1.
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
2.
Constantine V
–
Constantine V was Byzantine emperor from 741 to 775. Constantine was born in Constantinople, the son and successor of Emperor Leo III, in August 720 he was associated on the throne by his father, who had him marry Tzitzak, daughter of the Khazar khagan Bihar. His new bride was baptized as Irene in 732, Constantine V succeeded his father as sole emperor on 18 June 741. Artabasdos was the stratēgos of the Armeniac theme, Constantine was defeated and sought refuge in Amorion, while Artabasdos advanced on Constantinople and was accepted as Emperor. Constantine received the support of the Anatolic and Thracesian themes, Artabasdos secured the support of the themes of Thrace and Opsikion, the rival emperors bided their time making military preparations. Artabasdos marched against Constantine in May 743 but was defeated, three months later Constantine defeated Artabasdos son Niketas and headed for Constantinople. In early November Constantine was admitted into the capital and immediately turned on his opponents, the usurpation of Artabasdos was connected with restoring the veneration of images, leading Constantine to become perhaps an even more fervent iconoclast than his father. Constantines avowed enemies over this extremely emotional issue, the iconodules, using this obscene name, they spread the rumour that as an infant he had defecated in his baptismal font, or on the imperial purple cloth with which he was swaddled. Constantines position on Iconoclasm was clear, He cannot be depicted, for what is depicted in one person, and he who circumscribes that person has plainly circumscribed the divine nature which is incapable of being circumscribed. In February 754 Constantine convened a synod at Hieria, which was attended entirely by Iconoclast bishops, the council approved of Constantines religious policy and secured the election of a new Iconoclast patriarch, but refused to follow in all of Constantines views. The synod was followed by a campaign to remove images from the walls of churches and to purge the court, the repressions against the monks were largely led by the Emperors general Michael Lachanodrakon, who threatened resistant monks with blinding and exile. An iconodule abbot, Stephen Neos, was lynched by a mob at the behest of the authorities. As a result, many fled to southern Italy and Sicily. By the end of Constantines reign, Iconoclasm had gone as far as to brand relics, ultimately, iconophiles considered his death a divine punishment. In the 9th century he was disinterred, and his remains were thrown into the sea, Constantine was an able general and administrator. He reorganised the themes, the districts of the Empire. This organization was intended to minimize the threat of conspiracies and to enhance the capabilities of the Empire. With this reorganized army he embarked on campaigns on the three major frontiers, in 746, profiting by the unstable conditions in the Umayyad Caliphate, which was falling apart under Marwan II, Constantine invaded Syria and captured Germanikeia
3.
Constantine VI
–
Constantine VI was Byzantine Emperor from 780 to 797. Constantine VI was the child of Emperor Leo IV and Irene. Constantine was crowned co-emperor by his father in 776, and succeeded as emperor in 780. Due to his minority, Irene and her chief minister Staurakios exercised the regency for him, in 787 Constantine had signed the decrees of the Second Council of Nicaea, but he appears to have had iconoclast sympathies. By then Constantine had turned 16 years old, but his mother did not relinquish authority to him. In 788, Irene herself broke off the engagement of Constantine with Rotrude, turning against Charlemagne, the Byzantines now supported Lombard pretender Adalgis, who had been forced into exile after the Frankish invasion of Italy. After a conspiracy against Irene was suppressed in the spring of 790 she attempted to get recognition as empress. This backfired and with military support Constantine finally came to power in 790. Nevertheless, she was allowed to keep the title of Empress, once in control of the state, Constantine proved incapable of sound governance. His army was defeated by the Arabs, and Constantine himself suffered a defeat at the hands of Kardam of Bulgaria in the 792 Battle of Marcellae. A movement developed in favor of his uncle, the Caesar Nikephoros, Constantine had his uncles eyes put out and the tongues of his fathers four other half-brothers cut off. His former Armenian supporters revolted after he had blinded their general Alexios Mosele and he crushed this revolt with extreme cruelty in 793. Although the Patriarch Tarasios did not publicly speak against it, he did refuse to officiate the marriage, popular disapproval was expressed by Theodotes uncle, Plato of Sakkoudion, who even broke communion with Tarasios for his passive stance. Platos intransigence led to his own imprisonment, while his supporters were persecuted and exiled to Thessalonica. The Moechian Controversy cost Constantine what popularity he had left, especially in the church establishment and it is unknown when exactly Constantine died, it was certainly before 805, but he very likely died of his wounds shortly after being blinded. He was buried in the Monastery of St. Euphrosyne, which Irene had founded, in the early 820s, the rebel Thomas the Slav claimed to be Constantine VI in an effort to gain support against Michael II. Cutler, Anthony, Hollingsworth, Paul A. Constantine VI, Oxford and New York, Oxford University Press. Byzantine Empresses, Women and Power in Byzantium, AD 527–1204, a History of the Byzantine State and Society
4.
