Bizantyjska wizja świata władzy – szczera wiara czy polityczna kalkulacja

Abstract

In 968 A.D. Liutprand of Cremona as a legate of Otto I was received by Nicefor Fokas in Constantinople. During sophisticated audience imperial legate had an opportunity to admire a byzantine court's ceremonial. Although Liutprand was convinced that all he had seen was only a political – aim performance, he was a spectator of byzantine vision of the world of power. It is not easy for West – formed minds to understand the byzantine ideology. Meanwhile It was this what helped Byzantine Empire to survived for ten century of its history. The roots of byzantine political philosophy laid deep in ancient empires of The Fertile Crescent. Babylonian, Egyptian, Assyrian and Persian monarchs derived their power from gods, due to that, they joined in their hands control over both spheres of human being: spiritual (sacrum) and corporal (profanimi). This conception of the world of power was transmitted by Hellenic kingdoms into Roman Empire, where it gradually took place of Roman republican ideology. The new system of government – dominat, created by Dioclecian, was closely related to that of the Sasanid Empire. The second foundation of byzantine political philosophy was Christianity. It was Constantine the Great who combined the oriental conception of power with Christian doctrine. Byzantines imagined their empire as the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth and considered Constantinople a center of civilized world (oikournene). They were deeply convinced of being ancient Romans' heirs, for that reason they called themselves Romaioi and officially observed the Roman political tradition. The center of byzantine vision of world was the emperor. Basileus was a God's chosen one. As Christ's Regent on Earth he had universal power, not only over people's bodies but also minds and beliefs. The most significant of its aspects was emperor's supremacy over Byzantine Church which had a full acceptance among the clergy and worshipper. Nevertheless, there were some limitations of the emperor's will. He was obliged to use his power not over but for people who had been entrusted to him. If only basileus had not fulfilled his mission, breaking God's and moral rules, he became a tyrant and could have been overthrown by successful usurper. What in the most direct way expressed the byzantine ideology of power was imperial cult and ceremonial. It was highly complicated and sophisticated system which had even its own codification. I consider that it was sincere faith not political calculation what it truly represented.