User:Biz/Drafts

To-do

Next

• Government and military
  • Central government
  • Military
  • Diplomacy
  • External relations and wars
  • Law
  • Flags and Insignia

Do later

• Read Byzantine Gender by Leona Neville

Done

• Read The New Roman Empire by Anthony Kadellis. Done: User:Biz/The New Roman Empire
• Society
  • Languages
    • Validate existing source in languages
      • Last paragraph remaining
    • Add Rochette and Kadellis
    • Final review, if substantial rewrite, makes sense
  • Transition into an eastern Christian empire
    • Add Kadellis and Beard
    • Read Slaveries of the First Millennium by Youval Rotman
    • Validate existing sources
      • Theodosius edict and Olympic games remaining
    • Final review, if substantial rewrite, makes sense
  • Women
    • Read existing sources
      • Read chapter of Alice Mary-Talbot in The Byzantines (available on open library)
      • Validate the rest with what is possible.
    • Draft new socioeconomic section but feature women' themes (professions, Inheritance and money) from existing
      • Add support for discrimination on legal rights
      • Cover marriage and divorce: Link to topic of slavery of women, Christianity
      • Add sources to socioeconomic draft
      • Expand on education. Contrast education of women to what men receive
    • Clean up sources, summarise content down, validate remaining sources for use

*** Break out content into subheadings for WP:SS where possible (women, slavery)

Current work

Central government

Outline

What's needed

• One paragraph on the emperor
  • their power, and how power transitioned
• An analytical contrast between the periods up to the Arab wars; the Issurian, Macedonian and the Komenean eras; the 1204-1453 era.
  • Coverage of the debated Themata
• A discussion about the bureaucracy, aristocracy
  • In the 13th century, the landed aristocracy became the merchant class.

Outline

Kaldellis

• Cities were run by a local council, central government representatives, and now their bishops. P.185
• P.189: blues and green replaced the imperial cult to legitimise rule. Constantinople and public space created a political codependence.
• P. 222 the public space was a key component of what made Romania different. The emperor could not sell the empire. Discussed Anastasius accession the most detailed account we have
• Soldiers got a bonus every time a new emperor elected.
• P.229 talks about scholarship, the pride but decline of cities, not the case.
• P 296 Central government peak decade before 572
• P.338 phokas. First military overthrow since the third century
• P. 387 empire had lost 75% of revenues
• P.396 city councils became extinct c 600
• P.408 cities was kastra not polis, a sign of the timee
• P.409. Local city governace decline except bishops and army managed centrally from constantinople. Arab destruction
• P.421. Themata
• P.421. Farming and soldiers core to empire. Leo vi
• army was stationed closer to the capital and more enmeshed in its politics with an overthrow every 20 years

P.441. C727

Military

• Page 442 the loss of the fleet ended Arab naval hegemony.
• Page 454 The army thus acquired two tiers: the fully professional soldiers of these new battalions (tagmata), who were better paid and stationed in Constantinople, and the provincial armies of Asia Minor, which were descended from the field armies of the fourth–seventh centuries and were now increasingly being called themata.
• Page 479 Thus the “theme system” finally emerged as a unified framework for provincial and military administration.

Current text

The emperor, since the reign of Theodosius, was considered nomos empsychos the "living law", both lawgiver and administrator. From 457, almost every emperor was inaugurated by the patriarch. (Nicol). The senate had a role, but following 1204, the Komnenian aristocracy would formally replace the senate.(p.774 Kaldellis). The central government likely was at its peak in the decade before 572. (Kaldellis, 296).

The reign of Phocas was the first military overthrow since the third century, one of 43 emperors violently removed. (338 Kaldellis, Nicol p64)). There was nine dynasties between Heraclius in 610 and 1453, however only 30 of those 843 years was the empire not ruled by men linked by blood or kingship.(Nicol p63) Once the army was stationed closer to the capital it became more enmeshed in its politics, with an overthrow every 20 years. (Kaldellis)

Up until the 7th century, the state remained the same from the reigns of Diocletian and Constantine where the army was separate from the civil administration. At the beginning of the seventh century the Empire was divided into provinces that were ruled by civil governors who, though appointed by the emperor, were responsible to the relevant praetorian prefect. The provinces were grouped into four prefectures, and the army was still being organised separately. At the end of the eighth century the Empire was divided into districts called themes (thema, themata), which were governed by a military commander called a strategos (general) who was responsible for both the civil and military administration of the province, and directly responsible to the emperor. By the reign of Leo VI, farmers and soliders were more closely linked and when we see supporting the army woven into the tax system. (Kaldellis, 421)

Cities were run by a local council, central government representatives, and their bishops. Kaldellis P.185 The Arab destruction changed this, with city councils becoming extinct c 600. (pge 396, 409).

