Byzantium: The Empire of the New Rome by Cyril Mango.
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DESCRIPTION: Hardcover with dustjacket. Scribner & Sons (1980) 334 pages. Dimensions: 9¼ x 6½ x 1¼ inches; 1¾ pounds. Founded by the Emperor Constantine the Great in 324 A.D. as "The New Rome", the city of Constantinople was to become the center of the powerful, vast, heterogeneous Byzantine world. Until Constantinople fell to the Turks in 1453 A.D., the city was the capital of an empire which stretched at one time from Gibraltar in the west to the banks of the Euphrates in the east. Astoundingly rich, this civilization left behind a legacy of manifest art, architecture and literature, inspired by Orthodox Christianity. Professor Mango's authoritative survey covers all the fundamental aspects of Byzantine culture and way of life; peoples, languages, society, the economy and trade, the disappearance and revival of cities, monasticism and education.
CONDITION: VERY GOOD. Unread hardcover w/dustjacket. Charles Scribner's Sons (1980) 334 pages. Inside the book is almost pristine; the pages are clean, crisp, unmarked, unmutilated, tightly bound, and seemingly unread, though surely leafed through a few times. I'd guess the original owner flipped through the book once or twice looking at the pictures, then put the book away never to be read through. There's no evidence of the book actually having been read through. From the outside the book is showing some signs of age. The top surface of the closed page edges shows some tiny, very faint tan-colored age speckles (known as "foxing"). Of course these very faint speckles are visible only when book is closed, not to individual pages, only to the mass of closed page edges (sometimes referred to as the "page block"). Such faint age-spotting is not uncommon to a book this old. The dustjacket evidences faint edge and corner shelfwear, principally in the form of faint edge crinkling/wrinkling to the top edge of the back side of the dustjacket. Beneath the dustjacket the full-cloth covers are clean and unblemished. Except for faint age-spotting to the top surface of the closed page edges, the overall condition of the book is otherwise not too terribly distant (particularly considering the book is 45 years old) from what might pass as "new" stock from an open-shelf book store (such as Barnes & Noble or B. Dalton, for instance) wherein patrons are permitted to browse open stock, and so otherwise "new" books often show a little handling/shelf/browsing wear consequence of being constantly handled/shelved/re-shelved. Satisfaction unconditionally guaranteed. In stock, ready to ship. No disappointments, no excuses. PROMPT SHIPPING! HEAVILY PADDED, DAMAGE-FREE PACKAGING! Selling rare and out-of-print ancient history books on-line since 1997. We accept returns for any reason within 30 days! #1694.1p.
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PLEASE SEE PUBLISHER, PROFESSIONAL, AND READER REVIEWS BELOW.
REVIEW: The author is Professor of Byzantine and Modern Greek Language and Literature in the University of Oxford. He is the author of many books and articles on Byzantine art, archaeology, history, and literature. This book examines important themes in the history of the Byzantine Empire (324-1453), grouped into three major sections: Part One, Aspects of Byzantine life, has chapters on People and Languages, Society and Economy, The Disappearance and Revival of Cities, Dissenters, Monasticism, and Education. Part Two, The Conceptual World of Byzantium, has chapters on The Invisible Worlds of Good and Evil, The Physical Universe, The Inhabitants of the Earth, The Past of Mankind, The Future of Mankind, and The Ideal Life. Part Three, The Legacy, has chapters on Literature and Art and Architecture. Included are maps, a chronological list of Byzantine emperors, extensive notes and bibliography, and a full index.
REVIEW:Examining Byzantine life from the point of view of the average citizen, a noted historian deals with language, social and economic conditions, the disappearance and revival of cities, education, monasticism, and the Byzantine literary, artistic, and architectural legacy.
