The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the
Roman Empire centered in
Constantinople during
Late Antiquity and the
Middle Ages. The eastern half of the Empire survived the conditions that caused the
fall of the West in the 5th century AD, and continued to exist until the
fall of Constantinople to the
Ottoman Empire in 1453. During most of its existence, the empire remained the most powerful economic, cultural, and military force in the
Mediterranean world. The term "Byzantine Empire" was only coined following the empire's demise; its citizens referred to the polity as the "Roman Empire" and to themselves as "Romans". Due to the imperial seat's move from Rome to
Byzantium, the
adoption of state Christianity, and the predominance of
Greek instead of
Latin, modern historians continue to make a distinction between the earlier Roman Empire and the later Byzantine Empire.
The Byzantine Rite, also known as the Greek Rite or the Rite of Constantinople, is a
liturgical rite that is identified with the wide range of cultural, devotional, and canonical practices that developed in the
Eastern Christian church of
Constantinople.
The
canonical hours are extended and complex, lasting about eight hours (longer during
Great Lent) but are abridged outside of large
monasteries. An
iconostasis, a partition covered with
icons, separates
the area around the altar from the
nave. The
sign of the cross, accompanied by bowing, is made very frequently, e.g., more than a hundred times during the
divine liturgy, and there is prominent veneration of icons, a general acceptance of the congregants freely moving within the church and interacting with each other, and distinctive traditions of liturgical chanting. (Full article...)
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The Byzantine economy was among the most robust economies in the Mediterranean for many centuries.
Constantinople was a prime hub in a trading network that at various times extended across nearly all of
Eurasia and North Africa. Some scholars argue that, up until the arrival of the Arabs in the 7th century, the
Eastern Roman Empire had the most powerful economy in the world. The Arab conquests, however, would represent a substantial reversal of fortunes contributing to a period of decline and stagnation.
Constantine V's reforms (c. 765) marked the beginning of a revival that continued until 1204. From the 10th century until the end of the 12th, the Byzantine Empire projected an image of luxury, and the travelers were impressed by the wealth accumulated in the capital. All this changed with the arrival of the
Fourth Crusade, which was an economic catastrophe. The
Palaiologoi tried to revive the economy, but the late Byzantine state would not gain full control of either the foreign or domestic economic forces.
One of the economic foundations of the empire was trade. The state strictly controlled both the internal and the international trade, and retained the monopoly of issuing
coinage. Constantinople remained the single most important commercial centre of Europe for much of the
Medieval era, which it held until the
Republic of Venice slowly began to overtake Byzantine merchants in trade; first through tax exemption under the
Komnenoi, then under the
Latin Empire. (Full article...)
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Byzantine art comprises the body of artistic products of the
Eastern Roman Empire, as well as the nations and states that inherited culturally from the empire. Though the empire itself emerged from the
decline of western Rome and lasted until the
Fall of Constantinople in 1453, the start date of the Byzantine period is rather clearer in art history than in political history, if still imprecise. Many
Eastern Orthodox states in Eastern Europe, as well as to some degree the
Islamic states of the eastern
Mediterranean, preserved many aspects of the empire's culture and art for centuries afterward.
A number of contemporary states with the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire were culturally influenced by it without actually being part of it (the "
Byzantine commonwealth"). These included
Kievan Rus', as well as some non-Orthodox states like the
Republic of Venice, which separated from the Byzantine Empire in the 10th century, and the
Kingdom of Sicily, which had close ties to the Byzantine Empire and had also been a Byzantine territory until the 10th century with a large Greek-speaking population persisting into the 12th century. Other states having a Byzantine artistic tradition, had oscillated throughout the Middle Ages between being part of the Byzantine Empire and having periods of independence, such as
Serbia and
Bulgaria. 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." Certain artistic traditions that originated in the Byzantine Empire, particularly in regard to icon painting and church architecture, are maintained in
Greece,
Cyprus,
Serbia,
Bulgaria,
Romania,
Russia and other Eastern Orthodox countries to the present day. (Full article...)
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The Arab–Byzantine wars were a series of wars between a number of
MuslimArab dynasties and the
Byzantine Empire from the 7th to the 11th century. Conflict started during the initial
Muslim conquests, under the expansionist
Rashidun and
Umayyadcaliphs, in the 7th century and continued by their successors until the mid-11th century.
The emergence of Muslim Arabs from
Arabia in the 630s resulted in the rapid loss of Byzantium's southern provinces (
Syria and
Egypt) to the
Arab Caliphate. Over the next fifty years, under the Umayyad caliphs, the Arabs would launch repeated raids into still-Byzantine
Asia Minor, twice besiege the Byzantine capital of
Constantinople, and conquer the Byzantine
Exarchate of Africa. The situation did not stabilize until after the failure of the
Second Arab Siege of Constantinople in 718, when the
Taurus Mountains on the eastern rim of Asia Minor became established as the mutual, heavily fortified and largely depopulated frontier. Under the
Abbasid Empire, relations became more normal, with embassies exchanged and even periods of truce, but conflict remained the norm, with almost annual raids and counter-raids, sponsored either by the Abbasid government or by local rulers, well into the 10th century. (Full article...)
