1.
Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard
–
The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard is a parable of Jesus which appears in the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament. The word translated penny in the King James Version of this parable is the denarius, the hours here are measured starting at about 6,00 AM, so that the eleventh hour is between about 4,00 and 5,00 PM. The workers are poor men working as temporary farmhands during the harvest season, in this way it resembles the Parable of the Prodigal Son. The parable has often interpreted to mean that even those who are converted late in life earn equal rewards along with those converted early. An alternative interpretation identifies the early laborers as Jews, some of whom resent the late-comers being welcomed as equals in Gods Kingdom. However, Arland J. Hultgren writes, While interpreting and applying this parable and we might want to name them, such as deathbed converts or persons who are typically despised by those who are longtime veterans and more fervent in their religious commitment. But it is best not to narrow the field too quickly, at a deeper level, we are all the eleventh-hour workers, to change the metaphor, we are all honored guests of God in the kingdom. It is not really necessary to decide who the eleventh-hour workers are, the point of the parable — both at the level of Jesus and the level of Matthews Gospel — is that God saves by grace, not by our worthiness. That applies to all of us, some commentators have used the parable to justify the principle of a living wage, though generally conceding that this is not the main point of the parable. An example is John Ruskin, who quotes the parable in the title of his book Unto This Last, Ruskin does not discuss the religious meaning of the parable but rather its social and economic implications. ’ The Jews accepted and carried out the work. He then asked, Who will work for me from midday up to the prayer for one silver coin. ’ The Christians accepted and fulfilled the work. He then said, ‘Who will work for me from the afternoon till sunset for two silver coins. ’ You, Muslims have accepted the offer. The Jews and the Christians got angry and said, ‘Why should we work more and get lesser wages. ’ Allah said and he said, ‘It is My Blessing, I bestow upon whomever I wish. The man employed another batch after them and said to them, ‘Complete the rest of the day and yours will be the wages I had fixed for the first batch. ’ So, they worked till the time of ‘Asr prayer. Thereafter he employed another batch to work for the rest of the day and they worked for the rest of the day till the sunset, and they received the wages of the two former batches. So, that was the example of people and the example of this light which they have accepted willingly. ”Life of Jesus in the New Testament Ministry of Jesus Master
Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard
–
Painting of the parable, by
Jacob Willemszoon de Wet, mid 17th century.
Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard
–
A Roman
denarius
Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard
–
Painting of the parable by
Rembrandt, showing the workers being paid that evening (1637)
Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard
–
Canonical
Gospels
2.
Byzantine Empire
–
It survived the fragmentation and fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD and continued to exist for an additional thousand years until it fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1453. During most of its existence, the empire was the most powerful economic, cultural, several signal events from the 4th to 6th centuries mark the period of transition during which the Roman Empires Greek East and Latin West divided. Constantine I reorganised the empire, made Constantinople the new capital, under Theodosius I, Christianity became the Empires official state religion and other religious practices were proscribed. Finally, under the reign of Heraclius, the Empires military, the borders of the Empire evolved significantly over its existence, as it went through several cycles of decline and recovery. During the reign of Maurice, the Empires eastern frontier was expanded, in a matter of years the Empire lost its richest provinces, Egypt and Syria, to the Arabs. This battle opened the way for the Turks to settle in Anatolia, the Empire recovered again during the Komnenian restoration, such that by the 12th century Constantinople was the largest and wealthiest European city. Despite the eventual recovery of Constantinople in 1261, the Byzantine Empire remained only one of several small states in the area for the final two centuries of its existence. Its remaining territories were annexed by the Ottomans over the 15th century. The Fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 finally ended the Byzantine Empire, the term comes from Byzantium, the name of the city of Constantinople before it became Constantines capital. This older name of the city would rarely be used from this point onward except in historical or poetic contexts. The publication in 1648 of the Byzantine du Louvre, and in 1680 of Du Canges Historia Byzantina further popularised the use of Byzantine among French authors, however, it was not until the mid-19th century that the term came into general use in the Western world. The Byzantine Empire was known to its inhabitants as the Roman Empire, the Empire of the Romans, Romania, the Roman Republic, Graikia, and also as Rhōmais. The inhabitants called themselves Romaioi and Graikoi, and even as late as the 19th century Greeks typically referred to modern Greek as Romaika and Graikika. The authority of the Byzantine emperor as the legitimate Roman emperor was challenged by the coronation of Charlemagne as Imperator Augustus by Pope Leo III in the year 800. No such distinction existed in the Islamic and Slavic worlds, where the Empire was more seen as the continuation of the Roman Empire. In the Islamic world, the Roman Empire was known primarily as Rûm, the Roman army succeeded in conquering many territories covering the entire Mediterranean region and coastal regions in southwestern Europe and north Africa. These territories were home to different cultural groups, both urban populations and rural populations. The West also suffered heavily from the instability of the 3rd century AD
Byzantine Empire
–
Tremissis with the image of
Justinian the Great (r. 527–565) (see
Byzantine insignia)
Byzantine Empire
–
Byzantine
lamellar armour klivanium (Κλιβάνιον) - a predecessor of Ottoman krug
mirror armour
Byzantine Empire
–
The Baptism of Constantine painted by
Raphael 's pupils (1520–1524,
fresco, Vatican City,
Apostolic Palace);
Eusebius of Caesarea records that (as
was common among converts of early Christianity) Constantine delayed receiving
baptism until shortly before his death
Byzantine Empire
–
Restored section of the Theodosian Walls.
3.
Byzantine bureaucracy and aristocracy
–
The Byzantine Empire had a complex system of aristocracy and bureaucracy, which was inherited from the Roman Empire. At the apex of the hierarchy stood the emperor, who was the sole ruler, beneath him, a multitude of officials and court functionaries operated the complex administrative machinery that was necessary to run the empire. In addition to officials, a large number of honorific titles existed. Over the more than years of the empires existence, different titles were adopted and discarded. At first the various titles of the empire were the same as those in the late Roman Empire, however, by the time that Heraclius was emperor, many of the titles had become obsolete. By the time of Alexios I reign, many of the positions were either new or drastically changed, however, from that time on they remained essentially the same until the fall of the Byzantine Empire in 1453. In this, the new titles derived from older, now obsolete, public offices, a senatorial class remained in place, which incorporated a large part of the upper officialdom as every official from the rank of protospatharios was considered a member of it. During this period, many families remained important for several centuries, the 10th and 11th centuries saw a rise in importance of the aristocracy, and an increased number of new families entering it. In the 11th and 12th century for instance, some 80 civil and 64 military noble families have been identified and these were the highest titles, usually limited to members of the imperial family or to a few very select foreign rulers, whose friendship the Emperor desired. Basileus, the Greek word for sovereign which originally referred to any king in the Greek-speaking areas of the Roman Empire and it also referred to the Shahs of Persia. Heraclius adopted it to replace the old Latin title of Augustus in 629, Heraclius also used the titles autokrator and kyrios. The feminine form basilissa referred to an empress, empresses were addressed as eusebestatē avgousta, and were also called kyria or despoina. This was rooted firmly in the Roman republican tradition, whereby hereditary kingship was rejected, in such a case the need for an imperial selection never arose. In several cases the new Emperor ascended the throne after marrying the previous Emperors widow, or indeed after forcing the previous Emperor to abdicate, several emperors were also deposed because of perceived inadequacy, e. g. after a military defeat, and some were murdered. Autokratōr — self-ruler, this title was equivalent to imperator. Despotēs – Lord, This title was used by the emperors themselves since the time of Justinian I and it was extensively featured in coins, in lieu of Basileus. In the 12th century, Manuel I Komnenos made it a separate title, the first such despotēs was actually a foreigner, Bela III of Hungary, signifying that Hungary was considered a Byzantine tributary state. In later times, a despot could be the holder of a despotate, for example, the feminine form, despoina, referred to a female despot or the wife of a despot, but it was also used to address the Empress
Byzantine bureaucracy and aristocracy
–
Painting of Emperor Basil II in triumphal garb, exemplifying the
Imperial Crown handed down by
Angels.
Byzantine bureaucracy and aristocracy
–
The back of this coin by
Manuel I Comnenus bears his title, porphyrogennetos.
Byzantine bureaucracy and aristocracy
–
Emperor
Manuel II Palaiologos with his family: empress
Helena Dragaš (right), and three of their sons,
John,
Andronikos and
Theodore. John, as his father's heir and co-emperor, wears an exact replica of his imperial costume.
Byzantine bureaucracy and aristocracy
–
Emperor
Nikephoros III flanked by personifications of Truth and Justice, and by his senior court dignitaries, from an illuminated manuscript dating to the 1070s. From left: the
proedros and
epi tou kanikleiou, the
prōtoproedros and
prōtovestiarios (a eunuch, since he is beardless), the emperor, the proedros and
dekanos, and the proedros and
megas primikērios.
4.
Byzantine army
–
The Byzantine army or Eastern Roman army was the primary military body of the Byzantine armed forces, serving alongside the Byzantine navy. A direct descendant of the Roman army, the Byzantine army maintained a level of discipline, strategic prowess. It was among the most effective armies of western Eurasia for much of the Middle Ages, over time the cavalry arm became more prominent in the Byzantine army as the legion system disappeared in the early 7th century. Since much of the Byzantine military focused on the strategy and skill of generals utilizing militia troops, heavy infantry were recruited from Frankish, restricted to a largely defensive role in the 7th to mid-9th centuries, the Byzantines developed the theme-system to counter the more powerful Caliphate. With one of the most powerful economies in the world at the time, after the collapse of the theme-system in the 11th century, the Byzantines grew increasingly reliant on professional Tagmata troops, including ever-increasing numbers of foreign mercenaries. The Komnenian emperors made great efforts to re-establish a native army, the Komnenian successes were undone by the subsequent Angeloi dynasty, leading to the dissolution of the Empire at the hands of the Fourth Crusade in 1204. The Emperors of Nicaea managed to form a small but effective force using the structure of light and heavily armed troops. It proved effective in defending what remained of Byzantine Anatolia and reclaiming much of the Balkans, another period of neglect of the military followed in the reign of Andronikos II Palaiologos, which allowed Anatolia to fall prey to an emerging power, the Ottoman emirate. In the period after the Muslim conquests, which saw the loss of Syria and Egypt, despite this unprecedented disaster, the internal structures of the army remained much the same, and there is a remarkable continuity in tactics and doctrine between the 6th and 11th centuries. The Eastern Empire dates from the creation of the Tetrarchy by the Emperor Diocletian in 293 and his plans for succession did not outlive his lifetime, but his reorganization of the army did by centuries. Rather than maintain the traditional infantry-heavy legions, Diocletian reformed it into limitanei, there was an expansion of the importance of the cavalry, though the infantry still remained the major component of the Roman armies, in contrast to common belief. In preparation for Justinians African campaign of 533-534 AD, the army assembled amounted to 10,000 foot soldiers and 5,000 mounted archers, the limitanei and ripenses were to occupy the limes, the Roman border fortifications. The field units, by contrast, were to stay well behind the border and move quickly where they were needed, whether for offensive or defensive roles, the field units were held to high standards and took precedence over Limitanei in pay and provisions. Cavalry formed about one-third of the units, but as a result of smaller units, about half the cavalry consisted of heavy cavalry. They were armed with spear or lance and sword and armored in mail, some had bows, but they were meant for supporting the charge instead of independent skirmishing. In the field there was a component of some 15% of cataphractarii or clibanarii. The light cavalry featured high amongst the limitanei, being very useful troops on patrol, the infantry of the comitatenses was organized in regiments of about 500–1,200 men. They were still the heavy infantry of old, with a spear or sword, shield, body armour, but now each regiment was supported by a detachment of light infantry skirmishers
Byzantine army
–
Byzantine
lamellar armour klivanium (Κλιβάνιον) - a predecessor of Ottoman krug
mirror armour
Byzantine army
–
Emperor
Constantine I.
Byzantine army
–
A 6th century ivory relief of a Roman swordman wearing
scale armor and round shield- Berlin Bode museum.
Byzantine army
–
Emperor
John II Komnenos became renowned for his superb generalship and conducted many successful sieges. Under his leadership, the Byzantine army reconquered substantial territories from the Turks.
5.
Byzantine art
–
Byzantine art is the name for the artistic products of the Eastern Roman Empire, as well as the nations and states that inherited culturally from the empire. A number of states contemporary with the Byzantine Empire were culturally influenced by it, after the fall of the Byzantine capital of Constantinople in 1453, art produced by Eastern Orthodox Christians living in the Ottoman Empire was often called post-Byzantine. Byzantine art never lost sight of this classical heritage, the Byzantine capital, Constantinople, was adorned with a large number of classical sculptures, although they eventually became an object of some puzzlement for its inhabitants. And indeed, the art produced during the Byzantine Empire, although marked by periodic revivals of an aesthetic, was above all marked by the development of a new aesthetic. The most salient feature of new aesthetic was its abstract. The nature and causes of this transformation, which took place during late antiquity, have been a subject of scholarly debate for centuries. Giorgio Vasari attributed it to a decline in skills and standards. Although this point of view has been revived, most notably by Bernard Berenson. Alois Riegl and Josef Strzygowski, writing in the early 20th century, were all responsible for the revaluation of late antique art. Riegl saw it as a development of pre-existing tendencies in Roman art. In any case, the debate is purely modern, it is clear that most Byzantine viewers did not consider their art to be abstract or unnaturalistic, religious art was not, however, limited to the monumental decoration of church interiors. One of the most important genres of Byzantine art was the icon, an image of Christ, the illumination of manuscripts was another major genre of Byzantine art. The most commonly illustrated texts were religious, both scripture itself and devotional or theological texts, secular texts were also illuminated, important examples include the Alexander Romance and the history of John Skylitzes. Small ivories were also mostly in relief, Byzantine ceramics were relatively crude, as pottery was never used at the tables of the rich, who ate off silver. Two events were of importance to the development of a unique. First, the Edict of Milan, issued by the emperors Constantine I and Licinius in 313, allowed for public Christian worship, second, the dedication of Constantinople in 330 created a great new artistic centre for the eastern half of the Empire, and a specifically Christian one. Major Constantinopolitan churches built under Constantine and his son, Constantius II, included the foundations of Hagia Sophia. The next major building campaign in Constantinople was sponsored by Theodosius I, the most important surviving monument of this period is the obelisk and base erected by Theodosius in the Hippodrome
Byzantine art
–
The most famous of the surviving Byzantine mosaics of the
Hagia Sophia in
Constantinople – the image of
Christ Pantocrator on the walls of the upper southern gallery. Christ is flanked by the Virgin Mary and John the Baptist. The mosaics were made in the 12th century.
Byzantine art
–
Byzantine culture
Byzantine art
–
Miniatures of the 6th-century
Rabula Gospel display the more abstract and symbolic nature of Byzantine art.
Byzantine art
–
Frescoes in Nerezi near
Skopje (1164), with their unique blend of high tragedy, gentle humanity, and homespun realism, anticipate the approach of
Giotto and other proto-Renaissance Italian artists. [
citation needed]
6.
Byzantine architecture
–
Byzantine architecture is the architecture of the Byzantine Empire, also known as the Later Roman or Eastern Roman Empire. Byzantine architecture was influenced by Roman and Greek architecture and later Sassanian. Early Byzantine architecture drew upon earlier elements of Roman architecture, stylistic drift, technological advancement, and political and territorial changes meant that a distinct style gradually resulted in the Greek cross plan in church architecture. Most of the structures are sacred in nature, with secular buildings mostly known only through contemporaneous descriptions. Prime examples of early Byzantine architecture date from Justinian Is reign and survive in Ravenna and Istanbul, secular structures include the ruins of the Great Palace of Constantinople, the innovative walls of Constantinople and Basilica Cistern. A frieze in the Ostrogothic palace in Ravenna depicts an early Byzantine palace, remarkable engineering feats include the 430 m long Sangarius Bridge and the pointed arch of Karamagara Bridge. The period of the Macedonian dynasty, traditionally considered the epitome of Byzantine art, has not left a legacy in architecture. The cross-in-square type also became predominant in the Slavic countries which were Christianized by Salonikas missionaries during the Macedonian period, only national forms of architecture can be found in abundance due to this. Those styles can be found in many Transcaucasian countries, such as Russia, Bulgaria, Serbia, Croatia and other Slavic lands, the Paleologan period is well represented in a dozen former churches in Istanbul, notably St Saviour at Chora and St Mary Pammakaristos. Unlike their Slavic counterparts, the Paleologan architects never accented the vertical thrust of structures, as a result, there is little grandeur in the late medieval architecture of Byzantium. Other churches from the years predating the fall of Constantinople survive on Mount Athos. Those of the type we must suppose were nearly always vaulted. The most famous church of this type was that of the Holy Apostles, vaults appear to have been early applied to the basilican type of plan, for instance, at Hagia Irene, Constantinople, the long body of the church is covered by two domes. At Saint Sergius, Constantinople, and San Vitale, Ravenna, churches of the central type, finally, at Hagia Sophia a combination was made which is perhaps the most remarkable piece of planning ever contrived. This unbroken area, about 260 ft long, the part of which is over 100 ft wide, is entirely covered by a system of domical surfaces. Above the conchs of the small apses rise the two great semi-domes which cover the hemicycles, and between these bursts out the vast dome over the central square. On the two sides, to the north and south of the dome, it is supported by vaulted aisles in two storeys which bring the form to a general square. At the Holy Apostles five domes were applied to a cruciform plan, after the 6th century there were no churches built which in any way competed in scale with these great works of Justinian, and the plans more or less tended to approximate to one type
Byzantine architecture
–
Hagia Sophia Church,
Sofia,
Bulgaria
Byzantine architecture
–
The
basilica of
Sant'Apollinare Nuovo in
Ravenna
Byzantine architecture
–
The 11th-century monastery of
Hosios Loukas in Greece is representative of the Byzantine art during the rule of the
Macedonian dynasty.
Byzantine architecture
–
Interior of the
Hagia Sophia under renovation, showing many features of the grandest Byzantine architecture.
7.
