Byzantine Empire Βασιλεία Ῥωμαίων (Ancient Greek) Imperium Romanum (Latin)
867–1056
The Byzantine Empire at the death ofBasil II, 1025
Capital	Constantinople
Common languages	Medieval Greek (official, widely spoken andlingua franca),Koine Greek (religious),Old Albanian,Eastern Romance languages,Armenian,Old Church Slavonic,South Slavic languages,Syriac language
Religion	Eastern Orthodox Church
Government	Monarchy under military rule
Emperor
• 867–886	Basil I
• 1055–1056	Theodora Porphyrogenita
History
• Murder ofMichael III	24 September 867
• Death ofTheodora Porphyrogenita	31 August 1056
Preceded by Succeeded by Byzantine Empire under the Amorian dynasty First Bulgarian Empire Byzantine Empire under the Doukas dynasty County of Apulia and Calabria Catepanate of Ras Duklja

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TheByzantine Empireunder the Macedonian dynasty underwent a revival during the late 9th, 10th, and early 11th centuries. Under theMacedonian emperors, the empire gained control over theAdriatic Sea,Southern Italy, and all of the territory of theTsarSamuil of Bulgaria. The Macedonian dynasty was characterised by a cultural revival in spheres such as philosophy and the arts, and has been dubbed the "Golden Age" ofByzantium.^[1]

The cities of the empire expanded, and affluence spread across the provinces because of the newfound security. The population rose, and production increased, stimulating new demand fortrade.

Culturally, there was considerable growth in education and learning (the "Macedonian Renaissance"). Ancient texts were preserved and recopied.Byzantine art flourished, and brilliantmosaics graced the interiors of the many new churches.^[2]

Although tradition attributed the "Byzantine Renaissance" toBasil I (867–886), initiator of the Macedonian dynasty, some later scholars have credited the reforms of Basil's predecessor,Michael III (842–867) and of the eruditeTheoktistos (died 855). The latter in particular favoured culture at the court, and, with a careful financial policy, steadily increased gold reserves. The rise of the Macedonian dynasty coincided with developments that strengthened the religious unity of the empire.^[3]

Theiconoclast movement experienced a steep decline; this favoured its soft suppression by the emperors, and mitigation of the religious strife that had drained resources in previous centuries. Despite some tactical defeats, the administrative, legislative, cultural and economic situation continued to improve under Basil's successors, especially withRomanos I Lekapenos (920–944). Thetheme system reached its definitive form in this period. TheEastern Orthodox Church establishment began to support the imperial cause, and the state limited the power of the landowning class in favour of agricultural small-holders, who made up an important part of the military. These conditions contributed to the ability of the emperors to wage war against theArabs.

By 867, the empire had stabilized its position in both the east and the west, while the success of its defensive military structure had enabled the emperors to begin planning wars of reconquest in the east.

The process of reconquest began with variable fortunes. The temporary reconquest ofCrete (843) was followed by a crushing Byzantine defeat on theBosporus, while the emperors were unable to prevent the ongoing Muslim conquest ofSicily (827–902). Using present-dayTunisia as their launching pad, the Muslims conqueredPalermo in 831,Messina in 842,Enna in 859,Syracuse in 878,Catania in 900 and the final Greek stronghold, the fortress ofTaormina, in 902.

These drawbacks were later counterbalanced by a victorious expedition againstDamietta inEgypt (853), the defeat of the Emir ofMelitene (863), the confirmation of the imperial authority overDalmatia (867) and Basil I's offensives towards theEuphrates (870s).

The threat from theArab Muslims was meanwhile reduced by inner struggles and by the rise of theTurks in the east. Muslims received assistance however from thePaulician sect, which had found a large following in the eastern provinces of the Empire and, facing persecution under the Byzantines, often fought under the Arab flag. It took several campaigns to subdue the Paulicians, who were eventually defeated by Basil I.^[2]

In 904, disaster struck the empire when its second city,Thessaloniki, wassacked by an Arab fleetled by aByzantine renegade. The Byzantines responded by destroying an Arab fleet in 908, and sacking the city ofLaodicea in Syria two years later. Despite this revenge, the Byzantines were still unable to strike a decisive blow against the Muslims, who inflicted a crushing defeat on the imperial forces when they attempted to regain Crete in 911.

