had been taken that the gates of the city should be closed at
the usual hour, and all the citizens in their dwellings. At
the banquet in her own palace Gycia drank water out of a
purple goblet, while the servant who waited on Asander served
33O Baslllan Dynasty
him with the richest wines. To the delight of her husband,
Gyda proposed that all should retire to rest at an early hour,
and she took a last melancholy leave of her husband, who
hastened to give his three confidants their instructions, and
then lay down to rest until the midnight should call him to
complete his treachery. The gates, doors, and windows of
the palace were shut up, and the keys, as usual, laid beside
Gycia. Her maids had packed up all her jewels, and when
Asander was plunged in a sound sleep from the wine he had
drank, Gycia rose, locked every door of the palace as she
passed, and hastened out, accompanied by her slaves. Order
was immediately given to set fire to the building on every
side, and thus the liberty of Cherson was saved by the
patriotism of Gycia.
The spot where the palace had stood remained a vacant
square in the time of the Emperor Constantine Porphy-
rogenitus, and Gycia during her lifetime would never allow
even the rains to be cleared away. Her countrymen erected
two statues of bronze to honour her patriotism one in the
public agora, showing her in the flower of youth, dressed in
her native costume, as when she saved her country ; the other
dad as a heroine armed to defend the city. On both in-
scriptions were placed commemorating her services; and no
better deed could be done at Cherson than to keep the bases
of these statues bright and the inscriptions legible, that the
memory of the treachery of the king's son, and the gratitude
due to the patriotism of Gycia, might be ever fresh in the
hearts of the citizens.
Some years after this, when Stratophilos was president,
Gycia, suspecting that the gratitude of her countrymen was
so weakened that they would no longer be inclined to fulfil
their promise of burying her within the walls, pretended to
be dead. The event was as she feared ; but when the pro-
cession had passed the gates, she rose up from the bier and
exckimed, " Is this the way the people of Cherson keep their
promise to the preserver of their liberty?" Shame proved
more powerful than gratitude. The Chersonites now swore
again to bury her in the city, if she would pardon their false-
hood. A tomb was accordingly built during her lifetime, and
a gilded statue of bronze was erected over it, as an assurance
that the faith of Cherson should not be again violated. In
that tomb Gycia was buried, and it stood uninjured in the
tenth century, when an emperor of Constantinople, impressed
Period of Conquest 331
with admiration of her patriotism, so unlike anything he had
seen among the Greek inhabitants of his own wide extended
empire, transmitted a record of her deeds to posterity. 1
Cherson retained its position as an independent state until
the reign of Theophilus, who compelled it to receive a governor
from Constantinople; but, even under the Byzantine govern-
ment, it continued to defend its municipal institutions, and,
instead of slavishly soliciting the imperial favour, and adopt-
ing Byzantine manners, it boasted of its constitution and
self-government. 2 But it lost gradually its former wealth and
extensive trade ; and when Vladimir, the sovereign of Russia,
attacked it in 988, it yielded almost without a struggle.
The great object of ambition of all the princes of the East,
from the time of Heraclius to that of the last Comnenos of
Trebizond, was to form matrimonial alliances with the im-
perial family, Vladimir obtained the hand of Anne, the
sister of the Emperors Basil II. and Constantine VIII., and
was baptised and married in the Church of the Panaghia
at Cherson. To soothe the vanity of the empire, he pre-
tended to retain possession of his conquest as the dowry
of his wife. Many of the priests who converted the Russians
to Christianity, and many of the artists who adorned the
earliest Russian churches with paintings and mosaics, were
natives of Cherson. The church raised Vladimir to the rank
of a saint; the Russians conferred on him the title of the
Great, 3
John Zimiskes, having terminated the Russian war, com-
pelled Boris to resign the crown of Bulgaria, and accept the
title of Magister, as a pensioner of the Byzantine court The
frontier of the Eastern Empire was once more extended to
the Danube. 4
The Saracen war had been carried on vigorously on the
frontiers of Syria, while the Emperor John was occupied with
the Russian campaign. The continued successes of the
Byzantine arms had so alarmed the Mohammedan princes,
that an extensive confederacy was formed to recover Antioch,
and the command of the army of the caliph was intrusted to
Zoher, the lieutenant of the Fatimites in Egypt. The imperial
army was led by the patrician Nikolaos, a man of great military
skill, who had been a eunuch in the household of John
* Constant. Porphyr. Dt A dm. Imp. chap. 53.
* Fragment % Leo JDiaconus, 503.
* Nestor, tr. fr. i. 137. Ccdremw, 694*
332 Basillan Dynasty
Zintiskes ; and he defeated the Saracens in a pitched battle,
and saved Antioch for a time. 1 But in the following year
(973) the conquest of Nisibis filled the city of Bagdat with
such consternation, that a levy of all Mussulmans was ordered
to march against the Christians. The Byzantine troops in
Mesopotamia were commanded by an Armenian named Teme-
!ek Melchi, who was completely routed near Amida. He
was himself taken prisoner, and died after a year's confine-
ment 2
With all his talents as a generai s John does not appear to
have possessed the same control over the general administra-
tion as Nicephoms ; and many of the cities conquered by his
predecessor, in which the majority of the inhabitants were
Mohammedans, succeeded in throwing off the Byzantine yoke.*
Even Antioch declared itself independent. A great effort be-
came necessary to regain the ground that had been lost ; and,
to make this 5 John Zimiskes took the command of the Byzan-
tine army in person in the year 974. He marched in one
campaign from Mount Taurus to the banks of the Tigris, and
from the banks of the Tigris back into Syria, as far as Mount
Lebanon, carrying his victorious arms, according to the vaunt-
ing inaccuracy of the Byzantine geographical nomenclature,
into Palestine. His last campaign, in the following year, was
the most brilliant of his exploits. In Mesopotamia he re-
gained possession of Amida and Martyropolis ; but these
cities contained so few Christian inhabitants that he was
obliged to leave the administration in the hands of Saracen
emirs, who were charged with the collection of the tribute and
taxes. Nisibis he found deserted, and from it he marched by
Edessa to Hierapolis or Membig, where he captured many
valuable relics, among which the shoes of our Saviour, and
the hair of John the Baptist, are especially enumerated.
From Hierapolis John marched to Apamea, Emesa, and
Baalbec, without meeting any serious opposition. The emir
of Damascus sent valuable presents, and agreed to pay an
annual tribute to escape a visit The emperor then crossed
Mount Libanon, storming the fortress of Borzo, which com-
manded the pass, and, descending to the seacoast, laid siege
to Berytus, which soon surrendered, and in which he found
an image of the crucifixion that he deemed worthy of being
1 Cedrenus, 666.
2 L^beatt, xiv. 134. Leo Diaconus, 488 and 389. Afalfed* Ann. Musltnt. a. 513,
edit. Rcisk. " 3 Zonaras, ii. 215. Glycas, 309.
Period of Conquest 333
sent to Constantinople. From Berytus he marched north-
ward to Tripolis, which he besieged in vain for forty days.
The valour of the garrison and the strength of the fortifications
compelled him to raise the siege ; but his retreat was ascribed
to fear of a comet, which illuminated the sky with a strange
brilliancy. 1 As it was now September, he wished to place his
worn-out troops in winter-quarters in Antioch ; but the inhabi-
tants shut the gates against him. To punish them for their
revolt, he had the folly to ravage their territory, and cut down
their fruit-trees; forgetting, in his barbarous and impolitic
revenge, that he was ruining his own empire. Burtzes was
left to reconquer Antioch for the second time ; which, how-
ever, he did not effect until after the death of the Emperor
John.
Thfr army was then placed in winter-quarters on the frontiers
of Cilicia, and the emperor hastened to return to Constanti-
nople. On the journey, as he passed the fertile plains of
Longias and Dryze, in the vicinity of Anazarba and Podandus,
he saw them covered with flocks and herds, with well-fortified
farmyards, but no smiling villages. He inquired with wonder
to whom the country belonged, in which pasturage was con-
ducted on so grand a scale ; and he learned that the greater
part of the province had been acquired by the president Basilios
in donations from himself and his predecessor, Nicephorus.
Amazed at the enormous accumulation of property in the
hands of one individual, he exclaimed, " Alas ! the wealth of the
empire is wasted, the strength of the armies is exhausted, and
the Roman emperors toil like mercenaries, to add to the riches
of an insatiable eunuch ! " This speech was reported to the
president. He considered that he had raised both Nicephorus
and John to the throne ; his interest now required that it
should return to its rightful master, and that the young Basil
should enjoy his heritage. The Emperor John stopped on his
way to Constantinople at the palace of Romanes, a grandson of
Romanus I. ; and it is said he there drank of a poisoned cup
presented to him by a servant gained by the president. Certain
it is that John Zimiskes reached the capital in a dying state,
and expired on the loth of January 976, at the age of fifty-one.
1 Lo Diaconus, 169.
334 Basil Ian Dynasty
SECTION II
KEIGH OF BASIL II. (BULGARQKTQNQS), 1 A.D. 976-1025.
Oiaracter of Basil IL Rebellions of Bardas SWeros and of Bardas
Fhokas Wealth of private Individuals Bulgarian war Defeat of
Basil II. Samuel, king of Bulgaria, founds the kingdom of Achrida
Defeats of Samuel Basil puts out the eyes of his prisoners Conquest
of the kingdom of Achrida Basil visits Athens Conquests in Armenia
Death of Basil IL
Basil II. was only twenty years of age when he assumed the
direction of public affairs, and for some time he continued to
indulge in the pursuit of pleasure, allowing the president
Basilios to exercise the imperial power to its fullest extent.
Indeed, there can be no doubt that the prime-minister would
have attempted to occupy the place of Nicephorus and Zimis-
kes, had his condition not effectually excluded him from the
throne. For some time, however, he ventured to^ exclude Basil
from any active share in the details of administration, and
endeavoured to divert his attention to the pomp of the imperial
court, and to the indulgence of his passions, to which it was
thought the young man was naturally inclined. This conduct
probably awakened suspicions in the mind of Basil, who
possessed a firm and energetic character, and he watched the
proceedings of his powerful minister with attention. His
brother, Constantine VIII., who was seventeen when John
Zimiskes died, enjoyed the rank of his colleague, but was
allowed no share in the public administration, and appeared
well satisfied to be relieved from the duties of his station, as he
was allowed to enjoy all its luxuries. Basil soon gave up all
idle amusements, and devoted his whole time and energy to
military studies and exercises, and to public business. Inde-
fatigable, brave, and stern, his courage degenerated into
ferocity, and his severity into cruelty. Yet, as he reigned the
absolute master of an unprincipled court, and of a people
careless of honour and truth, and as the greater part of his life
was spent in war with barbarous enemies, we may attribute
many of his faults as much to the state of society in his age as
to his own individual character. He believed that he was
1 Gibbon says he enjoyed the title of Augustus sixty-six years, and the reim of the
two brothers (Basil and Constantine) is the longest and most obscure of the Byzantine
history. Dectint and^ Fall^ chap. 48, vol. ix. 69. We possess no contemporary
historian except Leo DIacpnus, who only supplies a few notices, 169. Cedrenus, how-
ever, gives some Interesting details concerning the Bulgarian war, 684. The other
Byzantine sources are Zonaras, il. 9x5 ; Manasses, xao ; Glycas, 309 ; Joel, x3x ;
Ephrzoiiu*, 196.
Period of Conquest 335
prudent, just, and devout; others considered him severe,
rapacious, cruel and bigoted. For Greek learning he cared
little, and he was a type of the higher Byzantine moral character,
which retained far more of its Roman than its Greek origin,
both in its vices and its virtues. In activity, courage, and
military skill he had few equals. 1
Several of the great nobles of the empire considered that
their power entitled them to occupy the place left vacant by
the death of Zimiskes ; and as the great qualities of Basil II.
were still unknown, they envied the influence of the president
Basilios. Among the leading members of the aristocracy,
Bardas Skleros, who commanded the army in Asia, gave the
president most umbrage, from his military reputation and
great popularity. Skleros was accordingly removed from the
command of the army, and appointed duke or governor of
Mesopotamia. This step precipitated his rebellion. The two
ablest generals in the empire were Bardas Skleros and Bardas
Phokas : both were men of illustrious families, and both had
rilled high offices in the state. As early as the reign of
Michael I., a Skleros had been governor of the Peloponnesus; 2
and for four generations the family of Phokas had supplied
the empire with a succession of military leaders. Skleros and
Phokas had already been opponents in the reign of John I.
These two men may be taken as types of the military nobles
of the Byzantine empire in the tenth century ; and no tale of
daring deeds or romantic vicissitudes among the chivalrous
adventurers of the West, who had no patrimony but their
swords, was more strange than many an episode in the lives
of these two nobles, nursed in silken raiment, whose youth
was passed in marble palaces on the soft shores of the
Bosphorus, who were educated by pedantic grammarians, and
trained by Greek theologians, who deemed the shedding even
of Saracen blood a sin. Yet these nobles valued themselves
as much on their personal skill in arms and headlong daring
as any Danish adventurer or Norman knight 8
1 Zonaras, ii. 225. Cedrenus, 7x8, mentions that Basil ordered one of his chamber-
lains, convicted of a plot to assassinate him, to be thrown to the lions. Several acts of
the basest treachery were at least sanctioned by him. Cedrenus, 714, 717, 718. Though
Basil is accused of rapacity, he left the public taxes two years in arrear at the time of his
death ; now, though this fact may be a confirmation of the accusations brought against
him, it seems more probably a proof that the policy which is visible in bis laws for the
protection of the poor was also the guide of his financial administration : and though he
was severe with the rich, he may have been milder with the poor. Cedrenus, 731.
Glycas, 3x1. * Theophanes, Scrip. Inc. 4*8.
* There can be no doubt that for several apes the Byzantine nobles were as
regularly instructed in military discipline during their youth as our boy* are in iheit
336 Basllian Dynasty
Bardas Skleros no sooner readied Mesopotamia than he
assumed the title of Emperor, and invaded Asia Minor. He
had made no preparations for Ms rebellion; he trusted to
his military reputation for collecting a small army, and to
his own skill to make the best use of the troops that joined
his standard: nor was he wanting to his fame. Some pecuniary
assistance from the emirs of Amida and Martyropolis recruited
his finances, and a body of three hundred well-armed Saracen
horse was considered a valuable addition to his little army.
Undismayed by partial defeats and immense difficulties, he
at last gained a complete victory over the Byzantine army at
Lapara, on the frontiers of Armenia, 1 and a second at Rageas,
over a generalissimo of the empire, who had been sent to
repair the preceding disaster. Skleros then marched to
Abydos, took Nicsea, and sent his son Romanes into Thrace
to make preparations for the siege of Constantinople.
The rebellion of Bardas Phokas, and his exile to Chios,
have been already mentioned. He was now^ called from his
retreat, and laid aside the monastic dress, which he had worn
for six years, to resume his armour. The old rivals again met
in arms, and at first fortune continued to favour Skleros, who
was a better tactician than Phokas. The imperial army was
defeated at Amorium, but the personal valour of Phokas
covered the retreat of his soldiers, and preserved their confi-
dence; for when Constantine Gabras pressed too closely on
the rear, Phokas, who was watching his movements, suddenly
turned his horse, and, galloping up to the gallant chief, struck
him lifeless with his mace-at-arms, and rejoined his own rear-
guard unhurt A second battle was fought near Basilika
Therma, in the theme Charsiana, and Skleros was again vic-
torious. Phokas retired into Georgia (Iberia), where he re-
ceived assistance from David, the king of that country, which
enabled him to assemble a third army on the banks of the
Halys, He found Skleros encamped in the plain of Pankalia.
An engagement took place, in which the superior generalship
of the rebel emperor was again evident, and Phokas, reduced
to despair, sought to terminate the contest by a personal en-
counter with his rival. They soon met, and their companions
suspended the conflict in their immediate vicinity to view the
Latin grammar. Byzantine education seems to have been excellent before entering on
public life, and very bad afterwards ; ours is better after than before.
1 The patrician Petros, who commanded the Imperial army, had been a eunucb
of the household of the Emperor Nicephorus Phokas, and had distinguished himself by
Jbi; personal valour in the Russian war. Cedrenus, 685. Leo Diaconus, St.
Period of Conquest 337
combat between two champions, both equally celebrated for
their personal prowess. Skleros was armed with the sword,
Phokas with the mace-at-arms ; the sword glanced from the
well-tempered armour, the mace crushed the helmet, and
Skleros fell senseless on his horse's neck. The guards rush-
ing to the rescue, Phokas gained an eminence, from which he
could already see a portion of his army in full retreat. But
the fortune of the day was changed by an accident. As the
officers of Skleros were carrying their wounded leader to a
neighbouring fountain, his horse escaped and galloped through
the ranks of the army, showing the troops the imperial trap-
pings stained with blood. The cry arose that Skleros was slain.
The tie that united the rebels was broken, and the soldiers fled
in every direction, or laid down their arms. On recovering,
Skleros found that nothing was left for him but to escape with
his personal attendants into the Saracen territory, where he
was thrown into prison by order of the caliph. Several of his
partisans prolonged their resistance through the winter. 1
Bardas Phokas continued to command the imperial army
in Asia for eight years, carrying on war with the Saracens,
and compelling the emir of Aleppo to pay tribute to Con-
stantinople. But as the Emperor Basil II. advanced in years,
his firm character began to excite general dissatisfaction among
the Byzantine nobles, who saw that their personal influence,
and power of enriching themselves at the public expense, were
likely to be greatly curtailed. The attention the emperor
paid to public business, and his strict control over the con-
duct of all officials, began to alarm the president Basilios;
while his determination to command the army in person, and
to regulate promotions, excited the dissatisfaction of Phokas,
who allowed his government to become the refuge of every
discontented courtier. The only campaign in which the em-
peror had yet commanded was one against Samuel, king of
Bulgaria, which had proved signally disastrous, so that his
interference in military matters did not appear to be authorised
by his experience in tactics and strategy. It seems probable
that the president excited Phokas to take up arms, as a means
of rendering the emperor more dependent on his influence
and the support of the aristocracy ; but Phokas doubtless re-
quired very little prompting to make an attempt to seize the
1 Skleros was defeated in the summer of 79, as the rebellion was suppressed in the
8th induction, in the fourth year of its duration. Leo Diaconus, 169. Cedrenus, 694.
The 8th induction commenced on the xst September 979, and the rebellion continued
for some time after the flight of Skleros.
338 Basilian Dynasty
throne. Assembling the leading men in Ms government, and
She principal officers of the army under his command, at the
palace of Eustathios Maleinos, in the theme Charsiana, he
was proclaimed emperor on the isth of August 987.
Nearly about the same time, Bardas Skleros succeeded in
escaping from the Saracens and entering the empire. He
had been released from his prison at Bagdat, and intrusted
with the command of a legion of Christian refugees, with
which he had distinguished himself in the civil wars of the
Mohammedans. His adventures in this service were not
unlike those recorded of Manuel in the reign^of Theophilus. 1
His sudden appearance in the empire, and his resumption of
his claim to the imperial throne, brought the two ancient
rivals again into the field, both as rebel emperors, and it
seemed that they must decide by a new war which was to
march as victor against Basil at Constantinople. Phokas
gained the advantage by treachery. He concluded a treaty
with his rival, by which a division of Asia Minor was agreed
on ; and when Skleros visited his camp to hold a conference,
Phokas detained him a prisoner. 2 Phokas then devoted all
his energy to dethrone his sovereign ; and during the summer
of 988, he subdued the greater part of Asia Minor; but at the
commencement of the following year, a division of his army
which he sent to the Bosphoras was defeated by the Emperor
Basil, who had just obtained an auxiliary corps of Varangians
from his brother-in-law Vladimir, the sovereign of Kief. 3
Phokas was at this time besieging Abydos, which defended
itself with obstinacy until the Emperors Basil and Constantine
arrived with the imperial army to relieve it The imperial
troops arrived by sea, and, debarking near Abydos, formed
their camp in the plain. Phokas, leaving part of his force to
continue the siege, drew out his army to give battle to the
emperors. When the two armies were taking up their ground,
Phokas rode along the field, seeking for an opportunity to
decide the fate of the war by one of those feats of arms in
which his personal prowess was so distinguished. His eye
caught a sight of the Emperor Basil engaged in ordering
the movements of his army, and, dashing forward with his
mace-at-arms, he prepared to close in single combat with his
* Cedrenus, 697.
2 Skleros was confined at Tyropaion, a place Phokas had fortified as a refuge when
be rebelled against John L Skleros had secured his personal safety on forcing him to
surrender it. Leo Diaconus, 126.
* The emperor ordered the general of the rebels to be impaled. Cedrenus, 699*
Period of Conquest 339
sovereign. At the very moment when the object of his sudden
movement flashed on the minds of all, Phokas wheeled round
his horse, galloped to a little eminence, where he dismounted
in sight of both armies and lay down on the ground. A long
interval of suspense occurred. Then a rumour ran along the
ranks of the rebels that their leader was dead, and the troops
dispersed without striking a blow. - Phokas had drank a glass
of cold water as he mounted his horse, according to his usual
custom, and whether he perished by poison or by a stroke of
apoplexy was naturally a question not easily settled by the
suspicious and vicious Constantinopolitans. Thus ended the
career of Bardas Phokas, by a death as strange as the events
of his romantic life. He died in the month of April 989.
Bardas Skleros regained his liberty on the death of his
rival, but resigned his pretensions to the imperial dignity on
receiving the pardon of Basil. The meeting of the emperor
and the veteran warrior was remarkable. The eyesight of
Skleros had begun to fail, and he had grown extremely corpu-
lent. He had laid aside the imperial costume, but continued
to wear purple boots, which were part of the insignia of an
emperor. As he advanced to the tent of Basil, leaning on
two of his equerries, Basil, surprised at his infirmity, ex-
claimed to his attendants, " Is this the man we all trembled
at yesterday?" But as soon as he perceived the purple boots,
he refused to receive the infirm old general until they were
changed. Skleros had then a gracious audience, and was
requested to sit down. He did not long survive. 1
The same attention to public business on the part of the
emperor which caused the rebellion of Phokas, produced the
fall of the president Basilios, whom Basil deprived of all his
offices about the same time. His estates were confiscated,
his acts annulled, the populace of Constantinople were allowed
to plunder his palace, the sacred offerings and dedications he
had made were destroyed, and even the monastery he had
founded was dissolved. The celebrated minister died in
exile, after having attained a degree of wealth and power
which marks an unhealthy condition of the body politic in
the Byzantine empire. No such accumulation of fortune as
Basilios is reported to have possessed, could ever have been
obtained by a public servant without the exertion of the
grossest oppression, either on the part of the individual or
the government The riches of Basilios must almost have
1 Cedrcnus, 701.
340 Baslllan Dynasty
rivaled the wealth of Crassus; at least, he came under the
definition of a rich man, according to that wealthy Roman*
for he was able to maintain an army. At an early part of his
political career, he armed a household of three thousand
slaves to aid in placing the imperial crown on the head of
Nicephoras II. The aristocracy of Constantinople at this
period bore some resemblance, in its social position, to that
of Rome at the fall of the Republic, both in wealth and
political corruption. The estates of Eustathios Maleuios, in
whose house Phokas raised the standard of revolt, were not
less extensive than those of the ambitious president. Maleinos
was fortunate enough to escape punishment for his share in
the rebellion, but some years after, as Basil was returning
from a campaign in Syria (A.D. 995), he stopped at the palace
of Maleinos in Cappadocia, and was amazed at the strength
of the building, and the wealth, power, and splendour of the
household. The emperor saw that a man of courage, in
possession of so much influence, and commanding such a
number of armed servants, could at any moment commence
a rebellion as dangerous as that of Skleros or Phokas.
Maleinos received an invitation to accompany the court to
the capital, and was never again allowed to visit his estates
in Cappadocia. At his death, his immense fortune was con-
fiscated, and most writers ascribed the legislative measures of
Basil, to protect the landed property of small proprietors
from the encroachments of the wealthy, to the impression
produced on his mind by witnessing the power of Maleinos
in Cappadocia; but we must bear in mind that, from the
time of Romanus L, the Byzantine emperors had been vainly
endeavouring to stem the torrent of aristocratic predominance
in the provinces; and both Constantine VII. (Porphyro-
genitus) and Nicephorus II., though in general extremely
dissimilar in character and policy, agreed in passing laws to
protect the poor against the rich. 1 Basil II. fully appreciated
all the evils which resulted from the tendency of society to
accumulate wealth in the hands of a few individuals, and he
endeavoured to aid the middle classes in defending their
possessions ; but all the power he could exert was unable to
prevent the constant diminution that was going on in the
* Cedrenus, 702. See the laws of Romanus I., Navels^ i, 2, 3 ; Constantine VII.,
fferte/s, i, a ; Nicephorus II., Novels* 3, 5 ; and Basil II., Novels, a, 3, 5. Mortreull,
Bistoired* D*-oit Bysantin, where inferences to the texts will be found. The laws of
Nicephorus II. are Nos. IV. and VI. in the Collection annexed to Leo Diaconus, p. 330,
32*, edit. Bonn.
Period of Conquest 341
number of the smaller landed proprietors, the middle classes
In the towns, and generally of the civilised races of mankind
throughout the greater part of his empire. The task was
beyond the power of legislation, and required an improve-
ment in the moral as well as the political constitution of
society. The attempts of the emperor to arrest the progress
of the evil may have been useless, but they were unquestion-
ably not disadvantageous to the people. It is therefore
strange to find the Patriarch, the higher clergy, and the
monks opposed to these measures, and engaged in endeavour-
ing to turn him from his purpose, particularly when he wished
to render the rich responsible for the taxes of the ruined poor
of their district. The Greek church has, however, generally
been a servile instrument either of the sovereign power or of
the aristocracy, and has contributed little either to enforce
equity or civil liberty, when the mass of the lower orders was
alone concerned. 1 The evil of increasing wealth in the
hands of a few individuals, and of a gradual diminution of
the intelligent population in the Byzantine empire, went on
augmenting from the time of Basil II. Asia and Europe
both lost their civilised races ; the immense landed estates of
a few Byzantine aristocrats were cultivated by Mohammedan
slaves, or Sclavonian, Albanian, and Vallachian serfs ; manu-
factures and trade declined with the population, the towns
dwindled into villages, and no class of native inhabitants
remained possessing strength and patriotism to fight for their
homes when a new race of invaders poured into the empire.
The reign of Basil II. is the culminating point of Byzantine
greatness. The eagles of Constantinople flew during his life,
in a long career of victory, from the banks of the Danube to
those of the Euphrates, and from the mountains of Armenia
to the shores of Italy. Basil's indomitable courage, terrific
cruelty, indifference to art and literature, and religious super-
stition, all combine to render him a true type of his empire
and age. The great object of his policy was to consolidate
the unity of the administration in Europe by the complete
subjection of the Bulgarians and Sclavonians, whom similarity
of language had almost blended into one nation, and had
completely united in hostility to the imperial government.
Four sons of a Bulgarian noble of the highest rank had
commenced a revolutionary movement in Bulgaria against the
royal family, after the death of Peter and the first victories of
1 Cedrenus, 706.
342 Basilfan Dynasty
the Russians. In order to put an end to these troubles,
Nicephoms II. had, on the retreat of SwiatoslafF, replaced Boris,
the son of Peter, on the throne of Bulgaria; and when
the Russians returned, Boris submitted to their domination. 1
Shortly after the death of John I. (Zimiskes), the Bulgarian
leaders again roused the people to a struggle for independence.
Boris, who escaped from Constantinople to attempt recovering
his paternal throne, was accidentally slain, and the four
brothers again became the chiefs of the nation. In a short
time three perished, and Samuel alone remained, and assumed
the title of King. The forces of the empire were occupied
with the rebellion of Skleros, so that the vigour and military
talents of Samuel succeeded not only in expelling the Byzan-
tine authorities from Bulgaria, but also in rousing the Sclav-
onians of Macedonia to throw off the Byzantine yoke. Samuel
then invaded Thessaly, and extended his plundering excur-
sions over those parts of Greece and the Peloponnesus still
inhabited by the Hellenic race. He carried away the inhabi-
tants of Larissa in order to people the town of Prespa, which
he then proposed to make his capital, with intelligent artisans
and manufacturers ; and, in order to attach them to their new
residence by ties of old superstition, he removed to Prespa the
body of their protecting martyr, St. Achilles, who some pre-
tended had been a Roman soldier, and others a Greek arch-
bishop. Samuel showed himself, both in ability and courage,
a rival worthy of Basil ; and the empire of the East seemed
for some time in danger of being transferred from the Byzan-
tine Romans to the Sclavonian Bulgarians.
In the year 981, the Emperor Basil made his first campaign
against the new Bulgarian monarchy in person. His plan of
operations was to secure the great western passes through
Mount Haemus, on the road from Philippopolis to Sardica,
and by the conquest of the latter city he hoped to cut off
the communication between the Bulgarians north of Mount
Hasmus and the Sclavonians in Macedonia. But his military
inexperience, and the relaxed discipline of the army, caused
this well-conceived plan to fail. Sardica was besieged in vain
for twenty days. The negligence of the officers and the dis-
obedience of the soldiers caused several foraging parties to be
cut off; the besieged burned the engines of the besiegers in a
victorious sortie, and the emperor felt the necessity of com-
mencing his retreat. As his army was passing the denies
1 Cedreans, 646, 666, 694. Leo Diacoou*. Si, 136.
Period of Conquest 343
of Haemus, it was assailed by the troops Samuel had collected
to watch -his operations, and completely routed. The baggage
and military chest, the emperor's plate and tents, all fell into
the hands of the Bulgarian king, and Basil himself escaped
with some difficulty to Philippopolis, where he collected the
relics of the fugitives. Leo Diaconus, who accompanied the
expedition as one of the clergy of the imperial chapel, and
was fortunate enough to escape the pursuit, has left us a short
but authentic notice of this first disastrous campaign of Basil,
the slayer of the Bulgarians. 1
The reorganisation of his army, the regulation of the in-
ternal administration of the empire, the rebellion of Phokas,
and the wars in Italy and on the Asiatic frontier, prevented
Basil from attacking Samuel in person for many years. Still
a part of the imperial forces carried on this war, and Samuel
soon perceived that he was unable to resist the Byzantine
generals in the plains of Bulgaria, where the heavy cavalry,
military engines, and superior discipline of the imperial
armies could all be employed to advantage. He resolved,
therefore, to transfer the seat of the Bulgarian government to
a more inaccessible position. He first selected Prespa as his
future capital, but he subsequently abandoned that intention,
and established the central administration of his dominions at
Achrida. The site was well adapted for rapid communications
with his Sclavonian subjects in Macedonia, who furnished his
armies with their best recruits. To Achrida, therefore, he
transferred the seat of the Bulgarian patriarchate, and to this
day the archbishop of that city, in virtue of the position
he received from Samuel, still holds an ecclesiastical juris-
diction over several suffragans independent of the Patriarch of
Constantinople. As a military position, also, Achrida had
many advantages : it commanded an important point in the
Via Egnatia, the great commercial road connecting the
Adriatic with Bulgaria, as well as with Thessalonica and Con-
stantinople, and afforded many facilities for enabling Samuel
to choose his points of attack on the Byzantine themes of
Macedonia, Hellas, Dyrrachium, and Nicopolis. Here, there-
fore, Samuel established the capital of the Bulgaro-Sclavonian
kingdom he founded.
