Byzantium under the Isaurians
Encyclopedia
The Eastern Roman Empire was ruled by the Isaurian or Syrian dynasty from 711 to 802. The Isaurian emperors were successful in defending and consolidating the Empire against the Caliphate
after the onslaught of the early Muslim conquests
, but were less successful in Europe, where they suffered setbacks against the Bulgars
, had to give up the Exarchate of Ravenna
, and lost influence over Italy and the Papacy to the growing power of the Franks
.
The Isaurian dynasty is chiefly associated with Byzantine Iconoclasm, an attempt to restore divine favour by purifying the Christian faith from excessive adoration of icons, which resulted in considerable internal turmoil.
By the end of the Isaurian dynasty in 802, the Byzantines were continuing to fight the Arabs and the Bulgars for their very existence, with matters made more complicated with the resurrection
of the Western Empire
under Charlemagne
.
the Sassanid Persians, the Emperor Heraclius
(r. 610–641) and his exhausted realm were faced with the sudden onset of the Muslim expansion from Arabia into the Levant
.
Following the Muslim conquest of Syria
, the rich province of Egypt
, the Empire's chief source of corn and tax revenue, had fallen to the Arabs. The Byzantines also faced Arab attacks through Libya against the Exarchate of Africa, against Cilicia
, which controlled the southern passes into Asia Minor
, now the Empire's last major contiguous territory, and against the Armenian Highland
, the Empire's chief source of manpower and a vital buffer between the now Arab-dominated Syrian Desert
region and the northeastern passage into Asia Minor. These three areas would be the main fields of Byzantine-Arab contention during the next half-century. The Arabs continued to make headway, most notably constructing a navy that successfully challenged Byzantine supremacy in the Mediterranean. The outbreak of the Muslim civil war
in 656 bought the Byzantines time, and emperor Constans II
(r. 641–668) reinforced his position in the Balkans
and Italy. His successor, Constantine IV
(r. 668–685), was able to beat off the First Arab Siege of Constantinople (674–678), and in its aftermath move into the counteroffensive, securing Asia Minor, recovering Cilicia
and forcing the Caliphate to pay tribute. At the same time however, he was defeated by the Bulgar
khan Asparukh, and was forced to accept his people's settlement in Byzantine lands south of the Danube
. With the first deposition of Constantine IV's son and heir Justinian II
in 695 began a period of troubles that lasted almost a quarter-century and brought a succession of disasters that nearly brought about the downfall of the Byzantine state. Carthage finally fell in 697 and a Byzantine recovery attempt defeated
next year. Cilicia was conquered by the Arabs and turned into a base for raiding expeditions that penetrated deep into Asia Minor, sacking its forts and cities, while the Caucasus brought under firm Muslim control. Finally, the Umayyad
caliph Sulayman ibn Abd al-Malik
(r. 715–717) began preparing another huge expedition to conquer Constantinople.
At the same time, the disasters of the 7th century saw major changes in the society and nature of what remained of the Empire: the urbanized, cosmopolitan civilization of Late Antiquity
came to an end, and the Medieval era began. With the decline of most cities to a small, fortified urban cores that functioned merely as administrative centres, society became largely agrarian, while education and intellectual life almost vanished. The loss of the Empire's richest provinces, coupled with successive invasions, reduced the imperial economy to a relatively impoverished state, compared to the resources available to the Caliphate
. The monetary economy persisted, but the barter economy experienced a revival as well. Administrative practice also changed: alongside the continued existence of the late Roman provincial system, the surviving field armies were reorganised into the theme system as a means to preserve the remaining imperial territory, although the extensive power concentrated in the hands of the thematic commanders, the strategoi
, made them prone to rebel. At the same time, the central bureaucracy in Constantinople also rose in importance. In the religious field, the loss of the Monophysite eastern provinces ended the need for the unsuccessful compromise doctrine of Monotheletism, which was abandoned at the Third Council of Constantinople
in 680, while the Quinisext Council
in 692 saw the promotion of the interests and views of the Patriarchate of Constantinople against the See of Rome.
's second overthrow, the Byzantine Empire spiralled into another era of chaos matched only by Phocas
' mishandling of the last Persian War. Philippikos Bardanes, the Crimean rebel who seized the throne proved to be totally incompetent for rule. Rather than face the looming threat of the Bulgars or the Arabs, he intended to reignite the religious controversies by imposing the much hated Heraclian Monothelitism. When King Tervel of Bulgaria
(who was an ally of Justinian II) invaded Thrace, Bardanes had no choice but to summon the troops of the Opsician Theme to combat the Bulgars. Unfortunately for the Emperor, the troops had no loyalty whatsoever to him and after the ritual blinding he was replaced in June 713 by the chief secretary of the Emperor, Artemios.
