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Blues and Greens in the Byzantine Empire

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Charioteers of the Green, Red, White and Blue demes; part of a third-century AD mosaic in the Museo Nazionale Romano.

The Blues (Greek: Βένετοι, romanized: Vénetoi) and Greens (Greek: Πράσινοι, romanized: Prásinoi) were the dominant two of the four demes in the Byzantine Empire. The other two were the Whites (Greek: Λευκοὶ, romanized: Leukoí) and Reds (Greek: Ῥούσιοι, romanized: Rhoúsioi), who cooperated with the Blues and Greens respectively.[1] Beginning in the days of Augustus as chariot racing factions, the colour divisions gradually covered other aspects of daily life such as theatre, and by the fifth century they became more akin to gangs or political parties.[note 1]

Between the 5th and 8th centuries, the demes grew so powerful that they participated in the political and religious conflicts of the time,[3] terrorised the city with their frequent riots, had their own official militias,[4] made and unmade emperors, and were sometimes called on by the emperors for tasks like repelling invasions and repairing the city walls.[5] Entire neighbourhoods and guilds were described as pro-Blue or pro-Green. Theodore Balsamon, in his commentary on the Council in Trullo, noted that even the emperor had no authority over the demes.[6] However, beginning in the 7th century, the demes gradually weakened and became integrated into the imperial government.[1]

Etymology

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The factions were referred to in Greek using the word δῆμος (plural δῆμοι), which meant "people". There are two different opinions in scholarship about how the word for "people" came to also mean "circus factions". One position, that of Alan Cameron, is that it was a calque of the Latin populi, which meant both "people" and "members of a guild".[7] Another view, espoused by Constantin Zuckerman, is that both senses of the word δῆμοι (people and circus factions) actually referred to a specific class of citizens, who were entitled to public distributions of grain and who had an interest in public entertainment such as chariot racing.[8]

Another, more technical word for the factions was μέρος.[9]

History

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Mosaic from Lyon illustrating a chariot race with the four factions: Blue, Green, Red and White

Origins

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The origins of the demes lie in the Roman Republic, when certain individuals known as domini factionum would hire out horses and other necessary equipment and personnel to the agonothetes, who organised the chariot racing games. According to Tertullian, there were originally only Reds and Whites,[10] but the Blues, Greens, Reds and Whites were established by the first century AD. The majority of the domini factionum were equites, and it concerned the senators that people of a lower class than them could earn so much wealth and power through the horse breeding industry. By the fourth century, the industry had been nationalised.[11]

A more fanciful origin story of the demes is given by John Malalas, who says that, when Romulus saw that the Romans "were angry and resistant to him on account of his brother's death", he invented the factions to divide them against each other. "So the inhabitants of Rome were divided into factions, and no longer were in concord with each other, because they desired their own victory and devoted themselves to their faction as to some religion".[12] This myth, or a version of it, appears in several other chronicles, and in the writings of Isidore of Pelusium, who speaks of the demes as a political machination.[13]

It is commonly assumed that the Blues, Greens, Reds and Whites were equal once, but that the Blues and Greens slowly grew to dominate the Reds and Whites. However, this narrative has been challenged by Cameron, who noted that, from as early as the Julio-Claudians, every emperor whose favoured deme is known supported either the Blues (e.g. Vitellius, Caracalla) or the Greens (e.g. Caligula, Nero, Domitian, Lucius Verus, Commodus, Elagabalus). Marcus Aurelius stated that he was "neither Blue nor Green".[14] From that and other evidence, Cameron argues that the circus faction rivalry had always been between the Blues and Greens.

Height

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A winner of a chariot race, from the Greens

Despite beginning as mere sports fanclubs, the demes got involved with the political and even religious disputes of the time. For example, during the Chalcedonian Schism, the Blues generally aligned with the Chalcedonians, and the Greens with the non-Chalcedonians. However, this was not a solid rule, as there were many Chalcedonian Greens (like Maurice) and non-Chalcedonian Blues (like Theodora).[15] Certain neighbourhoods (like Zeugma, now Unkapanı [tr]) were known to be pro-Green, and others (like Pittakia) were known to be pro-Blue. Many historians believe that the Greens were more working-class than the Blues.[16]

The Nika Riots are the most famous of the many riots caused by the demes, but there were also other times when the Blues and Greens put aside their differences and united against the government. John Malalas records another incident,[note 2] when the city prefect Zemarchus tried to arrest a young man from the Greens named Kaisarion, but for two days the Greens and Blues battled the imperial soldiers to protect him. Despite Justinian repeatedly sending excubitors as reinforcements, and all sides suffering heavy casualties, the Greens and Blues managed to push the soldiers to the Forum of Constantine, the Forum of Theodosius, and finally the praetorium. Justinian eventually pardoned them and dismissed Zemarchus.[18]

Kom El Deka in Alexandria. 6th century graffiti on the seats shows support for the Blues and Greens.