The situation on the border with the Arab territories remained fluid, with the Byzantines alternatively on the offensive or defensive.Kievan Rus', who appeared near Constantinoplefor the first time in 860, constituted another new challenge. In 941they appeared on the Asian shore of theBosporus, but this time they were crushed, showing the improvements in the Byzantine military position after 907, whenonly diplomacy had been able to push back the invaders. The vanquisher of the Rus' was the famous generalJohn Kourkouas, who continued the offensive with other noteworthy victories in Mesopotamia (943): these culminated in the reconquest ofEdessa (944), which was especially celebrated for the return to Constantinople of the veneratedMandylion.

The soldier emperorsNikephoros II Phokas (reigned 963–69) andJohn I Tzimiskes (969–76) expanded the empire well intoSyria, defeating the emirs of north-westIraq and reconqueringCrete andCyprus. At one point under John, the empire's armies even threatenedJerusalem, far to the south. The emirate ofAleppo and its neighbors became vassals of the empire in the east, where the greatest threat to the empire was the EgyptianFatimids.^[2]

The traditional struggle with theSee of Rome continued, spurred by the question of religious supremacy over the newly ChristianizedBulgaria. This prompted an invasion by the mighty TsarSimeon I in 894, but this was pushed back by Byzantine diplomacy, which called on the help of the Hungarians. The Byzantines were in turn defeated, however, at theBattle of Bulgarophygon (896), and obliged to pay annual subsidies to the Bulgarians. Later (912) Simeon even had the Byzantines grant him the crown ofbasileus of Bulgaria and had the young emperorConstantine VII marry one of his daughters. When a revolt in Constantinople halted his dynastic project, he again invaded Thrace and conqueredAdrianople.^[2]

A great imperial expedition underLeo Phokas andRomanos Lekapenos ended again with a crushing Byzantine defeat at theBattle of Anchialus (917). The following year the Bulgarians ravaged modern-day northern Greece south toCorinth. Adrianople was captured again in 923 and in 924 the Bulgarian army laid siege to Constantinople. Pressure from the North was alleviated only after Simeon's death in 927.

Under the emperorBasil II (reigned 976–1025), Bulgaria became the target of annual campaigns by the Byzantine army. The war was to drag on for nearly twenty years, but eventually, at theBattle of Kleidon the Bulgarian forces were completely defeated.^[4] and captured. According to medieval legends, 99 out of every 100 Bulgarian soldiers were blinded and the hundredth remaining man was left with one eye so as to lead his compatriots home; reportedly when the aging TsarSamuil of Bulgaria saw the remains of his once formidable army, he died of a heart attack. In 1018 Bulgaria surrendered and became part of the Byzantine Empire thus restoring theDanube frontier, which had not been held since the days of Heraclius.^[2]

During this period the Byzantine princessTheophanu, wife of the Holy Roman EmperorOtto II, served as regent of theHoly Roman Empire, paving the way for the westward spread of Byzantine culture.

Between 800 and 1100, the empire developed a mixed relationship with the new state ofKievan Rus' that emerged to the north across theBlack Sea.

The Byzantine Empire quickly became the main trading and cultural partner for Kiev. After Christianizing, Rus'Vladimir the Great employed many architects and artists to work on numerous cathedrals and churches around Rus', expanding the Byzantine influence even further.

Kievan Rus' princes were often married into the Byzantine imperial family and Constantinople often employed princes' armies; most notably, Vladimir the Great presented Byzantium with the famousVarangian Guard – an army of viciousScandinavian mercenaries. Some believe that this was in exchange for the marriage of Basil's sister Anna to Vladimir.^[2] However, thePrimary Chronicle states the marriage was in exchange for the Rus' conversion to orthodoxy; the Varangian Guard was a by-product (although a significant one) of this exchange.

The relationship was not always friendly. During this three-hundred-year intervalConstantinople and other Byzantine cities were attacked several times by the armies of Kievan Rus' (seeRus'-Byzantine Wars). Kiev never went far enough to actually endanger the empire; the wars were primarily a tool to force the Byzantines to sign increasingly favorable trade treaties, the texts of which are recorded in the Primary Chronicle (Rus'–Byzantine Treaty (907))^[5] and other historical documents. Constantinople at the same time constantly pitted Kievan Rus', Bulgaria, and Poland against each other.

