Byzantine laws could be cruel, too, although their cruelty was in the name of Christianity and mercy. The Byzantines thought it was against the teachings of Christ to condemn a man to death, and so the death penalty was rare. Instead, a criminal was mutilated; they tore out his tongue or cut off his nose or a hand. Blinding was a common punishment. The Byzantines actually thought it was merciful to blind a man instead of executing him.
The Byzantines were treacherous, and, in fact, “Byzantine treachery” became a well-known saying. Probably they were not as treacherous as their enemies said they were, and their enemies, including the crusaders, were also treacherous. But in everyday life just as when they went to war, the Byzantines were always ready to plot, trick, deceive, and lie. When they did tell the truth, it was usually because honesty happened to be the best policy, and not because they thought that honesty was the only right thing.
The emperors often gained the throne by trickery. Michael the Drunkard made Basil I his co-emperor in the kingdom because Basil had deceived him into thinking that Michael’s uncle, the Caesar Bardas, was a traitor. Caesar Bardas was executed. Then Basil waited until Michael was asleep, and had him murdered.
Michael’s grandfather, Michael the Stutterer, had come to the throne in the same way. As a matter of fact, he was in prison when he succeeded in outwitting a boyhood companion who was then the emperor. He actually still had chains on his wrists and ankles when he was crowned.
The Byzantines were corrupt and prospered on graft. Although most of this graft and corruption centered around the imperial court, business and the church were often corrupt. In all three of these places, you got ahead by giving—and receiving—favors.
The Byzantines were high-strung, excitable, and fiery.
The Byzantines were very fond of luxury whether in dress, food, jewelry, furniture, or even horses and chariots.
They craved entertainment. One emperor even told his signalmen not to light the beacons that carried news of an approaching enemy from hill to hill until it reached Constantinople. He was afraid it would cast gloom upon the horse races.
The Byzantines were much too fond of pleasure.
Even so, when you add the pluses and subtract the minuses for the Byzantines, it turns out that you have something pretty good, particularly for those troubled times.