The Byzantine Empire

Part 22

Chapter 222,186 wordsPublic domain

Michael IX., son and colleague of Andronicus II., defeated by the “Grand Company,” 318

Michael Angelus, despot of Epirus, 300

Moawiah, Caliph, attacks Constantinople, 170; his armies defeated, 171

Moesia, invaded by the Goths, 37; seized by the Bulgarians, 171

Monks, characteristics of the early, 149; favour image worship, 193; persecuted by Constantine Copronymus, 197

Monophysites, 75

Moors, Gelimer flies to the, 85

Montferrat, _see under_ Boniface and Conrad

Morals, effect of Christianity on, 145-7; general character of Byzantine, 155-6

Moslemah besieges Constantinople, 185-7

Motassem, the Caliph, sacks Amorium, 210

Murad I., conquers Thrace, 329; suzerain of John V., 330; conquers the Serbs, 332

Murad II., besieges Constantinople, 337; makes peace with Manuel II., 338; wars of, 342

Murtzuphlus, _see_ Alexius V. (Ducas)

Myriokephalon, battle of, 272

Naissus, birthplace of Constantine I., 16; taken by the Bulgarians, 277

Naples, taken by Belisarius, 88; interference of the Pope with, 120

Narses, the eunuch, conquers Italy from the Goths, 95

Narses, General, burnt alive by Phocas, 129

Navy, the Byzantine, 219-20

Nicaea, taken by the Crusaders, 264; by the Ottomans, 323

Nicephorus I. dethrones Irene, 199; disastrous wars of, 203

Nicephorus II., Phocas, takes Candia, 228; emperor, 229; wars of, 231; murdered by Zimisces, 232

Nicholas V., pope, sends aid to Constantine XI., 344

Nicomedia, taken by the Ottomans, 323

Nineveh, battle of, 138

Normans, conquer Byzantine Italy, 247; invade the empire, 259; second invasion of repelled, 267; third invasion of, 273

Notaras, John, 342

Nuceria, Goths beaten at, 95

Obeydah, Saracen general, 162

Obsequian theme, the, 168

Odoacer, conquered by Theodoric, 63, 64

Omar, the Caliph, visits Jerusalem, 163

Omeyades, dynasty of the, 170

Orkhan, Emir of the Ottomans, reign and successes of, 323-4; Pretender to the Sultanate, 343

Orosius, history of, 150

Ostrogoths, under Theodoric in Moesia, 62; conquer Italy, 64; weakness of the kingdom of, 82; attacked by Justinian, 88; wars of with Belisarius and Narses, 89-94; crushed, 95

Othman, Emir of the Turks, conquests of, 321-23

Palace, imperial, at Constantinople, 19

Paleologus, house of, _see under_ Michael VI., Andronicus II. and III., John V. and VI., Constantine XI.

Palermo, taken by Belisarius, 88

Palestine, conquered by the Persians, 132; overrun by the Arabs, 163; subdued by the Crusaders, 265

Pandects, compiled by Justinian, 112

Patriarchal palace of Constantinople, 21

Patriarchs, _see under_ John, Sergius, &c.

Paulicians, sect of the persecuted by Basil I, 214

Paulinus, put to death by Theodosius II., 57

Patzinak Tartars, the, 237; wars of with Alexius I., 262

Pavia, taken by the Lombards, 116

Persian Empire destroyed by the Arabs, 164

Persian Wars under Julian, 32; under Justinian, 71, 99; under Maurice, 121; under Phocas and Heraclius, 130-36

Peter, general under Nicephorus Phocas, 231

Philip of Macedon, attacks Byzantium, 7

Philip of Swabia, helps Alexius Angelus the younger, 279-8

Philippicus, usurpation and fall of, 180-1

Phocas, emperor, his usurpation, 127; cruelty of, 129; slain, 130

Phocas, Bardas, rebels against John Zimisces, 233; against Basil II., 241

Phocas, Nicephorus, reign of, 228-30; wars of, 231; murdered, 233

Photius, patriarch, his learning, 221

Plague, the great of A.D. 542, 101

Popes, rise of the power of, 120; estranged from the empire, 196; call in the Franks, 199

Priscus, general of Maurice, 126

Prusa, taken by the Turks, 323; sacked by the Mongols, 334

Pulcheria, Empress, with her brother Theodosius II., 55; marries Marcianus, 59

Pelekanon, battle of, 323

Polyeuktus, patriarch, 230

Ravenna, taken by Belisarius, 91; exarchate of, 119; occupied by the Lombards, 196

Rhangabe, Michael, short reign of, 204

Rhazates, general, slain by Heraclius, 137

Richard Coeur de Leon, conquers Cyprus, 278

Robert Guiscard, wars of with Alexius I., 259-60; final repulse of, 261

Roger de Flor, hired by Andronicus II., 317; conquests of, 318; assassinated, 318

Romanus I. (Lecapenus), long regency of, 217

Romanus II, short reign of, 228-9

Romanus III. (Argyrus), married to Zoe, 245; dies, 246

Romanus IV. (Diogenes), reign of, 251; defeated by Turks, 254; dies, 256

Rome, taken by Belisarius, 89; besieged by the Goths, 90; taken by Baduila, 94; Gregory the Great at, 120; Constans II. at, 169; Charles the Great at, 199

