the byzantine empire, eastern roman empire
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Byzantine Empire (330-1453)
• The Byzantines called themselves Romans.• They had a Roman body, Greek mind, and
Christian heart.• Politically, the emperor headed both Church
and State.• Culturally, they observed Greek or Eastern
Orthodox Christianity.
Byzantine Empire (330-1453)
• The Byzantines protected Europe from the Arab and Mongol Empires.
• Their culture spread to south eastern Europe and Russia.• The Christian church split into Roman Catholic and
Greek Orthodox. • They preserved the wisdom of the ancient world, giving
it to the Italians during the Renaissance.
Byzantine Empire (330-1453)
• The Roman emperor Diocletian split the empire into two halves. He reversed the power model of government.
Byzantine Empire (330-1453)
• The Christian emperor Constantine (306-337) founded the capital city Constantinople. He made Christianity legal by the Edict of Milan in 313.
Geography
• After Rome fell, Emperor Theodosius built impregnable walls, which protected the city until the Ottoman Turks took them down with cannons in 1453.
Geography
• Constantinople’s location not as good as Rome’s location for a Mediterranean empire. It took 2 weeks to sail to Alexandria, but 3 months to reach Spain.
Christian dogma replaces Classical philosophy
• The Byzantines thought their empire ordained by the Christian God. Theodosius outlawed all the classical temples and gods called pagan by the Christians.
Classical Philosophy dead
• Classical philosophy of Aristotle, Stoics, all thought of as Pagan, which should had no place in the Christian world.
First they destroyed Classical Culture Church
• The Christians destroyed Pagan temples, and learning. They burnt the Library of Alexandria, and the schools of Athens.
St Augustine• In his books City of God and Confessions, the
Roman Empire had not fallen because the old gods had gone, but because the Empire had sinned against the Christian god.
• As Christianity and Classical philosophy could not both be correct, Classical philosophy banned and hated.
St Augustus• Traditional Greek and Roman sexuality became sinful.• All sex outside of monogamous marriage a sin.
• Husbands had to be faithful to wives for the first time.
• Gays became sodomites, slowly burned.
St Augustus
• Women should be seen but not heard. Educated women become witches, slowly burned, or worst.
• They stoned Hypatia to death, the last great classical philosopher mathematician and geocentric theory of Alexandria.
Orthodox Church
• The Emperor (Casaropapismus) led the Church with 5 Patriarchs (great bishops) Rome, Constantinople, Antioch, Jerusalem, and Alexandria.
• They held great counsels called ecumenical councils to discuss theology.
Also, they turned on other Christians
• 325 Emperor Constantine held the 1st Ecumenical counsel at Nicaea.
• The formed the Nicaean Creed (Christ equal to the Christian God) said by all Christians today.
Rise of Heresy
• 325 Arianism Christ not equal to the father a heresy.
• 431 Nestorians (human nature of Christ) a heresy .
• 451 Monotheists one divine nature of Christ a heresy.
No rule of succession• Once emperor cannot depose except by revolution.
• Out of 88 emperors 1/3 died by poisoning, assassination, starvation, torture or blinded
• 1/3 killed their predecessor
• 1/3 family members
Byzantine Empire (330-1453)
• Over the course of 1100 years, the Byzantine Empire expanded and contracted.
Byzantine Empire (527-65)
• Under the Emperor Justinian and Empress Theodora, the brilliant general Belisarius reconqured most of the old Roman Empire.
Ad Decimum September 13, 533
Strategic ContextEmperor Justinian of the Eastern Byzantine Empire is trying to reconquer the Western Byzantine Empire and restore the old glory of the Roman Empire. Many lands remain to be conquered when the usurped Vandal King Hilderic appeals for aid against his cousin, Gelimer, who is much less friendly to Byzantine interests. Justinian sends his best general, Belisarius, to Africa with an expeditionary force to defeat the Vandals and reestablish control over Carthage, North Africa and the Mediterranean. Belisarius is marching on Carthage when Gelimer springs an ambush.
Stakes+ A Byzantine victory would return North Africa to the Byzantine Empire.
+ A Vandal victory would prevent Byzantine expansion to North Africa and continue to challenge for control of the Mediterranean.
