Page 226 - Western Civilization A Brief History, Volume I To 1715 9th - Jackson J. Spielvogel

During the reign of Michael III (842–867), the Byz- antine Empire continued to be plagued by problems. The Bulgars mounted new attacks, and the Arabs con- tinued to harass the empire. Moreover, a new church problem with political repercussions erupted over dif- ferences between the pope as leader of the Western Christian church and the patriarch of Constantinople as leader of the Eastern (or Orthodox) Christian church. Patriarch Photius (FOH-shuss) condemned the pope as a heretic for accepting a revised form of the Nicene Creed stating that the Holy Spirit pro- ceeded from the Father and the Son instead of “the Holy Spirit, who proceeds from the Father.” A council of Eastern bishops followed Photius’s wishes and excommunicated the pope, creating the so-called Photian schism. Although the differences were later papered over, this controversy served to further the rift between the Eastern and Western Christian churches.
The Macedonian Dynasty
The problems that arose during Michael’s reign were effectively dealt with by the efforts of a new dynasty of Byzantine emperors, known as the Macedonians (867–1081). This dynastic line managed to repel the external enemies, go over to the offensive, and rees- tablish domestic order. Supported by the church, the emperors continued to think of the Byzantine Empire as a continuation of the Christian Roman Empire of late antiquity. Although for diplomatic reasons they occasionally recognized the imperial title of Western emperors, such as Charlemagne, they still regarded them as little more than barbar- ian parvenus.
The Macedonian emperors could boast of a remark- able number of achievements in the late ninth and tenth centuries. They worked to strengthen the posi- tion of free farmers, who felt threatened by the attempts of landed aristocrats to expand their estates at the expense of the farmers. The emperors were well aware that the free farmers made up the rank and file of the Byzantine cavalry and provided the military strength of the empire. The Macedonian emperors also fostered a burst of economic prosperity by expanding trade relations with western Europe, espe- cially by selling silks and metalwork. Thanks to this prosperity, the city of Constantinople flourished. Foreign visitors continued to be astounded by its size, wealth, and physical surroundings. To western
Europeans, it was the stuff of legends and fables (see the box on p. 189).
In the midst of this prosperity, Byzantine cul- tural influence expanded due to the active mission- ary efforts of Eastern Byzantine Christians. Eastern Orthodox Christianity was spread to eastern Euro- pean peoples, including the Bulgars and the Serbs. Perhaps the greatest missionary success occurred when the prince of Kiev in Russia converted to Christianity in 987.
Under the Macedonian rulers, Byzantium enjoyed a strong civil service, talented emperors, and successful military campaigns. In the tenth century, these compe- tent emperors combined with a number of talented generals to mobilize the empire’s military resources and take the offensive. The Bulgars were defeated, and both the eastern and western parts of Bulgaria were annexed to the empire. The Byzantines went on to add the islands of Crete and Cyprus to the empire and defeat the Muslim forces in Syria, expanding the empire to the upper Euphrates. By the end of the reign of Basil II (976–1025), the Byzantine Empire was the largest it had been since the beginning of the seventh century.
Venice CROATIA
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Rome BULGARIA MACEDONIA
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Sicily
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Crete
Mediterranean Sea The Byzantine Empire in 1025
Cyprus
Women in Byzantium
In Byzantium, as in western Europe, women were regarded as inferior to men. They were generally expected to fulfill three major functions: to marry and bear children, to maintain the household, and to weave clothes for their families. Thus, a good wife was seen as a special gift to her husband. Contrary to these ideal female roles, some women in the Byzan- tine world worked outside the home as artisans and sellers, especially of foodstuffs, in the markets of Constantinople. Others served as midwives, bakers,
188 Chapter 8 European Civilization in the Early Middle Ages, 750–1000
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