Political Violence in Byzantine Empire (Statistical Analysis)

Sevastopol State University

For citation: Kuzenkov, Pavel V. Political Violence in Byzantine Empire (Statistical Analysis) // Drevneishie gosudarstva Vostochnoi Evropy (The Earliest States of Eastern Europe). 2024: In memoriam Alexandr V. Nazarenko / Editors of the volume Т.V. Guimon, P.V. Lukin, Е.А. Мelnikova, А.V. Podossinov. Мoscow: GAUGN-Press, 2024. S. 345–357.

DOI: 10.32608/1560-1382-2024-45-345-357

Abstract: The article provides and analyzes the statistics of political violence in the Roman/Byzantine Empire. Statistics embrace four periods: the entire period of the existence of the Empire (from the 1^st to the 15^th centuries AD); for the pagan and Christian periods separately (before and after AD 312) and for the period from AD 988 (this chronological range is relevant for comparison with Russian history, and shows the internal evolution of Byzantine practice as well). The results of statistical analysis demonstrate the indisputable influence of Christian morality on the spread and forms of political violence after the conversion of Constantine the Great (312). This influence was not sharp, but extended over time, and the steady dynamics of the humanization of the political culture of Byzantium can be traced throughout its history. The materials studied in the article also form the basis for a comparison of the practice of political violence in Byzantium and in Rus’.