Artemios was crowned as Anastasios II. Anastasios gave the Empire a brief taste of good leadership, improving the walls of the capital and filling the granaries of the capital to bursting point, in order that the newly reported Arab invasion be dealt with. Every citizen was told to gather enough food for three years for if the Arabs were to reach the straits it would undoubtedly be a lengthy siege. However, Anastasios proved too good for the Empire; in an effort to avert the Arab siege of the Capital, Anastasios planned a preemptive strike against the invaders, using Rhodes
as a base. However the Opsician Theme once more revolted and Anastasios found himself in a Thessalonika monastery by 715.
The Opsicians chose Theodosios
, an unwilling tax-collector, to rule the Empire. The choice was hardly based upon his skills; when Leo the Isaurian, strategos of the Anatolic theme
, asked the Senate and the Patriarch for his support in becoming emperor, it took little persuading to obtain it.
, who would become the founder of the so-called Isaurian dynasty, was actually born in Germanikeia in northern Syria
ca. 685; his alleged origin from Isauria
derives from a reference in Theophanes the Confessor
, which however may be a later addition. After being raised to spatharios by Justinian II, he fought the Arabs in Abasgia, and was appointed as strategos of the Anatolics by Anastasios II. Following the latter's fall, in 716 Leo allied himself with Artabasdos
, the general of the Armeniacs, and was proclaimed emperor while two Arab armies, one under the Caliph's brother Maslamah ibn Abd al-Malik
, campaigned in Asia Minor. Leo averted an attack by Maslamah by clever negotiations, in which he promised to recognize the Caliph's suzerainty, but on 25 March 717, he entered Constantinople and deposed Theodosios.
Within months, the new Emperor faced his first great challenge, with a massive Muslim attack on the imperial capital: the Caliphate's army and navy, led by Maslamah, numbered some 120,000 men and 1,800 ships according to the sources. Whatever the real number, it was a huge force, far larger than the Imperial army. Thankfully for Leo and the Empire, Anastasios II had repaired and strengthened the capital's sea walls. In addition, the Emperor concluded an alliance with the Bulgar khan Tervel, who agreed to harass the invaders' rear.
From July 717 to August 718, the city was besieged by land and sea by the Muslims, who built an extensive double line of circumvallation and contravallation on the landward side, isolating the capital. Their attempt to complete the blockade by sea however failed when the Byzantine navy
employed Greek fire
against them; the Arab fleet kept well off the city walls, leaving Constantinople's supply routes open. Forced to extend the siege into winter, the besieging army suffered horrendous casualties from the cold and the lack of provisions. In spring, new reinforcements were sent by the new caliph, Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz (r. 717–720), by sea from Africa and Egypt and over land through Asia Minor. The crews of the new fleets were composed mostly of Christians, who began defecting in large numbers, while the land forces were ambushed and defeated in Bithynia
. As famine and an epidemic continued to plague the Arab camp, the siege was abandoned on 15 August 718. On its return, the Arab fleet suffered further casualties to storms and an eruption of the volcano of Thera.
Even during the siege, Leo had been able to stifle attempts at secession: his troops swiftly overthrew a revolt in Sicily
, where a certain Basil Onomagoulos
was declared emperor. In 719, he also weathered an attempt by the deposed Anastasios II to recover his throne with Bulgar help. Leo further strengthened his position by crowning his wife Maria
as Augusta
in 718 and his son Constantine
as co-emperor in 720. Profiting from the weakened state of the Caliphate after the enormous losses they had suffered before Constantinople, Leo was able to launch a counter-offensive which achieved some success. The Arabs soon recovered however, and from 720 launched annual raids that devastated large parts of Asia Minor, despite a Byzantine alliance with the Khazars
, who launched attacks on the Caliphate's northern flank. Iconium and Caesarea were sacked, and Byzantine troops were again driven out of Armenia.
Leo's frustration at his military failures led him to believe, in the fashion of the time, that the Empire had lost divine favour. Already in 722 he had tried to force the conversion of the Empire's Jews, but soon he began to turn his attention to the veneration of icons, which some bishops had come to regard as idolatrous
. Following the renewed eruption of Thera in 726, he published an edict condemning their use, and had the image of Christ
removed from the Chalke Gate, the ceremonial entrance to the Great Palace of Constantinople
. The Emperor showed himself increasingly critical of the iconophiles, and in a court council in 730 he formally banned depictions of religious figures.
