16. THE LATE SIXTH CENTURY

In contrast to the age of Justinian, the later sixth century was characterized by political, economic, and military collapse. The reasons for this are difficult to explain; one has to ask how much of the disaster was caused by the excess of the reign of Justinian and how such was a result of mistakes made later in the century. From the disasters of this period the emperors rebuilt the Byzantine state on a new basis, one that was to lead the empire to its greatest days of prosperity and power. But before that recovery the empire was nearly destroyed.

A. The Emperors

1. Justin II (565-78), Justinian's nephew (the husband of Theodora's niece Sophia)

a. Justin had been curopalates (official in charge of the palace)

b. The emperor sought to reconcile the Chalcedonians and Monophysites, but this ended in failure

c. Unsuccessful in wars in Italy and Persia, Justin went mad.

2. Tiberius Constantine (578-82)

a. Tiberius was appointed Caesar in 574 during Justin's insanity    

b. He appointed Maurice as commander of the army in the East and he had considerable success against the Persians

c. The empire had to face wars on three fronts: Italy, the Balkans, and the East

d. Tiberius named Maurice as his successor and married him to his daughter Constantina

3. Maurice (582-602)

a. Maurice was a Greek-speaker and had been a notary before his military appointment

b. He had to make real economies because of a lack of money in the treasury, and this led to mutinies among the troops

c. Maurice had to spend nearly all of his efforts in military campaigns, in which his generals were generally successful in the East and the Balkans

d. Maurice was killed in a revolt of his troops; he was the first eastern emperor to be overthrown since the founding of Constantinople

4. Phokas (602-10)

a. Phokas was a junior officer and was named emperor by the troops who revolted against Maurice

b. Phokas' throne was never secure (he was generally regarded as a usurper) and plots were formed against him; he reacted violently and instituted a reign of terror

c. The plague ravished Byzantine territory in 608

Solidus of the emperor Maurice, struck in Ravenna

Solidus of the emperor Phokas, struck in 603

B. The Collapse of the Justinianic World

1. Only three years after the death of Justinian (in 568) the Lombards began their conquest of Italy.

a. The Byzantines maintained strongholds in the south (Calabria and Apulia) and in the area around Ravenna in the north, but much of the rest of the peninsula was lost to the Lombards.

b. In Rome the pope maintained a precarious independence, relying largely on Byzantine military power to support him against the heretical Germans.

2. Roman bases in Spain were lost to the Visigoths by 584.

3. North Africa remained in Byzantine hands until the Arab conquests of the seventh century.

a. Nevertheless, even this area was not secure since the Berber tribesmen attacked the settled centers and made Roman control very difficult.

b. It was during this time that the area began to lose the agricultural fertility that had characterized it throughout antiquity.

4. Persia became a particularly dangerous enemy once again.

a. During the reign of Justinian peace had been bought at the price of heavy subsidies.

b. Justin II refused to pay the tribute to the Persians and a long war was begun, fought largely over Armenia.

C. The Slavs

1. In the wars of Justinian the Balkan frontier had been all but ignored.

a. Justinian had built fortresses in the area, but these could not withstand heavy barbarian pressure.

b. In the early sixth century there was little threat from this direction.

2. Later in Justin's reign, however, large numbers of Slavs began to cross the border: Antes and Sclaveni.

a. Some Slavs entered the Roman army as foedereti, but most simply settled on former Roman territory.

b. In the last quarter of the century the Slavs were unified (i.e., conquered) by the Avars, a mixed people, probably Turkic, from central Asia.

c. Under Avar leadership the Slavs began to make concerted attacks on Byzantine territory.

3. At first the Romans were preoccupied with the war against Persia and the Slavs met virtually no resistance.

a. They took Sirmium, a former imperial capital, in 582.

b. There was massive destruction throughout the Balkans, as city after city was destroyed; typically there was no recovery from this destruction for three or four hundred years.

c. Slavs settled down in small villages, and Byzantine political control came to an effective end in large areas of the Balkans: from this time called Sklaveniai.

4. In 582 Maurice finally turned his attention to the northern frontier and he made some progress against the barbarians.

a. In 602, however, Maurice's soldiers revolted and killed the emperor, leaving the northern frontier virtually undefended; the "tyrant" Phokas took no serious steps to defend the frontier.

b. It was to be another two hundred years before a Byzantine emperor could successfully campaign in Sklavenia.

5. Virtually all of the northern and central Balkans were overrun by the Slavs, but some Byzantine control remained in cities along the southern coasts.

a. In the north there were no cities left; only Slavic tribes.

b. In Greece some cities and fortified places remained under Byzantine control: Korinth, Korone, Monemvasia.

c. There is much historiographical debate about the continuity of the "Greek nation" through this difficult period.

d. Much of the debate turns on the interpretation of the so-called Chronicle of Monesvasia.

6. Just as the Slavs were conquering the Balkans, the Persians attacked in the East and there was universal catastrophe.

a. Chosroes claimed to be the avenger of Maurice against the tyrant Phokas.

b. The Persians ravaged all of Asia Minor and a detachment of their army even reached as far as Chalcedon.

c. They took Antioch, Jerusalem, and most of Egypt.

D. Suggested Reading:

Charanis, P., “The Chronicle of Monemvasia and the Question of the Slavonic Settlements in Greece,” Dumbarton Oaks Papers 5 (1950), 139-166.

Collins, R., “Chapter 5. The Western Kingdoms,” in A. Cameron, B. Ward-Perkins, and M. Whitby (eds.), Cambridge Ancient History 14 (2000), 111-134.

Metcalfe, D.M., “The Slavonic Threat to Greece, circa 580: Some Evidence from Athens,” Hesperia 31 (1962): 134-157.

Whitby, M., The Emperor Maurice and his Historian: Theophylact Simocatta on Persian and Balkan Warfare.  Oxford 1988.

Whitby, M., “Chapter 4. The Successors of Justinian,” in A. Cameron, B. Ward-Perkins, and M. Whitby (eds.), Cambridge Ancient History 14 (2000), 86-111.

 

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