ABSTRACT
Political ideology constituted a key element of the identity of the Byzantine empire and was the means through which the emperors often justified their decrees, decisions and actions. In order to legitimize and maintain their presence on the throne, Byzantine rulers sought to articulate the dominant political ideology of Byzantium; otherwise, they would be branded as tyrants, as happened for instance to Phokas in the seventh century or to Andronikos I five centuries later.