By Jonathan Webb, 2009 ©
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Ad Decimum, 533Strength
Byzantines
Well
Vandals
Well
Belisarius
7,000 infantry 10,000 infantry
Gelimer
By Jonathan Webb, 2009 ©
5,000 cavalry 4,000 cavalry
Belisarius’ force proceeds westward; he places cavalry to guard the front and rear of the infantry columns. Gelimer divides his force into three to ambush the unsuspecting Byzantines. A cavalry force under Ammatas establishes a blocking position while another cavalry force under Gibamund and the main infantry force under Gelimer lay in wait to assail the Byzantine flanks.
Ammatas’ cavalry engage the Byzantine advance guard while Gibamund’s cavalry hook around its left flank. Belisarius quickly checks this second force with his own cavalry and a fierce melee ensues at the front of the column. Meanwhile, Belisarius struggles to organize his infantry to join the battle.
The fierce, congested melee is won by the heavier Byzantine cavalry who kill Ammatus and chase the Vandal cavalry away before eventually turning back to aid their fellow cavalry. They arrive too late however as Gelimer’s main infantry force joins the battle and routs the Byzantine mercenary cavalry. Just as the Byzantine infantry appear on the verge of straightening out their ranks, the Vandal infantry crash into them, further disordering them. Belisarius marshals his force as best he can, merely to survive.
A stroke of fortune staves off defeat for Belisarius; Gelimer arrives at the front to find Gibamund, his brother, slain. He is overcome with sorrow and insists his brother be buried immediately right there on the battlefield. During this time, heavy fighting continues but Gelimer does not push the attack, granting Belisarius the necessary time to coordinate his infantry into a controlled mass.
The Vandals become disorganized themselves without a coherent leader but are still capable of being a potent fighting force. Belisarius therefore launches a sudden full scale attack before Gelimer again takes control. This attack eventually breaks the Vandal army and the Byzantines pursue the Vandals from the battlefield. Byzantines
(Belisarius)
Vandals
(Gelimer)
Byzantines
(Belisarius)
10,000 infantry
5,000 cavalry
NN
GibamundGelimer
Ammatas
Vandals
(Gelimer)
7,000 infantry
4,000 cavalry
Ad Decimum, 533Casualties & Aftermath
Byzantines: Vandals:
≈2,200
or
20%
≈750
or
5%
By Jonathan Webb, 2009 ©
Belisarius encamped for the night before marching into Carthage the next day. Belisarius declared the city’s citizens to be Romans oppressed by Vandal rule and issued orders for their fair treatment. The Byzantines found the city’s gates open and Belisarius set about improving the city’s fortifications against the resilient Vandal kingdom. Belisarius defeated Gelimer and the Vandals for good later the same year at Tricamarum.
Byzantine Empire (527-65)
• Rome was under siege 14 times, by the Byzantines and Goths, destroying the city.
Hagia Sophia, Church of the Holy Wisdom,
The Christian Byzantine Emperor Justinian (527-575 CE) had Haiga Sophia built.
The religious art of Byzantium
• Intellectual, idealistic, schematic, with restrained colors and reserved form.
• Realism is undesirable• The objective is
emotional.
Justinian’s legacy
• Justinian orders the codification of Roman law. Tribonian a law professor gathers all Roman Law and organizes it in The Corpus Iuris Civilis, or The Body of Civil Law, still used today throughout Europe.
• Italy lay in ruins, the treasury broke. Constantinople not in a good position to rule the old Roman Empire.
Byzantine Empire (610-641)
• The Emperor Heraclius defeated the Persians, but lost most of the empire to the Arabs after Yarmuk.
• Most of Italy fell to the Lombards.
Byzantine Empire (700-800)
• The Bulgarians took the Danube Valley in 679.
Leo III Isaurian (717-741)
• Leo III, using the Greek Fire, defeats the Arabs decisively and halts Islamic expansion.
Leo III Isaurian (717-741)
• Leo III, using the Greek Fire, defeats the Arabs decisively and halts Islamic expansion.
• In a blink of an eye the empire had lost 2/3 of its lands.
• Jerusalem gone.• Leo believed Christ
had stopped protecting the empire because of icons.
Iconoclasm
• He ordered churches to destroy iconoclasm all holy images.
• The Pope in Rome totally disagreed.
• Led to a revival of classical learning and opening of Universities in Constantinople
800
• Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne Holy Roman Emperor in the West, cutting political ties with Byzantium.
The Macedonian Dynasty867-1025
• The Macedonian Emperors rejuvenated and expanded the
empire. They revived a citizen army.