Leo's espousal of iconoclasm caused reactions among both the populace and the Church. The soldiers that took down the image of Christ from the Chalke were lynched, and a thematic rebellion that broke out in Greece in 727, was at least in part motivated by iconophile fervour. The Patriarch Germanos I resigned, to be replaced by the more pliant Anastasios
. The emperor's edict drew the condemnation of popes Gregory II
and Gregory III
, as well as John of Damascus
. Generally however, the dispute remained limited, as Leo refrained from actively persecuting iconophiles.
The rift with the Papacy had other reasons as well: Leo transferred the dioceses of the eastern Illyricum (roughly the old Diocese of Macedonia
) from Rome to the jurisdiction of Constantinople, and further deprived the Pope of the revenues of Sicily and Calabria
. At the same time, Leo failed to provide aid to the embattled Byzantine Exarchate of Ravenna. In 727, the local Byzantine forces overthrew their commander, and in ca. 738, the city was taken for a time by the Lombard
king Liutprand
.
. In 740 however the emperor and his son scored a decisive victory over an invading Arab army at Akroinon
, which halted the momentum of the Arab attacks.
In March 741 (older sources prefer to date it to 726), Leo also promulgated the Ecloga, a revised selection of laws, drawn chiefly from the older Codex Justinianus. Christian influence is evident in the marked decrease of crimes subject to capital punishment
, but the collection conversely expanded the use of mutilation, perceived as more humane, as punishment. The Ecloga proved popular as a concise legal handbook, remaining the standard legal text until the introduction of the Epanagoge
in the late 9th century, and was translated into Slavonic
, Arabic and Armenian
.
Leo died peacefully in his bed on 18 June 741, the first emperor to do so since Constantine IV. During his reign, he had succeeded in warding off the Arab attacks and consolidate the Empire's eastern frontier. On the other hand, his introduction of a new and unnecessary theological dispute, albeit for the moment relatively mild, compromised his efforts to restore stability to the Empire.
Caliphate
The term caliphate, "dominion of a caliph " , refers to the first system of government established in Islam and represented the political unity of the Muslim Ummah...
after the onslaught of the early Muslim conquests
Muslim conquests
Muslim conquests also referred to as the Islamic conquests or Arab conquests, began with the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He established a new unified polity in the Arabian Peninsula which under the subsequent Rashidun and Umayyad Caliphates saw a century of rapid expansion of Muslim power.They...
, but were less successful in Europe, where they suffered setbacks against the Bulgars
First Bulgarian Empire
The First Bulgarian Empire was a medieval Bulgarian state founded in the north-eastern Balkans in c. 680 by the Bulgars, uniting with seven South Slavic tribes...
, had to give up the Exarchate of Ravenna
Exarchate of Ravenna
The Exarchate of Ravenna or of Italy was a centre of Byzantine power in Italy, from the end of the 6th century to 751, when the last exarch was put to death by the Lombards.-Introduction:...
, and lost influence over Italy and the Papacy to the growing power of the Franks
Franks
The Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a...
.
The Isaurian dynasty is chiefly associated with Byzantine Iconoclasm, an attempt to restore divine favour by purifying the Christian faith from excessive adoration of icons, which resulted in considerable internal turmoil.
By the end of the Isaurian dynasty in 802, the Byzantines were continuing to fight the Arabs and the Bulgars for their very existence, with matters made more complicated with the resurrection
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
of the Western Empire
Western Roman Empire
The Western Roman Empire was the western half of the Roman Empire after its division by Diocletian in 285; the other half of the Roman Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire, commonly referred to today as the Byzantine Empire....
under Charlemagne
Charlemagne
Charlemagne was King of the Franks from 768 and Emperor of the Romans from 800 to his death in 814. He expanded the Frankish kingdom into an empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800...
.