Ruric, founds the Russian kingdom, 234

Russians, early invasions of, 216; attack Bulgaria, 234; defeated by John Zimisces, 237; converted to Christianity, 239

Sabatius, father of Justinian, 65

Samuel, king of Bulgaria, 241; wars and death of, 242

Saoudji, rebels against Murad I., 333

Sapor, king of Persia, 32

Saracens, the, converted by Mahomet, 159; invade Syria, 160-2; conquer Egypt, 166; conquer Persia, 164; civil wars of the, 166; for later history, _see under_ names of the Caliphs

Sardis, taken by Alexius I., 265

Scholarian Guards, the, 104

Seljouk Turks, conquer Persia and Armenia, 250-1; invade the empire, 252; conquer Asia Minor, 254; defeated by the Crusaders, 265; wars of with the Comneni, 265-7-72; with Theodore I., 298

Sergius, patriarch, 133

Senate House at Constantinople, 21

Servians, cross the Danube, 123; conquered by Basil II., 243; rebel against Michael IV., 246; conquered by Manuel I., 271; overrun Macedonia, 327; subdued by the Turks, 330

Severus, emperor, takes Byzantium, 9

Shahrbarz, the Persian, takes Jerusalem, 132; defeated by Heraclius, 135

Sicily, conquered by Belisarius, 88; invaded by Saracens, 208; finally conquered by Saracens, 214; invaded by Maniakes, 246 ;

Siroes, deposes his father Chosroës, 138

Skleros, Bardas, rebel against Basil II., 241

Slavery, influence of Christianity on, 147-8

Slavs, invade the Balkan Peninsula, 123; subject to the Avars, 124-37; ravages of the, 125, 129; made tributary by Constans II., 169; besiege Thessalonica, 171

Sophia. St., first building of, 27; burnt in 410 A.D., 53; burnt in the _Nika_ riots, 77; rebuilding of by Justinian, 107-9; desecrated by the Turks, 349

Spain, South of, conquered by Justinian’s generals, 96-7

Stauracius, emperor, short reign of, 204

Statues at Constantinople, 21, 25; destruction of by the Crusaders, 291

Suleiman, Saracen vizier, besieges Constantinople, 185; dies, 186; Turkish Sultan, reign of, 334-6

Stephen Lecapenus, usurpation of, 217

Stephen Dushan, king of Servia, conquests of, 327

Stephen, pope, calls in the Franks, 196

Stilicho, wars of with Alaric, 47-8; murdered by Honorius, 49

Swiatoslaf, king of Russia, conquers Bulgaria, 235; defeated by Zimisces, 237

Syria, invaded by the Huns, 71; invaded by Kobad, 73; conquered by Shahrbarz, 129-30; invaded and conquered by the Saracens, 162-3; conquests of Nicephorus Phocas in, 229; subdued by the Crusaders, 265

Sophronius, patriarch of Jerusalem, 163

Tagina, battle of, 95

Tarsus, taken by Nicephorus Phocas, 230

Teia, Gothic king, slain in battle, 95

Telemachus, martyrdom of, 145

Terbel, king of Bulgaria, aids Justinian II., 178

Themes, institution of the provincial system of, 167-8

Theodahat, Gothic king, murders his wife, 82; war of with Justinian, 87; slain, 88

Theodora, wife of Justinian, career of, 66-8; in the _Nika_ riots, 79; death of, 103

Theodora, wife of Theophilus, 211; regency of, 212

Theodora, daughter of Constantine VIII., reign of, 248

Theodora, daughter of Cantacuzenus, married to Orkhan, 328

Theodore I. (Lascaris), at the siege of Constantinople, 289; made emperor at Nicaea, 298; wars of, 299

Theodore II. (Ducas), short reign of, 303

Theodore, Studita, 221

Theodoric, son of Triarius, wars of with Zeno, 62-3

Theodoric, son of Theodemir, rebels against Zeno, 62; conquers Italy, 64; dies, 81

Theodotus, minister of Justinian II., 174

Theodosius I., wars of, with the Goths, 42; dies, 44

Theodosius II., reign of, 54-6; war with Attila, 57

Theodosius III., usurpation of, 181; abdicates, 183

Theophano, empress, 229; murders her husband, 233

Theophilus, emperor, reign and wars of, 208-11; his love of art, 224-5

Theophilus, patriarch of Alexandria, 52

Thessalonica, besieged by the Slavs, 171; stormed by the Saracens, 216; Crusading kingdom of, 292; retaken by the Greeks, 296; taken by the Turks, 330; recovered, 336; finally lost, 341