The dominions of Samuel soon became as extensive as the
European portion of the dominions of Basil The possessions
of the two monarchs ran into one another in a very irregular
1 Leo Dlaconus, 171.
344 Basilian Dynasty
form, and both were inhabited by a variety of races, in different
states of civilisation, bound together by few sympathies, and
no common attachment to national institutions. Samuel was
master of almost the whole of ancient Bulgaria, the emperor
retaining possession of little more than the fortress of Dory-
stolon, the forts at the mouth of the Danube, and the passes
of Mount Hsemus. But the strength of the Bulgarian king
lay in his possessions in the upper part of Macedonia, in
Epiras, and the southern part of Illyria, in the chain of
Pindus, and in mountains that overlook the northern and
western slopes of the great plains of Thessalonica and
Thessaly. In all these provinces the greater part of the rural
population consisted of Sclavonians, who were hostile to the
Byzantine government and to the Greek race ; and though an
Albanian and Vallachian population was scattered over some
parts of the territory, they readily united with Samuel in
throwing off the Byzantine yoke, and only opposed his
government when he attempted to augment his monarchical
power at the expense of their habits of local independence.
From the nature of his dominions, his only hope of consoli-
dating a regular system of civil government was by holding
out allurements to the local chieftains to submit voluntarily to
his authority. It was only by continual plundering expeditions
into the Byzantine territory, and especially into Greece, that
this object could be attained. He was, therefore, indefatig-
able in forming a large military force, and employing it con-
stantly in ravaging the plain of Thessaly, and attacking the
Greek cities.
In the year 990, Basil visited Thessalonica, to take measures
for arresting the progress of Samuel, and left Gregory the
Taronite with a strong garrison to resist the Bulgarians, until
he himself should be able to turn the whole force of the
empire against them. 1 For several years Gregory checked the
incursions of Samuel, but at last he was slain in a skirmish,
and his son Ashot was taken prisoner. This success secured
Samuel from all danger on the side of the garrison of Thessa-
lonica, and he resolved to avail himself of the opportunity to
complete the conquest of Greece, or at least to plunder the
inhabitants, should he meet with opposition. He marched
rapidly through Thessaly, Bceotia, and Attica, into the Pelo-
ponnesus; but the towns everywhere shut their gates, and
fr m * brancil of tile A 161 "* 11 princes of Taron, long
Period of Conquest 345
prepared for a long defence, so that he could effect nothing
beyond plundering and laying waste the open country. In
the mean time, the emperor, hearing of the death of Gregory
and the invasion of Greece, sent Nicephorus Ouranos with
considerable reinforcements to take the command of the
garrison of Thessalonica, and march with all the force he
should be able to collect in pursuit of Samuel Ouranos
entered Thessaly, and, leaving the heavy baggage of his army
at Larissa, pushed rapidly southward to the banks of the
Sperchius, where he found Samuel encamped on the other
side, hastening home with the plunder of Greece. Heavy
rains on Mounts Oeta and Korax had rendered the Sperchius
which at the end of summer is only a brook an impassable
torrent at the time Samuel had reached its banks, and Ouranos
encamped for the night in the vicinity of the Bulgarian army,
without his arrival causing any alarm. But the people of the
country had observed that the river was beginning to fall, and
as they were anxious that both armies should quit their terri-
tory as fast as possible, they were eager to bring on a battle.
In the night they showed Ouranos a ford, by which he passed
the river and surprised the Bulgarians in their camp. Samuel
and his son Gabriel escaped with the greatest difficulty to the
counter-forts of Oeta, from whence they gained Tymphrestas
and the range of Pindus. The Bulgarian army was completely
annihilated, and all the plunder and slaves made during the
expedition feU into the hands of Ouranos, A.D. 996.
This great defeat paralysed the military operations of
Samuel for some time, and it was followed by a domestic
misfortune which also weakened his resources. He had been
induced to allow his daughter to marry Ashot the Taronite,
whom he had taken prisoner at Thessalonica, and in or4er
to attach that brave and able young officer to his service, he
had intrusted him with the government of Dyrrachium. But
Ashot was dissatisfied with his position, and succeeded in
persuading the Bulgarian princess to fly with him to Con-
stantinople. Before quitting Dyrrachium, however, he formed
a plot with the principal men of the place, by which that
valuable fortress was subsequently delivered up to the emperor.
This was a serious political, as well as a grievous domestic
wound to Samuel; for the loss of Dyrrachium interrupted
the commercial relations of his subjects with Italy, and
deprived them of the support they might have derived from
the enemies of the Byzantine empire beyond the Adriatic.
346 Basllian Dynasty
Basil had at length arranged the external relations of the
empire in such a way that he was able to assemble a large
army for the military operations against the kingdom of
Achrida, which he determined to conduct in person. The
Sclavonians now formed the most numerous part of the
population of the country between the Danube, the Egean,
and the Adriatic, and they were in possession of the line of
mountains that runs from Dyrrachium, in a variety of chains,
to the vicinity of Constantinople. 1 Basil saw many signs that
the whole Sclavonic race in these countries was united in
opposition to the Byzantine government, so that the exist-
ence of his empire demanded the conquest of the Bulgaro-
Sdavonian kingdom which Samuel had founded. To this
arduous task he devoted himself with his usual energy. In
the year 1000, his generals were ordered to enter Bulgaria by
the eastern passes of Mount Hsemus; and in this campaign
they took the cities of greater and lesser Presthlava and
Pliscova, the ancient capitals of Bulgaria. In the following
year, the emperor took upon himself the direction of the army
destined to act against Samuel. Fixing his headquarters at
Thessalonica, he recovered possession of the fortresses of
Vodena, Berrhcea, and Servia. By these conquests he
became master of the passes leading out of the plain of
Thessalonica into the pkins of Pelagonia, and over the Cam-
bunian mountains into Thessaly, thus opening the way for
an attack on the flank and rear of the forces of the kingdom
of Achrida. Vodena or Edessa, the ancient capital of the
Macedonian princes, had become, like all the cities of this
mountainous district, Sclavonian. Its situation on a rock
overhanging the river Lydias, the sublimity of the scenery
around, the abundance of water, the command of the fertile
valleys below, the salubrity of the spot, and the strength of
the position closing up the direct road between Thessalonica
and Achrida all rendered the possession of Vodena an im-
portant step to the further operations of the Byzantine arms.
In the following campaign (1002), the emperor changed
the field of operations, and, marching from Philippopolis
through the western passes of Mount Hasmus, occupied the
whole line of road as far as the Danube, and cut Samuel off
from all communication with the plains of Bulgaria. 2 He
then formed the siege of Vidin, which he kept closely invested
1 Tzetzes, chfl. x. iqa.
* Cedrenns, 705. The fifteenth Induction extend* to ist September 1002.
Period of Conquest 347
during the spring and summer, until at last he took that
important fortress. Samuel formed a bold enterprise, which
he hoped would compel Basil to raise the siege of Vidin, or,
at all events, enable him to inflict a deep wound on the
empire. Assembling an army at Skoupies, on the upper
course of the Vardar, he marched into the valley of the
Stebrus, and by the celerity of his movements surprised the
inhabitants of Adrianople at a great fair which they held
annually on the i5th of August, when the Greek church com-
memorates the death of the Virgin Mary. By this long
march into the heart of the empire, Samuel rendered himself
master of great booty. His success rendered it impossible for
him to return as rapidly as he had advanced, but he succeeded
in passing the garrison of Philoppopolis and crossing the
Strymon and the Vardar in safety, when Basil suddenly over-
took him at the head of the Byzantine army. Samuel was
encamped under the walls of Skoupies; Basil crossed the
river and stormed the Bulgarian camp, rendering himself
master of the military chest and stores, and recovering the
plunder of Adrianople. He had thus the satisfaction of
avenging the defeat he had suffered from Samuel, one-and-
twenty years before, in the passes of Mount Haemus. The
city of Skoupies surrendered after the victory* and its com-
mander Romanus, the younger brother of Boris, the last king of
Bulgaria of the ancient line, whose misfortune prevented his
becoming a rival to Samuel, was honourably treated by the
emperor. 1 Basil then laid siege to Pernikon, a fortress of great
strength, from which he was repulsed by the valour of the Bul-
garian governor Krakas. He then withdrew to Philippopolis.
The conquest of Vidin having enabled Basil to deprive
Bulgaria of relief from Samuel and the Sclavonians of Mace-
donia, the Byzantine generals easily completed the subjection
of the whole of the rich country between Mount Hasmus and
the Danube. The king of Achrida finding himself unable to
encounter the troops of Basil in the field, and seeing his terri-
tory constantly circumscribed by the capture of his fortresses,
determined to fortify all the passes in the mountains that lead
into Upper Macedonia. By stationing strong bodies of troops,
and forming magazines behind these intrenchments, he hoped
to present to his assailants the difficulties of a siege in situa-
tions where all their supplies would require to be drawn from
a great distance, and exposed to be captured or destroyed on
1 Romanus had been made a eunuch by order of Joseph Bringas. Cedreaus, 694.
348 Basilian Dynasty
the way by the Bulgarian light troops and the Sclavonian in-
habitants of the mountains. For several years a bloody and
indecisive war was carried on, which gradually weakened the
resources of the kingdom of Achrida, without affecting the
power of the Byzantine empire.
In the year 1014, Basil considered everything ready for a
final effort to complete the subjection of the Sclavonian popu-
lation of the mountainous districts round the upper valley of
the Strymon. On reaching the pass of Demirhissar, or the
Kleisura, then called Kirnbalongo, or Kleidion, he found it
strongly fortified. Samuel had placed himself at the head of
the Bulgarian army prepared to oppose his progress. The
emperor found the pass too strong to be forced ; sitting down,
therefore, before it, he sent Nicephoras Xiphias, the governor
of Philippopolis, with a strong detachment, to make the circuit
of a high mountain called Valathista, which lay to the south,
that he might gain the rear of the Bulgarian position. This
manoeuvre was completely successful On the 2gth of July,
Nicephoras attacked the enemy's rear, while Basil assailed their
front, and the Bulgarians, in spite of all the exertions of
Samuel, gave way on every side. It was only in consequence
of the gallant resistance of his son Gabriel that the king of
Achrida was saved from being taken prisoner, and enabled to
gain Prilapos in safety. The emperor is said to have taken
fifteen thousand prisoners, and, that he might revenge the
sufferings of his subjects from the ravages of the Bulgarians
and Sclavonians, he gratified his own cruelty by an act of
vengeance, which has most justly entailed infamy on his name.
His frightful inhumanity has forced history to turn with dis-
gust from his conduct, and almost buried the records of his
military achievements in oblivion. On this occasion he
ordered the eyes of all his prisoners to be put out, leaving
a single eye to the leader of every hundred, and in this con-
dition he sent the wretched captives forth to seek their king
or perish on the way. When they approached Achrida, a
rumour that the prisoners had been released induced Samuel
to go out to meet them. On learning the full extent of the
calamity, he fell senseless to the ground, overpowered with rage
and grief, and died two days after. He is said to have murdered
his own brother to secure possession of his throne, so that his
heart was broken by the first touch of humanity it ever felt. 1
1 Cruelty similar to that of Basil was perpetrated on a smaller scale by Richard
Cceur-de-Lion, though of course it is not necessary to place strict reliance on the num-
Period of Conquest 349
After Ms victory, Basil occupied the fort of Matzouklon,
and advanced on Strampitza, where he ordered Theophylaktos
Botaniates, the governor of Thessalonica, who had defeated
a large body of Bulgarians, to join him by marching north-
ward, and clearing away the intrenchrnents constructed by
Samuel on the road leading from Thessaionlca directly to
Strampitza. In this operation Theophylaktos was surrounded
by the Bulgarians and slain, with the greater part of his troops,
in the defiles. This check compelled the emperor to retire
by the Zagorlan mountains to MosynopoHs, having succeeded
in gaining possession of the strong fortress of Melenik by
negotiation. At Mosynopolis, on the 24th October 1014, he
heard of the death of Samuel, and immediately determined
to take advantage of an event likely to prove so favourable to
the Byzantine arms. Marching with a strong body of troops
through Thessalonica and Vodena, he advanced into Pelagonia*
carefully protecting that fertile district from ravage, and destroy-
ing nothing but a palace of the Bulgarian kings at Boutelion.
From thence he sent a division of the army to occupy Prilapos
and Stobi, and, crossing the river Tzerna (Erigon) with the
main body, he returned by Vodena to Thessalonica, which he
reached on the 9th of January IOI5. 1
The cruelty of Basil awakened an energetic resistance on
the part of the Sclavonians and Bulgarians, and Gabriel
Radomir, the brave son of Samuel, was enabled to offer un-
expected obstacles to the progress of the Byzantine armies.
Vodena revolted, and expelled the imperial garrison, so that
Basil was compelled to open the campaign of 1015 with the
siege of that place, which he reduced. The inhabitants were
transported to Beleros, to make way for Greek colonists ; and
two forts, Kardia and St. Elias, were built to command the
pass to the westward. After receiving an embassy from Gabriel,
with proposals which he did not consider deserving of atten-
tion, Basil joined a division of his army engaged in besieging
Moglena under the immediate command of Nicephorus Xiphias
and Con stan tine Diogenes, who had succeeded Theophylaktos
bers reported by the Byzantine historians. Richard, to revenge the loss of a body of
men, ordered three hundred French knights to be thrown into the Seine, and put out the
eyes of fifteen, who were sent home blind, led by one whose right eye had been spared.
Philip Augustus, nothing loath, revenged himself by treating fifteen English knights in
the same way. Capefigue^ Philippe Augusts^ ii. 102; Vaublanc, La, France CM Temps
des Croisades, ii. 4. Putting out men's eyes was, for several centuries, a common prac-
tice all over Europe, and not regarded with much horror. As late as the reign of Henry
IV., A.D. 1403, an Act of Parliament was passed!, making it felony for Englishmen w
cut out one another's tongues, or put out their neighbour's eyes.
1 Cedrenus, 709.
350 Basillan Dynasty
as governor of Thessalonica. By turning the course of the
river, the besiegers were enabled to run a mine under the wall,
which they supported on wooden props. When the mine was
completed, it was filled with combustibles, which reduced the
props to ashes, and as soon as the wall fell and opened a
breach, Moglena was taken by assault. The whole of the
Sclavonian population capable of bearing arms was by the
emperor's order transported to Vasparoukan in Armenia. The
fort of Notia in the vicinity was also taken and destroyed.
Gabriel, the king of Achrida, though brave, alienated the
favour of his subjects by his imprudence, and his cousin, John
Ladislas, whose fife he had saved in youth, was base enough to
become his murderer, in order to gain possession of the throne.
Ladislas, in order to gain time, both for strengthening himself
on the throne and resisting the Byzantine invasion, sent am-
bassadors to Basil with favourable offers of peace; but the
emperor, satisfied that the struggle between the Sclavonians
and Greeks could only be terminated by the conquest of one,
rejected all terms but absolute submission, and pushed on his
operations with his usual vigour, laying waste the country about
Ostrovos and Soskos, and marching unopposed through the
fertile plains of Pelagonia. 1 The defeat of a portion of the
Byzantine army by Ibatzes, one of the Bulgarian generals,
compelled the emperor to march against him in person ; and
when Ibatzes retreated into the mountains, Basil returned to
Thessalonica, and shortly after established himself at Mosy-
nopolis. The conquest of eastern Macedonia was not yet
completed : one division of the Byzantine troops was placed
under the command of David the Arianite, which besieged and
took the fortress of Thermitza on Mount Strumpitza : another,
under Nicephorus Xiphias, crossing Mount Haemus from Philip-
popolis, took Boion, near Sardica.
The Emperor Basil returned to Constantinople in the month
of January 1016, in order to send an expedition to Khazaria,
the operations of which had been concerted with Vladimir of
Russia, his brother-in-law. He also availed himself of the
opportunity to arrange some difficulties relating to the cession
of Vasparoukan. When that part of Armenia was annexed to
the empire, and the conquest of Khazaria terminated, he again
joined the army at Sardica and laid siege to Pernikon, which
repulsed his attacks, as it had done fourteen years before. He
1 Zonaras, ii. 326, says Basil took Achrida ; but this could not be the case, as the
treasures of the Bulgarian kings only fell into his hands in 1018. -Cedrenus, 713.
Period of Conquest 351
lost eighty-eight days before the place, but was at last com-
pelled to retire to Mosynopolis.
In the spring of 1017, Basil again turned his arms against
Pelagonia, Kasloria, a town situated on a rocky peninsula in
a small lake, resisted his attacks, but the booty collected in the
open country was considerable ; and this he divided into three
parts one he bestowed on the Russian auxiliaries who served
in his army, another he divided among the native Byzantine
legions, and the third he reserved for the imperial treasury. 1
The operations of Basil in the west were for a time arrested by
news he received from the governor of Dorystolon, which
threatened to render his presence necessary in Bulgaria.
Ladislas was concerting measures with the Fatzinaks to induce
them to invade the empire ; but after a slight delay, Basil was
informed the alliance had failed, and he resumed his activity.
After laying waste all the country round Ostxovos and Moliskos
that was peopled by Sclavonians, and repairing the fortifications
of Berrhosa which had fallen to decay, he captured Setaina,
where Samuel had formed great magazines of wheat. These
magazines were kept well filled by Ladislas, so that Basil
became master of so great a store that he divided it among his
troops. At last the King of Achrida approached the emperor
at the head of a considerable army, and a part of the imperial
troops were drawn into an ambuscade. The emperor happened
to be himself with the advanced division of the army. He
instantly mounted his horse and led the troops about him to
the scene of action, sending orders for all the other divisions
to hasten forward to support him. His sudden appearance at
the head of a strong body of the heavy-armed lancers of the
Byzantine army, the fury of his charge, the terror his very
name inspired, and the cry, " The emperor is upon us ! " 2 soon
spread confusion through the Bulgarian ranks, and changed
the fortune of the day. After this victory, Basil, rinding the
season too far advanced to follow up his success, returned to
Constantinople, where he arrived in the month of January
1018.
Ladislas, whose affairs were becoming desperate, made an
attempt to restore his credit by laying siege to Dyrrachium,
1 Cedreims, 711.
2 Befeire o Ttfap are the words as given by Skylitzes. Cedrenus, 712. Xylander
says this is fvgite o C&sttr. This suggests three questions. Was Latin used as the
military language in the Bulgarian army? Do the words represent the language of
some remains of the language of the ancient Macedonians, or of the dialect of the
modern Albanians? Or were the Va.IIachia.ns already to he found so far south?
352 Basilian Dynasty
which he hoped to take before Basil could relieve it. Its
possession would have enabled him to open communications
with the enemies of Basil in Italy, and even with the Saracens
of Sicily and Africa, but he was slain soon after the com-
mencement of the siege. He reigned two years and five
months. As soon as the emperor heard of his death, he
visited Adrianople to make preparations for a campaign, which
he hoped would end in the complete subjugation of the Bul-
garian and Sclavotiian population of the kingdom of Achrida.
The Bulgarian leaders gave up all hope of resistance. Kra-
kras, the brave chief of Pernikon, who had twice foiled the
emperor, surrendered that impregnable fortress and thirty-five
castles in the surrounding district Dragomoutzes delivered
up the fortress of Strampitza, and both he and Krakras were
rewarded with the patrician chair. Basil marched by Mosyno-
polis and Serres to Strampitza, where he received deputations
from most of the cities in Pelagonia, laying their keys at his
feet. Even David, the Patriarch of Bulgaria, arrived, bringing
letters from the widow of Ladislas, offering to surrender the
capital. The emperor continued to advance by Skopia,
Stypeia, and Prosakon, and on reaching Achrida he was
received rather as the lawful sovereign than as a foreign
conqueror. He immediately took possession of all the
treasures Samuel had amassed; the gold alone amounted to
a hundred centners, 1 and with this he paid all the arrears due
to his troops, and rewarded them with a donative for their
long and gallant service in this arduous war. Almost the
whole of the royal family of "Achrida submitted, and received
the most generous treatment Three sons of Ladislas, who
escaped to Mount Truoros, and attempted to prolong the
contest, were soon captured. The noble Bulgarians hastened
to make their submission, and many were honoured with high
rank at the imperial court. Nothing, indeed, proves more
decidedly the absence of all Greek nationality in the Byzan-
tine administration at this period, than the facility with which
all foreigners obtained favour at the court of Constantinople ;
nor can anything be more conclusive of the fact that the
centralisation of power in the person of the emperor, as
completed by the Basilian dynasty, had now destroyed the
administrative centralisation of the old Roman imperial sys-
tem, for we have proofs that a considerable Greek population
1 This sum is not quite equal to 480,000 sovereigns.
Period of Conquest 353
still occupied the cities of Thrace and Macedonia, though
Greek feelings had little influence on the government. 1
The arrangement of the civil and financial administration of
the conquered territory, which had for so many years been
separated from the Byzantine empire, occupied the emperor's
attention during the remainder of the year. He also ordered
two fortresses to be constructed to command the c mountain
passes leading to Achrida, one in the lake of Prespa, and the
other on the road leading to Vodena and Thessalonica. He
then visited Diavolis, in order to inspect the passage over the
Macedonian mountains that afforded the easiest communication
with Northern Epirus. 2 Nicephorus Xiphias was sent at the
same time to destroy all the mountain forts still in the posses-
sion of Sclavonian chieftains about Servia and Soskos. 8 The
taxation of the Sclavonian cultivators of the soil was arranged
on the same footing on which it had been placed by Samuel.
Each pair of oxen for the plough paid annually a measure of
wheat, and one of millet, barley, or maize, and each strema of
vineyard paid a jar or barrel of wine to the fisc. 4
Basil now resolved to re-establish the Byzantine influence
on the coast of Dalmatia. A division of the army was sent
northward to complete the subjection of the mountainous
districts of the theme of Dyrrachium as far as the Dalmatian
and Servian frontiers; and an imperial fleet entered the
Adriatic to act in co-operation with the authorities on shore.
The princes of Servia agreed to acknowledge the supremacy of
the emperor, and Constantine Diogenes, the imperial general
on the Danube, gained possession of the city of Sirmium by an
act of the basest treachery. 5
After passing the winter in his new conquests, Basil made a
progress through Greece. At Zeitounion he visited the field of
battle where the power of Samuel had been first broken by
the victory of Nicephorus Ouranos, and found the ground still
strewed with the bones of the slain. The wall that defended
1 Eustathios, the Byzantine governor of Achrida, addresses the Bulgarian soldiers of
the garrison of Pronista thus, Poyicwoy S J ycJ?, real Pw/Aatos ob rutf friri Qp6.Kfjs Kal
MaictdovLas QLKO$VT<av dXX' K rijs Mt/cpas A<rias.Cedrenus, 715.
2 The modern pass of Tjangon or Devol Leake, Travels in. Northern Greece^ i.
3 'For the city of Servia at present, see Leake, Travels in Northern Greece* iii.
330.
4 Modios is the word used. Cedrenus, 747. Joannis, Cvropalatte Hist. (Skylitzes),
850. The xnodios and medimnos of Byzantine writers seem to be the same measure.
Suidas says the medimnos was 108 litras, which shows it had nothing to do with the old
Attic medimnos. The ancient medimnos contained u gallons (7-1456 pints English) ;
the ancient modios i gallon (7*8576 pints) Smith's Dictionary of Greek and Rowan
iss. * Lucius &* Rcgno Dalmatian* 297. Cedrenus, 717.
354 Basillan Dynasty
the pass of Thermopylae retained its antique name, Skelos ;
and its masonry, which dated from Hellenic days, excited the
emperor's admiration. At last Basil arrived within the walls
of Athens, and he was the only emperor who for several ages
honoured that city with a visit. Many magnificent structures
in the town, and the whole of the temples in the Acropolis, had
then hardly suffered any rude touches from the hand of time.
If the external painting and gilding which had once adorned
the Parthenon of Pericles had faded from their original splen-
dour, the Church of the Virgin, into which it was transformed,
had gained a new interest from the mural paintings of saints,
martyrs, emperors, and empresses that covered the interior of
the celia. The mind of Basil, though insensible to Hellenic
literature, was deeply sensible of religious impressions, and the
glorious combination of the variety of beauty in art and nature
" that he saw in the Acropolis touched his stern soul. He testi-
fied his feelings by splendid gifts to the city, and rich dedica-
tions at the shrine of the Virgin in the Parthenon. 1
From Greece the emperor returned to Constantinople, where
he indulged himself in the pomp of a triumph, making his
entry into his capital by the Golden Gate, and listening with
satisfaction to the cries of the populace, who applauded his
cruelty by saluting him with the title of " The Slayer of the
Bulgarians,"
I have entered into the history of the destruction of the
Bulgarian monarchy of Achrida in some detail, because the
struggle was national as well as political ; and the persevering
resistance offered by the Sclavonian population of Macedonia
to a warlike sovereign Hke Basil, proves the density and flourish-
ing condition of that people, and the complete annihilation of
all Hellenic influence in extensive provinces, where for ages
the civilisation and the language of Greece had been predomi-
nant. Against this national energy on the part of the united
Bulgarians and Sclavonians, the government of Constantinople
had nothing to oppose but a well-disciplined army and a well-
organised administration. The Byzantine empire had never
less of a national character than at the present period, when
its military glory had reached the highest pitch. Its Roman
traditions were a mere name, and it had not yet assumed the
medieval Greek characteristics it adopted at a later period
when it was ruled by the family of Cpmnenos. No national
population followed in the rear of Basil's victories, to colonise
1 Cedrcnus, 7x7. Zonaras, ii. ara/.
Period of Conquest 355
the lands he systematically depopulated by his ravages and
cruelty ; and hence It appears that extensive districts, instead
of being repeopled by Greek settlers, remained in a desened
condition until a nomadic Vallachian population intruded
themselves. These new colonists soon multiplied so rapidly
that about a century later they were found occupying the
mountains round the great plain of Thessaly. 1 The changes
which have taken pkce in the numbers and places of habita-
tion of the different races of mankind, are really as important
a branch of historical inquiry as the geographical limits of
political governments; and the social laws that regulate the
increase and decrease of the various families of the human
race, at the same period, and under the same government, are
as deserving of study as the actions of princes and the legis-
lation of parliaments, for they exert no inconsiderable influence
on the rise and fall of states.
After the conclusion of the Bulgarian war, the attention of
Basil was directed to the affairs of Armenia. Great political
changes were beginning to take place in Asia, from the decline
of the empire of the caliphs of Bagdat ; but these revolutions
lie beyond the sphere of Byzantine politics at this time, though
they began already to exert an influence on the sovereigns of
Armenia. Before Basil had taken the command of his armies
in the Bulgarian war, he had made a campaign in Armenia
(A.D. 991), and gained possession of a considerable portion
of Iberia or Georgia. The whole kingdom had been left to
him by the will of David, its last sovereign ; but George, the
brother of the deceased monarch, advancing his claim to the
succession, Basil, in order to avoid a war, agreed to leave
George in possession of the northern part. It is not necessary
to enter into any details concerning the relations of the empire
with the different dynasties that then reigned in each of the
principalities into which Armenia was divided. Basil, in order
to keep some check on the population of Iberia and Armenia,
transported colonies of Bulgarians and Sclavonians into the
East, while at the same time he removed numbers of Armenians
into Bulgaria.
In the year 995, Basil visited the East, in order to re-establish
the Byzantine influence in Syria, where it had fallen into dis-
credit in consequence of the defeat of the imperial army on
the banks of the Orontes, in the preceding year. 2 The em-
1 Benjamin of Tudelau The Itinerary translated and edited by A. Asher, i. 48.
* Nicephorus Ouranos, who defeated Samuel on the banks of the Sperchius in 996
356 Basilian Dynasty
peror soon succeeded in re-establishing his authority. He
took Aleppo, Hems, and Sheizar, and laid siege to Tripolis ;
but that city resisted his attacks, as it had done those of John
Zimiskes; and after his return to Constantinople, the lieu-
tenants of the Fatimite caliphs of Egypt recovered possession
of Aleppo.
In the year 1021, the emperor was compelled to take the
field in person, to make head against a powerful combination
of enemies on the Armenian frontier. Senekarim, the prince
of Vasparoukan, had been so alarmed by the threatening
aspect of the Mohammedan population on his frontiers that he
had ceded his dominions to Basil, and received in exchange
the city of Sebaste and the adjacent country as far as the
Euphrates, where he established himself with many Armenian
families who quitted their native seats. Basil undertook to
defend Vasparoukan against the Turkish tribes that began
to attack it, and Senekarim engaged to govern Sebaste as
a Byzantine viceroy. 1 After this cession had been made,
George, the sovereign of the northern part of Iberia and
Abasgia, in conjunction with Joannes Sembat, the King
of Ani, attacked the Byzantine territory, and their operations
rendered the presence of the emperor necessary. They had
formed secret relations with Nicephorus Xiphias, who, while
governor of Philippopolis, had distinguished himself in the
Bulgarian war, and with Nicephorus, the son of Bar das
Phokas ; and these two generals broke out into open rebellion
in Cappadocia, and endeavoured to incite all the Armenians
to take up arms. Basil was obliged to suppress this rebellion
before he engaged a foreign enemy, and he availed himself of
the spirit of treachery inherent among men in power in most
absolute governments to effect his purpose. He sent letters
secretly to each of the rebel chiefs, offering pardon to him who
would assassinate his colleague. Phokas, who was bold and
daring like his father, immediately communicated the em-
peror's letter to Xiphias, who, concealing that he had received
one of similar import, availed himself of his friend's confidence
to assassinate him at a private interview. The rebel army
then melted away, and Basil was able to turn all his forces
against the sovereign of Iberia. In the first battle the victory
appears to have been taken prisoner by the Saracens in this Hattle Cedrenus, 702. For
the date of Basil's campaign in Syria, compare Cedrenus 701, and Weil, Geschickte der
Chaiifcn, iii. 43, note.
1 Saint Martin, Memoirts xur fArmenie t i. 368. Cbamich, it. ua.
Period of Conquest 357
remained doubtful, but in a second the Iberian and Abasgian
troops were completely defeated (nth September 1022).
Liparit, the general of the Abasgians, was slain, and the kings of
Iberia and Armenia were obliged to sue for peace. A treaty
was concluded on the banks of the lake Balagatsis, by which
Joannes the King of Armenia, who began to be alarmed at
the progress of the Turks, ceded his capital, Ani, to Basil after
his death, on condition of retaining the government in his own
hands as long as he lived. 1 During this campaign, Basil dis-
played all his usual foresight and energy : he took measures
for putting the fortresses on the eastern frontier of the empire
in a state to resist the Turks, who threatened to invade the
west of Asia ; and some of the military engines he ordered to
be constructed were of such power and solidity, that when the
Seljouk Turks invaded the Byzantine territory in the reign of
Constantine IX. (Monomachos), they found them still well
suited for service.
The next object of Basil's ambition was to expel the
Saracens from Sicily; and he was engaged in making great
preparations for reconquering that island, when he was seized
with an illness, which quickly proved fatal. He expired
in December 1025, at the age of sixty-eight, after having
governed the empire with absolute power for fifty years. He
extended the limits of the Byzantine territory on every side by
his conquests, and at the end of his reign the Byzantine
empire attained its greatest extent and highest power.