Byzantine calendar
–
The Byzantine calendar, also called Creation Era of Constantinople or Era of the World, was the calendar used by the Eastern Orthodox Church from c.691 to 1728 in the Ecumenical Patriarchate. It was also the official calendar of the Byzantine Empire from 988 to 1453, the calendar was based on the Julian calendar, except that the year started on 1 September and the year number used an Anno Mundi epoch derived from the Septuagint version of the Bible. Its year one, the date of creation, was September 1,5509 BC. It is not known who invented the World era and when, nevertheless, the first appearance of the term is in the treatise of a certain monk and priest, Georgios, who mentions all the main variants of the World Era in his work. He also already regards it as the most convenient for the Easter computus and this date underwent minor revisions before being finalized in the mid-7th century, although its precursors were developed c. By the second half of the 7th century, the Creation Era was known in Western Europe, by the late 10th century around AD988, when the era appears in use on official government records, a unified system was widely recognized across the Eastern Roman world. The era was ultimately calculated as starting on September 1, Thus historical time was calculated from the creation, and not from Christs birth, as in the west. The Eastern Church avoided the use of the Anno Domini system of Dionysius Exiguus, meanwhile, as Russia received Orthodox Christianity from Byzantium, she inherited the Orthodox Calendar based on the Byzantine Era. After the collapse of the Byzantine Empire in 1453, the era continued to be used by Russia and it was only in AD1700 that the Byzantine World Era in Russia was changed to the Julian Calendar by Peter the Great. It still forms the basis of traditional Orthodox calendars up to today, September AD2000 began the year 7509 AM. Both of these early Christian writers, following the Septuagint version of the Old Testament, the Alexandrian Era developed in AD412, was the precursor to the Byzantine Era. After the initial attempts by Hippolytus, Clement of Alexandria and others, the Alexandrine monk Panodorus reckoned 5904 years from Adam to the year AD412. This created the Alexandrian Era, whose first day was the first day of the proleptic Alexandrian civil year in progress,29 August 5493 BC, with the ecclesiastical year beginning on 25 March 5493 BC. This system presents in a sort of way the mystical coincidence of the three main dates of the worlds history, the beginning of Creation, the Incarnation. It was the first day of the year in the medieval Julian calendar, the Alexandrian Era of March 25,5493 BC was adopted by church fathers such as Maximus the Confessor and Theophanes the Confessor, as well as chroniclers such as George Syncellus. Its striking mysticism made it popular in Byzantium especially in monastic circles and it had for its basis a chronological list of events extending from the creation of Adam to the year AD627. The chronology of the writer is based on the figures of the Bible, St. John Chrysostom says in his Homily On the Cross and the Thief, that Christ, opened for us today Paradise, which had remained closed for some 5000 years. St. Isaac the Syrian writes in a Homily that before Christ, for five thousand five hundred
Byzantine calendar
–
Byzantine mosaic of the
Creation of Adam, (
Monreale Cathedral).
Byzantine calendar
–
Byzantine culture
8.
Byzantine coinage
–
Byzantine currency, money used in the Eastern Roman Empire after the fall of the West, consisted of mainly two types of coins, the gold solidus and a variety of clearly valued bronze coins. By the end of the empire the currency was issued only in silver stavrata, the gold coins of Justinian II departed from these stable conventions by putting a bust of Christ on the obverse, and a half or full-length portrait of the Emperor on the reverse. This was then used on nearly all Islamic coinage until the modern period, the type of Justinian II was revived after the end of Iconoclasm, and with variations remained the norm until the end of the Empire. In the 10th century, so-called anonymous folles were struck instead of the coins depicting the emperor. Late Byzantine gold coins became thin wafers that could be bent by hand, the Byzantine coinage had a prestige that lasted until near the end of the Empire. European rulers, once again started issuing their own coins, tended to follow a simplified version of Byzantine patterns. New bronze coins, multiples of the nummus were introduced, such as the 40 nummi,20 nummi,10 nummi, and 5 nummi coins. The obverse of these featured a highly stylized portrait of the emperor while the reverse featured the value of the denomination represented according to the Greek numbering system. It was succeeded by the initially ceremonial miliaresion established by Leo III the Isaurian in ca,720, which became standard issue from ca.830 on and until the late 11th century, when it was discontinued after being severely debased. Small transactions were conducted with bronze coinage throughout this period, until that time, the fineness of the gold remained consistent at about 0. 955–0.980. The Byzantine monetary system changed during the 7th century when the 40 nummi, now significantly smaller, although Justinian II attempted a restoration of the follis size of Justinian I, the follis continued to slowly decrease in size. The 11⁄12 weight coin was called a tetarteron, and the full weight solidus was called the histamenon, the tetarteron was unpopular and was only sporadically reissued during the 10th century. The full weight solidus was struck at 72 to the Roman pound, there were also solidi of weight reduced by one siliqua issued for trade with the Near East. These reduced solidi, with a star both on obverse and reverse, weighed about 4.25 g, the Byzantine solidus was valued in Western Europe, where it became known as the bezant, a corruption of Byzantium. The term bezant then became the name for the symbol of a roundel. Former money changer Michael IV the Paphlagonian assumed the throne of Byzantium in 1034, the debasement was gradual at first, but then accelerated rapidly. Under Alexius I Comnenus the debased solidus was discontinued and a coinage of higher fineness was established. The hyperpyron was slightly smaller than the solidus, during Andronicus IIs reign he instituted a some new coinage based on the hyperpyron
Byzantine coinage
–
Solidus of
Justinian II, second reign, after 705
Byzantine coinage
–
Anastasius 40 nummi (M) and 5 nummi (E)
Byzantine coinage
–
Justinian I half-follis, 20
nummi. Note the K on the reverse.
Byzantine coinage
–
Romanus III miliaresion.
9.
Byzantine cuisine
–
Byzantine cuisine was marked by a merger of Greek and Roman gastronomy. The development of the Byzantine Empire and trade brought in spices, sugar, cooks experimented with new combinations of food, creating two styles in the process. These were the Eastern, consisting of Byzantine cuisine supplemented by trade items, Byzantine food consumption varied by class. The Imperial Palace was a metropolis of spices and exotic recipes, guests were entertained with fruits, honey-cakes, the core diet consisted of bread, vegetables, pulses, and cereals prepared in varied ways. Salad was very popular, to the amazement of the Florentines, the Byzantines produced various cheeses, including anthotiro or kefalintzin. They also relished shellfish and fish, both fresh and salt-water and they prepared eggs to make famous omelettes — called sphoungata, i. e. spongy — mentioned by Theodore Prodromos. Every household also kept a supply of poultry, Byzantine elites obtained other kinds of meat by hunting, a favourite and distinguished occupation of men. They usually hunted with dogs and hawks, though sometimes employed trapping, netting, larger animals were a more expensive and rare food. Citizens slaughtered pigs at the beginning of winter and provided their families with sausages, salt pork, only upper middle and higher Byzantines could afford lamb. They seldom ate beef, as they used cattle to cultivate the fields, middle and lower class citizens in cities such as Constantinople and Thessaloniki consumed the offerings of the taverna. The most common form of cooking was boiling, a tendency which sparked a derisive Byzantine maxim—The lazy cook prepares everything by boiling. Liutprand of Cremona, the ambassador to Constantinople from Otto I, described being served food covered in an exceedingly bad fish liquor, many scholars state that Byzantine koptoplakous and plakountas tetyromenous are the ancestors of modern baklava and tiropita respectively. Both variants descended from the ancient Roman Placenta cake, the resulting melting pot continued during Ottoman times and therefore modern Turkish cuisine, Greek cuisine and Balkans cuisine are all almost identical, and use a very wide range of ingredients. Macedonia was renowned for its wines, served for upper class Byzantines, during the crusades and after, western Europeans valued costly Byzantine wines. The most famous example is the still extant Commandaria wine from Cyprus served at the wedding of King Richard the Lionheart, other renowned varieties were Cretan wines from muscat grapes, Romania or Rumney, and Malvasia or Malmsey. gr
Byzantine cuisine
–
Byzantine culture
10.
Byzantine dance
–
The art of Dance in the Byzantine Empire, developed during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, was centered in the capital city of Byzantium, later renamed Constantinople. Byzantine culture was oriented towards Greek culture and Christianity, rather than Roman paganism, the Byzantine Empire existed for more than a thousand years, from the 4th century CE to 1453. Ancient Greek dance in classical antiquity was originally held to have educational value, however, as Greek culture gradually conquered Rome, dancing had less educational value and was more for entertainment purposes. At this time dancers were given a social status than other artists. The influence of Christianity brought change too, first as the Eastern Roman Empire sought to ban dance, however, as Eastern Orthodox Church gradually began to grant concessions to the vast number of Greeks who had converted to Christianity, rendering dance acceptable by refining and spiritualizing it. This was similar to Christian reinterpretations of pre-Christian holidays, legends, there are also similarities between Byzantine dance and modern Greek dance. The dances that won the approval of the church were group dances, typically processions or circles in which men, separated from women, however, the information on dancing at this period is very scarce. Actually, since the Byzantine art is mainly ecclesiastical, the references to dance are rare, some images from the Byzantine and meta-Byzantine dances have been saved on sculptures, miniatures, and manuscripts - but mainly in church frescos amongst religious subjects. In his book Life and Culture of the Byzantines, Phaidon Koukoules assembled all known references to dance in texts of that time. From his writings, we learn that there were womens dances on Easter, nocturnal satirical dances in disguise on the Kalends, there were dances at weddings, in taverns, and at banquets. The wealthy invited professional harpists and youths and maidens to dance, being appreciated for their bodily agility. Dance spectacles staged in the theater in the accompaniment of flute, though we have so few descriptions of Byzantine dances, we know that they were often intertwined. The leader of the dance was called the koryphaios or chorolektes and it was he who began the song, efstathios of Thessaloniki mentions a dance which commenced in a circle and ended with the dancers facing one another. When not dancing in a circle the dancers held their hands high or waved them to left and they held cymbals or a kerchief in their hands and their movements were emphasized by their long sleeves. As they danced, they sang, either set songs or extemporized ones, sometimes in unison, sometimes in refrain, the onlookers joined in, clapping the rhythm or singing. Professional singers, often the musicians themselves, composed lyrics to suit the occasion, in Constantinople, important events were celebrated with large public dances. On the return of the victorious Byzantine army, for instance, there are instances recorded of people dancing inside the church, on Easter and Christmas, after Patriarch Theophylactos had granted his permission. Other times they danced and sang extemporized songs, making fun of the emperor, the soldiers danced as part of their drill and danced after maneuvers for amusement
Byzantine dance
–
Byzantine culture
Byzantine dance
–
An example of Byzantine dance from the
Paris Psalter manuscript.
11.
Byzantine diplomacy
–
All these neighbors lacked a key resource that Byzantium had taken over from Rome, namely a formalized legal structure. When they set about forging formal political institutions, they were dependent on the empire, whereas classical writers are fond of making a sharp distinction between peace and war, for the Byzantines diplomacy was a form of war by other means. With a regular army of 120, 000-140,000 men after the losses of the seventh century, byzantiums Bureau of Barbarians was the first foreign intelligence agency, gathering information on the empire’s rivals from every imaginable source. On Strategy, from the 6th century, offers advice about foreign embassies and their attendants, however, should be kept under surveillance to keep them from obtaining any information by asking questions of our people. Byzantine diplomacy drew its neighbors into a network of international and interstate relations and this process revolved around treaty making. In order to drive this process, the Byzantines availed themselves of a number of diplomatic practices. For example, embassies to Constantinople would often stay on for years, another key practice was to overwhelm visitors by sumptuous displays. Constantinoples riches served the states diplomatic purposes as a means of propaganda, when Liutprand of Cremona was sent as an ambassador to the Byzantine capital, he was overwhelmed by the imperial residence, the luxurious meals, and acrobatic entertainment. The fact that Byzantium in its dealings with the generally preferred diplomacy to war is not surprising. The Byzantines were skilled at using diplomacy as a weapon of war, if the Bulgars threatened, subsidies could be given to the Kiev Rus. A Rus threat could be countered by subsidies to the Patzinaks, if the Patzinaks proved troublesome, the Cumans or Uzès could be contacted. There was always someone to the rear in a position to appreciate the emperors largesse. Another innovative principle of Byzantine diplomacy was effective interference in the affairs of other states. In 1282, Michael VIII sponsored a revolt in Sicily against Charles of Anjou called the Sicilian Vespers, emperor Heraclius once intercepted a message from Persian rival Khosrau II which ordered the execution of a general. Heraclius added 400 names to the message and diverted the messenger, the emperor maintained a stable of pretenders to almost every foreign throne. These could be given funds and released to wreak havoc if their homeland threatened attack
Byzantine diplomacy
–
Olga, ruler of
Kievan Rus', along with her escort in
Constantinople (
Madrid Skylitzes,
Biblioteca Nacional de España,
Madrid)
Byzantine diplomacy
–
Byzantine culture
Byzantine diplomacy
–
Omurtag,
ruler of Bulgaria, sends delegation to Byzantine emperor
Michael II (Madrid Skylitzes, Biblioteca Nacional de España, Madrid).
12.
Byzantine dress
–
Byzantine dress changed considerably over the thousand years of the Empire, but was essentially conservative. A different border or trimming round the edges was very common, taste for the middle and upper classes followed the latest fashions at the Imperial Court. In the early stages of the Byzantine Empire the traditional Roman toga was still used as formal or official dress. The hems often curve down to a sharp point, in general, except for military and presumably riding-dress, men of higher status, and all women, had clothes that came down to the ankles, or nearly so. Women often wore a top layer of the stola, for the rich in brocade, all of these, except the stola, might be belted or not. The chlamys, a semicircular cloak fastened to the shoulder continued throughout the period. The length fell sometimes only to the hips or as far as the ankles, much longer than the version worn in Ancient Greece. As well as his courtiers, Emperor Justinian wears one, with a huge brooch, a paragauda or border of thick cloth, usually including gold, was also an indicator of rank. Sometimes an oblong cloak would be worn, especially by the military and ordinary people, cloaks were pinned on the right shoulder for ease of movement, and access to a sword. Leggings and hose were worn, but are not prominent in depictions of the wealthy, they were associated with barbarians. Even basic clothes appear to have been expensive for the poor. Others, when engaged in activity, are shown with the sides of their tunic tied up to the waist for ease of movement, the most common images surviving from the Byzantine period are not relevant as references for actual dress worn in the period. Sandals are worn on the feet and this costume is not commonly seen in secular contexts, although possibly this is deliberate, to avoid confusing secular with divine subjects. The Theotokos is shown wearing a maphorion, a more shaped mantle with a hood and this probably is close to actual typical dress for widows, and for married women when in public. The Virgins underdress may be visible, especially at the sleeves, there are also conventions for Old Testament prophets and other Biblical figures. Apart from Christ and the Virgin, much iconographic dress is white or relatively muted in colour especially when on walls and in manuscripts, many other figures in Biblical scenes, especially if unnamed, are usually depicted wearing contemporary Byzantine clothing. Modesty was important for all except the very rich, and most women appear almost entirely covered by rather shapeless clothes, the basic garment in the early Empire comes down to the ankles, with a high round collar and tight sleeves to the wrist. The fringes and cuffs might be decorated with embroidery, with a band around the arm as well
Byzantine dress
–
A 14th-century military martyr wears four layers, all patterned and richly trimmed: a cloak with tablion over a short dalmatic, another layer (?), and a tunic
Byzantine dress
–
Mosaic from the
San Vitale church in
Ravenna. Few later emperors would dress so simply as in a mosaic as
Justinian I here, though his dress is far richer at every point than his attendants. He and they have the tablion diagonally across their torsos. This
bishop probably wore this style of dress, which is very close to modern church
vestments, for most of the time. Note what appears to be shoes and socks.
Byzantine dress
–
Moses has iconographic dress, the others everyday contemporary clothes, 10th century
Byzantine dress
–
Two embroidered roundels from an Egyptian 7th century tunic
13.
Byzantine gardens
–
The city of Byzantium in the Byzantine Empire occupies an important place in the history of garden design between eras and cultures. The city, later renamed Constantinople and the present day Istanbul, was capital of the Eastern Roman Empire, the gardens of Byzantium were, however, mostly destroyed after the 15th-century Turkish conquest of the city. Byzantine gardens were based largely on Roman ideas emphasizing elaborate mosaic designs and these gradually grew to become more elaborate as time passed. Byzantine gardens have influenced Islamic gardens and particularly moorish gardens (because Spain was before a Byzantine province, little else is known about Byzantine gardens, however, and very few references, let alone entire treatises, exist on the subject. The Byzantines, like their Greco-Roman predecessors, attached great importance to such matters of aesthetics, however, ancient Greek gardens and Roman gardens were more developed and documented. Marie-Luise Gothein, History of Byzantine Gardens
Byzantine gardens
–
Byzantine culture
Byzantine gardens
–
A modern bronze copy of a
Greek garden statue, the type of which survived well into
Late Antiquity.
Byzantine gardens
–
Gardening
14.
