HISTORY OF THE BYZANTINE EMPIRE PART II

The Arab conquests: 7th century
One of the most dramatic and sudden movements of any people in history is the expansion, by conquest, of the Arabs in the 7th century (only the example of the Mongols in the 13th century can match it). The desert tribesmen of Arabia form the bulk of the Muslim armies. Their natural ferocity and love of warfare, together with the sense of moral rectitude provided by their new religion, form an irresistible combination. When Muhammad dies in 632, the western half of Arabia is Muslim. Two years later the entire peninsula has been brought to the faith, and the Arab nomads are Muslim in the desert to the east of Palestine and Syria.
The great Christian cities of Syria and Palestine fall to the Arabs in rapid succession from635. Damascus, in that year, is the first to be captured. Antioch follows in 636. And 638 brings the greatest prize of all, in Muslim terms, when Jerusalem is taken after a year's siege. It is a moment of profound significance for the young religion, for Islam sees itself as the successor of Judaism and Christianity. The city of the people of Moses, in which Jesus also preaches and dies, is a holy place for Muslims too. Moses and Jesus are Muhammad's predecessors as prophets. A link with Muhammad himself will also soon emerge in Jerusalem.
Muslim North Africa: from642
The Arab conquest of Egypt and North Africa begins with the arrival of an army in640 in front of the Byzantine fortified town of Babylon (in the area which is now Old Cairo). The Arabs capture it after a siege and establish their own garrison town just to the east, calling it Al Fustat. The army then moves on to Alexandria, but here the defences are sufficient to keep them at bay for fourteen months. At the end of that time a surprising treaty is signed. The Greeks of Alexandria agree to leave peacefully; the Arabs give them a year in which to do so. In the autumn of 642, the handover duly occurs. One of the richest of Byzantine provinces has been lost to the Arabs without a fight.
The Arabs continue rapidly westwards along the coast of North Africa, capturing Cyrenaica in 642 and Tripoli in 643. But these remain largely ineffective outposts. For nearly three decades the Arabs make little progress in subduing the indigenous Berber inhabitants of this coastal strip. The turning point comes in 670 with the founding of a new Arab garrison town at Kairouan, about sixty miles south of the Byzantine city of Carthage. From this secure base military control becomes possible. Carthage is destroyed (yet again) in 698. By the early 8th century northwest Africa is firmly in Arab hands. In 711 an Arab general takes the next expansionist step. With a Berber army he crosses the straits of Gibraltar and enters Spain.
The Arabs and Constantinople:674-717
In the overwhelming assault on the Byzantine empire by the Arabs during the 7th century, only one campaign is consistently unsuccessful. This is their frequently repeated attempt to capture Constantinople itself. The city is first unsuccessfully attacked, by sea and land, in669. The last of several expeditions ends in disaster for the Arabs in 717, when a fleet of some 2000 ships is destroyed by a storm and the army straggles homewards through a wintry Anatolia. From the mid-670s the Byzantines have one strong psychological advantage - a mysterious new device in their armoury which becomes known as Greek fire.
Greek fire: 674
In674 a Muslim fleet enters the Bosphorus to attack Constantinople. It is greeted, and greatly deterred, by a new weapon which can be seen as the precursor of the modern flamethrower. It has never been discovered precisely how the Byzantine chemists achieve the jet of flame for their 'Greek fire'. The secret of such a lethal advantage is jealously guarded. Contemporary accounts imply that the inflammable substance is petroleum-based, floats on water, and is almost impossible to extinguish. It can be lobbed in a canister. But in its most devastating form it is projected, as a stream of liquid fire, from a tube mounted in the prow of a ship. Sprayed among a wooden fleet, its destructive potential is obvious.
