Byzantine beacon system

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Course of the main beacon line between Constantinople and Loulon on the Cilician Gates

In the 9th century, during the

Asia Minor to the Byzantine capital, Constantinople
.

According to the Byzantine sources (

Mt. Saint Auxentius (modern Kayış Dağı) south-east of Chalcedon (modern Kadıköy) and the lighthouse (Pharos) of the Great Palace in Constantinople.[1][2] This main line was complemented by secondary branches that transmitted the messages to other locations, as well as along the frontier itself.[3]

The main line of beacons stretched over some 720 km (450 mi). In the open spaces of central

water clocks placed at the two terminal stations, Loulon and the Lighthouse. Different messages were assigned to each of twelve hours, so that the lighting of a bonfire on the first beacon on a particular hour signalled a specific event and was transmitted down the line to Constantinople.[2][3]

According to some of the Byzantine chroniclers, the system was disbanded by Theophilos' son and successor, Michael III (r. 842–867) because the sight of the lit beacons and the news of an Arab invasion threatened to distract the people and spoil his performance as one of the charioteers in the Hippodrome races. This tale is usually dismissed by modern scholars as part of a deliberate propaganda campaign by 10th-century sources keen to blacken Michael's image in favour of the succeeding Macedonian dynasty.[4][5] If indeed there is some element of truth in this report, it may reflect a cutting-back or modification of the system, perhaps due to the receding of the Arab danger during Michael III's reign.[3] The surviving portions of the system or a new but similar one seem to have been reactivated under Manuel I Komnenos (r. 1143–1180).[3]

See also

Citations

  1. ^ Haldon (1990), pp. 132–135, notes on pp. 254–255
  2. ^ a b Toynbee (1973), p. 299
  3. ^ a b c d e Foss (1991), pp. 273–274
  4. ^ Haldon (1990), pp. 134–135, note on p. 255
  5. ^ Toynbee (1973), pp. 299–300, 582ff.

General and cited sources

  • Haldon, John F. (1990). Constantine Porphyrogenitus: Three treatises on imperial military expeditions. Vienna: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften.
    ISBN 3700117787
    .
  • Foss, Clive (1991). "Beacon". In
    ISBN 0-19-504652-8
    .
  • ISBN 0-19-215253-X
    .
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