Background: Byzantium in the 7th century
The Heraclian dynasty (610–695 and 705–711) faced some of the greatest challenges in history. After successfully overcomingByzantine-Sassanid War of 602–628
The Byzantine–Sassanid War of 602–628 was the final and most devastating of the series of wars fought between the Roman Empire and the Sassanid Empire. The previous war had ended in 591 after Emperor Maurice had helped the Sassanian king Khosrau II regain his throne. In 602, Maurice was murdered...
the Sassanid Persians, the Emperor Heraclius
Heraclius
Heraclius was Byzantine Emperor from 610 to 641.He was responsible for introducing Greek as the empire's official language. His rise to power began in 608, when he and his father, Heraclius the Elder, the exarch of Africa, successfully led a revolt against the unpopular usurper Phocas.Heraclius'...
(r. 610–641) and his exhausted realm were faced with the sudden onset of the Muslim expansion from Arabia into the Levant
Levant
The Levant or ) is the geographic region and culture zone of the "eastern Mediterranean littoral between Anatolia and Egypt" . The Levant includes most of modern Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel, the Palestinian territories, and sometimes parts of Turkey and Iraq, and corresponds roughly to the...
.
Following the Muslim conquest of Syria
Muslim conquest of Syria
The Muslim conquest of Syria occurred in the first half of the 7th century, and refers to the region known as the Bilad al-Sham, the Levant, or Greater Syria...
, the rich province of Egypt
Muslim conquest of Egypt
At the commencement of the Muslims conquest of Egypt, Egypt was part of the Byzantine Empire with its capital in Constantinople. However, it had been occupied just a decade before by the Persian Empire under Khosrau II...
, the Empire's chief source of corn and tax revenue, had fallen to the Arabs. The Byzantines also faced Arab attacks through Libya against the Exarchate of Africa, against Cilicia
Cilicia
In antiquity, Cilicia was the south coastal region of Asia Minor, south of the central Anatolian plateau. It existed as a political entity from Hittite times into the Byzantine empire...
, which controlled the southern passes into Asia Minor
Asia Minor
Asia Minor is a geographical location at the westernmost protrusion of Asia, also called Anatolia, and corresponds to the western two thirds of the Asian part of Turkey...
, now the Empire's last major contiguous territory, and against the Armenian Highland
Armenian Highland
The Armenian Highland is the central-most and highest of three land-locked plateaus that together form the northern sector of the Middle East...
, the Empire's chief source of manpower and a vital buffer between the now Arab-dominated Syrian Desert
Syrian Desert
The Syrian Desert , also known as the Syro-Arabian desert is a combination of steppe and true desert that is located in the northern Arabian Peninsula covering 200,000 square miles . also the desert is very rocky and flat...
region and the northeastern passage into Asia Minor. These three areas would be the main fields of Byzantine-Arab contention during the next half-century. The Arabs continued to make headway, most notably constructing a navy that successfully challenged Byzantine supremacy in the Mediterranean. The outbreak of the Muslim civil war
First Fitna
The First Islamic Civil War , also called the First Fitna , was the first major civil war within the Islamic Caliphate. It arose as a struggle over who had the legitimate right to become the ruling Caliph...
in 656 bought the Byzantines time, and emperor Constans II
Constans II
Constans II , also called Constantine the Bearded , was Byzantine emperor from 641 to 668. He also was the last emperor to become consul in 642, becoming the last Roman consul in history....
(r. 641–668) reinforced his position in the Balkans
Balkans
The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
and Italy. His successor, Constantine IV
Constantine IV
Constantine IV , , sometimes incorrectly called Pogonatos, "the Bearded", by confusion with his father; was Byzantine emperor from 668 to 685...
(r. 668–685), was able to beat off the First Arab Siege of Constantinople (674–678), and in its aftermath move into the counteroffensive, securing Asia Minor, recovering Cilicia
Cilicia
In antiquity, Cilicia was the south coastal region of Asia Minor, south of the central Anatolian plateau. It existed as a political entity from Hittite times into the Byzantine empire...
and forcing the Caliphate to pay tribute. At the same time however, he was defeated by the Bulgar
Bulgars
The Bulgars were a semi-nomadic who flourished in the Pontic Steppe and the Volga basin in the 7th century.The Bulgars emerge after the collapse of the Hunnic Empire in the 5th century....
khan Asparukh, and was forced to accept his people's settlement in Byzantine lands south of the Danube
Danube
The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....