P.189: blues and green replaced the imperial cult to legitimise rule. Constantinople and public space created a political codependence. P. 222 the public space was a key component of what made Romania different. The emperor could not sell the empire. Discussed Anastasius accession the most detailed account we have Soldiers got a bonus every time a new emperor elected. P.229 talks about scholarship, the pride but decline of cities, not the case. P 296 Central government peak decade before 572 P.338 phokas. First military overthrow since the third century P. 387 empire had lost 75% of revenues P.396 city councils became extinct c 600 P.408 cities was kastra not polis, a sign of the timee P.409. Local city governace decline except bishops and army managed centrally from constantinople. Arab destruction P.421. Themata P.421. Farming and soldiers core to empire. Leo vi army was stationed closer to the capital and more enmeshed in its politics with an overthrow every 20 years

Largely based on Emperor Diocletian's Dominate reforms in the late 3rd and early 4th centuries, the monarch was the sole and absolute ruler, and his power was regarded as having divine origin. ^{[1] [2]} From Justinian I on, the emperor was considered nomos empsychos, the "living law", both lawgiver and administrator. ^[3] The senate had ceased to have real political and legislative authority but remained as an honorary council with titular members, resembling an emergency or ceremonial meeting made up of powerful Constantinopolitan aristocrats, very often friends and relatives of the emperor. By the end of the 8th century, a civil administration focused on the court was formed as part of a large-scale consolidation of power in the capital (the rise to pre-eminence of the position of sakellarios is related to this change). ^[4] As a result of the different Orthodox and Hellenistic political philosophies, from Justinian onwards, an administrative simplification was given way for the emperor's easier management of the state as the sole administrator and lawgiver of the sacred Oikoumene. ^[5] Definitive powers began to be attached around single entities who acted as viceroys, starting with the exarchs and their Justinianic-era predecessors stratelates who shared the extraordinary powers of the emperor in their respective districts and only answered to him, they also being appointed by the sovereign directly.

The most important administrative reform, which probably started in the mid-7th century, was the creation of themes, where civil and military administration were embodied in a single person, the strategos, who, as the emperor's viceroy, shared his extraordinary powers in their respective "thémata", they too being also appointed by the emperor alone. The void left by the disappearance of the old semi-autonomous civic institutions was filled by the theme system, which entailed dividing Asia Minor into "provinces" occupied by distinct armies that assumed civil authority and answered directly to the imperial administration. This system may have had its roots in ad hoc measures taken by Heraclius, but over the course of the 7th century it developed into an entirely new system of imperial governance. ^{[6] [7] [8]} The massive cultural and institutional restructuring of the empire consequent on the loss of territory in the 7th century has been said to have caused a decisive break in east Mediterranean Romanness, and that the Byzantine state is subsequently best understood as another successor state rather than a real continuation of the Roman Empire. ^[9]

Despite the occasionally derogatory use of the terms "Byzantine" and " Byzantinism", the Byzantine bureaucracy had a distinct ability of adapting to the empire's changing situations. The elaborate system of titulature and precedence gave the court prestige and influence. Officials were arranged in strict order around the emperor and depended upon the royal will for their ranks. There were also actual administrative jobs, but authority could be vested in individuals rather than offices. ^[10]

In the 8th and 9th centuries, civil service constituted the clearest path to aristocratic status. However, beginning from the 9th century, the civil aristocracy was rivaled by an aristocracy of nobility. According to some studies of the Byzantine government, 11th-century politics were dominated by competition between the civil and the military aristocracy. During this period, Alexios I undertook important administrative reforms, including the creation of new courtly dignities and offices. ^[11]