The body of Basil was interred in the Church of the
Evangelists, in the Hebdomon. Two centuries and a half
had nearly passed away. The Byzantine empire had been
destroyed by the Crusaders, the Asiatic Greeks were en-
deavouring to expel the Franks from their conquest, and
Michael Paleologos their emperor was besieging Constanti-
nople, when some Greek officers, wandering through the ruins
of the church and monastery of the Evangelists, admired the
remains of its ancient magnificence, and lamented to see that
so splendid a monument of Byzantine piety had been con-
verted into a stable under the ruinous administration of the
Frank Caesars. In a corner of the building, a remarkable
tomb that had been recently broken open arrested their
attention. A well-embalmed body of an old man lay in the
sarcophagus, and in his hand some idle herdsman had placed
a shepherd's pipe. An inscription on the wall showed that
1 Cedrenus, 761. Chamich, ii, 115. Saint Martin, L 6a.
358 Basilian Dynasty
the sarcophagus contained the mortal remains of Basil ^the
Slayer of the Bulgarians. The Emperor Michael VIII. visited
the spot, and when he found it necessary to retire from before
Constantinople for a time, he ordered the body to be removed
to Selymbria, and interred in the monastery of our Saviour/
A.D. 1260.
1 Cedrenus, 719. Pacbymer, *. 80.
CHAPTER III
PERIOD OF CONSERVATISM ON THE EVE OF
DECLINE, A.D- 1025-1057
SECTION I
CONSTANTINE VIIL, A.D. 1025-1028
Condition of the empire Character of Constantine VIII . Government
administered by his eunuchs Oppressive financial administration
Marriage of Zoe with Romanus Arghyros Death of Constantine VIII.
THE conquest of the Sdavonians in the Thracian, Macedonian,
and Illyrian mountains gave a degree of security to the Eastern
Empire which it had not enjoyed since the time of Justinian I.
If at this period the government had known how to adopt
measures for developing the resources of the country, or the
Greek people had possessed the energy and moral convictions
necessary to force the court to respect their rights as men and
citizens, the whole of the provinces lying to the south of Mount
Hsemus might have become thickly peopled by the natural
increase of the Greek race. Land of the best quality was
everywhere ready to receive a better cultivation from new
colonists ; but improvement was checked, on the part of the
government, by exactions similar to those which arrest the
progress of society in all arbitrary governments ; and the Greeks
were now destitute of the sentiment of national patriotism ;
they were as selfish as their government was rapacious.
Exorbitant taxes, severe fiscal restrictions, and obstructive
social trammels, bore heavily on the agricultural classes, and
left them, as their share of the fruits of their labour, little
more than was sufficient for perpetuating their race, and
supplying a due succession of peasants to labour the lands on
which their predecessors toiled. Great part of the extensive
provinces, depopulated by the destructive system of hostilities
pursued by Basil and Samuel, remained long uncultivated, and
were gradually invaded by nomadic tribes, who were allowed to
pasture their flocks and herds over the richest plains on paying
tribute to the Byzantine authorities.
359
360 Baslllan Dynasty
The position of the empire on the death of Basil required a
judicious and economical sovereign to organise the civil ad-
ministration on such a scale, as not to absorb too large a
portion of the funds required for the maintenance of the large
army with which it was necessary to guard the extensive
frontiers, and yet on a footing that would insure an equitable
and prompt administration of justice to the subjugated
Sclavonians. Unfortunately, Constantine VIII., though he
was averse to war and military parade, had no taste for order,
and no care for justice. In his personal appearance he bore
a strong resemblance to his brother, but any similarity of
disposition that ever showed itself was only in defects. His
tall robust figure proclaimed the same strength of body and
health of constitution, but he was destitute of the activity,
fortitude, and courage of BasiL After he assumed the govern-
ment, he continued to live as he had done while his brother
kept him secluded from public business. In the interior of
the palace he was surrounded by musicians, singers, dancing-
girls, and parasites, and he rarely quitted it except to indulge
in the chase, or to celebrate public spectacles in the hippo-
drome for his own amusement and that of the idle populace of
the capital. He left all public business to be transacted by
his domestic servants, and he shunned the military pageants
in which the emperors usually took an active part. Indeed,
he appeared to dread the array of troops as more likely to
suggest the idea of internal revolutions than foreign wars.
His fears rendered him a suspicious and cruel tyrant ; and his
distrust of all men of talent and influence induced him to
intrust the principal offices of the state to the eunuchs of his
household : men bred up amidst scenes of dissipation, gam-
bling, and hunting, and utterly destitute of all experience in
public business, were suddenly charged with the most impor-
tant duties in the empire. 1
The dignities of chamberlain, 2 keeper of the wardrobe, and
commander of the watch, were intrusted to three eunuchs of
the domestic establishment of Constantine, and each received
the title of President of the Senate. The command of the
foreign mercenaries was conferred on a fourth. The Byzan-
tine emperors, like other despots, preferred intrusting strangers
1 Zonaras, ii. 228.
Cedrenus, 719. Nikolaos was made Ilapa KOtfJubfJievos and Aopfortfcos r&v
, or minister-at-war. Nicephorus TLpwrofteamdpio ?, and Simeon Apovyyd/wos
Period of Conservatism 361
with the guardianship of their persons. 1 A fifth, named Spon-
dyles, was appointed duke of Antioch, and intrusted with the
command of the troops charged to resist the ambitious projects
of the Fatimite caliphs in Syria. The object of the nomina-
tion was to furnish the army with a leader incapable of pre-
tending to the throne, not to supply it with an able general.
The sixth of this domestic band, named Niketas, became duke
of Iberia. The Emperor Basil II. must have beaten down
the pride of the aristocracy during the latter part of his reign>
and effected a great change in the position they had held in
the time of Basilios the chamberlain and the rebellions of
Skleros and Phokas, or the direction of the government would
not have been allowed to remain long in the hands of six
eunuchs. The spirit of conservatism already pervaded society
to such a degree as to form a firm support of despotism. The
patience with which Constantine's measures were endured
gives us some insight into the social as well as the administra-
tive changes effected by the long reign of his brother. We
see that his policy had proved quite as successful in breaking
the power of the great families, and in diminishing the in-
fluence of the generals of themes, as in destroying the Bulgarian
kingdom and subjugating the Sclavonian people. All the
power the emperor had taken from others was accumulated
in his own person ; nothing was done to confer any rights on
the people, nor to secure them against injustice on the part of
the imperial agents. The emperor's power was made absolute
in practice as in theory, and thus the worthless creatures of
Constantine VIII. were enabled to commit acts of greater
oppression than the aristocratic officials whose power Basil
had curtailed. Conservatism was now a principle of Byzantine
policy, and it is usually a factitious phrase to delude the people
from a devotion to order and justice.
Basil II. is accused by the Byzantine historians of fiscal
severity. In this accusation there is reason to suspect that we
learn rather the murmurs of the nobles and populace of Con-
stantinople than the deliberate expression of the public opinion
of the whole empire. Basil endeavoured to levy from the
rich their due proportion of the public burdens, and to put
1 The title of the commander of the foreign guard was Myar cratpeiapxys. The
Varangian corps of the Imperial body-guard was formed about this time, and consisted
first of Scandinavians and Russians, afterwards of Danes and English. Cedrenus men-
tions Varangians at page 735, and their commandant Akoulothos atjpage 787. For the
German guard of Augustus, see Suetonius, InAttf. 49 ; Tetciti Ann.\ , 04 ; and Ernesti'*
note to Ann. 13, 18. Oberlin, i. 754.
362 Baslllan Dynasty
a stop to the absorption of the estates of the poor by the
aristocracy, while at the same time he refrained from lavish-
ing immense sums on the shows In the hippodrome. But
whatever may have been the extent of his avarice, we see
signs of true liberality in his exertions to lighten the burdens
of the industrious classes, and real humanity in his endeavours
to spare the poor. It has been already noticed that the taxes
were two years in arrear when he died. The proceedings of
Constantino form a contrast to those of his brother. On one
hand, he exacted the arrears of the public taxes with the
greatest severity, while, on the other, he lavished the^ money
thus extorted from the provinces in wasteful expenditure in
the capital During his reign of three years he collected and
expended the revenue of five. His palace, like that of a,
Saracen caliph, was filled with foreign slaves and eunuchs,
whose strange appearance and barbarous language astonished
the natural-bom subjects of the empire. 1
Though no dangerous insurrection broke out, the general
discontent could not be mistaken, and it excited the fears of
Constantine and his creatures. Many eminent men, repre-
sentatives of families renowned in the annals of the empire,
were seized, and condemned to lose their sight, because the
services of their ancestors in past generations appeared ^ to
give them too much influence on public opinion. It is diffi-
cult to determine, in each case, whether this was a measure of
precaution, or a punishment for political imprudence or actual
conspiracy. The names of some of the sufferers deserve a
record, because they indicate the position of several distin-
guished families at the time. Nicephorus Comnenos, the
governor of Media or Aspourakan, had bravely defended his
province against the incursions of the Saracens; but his
troops having given him some signs of indiscipline and
timidity, he had invited them to take an oath that they would
never desert him on the field of battle. This excited the
jealousy of the emperor, who recalled Comnenos to Constanti-
nople, where he was condemned to lose his sight for ad-
ministering unlawful oaths to the army. 2 Constantine, the
son of Michael Burtzes, who took Antioch, was also deprived
of sight ; but in his case it was notorious that the punish-
ment was an act of revenge, as this patrician had informed
Basil of some unseemly practices of his brother, in order that
1 Zonaras, u. 328.
a Cdrenus, 7x1. Ducange, Fam. Bys. 170.
Period of Conservatism 363
they might be restrained. The grandsons of the rivals, Bardas
Skleros and Bardas Phokas, were united in misfortune. These
two patricians lost their sight on some vague accusations
brought against them by the eunuchs of the imperial palace.
Basnios Skleros had quarrelled with Prusian, the son of
Ladislas, the last king of Achrida. Prusian, who held the
rank of magister, and was governor of the theme Boukellarion,
fought a duel with Skleros ; for the pride of the Byzantine
military aristocracy displayed itself with as much courage, if
not with as much gallantry, as was ever shown by the chivalry
of western Europe. 1 The two duellists were exiled to different
islands of the Princes 1 group ; but Basilios was soon deprived
of his sight, on pretext that he was plotting to escape.
Romanos Kurkuas, a member of a distinguished Armenian
family, which had supplied the empire with many able
generals, and of which the Emperor John Zimiskes was a
scion, also lost his sight, as well as several individuals who
bear names not unknown in Byzantine history, and others
whose barbarous appellations prove that the Bulgarian and
Sclavonian aristocracy divided with the Greeks and Armenians
a competent share of political influence at the court of Con-
stantinople. 3
The extent of the disorder caused in the provinces by the
creatures sent to govern them by Constantine and his eunuchs,
is attested by the notice we possess of some occurrences at
Naupactos. The government of that province was intrusted
to an officer called, from his violence, Mad George, who, by
his tyrannical conduct, drove the people to despair; and in
an insurrection which ensued, Mad George was slain, and his
palace plundered by the populace. This insurrection was
soon quelled ; but Constantine took severe vengeance on the
inhabitants of Naupactos. Even the archbishop was deprived
of his sight, for attempting to protect the people against the
exactions of their tyrant.
Foreign nations soon heard how Constantine conducted
the government, and hastened to profit by the disorderly
state of public affairs. In 1027, the Patzinaks made an
irruption into Bulgaria, where they laid waste everything on
1 Cedrenns, 721. Lebeau, xiv. 234, remarks, that this is the first duel recorded^ in
Byzantine history, Prusianos lost his eyes in the reign of Romanns III., on a suspicion
that he was plotting with Theodora, the daughter of Constantine VIII., to mount the
throne. Cedrenus, 723. Zonaras, ii. 230.
a Cedrenus, 721. Bogdan, Glabas, And Goadelis. Zachanas, who las? his tongue,
was a. reUtion of & personage called Vestas Pherdatot.
364 Basillan Dynasty
their line of march. A Saracen fleet cruised among the
Cydades, visiting the isknds one after another, and collecting
booty from all But the spirit infused by Basil into the army
and navy was not extinct, though their direction had fallen
into unworthy hands. Diogenes, the governor of Sinmum,
being created duke of Bulgaria, defeated the Patzinaks, and
drove them back beyond the Danube. The governors of
Samos and Chios assembled a naval force, with which they
attacked the Saracen fleet, and captured twelve of the enemy's
ships with all the crews.
Constantine VIII. was suddenly attacked by a disease which
was evidently mortal. When he was near his end, he fixed his
eyes on Constantine Dalassenos as his successor. The choice
was judicious ; and a eunuch of the palace was despatched to
summon Dalassenos from his residence in the Armeniac theme,
when Simeon, the commander of the watch, expecting to find
a weaker and more docile sovereign in Romanus^ Arghyros,
who was connected with the imperial family, prevailed on the
emperor to recall his first order, and transfer the empire to
Romanus. The destined sovereign, on reaching the palace,
was informed by Constantine that he was selected to mount
the throne, but that he must divorce his wife, and marry one of
the imperial princesses. Romanus hesitated to become em-
peror on this condition; but Constantine, to quicken his
decision, informed him that he must either ascend the throne
or lose his eyesight, and gave him a few hours to reflect on the
choice. The wife of Romanus, learning the alternative, im-
mediately ordered her head to be shaved, and entered a
monastery ; thus generously relieving her husband from the
odium of sacrificing his honour to his timidity or ambition.
Constantine had destined Theodora, the youngest of his three
daughters, to be the wife of Romanus ; but she refused to
participate in the throne by marrying the husband of another
woman. The emperor was compelled, therefore, to make his
second daughter Zoe empress, for the eldest had retired into a
monastery. 1 The daughters of Constantine were already of
mature age. Their education had been shamefully neglected
by their father ; and Zoe had taken advantage of the want of
all moral restraint in which she lived. She had attained the
age of forty-eight when she became a bride; but the posterity
of Romanus II. and Theophano were all remarkable for health,
1 A malady, which may have been tne smallpox:, had disfigured her appearance
Zonaras, ii. 228.
Period of Conservatism 365
vigour, and longevity. 1 Her marriage with Romanus III. and
their coronation was celebrated on the igth November 1028,
On the 2ist of the month Constantine VIII. expired.
SECTION II
THE REIGNS OF THE HUSBANDS OF ZOE, A.D. 1028-1054
Personal conduct of Romanus III., 1028-1034 Conspiracies Saracen
war Defeat of Romanus Exploits of Maniakes Autograph of Christ
Acquisition of Perkrin Naval operations Death of Romanus III.
Character of Michael IV. (thePaphlagonian),A.D. 1034-1041 John the
Orphanotroph Financial oppression Conspiracies Saracen war
Attempt to surprise Edessa War in Sicily Loss of Servia Rebellion
of Bulgarians and Sclavonians Energetic conduct of Michael IV.
Death of Michael IV. Reign of Michael V. (Kalaphates, or the
Caulker},^ A. D. 1042 Reign of Zoe and Theodora, 1042 Character of
Constantine IX. (Monomachus), 1042-1054 Skleraina, the concubine
of Constantine IX. created empress Lavish expenditure Cruelty of
Theodora Sedition in Cyprus Rebellion of Maniakes Conspiracy of
the eunuch Stephen Rebellion of Leo Tornikios Court plots Ser-
vian war Russian war Patzinak war War in Italy Conquest of
Armenia Invasion of the Byzantine empire by the Seljouk Turks
Separation of Greek and Latin churches Deaths of Zoe and Con-
stantine IX.
For twenty-nine years the empire was ruled by a succession
of princes who owed their position on the throne to the
daughters of Constantine VIIL Under such circumstances,
it is natural that the affairs of the court of Constantinople
attract more than usual attention in a review of Byzantine
history. Every class of society in the empire appears during
this period to have slumbered in prosperity, consuming its
revenues in a firm conviction that no external power could dis-
turb the internal security of the state. In no other portion of
the civilised world did the inhabitants enjoy an equal degree
of wealth and security for life and property ; and the military
power and financial resources of every neighbouring government
appeared far inferior to those of the Byzantine empire. Con-
servative lethargy was natural under such circumstances.
Romanus III. was sixty years old when accident made him
an emperor. He was allied to several of the oldest and most
illustrious of the aristocracy, and is a type of the kind of
sovereign a respectable Byzantine noble of conservative ten-
1 Zonaras, ii. 932, 260, says Zoe was fifty in the reign of Romanus III., and more
than seventy at her death. The Chronicle of Lupus, Bibliotheca. Hist. Regni Sicitia,
edited by Carusius, p. 39, says she was seventy at her death, in 1050.
366 Basilian Dynasty
dencies made, during a time when the political horizon was
peculiarly tranquil in the East. He enjoyed the reputation of
possessing both accomplishments and learning; but his vanity
somewhat obscured the lustre of his talents. Feeling that his
sudden elevation would excite the ambition of many of the
nobility, he adopted measures to conciliate the favour of every
class of his subjects. The church was propitiated by bestow-
ing on the clergy of St. Sophia's an annual revenue of eighty
pounds' weight of gold, secured as a permanent charge on the
imperial treasury. To gain the nobility and the higher eccle-
siastical dignitaries, he abolished the Allelengyon, or mutual
responsibility of the rich for the taxes due by the poor in their
district. It appears that this law, as established by Basil II. ,
had been executed with such severity that several bishops had
been reduced to poverty. 1 He also granted a full pardon to all
persons who had been persecuted by the jealousy of Constan-
tine VIII. He purchased popularity among the people by
releasing all who were confined in the public prisons for debt;
and in order to combine justice with charity, he paid their
debts to private individuals when he remitted those to the fisc.
He redeemed the captives taken by the Patzinaks in their
recent invasion of the empire ; and, in short, he endeavoured
in many ways to render himself so generally popular as to
deter any rival from aspiring at the throne. These measures
for securing popularity were of themselves well chosen, but
their favourable effect was greatly increased by a coincidence
beyond the emperor's control. The year of his accession
proved one of singular fertility every species of grain was
abundant in the capital, and a rich harvest of olives supplied
the people of the provinces both with oil and money.
The piety of Romanus displayed itself in the usual super-
stition of his age. Considering the failure of his Syrian
campaign as a punishment for his sins, and not a consequence
of his ignorance of military affairs, he sought to propitiate
Heaven by a lavish expenditure on ecclesiastical objects. He
founded a new monastery of the Virgin called Semneion, on
the church of which he laid out money with profusion. He
endowed the monastery with such enormous revenues that
even Byzantine ecclesiastics, in recording his liberality, blame
the incongruity of placing monks in the position of luxurious
nobles, and complain of the emperor seeking to acquire merit
with God by exactions that ruined his subjects. 2 Romanus
1 Zonaras, ii. 930. 8 Jbid. t ii. 231.
Period of Conservatism 367
also covered the capital of the columns in the churches of
St Sophia's and Blachern with gilding, and enriched the
buildings with expensive ornaments. He is said likewise to
have obtained permission from the Fatimite caliph Daher
to rebuild the Church of the Holy Sepulchre at Jerusalem,
which had been destroyed by Caliph Hakem in the year
10 10. Subsequent disputes with the Egyptian government
appear to have delayed the commencement of the work until
the reign of Michael IV., and it was not completed until that
of Constantine IX. (Monomachus), in the year I048. 1
Whenever early education has failed to implant moral feel-
ings in the hearts of men, laws prove ineffectual to supply the
want, whether in the case of individuals or nations. The
people of the Byzantine empire were now beginning to have
the same hankering after hereditary succession which has
lately been manifested by the continental nations of Europe
for representative government ; but in both cases there appears
to have been a want of those firm convictions required for
attaining any desired end. As usually happens in political
matters, the fault lay with the higher and educated classes of
society, who allowed themselves to quit the line of duty to
pursue any lure held out to their prejudices or passions.
Hence we find conspiracies and rebellions continuing to
occur in rapid succession in the Byzantine empire, where they
were regarded as an unavoidable evil in the lot of man. Con-
servative tendencies were the most powerless political feeling
that ever swayed the counsels of Constantinople. But we
must not forget that the Byzantine empire was a government
without a nation.
1 The discussion concerning the site of the Holy Sepulchre seems still undecided.
The author of this work has endeavoured to show that evidence, and not tradition,
must have determined the position in the time of Constantine. On the Site of the Holy
Sepulchre i by George Finlay : London, 1847. Mr. Ferguson, in a very able work, en-
titled A. n Essay on, the A ncient Tomography of Jerusalem , published in the same year,
has_ maintained that_ Constantine did not fix on the present site, but that in some later
period the present site was imposed on mankind as the site selected by Constantine or
Helena. Though the tradition of the church cannot be received as of much value on a
topographical question before any site was determined on, it becomes of value from the
time a variety of nations and sects began to worship at the same shrine : now. as this
has been the case, ever since the time of Constantine, with the Holy Sepulchre, the
question arises, At what period was it possible for the priests and pilgrims of many
different nations and sects to agree on a fraud so abhorrent to the superstitious feelings
of mankind ? The authorities relating to the destruction and re-edification of the Church
of the Holy Sepulchre at this period, are as follows: The Saracens set fire to the church
and burnt the Patriarch of Jerusalem alive, after the victories of Nicephorus II., in. 968.
Cedrenus, 661. The caliph Hakem, called by Byzantine writers Aziz, razed the church
and demolished the sepulchre in 1010. Cedrenus, 706. William of Tyre, i, iv. Bon-
gars, 631. Romanus III. obtained permission to rebuild the church. Cedrenus, 731.
William of Tyre, i. vi. Bongars, 632. The -new building was completed by Constantin
IX. (Monomachus), William of Tyre, i. vi. Bongars, 632.
368 Basilian Dynasty
The Empress Zoe never forgave her sister Theodora that
superiority of character which had induced their father to
offer her the empire, if she would accept the husband of his
choice ; and Romanus III. disliked her for refusing his hand,
and feared her on account of her talents. He set a spy over
her conduct by drawing from his retreat John, one of the
ministers of Basil II., who had deemed it prudent to retire
into a monastery on the accession of Constantine VIII.
John was now appointed syncellus, and intrusted with the
superintendence of Theodora's household. Prasian, the Bul-
garian prince who had fought a duel with Romanus Skleros,
the brother-in-law of the Emperor Romanus III., was accused
of plotting with Theodora to seize the imperial crown.
Whether true or false, the jealousy of Zoe and the aversion
of Romanus were sure to obtain for this accusation a favour-
able reception. The emperor had already restored his brother-
in-law to his former rank as magistros ; he now revenged him
by condemning Prusian to lose his sight, and by banishing
his mother, the late queen of Bulgaria, to the monastery of
Mantineion in the Boukellarian theme. Subsequently, when
the court was alarmed at the prospect of a Bulgarian and
Sclavonian rebellion under the direction of Constantine
Diogenes, Prusian was compelled to embrace the monastic
life. It seems strange that the project of transferring the
sovereignty of the Byzantine empire to a Bulgarian should
be recorded by the Byzantine writers, without the smallest
notice that such an event was likely to wound either the
Roman pride of the aristocracy of Constantinople, or the
national vanity of the Greek race; but we must recollect that
the founder of the Basilian dynasty was generally considered
to have been a Sclavonian groom.
Another conspiracy, which was formed soon after that of
Prusian, was connected with the same interests, and counted
on the same feelings for success. Constantine Diogenes, the
governor of Sirmium and duke of Bulgaria, had married a
niece of the Emperor Romanus III., and had been appointed
governor of Thessalonica. 1 While there, it was discovered
that he was engaged in frequent communications with the
leaders of the Bulgarian and Sclavonian population of the
empire, and it was deemed necessary to transfer him to
the government of the Thrakesian theme before arresting
1 Cedrenus, 723 ; Zonaras, il. 230 ; Ducange, Fam. By*. 153, and in his notes to
2onauai, p. 90, edit. Vonet., disagree concerning the relationship.
Period of Conservatism 369
him. He was found guilty of conspiracy against the em-
peror, and condemned to be incarcerated as a monk in the
monastery of Studion. John the syncellus, who seems to
have been gained over by Theodora, whom he had been
appointed to watch, Eustathios Daphnomeles, the governor
of Achrida, two grandchildren of Michael Burtzes, the con-
queror of Antioch, and George and Varasvatzes, nephews of
the patrician Theudatos, were ail condemned for participating
in this conspiracy. 1 They were publicly scourged, and then
banished. Theodora, who was accused of being privy to
their plots, was driven from her palace, and imprisoned in
the monastery of Petrion. 2 Some time after, the Empress
Zoe visited her sister, and compelled her to assume the
monastic habit. Constantine Diogenes was also accused by
the archbishop of Thessalonica of plotting to escape into
Illyria, in order to assume the title of emperor. To avoid
the loss of his eyesight, and the disgrace of being scourged
through the streets of the capital, he threw himself from a
window, and was killed on the spot. He was buried in the
place appropriated to those who committed suicide, A.D*
1032.*
The negligence of Constantine VIII. had weakened the
military force of the empire. Spondyles, the eunuch in-
trusted with the government of Antioch, finding that the
Saracen emirs who had been rendered tributary by Nicepho-
rus II. and John Zimiskes refused to pay tribute, undertook to
re-establish the imperial authority. His rashness and in-
capacity led to the complete defeat of the Byzantine army
on the 3ist of October 1029, by which all the imperial pos-
sessions of Syria were exposed without defence to the attacks
of the emirs of Aleppo and Tripolis, who pushed their in-
cursions up to the walls of Antioch, and rendered themselves
masters of the fort of Menik, which had been recently con-
structed in its immediate vicinity.
Romanus III. resolved to redeem the honour of the empire
at the head of his armies. His brother-in-law, Constantine
Karantenos, was sent forward to supersede Spondyles. When
the emperor reached Philomilion in Pisidia, he was met by an
embassy from the emir of Aleppo, who offered to recognise
1 Varasvatzes founded the monastery of the Iberians on Mount Athos. Cedrenus,
7*4. The m account of Mount Athos, by Comnenos, in Montfaucon's PaUogrttpkic*
Grerc&t omits this fact.
2 It was situated without the walls, at the head of the pott. Ducange, Nottr im
2onar<r A nn. p. 90, edit. Venet. * Cedrenun, yat).
370 Basilian Dynasty
the supremacy of the empire, and to pay the same tribute he
had paid to Basil II. The wisest councillors of Romanus
recommended him to accept these terms, for the season was
ill suited for invading Syria, where the heat and want of water
rendered great part of the country better adapted for the
operations of the light-armed cavalry of the Arabs, than for
the military tactics of the Byzantine troops, covered with
heavy armour. 1 The emperor was so destitute of military ex-
perience, that he believed it would be a matter of little
difficulty to rival the exploits of Nicephorus, Zimiskes, and
Basil, and he marched forward to take possession of Aleppo.
He had arrived at a strong fortress called Azaz, about two
days' march from that city, when his outposts were attacked
and driven in by the Arabs, who prevented his cavalry from
collecting forage, and his troops from approaching the water
in the neighbourhood. 2 The position of the Byzantine camp
was ill chosen ; an attempt to repulse the Arabs led to an un-
premeditated engagement, in which a considerable body of
troops was defeated, and the fugitives, rushing into the camp,
spread disorder far and wide. No measures were adopted for
restoring order, and the victorious Arabs advanced up to the
intrenchments, and kept the imperial army closely blockaded.
The emperor was utterly helpless, and under such a com-
mander there was no choice but to retreat to Antioch. This
operation was conducted in the most disgraceful manner. At
daylight Romanus abandoned the camp, leaving his own tents
and baggage, and the warlike machines, tents, and baggage of
the army, a prey to the enemy ; and this booty fortunately de-
tained the Arabs so long that a great part of the flying army
gained Antioch in safety, August io3o. 3
Romanus, cured of his passion for military fame, hastened
back to Constantinople. The generals he left in command of
the army proved as incapable as their sovereign, and Menik,
the fort in the vicinity of Antioch, remained in the hands
of the Saracens. The emperor, however, at last sent Theok-
1 Cedrenus, 726.
2 Azaz is about twenty-six miles north by west of Aleppo. The mound on which it
stands is nearly circular, and partly of limestone, with a circumference of about two
hundred and fifty yards at the base, and ninety yards at the top of the cone, which
is about a hundred and twenty feet high ; its natural kernel having been increased
to this extent, in order that the work might be more defensible. Colonel Chesney, The
Expedition for the Survey of the rivers Euphrates and Tigris, t. 422. This quotation
from Colonel Chesney is necessary to prove that Cedrenus is a better authority in
the present instance than the Arabian geographer Aboulfeda, though a native of
Damascus, who, according to Weil, iii. 71, note, places Azaz only a mile from, Aleppo.
* Cedrenivs, 726. Zonaras,- ii. 231.
Period of Conservatism 371
tistos, the commander of the foreign mercenaries, with a
considerable reinforcement of native and foreign troops j and
this officer having formed an alliance with the emir of Tripolis,
who was alarmed at the progress of the Egyptian power
in Syria, succeeded in taking the fort of Menik. Alach, the
son of the emir of Tripolis, visited the court of iRomamis, and
so lax were the political and religious ideas of the Byzantines,
in spite of their ecclesiastical bigotry, that he was honoured
with the rank of a Roman patrician. 1
Shortly after the defeat of the Emperor Romanus at Azaz,
an incident occurred which deserves notice, principally be-
cause it brought into notice an officer who soon took a promi-
nent part in the military affairs of the empire, both in Asia and
Europe. George Maniakes was governor of the small province
called Telouch. 2 After the flight of the army to Antioch,
a body of eight hundred Arabs appeared before the walls
of the fortress in which he was residing, announcing the death
of the emperor, and the overthrow of the Byzantine power
in Syria. They ordered Maniakes to evacuate the place,
or they threatened to storm it next day, and put every person
within its walls to the sword. Maniakes considered that the
nature of their summons indicated either their weakness or
their determination to fall on his troops by treachery; he
therefore asked to be allowed to remain the night in the
fortress, to make preparations for his retreat. The Arab camp
was supplied with food and refreshments in abundance, and at
midnight Maniakes led out the garrison to attack the enemy,
who were found plunged in sleep without a guard. The
greater part were slain, and two hundred and eighty camels,
laden with the spoil of Romanus's camp, were recaptured.
This prize was sent as a present to the emperor, accompanied
with the noses and ears of the vanquished.
To reward the valour of Maniakes, he was appointed
governor of Lower Media, of which Samosata was the capital. 3
The following year the Saracens invaded Mesopotamia, and
plundered the country as far as Melitene; but in 1032,
Maniakes contrived to bribe the governor of Edessa, who was
subject to the emir of Miarfekin (Martyropolis), to deliver up
the town. But as soon as the Byzantine troops got possession
of three towers in the wall, they were assailed by the Saracen
1 Cedrenus, 728. I believe the Grand Mogul was once honoured with the rank
of Christian knighthood by an English sovereign.
2 For the family of Maniakes, compare Cedrenus, 727, 731 ; Georg. Mon. 533 J Leo
Gramm. 46;. * Cedrenus, 7*7-
37 2 Basilian Dynasty
inhabitants, and Maniakes was soon attacked by Apomerman,
the emir of Miarfekin, who hastened to expel him from his
position. The Saracens, finding it impossible to regain pos-
session of the towers, and learning that fresh troops were
marching to the assistance of Maniakes, abandoned Edessa;
but before quitting it they burned most of the houses, and
destroyed the great church. Though the Saracens had time
to carry off the greater part of the wealth of the city they left
behind them what was infinitely more valuable in the eyes of
the Christians of that age than the whole wealth of the
caliphate. The people of Edessa had long boaste* that they
possessed a letter written by our Saviour to Abgarus, king
of Edessa ; this precious relic was now brought to Maniakes,
and by him transmitted to Constantinople. 1 It is not known
at what period this precious document was fabricated. From
the city and territory of Edessa a tribute of 50 Ib. of gold was
annually remitted to the Byzantine treasury.
