Byzantine Anatolia

Anatolia was of vital importance to the empire following the Muslim invasion of Syria and Egypt during the reign of the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius in the years 634–645 AD.

However, the Byzantine Empire maintained control over the Anatolian peninsula until the High Middle Ages (years 1080s), when imperial authority in the area began to collapse.

[2] Further annexations by Rome, in particular of the Kingdom of Pontus by Pompey, brought all of Anatolia under Roman control, except for the southeastern frontier with the Parthian Empire, which remained unstable for centuries, causing a series of military conflicts that culminated in the Roman–Parthian Wars (54 BC – 217 AD).

Several other cities such as Amida and Martyropolis were also sacked during this time, but the bulk of the carnage was confined to the easternmost part of Anatolia, as the main focus of the war was Armenia.

The Sassanid Empire, the largest opposing power to that of Byzantium in the region, would not make a determined effort to conquer Anatolia until the seventh century.

Over the next four years, forces under the generals Shahrbaraz and Shahin defeated the Byzantines in several key battles, taking control of the southeastern part of Anatolia, known as Cilicia and eventually opening the way to lay siege to Chalcedon on the northwestern coast.

Rejecting a peace delegation sent by Heraclius, Shahin withdrew from Anatolia for the present to continue the war on other fronts, namely Egypt and Syria.

[3] In 622 AD, driven to desperation by shocking failures to hold onto classically Roman provinces such as Egypt as well as Khosrow's refusal to accept a peace settlement, Heraclius took direct control over the Byzantine army and began to pursue an offensive strategy.

Leading his men to Cappadocia, Heraclius engaged and defeated a Persian army under Shahrbaraz, forcing them out of Anatolia and winning a much needed victory.

The loss of so much territory so quickly caused Heraclius to sink into depression, and he died later that year, becoming, in the judgement of English historian John Julius Norwich, "the man who lived too long.

Constantly menaced by the Arabs to the east, the Bulgars and Pannonian Avars to the north, and by the Lombards in the Italian Peninsula, the Byzantine Empire shifted its armies away from the classical structure of the Roman legions to a new system known as the themata, or "themes" in English.

Constans's son Constantine IV (668–685 AD) had been made co-emperor in 654, and ruled in the east while his father campaigned in the west (662–668), succeeding him on the latter's death.

The years 711 to 717 were a troublesome time between the two dynasties, Heraclian and Isaurian and reflect a loss of leadership that had occurred under Justinian II, and could equally be dated from his first deposition in 695.

Philipikos' rebellion extended beyond politics to religion, deposing the patriarch, reestablishing monothelitism and overturning the Sixth Ecumenical Council, which in turn alienated the empire from Rome.

Militarily the Bulgars reached the walls of Constantinople, and moving troops to defend the capital allowed the Arabs to make incursions in the east.

Anastasius reversed his predecessor's religious policies and responded to Arab attacks by sea and land, this time reaching as far as Galatia in 714, with some success.

The troops had proclaimed Theodosius III (715–717) as the new emperor, and once he had overcome Anastasius was almost immediately faced with the Second Arab siege of Constantinople (717–718), forcing him to seek assistance from the Bulgars.

He in turn faced rebellion from two other themata, Anatolikon and Armeniakon in 717, and chose to resign, being succeeded by Leo III (717–741) bringing an end to the cycle of violence and instability.

His next pressing task was to consolidate his power to avoid being himself deposed and to restore order in the face of the chaos that had ensued from the years of civil strife.

Administratively he subdivided a number of the themata, for reasons similar to that of his predecessors, smaller units meant less power to local officials and less threat to central authority.

Constantine V (741–775) had a less successful reign than his father, for no sooner had he ascended the throne than he was attacked and defeated by his brother in law, Artabasdos who proceeded to seize the title resulting in civil war between the forces of the two emperors, who had divided the themata between them.

His marriage epitomised the conflict in Byzantine society over icons, raised an iconoclast himself, he married Irene an iconodule, resulting in a more conciliatory policy.

A female head of state was not acceptable to the western church who promptly crowned an alternative emperor (Charlemagne) in 800 further deepening the rift between east and west.

However he was severely wounded in the same battle in which his father died, and after much controversy regarding the succession was persuaded to abdicate later that year by his sister's husband, Michael I (811–813), who succeeded him.

[11] Leo had already played a checkered role in imperial politics, rewarded by Nikephoros I for switching sides in the 803 civil war, and possibly later punished for a subsequent transgression, he had been appointed Governor of the Anatolic theme from which he was able to orchestrate Michael's downfall and his own succession.

Theophilus was now faced with a flare-up of the Byzantine–Arab wars, the Arab forces once again demonstrating their ability to penetrate deep into Anatolia and inflict significant losses on the Byzantine, if short lived, and vice versa.

Gathering an army of 40,000 men, Diogenes retook the town of Manzikert from the Seljuks with the intent of defeating the Sultan, Alp Arslan.

Owing both to this and to his appointment of the questionably loyal Andronikos Doukas who deserted him on the battlefield, Diogenes was defeated and became the first emperor since Valerian to be captured alive.

Alexios was a capable general and leader, but before he could deal with the situation in Anatolia, his attention was drawn westward by another Norman invasion and incursions by the Pechenegs into the Balkans.

Manuel initially pursued a similar strategy to his father and grandfather, however the political situation he inherited from them, as well as his own ambitions to restore Roman power, demanded that his attention be primarily focused outside of Anatolia in Italy, Egypt, and the Balkans.