The Byzantine influence on Kievan Rus' cannot be overstated. Byzantine-style writing became a standard for the adopted fromBulgariaCyrillic alphabet, Byzantine architecture dominated in Kiev, and as the main trading partner the Byzantine Empire played a critical role in the establishment, rise, and fall of Kievan Rus'.

The Byzantine Empire now stretched toArmenia in the east, toCalabria inSouthern Italy in the west.^[2] Many successes had been achieved, ranging from the conquest ofBulgaria, to the annexation of parts ofGeorgia and Armenia, to the total annihilation of an invading force of Egyptians outsideAntioch. Yet even these victories were not enough; Basil considered the continued Arab occupation ofSicily to be an outrage. Accordingly, he planned to reconquer the island, which had belonged to the empire for over three hundred years (c. 535 – c. 902). However, his death in 1025 put an end to the project.^[2]

The 11th century was also momentous for its religious events. In 1054, relations between Greek and Slavic-speaking Eastern and Latin-speaking Western Christian traditions reached a terminal crisis. Although there was a formal declaration of institutional separation, on July 16, when three papal legates entered theHagia Sophia duringDivine Liturgy on a Saturday afternoon and placed abull ofex-communication on the altar, the so-calledGreat Schism was a culmination of centuries of gradual separation. Although the schism was brought about by doctrinal disputes (in particular, Eastern refusal to accept the Western Church doctrine of thefilioque, or double procession of theHoly Spirit), disputes over administration and political issues had simmered for centuries. The formal separation of theEastern Orthodox Church and the WesternCatholic Church would have wide-ranging consequences for the future ofEurope and Christianity.

TheMacedonian dynasty presided over significant administrative reforms, most notably in law, governance, and provincial organization. Among these, theBasilika represented the most important legal codification of the era. It was a massive 60-book legal codification of Byzantine law written in Greek which would be in use till the empire's demise in 1453. First commissioned under Basil I and finished by his sonLeo VI.^[6]

The emperors that followedBasil I andLeo VI likeRomanos I Lekapenos,Nikephoros II andJohn I Tzimiskes introduced reforms to curb the power of the powerful Anatolian aristocrats called the "Dynatoi" who had been buying land from commoners and increasing their power day-by-day. In 996, Basil II issued a law targeting Dynatoi landowners, demanding restitution of lands acquired illegally and requiring proof of title. These actions increased his popularity among the peasants greatly which served as a loyal manpower base, allowing the empire to raise loyal troops in vast quantities when needed.^[7]

TheMacedonian emperors introduced fiscal policies aimed at protecting the empire’s agrarian tax base and limiting the influence of wealthy landowners. Their measures focused on safeguarding smallholding peasants, whose farms provided stable revenue for the state.Basil II’s legislation of 996 required powerful landlords to return lands they had taken unlawfully and to present proof of legitimate ownership, which helped keep village communities intact and taxable. A major part of these policies was theallelengyon, a rule that made rich landowners responsible for paying the taxes owed by poorer peasants in their area. This discouraged the aristocracy from absorbing peasant lands and ensured that the state did not lose revenue, while also preserving a loyal rural population that could supply soldiers when needed.^[8]

Under theMacedonian dynasty, the military and administrative structure of the empire underwent significant reform, especially underBasil II. His legislations targeted the powerful Anatolian aristocratic families known as theDynatoi,^[9] who had been steadily accumulating the lands of smallholding peasants. By restricting their expansion and protecting peasant property,Basil II strengthened central authority, gained widespread support among the rural population, and secured a loyal manpower base for the imperial army.^[10]

TheTagmata the professional standing army of the empire grew in size byBasil II's time the Tagmata included units like theScholai,Excubitors,Vigla,Hikanatoi,Manglabitai,Noumeroi,Vestiaritai and theTeichistai. However, underBasil II a new inclusion theVarangian Guard^[11] was added being elite and fearedNorsemen personally loyal to the emperor.

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