Rules and Violence Regeln und Gewalt zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYX yvutsrqonmlihgfecaXVTSQPOML On the Cultural History of Collective Violence from Late Antiquity to the Confessional Age Zur Kulturgeschichte der kollektiven Gewalt von der Spatantike bis zum konfessionellen Zeitalter Herausgegeben von Cora Died Titus Knapper De Gruyter MIX FSC zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQ Papier aus verantwortungsvollen Quellen FSC* C003147 ISBN 978-3-11-036456-9 e-ISBN 978-3-11-036461-3 zywvutsrponmlkjihgfedcbaZWVUSRPON Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the library of Congress. Bibliografische Information der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek verzeichnet diese Publikation in der Deutschen NationalbibEografie; detaillierte bibliografische Daten sind im Internet liber http://dnb.dnb.de abrufbar. © 2014 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin / Boston Umschlagabbildung: Chantilly B D C Ms 0680, f. 51 r, mit freundlicher Genehmigung des Musee Conde/ Bibliotheque et Archives du Chateau, Chantilly Druck und Bindung: CP I books GmbH, Leek oo Gedruckt auf saurefrciem Papier Printed in Germany www.degruyter.com Inhaltsverzeichnis Vorwort VII Preface XVII Ralph Mathisen Beasts, Burning, and Beheading. Show Executions in Late Antiquity 1 GuidoM. Berndt Murder in the Palace. Some Considerations on Assassinations in Late Antiquity and the Early Mid die-Ages 31 Marco Mora Ripped Bodies, Pierced Heels and Burned Houses. Violence and Its Evaluation in Norse Saga Literature 49 Son]a Feldmann Gewalt und Gemeinschaft im Eneasroman Heinrichs von Veldeke 63 Sergei A. Ko^lov More than Enemies. The Description of Nomads in the Byzantine Literature of the Epoch of the First Pecheneg Incursions into Byzantium 83 jaroslaw Wenta At the Threshold of Hell. Northern Crusaders on the Way to Satan's Dominion Silvan Wagner Ehestands-Maren und Gewalt. Autoaggressive Gewaltgemeinschaften und ihre gewalthafte Transformation — in Gewaltgemeinschaften (Die eingemauerte Frau, Frauen^ucht) 101 115 I nhaltsverzeichnis zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZXWVTSRQPON Gabriel Viehhauser Regeln fur den ,gattungsfreien Raum'. Generische Muster der Gewaltdarstellung in Hans Folz' Erzahllied vom Pofi ranch 131 Аппа-1лпа Liebermann Der Ritter im Baum. Wahnsinn als Ausloser von Gewalt am Beispiel des Rappoltsteiner Parsifal. 157 Mathis Prange Practices of Violence and Their Limits. The Percy-Neville Feud in the 1450s 175 Aneta Bialecka Der Uberfall auf das Nordlinger Scharlachrennen. Gewalt und symbolische Ordnung der Gesellschaft in der urbanen Festkultur.......... 193 Cora Diet/ Erasmus, Reuchlin und Ulrich von Hutten als ,Gewaltgemeinschaft? Ein Tragedia oder Spillgehalten in dem kiinigklichen Sal Parifl. 209 Winjried Frey Der Kampf der Reformatoren gegen die baalistischen Pfaffen in der Grafschaft Nassau-Weilburg zur Zeit des Augsburger Interims (1548-52/1555) 223 Kurzbiographien der Autoren / Short Biographies 235 Index 239 More than Enemies. The Description of Nomads in the Byzantine Literature of the Epoch of the First Pecheneg Incursions into Byzantium yxurnmligedaTSA Sergei Л . Кофр (Tyumen) zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZXWVTS Abstract. This article analyses the most dominant ways of describing the Pechenegs and their mentality reflected in Byzantine tradition of the "Scythian War" of Alexius I Comnenus (1081-1118). The first part examines the excursus on the Pechenegs ("Scythians") in the emtio of Theophylact of Ohrid compared with a similar description of "Mysians" of his teacher Michael Psellus. Despite these contemporary accounts there is nor significant information on the Pechenegs. Only the literary topos of the ,invasion of the nomads' is used to describe their character and way of life. This image corresponds to the adversarial behaviour in byzantine culture and the Kaiseridee. To typify pagan nomades as enemies of the Christian Roman Empire was conventional in propaganda and rhetoric. The second and third part of this article focus on Anna Comnena, who describes the military tactics in 1080 with a view on a previous "Scythian War" of John II Comnenus (1118-1143). Throughout the Middle Ages, Byzantium had to face the imminent danger of Eurasian nomads' incursions. Due to the almost complete lack of indigenous written sources from the Steppes, research about the history of Byzantine-Nomadic relations is based on Byzantine historical narratives, which, however, reflect merely certain aspects of these relations. Thus, we must be content with a Byzantine-Nomadic history written mainly through the prism of Byzantine authors' subjective perceptions and their focused steering toward accounts of the "Scythian" war under Emperor Alexius I Comnenus (1081—1118).1 These descriptions add to an understanding of the Byzantine-Pecheneg war of 1086-1091 2 and a set of narraPAUL GAUTIER (ed), Theophylacte d'Achrida. Discours, traites, poesies (Thessalonique, 1980), pp. 2 2 1 - 2 5 (all quotations from Theophylact follow this edition); L. DlNDORF (ed), loannis Zonarae Epitome historiarum IV (Leipzig, 1871), pp. 241.20-242.8; D . R . REINSCH/ A. KAMBYLIS (ed.), Annae Comnenae Alexias I (Berlin/New York, 2001), pp. 199.18-251.93; I. BEKKER (ed.), Michaelis Glycae Annates (Bonn, 1836), pp. 620.18-621.4, For this war see: FERDINAND CHALANDON, Essai sur к regne dAlexis I" Comnene (10811118) (New York, 1900), pp. 1 0 5 - 3 6 ; ВАСИЛИЙ Г. ВАСИЛЬЕВСКИЙ, "Ви занти я и п еченеги ," in: Васильевск ий В.Г. Труды I (Санкт-Петербург, 1908), pp. 45—77; ВАСИЛ Н. 84 Sergei A. Kozlov tive elements of different nature characterizing the description of the cultural events. However, the literary tradition is closely connected with the Byzantine image of the Pechenegs and cannot be examined separately from it. The Byzantine perception of "others" has moved into the focus of research through increased awareness about the status of epithets and rhetorical images of different peoples used in Byzantine literature as important material for the study of the "national identity" of the Rzyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcb homaioi? From this point of view, two recent publications consider the image of the Pechenegs generated by the early Comnenes. The first is written by ELISABETH MALAMUT,4 the second by PAUL M. STRASSLE.5 Ё. MALAMUT systematizes the Byzantine authors' testimonies about the Pechenegs and delineates the chronological history of Byzantine-Pecheneg relations. In separate sketches, she considers the most important turns in Byzantium policy in respect of nomads and their influence on the image of the Pechenegs in Byzantine literature. Speaking about the "Scythian" war of Alexius Comnenus, E. MALAMUT agrees with the traditional view according to which, after the gain of the First Bulgarian Empire in 1018 and the failures in Christianizing invading nomads, there is an essential change in the Byzantine perception of the Pechenegs. They began to be perceived as the most terrible threat to the Empire at the time of Alexius' reign/' P.M. STRASSLE, in turn, draws particular attention to socio-cultural and rhetorical aspects of the Pechenegs' "hostile" image, contained in two major literary monuments on this topic — in the oratio by Theophylact of ЗЛАТАРСКИ, История, на Ъългарск ата държава преиъ сръднить вък ове II (Софи я, 1934), pp. 1 8 7 - 2 2 1 ; ЯКОВ Н. ЛЮБАРСКИЙ, Ви зантай ско-п еченежская вой на 1 0 8 6 - 1 0 9 1 гг. на территории Балкан, in А.