Irene of Athens
–
Irene of Athens, also known as Irene Sarantapechaina, was Byzantine empress from 797 to 802. Before that, Irene was empress consort from 775 to 780 and she is best known for ending Iconoclasm. Irene was related to the noble Greek Sarantapechos family of Athens, although she was an orphan, her uncle or cousin Constantine Sarantapechos was a patrician and was possibly strategos of the theme of Hellas at the end of the 8th century. She was brought to Constantinople by Emperor Constantine V on 1 November 768 and was married to his son Leo IV on 17 December, on 14 January 771, Irene gave birth to a son, the future Constantine VI. When Constantine V died in September 775, Leo succeeded to the throne at the age of twenty-five years. Leo, though an iconoclast, pursued a policy of moderation towards iconodules, but his policies became much harsher in August 780, according to tradition, he discovered icons concealed among Irenes possessions and refused to share the marriage bed with her thereafter. Nevertheless, when Leo died on 8 September 780, Irene became regent for their nine-year-old son Constantine, Irene was almost immediately confronted with a conspiracy that tried to raise Caesar Nikephoros, a half-brother of Leo IV, to the throne. To overcome this challenge, she had Nikephoros and his co-conspirators ordained as priests, as early as 781, Irene began to seek a closer relationship with the Carolingian dynasty and the Papacy in Rome. She negotiated a marriage between her son Constantine and Rotrude, a daughter of Charlemagne by his third wife Hildegard, during this time Charlemagne was at war with the Saxons, and would later become the new king of the Franks. Irene went as far as to send an official to instruct the Frankish princess in Greek, however, Irene herself broke off the engagement in 787, Irene next had to subdue a rebellion led by Elpidius, the strategos of Sicily. Irene sent a fleet, which succeeded in defeating the Sicilians, Elpidius fled to Africa, where he defected to the Abbasid Caliphate. After the success of Constantine Vs general, Michael Lachanodrakon, who foiled an Abbasid attack on the eastern frontiers, Irenes most notable act was the restoration of the veneration of icons. Having chosen Tarasios, one of her partisans and her secretary, as Patriarch of Constantinople in 784. The first of these, held in 786 at Constantinople, was frustrated by the opposition of the iconoclast soldiers, the second, convened at Nicaea in 787, formally revived the veneration of icons and reunited the Eastern church with that of Rome. While this greatly improved relations with the Papacy, it did not prevent the outbreak of a war with the Franks, nevertheless, Irene was constantly harried by the Abbasids, and in 782 and 798 had to accept the terms of the respective Caliphs Al-Mahdi and Harun al-Rashid. As Constantine approached maturity he began to grow restless under her autocratic sway, an attempt to free himself by force was met and crushed by the Empress, who demanded that the oath of fidelity should thenceforward be taken in her name alone. The discontent which this occasioned swelled in 790 into open resistance, Constantine could only flee for aid to the provinces, but even there participants in the plot surrounded him. Seized by his attendants on the Asiatic shore of the Bosphorus and his eyes were gouged out, and he died from his wounds several days later
5.