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The Byzantine Empireunder the Macedonian dynasty underwent a revival during the late 9th, 10th, and early 11th centuries. Under the
Macedonian emperors, the empire gained control over the
Adriatic Sea,
Southern Italy, and all of the territory of the
TsarSamuil of Bulgaria. The Macedonian dynasty was characterised by a cultural revival in spheres such as philosophy and the arts, and has been dubbed the "
Golden Age" of
Byzantium.
The cities of the empire expanded, and affluence spread across the provinces because of the newfound security. The population rose, and production increased, stimulating new demand for
trade. (Full article...)
From the start, the regime faced numerous problems. The
Turks of
Asia Minor had begun conducting raids and expanding into Byzantine territory in Asia Minor by 1263, just two years after the enthronement of the first Palaiologos emperor
Michael VIII.
Anatolia, which had formed the very heart of the shrinking empire, was systematically lost to numerous Turkic ghazis, whose raids evolved into conquering expeditions inspired by
Islamic zeal, the prospect of economic gain, and the desire to seek refuge from the Mongols after the disastrous
Battle of Köse Dağ in 1243. The Palaiologoi were engaged on several fronts, often continually, while the empire's supply of food and manpower dwindled. In this period, the Byzantine Empire found itself continually at war, both civil and interstate, with most interstate conflicts being with other Christian empires. Most commonly, these comprised the
Second Bulgarian Empire, the
Serbian Empire, the remnants of the
Latin Empire and even the
Knights Hospitaller. (Full article...)
As the chief aide and closest friend of Emperor Andronikos III, Kantakouzenos became regent for the underage John V upon Andronikos's death in June 1341. While Kantakouzenos was absent from
Constantinople in September the same year, a coup d'état led by Alexios Apokaukos and the Patriarch John XIV secured the support of Empress Anna and established a new regency. In response, Kantakouzenos' army and supporters proclaimed him co-emperor in October, cementing the rift between himself and the new regency. The split immediately escalated into armed conflict. (Full article...)
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The sack of Amorium by the
Abbasid Caliphate in mid-August 838 was one of the major events in the long history of the
Arab–Byzantine Wars. The Abbasid campaign was led personally by the Caliph
al-Mu'tasim (
r. 833–842), in retaliation to a virtually unopposed expedition launched by the
Byzantine emperorTheophilos (r. 829–842) into the
Caliphate's borderlands the previous year. Mu'tasim targeted
Amorium, an
Eastern Roman city in western
Asia Minor, because it was the birthplace of the
ruling Byzantine dynasty and, at the time, one of Byzantium's largest and most important cities. The caliph gathered an exceptionally large army, which he divided in two parts, which invaded from the northeast and the south. The northeastern army defeated the Byzantine forces under Theophilos
at Anzen, allowing the Abbasids to penetrate deep into Byzantine Asia Minor and converge upon
Ancyra, which they found abandoned. After sacking the city, they turned south to Amorium, where they arrived on 1 August. Faced with intrigues at Constantinople and the rebellion of the large
Khurramite contingent of his army, Theophilos was unable to aid the city.
Amorium was strongly fortified and garrisoned, but a local inhabitant revealed a weak spot in the wall, where the Abbasids concentrated their attack, effecting a breach. Unable to break through the besieging army, Boiditzes, the commander of the breached section, privately attempted to negotiate with the Caliph without notifying his superiors. He concluded a local truce and left his post, which allowed the Arabs to take advantage, enter the city, and capture it. Amorium was systematically destroyed, never to recover its former prosperity. Many of its inhabitants were slaughtered, and the remainder driven off as slaves. Most of the survivors were released after a truce in 841, but prominent officials were taken to the caliph's capital of
Samarra and executed years later after refusing to convert to
Islam, becoming known as the
42 Martyrs of Amorium. (Full article...)
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A Hodegetria, or Virgin Hodegetria, is an
iconographic depiction of the
Theotokos (
Virgin Mary) holding the
Child Jesus at her side while pointing to him as the source of salvation for humankind. The Virgin's head usually inclines towards the child, who raises his hand in a blessing gesture. Metals are often used to draw attention to young Christ, reflecting light and shining in a way to embody divinity. In the
Western Church this type of icon is sometimes called Our Lady of the Way.
The most venerated
icon of the Hodegetria type, regarded as the original, was displayed in the
Monastery of the Panaghia Hodegetria in
Constantinople, which was built specially to contain it. Unlike most later copies it showed the Theotokos standing full-length. It was said to have been brought back from the
Holy Land by
Eudocia, the wife of emperor
Theodosius II (408–450), and to have been painted by
Saint Luke the evangelist, the attributed author of the
Gospel of Luke. The icon was double-sided, with a
crucifixion on the other side, and was "perhaps the most prominent cult object in Byzantium". (Full article...)
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Byzantine currency, money used in the
Eastern Roman Empire after the fall of the West, consisted of mainly two types of
coins:
goldsolidi and
hyperpyra and a variety of clearly valued
bronze coins. By the 15th century, the currency was issued only in debased silver
stavrata and minor copper coins with no gold issue.
The
Byzantine Empire established and operated several
mints throughout its history. Aside from the main metropolitan mint in the capital,
Constantinople, a varying number of provincial mints were also established in other urban centres, especially during the 6th century. Most provincial mints except for
Syracuse were closed or lost to invasions by the mid-7th century. After the loss of Syracuse in 878, Constantinople became the sole mint for
gold and
silver coinage until the late 11th century, when major provincial mints began to re-appear. Many mints, both imperial and, as the Byzantine world fragmented, belonging to autonomous local rulers, were operated in the 12th to 14th centuries. Constantinople and Trebizond, the seat of the independent
Empire of Trebizond (1204–1461), survived until their conquest by the
Ottoman Turks in the mid-15th century. (Full article...)