Theuderic, Frankish king, attacks Witiges, 89

Thomas, rebel in Asia, 208

Tiberius II., Constantinus, short reign of, 114; wars of, 117

Tiberius III., Apsimarus, rebellion of, 177; deposed and slain, 179

Tiberius, son of Justinian II., slain, 180

Togrul Beg, Turkish chief, conquers Bagdad, 251

Totila, _see under_ Baduila

Trebizond, empire of, founded, 298

Tribonian, minister of Justinian I., 112

Tricameron, battle of, 85

Turks, _see under_ Seljouks, and names of Ottoman Sultans

Tuscany, conquered by the Lombards, 116

Tyana, sacked by Saracens, 182

Uldes, king of the Huns, 51

Urosh, king of Servia, 327

Uscup, capital of Stephen Dushan, 327

Valens, reign of, 36; slain in battle by the Goths, 41

Vandals, kingdom of the, in Africa, 82; conquered by Belisarius, 85

Varangian guards, 239; at Durazzo, 260; at siege of Constantinople, 282, 288

Verona, Baduila at, 92

Venice, rise of, 225; commercial treaties of, with Alexius I., 268; wars with Manuel I., 271; aids the Fourth Crusade, 279; engages in war with Alexius III., 282; share of in plunder of Constantinople, 292; at war with Michael VIII., 314

Vigilius, pope, persecuted by Justinian, 103

Vikings, the, in Russia, 234

Visigoths, the, invade Moesia, 35; slay Valens, 41; under Alaric, 48; migrate to Italy, 49

Vitalian, rebellion of, 61

Welid, caliph, wars of, with the empire, 182

Witiges, Gothic king, 88; besieges Rome, 90; submits to Belisarius, 91

Yezid, Saracen prince, wars of with the empire, 170

Zachariah, patriarch of Jerusalem, 132

Zapetra, taken by Theophilus, 210

Zara, taken by the Crusaders, 280

Zeno, emperor, reorganizes the army, 61; wars of with the Goths, 62; sends Theodoric to Italy, 64

Zeuxippus, baths of, 19

Zimisces, John, murders Nicephoras 1, 233; Russian war of, 235-7; Asiatic conquests of, 239

Zoe, empress, her marriages and reign, 245-7

FOOTNOTES

1 See coin on opposite page. The Bosphorus was supposed to have drawn its name from being the place where Io, when transformed into a cow, forded the strait from Europe into Asia Βοῦς-πορὸς.

2 See coin on page 4.

3 Ammianus Marcellinus.

4 Certainly not by Procopius, whose name it bears.

5 There had been only an isolated raids of Huns in A.D. 395, which penetrated as far as Palestine. No other invasion reached as far as Antioch.

6 “Born in Germania, a district between Thrace and Illyricum,” says his secretary, Procopius. We do not know where the district—a German settlement, presumably—was situated.

7 See chap. ii. p. 22.

8 To hold the view which denied the existence both of a truly human and a truly Divine nature in Our Lord Jesus Christ.

9 See map on p. 20.

10 The murder of Amalasuntha took place _after_ the Roman invasion of Africa; but Theodahat was already on the throne when the Vandal war was proceeding.

11 The king’s real name was Baduila, as shown on his coins, and recorded by some historians, but Imperialist writers always call him Totila, which seems to have been a nickname.

12 Bury’s “Later Roman Empire,” i. 402.

13 Agathias.

14 It is comforting to know that the popular legend which tells how the great general lived in poverty and disgrace, begging the passer-by “dare obolum Belisario,” and dying in the streets, is untrue. But the suspicious emperor’s conduct was quite unpardonable.

15 Calabria is here used in its old sense, meaning South Apulia, and not the extreme point of Italy down by Reggio and Squillace.

16 From them the Albanians descend: the Albanian tongue is the only relic of ancient Illyria.

17 To be carefully distinguished from his homonym in Justinian’s time.

18 “History of European Morals,” ii. p. 13.

19 Mr. Lecky speaks of the “perpetual fratricide” of the Byzantine emperors. It may be interesting to point out that from 340 to 1453 there was not a single emperor murdered by a brother, and only one dethroned by a brother. Two were dethroned by sons, but not murdered.

20 To the credit of Amrou and his Saracens it must be recorded that the great Alexandrian Library was not burnt by them in sheer fanatical wantonness as the legends tell. It had perished long before.

21 Mr. Bury’s excellent chapter on “Themes,” in vol. ii. of his “Later Roman Empire,” is most convincing as to these very puzzling provinces and their origin.

22 “Slaves to images”; a term of contempt not unfairly applied to the image-worshippers.

23 See p. 116.

24 It is said to have been either his birth-place or that of his mother.

25 This name was given him because he was born in the Purple Chamber, the room in the palace set aside for the Empress. Emperors born in their father’s reign had been scarce of late. Constantine VI. and Michael the Drunkard were the only two in the 110 years before Constantine VII.

26 There is a splendid copy of this book in the Bodleian Library, made as late as 1560, where all the prophecies are applied to the Turks and Venetians.

27 There were two palace intrigues against him, both headed by members of his own family. Neither of them won any support from people or army.

28 He pierced himself by misadventure with one of his own poisoned arrows, and died of the wound.

29 Nicetas, “Isaac Angelus,” book iii. ch. 8, § 6.

30 See page 289.

31 Sometimes known as John Vatatzes.

32 See Bertrandon de la Broquière quoted in Finlay, vol. iii. p. 493, a very interesting passage.

33 See pp. 24, 25.