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Religious Confict & State Weakness: a study o
Byzantium during the Muslim Invasions !"#
The following essay will consider the role played by religios con!ict in
generating state wea"ness# $n particlar% $ will focs on the role that the
persection of religios minorities played in the loss of the &y'antine territories
in the (e)ant% *gypt and +rmenia dring the ,slim in)asions from the period
-../--0# hilst the maority of the essay focses on the role of the
,onophysites% other sects and religios minorities will be mentioned when
appropriate% as will )arios compromise dogmas that were proponded by both
seclar and religios athorities in order to promote religios nity# &elow $ will
rstly detail brie!y the history of ,onophysitism and its doctrines# 3et% $ will
consider the eects of religios persection prior and dring the ,slim
in)asions% and how these may ha)e aected spport for the &y'antine *mpire#
6inally% $ will consider other possible cases of state wea"ness in the &y'antine
*mpire that cold pro)ide alternati)e eplanations for its wea"ness in the face of
an eternal threat# The e)idence presented in this essay sggests that whilst
internal religios con!ict in the &y'antine *mpire is inscient to eplain its
sdden defeat by the in)ading ,slim armies% it ne)ertheless contribted in a
signicant way to the failre of the *mpire to maintain control of those lands in
which non/8halcedonian 8hristians and other religios minorities formed a
maority or a sbstantial minority#
,onophysitism originally emerged in the 5thcentry with the preaching of the
mon" *tyches# *tyches asserted that 8hrist was of one natre% in which the
di)ine natre had sbsmed the hman natre% a natral progression from
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+pollinarianist thoght#1 The *mperor Theodosis $$ inclined toward *tyches
position#2The 8oncil of *phess in 449 spported *tyches teachings% nder
the leadership of :ioscrs &ishop of +leandria% and ac;itted *tyches of the
accsation of heresy le)elled by Theodoret of 8yrrhs#.
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mo)ed towards the creation of a separate 8optic 8hrch# Jstinian $ attempted to
compromise by granting his appro)al to +phthartodocetism% a dogma that had
been proposed by Jlian of
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accepted ,onoenergism and temporarily ended the schism#11
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totalling approimately 24%000 soldiers into sothern Palestine#1- &y'antine
forces nder
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,onophysite sympathies# Prominent ,onophysites were imprisoned nless they
agreed to recant# (ater the tyrant Phocas =-02/-10C re)i)ed the persection of
,onophysites and the forced con)ersion of Kyrian Jews to 8hristianity21=as did
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designed for siege warfare#27 This then sggests that the local ,onophysite
poplation did not resist the in)aders% and saw them as an impro)ement to the
dyophysite go)ernment of 8onstantinople# $n +rmenia% 8onstans $$ fond that for
religios and ethnic reasons% many in ,onophysite +rmenia preferred ,slim
rle#2+rchaeological e)idence for chrch destrction is )irtally non/eistent29
and administrati)e papyri from *gypt dating from within a few years of the
con;est gi)e e)idence for a remar"able degree of breacratic continity being
maintained dring the transition from &y'antine to $slamic rle#.0 ,oreo)er%
$slamic rle did not crb the amont of writing in Xree" or the in)ol)ement of
eastern 8hristians in the religios contro)ersies of the time#.1nly later was
there a decline in the con;ered areas and greater pressre to con)ert nder the
8aliph [+bd al/,ali"% when the ocial state langage of the con;ered &y'antine
lands was changed from Xree" to +rabic#.2$n *gypt the 3ile% and in +natolia the
Tars ,ontains and the 8ilician Xates% presented maor obstacles to the +rab
in)aders# Yet in *gypt in particlar% the persection of ,onophysites who refsed
27 (amorea% *arly *astern 8hristian Responses to $slam% 5#
2 Laegi% Byzantium and the early 'slamic con)uests% 199/200#
29 rthodo bilding acti)ity actally increased in the years -.5/-40#
(amorea% *arly *astern 8hristian Responses to $slam% -#
.0 +dolf Xrohmann% Xree" Papyri of the *arly $slamic Period in the 8ollection of+rchd"e Rainer% *tudes de &a&yrology =1957C% 5/40#
.1 +)eril 8ameron% Changing Cultures in Early Byzantium=+ldershotM Variorm%199-C% 297/29#
.2 8ameron% Changing Cultures in Early Byzantium% 259# &y 750% 8hristians inthe former &y'antine areas were sing only half the amont of chrches as they
had been in -00% indicating the rogh le)el of decline that occrred to the
8hristian poplation dring this period# (amorea% *arly *astern 8hristianResponses to $slam% /9#
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to accept ,onotheletism nder 8yrs made many ready to cooperate with the
in)aders#..