Iconoclasm: 726-843
In726 the Byzantine emperor Leo III issues a dramatic order. Above the bronze gates leading into his imperial palace there has been, since the time of Justinian, a vast golden image of Jesus Christ - the partner and the source of the authority of Byzantine emperors. Leo sends a body of troops to destroy this great icon (from eikon, Greek for 'image'). Local outrage is so great that the crowd kills the officer in charge. The event begins a century and more of the so-called Iconoclastic Controversy, which racks the empire and contributes considerably to the developing split between Rome and Constantinople.
Leo has the support of many in the eastern provinces of the empire, and he has strong arguments on his side. Icons are greatly venerated within the Byzantine church, in unmistakable disregard of God's second Commandment (prohibiting 'graven images'). Islam, taking the same prohibition with the utmost seriousness, has been for almost a century a neighbouring source of rebuke. A majority of Christian leaders in the east (the region most affected by Islam) support Leo's policy. Undeterred by widespread popular unrest following the first iconoclastic act of 726, Leo goes further down his chosen route. In 730 he declares the possession of icons to be illegal, and orders their destruction.
The battle between the iconoclasts (klastes, Greek for 'breaker') and the iconodules (doulos, 'servant' and thus 'worshipper') is a political one with violent consequences for early Byzantine art. But Pope Gregory III in Rome will have none of it, and Roman Catholics have always remained passionate iconodules. In the eastern empire there is an interlude from787, when iconodules win power, but iconoclasm is restored as imperial policy in 814. The controversy lasts until 843. In that year Theodora, the widow of the emperor Theophilus, officially sanctions the veneration of icons - an event still celebrated each year in the eastern church as the Feast of Orthodoxy.
From843 icons recover their special position in Greek Orthodox Christianity, never again to lose it. The screen between the nave and the altar sanctuary in an Orthodox church is dedicated to the display of holy images - as its name iconostasis specifically states. As other regions are converted to the Greek religion, in the Balkans and in Russia, the veneration of images spreads. Indeed to many people nowadays, after a millennium of the rich tradition of Russian Orthodox Christianity, the word 'icon' suggests first and foremost a Russian religious painting. And Russian icons, still being painted today, preserve much of the ancient Byzantine style.
Byzantine revival: 10th century
During the 10th century the fortunes of Byzantium undergo a remarkable revival. Control is re-established over much of the Balkans when the Slavs are brought within the empire - first by their conversion to Greek Orthodox Christianity, then by treaties and alliances. Beyond the Danube the Russians also are converted to the faith, and are from time to time kept friendly by intermarriage with the imperial family in Constantinople. At the same period Byzantine armies recover Anatolia, Syria and northern Mesopotamia - extending the imperial frontiers in a manner unprecedented since the eruption of Islam in the 7th century.
Even in Italy the Byzantine territory is enlarged in the south, where eviction of the Arabs brings the entire coastline of heel and toe (Apulia and Calabria) back under imperial control. Sicily at the same period is lost to the Arabs, in a prolonged struggle from the fall of Palermo in 831 to the loss of the last Byzantine stronghold in 965. But overall, at the time of the first Christian millennium, the prospects for the Byzantine empire seem brighter than for many years. They are to be darkened again in the next century by the emergence of a new enemy on each flank - the Normans in the west, the Seljuk Turks in the east.

Byzantines and Turks: 1064-1071
In 1064 the Seljuk Turks, under their sultan Alp Arslan, invade Armenia - for many centuries a disputed frontier region between the Byzantine empire and neighbours to the east. Alp Arslan follows his success here with an attack on Georgia, in 1068. These acts of aggression prompt a response from the Byzantine emperor, Romanus IV Diogenes. The armies meet in 1071 at Manzikert, near Lake Van. The battle, a resounding victory for the Seljuks, is a turning point in the story of the Byzantine empire. Within a few years there are Turkish tribes in many parts of Anatolia. Some of them are bitter enemies of the Seljuks, but the Seljuks are now the main power in this borderland between Islam and Christianity.
