Pronoia

Pronoia (by ancient Greek. Πρόνοια "precautionary ", plural πρόνοιαι Pronoiai ) (also oikonomia or posotes, income) was in the late Byzantine Empire, the award of the income or the tax ( posotes ) of a piece of land an individual or a group of people, especially in return for military obligations. This could the duties and work obligations ( angareiai, usually 12-24 days a year ) dependent farmers ( paroikoi ), but also the taxes of fish ponds, mines, mills or port facilities. Since the award was made by the Emperor himself, the recipients were probably not ordinary officers or soldiers, but have the upper class or even the nobility be attributed.

The farms concerned were strateuoumenoi, called the corresponding stratiotai soldiers. The service obligation was apparently perceived by foreign persons. The Pronoiar had during a campaign for his own catering arise ( Bartusis 1992, 255).

The Early Pronoia System

In the 11th century, the Byzantine aristocracy had lost its entire power and clung instead to honor titles that were given to its members because of their relationship to the emperor. These titles were often used to obtain power within the government, which could also be so large that they equaled the throne itself. In the reign of Emperor Constantine IX. (1042-1055) then began the nobles in order to claim the supremacy in different parts of the empire, by there exacted taxes for themselves and were planning uprisings against the Emperor.

In the late 11th century, Alexios tried I. a needle reform, in which he divided kingdom land without heredity among the affected people, kompensative measure by which it further removed the needle from Constantinople Opel, and thus it harder made ​​them, the power of the Emperor directly challenge. Nevertheless, there were most Pronoiai for their own families, the Komnenen. This measure legitimized Alexios the land of the aristocrats and held him at the same time under central control.

Pronoia in the 12th century

Alexios grandson Manuel I (reigned 1143-1180 ) continued the allocation of land to the aristocrats and extended the system of the aristocratic officers in the army, which he paid so instead of paying them a regular salary. Pronoiai developed into a license by the citizens who lived within the boundaries of the area, the Paroikoi to raise taxes. Pronoiaren (those where Pronoia was given ) were sometimes tax collectors, who were allowed to retain a portion of the revenue for themselves.

In the earlier research sometimes the attempt was made, to be regarded as a preliminary form of the Pronoia themes Constitution: Since the mid-7th century the kingdom ( subjects ) was divided into military districts have been. Since the soldiers were granted from the middle of the 8th century, the country as a replacement for missing military pay, it was believed that these soldiers goods ( stratiotika ktemata ) a similar function as in later times the Pronoiasystem would have had. However, modern research has revised this thesis in many parts, since there is no evidence for the introduction of Proniasystems before the 12th century. Rather, the families of soldiers in the 8th century goods were not obliged to do so, family members, the soldiers had to support. Well only in the 10th century the military obligation of holders of such goods has been demanded legally binding by the state. In the second half of the 10th century, however, this system fell progressively. In the research is pretty clear distinction between the issues Stratioten Constitution and the subsequent holders of Pronoiai.

Anyway, the Paroikoi of Pronoia system were not serfs like the farmers in feudal Western Europe. They owed the strategos or Pronoiaren no services and no truth, and in both cases the emperor was still the owner of the land. The Pronoiar originated most likely not even from the area, which had been given him.

Size and value of the Pronoia, the number of Paroikoi and the duties which they owed were recorded in internships. A Pronoiar could probably take revenue from trading and parts of the grain harvest in itself, hunting and hold traffic rights. An internship also included the duties owed ​​by the Pronoiar the Emperor. If necessary, the imperial military service could demand, the Pronoiar its taxpayers could not force them to join him. Pronoiare rendered these military service often reluctantly from when they lived on their estates in prosperity, and they were autonomous in a sense, when they decided not to make any result of the prompt. If they won the support of their taxpayers, they could lead rebellions against the Empire, but were not as dangerous as riots in the capital itself, which could avoid Alexios successfully with his system. Neither Alexius nor Manuel, nor the other emperors of the 12th century seem to have worried about these rebellions in the provinces, since they thought apparently that Pronoia gift would eventually pacify the rebellious nobles. Even during the Fourth Crusade Emperor Alexios IV thought so when he was in the assumption Crete to Boniface of Montferrat, that the Crusaders would go again as soon as their leaders would get some land.

Pronoia under the Palaiologos

After the Crusaders had conquered Constantinople Opel in 1204, the Pronoia system persisted in the Empire of Nicaea. John III. Dukas Batatzes (reigned 1222-1254 ) was Pronoia also to the Church and aristocratic women, what it had existed previously. When Michael VIII Palaiologos ( ruled 1259-1282 ) Konstantin Opel had recaptured in 1261, Pronoia became hereditary, what more did the Empire into a feudal state in Europe. He had also certify the Pronoia, according to realistically determine their value to the current conditions, especially since the Empire had lost much of its land and income since the 11th century. Among the Palaiologues the Pronoiaren could be easily brought into military units, if the Emperor wished their service. The emperor could confiscate the income for any reason. Andronikos III. (reigned 1328-1341 ), for example, put the money raised by the Pronoiaren in order to finance his campaigns against the Bulgarians, but urged the Pronoiaren not even for military service at. During this time Pronoiaren followers could rally around themselves by themselves likewise assigned Pronoiai.

To recruit Pronoiare to raise an army, was helpful to a the remains of the Empire after 1261. At that time there were only a few thousand Pronoiare with which the emperor, although they wore their own costs, could man not a full army or fleet to meet the defense tasks. The impoverished Empire had a very low tax revenues, and Pronoiare began to remove the Paroikoi lease, so they returned to the old system of topics.

The empire continued to lose land to the Ottomans, and Konstantin Opel finally went in 1453 lost - the Ottomans, however, put in by them conquered territories the Pronoia system in their own version in principle continued after they adopted it from the Byzantines during their conquests area by area had. In Serbia, the Nemanjić the Pronoia system was adopted as Pronija that Pronijari soldiers were mostly farmers who received for their military service and country from whose revenue they had to finance their Kriegsaustattung.

Interpretation

For the famous Russian Byzantinists Georg Ostrogorsky the Pronoia were signs of feudalization the late Byzantine society. Bartusius other hand, sees the Pronoia rather as a benefice.