. With the first deposition of Constantine IV's son and heir Justinian II
Justinian II
Justinian II , surnamed the Rhinotmetos or Rhinotmetus , was the last Byzantine Emperor of the Heraclian Dynasty, reigning from 685 to 695 and again from 705 to 711...
in 695 began a period of troubles that lasted almost a quarter-century and brought a succession of disasters that nearly brought about the downfall of the Byzantine state. Carthage finally fell in 697 and a Byzantine recovery attempt defeated
Battle of Carthage (698)
The Battle of Carthage was fought in 698 AD between a Byzantine expeditionary force and the armies of the Umayyad Caliphate. Having lost Carthage to the Muslims, Emperor Leontius sent the navy under the command of John the Patrician and the droungarios Tiberius Apsimarus. They entered the harbor...
next year. Cilicia was conquered by the Arabs and turned into a base for raiding expeditions that penetrated deep into Asia Minor, sacking its forts and cities, while the Caucasus brought under firm Muslim control. Finally, the Umayyad
Umayyad
The Umayyad Caliphate was the second of the four major Arab caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. It was ruled by the Umayyad dynasty, whose name derives from Umayya ibn Abd Shams, the great-grandfather of the first Umayyad caliph. Although the Umayyad family originally came from the...
caliph Sulayman ibn Abd al-Malik
Sulayman ibn Abd al-Malik
Sulayman bin Abd al-Malik was an Umayyad caliph who ruled from 715 until 717. His father was Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan, and he was a younger brother of the previous caliph, al-Walid I.-Early years:...
(r. 715–717) began preparing another huge expedition to conquer Constantinople.
At the same time, the disasters of the 7th century saw major changes in the society and nature of what remained of the Empire: the urbanized, cosmopolitan civilization of Late Antiquity
Late Antiquity
Late Antiquity is a periodization used by historians to describe the time of transition from Classical Antiquity to the Middle Ages, in both mainland Europe and the Mediterranean world. Precise boundaries for the period are a matter of debate, but noted historian of the period Peter Brown proposed...
came to an end, and the Medieval era began. With the decline of most cities to a small, fortified urban cores that functioned merely as administrative centres, society became largely agrarian, while education and intellectual life almost vanished. The loss of the Empire's richest provinces, coupled with successive invasions, reduced the imperial economy to a relatively impoverished state, compared to the resources available to the Caliphate
Caliphate
The term caliphate, "dominion of a caliph " , refers to the first system of government established in Islam and represented the political unity of the Muslim Ummah...
. The monetary economy persisted, but the barter economy experienced a revival as well. Administrative practice also changed: alongside the continued existence of the late Roman provincial system, the surviving field armies were reorganised into the theme system as a means to preserve the remaining imperial territory, although the extensive power concentrated in the hands of the thematic commanders, the strategoi
Strategos
Strategos, plural strategoi, is used in Greek to mean "general". In the Hellenistic and Byzantine Empires the term was also used to describe a military governor...
, made them prone to rebel. At the same time, the central bureaucracy in Constantinople also rose in importance. In the religious field, the loss of the Monophysite eastern provinces ended the need for the unsuccessful compromise doctrine of Monotheletism, which was abandoned at the Third Council of Constantinople
Third Council of Constantinople
The Third Council of Constantinople, counted as the Sixth Ecumenical Council by the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches and other Christian groups, met in 680/681 and condemned monoenergism and monothelitism as heretical and defined Jesus Christ as having two energies and two wills...
in 680, while the Quinisext Council
Quinisext Council
The Quinisext Council was a church council held in 692 at Constantinople under Justinian II. It is often known as the Council in Trullo, because it was held in the same domed hall where the Sixth Ecumenical Council had met...
in 692 saw the promotion of the interests and views of the Patriarchate of Constantinople against the See of Rome.
The Empire in crisis, 705–717
After Justinian IIJustinian II
Justinian II , surnamed the Rhinotmetos or Rhinotmetus , was the last Byzantine Emperor of the Heraclian Dynasty, reigning from 685 to 695 and again from 705 to 711...
's second overthrow, the Byzantine Empire spiralled into another era of chaos matched only by Phocas
Phocas
Phocas was Byzantine Emperor from 602 to 610. He usurped the throne from the Emperor Maurice, and was himself overthrown by Heraclius after losing a civil war.-Origins:...
' mishandling of the last Persian War. Philippikos Bardanes, the Crimean rebel who seized the throne proved to be totally incompetent for rule. Rather than face the looming threat of the Bulgars or the Arabs, he intended to reignite the religious controversies by imposing the much hated Heraclian Monothelitism. When King Tervel of Bulgaria
Tervel of Bulgaria
Khan Tervel also called Tarvel, or Terval, or Terbelis in some Byzantine sources, was the Emperor of the Bulgarians at the beginning of the 8th century. In 705 he received the title Caesar which was a precedent in history. He was probably a Christian like his grandfather Khan Kubrat...
