Page:EB1911 - Volume 06.djvu/1017

 of the empire during the time of Justinian, chiefly borrowed from Hierocles and Stephanus of Byzantium. (2) De administrando imperio, an account of the condition of the empire, and an exposition of the author’s view of government, written for the use of his son Romanus; it also contains most valuable information as to the condition and history of various foreign nations with which the Byzantine empire had been brought into contact on the east, west and north. (3) De cerimoniis aulae Byzantinae, which describes the customs of the Eastern Church and court. (4) A life of Basilius I., his grandfather, based on the work of Genesius. (5) Two treatises on military subjects are attributed to him; one on tactics, which, as the title shows, was really written by his grandson Constantine VIII., the other a description of the different methods of fighting in fashion amongst different peoples. (6) A speech on the despatch of an image of Christ to Abgar, king of Edessa. Of works undertaken by his instructions the most important were the Encyclopaedic Excerpts from all available treatises on various branches of learning. (1) Historica, in 53 sections, each devoted to a special subject; of these the sections De legationibus, De virtutibus et vitiis, De sententiis, De insidiis, have been wholly or partly preserved. (2) Basilica, a compilation from the different parts of the Justinian Corpus Juris, subsequently the text-book for the study of law. (3) Geoponica, agricultural treatises, for which see and. (4) Iatrica, a medical handbook compiled by one Theophanes Nonnus, chiefly from Oribasius. (5) Hippiatrica, on veterinary surgery, the connexion of which with Constantine is, however, disputed. (6) Historia animalium, a compilation from the epitome of Aristotle’s work on the subject by Aristophanes of Byzantium, with additions from other writers such as Aelian and Timotheus of Gaza.

VIII. This title is given by Gibbon to the son of Romanus I. Lecapenus, one of the colleagues of Constantine VII. Porphyrogenitus, but it is now generally bestowed upon Constantine, the brother and colleague of Basil II. from 976–1025, sole ruler 1025–1028. An absolute contrast to his brother, he gave himself up to a life of pleasure and allowed the administration to fall into the hands of six eunuchs.

IX. Monomachus, emperor 1042–1054, owed his elevation to an old admirer, Zoë, the widow of Romanus III. Argyrus (1028–1034) and of Michael IV. the Paphlagonian (1034–1041), who, after the brief reign of Michael V. Calaphates (December 1041–April 1042), was proclaimed empress with her sister, Theodora. Quarrels broke out between the sisters, and, in order to secure her position, Zoë married Constantine, with whom she shared the throne till her death in 1050. In his old age Constantine, who had once been a famous warrior, utterly neglected the defences of the empire and reduced his army by disbanding 50,000 of his best troops; on the other hand, he spent extravagant sums on luxuries and the erection of magnificent buildings. Rebellions broke out at home and abroad; the Normans conquered Lombardy, which subsequently (1055) became the duchy of Apulia, and thus Italy was lost to the empire; the Petchenegs (Patzinaks) crossed the Danube and attacked Thrace and Macedonia; and the Seljuk Turks made their appearance on the Armenian frontier.

X. Ducas, emperor 1059–1067, succeeded Isaac I. (q.v.). But the choice was not justified, for Constantine, who as the friend and minister of Isaac had shown himself a capable statesman and financier, proved incompetent as an emperor. He devoted himself to philosophical trifling, petty administrative and judicial details, while his craze for economy developed into avarice. He reduced the army, cut down the soldiers’ pay, failed to keep up the supply of war material, and neglected the frontier fortresses at a time when the Seljuk Turks were pressing hard upon the eastern portion of the empire. Alp Arslan, the successor of Toghrul Beg, overran Armenia in 1064, and destroyed its capital Ani. The Magyars occupied Belgrade, the Petchenegs (Patzinaks) continued their inroads, and in 1065 the Uzes (called by the Greeks Comani), a Turkish tribe from the shores of the Euxine, crossed the Danube in vast numbers, ravaged Thrace and Macedonia, and penetrated as far as Thessalonica. The empire was only saved by an outbreak of plague amongst the invaders and the bravery of the Bulgarian peasants. In the year before Constantine’s death the remnant of the Byzantine possessions in Italy was finally lost to the empire, and the chief town, Bari, taken by the Normans.

CONSTANTINE [], usurper in Britain, Gaul and Spain ( 407–410) during the reign of Honorius, was a common soldier, invested with the purple by his comrades in Britain by reason of his alleged descent from Constantine the Great. He at once crossed over to Bononia (Boulogne), and with the support of the Gallic troops soon made himself master of the country as far as the Alps and Pyrenees, and established his capital at Arelate (Arles). In Spain two kinsmen of Honorius, who offered considerable resistance, were finally defeated by Constans, the son of Constantine. The downfall of Stilicho caused an alteration in the policy of Honorius, who, hard pressed by the barbarians, pardoned Constantine, recognized him as joint ruler, and permitted him to confer the title of Caesar upon Constans. This gave Constantine his opportunity. With a large army he marched into Italy, avowedly to assist Honorius, in reality with the intention of making himself ruler of the West. But his plans were upset by the revolt of Gerontius. This capable general, who had been appointed commander in Spain during the absence of Constans on a visit to his father, indignant at being superseded, set up one of his own adherents as emperor, invaded Gaul, and put Constans to death at Vienna (Vienne). He then besieged Constantine himself in Arelate, but the advance of an Italian army under Constantius and Ulfilas forced him to retire. The generals of Honorius themselves continued the siege and completely defeated a body of German troops on their way to assist Constantine. The latter, seeing that further resistance was useless, took refuge in a church, laid down the imperial insignia, took orders as a priest, and surrendered the city on condition that his life should be spared. He and his younger son Julian were sent to Honorius, by whose orders they were put to death on the way to Ravenna. The revolt of Constantine materially influenced the subsequent history of Britain, since the virtual abandonment by Honorius of any claim to sovereignty over it cleared the Way for the Saxon conquest of the island.