Sources used

• Yale Courses. "08. Survival in the East". Youtube. Archived from the original on 30 October 2023. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
  • General overview by Yale professor. Not a written source, remove.
• Mango 2007, pp. 259–260 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFMango2007 ( help)
  • Greek version of 1980 book.
• Nicol 1988, pp. 64–65 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFNicol1988 ( help).
  • Nicol reference in the The Cambridge History of Medieval Political Thought c.350–c.1450. The chapter is written by Nicol. Text: "From Justinian I on, the emperor was considered nomos empsychos, the "living law", both lawgiver and administrator" is appropriate except it did not start at Justinian, was used with Theodosius at least
    • Nicol, D.M. “Byzantine Political Thought.” The Cambridge History of Medieval Political Thought c.350–c.1450. Ed. J. H. Burns. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988. 49–80. Print. The Cambridge History of Political Thought.
    • P63: emperor was elective. Nine dynasties between Heraclius in 610 and 1453, only 30 of those 843 years was the empire not ruled by men linked by blood or kingship. In 457, with Leo I, the patriach inaugurated every emperor thereafter except for the last few.
    • p64: 43 emperors were violently removed
    • p64 hellenisic thought is that emperor was the living law (Nomos empsychos), a survival of ancient roman law that emperor was above the law.
    • p67 emperor was the source of human law and nature
• Louth, Andrew (2005). "The Byzantine Empire in the Seventh Century". In Fouracre, Paul (ed.). The New Cambridge Medieval History, Volume 1, c.500–c.700. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 289–316. ISBN 978-1-13905393-8.
  • p.303. Up until the 7th century, it was the same state from Diocletian and Constantine. At the beginning of the seventh century the Empire was divided into provinces that were ruled by civil governors who, though appointed by the emperor, were responsible to the relevant praetorian prefect (the provinces being grouped into four prefectures), the army being organised quite separately. at the end of the eighth century the Empire was divided into districts called themes (thema, themata), which were governed by a military commander called a strategos (general) who was responsible for both the civil and military administration of the province, and directly responsible to the emperor.
  • Civil administration pp 304-306
    • There were prefectures as well departments called res privata and sacrae largitiones, administered by counts (comites), who belonged to the imperial court (the comitatus). The comes rei privatae was responsible for all land and property belonging to the state. The comes sacrarum largitionum controlled the mints, the gold (and probably silver) mines and the state factories in which arms and armour were decorated with precious metals. The praetorian prefects were responsible for the fiscal administration of the prefectures, into which the Empire was divided. These prefectures consisted of provinces, governed by governors (with various titles), and were themselves grouped into dioceses, governed by vicarii.
    • By the end of the eighth century, the fiscal administration was organised rather differently. The distinction between the public and the ‘sacred’ (i.e. pertaining to the person of the emperor) had gone, and instead of the res privata, the sacrae largitiones and the prefectures, there were several departments, or sekreta, of more or less equal status, all subject to the emperor through an official called the sakellarios. The heads of these departments consisted of three administrators: the Postal Logothete (logothetes tou dromou), who dealt with the post, diplomacy and internal security, the General Logothete, in charge of the genikon logothesion, who dealt with finance, and the Military Logothete, in charge of the stratiotikon logothesion, who dealt with military pay. There were two treasurers: the chartoularios of the sakellion, in charge of cash and most charitable institutions, and the chartoularios of the vestiarion, in charge of the mint and the arsenal. And there were the heads of state establishments: the Special Secretary (epi tou eidikou), in charge of factories; the Great Curator (megas kourator), in charge of the palaces and imperial estates; and the orphanotrophos, in charge of orphanages. In addition there was an official called the protoasekretis, in charge of records. Directly responsible to the emperor, and independent of the sakellarios, were the principal magistrates, the City Prefect (responsible for Constantinople), the quaestor (in charge of the judiciary), and the Minister for Petitions (who dealt with petitions to the emperor). We also see the use of Greek instead of Latin, thought this dates back to Justinian so is a more superficial change
    • The position of the sakellarios perhaps gives a clue to the nature of the changes. In charge of the emperor’s personal treasury, this official’s rise to pre-eminence was a function of his closeness to the emperor and suggests a change from an essentially public administration, determined in its structure by the need to administer a far-flung empire, to an administration focussed on the court, in which the Empire is almost reduced to the extent of imperial command. The background to this is, of course, the dramatic shrinking of the Empire in the first half of the seventh century. a period of overlap, in which the new administration emerged, while the old administration still retained some of its functions. However the whole picture only emerges when we consider the changes in the military administration.
  • Military administration pp 306-308
    • As a result of the Diocletianic–Constantinian reforms the Roman army was separated from the civil administration, so that governors of provinces no longer commanded a provincial army (though they were still responsible for raising funds to support the army). The army was divided into two parts: there were troops protecting the borders, the limitanei, under the command of duces, and there was a field army, the comitatenses, which was mobile, organised in divisions under the command of the magistri militum. In addition there were the palace troops, and the imperial bodyguard, whose titles changed throughout the fifth and sixth centuries. By the end of the ninth century, there had emerged a quite different system, with the army divided into divisions called themata (or themes), based in provinces also called themes, each under the command of a strategos, who was responsible for both the civil and military government of his

theme.

• • • There is no general agreement about how quickly this change took place, nor why (whether it was the result of some planned reorganisation, or simply a fumbling reaction to the problems of the seventh and eighth centuries). There is, however, general dissent from the theory, which once commanded much support, associated with the name of the great Byzantinist George Ostrogorsky, who saw the thematic army as the result of a deliberate reorganisation of the army and the Empire by the emperor Heraclius.
    • Refer to Kaldellis for latest on themata as this book is 2005
  • Legal administration pp 308-309
    • The explanation for this lack of legislative activity in the secular sphere is probably to be found by recalling the dual nature of Roman legislation: not only a body of rules governing day-to-day behaviour, but more importantly a way of enunciating the world-view and set of values
  • religion and the church pp 309-316

• Neville 2004, p. 7 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFNeville2004 ( help): Neville, Leonora Alice (2004). Authority in Byzantine Provincial Society, 950–1100. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-83865-8.
  • Page 8: quotes Haldon (warfare, state and society), discuss themata became irreleant. Mentions 11th soliders no longer supported themselves from their land, but ratehr taxes from their land paid the military. Professionalism increased success in the 10th century,
• Davies, Brian (March 1976). "Vladimir Lossky. In the Image and Likeness of God. pp. 232. (St Vladimir's Seminary Press, 1974.) No price given". Religious Studies. 12 (1): 125–128. doi: 10.1017/s0034412500009094. ISSN  0034-4125. S2CID  170429521. Archived from the original on 31 August 2022. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  • 1903 book. Page references to bibliography. Cut.
• Heather 2005, p. 431 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFHeather2005 ( help): Heather, Peter (2005). The Fall of the Roman Empire. London: Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-330-49136-5. Archived from the original on 30 May 2016. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
  • Can't access. See if reference statement matters if worth it.
• Cameron 2009, pp. 157–158 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFCameron2009 ( help)
  • This source is a published book.Cameron, Averil (2002). "The 'long' late antiquity: a twentieth-century model". In Wiseman, T. P. (ed.). Classics in progress: Essays on ancient Greece and Rome. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 165–191. Archived from the original on 9 February 2024. Retrieved 12 December 2023.This source is a published book.

