We talk about the challenges which Michael Palaiologos and the Nicaens faced as they prepared to move back to Constantinople.
Period: 1204-61
| Pic: Michael VIII Palaiologos. Miniature portrait in a manuscript of George Pachymeres’ Historia, early 14th century |
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The History of Byzantium 
I don’t believe that recapturing Constantinople was ever necessary to maintain that the empire continued on post-1204. Suggesting that an ethnic state must revolve around a particular city is a misguided interpretation of statehood, one often used to deny the East Romans of their heritage and imperial legitimacy, thus why they get the label ‘Byzantine.’ The empire frequently changed capitals in the days of antiquity, from Rome to Ravenna to Milan to just wherever the Emperor might be campaigning that year, it even almost became Syracuse post-476. As time went on, Rome itself lost its legitimizing importance, relegated to a cultural symbol that even became unnecessary to hold post-476 for the empire’s continuation. When Constantinople was sacked and occupied, it wasn’t only a cultural symbol but also the administrative and economic epicenter of the Empire, an undeniably huge blow to the state, but not one that should suggest the empire would’ve ceased to exist if it had never been recaptured. Especially since the majority of Romans still viewed the Emperor in Nicea as upholding the Roman world order, legitimizing his state as the Roman Empire, which I believe is more important than merely controlling Constantinople or Rome for that matter. This is why the Ottomans cannot truly be considered Roman Emperors, since the Romans themselves never viewed their Turkish overlords as such. A modern example would be if Washington D.C., the Pentagon and all of the east coast of the US were occupied by a foreign force for centuries, to the point that they became unattainable. This scenario would not mean that the President and the government now stationed in, I don’t know, Idaho was anything less than the legitimate American government, so long as they could trace their political legitimacy from 1776 onwards and the majority of Americans looked to them as their government. This is why no matter the outcome of Constantinople, the Emperor in Nicea would still maintain the status of ruling the Roman Empire, and to suggest otherwise would call into question the very legitimacy of the Empire post-476 and post-Charlemagne, since the Empire did not control Rome beyond that point (except for that little bit of time thanks to Belisarius).
To be clear. What I said was that had the Nicaean state never retaken Constantinople I would not consider them to be a continuation of THE Roman Empire. I would still consider them a Roman state. And one that had inherited most of its traditions from that state. But I think it would have become something fundamentally different if it never aimed to retake a central capital from which its ideology (that they were THE Christian Empire) would make sense.
It’s interesting, I didn’t think of recapturing Constantinople as carrying any drawbacks, but you explained it well. I try to imagine being born in the Nicaean state, only ever knowing that, then being told everything is moving to this city you’ve only ever heard stories about.
I think I can understand it a bit, though. I never had much attachment to a single place personally since I moved a lot throughout my life, but just look at how a lot of people view Jerusalem today, even if they have no personal stake in the outcome of that conflict. Maybe a city can be more a symbol than anything, though Constantinople was definitely more than a symbol with its massive walls and strategic location.
Thanks for the podcast so far. I barely knew anything about the eastern empire before outside of the scraps you get from the IB history courses in high school, but it is a fascinating place and time. I look forward to learning about the last centuries of the empire.
🙂