Download THE BYZANTINE EMPIRE

THE BYZANTINE EMPIRE
During the late Roman Empire, the Roman state was divided into eastern
and western realms. Around 325 CE Constantine began the process of
transforming the Greek city of Byzantium on the European side of the
Bosporus into Rome's eastern capital. It became one of the great cities of the
world, called Constantinopolis (Greek for "City of Constantine"), later
shortened to Constantinople. In the 20th century it took the name it currently
has, Istanbul. A long succession of emperors reigned in the East from the
300's to the 1400's CE. A few important facts about the Byzantine Empire
are summarized below.
a. LONGEVITY
The Byzantine Empire survived the Roman collapse in the West and went on
to last almost another thousand years. During that time it played an
important role in the preservation of classical culture and in the development
of Christianity.
b. ECONOMIC PROSPERITY
The economic collapse which occurred in Europe after 476 CE was confined
to the West. The Byzantine Empire remained wealthy during that time and
maintained wide-ranging and prosperous trade connections. Gold coins
(solidi) remained in circulation, and in fact, trade between the West and
Byzantium continued for a time after 476 CE, during which time the few
remaining gold coins in circulation in the West were drawn to the East in
payment for eastern goods.
c. CITY DEFENSES
Constantinople was surrounded by high, thick fortification walls which
represented its chief defense from foreign attack and which protected the
city until the mid-15th century. On numerous occasions, Constantinople was
saved by its massive walls.
d. JUSTINIAN
One of the most important Byzantine emperors was Justinian, who reigned
from 527-565 CE. It was his great ambition to reconquer the West, but his
efforts fell well short of the goal. He did manage to recapture part of Italy
and north Africa, but the gains were relatively paltry. Byzantium, despite its
wealth, lacked the manpower and resources to mount the kind of prolonged
campaigns that reconquest would have required. Justinian faced serious
problems at home as well. His marriage to a former circus performer
(Theodora) was controversial, as was the power which she wielded at court.
A violent public disturbance in Constantinople during his tenure (the Nike
Riots) necessitated equally violent military action to suppress it, and a
devastating plague broke out which very likely was the first appearance of
the bubonic plague or Black Death. Justinian is also remembered for laying
the foundation for the massive Romanesque church called Hagia Sophia
[HIGH-uh so-FEE-uh] or Santa Sophia, which still stands in Istanbul today,
and for ordering a systematic compilation of Roman laws (the Corpus Juris
Civilis), which was to influence European law in subsequent centuries.
e. EASTERN ORTHODOXY
One of the chief cultural survivals of the Fall of Rome in the West was
Roman Catholicism, a powerful western Christian church which would play
a key role in European affairs until the Renaissance and a somewhat reduced
role until the present day. Christianity in the East, in the Byzantine Empire,
however, took a somewhat different form. In the West there was no unitary
political figure, like the former Roman emperors, to meddle in religious
affairs (as Constantine once had, for instance). Instead, there were a number
of European kings who would contend with the popes in Rome, each
claiming ultimate authority. In Byzantium, by contrast, emperors controlled
the Christian churches within their realms and paid little attention to
Christianity in the West. The chief church official in Constantinople,
referred to usually as the Bishop or Patriarch of Constantinople, also tended
to have poor or no relations with his counterpart in Rome. In short, two
independent versions of medieval Christianity emerged, Roman Catholicism
in the West and Eastern Orthodoxy (as it is called) in the East. Eastern
Orthodoxy was largely dominated by the reigning emperor at
Constantinople, while Roman Catholicism was free of imperial
entanglements (but not from regional political pressures). The way Jesus was
viewed also differed from West to East. In Europe, he was often described as
"meek and mild," and depicted in art as a benevolent figure. In Byzantium,
however, he was commonly viewed as a powerful king or emperor, as a
stern figure commanding obedience and reflecting imperial splendor. His
somewhat forbidding image can be seen as a surrogate for the reigning
emperor, who commonly used religion as a tool of social control. Eastern
Orthodox missionaries carried their faith into southern Europe and western
Russia, establishing today's Orthodox communities in those areas. (The
Russian version of Eastern Orthodoxy is called Russian Orthodoxy.)
f. A GRADUALLY SHRINKING EMPIRE
During the long course of Byzantine history, the Empire gradually shrank in
size, incrementally whittled away by a host of enemies such as Persians,
Bulgars, and Avars. In the end, it consisted of little more than the precincts
of Constantinople itself. Much imperial Byzantine history is concerned with
the ebb and flow of territory controlled by the realm and in that sense is
somewhat parallel to the decline of the Roman Empire in the West.
g. ROMANS IN A THOROUGHLY GREEK CULTURE
Those who lived in the Byzantine Empire habitually called themselves and
thought of themselves as Romans, but in fact they lived immersed in a
thoroughly Greek culture. Constantinople itself was a Romanized version of
the ancient Greek city of Byzantium, and this region of the world had been
hellenized by Alexander the Great and his successors before being
conquered by the Romans. The official language of the Byzantine state was
Greek, and even the styles of dress at court were largely Greek. Roman
institutions had simply been grafted onto the pre-existing Greek ones. It is an
exquisite irony that the last Romans in history spoke Greek and had virtually
no connections with Italy, but in fact that is what tends to happen in nations
with long histories. In this case, the very definition of "Roman" underwent a
significant alteration over time. Similarly, through most of its early history
America had a European-derived population, and Americans could be
described as white, Anglo-Saxon, and Protestant. That demographic profile
is now rapidly changing, and it has been projected that typical Americans of
the future may be Latino, Spanish-speaking, and Catholic. Yet without
doubt, they will still refer to themselves as Americans.
h. THE FALL OF ROME IN THE EAST
Whereas the Fall of Rome in the West in 476 CE was little more than a
transference of power from Romans to Germans, the Fall of Rome in the
East or the Fall of the Byzantine Empire in 1453 CE was a genuine military
debacle--in other words, a true "fall." Constantinople was besieged by
Muslims under Mehmed II (or Muhammad II) for five weeks. The defenders
of the city were vastly outnumbered, perhaps a 10:1 or greater ratio.
Moreover, the Muslim invaders had cannons and gunpowder at their
disposal, including an enormous siege gun called the Hungarian Cannon
(now in a British museum). In the end, the city yielded to gunpowder,
cannon balls, and superior military strength, ending almost 2200 years of
Roman history.