И. ДОРОНЧЕНКОВ (ed.), Славянск ие исследования: Мат-лы II Велик олук ск ой к онф. по истории славянск их стран (Лени нград, 1966), pp. 3—9; PAUL STEPHENSON, Byzantium's Balkan frontier. A political study of the Northern Balkans 900-1204 (Cambridge, 2000), pp. 1 0 1 - 0 3 ; JOHN W. BlRKENMEIER, The Development of the Komnenian Army 1081-1180 (Leiden et al., 2002), pp. 7 0 - 7 8 ; FLORIN CURTA, Southeastern Europe in the Middle Ages 500-1250 (Cambridge, 2006), pp. 3 0 0 - 0 2 ; VICTOR SPINEI, The Romanians and the Turkic Nomads North of the Danube Delta from the Tenth to the Mid-Thirteenth Century (Leiden/Boston, 2009), pp. 1 1 9 - 2 1 . For the Byzantine perception o f the northern nomads, see: HELENE Ai IRWEILER, "Byzantine Concepts o f the Foreigner. The Case o f the Nomads," in H. AHRWEILER/A.E. LAIOU (ed.), Studies on the Internal Diaspora of the Byzantine Empire (Dumbarton Oaks 1998), pp. 1— 15; ELISABETH MALAMUT, "Les peoples etrangers dans l'ideologie lmperiale. Scythes et Occidentaux," in L 'etranger au Moyen Age: Actes du XXXe congr. de la SHMESP Gdttingen 1999 (Paris, 2000), pp. 1 1 9 - 3 2 ; TSVETELIN STEPANOV, The Bulgars and the Steppe Empire in the Early Middle Ages. The Problem of the "Others' (I .eiden/Boston, 2010). ELISABETH MALAMUT, "L'image byzantine des Petchenegues," By^antinische Zeitschrift 88 (1995), pp. 1 3 4 - 4 2 . PAUL M. STRASSLE, "Das Feindbild der Petschenegen im Byzanz der Komnenen (11./ 12. J h . ) , " byxantinische Forschungen 28 (2004), pp. 2 9 7 - 3 1 3 . MALAMUT (see note 4), p. 135. More than Enemies 85 Ohrid (also known as Theophylact of Bulgaria) addressed to Alexius I Alexiade by Anna Comnena. P.M. STRASSLE's line Comnenus, and in thezyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZXWVTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA of argument draws on the concept of social psychology according to which representations of an "external enemy", formed by one ethnic group in relation to another, serve a strengthening of group identity by perceiving ethnos; moreover, they are connected to the manifestation of antagonisms like "we/they", "own/alien" and so forth. P.M. STRASSLE explains the negative image of Pechenegs among the early Comnenes from the point of view of a Christian-Imperial "ethnocentrism" emerging among the medieval Greeks. In his opinion, the emotional epithets and stereotypes attributed to the Pechenegs aim at discrediting the external enemy (the emphasis being laid on the Pechenegs' warlike character, their insidiousness, their resemblance to animals etc.) and at overemphasizing the own form o f existence (idea of superiority the Empire and the "Peculiar People" of the EJoomaioi). Neither E. MALAMUT nor P.M. STRASSLE bestow sufficient consideration upon an alleged connection between Byzantine "ethnic" stereotypes and the internal political situation in Byzantium. However, the character of the Byzantine image of invading nomads (estimations, narratives and images) was not only determined by political conditions and traditional "common-Byzantine" world view paradigms, but also by a varied sociopolitical situation in the Empire, and it was strongly influenced by personal predilections and Byzantine intellectuals' creative output. The main purpose of the present paper is to analyze the image of the Pechenegs in the Byzantine tradition of the early Comnenes in due consideration of the historical context in which the literary monuments were composed. I. The Image of the Pechenegs in the Огайо of Theophylact of Ohrid Presented to Alexius I Comnenus The Byzantine-Pecheneg war is first mentioned in the oratio of Theophylact of Ohrid, addressed to Alexius I Comnenus (Лбуо? ETG TOV а и т о к р а т о р аvupiXWVUTRQONKIEC Kupiv AXE^IOV TOV K o j a v r i v o v ) , and in which the Byzantine emperor is eulogized for his miraculous escape from the "Scythians" and for the mercy he had on the enemy. This basilicos logos is of special value with regard to an investigation of the Byzantine Kaiseridee and of official political ideology as a whole.7 Vassily G. VASSIL'EVSKIJ has already noFor the Byzantine "imperial idea" see: PETER SCHREINER, By^an^ (Mimchen, 1986), pp.70, 141-43. See also: ИГОРЬ С. Ч11ЧУРОВ, Политическ ая идеология средневек овья (Византия и Русь) (Москва, 1991), pp. 3-126; PAUL MAGDALINO, The Empire of Manuel I 86 Sergei A. Kozlov ticed tiiat thezyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZXWVTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA oratio is part of a number of ceremonial orations that, according to tradition, were held annually by the magister of orators in front of the emperor at the feast of Christ's Christening on January 6th. Since Theophylact's oratio names Alexius' young son "a nestling expecting wings" (opwv л б г|,TCEpijaevcovб е т а о ж и л т е р а : 2 3 5 . 8 - 9 ) , whereby the orator indicates the co-ruler of the emperor, V . G . V A S S I L ' E V S K I J concluded that the terminus post quem of the future archbishop of Ohrid's oratio must be 1 0 8 7 /8 (the time of birth of Alexius' son) and terminus ante quem September, 1092 (the declaration of the son as the co-ruler of the emperor). These dates are doubtless and may be considered as generally accepted. Characterizing the "Scythians" ( 2 2 1 . 1 1 - 2 2 3 . 1 5 ) , Theophylact compares their attack to the impact of a lightning ( а а т р а л г |д ) . He says that die "Scythian" retreat is difficult to organize because of the amount of trophies, at the same time it is easily manageable due to the speed of their flight. "They haven't got a country of their own and devastate another pЈv к а т а т р Е х о и ш , ccpETEpav 5 ' о и к people's country" ( а Х Х о т р ( а уzyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONML EXOUOiv). Even Darius Histape could not overcome them, as they are "pursued unattainable" ( S i i o ^E i cppЈvo|3Xaptog т а с ш ' х л т а ) . They are imperceptible as they disappear among rocks and rich woods in the notorious "Scythian desert" (TWV LKUOWV Е р гц ш а д ) . To them, peaceful life is a misfortune while the maximum of happiness means to have a good opportunity for war or for the infringement of a treaty ( а л о у б а Т д ) . "In their view, the best warrior is one who will show the greatest barbarity and perfidy" ( о и т о д а и т о г д о л о Х е д ш о т е р о д , о д a v cpavetr| р а р р а р ж с о т Е р о д ТЕ KAT дапатотЕрод). Their number surpasses that of spring bees, and nobody can estimate how many thousands they are: "their number is uncountable" ( a p i 0 |n 6 g TOUTCOV т о avapiQ|ur|T0V)- hi the following lines of the oratio Theophylact describes the background of the Byzantine peace treaty with the "Scythians" ( 2 2 3 . 