¡¡¡¡Between the eighth and eleventh centuries A.D.£¬ the
¡¡¡¡Byzantine Empire staged an almost unparalleled
¡¡¡¡economic and cultural revival£¬ a recovery that is all the
¡¡¡¡more striking because it followed a long period of severe
¡¡¡¡£¨5£© internal decline. By the early eighth century£¬ the empire
¡¡¡¡had lost roughly two-thirds of the territory it had
¡¡¡¡possessed in the year 600£¬ and its remaining area was
¡¡¡¡being raided by Arabs and Bulgarians£¬ who at times
¡¡¡¡threatened to take Constantinople and extinguish the
¡¡¡¡£¨10£© empire altogether. The wealth of the state and its
¡¡¡¡subjects was greatly diminished£¬ and artistic and literary
¡¡¡¡production had virtually ceased. By the early eleventh
¡¡¡¡century£¬ however£¬ the empire had regained almost half of
¡¡¡¡its lost possessions£¬ its new frontiers were secure£¬ and its
¡¡¡¡£¨15£© influence extended far beyond its borders. The economy
¡¡¡¡had recovered£¬ the treasury was full£¬ and art and scho-
¡¡¡¡larship had advanced.
¡¡¡¡To consider the Byzantine military£¬ cultural£¬ and
¡¡¡¡economic advances as differentiated aspects of a single
¡¡¡¡£¨20£© phenomenon is reasonable. After all£¬ these three forms
¡¡¡¡of progress have gone together in a number of states and
¡¡¡¡civilizations. Rome under Augustus and fifth-century
¡¡¡¡Athens provide the most obvious examples in antiquity.
¡¡¡¡Moreover£¬ an examination of the apparent sequential
¡¡¡¡£¨25£© connections among military£¬ economic£¬ and cultural
¡¡¡¡forms of progress might help explain the dynamics of
¡¡¡¡historical change.
¡¡¡¡The common explanation of these apparent conn-
¡¡¡¡ections in the case of Byzantium would run like this£º
¡¡¡¡£¨30£© when the empire had turned back enemy raids on its
¡¡¡¡own territory and had begun to raid and conquer enemy
¡¡¡¡territory£¬ Byzantine resources naturally expanded and
¡¡¡¡more money became available to patronize art and lit-
¡¡¡¡erature. Therefore£¬ Byzantine military achievements led to
¡¡