Byzantine law
–
Byzantine law was essentially a continuation of Roman law with increased Christian influence. Most sources define Byzantine law as the Roman legal traditions starting after the reign of Justinian I in the 6th century, the most important work of Byzantine law was the Ecloga, issued by Leo III, the first major Roman-Byzantine legal code issued in Greek rather than Latin. Soon after the Farmers Law was established regulating legal standards outside the cities, Byzantine law was effectively devolved into two spheres, Ecclesiastical law and secular law. Byzantium inherited its main political, cultural and social institutions from Rome, similarly, Roman law constituted the basis for the Byzantine legal system. For many centuries, the two great codifications of Roman law, carried out by Theodosius II and Justinian respectively, were the cornerstones of Byzantine legislation. Of course, over the years these Roman codes were adjusted to the current circumstances, however, the influence of Roman law persisted, and it is obvious in codifications, such as Basilika, which was based on Corpus Juris Civilis. In the 11th century, Michael Psellos prides himself for being acquainted with the Roman legal legacy, in accordance with the late Roman legal tradition, the main source of law in Byzantium remained the enactments of the emperors. The latter initiated some major codifications of the Roman law, but they issued their own new laws. In early Byzantine era the legislative interest of the emperors intensified, for example, Constantine I was the first to regulate divorce and Theodosius I intervened in faith issues, imposing a specific version of the Creed. From Diocletian to Theodosius I, namely during approximately 100 years, Justinian alone promulgated approximately 600 laws. Gradually, the legislative enthusiasm receded, but still some of the laws of later emperors, custom continued to play a limited role as a secondary source of law, but written legislation had a precedence. There is no established date for when the so-called Byzantine period of Roman history begins. During the 4th, 5th, and 6th centuries the Empire was split, but it was during this period that Constantinople was first established and the East gained its own identity administratively, thus, it is often considered the early Byzantine period. These developments, nevertheless, were key steps in the formation of Byzantine Law, in 438, Emperor Theodosius published the Codex Theodosianus, which consisted of 16 books, containing all standing laws from the age of Constantine I till then. Soon after his accession in 527, Justinian appointed a commission to collect, a second commission, headed by the jurist Tribonian, was appointed in 530 to select matter of permanent value from the works of the jurists, to edit it and to arrange it into 50 books. In 533 this commission produced the Digesta, although Law as practiced in Rome had grown up as a type of case law, this was not the Roman Law known to the Medieval, or modern world. Now Roman law claims to be based on principles of justice that were made into actual rules of law by legislative authority of the emperor or the Roman people. These ideas were transmitted to the Middle Ages in the codification of Roman law carried throughout by the emperor Justinian
Byzantine law
–
Byzantine culture
15.
Byzantine literature
–
Byzantine literature is the Greek literature of the Middle Ages, whether written in the territory of the Byzantine Empire or outside its borders. It forms the second period in the history of Greek literature, though popular Byzantine literature and early Modern Greek literature and this practice was perpetuated by a long-established system of Greek education where rhetoric was a leading subject. A typical product of this Byzantine education was the Greek Church Fathers, consequently, the vast Christian literature of the 3rd to 6th centuries established a synthesis of Hellenic and Christian thought. In addition, this style was also removed from the Koine Greek language of the New Testament, reaching back to Homer. In this manner, the culture of the Byzantine Empire was marked for over 1000 years by a diglossy between two different forms of the language, which were used for different purposes. However, the relations between the high and low forms of Greek changed over the centuries, the political recovery of the 9th century instigated a literary revival, in which a conscious attempt was made to recreate the Hellenic-Christian literary culture of late antiquity. Simple or popular Greek was avoided in literary use and many of the saints lives were rewritten in an archaizing style. By the 12th century the cultural confidence of the Byzantine Greeks led them to new literary genres, such as romantic fiction, in which adventure. Satire made occasional use of elements from spoken Greek, at the same time there was the beginning of a flourishing literature in an approximation to the vernacular Modern Greek. However the vernacular literature was limited to poetic romances and popular devotional writing, all serious literature continued to make use of the archaizing language of learned Greek tradition. Byzantine literature has two sources, Classical Greek and Orthodox Christian tradition, each of those sources provided a series of models and references for the Byzantine writer and his readers. The oldest of three civilizations is the Greek, centered not in Athens but in Alexandria and Hellenistic civilization. Alexandria through this period is the center of both Atticizing scholarship and of Graeco-Judaic social life, looking towards Athens as well as towards Jerusalem and this intellectual dualism between the culture of scholars and that of the people permeates the Byzantine period. Both tendencies persisted in Byzantium, but the first, as the one officially recognized, retained predominance and was not driven from the field until the fall of the empire, the reactionary linguistic movement known as Atticism supported and enforced this scholarly tendency. Alexandria, the center, is balanced by Rome, the center of government. It is as a Roman Empire that the Byzantine state first entered history, its citizens were known as Romans and its laws were Roman, so were its government, its army, and its official class, and at first also its language and its private and public life. The organization of the state was similar to that of the Roman imperial period, including its hierarchy. It was in Alexandria that Graeco-Oriental Christianity had its birth, on Egyptian soil monasticism began and thrived
Byzantine literature
–
Byzantine culture
Byzantine literature
–
An 11th-century Byzantine
Gospel; its ornate presentation illustrates the decorative style employed by scholars of that age.
Byzantine literature
–
An illumination of a scene from the
Skylitzes Chronicle, depicting a
Thracesian woman killing a Varangian who tried to rape her, whereupon his comrades praised her and gave her his possessions.
Byzantine literature
–
A Byzantine
Gospel of the 13th century, it shows the increasing trend towards the use of
Ivory as an artistic tool.
16.
Byzantine medicine
–
Byzantine medicine encompasses the common medical practices of the Byzantine Empire from about 400 AD to 1453 AD. Byzantine medicine was notable for building upon the base developed by its Greco-Roman predecessors. In preserving medical practices from antiquity, Byzantine medicine influenced Islamic medicine as well as fostering the Western rebirth of medicine during the Renaissance, Byzantine physicians often compiled and standardized medical knowledge into textbooks. Their records tended to include both diagnostic explanations and technical drawings, the Medical Compendium in Seven Books, written by the leading physician Paul of Aegina, survived as a particularly thorough source of medical knowledge. This compendium, written in the seventh century, remained in use as a standard textbook for the following 800 years. Late antiquity ushered in a revolution in science, and historical records often mention civilian hospitals. Constantinople stood out as a center of medicine during the Middle Ages, which was aided by its crossroads location, wealth, arguably, the first Byzantine physician was the author of the Vienna Dioscurides manuscript, created circa 515 AD for the daughter of Emperor Olybrius. Oribasius, arguably the most prolific Byzantine compiler of medical knowledge, several of his works, along with those of other Byzantine physicians, were translated into Latin, and eventually, during the Enlightenment and Age of Reason, into English and French. Therefore, it could be argued that previous misrepresentations about Byzantium being simply a carrier of Ancient Medical knowledge to the Renaissance are wrong. It is known, for example, that the late twelfth-century Italian physician was influenced by the treatises of the Byzantine doctors Aëtius, the last great Byzantine physician was John Actuarius, who lived in the early 14th Century in Constantinople. His works on urine laid much of the foundation for later study in urology, the Byzantine Empire was one of the first empires to have flourishing medical establishments. Prior to the Byzantine Empire the Roman Empire had hospitals specifically for soldiers, however, none of these establishments were for the public. The hospitals in Byzantium were originally started by the church to act as a place for the poor to have access to basic amenities, hospitals were usually separated between men and women. The establishments of the Byzantine Empire resembled the beginning of what we now know as modern hospitals, the first hospital was erected by Leontius of Antioch between the years 344 to 358 and was a place for strangers and migrants to find refuge. Around the same time, a deacon named Marathonius was in charge of hospitals and his main objective was to improve urban aesthetics, illustrating hospitals as a main part of Byzantine cities. These early hospitals were designed for the poor, in fact, most hospitals throughout the Byzantine Empire were almost exclusively utilized by the poor. There is debate between scholars as to why these institutions were started by the church, many scholars believe that the church founded hospitals in order to receive additional donations. Whatever the case for these hospitals, they began to diffuse across the empire, soon after, St. Basil of Caesarea developed a place for the sick in which provided refuge for the sick and homeless
Byzantine medicine
–
Byzantine culture
Byzantine medicine
–
A gallery of birds from the
Vienna Dioscurides Byzantine manuscript.
Byzantine medicine
–
East Asian
17.
Byzantine music
–
Byzantine music, in a narrow sense, is the music of the Byzantine Empire. Originally it consisted of songs and hymns composed to Greek texts used for courtly ceremonials, during festivals, Byzantine music did not disappear after the fall of Constantinople. During the decline of the Ottoman Empire in the 19th century, the new self-declared patriarchates were independent nations defined by their religion. It was imitated by musicians of the 7th century to create Arab music as a synthesis of Byzantine and Persian music, the term Byzantine music is sometimes associated with the medieval sacred chant of Christian Churches following the Constantinopolitan Rite. The triodion created during the reform of Theodore was also translated into Slavonic which required also the adaption of melodic models to the prosody of the language. It is being discussed that in the Narthex of the Hagia Sophia an organ was placed for use in processions of the Emperor’s entourage. Nevertheless, both schools have in common a set of 4 octaves, each of them had a kyrios echos with the finalis on the degree V of the mode, and a plagios echos with the final note on the degree I. The Pythagorean sect and music as part of the four cyclical exercises which preceded the Latin quadrivium and science based on mathematics. Greek anachoretes of the early Middle Ages did still follow this education, according to him philosophy was divided into theory and practice, and the Pythagorean heritage was part of the former, while only the ethic effects of music were relevant in practice. The mathematic science harmonics was usually not mixed with the topics of a chant manual. Nevertheless, Byzantine music is modal and entirely dependent on the Ancient Greek concept of harmonics and its tonal system is based on a synthesis with ancient Greek models, but we have no sources left which explain us, how this synthesis was done. It seems that the fixed degrees became part of a new concept of the echos as melodic mode, after the echoi had been called by the ethnic names of the tropes. The bowed lyra is played in former Byzantine regions, where it is known as the Politiki lyra in Greece, the Calabrian lira in Southern Italy. The second instrument, the organ, originated in the Hellenistic world and was used in the Hippodrome in Constantinople during races, a pipe organ with great leaden pipes was sent by the emperor Constantine V to Pepin the Short King of the Franks in 757. Pepins son Charlemagne requested a similar organ for his chapel in Aachen in 812, the final Byzantine instrument, the aulos, was a double reeded woodwind like the modern oboe or Armenian duduk. Other forms include the plagiaulos, which resembled the flute, and the askaulos and these bagpipes, also known as Dankiyo, had been played even in Roman times. Dio Chrysostom wrote in the 1st century of a sovereign who could play a pipe with his mouth as well as by tucking a bladder beneath his armpit. The bagpipes continued to be played throughout the former realms down to the present
Byzantine music
–
Music of Greece
Byzantine music
–
Byzantine culture
Byzantine music
–
Earliest known depiction of
lyra in a Byzantine ivory casket
Byzantine music
–
Chludov Psalter, 9th century (Moscow, Hist. Museum Ms. D.129, fol. 135) River of Babylon as illustration of Ps. 137:1-3
18.
Byzantine navy
–
The Byzantine navy was the naval force of the East Roman or Byzantine Empire. Like the empire it served, it was a continuation from its Imperial Roman predecessor. The first threat to Roman hegemony in the Mediterranean was posed by the Vandals in the 5th century and this process would be furthered with the onset of the Muslim conquests in the 7th century. Following the loss of the Levant and later Africa, the Mediterranean Sea was transformed from a Roman lake into a battleground between Byzantines and Arabs, initially, the defence of the Byzantine coasts and the approaches to Constantinople was borne by the great fleet of the Karabisianoi. Progressively however it was split up into several regional fleets, while a central Imperial Fleet was maintained at Constantinople, guarding the city, by the late 8th century, the Byzantine navy, a well-organized and maintained force, was again the dominant maritime power in the Mediterranean. The antagonism with the Muslim navies continued with alternating success, but in the 10th century, during the 11th century, the navy, like the Empire itself, began to decline. A period of recovery under the Komnenians was followed by period of decline. After the Empire was restored in 1261, several emperors of the Palaiologan dynasty tried to revive the navy, the diminished navy, however, continued to be active until the fall of the Byzantine Empire to the Ottomans in 1453. The Byzantine navy, like the Eastern Roman or Byzantine Empire itself, was a continuation of the Roman Empire, after the Battle of Actium in 31 BC, in the absence of any external threat in the Mediterranean, the Roman navy performed mostly policing and escort duties. Massive sea battles, like those fought in the Punic Wars, no longer occurred, the civil wars of the 4th and early 5th centuries, however, did spur a revival of naval activity, with fleets mostly employed to transport armies. The new Vandalic Kingdom of Carthage, under the capable king Geiseric, immediately launched raids against the coasts of Italy and Greece, the Vandal raids continued unabated over the next two decades, despite repeated Roman attempts to defeat them. The Western Empire was impotent, its navy having dwindled to almost nothing, a first Eastern expedition in 448, however, went no further than Sicily, and in 460, the Vandals attacked and destroyed a Western Roman invasion fleet at Cartagena in Spain. Finally, in 468, a huge Eastern expedition was assembled under Basiliscus, reputedly numbering 1,113 ships and 100,000 men, but it failed disastrously. About 600 ships were lost to ships, and the financial cost of 130,000 pounds of gold and 700000 pounds of silver nearly bankrupted the Empire. This forced the Romans to come to terms with Geiseric and sign a peace treaty, after Geiserics death in 477, however, the Vandal threat receded. The 6th century marked the rebirth of Roman naval power, in 508, as antagonism with the Ostrogothic Kingdom of Theodoric flared up, the Emperor Anastasius I is reported to have sent a fleet of 100 warships to raid the coasts of Italy. In 513, the general Vitalian revolted against Anastasius, the rebels assembled a fleet of 200 ships which, despite some initial successes, were destroyed by admiral Marinus, who employed a sulphur-based incendiary substance to defeat them. This fact was not lost on the Byzantines enemies, already in the 520s, Theodoric had planned to build a massive fleet directed against the Byzantines and the Vandals, but his death in 526 limited the extent to which these plans were realized
Byzantine navy
–
By the late 5th century, the Western Mediterranean had fallen into the hands of barbarian kingdoms. The conquests of Justinian I restored Roman control over the entire sea, which would last until the Muslim conquests in the latter half of the 7th century.
Byzantine navy
–
The imperial ensign (basilikon phlamoulon) carried by Byzantine warships in the 14th century, as described by
Pseudo-Kodinos and illustrated in the Castilian atlas
Conosçimiento de todos los reynos (ca. 1350)
Byzantine navy
–
Emperor
Leo III the Isaurian and his son and successor,
Constantine V. Together, they spearheaded a revival of Byzantine fortunes against the Arabs, but also caused great internal strife because of their
iconoclastic policies.
Byzantine navy
–
The Saracen pirate fleet sails towards Crete. From the
Madrid Skylitzes manuscript.
19.
Byzantine Greeks
–
Throughout the Middle Ages, the Byzantine Greeks self-identified as Rhōmaîoi and Graikoí, but are referred to as Byzantines and Byzantine Greeks in modern historiography. The terms Byzantine Empire and Byzantine Greeks were first coined in the English language in 1857 by British historian George Finlay, the social structure of the Byzantine Greeks was primarily supported by a rural, agrarian base that consisted of the peasantry, and a small fraction of the poor. These peasants lived within three kinds of settlements, the chorion or village, the agridion or hamlet, and the proasteion or estate. Many civil disturbances that occurred during the time of the Byzantine Empire were attributed to political factions within the Empire rather than to large popular base. Soldiers among the Byzantine Greeks were at first conscripted amongst the rural peasants, as the Byzantine Empire entered the 11th century, more of the soldiers within the army were either professional men-at-arms or mercenaries. Until the twelfth century, education within the Byzantine Greek population was more advanced than in the West, particularly at primary school level, success came easily to Byzantine Greek merchants, who enjoyed a very strong position in international trade. Despite the challenges posed by rival Italian merchants, they held their own throughout the half of the Byzantine Empires existence. The clergy also held a place, not only having more freedom than their Western counterparts. This position of strength had built up over time, for at the beginning of the Byzantine Empire, under Emperor Constantine the Great, only a part, about 10%. The language of the Byzantine Greeks since the age of Constantine had been Greek, from the reign of Emperor Heraclius, Greek was the predominant language amongst the populace and also replaced Latin in administration. Over time, the relationship between them and the West, particularly with Latin Europe, deteriorated, relations were further damaged by a schism between the Catholic West and Orthodox East that led to the Byzantine Greeks being labeled as heretics in the West. However, the Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire, during most of the Middle Ages, the Byzantine Greeks self-identified as Rhōmaîoi, a term which in the Greek language had become synonymous with Christian Greeks. The ancient name Hellenes was in popular use synonymous to pagan and was revived as an ethnonym in the Middle Byzantine period, the term Byzantines or Byzantine Greeks is an exonym applied by later historians like Hieronymus Wolf, the Byzantines continued to call themselves Romaioi in their language. Most historians agree that the features of their civilization were, 1) Greek language, culture, literature. The Eastern Roman Empire was in language and civilization a Greek society, the term Byzantine has been adopted by Western scholarship on the assumption that anything Roman is essentially Western. However, modern Greeks still use the ethnonyms Romaioi and Graikoi to refer to themselves, as well as the terms Romaica, byzantinist August Heisenberg defined the Byzantine Empire as the Christianised Roman empire of the Greek nation. Byzantium was primarily known as the Empire of the Greeks by Western Europeans due to the predominance of Greek linguistic, cultural, many Greek Orthodox populations, particularly those outside the newly independent modern Greek state, continued to refer to themselves as Romioi well into the 20th century. Some of the children ran to see what Greek soldiers looked like
Byzantine Greeks
–
Byzantine culture
Byzantine Greeks
–
The
double-headed eagle, emblem of the
Palaiologos dynasty.
Byzantine Greeks
–
Soldier wearing the lamellar klivanion cuirass and a straight spathion sword.
Byzantine Greeks
–
A page of 5th or 6th century
Iliad like the one a grammarian might possess.
20.