1 6 - 2 2 7 . 2 4 ) . Thus, in the "Scythian" excursus of Theophylact, one can allocate two parts which P. G A U T I E R entitied La tactique des Scythes and Traite depaix avec les Scythes.8 The two parts have different origins. The historical basis of the second part, devoted to the treaty between Alexius and the "Scythians", is doubdessly obvious, but that does not imply the reliability of all its details. Komnenos 1143-1180 (Cambridge, 1993), pp. 4 1 3 - 8 8 ; DlMlTER ANGELOV, Imperial Ideology and Political Thought in Byzantium 1204-1330 (Cambridge, 2007); ЖПЛЬБЕР ДАГРОН, Император и священник : Этюд о византийск ом "цезарепапшме" (Санкт-Петербург, 2010), (French edition: GILBERT DAGRON, Empereur et pretre: Etude sur le "cesaropapisme" by^antin (Paris, 1996). GAUTIER (see note 1). 87 More than Enemies As mentioned above, the first part of this excursus describes both the customs and the actions of the "Scythians" and the fear of those facing their ruinous attacks. Scholarship frequendy articulates the opinion that such descriptions were made by the Byzantine authors on the base of personal acquaintances with nomads; made, for instance, in context of military actions.9 Yet, there is lack of evidence for ascertaining the historical validity of the description, considering that the court orator also transfers objective historical information into fiction by means of metaphorical and figurative ways of expression.10 First of all, the "Scythian" excursus of Theophylact does not offer a unique and individualized delineation of the Pecheneg peoples' character. On the contrary, the orator represents the nomads abstractly as "barbarians" and as identical with the ancient Scythians, though they are not denoted accordingly as they refuse bloodshed and make peace with Alexius (5IK0CI'av t p f j t p o v E^PVEYKAV к ш тои то ye povov EKEIVOI, OU (3ap(3apoi, zyxwvutsrqpon ot)6Ј Е к и в ш , o n л р о т р д pXa(3r|C т о и Kperrrovo? paOovxo: 2 2 5 . 2 2 - 2 4 ) . The majority of figurative characteristics by which the Byzantine author describes the nomadic incursions are stereotyped formula and standard expressions. This can easily be proven by a comparison between the "Scythian" excursus of Theophylact with the similar description of the "Mysians" by his teacher Michael PselluszyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZXWVTSRQPONMLK (Chron. VII, 68-69). 11 According to Psellus, the "Mysians" do not build camps, do not divide their army into troops, do not follow military rule battles, and, having got off in a heap, they rush against their enemy shouting loudly. Once they meet strong resistance, they confusedly dissipate in various directions: one group of them rushes into the river, others disappear in dark woods, a third group hides in mountains and gorges; "all people of this people are dangerous and perfidious" ( т о и т о т о y i v о д 5 e i v o t ^и д л а у т Е д к а ! ш с , yvcbpaq UN0KAQF||UEV0i) and "treaties of friendship mean nothing to them" ( o i ) T Ј 5E ouvQfjKca т о и т о и д ipiXiac EHEXOUOIV). Therefore, the "Mysians" make peace easily, but, when they want to wage war, they at once refuse the peace. In case of defeat they seek for the opponent's friendship, but if they win the battle, they kill and sell their captives. Thus, both images, Psellus' "Mysians" and Theophylact's "Scythians", are equivalent. It is 9 See, for example: ЕЛЕНА Ч. СКРЖИНСКАЯ, "Половц ы. Оп ыт и стори ческого и столковани я э тни кона (Из архива ученого)," Византийск ий временник 46 (1986), pp. 261—62; АЛЕКСЕЙ М. КРЮКОВ, "Ви занти й ц ы и их соседи в п роп оведях Ми хаи ла Хо ни ата," Причерноморье в Средние век а 7 (2009) р. 37. 10 For this style see: ДИМИТРИЙ ОБОЛЕНСКИЙ: Византийск ое содружество наций. Ш есть византийск их портретов (Москва, 1998), pp. 4 3 5 - 3 6 . See also: GEORGE Т . DENNIS, "Imperial Panegyric. Rhctoric and Reality," in II. MAGUIRE (ed.), Byzantine Court Culture from 829 to 1204 (Washington, 1997), pp. 137-10. 11 CONSTANTINE SATHAS (ed.), The History of Psellus (London, 1899), pp. 222.11-223.23. 88 Sergei A. Kozlov possible that Psellus' account was first (the chronological order is not absolutely clear) and that it served Theophylact as one source for his hostile description of the Pechenegs as "militant", "perfidious" and as people who, when they retreat, disappear "in dark woods and rocks" and so forth. Despite the rhetorical character of Psellus' description, PETER B. GOLDEN and IGOR O. KNYAZ'KIJ refer to it as valid testimony of the Pechenegs' customs and their ideology.12 E. MALAMUT, in turn, has shown Khomaioi/Barbaroi that their image is connected to the opposition of thezyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZXWV and that it serves an antagonistic complement to the cultural and military appearance of the Greeks.13 The Greeks, however, always thought of the peoples on the northern periphery of the Christian orbis Romanus as "barbarous". Therefore it not enough to explain the Byzantine image of the Pechenegs as "invading nomads" simply by the opposition of the Rhomaioi/barbaroi. Consequendy, we have to ask for further reasons explaining the formation of the corresponding accounts by Psellus and Theophylact. First of all, the representation of the Pechenegs as "invading nomads" could only develop and become canonic in the epoch of these nomads' direct intrusions into Byzantium. Both authors clearly refer to it: Theophylact speaks directly about war with the "Scythians", and Psellus concludes the paragraph about the "Mysians" after a reference to the Pecheneg's transition " o f the frozen Danube" in winter 1046/47 (Chron. VII, 67) 14 when they made their first mass invasion on Byzantine territory. As long as the Pechenegs did not represent a direct threat to Byzantium, the Greeks perceived them as a powerful force causing respect; and their neutral relation remained intact. The animosities against the Pechenegs appeared and began to accrue with the Byzantine annexation of Bulgaria (1018), thereby prompting to threaten the safety of the Bulgarian provinces of the Empire and even of Constantinople. As a result of the Pecheneg incursions, their image in Byzantine literature underwent essential changes: from distant nomadic people, "who eat lice and live for the most part in wagons" (Leo Diac. 12 13 м ИГОРЬ О. К н яз ь кп й , Византия и к очевник и южнорусск их степей, (Санкт-Петербург, 2003), pp. 46^-8; ПИТЕР Б. ГОЛДЕН, "Религия кыггчаков средневековой Евразии," in А.