The disorganised state of the caliphate of Bagdat, and the
power acquired by the Turkish mercenaries, induced several
Saracen emirs to solicit the protection of Romanus. The
emir of Aleppo, in spite of his victory, became ributary to
the empire. Aleim, the emir of Perkrin a fortress of great
importance, on account of its position delivered up that
place to the emperor ; and a body of six thousand Byzantine
troops, under a Bulgarian patrician, was stationed to defend
this advanced post. Aleim was, however, dissatisfied with the
reward he received, and opened communications with the
Persians, whom he contrived to introduce into Perkrin. The
Byzantine garrison was surprised and put to the sword ; but a
powerful body of native troops and Russian mercenaries soon
regained possession of the place, which was taken by assault,
and Aleim was put to death. 2
The Saracens of Africa and Sicily were still in the habit of
sending out krge fleets to plunder the coasts of the empire.
In the year 1031, these pirates laid waste Illyria and the island
of Corfu, but they were defeated by the people of Ragusa and
the governor of Nauplia, who destroyed the greater part of
their fleet. Next year they returned with a large force, and, if
we believe the accounts of the Byzantine writers, their fleet
l-Cedrenus, 731. Zonaras, ii. 33*. Glycas, 313.
* Cedrenus, 732, says Perkrin was near Bagdat ; but this must be a mistake, as ho
evidently alludes to the city of Percri, mentioned by Const. Porphyr. De Adm.
chap. 44, a* an important fortress in Armenia. St.- Martin, Mtmoires sur
Period of Conservatism 373
consisted of a thousand vessels, and transported ten thousand
troops. Two divisions of this great armament were defeated
by Nicephoras Karantenos, the governor of Nauplia, and up-
wards of a thousand prisoners were sent to Constantinople.
In 1033, the imperial fleet, under the command of the pro-
tospatharios Tekneas, made a descent on the coast of Egypt,
and after collecting considerable booty, and carrying off many
prisoners, the expedition returned to Constantinople. Every
government at this time found it much easier to plunder the
territories of its rivals than to defend its own, for most
sovereigns had adopted the policy of disarming the great body
of their subjects, fearing that, if they possessed arms, they
would employ their strength in delivering themselves from the
fiscal exactions of their princes.
During the reign of Romanus III., several parts of Asia
Minor suffered very severely from earthquakes, locusts, famine,
and pestilence ; and in a stationary condition of society these
calamities often destroy an amount of capital which is never
replaced, and become, therefore, an immediate cause of a rapid
depopulation. 1
For two years before his death the emperor was afflicted by
a disease which gradually wasted his frame, and caused his
hair and beard to fall off. Many ascribed the disorder to the
use of aphrodisiacs, which he took to an immoderate extent,
in the hope of leaving an heir to the empire; but others
believed that the disease originated in a slow poison ad-
ministered either by the Empress Zoe or by John the orphano-
trophos, who expected to raise his brother Michael to the
throne. This John was a eunuch and a monk, who had
entered the household of Romanus while he was yet in a
private station, but who, after he became emperor, received
the rank of orphanotrophos, or minister of charitable institu-
tions, an office which proves the existence of a high degree of
civilisation in the Byzantine administration. John had several
brothers, one of whom, named Michael, commenced life as a
goldsmith and money-changer, but while still young, received
a place in the imperial household. 2 The face of Michael had
the beauty of a perfect statue ; his figure was full of grace, and
1 Many of the inhabitants of Asia Minor were reduced to such distress as to sell their
children as slaves, to save the lives of both parties. Cedrenus, 732.
2 John had two brothers, Constantino and George, who had been educated as
doctors, and were, like himself, eunuchs ; another Niketas, and a sister named Maria,
married to Stephen, who was probably a shipbuilder, though called a caulker.-
Cedrenus, 733.
374 Baslllan Dynasty
his manners were attractive and dignified, but the young man
was liable to sudden and violent attacks of epilepsy. Zoe,
though upwards of fifty, is said to have fallen in love with her
handsome servant, and to have carried on an intrigue with him
by the assistance of his brother John. Romanus, though in-
formed of his wife's conduct, paid no attention to the accu-
sations, which the epilepsy of Michael seemed to render
improbable. 1 In the mean time, the health of the emperor
rapidly declined, and on the nth of April 1034 he was taken
from the bath in a dying state. While life yet remained, he
was visited by Zoe and some of the officers of the court, but
he was already speechless, and the empress quitted his side to
take measures with the orphanotrophos for placing her epileptic
paramour on the throne.
The moment that life was extinct in the body of Romanus
III., Zoe assembled the officers of state in the palace, and
invested Michael IV. with the imperial robes. He was im-
mediately proclaimed Emperor of the Romans, and seated
himself on the vacant throne beside Zoe. The promptitude
with which this singular step of raising a domestic to the
throne was conceived and executed prevented its encountering
the" slightest opposition. The Patriarch Alexios was sum-
moned to the palace, where he learned the death of Romanus,
and was, to his great astonishment, ordered to crown Michael
the Paphlagonian, and celebrate his marriage with the widowed
empress. The Patriarch would willingly have delayed making
this open display of contempt for decency, but he saw Michael
seated on the throne, and he was aware of the power and
ability of his brother the orphanotrophos ; so, admitting that
reasons of state might overrule the dictates of virtue, he cele-
brated the marriage to avoid greater scandal. Thus a single
night saw the aged Zoe the wife of two emperors, a widow and
a bride, and Michael a menial and a sovereign. In order to
render the sudden elevation of a domestic of the palace less
strange in the distant provinces, John, who became his
brother's prime-minister, despatched letters to all the
governors, announcing that Michael had been selected by
the deceased emperor for his successor, and crowned before
his death.
The new emperor, though he ascended the throne in the
Period of Conservatism 375
most disgraceful manner, possessed some good qualities ; and
his natural good disposition appears neither to have been
corrupted by his education as a money-changer, though
calumny accused him of having been a fabricator of false
coin ; nor by his menial service at a corrupt and vicious court,
of which he was a depraved member. After he mounted the
throne, he soon lost the gaiety of disposition and tranquillity
of mind which had increased the beauty of his figure and the
grace of his manner. In spite of his constitutional infirmity,
he was not destitute of considerable strength of character, and
with his vices he united a strong sense of justice. The conduct
of Zoe awakened in his mind feelings of distrust for his own
safety, and he had spirit enough to dismiss from her service
many of the eunuchs of her father's household, who seemed
fit agents for new plots. His conscience was soon troubled
by his treachery to his benefactor, and during his whole reign
he suffered the pangs of remorse. He sought pardon from
heaven by praying at the shrines of different saints, and he
wasted the revenues of the empire in building monasteries
and chapels, and in making lavish donations to priests and
monks. 1 But as he continued to enjoy every advantage he
had purchased by his crimes, the historians of his reign justly
observe that he seemed to trust in the blindness of God for
the forgiveness of his sins, as if divine justice could regard
good deeds done at the expense of his subjects as any atone-
ment for his private sins, or as any proof of sincere repentance
on the part of the imperial sinner. 2 It must be owned that
there is more truth in this observation than is agreeable either
to the Papal or the Greek church. The anxiety produced by
the cares of his situation soon increased the emperor's malady
to such a degree that he became liable to sudden attacks ; and
even at pubHc ceremonies, when he was seated on the throne,
it was necessary to have the canopy of state hung round with
curtains, which the chamberlains could let fall to hide him
from the assembly as soon as his countenance indicated the
approach of the terrible convulsions to which he was liable.
When his malady seized him, his features were distorted into
hideous expressions, his eyes rolled in wild agony, and he
often struck his head against the wall until he fell exhausted
on the floor. Though his malady was known to be of old
1 He sent two pieces of gold to every priest, and one to every monk in all the
provinces and islands of the empire, and he paid a piece of gold and four miliaresia at
the baptism of every infant.- Cedrenus, 742.
2 Cedrenus, 738. Glycas, 3x5.
376 Basllian Dynasty
date, the people persisted in regarding it as a judgment for
his conduct to his benefactor Romanus, and appealed to it as
a visible interposition of divine power, which abandoned him
from time to time to be tormented by demons as a punishment
for his treachery. 1
Under these circumstances, it appears strange that Michael
retained the throne with so little difficulty, and met with no
dangerous rival. It is true, he possessed an able prime-
minister in his brother, the orphanotrophos, whose interests
were completely identified with his own, and who was a
statesman competent to relieve him from all the details of
administrative labour. Michael could entertain no distrust of
his brother John, who could neither supplant him on the
throne nor covet it for his posterity. But though the or-
phanotroph was a faithful brother and an able minister, he
was rapacious and tyrannical, and his administration, though
serviceable to Michael, was injurious to the wealth and re-
sources of the empire. He is said to have commenced life as
a travelling doctor. While Romanus III. was in a private
station, he intrusted John with the direction of his household ;
but after he became emperor, his intendant, with the modest
title of Orphanotrophos, and in the humble garb of a monk,
directed the whole business in the imperial cabinet. When
his brother ascended the throne, he openly assumed the duties
of president of the imperial council, and though suffering
under the loathsome disease of a cancer in the mouth, the
energetic eunuch humbled the aristocracy and ruled the people
with a rod of iron. 2
The administration of John the orphanotrophos deserves
attention, not only from forming a principal feature in the
reign of Michael IV., but also from marking the era of a mis-
chievous change in the financial system of the Byzantine
government. The taxes were everywhere augmented, and
collected in a more arbitrary manner. An additional charge of
from four to twenty byzants was imposed on every landed
estate, according to its extent. 3 John's avidity compelled the
collectors of the revenue in the provinces to increase their
exactions, for when they were regular in their remittances to
the treasury, and liberal in their presents to the orphanotro-
phos, their oppressive conduct to the provincials was easily
overlooked. This system of extortion caused several serious
insurrections during the reign of Michael IV. At its com-
* Zonaras, u, *$g, * Ibid., ii. 835. Cedrenus, 737. * Cedrenus, 743.
Period of Conservatism 377
mencement the people of Antioch murdered the collector of
taxes in that city, and, alarmed at the vengeance John was
likely to take for such an offence, shut their gates against his
brother Niketas, whom he sent to be their duke. 1 Niketas
succeeded in entering the city, where his first act was to put to
death a hundred of the inhabitants, and confiscate the wealth
of eleven of the richest families. The people of Aleppo also
expelled the imperial commissioner sent to reside among them
for fiscal purposes, and their position secured them from the
vengeance of the Byzantine minister. When Maria, the
emperor's sister, and mother of the future emperor, Michael V.,
visited the city of Ephesus on a pilgrimage to the shrine of
St. John the Evangelist, she was struck with compassion at the
sight of the excessive misery she beheld in all the country on
her road. When she returned to Constantinople, she urged
her brother, the orphanotrophos, by every feeling of humanity
and religion, to moderate the financial exactions which were
rapidly depopulating the empire. The orphanotrophos replied
with a smile "You reason like a woman, ignorant of the
necessities of the imperial treasury." His conduct, however,
proved in the end unprofitable as a financial operation, for it
caused an extensive insurrection of the Bulgarian and Sclav-
onian population, which cost more to suppress than had been
wrung from them. Even the Greeks found their fiscal suffer-
ings so great that they seemed disposed to join the Sclavonians
in an attempt to throw off the Byzantine yoke. The collector
of the revenues of the theme of Nicopolis was torn in pieces by
the people, and the western parts of Greece welcomed the
Bulgarian troops. 2
A government so unpopular as that of Constantinople at this
time required not only great talents to direct the central
administration, but also a numerous body of firm supporters
dispersed through all the provinces, interested to defend the
system with all its abuses. This was effected by filling every
office with men dependent on the family of Michael IV., and
crowding the senate with creatures of the orphanotrophos. On
the death of Niketas, Constantine, who was almost as able and
active as his brother John, was appointed "duke of Antioch,
and became afterwards grand domestikos. George was ap-
pointed protovestiarios, their brother-in-law Stephen was in-
trusted with the command of the fleet, and subsequently
1 Zonaras, il. 336. Cedrenus, 737, * Ibid* % 747.
Basilian Dynasty
named commander-in-chief in Sicily ; while his son Michael,
called, from his father's early profession, Kalaphates, or the
caulker, was appointed by his uncle Caesar, which was almost
tantamount to proclaiming him heir-apparent to the Byzantine
empire.
John even carried his ambition so far as to make an attempt
to place himself at the head of the church as well as the state,
Having gained over a party among the bishops to object to the
appointment of the Patriarch Alexios as uncanonical, on the
ground that he had been intruded on the church by the
nomination of Basil II., John proposed to depose Alexios.
The Patriarch, however, encountered the attack with courage.
He openly discussed the question, and asked what measures
were to be taken if all the ordinations which he had made,
during the twelve years he had governed the church, were now
unexpectedly declared void; and he boldly reminded John,
that even the coronation and marriage of the reigning emperor
would thus be pronounced null. This boldness alarmed the
emperor : and John was compelled to lay aside the hope of
becoming Patriarch during the life of Alexios.
Avarice was always a pervading fault of Byzantine society ;
and the rapacity of the clergy at this period often rivalled the
extortions of the fiscal agents of the imperial administration.
Two anecdotes, that contrast the moral feelings of a Greek
bishop with those of a troop of Varangian soldiers, deserve
notice.
Theophanes, the metropolitan of Thessalonica, carried his
avarice so far that he held back the payment of the salaries
due to the clergy of his chapter; and even during a year of
famine refused to pay them their arrears. The Emperor
Michael happened to visit Thessalonica, and the starving
priests complained to him of the conduct of their bishop ;
but even the reproof of the emperor failed to obtain justice
to the claims of the clergy. Michael then determined to
punish the bishop; but, in order to expose his avarice and
meanness in a public manner, he sent one of his household
to borrow a hundred pounds' weight of gold, promising to
repay the money immediately on his arrival at Constantinople.
The bishop excused himself on the score of poverty, declar-
ing, with the most solemn oaths, that he had only thirty
pounds' weight of gold in his palace. The emperor im-
mediately sent a commission to search the palace, and the
sum of three thousand three hundred pounds' weight of gold
Period of Conservatism 379
was found. Theophanes was banished to a country farm, and
Prometheos named Ms successor. 1
The Varangian guard was dispersed in winter-quarters in
the Thrakesian theme, where one of the soldiers, attempting
to use violence on the person of a country-woman, she drew
his sword and stabbed him. The man died on the spot ; but
as soon as the foreign troops heard the true history of the
affair, instead of insisting on revenge, they applauded the
woman's conduct, put her in possession of all the property
her assailant had left in his quarters, and exposed his body
without burial, as if he had committed suicide. 2
The only noble whose great wealth and high character
excited the fears of Michael IV., and the jealousy of the
orphanotrophos, was Constantine Dalassenos, the man who
had been first selected as the husband of Zoe. Dalassenos
was residing on his immense estates in the Armeniac theme
when he heard of the election and marriage of Michael The
contemptuous words he was said to have uttered sank deep in
the mind of the new emperor ; and Dalassenos soon received
an invitation from the orphanotrophos to visit Constantinople.
He, however, declined trusting his person in the capital until
he received a solemn assurance of his safety from the emperor.
The guarantees he ventured to demand, and which Michael
Consented to give, afford a curious picture of the proud posi-
tion of the great nobles, and a sad evidence of the prevalence
of falsehood and treachery in the highest ranks of society.
A member of the emperor's household, in high office, was sent
to Dalassenos with a piece of the holy cross, with the napkin
on which the figure of Christ was miraculously imprinted, with
the autograph letter of Christ, and with the portrait of the
Virgin Mary, painted by the hand of St. Luke ; and on these
sacred relics this officer swore that he had witnessed the Em-
peror Michael IV. take an oath that Constantine Dalassenos
should suffer no injury if he visited the capital. On this as-
surance Dalassenos repaired to Constantinople, where he was
well received by the emperor, and received the title of Pro-
consul. But shortly after, Niketas, the emperor's brother, who
was duke of Antioch, accused him of being privy to the insur-
rection in which the imperial tax-gatherers had been slain;
and on this improbable charge Dalassenos was confined in the
island of Plate. His son-in-law Dukas was thrown into prison,
and three nobles of great wealth had their estates confiscated,
1 A.D. 1038. Cedrexms, 740. * J1>id. t 735.
380 Basillan Dynasty
for complaining that this proceeding was a violation of the
emperor's oath.
During the Bulgarian rebellion in 1040, a conspiracy was
formed to dethrone Michael. Many of the chief men in Con-
stantinople were accused of being privy to the plot; and though
they escaped with their lives, the fortunes of the wealthy were
confiscated. Among the conspirators was Michael Keroularios,
whose guilt compelled him to protect his person by becoming
a monk. He afterwards attained the dignity of Patriarch, and
displayed the same unquiet intriguing spirit at the head of the
church as he had done in a private station.
Some seditious proceedings in the Asiatic army were sup-
pressed by the emperor's brother, Constantine, who put out
the eyes of several officers ; and not venturing to punish their
chief, Gregory the Taronite, who was a patrician, by a local
tribunal, sent that dignitary to Constantinople, sewed up in
the hide of a newly-slain ox, with only holes cut in it for his
eyes, and for breathing. 1
The military power of the empire was not tarnished by the
conduct of Michael TV., though he was sneered at by the
aristocracy as a Paphlagonian money-changer. The Saracens
vainly endeavoured to recover the possessions which had been
conquered by the Christians in Syria and Mesopotamia. The
emperor's brother, Constantine, while governor of Antioch,
displayed some military talents. He relieved Edessa when
attacked by a Saracen army. The possession of Edessa by
the Byzantine emperors was a source of continual annoyance
to the Mohammedans, and their endeavours to regain it were
incessant. In the year 1038, two years after it had been re-
lieved by Constantine, they made use of a stratagem which
has obtained immortality as an Eastern tale, though, as a fact,
it remains buried in the dulness of Byzantine history. Varas-
vatzes, a Georgian, commanded in Edessa when twelve Arabians
of rank presented themselves before the gates, attended by an
escort of five hundred horse, and followed by a train of five
hundred camels, declaring that they were going on an embassy
to the emperor with rich presents from the caliph. 2 The wary
Georgian, however, distrusted their numerous escort ; and
though he gave the chiefs a hospitable reception, and pre-
pared for them a sumptuous entertainment in his palace, he
1 Cedrenus, 747.
a This Varasvatzes, being an Iberian or Georgian, may have been a relation as weU
as A namesake of the founder of the monastery on Mount Athoa,
Period of Conservatism 381
ordered the escort and the train of camels to be encamped
without the wails, and sharply watched. While the banquet
was proceeding in the city, a poor Armenian, well versed in
the Arabic language, offered his services to the travellers, and
was permitted to wander about the encampment. While stand-
ing near the wicker baskets with which the camels had been
laden, he overheard a man conversing with another, and per-
ceived that a band of armed men, for the purpose of surprising
Edessa, was the only present for the emperor which the camels
carried. Hastening to the palace of the governor, he suc-
ceeded in revealing the secret to the watchful Georgian, who
found an excuse for quitting his guests. A body of the gar-
rison was sent to overpower the cavalry, while Varasvatzes,
proceeding in person to the encampment, ordered the wicker
baskets with the presents for the emperor to be opened, and
slew the concealed soldiers as they were found. He then
returned to his palace, where he ordered his guests to be
seized, and informed them of the issue of their treachery.
Eleven were put to death, and the chief, mutilated by the loss
of his hands, ears, and nose, was sent to announce the result
of the adventure to the court of Bagdat 1
The ravages of the Saracen fleets from Africa and Sicily
were now more destructive than the incursions of their armies
in Asia. Myra in Lycia, and many towns in the Cyclades,
were plundered in 1034; but in the following year, when two
separate fleets returned to renew these devastations, they
were both defeated by the governors of the Thrakesian and
Kibyrraiot themes, and the prisoners were treated as pirates,
and impaled along the Asiatic coast from Adramytium to
Strobilos.
To prevent the recurrence of these plundering expeditions,
it was resolved to carry the war into Sicily with the greatest
vigour. Maniakes, who had distinguished himself as governor
of Vaspourakan, was charged with the task of expelling the
Saracens from the island. Abulaphar, the emir of Sicily,
having formed an alliance with the empire, received the title
of Magistros ; but his authority was contested by his brother
Abucab, and Sicily was involved in a civil war. In the mean-
time, the independence of the Sicilian chiefs was so great,
that many continued their piratical expeditions against the
1 Compare the story of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, in the Arabian Nights, with
Cedrenus, 743, and Zonaras, ii. 237. There is a story of armed men introduced into a
place, concealed in skins, by a lady, who, in this way, succeeded in avenging the murdet
of her husband. Hixtoirt <tu Grand Gettghitcan, by Petis de la Croix, 29.
382 Basilian Dynasty
Christians, in spite of the friendly relations established with
the emirs. The civil war, however, enabled the Byzantine
troops to enter Sicily as allies of Abulaphar, and they met
with such success that the two brothers became alarmed, and,
forgetting their differences, united to get rid of allies who
promised soon to become masters. The moment appeared
favourable for expelling the Saracens from the island; and
Michael ordered Maniakes, who commanded the Byzantine
forces in Italy, to cross the straits of Messina, and sent a
powerful fleet, under his brother-in-law Stephen, to assist the
operations of the army. Among the troops that Maniakes
had assembled in Calabria were three hundred Norman mer-
cenaries, whose skill in arms had already obtained for them
the highest military reputation, A.B. I038. 1
Messina was taken by storm, and though a large army of
Saracens arrived from Africa to defend their countrymen, the
Sicilians were completely defeated by Maniakes at a place
called Remata. This victory enabled the Byzantine general
to subdue the greater part of the island, and he employed the
winter in constructing citadels in the towns he had conquered,
in order to keep the inhabitants hi check ; for the number of
Saracen proprietors settled in the island, and their spirit of
local independence, combined with the financial exigencies
of the Byzantine administration, threatened the Byzantine
government with a violent opposition. The importance of
the exploits of Maniakes, and the solidity of his buildings,
are attested by the renown of his name and the relics of his
works. The thick walls and massive round towers of the
citadel he constructed at Syracuse still bear the name of the
Castle of Maniakes, and show us how much of the strength
and stability of Roman architecture survived in the Byzantine
system of fortification in the eleventh century. 2 The site of
another of his works retains his name, situated on the roots
of Mount Etna; but all the remains have disappeared in
constructing the modern town of Bronte. 3
In the spring of 1040, another African army arrived in
Sicily, to support the Mohammedan domination. Maniakes
made his dispositions for a battle with his usual talent, and,
1 Cedrenus, 741. Saracenicarum Rerum eit. a Carusio. Bibliotk. Hist. Regni
Stcttia:, i. 108.
3 Two fine antique bronze Drains, of the^ natural size, which adorned the entrance of
the oastle of Maniakes, are still preserved in the Palazzo Reale at Palermo,
3 Bronte is inhabited by an Albanian colony. Gaily Knight, Normans in Sicily ,
266.
Period of Conservatism 383
confident of success, he ordered Stephen, the admiral of the
fleet, to make dispositions for cutting off the retreat of the
Africans. The Byzantine army was worthy of its general, and
the invaders were completely routed at a place called Draginas;
but the incapacity and misconduct of Stephen allowed the
beaten troops to escape on board their fleet, and put to sea.
Maniakes was indignant at this proof of negligence or
cowardice. On meeting Stephen, he lost all command over
his temper, and reproached the emperor's brother-in-law with
his unfitness for his station ; and when the admiral ventured
to reply in an insolent manner, the proud Maniakes, re-
collecting the caulker, and forgetting the prince, struck him
on the head with the seiromast in his hand. 1 TMs outbreak
of passion caused the loss of Sicily. Stephen complained to
the orphanotroph of the aristocratic insolence of Maniakes,
and accused him of a design to rebel; which appeared no
improbable accusation, when brought against a man who
dared to strike the emperor's brother-in-law in the presence of
many officers of the army. 2 Maniakes was arrested, and sent
prisoner to Constantinople, and Stephen was appointed his
successor in the government of Sicily. Under a leader so
incompetent, the affairs of the Christians soon fell into con-
fusion. Fresh bands of Saracens arrived from Africa; the
Byzantine authorities were driven from the towns conquered
by Maniakes ; the army under the command of Stephen was
everywhere worsted ; and in a short time Messina alone pre-
served its allegiance to the government at Constantinople,
being preserved by the valour of its governor Katakalon.
The Patzinaks renewed their invasions of the European
provinces in the year 1034, when they extended their ravages
almost to the walls of Thessalonica. Two years after, they
again invaded the empire and wasted Thrace with unusual
barbarity, carrying off five imperial officers of high rank as
prisoners.
In the year 1040, Servia, which had submitted to the
Emperor Basil II., became so discontented with the fiscal
1 The seiromast, according to the classic meaning, was a kind of javelin. But^the
three weapons which hung at the saddle-bow of every Byzantine officer, at this period,
were a battle-axe, a mace-at-arms^ and a hooked instrument for catching the enemy's
bridle. Such instruments formed the perfect equipment of a Mameluke to the end
of the last century, and may still be seen at times exposed for sale at Cairo and
Damascus.
2 The family of Maniakes Is mentioned as early as the reign of Michael III. ; and
the great influence of the commander-in-chief in Sicily is shown by the rivalry that
existed between him and Romanes Skleros in Asia Minor. Georg. Mon. 533. Lee
Gramm. 461. Cedrenus, 727, 731.
384 Basillan Dynasty
measures of the orphanotrophos, that the people rose in
rebellion and shook off the Byzantine yoke. Stephen Bogiskv
placed himself at the head of his countrymen and expelled
the imperial authorities. The success of his rebellion was
promoted by the seizure of a vessel, with a thousand pounds'
weight of gold belonging to the imperial treasury, which was
driven on the coast of Illyria* The emperor demanded the
restitution of this sum, and when it was refused, sent George
Provatas with a large army to reduce Stephen to obedience.
The Byzantine troops were defeated through the incapacity of
their general, and the independence of Servia firmly estab-
lished and tacitly recognised. 1
The fiscal exactions of John the orphanotrophos produced
another rebellion, which threatened to deprive the empire of
the fruits of the long campaigns of Basil II. The land-tax or
tribute of the Sclavonian population had been left, by their
conqueror, on the footing it had been established by Samuel
when he founded the kingdom of Achrida, and consisted of a
moderate payment in kind annually for each yoke of oxen and
each strema of vineyard. 2 Michael IV., at the advice of his
brother, ordered a tax to be levied in money in lieu of the
established payments, and the discontent caused by the mea-
sure prepared the population for revolt. While everything
proclaimed an approaching rebellion, a Bulgarian slave, named
Peter Deleanos, fled from his master at Constantinople, and,
on reaching Belgrade on the Danube, announced himself to be
the grandson of Samuel, king of Achrida. He was soon
joined by numbers of discontented Bulgarians, and was pro-
claimed king. His hopes of being able to resist the power of
the Byzantine government lay in the Sclavonian population of
Macedonia and Epirus, not in the Bulgarians of the plains
between the Danube and Mount Hsemus. He succeeded in
making himself master of many strong places in the theme of
Dyrrachium, and he commenced the revolution by murdering
all the Greeks who fell into his hands. Basil Synnadenos,
the governor of Dyrrachium, advanced against him, hoping to
extinguish the revolt in its birth; but some intrigues at Con-
stantinople caused him to lose his place, and one of his officers,
1 Cedrenus, 745. Provatas, like many generals in the tenth and eleventh centuries,
was a eunuch.
2 See before, p. 353. Cedrenus, 747. The number of yokes of oxen was a common
=basis of taxation, and was adopted by the Arabs in Sicily and the Normans in Italy.
Robert Gmscard encased to pay twelve deniers of Pavia to the Pope for each yoke ol
oxen in his states. Baronius, Ann. JZccL, A.D. 1059, torn. * v " *7O-
Period of Conservatism 385
who was named Ms successor, proved incapable of executing
the plan of operations already traced out. The new governor
threw everything into confusion ; and a large body of troops in
the province consisting of Sclavonians, they cast off their
allegiance to the emperor, and proclaimed one of their own
officers, Teichomeros, king of Bulgaria. Deleanos and Tei-
chomeros agreed to act as allies, and divide the territory
from which they might be able to expel the Byzantine
officers; but when the two Sclavonian armies formed a junc-
tion, Deleanos succeeded in persuading the soldiers to put
Teichomeros to death in order to preserve the unity of the
kingdom.
The rebels were now sufficiently powerful to advance against
Thessalonica, where the Emperor Michael had fixed his
residence, in order to pay his devotions at the celebrated
shrine of St. Demetrius. Alarmed at the threatening aspect of
the revolution, and the unprepared state of the central authori-
ties in Macedonia and Greece, he hastened to Constantinople
to expedite warlike preparations, leaving a Bulgarian named
Ibatzes in charge of his baggage, with orders to follow him to
the capital. Ibatzes fied to Deleanos, and delivered all the
treasure intrusted to his care to the new monarch. In the
mean time, Alusianos, the younger brother of Ladislas, the last
king of Achrida, witnessing the rapid progress of the rebellion,
and disgusted with the avarice and injustice of the orphano-
trophos, quitted Theodosiopolis, of which he was governor, and
joined Deleanos in his camp at Ostrovos. He was intrusted
with the command of a division of the Bulgarian army, and
ordered to undertake the siege of Thessalonica } where he
conducted his military operations so ill, that he was very soon
defeated by the imperial troops, and lost about 15,000 men.
The splendour of the victory was of course attributed to St.
Demetrius, who was reported to have taken the command of
the Greeks in person. The failure before Thessalonica was in
some degree compensated by the capture of Dyrrachium, which
had already fallen into the hands of Kaukanos, one of the
Bulgarian generals.
While these operations were going on in the north, a Sclavo-
nian army under Anthimos invaded Greece, and endeavoured
to rouse their countrymen in the Peloponnesus to take up
arms. The inhabitants of Thebes, which was then a wealthy
and populous manufacturing city, boldly took the field to
defend the cause of the Greek population, but were defeated
386 Basilian Dynasty
with great loss. 1 The oppressive conduct of the Byzantine
fiscal agents had been so general, that the Greeks were in some
pkces more inclined to favour the Bulgarian revolution than to
support the central government of Constantinople. The people
in the theme of Nicopolis murdered Koutzomytes, the tax-
collector of the province, and invited the Bulgarians to their
assistance, who easily rendered themselves masters of all
western Greece. The city of Naupaktos (Lepanto) was alone
preserved in its allegiance by the presence of its garrison.^ ^
It was fortunate for the Byzantine empire that the political
government of the rebels was directed by men destitute of
talent and honesty, for the minds of the Greek population
were in general so alienated, and the amount of the imperial
forces in Greece was so trifling, that it would not have been a
difficult matter to have subdued the whole country. But in
place of attending to the public cause, Deleanos and Alusknos
turned all their attention to intrigue. The first felt that, if he
could not destroy his rival, he should lose his throne ; and the
other feared that his royal blood and his recent defeat would
cost him his life. At last Alusianos found an opportunity of
seizing the king by treachery, and, putting out his sovereign's
eyes, he assumed the vacant crown. But bred up amidst the
luxuries of Byzantine civilisation, and caring little for Sclavonian
nationality, he preferred enduring the insolence of the orphano-
trophos to encountering the hardships of a revolutionary war.
