he reflected chiefly the influence of the three famous church fathers -Athanasius the Great, Gregory of Nazianzus, and Gregory of Nyssa as well as the mystical views of the so-called "Dionysius the Areopagite" (Pseudo-Areopagite), widely spread in the Middle Ages. The writings of Maximus were of particular importance in the development of Byzantine mystics. "By combining the dry speculative mysticism of Dionysius the Areopagite,” writes one of the modern students of Maximus, "with the living ethical problems of contemplative asceticism, the blessed Maximus created a living type of Byzantine mysticism which reappeared in the works of numerous later ascetics. He may thus be considered the creator of Byzantine mysticism in the full sense of the term."71 Unfortunately Maximus did not leave a systematic account of his views, and we must winnow them from his numerous writings. Besides his theological and mystical writings, Maximus left also a large number of interesting letters. The influence and importance of the writings of Maximus was not confined to the East alone. They found their way into the West and were later reflected in the writings of the famous western thinker of the ninth century, John the Scot Eriugena (Johannes Scotus Eriugena), who was also greatly interested in the works of Dionysius the Areopagite, and later averred that he attained an understanding of the "obscurest" ideas of Dionysius only through the "marvelous manner" in which they were explained by Maximus, whom Eriugena calls "the divine philosopher," "the all-wise," "the most distinguished of teachers," etc. Maximus' work on Gregory the Theologian was translated by Eriugena into Latin."2 A younger contemporary of Maximus, Anastasius Sinaita (of Mount Sinai), developed his own polemic and exegetic literary works in a manner similar to that of Maximus, exhibiting, however, much less genius. In the field of hagiography one might point out the Patriarch of Jerusalem, Sophronius, who lived through the Arabian siege of the sacred city and wrote an extensive narrative of the martyrdom and 71 S. Epifanovich, The Blessed Maximus Confessor and Byzantine Theology (Kiev, 1915), p. 137 (in Russian); Krumbacher, pp. 63, 141. 72 See A. Brilliantov, The Influence of Eastern Theology upon Western as Evidenced by the Works of John the Scot Eriugena (St. Petersburg, 1898), pp. 50-52 (in Russian). miracles of the Egyptian national saints, Cyrus and Johannes. This work contains much information on geography and on the history of manners and customs. Still greater in interest are the writings of Leontius, bishop of Neapolis in Cyprus, who also lived in the seventh century. He is the author of several "lives," among which the Life of John the Merciful, archbishop of Alexandria in the seventh century, is particularly valuable for the history of the social and economic life of the period. Leontius of Neapolis differs from the great majority of hagiographs in that he wrote his Lives of Saints for the mass of the population, hence his language reflects a strong influence of the popular spoken language.78 73 In the field of church hymn-writing the seventh century is represented by Andrew (Andreas) of Crete, a native of Damascus, who spent the major part of his life in Syria and Palestine after they had come under Arab sway. He was later appointed archbishop of Crete. As a writer of hymns he is famous chiefly because of his Great Canon, which is read even today in the orthodox church twice during Lent. Some parts of the Canon show the influence of Romanus the Hymn-writer (Melode). The Canon reviews the principal events of the Old Testament, beginning with the fall of Adam, and the words and deeds of the Savior. From this brief survey of literary events during the dark and trying years of the Heraclian dynasty we infer that most of the limited number of Byzantine writers of the period came from the eastern provinces some of which had already come under the new rule of the Muslim conquerors. In view of the external events of the Heraclian dynasty, it is not surprising that no monuments of art of that period have come down to us. However, the very small number of surviving monuments of the seventh century speak very clearly of the solidity of the foundations laid for the artistic life of Byzantium in the Golden Age of Justinian the Great. And if, beginning with the second half of the sixth century, Byzantine art makes itself felt only very slightly in the Empire itself, then its influence in the seventh century is very clearly marked be 13 See H. Gelzer, Leontios' von Neapolis Leben des heiligen Johannes des Barmherzigen Erzbischofs von Alexandrien (Freiburg i.B. und Leipzig, 1893), p. xli. yond the borders of the Empire. A number of dated churches of Armenia represent splendid examples of Byzantine influence. Among these churches we should note the Cathedral of Edgmiatsin (Etschmiadzin), restored between 611 