В. ЕВГАЕВСКИП (ed.), Степи "Европы в эпоху средневек овья VI: Залотоордынск ое время. (Донецк, 2008), р. 333. MALAMUT (see note 4), p. 122. On the opposition Rhomaioi/Barbaroi see: KlLlAN LECH NER, "Byzanz und die Barbaren," Saeculum 6 (1955), pp. 292-306; ALEKSANDR P. KAZHDAN/ANN W. EPSTEIN, Change in Byzantine culture in the eleventh and twelfth centuries (Berkeley/London,! 985), pp. 167-96. Cf. Psell. Chron. II, 33: SATHAS (see note 11), pp. 17.1034). SATHAS (see note 11), pp. 221.28-222.10. More than Enemies 8 9 zyxwvutsrqponml Hist. IX, 12),15 they turned into a tangible and dangerous enemy of the Empire. Under new conditions the perception of the Pechenegs as "invading nomads" approximated the image, which applied to different peoples at different times, including the Huns, Avars, Bulgarians and other "northern" peoples that had been hostile toward the Greeks in earlier times.16 At the same time, Theophylact used the image of the "invading nomads" for the eulogy of the central hero of his oratio — of Emperor Alexius I Comnenus. According to Theophylact, Alexius is the "deputy of God", the governor who is reasonable, penetrating and merciful even toward the despicable "Scythians" whose endangering attacks he had tackled. The description of these characteristics is both due to the purpose of the actual oratio, and to the genre of encomia, representing an ideal emperor's virtues and the essence of his authority. Since Agapetus Diaconus, the image of an ideal governor had become a central topic of Byzantine Fiirstenspiegel and of imperial panegyrics.17 According to the opinion of authoritative scholars of Byzantine political thought, the concept of a divine origin of imperial authority, the definition of the emperor as an "imitation of God" (|ац!Г|тд ЭеоО) and as the "beloved of God" (6socpiXr|g) were basic and constant elements of the Byzantine Kaiseridee.u Agapetus Diaconus (Cap. adm. 37,40) 19 understood the emperor's imitation of God as a means to "place the mercy above all" ( r j y e i o B a i TOD SXEEIV n p o T i p w r e p o v ) . The emperor should "avoid brutality peculiar to animals, and differ from others by his philanthropy assimilating God" (TO JJEV a n a v O p t o n o v , tog б г р о о б е д ш т о а т р е с р б ц е л ю д , TO 5 e c p i X a v 6 p t o n o v , cog O e o e t K s X o vzyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA Јv6eiKVU|aevog). According to the definition of the "godlike governor", Theophylact'szywvutsrponmlkjihgfedcbaZWVUSRPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA oratio consolidates the exaltation of Alexius, reached by his promotion beyond and above imperial divinity that induces the bloodless victory over the barbarians: Carl B. HASE (ed.), Leonis Diaconi Caldensis Historiae libri decern (Bonn, 1828), p. 157.16-18. Cf.: MALAMUT (see note 4), pp. 1 2 2 , 1 3 7 ; STRASSLE (see note 5), p. 307. On a genre o f "mirrors for princes" see: HERBERT HUNGER, Die hochsprachliche profane Literatur der By^aniiner I (Munchen, 1978) pp. 1 5 7 - 6 5 ; GUNTER PRINZING, "Beobachtungen zu ,integrierten' 1'urstenspiegeln der Byzantiner, " Jahrbuch der Osterreichischen By%antinistik 38 (1988) pp. 1 - 3 1 . OTTO TREITINGER, Die ostromische Kaiser- und Reichsidee nach ihrer Gestaltung im bofischen Zeremoniell. Vom ostromischen Staats- und Rsichsgedanken (Darmstadt, 1956), pp. 3 8 - 4 3 ; HERBERT HUNGER, Prooimion. Elemente der by^antinischen Kaiseridee in den Arengen der Urkunden (Wiener Byzantinische Studien I) (Wien, 1964), pp. 4 9 - 8 3 ; IDEM., Reich der neuen Mitte. Der christliche Geist der by»antinischen Kultur (Graz/Wien/Koln, 1965), pp. 6 1 - 6 7 , 7 9 - 8 3 , 1 0 6 ; H G. BECK, Das byzantinische Jahrtausend (Munchen, 1978), pp. 7 8 - 8 0 ; KAZHDAN/EPSTEIN (see note 11), p. I l l ; ЧИЧУРОВ (see note 7), pp. 22, 26. Agapetus Diaconus, Expositio capitum admonitoriorum, ed. by JACQUES—PAUL MlGNE, Patrologia Graeca L X X X V I /1 , col. 1176. 90 Sergei A. Kozlov СНЗтозд а р а ouyx^peT Kcci cpiXoveiKog [ З а р ^а р о с тф trig аретг|д u n e p e x o v t i Kai viKa 0ripico5ri cpuoiv paaiXiKq 0бютг|д [...] to paoiXcwg xE1P<I>v s p y a a a p e v c o v rriv vupiXWVUTR VIKR|V npiv EVEpyrjoai TOV noXepov. ( 2 2 5 . 1 2 - 1 6 ) Thus, even the quarrelsome barbarian recognizes the superiority of virtue, and imperial divinity prevails over natural wildness! [...] surpassing the imperial power which has gained a victory before the war was untied! Analyzing the literary portraits of emperors in the texts of the 9th—12th centuries, ALEKSANDR P. KAZI ID AN uncovered a gradual militarization of the imperial ideal from the late 11th century. It is characterized by attributing the emperor such "chivalrous" virtues as military valour and noble origin.20 By contrast, PAUL MAGDALINO has noticed that Theophylact's zyxwvutsrqpon oratio depicts the representation of Alexius as peacemaker rather than warrior. The oratio mentions traditional virtues of humanity and high morals (prudence, philanthropy and mercy) and it emphasizes their superiority over rough-natured "barbarians".21 In this semantic scheme the image of the enemy supplements the theocratic concept of imperial authority through the concept of patriarchal intercession and it creates an image of the emperor as the protector of peace and happiness for the Rhomaioi: iaK zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCB yvutsrqonmlihgfecaXVTSQPOMLKIHFCA K a i vuv y e u p y o g euoveipoix; fervoug urrviorrei 5 i a Tt)v af)v и лёр nptov aypurrviav Ka i oi) cpavr&Cetai ЈKI36TIV л о т е pev б и о ко ута , л о т е б е к а т е х о у т а , m i a p n pev 5 e o p o 0 v r a , а р п 5Ј то фсрод ё л а у о у т а - aXX' dvereiXev о rjXioc; Kai ёл1 xr|v e p y a o i a v а и то и a x p i g ё о л ё р а д ё ^ё р хЕ та ь 'О rjXiog eyvoo rr|v 5i3otv 22 Kai a v a X u e i то и epyou Kai т р а л е С д у ' ю т а тр acpopiq к а т а к о р о у Kai к р а т е р а лХтрад еХеи б ероу, тф а ф pev крате1 an vq S e r a i , Ttov 5е Еки бсоу ка т е р е и уе т а ! к а ! тоТд cpiXraroic л р о а л а ^е д к а ! r|5Eiog evayKaXtCeTai, 5 i a то v p e y a v AXe^iov o p a v т а О т а ка\ и л' EKEI'VCOV 6 p a a 0 a i S i a x e i v o p e v o c . ( 2 2 7 . 