He deserted his countrymen, resigned the title of king, and
made his peace with the court of Constantinople.
The Emperor Michael IV. was now suffering under a severe
attack of dropsy, in addition to repeated paroxysms of bis old
malady ; but he displayed the greatest energy from the moment
that the Bulgarian rebellion broke out. He was well aware
that he could not hope to survive for any length of time, but
his mind seemed to gain vigour from his anxiety to transmit
the sceptre he held without degradation to his successor. He
assembled an army at Thessalonica, and accompanied its
movements, though his disease had made such progress that
he was lifted from his horse every evening utterly exhausted.
The Bulgarian army, left without a leader by the treachery
1 Cedrentis, 747. The great wealth, commercial enterprise, and high state of culture
at Thebes, during this flourishing period of the Byzantine empire, may be estimated/rpm
the description Benjamin of Tudela gives us of the city subsequently, in a declining
period. It had even then aooo Jewish inhabitants, who were eminent manufacturers of
silk, and purple cloth : and scholars, whose equal was only to be found at Constantinople.
i. 47, edit. Asher.
Period of Conservatism 387
of Alusianos, was defeated and destroyed. The blind Deleanos
and the deserter Ibatzes were both taken prisoners, and in one
campaign the dying emperor reduced all the Bulgarians and
Sclavonians who had taken arms to submission, and restored
tranquillity in Macedonia,.. Epirus, and Greece. This vigorous
and noble conduct closed the reign of Michael He returned
to Constantinople to die.
The people, who looked on his original malady as a divine
judgment, were confirmed in this superstition by the prodigies
they witnessed during his reign. Hailstones fell which killed
men at their work; earthquakes followed one another with
fearful rapidity ; meteors blazed in the sky so bright, that the
stars were rendered invisible at midnight; and a pestilence
visited various parts of the empire with such terrible mortality
that the living found it difficult to bury the dead. 1 Taxation
also began to press with increasing severity on a stationary
society, so that, in spite of Michael's charitable works his
building churches, monasteries, and hospitals his death was
awaited with impatience by his subjects, in the hope that
it would deliver the empire from the effects of divine wrath.
Michael himself participated in the superstition of the people,
and when he felt his end approaching, he retired from the
imperial palace to the monastery of St. Anarghyros, where he
assumed the habit of a monk. He died a few days after, on
the roth of December 1041, having reigned seven years and
eight months. 2
The Empress Zoe now assumed the direction of the adminis-
tration as the lawful heiress of the empire, and in virtue of the
will of her deceased husband, and she attempted to carry on
her government with the assistance of the eunuchs of her
household. But a few days' experience of the toils which
were imposed on the sovereign by the Byzantine system of
administration soon showed her both the inconveniences and
dangers of her position. Though the Athenian Irene had
ruled the empire as absolute mistress for some years, and
several female regents had presided over the government at
different times, still the traditional aversion of the Roman
1 Cedrenus, 735. Walsh, Residence at Constantinople , ii. 332, describes a similar
hail-storm in modern times. The hailstones perforated the tiles of the roof, and were
solid lumps of ice about five inches in circumference.
2 Cedrenus, 749. It was during the reign of Michael IV. that Robert the Devil,
duke of Normandy, visited Constantinople on his pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and re-
buked the pride and insolence of the Byzantine court. The anecdote is given by
Bucange, Gloss, mtd. ft in/. Latinitaiis^ v. " Bancus" Medieval Greece and Tr**
^ 83.
388 Baslllan Dynasty
state to female sway was not entirely extinct 1 Zoe, therefore,
Immediately perceived the necessity of giving the empire a
male sovereign, and she took only three days to choose between
adopting a son or marrying a husband. Michael the^ son of
Stephen, the unlucky governor of Sicily, had been raised to
the rank of Csesar by his uncle Michael IV., and he had the
reputation of being a man of capacity and energy; but his
uncle, who seems to have formed a more correct judgment
of his disposition than the world at large, had seen so much
to distrust in his character that he had excluded him from^all
share of public business, and given him no hope of mounting
the throne as his successor. Zoe, too, displayed more confi-
dence in his talents than in his principles ; for before placing
the crown on his head, she required him to swear in the most
solemn manner that he would ever regard her as his bene-
factress, and treat her as his mother. She also required ^ him
to banish the orphanotrophos, Constantine the domestikos,
and George the protovestiarios. Michael promised everything
and obtained the crown.
But as soon as he felt himself firmly established in power,
he revealed his meanness of soul, and treated his benefactress
with insolence as well as ingratitude. He recalled the orphano-
trophos to his counsels, and conferred on him the high dignity
of despot; but he soon neglected his advice, and placed all
his confidence in Constantine, whom he honoured with the
rank of nobilissimus. 2 He then began to intrigue against the
Patriarch Alexios. After receiving the Patriarch with honour,
and bestowing on him a donation of four Ib. of gold, he ap-
pointed a meeting with him at a monastery on the Bosphorus,
intending to exclude him from the city, and get a new Patriarch
elected during his absence. At last he carried his presumption
so far as to send the Empress Zoe to Prince's Island, and
compel her to adopt the monastic habit. But when the
people heard of this last instance of his ingratitude, which
he had the insolence to announce in a public proclamation,
their fury burst through every restraint. They assailed the
imperial heralds and paraded the city, exclaiming that "the
caulker " had ceased to reign, and that they would scatter his
bones abroad like dust. An assembly was held in the Church
of St. Sophia, to which Theodora was brought from the
monastery of Petrion, and proclaimed empress with her sister.
1 The aversion to female succession is mentioned in the fifth century, on the death
of Theodosius II. Priscus, 151, edit. Bonn. 2 Zonaras, ii. 243.
Period of Conservatism 389
In the mean time the emperor, alarmed at the progress of the
sedition, brought Zoe back to the palace, and attempted to
pacify the people by persuading her to appear at a balcony
overlooking the hippodrome. The sight of Michael, however,
who endeavoured to address the assembly, revived the popular
fury, and preparations were made to storm the palace. The
emperor now showed himself a coward as well as a tyrant, and
wished to fiy to the monastery of Studion. His uncle Con-
stantine, however, made him understand that his only hope
of life was in preserving the throne, and roused him to take
measures for defending the palace.
The attack was made on the following day, and after a long
defence the people, who assaulted it in three divisions from the
hippodrome, the court of guard, and the tchukanisterion,
stormed the palace. 1 Katakalon, who saved Messina, had
just returned from Sicily, and happening to be at the palace,
directed the defensive arrangements, while Constantine the
nobilissimus, assembling all his household in arms, added to
the strength of the guards. 2 The fury of the people over-
came all resistance; but it is said that three thousand were
slain before they forced their entrance into the interior of the
building. 8 Everything was then plundered, and the public
registers were destroyed. Michael V. and his uncle Constan-
tine succeeded in escaping to the monastery of Studion during
the confusion. Zoe immediately assumed the ensigns of the
imperial power, and endeavoured to force her sister Theodora
back into retirement, but the senate and people insisted that
the two sisters should reign conjointly. Though Zoe was
eager to tyrannise over her sister, she showed a disposition
to spare her own tyrant Michael. She was, however, com-
pelled by Theodora and the senate to join in his condemna-
tion, for the populace shouted incessantly, " Let him be
impaled, let him be crucified, let his eyes be put out! n
Officers were therefore sent to drag him from his asylum and
1 The tzukan was the favourite game of Byzantine gentlemen. Every city had its
tchukanisterion. Ducange, Glossarivm tned. et inf. Grasdt&tis ; and Medieval Greece
and Trg&izottd, 391.
2 Cedrenus, 751. The wealth accumulated by Constantine in the public service,
which could enable him to arm a numerous household, shows us how much the Roman
aristocratical organisation of society still existed in the Byzantine empire.
* It may be remarked that the Byzantine historians generally report "that it is said
three thousand persons perished" in every sedition. The number alludes to the three
thousand Israelites slain by the Levites, who rushed through the camp with drawn
swords to avenge the idolatry of the golden calf. Exodus, xxxii. 28. The Seftuagint
and the Iliad were the principal sources of literary inspiration at Constantinople for
some centuries.
390 Basllian Dynasty
put out his eyes. When placed beside his uncle in the Sigma
to suffer his sentence, he meanly entreated the executioners
to put out the eyes of Constantine first; and that daring
eunuch submitted to the punishment with the greatest firm-
ness, while the dethroned emperor excited the contempt of
the people by his cries and moans. They were then sent
to pass the remainder of their lives as monks in the monastery
of Elegmos. Michael the Caulker sate on the imperial throne
four months and five days. 1
The joint government of Zoe and Theodora lasted less than
two months. We need not wonder, therefore, that it is praised
by all historians, for the salutary effects of a violent display
of popular indignation were sure to extend over the whole
period. Byzantine officials moderated their exactions in
alarm, and the two empresses were reminded by the empty
chambers of their palace that public opinion was not always
to be despised with impunity. In order to secure the support
of the imperial council of state, and of the municipality of
Constantinople or of the Roman senate and people, as these
bodies proudly styled themselves numerous promotions were
made and large donations lavished. An ordinance was pub-
lished prohibiting the sale of official situations, for this species
of traffic had been rendered an ordinary source of revenue by
the eunuchs of the imperial household, who had possessed
tkemselves of most of the highest offices of the state. At
the same time strict orders were issued to enforce the adminis-
tration of justice with impartiality, and to restrain oppressive
conduct on the part of the fiscal agents of government.
The unprincipled manner in which the adventurers and
eunuchs, who had been introduced into the public service
since the death of Basil II., appropriated the funds in the
imperial treasury to their own use, deserves particular notice.
Great deficiencies were detected in the accounts of the short
financial administration of the nobilissimus Constantine; and
the ministers of Zoe and Theodora found it necessary to ex-
amine him personally, in order to discover how the money had
been employed. The blind monk, knowing that he had no
chance of ever quitting the monastery in which he was con-
fined, candidly informed the new ministers that he had ab-
stracted the sum of 5300 lb. of gold from the treasury for his
own use, and deposited it in a vaulted cistern attached to his
palace, near the Church of the Holy Apostles. 2
1 Cedrenus, 751. Zonaras, ii. 146. 2 Ccdrenus, 753.
Period of Conservatism 391
The two sisters appeared always together at the meetings of
the senate, and when they held courts of justice, or gave public
audiences ; but it was evident their union would not prove of
long duration. Zoe was jealous of her sister, and though she
was eager to be relieved of the burden of public business,
she was determined not to allow Theodora to conduct it alone
probably the more so, because Theodora showed great ap-
titude in state affairs, and took great pleasure in performing
her administrative duties. Zoe, therefore, bethought herself
of looking out for a third husband, to whom she might resign
the throne, and thus deprive her sister of the influence she
was rapidly acquiring. Zoe was now sixty-two years old, and,
the age of passion having passed away, her memory reverted
to the merits of Constantine Dalassenos, who had been
destined by her father to be tier first husband. She invited
that proud noble to an interview in the imperial palace, in
order to judge of his character before revealing her purpose.
But hi place of the splendid and gallant nobleman of her
imagination, she met a stern old man, who expressed strongly
his disapprobation of the whole system of the imperial ad-
ministration since the death of Basil II. ; who openly blamed
the vices of the court, and hardly concealed his contempt for
her own conduct. Such a husband might have infused new
vigour into the lethargic system of government, but Zoe was
not inclined to submit her actions to the control of so severe
a master. 1
She turned, therefore, to one of her former lovers, Constan-
tine Artoklinas ; but when his wife heard of the honour to
which he was destined, she displayed none of the meekness
of the wife of Romanus III. Artoklinas suddenly sickened
and died, and his wife was supposed to have poisoned him,
either from jealousy, or from her aversion to be immured in
a convent Zoe was easily consoled. She again selected an
old admirer, Constantine Monomachos, who had been banished
to Mitylene by the jealousy of Michael IV., but recalled on
the accession of Zoe and Theodora, and named Judge of
Greece. 2 A swift-rowing galley was despatched to convey him
to the capital, where, on his arrival, he was invested with the
1 Zonaras, il. 246.
2 Ducang
" The epithe
surname, and hadi'no more relation to the qualities of the individual than the surnames
of Skleros, Kekaumenos, and many others of the same period, or than Champion 01
Boxer in the present day.
392 Basliian Dynasty
Imperial robes. His marriage with Zoe was celebrated by one
of the clergy, for the Patriarch Alexios declined officiating at
a third marriage of the empress, which was doubly uncanonical,
since both the bridegroom and the bride had been twice mar-
ried. Nevertheless, on the day after the marriage ceremony,
the Patriarch crowned the emperor with the usual solemnities.
The reign of Constantine IX. demands more attention from
the historian of the Byzantine empire than the worthless char-
acter of the man or the feeble policy of his cabinet appears
at first glance to require. It typifies the moral degradation
into which Byzantine society had fallen, for his vices were
tolerated, if not approved of, by a large portion of his sub-
jects. His open profligacy expresses the immorality of the
age; his profusion indicated the general manner of living
among all classes of his subjects; and while he destroyed
the civil organisation of the government, and undermined
the discipline of the Roman armies, they wasted the national
capital and diminished the resources of the empire.
The domestic profligacy of Zoe had been concealed from
the public by the household of eunuchs that surrounded her,
and by whom the inhabitants of the pakce were kept com-
pletely separated from the world without its walls. But her
third husband, Constantine Monomachos, was so indifferent to
all feelings of self-respect as to make an open parade of his
vices at the public ceremonies of the court. After he had
buried two wives, he obtained the favour of a beautiful young
widow belonging to the powerful and wealthy family of Skier os.
She was the granddaughter of that celebrated Bardas, who
had disputed the empire with Basil II., and the daughter
of Romanes Skleros, the brother-in-law of^ the Emperor
Romanus III. The eminence of her family eclipsed the name
of her husband, and she was called Skleraina. Infatuated by
love for Constantine Monomachos, she openly assumed the
position of his mistress, and shared his banishment at Mitylene.
It is, however, only justice to the character of the fair Skleraina
to observe that, in the opinion of the bigoted members of
the Greek church, her position of mistress, as being less un-
canonical, was more respectable than it would have been had
she become the third wife of her lover. When Zoe raised
Constantine to the throne, he bargained to retain his mistress,
and the people of Constantinople were treated to the singular
spectacle of an emperor of the Romans making his public
appearance with two female companions dignified with the title
Period of Conservatism 393
of empress, one as his wife and the other as his mistress.
Skleraina was regularly saluted with the title of Augusta, and
installed in apartments in the palace, with a separate court as
empress, and a rank equal to that held by Theodora. Zoe and
she lived together on the best terms, and the want of jealousy
of the aged wife is less surprising than her want of self-respect,
The disposition of the beautiful Skleraina was extremely
amiable, and she was respected to a certain degree for the
constancy of her attachment to her lover in his misfortunes,
which contrasted with the behaviour of Zoe, who had never
allowed any passion, however violent, to retain permanent hold
of her heart. She soon lost whatever popularity she enjoyed
with the people, on account of the lavish expenditure of the
emperor. She had possessed an ample fortune when Con-
stantine was an impoverished exile, and her wealth had
been consumed to gratify her lover's luxurious habits. The
good-natured sensualist now strove to repay Skleraina with un-
bounded liberality. Her apartments were rendered more
splendid than any Constantinople had yet seenj her elegant
manners created round her a graceful court, which seemed
more brilliant from its contrast with the dull ceremony that
reigned in the apartments of Zoe and Theodora. As the
populace can rarely be so completely corrupted in their moral
feelings as their superiors, the extravagant expenditure of the
emperor on his concubine awakened the public indignation.
They felt the financial oppression more grievous when they
saw their money employed to insult their feelings, and they
began to fancy that the lives of Zoe and Theodora might be in
danger in a palace where vice was honoured, and where secret
murder was supposed to be an ordinary occurrence.
Constantine IX. had pursued his career of voluptuous
extravagance for two years, without a thought of his duties
either to God or to his subjects, when he was suddenly
awakened to a sense of the danger of his situation by a furious
sedition of the people. On the feast of the Forty Martyrs it
was usual for the emperor to walk in solemn procession to the
Church of our Saviour in Chalke, from whence he proceeded
on horseback to the Church of the Martyrs. But as the^pro-
cession was about to move from the palace, a cry was raised,
"Down with Skleraina; we will not have her for empress!
Zoe and Theodora are our mothers we will not allow them to
be murdered ! " The fury of the populace was ungovernable,
and they made an attempt to lay hands on the emperor, to
394 Basllian Dynasty
tear him to pieces. Many persons were trodden to death in
the tumult, and Constantine was in imminent danger of his life,
when the sudden appearance of Zoe and Theodora at a
balcony drew off the attention of the crowd, and allowed the
emperor to escape. The sisters assured the people that they
were not in the smallest danger, and as no leaders stepped for-
ward to direct the populace, tranquillity was easily restored ;
but the emperor did not accompany the procession to the
Church of the Forty Martyrs in the year I044. 1
There are some articles in the expenditure of Constan-
tine IX. which indicate that he lived in an enlightened age,
and reigned over a civilised people. To solace his conscience,
he constructed houses of reruge for the aged and hospitals for
the poor, as well as monasteries and churches for the clergy.
He also raised the most distinguished literary men of his time
to high offices. 2 He completed the rebuilding the Church
of the Holy Sepulchre at Jerusalem, and augmented the
endowments of the clergy of St. Sophia's, in order that service
might be performed with due pomp every day. 3
In order to fill the treasury, when he had drained it by his
lavish expenditure, he adopted a measure which proved ruinous
to the empire, and was an immediate cause of the success of
the Seljouk Turks in Asia Minor. The frontier provinces of
the East had been exempted from the payment of direct taxes
to the central government, and the dependent states in alliance
with the empire in that quarter had been relieved from tribute,
on the condition of maintaining bodies of regular militia
constantly under arms, to defend their territories. Constan-
tine IX. consented to relieve them from these obligations, on
their paying a sum of money into his exhausted treasury. By
this impolitic proceeding, an army of fifty thousand men on the
Iberian and Armenian frontiers was disbanded, and the Asiatic
provinces left open to the invasion of the Seljouk Turks,
whose power was rapidly increasing. The money remitted to
Constantinople was quickly despatched in luxury and vice. 4
The death of the Patriarch Alexios, who died in the year
1043, after having ruled the Byzantine church upwards of
1 Cedrenus, 761. gih March.
2 Michael Constantine Psellos, who for his much scribbling was called TtoXo-
ypa<j>&TO,TOS 9 and who was really the last man of superior learning Constantinople
produced, was raised to office by Constantine IX. and took a considerable part in public
affairs until the death of Michael VII. Schoell, Gcschichte der Griecft. Littcratur
von Finder , in. 269, 4x9.
* The friendly relations that existed between Constantine IX. and the court of the
Fatimite caliph is noticed by Cedrenus, 789. * Cedrenus, 790. Zonaras, ii. *6o
Period of Conservatism 395
seventeen years with some reputation, afforded a sad confirma-
tion of the depraved state of society, and the frightful extent
to which avarice had corrupted the Eastern clergy. The
emperor, who knew that the Patriarch had heaped up con-
siderable sums of money in a monastery he had constructed,
sent and seized this treasure, which was found to amount to the
sum of 2500 Ib. of gold. 1 Michael Keroularios, who had
been compelled to enter a monastery on account of the part he
had taken in a conspiracy against Michael IV., was appointed
Patriarch, and distinguished himself by his violent proceedings
in the disagreement between the sees of Rome and Constan-
tinople.
Theodora, though by her sister's marriage she was deprived
of all direct influence over the administration, still possessed
the power of violating the law with impunity. John the
orphanotrophos was seized by her order while living tranquilly
in banishment at Marykatos, and deprived of sight. It was
said by some that this cruel deed was executed without the
emperor's permission, but others attributed it to revenge on
the part of Constantine, who ascribed his long exile at Mity-
lene to the malice of the orphanotrophos. We must re-
collect, however, that Theodora was of a sterner and more
unforgiving temper than her brother-in-law, and that she had
probably good reason for complaining of the conduct of the
orphanotrophos, even when he was minister of Romanus III.
In any case, it is a sufficient proof of the disorganisation of
the administration that the act is ascribed to Theodora by
Zonaras, who was himself a minister, and that it was inflicted
without even the formality of a legal sentence. 2
A weak and lavish court, surrounded by a proud and
wealthy aristocracy, under the government of an absolute
sovereign, is the hotbed of rebellion. Constantine IX. had
ascended the throne, without any merit of his own, by the
shameless preference of a worthless old woman. It is not
surprising, therefore, that many nobles should have attempted
to wrench the sceptre from his hand ; but it is a strong proof
of the original excellence of the organisation of the Byzantine
system of administration that all these attempts proved un-
successful. The conservative tendencies of society, which
had grown out of the system of government, presented a
1 Cedrenus, 758. Zonaras, li. 250. It is important to notice these large sums
accumulated in private hands, in the"Byzantine empire, at a time when the wealthiest
sovereign of Western Europe could with difficulty extort from his subjects the smallest
sums, 2 Zonaras, ii. 251. Cedrenus, 758,
396 BasIIIan Dynasty
passive resistance to all revolutionary endeavours to disturb
the established order of things. A sedition in Cyprus, how-
ever, occurred even before Constantine IX, mounted the
throne. No sooner was it known throughout the ^ empire that
Michael V. had been dethroned by a popular insurrection,
and that the government of Zoe and Theodora was not likely
to prove of long duration, than Theophilos ^Erotikos, the
governor of Cyprus, formed the project of gaining possession
of that rich island for himself during the threatened con-
fusion. Theophilos was a turbulent and presumptuous man,
of ability far inferior to his ambition. Two years previous^to
his rebellion in Cyprus he had been driven from Servia, which
he then governed, by Stephen Bogislav; he now incited the
people to attack Theophylaktos, the intendant of finance, on
the ground that this officer collected the taxes with undue
.rigour. Theophylaktos was slain, and the governor expected
that, in removing a check on his plot, he had succeeded in
compromising the inhabitants so far as to secure their support
to his ambitious project. Constantine IX., however, im-
mediately on assuming the government, despatched a force to
suppress the revolt, and as the Cypriots had no idea of waging
war against the central government at Constantinople, or of
aiding Theophilos to assume the imperial crown, they offered
no resistance, and the governor was arrested and sent a
prisoner to the capital. The insurrection was considered so
contemptible that Theophilos was exhibited to the people at
the public games in a female dress, and escaped with the
confiscation of his estates.
The rebellion of Maniakes, which occurred in the first year
of the reign of Constantine IX., would in all probability
have deprived him of the throne, had it not been suddenly
terminated by one of those strokes of fortune by which
Heaven deranges the wisest plans and destroys the most
powerful expeditions. Maniakes was released from confine-
ment at the death of Michael IV., and reappointed to the
command of the Byzantine possessions in Italy. He found
the Italians everywhere in rebellion, and the chief military
power in the hands of the Norman mercenaries, who had
formed themselves into an independent community : the cities
of Bari, Brindisi, Otranto, and Tarento were alone occupied
by Byzantine garrisons. The moment Maniakes landed, he
commenced his military operations with the vigour and skill
for which he was so remarkable. He defeated the Normans
Period of Conservatism 397
in a well-contested battle between Monopoli and Matera;
and as these two towns had shown a hostile disposition, he
allowed them to be plundered by his troops, and even ordered
two hundred of the principal inhabitants of the latter to be
decapitated for favouring the Normans. The animosity be-
tween the Greeks and Italians was now so violent that the
success of the Normans and the separation of the two churches
were produced rather by the hatred of the parties than by
the superior valour of the Normans, or by any religious argu-
ments of the clergy. Though the Italians were destitute of
the virtue and endurance necessary to gain their independence,
they possessed at this time an able and active leader, Arghyros,
the son of Mel, and it was In moral far more than in military
qualities that they were inferior to the northern mercenaries.
The progress of Maniakes was suddenly arrested by the
news that Constantine Monomachos, the lover of Skleraina,
was named emperor, for Maniakes was engaged In violent
contests with her brother, Romanes Skleros, concerning the
limits of their hereditary estates in Asia Minor. Romanes,
who had the courage to contend personally with the fiery
Maniakes, as his father had contended with Prusianos, the
Bulgarian prince, had received some deep insults, for which
he now avenged himself by seducing his enemy's wife and
seizing the disputed property. Maniakes knew that there
was no hope of obtaining justice from the emperor, over
whom Skleraina exercised unbounded influence; he resolved,
therefore, to administer justice in his own cause. He im-
mediately recruited his army with all the Norman and other
mercenaries he was able to collect in Italy, and proclaimed
himself emperor. Constantine IX., the moment he heard
of the rebellion, sent an officer with a body of troops to
arrest Maniakes, expecting that it would be as easy to do so
on this occasion as it had proved in Sicily. But Maniakes
fell on the Byzantine troops at the moment of their arrival,
routed them, and, gaining possession of the treasure they had
brought, embarked his own army at Otranto, and knded at
Dyrrachium, in the month of February, 1043. The emperor
sent an army, under the command of one of Zoe's eunuchs,
named Stephen, to arrest the progress of the rebel. Maniakes,
despising the unwarlike character of his opponent, attacked
the imperial army near Ostrovos. His charge bore down
everything, and victory seemed assured to his standard, when
an arrow from an unknown hand pierced him to the heart.
398 Basilian Dynasty
His death left his followers without a cause, as well as without
a leader, and they instantly retired from the field of battle.
The Norman, Frank, and Italian mercenaries in the rebel
army entered the Byzantine service, and continued for many
years to make a prominent figure in the wars of the empire, 1
The victorious eunuch made his public entry into Constanti-
nople mounted on a white charger, with the head of Maniakes
borne before him on a lance.
Stephen's accidental success awakened his ambition, and
when he found, on his return to the capital, that the emperor
did not estimate his services as highly as he considered was
their due, he began to plot against him. He selected Leo,
the governor of Melitene, as the future emperor, but his
intrigues were discovered. Leo and his son Lampros were
deprived of sight, but Stephen was only immured in a
monastery after his estates were confiscated.
In the year 1047, Constantine IX. was again in danger of
losing his throne by the rebellion of his own relation, Leo
Tornikios. The character of Leo rendered him extremely
popular at Adrianople, where he resided. To remove him
from the seat of his influence, the emperor named him
governor of Iberia, where he was soon accused of aspiring to
the throne. Constantine IX., jealous of his talents and
popularity, ordered him to resign his governorship and adopt
the monastic life; but the friends of Tornikios put him on
his guard in time to enable him to escape to Adrianople,
where he was immediately proclaimed emperor. At the head
of the garrison of that city, and such motley forces as he
could assemble on the spur of the occasion, he marched to
Constantinople. He hoped to render himself master of the
capital by the favour of the citizens, counting more on their
aversion to the emperor's conduct than on the military force
under his own orders. But the inhabitants feared a military
revolution far more than they hated their sovereign. Con-
stantine also, on receiving the first information of the revolt,
despatched orders to a Saracen eunuch, who commanded a
corps of Byzantine troops in Iberia, to march rapidly to the
capital, with all the forces he could concentrate on the way.
Tornikios encamped before the walls in the month of
September, and being unable to invest the line of the forti-
1 These mercenaries formed at first a corps called Maniakatoi. /. Skylitzx Curo-
jalatcz Historic at the end of Cedrenus, 854. Their numbers were considerable in the
army of Nicephorus Bnennius, defeated by the Emperor Alexius, during the reign of
Kicephorus III. (Botaneiates) in the year 1078.- Anna Comnena, u.
Period of Conservatism 399
fications from the port to the Sea of Marmora, established
himself before the gate of Blachern. The emperor, who, in
spite of his warlike surname, was utterly ignorant of military
affairs, ordered a party of a thousand men to intrench them-
selves outside this gate. The operation was undertaken
against the advice of his military counsellors; and, to see
the result of his own tactics, the emperor pkced himself in a
balcony overhanging the walls, in mil view of the position of
his advanced, guard. Tornikios immediately took advantage
of the imperial folly ; he stormed the intrenchment, and the
rebel archers, sending a flight of arrows at the balcony, com-
pelled the emperor and his court to abandon their position
with ludicrous celerity, amidst the derisive cheers of the
citizens as well as of the enemy. But Tornikios, proud of
the day's^ exploit, and trusting always to the delusive hope
that the inhabitants would open the gates, dekyed pressing
the assault as the fugitives were entering within the walls.
Next day, when he found the people would hold no com-
munication with him, he ordered a general assault. The
garrison had employed the whole night in making prepara-
tions to meet it ; and as the defence was intrusted to ex-
perienced officers, and the citizens supported the regular
troops, to save their property from the danger to which it
would be exposed if a victorious enemy entered the city,
Tornikios was defeated with considerable loss. He now
found it necessary to raise the siege and retire to Arcadiopolis.
Shortly after, he attacked the city of Rhedestos, and, the
bishop keeping the inhabitants firm in their allegiance, he
was again defeated. His cause now became desperate; for
the news reaching his camp that the Asiatic troops had arrived
at Constantinople, his followers quitted his standard, and he
was forced to seek refuge in a church, from which he was
taken by force, and sent to the emperor in chains. On
Christmas eve he was deprived of his sight.
In the year 1050, several nobles of distinction were accused
of conspiring to dethrone the emperor. The accusation may
have been nothing more than a court intrigue or a fiscal
measure, for only one was punished by the confiscation of
his estates. 1
Another plot shows the contemptible condition to which
the imperial power had fallen in the estimation of the courtiers.
Boilas, a man of low birth, had gained the favour of Con-
1 Cedrenus, 786.
400 Basilian Dynasty
stantine IX. by Ms talents for buffoonery and his capacity for
business* He amused the emperor by his wit, and relieved
him from much embarrassment by his application. Boilas
being utterly destitute of all principle, and possessing little
judgment with a daring character, conceived the preposterous
idea of making himself emperor. He knew that he was fitter
to fill the throne than the reigning emperor, and he thought
the court so worthless that he expected to succeed in his
design. He applied to several persons in high office to secure
their assistance, and found intriguers and malcontents who
were willing to make him an instrument in their hands, while
he believed he was using them as the servants of his own
ambition. The conspiracy was revealed on the very^ night it
had been resolved to assassinate Constantine; but it seems
the emperor was never persuaded that his favourite was really
guilty, for he soon restored him to his office, in order to enjoy
his buffoonery. 1
The reign of Basil II. marks the summit of the military
power of the Byzantine empire. In the reign of ^ Con-
stantine IX. the first traces of decay are visible in the military
system, which, for three centuries and a half, had upheld a
standing army equal to the Saracen forces in the East, and
superior to any troops the nations of Europe had been able
to maintain permanently in the field. The alliance of the
. Servians and Armenians was now lost ; the Normans were
allowed to acquire an independent existence in Italy; and
though the Russians and Patzinaks were defeated, the Seljouk
Turks began to undermine the whole fabric of the Byzantine
power in Asia.