REVIEW: In this authoritative survey, Professor Mango exposes the shortcomings of the surviving historical records of Byzantine civilization on which previous studies have too frequently depended. Adopting an original approach, he rectifies the bias of such accounts by concentrating especially on the point of view of the "average" Byzantine rather than the intellectual. He considers Byzantine life from a thematic perspective, covering such fundamental aspects as people and languages, society and economy, the disappearance and revival of cities, dissidents, monasticism, education, accepted ideas about good and evil, the physical universe, history and the ideal life and the Byzantine cultural legacy-literature, art, and architecture.
REVIEW: The city of Constantinople was founded by Constantine in 324 A.D. This book explores the whole of a civilization: people, language, economy, religions, education and the arts. It is considered one of the quintessential texts, and is highly recommended for both students and history buffs alike. Professor Mango is never dull, offering a traveler's tour of the different countries and a lively survey of supernatural beliefs.
REVIEW: The author considers Byzantine life from a thematic perspective, covering such fundamental aspects as people, languages, society, etc.; as well as the Byzantine cultural legacy, literature, art, and architecture. Erudite, informative, extremely well written. No book has succeeded so well in identifying "Byzantinism", that complex of ideas and beliefs that sustained and guided Byzantium.
REVIEW: An appealing and enjoyable read, especially for non-specialists wanting convenient access to the whole chronological range of Byzantine history.
REVIEW: The reader can gain an excellent overall impression of the changing fortunes of Byzantium over its long and varied history.
REVIEW: A triumph ... there is a deliberate attempt to get beyond the merely political to understand the deeper movements which sustained the empire. It deserves the warmest recommendation.
REVIEW: Full of insight and interest, clearly written and beautifully presented, this splendid book helps to open up a window into an extraordinary age.
REVIEW: Essential reading for anyone who wants to look beyond the strictly 'classical' limits of our subject and in so doing to gain a greater insight into the medium through which the ancient cultures were transmitted to us.
REVIEW: Professor Cyril Mango provides the Byzantinist out there a work of high quality and meticulous research in "Byzantium: The Empire of New Rome". Conventional social histories may survey the accomplishments of the Byzantine-era Romans on the surface, yet this specific title goes one step further by descending into the collective mind of the Byzantines and assessing their views on the present world and the world to come; in essence, we have a study of Byzantine culture blending sociology and psychology. The result is a fascinating account of a people whose outlook on life and their surroundings was strongly influenced by theological speculation, especially in the area of eschatology.
Professor Mango's narrative makes it clear how much the theocentrism of Byzantine thought permeated every aspect of life practically, whether it be court ceremonial, the nature of relationships, literature, or the arts. Even the physical world, including the Earth and the rest of the universe, needed to be explained from a Scriptural context. In dissecting the beliefs, prejudices, and superstitions of the Byzantines, Professor Mango is objective. His overall admiration for the legacy of his subjects does include an acknowledgement of their weaknesses and deficiencies as well. "Byzantium: The Empire of New Rome" is to be read carefully in order to be better understood; it helped me learn much about where the Byzantines "were coming from".
REVIEW: Cyril Mango's "Byzantium: The Empire of the New Rome" is a very readable survey of various aspects of Byzantine life, culture and civilization. This is not a chronological history, but is instead divided into three major topics ("Aspects of Byzantine Life", "The Conceptual World of Byzantium" and "The Legacy"), each of which is divided into more specific subjects.
The first section begins with a brief tour of the Byzantine Empire of Justinian's day, focusing on the peoples languages spoken in each region. Professor Mango even suggests some contemporary sources that such a traveler might use as a tour guide. The following chapter on the Byzantine economy provides, among other things, a look at typical incomes and the purchasing power of the gold solidus (for example, 1 solidus could get you a good second-hand cloak).
I found the second section on the conceptual world of the Byzantines to be the most interesting. It covers the invisible world of good and evil spirits, as well as the average Byzantine's concept of the physical world and its inhabitants. Additional sections discuss the Byzantine concept of time, past history, and the future.
