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Byzantine History

Byzantine History


In the late 6th and early 7th centuries, the Byzantine Empire was attacked frequently. In such condition, Heraclius became the emperor and set up military, societal and administrative reforms that would help the Empire greatly.

The expression thema was vague, applying both to a mode of military tenure and to an administrative division. In each theme, the soldiers were given land to maintain their families. Officially, the soldiers remained a military division, under the authority of a strategos, and they were not the owners of the land they were given. For that reason, the soldiers paid less for using it. By taking this offer, they approved that their children would work both in the armed forces and in a theme, in this way cutting down the necessity of recruitment plus sustaining the armed forces inexpensively.

Nevertheless, the chief of a theme did not only order his soldiers. He considered both social and military spheres in the territorial region.

Emperor Heraclius proclaimed Greek the official language. The Greek name of the Emperor, Basileus, took place of the preceding Latin name, Augustus. Heraclius' reforms increased the cultural difference between the Eastern Roman Empire and its predecessor, with the earlier West European colonial lands. The period of Heraclius is frequently taken to be the ultimate split of the Eastern Roman and the Empires of Byzantine.

The innovative method of inhabiting unoccupied lands with military units and consequently increasing devotion to the state was really helpful to the Byzantine Empire. Over some decades, the conquerors left, and the number of rebellions reduced greatly.

The reforms set up by Heraclius saved the Empire from devastation and gave it stability that would last for hundreds of years. On the other hand, because of the militarization of society and a regression of social establishments and traditions, the establishment of the themes is frequently referred to as the ending of Late Antiquity and the introduction of the Middle Ages for the Eastern Roman Empire.





Bibliography

Browning, Robert. The Byzantine Empire. Catholic University of America Press, 1992.

Norwich, John Julius. Byzantium: The Decline and Fall. Knopf, 1995.

Ostrogorski, Georgije. History of the Byzantine State. Rutgers University Press, 1986.
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Posted by: Julia Vann

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