1 6 - 2 4 ) And nowadays (after signing the treaty with the Pechenegs) the peasant has sweet dreams, due to your vigilance over us. He does not dream any more that a Scythian pursues, suffices, ties and threatens him with a sword; but the sun has risen and he leaves on work even till the evenings. The sun has set in the west, and he leaves his work; he arranges a plentiful dinner without fear and has filled a glass with quiet soul. He is pleased with your power, recollects about the Scythians with contempt, jokes with his household, he embraces them pleasantly, reminding them that he sees them and they see him due to Great Alexius! Thus, Theophylact's portrayal of the Pechenegs was motivated by his eulogy of the emperor who defended the Byzantines against bloodshed. Pragmatically, then, his oratio does not strive for an exact image or a real figure of the concrete Pecheneg tribes that struggled with Alexius; it re- 20 ALEKSANDR KAZHDAN, " T h e aristocracy and the imperial ideal," in: M. ANGOLD (ed.), The Byzantine Aristocrag, IX to XIII Centuries (Oxford, 1984), pp. 47, 5 0 - 5 2 ; KAZHDAN, EPSTEIN (see note U ) , p p . 1 1 2 - 1 6 . 21 MAGDALINO (see note 7), p. 419. 22 L X X P s . 103.22-23,19. More than Enemies 91 veals a rhetorical strategy that makes use of the arguably dangerous and wild enemy and the horrors of war with him ("die Rhetorik tritt als Dienerin der Propaganda auf und macht die Petschenegen gewissermassen zu 'rhetorischen Opfern'", according to PAUL M. STRASSLE23). Theophylact uses the literary topos of "invading nomads" created by a certain canon of Byzantine literature and follows a centuries-old tradition of the imperial encomium genre. The idea of this topos also consists in the exaltation of the "godlike emperor" of the Greeks: in the context of encomiastic literatures the image of a dangerous, but defeated enemy acquires properties of propaganda and, in the eyes of the citizens who face fatal threats, ascribes the ruling emperor an aura of divinity and intercession. II. The Semantics of the Name "Scythians" in theyxurnmligedaTSA A lexiade of Anna Comnena Facing a new stage in the development of Byzantine representations of Turkic nomads, thezyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZXWVTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA Alexiade of Anna Comnena (1083—1155)24 provides our main source for the history and chronology of the ByzantinePecheneg war under Alexius I Comnenus. Anna began to write the Alexiade at the age of 55 years. After her unsuccessful complot against her brother, Emperor John II Comnenus, she was compelled to live in a Constantinopolitan monastery she spent the rest of her life in. Accordingly, Anna's work reflects that political situation and those representations of "northern" nomads that were not only generated during the reign of Alexius I, but also during those of his successors, John II (1118—1143) and Manuel I (1143-1180). In contrast to the Theophylact's description, Anna Comnena names the nomads that struggled with Alexius by their own ethnonym, Пат0уотсог/Расапак, which she uses alongside with the traditional designations of the Pechenegs in Byzantine literature, such as "Scythians" and "Barbarians". It is worth considering whether her use of the ethnic names in the Alexiade follows certain rules, and, if so, what she indicates through 23 STRASSLE (see note 5), p. 311. 24 For Anna Comnena and her work see: GYULA MORAVCSIK, Byyantinoturdca I: Die by%an~ tischen Quellen der Geschichte der Turkvolker (Leiden, 1983), pp. 2 1 9 - 2 3 ; HUNGER (see note 13), pp. 4 0 0 - 0 9 ; B. HILL, " T h e Ideal Imperial Komnenian Women," B y Z p 23 (1996), pp. 7 - 1 8 ; THALIA GOUMA-PETERSEN, "Engendered Category or Recognizable Life: Anna ibid., pp. 2 5 - 3 4 . See also: MARGARET MULLET/DlON Komnene and her Alexiad" SMYTHE (ed.), Alexios I Komnenos. Papers of the second Belfast Byzantine Int. Colloquium, 14-16 April 1989 (Vol. I) (Belfast, 1996); THALIA GOUMA-PETERSON (ed.), Anna Komnene and Her Times (London/New York, 2000). 92 Sergei A. Kozlov them. Russian scholarship often follows MIKHAIL V. BLBIKOV's view, according to which Byzantine authors of the 12th and 13th centuries used archaisms, such as "Scythians", "Sarmatians" or "Dacians", for symbolic reasons and as a matter of medieval literary stylistic convention, but their accounts also include specifications of these peoples' geographical, cultural and economic characteristics.25 ThezyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZXWVTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA Alexiade, however, does not allow such a conclusion. The text rather proves the opposite. In fact, the tribes described in the Alexiade, the Pechenegs and Cumans, were located in the same territory and represented the same military and cultural-economic (nomadic) organization, i. e. they had the attributes on the base of which M. V. BlBIKOV would refer to them as "Scythians". Anna Comnena marks the language affinities between the Pechenegs and the Cumans (VIII, 5)26 and she consistently distinguishes between the two groups of Turkic-speaking nomads that not only differ in their active participation in the described events, but also took distinct positions in relation to Byzantium (the Cumans were allies of Byzantium, but the Pechenegs remained hostile). The use of "barbarous" ethnonyms in the Alexiade follows certain rules of distribution: according to P. STEPHENSON, Anna Comnena prefers to use the archaism "Scythians" and its derivative (248 times). Less frequendy she uses the proper names of the nomads: IlaT^ivaKOi (10) and Kojaavoi (81).27 When she uses the name "Scythians", it indicates the Pechenegs, never the Cumans. This observation is essentially important for an investigation in the semantics of the collective name "Scythians", 28 which designates real ethnic Pechenegs in Byzantine texts. In the Alexiade, this name labels the northern nomads as hostile to Byzantium, while the term "Barbarians" does not have that meaning and designates the non-Christian or nonGreek-speaking peoples. Consequendy, one cannot equate the terms "Scythians" and "Barbarians" in Anna Comnena's work (cf. P. M. STRASSLE).29 Similar to the topos of the "invading nomads" by Theophylact, Anna Comnena uses the name "Scythians" in order to emphasize the 25 МИХАИЛ В. БИБИКОВ, " К и зучени ю ви занти й ской э тнони ми и ," Византийск ие очерк и: Тр. сов. ученых к XVI Междунар. к онгр. византинистов (Москва, 1982), pp. 154—56; Idem., Византийск ие источник и по истории древней Руси и Кавк аза, (Санкт-Петербург, 1999), pp. 8 6 - 8 8 ; IDEM., By^antinorossica: Свод византийск их свидетельств о Руси I (Москва, 2004), pp. 31, 35, 3 8 - 3 9 . Cf.: MATHIAS GYONI, " L e nom de ВХСГ/OI dans ['Alexiade d'Anne Comnene," BZ 44 (1951), p. 247. 26 REINSCH/KAMBYLIS (see note 1), pp. 247.74-248.77. 27 STEPHRNSON (see note 2), p. 108. 28 Cf. the description o f "northern" nomads as KOIVWI; катоуода.Соутси LKUQOU at John Historiae (Naples, 1968), Tzetzes ChiL X I I , 896-900: P.A.M. LEON К (ed.), loannis p. 507. STRASSLE (see note 5), p. 306. 