• Basil I (867-886) founder of the Macedonian Dynasty
• Son of a shepherd who came to power by assassinating Michael III.
• Military success against the Bulgarians and the Arabs
• Byzantine navy dominates eastern Mediterranean.
Macedonian Emperors
Macedonian Emperors
• He suppressed the power of the great landowners and protected the middle classes.
• He recovered Syria, Bulgaria, and the Balkans.
Spread of the Orthodox Church
• Cyril and Methodius Orthodox missionaries convert the Bulgarians, Hungarians, Slavs and Russians to the Orthodox Church.
• These converted barbarians became allies to the Byzantine Empire.
• Cyril created the Cyrillic alphabet still used today in Russia.
Orthodox Catholic Church split
• The Byzantine and Roman Christian Churches started as one, but broke from each other into the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church.
Split with Catholics• 1. After Yarmuck only the Patriarch
of Constantinople and Rome remained independent.
• Catholics spoke Latin, Orthodox Greek.
• 2 The Bishop of Rome (Pope) felt superior to all other Bishops and the Emperor.
• 3. After Justinian, the Emperor could not protect Rome.
Split with Catholics
• 4. Monasticism • Catholic Monks live in groups doing
missionary work and helping the community.
• Orthodox monks live as hermits with aesthetic lives.
Split with Catholics• 5. Icons Emperor Leo (726)
bans icons (pictures of holy people) and ordered them removed from churches.
• The Pope of Rome totally disagreed.
Split with Catholics• 6. Priests could marry in
Orthodox Church• Catholic priests cannot marry
must be celibate of life
800
• Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne Holy Roman Emperor in the West, the Pope no longer relies on the Byzantine Emperor for military protection.
Great Schism
• 7. In 1054, the final split over the nature of the Trinity
• The Pope excommunicates the Emperor and Patriarch.
• The Pope’s men put an order of excommunication on the altar of Hagia Sopia.
• Later, the Patriarch excommunicates the Pope.
Seljuk Turks and Normans attack the empire
• The emperor pays off the German emperor to attack the Normans in Italy,. He allies with Venice and the Venetians sink the Normand's fleet. The emperor gives the Venetians a colony in Constantinople .
1071 Seljuk Turks win at Manzikirt
• The Emperor Alexus I asks the Pope and Europe for help, the byzantine aristocrats deserted the Emperor on the battlefield.
The 1st Crusade
• The Crusaders set up Kingdoms for themselves rather than return the land to the Byzantines.
• The Crusaders felt the Byzantine emperor had not supported them.
• They did not send a byzantine army to help the crusaders, charged them lots for food, and would not pay the Venetians for transporting the Crusaders.
• The city state of Venice benefited by transporting crusaders and controlling trade from Europe to Constantinople.
In 1203, the 4th Crusade sacked Constantinople
• The Crusaders never trusted the Byzantine Emperor , also the emperor had canceled Venice’s colony in Constantinople.
• 4 horses taken by the 4th Crusades from Constantinople used to stand in the Hippodome since the time of Justinian, some attribute them to Lysippos. (4thC BCE)
• The language and religion barriers.
• The Byzantines did not support the Crusaders in a way the Crusaders wanted.
• The Byzantines considered the western Europeans barbarians and poor.
• The western Europeans considered the Byzantines decadent, deceitful and effeminate.
Frankish Constantinople (1204-1261)
• The Franks or Latin controlled the city of Constantinople, and a few provinces.
• Most provinces stayed loyal to the emperor.
• The Orthodox clergy disliked the Catholic bishop in charge of their church.
•
1261-1453 Paleologe Dynasty
• The Byzantines regain the city of Constantinople, yet the empire never recovers. Emperors supported aristocrats over citizen soldiers.
The Palaiologean Renaissance
• Although politically the longest lasting dynasty its area the smallest, yet the arts and letters flourished.
• An increasingly more Hellenized state.
The Palaiologean Renaissance
• They translated classical works into Latin and sent copies of Classical Greek, Hellenistic, and Roman works to new libraries in Florence and Venice.
The Palaiologean Renaissance
• Greek and Latin teachers from Byzantium taught in Florence Italy the most famous John Argyropoulos (1415 – 26 June 1487.
• The Emperor John VIII 1390–1448 and Patriarch held a Council in Florence and submitted to the Pope, yet the Catholics sent no military aid.