The demes caused disturbances not only in Constantinople, but as far away as Syria and Egypt. For example, according to John Malalas, in 490 the Greens started a pogrom and massacred the Jewish population of Antioch, until Theodore, the Prefect of the East, suppressed them. When Emperor Zeno, who was a supporter of the Greens, heard of it, he joked "Why did you burn only the dead Jews? It was necessary to burn the living Jews as well."[12][note 3] In another occasion, the Greens and Blues (Greek: πρασινοβενέτων) in Antioch rose up with the Judeo-Samaritan revolt of Julianus ben Sabar in 529, and killed their fellow Christians.[20][21] The Egyptian chronicler John of Nikiu wrote about the chaos caused by the demes in Egypt, such as the Aykelah revolt, while the monk Strategius complained that the Blues and Greens in Jerusalem were plundering Christians and fighting each other.[22]

The demes had their own militias, the demotai (δημόται), with an official registry (κατάλογος). The militias had a small nucleus of registered members (in 602, there were 900 Blues and Whites, and 1500 Greens and Reds) but could mobilise many more in times of need.[23] They sometimes helped the government repel foreign invasions. Theophanes the Confessor reports that, when Zabergan crossed the Anastasian Walls in 559, Belisarius drove him away using the imperial cavalry, the horses of all the citizens, and the horses of the Hippodrome.[5][note 4] Another example of the demotai being recruited by the government occurs in the chronicle of John of Antioch. The demotai similarly helped defend Constantinople when it was besieged in 626. In 610, when Phocas saw the fleet of Heraclius on the horizon, he ordered the Greens to guard the Harbours of Caesarion and Sophia, and the Blues to guard the quarter of Hormisdas. Heraclius later had the banner of the Blues burned in the Hippodrome to shame them for their treason.[26]

Charioteers in the red tunics of their faction from the Charioteer Papyrus (c. 500)

On several occasions, the militias also helped repair the Walls of Constantinople. When the walls were damaged by an earthquake on 26 January 447, the Blues and Greens supplied 16,000 men between them for the rebuilding effort, and restored the walls in a record 60 days.[27] The gate now known as Yeni-Mevlevihane-Kapısı was once called Πόλη τοῦ Ρουσίου, or "Gate of the Reds". According to Andreas David Mordtmann [de], it was named so because it was built by the Reds.[28]

After the death of Anastasius I Dicorus in 518, the excubitors hoped to make a man named John the next emperor, but were unable to because the Blues disapproved. Later, the Greens blocked Germanus's imperial ambitions on account of his favouritism towards the Blues. These incidents illustrate the growing power of the demes.[29][30]

Decline

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Beginning in the 7th century, the demes slowly started becoming more official. The first mention of both demarchs (official leaders of a deme) and of an official registry of Blues and Greens dates back to 602, and occurs in the History of Theophylact Simocatta.[31] A certain John Crucis was appointed by Maurice as the leader of the Greens; he started a riot[note 5] and was later burned alive by Phocas, for which the Greens retaliated by setting fire to the praetorium.[32][33] John of Nikiu also names two demarchs who were active in Egypt during the Siege of Babylon Fortress in 640: Menas, the leader of the Greens, and Cosmas the son of Samuel, the leader of the Blues.

In later centuries, the demes, whose leaders were appointed by the government, came to be subordinate to it. By the 10th century, their salaries were paid by the praipositos. They had dedicated places in the Hippodrome, in the Great Palace and in imperial processions. The poems of Theodore Prodromos indicate that they were still performing ceremonial functions in the 12th century.[1]

Modern parallels

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The Blues and Greens are often compared to modern-day football hooligans. The Internet Medieval Sourcebook noted some similarities to the rivalry between Glasgow's two Old Firm football clubs: Celtic and Rangers. Celtic fans wear green to support their team, while Rangers fans wear blue. Their rivalry had religious and political aspects, with Celtics fans being generally Catholic and voting Labour, and Rangers fans being Protestant and voting Conservative.[34]

