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Strategien zur Bewältigung von Eroberung im griechischen Mittelalter

  • Michael Grünbart
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Eroberte im Mittelalter
This chapter is in the book Eroberte im Mittelalter

Abstract

The Byzantine Empire ideologically continued the Imperium Romanum. Therefore, the East Roman/Byzantine emperors claimed to rule all regions that former belonged to their Roman predecessors in the Mediterranean basin. Although many parts of the imperium got lost through the centuries, the claim remained in force. The Byzantine Empire faced many territorial conquests, but its solid centre Constantinople was captured only twice. In general, invaders were seen as conquerors of Roman territory, any expansion of the Byzantine Emperor was defined as reconquest. How did contemporaries deal and cope with invading hostile powers? A couple of sources focusing on urban centres have been preserved and they shed light on the experiences and cruelties of being conquered. In this paper, an outline of conquest represented in written sources is given, making an attempt to grasp the (collective) suffering of the conquered. Like other conquered ethnic or political groups Byzantines developed coping strategies in order to survive and keep their identity (exchange, interaction and coexistence). Both the history of collective suffering and the rhetorical furnishing of texts that reflect the experiences of being conquered need an intrinsic evaluation.

Abstract

The Byzantine Empire ideologically continued the Imperium Romanum. Therefore, the East Roman/Byzantine emperors claimed to rule all regions that former belonged to their Roman predecessors in the Mediterranean basin. Although many parts of the imperium got lost through the centuries, the claim remained in force. The Byzantine Empire faced many territorial conquests, but its solid centre Constantinople was captured only twice. In general, invaders were seen as conquerors of Roman territory, any expansion of the Byzantine Emperor was defined as reconquest. How did contemporaries deal and cope with invading hostile powers? A couple of sources focusing on urban centres have been preserved and they shed light on the experiences and cruelties of being conquered. In this paper, an outline of conquest represented in written sources is given, making an attempt to grasp the (collective) suffering of the conquered. Like other conquered ethnic or political groups Byzantines developed coping strategies in order to survive and keep their identity (exchange, interaction and coexistence). Both the history of collective suffering and the rhetorical furnishing of texts that reflect the experiences of being conquered need an intrinsic evaluation.

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