Byzantine Empire under the Amorian dynasty

Byzantine Empire
820–867
The Byzantine Empire in 864 AD after the Christianization of Bulgaria.
The Byzantine Empire in 864 AD after the Christianization of Bulgaria.
CapitalConstantinople
Common languagesGreek
GovernmentBureaucratic semi-elective monarchy
Emperor 
• 820–829
Michael II
• 829–842
Theophilos
• 842–867
Michael III
History 
• accession of Michael II
820
• assassination of
Michael III
867
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Byzantine Empire under the Nikephorian dynasty
Byzantine Empire under the Macedonian dynasty
First Bulgarian Empire
Emirate of Crete
Emirate of Sicily

The Byzantine Empire under the Amorian dynasty (or Phrygian dynasty) ruled from 820 to 867. The Amorian dynasty continued the policy of restored iconoclasm (the "Second Iconoclasm") started by the previous non-dynastic emperor Leo V in 813, until its abolition by Empress Theodora with the help of Patriarch Methodios in 842.[1] The continued iconoclasm further worsened relations between the East and the West, which were already bad following the papal coronations of a rival line of "Roman Emperors" beginning with Charlemagne in 800. Relations worsened even further during the so-called Photian Schism, when Pope Nicholas I challenged Photios' elevation to the patriarchate. However, the era also saw a revival in intellectual activity which was marked by the end of iconoclasm under Michael III, which contributed to the upcoming Macedonian Renaissance.

During the Second Iconoclasm, the Empire began to see systems resembling feudalism being put in place, with large and local landholders becoming increasingly prominent, receiving lands in return for military service to the central government.[2] Similar systems had been in place in the Roman Empire ever since the reign of Severus Alexander during the third century, when Roman soldiers and their heirs were granted lands on the condition of service to the Emperor.[3]

  1. ^ Parry, Kenneth (1996). Depicting the Word: Byzantine Iconophile Thought of the Eighth and Ninth Centuries. Leiden and New York: Brill. pp 11-15. ISBN 90-04-10502-6.
  2. ^ A. A. Vasiliev, History of the Byzantine Empire: 324–1453, p. 564.
  3. ^ A.A. Vasiliev, History of the Byzantine Empire, p. 566.