Editing Manuel I Komnenos (section)

===Internal affairs===
Choniates criticised Manuel for raising taxes and pointed to Manuel's reign as a period of excess; according to Choniates, the money thus raised was spent lavishly at the cost of his citizens. Whether one reads the Greek [[encomium|encomiastic]] sources, or the Latin and oriental sources, the impression is consistent with Choniates' picture of an emperor who spent lavishly in all available ways, rarely economising in one sector in order to develop another.<ref name="P121"/> Manuel spared no expense on the army, the navy, diplomacy, ceremonial, palace-building, the Komnenian family, and other seekers of patronage. A significant amount of this expenditure was pure financial loss to the Empire, like the subsidies poured into Italy and the crusader states, and the sums spent on the failed expeditions of 1155–1156, 1169 and 1176.<ref name=Niketas1>N. Choniates, ''O City of Byzantium, Annals of Niketas Choniates'', 96–97<br/>* P. Magdalino, ''The Empire of Manuel I Komnenos'', 173</ref>

The problems this created were counterbalanced to some extent by his successes, particularly in the Balkans; Manuel extended the frontiers of his Empire in the Balkan region, ensuring security for the whole of Greece and [[Bulgaria]]. Had he been more successful in all his ventures, he would have controlled not only the most productive farmland around the Eastern Mediterranean and Adriatic seas, but also the entire trading facilities of the area. Even if he did not achieve his ambitious goals, his wars against Hungary ([[Byzantine–Hungarian War (1149–1155)|1149–1155]], [[Byzantine–Hungarian War (1162–1167)|1162–1167]]) brought him control of the Dalmatian coast, the rich agricultural region of Sirmium, and the Danube trade route from Hungary to the [[Black Sea]]. His Balkan expeditions are said to have taken great booty in slaves and livestock;<ref name="M174">P. Magdalino, ''The Empire of Manuel I Komnenos'', 174</ref> Kinnamos was impressed by the amount of arms taken from the Hungarian dead after the battle of 1167.<ref>J. Cinnamus, ''Deeds of John and Manuel Comnenus'', 274</ref> And even if Manuel's wars against the Turks probably realised a net loss, his commanders took livestock and captives on at least two occasions.<ref name="M174"/>

This allowed the Western provinces to flourish in an economic revival that had begun in the time of his grandfather Alexios I and continued till the close of the century. Indeed, it has been argued that Byzantium in the 12th century was richer and more prosperous than at any time since the [[Sasanian Empire|Persian]] invasion during the reign of [[Heraclius|Herakleios]], some five hundred years earlier. There is good evidence from this period of new construction and new churches, even in remote areas, strongly suggesting that wealth was widespread.<ref name=Angold>M. Angold, ''The Byzantine Empire, 1025–1204''</ref> Trade was also flourishing; it has been estimated that the population of Constantinople, the biggest commercial centre of the Empire, was between half a million and one million during Manuel's reign, making it by far the largest city in Europe. A major source of Manuel's wealth was the ''kommerkion'', a customs duty levied at Constantinople on all imports and exports.<ref name="kom">J. Harris, ''Byzantium and the Crusades'', 25</ref> The ''kommerkion'' was stated to have collected 20,000 ''hyperpyra'' each day.<ref name="kom2">J. Harris, ''Byzantium and the Crusades'', 26</ref>

Furthermore, Constantinople was undergoing expansion. The cosmopolitan character of the city was being reinforced by the arrival of Italian merchants and Crusaders en route to the Holy Land. The Venetians, the [[Genoa|Genoese]], and others opened up the ports of the Aegean to commerce, shipping goods from the Crusader kingdoms of Outremer and Fatimid Egypt to the west and trading with Byzantium via Constantinople.<ref name="Day">G. W. Day, ''Manuel and the Genoese'', 289–290</ref> These maritime traders stimulated demand in the towns and cities of [[Byzantine Greece|Greece]], [[Macedonia (region)|Macedonia]], and the Greek Islands, generating new sources of wealth in a predominantly [[agrarian economy]].<ref name="M143-144">P. Magdalino, ''The Empire of Manuel I Komnenos'', 143–144</ref> [[Thessaloniki|Thessalonica]], the second city of the Empire, hosted a famous summer fair that attracted traders from across the Balkans and even further afield to its bustling market stalls. In [[Byzantine Corinth|Corinth]], silk production fuelled a thriving economy. All this is a testament to the success of the Komnenian Emperors in securing a ''Pax Byzantina'' in these heartland territories.<ref name=Angold/>