——— (2006). The Byzantines. Oxford: Blackwell. ISBN 978-1-4051-9833-2.This source is a published book. ——— (2009). Οι Βυζαντινοί (in Greek). Athens: Psychogios.

• Neville 2004, p. 34 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFNeville2004 ( help): see above
• Neville 2004, p. 13 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFNeville2004 ( help): see above

---

Previous work

Existing text expanded, rewritten: WP:SS and WP:V. Women. Rename Socioecomomic?

Agriculture was the main basis of taxation and the state sort to bind everyone to land for productivity ^[12] The emperor held the largest landownership, with senators after that; Local city councillors were typically the richest in their respective areas, though there would be a noticeable disparity between smaller and larger towns. ^[13] In an economic sense, a middle class existed, comprising merchants, smaller landowners, and artisans, yet it never coalesced as a distinct class. ^[14] Most land consisted of small and medium-sized lots, with family farms serving as the primary source of agriculture. ^[15] The status of the Coloni once referred to as proto-serfs but actually, free citizens remains a subject of historical debate. ^[16] Slaves would have been rare after the 7th century, primarily urban, with their socio-economic status tied principally to their masters. ^[17]

Inheritance rights were well developed, including for all women. ^[18] It may have been what prevented the emergence of large properties and a hereditary nobility capable of intimidating the state. ^[17] The prevalence of widows meant that women often controlled family assets as heads of households and businesses, contributing to the rise of some empresses to power. ^[19] Women were major taxpayers, landowners and as petitioners to the imperial court seeking resolution for primarily property-related disputes ^[20]

While women shared the same socio-economic status as men, they faced legal discrimination and had limitations in economic opportunities and vocations. ^[21] Prohibited from serving as soldiers, holding political office, or assuming Church roles, women essentially were assigned household responsibilities which were labour intensive. ^[22] They also worked in professions, such as in the food and textile industry, as medical staff, in public baths, had a heavy presence in retail, and were practicing members of artisan guilds. ^[23] They also worked in disreputable occupations: entertainers, tavern keepers, and prostitutes, allegedly where some saints and empresses originated from ^[24] Women participated in public life, engaging in social events such as dancing at festivals, processions, protests and attending the Hippodrome. ^[17] Women's rights would not be better in comparative societies, nor western Europe or America until the 19th century. ^[25]

In 741, marriage had become a Christian institution, and no longer a private contract. ^[26] Monogamy had been a Roman definition of marriage, but Christianity introduced a prohibition in divorce and sexual relations outside of marriage, bringing a change in power relations with slavery ^[27] Marriage was considered an institution to sustain the population, transfer property rights, support the elderly family, and the empress Theodora had said it was needed to restrict sexual hedonism. ^[28] Women usually married at ages 15-20, and were used as a way to connect men and create economic benefit among families ^[29] The societal norm dictated that women should bear up to six children, yet only 2-3 were expected to survive. ^[30] Divorce could be done by mutual consent but would be restricted over time, such as only if joining a convent. ^[31]

Education maintained a standard and a continuation from the Hellenistic and Ancient Roman era's, and right through the Byzantine era. ^[32] Education was voluntary but required financial means to attend. ^[33] There is no evidence that women were catered for. ^[34] It's more likely that boys and girls, whose families could afford it, had private tutoring at home. ^[34]

Unvalidated

• Rautman ^[35]

= Sources =

Validated

• Mary-Talbot, Alice (1997). "Chapter 5: Women". In Cavallo, Guglielmo (ed.). The Byzantines. Chicago, Ill.: Univ. of Chicago Press. ISBN  978-0-226-09791-6.
• Harris, Jonathan (2017). Constantinople: capital of Byzantium (Second ed.). London Oxford New York New Delhi Sydney: Bloomsbury Academic. ISBN  978-1-4742-5466-3.
• Stephenson, Paul, ed. (2010-12-20). The Byzantine World (0 ed.). Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9780203817254. ISBN  978-1-136-72787-0.
• Garland, Lynda (2006). Byzantine women: varieties of experience, 800-1200. Publications for the Centre for Hellenic Studies, King's College, London. Aldershot Burlington (Vt.): Ashgate. ISBN  978-0-7546-5737-8.
• Markopoulos, Athanasios (2012). "Education". In Cormack, Robin; Haldon, John F.; Jeffreys, Elizabeth (eds.). The Oxford Handbook of Byzantine Studies. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN  978-0-1917-4352-8.
• Brandes, Wolfram (2012). "Revenues and Expenditure". In Cormack, Robin; Haldon, John F.; Jeffreys, Elizabeth (eds.). The Oxford Handbook of Byzantine Studies. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN  978-0-1917-4352-8.
• Harvey, Alan (2012). "The Village". In Cormack, Robin; Haldon, John F.; Jeffreys, Elizabeth (eds.). The Oxford Handbook of Byzantine Studies. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN  978-0-1917-4352-8.
• Kazhdan, Alexander (1990). "Byzantine Hagiography and Sex in the Fifth to Twelfth Centuries". Dumbarton Oaks Papers. 44: 131–143. doi: 10.2307/1291623. ISSN  0070-7546.