In all of these areas, religion seems to be the dominant force - natural science, geography and the like merely serve as minor adjuncts to Biblical explanations of the world. Fascinating examples of the efforts of theologians to reconcile the physical world with Biblical concepts are generously used.
The final section on the Byzantine legacy has just two sections: "Literature" and "Art and Architecture" (this last seemingly a particular interest of Professor Mango, as he has written a book about it).
I am not sure how useful this book would be to a reader who is unfamiliar with a general outline of Byzantine history. If, however, one has read one of the standard chronological histories (Treadgold, Ostrogorsky, Vasiliev or Norwich), this fills in gaps that are inevitably left by works which focus on historical events and movements. I highly recommend this book to anyone who, having a decent general knowledge of Byzantine history, would like to take their interest the next level.
"Byzantium" does an excellent job of shedding light on numerous facets of Byzantine civilization, and does a better job than many other general surveys of giving the reader a feel of what it was really like to be a Byzantine - how they thought, what they believed, and how they viewed the world.
Another interesting, non-chronological book that details various Byzantine "professions" from beggar and peasant to emperor and saint is "The Byzantines", a collection of essays edited by Guglielmo Cavallo (one of which is written by Professor Mango).
REVIEW: The British historian Cyril Mango has written a one-volume book that provides comprehensive insight to the Eastern Roman Empire, commonly known also as the Byzantine Empire. Albeit its size is not very impressive, this work can be regarded as a successful attempt to depict the very dynamically evolving Byzantine state and its highly diverse society (also with respect to the languages spoken on its territory).
The work of Mr. Mango is focused on the early and middle Byzantine state, the late byzantine state seems to be described in the reviewed work rather casually, suggesting that in the view of the author the Byzantine state actually already had ended with the infamous fourth crusade in 1204 AD. An analogical point of view has been presented by the founder of the Polish school of Byzantine studies, Kazimierz Zakrzewski (1900 - 1941).
Within the very compressed, elegant as well as informative chapters of the book, the author offers the readers a huge dose of information on almost all aspects of life of a Byzantine Empire. The chapters on Byzantine art and literature are splendid. As were the chapters dedicated to the god-fearing vision of the world characteristic for the majority of the Byzantine society in those days.
In summary, the book on the Byzantine Empire by the acclaimed British scholar Cyril Mango met my expectations and can be well recommended for all people interested in this aspect of the past. And in general to those who enjoy spending their spare time reading a well-written text.
REVIEW: This is a very substantial book, in terms of its content. Much space is devoted to how Byzantines saw their world and what they valued and aspired to. The author shows that, in its conservatism, the Byzantine Empire was in certain ways self-limiting. Specific evidence from texts are used to illustrate the points made, so that they emerge with exemplary clarity. Byzantine studies may have moved on in the more than three decades since this book came out, but that does not diminish its worth. Satisfying in every way.
REVIEW: Mango's "The Empire of the New Rome" is a masterly descriptive piece on the Byzantine Empire. If you are looking for a political history, however, this is not it ("The Oxford History of Byzantium", also by Mango, should provide that). This book paints a social, economic, and cultural portrait of Byzantium. It is accordingly divided into thematic, not chronological sections. Thus Mango devotes chapters to the empire's languages and peoples, its economy, its cities, religious toleration and intolerance, education, etc.
His book also has a whole section labelled The Conceptual World of Byzantium exploring the Byzantines' beliefs as to geography, history, morality, and the coming end of the world; this is actually a fascinating section, which makes an attempt few political historians bother about, namely to enter his or her protagonists' mental framework. The book concludes with a section on Byzantine art, literature, and architecture.
REVIEW: "The Empire of the New Rome" is both highly knowledgeable and clearly written. Though written as an academic work, it is definitely accessible to the general reader. And though its approach is not narrative, it includes fascinating narrative insights. The late sixth/early seventh century crisis, for example, started with an epidemic, closely followed by disastrous barbarian invasions in the Balkans, then the Persian and Arab wars.
