Byzantium Becoming Feudal

[Caius Maxentius]

I've read a lot about the Byzantine Empire becoming increasingly like Western Europe in terms of its social structure, especially after the fall of the Macedonian house and the rise of the Comneni.

 

The military leadership was increasingly paid off with grants of land, some quite large, which became like feudal manors, with tenants working the land. This also reflected a shift in emphasis from classical urban civilization to an agrarian economy.

 

But prior to this shift, what was the system under which Byzantine lands were farmed and administered? Did this shift replace independent farmers? Was there a system like the old slave-farmed latifundia? Something else?

[Pompieus]

There were the soldiers of the "Themes" who held land directly from the imperial government in return for their military service in the Imperial Army. However, there were apparently also independent landed gentry who lived a romantic life of hunting and fighting with similar Muslim types actross the border (sort of like the wild west) as described in the epic poem "Digines Akritas".

[ASCLEPIADES]

I've read a lot about the Byzantine Empire becoming increasingly like Western Europe in terms of its social structure, especially after the fall of the Macedonian house and the rise of the Comneni.

 

The military leadership was increasingly paid off with grants of land, some quite large, which became like feudal manors, with tenants working the land. This also reflected a shift in emphasis from classical urban civilization to an agrarian economy.

 

But prior to this shift, what was the system under which Byzantine lands were farmed and administered? Did this shift replace independent farmers? Was there a system like the old slave-farmed latifundia? Something else?

Salve, CM

As the term "Feudalism" has many operative definitions and its original concept was specifically developed during the Enlightenment period for the description of western European high medieval societies, we should be careful when using this word out of its intended context.

If we accept that feudalism is "A political and economic system... based on the holding of all land in fief or fee and the resulting relation of lord to vassal and characterized by homage, legal and military service of tenants, and forfeiture" (American Heritage Dictionary),when talking about Late Roman ("Byzantine") feudalism, I think most of the time we're referring to the concept of Pronoia: ("care", "forethought").

 

It was an institution that goes back to the XI century. It refers to the ceding of income belonging to the state, that is to the granting to an individual of the right to receive directly from a citizen whatever dues he would normally be obliged to pay to the state. The holder of a pronoia was called pronoiarios, while those who farmed his land were the paroikoi. The pronoia was ceded by an imperial document and the rights of the beneficiary (size of land, paroikoi and their obligations) were all recorded, together with their respective monetary value, in special documents, the praktika ("records"). A pronoia might mean both the land granted and the value of the fiscal obligations pertaining to the pronoia and, consequently, the sum total of the pronoiarios' income. The extent of the pronoia varied. It usually consisted of the concession of the income from cultivated lands together with the paroikoi established on the land in question, and it included not only the taxes but part of the income of the land as well. However, various fiscal rights of the state, unrelated to land, such as for instance customs dues, water rights and fishing rights, were also given as pronoiai. In most cases, the pronoia was granted to an individual, either for a specific period of time or, more often, for life. It constituted a form of reward or compensation for services rendered, but it was also frequently a sort of wage, or a source of income necessary for the maintenance and the provision of service, as in the case of soldiers. When the land was ceded as pronoia to private individuals, the state retained the ownership of that land, while when a donation was made to the Church, the pronoia was considered full and permanent. This system was adopted by the Ottoman Empire, which called their land grants timar and the recipients of the land grants timariots. Similar as the western Europe feudalism, Pronoia's origin goes back to the Colonatus, the Clientela, the Latifundia and related Roman institutions. And of course, the Roman Empire made extensive use of latifundia across all its millennia and a half plus existence.

Edited July 6, 2008 by ASCLEPIADES

[Honorius]

dont know if this is relevant at all but its interesting to note that the commeni emperor Manuel had acquired a taste for everything western, even going so far as to introduce jousting events - he later married Mary i think a princess of Antioch, which increased the western feel in his court...

 

and if i do r ecall later emperors after 1204 would practice jousting to a degree.

 

im aware this has nothing to do with the land administration but thought it was an interesting note...

[ASCLEPIADES]

dont know if this is relevant at all but its interesting to note that the commeni emperor Manuel had acquired a taste for everything western, even going so far as to introduce jousting events - he later married Mary i think a princess of Antioch, which increased the western feel in his court...

 

and if i do r ecall later emperors after 1204 would practice jousting to a degree.

 

im aware this has nothing to do with the land administration but thought it was an interesting note...

Salve, H

 

Well, the Latin Pseudo-Empire was there at Constantinople for a full half century, and its feudal remnants up to the Turkish conquest.

 

You only have to check on their titles to verify that they became as westerly feudal as it can get.

 

The Palaiologoi and other residual Roman states couldn