Byzantine science
–
Its rich historiographical tradition preserved ancient knowledge upon which splendid art, architecture, literature and technological achievements were built. Byzantine science was essentially classical science, therefore, Byzantine science was in every period closely connected with ancient-pagan philosophy, and metaphysics. Despite some opposition to pagan learning, many of the most distinguished classical scholars held high office in the Church, even the latter offered instruction in the ancient classics, and included literary, philosophical, and scientific texts in its curriculum. The monastic schools concentrated upon the Bible, theology, and liturgy, Byzantine scientists preserved and continued the legacy of the great Ancient Greek mathematicians and put mathematics in practice. In late Byzantium mathematicians like Michael Psellos considered mathematics as a way to interpret the world, medicine was one of the sciences in which the Byzantines improved on their Greco-Roman predecessors. As a result, Byzantine medicine had an influence on Islamic medicine as well as the medicine of the Renaissance, Greek fire was an incendiary weapon used by the Byzantine Empire. The Byzantines typically used it in battles to great effect as it could continue burning even on water. Greek fire proper however was invented in c,672, and is ascribed by the chronicler Theophanes to Kallinikos, an architect from Heliopolis in the former province of Phoenice, by then overrun by the Muslim conquests. During the Middle Ages, there was frequently an exchange of works between Byzantine and Islamic science, there were also some Byzantine scientists who used Arabic transliterations to describe certain scientific concepts instead of the equivalent Ancient Greek terms. Byzantine science thus played an important role in not only transmitting ancient Greek knowledge to Western Europe and the Islamic world, Byzantine scientists also became acquainted with Sassanid and Indian astronomy through citations in some Arabic works. In Eustathius of Thessalonica Byzantine humanism found its most characteristic expression, during the 13th and 14th centuries, a period of intense creative activity, Byzantine humanism approached its zenith, and manifested a striking analogy to the contemporaneous Italian humanism. Byzantine humanism believed in the vitality of classical civilization, and of its sciences, despite the political, and military decline of these last two centuries, the Empire saw a flourishing of science and literature, often described as the Palaeologean or Last Byzantine Renaissance. Some of this eras most eminent representatives are, Maximus Planudes, Manuel Moschopulus, Demetrius Triclinius, Byzantine scholars in Renaissance List of Byzantine scholars Science in the Middle Ages Islamic science John Philoponus
Byzantine science
–
The frontispiece of the
Vienna Dioscurides shows a set of seven famous
physicians. The most prominent man in the picture is
Galen, who sits on a folding chair.
Byzantine science
–
Byzantine culture
21.
Constantinople
–
Constantinople was the capital city of the Roman/Byzantine Empire, and also of the brief Latin, and the later Ottoman empires. It was reinaugurated in 324 AD from ancient Byzantium as the new capital of the Roman Empire by Emperor Constantine the Great, after whom it was named, Constantinople was famed for its massive and complex defences. The first wall of the city was erected by Constantine I, Constantinople never truly recovered from the devastation of the Fourth Crusade and the decades of misrule by the Latins. The origins of the name of Byzantion, more known by the later Latin Byzantium, are not entirely clear. The founding myth of the city has it told that the settlement was named after the leader of the Megarian colonists, Byzas. The later Byzantines of Constantinople themselves would maintain that the city was named in honour of two men, Byzas and Antes, though this was likely just a play on the word Byzantion. During this time, the city was also called Second Rome, Eastern Rome, and Roma Constantinopolitana. As the city became the remaining capital of the Roman Empire after the fall of the West, and its wealth, population, and influence grew. In the language of other peoples, Constantinople was referred to just as reverently, the medieval Vikings, who had contacts with the empire through their expansion in eastern Europe used the Old Norse name Miklagarðr, and later Miklagard and Miklagarth. In Arabic, the city was sometimes called Rūmiyyat al-kubra and in Persian as Takht-e Rum, in East and South Slavic languages, including in medieval Russia, Constantinople was referred to as Tsargrad or Carigrad, City of the Caesar, from the Slavonic words tsar and grad. This was presumably a calque on a Greek phrase such as Βασιλέως Πόλις, the modern Turkish name for the city, İstanbul, derives from the Greek phrase eis tin polin, meaning into the city or to the city. In 1928, the Turkish alphabet was changed from Arabic script to Latin script, in time the city came to be known as Istanbul and its variations in most world languages. In Greece today, the city is still called Konstantinoúpolis/Konstantinoúpoli or simply just the City, apart from this, little is known about this initial settlement, except that it was abandoned by the time the Megarian colonists settled the site anew. A farsighted treaty with the emergent power of Rome in c.150 BC which stipulated tribute in exchange for independent status allowed it to enter Roman rule unscathed. The site lay astride the land route from Europe to Asia and the seaway from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean, and had in the Golden Horn an excellent and spacious harbour. He would later rebuild Byzantium towards the end of his reign, in which it would be briefly renamed Augusta Antonina, fortifying it with a new city wall in his name, Constantine had altogether more colourful plans. Rome was too far from the frontiers, and hence from the armies and the imperial courts, yet it had been the capital of the state for over a thousand years, and it might have seemed unthinkable to suggest that the capital be moved to a different location. Constantinople was built over 6 years, and consecrated on 11 May 330, Constantine divided the expanded city, like Rome, into 14 regions, and ornamented it with public works worthy of an imperial metropolis
Constantinople
–
Constantinople in the Byzantine era
Constantinople
–
Map of Byzantine Constantinople
Constantinople
–
Emperor
Constantine I presents a representation of the city of Constantinople as tribute to an enthroned Mary and Christ Child in this church mosaic.
Hagia Sophia, c. 1000
Constantinople
–
Coin struck by Constantine I to commemorate the founding of Constantinople
22.
Eurasia
–
Eurasia /jʊˈreɪʒə/ is a combined continental landmass of Europe and Asia. The term is a portmanteau of its constituent continents, in geology, Eurasia is often considered as a single rigid megablock. However, the rigidity of Eurasia is debated based on the paleomagnet data, Eurasia covers around 55,000,000 square kilometres, or around 36. 2% of the Earths total land area. The landmass contains around 5.0 billion people, equating to approximately 70% of the human population, humans first settled in Eurasia between 60,000 and 125,000 years ago. Physiographically, Eurasia is a single continent, the concepts of Europe and Asia as distinct continents date back to antiquity and their borders are geologically arbitrary. Eurasia is connected to Africa at the Suez Canal, and Eurasia is sometimes combined with Africa as the largest contiguous landmass on Earth called Afro-Eurasia. Eurasia formed 375 to 325 million years ago with the merging of Siberia, Kazakhstania, and Baltica, chinese cratons collided with Siberias southern coast. Eurasia has been the host of ancient civilizations, including those based in Mesopotamia. In the Axial Age, a belt of civilizations stretched through the Eurasian subtropical zone from the Atlantic to the Pacific. This belt became the mainstream of world history for two millennia, originally, “Eurasia” is a geographical notion, in this sense, it is simply the biggest continent, the combined landmass of Europe and Asia. However, geopolitically, the word has different meanings, reflecting the specific geopolitical interests of each nation. “Eurasia” is one of the most important geopolitical concepts, as Zbigniew Brzezinski observed, how America manages Eurasia is critical. A power that dominates “Eurasia” would control two of the three most advanced and economically productive regions. About 75 per cent of the people live in “Eurasia”. “Eurasia” accounts for about three-fourths of the known energy resources. ”At the moment one of the most prominent projects of the European Union is the Russia - EU Four Common Spaces Initiative. A political and economic union of former Soviet states named the Eurasian Economic Union was established in 2015, the Russian concept of “Eurasia” corresponded initially more or less to the land area of Imperial Russia in 1914, including parts of Eastern Europe. One of Russias main geopolitical interests lies in ever closer integration with those countries that it considers part of “Eurasia. ”Every two years since 1996 a meeting of most Asian and European countries is organised as the Asia-Europe Meeting. In ancient times, the Greeks classified Europe and Asia as separate lands, where to draw the dividing line between the two regions is still a matter of discussion
Eurasia
–
Eurasia with surrounding areas of
Africa and
Australasia visible
Eurasia
–
Eurasia
Eurasia
–
Afro-Eurasian aspect of
Earth
23.
Fourth Crusade
–
The Fourth Crusade was a Western European armed expedition called by Pope Innocent III, originally intended to conquer Muslim-controlled Jerusalem by means of an invasion through Egypt. Instead, a sequence of events culminated in the Crusaders sacking the city of Constantinople, the intention of the crusaders was then to continue to the Holy Land with promised Byzantine financial and military assistance. On 23 June 1203 the main fleet reached Constantinople. In August 1203, following clashes outside Constantinople, Alexios Angelos was crowned co-Emperor with crusader support, however, in January 1204, he was deposed by a popular uprising in Constantinople. In April 1204, they captured and brutally sacked the city, Byzantine resistance based in unconquered sections of the empire such as Nicaea, Trebizond, and Epirus ultimately recovered Constantinople in 1261. Ayyubid Sultan Saladin had conquered most of the Frankish, Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem, including the ancient city itself, the Kingdom had been established 88 years before, after the capture and sack of Jerusalem in the First Crusade. The city was sacred to Christians, Muslims and Jews, Saladin led a Muslim dynasty, and his incorporation of Jerusalem into his domains shocked and dismayed the Catholic countries of Western Europe. Legend has it that Pope Urban III literally died of the shock, the crusader states had been reduced to three cities along the sea coast, Tyre, Tripoli, and Antioch. The Third Crusade reclaimed an extensive amount of territory for the Kingdom of Jerusalem, including the key towns of Acre and Jaffa, but had failed to retake Jerusalem. The crusade had also marked by a significant escalation in long standing tensions between the feudal states of western Europe and the Byzantine Empire, centred in Constantinople. The experiences of the first two crusades had thrown into relief the vast cultural differences between the two Christian civilisations. For their part, the educated and wealthy Byzantines maintained a sense of cultural, organizational. Constantinople had been in existence for 874 years at the time of the Fourth Crusade and was the largest and most sophisticated city in Christendom. Almost alone amongst major medieval urban centres, it had retained the civic structures, public baths, forums, monuments, at its height, the city held an estimated population of about half a million people behind thirteen miles of triple walls. As a result, it was both a rival and a target for the aggressive new states of the west, notably the Republic of Venice. Crusaders also seized the breakaway Byzantine province of Cyprus, rather than return it to the Empire, barbarossa died on crusade, and his army quickly disintegrated, leaving the English and French, who had come by sea, to fight Saladin. There they captured Sidon and Beirut, but at the news of Henrys death in Messina along the way, many of the nobles, deserted by much of their leadership, the rank and file crusaders panicked before an Egyptian army and fled to their ships in Tyre. Also in 1195, the Byzantine Emperor Isaac II Angelos was deposed in favour of his brother by a palace coup, ascending as Alexios III Angelos, the new emperor had his brother blinded and exiled
Fourth Crusade
–
Conquest of Constantinople by the Crusaders in 1204
Fourth Crusade
–
The Crusader attack on Constantinople, from a Venetian manuscript of Geoffreoy de Villehardouin's history, ca. 1330
Fourth Crusade
–
Capture of Constantinople by the Fourth Crusade in 1204
Fourth Crusade
–
The Entry of the Crusaders into Constantinople (
Eugène Delacroix, 1840). The most infamous action of the Fourth Crusade was the sack of the Orthodox Christian city of
Constantinople
24.
Palaiologoi
–
Founded by the 11th-century general Nikephoros Palaiologos and his son George, the family rose to the highest aristocratic circles through its marriage into the Doukas and Komnenos dynasties. A branch of the Palaiologos became the lords of Montferrat. This inheritance was eventually incorporated by marriage to the Gonzaga family, rulers of the Duchy of Mantua, the origins of the Palaiologoi are unknown. Later traditions sometimes tied them to the Italian city of Viterbo or to the Romans who immigrated east with Constantine the Great during the founding of his new capital, both were probably fabrications created to help legitimize the dynasty. The family are first attested as local lords in Asia Minor, particularly Anatolikon and he supported the revolt of Nikephoros Botaneiates, while his son George married Anna Doukaina and therefore supported his sister-in-laws husband Alexios Komnenos during his rise to power. As commander of Dyrrhachium, George faced the Norman Duke Robert Guiscard in battle, the Palaiologoi held military offices and further united their family to the Doukai and Komnenoi during the 12th century. They followed Theodore Laskaris to Nicaea and began to assume high-ranking political offices as well, Alexios Palaiologos, whose wife was a granddaughter of Zoe Doukaina and her husband Adrianos Komnenos. Another Alexios Palaiologos married Irene Angelina, eldest daughter of Alexios III Angelos, the latter couples daughter Theodora Palaiologina married her cousin Andronikos Palaiologos, who was descended from Zoe. The couple were the progenitors of the imperial dynasty and their son was Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos. Michael VIIIs son Andronikos II Palaiologos married Anne of Hungary and fathered Michael Palaiologos, Michael IX married Rita of Armenia. Their son, the grandson of Andronikos II, was Andronikos III Palaiologos, Andronikos III married Anna of Savoy. Their son was John V Palaiologos, John V married Helena Kantakouzene, a daughter of his co-ruler John VI Kantakuzenos. Their sons included Andronikos IV Palaiologos and Manuel II Palaiologos and they were the parents of John VIII Palaiologos and Constantine XI Palaiologos, the last Byzantine emperor, as well as the despots of Morea Demetrios Palaiologos and Thomas Palaiologos. Demetrios, after giving Mehmed II a pretext to invade Morea, was kept from his throne and his daughter Helen was a member of the sultans harem for a time. Thomas, in exile in Venice, sold the title to Charles VIII of France. Thomas daughter Zoe married Ivan III of Russia and, on rejoining the Orthodox faith and her influence on the court curtailed the power of the boyars and eventually led to the proclamation of the Grand Prince of Muscovy as the Tsar of all the Russias. Though Thomass male-line descendants soon became extinct, his descent lives on through a daughter, one such female descendant, Princess dArenberg, married at the beginning of the 19th century a Pfalzgraf of Zweibrücken, whereby the Dukes of Bavaria descend from Byzantine emperors. Also Queen Anne, consort of former king Michael of Romania descends from these Arenbergs, reportedly Herina, the first wife of Emperor Isaac II Angelos who reigned from 1185 to 1195, was of the Palaiologos family
Palaiologoi
–
The
double-headed eagle was adopted as a symbol for high-ranking members of the imperial family (including the Emperor), during the Palaiologos dynasty period.
Palaiologoi
–
Medal of John VIII Palaeologus, on a
Renaissance medal by
Pisanello who saw the Emperor at
Ferrara.
25.
Medieval era
–
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or Medieval Period lasted from the 5th to the 15th century. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and merged into the Renaissance, the Middle Ages is the middle period of the three traditional divisions of Western history, classical antiquity, the medieval period, and the modern period. The medieval period is subdivided into the Early, High. Population decline, counterurbanisation, invasion, and movement of peoples, the large-scale movements of the Migration Period, including various Germanic peoples, formed new kingdoms in what remained of the Western Roman Empire. In the seventh century, North Africa and the Middle East—once part of the Byzantine Empire—came under the rule of the Umayyad Caliphate, although there were substantial changes in society and political structures, the break with classical antiquity was not complete. The still-sizeable Byzantine Empire survived in the east and remained a major power, the empires law code, the Corpus Juris Civilis or Code of Justinian, was rediscovered in Northern Italy in 1070 and became widely admired later in the Middle Ages. In the West, most kingdoms incorporated the few extant Roman institutions, monasteries were founded as campaigns to Christianise pagan Europe continued. The Franks, under the Carolingian dynasty, briefly established the Carolingian Empire during the later 8th, the Crusades, first preached in 1095, were military attempts by Western European Christians to regain control of the Holy Land from Muslims. Kings became the heads of centralised nation states, reducing crime and violence, intellectual life was marked by scholasticism, a philosophy that emphasised joining faith to reason, and by the founding of universities. Controversy, heresy, and the Western Schism within the Catholic Church paralleled the conflict, civil strife. Cultural and technological developments transformed European society, concluding the Late Middle Ages, the Middle Ages is one of the three major periods in the most enduring scheme for analysing European history, classical civilisation, or Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and the Modern Period. Medieval writers divided history into periods such as the Six Ages or the Four Empires, when referring to their own times, they spoke of them as being modern. In the 1330s, the humanist and poet Petrarch referred to pre-Christian times as antiqua, leonardo Bruni was the first historian to use tripartite periodisation in his History of the Florentine People. Bruni and later argued that Italy had recovered since Petrarchs time. The Middle Ages first appears in Latin in 1469 as media tempestas or middle season, in early usage, there were many variants, including medium aevum, or middle age, first recorded in 1604, and media saecula, or middle ages, first recorded in 1625. The alternative term medieval derives from medium aevum, tripartite periodisation became standard after the German 17th-century historian Christoph Cellarius divided history into three periods, Ancient, Medieval, and Modern. The most commonly given starting point for the Middle Ages is 476, for Europe as a whole,1500 is often considered to be the end of the Middle Ages, but there is no universally agreed upon end date. English historians often use the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485 to mark the end of the period
Medieval era
–
The
Cross of Mathilde, a
crux gemmata made for
Mathilde, Abbess of Essen (973–1011), who is shown kneeling before the Virgin and Child in the
enamel plaque. The body of Christ is slightly later. Probably made in
Cologne or
Essen, the cross demonstrates several medieval techniques:
cast figurative sculpture,
filigree, enamelling, gem polishing and setting, and the reuse of Classical
cameos and
engraved gems.
Medieval era
–
A late Roman statue
depicting the four Tetrarchs, now in
Venice
Medieval era
–
Coin of
Theodoric
Medieval era
–
Mosaic showing
Justinian with
the bishop of
Ravenna, bodyguards, and courtiers
26.
Republic of Venice
–
It was based in the lagoon communities of the historically prosperous city of Venice. It was a leading European economic and trading power during the Middle Ages, the Venetian city state was founded as a safe haven for people escaping persecution in mainland Europe after the fall of the Roman Empire. In its early years, it prospered on the salt trade, in subsequent centuries, the city state established a thalassocracy. It dominated trade on the Mediterranean Sea, including commerce between Asia, Europe and North Africa, the Venetian navy was used in the Crusades. Venice achieved territorial conquests along the Adriatic Sea, the city became home to an extremely wealthy merchant class, who patronized renowned art and architecture along the citys lagoons. Venetian merchants were influential financiers in Europe, the city was also the birthplace of great European explorers, including Marco Polo, as well as the classical music composer Vivaldi. The republic was ruled by the Doge, who was elected by members of the Great Council of Venice, the ruling class was an oligarchy of merchants and aristocrats. Venice and other Italian maritime republics played a key role in fostering capitalism, Venetian citizens generally supported the system of governance. The city-state enforced strict laws and employed ruthless tactics in its prisons, the opening of new trade routes to the Americas and the East Indies via the Atlantic Ocean marked the beginning of Venices decline as a maritime republic. The city state suffered defeats from the navy of the Ottoman Empire, in 1797, the country was colonized by Austria and France, following an invasion by Napoleon Bonaparte. Venice became a part of a unified Italy in the 19th century and it was formally known as the Most Serene Republic of Venice and is often referred to as La Serenissima, in reference to its title as one of the Most Serene Republics. He was the first historical Doge of Venice, whichever the case, the first doges had their power base in Heraclea. Ursuss successor, Deusdedit, moved his seat from Heraclea to Malamocco in the 740s and he was the son of Ursus and represented the attempt of his father to establish a dynasty. Such attempts were more commonplace among the doges of the first few centuries of Venetian history. They desired to remain well-connected to the Empire, another faction, republican in nature, believed in continuing along a course towards practical independence. The other main faction was pro-Frankish, supported mostly by clergy, they looked towards the new Carolingian king of the Franks, Pepin the Short, as the best provider of defence against the Lombards. A minor, pro-Lombard faction was opposed to close ties with any of these further-off powers, the successors of Obelerio inherited a united Venice. By the Pax Nicephori, the two emperors had recognised that Venice belonged to the Byzantine sphere of influence, many centuries later, the Venetians claimed that the treaty had recognised Venetian de facto independence, but the truth of this claim is doubted by modern scholars
Republic of Venice
–
Sack of Constantinople
Republic of Venice
–
Flag
Republic of Venice
–
Voyage of
Marco Polo into the Far East during the
Pax Mongolica
Republic of Venice
–
The
Piraeus Lion in
Venice - a spoil from Constantinople
27.