Mango's section on the Byzantine Empire's disappearing cities makes that strikingly clear and indeed poignant. If one criticism may be targeted at the book, it is perhaps that Byzantium changed too much over 1,000+ years to be treated thematically. Students of the Middle and Late Byzantine periods will find less information in it than readers interested in the Early period (fourth-seventh century). Nevertheless, this is worthwhile companion to any Byzantine political history.
REVIEW: Anyone interested in this great civilization should read Professor Mango and see his own conceptual world turned upside down. I highly recommend the book to all!
ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND:
Byzantine History: The Byzantine Empire was the eastern remainder of the great Roman Empire, and stretched from its capital in Constantinople (present-day Istanbul, Turkey) through much of Eastern Europe, Asia Minor, and small portions of North Africa and the Middle East. Prior to the fifth century collapse of the Western Roman Empire, one of Rome’s greatest emperors, Constantine the Great, established a second capital city for the Roman Empire in the East at Byzantium, present day Turkey. Constantine The Great sought to reunite the Roman Empire, centered upon Christian faith, by establishing a second "capital" for the Eastern Roman, away from the pagan influences of the city of Rome. Established as the new capital city for the Eastern Roman Empire in the fourth century, Constantine named the city in his own honor, “Constantinople”.
After the collapse of the Western Roman Empire, the Eastern Roman Empire, the “Byzantine Empire”, lasted for another thousand years as the cultural, religious and economic center of Eastern Europe. At the same time, as a consequence of the fall of the Western Roman Empire, most of the rest of Europe suffered through one thousand years of the "dark ages". As the center of the Byzantine Empire, Constantinople was one of the most elaborate, civilized, and wealthy cities in all of history. The Christian Church eventually became the major political force in the Byzantine Empire. In Byzantine art, God rather than man stood at the center of the universe. Constantine the Great is also credited with being the first Christian Roman Emperor, and was eventually canonized by the Orthodox Church. Christianity had of course been generally outlawed prior to his reign.
Under the Byzantine Empire, Christianity became more than just a faith, it was the theme of the entire empire, its politics, and the very meaning of life. Christianity formed an all-encompassing way of life, and the influence of the Byzantine Empire reached far both in terms of time and geography, certainly a predominant influence in all of Europe up until the Protestant Reformation. In Byzantine art, God rather than man stood at the center of the universe. Representations of Christ, the Virgin, and various saints predominated the coinage of the era. The minting of the coins remained crude however, and collectors today prize Byzantine coins for their extravagant variations; ragged edges, "cupped" coins, etc. Other artifacts such as rings, pendants, and pottery are likewise prized for their characteristically intricate designs [AncientGifts].
The Byzantine Empire: The Byzantine Empire was the continuation of the Roman Empire in the Greek-speaking, eastern part of the Mediterranean. Christian in nature, it was perennially at war with the Muslims, Flourishing during the reign of the Macedonian emperors, its demise was the consequence of attacks by Seljuk Turks, Crusaders, and Ottoman Turks. Byzantium was the name of a small, but important town at the Bosporus, the strait which connects the Sea of Marmara and the Aegean to the Black Sea, and separates the continents of Europe and Asia. In Greek times the town was at the frontier between the Greek and the Persian world. In the fourth century B.C., Alexander the Great made both worlds part of his Hellenistic universe, and later Byzantium became a town of growing importance within the Roman Empire.
By the third century A.D. the Romans had many thousands of miles of border to defend. Growing pressure caused a crisis, especially in the Danube/Balkan area, where the Goths violated the borders. In the East, the Sasanian Persians transgressed the frontiers along the Euphrates and Tigris. The emperor Constantine the Great (reign 306-337 A.D.) was one of the first to realize the impossibility of managing the empire's problems from distant Rome. So, in 330 A.D. Constantine decided to make Byzantium, which he had refounded a couple of years before and named after himself, his new residence. Constantinople lay halfway between the Balkan and the Euphrates, and not too far from the immense wealth and manpower of Asia Minor, the vital part of the empire.
