“Why Byzantine economy remained one of the most powerful in Europe through Early Middle Ages?”
The Byzantine cconomy was one of the largest systems throughout Europe and the Mediterannean for many centuries. Both local and international trade were of huge importance for the Byzantine Empire. Lower class, including traders, depended on the upper class. Their need of the foreign goods in order to stay in Local trade was much less popular. Throughout the fourth and sixth centuries, long-distance trade was operating successfully, until the plague appeared, which killed around one-third of the citizens in the Byzantine Empire, and ruined the trade networks. The Byzantine economy had recovered in the tenth century, and Italian merchants contributed to its steady growth in the Mediteranian through the tenth and eleventh centuries (Katz 27-39).
To begin, the decades of instability as well as foreign invasions mostly by Germanic tribes, led to an establishment of a new military, political, and administrative framework under Diocletian (284-305), and Constantine I, which also led to a new economic power in Byzantine and Constantinopole. From 395 to 476, the Empire was in a big crisis until the Germans left the territory. Emperor Justinian I provided the growth of the economy, but also the growth period ended with the “Justinian Plague” that broke out in Egypt in 542, and reduced the population in all provinces of the empire. The “Justinian Plague” continued until the 8th century. At the same time, political disadvantage occurred with the warfare against Sasanian Persia in 6th and 7th century, which had a really bad impact on Byzantine economy. In the 7th century, after the death of Prophet Mohammed, the Arabs started to invade eastern parts of the empire, and the Byzantine was still weak from the war with Persia, and until 642, most of the revenue of the empire was gone, but due to their unbreakable economic system, the empire survived again. After the survival of Arabian attacks, Byzantium appeared as a completely new power that was financed by a new effective tax system. In the 9th century, conditions in the empire largely improved, which led to an increase of security and economic growth. After that, Byzantium was a completely new empire (Laiou 9-28).
The Byzantine economy was based on money provided by taxes which enabled government to receive huge budgets, which is enormous even nowadays. The well organized economy of the empire allowed it to survive dangers of money shortage. In the 950 and 1200 Byzanine economy grew rapidly, which led to a creation of aristocracy, which was a basic link in the state system. Public expenditures were primarily annual payments in gold to state functionaries, military, Constantinopolitan and provincials. However, a desire for the coinage grew with the growth of the economy, but actually it was not easy for Byzantium to meet the standards for coinage, and it appeared that coins were in a short supply once again in Constantinopole. This suggested a sustained thirst for gold to service the state economy. From the 4th to the end of the 6th century people were using coinage called “solidi”, from 7th to 11th century “nominsata”, and from 12th to 14th century “hyperpyra”. In 540 annual revenue of the empire was 11,300,000 solidi which was more annual revenue than in any other year from 4th to 6th century (Morrison 900-1000).
The 6th century economy had a power that accompanied the whole Mediterranean, followed by Justinians conquests. In the period of his reign, the economy was full of activity and exchange, that lasted until middle of the sixth century. The trade networks expanded, and Byzantine trade developed as far as England to the west and to the east,including the Red Sea and beyond as far as India. A significant economic undertaking also represented the construction of cities in the fifth and sixth century and new ways of architecture and infrastructre. (Morrison 172).
However, trade was more developed in the eastern part of the empire. For the international trade, the Byzantine Empire used well-organized systems of Roman roads and bridges and adapted them for their own use. The resurfacing of the roads and bridges and well organized infrastructure allowed the traders to import and export fresh food, use places to sleep and eat, and just have a good trading experience. According to Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos, it was necessary to know which roads were narrow or steep, and at the same time unsafe for transport, and which ones were good. The most important road in the empire was the “Imperial Rode,” which ran from the northwest to the southeast of the empire. The Black Sea connection was also of importance, which was the connection path to the Asia, and its exporters (Avramea 57-90).
The base of the Byzantine economy was agriculture. The interest of the state is that agriculture keeps the state revenue flowing in. Agriculture was also important for gathering as many gold coins and returning a portion to the state treasury. Paying taxes was the best way to prove the ownership of the land. The seaside areas were featuring vines, sea crops, and production of lives, which played an important role for the Byzantine Empire. The manpower or “the musscle of the peassants” was also a big significance for the empire, because the economy would have been useless without the manpower. However, the imports were mainly constructed of the common goods that kept the business including, oil, wool, metals, spices, and jewelery that were imported mostly from China, India, and Persia. Byzantium took care of the timely arrival of the goods to both eastern and western parts of the empire. The Byzantines considered land a common resource, not to be bought or sold, but it is valuable only if the men were invesing in it. The biggest loss of the inhabitants and land was in 541 due to the plague, where Constantinopole lost 40 % of its inhabitants. It affected both cities and countryside, as well as the routes of trading and communication, and significantly shrank the economic production. In the 9th century after the plague, peace was slowly reestablished and territories started to increase (Bryer 101-113).
