Byzantium
A series of problems, including political and social turmoil as well as military threats
from outside forces, brought an end to the classical societies in the centuries after 200 C.E. The
lone exception was the Byzantine empire. After the collapse of the western half of the Roman
empire the Byzantine eastern section survived for another millennium. The Byzantine empire
developed into a dramatically different society than its Roman predecessor was. Far more than
merely surviving, however, Byzantium dominated the eastern Mediterranean world politically
and economically for centuries. Even after its collapse the Byzantine empire’s influence could
be seen in the Slavic peoples of eastern Europe and Russia.
The Early Byzantine Empire
Byzantium began as the Greek village of Byzantion, a small trading town important only
for its strategic position on the Bosporus. Eventually Constantine chose Byzantion, renamed
Constantinople, to be the capital of the Roman empire because of its position as the center of the
wealthy eastern half of the empire. At its height Byzantium would include Greece, Anatolia,
Syria, Palestine, Egypt, northeast Africa, and the Balkans. Byzantium faced threats from the
Sasanid dynasty in Persia but managed to escape the Germanic invasions that had devastated the
western half of the empire.
Politically, the Byzantine state was marked by a highly centralized rule centered around a
remarkably powerful emperor. Byzantine emperors wielded a mixture of political and religious
authority known as caesaropapism. At least in theory, the emperor possessed absolute authority
in all political, military, judicial, and religious affairs. Justinian, despite humble origins, would
be the most influential of the Byzantine emperors. Ably advised by his wife Theodora, Justinian
attempted to re-create the Roman empire. Hagia Sophia is representative of the brilliant building
program started by Justinian to reconfigure Constantinople. Justinian’s codification of Roman
law, as seen in the Corpus iuris civilis, was the emperor’s most influential legal and political
contribution. The general Belisarius’s conquests reconstructed most of the Roman empire. In
the end, however, a combination of limited Byzantine resources and Arabic expansion made
holding the old empire together impossible. Nevertheless, the theme system allowed for a
temporary reinvigoration under Basil II in the early eleventh century. The former western half of
the empire increasingly fell to successor states. The Frankish king Charlemagne received an
imperial crown from the pope in 800 and Otto of Saxony claimed to rule the west in 962.
Byzantine Economy and Society
While its political authority fluctuated over the centuries, Byzantium continually
remained an economic power. Anatolia and the area around the lower Danube produced
enormous supplies of wheat. Byzantium was at its strongest when free peasants formed the
engine that drove the state. The position of the free peasants was bolstered by the theme system
that provided land in return for military service. The consolidation of power and land in the
hands of the nobles not only hurt the peasants but also damaged the Byzantine empire militarily.
Constantinople remained the major center of trade and industry in the Mediterranean world. One
of the major innovations was the rise of a silk industry. Byzantium’s domination over trade is
