Along with the soldiers, who, thanks to the general use of the institution of military estates belonged to the same category of free peasant, they formed the base of the agrarian tax-paying community and therefore functioned as the pillars of the Empire. From the 10th century, however, both categories suffered due to pressures exerted by large-scale landowners. In order to impede this development, the Emperors of the Macedonian dynasty took steps against the dynatoi. Their primary tactic was the enforcement of the principle of protimesis (preemption) whenever a plot of land was going to be sold. The relatives of the vendor received first refusal. The land was then offered to his neighbours, and finally to the rest of the villagers. Only if none of these was willing to purchase the land was it offered to people outside the local community. In 10th century, especially in the case of military estates, a threshold of non-expropriaable land (for foot soldiers, horsemen, sailors and so on) was determined so that the expenses of their equipment could be securely covered.
By taking these steps and in particular with the principle of protimesis the emperors tried to protect the small-holders from the avarice of the big landowners, who were thus unable to penetrate the agrarian communities. These steps, however, did not impede but rather suspended the expansion of large-scale ownership, since with the accession of new dynasties of emperors from the major landowning families at the beginning of the 11th century, steps to protect the smaller landowners went into decline and the small free peasants began to dissappear. In particular, the gradual replacement of the soldier-farmers of the Themes in Asia Minor by foreign mercenaries impoverished the defense of the region and contributed to its gradual demise.