(who was an ally of Justinian II) invaded Thrace, Bardanes had no choice but to summon the troops of the Opsician Theme to combat the Bulgars. Unfortunately for the Emperor, the troops had no loyalty whatsoever to him and after the ritual blinding he was replaced in June 713 by the chief secretary of the Emperor, Artemios.
Artemios was crowned as Anastasios II. Anastasios gave the Empire a brief taste of good leadership, improving the walls of the capital and filling the granaries of the capital to bursting point, in order that the newly reported Arab invasion be dealt with. Every citizen was told to gather enough food for three years for if the Arabs were to reach the straits it would undoubtedly be a lengthy siege. However, Anastasios proved too good for the Empire; in an effort to avert the Arab siege of the Capital, Anastasios planned a preemptive strike against the invaders, using Rhodes
Rhodes
Rhodes is an island in Greece, located in the eastern Aegean Sea. It is the largest of the Dodecanese islands in terms of both land area and population, with a population of 117,007, and also the island group's historical capital. Administratively the island forms a separate municipality within...
as a base. However the Opsician Theme once more revolted and Anastasios found himself in a Thessalonika monastery by 715.
The Opsicians chose Theodosios
Theodosios III
Theodosios III or Theodosius III , was Byzantine Emperor from 715 to March 25, 717.Theodosius was a financial officer and tax collector in the southern portion of the theme of Opsikion. According to one theory he was the son of the former Emperor Tiberius III. When the thematic troops rebelled...
, an unwilling tax-collector, to rule the Empire. The choice was hardly based upon his skills; when Leo the Isaurian, strategos of the Anatolic theme
Anatolic Theme
The Anatolic Theme , more properly known as the Theme of the Anatolics was a Byzantine theme in central Asia Minor...
, asked the Senate and the Patriarch for his support in becoming emperor, it took little persuading to obtain it.
Leo III the Isaurian, 717–741
Leo IIILeo III the Isaurian
Leo III the Isaurian or the Syrian , was Byzantine emperor from 717 until his death in 741...
, who would become the founder of the so-called Isaurian dynasty, was actually born in Germanikeia in northern Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
ca. 685; his alleged origin from Isauria
Isauria
Isauria , in ancient geography, is a rugged isolated district in the interior of South Asia Minor, of very different extent at different periods, but generally covering what is now the district of Bozkır and its surroundings in the Konya province of Turkey, or the core of the Taurus Mountains. In...
derives from a reference in Theophanes the Confessor
Theophanes the Confessor
Saint Theophanes Confessor was a member of the Byzantine aristocracy, who became a monk and chronicler. He is venerated on March 12 in the Roman Catholic and the Eastern Orthodox Church .-Biography:Theophanes was born in Constantinople of wealthy and noble iconodule parents: Isaac,...
, which however may be a later addition. After being raised to spatharios by Justinian II, he fought the Arabs in Abasgia, and was appointed as strategos of the Anatolics by Anastasios II. Following the latter's fall, in 716 Leo allied himself with Artabasdos
Artabasdos
Artavasdos, Latinized as Artabasdos or Artabasdus , was Byzantine Emperor of Armenian descent from June 741 or 742 until November 743...
, the general of the Armeniacs, and was proclaimed emperor while two Arab armies, one under the Caliph's brother Maslamah ibn Abd al-Malik
Maslamah ibn Abd al-Malik
Maslamah ibn Abd al-Malik was an Umayyad prince and one of the most prominent Arab generals of the early decades of the 8th century, leading several campaigns against the Byzantine Empire and the Khazar Khaganate...
, campaigned in Asia Minor. Leo averted an attack by Maslamah by clever negotiations, in which he promised to recognize the Caliph's suzerainty, but on 25 March 717, he entered Constantinople and deposed Theodosios.