Latin Empire
–
It was established after the capture of Constantinople in 1204 and lasted until 1261. Baldwin IX, Count of Flanders, was crowned the first Latin emperor as Baldwin I on 16 May 1204, the last Latin emperor, Baldwin II, went into exile, but the imperial title survived, with several pretenders to it, until the 14th century. The original name of state in the Latin language was Imperium Romaniae. This name was used based on the fact that the name for the Eastern Roman Empire in this period had been Romania. The names Byzantine and Latin were not contemporaneous terms, the term Latin has been used because the crusaders were Roman Catholic and used Latin as their liturgical and scholarly language. It is used in contrast to the Eastern Orthodox locals who used Greek in both liturgy and common speech, after the fall of Constantinople in the Fourth Crusade, the crusaders agreed to divide up Byzantine territory. In the Partitio terrarum imperii Romaniae, signed on 1 October 1204, none of these polities actually controlled the city of Rome, which remained under the temporal authority of the Pope. The initial campaigns of the crusaders in Asia Minor resulted in the capture of most of Bithynia by 1205, with the defeat of the forces of Theodore I Laskaris at Poemanenum and Prusa. Latin successes continued, and in 1207 a truce was signed with Theodore, the Latins inflicted a further defeat on Nicaean forces at the Rhyndakos river in October 1211, and three years later the Treaty of Nymphaeum recognized their control of most of Bithynia and Mysia. The peace was maintained until 1222, when the resurgent power of Nicaea felt sufficiently strong to challenge the Latin Empire, Nicaea turned also to the Aegean, capturing the islands awarded to the empire. In 1235, finally, the last Latin possessions fell to Nicaea, unlike in Asia, where the Latin Empire faced only an initially weak Nicaea, in Europe it was immediately confronted with a powerful enemy, the Bulgarian tsar Kaloyan. When Baldwin campaigned against the Byzantine lords of Thrace, they called upon Kaloyan for help, at the Battle of Adrianople on 14 April 1205, the Latin heavy cavalry and knights were crushed by Kaloyans troops and Cuman allies, and Emperor Baldwin was captured. He was imprisoned in the Bulgarian capital Tarnovo until his later in 1205. At the same time, another Greek successor state, the Despotate of Epirus, under Michael I Komnenos Doukas, posed a threat to the vassals in Thessalonica. Henry demanded his submission, which Michael provided, giving off his daughter to Henrys brother Eustace in the summer of 1209 and this alliance allowed Henry to launch a campaign in Macedonia, Thessaly and Central Greece against the rebellious Lombard lords of Thessalonica. However, Michaels attack on the Kingdom of Thessalonica in 1210 forced him to north to relieve the city. In 1214 however, Michael died, and was succeeded by Theodore Komnenos Doukas, on 11 June 1216, while supervising repairs to the walls of Thessalonica, Henry died, and was succeeded by Peter of Courtenay, who himself was captured and executed by Theodore the following year. A regency was set up in Constantinople, headed by Peters widow, Yolanda of Flanders, epirote armies then conquered Thrace in 1225–26, appearing before Constantinople itself
Latin Empire
–
Capture of Constantinople during the
Fourth Crusade in 1204.
Latin Empire
–
The Latin Empire with its vassals (in yellow) and the Greek successor states of the Byzantine Empire (in red) after the
Treaty of Nymphaeum in 1214. The borders are very uncertain.
28.
Roman Empire
–
Civil wars and executions continued, culminating in the victory of Octavian, Caesars adopted son, over Mark Antony and Cleopatra at the Battle of Actium in 31 BC and the annexation of Egypt. Octavians power was then unassailable and in 27 BC the Roman Senate formally granted him overarching power, the imperial period of Rome lasted approximately 1,500 years compared to the 500 years of the Republican era. The first two centuries of the empires existence were a period of unprecedented political stability and prosperity known as the Pax Romana, following Octavians victory, the size of the empire was dramatically increased. After the assassination of Caligula in 41, the senate briefly considered restoring the republic, under Claudius, the empire invaded Britannia, its first major expansion since Augustus. Vespasian emerged triumphant in 69, establishing the Flavian dynasty, before being succeeded by his son Titus and his short reign was followed by the long reign of his brother Domitian, who was eventually assassinated. The senate then appointed the first of the Five Good Emperors, the empire reached its greatest extent under Trajan, the second in this line. A period of increasing trouble and decline began with the reign of Commodus, Commodus assassination in 192 triggered the Year of the Five Emperors, of which Septimius Severus emerged victorious. The assassination of Alexander Severus in 235 led to the Crisis of the Third Century in which 26 men were declared emperor by the Roman Senate over a time span. It was not until the reign of Diocletian that the empire was fully stabilized with the introduction of the Tetrarchy, which saw four emperors rule the empire at once. This arrangement was unsuccessful, leading to a civil war that was finally ended by Constantine I. Constantine subsequently shifted the capital to Byzantium, which was renamed Constantinople in his honour and it remained the capital of the east until its demise. Constantine also adopted Christianity which later became the state religion of the empire. However, Augustulus was never recognized by his Eastern colleague, and separate rule in the Western part of the empire ceased to exist upon the death of Julius Nepos. The Eastern Roman Empire endured for another millennium, eventually falling to the Ottoman Turks in 1453, the Roman Empire was among the most powerful economic, cultural, political and military forces in the world of its time. It was one of the largest empires in world history, at its height under Trajan, it covered 5 million square kilometres. It held sway over an estimated 70 million people, at that time 21% of the entire population. Throughout the European medieval period, attempts were made to establish successors to the Roman Empire, including the Empire of Romania, a Crusader state. Rome had begun expanding shortly after the founding of the republic in the 6th century BC, then, it was an empire long before it had an emperor
Roman Empire
–
The
Augustus of Prima Porta (early 1st century AD)
Roman Empire
–
Aureus of
Augustus, the first
Roman Emperor.
Roman Empire
–
A segment of the ruins of Hadrian's Wall in northern England
Roman Empire
–
A 5th-century
papyrus showing a parallel Latin-Greek text of a speech by
Cicero
29.
Diocletian
–
Diocletian, born Diocles, was a Roman emperor from 284 to 305. Born to a family of low status in the Roman province of Dalmatia, after the deaths of Carus and his son Numerian on campaign in Persia, Diocletian was proclaimed emperor. The title was claimed by Carus other surviving son, Carinus. Diocletians reign stabilized the empire and marks the end of the Crisis of the Third Century and he appointed fellow officer Maximian as Augustus, co-emperor, in 286. Diocletian delegated further on 1 March 293, appointing Galerius and Constantius as Caesars, under this tetrarchy, or rule of four, each emperor would rule over a quarter-division of the empire. Diocletian secured the borders and purged it of all threats to his power. He defeated the Sarmatians and Carpi during several campaigns between 285 and 299, the Alamanni in 288, and usurpers in Egypt between 297 and 298, Galerius, aided by Diocletian, campaigned successfully against Sassanid Persia, the empires traditional enemy. In 299 he sacked their capital, Ctesiphon, Diocletian led the subsequent negotiations and achieved a lasting and favorable peace. He established new centres in Nicomedia, Mediolanum, Antioch. Building on third-century trends towards absolutism, he styled himself an autocrat, elevating himself above the masses with imposing forms of court ceremonies. Bureaucratic and military growth, constant campaigning, and construction increased the states expenditures. From at least 297 on, imperial taxation was standardized, made more equitable, not all of Diocletians plans were successful, the Edict on Maximum Prices, his attempt to curb inflation via price controls, was counterproductive and quickly ignored. Weakened by illness, Diocletian left the office on 1 May 305. He lived out his retirement in his palace on the Dalmatian coast and his palace eventually became the core of the modern-day city of Split in Croatia. Diocletian was born near Salona in Dalmatia, some time around 244 and his parents gave him the Greek name Diocles, or possibly Diocles Valerius. The modern historian Timothy Barnes takes his official birthday,22 December, other historians are not so certain. Diocles parents were of low status, and writers critical of him claimed that his father was a scribe or a freedman of the senator Anullinus, the first forty years of his life are mostly obscure. The Byzantine chronicler Joannes Zonaras states that he was Dux Moesiae, the often-unreliable Historia Augusta states that he served in Gaul, but this account is not corroborated by other sources and is ignored by modern historians of the period
Diocletian
–
Laureate head of Diocletian
Diocletian
–
Antoninianus of Diocletian
Diocletian
–
Panorama of amphitheatre in
Salona
Diocletian
–
Head of
Carinus at the
Centrale Montemartini
30.
Eastern Roman Empire
–
It survived the fragmentation and fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD and continued to exist for an additional thousand years until it fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1453. During most of its existence, the empire was the most powerful economic, cultural, several signal events from the 4th to 6th centuries mark the period of transition during which the Roman Empires Greek East and Latin West divided. Constantine I reorganised the empire, made Constantinople the new capital, under Theodosius I, Christianity became the Empires official state religion and other religious practices were proscribed. Finally, under the reign of Heraclius, the Empires military, the borders of the Empire evolved significantly over its existence, as it went through several cycles of decline and recovery. During the reign of Maurice, the Empires eastern frontier was expanded, in a matter of years the Empire lost its richest provinces, Egypt and Syria, to the Arabs. This battle opened the way for the Turks to settle in Anatolia, the Empire recovered again during the Komnenian restoration, such that by the 12th century Constantinople was the largest and wealthiest European city. Despite the eventual recovery of Constantinople in 1261, the Byzantine Empire remained only one of several small states in the area for the final two centuries of its existence. Its remaining territories were annexed by the Ottomans over the 15th century. The Fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 finally ended the Byzantine Empire, the term comes from Byzantium, the name of the city of Constantinople before it became Constantines capital. This older name of the city would rarely be used from this point onward except in historical or poetic contexts. The publication in 1648 of the Byzantine du Louvre, and in 1680 of Du Canges Historia Byzantina further popularised the use of Byzantine among French authors, however, it was not until the mid-19th century that the term came into general use in the Western world. The Byzantine Empire was known to its inhabitants as the Roman Empire, the Empire of the Romans, Romania, the Roman Republic, Graikia, and also as Rhōmais. The inhabitants called themselves Romaioi and Graikoi, and even as late as the 19th century Greeks typically referred to modern Greek as Romaika and Graikika. The authority of the Byzantine emperor as the legitimate Roman emperor was challenged by the coronation of Charlemagne as Imperator Augustus by Pope Leo III in the year 800. No such distinction existed in the Islamic and Slavic worlds, where the Empire was more seen as the continuation of the Roman Empire. In the Islamic world, the Roman Empire was known primarily as Rûm, the Roman army succeeded in conquering many territories covering the entire Mediterranean region and coastal regions in southwestern Europe and north Africa. These territories were home to different cultural groups, both urban populations and rural populations. The West also suffered heavily from the instability of the 3rd century AD
Eastern Roman Empire
–
Tremissis with the image of
Justinian the Great (r. 527–565) (see
Byzantine insignia)
Eastern Roman Empire
–
Byzantine
lamellar armour klivanium (Κλιβάνιον) - a predecessor of Ottoman krug
mirror armour
Eastern Roman Empire
–
The Baptism of Constantine painted by
Raphael 's pupils (1520–1524,
fresco, Vatican City,
Apostolic Palace);
Eusebius of Caesarea records that (as
was common among converts of early Christianity) Constantine delayed receiving
baptism until shortly before his death
Eastern Roman Empire
–
Restored section of the Theodosian Walls.
31.
Solidi
–
The solidus, nomisma, or bezant was originally a relatively pure gold coin issued in the Late Roman Empire. Under Constantine, who introduced it on a scale, it had a weight of about 4.5 grams. The Byzantine solidus also inspired the originally slightly less pure Arabian dinar, in late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, the solidus also functioned as a unit of weight equal to 1/72 of a pound. The solidus was introduced by Diocletian in AD301 as a replacement of the aureus, composed of solid gold. His minting was on a scale, however, and the coin only entered widespread circulation under Constantine I after AD312. Constantines solidus was struck at a rate of 72 to a Roman pound of gold, each coin weighed 24 Greco-Roman carats. By this time, the solidus was worth 275,000 increasingly debased denarii, with the exception of the early issues of Constantine the Great and the odd usurpers the Solidus today is a much more affordable Gold Roman Coin to collect compared to the Older Aureus. Especially those of Valens Honorius and later Byzantine issues, the solidus was maintained essentially unaltered in weight, dimensions and purity until the 10th century. During the 6th and 7th centuries lightweight solidi of 20,22 or 23 siliquae were struck along with the weight issues. Many of these coins have been found in Europe, Russia and Georgia. The lightweight solidi were distinguished by different markings on the coin, usually in the exergue for the 20 and 22 siliquae coins and by stars in the field for the 23 siliquae coins. In theory the solidus was struck from pure gold, but because of the limits of refining techniques, in the Greek-speaking world during the Roman period, and then in the Byzantine economy, the solidus was known as the νόμισμα nomisma. Initially it was difficult to distinguish the two coins, as they had the design, dimensions and purity, and there were no marks of value to distinguish the denominations. The only difference was the weight, the tetarteron nomisma was a lighter coin, about 4.05 grams, but the histamenon nomisma maintained the traditional weight of 4.5 grams. To eliminate confusion between the two, from the reign of Basil II the solidus was struck as a coin with a larger diameter. From the middle of the 11th century the larger diameter histamenon nomisma was struck on a concave flan, former money changer Michael IV the Paphlagonian assumed the throne of Byzantium in 1034 and began the slow process of debasing both the tetarteron nomisma and the histamenon nomisma. Alexius reformed the coinage in 1092 and eliminated the solidus altogether, in its place he introduced a new gold coin called the hyperpyron nomisma at about 20. 5k fine. The weight, dimensions and purity of the hyperpyron nomisma remained stable until the fall of Constantinople to the Crusaders in 1204, after that time the exiled Empire of Nicea continued to strike a debased hyperpyron nomisma
Solidi
–
Solidus of Constantine I, minted in 324/5 AD
Solidi
–
Julian solidus, ca. 361.
Solidi
–
Avitus tremissis, one-third of a solidus, ca. 456.
Solidi
–
Northern Gaul "sou", 440–450, 4240mg.
32.
Marcian
–
Marcian was Eastern Roman Emperor from 450 to 457. Marcians rule marked a recovery of the Eastern Empire, which the Emperor protected from external menaces, the Eastern Orthodox Church recognizes Marcian as a saint for his role in convoking the Council of Chalcedon. Marcian was born in 392 in Illyricum or Thracia, the son of a soldier, he spent his early life as an obscure soldier, member of a military unit located at Philippopolis. Marcian was dispatched with his unit for a war against the Sassanids, after recovering from his illness, he went to Constantinople, where he served for fifteen years as domesticus under the generals Ardaburius and Aspar. Aware that he could never capture the capital of Constantinople, Attila turned to the west and waged his famous campaigns in Gaul 451. Marcian reformed the finances, checked extravagance, and repopulated the devastated districts and he repelled attacks upon Syria and Egypt in 452, and quelled disturbances on the Armenian frontier in 456. The other notable event of his reign is the Council of Chalcedon in 451, Marcian generally ignored the affairs of the Western Roman Empire, leaving that tottering half of the empire to its fate. He did nothing to aid the west during Attilas campaigns, and, living up to his promise, shortly before Attilas death in 453, conflict had begun again between him and Marcian. However, the powerful Hun king died before all-out war broke out, in a dream, Marcian claimed he saw Attilas bow broken before him, and a few days later, he got word that his great enemy was dead. Marcian died on 27 January 457 of a disease, possibly gangrene and he was buried in the church of the Holy Apostles in Constantinople, together with Pulcheria. Despite his short reign and his writing off of the west Marcian is considered one of the best of the early Eastern Roman Emperors, the Eastern Orthodox Church recognizes him and his wife Pulcheria as saints, with their feast day on 17 February. Marcia Euphemia was the known daughter of Marcian, and she was married to Anthemius. The identity of her mother is unknown, Pulcheria had taken a religious vow of chastity. The second marriage was a political alliance, establishing Marcian as a member of the Theodosian dynasty by marriage. The marriage of Marcian to Pulcheria was never consummated, and consequently Euphemia never had younger half-siblings, Marcian was played by the Hollywood star Jeff Chandler in the film Sign of the Pagan. Flavia List of Byzantine emperors This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh. Arnold Hugh Martin Jones, Marcianus 8, The Prosopography of the later Roman empire, A. D. 260–395, Volume 1, Cambridge University Press,1987, ISBN 0-521-20159-4, imperial unity and Christian divisions, The Church 450-680 A. D. Crestwood, NY, St. Vladimirs Seminary Press, Marcian at the DIR Media related to Marcian at Wikimedia Commons Marcian
Marcian
–
Solidus of Emperor Marcian
33.