Dynasty
–
A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family, usually in the context of a feudal or monarchical system but sometimes also appearing in elective republics. The dynastic family or lineage may be known as a house, historians periodize the histories of many sovereign states, such as Ancient Egypt, the Carolingian Empire and Imperial China, using a framework of successive dynasties. As such, the dynasty may be used to delimit the era during which the family reigned and to describe events, trends. The word dynasty itself is often dropped from such adjectival references, until the 19th century, it was taken for granted that a legitimate function of a monarch was to aggrandize his dynasty, that is, to increase the territory, wealth, and power of his family members. The longest-surviving dynasty in the world is the Imperial House of Japan, dynasties throughout the world have traditionally been reckoned patrilineally, such as under the Frankish Salic law. Succession through a daughter when permitted was considered to establish a new dynasty in her husbands ruling house, however, some states in Africa, determined descent matrilineally, while rulers have at other times adopted the name of their mothers dynasty when coming into her inheritance. It is also extended to unrelated people such as poets of the same school or various rosters of a single sports team. The word dynasty derives via Latin dynastia from Greek dynastéia, where it referred to power, dominion and it was the abstract noun of dynástēs, the agent noun of dynamis, power or ability, from dýnamai, to be able. A ruler in a dynasty is referred to as a dynast. For example, following his abdication, Edward VIII of the United Kingdom ceased to be a member of the House of Windsor. A dynastic marriage is one that complies with monarchical house law restrictions, the marriage of Willem-Alexander, Prince of Orange, to Máxima Zorreguieta in 2002 was dynastic, for example, and their eldest child is expected to inherit the Dutch crown eventually. But the marriage of his younger brother Prince Friso to Mabel Wisse Smit in 2003 lacked government support, thus Friso forfeited his place in the order of succession, lost his title as a Prince of the Netherlands, and left his children without dynastic rights. In historical and monarchist references to formerly reigning families, a dynast is a member who would have had succession rights, were the monarchys rules still in force. Even since abolition of the Austrian monarchy, Max and his descendants have not been considered the rightful pretenders by Austrian monarchists, nor have they claimed that position. The term dynast is sometimes used only to refer to descendants of a realms monarchs. The term can therefore describe overlapping but distinct sets of people, yet he is not a male-line member of the royal family, and is therefore not a dynast of the House of Windsor. Thus, in 1999 he requested and obtained permission from Elizabeth II to marry the Roman Catholic Princess Caroline of Monaco. Yet a clause of the English Act of Settlement 1701 remained in effect at that time and that exclusion, too, ceased to apply on 26 March 2015, with retroactive effect for those who had been dynasts prior to triggering it by marriage to a Catholic
6.
Byzantine Empire under the Isaurian dynasty
–
The Byzantine Empire was ruled by the Isaurian or Syrian dynasty from 717 to 802. The Heraclian dynasty faced some of the greatest challenges in history, after successfully overcoming the Sassanid Persians, the Emperor Heraclius and his exhausted realm were faced with the sudden onset of the Muslim expansion from Arabia into the Levant. Following the Muslim conquest of Syria, the province of Egypt. These three areas would be the fields of Byzantine-Arab contention during the next half-century. The Arabs continued to make headway, most notably constructing a navy that successfully challenged Byzantine supremacy in the Mediterranean, the outbreak of the Muslim civil war in 656 bought the Byzantines time, and emperor Constans II reinforced his position in the Balkans and Italy. At the same however, he was defeated by the Bulgar khan Asparukh. Carthage finally fell in 697 and a Byzantine recovery attempt defeated next year, finally, the Umayyad caliph Sulayman ibn Abd al-Malik began preparing another huge expedition to conquer Constantinople. The loss of the Empires richest provinces, coupled with successive invasions, reduced the economy to a relatively impoverished state. The monetary economy persisted, but the economy experienced a revival as well. At the same time, the bureaucracy in Constantinople also rose in importance. After Justinian IIs second overthrow, the Byzantine Empire spiralled into another era of chaos matched only by Phocas mishandling of the last Persian War, philippikos Bardanes, the Crimean rebel who seized the throne proved to be totally incompetent for rule. Rather than face the threat of the Bulgars or the Arabs. When King Tervel of Bulgaria invaded Thrace, Bardanes had no choice, unfortunately for the Emperor, the troops had no loyalty whatsoever to him and after the ritual blinding he was replaced in June 713 by the chief secretary of the Emperor, Artemios. Artemios was crowned as Anastasios II, every citizen was told to gather enough food for three years for if the Arabs were to reach the straits it would undoubtedly be a lengthy siege. However, Anastasios proved too good for the Empire, in an effort to avert the Arab siege of the Capital, Anastasios planned a strike against the invaders. However the Opsician Theme once more revolted and Anastasios found himself in a Thessalonika monastery by 715, the Opsicians chose Theodosios, an unwilling tax-collector, to rule the Empire. Leo III, who would become the founder of the so-called Isaurian dynasty, was born in Germanikeia in northern Syria c. 685, his origin from Isauria derives from a reference in Theophanes the Confessor
7.