Arab siege of Constantinople and its aftermath
From July 717 to August 718, the city was besieged by land and sea by the Muslims, who built an extensive double line of circumvallation and contravallation on the landward side, isolating the capital. Their attempt to complete the blockade by sea however failed when the Byzantine navy
Byzantine navy
The Byzantine navy was the naval force of the East Roman or Byzantine Empire. Like the empire it served, it was a direct continuation from its imperial Roman predecessor, but played a far greater role in the defense and survival of the state then its earlier iterations...
employed Greek fire
Greek fire
Greek fire was an incendiary weapon used by the Byzantine Empire. The Byzantines typically used it in naval battles to great effect as it could continue burning while floating on water....
against them; the Arab fleet kept well off the city walls, leaving Constantinople's supply routes open. Forced to extend the siege into winter, the besieging army suffered horrendous casualties from the cold and the lack of provisions. In spring, new reinforcements were sent by the new caliph, Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz (r. 717–720), by sea from Africa and Egypt and over land through Asia Minor. The crews of the new fleets were composed mostly of Christians, who began defecting in large numbers, while the land forces were ambushed and defeated in Bithynia
Bithynia
Bithynia was an ancient region, kingdom and Roman province in the northwest of Asia Minor, adjoining the Propontis, the Thracian Bosporus and the Euxine .-Description:...
. As famine and an epidemic continued to plague the Arab camp, the siege was abandoned on 15 August 718. On its return, the Arab fleet suffered further casualties to storms and an eruption of the volcano of Thera.
Even during the siege, Leo had been able to stifle attempts at secession: his troops swiftly overthrew a revolt in Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
, where a certain Basil Onomagoulos
Basil Onomagoulos
Basil Onomagoulos was a Byzantine official who was declared rival emperor in Sicily in 717, taking the regnal name Tiberius.Basil was from Constantinople, the son of a certain Gregory Onomagoulos...
was declared emperor. In 719, he also weathered an attempt by the deposed Anastasios II to recover his throne with Bulgar help. Leo further strengthened his position by crowning his wife Maria
Maria, wife of Leo III
-Empress:The throne of the Byzantine Empire was unstable in the early 710s. Justinian II had been deposed and executed in 711. His deposition was followed by the brief reigns of Philippikos , Anastasios II and Theodosios III...
as Augusta
Augusta (honorific)
Augusta was the imperial honorific title of empresses. It was given to the women of the Roman and Byzantine imperial families. In the third century, Augustae could also receive the titles of Mater castrorum and Mater Patriae .The title implied the greatest prestige, with the Augustae able to...
in 718 and his son Constantine
Constantine V
Constantine V was Byzantine emperor from 741 to 775; ); .-Early life:...
as co-emperor in 720. Profiting from the weakened state of the Caliphate after the enormous losses they had suffered before Constantinople, Leo was able to launch a counter-offensive which achieved some success. The Arabs soon recovered however, and from 720 launched annual raids that devastated large parts of Asia Minor, despite a Byzantine alliance with the Khazars
Khazars
The Khazars were semi-nomadic Turkic people who established one of the largest polities of medieval Eurasia, with the capital of Atil and territory comprising much of modern-day European Russia, western Kazakhstan, eastern Ukraine, Azerbaijan, large portions of the northern Caucasus , parts of...
, who launched attacks on the Caliphate's northern flank. Iconium and Caesarea were sacked, and Byzantine troops were again driven out of Armenia.
Beginning of Iconoclasm
Idolatry
Idolatry is a pejorative term for the worship of an idol, a physical object such as a cult image, as a god, or practices believed to verge on worship, such as giving undue honour and regard to created forms other than God. In all the Abrahamic religions idolatry is strongly forbidden, although...
. Following the renewed eruption of Thera in 726, he published an edict condemning their use, and had the image of Christ
Christ
Christ is the English term for the Greek meaning "the anointed one". It is a translation of the Hebrew , usually transliterated into English as Messiah or Mashiach...
removed from the Chalke Gate, the ceremonial entrance to the Great Palace of Constantinople
Great Palace of Constantinople
The Great Palace of Constantinople — also known as the Sacred Palace — was the large Imperial Byzantine palace complex located in the south-eastern end of the peninsula now known as "Old Istanbul", modern Turkey...
. The Emperor showed himself increasingly critical of the iconophiles, and in a court council in 730 he formally banned depictions of religious figures.
Leo's espousal of iconoclasm caused reactions among both the populace and the Church. The soldiers that took down the image of Christ from the Chalke were lynched, and a thematic rebellion that broke out in Greece in 727, was at least in part motivated by iconophile fervour. The Patriarch Germanos I resigned, to be replaced by the more pliant Anastasios
Patriarch Anastasius of Constantinople
Anastasios was the patriarch of Constantinople from 730 to 754. The patriarchate of Constantinople is a high position in the eastern branch of Christianity. He succeeded Germanos I . Anastasios was heavily involved in the controversy over icons . His opinion of icons changed twice...