-- For example, Monogamy had been an Ancient Roman definition of marriage, but Christianity introduced a prohibition in divorce and sexual relations outside of marriage, with the latter to prevent sexual relationships with slaves. ^[27]. ---

"Critical study of gender in Byzantium has received sustained, if dispersed, attention since the publication of the groundbreaking collection of essays in 1997, Women, Men, and Eunuchs: Gender in Byzantium, edited by Liz James. That publication was preceded by extensive foundational work on “women’s history” (by Alice-Mary Talbot, Angeliki Laiou, and Judith Herrin, among others), which focused largely on identifying evidence of women’s lives in Byzantium and incorporating their stories into existing master narratives...Leonora Neville’s Byzantine Gender builds from existing scholarship, including her own exceptional contributions to this still-emerging subfield." https://repository.brynmawr.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1118&context=hart_pubs

Women

Sources used in existing text

Guglielmo Cavallo: The Byzantines Archived 5 June 2022 at the Wayback Machine 1997/ Guglielmo Cavallo. Guglielmo Cavallo (born 18 August 1938 in Carovigno) is an Italian palaeographer and Byzantinist, Emeritus Professor of the Sapienza University of Rome.

• Chapter on women is by Alice Mary-Talbot.
• Discussion about the two extremes women were viewed: temptress "Eve", and Virgin Mary, the mother of God (p.117-118)
• briefly on legislation: favourable inheritance (p.119), discrimination (legal status, freedom of movement, education: p.118) in divorce and in court (p.119)
• discussions the three phases of a womans life: as girls, marriage and motherhood, and old-age and widowhood
  • • Girls did not attend regular school, home tutored or at convents. Spent most of their time home learning the ways of a household. p.120
    • marriage common at 15-20 but cases of even earlier, and usually arranged, economic and family connections paramount (p.121) The only way out of this path was being in a convent. (p122) Life expectancy was 35. (p.121) The dowry was an important part of the marriage. (p.122) High infant mortality was an big factor that shaped decisions (like young at marriage) (p.121) and lives (breastfeeding acted as contraceptive, mortality p.124). Running the housdhold was time consuming: food made from scratch, cosmetics were made, all garment making, child care; high income has more help, country side additional work with the garden (p.126-127). Discusses clothing, divorce, violence, adultery -- men had it better, women often would go to the convent due to these issues. (p.127-128)
    • old age: women peaked here: no longer sexual objects, better financial control over dowries, likely widows. 20% households headed by women (14th century Macedonia)
• Segregation.
  • Young women were protected for their virginity and reputation. Older women, it depends on social status and century, but women were often outside and it was only the richer women who were secluded.
  • women worked (p130-131) and usually it was an extension of their house work like cleaning, textiles, cooking. There is evidence that they were members of guilds like the silk makers and the cloth maker. Active in retail both as work and consumers.
  • Other categories are health related services, and disreputable occupations: prostitution, entertainers, tavern keepers. p131.
  • women were active in the church and its activities
• Discusses monastic life of women and empresses patronage of the arts and nunneries.

https://openlibrary.org/works/OL19696591W/The_Byzantines?edition=ia%3Abyzantines0000unse_o0m1

Paul Stephenson: The Byzantine World Archived 5 June 2022 at the Wayback Machine 20 December 2010. Paul Stephenson is Professor in the Department of History at the University of Durham and a specialist in the early and middle Byzantine periods.

Marcus Louis Rautman: Daily Life in the Byzantine Empire Archived 5 June 2022 at the Wayback Machine 30 Mar 2006. MARCUS RAUTMAN is Professor and Department Chair of the Department of Art History and Archaeology, University of Missouri, Columbia

Jonathan Harris: Constantinople: Capital of Byzantium Archived 5 June 2022 at the Wayback Machine 9 February 2017. Jonathan Harris (historian) Jonathan Harris is professor of the History of Byzantium at Royal Holloway, University of London.

Lynda Garland: Byzantine Women: Varieties of Experience 800–1200. Professor at the University of Queensland. Her research focuses on female images in the Late Antiquity period and Byzantine Society.

Key themes to cover from existing text

• Women's education --> --> new section for education (men and women)
• Marriage/Divorce --> revamp and put in socioeconomic
• Other Legal rights --> move to socioeconomic and compare to men)
• Segregation --> can cover in socioeconomic
• Inheritance and money --> can cover in socioeconomic classes
• Professions --> can cover in socioeconomic classes

Existing text

The position of women in the Byzantine Empire essentially represents the position of women in ancient Rome transformed by the introduction of Christianity, with certain rights and customs being lost and replaced, while others were allowed to remain. There were individual Byzantine women famed for their educational accomplishments. However, the general view of women's education was that it was sufficient for a girl to learn domestic duties and to study the lives of the Christian saints and memorize psalms, ^[36] and to learn to read so that she could study Bible scriptures—although literacy in women was sometimes discouraged because it was believed it could encourage vice. ^[37]

The Roman right to divorce was gradually erased after the introduction of Christianity and replaced with legal separation and annulment. Marriage was regarded as the ideal state for a woman, and only convent life was seen as a legitimate alternative. Within marriage, sexual activity was regarded only as a means of reproduction. Women had the right to appear before court, but her testimony was not regarded as equal to that of a man and could be contradicted based on her sex if put against that of a man. ^[36]

