The Byzantine and Its

Neighbors
The Byzantine Empire had lots of neighbors in its long
history. The Byzantine Empire was the only one among
them that had maintained its existence. The neighbors
of Byzantine either had appeared later from them or
erased from the scene of the history as quickly as they
came. The neighbors we see are mostly tribal folks
rather than the nations or states. The common feature
of these was being included to a specific language
group. We can say that the folks speaking Turkish,
Arabic, Sclavonic, Germanic and Persian had more
contact with the Byzantines than other. Apart from
them the Byzantine Empire had also contact with the
Scandinavian folks and Latins of Genoese and
Venetian.
 The Byzantine Empire had the neighbors in the
direction of West, North and East and no neighbors
in the South because of the Mediterranean Sea.
For a long time the Northern boundary of the
Byzantine Empire had been the River Danube and
the Eastern one Euphrates. For a short time the
Western boundary of the Empire had reached to
the Atlantic Ocean and afterwards it had become
the line between the Dalmatian sea shores of the
West Balkans and Hungary. The neighbors of the
Byzantines in the North had changed continuously
and the Empire had been mostly in war with them
because these new neighbors had built their new
countries in the old lands of the Byzantine Empire.
Sasanids
The state that was established by the Sasanid Dynasty
(224-651) in the Persian world, considered as The eye of
the other world by the Byzantines, is known as Sasanids.
The Sasanids that had adopted the Persian state custom
that were not had by the northern and western neighbors
of the Byzantine. Therefore, Sasanids had protected its
boundaries using the advantage of its geography, despite
some defeats against the Byzantine.
In the last quarter of the 6th century, Byzantine Empire
made an alliance with the Gokturks in the war against
against Sasanids, after having lost the lands of the Western
Romans. Before the birth of Islam, Sasanids had invaded
the Middle Eastern lands of the Byzantine Empire, Syria,
Palestine and Egypt during the first ten years of the 7th
century. Emperor Heraclius had passed its rule with the the
war against the Sasanids to re-conquer these lands.
 The world of the Sasanids and the Byzantine
that had been worn down by this long period of
wars could not prevent the quick spread of
Islam afterwards. As a result of this, Iran had
joined the the Islamic world and the Middle
Eastern lands of the Byzantine Empire had
been conquered by the Muslims.
The other eastern neighbors of the Byzantine
could be listed chronologically as Umayyads,
Abbasids, Seljuks and Ottomans. The northern
neighbors of them were Huns, Gokturks, Avars,
Bulgars, Khazars, Patzinaks, Oghuzs, Cumans
and Kipczaks, mostly from the origin of Turks.
Goths, Vizigoths and Ostrogoths

The Goths, the western neighbors of the Byzantine

Empire were from the origin of the Germans. Their
homeland is known as Scandinavia. However, because
the Goths werent a settled folk they moved to East in
2nd century and came to the North of the Black Sea.
Starting from the year of 273, they had begun to pillage
the Danube province, Balkans and sea cities of Anatolia.
In 273, Roman Empire left the lands that placed in the
North of the Middle and Lower Danube. After that date,
during the 4th century we see that Goths divided in two
parts as Visigoths and Ostrogoths and marched to the
West. Visigoths, known as West Goths, came mainly from
the Goth breed, was a multi-ethnical folk that had mixed
with the people of Balkans. Ostrogoths contains the
Goths that had lived in the lower part of the river Danube
and named as East Goths.
 The Visigoths had made attacks and pillages against
Byzantine Empire in the end of the 4th century and were
seen near the Constantinople in 378. In the War of
Adrianapolis which occurred in the same year the emperor
of the Byzantine Empire Valens was killed by Visigoths. The
Byzantine made a pact and placed them into the province
of Danube. After that the soldiers and generals from the
Goth origin had been started to be seen in the Byzantine
army. In that century a Goth named Ulfilas translated the
Bible from Greek to the language of Goths. As a result of
this Arius sect of Orthodoxy had spread among Goths.
