The administration - The army

The first civil war (1321-28) ended with the overthrow of Andronikos II in 1328. Andronikos III, his grandson and opponent in this war, was now the undisputed occupant of the throne.

The new emperor's first concern was to repairs the ravages caused to the state by the civil war. The new depreciation of the Byzantine coinage during the civil war had aggravated the already existent financial crisis. Moreover, in the field of administration, which, in the provinces at least, was in the hands of great local landowners, as well as in the domain of justice, corruption was rife. The emperor focused most of his efforts on the fight against corruption. In 1329, with the help of his friend and megas domestikos, John Kantakouzenos, who virtually ruled the state, Andronikos III introduced the institution of "universal judges" (katholikoi kritai). This was a college of four supreme judges, two of whom were laymen and two were members of the clergy. Their duty was to supervise the administration of justice throughout the Empire.

However, this judicial reform, also, as had been the case with the previous one attempted by Andronikos II, was not successful. In fact, three of the four judges were found guilty of bribery in 1337 and were replaced. The institution was nevertheless retained until the fall of the Empire. The presence of ecclesiastics in the imperial supreme court is particularly characteristic and signals the gradual increase in the power of the Church, as opposed to that of the state, which was declining.

In order to strengthen the defences of the Empire and at the same time to rid himself of the naval tutelage of the Genoese, Andronikos III proceeded to the reorganisation of the fleet, thanks to which he was able, in 1329, to recover Chios, which had been in Genoese hands until then, and to restore Byzantine rule in Phokaia and in Lesbos (1335-6).