• However, the weakened state did not have the manpower, energy, or resources to stop the relentless march of the Ottoman Turks
1453 The Fall of Constantinople
• In 1453, Mehmet II took Constantinople, ending the Roman or Byzantine Empire.
• Constantine 11th died defending the city and his daughter Sophia married Ivan the Great of Moscow.
Moscow becomes the 3rd Rome
• The kings of Russia become Caesar or Czar.
Ivan the Great
Brought Russia under his control, created a new capital city at Moscow. The Orthodox Church moved their head quarters to Moscow.
The Byzantine Empire created few (if any) innovations or advances for civilization, yet protected Europe from the Mongols and Muslims.
They preserved Classical Roman and Greek culture for Europe.
Influence of Byzantine Culture on Eastern Europe and Russia
1. Trade Routes between the Black Sea and Baltic Sea
2. Adoption of Orthodox Christianity by Russia and much of Eastern Europe
3. Adoption of Greek alphabet to the Slavic languages by St. Cyril (Cyrillic alphabet)
4. Church architecture and religious art
Ivan the TerribleD) Ivan the Terrible was the
1st Russian czar- Czar: Means Caesar or absolute ruler
E) He was called terrible because he murdered
many boyars- boyars: Nobles in Russia
Ivan the Terrible Continued:-etc: Ivan believed that the boyars were responsiblefor the death of his wife Anastasia
Byzantine Emperors
• Heraclius (610-641)seized the throne from unpopular Phocas
• He defeated the Persians, but lost at Yarmuk.
Byzantine Emperors
• Heraclius (610-641)seized the throne from unpopular Phocas
• He defeated the Persians, but lost at Yarmuk.
• Leo III,Isaurian (717-741) using the Greek Fire, defeats the Arabs decisively and halts Islamic expansion.
• He ordered icons destroyed in all the Churches Iconoclasm, which caused great debate with the Pope in Rome.
Byzantine Emperors
Byzantine Emperors
• 1071 Alexius I asks Pope Urban II for military aid against the Turks.
• By 1099, the Crusaders had taken Jerusalem and Antioch from the Muslims.
Byzantine Emperors
• 1204 The 4th Crusade sacks Constantinople setting up a French or Latin dynasty.
Byzantine Emperors
• 1261: Michael VIII Palaiologos recaptures Constantinople, defeats the Latins and restores Byzantine form.
• The Palaiologos Empire constantly declined, being squeezed between enemies from the west and assaults of the Turks in the east
Byzantine Emperors
• 1453 Constantine XI, the last emperor died defending the city from the Ottoman Turks. His body never found, becoming the subject of legends.
• His daughter flees and marries Ivan the Great of Moscow, and Russia becomes the 3rd Rome.
The origins
• 292: Diocletian divides the Roman empire into two.
• 324: Constantine reunites the two parts
• 330: Constantine builds a new capital in the location of ancient Byzantium
• 337: The death of Constantine results in division between east and west.
Constantinople
• Successive emperors build strong walls, palaces, churches, gardens, aquaducts and made the city the biggest, strongest and most enlightened city of medieval Christendom The Walls of Theodosius
The early years
• 337: Constantius II, succeeds Constantine
• East and West divided again, permanently.
• 361: Julian tries to revert to paganism.
• 379-95: Theodosius I• Christianity obligatory• 396: Prohibition of
Olympic Games
Hippodrome
The Fall of Rome
• Barbarian tribes keep pushing into a fragmented and weakened Roman Empire.
• The east through bribery, diplomacy and better military resists effectively
• 476: Rome Falls • 491: Anastasius I: His
competent rule reorganizes the east. Financial strength and administative success. The Last Legion
The Struggle with the Persians
• Procopius is a rich source for the campaigns in the east.
• Justinian and his successors were locked into a titanic struggle with an old enemy and won.
• However, both Byzantines and Persians were exhausted and vulnerable to the Arabs and Islam.
The legacy of Heraclius
• The final act for Sassanid Persia IRONICALLY took place outside Nineveh, the old capital of Assyria, which the Medes/Persians had defeated about a thousand years before.
• Sassanid power was dissolved and they were easily conquered by the Arabs
• The Byzantines were also exhausted and could barely sustain Arab attacks.
• In Europe, which had been depleted of troops the Slavs were fast seizing Byzantine territories.
