Memoirs

Memoirs of a Byzantine Eunuch

Captured and castrated as a boy, Zeno is sold into slavery in Constantinople. Bought by the greatest scholar of the age, he is soon drawn into a Byzantine labyrinth of sex, heresy, murder, and intrigue. Though the empire is threatened by heretic uprising and barbarian invasion, its rulers think only of themselves. In the cruel and glittering city of Constantinople, a ruthless general, a bisexual boy-emperor, a worldly patriarch, a peasant usurper, a half-Viking empress, all vie for power. Unknown to them, the real power lies elsewhere, among the devious and decadent eunuchs of the palace. Zeno conspires, deceives, manipulates and murders, his divided loyalties leading him deeper into danger until he is forced to betray those he loves.

Read Chapter 1 of Memoirs of a Byzantine Eunuch

Read reviews of Memoirs of a Byzantine Eunuch

The 9th Century: A Historical Note

What we call the Byzantine Empire was known to its inhabitants as the Roman Empire. When Rome fell to the barbarians in the fifth century, the eastern half of the empire, ruled from Constantinople (or Byzantium) survived, and endured until 1453 when it was conquered by the Ottoman Turks. (This event is described in False Ambassador.) The Byzantines spoke Greek, called themselves Romans, and considered theirs to be the world’s only legitimate empire. It was a Christian state, in which the emperor’s control of the Church was as important as his control of the army.

In the seventh century, after invasions by a fresh wave of barbarians, and the loss of its eastern provinces to the Arabs, the empire entered a period of decline. (This period forms the background to Theodore.) Though Constantinople was safe behind its impregnable walls, trade was interrupted, schools and universities were closed, and many provincial cities were abandoned. During that time, the empire was split by a series of theological controversies, the most serious of which concerned the worship of icons. Iconoclast theologians attributed the military successes of the Moslems to their abhorrence of idolatry, and sought to win God’s favour by suppressing the use of religious images among Christians. They believed, among other things, that an icon could only portray the human aspect of Christ, and therefore denied His divine aspect. For over a century the iconoclasts dominated the empire, though icons were hidden away and worshipped in private.

In the ninth century the Byzantine Empire revived. The iconoclasts were defeated, and orthodox worship was restored. The army began to push back the Moslems in the East, and in Southern Italy. Missionaries, led by Constantine (later known as St Cyril), were sent to convert the Bulgars and Slavs, bringing the Balkans under Byzantine influence. There was also a revival of learning, based at the newly re-founded university.

The leading figures in this Golden Age were Bardas and Photius. Bardas was undoubtedly an adulterer and murderer, as well as a great general. Photius was a more controversial character. Many of his writings survive, including his library catalogue, essays on scientific, philological and philosophic subjects, words of advice to newly-Christian rulers, an incomprehensible theological tract, and nearly three hundred letters. Reading those works today, one gets the impression of a learned, curious, pompous, arrogant, but ultimately pious man. His career as a scholar, civil servant and patriarch suggests that he was very able, though not always of the soundest judgement. His contemporaries did not think he was pious. He was accused of scepticism, love of pagan literature, blasphemy, mocking the liturgy, drunkenness, and practising magic. Some of these accusations show how little secular learning was valued or understood at that time. They also show that Photius was a complex, contradictory figure, who would have fitted better into the Renaissance than to ninth century Byzantium. It is at least partly due to him that books and learning survived in Constantinople, and were available when an interest in such things eventually revived in the West. Unfortunately, his quarrels with the papacy split the Church, divided Constantinople from Rome, and may have delayed that revival.

The ninth century was also the great age of the Vikings, or Rus, as they were known in the East. Even though a few Rus had reached the city earlier, the arrival of a huge Viking fleet off Constantinople in 860 was a surprising and terrifying event. While the Rus were exploring the great rivers of Russia, they were also raiding Britain and France, and it seems likely that one part of their fleet sailed round Spain and through the Mediterranean to reach Constantinople. They could not conquer the city, but were soon founding cities of their own, which quickly merged into the Principality of Russia. It was under Photius that the first Rus leaders accepted Christianity, which led later to a huge expansion of the Orthodox Church.

Basil, despite his peasant origins, and the crimes he committed to win power, proved to be a very able emperor. He continued the conquests of Bardas, reformed the laws, and endowed Constantinople with many new buildings. He founded a dynasty, the Macedonian, which lasted for two centuries and included several great emperors, as well as some notably feeble ones. However, it is quite possible that Prince Leo was Michael’s son, in which case the new dynasty was a continuation of the old one. Either way, and despite the complications of their private lives, the emperors of the ninth century began a period of growth and prosperity which was only halted by the arrival of the Turks in the eleventh century, and the subsequent disaster of the crusades.

Christopher Harris, 2002