The disorders which attended the dethronement of Michael
V. induced Stephen Bogislav, the sovereign of Seryia, to
invade Illyria and Macedonia, from which he carried off
immense booty, ravaging the country like a wild beast rather
than a man. 2 Constantine IX., in order to prevent his repeat-
ing his depredations, ordered the governor of Dyrrachium to
march into Servia with a large body of troops the garrisons
of all the neighbouring themes that could be immediately
concentrated; and it was pretended that the army consisted
of sixty thousand men. 3 The general, ignorant of military
science, trusted entirely to his numbers, which the Servians
were unable to resist in the open field. He pushed carelessly
1 A patrician named Boilas attempted to mount the throne in the reign of Romauus 1.
S*e pag tiz. 2 Zonaras, ii. 348. 3 Cedrenus, 757.
Period of Conservatism 401
forward Into the heart of the country, ravaging everything
around, and collecting booty, until he involved himself in the
mountainous district, full of narrow defiles and rugged roads.
As no enemy was to be found, he here gave the order to
return to Dyrrachium; but no sooner was the retreat com-
menced than the Servians resumed their activity, and Stephen
suddenly beset the passes with his army. The head and rear
of the Byzantine columns were assailed at the sama time, the
march Yas delayed, and the booty lost. The Byzantine
general, incapable of combining the movements of his different
divisions for their mutual support, and his lieutenants, ignorant
of one another's movements, were thrown into inextricable
confusion. A general attack of the Servians in one of the
mountain passes completed the rout of the army, and, if
we believe the Byzantine writers, seven generals and forty
thousand men perished in this expedition. 1
We have already seen that the social condition of the in-
habitants of Russia in the preceding century was considerably
more advanced than that of the people in western Europe.
Their commerce with the Byzantine empire, which had been
one of the causes of their progress in wealth and civilisation,
was greatly extended during the present century; and after
the conquest of Cherson, and the decay of that flourishing
city, a considerable number of Russian merchants established
themselves at Constantinople. The influence of these traders
soon became very great, for, besides the regular trade they
carried on between the north and south, they also acted as
bankers for the Varangian and Russian mercenaries in the
Byzantine service, and as agents for many Bulgarian and
Sclavonian landed proprietors, whose produce they purchased.
About the commencement of the year 1043, it happened that
a Russian of rank was slain in a tumult, and the sovereign of
Kief, Yaroslaf, deemed it a favourable occasion for making
conquests in the Byzantine territory, as the Normans had
done in France, and the Danes in England. The Emperor
Constantine in vain offered all reasonable satisfaction; the
Northmen and the Russians were determined to try the for-
tune of war, for they wanted to obtain something very different
from indemnity for the consequences of a tumult in the streets
of Constantinople. An expedition, composed of Varangians
1 The Servians are sometimes called Tribalii, and sometimes mentioned in conjunc-
tion with the Tribalii, that name being applied to the Sclavomans generally. Cedrenus,
754. ZonaraSj ii. 248. Laon. Chalcocondylas, 17.
402 Basllian Dynasty
and Russians, under the command of Vladimir, son of Yaroslaf,
who had been elected prince of Novgorod by his father's
influence, and Viuchata, as his counsellor and lieutenant-
general, crossed the Black Sea, The commerce of Russia
was a matter of so much importance to the capital, the
Varangians and Russian mercenaries formed so valuabb a part
of the imperial land-forces, and the indolent Constantine was
so averse to war, that he made a sacrifice of the punctilio of
Byzantine diplomacy, and again demanded peace when the
hostile armament appeared off the entrance of the Bcsphorus.
But the Russians, bent on plunder and conquest, rejected
peace, unless the emperor would engage to pay three pounds 7
weight of gold to each soldier in the expedition.
Constantine now made active preparations for repulsing the
attack on his capital. He had already arrested all the Russian
merchants and soldiers in the empire, and sent them into
distant themes, to be guarded as prisoners until the TOT should
be terminated. The greater part of the Byzantine fleet was
either absent in the Archipelago or employed on the coast of
Italy y but the ships in the port of Constantinople were pre-
pared for sea ; and their size, as well as the use of Greek fire,
gave them such a superiority over the boats of the Russians
that the sailors were eager for a battle. The first naval en-
gagement proved indecisive, and the Russians contrived to
destroy a part of the Greek fleet which separated from the
main squadron; but in another action the Russians suffered
great loss, and a storm shortly after completed the ruin of their
enterprise. In landing to plunder, their troops were also
defeated. On their retreat, a second storm overtook them in
passing Varna, and their losses were so great that, according to
the^ accounts of their own historians, fifteen thousand men
perished. Three years elapsed before peace was re-established,
but a treaty was then concluded, and the trade at Constanti-
nople placed on the old footing. 1 From this period the alliance
of the Russians with the Byzantine empire was long uninter-
rupted ; and as the Greeks became more deeply imbued with
ecclesiastical prejudices, and more hostile to the Latin nations,
the^ Eastern church became, in their eyes, the symbol of their
nationality, and the bigoted attachment of the Russians to
the same religious formalities obtained for them from the
Byzantine Greeks the appellation of the most Christian nation, 2
Zonaras ' "' a5 *' Chroniquf <te Ntstor, par Paris, L 178.
Period of Conservatism 403
The Patzinaks, who still occupied the whole country from
the Dnieper to the Danube, had not repeated the ravages they
committed in the year 1036. They were occupied by wars
with the Russians and with the Uzes, a nomadic nation of
Turkish race like themselves, but who proved their irrecon-
cilable enemies. 1 Tyrach was at this time king of the Pat-
zinaks, and Keghenes, a man whose merits as a soldier had
raised him to rank, commanded the army. The fame of the
general excited the envy of the king, and Keghenes was forced
to seek shelter in the Byzantine empire, to which he retired
with a numerous body of followers. 2 From an island in the
Danube, near Dorystolon, in which he had intrenched himself,
the Patzinak general solicited permission to enter the empire,
and Constantine IX., well pleased to gain the services of so
distinguished a warrior, gave orders that he should be honour-
ably received. Keghenes embraced the Christian religion,
and received the title of a Roman patrician. His followers
were established in forts on the banks of the Danube, where
they employed themselves in plundering the country they had
quitted. Tyrach called on the emperor to restrain these forays,
but, finding his reclamations neglected, he took advantage of
the severe winter of 1048 to cross the Danube on the ice, and
invade the empire with a numerous army. 3 Bulgaria was
ravaged, but the sudden changes of plenty and privation to
which the invaders were compelled to submit spread disease
through their ranks. The followers of Keghenes and the
Byzantine troops concentrated round them, their numbers
were thinned by disease, famine, and incessant attacks, until
Tyrach and his whole surviving army were compelled to sur-
render at discretion. Keghenes urged the Byzantine generals
to put all their prisoners to death, observing that it was wise
to kill the viper when he was benumbed, lest the returning
warmth of the sun should enable him to escape and use his
venom ; but the Byzantine empire was too civilised for such
an act of wholesale inhumanity, and the captive soldiers were
1 The Uzes, Uzu, or Uzi, seem to be a cognate nation of the Kumans. Little Js known
of the race and language of the Patzinaks. Cedrenus calls them royal Scythians, and
says they were divided into thirteen tribes. 775.
2 Cedrenus, 776. Twenty thousand men are reported to have accompanied
Keghenes.
~3 Cedrenus says there was a Byzantine fleet of a hundred triremes, as he pedantically
terms river-craft, stationed on the Danube, to prevent the passage of the barbarians.
777,. Keghenes had derived his greatest profits from the sale of the young women and
children he captured as slaves in the Byzantine empire. This shows the great extent of
the slave-trade at this period ; and it is not improbable that nearly all domestic servants
throughout the cities were slaves.
404 Basilian Dynasty
established as agricultural colonists on waste lands near Bar
dica and Naissos. It had always been one of the problems in
the Roman empire how to find the means of filling up the
drain of the native population that time seemed perpetually
to sweep away with unsparing activity. The king and many
of the Patzinak nobles were sent to Constantinople, where
they embraced Christianity, and were well treated by the
emperor.
In the mean time fifteen thousand of the ablest soldiers
were selected from among the prisoners, enrolled in the Byzan-
tine army, and sent to join the troops on the Armenian frontier,
where an army was preparing to encounter a threatened attack
of the Seljouk Turks under Togralbeg. This body of Pat-
zinaks was placed under the command of the patrician Con-
stantine Artovalan, but was formed into four divisions under
native officers. On reaching Damatrys, Kataleim, one of the
Patzinak generals, persuaded his countrymen to attempt forcing
their way home. A rapid march enabled them to reach the
Bosphorus 5 but when they arrived at the monastery of St.
Taraslos, on the narrowest part of the straits, they found no
boats to cross into Europe. Kataleim immediately arranged
a body of cavalry in order, and plunged into the stream at
their head. A sufficiency of boats was easily secured on the
European side, and the whole army transported over. With-
out any delay they pushed on to Sardica and Naissos, where
they were joined by their countrymen, who had been estab-
lished in that country as agricultural colonists, and then,
hastening to the banks of the Danube, they occupied a strong
position near the mouth of the river Osmos. They also formed
a second camp at a place called the Hundred Hills, and from
these stations plundered the districts in their vicinity.
On hearing of this daring movement, the emperor sum-
moned Keghenes and his followers to Constantinople. As
these troops lay encamped without the walls waiting for
orders, three Patzinaks attempted to assassinate Keghenes,
but were secured after inflicting on him some severe wounds.
When brought before the emperor, they accused Keghenes of
treasonable correspondence with the fugitives, and Constantine,
with suspicious timidity, gave credit to their improbable story,
and ordered Keghenes to be put under arrest. The immediate
consequence of this false step was, that the followers of the
arrested general fled and joined their countrymen, who had
advanced to the neighbourhood of Adrianople. The emperor
Period of Conservatism 405
in his alarm released Tyrach, the Patzmak king, on receiving
his oath to reduce his countrymen to obedience; but that
monarch, on ^regaining his liberty, laid aside his Christianity,
repudiated his promises, and pkced himself at the head of a
ppwerful^ army, eager to avenge his former defeat Two Byzan-
tine armies were routed with great slaughter.
Great exertions were used to assemble another army in order
to repress the ravages of the Patzinaks, who were devastating
all the country between the Danube and Adrianople. Nice-
phorus Bryennios took the command at the head of the Frank
and Varangian mercenaries, and the Asiatic cavalry from
Telouch, CiHcia, and Mesopotamia. Keghenes was restored
to favour, and sent to negotiate terms of peace with his coun-
trymen. The military operations circumscribed the forays of
the enemy, and the Byzantine army surprised and destroyed
a number of the Patzinaks at Chariopolis; but Keghenes,
trusting himself among his countrymen, was treacherously
murdered. After many vicissitudes, the Patzinaks were forced
to retreat, and concluded a truce for thirty years. 1
In Italy the affairs of the empire went to rain after the
departure of Maniakes. Constantine IX. favoured Arghyros
because he had opposed Maniakes, and that chief rendered
himself virtually independent, and assumed the title of Prince
of Bari and Duke of Apulia. The Normans, taking advantage
of the intrigues and dissensions that prevailed, quitted their
profession of mercenaries for that of feudal chieftains, and by
taking such a part in the wars between Arghyros and Guaimar,
prince of Salerno, as their own interests dictated, they succeeded
in forming their captains into a confederation of territorial
barons, under a leader, who became count of Apulia. Then: pro-
gress excited the alarm of the emperor of Constantinople, the
emperor of Germany, and the Pope ; but their services were so
often in requisition by powerful rivals, and their conduct was
so prudent, that they prevented any coalition of their enemies
which might have crushed them in their early career. The
Byzantine troops were defeated, the intrigues of the emperor of
Germany were baffled, Pope Leo IX., who ventured to appeal
to arms, was beaten and taken prisoner j while the victors, as
pious as politic, purchased the support of the See of Rome
from their captive by offering to hold all then: conquests as a
fief of St. Peter's chair. The schism of the Greek and Latin
churches, which broke out with great animosity about this
1 Cedrenus, 790.
406 Basilian Dynasty
time, increased the aversion of the Italians to Byzantine
domination, and tended quite as much as the military su-
periority of the Norman troops to give stability to their
government
The capture of Otranto by the Normans under Robert
Guiscard, in the year 1055, maybe considered as the termina-
tion of the Greek power in Italy.
While the Byzantine empire was beginning to exhibit symp-
toms of decline in the West, Constantine IX. added to its
territories in the East by destroying the Armenian kingdom of
the Bagratians, which had long acted a brilliant part in the
military history of Asia. 1 No act, however, could have been
more unnecessary or imprudent than the annexation of the city
of Ani, the last capital of Armenian independence, to the
empire, for the whole of the Byzantine frontier was thus thrown
open to the invasion of the Seljouk Turks, without the barrier
of independent Christian mountaineers that had hung on the
flank of previous invaders. It has been mentioned that the
Emperor Basil II., during his campaign against the Iberians in
1022, compelled Joannes Sembat to sign a treaty ceding, at his
death, Ani and his whole kingdom to the emperor. 2 Con-
stantine IX. considered the moment favourable for calling on
Gagik, the nephew of Joannes, to fulfil the obligations of this
treaty ; and when the Armenian objected, he formed an alliance
with Aboulsewar, the Saracen emir of Tibium (Tovin), and
sent a Byzantine army to attack Ani. The treachery of the
Armenian nobles aided the progress of the Byzantine and
Saracen arms. Gagik, a prince of some ability, finding it use-
less to struggle with so powerful a combination, consulted the
interests of his subjects by submitting to the Christians. On
receiving a safe-conduct for his person, he repaired to plead his
cause before the emperor at Constantinople, and the city of
Ani surrendered to the Byzantine troops, A.D. 1045. Gagik,
finding there was no hope of preserving his ancestral kingdom,
accepted the rank of magistros, and received extensive estates
in Cappadocia. Thus the oldest Christian kingdom was
erased from the list of independent states by a Christian
emperor. The only Armenian district which continued to
preserve its independence between the Byzantines and Sara-
cens was Kars, where Gagik Abas, a member of the family of
the Bagratians, ruled as prince. The Byzantine government
1 At this time Armenian princes governed Sebaste, Karuz, the Gurgars, Iberia, and
2 See page 357,
Period of Conservatism 407
carried its jealousy of the Armenians so far as to compel their
Patriarch, Peter, to quit the city of Ani and take up his
residence at Arzen, from whence they subsequently transferred
him to Constantinople. 1
In the year 1048 the Seljouk Turks attacked the empire.
They were one of the hordes which formed itself out of the
fragments of that great Turkish empire, whose commercial
connection with Constantinople occupied the attention of
Roman statesmen in the time of Justinian. 2 Togralbeg,
called by the Byzantine historians Tangrolipix, was its chief.
The Turkish tribes of central Asia were now acting the part,
in the empire^ of the caliphs of Bagdat, which the Goths
formerly acted in the Roman empire. Under Mahmoud the
Gaznevid, the Turkish hordes which furnished mercenaries to
the caliphs founded for themselves an empire, but the son of
the Gasnevid was defeated by new hordes, who elected Tog-
rulbeg as their chief. This new sovereign, after destroying
the dynasty of the Bowides, became sultan of Persia, and the
limits of his dominions touched the frontiers of the Byzantine
conquests in Armenia. Togrulbeg visited Bagdat, assumed
the title of Defender of the Faith and Protector of the Caliph ;
and when he had rendered himself completely master of the
temporal power at Bagdat, he compelled the haughty caliph to
receive him as a son-in-law, by showing the representative of
the Prophet that he possessed the power of starving him on
his sacred throne.
Eight years before Togrulbeg succeeded in establishing him-
self as a sovereign in Bagdat, he sent his cousin Koutoulmish
to attack the emir of Diarbekir. 3 Koutoulmish was defeated,
and compelled to retreat to the Armenian frontier of Vas-
paroukan, where he solicited permission to pass through the
Byzantine territory, promising to maintain the strictest disci-
pline in his march. The governor of Vasparoukan refused
the request of the defeated general, and prepared to oppose
1 Gagik, the last king of Armenia., was murdered at Cybestra in 1079. The Patriarch
at last obtained permission to reside at Sebaste, where he died in 1060. Chamich,
History of Armenia., by Avdall, ii. 161. Saint Martin, Mmotre$ sur FArtttenu t
i. 421. 2 Greece under the Ro-ma-ns^ 331.
8 The Byzantine historians, Cedrenus, 769 ; Zonaras, ii. 256, erroneously place the
talcing of Bagdat by Togrulbeg before the invasion of the empire, but it happened eight
years later, in 1050. Weil, Geschichte der Ckalifen^ iii. 87, 94, Nassir ed Dulah, son
of Merwan, was prince of Diarbekir, and, though a Mahommedan, was a tributary of
the empire, St. Martin, ii. 216. Koutoulmish was the grandson of Seljouk, and the
ancestor of the Seljouk sultans of Roum or Iconium. He and his eldest son perished in
attempts to render themselves independent. Spulelman, his second son, was appointed
by Malek-sbah to a command in Asia Minor, with authority to found a feudatory princi-
pality, in 1074. N icephorui Bryennius, 24.
408 Basillan Dynasty
the Turks, should they venture to pass the frontier. Koutoul-
mish, who saw that only prompt and vigorous measures could
save him from being surrounded, attacked the Byzantine
governor, routed his army, and, carrying him away as a
prisoner, sold him as a slave in Tabreez. On his return, he
vaunted so loudly the fertility of Vasparoukan, and spoke
with such contempt of the Byzantine troops, that Togrulbeg
determined to invade the empire. Hassan the Deaf was in-
trusted with the vanguard, amounting to twenty thousand
men, but was completely defeated near the river Stragna by
Aaron the son of Ladislas, the last king of Bulgaria, who was
governor of Vasparoukan, and Katakalon the governor of Ani.
The main body of the Turkish army, however, under Ibrahim
Inal, the nephew of Togrulbeg, avenged the defeat. It was
composed of Turks, Kaberoi, and Limnites. 1 Katakalon, an
experienced general, wished to meet this army in the field, as
it was composed chiefly of infantry, or cavalry whose horses
were unshod; but his Bulgarian colleague appealed to the
emperor's instructions, which ordered his army to await the
arrival of Liparites the prince of Abasgia. The Turkish
general, finding the greater part of the wealth of the country
secured in strong fortresses, advanced to attack the populous
city of Arzen, which was unfortified. The inhabitants, trust-
ing to their numbers and valour, had neglected to convey
their valuable effects into the impregnable fortress of Theo-
dosiopolis, in their neighbourhood, Arzen was at this time
one of the principal centres of Asiatic commerce, and was
filled with warehouses belonging* to Syrian and Armenian
merchants. The inhabitants defended themselves against the
Turks with courage for six days, by barricading the streets
and assailing the enemy from the roofs of the houses. Kata-
kalon in vain urged his colleague to march to the relief of the
place. Ibrahim, however, felt the danger of an attack on his
rear, and, abandoning the hope of securing booty by the taking
of the place, thought only of destroying the resources it fur-
nished to the Byzantine government. He set fire to the place
and reduced the whole of this great commercial city to ashes.
Never was so great a conflagration witnessed before, and it has
only since been rivalled by the burning of Moscow. One
hundred and forty thousand persons are said to have perished
by fire and sword, yet the Turks captured so many prisoners
1 Ceclrenus, 771. St. Martin, Mm, sur l'Artnenie % u, 204, conjectures that the
Ks.be.roi were Curds, and the Limn ices Dilirnltes.
Period of Conservatism 409
that the slave-markets of Asia were filled with ladies and
children from Arzen. The Armenian historians dwell with
deep feeling on this terrible calamity, for it commenced a
long series of woes which gradually destroyed all the capital
accumulated by ages of industry in the mountains of Armenia,
rendering them one of the richest and most populous districts
in the East Indeed, the rain of Arzen was the first step to
the dispersion of the Armenian Christians and the desolation
of Asia Minor. 1
As soon as Liparites effected the junction of the Iberian and
Abasgian troops with the Byzantine army, a battle was fought
with the Turks near Kapetron, on the i8th September 1048.2
The loss on both sides was great and the results indecisive,
but Liparites was taken prisoner, and the Byzantine troops
retired. Ibrahim, however, found himself unable to continue
the campaign, and returned to Rey. Togrulbeg released
Liparites without ransom, or rather he bestowed the ransom
sent by the Byzantine emperor on the Abasgian prince,
recommending him to be always a friend to the Turks. It is
said by Arabian historians that Constantkie IX., in order to
equal the generosity of Togrul, repaired the Mohammedan
mosque at Constantinople. 3
Negotiations were commenced between Constantine and
Togrul, but they led to no result, and Togrul invaded the
Byzantine empire in person. His first attack was directed
against the independent principality of Kars, and the Armenians
were defeated in battle, and their general, Thatoul, taken
prisoner. Thatoul was said to have wounded Arsouran, the
son of the favourite minister of Togrul, and when the captive
general was led before his conqueror, the sultan told him that
if the young man died he should be put to death. To this
Thatoul calmly replied, "Sultan, if the wound was inflicted by
my hand, your warrior will certainly die." This proved true,
and Togrul had the barbarity to execute the brave Armenian,
and send his head to the minister whose son had died, as a
proof that it could not slay another. 4
Togrul then directed his forces against the city of Manzi-
kert, employing in the siege an immense ballista which had
been constructed by the Emperor Basil II., which he had
1 St. Martin, u. aoi. Chamich, ii. 138, says Arzen contained three hundred thousand
inhabitants, and eight hundred churches.
2 St. Martin places the battle in 1049, but the second indiction commenced on th
ist September 1048. Cedrenus, 773.
; St. Martin, ii. 217. 4 Chamich, History of A
410 Basilian Dynasty
taken in the town of Bitlis. This immense engine required
four hundred men to drag it along, yet it proved of little use to
the Turks, for a Gaul in the Byzantine service destroyed it by
breaking over it three bottles of an inflammable mixture, while
he was approaching the camp of the besiegers as the bearer of
a letter to the sultan. The loss of this engine, however, did
not abate the courage of the troops, and Alkan, the general of
the Khorasmians, promised the sultan to carry the place by
assault. The governor of Manzikert made preparations for
giving the storming party a desperate reception. The walls
were garnished with engines, and the artillery was well supplied
with ponderous stones, gigantic arrows, and beams shod with
iron, to launch on the assailants. The defenders were ordered
to remain carefully concealed behind the battlements, and
Alkan, after commencing the attack with volleys of missiles,
advanced to the foot of the wall, satisfied that he had silenced
the enemy. But when his men began to plant their ladders, a
tempest of stones, arrows, beams, boiling pitch, and smoke-
balls overwhelmed the bravest, and the rest shrunk back.
Their hesitation was the signal for a furious sally, in which
Alkan was taken prisoner, and immediately beheaded on the
city walls, in sight of the sultan. Togrul, finding that he could
not take Manzikert, gave up all hope of breaking through the
barrier of fortresses that defended the frontier of the empire,
and retired into Persia, A.D. 1050.
He again invaded the empire in 1052, but the Byzantine
army having received a strong reinforcement of Frank and
Varangian mercenaries, showed itself so superior to that of the
Seljouk sultan in military discipline, that Togrul thought it
prudent to retire without hazarding a battle. 1 The military
system established by Leo III. and Constantine V., and per-
fected by Nicephorus II., John I., and Basil II., still upheld
the glory of the Byzantine arms.
In looking back from modern times at the history of the
Byzantine empire, the separation of the Greek and Latin
churches appears the most important event in the reign of
Constantine IX. ; but its prominency is owing, on the one
hand, to the circumstance that a closer connection began
shortly after to exist between the Eastern and Western nations ;
and, on the other, to the decline in the power of the Byzan-
tine empire, which gave ecclesiastical affairs greater import-
_ a Cedrenus, 780, 788. Chamich, ii. 142. The chronology of the Byzantine historian
is entitled to more credit than the Armenian. For this period, indeed, Cedrenus is a
valuable authority.
Period of Conservatism 411
ance than they would otherwise have merited. Had the
successors of Constantine IX. continued to possess the power
and resources of the successors of Leo III. or Basil L, the
schism would never have acquired the political importance it
actually attained ; for as it related to points of opinion on
secondary questions, and details of ecclesiastical practice, the
people would have abandoned the subject to the clergy and
the church, as one not affecting the welfare of Christians, nor
the interests of Christianity, The Emperor Basil II., who
was bigoted as well as pious, had still good sense to view the
question as a political rather than a religious one. He knew
that it would be impossible to reunite the two churches ; he
saw the disposition of the Greek clergy to commence a
quarrel, to avoid which he endeavoured to negotiate the
amicable separation of the Byzantine ecclesiastical establish-
ment from the papal supremacy. He proposed that the Pope
should be honoured as the first Christian bishop in rank, but
that he should receive a pecuniary indemnity, and admit the
right of the Eastern church to govern its own affairs accord-
ing to its own constitution and local usages, and acknowledge
the Patriarch of Constantinople as its head. This plan,
reasonable as it might appear to statesmen, had little chance
of success. The claim of the Bishop of Rome to be the
agent of the theocracy which ruled the Christian church, was
too generally admitted to allow any limits to be put to his
authority. The propositions of Basil II. were rejected, but
the open rupture with Rome did not take place until 1053,
when it was caused by the violent and unjust conduct of the
Greek patriarch, Michael Keroularios. He ordered all the
Latin churches in the Byzantine empire, in which mass was
celebrated according to the rites of the Western church, to
be closed ; and, in conjunction with Leo, bishop of Achrida,
the Patriarch of Bulgaria addressed a controversial letter to
the bishop of Trani, which revived all the old disputes with
the papal church, adding the question about the use of un-
leavened bread in the holy communion. The people on
both sides, who understood little of the points contested by
the clergy, adopted the simple rule 3 that it was their duty to
hate the members of the other church; and the Greeks,
having their nationality condensed in their ecclesiastical
establishment, far exceeded the Western nations in ecclesi-
astical bigotry, for the people in the western nations of Europe
were often not very friendly to papal pretensions. The ex-
412 Basiiian Dynasty
treme bigotry of the Greeks soon tended to make the people
of the Byzantine empire averse to all intercourse with the
Latins, as equals, and they assumed a superiority over nations
rapidly advancing in activity, wealth, power, and intelligence,
merely because they deemed them heretics. The separation
of the two churches proved, consequently, more injurious to
the Greeks, in their stationary condition of society, than to
the Western Christians, who were eagerly pressing forward in
many paths of social improvement.
The Empress Zoe died in the year 1050, at the age of
seventy. 1 Constantine IX. survived to the year 1 054,2 When
the emperor felt his end approaching, he ordered himself,
according to the superstitious fashion of the time, to be trans-
ported to the monastery of Mangana, which he had con-
structed. His ministers, and especially his prime-minister,
John the logothetes, and president of the senate, 3 urged him
to name Nicephorus Bryennios, who commanded the Mace-
donian troops, his successor. The forms of the imperial
constitution rendered it necessary that the sovereign should
be crowned in Constantinople, and a courier was despatched
to summon Bryennios to the capital. But as soon as Theo-
dora heard of this attempt of her brother-in-law to deprive
her of the throne she had been compelled to cede to him,
she hastened to the imperial palace, convoked the senate,
ordered the guards to be drawn out, and, presenting herself
as the lawful empress, was proclaimed sovereign of the empire
with universal acclamations. The news of this event em-
bittered the kst moments of the dying voluptuary, who hated
Theodora for the respect her conduct inspired.
SECTION III
REIGNS OF THEODORA AND MICHAEL VI. (STRATIOTIKOS, OR
THE WARLIKE), A.D. 1054-1057
Character and administration of Theodora, 1054-1056 Incapacity of
Michael VI., 1056-1057 Administration of the empire transferred
to the eurmchs of the imperial household Conspiracy of the great
nobles in Asia Minor Michael VI. dethroned.
Theodora, with a good deal of masculine vigour of character,
possessed the confined views and acrimonious passions of a
1 Zonaras, ii. 260. Lupus in Bibttotkeca. Hist. Regni Sicilue. i. 30.
2 Zonaras, ii. 263.
3 Zonaras, ii. 261. John was a eunuch of great literary pretensions, but of scanty
classical and no great political knowledge.
Period of Conservatism 413
recluse. Her first act was to revenge on Bryennios the at-
tempt which her brother-in-law had made to deprive her of
the throne. He and his partisans were banished, and his
estates confiscated. Her personal attention to the duties of
a sovereign, and the strictness with which she overlooked the
general administration, proved that, unlike her predecessor,
she acted according to the dictates of her own conscience
in public affairs, and not as the passive instrument of those
who were willing, for their own ends, to relieve her from exer-
tion. Yet she followed the system by which the members of
her family, in establishing their despotic power, had under-
mined the fabric of the Byzantine administration. Instead
of selecting the ablest native senators to act as ministers and
judges, she intrusted the direction of every department of
government to eunuchs of her household, and her prime-
minister was Leo Strabospondyles, an ecclesiastic, synkellos
of the Patriarch of Constantinople. She even sent one of
her eunuchs to supersede Isaac Comnenos as commander-in-
chief of the army placed on the frontier to watch the move-
ments of the Turks. 1 Isaac belonged to one of those great
aristocratic families in Asia Minor whose wealth and power
had long excited the jealousy of the emperors ; and Theodora
now displayed much too openly the distrust with which they
were regarded by the central administration. To preserve all
power as much as possible in her own hands, she presided in
person in the cabinet and the senate, and even heard appeals
as supreme judge in civil cases. The performance of this last
duty, though little in harmony with the executive power, was
in her age looked upon by her subjects as a most laudable
act.
Fortune favoured Theodora in the circumstances of ^ her
short reign, and her popularity was in a great measure derived
from events over which she exercised no control. She was the
last scion of a family which had upheld with glory the institu-
tions of the empire for nearly two centuries, which had secured
to its subjects a degree of internal tranquillity and commercial
prosperity far greater than had been enjoyed during the same
period by any equal portion of the human race, and the
memory of which in succeeding years excited deep regret in
the breasts of the Greeks themselves, though the Greeks were
the body of their subjects treated with greatest neglect. During
her reign, the empire was disturbed by no civil war, nor desolated
l Cedrenus, 791.
414 Basilian Dynasty
by any foreign Invasion. The seasons were temperate, the fer-
tility of the earth enabled the people to enjoy the blessings of
peace, and a pestilence which had previously ravaged the prin-
cipal cities of the empire suddenly ceased.
At the advanced age of seventy-six, Theodora felt herself
so robust that she looked forward to a long life; and the monks
who swarmed in her palace, observing her infatuated confi-
dence in the vigour of her frame, flattered her with prophecies
that she was destined to reign for many years. The supersti-
tious feelings of the time, as well as the personal vanity of
Theodora, caused her to place implicit confidence in these
ecclesiastical soothsayers ; but in the midst of her projects she
was suddenly attacked by an intestine disorder that brought
her to the grave. To prevent the government falling into the
hands of the territorial aristocracy, she, with her dying breath,
named Michael Stratiotikos as her successor. 1 He had been
a general of some reputation, and an efficient member of the
official establishment; but advanced age had converted him
into a decrepit general and doting senator. The prime-minis-
ter and the eunuchs of Theodora had nevertheless suggested
his nomination, as it promised to place on the throne one who
could not avoid being an instrument in their hands. Theo-
dora, hoping to recover her health, compelled the new emperor
to swear with the most tremendous imprecations that he would
always remain obedient to her orders, but she survived his
nomination only a few hours ; and with her expired the race
of Basil the Sclavonian groom, and the administrative glory of
the Byzantine empire, on the 30th of August, 1 057.2
The accession of Michael VI. was no sooner known than
the president of the senate, Theodosios Monomachos, nephew
of Constantine IX., attempted to mount the throne, pretend-
ing a hereditary claim to the imperial succession. To enforce
his ridiculous pretension, he armed his household slaves, who
formed a numerous body, collected assistance from his friends,
assembled a mob, and, proceeding through the streets of Con-
stantinople at the head of this band, broke open the public
prisons and talked of revolution. His plan was to storm the
pakce ; but the moment his movements were made known to
the officers of the native and Varangian companies of guards
on duty, they marched against him, and he was immediately
m * Stratiotikos is really an epithet, and not, like Monomachos, a surname. Had
Michael VI. left posterity, his children might have converted it into a surname.
