A Study On The Western Frontier Of Byzantine Empire During John ?

As the Byzantine Empire was located in traffic arteries connecting the west and east,its frontier geographic scope was constantly changing.The most prominent change took place in Comnenian dynasty when the crusade movement was arisen.To consolidate governance,monarchs of the Comnenian dynasty paid great attention to border managing,fully utilized domestic and foreign policies and managed to make the Byzantine Empire become a big Oriental country in the world.In 1118 when John ? was in line to the throne,to address the complex situation at home and abroad,he didn't follow conservative policies of Alexius I but started wars with Turks for revendication in the east area,Asia Minor and kept a contact with small countries under the reign of the Crusades in a cooperative and conflicting way.In the west part,Balkan region,he stabilized the Danube border areas by conquering Hungarians and Serbs by force of arms,solved the dispute of business privilege with Venetian by resorting to diplomacy and military means and gained competitive advantage in the competition with Normans.Western frontier management was in a primary location in the whole borderland managing of the Byzantine Empire in the days of John ?.This thesis with the theme of western frontier management in the days of John ?,analyzes the dispute of business privilege between Byzantine Empire and the Venetian,the war with Hungarians and Serbs,the fight with Normans and concludes that: under the background of the Crusades,rulers of the Byzantine empire considered the situation,resorted to temper justice with mercy to deal with the relationship with western countries,in particular,Venice,Norman dynasty,and Hungarians and Serbs and achieved its status as an international country by resorting to domestic and foreign means.The strategy of border land management,in particular,has strengthened western frontier and provided possibility of expanding territory in eastern area of the Byzantine Empire.The western frontier management strategy of John ? can be divided into domestic and foreign parts.In domestic part,he rectified the military and enlargedsources of troops.He also paid great attention to military training and placed massive forces into western line of defense;he reorganized the finance and took effective measures to ensure adequate military supplies for wartime spending maintenance;in the battlefield,he adjusted measures to local conditions and applied military strategies and tactics,obtaining the victory in the military struggle.The intrepid style reflects the personality of John ? and the thriving economy,flourishing culture and solid familial politics in the Byzantine Empire at that time.In the foreign part,John ? utilized the diplomatic means and manoeuvred among various political groups.He alternated kindness with cruelty and coverted enemies into friends;he leveraged cultural advantages to pacify surrounding nationalities and adopted the policy of“divide and rule”;A powerful information collection system was established,which worked as a reliable source of information for the frontier management in the Byzantine Empire.Western frontier managing conducted by John ? features the intelligence of the traditional diplomacy in Byzantine and cultural exchanges between east and west in the Crusade.Supported by powerful economic and military strengths and sophisticated diplomatic means,this management strategy solved threats to western frontier stability,maintaining a solid rear for the Byzantine Empire,and provided a guarantee for eastern frontier management.However,the diplomacy,which relied too heavily on culture and religion,brought hidden troubles for latter diplomacy of the Byzantine Empire.