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The second Arab siege of Constantinople was a combined land and sea offensive in 717–718 by the Muslim Arabs of the
Umayyad Caliphate against the capital city of the
Byzantine Empire,
Constantinople. The campaign marked the culmination of twenty years of attacks and progressive Arab occupation of the Byzantine borderlands, while Byzantine strength was sapped by
prolonged internal turmoil. In 716, after years of preparations, the Arabs, led by
Maslama ibn Abd al-Malik, invaded Byzantine
Asia Minor. The Arabs initially hoped to exploit Byzantine civil strife and made common cause with the general
Leo III the Isaurian, who had risen up against Emperor
Theodosius III. Leo, however,
tricked them and secured the Byzantine throne for himself.
After wintering in the western coastlands of Asia Minor, the Arab army crossed into
Thrace in the early summer of 717 and built
siege lines to blockade the city, which was protected by the massive
Theodosian Walls. The Arab fleet, which accompanied the land army and was meant to complete the city's blockade by sea, was neutralized soon after its arrival by the
Byzantine navy through the use of
Greek fire. This allowed Constantinople to be resupplied by sea, while the Arab army was crippled by
famine and
disease during the unusually hard winter that followed. In spring 718, two Arab fleets sent as reinforcements were destroyed by the Byzantines after their Christian crews defected, and an additional army sent overland through Asia Minor was ambushed and defeated. Coupled with attacks by the
Bulgars on their rear, the Arabs were forced to lift the siege on 15 August 718. On its return journey, the Arab fleet was almost completely destroyed by natural disasters. (Full article...)
The work as planned had three parts: the Code (Codex) is a compilation, by selection and extraction, of imperial enactments to date; the Digest or Pandects (the Latin title contains both Digesta and Pandectae) is an encyclopedia composed of mostly brief extracts from the writings of Roman jurists; and the Institutes (Institutiones) is a student textbook, mainly introducing the Code, although it has important conceptual elements that are less developed in the Code or the Digest. All three parts, even the textbook, were given force of law. They were intended to be, together, the sole source of law; reference to any other source, including the original texts from which the Code and the Digest had been taken, was forbidden. Nonetheless, Justinian found himself having to enact further laws; today these are counted as a fourth part of the Corpus, the Novellae Constitutiones (Novels, literally New Laws). (Full article...)
The Despotate was centred on the region of
Epirus, encompassing also
Albania and the western portion of
Greek Macedonia and also included
Thessaly and western Greece as far south as
Nafpaktos. Through a policy of aggressive expansion under
Theodore Komnenos Doukas the Despotate of Epirus also briefly came to incorporate central
Macedonia, with the establishment of the
Empire of Thessalonica in 1224, and
Thrace as far east as
Didymoteicho and
Adrianople, and was on the verge of recapturing Constantinople and restoring the Byzantine Empire before the
Battle of Klokotnitsa in 1230 where he was defeated by the
Bulgarian Empire. After that, the Epirote state contracted to its core in Epirus and Thessaly, and was forced into vassalage to other regional powers. It nevertheless managed to retain its autonomy until being conquered by the restored
PalaiologanByzantine Empire in ca. 1337. In the 1410s, the
Count palatine of Cephalonia and ZakynthosCarlo I Tocco managed to reunite the core of the Epirote state, but his successors gradually lost it to the advancing
Ottoman Empire, with the last stronghold,
Vonitsa, falling to the Ottomans in 1479. (Full article...)
A group of
Andalusian exiles led by
Abu Hafs Umar al-Iqritishi conquered Crete in either 824 or 827/828, and established an independent Islamic state. The Byzantines launched a campaign that took most of the island back in 842-43 under
Theoktistos, but the reconquest was not completed and would soon be reversed. Later attempts by the Byzantine Empire to recover the island failed, and for the approximately 135 years of its existence, the emirate was one of the major foes of Byzantium. Crete commanded the sea lanes of the Eastern Mediterranean and functioned as a forward base and haven for Muslim corsair fleets that ravaged the Byzantine-controlled shores of the
Aegean Sea. The emirate's internal history is less well known, but all accounts point to considerable prosperity deriving not only from piracy but also from extensive trade and agriculture. The emirate was brought to an end by
Nikephoros Phokas, who
successfully campaigned against it in 960–961, re-annexing the island to the Byzantine Empire. (Full article...)
Initially built by Constantine the Great, the walls surrounded the new city on all sides, protecting it against attack from both sea and land. As the city grew, the famous double line of the Theodosian Walls was built in the 5th century. Although the other sections of the walls were less elaborate, they were, when well-manned, almost impregnable for any medieval besieger. They saved the city, and the
Byzantine Empire with it, during
sieges by the
Avar–Sassanian coalition,
Arabs,
Rus', and
Bulgars, among others. The fortifications retained their usefulness after the advent of
gunpowder siege cannons, which played a part in
the city's fall to
Ottoman forces in 1453 but were not able to breach its walls. (Full article...)
