Who Was the Emperor? — The "Earthly Order" as Seen by the Byzantines —
Part 1 "Living in Constantinople" #5
Series: Learning How to Live from Byzantine Civilization
When we hear the word "emperor," what kind of person do we imagine?
A ruler who lives in a luxurious palace and wields absolute power.
Or perhaps a figure from the distant past who appears in history textbooks.
However, for the Byzantines, the emperor was neither a mere politician nor simply a person of power.
He was also an existence that defined who they were.
The Emperor Stood at the Apex of the Empire
It goes without saying that the emperor possessed immense power.
Enacting laws.
Mobilizing the military.
Conducting diplomacy.
Appointing bureaucrats.
Important state decisions were ultimately made in the name of the emperor.
In modern Japanese terms, he was like a combination of the Prime Minister, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, and the Minister of Defense all in one person. In that sense, he was truly at the pinnacle of the empire.
However, that is not the only reason why the Byzantines regarded the emperor as special.
The Emperor Was Not a God
Modern people sometimes misunderstand.
"Was the emperor not a god-like existence?"
But the Byzantine Empire was a Christian state.
No matter how much power the emperor held, it was believed that God was above him.
He prayed and repented at the Hagia Sophia.
If he committed a sin, he was criticized.
The emperor, too, was a human being before God.
This point differs significantly from the era when some ancient Roman emperors were deified.
Yet the Emperor Was Special
Then, why did the people place such importance on the emperor?
For the Byzantines, the emperor was not just a politician, but aruler entrusted with the empire by God.
The protector of the empire.
The maintainer of order.
The executor of justice.
Perhaps people were not looking at the emperor as an individual, but rather
at the empire itself that lay behind him.
The existence that made the "Roman Empire" visible
As mentioned in the first article, the Byzantines considered themselves Romans until the very end.
To them, the state was not merely an administrative organization. It was the Roman Empire itself, inherited over hundreds and thousands of years.
However, an empire is invisible. It is difficult to feel the reality of it through ideals and traditions alone.
That is where the emperor came in.
The emperor was the existence that embodied the vast community known as the Roman Empire in a visible form. People did not pay respect to the emperor simply because they feared his power.
It was because they saw the empire itself within his figure.
Citizens praised the emperor, and sometimes criticized him
Of course, that does not mean the emperor was absolutely loved.
The people of Constantinople were highly political.
Dissatisfaction with taxes, rising prices, and military failures.
When such problems occurred, criticism of the emperor would also rise.
The Hippodrome, in particular, was a place where the voices of the citizens gathered. In modern terms, it was a place that combined a sports stadium and a political assembly hall.
People sent cheers. But sometimes they also vented their anger.
The famous "Nika Riots" were an event where such citizen dissatisfaction exploded.
Nika Riots: A large-scale popular uprising that occurred in Constantinople in January 532. The two major chariot racing factions, the "Venetoi" (Blues) and the "Prasinoi" (Greens), joined forces due to dissatisfaction over the execution of rioters, and rose up with the slogan "Nika" (Victory). They burned down most of the city and even plotted to install a different emperor. The Empress Theodora persuaded the emperor, who was considering fleeing, to stand his ground, and General Belisarius surrounded and suppressed the rioters gathered in the hippodrome. It is said that about 30,000 people were massacred. After the riots, the emperor's power was actually strengthened, the reconstruction of burned-down buildings proceeded, and the current Hagia Sophia was also built at this time.
In other words, the Byzantines did not worship the emperor like a god.
They criticized him precisely because they had expectations of him.
Good emperors and bad emperors
In Byzantine history, there were capable emperors and there were emperors who failed.
For example, Emperor Justinian in the 6th century is known for compiling the Corpus Juris Civilis and building the Hagia Sophia. He is a figure still spoken of today as a great ruler representing Byzantine history.
On the other hand, Romanos IV in the 11th century suffered a crushing defeat in the war against the Seljuk Empire, plunging the empire into crisis. Also, among the emperors, there were not a few who spent their time in court conspiracies or squandered the treasury.
In short, the emperors were by no means all excellent.
However, what is interesting is that people valued the "institution of the emperor" itself more than the individual emperors.
The empire continues even when the emperor changes.
Even if one person leaves, the Roman Empire remains.
For this reason, people held loyalty not only to the individual emperor but also to the empire that the emperor represented.
Differences from the Modern Day
In modern society, the distance between the state and the individual has become relatively large.
Even if a prime minister or president changes, the daily lives of most people continue as they were. While some may feel an affinity for royal or imperial families, few would feel that it is directly linked to their own lives.
However, for the Byzantines, the emperor held a slightly greater significance. Seeing the emperor was not merely seeing a single politician.
It was seeing the empire, seeing Rome, and seeing the very world to which they belonged.
When the emperor appeared from the palace, people saw the order of the empire there. When a triumphal procession took place, they saw the power of their community. When the emperor responded to the crowd in the hippodrome, they felt that they and the empire were connected.
Of course, not everyone loved the emperor. There was dissatisfaction and criticism. Sometimes, riots even occurred.
Even so, people could not ignore the very existence of the emperor. This is because the emperor was a figure who symbolized the state itself.
The feeling we have toward our national flag or anthem, embodied in a more personal form—that may have been what the emperor was to the Byzantines.
Conclusion
We in the modern day think, 'The state is an institution, and people are a part of it.'
However, the Byzantines were a little different. They viewed the state through the figure of a single emperor.
That is why it was significant for the emperor to appear in the city. People loved, praised, and sometimes fiercely criticized the emperor.
This was not an interest in distant politics.
It was an interest in the very world to which they belonged.
When people looked up at the emperor in Constantinople a thousand years ago, they may have been viewing the 'state' in a way completely different from us.
Opening image source: Hagia Sophia, 'Mosaic of the Emperor's Gate' (late 9th to early 10th century). Depicts Emperor Leo VI prostrating before Christ. A representative mosaic symbolizing that the emperor is under the authority of Christ in the Byzantine world. Photo: Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin FRCP(Glasg) / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
▼ Series: Learning How to Live from Byzantine Civilization
Part 1: 'Living in Constantinople'
#1: Why Did the Byzantine Empire Last for a Thousand Years? — What the People of the Millennium Empire Valued —
#2: What It Meant to Live in the World's Largest City — What Kind of City Was Constantinople? —
#3: What Were Byzantine Homes Like? — A Glimpse into 'Ordinary Life' a Thousand Years Ago —
#4: What Was Sold in the Markets? — Walking Through Constantinople a Thousand Years Ago —
#5: Who Was the Emperor? — The 'Earthly Order' as Seen by the Byzantines — (This Article)
*Part 1 concludes here.