The main concern of Byzantium was the Muslim threat.30 The focus fell
naturally on the eastern frontier, beyond which lay the Abbasid caliphate.
By the mid-ninth century, however, the caliphate was no longer launching
full-scale invasions, and the raids into Byzantine territory were largely
headed by the amirs of Tarsus and Melitene. The reign of Michael III was
marked by a series of successes against the Arabs on land: there were Byzantine
victories in 855 and 859, the latter led by the emperor himself. Inscriptions
atNicaea and Ankyra from this period recording their fortification by
Michael are suggestive of a concerted effort.31 However, 863 is the famous
date, often seen as a turning-point in the Byzantine–Arab conflict on the
eastern frontier; thereafter the Byzantines were able to go on the offensive,
eventually triumphing in the tenth century.32 In this year Michael’s
uncle Petronas defeated the army of the amir of Melitene, who was killed
in the engagement.33 During Basil’s reign, however, the Byzantines were
preoccupied with crushing the Paulicians. The Paulicians were a religious
group of Armenian origin deemed heretical by orthodox Byzantines, and
they formed distinctive communities in the eastern borderlands.34 Following
the restoration of icons under Theodora they were severely persecuted,
but found sanctuary on the upper Euphrates, and Tephrike became their
power centre. The Paulicians joined the Byzantines’ enemies on the eastern
frontier, assisting the raids of the amir of Melitene. Their leader Karbeas
died in 863, but his nephew and successor Chrysocheir appears to have been
even more formidable, penetrating into Asia Minor. It was the domestic
of the Schools and relative of Basil, Christopher, who managed to defeat
the Paulician leader in 872, though Tephrike was only taken in 878. Basil’s
efforts against Arab targets had more limited success, and his reign witnessed
defeats such as the failed attack on Tarsus in 883. It seems that the
reorganisation of the eastern frontier in the second half of the ninth and
early tenth centuries was as important as military victories for increasing
Byzantium’s strength.35
The Byzantines did not just face land war in the east; the Arabs were also
a potent naval threat. The struggle for security at sea had intensified after
Muslims originally from Spain had seized Crete, a vital strategic location, in
the 820s (see above, p. 256). The Byzantines tried to rectify this situation.
In the first year of the regency Theoktistos led an expedition to Crete,
and Michael and Bardas were preparing to sail there when the caesar was
murdered in 866. The reoccupation of Crete was clearly a consistent goal,
but one only achieved in 961. The Byzantines are, however, credited with
a successful assault on Damietta in Egypt in 853.36
A naval response was also called for in the case of Sicily, as the Arabs
extended their control of the island and threatened southern Italy: their
castle-by-castle advance culminated in the fall of Syracuse in 878.37 Despite
this event Basil I launched a concerted effort to maintain Byzantine power
in the west.38 When the Arabs threatened Ragusa in 867, the emperor
responded emphatically, no doubt as concerned to stem the expansion of
the Arabs as to tackle the specific problem of southern Italy and Sicily.
To address the latter situation in 868 Basil entered into alliance with the
Frankish emperor Louis II (855–75), who was campaigning against the
Arabs in southern Italy on his own account, with the Byzantines supplying
naval assistance. This arrangement was cemented with the engagement
of Basil’s eldest son Constantine to Louis’ daughter. However, the
alliance foundered, and Louis’ ambitions faltered and then died with him
in 875.39
Despite this setback Basil maintained his aspirations. Otranto was occupied
in 873, and three years later Bari was regained, as was Taranto in 880.
In the closing years of Basil’s reign the general Nikephoros Phokas (grandfather
of the future emperor of the same name) was active in southern Italy,
and increased Byzantine control of Apulia and Calabria.40 It appears that
the successes of the early Macedonians were assisted by the revival of the
imperial fleet and the creation of new naval themes.41 Basil was well served
by admirals such as Niketas Ooryphas and Nasar (anticipating Himerios
under Leo VI), who were active throughout the Mediterranean; one success
was the temporary occupation of Cyprus. Thus although Sicily slipped
inexorably from Byzantine control, the empire did provide some response
to the Arab naval threat. Yet this remained intractable, persisting into the
reign of Leo VI (see below, pp. 499–500). A strong presence was, however,
re-established in southern Italy, and was soon enhanced. Byzantine
ambitions there remained live down to the twelfth century.
Besides the Muslims, the Byzantines’ other major bugbear had been the
Bulgars on the northern frontier, with their centre near the lower Danube
at Pliska.42 As recently as 811 Nikephoros I (802–11) had been killed on
campaign against them. Khan Krum subsequently ventured against Constantinople,
only to die in 814 (see above, p. 257). Following his death
there was an extended phase of peace between Byzantium and the Bulgars.