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The
Byzantine Empire was ruled by emperors of the
Komnenos dynasty for a period of 104 years, from 1081 to about 1185. The Komnenian (also spelled Comnenian) period comprises the reigns of five emperors,
Alexios I,
John II,
Manuel I,
Alexios II and
Andronikos I. It was a period of sustained, though ultimately incomplete, restoration of the military, territorial, economic and political position of the Byzantine Empire.
Byzantium under the Komnenoi played a key role in the history of the
Crusades in the
Holy Land, while also exerting enormous cultural and political influence in Europe, the Near East, and the lands around the Mediterranean Sea. The Komnenian emperors, particularly John and Manuel, exerted great influence over the Crusader states of
Outremer, whilst Alexios I played a key role in the course of the
First Crusade, which he helped bring about. (Full article...)
Taking advantage of the situation, the
SeljukSultanate of Rum began seizing territory in western
Anatolia, until the
Nicaean Empire was able to
repulse the Seljuk Turks from the remaining territories still under Byzantine rule. Eventually Constantinople was
re-taken from the
Latin Empire in 1261 by the Nicaean Empire. The position of the Byzantine Empire in Europe remained uncertain due to the presence of the rivals in
Epirus,
Serbia and
Bulgaria. This, combined with the declining power of the
Sultanate of Rum (Byzantium's chief rival in Asia Minor) led to the removal of troops from Anatolia to maintain Byzantium's grip on
Thrace. (Full article...)
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The first Arab siege of Constantinople in 674–678 was a major conflict of the
Arab–Byzantine wars, and the first culmination of the
Umayyad Caliphate's expansionist strategy towards the
Byzantine Empire, led by Caliph
Mu'awiya I. Mu'awiya, who had emerged in 661 as the ruler of the Muslim Arab empire following a
civil war, renewed aggressive warfare against Byzantium after a lapse of some years and hoped to deliver a lethal blow by capturing the Byzantine capital of
Constantinople.
As reported by the Byzantine chronicler
Theophanes the Confessor, the Arab attack was methodical: in 672–673 Arab fleets secured bases along the coasts of
Asia Minor, and then proceeded to install a loose blockade around Constantinople. They used the peninsula of
Cyzicus near the city as a base to spend the winter, and returned every spring to launch attacks against the
city's fortifications. Finally, the Byzantines, under Emperor
Constantine IV, managed to destroy the Arab navy using a new invention, the liquid incendiary substance known as
Greek fire. The Byzantines also defeated the Arab land army in Asia Minor, forcing them to lift the siege. The Byzantine victory was of major importance for the survival of the Byzantine state, as the Arab threat receded for a time. A peace treaty was signed soon after, and following the outbreak of
another Muslim civil war, the Byzantines even experienced a brief period of ascendancy over the Caliphate. The siege was the first major Arab defeat in 50 years of expansion and temporarily stabilized the Byzantine Empire after decades of war and defeats. (Full article...)
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The Despotate of the Morea (
Greek: Δεσποτᾶτον τοῦ Μορέως) or Despotate of Mystras (
Greek: Δεσποτᾶτον τοῦ Μυστρᾶ) was a province of the
Byzantine Empire which existed between the mid-14th and mid-15th centuries. Its territory varied in size during its existence but eventually grew to include almost all the southern
Greek peninsula now known as the
Peloponnese, which was known as the
Morea during the medieval and early modern periods. The territory was usually ruled by one or more sons of the current
Byzantine emperor, who were given the title of despotes (in this context it should not be confused with
despotism). Its capital was the fortified city of
Mystras, near ancient
Sparta, which became an important centre of the
Palaiologan Renaissance. (Full article...)
The richest interiors were finished with thin plates of
marble or coloured and patterned stone. Some of the columns were also made of marble. Other widely used materials were bricks and stone. Mosaics made of stone or glass
tesserae were also elements of interior architecture. Precious wood furniture, like beds, chairs, stools, tables, bookshelves and silver or golden cups with beautiful reliefs, decorated Byzantine interiors. (Full article...)
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Hagia Sophia (
lit. '
Holy Wisdom';
Turkish: Ayasofya;
Greek: Ἁγία Σοφία,
romanized: Hagía Sofía;
Latin: Sancta Sapientia), officially the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque (Turkish: Ayasofya-i Kebir Cami-i Şerifi), is a
mosque and former
church serving as a major cultural and historical site in
Istanbul,
Turkey. The last of three church buildings to be successively erected on the site by the
Eastern Roman Empire, it was completed in 537 AD. The site was a
Chalcedonian church from 360 AD to 1054, an
Orthodox church following the
Great Schism of 1054, and a
Catholic church following the
Fourth Crusade. It was reclaimed in 1261 and remained
Eastern Orthodox until the
fall of Constantinople in 1453. It served as a mosque until 1935, when it became a museum. In 2020, the site once again became a mosque.
The current structure was built by the
Byzantine emperorJustinian I as the Christian
cathedral of Constantinople for the
Byzantine Empire between 532 and 537, and was designed by the
GreekgeometersIsidore of Miletus and
Anthemius of Tralles. It was formally called the Church of God's Holy Wisdom (Greek: Ναὸς τῆς Ἁγίας τοῦ Θεοῦ Σοφίας, romanized: Naòs tês Hagías toû Theoû Sophías) and upon completion became the world's largest interior space and among
the first to employ a fully
pendentive dome. It is considered the epitome of
Byzantine architecture and is said to have "changed the history of architecture". The present Justinianic building was the third church of the same name to occupy the site, as the prior one had been destroyed in the
Nika riots. As the
episcopal see of the
ecumenical patriarch of Constantinople, it remained the world's largest cathedral for nearly a thousand years, until the
Seville Cathedral was completed in 1520. Beginning with subsequent Byzantine architecture, Hagia Sophia became the paradigmatic
Orthodox church form, and its architectural style was emulated by
Ottoman mosques a thousand years later. It has been described as "holding a unique position in the
Christian world" and as an architectural and cultural icon of Byzantine and Eastern Orthodox civilization. (Full article...)