From the other side, Constantinople was presented as a very wealthy capital which served as propaganda for the foreigners that came to visit it, as well as for their own citizens. Constantinopole was fully decorated with the foreign imported material such as silk or gold. The 10th century was one of the most powerful in the Byzantine Empire history, and through that period, Constantinopole was the biggest centre of the international trade, with merchants mostly from Italy, Syria, and Bulgaria. In the middle of the 10th century international trade with Muslims became very popular, while in the 11th and 12th century economy of exchange took place. Before the ninth and tenth century, Arabs were invading Egypt and Syria, which ruined the Byzantine trade, but since the population size increased in ninth and tenth century, production and trade also increased, especially the demand for grain. The shipping was important for the international trade, so good quality of the ships was needed. One of the popular brands was “dromon”, which followed the Roman shipbuilding tradition. The big change in the technology of the sea transport came from the storage jar, which gave way to the wooden barrel, which overall reduced the weight of the ship, allowing for more things to be transferred from one side to another (Avramea 55-89).
Coinage was the basic form of the money in the Byzantine Empire, but even though businessmen were very skillful, they were not capable to speed up the circulation of the coins through the empire. The gold coinage was mostly used from 7th to the start of 11th century. At the start of 11th century, silver and copper coins were circulating more through the monetary system. However, there was a coinage crisis going through many periods, until Alexios I Komnenos put the end to a coinage crisis. His reign was based on his family as a centre of government. His reign was known for power and wealth, and Komnenian policies enhanced the importance of the Byzantine ports and cities. The entirely new coinage released from the economy of state helped the massive expansion in subventions of land-based tax privileges. These subventions strengthen local market economies, which encouraged peasants to develop the production. The state collected the taxes in cash, but they used excess to pay off obiligations to the state. These grants had also grown significantly in the 11th century and Alexios Komnenos used it as a reward for the military and his family. As the state mostly depended on aristocrats, there were always the difference between upper and lower class, and as much as aristocrats were giving to the state, they were also increasingly working for their own interest. The best example of that system is shown in the Komnenos family. The main interest of the aristocrats was to benefit from the states’ weaknesses, but not to weaken the state, which would deprive the poor of access to the resources and stop aristocrats seeking benefits by competing with each other (Lopez 209-234).
Even though the estate and the village competed with each other about the territory because there was a big amount of land available, the estate and the village also need each other. The estate needed land for farming, such as growing crops or raising life. From the other side, the village needed the land for spreading their trading facility as well as commerce. Within the Byzantine Empire, regardless of where the person lived, the same as in the Roman Empire, men were in charge of almost every part of their property, considering cultivation of the land and other physical activities which were including hard work that women usually could not do. Women were in charge of children and the life inside the house (Laiou 45-56).
During the period from 9th to 11th century, it appeared that the economy was almost completely monetized. All the taxes had to be payed in gold, while in the other countries such as Bulgaria, tax was paid in kind. The organization of the fiscal services evolved in the 9th century. There were various offices with employees that were writing documents and accounting books. The tenth and eleventh centuries also viewed a development of “charitable houses,” institutions that were using revenue for financing the upper aristocratic class, which is another example of the power of the upper class and the Byzantine Empire economy (Oikonomides 577-581).
Even though the Byzantine economy had ups and downs like any other economy in any other system, the positive thing is that through the longer period it remained strong and powerful. The 6th century and Justinian and start of the 11th century and Komnenians’ reign were the periods when the ecomony reached its climax and showed the world its characteristics and endurance. Even in modern times, it appeared difficult for many economies to reach the Byzantine economic level of wealth and strength.

WORK CITED
Katz, Solomon. “Some Aspects of Economic Life in the Byzantine Empire.” Pacific Historical Review, Vol. 7, No. 1 (Mart, 1938).
Sabatino Lopez, Robert. “The Dollar of the Middle Ages.” The Journal of Economic History, Vol. 11, No. 3, Part 1 (Summer, 1951).
Laiou, E. Angeliki. ”Political History: An Outline.” The Economic History of Byzantium From the Seventh through the Fifteenth Century. Volume 1. Washington, D.C.. Dumbarton Oaks, 2002.
Laiou, E. Angeliki. “The Human Resources.” The Economic History of Byzantium From the Seventh through the Fifteenth Century. Volume 1. Washington, D.C.. Dumbarton Oaks, 2002.
Avramea, Anna. “Land and Sea Communications, Fourth-Fifteenth Century.” The Economic History of Byzantium From the Seventh through the Fifteenth Century. Volume 1. Washington, D.C.. Dumbarton Oaks, 2002.
Oikonomides, Nicolas. “Writing Materials, Documents and Books.” The Economic History of Byzantium From the Seventh through the Fifteenth Century. Volume 1. Washington, D.C.. Dumbarton Oaks, 2002.
Morrison, Cecile. “The Sixth-Century Economy.” The Economic History of Byzantium From the Seventh through the Fifteenth Century. Volume 1. Washington, D.C.. Dumbarton Oaks, 2002.
Bryer, Anthony. “The Means of Agricultural Production.” The Economic History of Byzantium From the Seventh through the Fifteenth Century. Volume 1. Washington, D.C.. Dumbarton Oaks, 2002.