However, the complaints of the leading people and people
of Constantinople about Goths reflected into the historical
records. Probably as a result of this in the 12th of July 400 a
collective massacre was carried out in Constantinople
against the Goth soldiers. Alaric who had united the
Visigoths under his rule, approached to the walls of
Constantinople after ravaging the lands the lands in the
South of river Danube, Macedonia and Trachea. For this
 After the death of Stilicho in 408, marched to Italy
again and invaded Rome in the August of 410 and
pillaged it. According to the historian Jordanes, he
died in the same year and buried under the river
Busento in South Italy, with his treasure. After the
invasion of Rome, in the beginning of the 5th century,
Germanic Kingdoms had started to appear on the
lands of the Western Roman Empire. After 412
Visigoths marched to Southern Gallia and in the year
of 416 established their own state in Toulouse. In 416
the Visigoths moved to Southern Spain and had a
victory against the Vandals and Alans they came
across here. Although their states were not officially
recognized, the kingdoms of Visigoths and Alans were
accepted by the Byzantine Empire. When the
Byzantine Empire reacquired Italy and the southern
part of the Spain, in the 6th century, in the period of
 The Ostrogoths, which had lived in the North of the Black
Sea, around the river Don, came to the Pannonia region
because of the pressure of the Huns in 375 and had stayed
here until the year of 454. In the 5th century they formed a
great union of Ostrogoths under the rule of Theodoric. In
the mean time, Odoacer, who had taken the command of
the German troops rebelling against Emperor Romulus in
Italy, challenged the authority of the state. Emperor Zeno
(474-5) dispatched the Ostrogoths under the control of
Theodoric to Italy for destroying Odoacer. After a 17-year-
fight, Theodoric had defeated Odoacer and gained the
command of Italy. He had assumed the government of Italy
in the name of Byzantine Empire. Theodoric had settled his
people in Italy according to Roman principals and made
Ravenna the capital of his state. Although he belonged to
the Arius sect, he formed good relations with the Pope. He
had governed the Italy until his death in 526. The
Ostrogoths had fought against the famous general of the
Justinian I, Belisarius, who had battled against them to take
Vandals
Vandals were one of a Germanic tribe. They were first recorded
by the historians in the event of the pillage of Gallia after
passing the river Rennes with the alliance of Alans and Suebi.
They entered into Spain in 409 and before settling here they
had first ravaged the West and the South of Spain. They passed
from Spain to Africa with Alans and conquered the city of
Carthage. They had started to be influential with the fleet they
established and had taken the control of the islands of Sardinia
and Sicily. The fleet of Vandals had frequently attacked to the
Mediterranean lands of the Byzantine Empire. The city of Rome
was also ravaged by them. Byzantine Empire had attempted
two times to remove Vandals from Africa in 465 and 470 but
could not succeed it. Thereupon, the Byzantine Empire had left
the control of Africa to Vandals. The Vandal Kingdom had been
established in 439 with the capture of Carthage by Vandals and
had maintained its life until the year of 533. They were also
from the Arius Sect. When the last king of the Vandals died in
533, there had been a instability in choosing the emperor. After
that, Justinian who had pretended that the Byzantine folk living
in Italy had been oppressed by Vandals sent an army under
Lombards
Lombards were a Western German tribe. They invaded the
Pannonia region at the beginning 6th century. The leader of
the Lombards, Audoin made an alliance with the Emperor
Justinian in 540. 5500 Lombard soldiers were given under
the command of the Narsis, a general of Justinian in 552.
Lombards under the leadership of Alboin moved to the Italy
in 568 and settled there in a short time due to the pressure
upon them on the Pannonia region by the Avars. In 605, the
Byzantine Empire had to make a peace act with them.
However, Lombards who had settled in Italy started to be
influenced by the culture here. They made Ravenna, which
had also been the capital of Ostrogoths, the capital of them
after capturing it in 751. This caused a rift between the
Lombards and the Pope. The Pope had started to support
Franks against the Lombards. Charlemagne, the king of the
Franks, took Lombards under his rule in 774.
Franks
Franks were from the origin of the Germans. They had settled in the lower
region of the Rennes river in the 3rd century. It is known that, in this century,
they had been assigned within the Roman army. At the beginning of the 6th
century they united under the leadership of Clovis. Clovis had expanded the
Frank rule to as far as Gallia. Clovis adopted the Orthodox sect of the
Christianity. This was perceived as the victory of the Byzantine world against
the Visigots who had adopted the Arius sect. Because the pass of Franks to
the Orthodox sect meant for Byzantines to find an ally against the Visigoths,
Ostrogoths, Vandals and later on Lombards of Arius sect. The relations
between the Byzantine Empire and Franks tightened because of the struggles
in Italy and the Papacy who wanted to be out of Byzantine control. The Pope
crowned the Charlemagne as the Holy Roman Emperor in 800. The Byzantine
Empire considered this as an attempt to form a partner to its rule.
Charlemagne managed to defeat the Avars, who had marched to the
Byzantine lands and from there to the Central Europe. In the 9th century, the
kindom of the Franks had started to collapse. With the Treaty of Verdun in
843, the Empire split into 3 parts. The raids of Muslim Arabs to Sicily and Italy
forces the Frank king Louis II and Byzantine Emperor Basil I to form an
alliance. In the 10th century Germans had started to form the main part of
the Holy Roman Empire. Therefore, Franks established the kingdom of France.
Normans
Normans, means The men from the North, were named
as Vikings, Varangians, Russian and Frank in the
Byzantine world. From the 9th century to the 11th
century, Normans had invaded the vast lands between
Iceland to Kiev and some of them had settled in these
lands. In 860 Normans ravaged the city of Pisa in Italy.
Between the years of 990 and 1017, Normans had
invaded the Northern Italy. Before that they had come to
the Italy as the mercenary soldiers of the Byzantine
Empire and the Lombards. Normans had invaded the
themes of the Byzantine Empire in Italy between 1040
and 1071. In 1072, Normans completed the conquest of
the Sicily. Normans made the Byzantine Empire
experience a defeat similar to the one in the Battle of
Manzikert. They established their state in 1072, which
had lasted until 1194.
