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Iconoclast Imperial Authority and its Contested Legacy From the Arab Siege (717/18) until the Death of Michael III (867) Ivan Marić PhD in Classics The University of Edinburgh 2020 I declare that this thesis has been composed solely by myself and that no part of it has been submitted in any previous application for a degree. Except where stated otherwise by reference, the work presented is entirely my own. Date: 31 January 2020. Signature: ………………………………………. Majci Radmili Marić i za uspomenu na oca, Љубодрага Марића (1954-2016) For my mother Radmila Marić and to the memory of my father, Ljubodrag Marić (1954-2016) Za Baticu, Laru i Hanu Za Brudersa Lesu, Pavlišu, i Jecu And to all undertaking the anxiety-inducing endeavour of doing a PhD in humanities, in a world where the leading universities are foremost large businesses. Especially to all those not coming from the United States/United Kingdom & Commonwealth/European Union, who are forced to invest additional time and energy into proving they are persons ‘of good character’, a task both humiliating and expensive, which is rather unfair consid- ering these students are more likely to be in a financially disadvantageous position Acknowledgments Certainly the most beautiful aspect of being a PhD student in humanities is getting to live as an academic nomad and meeting incredible and wonderfully different people across the globe, ideally not just in academic bubbles, and I have been tremendously lucky with human contacts wherever my journeys took me. I owe gratitude to so many generous family members, friends, teachers, colleagues, or even people whom I never met in person, many of whom were not directly or obviously connected with the thesis itself. I am frightened at the prospect of omitting too many, as I am bound to forget some at least, and my only hope is that no one will take offense. First and foremost, I am deeply indebted to my supervisor Professor Niels Gaul, and not just for shepherding the thesis to its successful completion. Niels has been a steadfast and enthusiastic supporter of my work from our very first meeting in Belgrade in 2011, when we discussed the prospect of me starting a PhD at the Central European University in Budapest. His classes brought so much knowledge, not only on Byzantine history, but were also such joy to attend, not the least for his excellent wits and humour. Niels taught me to be meticulous and, most importantly, to be more courageous with my ideas and questions. I am forever grateful for his patient guidance, for being exception- ally attentive and recognizing precisely the issues I have been struggling with, which were not always easy to spot—‘there is this sentence you seem to like far too much and its causing you trouble’—, for gentle proddings, for being full of understanding concern- ing emotional and other issues I have experienced, for—very importantly—inviting me to transfer to Edinburgh, for being such a kind and humble human despite his tremendous success. I can never thank Niels enough for all that he has done for me. This thesis was completed at the Classics Department of Edinburgh University, but its process reaches beyond. I owe gratitude to many people in Belgrade, my hometown. To Marko Kosjer, my kind high school teacher, I thank, first, for showing me that history is not ‘boring,’ and for inspiring my interest in the field which led me to be- come a student of history. I am grateful to Professor Vlada Stanković of Belgrade Uni- versity for supervising my master thesis in Belgrade, and especially for suggesting me to apply to Central European University and introducing me to Professor Niels Gaul. I met Dejan Gašić during our MA in Belgrade, and I feel most fortunate that he became one of my closest friends. I am deeply grateful for his kind and unwavering support, and for his invaluable contributions to my work. I thank my brother Aleksandar Stojanovski, his enchanting daughters Lara and Hana and his wife Irina for their love and continuous support in all my endeavours. I would not have reached this point without you by my side. Aleksandar Lugonja, my Bruders, is the closest friend I have in this world. He was the first to show interest in what it means to study history and what am I doing in fact, when very few other people did, and no one as honestly nor as profoundly as him. With the boundless curiosity of a polyhistor that he is, Bruders had many incisive ques- tions ranging from the nature of history and historical records, to epistemological and se- miotic issues, sometimes pushing the discussion to its deconstructive limits. Over the course of eleven years, two master theses and this doctorate, Aleksandar has been a consistent interlocutor to me. The rigour of his inquiries challenged many of my precon- ceptions and thought me to see things from many different angles, and, most im- portantly, that I can move to much higher levels of abstraction and think about bigger questions. This is tied to one of his most passionate fascinations: the universe, that is, the universe above around and within us of which we are incomprehensibly small part. While we would exhaust many topics in our long walks and talks, which always bring me joy and new discoveries, Bruders would find most pleasure in telling me about the uni- verse, the physics and mathematics behind it as well as extraordinary people who made breakthroughs in our understanding of it all. For all our talks, for all the insanely uncon- trollable laughs, for making me push the boundaries, for knowing me better than anyone else, for all the times he had touched me, for being an emotional check and support, for making me understand better myself and the world around me, for his criticism, for his ad hoc rap lines, for which he always unnecessarily apologises, but which are amusing because of his craftiness with words, for being honest, caring, thoughtful friend for more than twenty one year, and for many other aspects which cannot fit here, I am forever grateful. I would not have been able to complete this project without Bruders, and my life would have been much poorer if we had never met. Moreover, I have long since fallen in love with his whole family, the House of Lugonja, who are my family too; Gaga, Jeca, Toksis, Milica, Tara, Ilina, Drina, Ivčo, Banjo, all contributed to my endeavours. Although we are of the same age, Vladimir Pavlišin is ‘technically’ my nephew, that is, I am his uncle, Ujka, which became one of my longest-lasting nicknames. We were brought together as babies because our parents used to hang out, but he is more than a family member, and more than a friend. More than a family member, because re- maining close and nurturing our friendship for so many years had nothing to do with family ties. More than a friend, because of his unconditional love and support, which is somewhat more typical of family relations. Within the limited space ahead I can only mention some of the things he did for me and a tiny bit of everything that I have learned from him. I am forever indebted for always believing in me and providing moral and emotional support in all my efforts. I thank him for his patience and for being forgiving, for his infectious charm, joy and laugh, for all the music, for hosting and arranging so many gatherings, for his many visits to Budapest, for his unique humour, for not allowing me to fall into slumber, for making me become more free, for being a friend in need and a trusted confidant, as there were always things I could only share with him. Without his generous aid, the last year of my PhD would have been much more stressful. I would not have been able to reach this point without him in my life, and I am ever grateful for so many moments together which are among the most cherished memories that I have. For being a source of beautiful inspiration, emotional and moral support, and for even dreaming of my struggles, I thank Jelena Lugonja. This project had officially begun at the Central European University, which has since been ruthlessly and unjustly expelled from the beautiful city of Budapest, depriving further generations of young academics of a uniquely wonderful experience in an ex- traordinarily diverse community. I wish to thank Professor Volker Menze for his continu- ous support of my work, and for enriching the thesis with his expertise. My gratitude also goes to István Perczel, György Geréby, Daniel Ziemann, József Laszlovsky, Gábor Klaniczay, Gábor Buzási, Cristian Gaşpar, and Judith Rasson, who have all in important ways broadened my academic horizons.