From the 6th century there was a growing ideal of gender segregation, which dictated that women should wear veils ^[35] and only be seen in public when attending church, ^[38] and while the ideal was never fully enforced, it influenced society. The laws of Emperor Justinian I made it legal for a man to divorce his wife for attending public premises such as theatres or public baths without his permission, ^[39] and Emperor Leo VI banned women from witnessing business contracts with the argument that it caused them to come in contact with men. ^[36] In Constantinople, upper-class women were increasingly expected to keep to a special women's section (gynaikonitis), ^[38] and by the 8th century it was described as unacceptable for unmarried daughters to meet unrelated men. ^[36] While imperial women and their ladies appeared in public alongside men, women and men at the imperial court attended royal banquets separately until the rise of the Komnenos dynasty in the 12th century. ^[38]

Eastern Roman and later Byzantine women retained the Roman woman's right to inherit, own and manage their property and signs contracts, ^[38] rights which were far superior to the rights of married women in Medieval Catholic Western Europe, as these rights included both married women as well as unmarried women and widows. ^[39] Women's legal right to handle their own money made it possible for rich women to engage in business, however women who actively had to find a profession to support themselves normally worked as domestics or in domestic fields such as the food or textile industry. ^[39] Women could work as medical physicians and attendants of women patients and visitors at hospitals and public baths with government support. ^[37]

After the introduction of Christianity, women could no longer become priestesses, but it became common for women to found and manage nunneries, which functioned as schools for girls as well as asylums, poor houses, hospitals, prisons and retirement homes for women, and many Byzantine women practised social work as lay sisters and deaconesses. ^[38]

Languages

• Beckwith 1993, p. 171 -- not available on google books
• Halsall 1998; discuss Erh-Shih-ssu Shih. nothing useful for language. website no longer live.
• Oikonomides 1999, p. 20; French. Oikonomides is heavily referenced by Kaldellis. Translation page 20: "In Constantinople, all languages are spoken"
• Harris 2014, p. 12. Armenia, GeorgianM Russian, Arab, Italian in city but the pattern also beyond. particularly Armenian and Slavonic in provinces
• Beaton 1996, p. 10; latin, syriac, coptic, church slavonic, armenian, georigian, slavic
• Jones 1986, p. 991; bad link, volume 2: https://archive.org/details/JonesLaterRomanEmpire02/page/n235/mode/2up page 991 (volume 2) is a good reference to how Greek was used in church debates. 991 also talks about Syriac adopted by local churches for liturgy, was a literary language. 992 Phoenician and Berber. 993 Illyrian, Thracian, Celtic. Reference to page 997 which concludes the majority were illiterate and spoke other languages than greek and latin,
• Versteegh 1977, Chapter 1; page 1 says lower strata would speak Aramaic (eg, Syriac) or Coptic. Greek for the educated.
• Campbell 2000, p. 40; remove source, not relevant.
• Hacikyan et al. 2002, Part 1. history of armenia, not relevant.
• Kaldellis 2007, Chapter 6; page 95, not a multi-ethnic state, everyone was assimilated.
• Nicol 1993, Chapter 5. multil-lingual but Greek bound everyone. p1-2

Transition into an eastern Christian empire

Roman Citizenship was extended to people with no direct territorial claim to the city of Rome which had enormous significance. ^[40] In 212, it was extended across the entire empire, affecting two-thirds of its population and fundamentally changing its nature. ^[41]

By the second century CE, Greek culture had redefined Roman identity. https://www.jstor.org/stable/43767621

---

The Constitutio Antoniniana is considered a turning point by some modern historians. It occurred in 212 and is when Caracalla granted citizenship across the entire Empire. Roman citizenship was an innovation of the Roman state, where people with no direct territorial claim to the city of Rome could have it. ^[42] However, the decision in 212 would affect two-thirds of the Empire's population, fundamentally changing its nature. ^[43] For example, in 249, Decius required all subjects to make a public sacrifice to the gods for the Empire, which following 212 was unprecedented in scale and marks the progression towards uniform religious practice. ^[44]

Diocletian's constitutional reforms from 284 reconfigured the reforms by Augustus that created the principate, seen as forming a new state. ^[45] Constantine's support for Christianity and moving the imperial seat east changed the power structures forever. For example, the formation of the Constantinople Senate gave the East political independence. ^[45] Theodosius issued a series of edicts essentially banning pagan religion. Pagan festivals and sacrifices were banned, as was access to all pagan temples and places of worship. ^[46] The last Olympic Games are believed to have been held in 393. ^[47]

By the second century CE, Hellenic culture had heavily impacted Roman identity. ^[48] On top of this, the theological debates in the Christian Church increased the importance of the Greek language, making it highly dependent on Hellenic thought. ^[49] It enabled philosophy like Neoplatonism to loom large on Christian theology. ^[50] Despite this, Anthony Kaldellis views Christianity as bringing no economic, social, or political changes to the state other than being more deeply integrated into it. ^[51]

---

Previous text Mary Beard distinguishes the history of ancient Rome up until 212 to be different to the era that follows, "effectively a new state masquerading under an old name". ^[52] Anthony Kaldellis says Rome went from an empire to a world and this decision would later underpin the enforcement of uniform religious belief. ^[44] Diocletian's reforms half a century later are considered to be so far reaching that it formed a new empire. ^[45]