2 Zonaras, ii. 262. Cedrenus, 792.
Period of Conservatism 415
abandoned by all his followers. When he sought an asylum
in St. Sophia's, he found the doors of the church closed against
him^and was taken with his son sitting on the steps. This
sedition was so contemptible that the people ridiculed the affair
in a lampoon, and the emperor only banished its leader to
Pergamus. 1
Michael VI. was a man of a limited capacity, and his faculties
were now dulled by age ; yet accident intrusted him with the
direction of the government at a delicate crisis. He was called
upon to maintain the integrity of the Roman administrative
system against the assaults of a territorial aristocracy, on whom
the manners of the age and the altered relations of society
had conferred powers at variance with the strict centralisation
of the empire. Yet the incapacity of Michael must be regarded
as having only accelerated a change which it would have re-
quired the genius and energy of a great administrative reformer
like Leo III. to avert, and which could only have been averted
by remodelling the constitution of the empire.
The administrative vigour of the government was diminished ;
its legal supremacy had vanished ; the connection between the
provinces and the capital was weakened; the people at a
distance no longer respected the emperor as the centre of
social order and the fountain of impartial justice ; ruined roads
had broken up the administrative unity of empire; great
nobles governed their immense estates as sovereign princes;
and frontier communities, being often compelled to defend
themselves against foreign invaders by their own resources,
began to consider how far those resources could be rendered
available to lessen the fiscal extortions of the central govern-
ment. The territorial aristocracy of the Byzantine empire had
also at this time become warriors like the barons of the feudal
states, and as they joined learning to their military qualities,
they were able to perform the duties of judges and magistrates
on their estates. Jealousy of their power, and the corruption
of society in the capital, had led the emperors to intrust not
only the direction of the civil administration, but even the
highest military commands, to eunuchs of the imperial house-
hold, and a gradual hostility had grown up between this class
and the territorial aristocracy. This employment of skves and
domestics as generals and statesmen seems strange to those
who judge of the past by the actual condition of society ; but
no feature in Eastern manners has been more permanent than
1 Zonaras, ii. 264.
416 Baslllan Dynasty
the high social position acquired by slaves in their masters*
families. Their education was often as carefully attended to,
their character and abilities more impartially estimated, and
their faults more judiciously eradicated, than those of the
children of the house. The oldest records of society show us
the slave as superior to the hired servant ; and the administra-
tion of the Ottoman empire, even in modern times, has been of
easier access to the slave than to the citizen. 1 Despotism is
also compelled to seek rather for personal devotion than syste-
matic service, and no stronger proof can be adduced of the
progress which the Byzantine government had made towards
pure despotism, than the power the emperors had acquired of
ruling their subjects by the members of their household.
Michael VI. was not blind to the hostile feelings of a power-
ful class of his subjects, but he relied on the permanence of
the established order of things. The support of the senate,
the obedience of the municipality of Constantinople, the con-
servative feelings of the clubs of the hippodrome, and of the
corporations of the traders, seemed a complete guarantee
against the success of any revolution ; and the emperor treated
all these classes with liberality. 2 He felt, likewise, so confi-
dent in the attachment of the soldiers to their military organi-
sation, that he imprudently wounded the pride and self-interest
of the principal officers of the army and the official nobility,
by holding back from them the promotions and donatives they
were accustomed to receive at Easter. Other measures,
equally ill-judged, were adopted about the same time. Kata-
v kalon, the most popular general in the empire, was deprived of
the command at Antioch on a charge of fraudulently enriching
himself by diminishing the number of soldiers in his govern-
ment, and extorting money from the inhabitants. The justice
of the act was, however, suspected, as he was replaced by
Michael Ouranos, a nephew of the emperor. 8 Michael VI.
likewise, on re-establishing Nicephorus Bryennios to the rank
of which he had been deprived by Theodora, refused to restore
his private fortune, which had been unjustly sequestrated;
1 Leviticus, chap. xxn. 10, xi : " There shall no stranger eat of the holy thing : a
sojourner of the priest, or an hired servant, shall not eat of the holy thing. But if the
priest buy any soul with his money, he shall eat of it } and he that is born in his house :
they shall eat of his meat."
2 He_ was accused, however, after his fall, of promoting clerks from the public
offices, instead of senators, to be collectors of the revenue in the provinces.
Cedrenus, 793.
3 This Michael assumed the name of Ouranos, and did not belong to the dis-
tinguished family of that Ouranos who defeated Samuel, king of Achrida, on the banks
of the Sperchias. Cedrenus, 793. Zonaras, ii. 263.
Period of Conservatism 417
and when Bryennios urged his claim in person, the old
emperor cut short his solicitations by saying, " Finished work
alone merits wages." He had already ordered the restored
general to load a division of three thousand men to reinforce
the army in Cappadocia, and Bryennios now left the capital
inflamed with anger. Several of the most powerful nobles of
Asia Minor had already formed a plot to overthrow the exist-
ing government, and they availed themselves of the offence
given to Katakalon and Bryennios to establish secret commu-
nications with these officers and engage them in the conspiracy.
Isaac Comnenus, Romanes Skleros, Michael Burtzes, and
Nicephoras Botaneiates, who resided at Constantinople in.
princely state, directed the plot and arranged the pkn of
rebellion. 1
The attention of government was diverted from these con-
spirators by the conduct of an officer with whom they had no
connection. Herve, a Norman general, who had distinguished
himself under Maniakes, had subsequently served the empire
with zeal and fidelity. On soliciting the rank of magistros,
his claim was treated by the emperor in a way which irritated
the pride of the Norman to such a degree that he quitted
Constantinople, and hastened to an estate he possessed at
Dabarme in Armenia. Collecting three hundred of his
countrymen from the garrisons in the neighbourhood, he
deserted to the Turks. He found, however, that the Infidels
were less inclined to tolerate the proud spirit of independence
that characterised the Normans than the Byzantines, and,
separating from Samouch, the Seljouk leader,, with whom he
quarrelled, he led his little band to the city of Aklat, where he
was surprised and made prisoner by the emir Aponasar. 2
The rashness of Bryennios was even greater than that of
Herve; and as he was one of the conspirators, his conduct
might have ruined their enterprise. The chiefs at Constanti-
nople, having settled their plans, decided that Isaac Comnenus
was to be the future emperor ; and after plighting their mutual
faith, with all the religious ceremonies and horrid impreca-
tions which were then considered necessary to bind the con-
science, retired to their estates to collect troops. Bryennios
1 Manasses, Chron* 129.
2 The adventures of Herye are recorded by Cedrenus, 794.^ The importance of tbe
Norman_ race is a curious instance of moral superiority, without any superiority of
civilisation. In the Byzantine empire, and in Scotland, where they were not con-
querors, they attained nearly as high a position as in Russia, France, England, and
Naples, which they subdued with the sword.
418 Baslllan Dynasty
had, in the mean time, reached Cappadocia, where he ordered
the paymaster of the army to make an advance of pay to the
soldiers under his command. This was refused, as being at
variance with the emperor's orders. John Opsaras, who held
:he office of paymaster, was a patrician ; yet, when he visited
Bryennios in his tent, that officer so completely lost all com-
mand over his temper, that he struck him on the face, pulled
his beard, threw him on the ground, and then ordered him to
be dragged to prison. Another patrician, Lykanthos, who
commanded the troops of Pisidia and Lycaonia in a separate
camp, convinced that the conduct of Bryennios announced
an intention to rebel, hastened with his guards to the spot,
delivered Opsaras from confinement, and arrested Bryennios,
whose eyes Opsaras ordered to be put out, and then sent him
a prisoner to Constantinople.
The principal conspirators, fearing that their plot was dis-
covered, repaired to Kastamona in Paphlagonia, where Isaac
Comnenus was waiting, at his family seat, until the prepara-
tions for the rebellion were completed. The assembly of
the conspirators having put an end to concealment, Isaac
Comnenus was conducted by his partisans to the plain of
Gounavia, and proclaimed emperor, on the 8th June 1057,
Katakalon, finding some difficulty in joining his companions,
forged an imperial order, giving him the command of five
legions, which he concentrated in the plain of Nicopolis,
pretending that he was to lead them against Samouch, a
Turkish chief who had invaded the empire. 1 By promises
and threats, he succeeded in engaging the officers of this
force to join the rebellion ; and, effecting a junction with the
troops Isaac had already assembled, the rebels crossed the
Sangarius, and gained possession of Nice. 2
The Emperor Michael placed the imperial army under the
command of Theodore, a eunuch whom he had raised to the
rank of Domestikos of the East, and the Bulgarian prince,
Aaron, who, though a brother-in-law of Isaac, was his per-
sonal enemy. The imperial generals broke down the bridges
over the Sangarius, in order to cut off the communications of
the rebels with the provinces in which their family influence
lay, and then approached Nice. Isaac Comnenus was en-
1 Two of these legions were composed of western Europeans, one of Russians,
besides the native legions of Koloneia and Chaldia. Cedrenus, 799.
2 Isaac placed his treasures and his wife, who was a daughter of Ladislas, the last
Bulgarian 'king of Achrida, in the castle of Pemolissa, on tke banks of the Halys,
Cedrenus, 709.
Period of Conservatism 419
camped about twelve stades to the north of the city, and the
foragers of the two armies were soon in constant communica-
tion ; the leaders on both sides overlooking the intercourse, in
the expectation of gaining deserters. The imperialists urged
their opponents not to sacrifice their lives for an ambitious
rebel, who exposed their lives and fortunes for his own profit ;
while the rebels laughed at the idea of serving an old dotard,
who intrusted the command of his armies to eunuchs. Isaac,
seeing that nothing was to be gained by these conversations,
gave strict orders to break off all communication ; and Theo-
dore, attributing the measure to fear, advanced to Petroa, only
fifteen stades from the rebel camp.
A battle was thus inevitable. Isaac Comnenus drew out
his army, which was composed of veteran troops, at a place
called Hades. Katakalon commanded the left wing, and was
opposed to Basil Tarchaniotes, the general of the European
troops, the ablest and most distinguished of tfee Macedonian
nobility. Romanos Skleros, at the head of the right wing, was
opposed to Aaron, who had under his orders the patrician
Lykanthos and the Norman Randolph. Isaac and Theodore
directed their respective centres. The battle was not severely
contested. Aaron routed the right wing of the rebels, but
his success led to no result; for Katakalon, having defeated
the Macedonian troops, stormed the imperial camp, while
Isaac overthrew their centre. The aristocratic constitution
of society displays itself in the incidents of this battle.
The superior temper of the arms of the chiefs gave their
exploits as much importance as in the Homeric battles.
When the victorious troops of Isaac and Katakalon assailed
the troops of Aaron, Randolph found himself borne away
among a crowd of fugitives. Disengaging himself, he per-
ceived Nicephorus Botaneiates leading the pursuers. Shouting
his war-cry, the Norman knight met the Asiatic noble; but
his sword was broken on the well-tempered helmet of his
enemy, and he was led a prisoner to the rebel camp. 1 Several
officers of rank were slain in the imperial army, and many
made prisoners. The victors lost only one man of rank.
Isaac Comnenus advanced to Nicomedia, where he was met
by envoys from the Emperor Michael, who offered him the
title of Csesar for himself, and a general amnesty for his parti-
sans, if they would lay aside their arms. Isaac knew that he
had no safety but as emperor, and Katakalon boldly opposed
1 Cedrenus, 809.
42O Basillan Dynasty
all terms of arrangement. Michael Psellos, called the Prince
of Philosophers, was one of the envoys, and seeing how
matters were likely to end, he deserted the cause of his old
master with more promptitude than might have been expected
from a learned pedant The emperor, finding he had nothing
to expect from negotiation, attempted to fortify himself in
Constantinople. He compelled the senators to take an oath,
and subscribe a declaration, that they would never acknow-
ledge Isaac Comnenus as emperor; and he lavished money,
places, promotions, and privileges, on the people and the
municipality. Yet the moment the victors reached the palace
of Damatrys, the senators rushed to St. Sophia's, and begged
the Patriarch to absolve them from the oath they had just
taken. The stem Patriarch, Michael Keroularios, affected to
resist, but consented to be himself the medium of communica-
tion with the new emperor. The cause of Michael VI. was
now hopeless; Isaac was proclaimed emperor, and his pre-
decessor was ordered to quit the imperial palace, that it might
be prepared for the reception of the new sovereign. It is said
the old man, before departing, sent to ask the Patriarch what
he would give him for his resignation ; the intriguing pontiff
replied, with sarcastic humility, " The kingdom of heaven."
On the 3ist of August, Michael VI. returned as a private
individual to his own house, where he lived undisturbed,
dying two years after. On the 2nd of September, Isaac I.
received the imperial crown in the Church of St. Sophia.
To contemporaries, this revolution presented nothing to dis-
tinguish it from the changes of sovereign, which had been an
ordinary event in the Byzantine empire, and which were
ascribed by the wisest statesmen of the time to the decree of
Heaven, and not to the working of political and moral causes,
which the will of God allows the intelligence of man to employ
for effecting the improvement or decline of human affairs. It
would be an error to ascribe the success of this rebellion to the
weakness of the reigning emperor, and to the defects of his
administration, or to the ability of bold and rapacious con-
spirators, without taking into account the apathy of the in-
habitants of the empire to a mere change in the name of their
emperor. Perhaps no man then living perceived that this
event was destined to change the whole system of government,
destroy the fabric of the central administration, deliver up the
provinces of Asia an easy conquest to the Seljouk Turks, and
the capital a prey to a band of crusaders.
General Observations 421
We have now traced the progress of the Eastern Roman
Empire through an eventful period of three centuries and a
half^ We have contemplated the rare spectacle of a great
empire reviving from a state of political anarchy and social
disorganisation; we have seen it reinvigorated by the estab-
lishment of a high degree of order and security for life and
property ; and we have recorded its progress to the attainment
of great military power. We have endeavoured to trace the
causes that led to this change, as well as to record the events
which accompanied it. It would now be an instructive task to
compare the condition of the population living under this
reformed Roman Empire with that of the inhabitants of the
countries which had once constituted the Empire of the
West ; but scholars have not yet performed the preliminary
work necessary for such an inquiry, so that even a super-
ficial examination of the subject would run into discussions
on vague details. Each student of history, therefore, who
may happen to turn over the pages of this volume, must insti-
tute the comparison for himself in that branch of historical
or antiquarian research with which he is most familiar. Un-
fortunately the records of the Eastern Empire are deprived of
one great source of historical interest they tell us very little
concerning the condition of the mass of the population ; and
while they enable us to study the actions and the policy of the
emperors, and even to observe the political consequences of
their respective administrations, they leave us in ignorance
concerning many important questions relating to the composi-
tion of the mass of society ; they supply few facts for discrimi-
nating its separate elements, or for forming a classification of
its social ranks. We know that freemen, serfs, and skves were
mingled together in every city and province; and over the
whole surface of the Byzantine dominions, heterogeneous races
of mankind were compressed into apparent unity by the power-
ful government that ruled at Constantinople. But we are
without the means of assigning to each class of society, and to
each discordant nationality, its exact share and influence in
the mass that composed the empire. We perceive that there
was no real unity among the people, and yet the unity created
by the government was so imposing, that both contemporary
and modern historians have treated the history of the Byzan-
tine empire as if it represented the feelings and interests of a
Byzantine nation, and almost overlooked the indelible distinc-
tions of the Greek, Armenian, and Sclavonian races, which ?
422 General Observations
while forced Into simultaneous action by the great administra-
tive power that ruled them, constantly retained their own
national peculiarities.
Two grand social distinctions illuminate the obscurities of
Byzantine history during the period comprised in this volume.
A regular administration of justice, that secured a high degree
of security for life and property, gave the people an immeasur-
able superiority over the subjects of all contemporary govern-
ments, and bound the various nations within the limits of the
Eastern Empire in willing submission to the central power.
Through all the darkness of the Byzantine annals, we per-
ceive that a middle class exerted some influence on society,
and that it formed an element of the population, independent
of the heterogeneous national races from which it was com-
posed. But the nature of its composition explains sufficiently
why its political influence proved extremely insignificant when
compared with its numbers, wealth, and social importance.
Local institutions were reduced to such a state of subordina-
tion to the central authority, that they wanted the power to
train the different nations of which the middle class was com-
posed to similar political sentiments. All attempts of the
people to reform their own condition proved fruitless, and
demands for redress of public grievances could only prove
successful by a revolution. Perhaps this evil may be inherent
in the nature of all governments which carry centralisation so
far as to suppress the expression of public opinion in munici-
pal bodies. In such governments, whether monarchical or
republican, the central authority becomes so powerful, that
public opinion is rendered inefficacious to effect reform, and
the people soon learn to regard revolutions as the only chance
of improvement
The middle class through the Byzantine empire was a rem-
nant of ancient society an element that had survived from
the days of municipal liberty and national independence.
Many free citizens still continued to till their lands many
were occupied in manufactures and commerce. It was the
existence of this class which filled the treasury of the emperors
(taxation yields comparatively little in a state peopled by
great nobles and impoverished serfs) ; and it was the wealth
of the Byzantine government which gave it an ultimate superi-
ority over all its contemporaries for several centuries. Military
excellence was at that time as much the effect of individual
strength and activity in the soldier, as of discipline in the
General Observations 423
army or talent in the general. The wealth of the Byzantine
emperors enabled them to fill their armies with the best soldiers
in Europe; in their mercenary legions, knights and nobles
fought in the ranks, and the captains of their guards were
kings and princes. 1 Nor were the native troops inferior to
the foreign mercenaries. The lance of the Byzantine officer
was famous in personal encounters long before the aristocracy
of western Europe sought military renown by imitating an
exercise in which sleighf-of-hand rather than valour secured
the victory. 2
It is not difficult to point out generally the causes which
supplied the Byzantine treasury with large revenues, at a
period when the precious metals were extremely rare in the
west of Europe. A curious comparison might be made
between the riches and luxury of the court of Constantinople
during the reign of Theophilus, and the poverty and rudeness
that prevailed at the court of Winchester under his contem-
porary, Egbert. The difference of the value of the precious
metals is peculiarly striking. Theophilus gave two pounds'
weight of gold, or a hundred and forty-four byzants, for a fine
horse, of which the market value appears to have been a
hundred byzants; yet, among the Saxons, about the same
time, the price of a common horse was two-thirds of a pound
weight of silver.* It is difficult to explain the rarity of the
precious metals in the West, when we remember that the tin
of Egbert's dominions found its way to Constantinople, atid
that the byzants of the Eastern emperors were the current
gold coin throughout England. The subjects of fee Byzan-
tine empire supplied the greater part of western and the
whole of northern Europe with Indian produce, spices, precious
stones, silk, fine woollen cloth, carpets, cotton, what we now
call morocco leather, 4 dye-stuffs, gums, oil, wine, and fruits;
besides most manufactured articles, and all luxuries. Yet,
from the poverty of the Western nations, their consumption
1 For the exploits of Harold Hardrada, king of Norway, who was slain at Stamford
Bridge, see Mallet's Northern Antigmties, 168, 194 Bonn's Antiquarian Library.
2 See the account of the death of a Russian chief by the lance of Peter the Eunuch.
Leo Diaconus, 107, edit. Bonn.
3 Leo Gramm. 454, edit. Par. Henry, in his History of England^ quoting Wflldns'
Leges Saxonicati gives the value of a horse at only 1. 155. ad. in modem money.
There is a curious law of Isaac I., reviving older regulations concerning jfees to be
paid to bishops, which gives some idea of the value of money in the Byzantine empire
under the BasiUan dynasty. Bonefidius, Jus Orientale, 36. Leunclavius and Freher,
/wi Gratco-Romanum,, i. 120.
4 Among the presents Alaric received to raise the siege of Rome, were three thousand
skins of red leather. Zosimus, lib. v. chap. 41, page 306, edit. Bono.
424 General Observations
must have been comparatively small. The profits of the
trade, however exorbitant they might have been on particular
transactions, would not have formed an important article of
national wealth, unless a constant profit had been realised by
the difference of value of the precious metals in the various
countries with which dealings were carried on. Few of the
Western nations worked any mines, and yet they were con-
stantly consuming a considerable amount of gold and silver ;
the Byzantine empire possessed considerable mines of silver^
and we know that gold was always abundant in the treasury. 1
Gold and silver coin and slaves were consequently commodi-
ties on which a sure profit was always realised. But in the
eleventh century a great change took pkce in society in
western Europe, coincident with the stationary condition of
the Byzantine empire. In the West, the spirit of social reform
infused a sentiment of justice into the counsels of kings ; in
the East, a spirit of conservation, pervading the imperial
administration, withered the energies of society.
1 Byzantine gold coins are still common. We learn from many passages that sllvet
was abundant in the Byzantine treasury ; and several silver mines are still worked 10
Turkey, though, at present to little purpose.
THE KNTQ
INDEX
Achelous, Byzantine army defeated at.
268
Adrianople, falls Into Simeon's hands,
267, 289
Agallianos, leader of the Greek rebels,
his attack on Constantinople and death,
36
Agatha, Constantine VII.'s daughter and
constant companion, 277
Alexander, his degraded tastes and short
reign, 263 ; rejects offer of Simeon to
renew treaty, 264 ; celebrates the re-
integration of bronze boar in the hippo-
drome with religious ceremonies, 264 ;
confers high commands on unworthy
favourites, 264 ; his nomination of a
regency during his nephew's minority,
264
Alexios, Patriarch, 388; his death, 394,
395
Almamun, Caliph, 142; invades Byzan-
tine Empire, 142 ; his death, 143
Almutamid, Caliph, 230
Amorium, besieged by Saracens, 14, 15;
besieged and burnt by Motassem, 146,
Andreas the Kalybite, 58
Anthusa, the Princess, daughter of Con-
stantine, 64, 65
Armenia, war carried on in, by Basil II.,
355> 356; conquest of, by Constantine
IX., 406
Armenians, join forces with the Byzantines,
286 ; their conquests, 286, 287
Arotras, Krinites, lay_s waste the country
of the Sclavonians in the Peloponnesus,
283
Arsaber, conspiracy to place him on the
throne, 93
Artavasdos, rebellion of, 44, 45; Pop_e
acknowledges him as Emperor, 45 ; his
defeat, 46 ; taken prisoner and eyes put
out, 47
Artoklinas, Constantine, poisoned by his
wife, 391
Asander, his plot for becoming tyrant of"
Cherson, 328 ; discovery and betrayal
of, 329
Bardanes, rebels against Nicephorus, and
proclaims himself Emperor, 88; his
defeat, 88; retires to a monastery, S8;
his eyes put out by brigands, 88
Bardas, Theodora's brother, his idleness
and profligacy, 158 ; refused the sacra-
ment by the Patriarch, 161 ; Ms revenge,
162 ; accompanies the Emperor in his
warlike expeditions, 170, 172, 176 ;
murder of, 178
Ban, Emperor Louis II. carries it by
assault, 232
Basil, originally a groom, the favourite of
Michael III.; ordered to divorce his wife
and marry the Emperor's mistress, 177 J
proclaimed joint Emperor by Michael
III., 178 ; plans the Emperor's assassina,-
tion, 181 ; his early history, 213, 214 ; his
coronation, 215 ^negotiations of, witii
the Pope, 216 ; his financial administra-
tion, 219 ; his legislative views, 221 ;
privileges swept away by, 221 ; con-
centration of legislative, judicial, and
adminstrative power in the Emperor,
222 ; his New Code, 224, 225 ; his war on
the Paullcians, 227 seq.\ war with the
Saracens, 230 sey.; fortress of Lulu
taken, 230 ; sends assistance against the
Saracens to the Sclavonians,~ 231 ; his
administrative reforms, 235 ; his friend-
ship with Danielis, 236 ; his grief at his
son's death, 239 ; his cruelty in later
life, 240; dragged from, his horse by a
stag, 240 ; his death, 240
Basil IL, his character, 334 ; his reign the
culminating point of Bulgarian greatness,
341; his war with Bulgaria, 342 sea.*,
his conquest of Achrida, 348 ; his
barbarity to the prisoners taken, 348 ;
his progress through Greece, 353, 354 ;
his campaigns and conquests in Armenia f
355, 356 ; his death, 357
Basihka, the, 222, 225
BasiKos, President, his wealth and pro-
perty, 333, 340 ; deprived of his offices,
339 ; his death in exile, 339
Basitiskian, appointed as third Emperor
by Michael III., 181
Bogislav, Stephen, King of Servia, ravages
by, 400, 401
Borgoris (Michael), King of Bulgaria, 261
Brigandage, Constanrine's efforts to root
it out, 51
Bringas, Joseph, conducts administration
during reign of Romanus II., 292 ; his
talent and integrity, 292, 293 ; his sus-
picious character, 301; continues to
direct public business on death of Ro-
manus II., 301 ; his jealousy of Nice-
phorus, 301, 302
Bryennios, Nicephorus, conspires against
Michael VI., 4x6 seq,
Bulgaria, campaigns in, under Cons tan tine,
49-51 ; ecclesiastical jurisdiction of,
subject of dissension between Rome and
Constantinople, 171, 218 ; its civilisation
and commerce, 261, 262 ; King of, be-
comes a Christian, 170
Burtzes, Michael, capture of Antiech by^,
425
426
Index
308, 509 ; has his eyes put out by Con-
stantine VIII., 362
Byzantine Empire, real position occupied
by, 186 ; its civil, financial, and judicial
administration, 186 ; its high civilisa-
tion, 1 83 ; Its military organisation,
1 88 ; its military engineers, 189, 190; its
many warlike sovereigns, 190 ; organi-
sation of, by Leo III., 190 ; its extensive
political and diplomatic relations, 191 ;
its great wealth and commerce, 193-7 J
Europe supplied by, with Indian wares,
395; with gold coin, 197 ^ Influence of
Greek Church on the political fabric of
the empire, 201, 302 ; moral superiority
of its society over that of the Saracens
and Franks, 202, 203 ; condition of slaves
In, 204 ; philanthropy t and theologic
spirit of Byzantine society, 204 j state
of science and art and literature of,
207-9 senseless presumption of its em-
perors^ 278, 279 ; Internal condition of,
in the time of Constantine VI I ., 278, 279 ;
general condition of inhabitants of,
281 ; its alliance sought by independent
states, 283; "a government without a
nation," 367; invasion of, by Seljouk
Turks, 407-10 ; revolution in, 420 ;
sketch of general condition of, 420-4
Caliphate, the, loss of its military power,
285; rebellions and persecutions in, 285;
ruin and depopulation of, 285 ; further
disturbances, 286
Charlemagne, his refutation of doctrines
of Council of Nicasa, and remarkable
work by, 71, 72 ; Council assembled by,
72 ; revives existence of Western Em-
pire, 73 ; relations of Nicephorus with,
93, 191
Charles Martel, 41
Chases, Governor of the theme of Hellas,
his avarice, profligacy, 281, 282 ; stoned
to death, 282
Cherson, history of, 325, 331
Chrysokirj commander of the Paulician
bands, 228, 229 ; is slain in battle, 229
Churches, Greek and Latin, separation of,
410 seef.