• Under the successors of Heraclius, his hard won gains had been lost and the empire was nearly dissolved.
The Religious Battles
• Arrianism was the first major heresy which threatened to split the empire (4th-5th c.)
• In the age of Justinian Monophysitism won over the entire orient and Egypt (6th-7th c.)
• The ambivalence of monophysitic provinces towards the center weakened Byzantine rule in Syria, Palestine and Egypt.
• When these provinces were lost to the Arabs in the 7th century, Orthodoxy prevailed.
• Then the more divisive Iconoclastic movement would tear apart the Empire for the next two centuries (8th -9th).
• The political effects of monophysitism and iconoclasm were detrimental.
The Macedonian Dynasty
• Under the Phrygian dynasty, a remarkable recovery had started driven from the inside.
• The early Macedonian kings consolidate their power, expand their territory and create a vigorously healthy state.
Leo VI, the Wise (886-912)
• Leo received good education by Photios.
• He was not successful in the military field.
• However, he completed the legislative work of his father
• He is the author of a number of books
• He was an intellectual emperor for peaceful times.
Constantine VII, Porphyrogennetos (913-20, 945-59)
• Improperly legitimized son of Leo VI and his 4th wife Zoe Karbonopsina (dark-coal eyed).
• Reasonably successful• Intellectual, author,
painter
Romanos I, Lekapenos (920-45)
• The ‘gentle usurper’ • His campain against the
Bulgarians indecisive, but made peace through dynastic marriage.
• The campaigns of the general Kourkouas against the Arabs in the east more effective.
Nikephoros Phocas (963-9)
• Romanos II (959-63), a fun loving emperor died young. Theophano became regent.
• The warrior general Nikephoros Phocas seized the throne and married Theophano.
• He recaptured Crete and much of the eastern provinnces from the Arabs
John Tzimiskes (969-975)
• Unpopular emperor Phocas was murdered by a conspiracy of his wife Theophano and nephew John Tzimiskes (short man).
• Tzimiskes then renounced Theophano and was forgiven.
• Tzimiskes led successful campaigns against Sviatoslav of Kief and the Arabs in Northern Mesopotamia.
Lebedev: Sviatoslav I meetsJohn I Tzimiskes
The Golden Years of Byzantium
• The 50 years following Basil’s death were years of prosperity and growth.
• Constantine VIII (1025-28) was never interested in ruling.
• At his death his daughter Zoe became empress.
• Her accession was the greatest calamity for Basil’s empire
Empress Zoe
Zoe’s Husbands
• Romanos III Argyros• (1028-34). Reversed
Basil’s financial arrengements and suffered a defeat in the east which cost him popularity. Probably murdered by Zoe
• Michael IV Paphlagonian (1034-41), a reasonably successful emperor.
• Constantine IX Monomachos (1042-1055)
• A military disaster Constantine IX
The steep decline to Manzikert
• Isaac I Comnenos (1057-9) tried to reorganize the finances of the empire
• The Doukid emperors Constantine X and Michael VII Parapinakes: dangerously weakened the army
• Romanos IV Diogenes was defeated at Manzikert, and then brutally blinded and deposed. Battle of Manzikert
The Comnenian Restoration
• Alexios I Comnenos (1081-1118) seized the throne from Nikephoros III Botaniates.
• Alexios stabilized the empire by fighting off the Normans in the West, and with the help of the Crucaders the Seljuk Turks in the east.
• He supported links with the Aristocratic families and initiated a century of prosperity and recovery
John II Comnenos, the Good
• After fending off a challenge by his sister historian Anna Comnene, John proved to be perhaps the last great emperor of Byzantium.
• He was known for his piety, mild rule, charity and humanity.
John’s achievements
• Through diplomacy and cautious warfare with small objectives at the time, he secured the west, recovered large parts of Asia Minor from the Seljuks and put them on the defensive.
• In a move designed to boost morale he marched into the Holy Lands, but his Crucader allies betrayed him.
Manuel I, Comnenos (1143-1180)
• The ruler and protector of Christendom, Manuel was seen in east and west as the head of the most powerful and rich Christian state.
• Surprise defeat at Myriokephalon
• Although he added to the empire, his ambitious goals were never reached to the full.
Manuel I Comnenos
The Angeli
• The cruel public murder of the last Comnenian emperor, the able Andronikos I (1185) signalled the beginning of the end for Byzantium.
