The Byzantine Empire By Charles William Chadwick Oman, M.A., F.S.A. Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford Author of “Warwick the Kingmaker,” “The Art of War in the Middle Ages,” Etc. Third Edition T. Fisher Unwin, Ltd. Adelphi Terrace, London New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons 1902 CONTENTS Preface. I. Byzantium. II. The Foundation Of Constantinople. (A.D. 328-330.) III. The Fight With The Goths. IV. The Departure Of The Germans. V. The Reorganization Of The Eastern Empire. (A.D. 408-518.) VI. Justinian. VII. Justinian’s Foreign Conquests. VIII. The End Of Justinian’s Reign. IX. The Coming Of The Slavs. X. The Darkest Hour. XI. Social And Religious Life. (A.D. 320-620.) XII. The Coming Of The Saracens. XIII. The First Anarchy. XIV. The Saracens Turned Back. XV. The Iconoclasts. (A.D. 720-802.) XVI. The End Of The Iconoclasts. (A.D. 802-886.) XVII. The Literary Emperors And Their Time. (A.D. 886-963.) XVIII. Military Glory. XIX. The End Of The Macedonian Dynasty. XX. Manzikert. (1057-1081.) XXI. The Comneni And The Crusades. XXII. The Latin Conquest Of Constantinople. XXIII. The Latin Empire And The Empire Of Nicaea. (1204-1261.) XXIV. Decline And Decay. (1261-1328.) XXV. The Turks In Europe. XXVI. The End Of A Long Tale. (1370-1453.) Table Of Emperors. Index. Footnotes [Illustration] Interior of St. Sophia PREFACE. Fifty years ago the word “Byzantine” was used as a synonym for all that was corrupt and decadent, and the tale of the East-Roman Empire was dismissed by modern historians as depressing and monotonous. The great Gibbon had branded the successors of Justinian and Heraclius as a series of vicious weaklings, and for several generations no one dared to contradict him. Two books have served to undeceive the English reader, the monumental work of Finlay, published in 1856, and the more modern volumes of Mr. Bury, which appeared in 1889. Since they have written, the Byzantines no longer need an apologist, and the great work of the East-Roman Empire in holding back the Saracen, and in keeping alive throughout the Dark Ages the lamp of learning, is beginning to be realized. The writer of this book has endeavoured to tell the story of Byzantium in the spirit of Finlay and Bury, not in that of Gibbon. He wishes to acknowledge his debts both to the veteran of the war of Greek Independence, and to the young Dublin professor. Without their aid his task would have been very heavy—with it the difficulty was removed.