Tag: History

Emperor Maurice accuses Pope Gregory for treason – Italy’s sad condition

Poor relations between Romanus the Exarch of Italy in Ravenna and Pope Gregory in Rome.

Writes Gregory: “I will only say that his [Romanus’s] malice towards us is worse than the swords of the Lombards. The enemies who kill us outright are kinder than the State officials [judges, magistrates of the commonwealth/res publica], who wear us out with their malice, their robberies [plundering, piracy] and their frauds [deceits]” (quoted in Richards p.171) Continue reading “Emperor Maurice accuses Pope Gregory for treason – Italy’s sad condition” →

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Size and effectiveness of the Imperial Roman army on the eve of the Muslim conquests

The army of Heraclius’ empire after demobilization in 629 and 630 was almost certainly smaller than that of Justinian’s reign, which the contemporary historian Agathias had speculated in estimating its strength at 150,000. The question is how much smaller were the total disposable Byzantine forces at the beginning of the 630s than they had been late in the reign of Justinian. Perhaps they were smaller by as much as one-third, although it is difficult to conceive how they could have been much less than two-thirds of the late Justinianic armies’ size, because of the remaining vast dimensions of the empire. Continue reading “Size and effectiveness of the Imperial Roman army on the eve of the Muslim conquests” →

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Patriarch (Pope) of Rome: First acts of political independence from Constantinople – Depopulation in Italy and slavery during the 6th century

De-population and Contraction of town life in Italy

Moorhead, in NCMH vol 1, p.158, notes that in Cassiodorus’s works – before 535AD – there are many references to open cities, while forts (castra, castella) are barely mentioned. In pope Gregory’s [590] works, however, the narrative is all forts. Continue reading “Patriarch (Pope) of Rome: First acts of political independence from Constantinople – Depopulation in Italy and slavery during the 6th century” →

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Financial strain as one of the main reasons of Roman collapse against Muslims in the seventh century

Inconsistencies and contradictions accumulated, inhibited governmental efficiency, and intensified strains. Slow institutional change contrasted with the extreme undulations of popular moods. The institutional mechanisms through which the Byzantines developed their responses to external military challenges in the early decades of the seventh century remained essentially late Roman, modified slightly from their character in the Justinianic era, but strains were appearing. Continue reading “Financial strain as one of the main reasons of Roman collapse against Muslims in the seventh century” →

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