Pound (currency)
–
The pound is a unit of currency in some nations. The term originated in the Frankish Empire as a result of Charlemagnes currency reform and was taken to Great Britain as the value of a pound of silver. The English word pound is cognate with, among others, German Pfund, Dutch pond, all ultimately derive from a borrowing into Proto-Germanic of the Latin expression lībra pondō, in which the word pondō is the ablative case of the Latin noun pondus. The English word pound first referred to a unit of mass or weight, the currencys symbol is £, a stylised representation of the letter L, standing for livre or lira. Historically, £1 worth of coins were a troy pound in weight. Today, the term may refer to a number of currencies, some of them, those official in former Italian states and in countries formerly belonging to the Ottoman Empire, are called pound in English, while in the local languages their official name is lira. See also Isle of Man pound, Jersey pound, Guernsey pound, egyptian pound Lebanese pound South Sudanese pound Sudanese pound Syrian pound The following currencies are interchangeable at par with the pound sterling. These are issued in the Crown dependencies and certain British Overseas Territories, the Australian pound was also used in the Gilbert and Ellice Islands, Nauru, New Hebrides and Papua and New Guinea. It was replaced in the New Hebrides in 1977 by the New Hebrides franc. S, the Jamaican pound was also used in Cayman Islands and Turks and Caicos Islands until 1968. Libyan pound Malawian pound Maltese pound New Brunswick pound Newfoundland pound New Guinean pound New Zealand pound, the New Zealand pound was also used in the Cook Islands and the Pitcairn Islands. The South African pound was used in Basutoland, Bechuanaland, South West Africa
Pound (currency)
–
Countries where the official currency is called "pound"
34.
Justin I
–
Justin I was Eastern Roman Emperor from 518 to 527. He rose through the ranks of the army and ultimately became Emperor, in spite of the fact he was illiterate, Justin was a peasant and a swineherd by occupation from the region of Dardania, which is part of the Prefecture of Illyricum. He was born in a hamlet Bederiana near Scupi and he was of Thraco-Roman or Illyro-Roman stock, spoke rudimentary Greek, and bore, like his companions and members of his family, a Thracian name, Istok. His sister Vigilantia married Sabbatius and had two children, Petrus Sabbatius Justinianus and Vigilantia, married to Dulcissimus and had Praejecta, married to the senator Areobindus and Justin II. As a teenager, he and two companions fled from an invasion, taking refuge in Constantinople possessing nothing more than the ragged clothes on their backs. Thanks to his commanding the only troops in the city and making gifts of money. A career soldier with little knowledge of statecraft, Justin wisely surrounded himself with trusted advisors, the most prominent of these, of course, was his nephew Flavius Petrus Sabbatius, whom he adopted as his son and invested with the name Iustinianus. Justins reign is noteworthy for the resolution of the Acacian Schism between the eastern and western branches of the Christian church, Justin endorsed Romes view on the question of the dual nature of Christ and the more general principle of Roman supremacy. This temporary eastern deferral to the church did not endure. The information from the Secret History of Procopius was published posthumously, however, contrary to the Secret History, Justinian was not named as successor until less than a year before Justins death and he spent 3,700 pounds of gold during a celebration in 520. This edict paved the way for Justinian to marry Theodora, a former mime actress and she became an equal to Justinian, participating in the governance with significant influence. The latter years of the reign of Justin were marked by strife among the Empire, the Ostrogoths, in 526, Antioch was destroyed by an earthquake, Justins health began to decline and he formally named Justinian as co-emperor and, on 1 April 527 as his successor. On 1 August of that year, Justin died and was succeeded by Justinian, the town of Anazarbus was renamed Justinopolis in 525, in honour of Justin I. List of Byzantine emperors Ostrogorsky, George, Imperial unity and Christian divisions, The Church 450-680 A. D. Crestwood, NY, St. Vladimirs Seminary Press, continuité des élites à Byzance durant les siècles obscurs. Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology,1870, v.2, p.677 Encyclopædia Britannica Justin I
Justin I
–
Tremissis of Emperor Justin I
35.
Anastasius I (emperor)
–
Anastasius I was Eastern Roman Emperor from 491 to 518. His reign was characterized by substantive accomplishments, which were representative of emerging patterns of government, economy, Anastasius was born at Dyrrachium, the date is unknown, but he is thought to have been born no later than 430 or 431. He was born into an Illyrian family, the son of Pompeius, nobleman of Dyrrachium, before becoming emperor, Anastasius was a particularly successful administrator in the department of finance. Anastasius had one eye black and one eye blue, and for that reason he was nicknamed Dicorus, following the death of Zeno, there is strong evidence that many Roman citizens wanted both a Roman and an Orthodox Christian emperor. In the weeks following Zenos death, crowds gathered in Constantinople exclaiming Give the Empire an Orthodox Emperor, Give the Empire a Roman Emperor. Under such pressure, Ariadne, Zenos widow, turned to Anastasius I, Anastasius was in his sixties at the time of his ascension to the throne. Religiously, he was fairly overt in his sympathy for the Monophysites, consequently, as a condition of his rule, the Patriarch of Constantinople required that he pledge not to repudiate the Council of Chalcedon. It is noteworthy that Ariadne chose Anastasius over Zenos brother Longinus, the decision upset the Isaurians, but it also was not appreciated by the Blues and the Greens who had been patronized by Longinus. The Blues and Greens subsequently showed a tendency to riot and cause mayhem, Ariadne married Anastasius shortly after his accession on 20 May 491. His reign, though afterwards disturbed by foreign and internecine wars and religious distractions and he gained the popular favour by a judicious remission of taxation, and displayed great vigour and energy in administering the affairs of the Empire. Anastasius engaged in the Isaurian War against the usurper Longinus and the Anastasian War against Sassanid Persia, the Isaurian War was stirred up by the Isaurian supporters of Longinus, who was passed over in his succession in favor of Anastasius. The battle of Cotyaeum in 492 broke the back of the revolt, the warfare in the mountains seems to have been stalemated due largely to the Isaurians retaining of the Papirius Castle. In the Anastasian War, Theodosiopolis and Amida were captured by the Sassanids, but Persian provinces also suffered severely, both adversaries were exhausted when peace was made in 506 on the basis of the status quo. Anastasius afterward built the fortress of Daras to hold the Persians in check in Nisibis. The following year, Vitalian started a rebellion, quickly defeating an imperial army, with the army closing in, Anastasius I gave Vitalian the title of commander of the Army of Thrace and began communicating with the pope regarding a potential end to the Acacian schism. Two years later, general Marinus attacked Vitalian and forced him, following the end of this conflict, Emperor Anastasius had undisputed control of the Empire until his death in 518. Additionally, during his reign, the Roman eastern frontier underwent extensive re-fortification, including the construction of Dara, also during his reign, one of the most fortified castle cities on the Adriatic, Durrës Castle in Dyrrachium, was constructed. Though a Christian, he was the last Roman Emperor to be deified on his death, however, two of his nephews sat on the same couch, and the one with the concealed message remained empty
Anastasius I (emperor)
–
Semissis of Emperor Anastasius.
Anastasius I (emperor)
–
The
Barberini ivory, a 6th-century ivory diptych representing either Anastasius or
Justinian I.
36.
Justinian I
–
Justinian I, traditionally known as Justinian the Great and also Saint Justinian the Great in the Eastern Orthodox Church, was a Byzantine emperor from 527 to 565. During his reign, Justinian sought to revive the empires greatness, because of his restoration activities, Justinian has sometimes been called the last Roman in modern historiography. This ambition was expressed by the recovery of the territories of the defunct western Roman Empire. His general, Belisarius, swiftly conquered the Vandal kingdom in North Africa, the prefect Liberius reclaimed the south of the Iberian peninsula, establishing the province of Spania. These campaigns re-established Roman control over the western Mediterranean, increasing the Empires annual revenue by over a million solidi, during his reign Justinian also subdued the Tzani, a people on the east coast of the Black Sea that had never been under Roman rule before. A still more resonant aspect of his legacy was the rewriting of Roman law, the Corpus Juris Civilis. His reign also marked a blossoming of Byzantine culture, and his building program yielded such masterpieces as the church of Hagia Sophia, a devastating outbreak of bubonic plague in the early 540s marked the end of an age of splendour. Justinian was born in Tauresium around 482, a native speaker of Latin, he came from a peasant family believed to have been of Illyro-Roman or Thraco-Roman origins. The cognomen Iustinianus, which he later, is indicative of adoption by his uncle Justin. During his reign, he founded Justiniana Prima not far from his birthplace and his mother was Vigilantia, the sister of Justin. Justin, who was in the guard before he became emperor, adopted Justinian, brought him to Constantinople. As a result, Justinian was well educated in jurisprudence, theology, Justinian served for some time with the Excubitors but the details of his early career are unknown. Chronicler John Malalas, who lived during the reign of Justinian, tells of his appearance that he was short, fair skinned, curly haired, round faced, another contemporary chronicler, Procopius, compares Justinians appearance to that of tyrannical Emperor Domitian, although this is probably slander. When Emperor Anastasius died in 518, Justin was proclaimed the new emperor, during Justins reign, Justinian was the emperors close confidant. As Justin became senile near the end of his reign, Justinian became the de facto ruler, Justinian was appointed consul in 521 and later commander of the army of the east. Upon Justins death on 1 August 527, Justinian became the sole sovereign, as a ruler, Justinian showed great energy. He was known as the emperor who never sleeps on account of his work habits, nevertheless, he seems to have been amiable and easy to approach. Around 525, he married his mistress, Theodora, in Constantinople and she was by profession a courtesan and some twenty years his junior
Justinian I
–
Detail of a contemporary portrait mosaic in the
Basilica of San Vitale,
Ravenna.
Justinian I
Justinian I
–
The ancient town of
Tauresium, the birthplace of Justinian I, located in today's
Republic of Macedonia.
Justinian I
–
The
Barberini Ivory, which is thought to portray either Justinian or
Anastasius I
37.
Plague of Justinian
–
The Plague of Justinian was a pandemic that afflicted the Eastern Roman Empire, especially its capital Constantinople, the Sassanid Empire, and port cities around the entire Mediterranean Sea. One of the deadliest plagues in history, this devastating pandemic resulted in the deaths of an estimated 25 million to 50 million people, recent research has confirmed that the cause of the pandemic was Yersinia pestis, the bacterium responsible for bubonic plague. The principal historian during the 6th century, Procopius, viewed the pandemic as worldwide in scope, genetic studies point to China as having been the primary source of the contagion. The plague returned periodically until the 8th century, the waves of disease had a major effect on the future course of European history. Modern historians named this plague incident after the Eastern Roman Emperor Justinian I, the Plague of Justinian is generally regarded as the first recorded instance of bubonic plague. The outbreak in Constantinople was thought to have carried to the city by infected rats on grain ships arriving from Egypt. To feed its citizens, the city and outlying communities imported massive amounts of grain, grain ships may have been the original source of contagion, as the rat population in Egypt thrived on feeding from the large granaries maintained by the government. The Byzantine historian Procopius first reported the epidemic in 541 from the port of Pelusium, Evagrius was afflicted with the buboes associated with the disease but survived. During the diseases four returns in his lifetime, he lost his wife and he noted that because there was no room to bury the dead, bodies were left stacked in the open. Funeral rites were often left unattended to, and the city smelled like the dead. Even then, he did not refrain from demanding the annual tax, not only the amount at which he assessed each individual, as a result of the plague in the countryside, farmers could not take care of crops and the price of grain rose at Constantinople. Justinian had expended huge amounts of money for wars against the Vandals in the region of Carthage and he had dedicated significant funds to the construction of great churches, such as Hagia Sophia. As the empire tried to fund the projects, the plague caused tax revenues to decline through the number of deaths. Justinian swiftly enacted new legislation to more efficiently with the glut of inheritance suits being brought as a result of victims dying intestate. The plagues long-term effects on European and Christian history were enormous, as the disease spread to port cities around the Mediterranean, the struggling Goths were reinvigorated and their conflict with Constantinople entered a new phase. Although the conquest occurred in 554, the reunification did not last long, in 568, the Lombards invaded Northern Italy, defeated the small Byzantine army that had been left behind, and established the Kingdom of the Lombards. The plague may have contributed to the success of the Arabs a few generations later in the Byzantine-Arab Wars. Some scholars have suggested that the plague facilitated the Anglo-Saxon conquest of Britain, maelgwn, king of Gwynedd in Wales, was said to have died of the Yellow Plague of Rhos around 547 and, from 548 to 549, plague devastated Ireland as well
Plague of Justinian
–
A characteristic of the Plague of Justinian was
necrosis of the hand
38.
Sassanian Empire
–
The Sasanian Empire was founded by Ardashir I, after the fall of the Parthian Empire and the defeat of the last Arsacid king, Artabanus V. According to a legend, the vexilloid of the Sasanian Empire was the Derafsh Kaviani, in many ways, the Sasanian period witnessed the peak of ancient Iranian civilization. Persia influenced Roman culture considerably during the Sasanian period, the Sasanians cultural influence extended far beyond the empires territorial borders, reaching as far as Western Europe, Africa, China and India. It played a prominent role in the formation of both European and Asian medieval art, much of what later became known as Islamic culture in art, architecture, music and other subject matter was transferred from the Sasanians throughout the Muslim world. Conflicting accounts shroud the details of the fall of the Parthian Empire, the Sassanid Empire was established in Estakhr by Ardashir I. Papak was originally the ruler of a region called Khir, however, by the year 200, he managed to overthrow Gochihr, and appoint himself as the new ruler of the Bazrangids. His mother, Rodhagh, was the daughter of the governor of Pars. Papak and his eldest son Shapur managed to expand their power all of Pars. The subsequent events are unclear, due to the nature of the sources. It is certain, however, that following the death of Papak, Ardashir, sources reveal that Shapur, leaving for a meeting with his brother, was killed when the roof of a building collapsed on him. By the year 208, over the protests of his brothers who were put to death. Once Ardashir was appointed shahanshah, he moved his capital further to the south of Pars, the city, well supported by high mountains and easily defendable through narrow passes, became the center of Ardashirs efforts to gain more power. The city was surrounded by a high, circular wall, probably copied from that of Darabgird, in a second attempt to destroy Ardashir, Artabanus V himself met Ardashir in battle at Hormozgan, where Artabanus V met his death. Following the death of the Parthian ruler, Ardashir I went on to invade the provinces of the now defunct Parthian Empire. Ardashir was aided by the geography of the province of Fars, in the next few years, local rebellions would form around the empire. Nonetheless, Ardashir I further expanded his new empire to the east and northwest, conquering the provinces of Sistan, Gorgan, Khorasan, Margiana, Balkh and he also added Bahrain and Mosul to Sassanids possessions. In the west, assaults against Hatra, Armenia and Adiabene met with less success, in 230, he raided deep into Roman territory, and a Roman counter-offensive two years later ended inconclusively, although the Roman emperor, Alexander Severus, celebrated a triumph in Rome. Ardashir Is son Shapur I continued the expansion of the empire, conquering Bactria, invading Roman Mesopotamia, Shapur I captured Carrhae and Nisibis, but in 243 the Roman general Timesitheus defeated the Persians at Rhesaina and regained the lost territories
Sassanian Empire
–
Normal domains
Sassanian Empire
–
Derafsh Kaviani
Sassanian Empire
–
Ghal'eh Dokhtar (or "The Maiden's Castle") in present-day
Fars,
Firuzabad,
Iran, built by Ardashir in 209, before he was finally able to defeat the Parthian empire.
39.
Hagia Sophia
–
Hagia Sophia was a Greek Orthodox Christian patriarchal basilica, later an imperial mosque, and now a museum in Istanbul, Turkey. The building was converted into an Ottoman mosque from 29 May 1453 until 1931. It was then secularized and opened as a museum on 1 February 1935, famous in particular for its massive dome, it is considered the epitome of Byzantine architecture and is said to have changed the history of architecture. It remained the worlds largest cathedral for nearly a thousand years and it was designed by the Greek geometers Isidore of Miletus and Anthemius of Tralles. The church contained a collection of relics and featured, among other things. In 1453, Constantinople was conquered by the Ottoman Empire under Mehmed the Conqueror, by that point, the church had fallen into a state of disrepair. Nevertheless, the Christian cathedral made an impression on the new Ottoman rulers. Islamic features—such as the mihrab, minbar, and four minarets—were added and it remained a mosque until 1931, when it was closed to the public for four years. It was re-opened in 1935 as a museum by the Republic of Turkey, Hagia Sophia was, as of 2014, the second-most visited museum in Turkey, attracting almost 3.3 million visitors annually. According to data released by the Turkish Culture and Tourism Ministry, from its initial conversion until the construction of the nearby Sultan Ahmed Mosque in 1616, it was the principal mosque of Istanbul. The first church on the site was known as the Μεγάλη Ἐκκλησία, or in Latin Magna Ecclesia, inaugurated on 15 February 360 by the Arian bishop Eudoxius of Antioch, it was built next to the area where the imperial palace was being developed. The nearby Hagia Eirene church was completed earlier and served as cathedral until the Great Church was completed, both churches acted together as the principal churches of the Byzantine Empire. Writing in 440, Socrates of Constantinople claimed that the church was built by Constantius II, a tradition which is not older than the 7th or 8th century, reports that the edifice was built by Constantine the Great. Zonaras reconciles the two opinions, writing that Constantius had repaired the edifice consecrated by Eusebius of Nicomedia, after it had collapsed. Since Eusebius was bishop of Constantinople from 339 to 341, and Constantine died in 337, the edifice was built as a traditional Latin colonnaded basilica with galleries and a wooden roof. It was preceded by an atrium and it was claimed to be one of the worlds most outstanding monuments at the time. The Patriarch of Constantinople John Chrysostom came into a conflict with Empress Aelia Eudoxia, wife of the emperor Arcadius, during the subsequent riots, this first church was largely burned down. Nothing remains of the first church today, a second church on the site was ordered by Theodosius II, who inaugurated it on 10 October 415
Hagia Sophia
–
A view of Hagia Sophia, Istanbul
Hagia Sophia
Hagia Sophia
40.
