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Your Worst and Best Byzantine Emperor?

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Balain d Ibelin View Drop Down
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  Quote Balain d Ibelin Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: Your Worst and Best Byzantine Emperor?
    Posted: 13-Jun-2007 at 04:41

BY your Opinion, what is your Worst and Best Byzantine Emperors?

My list would be:
        Best:
               1. Justinian I
               2. Alexius I Komnenos
               3. Constantine XI
        Worst:
               1. Romanos IV Diogenes
               2. Justinian II
 
Please, only include Emperor who reigns after the West Roman Empire falls.


Edited by Balian d'Ibelin - 13-Jun-2007 at 04:42
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  Quote Knights Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13-Jun-2007 at 04:53
Best:
- Alexios I Komnenos
- Herakleios
- Basil II
- Justinian I
- Nikephoros I
- John Tzimiskes

Worst:
- Flavius Phocas
- Nikephoros III
- Romanos IV

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  Quote Athanasios Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 19-Jun-2007 at 14:24
Romanos IV Diogenes as worst?! Why? because he tried to restore a dream while he was betrayed from all the sides and finally lost a regional battle which cost him his life ? No, he was an original Byzantine emperor who made the best for his empire, such a wronged personality and judged by history whith cruelty... For me , he was the most "human" emperor and whenever i think about his reign , i get emotional...
 
as for the best...
                       1.Basil II
                       2.Heraclius
                       3.Ioannes II Komnenos
                       4.Justinianus
                       5.Constantinus I
                       6.Julianus
 
         worst:    1.Phocas
                        2.Irene the Athenean(which was half a Chazar if i'm not mistaken...)
                        3.Aggelidian dynasty(all this handycapped ganc which <<<<ruled>>>> the Byzantine empire until 1204)
                         4. Theodora(whith or whithout partner)
                         5. John V palaeologos (i could peek a lot from the Palaeologian dynasty but i choose him, as the last step to downfall)
                         
 

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  Quote eaglecap Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 19-Jun-2007 at 15:59
Constantine XI was great but the circumstances of his time were not. If he had been Emperor any other time he would have benefited the empire greatly. The odds were against him in 1453 with the sad loss of Contantinople to the invading Ottoman Turkish armies.

Basil the Bulgar slayer was also a great leader but blinding the enemy troops was way too extreme. Gen. Sherman once said, during the American Civil war, 'War is Hell!!"

John the good son of Alexos is one of my favorites as well.
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  Quote xristar Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 19-Jun-2007 at 16:07
but blinding the enemy troops was way too extreme.
Not really. At that age, he could have very easily executed al of them. -but he didn't.

Defeat allows no explanation
Victory needs none.
It insults the dead when you treat life carelessly.
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  Quote Athanasios Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 19-Jun-2007 at 16:17
It was a symbolic action. It was the penalty for those who claimed the throne from the legal emperor. I bet that if tzar samuil have fought in the battlefield-as the Byzantine emperor did- then he would be the only one who would get blinded(or maybe not, who knows?). In the today's standarts, it is a sadistic action(blinding 14000 christians one by one-of course not the Emperor himselfLOL-) but these actions were common in the middle ages . I think that it was given too much gravity to this certain action because it is connected with the collapse of the first bulgarian empire.

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  Quote eaglecap Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 20-Jun-2007 at 00:16
I understand the reason why in that period but by my modern standards it seems barbaric and cruel but it did send a clear message to the Turkic/Salvic Bulgars
Λοιπόν, αδελφοί και οι συμπολίτες και οι στρατιώτες, να θυμάστε αυτό ώστε μνημόσυνο σας, φήμη και ελευθερία σας θα ε
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  Quote Guests Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03-Jul-2007 at 17:02
Best : 1 .Alexios Komnenos
         
 
Worst : Michael VIII - He simply give up the eastern part of the empire
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  Quote Constantine XI Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03-Jul-2007 at 20:12
Best: Basil II, Leo III, Constantine XI

Worst: Flavius Phocas, Alexius III, John V
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  Quote Herschel Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03-Jul-2007 at 21:09

Best:

- John II
- Zeno
- Manuel II
- Theodore I of Nicaea
 
Worst:
 
- Flavius Phocas
- Michael VII
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  Quote rider Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 04-Jul-2007 at 03:03
Theophilus, Nikephoros Phokas, Leon IV are my favourite good ones, although I can't deny Heraclius (or someone very close to that name, since not using it, I've forgotten it) did a good job too. I can't agree with Justinian being an especially good one since he essentially brought up the downfall of  the empire.
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  Quote Spartakus Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 04-Jul-2007 at 12:32
Heraclius fought back two powerfull enemies, in two different fronts, at the eve of destruction and at the same time managed to wisely retreat behind the Taurus mountains, securing the survival of the Empire against the Arab threat. He is by far the best Byzantine Emperor. Without him there would be no Byzantine Empire, even before the Arab Conquest.

Edited by Spartakus - 04-Jul-2007 at 12:39
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  Quote rider Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 04-Jul-2007 at 15:48
Well, since Justinian wasted so much resources, perhaps Heraclius wouldn't have had to fight the Sassanids so hard if there hadn't been a Justinian?
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  Quote Spartakus Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 04-Jul-2007 at 16:06
That's true yes. Justinian overexpanded, without having the proper forces or resources to actually hold the newly conquered lands.But let's not be so hard at him. I mean, he created an impressive network of fortresses in the Balkans, he re-organized the military as well as the judicial and other secteurs. In the meantime, Justinian fell victim of his calculations. He and his stuff believed that the money drawn from Italy in the form of taxes would , in a few years, cover the cost of the campaign and be enough for sustaining a strong military presence.Also, if we take a look at the forces he sent, we will see that they were quite few. In the end, he lacked the ability of longterm planning. That was his biggest disadvantage.
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  Quote Justinian Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06-Jul-2007 at 00:49
Well naturally I hold Justinian to be one of the better emperors, as much for his vision as for his accomplishments.  Did he make it harder for future emperors? It's very likely, but I don't think the empire would have been better off if he hadn't ruled.  Spartakus does a good job of exposing Justinians' weaknesses.  Heraclius or perhaps Alexios Komnenos might get my vote.
Worst emperors?
Flavius Phocas lingers on the mind,  some of the emperors who ruled between Basil II and Alexios Komnenos weren't exactly held up on a pedestal for future rulers to look to as an example.  Alexios III is another one (the whole Angelos dynasty seemed like one disaster after another).
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  Quote rider Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06-Jul-2007 at 03:37
It wasn't only Justinian. A lot was done by his generals who would have lived also without him. And I am not saying his legal doings weren't amazing, they were. I am just saying the Eastern conquests should have been left for some other state. 
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  Quote Anton Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06-Jul-2007 at 08:49
Originally posted by xristar

Not really. At that age, he could have very easily executed al of them. -but he didn't.
 
Merciful Basil LOL


Edited by Anton - 06-Jul-2007 at 10:56
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  Quote Anton Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06-Jul-2007 at 08:51
Originally posted by Athanasios

but these actions were common in the middle ages . I think that it was given too much gravity to this certain action because it is connected with the collapse of the first bulgarian empire.
 
These things were common but the number of blinded people is quite unusuall.
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  Quote Anton Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06-Jul-2007 at 08:53
Originally posted by Athanasios

It was a symbolic action. It was the penalty for those who claimed the throne from the legal emperor. I bet that if tzar samuil have fought in the battlefield-as the Byzantine emperor did- then he would be the only one who would get blinded(or maybe not, who knows?)
 
Hm.. I bet if Samuil have faught at that battle the only one who would be blinded is Basil II Wink


Edited by Anton - 06-Jul-2007 at 08:54
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  Quote Liudovik_Nemski Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06-Jul-2007 at 09:53
Originally posted by xristar

but blinding the enemy troops was way too extreme.
Not really. At that age, he could have very easily executed al of them. -but he didn't.


What do you chose:
being killed instantly or living blind until the end of your "life"?And multiply the second by x12 000Angry


Edited by Liudovik_Nemski - 06-Jul-2007 at 09:57
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