For the mid-ninth century the key issue was religion. Under Khan Boris
(c. 852–89) Christianity was spreading in the Balkans, and Boris contemplated
conversion.He sought missionaries from the Franks, but Byzantium
was probably uneasy at Frankish interference so close to Constantinople.
The exact course of events is controversial, but whether or not Boris was
threatened by a Byzantine invasion, Boris turned to Byzantium for a Christian
mission.43 In the mid-860s Boris was baptised, taking the Christian
name of his godfather, Michael III himself. Thus it looked as if Byzantine
cultural influence in Bulgaria was assured. However, in 866 Boris turned
to the papacy, seeking advice and an archbishop from Pope Nicholas I
(858–67), who was then happy to score points against Constantinople.44
Papal missionaries replaced Byzantine ones. But Boris found his plans for
the Bulgarian archbishopric thwarted, and in 870 cannily returned to the
Byzantine fold; he procured an archbishop by skilful manoeuvring at the
time of the 869–70 church council in Constantinople. Byzantine cultural
influence was secured, although this also fuelled the political ambitions of
Bulgaria, which were to burst forth under Boris’ even cannier son, Symeon
(893–927). For the reigns of Michael III and Basil I, though, the relationship
between Byzantium and Bulgaria was remarkably peaceful, and this
probably freed up military energy for release elsewhere.
For Byzantium the traditional concerns in the sphere of foreign affairs
were the Arabs and Bulgaria, but new problems arose. The most dramatic
came from the north.45 In 860 a Rus fleet suddenly appeared before Constantinople,
having sailed across the Black Sea, though probably not from
Kiev, which was yet to develop as a political centre. The raiders subjected
the suburbs around the imperial city to plunder. Michael III was away on
campaign, but he hurried back when informed of the assault. However,
the fleet soon departed, perhaps simply through having amassed enough
booty rather than being driven away by an act of God. While it seems that
the Rus were already known to the Byzantines, the events of 860 made a
deep impact. Byzantium responded to the Rus’ subsequent request for a
mission, although this mission does not seem to have lasted long (see below,
p. 320). The relationship remained mixed, with further Rus raids in the
tenth century but also trading treaties and Rus serving with the imperial
forces. Diplomatic and cultural contacts intensified, leading ultimately to
the conversion of Prince Vladimir of Kiev and his people c. 988 (see below,
pp. 325–6).
Soon after the Rus raid, another avenue for Byzantine cultural influence
opened up, when Prince Rastislav of Moravia (846–70) requested churchmen.
46 It is likely that Rastislav, sandwiched between Franks and Bulgars,
turned to Byzantium in the hope of securing a political counterweight.
The Byzantines embraced the opportunity, despatching in 863 the famous
brothers Constantine andMethodios. They hailed from Thessaloniki, and
Constantine had especially strong bonds with the court and intellectual circles
of Constantinople.47 To pursue their mission in Moravia they sought
to spread the word in the language of the Slavs, and to this end developed
a Slavic alphabet, the first of its kind, and translated many religious texts
into the literary language they coined. Their mission dissolved after the
death of Rastislav and disengagement of other Slav princely patrons, who
came under Frankish pressure. But their disciples had an impact in the
newly Christianised Bulgaria of Boris, where they ended up as refugees
after being expelled from Moravia in 885. Installed at Ohrid and Pliska,
they were entrusted with the creation of a Slavic clergy and expounding
Christianity in comprehensible Slavic, lessening the need for Byzantineborn
clergy; but Greek remained the language of court ceremonial and,
probably, the liturgy.48 Thus the outcome of the mission to Moravia had
unintended consequences, not necessarily advantageous to Byzantium in
so far as they nurtured the aspirations of Symeon, Boris’ son.
A final development lay to the east.49 Armenia had fallen under Arab
overlordship from the end of the seventh century, and the leading Armenian
families (the Bagratuni and the Artsruni) had assisted in the Arab sack of
Amorion in 838. But with the decentralisation of theAbbasid caliphate there
came the opportunity for greater independence, and this was exploited by
Ashot I Bagratuni (‘the Great’), prince of princes, who in 884 was crowned
king of Armenia. Under Michael III and Basil I political relations with
Armenia were fostered, Basil recognising Ashot as prince of princes (arch¯on
t¯on archont¯on).50 These friendly relations persisted into the tenth century,
and assisted in Byzantium’s expansion eastwards.
World History
