The (Revised Edition) Byzantine Empire

2. The Struggle to Survive 641-867

2 THE STRUGGLE TO SURVIVE 641-867 The walls of Constantinople, built by Theodosius II in the fifth century, protected the city from invaders for more than a thousand years, and are still standing. Courtesy of Wddcnfdd & Nicolson Archives, London. WITHDRAWAL AND DEFENSE The loss of Syria, Palestine, Egypt, and soon the whole of North Africa in the middle of the seventh century was a shattering blow to the Byzantine Empire. These regions were the most densely populated in the empire and in every respect the most advanced economically and technologically. They included some ofits largest and most important cities-Alexandria, a center ofchristianized Hellenic culture and the entrepot through which the agricultural surplus ofEgypt was exported to feed the vast population ofConstantinople; Antioch, another ancient center ofart and letters with a centuries-old Christian tradition, and the terminal point ofoverland trade routes to Persia and ultimately to India and China; Jerusalem, the holiest of cities to all Christians, orthodox and heretic alike; Gaza, the seat ofa lively school of philosophy and literature, and the debouche of caravan routes to the Yemen and to the Persian Gulf; Edessa, a fortress and trading center, and the home of Syriac culture; and many others. The economic loss was considerable, though we must beware of thinking of it in modern terms. There was no empire-wide market, let alone a world market, except for a handful of luxury consumer goods; most trade was local, and very often between a city and its own agrarian hinterland. But the loss of corn from Egypt was a serious matter. Free distribution of bread to the citizens of Constantinople was suspended, and there were problems in feeding the army. These sudden shortages in such politically sensitive areas caused great instability . The capital had now to be fed from its own hinterland in Thrace, like any other city. A new impulse was given to agriculture in Thrace and Bithynia, and no doubt land values rose, fortunes were made, and a new influential group of landowners came to the fore. Another aspect of the economic consequences of the Moslem conquests was the loss of revenue to the state from taxation of the rich southern provinces. Suddenly there was no money available for paying mercenary soldiers, for the construction of prestigious public buildings , for the conspicuous spending so important in a deferential soci43 44 The Struggle to Survive fJ '""""'. ~ ..- --- t" -;.. v ~ -,.. - - . II' --- r !a ~ IrWvrw~JVV Scenes of rural life from a tenth-century manuscript. On the left, peasants are picking olives; on the right, a cheese-maker, bees, and a beehive. Courtesy ofBibJioteca Marciana , Venice. ety. All men did not of course become equal. But they became more equal than they had been for many centuries. The military implications of the new situation were even more alarming. The Moslem conquerors, who were few in number compared with those whom they ruled and from whose produce they lived, halted for a while at the natural frontier of the Taurus Mountains and the highlands of Armenia. The mountain ranges and the plateau of Asia Minor which lay beyond them were a new and difficult terrain for warriors who had learned their craft in the torrid desert lands of Arabia. They presented special problems for an army whose rapid mobility depended on the camel-problems never satisfactorily solved. In any case the new-born Moslem state was fully occupied at first in organizing its vast territories which it had won not only from the Byzantines but from the Persians too. Indeed the Persian Empire, weakened and ridden by dissidence since its defeat by Heraclius, was completely destroyed by the Arabs. The absorption of its immense lands and their proud and alien population was perhaps the greatest task which faced the new caliphate. Withdrawal and Defense 45 Yet there was no lasting peace for the Byzantines. In 647 an Arab force under MuCiiwiya, the Moslem governor of Syria, penetrated deep into the interior ofAsia Minor, and sacked Caesarea in Cappadocia . In 649 a new threat appeared. The Arabs had a fleet constructed and manned by Egyptian and Syrian sailors, with which they landed in Cyprus and captured and destroyed Constantia, the capital. On the appearance in Cypriot waters ofthe Byzantine navy, the invaders discreetly withdrew. But the Byzantines could no longer count on control ofthe sea, which had been theirs without effort for so long. A few years later, in 654...