Comnenos, Nicephorus, Governor of
Media, his bravery, 362; excites sus-
picion of Emperor and has his eyes put
out, 362
Comnenus, Isaac, chosen and proclaimed
as Emperor by his partisans, 417, 418 ; his
success against the imperial forces, 419 ;
receives imperial crown, 422
Conon, anecdote concerning, 26
Constantine, Basil's eldest son, his early
death, 239
Constantine, brother of Michael IV., Go-
vernor of Antioch, relieves Edessa, 380 ;
his discovery of the stratagem employed
by Saracens for regaining it, 380, 381 ;
his eyes put out, 390
Constantine V., Leo III. 's son, 10; crowned
Emperor, 43 ; character of, 44 ; marriage
of, with Irene, 43 ; his iconoclasm, 43,
54 ; his unorthodoxy, 44 ; loses possession
of Constantinople, 44; his escape from
the field of battle, 45 ; his victory over
Artavasdos near Sardis, 46 ; marches to
invest Constantinople, 46 ; defeats rebels
and becomes firmly established on the
throne, 47 ; wars with the Saracens, 48 ;
his campaigns against the Bulgarians,
49-32 5 ruin of his fleet, 50 ; his death,
50 ; cruel punishment inflicted by, on a
Skamar, 51 ; his humanity in ransoming
his ^ subjects, 52 ; his plans for reviving
agriculture, 52 ; his ecclesiastical policy,
53 ; his strategic abilities and financial
measures, 53 ; care bestowed by, on his
family, 64 ; nis tomb desecrated, 180
Constantine VL, succeeds at ten years of
age, 66; his neglected education and
fickleness, 75 ; his acts of folly f and
Ingratitude, 75 ; his unhappy marriage,
74 75 fatts in love with Theodora, 7^5 ;
divorce of his wife and marriage with
Theodora, 75, 76 ; renders himself there-
by unpopular, 79 ^seized by his mother's
emissaries and his eyes put out, 79;
his firmness in the field, 83
Constantine VII., his birth, 245 ; becomes
sole Emperor at seven years of age,
264; regency appointed to act during
his minority, 264; his affection for Ms
mother, 267 ; his army defeated by the
Bulgarians, 267^ assumes supreme
power, 270 ; marries Helen, daughter of
Romanus, 271 ; his feebleness of character
and devotion to literature and art, 272 ;
attachment of people to, 273 ; description
of, 275 ; his proficiency In mathematics
and the_arts, 275; his writings, 274, 275,
276; his government, 276; his sim-
plicity of manner and goodness of heart,
276; allows his son to marry Theo-
phano, 276 ; attempt made to poison
him, 277 ; malady produced by, and
death, 277 ; his home life and children,
277 ; punishment of death rarely inflicted
by, 278
Constantine VIII., his person and charac-
ter, 359, 360 ; love of hunting and other
pleasures, 360 ; his suspicion and cruelty,
360, 362 ; confers commands on his
worthless creatures, 560, 361 ; wasteful
expenditure, 362 ; disorderly state of
affairs under, 363 ; his death, 364,
Constantine IX. (Monomachos), his mar-
riage with the Empress Zoe, ^392; his
character, 392 ; his profligate life, 392 ;
fury of populace against, 393 ; attacked
on leaving his palace, 393 ; establishes
houses of refugee and hospitals, 394; his
measures for raising money, 394 ; various
conspiracies and rebellions against, 396
stg. ; his reign marks the summit of the
military power of the Emperor, 400;
social conditions and commerce during
his reign, 401 ; Russian war, 402 sea. ;
treaty concluded with the Patzinaks,
45 > war i n Italy, 405 seg. ; conquest of
Armenia, 406; war with the Seljouk
Turks, 4 407 xeg.; death of, 412
Constantine, Chamberlain, sent by Zoe to
Index
427
visit the fleet and arrested by Romanos,
269
Constantinople, besieged by Saracens
under Moslemah, 16-19 ; General Coun-
cil assembled at, to discuss image-
worship, 54, 55, 56 ; Bulgarians appear
before, 106; besieged by the rebel
Thomas, 122 ; synod held at, for restora-
tion of image-worship, 152 ; singular
scene at synod, 152 ; General Council at,
in 861, 167 ; contest of, with Rome, 170,
171 ; attacked by Russians, 174 ; neitner
a Greek nor Roman city, 183 scq.\ its
sujMsriority over all other cities of the
civilised world, 195; eighth General
Council of the Church at, 216 ; Simeon
advances upon, 267, 288 ; advances on,
by Russians, 316, 317 ; its geographical
surroundings. 321
Constantinos, Patriarch, his conspiracy
and death, 58, 59
Constantinos, son of Romanus and joint
Emperor, 272 ; his death, 278
Council, General, held at Constantinople
in 861, 167 ; eighth General Council, 216
Crete, conquered by the Saracens, 124,
125; slave trade carried on at, 258;
nest of pirates in, 259; conquest of,
under Romanus II., 293-6
Croatia, cruel treatment of, by Simeon,
and final victory over, 290
Crumn, King of the Bulgarians, 98, 9 ;
defeats Nicephorus, ipo ; his war with
Michael L, 1035 his victory, 105;
appears before the walls of Constanti-
nople, 106"; treachery of Leo V. towards,
106 ; his revenge, 107 J prepares to be-
siege Constantinople, 107; his death,
108
Cyprus, revolt in, 396
Damascenus, John, 35
Damian, Emir of Tyre, attacks Strobelos,
and repulsed, 285
Damietta, plundered and burned by By-
zantine fleet, 157
Danielis, the Greek lady of Patras, her
friendship with ^Basil, 236 ; invited by
him to Constantinople, 236 ; her numer-
ous retinue, 237 ; her costly gifts, 237 ;
her enormous wealth, 238
Delassenos, Constantine, 364, accusation
against and confinement, 379 ; sent for
by Zoe, 391
Diogenes, Constantine, throws himself
from a window to escape disgraceful
punishment, 369
Dorystolon, siege of, 322, 323
Dukas, Constantine, his popularity, 265 ;
his ambition. 266 ; proclaimed Emperor
by his partisans, 266; slain in the
succeeding tumult, 266; fate of his
wife and family, 266
Dyrrachium, betrayed to the Emperor by
Asbot, 345
Earthquake, in 740, destruction caused
by, 31, 42 ; in Asia Minor, 373
JEdessa, stratagem employed by Saracens
for regaining, and failure of, 380, 381
Emperors, Byzantine, their senseless pre-
sumption, 278, 279
Endoica Ingerina, 236
Euphrosyne, wife of Michael II. 132, 136
Etithymios, Bishop of Sardis, condomtBed
to death, 131
Euthymios, elected Patriarch, 246
Fire, signals and machinery for com-
munication of, to council chamber, 208
Gabriel, King of Achrida, 349 ; feis
murder, 350
Greece, 35, 36; emigrants from, Sock to
Constantinople, 63 ; condition of, in
ninth and tenth centuries, 296-300;
instruction of children and youth, 296,
297; stationary condition of society,
297 ; Jegendary history of monasteries,
298 ; its commerce, 298, 299 ; its natural
products, 299
Gregory the Taronite, sewed up in skin <A
newly slain ox, 380
Gregory II., Pope, 34, 35, 38 j his death, 39
Gregory III., elected Pope, 40; throws off
allegiance to Leo III., 41
Guiscard, Robert, capture of Otranto by,
406
Gycia, daughter of Lamachos and wife of
Asander, 328; discovers her husband's
plot, 329 ; her patriotic behaviour, 329,
330 ; statues to her, 330 ; her pretence of
death, 330 ; her tomb, 330
Hadrian, Pope, 72
Handkerchief, miraculous, legend of, 287 ;
acquisition of, by John Kurkuas, 387
Haroun al Rashid, sent to invade the
Byzantine Empire, 82; commands ^ in
person, 83 ; his persecution of Christian
subjects, 85; his reputation, 94; war
with Nicephorus, 94, 95 ; his death, 95 ;
his character, 96
Helen, daughter of Romanus, marries
Constantine VII., 271
Herve, Norman general, conspires against
Michael VI., 417 seq.
Himerios, Byzantine admiral, defeated by
the Saracens, 259
Hugh of Provence, King of Italy, his
ambassadors attacked by Slavonians,
282 ; help given to, by Byzantine Govern-
ment, to destroy Saracen pirates, 291
Hungarians, plunder of Thrace by, 290;
approach Constantinople and defeated,
291; plunder the south of Italy, 291,
309, 310
Iconoclasts, disturbances by, nx ; struggle
with image-worshippers terminated, 149
Ignatius the Patriarch refuses to ad-
minister the Sacrament to Bardas, 161 ;
his banishment, i6a ; persecution of, 164 ;
forced to sign his abdication. 167
Igor, attack on Constantinople by, ^ 317 ;
his cruelty, 317; failure of his expedition,
and escape, 317, 318 ; concludes treaty
428
Index
wltfa^Byzantine Empire, 318 ; murdered
by bis subjects, 319
I mage- worship, Council at Constantinople
concerning, 54, 55, 56 ; authorised by
Council at Nicasa, 70; edict against,
by Theophilus, 138 ; synod convoked
for restoration of, 152 ; festival in honour
of, 153
Irene, daughter of the Emperor of the
Khazars, 10; marriage with Constan-
tine V., 43
Irene, the Athenian, Leo IV.'s wife, 65 ;
her regency, 66 ; her ambition, 66 ;
restores image-worship, 67, 68 ; un-
principled conduct of, 74 ; her plot to
dethrone her son, 75 ; has her son's eyes
pat out, 79 ; proclaimed sovereign, 79 ;
her life and character, So ; plot to de-
throne her, So ; her exile and death, So,
3 1 ; her canonisation, 81 ; her policy,
Sx ; her reduction of the Sclavonian
colonies, 81, 82 ; her wars with the
Saracens, 82 ; war with the Bulgarians,
84
Island, rise of new, out of the sea, 42
Italy, possessions of Eastern emperors in,
38 ; rebellion in, 38, 39 ; incessant rav-
ages of Saracens in, 232 ; Byzantine
wars in, 291 ; the south plundered by
Hungarians, 291 ; aifairs in, during
xeign of Nicephorus II., 309 ; war in,
under Constantine IX., 405
John I. (Zimiskes), general under Nice-
phorus, 302 ; employed by Bringas
against the latter, 302 ; helps to force
latter to proclaim himself Emperor,
302 ; murders Nicephorus, 310 ; ascends
the throne, __ 311 ; his character, 311;
his coronation, 312; his popularity,
312 ; rebellions under, excited by
members of the Phokas family, 313 ;
marries daughter of Constantine VII.,
314 ; war with Russia, 315 seg. ; his
campaign against Swiatoslaff, 320 seq. ;
peace concluded with, 323 ; personal
description of Emperor, 324; Saracen
war under, 331 ; commands his forces in
person, 332 ; his death, 333
John the Orphanotrochos, 373 ; becomes
prime minister to his brother, Michael
IV., 374 ; his administration, 376 ; his
mischievous change in financial system,
376 ; insurrections caused by his ex-
actions, 376, 384 ; sufferings of the
people arising from, 377 ; his ambition,
378 ^seized by order of Theodora and
deprived of sight, 395
John the Grammarian, tutor to Theo-
philus, 132 ; elected Patriarch, 138 ; sent
on an embassy to the Caliph, 143,
191-3 ; his magnificence, 143, 192 ; anec-
dote in connexion with his display,
193 ; refuses to convoke a synod, 151 ;
accusation against and exile, 151 ; his
eyes put out, 152 ; his tomb desecrated,
180; description of, 192
Kalokyres, Byzantine ambassador, sent
on an embassy to Swiatoslaff, 319 ; his
treachery, 319
Katakalon, general under Isaac Comne-
nus, 419, 420
Keghenes, commander of the Patzinak
forces, 403, 404, 405 ; his murder, 405
Keroularios, Michael, elected Patriarch,
395
Kosmas, elected Emperor by the Greeks,
36 ; taken prisoner and executed, 36
Kurkuas, John, his conspiracy, arrest and
punishment, 239
Kurkuas, John, son of above, ^ appointed
Commander-in-chief, 286 ; his military
ability, 286 ; his continual warfare with
the Saracens, 286; his acquisition o
miraculous handkerchief, 287; accusa-
tionsagainst and deprivation of office, 287
Ladislas, King of Achrida, 351 ; meets
Basil II. in the field and is defeated, 351 ;
besieges Dyrrachium and is slain, 352
Lamachos, President of Cherson, 328
Lazaros, celebrated painter, cruel treat-
ment of, by Theophilus, 138.
Leo, Saracen admiral, 254, 258
Leo III., his accession, 3 ; improvement
and prosperity under, 5, 9 ; his diplomatic
negotiations with Moslemah, 15 ; his
defence of Constantinople, 19; his
decrees against image-worship >f 19;
details of his life, 24, 25 ; his organisation
of the army, 28, 29 ; his fiscal reforms,
29, 30 ; his tax for the restoration of the
fortifications at Contantinople, 31 ; his
manual of law, 32 j his iconoclasm, 33,
34, 37 ; his ecclesiastical reforms, 35 ;
his opposition to the Pope, 39 ; sends
expeditions against, 40; confiscates
estates of papal see, 40 ; said to have
ordered burning of library, 42 ; death
of, 43; new social era for mankind
opened by his reign, 187 ; his scientific
contrivances, 207, 208.
Leo IV., his accession, 65 ; his disposition,
65 ; his death, 66
Leo V., the Armenian, saluted Emperor
by the army, 105 ; his act of treachery
towards the King of the Bulgarians, 106 ;
annihilates the Bulgarian army, 108 ;
sends^ an army into Sicily, 108 ; his
aversion to image- worship, 109, no ;
his moderate policy, no; his reforms,
115; conspiracy against, it6, 117; his
assassination in the chapel, 1x8
Leo VI. (the Philosopher), imperial crown
conferred on, by Basil, 239 ; plots against
Basil's life, 239 ; his love of learning
and luxury, 241 ; corruption of his
court, 242, 243 ; and in financial affairs,
243 ; banishes Photius, 244 ; his law
concerning the observance of the Sab-
bath, 245 ; his dispute with the Patri-
arch Nikolaos, 245 ; marries Zoe Car-
bonopsina, 245 ; his legislative labours,
246 ; military events of his reign, 247 ;
war with the Saracens, 247 seq. ; hos-
tilities with the Bulgarians, 261 ; his
army destroyed at Bulgarophygos, 263,
Index
264 ; defeat by, 262 ; attempted murder
of, and death, 263 ; his bad government,
264.
Letter, fabled to have been written by the
Saviour to the King of Edessa, falls
into the hands of Manlakes and is taken
to Constantinople, 372
Locusts, 373
Louis le Debonnaire, Michael II. 's embassy
to i regarding image-worship, 131
Luitprand, King of the Lombards, 39 ;
defeated by the Byzantine troops, 39
Magyars, the, 290
Mahomet, sword of, 309
Mainates, the, 284
Malelnos, his extensive estates, 340; his
palace, 340; invited to court and not
allowed to return home, 340 ; his fortune
confiscated on his death, 340
Maniakes, George, Governor of Telouch,
371 ; his defeat of the Arabs and large
booty taken by, 371 ; appointed Governor
of Lower Media, _ 371 ; his defence of
Edessa, 372 ; precious relic obtained by,
372 ; his successful campaign in Sicily,
382; strikes the Emperor's brother-in-
law and is arrested, 383 ; rebels against
Constantine IX., 396, 397 ; killed by an
arrow, 397
Manicheans, 314
Manuel, general under Theophilus, flees
to the Saracens, 143; returns home,
143 ; commands the Byzantine army at
Dasymon, 146 ; wounded in saving the
Emperor and dies, 146
Maria, Paphlagpnian lady, her marriage
with Constantine VI., 74, 75 ; her retire-
ment into a monastery, 75
Methodios, elected Patriarch under Theo-
dora, 152
Michael I., his policy and character, 101 ;
his piety and zeal for orthodoxy, 101 ;
his persecution of Iconoclasts, 102;
plot to dethrone him, 102 ; his Bulgarian
war, 102 ; his defeat, 104, 105 ; his de-
thronement, retirement into monastic
life, and death, 105.
Michael II., the Amorian, his conspiracy
against Leo V., 116 ; his condemnation,
116 ; nis execution deferred, 116; re-
leased and proclaimed Emperor, 118 ;
his low origin, 119 ; his religious tolera-
tion, 120; civil war under, 120-3;
failure of bis attempts to drive tne
Saracens out of Crete, 127 ; loses posses-
sion of Sicily, 128, 129 ; recalls Theodore
from banishment, 130 ; his ecclesiastical
policy, 130; his policy as regards the
western nations of Europe, 130, 131 ; his
efforts towards the suppression of image-
worship, 130, 131 ; his marriage with
Euphrosyne, 132 ; his death, 132
Michael III., succeeds while still an infant,
149 ; neglect of, by his mother, 157 ;
education of, committed to Bardas, 158;
falls in love with Eudocia, 158 ; forced
into marriage with another Eudocia,
158 ; orders arrest and murder of
429
Theoktistos, 158 ; sends away his mother
and sisters, 159; Ms orgies, rfo; Ms
masquerade, caricaturing ecclesiastical
processions, 161 ; depravity of society
during ^ his reign, 161 ; his anger at
Pope's interference concerning the rival
Patriarchs, and quarrel with, 169, 170 ;
assembles a Council of the Church,
which excommunicates Pope Nicholas,
169 ; his expedition against the Bulgar-
ians, 170; war with the Saracens, 172 ;
drives awa^ the invading Russians, 174,
175 J condition of court and people nnder,
176 ; his drunkenness, 180 ; murder of,
181, 182
Michael IV., his humble origin, 373 ; his
beauty, 373 ; Empress falls in love with,
374 ; invested with the imperial robes,
374; his character, 375; his remorse,
375 ; his attacks of epilepsy, 375 ;
conspiracies against, 380 ; war with the
Saracens in Sicily, 381, 382 ; his death,
Michael V. married to the Empress Zoe,
388 ; sends the Empress into exile, 388 ;
recalls her, 389 ; fury of populace
against, 388, 389; is attacked in his
palace, 389 ; his escape and capture,
390 ; his eyes put out, 390 ; retires to a
monastery, 390
Michael VI., his incapacity and age, 415 ;
administration, of the empire given into
the hands of eunuchs, 415, 4^16 ; hostile
feeling towards, among his subjects,
416; plot against, amongst the nobles
of Asia Minor, 417 ; his deposition,
4 20
Monomachos, Theodosios, his attempt to
seize the crown, 414, 415
Moslemah, besieges Amorium, 24, 15 ;
captures Pergamus, 16; besieges Con-
stantinople, 16
Motassem, Caliph, embassy from Theo-
philus to, 143 ; prepares for war with
Byzantine Empire, 145 ; his victory over
Theophilus, 146 ; his siege of Amorium,
146, 147 ; his cruelty to inhabitants, 147
Naupactos, insurrection in, 363
Nicaea, councils at, 5, 69, 70
Nicephorus, Constantine VI.'s uncle, his
conspiracy and punishment, 67
Nicephorus the historian, 69 ; elected
Patriarch, 89
Nicephorus the Treasurer, his descent,
86 ; leading features of his reign, 86 ;
his character, 86, 87; quells Bardanes'
rebellion, 88; his ecclesiastical policy,
89, 90 ; his severe financial administra-
tion, 91 ; attempts to assassinate, 93 ;
his relations with Charlemagne, 93 ;
war with Haroun al Rashid, 94, 95 ;
victory over the Sclavonian colonies at
Patras, 97 ; his tax on monasteries, 98 ;
his invasion of the Bulgarian kingdom,
his defeat, and death on the field of
battle, 98-100
Nicephorus II., of the family of Phokas,
Commander-in-chief, his successes ovef
430
Index
the Saracens, 288; his conquest of
Crete and triumph, 293-6; arouses
jealousy of Bringas, 301 ; informed of
plot against himself, 301 ; takes com-
mand of the army in Asia, 302 ; forced
to proclaim himself Emperor, 302; enters
capita! and crowned as Nicephorus II.,
302 ; his ability, morality, and piet v
303 J marries Theophano, 303, his im-
provement of discipline in the army,
304 ; his fiscal measures, 304 ; his un-
popularity, 304 ; his adulteration of the
wine, 304; ill-will of clergy towards,
305 ; his prohibition of further founda-
tions of monasteries and hospitals, 306 ;
his war with the Saracens, 307; con-
quers Tarsus and recovers rich cross,
307 ; conquers Mopsuestia, 307 ; bronze
gates of these two cities placed in _the
new citadel, 307 ; marches against
Antioch and recovers the city, 307, 308 ;
refuses to pay tribute to Caliph, and
sends army to take Sicily, 309; defeat
of same, 309; murdered by Zimiskes,
310, 311
Nicholas, Pope, 167, 168; calls on the
Emperor to cancel his letter, x6o ; ex-
communicated by Council of the Church,
169
Niketas, aids his father's rebellion, 45, 47 ;
made prisoner and eyes put out, 47
Niketas, his defeat in Sicily, 309 ; ransomed
by Nicephorus, who sends sword of Ma-
homet to Caliph, 309
Nikolaos, Patriarch, his dispute with Leo
VI., 345 ; his deposition, 246 ; his re-in-
statement and appointment as member
of regency during Constantine VIL's
minority, 264 ; his death, 279
Normans, the, 405, 406
Oleg, Russian general, advances on Con-
stantinople, 316
Olga, widow of Igor, embraces ^Chris-
tianity, 319 ; her visit to Constantinople,
319
Omar, Caliph, 172 ; war with Michael III.
and death, 173 m
Opsikion, impostor, loses his hand, and
finally burnt alive, 273- __
Otho the Great, his marriage with Theo-
phano, Byzantine princess, 314
Ouranos, Byzantine general, victory of,
over Bulgarians, 345
Papal authority, origin of, 165, io"6
Paris, synod at, condemns image-worship,
131
Patriarch, power of Emperor to depose
and appoint, 279
Patzinaks, Turkish tribes, alliance con-
cluded with, by Zoe, 268, 363, 364, 383,
403 ; war with, under Constantine IX.,
403 sg.
PaulicianSjpersecution of, under Theodora,
155, 156; wax on, by Basil, 22^; little
republic founded by, 228 ; their town
takea. by Basil, 229 ; their dispersion,
230
Peganes, takes ug arms with Symbatios,
178 ; his degrading punishment, 179
Pepin, King of Italy, 93
Pestilence, its appearance m Byzantine
Empire, 60, 61 ; its horrors, 61-3 ^ its
effect oa the character of the population,
63
Peter, succeeds Simeon as King of Bul-
garia, 290 ; refuses help to Nicephoras,
Pe^ro, son of the Doge, seized by Bulgar-
ians, 282 ; heavy ransom, demanded for,
282
Phenomena, remarkable physical, 60
Phokas, Bardas, leaves his monastic retreat
and commands the imperial army, 336,
337 ; his single combat with Skleros,
337 ; his efforts to dethrone the Emperor,
33 ; his strange death, 339
Phokas, family of, and fate of its different
members, 313, 3x4 . , _
Phokas, Leo, his appointment by Zoe to
the command of the army and defeat,
268; his intrigues, 270
Photius, his illegal election as Patriarch,
163, 164, 167; his excommunication,
168, 215, 216 ; his consecration annulled,
216; his banishment, 217, 244 ; his death,
218; his opposition to papal ambition,
218
Pirates, Saracen, 259, 291, 372, 381
Plato, abbot of the monastery of &ak-
koudion, opposes Emperor's marriage
with Theodora, arrested and imprisoned,
Polyeuktes, Patriarch, refuses to sanction
marriage of Nicephorus with^ Theo-
phano, 303 ; compelled to withdraw
opposition, 304 ; refuses at first to crown
Zimiskes, 312 ; his death, 313
Prusian, Bulgarian prince, accused of
plotting against the Emperor, and
condemned to lose his sight, 368
Punishment, cruelty of, in the Byzantine
Empire, 51
Ragusa, siege of, 231
Romanus I., Grand Admiral, 268, 269;
his pretensions and daring coaduct,
269; takes oath of fidelity to Con-
stantine, 270 ; marriage of his daughter
to Emperor, receives title of Caesar and
raised to rank of^ Emperor, 270; his
weakness and vanity, 272 ; confers im-
perial crown on his wife Theodora, 27^2 ;
conspiracies to dethrone him, 272 ; in-
stalls his three sons as his colleagues,
272 ; seized by the agents of his son and
forced to embrace the monastic life, 2^3 ;
attempts to reinstall him, 278 ; his in-
terview with Simeon and conclusion of
treaty with, 289.
Romanus II,, marries the beautiful Theo-
phano, 276 ; his character, 277 ; punish-
ment of death rarely inflicted by, 278 ;
ascends the throne, 291 ; his person and
character, 202 ; his early death, 292 ;
conquest of Crete under, 293-6.
Romanus III., elected as his successor by
Index
Constantine VIII., 36^; condition im-
posed on, 364; marries the Princess
Zoe, 364 ; his measures for winning
popularity, 366; his superstition, 366;
war with the Saracens^ 369, 370; his
want of military experience, 370; his
defeat and disgraceful retreat, 370 J his
illness arid death, 373, 374
Rome,regains political independence under
the Popes, 41 ; contest of, with Constan-
tinople, 170; attacked by the Saracens,
232
Rurik, Scandinavian or Varangian chief,
lays foundation of the Russian Empire,
174
Russians, attack on Constantinople by,
174; war with, under John Zimiskes,
315 $q.' t under Constantino IX., 402 stq.
St. Peter and St. Paul, churches of, plun-
dered by Saracens, 232
St. Sophia, library near, burnt, 42
Samonas, Leo VI.'s favourite, 242, 243
Samuel, King of Bulgaria, founds the
kingdom of Achrida, 343; his extensive
dominions, 343, 344 ; invades Greece,
344 ; surprised and defeated by Ouranos,
the Byzantine general, 345; treachery
of his son-in-law, 345 ; Ms final defeat,
348 ; falls senseless on hearing of the
barbarity committed on his men, 348;
his death, 348
Santabaren, Theodorus, abbot, his exile
and cruel treatment under Leo VI., 244
Saracens, wars with, passim; their arms
and discipline, 189 ; their cavalry, 189 ;
their repeated ravages in Italy, 232^;
their naval expeditions in the Medi-
terranean, 234 ; taking of Thessalooica
by, 248-57
Sciavonians, rebellion of, in the Pelopon-
nesus, 283; their country laid waste,
283; submission and tribute paidjby,
283 ; their adoption of Byzantine civil-
isation, 284, 342, 346, 348, 349, 339,;
rebellion among, caused by Johns
exactions, 384-6
Seljouk Turks, invasion of Byzantine
Empire by. 407-11
Servia, depopulated by Simeoa, 290;
places itself under protection_of Byzan-
tine government, 290; rebellion in, 384
Sicily, conquered by the Saracens, 124,
128, 129, 233 ; Nicephorus sends forces
into, 309 ; their defeat, 309 ; victories of
Maniakes in, 382, 383 ; loss of conquered
towns under Stephen's governorship,
Sid-al-Battal, renowned champion of
Islamism, 20
Simeon, King of the Bulgarians, aoi ;
invades the Byzantine Empire and de-
feats Leo VI., 262; his treatment of
Thrace, 267; marches to Constanti-
nople, 267 ; gains possession of Adria-
nople, 267 ; defeats Byzantine forces at
Achelous, 268; at Constantinople, 288,
289 ; reconquers Adrianople, 289 ; splen-
dour of his bodyguard, 289; meeti
Romaaus L, peace settled between,
289 ; retires laden with plunder, 289 ;
his cruelty in Servia and Croatia, ago;
defeated by the Croatian*, 290; his
death, 300
Skamars, bands of plunderers so called,,
51 ; crael punishment inflicted on a
member of, 51
Skleiaina, Constantine IX. 's mistress, 392,
Sld*ros, 9 &ardas l Ms rebellion under Basil
II., 335 ; assumes title of Emperor, 336 ;
his single combat with Phokas, 337 ;
his soldiers flee, 337; imprisoned by
Caliph, 337; his escape, 338) concludes
treaty with Phokas, 338 ; his audience
with the Emperor and death, 339
Slavery, 203, 204
Slavesi incursions of Saracens for the pur-
pose of obtaining, 84; arrangement
come to concerning prisoners, 84
Slave trade in the Mediterranean, 257 _
Stephen, abbot of monastery near Kico-
media, Ms eloquence, opposition to
Emperor, and death, 58
Stephen, brother-ia-law to Michael IV.,
appointed Governor of Sicily, 383^
Stephen the eunuch, elected Patriarch,
Stephen, the eunuch, 397; rebellion of,
398
Stephanos, son of Romanus, and joint
Emperor, 272 ; seized and compelled to
adopt monastic habit, 274
Suleiman, Caliph, 14 ; extent of his em-
pire, 16 ; his death, 17
Swiatoslaff, invades Bulgaria, 319; takes
Presthlava, 319, 320; ,**? with
Zimiskes, 320 seq.\ conclusion of peace
with, 323 ; personal description of, 324 J
KTg death, 324
Symbatios, helps to murder Bardas, i78_;
takes up arms to depose Basil, 178 ; his
degrading punishment, 179
Syracuse, conquest of, by Saracens, 233
Tarasios, Patriarch under Irene, 68, 69,
77 ; his death, 89
Tarsus, besieged by Nicepborus II., 307
Themes, seven great, in Asia, 13
Theodora, maid of honour, ^ Constantine
VI. falls in love with, 75 ; is married to
Emperor, 76
Theodora, wife of Romanus I., 272
Theodore, abbot of Studion opposes
Emperor's marriage with Theodora and.
banishment, 77; Ms account of his
journey, 7 7, 78, 89, 101; dissuades
Michael from giving up refugees, 103 ,
opposes Leo V.'s moderate policy with
regard to image-worship, no; banished
by the Emperor, 1x3, 114*, recalled by
Michael II., 130
Theodora, chosen as wife by Theophilus,
106 : her trading speculations, 137 ; ,her
regency, 149; cessation of religious
dissensions under, 149; her request /or
an act forgiving all her husband s s,ns,
152; military expedition against the
432
Index
Slavonians, 153; Saracen war, 154;
hostilities and peace with Bulgarians,
155 ; persecutions under, 155 ; Byzantine
fleet sent to Egypt, 157 ; her talent for
government, 157 ; her neglect of her
son, 157? banished by him from the
imperial palace, 159 ; recovers some in-
fluence over her son, 160 ; her death, 160.
Theodora, daughter of Constantine VIII.
" refuses to marry Romanus III., 364;
accused of plotting to seize the crown,
368, 369 ; driven from the palace and
Imprisoned, 369 ; reigns conjointly with
Zoe, 389, 390 ; orders John the Orphano-
trophos to be seized and his eyes put
out, 395; proclaimed Empress, 412;
character and administration of, 412,
413 ; her short reign and death, 413, 414
Theophano, her beauty and mean origin,
276 ; marries Romanus II., 276 ; re-
ported to have induced her husband to
murder his father, 277, 292 ; left regent,
301 ; marries Nicephorus, 303 ; insti-
gates tie murder of her husband, 310
Theopbilus, his excellent education, tastes,
courage, and bigotry, 133 ; surnamed
the Unfortunate, 133 ; his love of justice
and severity, 134, 135 ; his inquiry into
police details and state of the markets,
135 ; anecdote concerning his choice of
a wife, 136; his edict against image-
worship, 138 ; his cruelty in enforcing
it, 138; hospital and palaces built
by, 139, 140 ; his love of music, 140 ; of
mechanical contrivances, 140; law
passed by, enforcing the wearing of
short hair, 141 ; concerning the marriage
of Persians and Romans, 141 ; estab-
lishes a colony on the Don, 141 ; his
protection to refugees from the Caliph's
dominions, 142 ; commands his army
against the Saracens in person, and is
defeated, 142 ; distrust and severity
towards his generals, 143; bis victory
over the Saracens, 144 ; destroys Zapetra,
144 ; his defeat by Motassem, 146 ; the
loss of Amorium Jbis death-blow, 148 ;
chapel, circus, staircase, and whispering
gallery erected by, 148; his last act,
and death, 149
Theodore the eunuch commands the
imperial forces against Isaac Comnenus,
418, 419
Theodosius III., 15
Theophanes, anecdote concerning his
avarice, 378, 379
Theophano, sister of Emperors Basil and
Constantino, marriage of, with Otho the
Great, 314
Theophilos, Governor of Cyprus, heads
rebellion, 396; taken and ignominiously
punished, 396
Theophobos, brother-in-law to Theophilus,
his execution ordered by latter on his
death-bed, 149
Theophylaktos, elected Patriarch, 280;
his disgraceful life, 280 ; his passion for
horses and magnificence of his stables,
281 ; his death, 281
Thera, island of, irruption of submarine
volcano at, 41, 42
Theoktistos, appointed one of the Council
of Administration in conjunction with
Theodora, 149 ; commands expedition
to Cholcis, 153 ; defeated at Mauropo-
tamos, 154 j his able administration,
158 ; arrest and murder of, 158
Tiiekla, sister to the Emperor Michael
III., 235; ill-treatment of, by Basil,
236
Thessalonica, terrible catastrophe suffered
by Christians at, 248 ; description of
the taking of, by the Saracens, 248-57 ;
slaughter of the inhabitants, 256 ; suffer-
ings of those made captives, 250 ; many
sold as slaves, 257
Thomas, rebellion of, against Michael II.,
120 ; his alliance with the Saracens,
121 ; besieges Constantinople, 121, 122 ;
delivered up by his followers and hanged,
122
Thrace, evils inflicted on, by Simeon,
King of Bulgaria, 267 ; plundered by
the Hungarians, 290
Togrulbeg, chief of the Seljouk Turks,
407-10
Tornikios, Leo, rebels against Constantino
IX. and marches to Constantinople,
398 ; his defeat and capture, 399 ;
deprived of sight, 309
Tryphon, elected Patriarch, 279
Varangian guard, anecdote of, 370
Venice, site of^present city of, becomes
seat of Venetian government, 94
Vladimir, King of Bulgaria, 261
Yezid I., Caliph, prophecy concerning, 25
Zimiskes. See John I.
Zoe (Carbonopsma), Leo VI, 's wife, 242 ;
mother of Constantine VII., 245 ; ex-
cluded from regency of her son, 264 ;
reinstated in the palace, 267 ; becomes
absolute mistress of the public adminis-
tration, 267; concludes alliance with
the^Patzinaks, 26 8^ ; prepares fresh army
to invade Bulgaria, 268 ; its complete
defeat, 268; war with the Saracens,
285, 286
Zoe, daughter of Constantine VIII.,
marries Romanus III., 365 ; her pre-
vious life, 364 ; falls in love with her
servant Michael, 374 ; invests him with
the imperial robes, 374 ; assumes the
direction of the administration on
Michael IV.'s death, 387 ; her marriage
with Michael, nephew of the late Em-
peror, 388 ; sent to Prince's Island and
compelled to adopt monastic habit,
388 ; recalled, 389 ; reigns conjointly
with Theodora, 390 ; looks out for a
third husband, 391 ; her marriage with
Constantme Monomachos, 392 ; death
of } 412.
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