• The incompetent rule of Isaac Angelos and his successors resulted in the loss of Constantiniple to the Crucasders in 1204
Frankish Constantinople (1204-1261)
• The sack of Constantinople: a great cultural calamity.
• Byzantine states in provinces (Nicaea, Trebizond, Epirus)
• The Latin empire of Constantinople was doomed, cut off from the West, with a determined Byzantine kingdom next to it, and a clergy very hostile to the Catholic primate.
The Palaiologean Renaissance
• Although politically the reign of Byzantium’s last and longest lasting dynasty was bleak, the arts and letters flourished.
• An increasingly more Hellenized state• Some of the Palaiologean Emperors were able
(e.g. Michael VIII, Manuel II)• However, the weakened state did not have the
manpower, energy, or resources to stop the the relentless march of the Ottoman Turks.
• The old empire fell after a long struggle.
The Literature of Byzantium
• 4th-5th century: • Still within the
boundaries of Classical Literature.
• Basil• Gregory Nazianzenos• Gregory of Nyssa• John Chrysostom• Athanasius
The Era of Justinian
• Procopius• Theophylactos• John Malalas• Hesychios• Choiroboskos• Poetry: • Romanos the Melodist• The Acathist Hymn Justinian and his legal team
The 8th and 9th centuries
• Kassiane• The Canon• Andrew of Crete• Kosmas the Melodist• John Damascene• Theophanes the
Confessor• Photios
The Humanism of the Macedonian and Comnenian Era
• Michael Psellos• Constantine
Porphyrogennetos• Michael Attaliates• Anna Comnene• The Acritic Epic• Byzantine Romance• Ptochoprodromos• Suda• John Tzetzes
Hippocratic Oath
Byzantine Empire (330-1453)
• Byzantine: this term is a modern invention. The Byzantines called themselves either ‘Romans’ or ‘Greeks’. Invented by the classical scholar Hieronymus Wolf and popularized by Montesquieu
• It was used for the medieval Greek-speaking, Christian empire that dominated the eastern Mediterranean.
• The ancient Greek city of Byzantium was founded in 667 BC by king Byzas.
• In antiquity, because of its strategic location, it was an important center for the transport of corn to Attica.
The origins
• 292: Diocletian divides the Roman empire into two.
• 324: Constantine reunites the two parts
• 330: Constantine builds a new capital in the location of ancient Byzantium
• 337: The death of Constantine results in division between east and west.
Constantinople
• Successive emperors build strong walls, palaces, churches, gardens, aquaducts and made the city the biggest, strongest and most enlightened city of medieval Christendom The Walls of Theodosius
The early years
• 337: Constantius II, succeeds Constantine
• East and West divided again, permanently.
• 361: Julian tries to revert to paganism.
• 379-95: Theodosius I• Christianity obligatory• 396: Prohibition of
Olympic Games
Hippodrome
The Fall of Rome
• Barbarian tribes keep pushing into a fragmented and weakened Roman Empire.
• The east through bribery, diplomacy and better military resists effectively
• 476: Rome Falls • 491: Anastasius I: His
competent rule reorganizes the east. Financial strength and administative success. The Last Legion
The Age of Justinian (527-75)
• Procopius, Histories• 532 The Nica revolt• 536: Reconquest of Rome
and much of Italy took many years.
• North Africa and the Spanish coast were easily conquered.
• Victories over Sassanid Persia in the east consolidate the borders
Justinian’s legacy
• Hagia Sophia remained the seat of Eastern Christianity until the Fall of Constantinople.
• 552: Byzantine monks sneak silkworms and mulbery out of China.
• Justinian orders the codification of Roman law (Corpus Iuris Civilis).
• He was heavy-handed towards heresies• In 529 he closed the philosophical school of
Athens, thus destroying the last stronghold of paganism.
The Struggle with the Persians
• Procopius is a rich source for the campaigns in the east.
• Justinian and his successors were locked into a titanic struggle with an old enemy and won.
• 627: Heraclios crushes the Persians at Nineveh.
• However, both Byzantines and Persians were exhausted and vulnerable to the Arabs and Islam.
