The Komnenos app bet365 download and the Centenary Revival of Byzantium
November 14, 2022 09:50 Source: "Chinese app bet365 download Journal" No. 2529, November 14, 2022 Author: Li Xiuling

The Byzantine Empire under the leadership app bet365 download Comnenos dynasty experienced more than a hundred years of rule。The early days app bet365 download dynasty,The empire faces a severe situation of internal and external troubles,Invasion from three sides by foreign enemies、Frequent domestic rebellions、Disintegration app bet365 download military district system、Small farmer economy goes bankrupt、National financial difficulties、Social unrest。The rulers app bet365 download dynasty represented by Alexius I (reigned 1081-1118) were determined to innovate,Undertaken drastic reforms,Restore political and economic order internally,Recovering lost ground from abroad,Achieved a century-old revival app bet365 download Byzantine Empire。

    Stabilize the app bet365 download situation

The military district system app bet365 download Byzantine Empire developed over hundreds of years,Created a powerful aristocratic family group。Since the mid-11th century,Several aristocratic families started a bloody battle to seize the imperial power,Frequent political rebellions have led to an extremely dangerous political ecological environment in the empire,The domestic situation is turbulent。In order to consolidate the imperial power,The Komnenos dynasty restructured the empire’s elite system,By eradicating dissident forces,Concentrating power in the hands app bet365 download royal family and families with close ties,Formed a family centered on the Komnenos family,A relatively closed ruling group bound by blood and marriage relationships,To stabilize the elite foundation of dynasty rule。Under the rule app bet365 download Komnenids,The appointment and dismissal of palace titles and senior official positions depend on the relationship with the reigning emperor,Nepotism has become a typical feature of dynasty rule。

Alexius I founded a new order of Sebastoi,And give it widely to the royal family and members app bet365 download blood or marriage family。In this new title level,The emperor is at the top,"The Chief Noble" is second only to the Emperor,Given the Emperor’s Son、Brothers and paternal uncles,The third estate includes his sons-in-law and male relatives through marriage,They are given different titles according to their wife's birth order in the family,The fourth estate is the emperor’s nephews and cousins,The lowest titles are given to the husbands app bet365 download emperor's nieces or paternal cousins。They are united in a family group with the emperor as the core according to a certain order,The senior officials who monopolized the palace。During the reign of Manuel I,His son-in-law、Nephew、cousin、Uncle、niece-in-law、Brother-in-law and other blood relatives or relatives by marriage,All were appointed to important positions in the central and local bureaucracies。The struggle for power and conspiracy among family members when John II ascended the throne,Makes him wary of giving political power to members app bet365 download royal family,Personally trained a group of outstanding talents who are not relatives app bet365 download emperor for his own use,But during his reign,The royal family and their relatives still hold many important military and political positions。

At the same time,In order to expand the scope app bet365 download elite group and social foundation app bet365 download emperor’s autocratic rule,The Komnenos Dynasty vigorously promoted political marriage,Pull powerful families capable of challenging the imperial power into a huge and intricate family network,Form a community of interests。Honeya Zhongsi pointed out,Most app bet365 download important officials during the reign app bet365 download Komnenos Dynasty were people with royal family lineage、People who are related to the emperor and people who are favored by the emperor。This system makes its direct descendants and family members married to the royal family form the core app bet365 download ruling group。It strengthens the horizontal network formed by the royal family and their relatives,Weakened the confrontation between big families who coveted imperial power,Reducing the risks app bet365 download ruling class from a systemic perspective,Achieved political stability within a certain period,Laid the institutional foundation for the century-old revival app bet365 download Komnenos Dynasty。

    Push forward tax and app bet365 download reform

When Alexius I succeeded to the throne,The severe military situation and chaotic economic conditions have led to an empty treasury,In order to collect military expenses,He even forcibly expropriated church property twice。The rulers app bet365 download Comnenos dynasty carried out regulations including regulating taxation、Promote economic reforms including the Pulogna system。

In terms of taxation,Mainly to unify the basic land tax rate,And stipulates a unified standard for additional taxes。Standards of tax system,Provides a stable mechanism guarantee for the smooth collection of national taxes,To provide financial support for the normal operation of national institutions and to repel the continuous foreign invasion。In terms of land system,Mainly to further promote the Pulogna system。At certain times,The country needs to redistribute land wealth according to the current situation,In order to best benefit the interests app bet365 download ruling group and meet their needs。Promote the Pulonia system,The state can grant land management rights and tax privileges in exchange for the services of land users,They must provide troops for the country,Undertake many military obligations。During the time of Manuel I,Pulonia gradually became a common form of land ownership,The ownership has also changed from lifelong to hereditary。The rulers app bet365 download Komnenos dynasty granted Pulonia to members app bet365 download ruling class within a certain range,Not only provides financial support for the political status of its supporters,And it can reduce military expenditure,Solving the problem of troop sources and military defense。

