As a result of the growing power and militancy of the aristocracy and the succession crisis, the policies of the bureaucrats in Constantinople was to weaken the power of this aristocratic class by freeing Anatolian peasants from their military service and turn them into a tax-paying population. Byzantine frontier defenses fell into decay as successive emperors disbanded the large standing armies of previous eras in order to save money. This caused the armies to be even weaker to deal with external raiding. The bureaucrats then hired mercenaries, notably Normans, to replace the professional army and with ageing conscripts to defend the tenuous frontier. However, the untrustworthiness, unruliness, ambitiousness, and sheer expense of these mercenary troops meant that they disrespected state authority and also conducted raiding in the Byzantine Anatolia, even sometimes working with Turkic raiders whom they were employed to fight against. These mercenary bands also took service with Aristocrats revolting against the government. During this time, the conflict with the Armenians broke out again. The state administration, economy, and military system were allowed to fall into neglect, largely through self-inflicted wounds. The picture of the Byzantine state leading up to 1071 was one of near chaos.