Heraclius 610-641
• Heraclius seized the throne from unpopopular Phocas
• He defeated Chosroes and the Persians
• Recovered many Byzantine territories
• Hellenized the empire• Took the title basileus
The legacy of Heraclius
• The final act for Sassanid Persia IRONICALLY took place outside Nineveh, the old capital of Assyria, which the Medes/Persians had defeated about a thousand years before.
• Sassanid power was dissolved and they were easily conquered by the Arabs
• The Byzantines were also exhausted and could barely sustain Arab attacks.
• In Europe, which had been depleted of troops the Slavs were fast seizing Byzantine territories.
• Under the successors of Heraclius, his hard won gains had been lost and the empire was nearly dissolved.
The Religious Battles
• Arrianism was the first major heresy which threatened to split the empire (4th-5th c.)
• In the age of Justinian Monophysitism won over the entire orient and Egypt (6th-7th c.)
• The ambivalence of monophysitic provinces towards the center weakened Byzantine rule in Syria, Palestine and Egypt.
• When these provinces were lost to the Arabs in the 7th century, Orthodoxy prevailed.
• Then the more divisive Iconoclastic movement would tear apart the Empire for the next two centuries (8th -9th).
• The political effects of monophysitism and iconoclasm were detrimental.
Leo III Isaurian (717-741)
• Leo III, using the Greek Fire, defeats the Arabs decisively and halts Islamic expansion.
• Constantine V the Dung-named continued his father’s successes against the the Muslims and also against the Bulgars
• The Isaurians, against the odds, halted the dissolution of Byzantium, and preserved Christianity in Europe.
Iconoclasm
• The Isaurians, followed by the Phrygian dynasty tried to abolish icons.
• This divided the empire. • Icons were restored as
objects of veneration but not worship by two ecumenical councils under the leadership of two powerful women, Empress Irene the Athenian, and Theodora, Empress consort to Theophilos.
The Macedonian Dynasty
• Under the Phrygian dynasty, a remarkable recovery had started driven from the inside.
• The early Macedonian kings consolidate their power, expand their territory and create a vigorously healthy state.
Basil I (867-886)
• Founder of the most glorious dynasty of Byzantium.
• Seized power by assasinating Michael III.
• Legislative Work• Success in Adriatic/Sicily
against Arabs• Byzantine navy dominates
eastern Mediterranean.
Leo VI, the Wise (886-912)
• Leo received good education by Photios.
• He was not successful in the military field.
• However, he completed the legislative work of his father
• He is the author of a number of books
• He was an intellectual emperor for peaceful times.
Constantine VII, Porphyrogennetos (913-20, 945-59)
• Improperly legitimized son of Leo VI and his 4th wife Zoe Karbonopsina (dark-coal eyed).
• Reasonably successful• Intellectual, author,
painter
Romanos I, Lekapenos (920-45)
• The ‘gentle usurper’ • His campain against the
Bulgarians indecisive, but made peace through dynastic marriage.
• The campaigns of the general Kourkouas against the Arabs in the east more effective.
Nikephoros Phocas (963-9)
• Romanos II (959-63), a fun loving emperor died young. Theophano became regent.
• The warrior general Nikephoros Phocas seized the throne and married Theophano.
• He recaptured Crete and much of the eastern provinnces from the Arabs
John Tzimiskes (969-975)
• Unpopular emperor Phocas was murdered by a conspiracy of his wife Theophano and nephew John Tzimiskes (short man).
• Tzimiskes then renounced Theophano and was forgiven.
• Tzimiskes led successful campaigns against Sviatoslav of Kief and the Arabs in Northern Mesopotamia.
Lebedev: Sviatoslav I meetsJohn I Tzimiskes
BASIL II (976-1025)
• The legendary, most glorious emperor of Byzantium.
• Suppressed revolt of Vardas Skeleros after an alliance with Vladimir I of Kiev.
• With notorious ruthlessness he suppressed the power of the great landowners and protected the middle classes.
The achivements of Basil II
• He recovered much of Syria. Many of the lands in the east had not been Byzantine since the time of Heraclius.
• After a long campaign the Bulgarians and Serbs submitted to Basil, and the frontier of the empire for the first time in centuries reached the Danube, again.
• He captured the southern Crimea from the Khazars• He also recaptured much of Southern Italy.• The ‘Father of the Army’ surprisingly left a full treasury at
his death.
The Golden Years of Byzantium
• The 50 years following Basil’s death were years of prosperity and growth.
• Constantine VIII (1025-28) was never interested in ruling.