The +rab con;ests cannot simply be eplained by religios factionalism
wea"ening the nity of the &y'antine *mpire# nly a few years pre)iosly had
&y'antim been able to defeat the formidable Kassanid *mpire% and recaptre
those lands lost pre)iosly# This feat was accomplished dring similar periods of
religios discord% yet &y'antim had managed to rise% phoeni/li"e% from the
ashes of defeat# Therefore% it is necessary to consider other cases of wea"ness
in the &y'antine state% besides religios disnity# Kome scholars ha)e contended
that the &y'antine *mpire had become nancially.4and militarily wea"er dring
the 5thand -thcentries.5following economic depression and the ra)ages of the
plage from 540#.- ,oreo)er% it may ha)e been sering from o)erreach
following the recon;ests nder Jstinian% and ehastion following the wars with
Persia and the +)ars#.7 The mlti/ethnic character of the *mpire li"ely only
componded the problems of internal di)ision# ,ch of the +ramaic commnities
of the (e)ant and northern ,esopotamia may ha)e preferred the rle of fellow
Kemites% the +rabs% than the Xree"s% whose cltre was only spercially
.. Treadgold%A History of the Byzantine State and Society% .05#
.4 6or instance% military pay was ct by 25\ in 5% despite the fact that the
*mpire was facing persistent Kla)% +)ar and (ombard attac"s# Peter Karris% The*astern *mpire from 8onstantine to
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adopted by the rral poplation#. $t is also li"ely that other internal di)isions
played a decisi)e role the wea"ening &y'antim# $nternecine con!icts amongst
the &y'antine elites reslted in )alable resorces being sed for the
sppression of internal re)olts and coronation donati)es.9 and there were
signicant internal di)isions between landowners and the peasantry#40 (i"ewise%
&y'antine military incompetence and the +rab military spremacy% demonstrated
by their ndeniable sccess =both in &y'antine lands and in Persia% 3orth +frica%
and the $berian PeninslaC% for whate)er reason%41sggest that &y'antim may
ha)e been facing a sperior foe#
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chronicler John of 3i"i wrote towards the end of the se)enth centry that the
con;ests were allowed by Xod for the sa"e of his persected people =)i'# the
,onophysitesC#44 Kimilarly% the twelfth centry historian ,ichael the Kyrian
reconts the nderlying tensions that eisted between ,onophysite and
8halcedonian 8hristians dring the +rab in)asions#45+l/&alQdhrU% the 9thcentry
Persian historian% records that the inhabitants of _om` =*mesaC declared e li"e
yor rle and stice far better than the state of oppression and tyranny in which
we were# The army of
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fond that the caliphate le)ied hea)ier taes than the empire%47 showed less
respect for ,onophysites% and enforced cor"5efrom 8hristian artisans to bild a
na)y and pblic bildings#4
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&ibliographyM
+l/&alQdhrU% +hmad ibn/Jabir% -it.b /ut0h al1Buldha% trans# by P# L#
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,ayerson% Philip% The 6irst ,slim +ttac"s on Kothern Palestine =+#:# -../-.4C%
Transactions of the American !hilological Association% Vol# 95% 19-4#
,ichael the Kyrian% Chronicle% a)ailable online athttpMNNrbedrosian#comN,syrNmsyr1-#htm:eaths#
Rnciman% Kte)en% The Byzantine Theocracy=8ambridgeM 8ambridge Oni)ersityPress% 1977C#
Karris% Peter% The *astern *mpire from 8onstantine to
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