Justin II
–
Justin II was Eastern Roman Emperor from 565 to 574. He was the husband of Sophia, nephew of Justinian I and the Empress Theodora and his reign is marked by war with Sasanian Iran and the loss of the greater part of Italy. He presented the Cross of Justin II to Saint Peters, Rome and he was a son of Vigilantia and Dulcidio, respectively the sister and brother-in-law of Justinian. His siblings included Marcellus and Praejecta, Justinian I died on the night of 14 to 15 November 565. The clarification was needed because there was another nephew and candidate for the throne, Justin, modern historians suspect Callinicus may have fabricated the last words of Justinian to secure the succession for his political ally. As Robert Browning observed, Did Justinian really bring himself in the end to make a choice, in any case, Callinicus started alerting those most interested in the succession, originally various members of the Byzantine Senate. Then they jointly informed Justin and Vigilantia, offering the throne, Justin accepted after the traditional token show of reluctance, and with his wife Sophia, he was escorted to the Great Palace of Constantinople. The Excubitors blocked the palace entrances during the night, and early in the morning, John Scholasticus, Patriarch of Constantinople, only then was the death of Justinian and the succession of Justin publicly announced in the Hippodrome of Constantinople. Both the Patriarch and Tiberius, commander of the Excubitors, had recently appointed, with Justin having played a part in their respective appointments. Their willingness to elevate their patron and ally to the throne was hardly surprising, in the first few days of his reign Justin paid his uncles debts, administered justice in person, and proclaimed universal religious toleration. Contrary to his uncle, Justin relied completely on the support of the aristocratic party, proud of character, and faced with an empty treasury, he discontinued Justinians practice of buying off potential enemies. Immediately after his accession, Justin halted the payment of subsidies to the Avars and they quickly overran the Po valley, and within a few years they had made themselves masters of nearly the entire country. The Avars themselves crossed the Danube in 573 or 574, when the Empires attention was distracted by troubles on the Persian frontier and they were only placated by the payment of a subsidy of 60,000 silver pieces by Justins successor Tiberius. The North and East frontiers were the focus of Justins attention. In 572 his refusal to pay tribute to the Persians in combination with overtures to the Turks led to a war with the Sassanid Empire, after two disastrous campaigns, in which the Persians overran Syria and captured the strategically important fortress of Dara, Justin reportedly lost his mind. Istämi refused the first request, but when he sanctioned the second one and had the Sogdian embassy sent to the Sassanid king, Justin agreed and sent an embassy to the Turkic Khaganate, ensuring the direct silk trade desired by the Sogdians. Previte-Orton continues, In foreign affairs he took the attitude of the invincible, unbending Roman, the temporary fits of insanity into which Justin fell warned him to name a colleague. Passing over his own relatives, he raised, on the advice of Sophia, the general Tiberius to be Caesar in December 574, adopting him as his son, in 574, Sophia paid 45,000 solidi to Chosroes in return for a years truce
Justin II
–
Solidus of Justin II
Justin II
–
Justin II and Sophia depicted on 40 Nummi coin (572AD)
Justin II
–
100
nummi coin of Justin II minted in Carthage. Helmeted and cuirass-wearing facing bust, holding shield Monogram; cross above, 100 below.
41.
Avars (Carpathians)
–
The Pannonian Avars /ˈævɑːrz/ also known as the Obri, the Abaroi and Varchonitai, and the Pseudo-Avars and Varchonites, were a group of Eurasian nomads of unknown origin during the early Middle Ages. The name Pannonian Avars, is used to them from the Avars of the Caucasus – who may or may not have been an unrelated people. They established the Avar Khaganate, which spanned the Pannonian Basin and considerable areas of Central and they were ruled by a khagan, who was assisted by an entourage of professional warriors. The language or languages spoken by the Avars are now unknown, denis Sinor states that most of the Avar words used in contemporaneous Latin or Greek texts, appear to have their origins in Siberian languages, especially Tungusic languages and Mongolian. There is also evidence, however, that ruling and subject clans spoke a variety of languages, proposals by scholars include Caucasian, Iranian, Tungusic, Hungarian and Turkic. A few scholars suggest that Proto-Slavic became the lingua franca of the Avar Khaganate, according to Gyula László, the late 9th century Pannonian Avars spoke a variety of Old Hungarian, thereby forming an Avar-Hungarian continuity with then newly arrived Hungarians. The earliest clear reference to the Avar ethnonym comes from Priscus the Rhetor,463, the Šaragurs, Onogurs and Ogurs were attacked by the Sabirs, who had been attacked by the Avars. In turn, the Avars had been driven off by people fleeing man-eating griffins coming from the ocean, whilst Priscus accounts provide some information about the ethno-political situation in the Don-Kuban-Volga region after the demise of the Huns, no unequivocal conclusions can be reached. Denis Sinor has argued that whoever the Avars referred to by Priscus were, they differed from the Avars who appear a century later, during the time of Justinian. The next author of late antiquity to discuss the Avars, Menander Protector in the 6th century, each time, the Turks appear angered at the Byzantines for having made an alliance with the Avars, whom the Turks saw as their subjects and slaves. Turxanthos, a Turk prince, calls the Avars Varchonites and escaped slaves of the Turks, many more, but somewhat confusing, details come from Theophylact Simocatta, who wrote c. 629, but detailed the two decades of the 6th century. For it is by a misnomer that the barbarians on the Ister have assumed the appellation of Avars, so, when the Avars had been defeated some of them made their escape to those who inhabit Taugast. Taugast is a city, which is a total of one thousand five hundred miles distant from those who are called Turks. These make their habitations in the east, by the course of the river Til, the earliest leaders of this nation were named Var and Chunni, from them some parts of those nations were also accorded their nomenclature, being called Var and Chunni. Then, while the emperor Justinian was in possession of the royal power and these named themselves Avars and glorified their leader with the appellation of Chagan. Let us declare, without departing in the least from the truth, for this reason they honoured the fugitives with splendid gifts and supposed that they received from them security in exchange. In point of fact even up to our present times the Pseudo-Avars are divided in their ancestry, some bearing the time-honoured name of Var while others are called Chunni
Avars (Carpathians)
–
Warrior with captive, from a golden ewer of the
Treasure of Nagyszentmiklós. There is no agreement as to whether he represents an Avar, a Bulgar or a Khazar warrior.
Avars (Carpathians)
–
Gold Avar bowl, found in modern
Albania.
Avars (Carpathians)
–
Avar territory in the 6th century.
Avars (Carpathians)
–
Avar findings from Ozora-Tótipuszta, Hungary
42.
Khosrau I
–
He was the successor of his father Kavadh I. Khosrow I was the twenty-second Sasanian Emperor of Persia, and one of its most celebrated emperors and he laid the foundations of many cities and opulent palaces, and oversaw the repair of trade roads as well as the building of numerous bridges and dams. His reign is marked by the numerous wars fought against the Sassanids neighboring archrivals. The most important wars under his reign were the Lazic War which was fought over Colchis, during Khosrows ambitious reign, art and science flourished in Persia and the Sasanian Empire reached its peak of glory and prosperity. His rule was preceded by his fathers and succeeded by Hormizd IV and he also introduced a rational system of taxation, based upon a survey of landed possessions, which his father had begun, and tried in every way to increase the welfare and the revenues of his empire. His army was in discipline decidedly superior to the Byzantines, and he was also interested in literature and philosophical discussions. Under his reign chess was introduced from India, and the book of Kalilah and Dimnah was translated. He thus became renowned as a wise king, Khosrow I was born in Ardestan, an ancient town which was built by the Achaemenids, and was to close the major city of Spahan. He was the son of Kavadh I, and had three brothers named Xerxes, Zamasp and Kawus. Khosrows mother was the sister of Bawi, making Khosrow I related to the Parthian House of Ispahbudhan and his father was involved with a group of Zoroastrians called the Mazdakites. The Mazdakites believed in a society and many lower class peasants supported the Mazdakite revolution. Kavadh, wanting to centralize power by taking away from the great noble families. In 531, Kavadh, while on his death-bed, appointed Khosrow as his successor, however, upon Kavadhs death, the Mazdakites gave their loyalty to Kavadhs eldest son, Kawus, while the noble families and the Zoroastrian Magi gave their support to Khosrow I. Khosrow presented himself as an anti-Mazdakite supporter and he, much like his father, believed in a strong centralized government. Khosrow met his brother Kawus in war and defeated him as well as his Mazdakite followers, subsequently, Mazdak, as well as a majority of his followers, were executed for his heretical beliefs and Khosrow took the Sasanian throne. At Khosrows succession, Byzantium and Sasanian Persia were in conflict with each other. Neither empire was able to get an advantage of the other, causing Emperor Justinian, upon learning the plot, Khosrow I executed all his brothers, their offsprings, along with Bawi and the other Persian notables who were involved. Khosrow I also ordered the execution of Kavadh, who was still a child, Khosrow sent orders to kill Kavadh, but Adergoudounbades disobeyed and brought him up in secret, until he was betrayed to the shah in 541 by his own son, Bahram
Khosrau I
–
Coin of Khosrow I
Khosrau I
–
Artwork of Khosrow's war with the Mazdakites.
Khosrau I
–
Khosrow I seated on a throne
Khosrau I
–
Coin of Khosrow I from
Tokharistan, a region that was lost during the reign of
Peroz I, but was later reconquered by Khosrow I.
43.
Tiberius II Constantine
–
Tiberius II Constantine was Eastern Roman Emperor from 574 to 582. Under Justin’s patronage, Tiberius was promoted to the position of Comes excubitorum and he was present during Justin’s Imperial accession on 14 November 565 and also attended the Emperor’s inauguration as Consul on 1 January 566. Justin ceased making payments to the Avars implemented by his predecessor Justinian, in 569, he appointed Tiberius to the post of Magister utriusque militiae with instructions to deal with the Avars and their demands. After a series of negotiations, Tiberius agreed to allow the Avars to settle on Roman territory in the Balkans in exchange for hostages taken from various Avar chiefs. Justin, however, rejected this agreement, insisting on taking hostages from the family of the Avar Khan himself and this condition was rejected by the Avars, so Tiberius mobilized for war. In 570 he defeated an Avar army in Thrace and returned to Constantinople, while attempting to follow up this victory, however, in late 570 or early 571 Tiberius was defeated in a subsequent battle where he narrowly escaped death as the army was fleeing the battlefield. Agreeing to a truce, Tiberius provided an escort to the Avar envoys to discuss the terms of a treaty with Justin, on their return, the Avar envoys were attacked and robbed by local tribesmen, prompting them to appeal to Tiberius for help. He tracked down the responsible and returned the stolen goods. To achieve a measure of breathing space, Tiberius and Sophia agreed to a truce with the Persians. On December 7,574, Justin, in one of his lucid moments, had Tiberius proclaimed Caesar. Tiberius added the name Constantine to his own, although his position was now official, he was still subordinate to Justin. Sophia was determined to remain in power and kept Tiberius tightly controlled until Justin died in 578, the day after his appointment as Caesar, the plague abated, giving Tiberius more freedom of movement than Justin was able to achieve. According to Paul the Deacon, Tiberius found two treasures, the treasure of Narses and 1,000 centenaria, that is 100,000 pounds of gold or 7,200,000 solidi and these treasures were given away to the poor, to the consternation of Sophia. Alongside generous donations, he proceeded to reduce state revenue by removing taxes on wine. He continued the ban on the sale of governorships, which was highly popular. In 575 Tiberius began moving the armies of Thrace and Illyricum to the eastern provinces, buying time to make the necessary preparations, he agreed to a three-year truce with the Persians, paying 30,000 nomismata, though the truce excluded action in the region around Armenia. Not content with making preparations, Tiberius also used this period to send reinforcements to Italy under the command of Baduarius with orders to stem the Lombard invasion. He saved Rome from the Lombards and allied the Empire with Childebert II, unfortunately, Baduarius was defeated and killed in 576, allowing even more imperial territory in Italy to slip away
Tiberius II Constantine
–
Solidus of Tiberius II Constantine in consular uniform.
Tiberius II Constantine
–
Tremissis of Emperor Tiberius II Constantine
44.
Latin
–
Latin is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. The Latin alphabet is derived from the Etruscan and Greek alphabets, Latin was originally spoken in Latium, in the Italian Peninsula. Through the power of the Roman Republic, it became the dominant language, Vulgar Latin developed into the Romance languages, such as Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, French, and Romanian. Latin, Italian and French have contributed many words to the English language, Latin and Ancient Greek roots are used in theology, biology, and medicine. By the late Roman Republic, Old Latin had been standardised into Classical Latin, Vulgar Latin was the colloquial form spoken during the same time and attested in inscriptions and the works of comic playwrights like Plautus and Terence. Late Latin is the language from the 3rd century. Later, Early Modern Latin and Modern Latin evolved, Latin was used as the language of international communication, scholarship, and science until well into the 18th century, when it began to be supplanted by vernaculars. Ecclesiastical Latin remains the language of the Holy See and the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church. Today, many students, scholars and members of the Catholic clergy speak Latin fluently and it is taught in primary, secondary and postsecondary educational institutions around the world. The language has been passed down through various forms, some inscriptions have been published in an internationally agreed, monumental, multivolume series, the Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum. Authors and publishers vary, but the format is about the same, volumes detailing inscriptions with a critical apparatus stating the provenance, the reading and interpretation of these inscriptions is the subject matter of the field of epigraphy. The works of several hundred ancient authors who wrote in Latin have survived in whole or in part and they are in part the subject matter of the field of classics. The Cat in the Hat, and a book of fairy tales, additional resources include phrasebooks and resources for rendering everyday phrases and concepts into Latin, such as Meissners Latin Phrasebook. The Latin influence in English has been significant at all stages of its insular development. From the 16th to the 18th centuries, English writers cobbled together huge numbers of new words from Latin and Greek words, dubbed inkhorn terms, as if they had spilled from a pot of ink. Many of these words were used once by the author and then forgotten, many of the most common polysyllabic English words are of Latin origin through the medium of Old French. Romance words make respectively 59%, 20% and 14% of English, German and those figures can rise dramatically when only non-compound and non-derived words are included. Accordingly, Romance words make roughly 35% of the vocabulary of Dutch, Roman engineering had the same effect on scientific terminology as a whole
Latin
–
Latin inscription, in the
Colosseum
Latin
–
Julius Caesar 's
Commentarii de Bello Gallico is one of the most famous classical Latin texts of the Golden Age of Latin. The unvarnished, journalistic style of this
patrician general has long been taught as a model of the urbane Latin officially spoken and written in the floruit of the
Roman republic.
Latin
–
A multi-volume Latin dictionary in the
University Library of Graz
Latin
–
Latin and Ancient Greek Language - Culture - Linguistics at
Duke University in 2014.
45.
Greek language
–
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages, native to Greece and other parts of the Eastern Mediterranean. It has the longest documented history of any living language, spanning 34 centuries of written records and its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the major part of its history, other systems, such as Linear B and the Cypriot syllabary, were used previously. The alphabet arose from the Phoenician script and was in turn the basis of the Latin, Cyrillic, Armenian, Coptic, Gothic and many other writing systems. Together with the Latin texts and traditions of the Roman world, during antiquity, Greek was a widely spoken lingua franca in the Mediterranean world and many places beyond. It would eventually become the official parlance of the Byzantine Empire, the language is spoken by at least 13.2 million people today in Greece, Cyprus, Italy, Albania, Turkey, and the Greek diaspora. Greek roots are used to coin new words for other languages, Greek. Greek has been spoken in the Balkan peninsula since around the 3rd millennium BC, the earliest written evidence is a Linear B clay tablet found in Messenia that dates to between 1450 and 1350 BC, making Greek the worlds oldest recorded living language. Among the Indo-European languages, its date of earliest written attestation is matched only by the now extinct Anatolian languages, the Greek language is conventionally divided into the following periods, Proto-Greek, the unrecorded but assumed last ancestor of all known varieties of Greek. The unity of Proto-Greek would have ended as Hellenic migrants entered the Greek peninsula sometime in the Neolithic era or the Bronze Age, Mycenaean Greek, the language of the Mycenaean civilisation. It is recorded in the Linear B script on tablets dating from the 15th century BC onwards, Ancient Greek, in its various dialects, the language of the Archaic and Classical periods of the ancient Greek civilisation. It was widely known throughout the Roman Empire, after the Roman conquest of Greece, an unofficial bilingualism of Greek and Latin was established in the city of Rome and Koine Greek became a first or second language in the Roman Empire. The origin of Christianity can also be traced through Koine Greek, Medieval Greek, also known as Byzantine Greek, the continuation of Koine Greek in Byzantine Greece, up to the demise of the Byzantine Empire in the 15th century. Much of the written Greek that was used as the language of the Byzantine Empire was an eclectic middle-ground variety based on the tradition of written Koine. Modern Greek, Stemming from Medieval Greek, Modern Greek usages can be traced in the Byzantine period and it is the language used by the modern Greeks, and, apart from Standard Modern Greek, there are several dialects of it. In the modern era, the Greek language entered a state of diglossia, the historical unity and continuing identity between the various stages of the Greek language is often emphasised. Greek speakers today still tend to regard literary works of ancient Greek as part of their own rather than a foreign language and it is also often stated that the historical changes have been relatively slight compared with some other languages. According to one estimation, Homeric Greek is probably closer to demotic than 12-century Middle English is to modern spoken English, Greek is spoken by about 13 million people, mainly in Greece, Albania and Cyprus, but also worldwide by the large Greek diaspora. Greek is the language of Greece, where it is spoken by almost the entire population
Greek language
–
Idealized portrayal of
Homer
Greek language
–
regions where Greek is the official language
Greek language
–
Greek language road sign, A27 Motorway, Greece
46.