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The
Byzantine Empire was ruled by emperors of the dynasty of
Heraclius between 610 and 711. The Heraclians presided over a period of cataclysmic events that were a watershed in the history of the Empire and the world. Heraclius, the founder of his dynasty, was of
Armenian and
Cappadocian (Greek) origin. At the beginning of the dynasty, the Empire's culture was still essentially
Ancient Roman, dominating the
Mediterranean and harbouring a prosperous
Late Antique urban civilization. This world was shattered by successive invasions, which resulted in extensive territorial losses, financial collapse and plagues that depopulated the cities, while religious controversies and rebellions further weakened the Empire.
By the dynasty's end, the Empire had been transformed into a different state structure: now known in historiography as medieval Byzantine rather than (Ancient) Roman, a chiefly agrarian, military-dominated society that was engaged in a lengthy struggle with the
MuslimRashidun Caliphate and successor
Umayyad Caliphate. However, the Empire during this period became also far more homogeneous, being reduced to its mostly
Greek-speaking and firmly
Chalcedonian core territories, which enabled it to weather these storms and enter a period of stability under the successor
Isaurian dynasty. (Full article...)
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The Fourth Crusade (November 10, 1202 - April 13, 1204) was a
Latin Christian armed expedition called by
Pope Innocent III. The stated intent of the expedition was to recapture the
Muslim-controlled city of
Jerusalem, by first defeating the powerful Egyptian
Ayyubid Sultanate. However, a sequence of economic and political events culminated in the Crusader army's 1202
siege of Zara and the 1204
sack of Constantinople, rather than the conquest of Egypt as originally planned. This led to the
Partitio terrarum imperii Romaniae or the partition of the Byzantine Empire by the Crusaders and their Venetian allies leading to a period known as
Frankokratia, or "Rule of the Franks" in Greek.
The
Republic of Venice contracted with the Crusader leaders to build a dedicated fleet to transport their invasion force. However, the leaders greatly overestimated the number of soldiers who would embark from Venice, since many sailed from other ports, and the army that appeared could not pay the contracted price. In lieu of payment, the Venetian Doge
Enrico Dandolo proposed that the Crusaders back him in attacking the rebellious city of
Zadar (Zara) on the eastern Adriatic coast. This led in November 1202 to the
siege and sack of Zara, the first attack against a Catholic city by a Catholic Crusader army, despite
Pope Innocent III's calls for the Crusaders not to attack fellow Christians. The city was then brought under Venetian control. When the Pope heard of this, he temporarily
excommunicated the Crusader army. (Full article...)
Greek fire was an
incendiarychemical weapon manufactured in and used by the
Eastern Roman Empire from the seventh through the fourteenth centuries. The recipe for Greek fire was a closely-guarded
state secret, but historians speculate it may have been made by combining
pine resin,
naphtha,
quicklime,
calcium phosphide,
sulfur, or
niter. Roman sailors would toss
grenades loaded with Greek fire onto enemy ships or spray it from tubes. Its ability to burn on water made it an effective and destructive naval incendiary weapon, and rival powers tried unsuccessfully to copy the material. (Full article...)
Constantine V (
Greek: Κωνσταντῖνος,
translit.Kōnstantīnos;
Latin: Constantinus; July 718 – 14 September 775) was
Byzantine emperor from 741 to 775. His reign saw a consolidation of Byzantine security from external threats. As an able military leader, Constantine took advantage of
civil war in the Muslim world to make limited offensives on the
Arab frontier. With this eastern frontier secure, he undertook repeated campaigns against the
Bulgars in the
Balkans. His military activity, and policy of settling Christian populations from the Arab frontier in
Thrace, made Byzantium's hold on its Balkan territories more secure. He was also responsible for important military and administrative innovations and reforms.
Religious strife and controversy was a prominent feature of his reign. His fervent support of
Iconoclasm and opposition to
monasticism led to his vilification by some contemporary commentators and the majority of later Byzantine writers, who denigrated him with the nicknames "Dung-Named" (
Greek: Κοπρώνυμος,
translit.Koprónimos;
Latin: Copronymus), because he allegedly defaecated during his baptism, similarly "Anointed with Urine" (
Greek: Οὐραλύφιος,
translit.Ouralýphios;
Latin: Uralyphius), and "the Equestrian" (
Greek: Καβαλλινος,
translit.Kaballinos;
Latin: Caballinus), referencing the excrement of horses. (Full article...)
Most of his reign was dominated by co-regents: from 913 until 919 he was under the regency of his mother, while from 920 until 945 he shared the throne with
Romanos Lekapenos, whose daughter
Helena he married, and his sons. Constantine VII is best known for the Geoponika (τά γεοπονικά), an important
agronomic treatise compiled during his reign, and three, perhaps four, books; De Administrando Imperio (bearing in Greek the heading Πρὸς τὸν ἴδιον υἱὸν Ῥωμανόν), De Ceremoniis (Περὶ τῆς Βασιλείου Τάξεως), De Thematibus (Περὶ θεμάτων Άνατολῆς καὶ Δύσεως), and Vita Basilii (Βίος Βασιλείου), though his authorship of the Vita Basilii is not certain. (Full article...)
