Der Untergang des Römischen Reiches

Abstract

This paper discusses the question why the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire did not fall in the seventh and eighth centuries, although it was exposed to similar threats and structural problems as the Western Roman Empire in the fifth century. To explain this phenomenon, the arguments that John Haldon put forward several years ago are taken up and supplemented by a further aspect that seems to have played a relevant role: apparently, a new definition of Roman identity (Romanness) had been developed in the East between the late fifth and the late sixth centuries. It caused the Eastern Roman population to remain loyal to the emperors during the crucial period of the seventh and eighth centuries and was able to face the challenges despite the heaviest burdens it was confronted with.