Byzantium in the Eleventh Century

The various studies of Byzantium’s social history in the eleventh century presented in this volume, each with its specific topic (regional, thematic, archaeological), are placed in a wider context. A head-on challenge is made to the long-standing view, promulgated by George Ostrogorsky, that Byzantium’s rapid descent from its apogee in the middle of the eleventh century had two prime causes, a deliberate run-down of the military by the ascendant civil party in the administration, and the absorption of the peasantry into large, aristocratic estates with a consequent weakening of a fiscal and military system founded in the peasant village. Different aspects of eleventh-century history are covered: (1) the accelerating cultural revival, sponsored by emperors, and an attendant growth in numbers and importance of the intelligentsia; (2) evidence, primarily numismatic and archaeological, for demographic and economic growth, and its beneficent effect on town life; (3) a re-examination of the documentary and other evidence for the decline of the independent peasantry, which concludes that predatory landowners encountered serious resistance from tight-knit village communities and the justice system and that the process of social change in the countryside had not advanced as far as Kostis Smyrlis suggests; (4) finally, it is accepted that attitudes changed, that the interior provinces were demilitarized, but not that there was a deliberate attempt to reduce spending on the army, now confined to the imperial periphery—the defeats and losses suffered are attributed primarily to the strengths of Byzantium’s chief adversaries, Turks and Turkmen in the east, Normans in southern Italy.

What Went Wrong? Decline and Ruralization in Eleventh-Century Anatolia

Much of eleventh-century Anatolia seems to have been short on prosperity and ambitious building projects, although palynological evidence indicates an intensification of agriculture and an increase of rural population. Rural affluence appears to have been paired with, and outweighed by, urban decline. As the occasional rural buildings were relatively small, insignificant, and undistinguished, they seem to have been ill-suited to compensate for the general lack of large, important, and trend-setting urban constructions. This chapter considers the evidence of churches, templon epistyles, and fortifications, before asking, ‘What went wrong?’ Why did eleventh-century Anatolia fare worse than the contemporary Aegean, Greece, and more generally the Balkan part of the Byzantine Empire?

The Social Views of Michael Attaleiates

The historian Michael Attaleiates was a judge and well-connected political agent active in eleventh-century Byzantium. The opinions he expressed in his historical work, but also in the synopsis of Roman law he dedicated to Michael VII and the monastic charter he produced to organize a privately owned pious foundation, become here entry points for the study of his take on the social and political reality around him. This chapter offers a short biographical sketch of our protagonist, who emerges as a patriotic Roman, who casts a sympathetic eye on popular political action. It then studies Attaleiates as a social and economic agent, looking at his active participation Byzantium’s economy only to reveal a confident investor and builder of a personal fortune. Here is also examined the ways in which Attaleiates’ take on foreign mercenaries outlines a readiness to accommodate others in a Roman polity. Finally, a study of his social circles considers how intellectual affinities and friendships developed, while serving the state and the emperor allowed for the development of a fluid and ever-adjustable politics of accommodation. All in all, we have here an updated portrait of an important figure in eleventh-century intellectual circles.

New Light on the Society of Byzantine Italy

In the tenth century, Byzantium still had substantial possessions in southern Italy: the Catepanate kept its own private law and its Latin language and rite, while the theme of Calabria was thoroughly Hellenized. They developed a strong sense of independence, due to bad government and the failure of the Empire to defend them against Arab raids, except by paying tribute. In the eleventh century, written sources and archaeology reveal a multiplication of fortified settlements and refuges, built by public and religious authorities, and also by the aristocracy, but the increased presence of professional military units increased local dissension. The only large estates belonged to a few Calabrian bishoprics. The main difference between the two provinces lay in the syncopated chronology of their evolution. The Apulian economy grew in the tenth century, with the development of the ports on the Adriatic and the Mediterranean oil trade, which enriched notables, at a time when Calabria was being devastated by the Arabs. After a fortification campaign and some fiscal and military measures provided by Byzantium, the Calabrian economy prospered, exporting wheat, raw silk, iron, and gold. The Arabs moved their attacks north, targeting Apulia, which was in the grip of civil war: in each city the anti-Byzantine faction revolted with the support of Lombards and local conterati troops. In Calabria, administration and defence fragmented and were taken over, in the case of towns, by virtually autonomous kastra, and, in the countryside, by the aristocracy.

Before and After the Eleventh Century AD in the Territory of Sagalassos

This chapter discusses the settlement evolution in the territory of Sagalassos (south-west Turkey) from the start of the Byzantine period until the thirteenth century when Sagalassos was ultimately abandoned and habitation moved to new locations in and around the modern village of Ağlasun. Problems regarding the archaeological recognition characterize the Byzantine material culture of the region. Recent excavations at Sagalassos together with focused ceramic studies and ongoing intensive surveys are changing this and providing insights into a history of habitation that is not uniform within the territory and that is sometimes at odds with processes occurring in Anatolia at large.

