Byzantine Empire
Origins
First split into an Eastern and Western divisions by Diocletian in 293, the Eastern Empire went on to outlive its Western half, which fell in 476 AD, by 1000 years. Founded by the Emperor Constantine in 330 in the city of Constantinople,
Culture
The empire was multi-ethnic and predominantly Greek-speaking and Christian. The empire's heritage consisted of the Eastern Orthodox Church, ancient Greek culture, Byzantine art and architecture and Roman law. Of the 55,000 ancient Greek texts in existence today, some 40,000 were transmitted by Byzantine scribes. And it was the Byzantine Empire that shielded Western Europe from invasion until it was ready to take its own place at the center of the world stage.
Survival
It survived the fall of the Western Empire in 476 because of much greater financial resources. That is, it bribed away attacking armies whereas the west could not. The Empire actually reached its height in the 500s under Justinian as it reincluded many elements of the Western Roman Empire, but shrunk back down to its Eastern roots as it lost these. After surviving the intial rush of Islamic expansion, the Empire settled into boundaries that were relatively stable for several hundred years. While western Europe struggled through the Dark Ages, the Byzantine Empire kept up an aura of refinement and defensive strength that sheltered Europe from the attacks of first the Persian Empire, then Islam.
Iconoclasm
The Empire had difficulties with the "Iconoclast" controversy - a dispute lasting nealy 100 years and centering around arguements over whether or not to allow "holow images" or icons to be displayed in the churches. The position of the Emperors was often at odds with many of the subjects but since the Emperors considered that they were appointed by God, this didn't matter since their oponents were automatically heretics.
Wars
The Empire was often at war with at least one foreign power, but their strong defensive strategy was usually able to weather attacks. Other than the period 1204 to 1261, the Empire was always centred in Constantinople.
While taking on offensive position to "reunite" with the west under Justinian in the 500's, for the most part the position of the Empire was defensive in nature, having little desire to increase its borders. For years the cultured Byzantine Empire was the protector of Dark Age Europe, repelling Islamic armies that would stretch to control lands from Morocco to India via Hungary. The secure and lasting nature of the Empire was changed forever when treachery led their defeat to Islamic armies at the Battle of Manzikert in 1071. They lost all of Anatolia to the invaders. Even when they retook the land, much of the population had perished with many of the survivors having fled. Areas that once allowed armies of 120,000 men to be raised for the defense of the Empire had now become barren. The Empire was forced to rely on mercenaries for the bulk of their army from that point forward.[1]
Crusades
- see Crusades
The Empire was dealt another blow in 1204 when forces from Western Europe in the Fourth Crusade sacked Constantinople in 1204, the first time that had ever happened, instead of going to the Holy Land. They set up their own "Latin" Empire, so called because of their attempts to make Latin the official language of the Empire rather than Greek, which lasted until the Byzantine reinstatement in 1261. On their arrival in Constantinople, the Latins, mostly Franks and Ventians, were astonished at the power and positions held by "Eurochs" - men who, as children, had been castigated so that they would have no children and hence be no threat to the ruling Imperial dynasty.
Collapse
The Byzantine Empire never truly recovered from the blow dealt to it by the Crusaders. On May 29 1453, Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire, fell to the Ottoman Turks after a long cannon bombardament - though by this time, following the fall of the city to the Latins in 1204, the Empire had been reduced to a mere shell of its former self. It is believed by some that the last indirect descendant of Constantine Palealogous XXI, the last Emperor of Byzantium, was Lady Joanna Constantine, who died in Northampton, England, in October 1859.
The Ottoman conquerors, whose original capital had been located in Sofa, now in Bulgaria, renamed the city Istanbul and turned the great church of that city into a mosque.
Further reading
- Brownworth, Lars. Lost to the West: The Forgotten Byzantine Empire That Rescued Western Civilization (2009) 352 pages