29 More than Enemies 93 animosities of the Pechenegs against the Byzantine world, transferring the pejorative characteristics that are linked to this concept. Indirectly, the pejorative element is already given by the etymology of the verb Htymologicum Magnum, a аки^еабш, "be angry", as it is explained in thezyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZXWVTSRQP Byzantine lexical encyclopedia of the mid-12th century:30 s. v. стки^еабаг or||LimvEt т о o p y i C E o Q a i , лара т о и с Е к и б а д . "be angry: means to become angry, from [the names] of Scythians".31 Thus, special emphasis is given to the "anger" of the Scythians and reflected in their name. It is noticeable that the earlier Hesychius' dictionary has the same gloss for the word, but there is no specified etymology given for it: JV v. ак о^еабаг хоАошбш, б о ц о О а б ш , a t c u O p a m d C e i v . 3 2 This might testify that the image of the raging Scythians came up under the influence of the Pecheneg attacks. III. The Origin of the Image of the Pechenegs in theyxurnmligedaTSA A lexiade At first glance, the image of the Pechenegs in Anna Comnena's work is consistent with Theophylact's description. Like Theophylact, Anna con(COTЈlstantly emphasizes the militancy and "countless" numberzyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgf рОяХлб&Тд) of the "Scythians", their innate perfidy, "because all the barbarians by nature are unstable and unable to comply with agreements" ( а а т а т е Т yap tog emnav anav т о |3 a p ( 3 a p o v K a i c m o v 5 a g c p u X a r t E i v o u лефике);33 Anna says that any defeats could not restrain the "boundless 30 31 T . GRAISFORD (ed.), Htymologicon magnum sen verius lexicon saepissime vocabulorum origines indagans ex piuribus lexicis schoBastis et grammatias anonymi cuiusdam opera concinnatum (Oxford, 1848), p. 720,5-6. Cf. similar etymology: Schol. A Нот. A 23; Eust. Thess. Ad II. 723.42-43.On this gloss see: CHARLES DE LAMBERTERIE, " G r e c акиЈду, акиСеовш et les grognements d'Hera," Revue des etudes grnques 1 0 7 /1 (1994), pp. 15-46. 32 P. A. HANSEN (ed.), Hesychii Alexandria pp. 316, 1147. 33 As already mentioned, numerous researchers have argued for the Byzantine authors' sincere efforts in describing the "real" nomads in their works; thus, they may come to judge recorded texts as documenting sources o f nomadic customs and their way o f life. So, ELENA Сн. SKRYZHINSKAYA (see note 9), pp. 2 6 0 - 6 1 , analyzing Anna Comnena's reportthat Alexius, when he agreed upon an alliance with the Cumans against the Pechenegs, was "afraid o f their pliability" (e6e5iei то tiaywyov) since the "Cumans, like all the Barbarians, have a natural adherence to volatility and variability" (oi 5Ё Kopavoi (Ьд Pap(3apoi то KoOcpov teat еоцетофХптоу шд cpuaiKOV TI лароскоХообгцда кектгщеуо!), and draws some conclusions about Cumans' treachery as "характерной для их весьма п римитивной п олитики в отношени и как врагов, так и сою зни ков и п росто соседей ". However, if one considers these reports not in isolation, but in a wider context, it becomes clear that such consideration is misled. Thus, attributing perfidy to the "Barbarians" is a common place among the Greeks since the Antiquity. It was so common that even Chersonesos, in his decree in honour o f Diaphantus (VASS1LY LA1YSCHEV (ed.), Inscriptions antiquae orae lexicon IV: 11-Х (Berlin/New York, 2005), 94 Sergei A. Kozlov audacity" (RF]V &KOC0EKTOV ToXjiav) of the "Scythians" who setded on the banks of the Danube and began to plunder the Roman land as if it were their own. At the same time, Anna's description of the Pechenegs reveals a number of new features that differ significandy from Theophylact's. As menoratio is tioned above, the rhetorical image of the nomads in Theophylact'szyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfed based on the presentation of a godlike Emperor, freeing the Greeks from the "Scythian" danger and bringing peace to the Roman Empire. The mention that the "Scythians" get in the Alexiade is based on a somewhat different principle: Anna portrays Alexis I in accordance with the "chivalrous" imperial ideal of John II Comnenus' epoch 34 and she introduces in his story a number of new data on Pecheneg military tactics, some which contradict the peoples' image built up by her predecessors. In contrast to Psellus' primitive description of the Pechenegs ("Mysians"), according to which the Pechenegs did not obey any military rules in battie, Anna writes that the Pechenegs arranged a plan of batde according to the art of warfare and that die tactic of ordering troops is inbred in them (EK ФШ1КГ|С е л ю т ф л д ЛОХЕЦЕТУ Е 1 5 6 Т Е ^ К Ш к а т а (раХаууа ю т а о б а г : V I I , 3 : 2 1 1 . 5 7 58). In one of her descriptions of a battle against the Pechenegs she writes that "the Barbarians also ordered their troops and sent them to battle according to the art of batde that the Scythians had adopted" (ка! ot ( 3 a p P « p o i CTKUOIKWG л а р а т а ^ а р & У О ! к а г т а с, а т й м zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWV 5 u v a |i Ј i <; я р о д д « х п у КАТААТЛАСФВУО! Е с е к Е а а у JUEV ТТОХЕДОУ « у а ^ т е Т у : V I , 1 4 : 2 0 2 . 3 - 5 ) . Anna reports, moreover, that the Pechenegs used conjoined wagons as fortifications in their warfare against the Greeks: olovei таи; арцаца^ак; то отратеица iXa5dv ката тоО аитократород fjeaav mi г)кро(ЗоМЈ;о\то лоррюбеу. (VII, 3: 211.59-212.61) septentrionalis Ponti Euxini Graecae et Latinae I 2 (Saint-Petersburg, 1916), № 352, among other general characteristics o f the Scythians, mentions their "inherent perfidy" (ejjepuTOe; абесна, line 16) with special emphasis. The fact that Anna does not write about any treaty obligation that was broken by the Cumans indirectly refutes such an interpretation. More-over, there is one Byzantine text that gives a probably quite significant ethnographic description o f Turkic nomads, contradicting the strong tradition o f their perfidy. This is the "Scythian" fragment o f Michael Choniates, according to which nomads strictly observe their treaties (ouv0fiKai) and oaths, although they do not use Christian symbols for indicating their bonds, but the symbol o f a "dog that is cut into halves by a sword" (KUIOV {;iqpei 5IX0T0|I0U|Jf.v0g. The existence o f a similar custom among nomads in the North Pontic region may serve as an argument supporting the record about the Cumans through ethnographic analogies, testified independently by younger contemporaries o f the Byzantine metropolitan - Piano Carpini and Jean de Joinville (КРЮКОВ (see note 8), pp. 3 9 - 4 4 ; Cf. similar customs o f proto-Bulgarians: И. ДУЙЧЕВ, "Славяно-болгарски е дренности IX-го века," By^antinoslavica 1 1 /1 (1950), p. 14, note 49. 