Tzitzak
–
This individual is sometimes confused with Byzantine Empress Irene, who was her daughter-in-law. Tzitzak, baptised Irene, was a Khazar princess, the daughter of khagan Bihar, in 732, the Byzantine Empire was under threat of invasion from the Umayyad Caliphate. Seeking allies, Leo III the Isaurian sent an embassy to Bihar, the alliance was sealed with the marriage of Tzitzak to Constantine V, son and junior co-ruler of Leo. Tzitzak was escorted to Constantinople for her marriage, Constantine was about fourteen years old, while Tzitzak may have been even younger as she would not give birth for eighteen years. Tzitzak became a Christian under the baptismal name Irene, Tzitzaks wedding gown became famous, starting a new fashion craze in Constantinople for male robes called tzitzakia. The chronicle of Theophanes the Confessor records that Tzitzak learned to read religious texts and he describes her as pious and contrasts her with the impiety of her father-in-law and husband. The emperors Leo III and Constantine V were iconoclasts while Theophanes was an iconodule monk and his praise probably reflected the fact that Irene herself shared his views. It is uncertain whether her mother-in-law Maria was still the senior empress at the time of Tzitzaks marriage, Leo III died on 18 June 741. Constantine V succeeded him with Irene as his empress consort, however, civil war broke out almost immediately as Artabasdos, brother-in-law of Constantine, claimed the throne for himself. The civil war lasted until 2 November 743, the role of Irene in the war is not described by Theophanes. On 25 January 750, Constantine and Tzitzak had a son, Leo, leos birth is the last mention of Irene in the historical record. By the following year, Constantine was already married to his second wife Maria, lynda Garland has suggested Tzitzak died in childbirth. The word tzitzak is most likely a Hellenized version of the Turkic word çiçek, meaning flower
8.
Leo III the Isaurian
–
Leo III the Isaurian, also known as the Syrian (Greek, Λέων Γ΄ ὁ Ἴσαυρος, Leōn III ho Isauros, was Byzantine Emperor from 717 until his death in 741. He put an end to the Twenty Years Anarchy, a period of instability in the Byzantine Empire between 695 and 717, marked by the rapid succession of several emperors to the throne. He also successfully defended the Empire against the invading Umayyads and forbade the veneration of icons, Leo, whose original name was Konon, was born in Germanikeia in the Syrian province of Commagene. After the victory of Justinian II, Konon was dispatched on a mission to Alania. Konon was appointed commander of the Anatolic theme by Emperor Anastasius II, on his deposition, Konon joined with his colleague Artabasdus, the stratēgos of the Armeniac theme, in conspiring to overthrow the new Emperor Theodosius III. Artabasdus was betrothed to Anna, daughter of Leo as part of the agreement, Leo entered Constantinople on 25 March 717 and forced the abdication of Theodosios III, becoming emperor as Leo III. The new Emperor was immediately forced to attend to the Second Arab siege of Constantinople, the Arabs were Umayyad forces sent by Caliph Sulayman ibn Abd al-Malik and serving under his brother Maslama ibn Abd al-Malik. They had taken advantage of the discord in the Byzantine Empire to bring a force of 80,000 to 150,000 men. Careful preparations, begun three years earlier under Anastasius II, and the resistance put up by Leo wore out the invaders. An important factor in the victory of the Byzantines was their use of Greek fire, the Arab forces also fell victim to Bulgarian reinforcements arriving to aid the Byzantines. Leo was allied with the Bulgarians but the chronicler Theophanes the Confessor was uncertain if they were serving under Tervel of Bulgaria or his eventual successor Kormesiy of Bulgaria. Sulayman himself had died the year and his successor Umar II would not attempt another siege. The siege had lasted 12 months, having thus preserved the Empire from extinction, Leo proceeded to consolidate its administration, which in the previous years of anarchy had become completely disorganized. In 718 he suppressed a rebellion in Sicily and in 719 did the same on behalf of the deposed Emperor Anastasios II and his military efforts were supplemented by his alliances with the Khazars and the Georgians. The new measures, which were embodied in a new code called the Ecloga, published in 726, met some opposition on the part of the nobles. The Emperor also undertook some reorganization of the structure by creating new themata in the Aegean region. Leos most striking legislative reforms dealt with matters, especially iconoclasm. After an apparently successful attempt to enforce the baptism of all Jews and Montanists in the empire, a majority of the theologians and all the monks opposed these measures with uncompromising hostility, and in the western parts of the Empire the people refused to obey the edict
9.