Byzantine-Arab Wars
–
The emergence of Muslim Arabs from Arabia in the 630s resulted in the rapid loss of Byzantiums southern provinces to the Muslim Caliphate. During the first centuries, the Byzantines were usually on the defensive, only after 740 did they begin to launch counterstrikes of their own, but still the Abbasid Empire was able to retaliate with often massive and destructive invasions of Asia Minor. With the decline and fragmentation of the Abbasid state after 861 and the concurrent strengthening of the Byzantine Empire under the Macedonian dynasty, the tide gradually turned. Over a period of fifty years from ca.920 to 976, the Muslims also took to the sea, and from the 650s on, the entire Mediterranean Sea became a battleground, with raids and counter-raids being launched against islands and the coastal settlements. The last of these ended with victory for the Byzantines, Emperor Heraclius regained all lost territories. According to George Liska, the unnecessarily prolonged Byzantine–Persian conflict opened the way for Islam, in late 620s Muhammad had already managed to conquer and unify much of Arabia under Muslim rule, and it was under his leadership that the first Muslim-Byzantine skirmishes took place. Though it was not a battle in the sense, nevertheless the event represented the first Arab attack on the Byzantines. It did not, however, lead immediately to a military confrontation, however, there is no contemporary Byzantine account of the Tabuk expedition, and many of the details come from much later Muslim sources. It has been argued there is in one Byzantine source possibly referencing the Battle of Mu´tah traditionally dated 629. The first engagements may have started as conflicts with the Arab client states of the Byzantine and Sassanid empires, the Ghassanids and the Lakhmids of Al-Hirah. In any case, Muslim Arabs after 634 certainly pursued an invasion of both empires, resulting in the conquest of the Levant, Egypt and Persia for Islam. The most successful generals were Khalid ibn al-Walid and Amr ibn al-As, in the Levant, the invading Rashidun army were engaged by a Byzantine army composed of imperial troops as well as local levies. According to Islamic historians Monophysites and Jews throughout Syria welcomed the Arab invaders, the Roman Emperor Heraclius had fallen ill and was unable to personally lead his armies to resist the Arab conquests of Syria and Roman Paelestina in 634. In a battle fought near Ajnadayn in the summer of 634, after their victory at the Fahl, Muslim forces conquered Damascus in 634 under the command of Khalid ibn al-Walid. Heraclius farewell exclamation while departing Antioch for Constantinople, is expressive of his disappointment, Peace unto thee, O Syria, in April 637, the Arabs, after a long siege captured Jerusalem, which was surrendered by Patriarch Sophronius. Antioch fell to the Muslim armies in late 637, and by then the Muslims occupied the whole of northern Syria, except for upper Mesopotamia, in December 639, the Muslims departed from Palestine to invade Egypt in early 640. By the time Heraclius died, much of Egypt had been lost, with 3, 500–4,000 troops under his command, Amr ibn al-Aas first crossed into Egypt from Palestine at the end of 639 or the beginning of 640. He was progressively joined by reinforcements, notably 12,000 soldiers by Al-Zubayr
Byzantine-Arab Wars
–
Greek fire, first used by the
Byzantine Navy during the Byzantine–Arab Wars.
Byzantine-Arab Wars
–
Gold
tremissis of
Constans II.
Byzantine-Arab Wars
–
In spite of the turbulent reign of Justinian II, last emperor of the
Heraclian dynasty, his coinage still bore the traditional "
PAX ", peace.
Byzantine-Arab Wars
–
The
Theodosian Walls of
Constantinople.
47.
Anatolia
–
Anatolia, in geography known as Asia Minor, Asian Turkey, Anatolian peninsula, or Anatolian plateau, is the westernmost protrusion of Asia, which makes up the majority of modern-day Turkey. The region is bounded by the Black Sea to the north, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Sea of Marmara forms a connection between the Black and Aegean Seas through the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits and separates Anatolia from Thrace on the European mainland. Traditionally, Anatolia is considered to extend in the east to a line between the Gulf of Alexandretta and the Black Sea to the Armenian Highlands, thus, traditionally Anatolia is the territory that comprises approximately the western two-thirds of the Asian part of Turkey. The Turkification of Anatolia began under the Seljuk Empire in the late 11th century, however, various non-Turkic languages continue to be spoken by minorities in Anatolia today, including Kurdish, Assyrian, Armenian, Arabic, Laz, Georgian, and Greek. Traditionally, Anatolia is considered to extend in the east to a line running from the Gulf of Alexandretta to the Black Sea. This traditional geographical definition is used, for example, in the latest edition of Merriam-Websters Geographical Dictionary, under this definition, Anatolia is bounded to the east by the Armenian Highlands, and the Euphrates before that river bends to the southeast to enter Mesopotamia. To the southeast, it is bounded by the ranges that separate it from the Orontes valley in Syria, the first name the Greeks used for the Anatolian peninsula was Ἀσία, presumably after the name of the Assuwa league in western Anatolia. As the name of Asia came to be extended to areas east of the Mediterranean. The name Anatolia derives from the Greek ἀνατολή meaning “the East” or more literally “sunrise”, the precise reference of this term has varied over time, perhaps originally referring to the Aeolian, Ionian and Dorian colonies on the west coast of Asia Minor. In the Byzantine Empire, the Anatolic Theme was a theme covering the western, the modern Turkish form of Anatolia is Anadolu, which again derives from the Greek name Aνατολή. The Russian male name Anatoly and the French Anatole share the same linguistic origin, in English the name of Turkey for ancient Anatolia first appeared c. It is derived from the Medieval Latin Turchia, which was used by the Europeans to define the Seljuk controlled parts of Anatolia after the Battle of Manzikert. Human habitation in Anatolia dates back to the Paleolithic, neolithic Anatolia has been proposed as the homeland of the Indo-European language family, although linguists tend to favour a later origin in the steppes north of the Black Sea. However, it is clear that the Anatolian languages, the oldest branch of Indo-European, have spoken in Anatolia since at least the 19th century BC. The earliest historical records of Anatolia stem from the southeast of the region and are from the Mesopotamian-based Akkadian Empire during the reign of Sargon of Akkad in the 24th century BC, scholars generally believe the earliest indigenous populations of Anatolia were the Hattians and Hurrians. The region was famous for exporting raw materials, and areas of Hattian-, one of the numerous cuneiform records dated circa 20th century BC, found in Anatolia at the Assyrian colony of Kanesh, uses an advanced system of trading computations and credit lines. They were speakers of an Indo-European language, the Hittite language, originating from Nesa, they conquered Hattusa in the 18th century BC, imposing themselves over Hattian- and Hurrian-speaking populations. According to the most widely accepted Kurgan theory on the Proto-Indo-European homeland, however, the Hittites adopted the cuneiform script, invented in Mesopotamia
Anatolia
–
The traditional definition of Anatolia within modern Turkey
Anatolia
–
The location of
Turkey (within the rectangle) in reference to the
European continent. Anatolia roughly corresponds to the
Asian part of Turkey, except the eastern parts historically known as the
Armenian Highlands
Anatolia
–
1907 map of Asia Minor, showing the local ancient kingdoms
Anatolia
–
Mural of
aurochs, a
deer, and humans in
Çatalhöyük, which is the largest and best-preserved Neolithic site found to date. It was registered as a
UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2012.
48.
Thessaloniki
–
Its nickname is η Συμπρωτεύουσα, literally the co-capital, a reference to its historical status as the Συμβασιλεύουσα or co-reigning city of the Eastern Roman Empire, alongside Constantinople. The city is renowned for its festivals, events and vibrant cultural life in general, Thessaloniki was the 2014 European Youth Capital. The city of Thessaloniki was founded in 315 BC by Cassander of Macedon, an important metropolis by the Roman period, Thessaloniki was the second largest and wealthiest city of the Byzantine Empire. It was conquered by the Ottomans in 1430, and passed from the Ottoman Empire to modern Greece on November 8,1912, the citys main university, Aristotle University, is the largest in Greece and the Balkans. Thessaloniki is a popular tourist destination in Greece, among street photographers, the center of Thessaloniki is also considered the most popular destination for street photography in Greece. All variations of the name derive from the original appellation in Ancient Greek, i. e. Θεσσαλονίκη. The alternative name Salonica derives from the variant form Σαλονίκη in colloquial Greek speech, in local speech, the citys name is typically pronounced with a dark and deep L characteristic of Macedonian Greek accent. The name often appears in writing in the abbreviated form Θεσ/νίκη, the city was founded around 315 BC by the King Cassander of Macedon, on or near the site of the ancient town of Therma and 26 other local villages. He named it after his wife Thessalonike, a half-sister of Alexander the Great, under the kingdom of Macedon the city retained its own autonomy and parliament and evolved to become the most important city in Macedon. After the fall of the kingdom of Macedon in 168 BC, the city later became the capital of one of the four Roman districts of Macedonia. Later it became the capital of all the Greek provinces of the Roman Empire because of the importance in the Balkan peninsula. At the time of the Roman Empire, about 50 A. D. Later, Paul wrote two letters to the new church at Thessaloniki, preserved in the Biblical canon as First and Second Thessalonians. Some scholars hold that the First Epistle to the Thessalonians is the first written book of the New Testament, in 306 AD, Thessaloniki acquired a patron saint, St. Demetrius, a native of Thessalonica whom Galerius put to death. A basilical church was first built in the 5th century AD dedicated to St. Demetrius, in 379, when the Roman Prefecture of Illyricum was divided between the East and West Roman Empires, Thessaloniki became the capital of the new Prefecture of Illyricum. In 390, Gothic troops under the Roman Emperor Theodosius I, led a massacre against the inhabitants of Thessalonica, by the time of the Fall of Rome in 476, Thessaloniki was the second-largest city of the Eastern Roman Empire. From the first years of the Byzantine Empire, Thessaloniki was considered the city in the Empire after Constantinople. With a population of 150,000 in the mid-12th century, the city held this status until its transfer to Venetian control in 1423. In the 14th century, the population exceeded 100,000 to 150,000
Thessaloniki
–
The 4th-century AD
Rotunda of Galerius, one of several Roman monuments in the city and a
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Thessaloniki
–
The
White Tower of Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki
–
Hagia Sophia church was erected in the 8th century AD based on the
Hagia Sophia in
Constantinople. Hagia Sophia is one of 15
UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the city.
Thessaloniki
–
Section of the
Walls of Thessaloniki
49.
Dark Ages (historiography)
–
The Dark Ages is a historical periodization traditionally referring to the Middle Ages. The term employs traditional light-versus-darkness imagery to contrast the darkness with earlier and later periods of light. The concept of a Dark Age originated in the 1330s with the Italian scholar Petrarch, the phrase Dark Age itself derives from the Latin saeculum obscurum, originally applied by Caesar Baronius in 1602 to a tumultuous period in the 10th and 11th centuries. As the accomplishments of the era came better to be understood in the 19th and 20th centuries, many modern scholars avoid the term altogether due to its negative connotations, finding it misleading and inaccurate. In the 19th century scholars began to recognize the accomplishments of the period, nowadays the term is not used by scholars to refer to the entire medieval period, when used, it is generally restricted to the Early Middle Ages. The rise of archaeology in the 20th century has shed light on the period, other terms of periodization have come to the fore, Late Antiquity, the Early Middle Ages, and the Great Migrations, depending on which aspects of culture are being emphasized. The idea of a Dark Age originated with the Tuscan scholar Petrarch in the 1330s, writing of the past, he said, Amidst the errors there shone forth men of genius, no less keen were their eyes, although they were surrounded by darkness and dense gloom. Christian writers, including Petrarch himself, had long used traditional metaphors of light versus darkness to describe good versus evil, Petrarch was the first to give the metaphor secular meaning by reversing its application. From his perspective on the Italian peninsular, Petrarch saw the Roman and he spent much of his time travelling through Europe, rediscovering and republishing classic Latin and Greek texts. He wanted to restore the Latin language to its former purity, Petrarch wrote that history had two periods, the classic period of Greeks and Romans, followed by a time of darkness in which he saw himself living. In around 1343, in the conclusion of his epic Africa, he wrote, My fate is to live among varied, but for you perhaps, if as I hope and wish you will live long after me, there will follow a better age. This sleep of forgetfulness will not last for ever, when the darkness has been dispersed, our descendants can come again in the former pure radiance. In the 15th century, historians Leonardo Bruni and Flavio Biondo developed an outline of history. They used Petrarchs two ages, plus a modern, better age, which believed the world had entered. Later the term Middle Ages - Latin media tempestas or medium aevum - was used to describe the period of supposed decline. During the Reformations of the 16th and 17th centuries, Protestants generally had a view to Renaissance Humanists such as Petrarch. They saw classical antiquity as a time, not only because of its Latin literature. In response to the Protestants, Catholics developed a counter-image to depict the High Middle Ages in particular as a period of social and religious harmony, the most important Catholic reply to the Magdeburg Centuries was the Annales Ecclesiastici by Cardinal Caesar Baronius
Dark Ages (historiography)
–
Petrarch, who conceived the idea of a European "Dark Age". From Cycle of Famous Men and Women,
Andrea di Bartolo di Bargilla, c. 1450
Dark Ages (historiography)
–
Triumph of Christianity by
Tommaso Laureti (1530–1602), ceiling painting in the
Sala di Constantino,
Vatican Palace. Images like this one celebrate the triumph of Christianity over the paganism of Antiquity
Dark Ages (historiography)
–
Medieval artistic illustration of the
spherical Earth in a 14th-century copy of
L'Image du monde (c. 1246)
50.
Land tax
–
A land/location value tax, also called a site valuation tax, split rate tax, or site-value rating, is a levy on the unimproved value of land. It is an Ad valorem tax that, unlike property taxes, disregards the value of buildings, personal property, Land value tax has been referred to as the perfect tax and the economic efficiency of a land value tax has been known since the eighteenth century. A land value tax is a tax, in that the heaviest tax burden would fall on the wealthiest. The philosophy that natural resource rents should be captured by society is now known as Georgism. Its relevance to public finance is underpinned by the Henry George theorem, the value of land can be expressed in two ways. Land value is related to the value it can provide over a certain period of time. The capitalization of this ground-rent by the market is what creates land prices. When ground-rent is redirected to the public, through LVT for example, the rent charged for land also decreases as a result of efficiency gains from the ad valorem aspect of LVT. Land that is not desirable enough for use at a time is called marginal land. Land value tax causes the quality of land to improve while also decreasing in rent. Most taxes distort economic decisions and suppress beneficial economic activity, LVT is payable regardless of how well or poorly land is actually used. Because the supply of land is fixed, land rents depend on what tenants are prepared to pay, rather than on landlord expenses. The direct beneficiaries of incremental improvements to the surrounding a site are the lands occupants. Such improvements shift tenants demand curve to the right, landlords benefit from price competition among tenants, the only direct effect of LVT in this case is to reduce the amount of socially generated benefit that is privately captured. LVT is said to be justified for economic reasons because it does not deter production, distort markets, Land value tax can even have negative deadweight loss, particularly when land use improves. A positive relationship of LVT and market efficiency is predicted by theory and has been observed in practice. Fred Foldvary stated that the tax encourages landowners to develop vacant/underused land or to sell it and he claimed that because LVT deters speculative land holding, dilapidated inner city areas return to productive use, reducing the pressure to build on undeveloped sites and so reducing urban sprawl. For example, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania in the United States has taxed land at a six times that on improvements since 1975
Land tax
–
Anne Robert Jacques Turgot, one of the leading physiocrats.
Land tax
–
Taxation
Land tax
–
Henry George in 1865.
51.
Latin empire
–
It was established after the capture of Constantinople in 1204 and lasted until 1261. Baldwin IX, Count of Flanders, was crowned the first Latin emperor as Baldwin I on 16 May 1204, the last Latin emperor, Baldwin II, went into exile, but the imperial title survived, with several pretenders to it, until the 14th century. The original name of state in the Latin language was Imperium Romaniae. This name was used based on the fact that the name for the Eastern Roman Empire in this period had been Romania. The names Byzantine and Latin were not contemporaneous terms, the term Latin has been used because the crusaders were Roman Catholic and used Latin as their liturgical and scholarly language. It is used in contrast to the Eastern Orthodox locals who used Greek in both liturgy and common speech, after the fall of Constantinople in the Fourth Crusade, the crusaders agreed to divide up Byzantine territory. In the Partitio terrarum imperii Romaniae, signed on 1 October 1204, none of these polities actually controlled the city of Rome, which remained under the temporal authority of the Pope. The initial campaigns of the crusaders in Asia Minor resulted in the capture of most of Bithynia by 1205, with the defeat of the forces of Theodore I Laskaris at Poemanenum and Prusa. Latin successes continued, and in 1207 a truce was signed with Theodore, the Latins inflicted a further defeat on Nicaean forces at the Rhyndakos river in October 1211, and three years later the Treaty of Nymphaeum recognized their control of most of Bithynia and Mysia. The peace was maintained until 1222, when the resurgent power of Nicaea felt sufficiently strong to challenge the Latin Empire, Nicaea turned also to the Aegean, capturing the islands awarded to the empire. In 1235, finally, the last Latin possessions fell to Nicaea, unlike in Asia, where the Latin Empire faced only an initially weak Nicaea, in Europe it was immediately confronted with a powerful enemy, the Bulgarian tsar Kaloyan. When Baldwin campaigned against the Byzantine lords of Thrace, they called upon Kaloyan for help, at the Battle of Adrianople on 14 April 1205, the Latin heavy cavalry and knights were crushed by Kaloyans troops and Cuman allies, and Emperor Baldwin was captured. He was imprisoned in the Bulgarian capital Tarnovo until his later in 1205. At the same time, another Greek successor state, the Despotate of Epirus, under Michael I Komnenos Doukas, posed a threat to the vassals in Thessalonica. Henry demanded his submission, which Michael provided, giving off his daughter to Henrys brother Eustace in the summer of 1209 and this alliance allowed Henry to launch a campaign in Macedonia, Thessaly and Central Greece against the rebellious Lombard lords of Thessalonica. However, Michaels attack on the Kingdom of Thessalonica in 1210 forced him to north to relieve the city. In 1214 however, Michael died, and was succeeded by Theodore Komnenos Doukas, on 11 June 1216, while supervising repairs to the walls of Thessalonica, Henry died, and was succeeded by Peter of Courtenay, who himself was captured and executed by Theodore the following year. A regency was set up in Constantinople, headed by Peters widow, Yolanda of Flanders, epirote armies then conquered Thrace in 1225–26, appearing before Constantinople itself
Latin empire
–
Capture of Constantinople during the
Fourth Crusade in 1204.
Latin empire
–
The Latin Empire with its vassals (in yellow) and the Greek successor states of the Byzantine Empire (in red) after the
Treaty of Nymphaeum in 1214. The borders are very uncertain.