• At his death his daughter Zoe became empress.
• Her accession was the greatest calamity for Basil’s empire
Empress Zoe
Zoe’s Husbands
• Romanos III Argyros• (1028-34). Reversed
Basil’s financial arrengements and suffered a defeat in the east which cost him popularity. Probably murdered by Zoe
• Michael IV Paphlagonian (1034-41), a reasonably successful emperor.
• Constantine IX Monomachos (1042-1055)
• A military disaster Constantine IX
The steep decline to Manzikert
• Isaac I Comnenos (1057-9) tried to reorganize the finances of the empire
• The Doukid emperors Constantine X and Michael VII Parapinakes: dangerously weakened the army
• Romanos IV Diogenes was defeated at Manzikert, and then brutally blinded and deposed. Battle of Manzikert
The Comnenian Restoration
• Alexios I Comnenos (1081-1118) seized the throne from Nikephoros III Botaniates.
• Alexios stabilized the empire by fighting off the Normans in the West, and with the help of the Crucaders the Seljuk Turks in the east.
• He supported links with the Aristocratic families and initiated a century of prosperity and recovery
John II Comnenos, the Good
• After fending off a challenge by his sister historian Anna Comnene, John proved to be perhaps the last great emperor of Byzantium.
• He was known for his piety, mild rule, charity and humanity.
John’s achievements
• Through diplomacy and cautious warfare with small objectives at the time, he secured the west, recovered large parts of Asia Minor from the Seljuks and put them on the defensive.
• In a move designed to boost morale he marched into the Holy Lands, but his Crucader allies betrayed him.
Manuel I, Comnenos (1143-1180)
• The ruler and protector of Christendom, Manuel was seen in east and west as the head of the most powerful and rich Christian state.
• Surprise defeat at Myriokephalon
• Although he added to the empire, his ambitious goals were never reached to the full.
Manuel I Comnenos
The Angeli
• The cruel public murder of the last Comnenian emperor, the able Andronikos I (1185) signalled the beginning of the end for Byzantium.
• The incompetent rule of Isaac Angelos and his successors resulted in the loss of Constantiniple to the Crucasders in 1204
Frankish Constantinople (1204-1261)
• The sack of Constantinople: a great cultural calamity.
• Byzantine states in provinces (Nicaea, Trebizond, Epirus)
• The Latin empire of Constantinople was doomed, cut off from the West, with a determined Byzantine kingdom next to it, and a clergy very hostile to the Catholic primate.
The Palaiologean Period
• 1261: Michael VIII Palaiologos recaptures Constantinople, defeats the Latins and restores Byzantine form.
• The Empire he reconstituted would be squeezed between enemies from the west and the relentless assaults of the Turks in the east
The Palaiologean Renaissance
• Although politically the reign of Byzantium’s last and longest lasting dynasty was bleak, the arts and letters flourished.
• An increasingly more Hellenized state• Some of the Palaiologean Emperors were able
(e.g. Michael VIII, Manuel II)• However, the weakened state did not have the
manpower, energy, or resources to stop the the relentless march of the Ottoman Turks.
• The old empire fell after a long struggle.
The Fall of Constantinople
• The world turned its eyes on a depopulated Constantinople in the spring of 1453.
• A shadow of its former glory the imperial city fell after months of siege.
• Constantine XI, the last emperor became the subject of legends.
The religious art of Byzantium
• Intellectual, idealistic, schematic, with restrained colors and reserved form.
• Realism is rare and undesirable
• The objective is the spiritual elevation of the believer
The Literature of Byzantium
• 4th-5th century: • Still within the
boundaries of Classical Literature.
• Basil• Gregory Nazianzenos• Gregory of Nyssa• John Chrysostom• Athanasius
The Era of Justinian
• Procopius• Theophylactos• John Malalas• Hesychios• Choiroboskos• Poetry: • Romanos the Melodist• The Acathist Hymn Justinian and his legal team
The 8th and 9th centuries
• Kassiane• The Canon• Andrew of Crete• Kosmas the Melodist• John Damascene• Theophanes the
Confessor• Photios
The Humanism of the Macedonian and Comnenian Era
• Michael Psellos• Constantine
Porphyrogennetos• Michael Attaliates• Anna Comnene• The Acritic Epic• Byzantine Romance• Ptochoprodromos• Suda• John Tzetzes
Hippocratic Oath
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