Emotive appeals: 1095-1096
In March 1095 the pope, Urban II, is holding a council of his bishops at Piacenza. It is attended by ambassadors from Constantinople. When the pope allows them to address the assembly, they make a passionate appeal for Christian soldiers to come and help the Byzantine emperor, Alexios I, in his struggles against the Turks. Everyone is impressed. This seems to have been a seminal moment in inspiring the pope with an ambitious new idea. In November of the same year, at another council (this time at Clermont), Urban takes the issue a crucial step further. Word is spread that on November 27 he will make a great announcement. A platform is set up in a field outside the city gate. A large crowd assembles. The pope rises to address them.
He describes a pitiful state of affairs in the holiest places of Christendom, now in the hands of the Turks. Pilgrims are persecuted and even prevented from reaching the shrines. He urges Christians, rich and poor alike, to march east to recover Jerusalem. He contrasts the poverty and squabbling of life in Europe with an image of a promised land of prosperity and peace. He even offers a new inducement - a plenary indulgence to all who take part. (An indulgence saves the sinner some of the pain of Purgatory, with a plenary one promising greater remission.) Crusaders should be ready, says the pope, to leave their homes in the late summer of 1096 (after the harvest is in). They should make their way to Constantinople, where a Christian army will assemble.
Constantinople and western Christians: 1097-1099
By April 1097 the various crusading groups are ready to advance together from Constantinople. They are accompanied at this stage by a Byzantine army, for the first task is to clear a route through Anatolia - recently seized from the Byzantines by the Seljuk Turks. The immediate target, close to hand, is the Seljuk capital in the heavily fortified Byzantine town of Nicaea. After a siege it is taken, in June, and restored to the Byzantine emperor. This is virtually the last act of cooperation between the crusading armies of western Christians and the Greek emperor in Constantinople.
The first crusade recovers northwest Anatolia for the Byzantine empire, but the rest remains in Turkish hands. During the next century troubles multiply for Constantinople, particularly in its relations with western Europeans. The Normans of south Italy and Sicily, profoundly hostile to eastern Christianity, frequently raid the shores and islands of Greece. Antioch, beyond Anatolia, is also in Norman hands - after the leaders of the first crusade betray their agreement with the Byzantine emperor, allotting this ancient Greek city to the Norman Bohemund as a hereditary principality. But there are even more intense hostilities at closer quarters, among merchants competing bitterly for trade in Constantinople.
Venice and Constantinople: 1082-1201
During the 12th century Venetian merchants make excellent use of the exclusive trading privilege granted them in the Byzantine empire, in 1082, for their help against the Normans. But their wealth and arrogance provoke profound hostility in Constantinople. In an attempt to curb them, the emperor makes trading agreements with Genoa in 1169 and with Pisa in 1170, following this in 1171 with the confiscation of the goods of every Venetian merchant in the empire. In 1182 the people of Constantinople take matters into their own hands with a massacre of the Latins (or Roman Catholics) living in the city.
Dynastic conflicts in the last years of the 12th century compound the troubles of the Byzantine empire, and accidentally play into the hands of Venice. In 1195 the emperor Isaac II is deposed and blinded by his brother. Isaac's son, Alexius, is imprisoned. In 1201 he escapes and makes his way to western Europe to seek assistance in the recovery of his throne. In the same year arrangements are being made in Europe for yet another crusade, the fourth, to the Middle East. This time it is proposed that the crusaders depart in a great fleet from Venice. The Venetians, masters of secret diplomacy, suddenly have all the necessary threads in their hands. They weave them into an intricate and profitable web of deceit.
The fourth crusade: 1202-1204
Inspired by the pope's preachers to set off for the east, a new wave of crusaders makes travel arrangements in Venice in 1201. Their immediate target is Egypt, now thought to be the most vulnerable part of Saladin's empire in the eastern Mediterranean. Venice drives a hard bargain. The city will provide ships for 4500 knights and their horses, 9000 squires to serve them and 20,000 foot soldiers; food for a year for the entire expedition; and fifty galleys as an escort. For this the crusaders will pay 85,000 silver marks and will cede to Venice half of any lands they conquer. This is agreed, with a departure date planned for some time after June 1202.