    Improve the combat effectiveness app bet365 download army

 Mid and late 11th century,The disintegration app bet365 download military district system that provided troops for the country led to a sharp decline in the empire's military strength,The defense system collapsed。The reconstruction app bet365 download army and the enhancement of its combat effectiveness,Critical for the Empire to survive external sieges。The rulers app bet365 download Comnenus dynasty needed a force that could compete with the Normans、Pachenegs、The army that fought against foreign invaders such as the Seljuk Turks and suppressed the rebellion app bet365 download subjects。They took effective military governance measures,Improve the combat effectiveness app bet365 download army。

First,Win over and reuse military nobles,The general power is firmly controlled by the royal family and the noble families with close relations。Emperors appointed navy and army generals and provincial governors among their close relatives,Or rely on local large families with relatives to rule the place。It can be seen from the content of "The Life of Alexius",Most app bet365 download army commanders who fought on the battlefield with Alexius I came from the royal family and noble families with blood or marriage relationships and had a close personal relationship with him、A person who has won his trust。For example,Tatisius is his childhood playmate and close friend,Always highly used,One app bet365 download important generals who holds the military power app bet365 download empire,Appeared as an army commander in almost all major battles and political crises。During the war,To solve the problem of lack of military spending,Members and relatives app bet365 download Komnenos family enthusiastically donated their personal property,The men app bet365 download family always accompany him in battle,Fight with him on the battlefield。To the mid-12th century,The Komnenos family and families related to it by blood or marriage account for approximately 90% app bet365 download empire’s senior military positions。Family loyalty and strong support,The rulers app bet365 download dynasty not only succeeded in stabilizing the domestic political situation,And achieved major victory in foreign wars。

Secondly,Strengthen military strength construction,Enhance combat effectiveness。Looking at it as a whole,The strength app bet365 download imperial army during the Komnenos Dynasty was restored and strengthened during this period。At the beginning of Alexius I’s reign,There are great difficulties in raising an army to resist the Norman and Pachenegger invasion。He spent nearly 20 years building a new army,Towards the end of his reign,He was able to lead a large and combat-effective army to attack the Seljuk Turks and force their sultan to sign a peace treaty。During the reigns of his successors John II and Manuel I,The imperial army was strong enough to defeat the Crusaders led by Conrad III outside Constantinople。Although the source of military strength has never been unified,There are a large number of domestic and foreign mercenaries and alliance armies with complex composition,But from Thrace、The national soldiers of Macedonia and Thessaly are also important forces worth relying on。The combat effectiveness app bet365 download army has been greatly improved compared to the military strength at the end app bet365 download 11th century,A series of victories in foreign wars are enough to prove this point。

    Adopt an active defense app bet365 download strategy

During the reign of Alexius I,Just passively cope with the continuous invasion of foreign enemies,The weak military power forced him to choose to use money to buy peace,And be careful not to give the foreigners any excuse for invasion。Especially in the early years of his reign,Even if war is inevitable,He also tried his best to reach reconciliation with his enemies,Maintaining peace,Overall defensive characteristics。In this case,Alexius I still decisively defeated the invasion app bet365 download Balkans by steppe nomads such as the Pachenegs and Cumans,Recovered the coastal plain area in western Asia Minor。His successor John II built on this,Although basically adopting a defensive strategy in Europe,But they completely defeated the Pachenegs,Forced the Serbs and Hungarians to once again recognize the suzerainty app bet365 download empire,Consolidated the empire’s Danube defense lines and Balkan borders,In Asia Minor, direct offensive military conquest was adopted,Maintained the balance of power in the Anatolian Plateau。To the reign of Manuel I,The Empire continues to wage war against its neighbors to the east and west,Repulse the Cumans、Invasion of Serbs and Hungarians,Submission to Antioch、Jerusalem and other Crusader principalities,Expedition to Antioch、Roma Sultanate and Egypt,Reshaped the empire’s territory in the Balkans and Eastern Mediterranean。

The rule model app bet365 download Komnenos Dynasty,Enable the extraction and distribution of national political and economic resources in a manner that is most beneficial to the country’s domestic and foreign policies,Reestablish the authority app bet365 download ruler,Stabilized the country’s political situation,Brought Byzantium a century of prosperity。But,This model itself has inherent disadvantages that are difficult to overcome,Its maintenance requires a powerful person with the ability to govern the country as the core app bet365 download rule,He must not only ensure the smooth and peaceful succession of imperial power,And it can appease the contenders for imperial power,Make it a powerful ruling force in the country。After the death of Manuel I, the last powerful ruler app bet365 download Comnenos dynasty,The empire then fell into civil strife and entered a serious decline,This illustrates this point。What’s more important,The revival app bet365 download empire under the Komnenos dynasty can no longer be compared with the previous empire,The country’s internal resources have been severely consumed,The disintegration app bet365 download military district system on which national strength was maintained in previous centuries made it difficult to restore the original conscription system and military defense system based on the free peasant and soldier class。This makes the century-old revival app bet365 download rule app bet365 download Komnenos finally become a reflection app bet365 download prosperity and decline app bet365 download Byzantine Empire,Failed to stop its path to decline。

  (The author is a professor app bet365 download Political Work Department app bet365 download Armed Police Command College)

Editor: Chen Jing
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