Theodora was the youngest daughter of Emperor
Constantine VIII. After Theodora's father died in 1028, her older sister
Zoë co-ruled with her husbands
Romanos III and
Michael IV, keeping Theodora closely watched. After two foiled plots, Theodora was exiled to an island monastery in the
Sea of Marmara in 1031. A decade later, the people of Constantinople rose against Michael IV's nephew and successor,
Michael V, and insisted that Theodora return to rule alongside Zoë. (Full article...)
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Anna Dalassene (
Greek: Ἄννα Δαλασσηνή; ca. 1025/30 – 1 November 1100/02) was an important
Byzantine noblewoman who played a significant role in the rise to power of the
Komnenoi in the eleventh century. She exercised great influence over her son, the Emperor
Alexios I Komnenos, who gave her the title Augusta. She also administered the empire as regent during his many absences from Constantinople on long military campaigns during the early part of his reign. As empress-mother, she exerted more influence and power than the empress-consort,
Irene Doukaina, a woman whom she hated because of past intrigues with the
Doukai. (Full article...)
In his early life, Maximus was a civil servant, and an aide to the
Byzantine EmperorHeraclius. He gave up this life in the political sphere to enter the monastic life. Maximus had studied diverse schools of philosophy, and certainly what was common for his time, the Platonic dialogues, the works of Aristotle, and numerous later Platonic commentators on Aristotle and Plato, like
Plotinus,
Porphyry,
Iamblichus, and
Proclus. When one of his friends began espousing the
Christological position known as
Monothelitism, Maximus was drawn into the controversy, in which he supported an interpretation of the
Chalcedonian formula on the basis of which it was asserted that
Jesus had both a human and a divine
will. Maximus is
venerated in both the
Catholic and
Eastern Orthodox Churches. He was eventually persecuted for his Christological positions; following a trial, his tongue and right hand were mutilated. (Full article...)
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Michael Psellos (left) with his student, Byzantine emperor
Michael VII Doukas
Michael Psellos or Psellus (
Greek: Μιχαὴλ Ψελλός,
romanized: Michaḗl Psellós, Byzantine Greek:[mixaˈilpseˈlːos]) was a
Byzantine Greek monk, savant, writer, philosopher, imperial courtier, historian and music theorist. He was born in 1017 or 1018, and is believed to have died in 1078, although it has also been maintained that he remained alive until 1096. He served as a high ranking courtier and advisor to several
Byzantine emperors and was instrumental in the re-positioning of power of those emperors. Psellos has made lasting contributions to Byzantine culture by advocating for the revival of Byzantine
classical studies, which would later influence the
Italian Renaissance, as well as by interpreting
Homeric literature and
Platonic philosophy as precursors and integral components of
Christian doctrine. His texts combined
theology, philosophy, and psychology. Among his most famous works are his Commentary on Plato’s Teachings on the Origin of the Soul, and the Chronographia, a series of biographies from emperor
Basil II to
Nikephoros III, which serves as a valuable source on the history of the 11th century
Byzantine Empire. (Full article...)
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Alexios Doukas Philanthropenos (
Greek: Ἀλέξιος Δούκας Φιλανθρωπηνός) was a
Byzantine nobleman and notable general. A relative of the ruling
Palaiologos dynasty, he was appointed commander-in-chief in
Asia Minor in 1293 and for a time re-established the Byzantine position there, scoring some of the last Byzantine successes against the
Turkish beyliks. In 1295 he rose up in revolt against
Andronikos II Palaiologos, but was betrayed and blinded. Nothing is known of him until 1323, when he was pardoned by Andronikos II and sent again against the Turks, relieving a siege of
Philadelphia, allegedly by his mere appearance. He was then named briefly governor of
Lesbos in 1328, and again in 1336, when he recovered the island's capital from
Latin occupation. He ruled the island thereafter, probably until his death in the 1340s. (Full article...)
Nikephoros Phokas (
Greek: Νικηφόρος Φωκᾶς,
romanized: Nikēphoros Phōkas; died 895/6 or
c. 900), usually surnamed the Elder to distinguish him from his grandson, Emperor
Nikephoros II Phokas, was one of the most prominent
Byzantine generals of the late 9th century, and the first important member of the
Phokas family. As a youth he was taken into the personal retinue of Emperor
Basil I the Macedonian, rising quickly to the posts of protostrator and then governor of
Charsianon, whence he fought with success against the
Arabs. In
c. 886 he led a major expedition in
southern Italy, where his victories laid the foundation for the
Byzantine resurgence in the peninsula. After his return, he was raised to the post of
Domestic of the Schools, in effect commander-in-chief of the army, which he led with success against the Arabs in the east and the
Bulgarians of Tsar
Simeon in the
Balkans. He died either in 895/6 or, less likely, sometime
c. 900. Contemporaries and later historians lauded him for his military ability and character. Both of his sons later succeeded him as Domestics of the Schools. His grandsons Nikephoros and
Leo were likewise distinguished generals, while the former became emperor in 963–969, spearheading the recovery of several lost provinces from the Arabs. (Full article...)