Venetian diplomats immediately get in touch with the sultan in Egypt, with whom they have excellent trading agreements, to assure him secretly that Venice will not allow the crusading fleet to reach his shores. Behind the scenes the doge is also negotiating with agents of Alexius, son of the deposed emperor in Constantinople. It seems possible that the crusaders might be diverted to this rich and ancient city, where Venice by now has several grudges to settle. Soon the hard facts of commerce are playing into Venetian hands. The crusading army is assembled in Venice by the summer of 1202. But it has nowhere near assembled the agreed sum of 85,000 silver marks.
The Venetians propose a compromise. They will accept deferred payment and yet honour their side of the bargain, if the crusading army will do them a small favour on the journey out to Egypt. Venice has for a while been disputing control of Dalmatia with the king of Hungary. The Hungarians have recently seized an important coastal city, Zara (now Zadar). It would be a fine thing if the crusaders would recover this city. The crusaders sail from Venice on November 8 and arrive at Zara on November 10. They besiege the city for five days and pillage it for three. It is then decided that it is too late in the year to continue eastwards. They make a winter camp.
During the winter the Venetians agree terms with Alexius. If placed on the throne in Constantinople, he will pay Venice the sum owed by the crusaders. He will also provide funds and men to help the crusade on its way. The proposal is put to the crusading army and with some reluctance is accepted. The fleet reaches Constantinople in June 1203. The crusaders break through the great chain protecting the harbour and breach the city walls in July. On August 1, in Santa Sophia, Alexius is crowned co-emperor - alongside his blind father. With the immediate purpose achieved, the crusade should be able to continue on its way. But now it is Alexius who cannot deliver his side of the bargain.
The sack of Constantinople: 1204
The crusaders camp outside Constantinople while Alexius, as emperor, tries to raise his debt to the Venetians by taxing the citizens and confiscating church property. For nine months growing resentment within the city is matched by increasing impatience outside. In April the Venetians persuade the crusaders to storm Constantinople and place a Latin emperor on the throne. For the second time they succeed in breaching the walls. The doge of Venice and the leading crusaders instal themselves in the royal palace. The army is granted three days in which to pillage the city.
The Venetians, from their long links with Constantinople, can appreciate the treasures of Byzantium. They loot rather than destroy. St Mark's in Venice is graced today by many rich possessions brought back in 1204 - parts of the Pala d'Oro, the porphyry figures known as the tetrarchs, and above all the four great bronze horses. The crusaders, mainly French and Flemish, are less refined in their tastes. They tend to smash what they find. They ride their horses into Santa Sophia, tear down its silken hangings, destroy the icons in the silver iconostasis. A prostitute, placed on the patriarch's throne, obligingly sings a bawdy song in Norman French.
Latin and Byzantine empires: 1204-1261
The seizure of Constantinople by the fourth crusade does wider damage than the physical destruction of the city. The Byzantine empire is fatally weakened by the crusaders who now grab fiefs for themselves in Greece and western Anatolia (following the example of the first crusaders, a century earlier, in Palestine and Syria). A Latin empire is set up in Constantinople on the same feudal principle as the Latin kingdom of Jerusalem. One of the crusaders, Baldwin, Count of Flanders and Hainaut, is elected emperor. On 16 May 1204 he is crowned in Santa Sophia. Later in the year he distributes lordships to his vassals.
The Byzantine court survives, in a much reduced state, in the ancient city of Nicaea. From this base, over the next three generations, Byzantine emperors gradually push their Latin opponents westwards out of Anatolia. Eventually, in alliance with Venice's bitter enemy, Genoa, they succeed in 1261 in recovering Constantinople. Byzantine emperors rule in Constantinople for almost another two centuries. But they are isolated, weak, and in the end helpless against encirclement by a new and powerful enemy - the Ottoman Turks.