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Booklet 1: Byzantine Empire (1025-81) (Political problems (3 fighting…
Booklet 1: Byzantine Empire (1025-81)
Political problems
3 fighting families:
Diogenes, Ducas, Comneni
- all 3 were
'born into the purple'
, meaning all 3 had the
right to become emperor
emperors gave power to a vast horde of civil servants;
trying to preserve their power
between
1025-1081
13 emperors ruled: 8 in power for
less than 3 years
; 1 lasted more than
10 years
; 5
deposed, murdered or forced to abdicate
political power held in
Constantinople
; aristocracy gained greater control over territories
reduced military power as they
feared that they would over throw them
Military problems
1050: the army was in
serious decline
; number of peasants who owed military service fell, emperors sold land to rich families, replaced by
mercenaries
attacked from 3 sides
: west - Normans, 1015; north - Pagan Tribes, 1050; south - Seljuks, 1077
tensions between
emperor and military
affected the army; emperors tended to
neglect
the army, in hope of curbing rival family power,
all fronts were simple inadequate
Economic problems
reductions in
tax revenues
:
insufficient and corrupt
collections, through grants of land made by emperors to individuals
reduced military duty in favour of cash payments
emperor spent
large sums on grand building projects
: monasteries and palaces, donations to churches and institutions, collected a small zoo
nomisma
, the byzantine coin,
worth its weight in gold
: 1080, contained
10% gold
; troops
refused payment and everyone rejected
the devalued money, minting 4 different coins
all this took money away from the military
Religious problems
five great fathers of the church:
Rome, Constantinople, Antioch, Jerusalem, Alexandria
filioque clause
: relation of
Holy Spirit
to the
Father
western church was
Latin
and eastern church was
Greek
;
1054
, churches were separated through the
Great Schism
papal primary
; pope is the most important