Irene of Athens (
Greek: Εἰρήνη, Eirḗnē; 750/756 – 9 August 803), surname Sarantapechaena (
Greek: Σαρανταπήχαινα, Sarantapḗchaina), was
Byzantine empress consort to
Emperor Leo IV from 775 to 780,
regent during the childhood of their son
Constantine VI from 780 until 790, co-ruler from 792 until 797, and finally
empress regnant and sole ruler of the
Eastern Roman Empire from 797 to 802. A member of the politically prominent
Sarantapechos family, she was selected as Leo IV's bride for unknown reasons in 768. Even though her husband was an
iconoclast, she harbored
iconophile sympathies. During her rule as regent, she called the
Second Council of Nicaea in 787, which condemned iconoclasm as
heretical and brought an end to the first iconoclast period (730–787). Her public figure was very polarizing during her 5 year reign, as most saw it as wrong for a woman to rule solely. Her reign as such made her the first ever empress regnant, ruling in her own right, in Roman and Byzantine imperial history.
The untimely death of her husband caused the throne to actually fall to her, leaving her solely in charge. During her regency with her son, Constantine VI, Irene became very influential in government policies. As Constantine VI reached maturity, he began to move out from under the influence of his mother. In the early 790s, several revolts tried to proclaim him as sole ruler. One of these revolts succeeded, but in 792 Irene was re-established in all imperial powers as co-emperor with Constantine VI. In 797, Irene organized a conspiracy in which her supporters gouged out her son's eyes, maiming him severely. He was imprisoned and probably died shortly afterwards. With him out of the way, Irene proclaimed herself sole ruler.
Pope Leo III—already seeking to break links with the Byzantine East—used Irene's alleged unprecedented status as a female ruler of the
Roman Empire to proclaim
Charlemagne as
Emperor of the Romans on Christmas Day of 800 under the pretext that a woman could not rule and so the throne of the Roman Empire was actually vacant. A revolt in 802 overthrew Irene and exiled her to the island of
Lesbos, supplanting her on the throne with
Nikephoros I. Irene died in exile less than a year later. (Full article...)
Born in Naissus,
Dacia Mediterranea (now
Niš, Serbia), he was the son of
Flavius Constantius, a Roman army officer of
Illyrian origin who had been one of the four rulers of the
Tetrarchy. His mother,
Helena, was a
Greek woman of low birth, probably from
Asia Minor in modern
Turkey. Later canonised as a
saint, she is traditionally credited for the conversion of her son. Constantine served with distinction under the Roman emperors
Diocletian and
Galerius. He began his career by campaigning in the eastern provinces (against the
Persians) before being recalled in the west (in AD 305) to fight alongside his father in the
province of
Britannia. After his father's death in 306, Constantine was acclaimed as augustus (emperor) by his army at
Eboracum (
York, England). He eventually emerged victorious in
the civil wars against emperors
Maxentius and
Licinius to become the sole ruler of the
Roman Empire by 324. (Full article...)
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Underdrawing of Basil I in the
Paris Gregory,
c. 879–883
Basil I, nicknamed "the Macedonian" (
Greek: Βασίλειος ὁ Μακεδών,
translit.Basíleios ō Makedṓn; 811 – 29 August 886), was
Byzantine emperor from 867 to 886. Born a lowly peasant in the
theme of
Macedonia, he rose to prominence in the imperial court after entering into the service of Theophilitzes, a relative of Emperor
Michael III (r. 842–867). He was given a fortune by the wealthy
Danielis and gained Michael's favour, whose
mistress he married on his emperor's orders. In 866, Michael proclaimed him co-emperor, but Basil ordered his assassination the next year, thus installing himself as sole ruler of the empire. Despite his humble origins, he showed great ability in running the affairs of state, and founded the
Macedonian dynasty. He was succeeded upon his death by his son (perhaps actually Michael III's son)
Leo VI. (Full article...)
Married to a
Thessalian Vlach woman, John first appears leading Vlach troops alongside his father in the lead-up to the
Battle of Pelagonia in 1259. His defection to the camp of Emperor
Michael VIII Palaiologos was crucial in the battle, which ended with the crushing defeat of the Epirotes'
Latin allies and opened the way for the recovery of
Constantinople and the re-establishment of the
Byzantine Empire under Palaiologos in 1261. John quickly returned to the side of his father and brother,
Nikephoros, and assisted them in recovering
Epirus and
Thessaly. After Michael II died, John Doukas became ruler of Thessaly with his seat at
Neopatras, whence Western chroniclers often erroneously called him "Duke of Neopatras". (Full article...)
Cyril (
Greek: Κύριλλος,
romanized: Kýrillos; born Constantine, 826–869) and Methodius (Μεθόδιος, Methódios; born Michael, 815–885) were brothers,
ByzantineChristian theologians and
missionaries. For their work evangelizing the
Slavs, they are known as the "Apostles to the Slavs".
Nikephoros II Phokas (
Greek: Νικηφόρος Φωκᾶς, Nikēphóros Phōkãs;
c. 912 – 11 December 969),
LatinizedNicephorus II Phocas, was
Byzantine emperor from 963 to 969. His career, not uniformly successful in matters of statecraft or of war, nonetheless greatly contributed to the resurgence of the Byzantine Empire during the 10th century. In the east, Nikephoros completed the conquest of
Cilicia and retook the islands of
Crete and
Cyprus, opening the path for subsequent Byzantine incursions reaching as far as
Upper Mesopotamia and the
Levant; these campaigns earned him the
sobriquet "pale death of the
Saracens". (Full article...)