Constantine, who had moved the imperial seat to the east, favoured Christianity after his conversion in 312; despite a lack of personal interest, he took an active role in theological debates and convened the First Council of Nicaea to address the Arian controversy. ^[53] Constantine's dynasty fought a lengthy conflict against Sasanid Persia and ended in 363 with the death of his son-in-law Julian, a pagan who futilely attempted to reverse the Christianization of the empire, after a failed expedition. ^[54] In 391 and 392 Theodosius I issued a series of edicts essentially banning pagan religion. Pagan festivals and sacrifices were banned, as was access to all pagan temples and places of worship. ^[46] The last Olympic Games are believed to have been held in 393. ^[47]

Although polytheism had been suppressed by the state since at least the time of Theodosius I in the 4th century, traditional Greco-Roman culture was still influential in the Eastern empire in the 6th century. ^[55] Hellenistic philosophy began to be gradually amalgamated into newer Christian philosophy. Philosophers such as John Philoponus drew on neoplatonic ideas in addition to Christian thought and empiricism. Because of the active paganism of its professors, Justinian closed down the Neoplatonic Academy in 529. Other schools continued in Constantinople, Antioch and Alexandria, which were the centres of Justinian's empire. ^[56] Hymns written by Romanos the Melodist marked the development of the Divine Liturgy, while the architects Isidore of Miletus and Anthemius of Tralles worked to complete the Hagia Sophia, one of the major monuments of Byzantine architectural history. ^[57] During the 6th and 7th centuries, the empire was struck by a series of epidemics, which devastated the population and contributed to a significant economic decline and a weakening of the empire. ^[58] Great bathhouses were built in Byzantine centres such as Constantinople and Antioch. ^[59]

Slavery

Chapter two addresses the international dimensions of Byzantine slavery: that is, war captives and the slave trade. The two were intimately linked and shaped by relations with the Muslim world. As captivity increasingly involved being enslaved by people of another faith, Rotman detects a growing interest on the part of the state in securing the recognition of captured Chris tians' free status—by placing limits on the trade of core ligionists, but also by upholding the validity of their marriages, and by facilitating their recovery of freedom, whether through the exchange of captives or by placing conditions on those who purchased them (if captives could not repay their purchase price, they did not simply remain slaves, but had to be paid a salary until they could repurchase their freedom

Chapter three Rotman sees a move, with a particular turning-point in the tenth century, toward considering slaves as individuals, both in hagiography and law

Altough the Christian Church did not have an anti-slavery agenda of any description, it insisted on masters' responsibilities, and the relationship between slave and God was gradually privileged over that between slave and earthly master (Alexius I Comnenus thus gave slaves the right to Christian marriage despite masters' worries). Rotman sees a parallel development in laws. Alongside the state's growing interest in controlling private persons' use of their free status (leading to restrictions on penal sla very, self-sale, and the sale of children), it also took on increasing control over unfree status: as with the slave/God relationship, the relationship between slave and state also came to be privileged over that between slave and master. "The evolution of ancient slavery thus appears to be, more than anything, the history of the growth of public power" ((p. 179).

https://www-jstor-org.wikipedialibrary.idm.oclc.org/stable/23308155?seq=1

Byzantine law provided that a non-Christian could not hold a Christian as slave as a way to protect the Christianity of the slave.

Slavic and Bulgar regions were most of the slaves MiHAELA L. FLORESCU, French and Linguistics, Cerritos College

The last three chapters are a virtual primer on Byzantine slavery, whose full value cannot be covered in a brief review. Rotman explicates the alteration of the nature of slavery in the Mediterranean world as a result of piracy and the near perpetual Byzantine‐Muslim warfare, especially with the phenomenon of the exchange of captives, while giving great attention to the Mediterranean slave trade. Meanwhile, the Christianization of the Byzantine Empire, especially allowing slaves to have Christian marriages, brought about significant internal changes to the practices of slavery. During this period, Byzantine sources also illustrate a changing view of slaves, who progress from being mere objects to being the central focus of literary attention, especially in hagiography. https://doi-org.wikipedialibrary.idm.oclc.org/10.1111/j.1540-6563.2011.00301_65.x

Underpinning Rotman's analysis is a dissatisfaction with modern notions of freedom and with their Roman republican antecedents. The author steps away from the polar opposition of freedom and slavery as conceived through the varied analytical frameworks of Marx, Henri Wallon, Moses Finley, and others and posits a more complex conception of unfreedom, essential, in his mind, to the analysis of autocratic societies (p. 18). https://www-jstor-org.wikipedialibrary.idm.oclc.org/stable/41105571?seq=2

Against this background, and contrary to Lenski’s assertion, the Byzantine innovation of the 8th century cannot be overestimated. This innovation lay not in attributing a free status to the captives returning to the Empire, but in considering them free Byzantines while in captivity. Contrary to Lenski’s assertion, I did show (pp. 30-31) that the innovation of the Ekloga drew on the previous constitution of Honorius (CJ 8.50.20 = CTh 5.7.2), which determined a period of five years during which the redeemer will pay the captive a wage.

https://bmcr.brynmawr.edu/2010/2010.05.14/ https://bmcr.brynmawr.edu/2010/2010.07.02