 Normans, most of whom were still peasants in 10th century, met
with the military technics like chivalry. After forming their state,
Normans wanted to develop a close relation with the Byzantine
Empire. They used old civil servants of the Byzantine Empire in the
government of the state. Lots of Norman nobles served in the
Byzantine army by entering into it. In the 12th century there were
people of Norman origin in the elite group of the Byzantine.
However, Normans had attempted to establish their own rules in
Western Balkans against the Byzantine Empire. They attacked to
Drachium in 1107. In the 12th century they send a fleet to
Constantinople against the Byzantine Empire. The Normans under
the rule of Roger II ravaged the Morea and the Greek mainland.
They carried the Byzantine silk weavers with them to Sicily. In
1185 they invaded Thessalonica but they lost it in a short span of
time. They played an important role in the establishment of the
Principality of Antiocheia which was formed during First Crusade.
The Norman Kingdom of Sicily disappeared because the lineage of
them could not last.
Varangians
The Varang name had been used for Vikings and people
who had came from the North that had place in the
Byzantine army since the end of the 11th century. It also
describes the Anglo-Saxons which had served in the
Byzantine army. The earliest encounter with this word in the
Byzantine sources is the year of 1034. Scandinavians had
started to come to Constantinople through the Russia to
work fort the Byzantine Empire. Because of the axes they
had carried, they were called as axeman. Throuhout the
11th and 12th centuries, Varangs had served as the guards
of the Mangana and Blachernae castles for the Comnenus
dynasty. In the meantime they had joined the expeditions of
the army. They aroused the attention the Byzantine and the
foreigners because of their northern looks, weapons, solid
discipline. They had churches in Constantinople, Crete and
Taranto which was built for the Mother Mary.
Venetians
The city of Venice was established in the Northern end of
the Adriatic Sea, in the 25th of March, 421. Although the
Italy had encountered the invasions of Goths, Lombards
and Franks, the Venetians had remained faithful to the
Byzantine Empire. In the period of Peter Tribuno, who had
been the Doge of Venice between the years of 888 and
920, Venetians separated themselves from the Byzantine
Empire and established the republican government. In a
short span of time a sea power had been formed. They
had fought against the Muslim Arabs in the Adriatic Sea.
The ships of Venetians had sold slaves to Constantinople
until the ban in 960. In 1082, Alexios Comnenus gave
some political priviliges to Venetians. Afterwards, a great
part of the trade of the Byzantine Empire had been
maintained by the Venetians.
 The Venetians, that lead the Fourth Crusade which resulted with the
invasion of Constantinople, had contributed to the birth of many new
Latin states, in the old lands of the Byzantine Empire, in
Constantinople, Archipelagos and Morea. This caused the formation of
the feeling of enmity against Venetians in the hearts of the Byzantines
who had retreated to Nicaea. The founder of the last dynasty of the
Byzantine Empire, the Palaiologoi, Michael VIII cooperated with
Genoese, the rival of Venetians, to recapture Constantinople. Between
the years of 1261 and 1328, the relations of them had been unstable
and tense. After 1328, the Byzantine Empire had followed a policy of
equilibrium between Venetians and the Genoese. Ioannes V and
Manuel II Palaiologos followed a policy in favor of the Venetians. In the
14th and 15th centuries the Venetians had carried out an active trade
in Constantinople and Black Sea. The Byzantine Empire who had
understood that they coud not endure against the Ottomans besieging
Thessalonica, sold the city to Venetians. Nowadays, the Bibliotheca
Marina in which the richest Byzantine manuscripts are preserved, is
formed with the works the Venice inherited by the Cardinal Bessarion
in 1468.
Genoese
Genoa, which was established as a port city in Italy, was captured by
Byzantine Empire in 539. However, after a short time it was invaded
by Franks and later in 642 by Lombards. The Genoese that appeared in
the scene of history in the 10th century, had withstood the raids of the
Muslim Arabs between 930 and 935 and defeated the Arabs of the
Sardinia in the 11th century. In the same century, with its powerful
fleet, the Genoese attacked to Tunis. They joined the First Crusade. In
1155, the Emperor, Manuel I Comnenus gave some privileges to
Genoese. In this period the Genoese was competing against Venetians
and Pisans. After 1171, the Genoese became superior in the eye of the
Byzantine Empire. The Genoese profited from the anger of the
Byzantine which had focused on Venetians after the invasion of
Constantinople. In 1261 Genoese and the Byzantine Empire signed a
commercial treaty. The Genoese helped Byzantine to recapture
Constantinople in 1261. For this, they gained new commercial
privileges from the Byzantine Empire. Many Genoese colonies had
been formed in Constantinople, Pera, Chios and Crimea. The Genoese
had tried to raise their commercial income by signing treaties with
Ottomans and Byzantine during the 14th and 15th centuries.