34 MAGDALINO (see note 7), p. 419; R. NKLSON, " T h e Emperor in Byzantine Art o f the Twelfth Century," B ^ F 8 (1982), pp. 1 2 8 - 3 0 . 95 More than Enemies ( T h e P e c h e n e g s ] built t o w e r s , as it w e r e , o f their c o v e r e d w a g o n s , a n d a d v a n c e d against the E m p e r o r in s q u a d r o n s , a n d hurled missiles f r o m afar. T«V о juev ouv П а Х а ю Х о у о д кга о М а и р о к а х а к а Х ш у Грг)уо рю д x o v р е т аvupiXWVUTRQON rfat^ivaKcov ave|3aXXovxo TtoXepov [ . . . ] 'oiypa yap гщад ка б ю тХ ю р ё уо и д pex' e v x a ^i a g I k u B o i ouxu Oewpevoi ои барсод fiopeuopevoug xov каб ' npcov а я о О а р р п о о и о ! n o X e p o v ' , sXtyov. 'ei 5 e Kai oi imreig a x e p xtovzyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedc dpaЈcov xou яо Хёро и raxaxoXpnaeiav, ei) To0i, r|xxr|0f|oovxai.' ( V I I , 3: 2 1 0 . 1 1 - 1 7 ) Paleologus and G r e g o r i u s M a u r o c a t a c a l o n v o t e d for deferring the war with the P e c h e n e g s [ . . . ] ' I f t h e Scythians said they see us m a r c h i n g in g o o d o r d e r and in full array, they certainly will n o t dare t o attack us. A n d should, by c h a n c e , a few h o r s e m e n w i t h o u t chariots risk an e n g a g e m e n t , y o u c a n b e sure that they will b e worsted.' A.5piavoc 5ё о xou KpaxoOvxog абеХсрод [...], xtiv xcov LKOOWV oppr)v avvmotoxov 0 e a a a p e v o g oXoug puxrjpag ev6oug Kai p e /p i xcov a p a ^t o v e a u x o v epPaXwv е л е г г а Y e w a i w g ayoovioapEvog р е х а ё л х а Kai povtov OTaveaxpeipe xcov aXXwv cmavxwv пра xcov Е к и б й у алоосрауёУхсоу, Ttov 5 e KaxaoxeOevxwv. (VII, 3: 2 1 2 . 7 2 - 7 7 ) : A d r i a n , t h e e m p e r o r ' s b r o t h e r [ . . . ] , seeing that t h e Scythians' o n s e t turned out irresistible, spurred his h o r s e a n d charged right u p t o t h e w a g o n s . A f t e r fighting magnificently he returned with only seven c o m r a d e s . All the rest had b e e n either slain o r captured by the Scythians. Thus, according to Anna Comnena, the Byzantine commanders considered the "Scythian" wagons as the determinative factor in conflicts with the Pechenegs, causing the Greeks' heavy defeats. Seemingly, using conjoined wagons as fortification (azyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZXWVTSRQPONMLKJIHGFE laager or Wagenburg) was one of the tactical tricks of the Turkic-Mongol peoples,35 including the Pechenegs, and also outlined in Michael Attaliates' Historia.Зб Since Anna's source regarding this case is still not clear, one may assume that it was late enough. Though she herself refers to eye-witness accounts of the participants of the Pecheneg war, this sort of references is not always trustworthy. Moreover, the Byzantine commanders she mentions would have been in rather advanced age at the time of the composition of the Alexiade. It is striking that Anna writes that "Scythian" wagons created a strong impression on the Greeks, while direct contemporaries of Alexius I — Theophylact the Bulgarian and John Zonaras — convey nothing about it. In consequence, 35 See, for example: Г1.В. ГОАУБОВСКИЙ, " С какого времени можно п роследи ть на ю ге Руси сп особ защи ты табором?" in П.С. УВАРОВ, С.С. СЛУЦКИЙ (ed.) Труды Х1Археол. съезда в Киеве в 1899 г. И (Москва, 1902), pp. 7 1 - 8 1 ; СВЕТЛАНА П. ПЛЕТНЁВА, " О п остроени и кочевни ческого лагеря-вежи ," Советск ая археология 3 (1964), pp. 133—40; Г.А. ФЁДОРОВ-ЛАВЫЛОВ, Кочевник и Восточной Европы под властью золотоордынск их ханов: Археологическ ие памятник и (Москва, 1966), р. 92, who brought Rashid ad-Din's report about a Mongolian military camp made o f wagons joined with each other and arranged in a circle. 36 I. BEKKER (ed.), Michaelis Altaliotae Historia (Bonn, 1853), p. 3 2 . 1 8 - 2 1 . 96 Sergei A. Kozlov one cannot even exclude the possibility that these military-related details may have originated from the author herself, eventually reflecting a later state of knowledge about the Pechenegs' tactics. Like Anna, two authors of the 13th century, John CinnamuszywvutsrponmlkjihgfedcbaZWVUSRPONMLKJIHGFE (Hist. I, 3)37 and Nicetas Choniates,38 attest the "Scythian" wagons an important role in the batties between Greeks and "Scythians". In Cinnamus' narration about the last "Scythian" incursion into Byzantium during John II Comnenus' reign,39 which ended with the defeat of the Barbarians, he writes that during the retreat a group of "Scythians" decided to continue fighting; they built barricades with their wagons, which they joined with each other and covered with bull OVTO n p o n o v o u j u e v o i T&V a p a ^c o v , a c leather (TOV KI'V5UVOV u t t O O T r j v a i EIXyvutsrqonmlihgfecaXVTSQPOMLKIHFCA P O E I O K ; a v c o O e v p u p a a i c ; H Ј p t X a ( 3 o v T Ј <; ) . For a long time, the Byzantines did not manage to take the enemy's camp. Then the emperor ordered to cut die "Scythian" wagons by the pole-axes, and soon they surrendered. With this episode, Cinnamus concludes the story about the fights between the Greeks and the "Scythians". There is one more example of a striking similarity between two wars with nomads. In both cases a victory over the "Scythians" is represented as decisive and final: Theophylact and other authors following the official panegyric tradition in John's II reign, testify the total defeat of some invading nomads.40 At the same time Anna Comnena claims that Alexius I obtained a major victory over the Pechenegs in the battie at Levunion, Thrace, on April 29,1091: Kai QV i5etvvupiXWVUTRQONKIEC БЕСЕДАzyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDC raivov, E'6VO<; OXOV, OU |4upiav6ptOTov,zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZXWV aXk' api6|j6v anavra urreppouvov, ouv yuvai ^I к ш TEKVOIQ ap5r|v к а т а raurr|vi rr)v N|je.pav аяоХазХос;. ( V I I I , 5: 2 4 8 . 6 ­ 8 ) T h a t day a u n p r e c e d e n t e d s h o w t o o k place: All t h e people, m e n , w o m e n a n d children, w e r e lost. T h e n u m b e r o f p e o p l e surpassed ten thousand, they w e r e u n countable. There is an obvious contradiction: according to one account, the Pechenegs were crushed by Alexius I in 1091, according to the other the "last" war against them took place during the reign of John II in 1122—23. Scholars offered various explanations for this contradiction.41 M.V. 37 A. MEINEKE (ed.), Ioannis Cinnami Epitome rerum ab loanne et Alexio Comnenis gestarum (Bonn, 1836), pp. 8.5-10. 38 J.L. VAN DlETEN (ed.), Nicetae Choniatae Historia I (Berlin/New York, 1975), pp. 15.71-73. 39 '['hereupon Choniates mentions die ethnonym o f Pechenegs: rtov Пе т^а кс о у: 16.12-13. 