The institution of slavery would transition to what Youval Rotman calls different degrees of unfreedom. ^[60] There were about 3 million enslaved people (or 15% of the population) around the time of the Diocletian reforms. ^[17] Previous slave professions became prestigious free-market roles like tutors. Fiscal arrangements by the state created the coloni, tenants bound to the land, which emerged as a new legal category between free and slave.{{sfnm|Kaldellis|2023|1p=39} A dramatic change in the 726 Ekloga was that battle captives were considered freed people while in captivity, considered part of a series of progressions since the constitution of Honorius. ^{[61] [62]} Emperors promoted cultural assimilation of conquered people, which included releasing of enslaved people. ^[63] Christianity had no direct impact on slavery. ^[17] Still, it did influence it due to state policies prohibiting enslaved Christians and trade limits on Christians. ^[64] Despite all this, slavery ultimately would persist, though prices would remain constant. ^{[65] [17]}

The institution of slavery would transition, to what Youval Rotman calls different degrees of unfreedom.There were about 3 million slaves (or 15% of the population) around the time of the Diocletian reforms. ^[17] Previous slave professions became prestigious free market roles like tutors; and fiscal arrangements by the state created the coloni, tenants bound to the land, which emerged as a new legal category between free and slave. ^[14] An innovation in the Ekloga of 726 was that war captives were considered free people while in captivity, but this has origins from the constitution of Honorius. ^[61] Emperors promoted cultural assimilation of conquered people, which included freeing of slaves. ^[63] Christianity had no direct agenda on slavery, but it did influence it due to state policies prohibiting Christian slaves and trade limits on Christians ^[66] Despite all this, slavery ultimately would still persist and prices would remain constant. ^{[67] [17]}

• Rotman, Youval (2009). Byzantine slavery and the Mediterranean world. Cambridge (Mass.): Harvard University press. ISBN  978-0-674-03611-6.

Under the influence of Christianity, views of slavery shifted: by the 10th century slaves were viewed as potential citizens (the slave as a subject), rather than property or chattel (the slave as an object). ^[68] Slavery was also seen as "an evil contrary to nature, created by man's selfishness", although it remained legal. ^[69]

Early history issues

The following are a list of problems with the Early History section: /info/en/?search=Byzantine_Empire#Early_history

Background

Issues

• There is no mention of Magna gracia which had a big influence on the Roman Republic more so than the Hellenistic states. This matters because the language and culture of the Roman Empire was heavily influenced by Hellenism/Greek and the historiography that has invented the concept of the Byzantine Empire as a different empire (rather than simply being a later Roman period) is underpinned by this mis-understanding
• The article needs to document standalone how it all started and not jut jump into the Republic fighting wars. Mimic the Roman Empire article
• There are three references, with two using the same: Ostrogorsky 1959, p. 21; Wells 1922, Chapter 33 and Bury 1923, p. 1; Kuhoff 2002, pp. 177–178.
  • Ostrogorsky made fantastic contributions to the field but he is a dinosaur now and should not be referenced alone. Treadgold and Kaldellis are the two most recent academic historians to write about the entire period and build on his work. Treadgold wrote in the 1990s so a reference to Kaldellis is now preferred to anything referencing Ostrogorsky (and Treadgold).
  • Wells is not a professional historian so adds no insights that are original. Also his book was 100 years ago. Low quality source.
  • Bury, is what I said about Ostrogorsky but earlier.

Christianisation and partition of the empire

The following are sources in this section

• Bury 1923, p. 1; Esler 2004, p. 1081; Gibbon 1906, Volume III, Part IV, Chapter 18, p. 168; Teall 1967, pp. 13, 19–23, 25, 28–30, 35–36
• Bury 1923, p. 63; Drake 1995, p. 5; Grant 1975, pp. 4, 12.
• Greatrex & Lieu 2002, p. 1.
• Friell & Williams 2005, p. 105.
• Perrottet 2004, p. 190
• Cameron 2009, pp. 54, 111, 153
• Alemany 2000, p. 207; Bayless 1976, pp. 176–177; Treadgold 1997, pp. 184, 193.

Loss of the Western Roman Empire

The following are sources in this section Cameron 2009, p. 52 Burns 1991, pp. 65, 76–77, 86–87 Lenski 1999, pp. 428–429. Grierson 1999, p. 17.

Other headings

Justinian dynasty

The rise of Justinian I

Renovatio imperii and the wars of Justinian

Transition into an eastern Christian empire

Decline of the Justinian dynasty

Arab invasions and shrinking borders

Early Heraclian dynasty

First Arab siege of Constantinople (674–678) and the theme system

Late Heraclian dynasty

Second Arab siege of Constantinople (717–718) and the Isaurian dynasty

Religious dispute over iconoclasm

Macedonian dynasty and resurgence (867–1025)

Wars against the Abbasids

Wars against the Bulgarian Empire

Relations with the Kievan Rus'

Campaigns in the Caucasus

Apex

Split between Orthodoxy and Catholicism (1054)

Crisis and fragmentation

Komnenian dynasty and the Crusades

Alexios I and the First Crusade

John II, Manuel I and the Second Crusade

12th-century Renaissance

Decline and disintegration

Angelid dynasty

Fourth Crusade and aftermath

Fall

Rise of the Ottomans and fall of Constantinople

Political aftermath