Social Change in the Countryside of Eleventh-Century Byzantium

Offering a review of Byzantine rural society during the transitional eleventh century this chapter underlines the role the state played in the evolution of social and economic relations. It is argued that the appropriation by the state of a large part of the fertile land, dictated by financial considerations, greatly restricted the space for expansion of the provincial elite while benefitting certain individuals serving the regime. This nuances the notion that the eleventh and twelfth centuries saw the consolidation of the power of the landowning aristocracy. By the end of the eleventh century, a large portion of the peasantry had become dependent on private landowners. Nevertheless, despite the social and economic restrictions their subjection implied, dependent peasants retained a relatively elevated legal status, thanks to a fiscal apparatus and a legal framework that limited the freedom of great landlords.

Introduction

The fundamental structures of Byzantium in the eleventh century have not been subjected to close and sustained scrutiny since the 1970s: it was during the eleventh century that Byzantium reached its apogee, in terms of power, prestige, and territorial extension, only to then plunge into steep political decline in the second half of the century. It is therefore well worth taking a thorough look at the social order in this age of change, to see how it was affected by economic growth and political expansion, and what were the consequences of the social changes which occurred. The Introduction sets out the origins of the volume in a workshop on the social order in eleventh-century Byzantium held in Oxford in May 2011, the third in a series of workshops funded by the British Academy on The Transformation of Byzantium: Law, Literature and Society in the Eleventh Century. It provides brief abstracts of the individual chapters, summarizing the approaches of their authors, in addition to a longer outline of the paper given by Mark Whittow on the Feudal Revolution at the workshop in 2011.

Social Change in Eleventh-Century Armenia

Although the Byzantine annexation of Armenian territories in the later tenth and eleventh centuries has been studied from a number of perspectives, little attention has been paid to the subsequent history of those districts, and in particular the circumstances and the responses of the communities who stayed put. This chapter explores the social and cultural history of the district of Tarōn in the century after its incorporation as a theme. Through comparison with the annexation of Vaspurakan in 1021, it argues that both the lay and clerical elite left Tarōn in 966. This affected land tenure in several ways, including the creation of stratiotika ktemata and the imposition of the demosion. Evidence from an Armenian Gospels manuscript indicates that the land tax was still being collected—and the registers updated—as late as 1067. A new network of episcopal sees was established across the former Armenian see of Tarōn. Finally the History of Tarōn, a composition completed in the 980s, shows how one monastic community took advantage of the recent turmoil to promote its claim to foundation and endowment by St Grigor the Illuminator at the start of the fourth century. It also forged multiple links between the activities of St Grigor and the metropolitan see of Caesarea, associating the conversion of Tarōn, and by implication of Armenia, with the Byzantine Church.

Greece in the Eleventh Century

The evidence of archaeological surveys and excavations, official documents, architecture, and art history are considered across the regions and cities of the Peloponnese and central to northern Greece in social and economic contexts. The nature of the production and export of wine, oil, and silk throughout Greece as cash-generating products of the countryside is also examined. Particular attention is paid to ceramics both as markers for interpreting the archaeological evidence and as possible indicators of otherwise undocumented population movements. The conclusions are that the cities of the Peloponnese—Corinth, Sparta, and Argos—acquired a new prosperity during the eleventh century but not to the extent of Athens and Thebes. Thebes in particular became a desirable place to live and outstripped all the other cities of Greece in its affluence by the twelfth century. The successful development of Thebes is associated with a recently identified major pottery production site at its port of Chalkis/Euripos. Finally it is suggested that the population increase throughout Greece in the eleventh century which made intensification of land use possible came about through mass movements of people from Asia Minor.

Transformations in Byzantine Society in the Eleventh Century, Particularly in Constantinople

The historiography of the last half-century has changed our vision of the Byzantine economy during the eleventh century. Urban growth, especially that of Constantinople, is better understood. Prosopography, which has been revivified with the information provided by seals, offers the best instrument of investigation. The civil and military aristocracies meshed together thanks to matrimonial alliances, and settled more systematically in Constantinople, where the highest functions were allocated by the crown. The emperors favoured civil servants, more numerous after the conquests of the tenth and early eleventh centuries. It is indisputable that novi homines, distinguished by their education, appeared within the circles of power, but the traditional families of the civil aristocracy joined by families formerly working for the army and now present in the civil administration still occupied the highest posts. The opening of the Senate does not seem to have concerned merchants and artisans, who, however, were not completely separated from the aristocracy. The ‘people of the agora’ were interested in governmental success, because they contributed, through massive investments in the purchase of dignities, to the intensification of monetary circulation. Under Alexios Komnenos, they were victims not of imperial hostility towards them, but of the bankruptcy of the financial system. At the same time, the number of civil servants was decreasing due to the shrinkage of imperial territory and to new forms of provincial government.