. The emperor's edict drew the condemnation of popes Gregory II
Pope Gregory II
Pope Saint Gregory II was pope from May 19, 715 to his death on February 11, 731, succeeding Pope Constantine. Having, it is said, bought off the Lombards for thirty pounds of gold, Charles Martel having refused his call for aid, he used the tranquillity thus obtained for vigorous missionary...
and Gregory III
Pope Gregory III
Pope Saint Gregory III was pope from 731 to 741. A Syrian by birth, he succeeded Gregory II in March 731. His pontificate, like that of his predecessor, was disturbed by the iconoclastic controversy in the Byzantine Empire, in which he vainly invoked the intervention of Charles Martel.Elected by...
, as well as John of Damascus
John of Damascus
Saint John of Damascus was a Syrian monk and priest...
. Generally however, the dispute remained limited, as Leo refrained from actively persecuting iconophiles.
The rift with the Papacy had other reasons as well: Leo transferred the dioceses of the eastern Illyricum (roughly the old Diocese of Macedonia
Diocese of Macedonia
The Diocese of Macedonia was a diocese of the later Roman Empire, forming part of the praetorian prefecture of Illyricum. Its capital was Thessalonica....
) from Rome to the jurisdiction of Constantinople, and further deprived the Pope of the revenues of Sicily and Calabria
Calabria
Calabria , in antiquity known as Bruttium, is a region in southern Italy, south of Naples, located at the "toe" of the Italian Peninsula. The capital city of Calabria is Catanzaro....
. At the same time, Leo failed to provide aid to the embattled Byzantine Exarchate of Ravenna. In 727, the local Byzantine forces overthrew their commander, and in ca. 738, the city was taken for a time by the Lombard
Lombards
The Lombards , also referred to as Longobards, were a Germanic tribe of Scandinavian origin, who from 568 to 774 ruled a Kingdom in Italy...
king Liutprand
Liutprand, King of the Lombards
Liutprand was the King of the Lombards from 712 to 744 and is chiefly remembered for his Donation of Sutri, in 728, and his long reign, which brought him into a series of conflicts, mostly successful, with most of Italy. He profited by Byzantine weakness to enlarge his domains in Emilia and the...
.
Final years
The adoption of iconoclasm seemed indeed to be vindicated in the Emperor's eyes, for success returned to the Imperial arms, and the Muslims suffered a series of defeats between 727 and 732. The next years were more difficult, especially as the Arabs defeated the Khazars and forced their leader to convert to IslamIslam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
. In 740 however the emperor and his son scored a decisive victory over an invading Arab army at Akroinon
Battle of Akroinon
The Battle of Akroinon was fought at Akroinon or Akroinos in Phrygia, on the western edge of the Anatolian plateau, in 740 between an Umayyad Arab army and the Byzantine forces. The Arabs had been conducting regular raids into Anatolia for the past century, and the 740 expedition was the largest...
, which halted the momentum of the Arab attacks.
In March 741 (older sources prefer to date it to 726), Leo also promulgated the Ecloga, a revised selection of laws, drawn chiefly from the older Codex Justinianus. Christian influence is evident in the marked decrease of crimes subject to capital punishment
Capital punishment
Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...
, but the collection conversely expanded the use of mutilation, perceived as more humane, as punishment. The Ecloga proved popular as a concise legal handbook, remaining the standard legal text until the introduction of the Epanagoge
Epanagoge
The Epanagoge , more properly the Eisagoge is a Byzantine law book promulgated in 886. Begun under Basil I the Macedonian , it was only completed under his son and successor, Leo VI the Wise...
in the late 9th century, and was translated into Slavonic
Old Church Slavonic
Old Church Slavonic or Old Church Slavic was the first literary Slavic language, first developed by the 9th century Byzantine Greek missionaries Saints Cyril and Methodius who were credited with standardizing the language and using it for translating the Bible and other Ancient Greek...
, Arabic and Armenian
Armenian language
The Armenian language is an Indo-European language spoken by the Armenian people. It is the official language of the Republic of Armenia as well as in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The language is also widely spoken by Armenian communities in the Armenian diaspora...
.
Leo died peacefully in his bed on 18 June 741, the first emperor to do so since Constantine IV. During his reign, he had succeeded in warding off the Arab attacks and consolidate the Empire's eastern frontier. On the other hand, his introduction of a new and unnecessary theological dispute, albeit for the moment relatively mild, compromised his efforts to restore stability to the Empire.