and 628, the church of the citadel of Ani (622), etc. The mosque of Omar at Jerusalem, built in 687–90, is a purely Byzantine work. Some frescoes of Santa Maria Antica at Rome belong to the seventh and the beginning of the eighth centuries.74 BIBLIOGRAPHY On general works, see chapter i. Monographs upon separate reigns: DRAPEYRON, L. L'empereur Héraclius et l'empire Byzantin au VII° siècle (Paris, 1869). Out of date. LASKIN, G. Heraclius. The Byzantine State in the First Half of the Seventh Century (Kharkov, 1889). New sources; in Russian. Εὐαγγελίδης, Τ. ‘Ηράκλειος ὁ αὐτοκράτωρ τοῦ Βυζαντίου (Odessa, 1903); brief compilation. PERNICE, A. L'imperatore Eraclio (Firenze, 1905). Best monograph. KAESTNER, T. De imperio Constantini III. 641-68 (Leipzig, 1907). Brief and accurate dissertation. History of the Arabs and Islam: WEIL, G. Geschichte der Chalifen (Mannheim, 1846), Vol. I. Useful. von P. Hinneberg," Die Religionen des Orients (1913), III, 1. 2. Auflage. CAETANI, L. (principe di Teano). Annali dell' Islam (Milano, 1905-18), Vols. I-VIII (in progress). A very important publication for the relations between Byzantium and the Arabs in the time of the first califs. CAETANI, L. Studi di storia orientale. (Milano, 1911-14), Vols. I and III. Important for the primitive history of Islam. MEDNIKOV, N. Palestine from Its Conquest by the Arabs to the Crusades, Based upon Arabic Sources (St. Petersburg, 1897-1902), Vols. I-IV. A Russian translation of Arabic sources, with notes and special monographs. BECKER, C. Vom Werden und Wesen der Islamischen Welt (Leipzig, 1924), Vol. I. 74 See Diehl, Manuel, I, 329-59. There are several English translations of the Koran, for example: the Quran, translated by E. H. Palmer (Oxford, 1880); the Koran, translated by G. Sale (9th ed., Philadelphia and London, 1923); the Koran, translated by J. M. Rodwell (New York, 1915). List of English translations, p. xi. History of the theme organization: DIEHL, CH. "L'origine du régime des thèmes dans l'empire byzantin," in the Études byzantines (Paris, 1905), pp. 276-92. The first edition of this article was published in les Études d'histoire du moyen âge, dédiées à G. Monod (1896). GELZER, H. Die Genesis der byzantinischen Themenverfassung (Leipzig, 1899). USPENSKY, TH. I. "The Military Organization of the Byzantine Empire," in the Izvestiya russkago arkheologicheskago Instituta v Konstantinopole, Vol. VI (1900). In Russian. BROOKS, E. W. "Arabic Lists of the Byzantine Themes," in the Journal of Hellenic Studies, XXI (1901), 67–77. USPENSKY, C. N. "The Theme Organization," in his Outline in the History of Byzantium (Moscow, 1917), 144–52. In Russian. KULAKOVSKY, J. History of Byzantium (1915), III, 387 ff. In Russian. STEIN, E. "Zur Entstehung der Themenverfassung," in his Studien zur Geschichte des byzantinischen Reiches vornehmlich unter den Kaisern Justinus II und Tiberius Constantinus (Stuttgart, 1919), pp. 117-40. CHAPTER V THE ICONOCLASTIC EPOCH (717-867) I. THE PERIOD OF THE ISAURIAN OR SYRIAN DYNASTY (717-802) The Isaurian or Syrian dynasty.-Until very recent times the Emperor Leo III (717-41), the originator of the new dynasty, was called an Isaurian in all historical writings, and his descendants were usually referred to as the Isaurian dynasty. However, at the close of the nineteenth century the opinion was advanced that Leo III was not an Isaurian, but a Syrian by birth.1 This view is at present accepted by some scholars. The confusion on this point is due to the fact that the author of the main source on Leo's origin, Theophanes, the chronicler of the early ninth century, writes: "Leo the Isaurian was a native of Germanicea, and was in reality from Isauria." The Latin version of Theophanes, translated by the papal librarian, Anastasius, in the second half of the same (ninth) century, says nothing about Isauria and states that Leo came from the people of Germanicea and was a Syrian by birth (genere Syrus).3 The Life of Stephen the Younger also calls Leo "a Syrian by birth” (ò σuрoyevns). Germanicea was situated within the northern boundaries of Syria, east of Cilicia. An Arabian source refers to Leo as "a Christian citizen of Marash," i.e., Germanicea, who could speak fluently and correctly both the Arabic and the Roman languages." It seems to me that there is no necessity in supposing that Theophanes confused the Syrian Germanicea with Germanicopolis, a city of the Isaurian province.5" The Syrian origin of Leo is quite prob 296 ff. 1 See K. Schenk, "Kaiser Leons III Walten im Innern," Byz. Zeitsch., V (1896), 2 Theophanis, Chronographia (ed. De Boor, p. 391). * Anastasii, Chronographia tripertita (ed. De Boor, p. 251). Vita, Stephani Junioris; Migne, Patr. Gr., 100, col. 1084. See E. W. Brooks, "The Campaign of 716-18 from Arabic Sources," Journal of Hellenic Studies, XIX (1899), 21-22. 5 See Th. I. Uspensky, History of the Byzantine Empire (Leningrad, 1927), II (1), 5. |