40 Wolfram HORANDNER (ed.), Theodores Prodromes. Historische Gedkhte (Wien, 1974), fr. 5, 25; fr. 25, 3 6 - 3 7 ; fr. 71, 19; Paul GAUTIER (ed.), Michel Italikos. Lettres et discours (Paris, 1972), pp. 83.18-24; A. GARZYA (ed.), Nicephori Basilacae orationes et epistolae (Leipzig, 1984), p. 119.10-15. 41 See, for example: ЗЛАТАРСК11 (see note 2), pp. 3 6 6 - 3 7 0 ; PETER B. GOLDEN, " T h e peoples o f the south Russian steppes," in: DENIS SlNOR (ed.), The Cambridge History of Early In- More than Enemies 97 claims that Anna's description of the Pechenegs' total defeat in 1091 could simply be explained by the fact that her work is wholly devoted to the reign of Alexius I Comnenus. The last Pecheneg attack during that time took place in 1091 indeed.42 This explanation, however, is not very convincing. It completely ignores the historical context of the composition of thezyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZXWVTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA Alexiade which was written after the "Scythian" war of John II, and it contradicts the trends of Anna's narrative about the "terrible war" (лоХерос; 6eivd<;) with the Pechenegs. A possible defeat of the Byzantine troops in this war could mean the threat of a "complete destruction" (q лаушХебрга) of the Empire, and the outcome of the war was the annihilation of the "whole people" (e'Ovog oXov). John Zonaras testifies that the episode about the utter annihilation of captives is composed by Anna (Epit. hist. XVIII, 23).43 According to him, the emperor settled the captive Pechenegs in Moglena. In my opinion, the similar tenor in which the two wars against the Pechenegs are described, as well as the common details about military tactics of the nomads, do not allow to assume a coincidental parallel (though plausible, taking into account the cliched nature of Byzantine literature). It is yet far more reasonable to link the similarity to a creative plan on Anna's side. For an explanation of how there could be a connection between the two events, it is necessary to remember the time and circumstances the Alexiade was composed in. First of all, Anna creates her "panegyric" to Alexius Comnenus in an epoch in which the official propaganda eulogizes the new ruling emperor — John II, the one she plotted against and who drove her into monastic exile. According to Georgius Tornices, a secretary and close friend of Anna, there existed a literaryphilosophical circle formed around her in the monastery, comprising "many outstanding scholars, experts in letters and arts" (XoyiKCCV елштгциооу лроЕ^архоутад - лоХХо! 5e r|oav ourot Kai Oaupaarot).44 In R O B E R T B R O W N I N G ' S opinion, this circle consisted of people who were in disfavor of John's court.45 Hence it is reasonable to assume Anna BLBIKOV nerAsia (Cambridge, 1990), p. 275; MALAMUT (sec note 4), pp. 1 4 2 - 4 7 ; BlRKENMEIER (see note 2), p. 90; CURTA (see note 2), pp. 3 1 2 - 1 4 ; SPINEI (see note 2), pp. 1 2 0 - 2 7 . 42 БИБИКОВ (see note 20), p. 207. 43 DlNDORF (see note 1), p. 242.1-8. 44 J, DARROUZES (ed.), Georges et Demetrios Tornikes. Lettns ed discourse (Paris, 1970), p. 2 8 1 . 4 11. Anna Comnena's education and writing talent were most appreciated by her contemporaries: ЯКОВ H. ЛЮБАРСКИЙ (ed.), Анна Комнина. Алек сиада (Москва, 1965), pp. 18-19; JAMES HOWARD-JOHNSTON, "Anna Komnene and the Alexiad" in MULLET/SMYTHE (see note 19), pp. 265—66. 45 ROBERT BROWNING, " A n unpublished funeral oration on Anna Comnena," Proceedings oj the Cambridge Philological Society 188 (1962), p. 8. 98 Sergei A. Kozlov Comnena's actual and eventually supported opposition against John. 46 Her political intentions could be veiled in the illumination of historical events in thezyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZXWVTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA Alexiade, but were certainly noticed by high-rank contemporaries of the disgraced princess. Her idealized image of Alexius as the unconditional winner over the enemies of Byzantium served her as a silent reproach to the successors of the first Comnenus and opposed them indirecdy. So, according to Anna, Alexius achieved peace for the Empire, and if after his death the situation developed poorly, that was because of the "foolishness" (dpeX-nipiCX) of those who inherited to him (XIV, 3: 438.41-43). Thus, Anna Comnena, describing the Alexius' feats in his war against the Pechenegs, draws an analogy to John's reign. Before such a background it was psychologically natural for the writer "to mix" two recent "Scythian" wars, recalling to the children's memoirs that imposed on her at the moment when she wrote the passages about the Pechenegs in the Alexiade. Alexander BEIHAMMER has recendy adduced arguments for the hypothesis that die historical accounts in the Alexiade are of heterogeneous nature.47 Analyzing the problem of Christian authors' perception of Seljuk Turks, he pointed at the chronological contradiction between the names and terms used by Anna and her description of epochal conflicts with Seljuk emirs. Comparing the information of the Alexiade and other data, he proves the assumption that Anna's historical description of Byzantium and Seljuk relations at the end of thell t h and early 12th century is written through the prism of the 1140s and presenting contemporary events in the historical context of Asia Minor. Thus, the correspondence of some details and the general tone of Anna Comnena's narrative about the Pecheneg war in 1086—91 with the tradition about the "Scythian" war in 1122—23 may serve as an argument to date the Alexiade: in the era after the "Scythian" campaign of John II Comnenus. By analogy with the most popular military exploits of John II, Anna turns to the story of the confrontation with the Pechenegs, defending themselves with wagons, and concludes her narration with the report about the complete destruction of the Pechenegs. In contrast to Theophylact, whose oratio is in line with the ideas of the second half of the 11th century by depicting the Pechenegs as "invading nomads" in order to eulogize the reigning emperor Alexius Comnenus for his peace with the "Scythians", Anna Comnena's image of the Pechenegs absorbs the information of the later period. It can be considered as a result of the author's opportunistic rethinking of the second third of the 12th century. On die 46 For Anna's opposition to J o h n II, see: Анн а Ком ни на (see note 44), pp. 35—36. 47 ALEXANDER BEIHAMMER, " D i e Ethnogenese der seldschukischen Tiirken im Urteil christlicher Geschichtsschreiber des 11. und 12. [ahrhunderts," BZ 1 0 2 /2 (2009), pp. 5 8 9 614. More than Enemies 99 one hand, it was aimed at Alexius' exaltation as the clear winner over the "Scythians", on the other hand at a literary devaluation of the military successes of his successor, glorified for the victory over die same people by official propaganda contemporary to Anna.