In search of God's only emperor: basileus in Byzantine and modern historiography

Abstract

The notion that Byzantine political ideology centered on the basileus (βασιλεύς), understood as God's direct representative on earth, has become almost synonymous with Byzantium. Numerous studies have depicted the Byzantine basileus as an unquestionable ruler who supposedly rested his authority on God Himself. One God in heaven, the modern convention maintains, led to a single legitimate Christian basileus on earth. This article focuses on historical sources from the early Byzantine period and argues that the title and office of the basileus lacked the extensive sacred rights that scholarship traditionally tends to emphasise. Byzantine intellectuals applied the title to various foreign rulers without concern for Christian theological notions at all. By challenging the prevalent modern doctrine of Byzantine titular exceptionalism, the article is an invitation for new and more precise evaluations of the meaning of rulership and the ideology of political power in the Byzantine state.