Streams of gold, rivers of blood : the rise and fall of Byzantium, 955 A.D. to the First Crusade

441 Pages·2017·25.341 MB·English

by  Kaldellis, Anthony

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Streams of Gold, Rivers of Blood
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Streams of Gold, Rivers of Blood: The Rise and Fall of Byzantium,
955 A.D. to the First Crusade
Anthony Kaldellis
iii
Streams of Gold,
Rivers of Blood
Anthony
The Rise and Fall of
Kaldellis
Byzantium, 955 . . to
a d
the First Crusade
1
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1
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Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data
Names: Kaldellis, Anthony, author.
Title: Streams of gold, rivers of blood : the rise and fall of Byzantium, 955 A.D.
to the First Crusade / Anthony Kaldellis.
Description: New York, NY : Oxford University Press, 2017. |
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016037388 | ISBN 9780190253226 (hardback) |
ISBN 9780190253240 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Byzantine Empire—History—527–1081. |
Byzantine Empire—History—1081–1453.
Classification: LCC DF591 .K36 2017 | DDC 949.5/02—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016037388
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Printed by Sheridan Books, Inc., United States of America
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to the memory of all who have perished crossing the Aegean in
hope of a life without war, and to the islanders who have so
desperately tried to aid them
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CONTENTS
Maps xiii
Genealogies xxi
Preface xxvii
Acknowledgments xxxiii
A Note on Transliteration xxxv
Introduction: The Byzantine Empire
in the Tenth Century 1
Romanía 1
Imperial governance 4
The army and war 9
“Landed aristocracy”? “Anatolian
magnates”? 13
Part I Conquest and Consolidation
1 “Avengers of Rome”: The First Phase
of Conquest in the East (955– 963) 21
The cast of the conquest: The final years
of Konstantinos VII (d. 959) 21
Turning the tide in the southeast 24
Southern Italy 29
A smooth succession: Romanos II 32
The conquest of Crete 34
viii
The conquest of Cilicia (phase I) 38
The rise of Phokas 40
2 “The White Death of the Saracens”:
Nikephoros II Phokas (963–9 69) 43
The new regime 43
Failure in Sicily 45
The conquest of Cilicia (phase II)
and Cyprus 46
The annexation of Taron 50
Declining popularity 51
Tension with Bulgaria 54
Tension in Italy with the German
empire 57
Military victory, political failure: The final
years 61
3 “A Mind Full of Cares, Brave in Danger”:
Ioannes I Tzimiskes (969– 976) 65
The new regime 65
The defeat of the Rus’ and Bulgaria 68
Eastern incursions: Toward a new balance
of power 74
An otherwise obscure reign 79
4 “From Spectator to Contestant”: Basil II
(976– 1025), Part I 81
The new regime 81
The first rebellion of Bardas Skleros 83
The foreign policy of Lakapenos and Phokas,
979– 985 87
The fall of Lakapenos and the rebellion of Phokas
and Skleros 94
5 “Guarding the Children of New Rome”:
Basil II (976– 1025), Part II 103
From status quo to peace in the east,
990– 1001 103
The war against Bulgaria, 991– 1003 112
The emperor and the “aristocracy” 115
6 “No One Ever Saw My Spear at Rest”: Basil II
(976– 1025), Part III 120
viii Contents
ix
The missing decade and conquest of Bulgaria,
1004– 1018 120
Monitoring Aleppo, 1000– 1025 127
The war with Abkhazia-K artli and the last
rebellion, 1021– 1022 131
The apogee of Byzantine Italy 134
The end of an era 138
General Considerations: The Age
of Conquest 142
Part II New Enemies and the Return
of Politics
7 “Intrigues of the Women’s Quarters”: From
Macedonians to Paphlagonians 155
Konstantinos VIII (1025– 1028) 155
Romanos III Argyros (1028– 1034):
The same insecurity 158
The debacle at Aleppo and the capture
of Edessa 160
Diplomacy and dynastic instability 163
Michael IV (1034– 1041): Family rule 165
Frontier integrity 168
The conquest, and loss, of Sicily 171
The Bulgarian revolt 173
The dramatic fall of Michael V
(1041– 1042) 175
8 “No Less Laws than Arms”: Konstantinos IX
Monomachos (1042– 1055), Part I 179
Enter the Normans 181
1043: Trial by fire 184
Domestic initiatives (phase I) 187
The annexation of Ani 191
The Pecheneg invasions and the Revolt
of Tornikios 192
9 “Squaring the Circle”: Konstantinos IX
Monomachos (1042– 1055), Part II 196
The Seljuk invasions and the Pecheneg
wars 196
Contents ix