20. Acritai, the Watch of the Borders.

In the 20th lesson, a parenthesis opens in which external wars are silenced and we turn to internal issues of the Empire. These owe their existence to the rise of the Arabs and the loss of the East and which lead slowly but surely to great events. On the one hand the internal reorganization of the Isaurians, that of the Themes, and on the other the Iconoclasm. The last two are (in the same order) the next two courses.
00: 00 Introduction.
00: 20 Historical Source.
00:54 1. Enemies Everywhere.
02:24 2. The Empire in Decline.
03:07 3. Greek as an official language.
03:28 4. The Acritai and the Watch of the borders.
05:17 5. The Hero and the Future.
06: 11 End Titles.
The point where I mention the Hellenization and creation of the word akritas is deliberately placed. The Empire, having lost the territories that spoke languagess other than Greek, indirectly strengthens its Greek character ( which will happen again, if I remember correctly, after Mantzikert and after 1204). The loss of territories leads to more compact populations.
You will notice that Cyprus on the map is both Byzantine and Arabic. It is the agreement between the two powers to share the wealth of the island without it being fully owned by either. This was the agreement of the condominium of Cyprus made in the years of Justinian II of Rhinotmetus. He returns to Byzantium in the years of Nicephorus Phocas. How tragically ironic.
I chose to include the Latin Limitanei ( also known as ripenses) on purpose again, because I want to remind the children that although the Greek character intensifies, the Roman continuity does not cease. The Acritai are the transformation of the Limitanei and the major / thematic Army the transformation of the Comitatenses. The Roman tradition is very strong-consider that the same system was in force under Diocletian, in ~300 A.D. up to ~1100-1200, close to 900 years.
The war with the Arabs in the East had become a kind of "trench warfare" where raids and attacks back and forth, skirmishes and guerrilla warfare tactics prevailed. For this reason the acritai were lightly armed, organized in small groups and on horseback. In the event of a major invasion ( Razzia ) their obligation was to evacuate the population to the border forts, scout, shadow and harass the invader, until the major the army arrived. Similar tactics have been used to defend the borders in history, and the same way of thinking exists today.
The acritai remained as an institution in Byzantium until the possessions of Basil II. Because then the power of the Empire was soaring and the regular army ensured security in the relatively quiet East, the acritai were neglected. So they'll be caught napping when the Seljuks show up after Mantzikert. Manuel Comnenus will restore them when he regains Asia Minor, and they will remain there until the Empire of Nicaea. Then they will be neglected again (after a failed rebellion), and the (Ottomans this time) Turks will benefit.
After the Komnenians, The Empire was dominated, besides the Themata, by another kind of institution, that of Pronoia, which gradually superseded the Acritai. Pronoia transferred the right to collect taxes of a region and not land estates for cultivation, without necessarily requiring military service such as Akritai did. The Pronoiars were a little reminiscent of the Knights and their fiefs, but there were various differences between the two systems.
From this video onwards, I introduce the "Isaurian dynasty" because the changes followed in the following years relate to a long period and not only on the occasion of Leo III. More detail about the Isaurians and their changes in the next lesson , 21.
It would be a good idea for the children to listen to Digenis.
I did not include it as that would make the video too long. But I would recommend it for the class.
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OST:
Cinematic Soundtrack Heroes part 1 (Pixabay) - title music - Music by AntipodeanWriter from Pixabay
Cinematic Landscape - Music by Aleksey Chistilin from Pixabay.
Epic Battle - Music by Magnetic Trailer from Pixabay.
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All photos are property of their respective owners.
This video is of academic purpose.
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This video is based on the Greek History book of the Fifth grade and serves primarily as an online lesson/revision for the students. It is, therefore, structured for that audience.