Photios is widely regarded as the most powerful and influential church leader of Constantinople subsequent to
John Chrysostom's archbishopric around the turn of the fifth century. He is also viewed as the most important intellectual of his time – "the leading light of the ninth-century renaissance". He was a central figure in both the
conversion of the Slavs to Christianity and the
Photian schism, and is considered "[t]he great systematic compiler of the Eastern Church, who occupies a similar position to that of
Gratian in the
West," and whose "
collection in two parts...formed and still forms the classic source of ancient
Church Law for the Greek Church." (Full article...)
Leo III the Isaurian (
Greek: Λέων ὁ Ἴσαυρος,
romanized: Leōn ho Isauros;
Latin: Leo Isaurus;
c. 685 – 18 June 741), also known as the Syrian, was
Byzantine Emperor from 717 until his death in 741 and founder of the
Isaurian dynasty. He put an end to the
Twenty Years' Anarchy, a period of great instability in the Byzantine Empire between 695 and 717, marked by the rapid succession of several emperors to the throne, along with ending the continual defeats and territorial losses the Byzantines had suffered during the 7th century. He also successfully defended the Empire against the invading
Umayyads and
forbade the veneration of icons. (Full article...)
Some older writers refer to her as "Catherine". Charles Diehl has shown that it was based on
Du Cange’s misunderstanding of the Mongol title "Khatun" as "Catherine". (Full article...)
Image 21
Symeon the New Theologian (
Greek: Συμεὼν ὁ Νέος Θεολόγος; 949–1022) was an
Eastern Orthodox monk and poet who was the last of three
saints canonized by the
Eastern Orthodox Church and given the title of "Theologian" (along with
John the Apostle and
Gregory of Nazianzus). "
Theologian" was not applied to Symeon in the modern academic sense of theological study; the title was designed only to recognize someone who spoke from personal experience of the vision of God. One of his principal teachings was that humans could and should experience theoria (literally "contemplation," or direct experience of God).
Symeon was born into the Byzantine nobility and given a traditional education. At age fourteen he met
Symeon the Studite, a renowned monk of the
Monastery of Stoudios in
Constantinople, who convinced him to give his own life to prayer and
asceticism under the elder Symeon's guidance. By the time he was thirty, Symeon the New Theologian became the abbot of the
Monastery of Saint Mamas, a position he held for twenty-five years. He attracted many monks and clergy with his reputation for sanctity, though his teachings brought him into conflict with church authorities, who would eventually send him into exile. His most well known disciple was
Nicetas Stethatos who wrote the Life of Symeon. (Full article...)
Leo Sgouros (
Greek: Λέων Σγουρός),
Latinized as Leo Sgurus, was a
Greek independent lord in the northeastern
Peloponnese in the early 13th century. The scion of the magnate
Sgouros family, he succeeded his father as hereditary lord in the region of Nauplia. Taking advantage of the disruption caused by the
Fourth Crusade, he made himself independent, one of several local rulers that appeared throughout the
Byzantine Empire during the final years of the
Angeloi dynasty. He expanded his domain into
Corinthia and
Central Greece, eventually marrying the daughter of former
Byzantine emperorAlexios III Angelos (r. 1195–1203). His conquests, however, were short-lived, as the Crusaders forced him back into the Peloponnese. Blockaded in his stronghold on the
Acrocorinth, he committed
suicide in 1208. (Full article...)
Theophilos (
Greek: Θεόφιλος,
romanized: Theóphilos;
Latin: Theophilus, c. 812 – 20 January 842) was the
Byzantine Emperor from 829 until his death in 842. He was the second emperor of the
Amorian dynasty and the last emperor to support
iconoclasm. Theophilos personally led the armies in his long war against the Arabs, beginning in 831. (Full article...)
Belisarius (Latin pronunciation:[bɛ.lɪˈsaː.ri.ʊs];
Greek: Βελισάριος;
c. 500 – 565) was a military commander of the
Byzantine Empire under the emperor
Justinian I. Belisarius was instrumental in the reconquest of much of the
Mediterranean territory belonging to the former
Western Roman Empire, which had been lost less than a century prior. Belisarius is considered one of the greatest military commanders in history and the greatest of all Byzantine generals.
One of the defining features of Belisarius' career was his success despite varying levels of available resources. His name is frequently given as one of the so-called "
Last of the Romans". He conquered the
Vandal Kingdom of North Africa in the
Vandalic War in nine months and conquered much of Italy during the
Gothic War. He also defeated the Vandal armies in the battle of
Ad Decimum and played an important role at
Tricamarum, compelling the Vandal king,
Gelimer, to surrender. During the Gothic War, despite being significantly outnumbered, he and his troops recaptured the city of Rome and then held out against great odds during the
siege of Rome. (Full article...)
... that Theodora was dragged from a monastery and forced to become Empress of the
Byzantine Empire against her will?
... that under the Byzantine Empire, the
Arab Christian tribe of Bahra' were tasked with guarding the Syrian holy city of
Rusafa?
... that in the nocturnal Battle of Kapetron, the
Byzantines in the flanks defeated their
Seljuk opponents, but on the next morning learned of their
Georgian allies' defeat in the centre?