Artabasdos
–
Artavasdos or Artabasdos, Latinized as Artabasdus, was a Byzantine general of Armenian descent who seized the throne from June 741 or 742 until November 743. His reign constitutes a usurpation against Constantine V, who had retained control of several themes in Asia Minor, after Anastasius fall, Artabasdos made an agreement with his colleague Leo, the governor of the Anatolic theme, to overthrow the new Emperor Theodosius III. This agreement was sealed with the engagement of Leos daughter Anna to Artabasdos, Artabasdos was awarded the rank of kouropalates and became commander of the Opsikion theme, while retaining control of his original command. While Constantine fled to Amorion, Artabasdus seized Constantinople amid popular support and was crowned emperor, Artabasdos abandoned his predecessors religious policy of Iconoclasm and restored Orthodoxy with some support, including that of Pope Zacharias. Soon after his accession, Artabasdus crowned his wife Anna as Augusta and his son Nikephoros as co-emperor, but while Artabasdus could rely also on the support of the themes of Thrace and Opsikion, Constantine secured for himself the support of the Anatolic and Thracesian themes. The inevitable clash came in May 743, when Artabasdus led the offensive against Constantine but was defeated, later the same year Constantine defeated Nicetas, and on November 2,743 Artabasdus reign came to an end as Constantine V entered Constantinople and apprehended his rival. Artabasdus and his sons were blinded and relegated to the monastery of Chora on the outskirts of Constantinople. The date of his death is unknown, by his wife Anna, the daughter of Emperor Leo III, Artabasdos had nine children, including, Nikephoros, who was co-emperor from 742 to 743. Niketas, who was strategos of the Armeniac theme from 742 to 743, list of Byzantine emperors Notes References Garland, Lynda. Byzantine women, varieties of experience 800–1200, - Total pages,226 Venetis, Evangelos. Encyclopaedia of the Hellenic World, Asia Minor
10.
Twenty Years' Anarchy
–
Justinian II set in motion a chain of events by embarking on a despotic and increasingly violent course. Leontios proved equally unpopular and was in turn overthrown by Tiberios III, justinian then continued to reign for a further six years. His treatment of Tiberios and his supporters had been brutal and he continued to rule in a manner that was despotic and he lost the ground regained by Tiberios in the east, and imposed his views on the Pope. However, before long he faced a rebellion led by Philippikos Bardanes, justinian was captured and executed as was his son and co-emperor, Tiberius, thus extinguishing the Heraclian line. Justinian had taken the Byzantine empire yet further from its origins and he effectively abolished the historical role of Consul, merging it with Emperor, thus strengthening the Emperors constitutional position as absolute monarch. Militarily the Bulgars reached the walls of Constantinople, and moving troops to defend the capital allowed the Arabs to make incursions in the east and his reign ended abruptly when an army rebellion deposed him and replaced him with Anastasius II. Anastasius reversed his predecessors religious policies and responded to Arab attacks by sea and land, however the very army that had placed him on the throne rose against him, proclaimed a new emperor and besieged Constantinople for six months, eventually forcing Anastasius to flee. He in turn faced rebellion from two other themata, Anatolikon and Armeniakon in 717, and chose to resign, being succeeded by Leo III bringing an end to the cycle of violence and instability. However the strength of the organization within the empire. Byzantine–Arab Wars Byzantium under the Isaurians Byzantine–Bulgarian Wars#Tervels wars Kaegi, Walter Emil, Byzantium and the Early Islamic Conquests. Cambridge, United Kingdom, Cambridge University Press, bellinger, Alfred Raymond, Grierson, Philip, eds. Catalogue of the Byzantine Coins in the Dumbarton Oaks Collection and in the Whittemore Collection, Phocas to Theodosius III, Byzantium The Imperial centuries AD 610-1071
_(14560071889).jpg)