Notes

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  1. ^ The analogy with political parties, while convenient, is cautioned against by some historians such as Alan Cameron.[2]
  2. ^ Greek: Πέμψας τινὰς τῶν κομενταρησίων Ζίμαρχος ὁ ἔπαρχος ἐπὶ τῷ κρατῆσαί τινα νεώτερον ὄνομα Καισάριον, ἀντέστησαν οἱ τῆς γειτονίας τῶν Μαζεντιόλου καὶ ἐκύλλωσαν πολλοὺς στρατιώτας καὶ αὐτούς γε μὴν τοὺς κομενταρησίους... καὶ οὐ συνέβαλον μετὰ τῶν πρασίνων οἱ τοῦ βενέτου μέρους, ἀλλ' ἦν ἡ μάχη αὐτῶν μετὰ τῶν ἐξσκουβιτόρων καὶ τῶν στρατιωτῶν.[17]
  3. ^ Greek: Διὰ τί τοὺς νεκροὺς μόνον τῶν Ἰουδαίων ἔκαυσαν; ἐκπῆν γὰρ αὐτοὺς καὶ τοὺς ζῶντας Ἰουδαίους καῦσαι[19]
  4. ^ "Belisarius took every horse, including those of the emperor, of the Hippodrome, of religious establishments, and from every ordinary man who had a horse."[24] (Greek: ὁ δὲ Βελισάριος ἔλαβε πᾶσαν τὴν ἵππον, τήν τε βασιλικὴν καὶ τοῦ ἱππικοῦ καὶ τῶν εὐαγῶν οἴκων καὶ παντὸς ἀνθρώπου, ὅπου ἦν ἵππος)[25]
  5. ^ This riot was so notorious it was mentioned by the author of the Doctrina Jacobi, who wrote "When Phocas became emperor in Constantinople, as a Green I betrayed Blue Christians, and denounced them as Jews and mamzirs. And when the Greens under Crucis burnt the Mese and perpetrated evil, as a Blue I again beat up Christians, insulting them as Greens and denouncing them as incendiaries and Manichaeans."[32]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Kazhdan 1991, p. 769
  2. ^ Cameron 1976
  3. ^ Booth 2011, p. 601
  4. ^ Manojlović 1936, p. 622
  5. ^ a b Manojlović 1936, pp. 626–627
  6. ^ Manojlović 1936, p. 620 "Καὶ (δήμων) ἐχόντων προσόδους χάριν τῶν ἱπποδρομιῶν, καὶ τοῦ βασιλέως προσκαλουμένου καὶ εἰς τοῦτο μὴ ἐξουσιάζοντος"
  7. ^ Cameron 1976, pp. 24–44
  8. ^ Booth 2011, p. 561
  9. ^ Booth 2011, p. 562
  10. ^ Cameron 1976, p. 56
  11. ^ Cameron 1976, pp. 6–7
  12. ^ a b Malalas 2019
  13. ^ Booth 2011, p. 571
  14. ^ Cameron 1976, p. 54
  15. ^ Cameron 1976, p. 127
  16. ^ Manojlović 1936, p. 645
  17. ^ Malalas, John (563). "De insidiis" (PDF) (in Greek). p. 94.
  18. ^ Manojlović 1936, pp. 649–650
  19. ^ Malalas, John (1835) [563]. Corpus Scriptorum Historiae Byzantinae (PDF) (in Greek). Translated by Niebuhr, B.; Bekker, A.; Schopen, L.; Dindorf, K. p. 521.
  20. ^ Manojlović 1936, p. 636
  21. ^ Malalas, John (563). "De insidiis" (PDF) (in Greek). p. 521. Ὅτι ἐπὶ τοῦ αὐτοῦ βασιλέως Ἰουστινιανοῦ ἐστασίασαν οἱ Σαμαρεῖται καὶ οἱ Ἰουδαῖοι ἐν Καισαρείᾳ τῆς Παλαιστίνης ποιήσαντες τὸ ἓν ὡς ἐν τάξει πρασινοβενέτων, καὶ ἐπῆλθον τοῖς χριστιανοῖς τῆς αὐτῆς πόλεως καὶ κατέκοψαν πολλοὺς καὶ ἐπῆλθον καὶ ταῖς ἐκκλησίαις τῶν ὀρθοδόξων.
  22. ^ Booth 2011, pp. 560, 580
  23. ^ Manojlović 1936, pp. 622, 630
  24. ^ Theophanes 1997, p. 341
  25. ^ Theophanes (815). "Θεοφάνης - Χρονογραφία 2 - Βυζαντινά κείμενα" (in Greek).
  26. ^ Manojlović 1936, p. 631
  27. ^ Turnbull 2004, p. 9; Bardill 2004, p. 123; Meyer-Plath & Schneider 1943, p. 4; Philippides & Hanak 2011, pp. 299–302
  28. ^ Manojlović 1936, p. 621
  29. ^ Booth 2011, p. 573
  30. ^ Manojlović 1936, p. 692
  31. ^ Booth 2011, p. 572
  32. ^ a b Booth 2011, p. 577
  33. ^ Whitby 1989, p. 145
  34. ^ Halsall, Paul. "Medieval Sourcebook: Circus Factions in Egypt".

Sources

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