"Byzantium" was to become the name for the East-Roman Empire. After the death of Constantine, in an attempt to overcome the growing military and administrative problem, the Roman Empire was divided into an eastern and a western part. The western part is considered as definitely finished by the year 476 A.D. when its last ruler was dethroned and a military leader, Odoacer, took power. In the course of the fourth century, the Roman world became increasingly Christian, and the Byzantine Empire was certainly a Christian state. It was the first empire in the world to be founded not only on worldly power, but also on the authority of the Church. Paganism, however, stayed an important source of inspiration for many people during the first centuries of the Byzantine Empire.
When Christianity became organized, the Church was led by five patriarchs, who resided in Alexandria, Jerusalem, Antioch, Constantinople, and Rome. The Council of Chalcedon (451 A.D.) decided that the patriarch of Constantinople was to be the second in the ecclesiastical hierarchy. Only the pope in Rome was his superior. After the Great Schism of 1054 A.D. the eastern (Orthodox) church separated form the western (Roman Catholic) church. The centre of influence of the orthodox churches later shifted to Moscow.
Since the age of the great historian Edward Gibbon, the Byzantine Empire has a reputation of stagnation, great luxury and corruption. Most surely the emperors in Constantinople held an eastern court. That means court life was ruled by a very formal hierarchy. There were all kinds of political intrigues between factions. However, the image of a luxury-addicted, conspiring, decadent court with treacherous empresses and an inert state system is historically inaccurate. On the contrary: for its age, the Byzantine Empire was quite modern. Its tax system and administration were so efficient that the empire survived more than a thousand years.
The culture of Byzantium was rich and affluent, while science and technology also flourished. Very important for us, nowadays, was the Byzantine tradition of rhetoric and public debate. Philosophical and theological discourses were important in public life, even emperors taking part in them. The debates kept knowledge and admiration for the Greek philosophical and scientific heritage alive. Byzantine intellectuals quoted their classical predecessors with great respect, even though they had not been Christians. And although it was the Byzantine emperor Justinian who closed Plato's famous Academy of Athens in 529 A.D., the Byzantines are also responsible for much of the passing on of the Greek legacy to the Muslims, who later helped Europe to explore this knowledge again and so stood at the beginning of European Renaissance.
Byzantine history goes from the founding of Constantinople as an imperial residence on 11 May 330 A.D. until Tuesday 29 May 1453 A.D. when the Ottoman sultan Memhet II conquered the city. Most times the history of the Empire is divided into three periods. The first of these, from 330 till 867 A.D., saw the creation and survival of a powerful empire. During the reign of Justinian (527-565 A.D.), a last attempt was made to reunite the whole Roman Empire under one ruler, the one in Constantinople. This plan largely succeeded: the wealthy provinces in Italy and Africa were reconquered, Libya was rejuvenated, and money bought sufficient diplomatic influence in the realms of the Frankish rulers in Gaul and the Visigothic dynasty in Spain.
The refound unity was celebrated with the construction of the church of Holy Wisdom, Hagia Sophia, in Constantinople. The price for the reunion, however, was high. Justinian had to pay off the Sasanian Persians, and had to deal with firm resistance, for instance in Italy. Under Justinian, the lawyer Tribonian (500-547 A.D.) created the famous Corpus Iuris. The Code of Justinian, a compilation of all the imperial laws, was published in 529 A.D. Soon the Institutions (a handbook) and the Digests (fifty books of jurisprudence), were added. The project was completed with some additional laws, the Novellae. The achievement becomes even more impressive when we realize that Tribonian was temporarily relieved of his function during the Nika riots of 532 A.D., which in the end weakened the position of patricians and senators in the government, and strengthened the position of the emperor and his wife.
After Justinian, the Byzantine and Sasanian empires suffered heavy losses in a terrible war. The troops of the Persian king Khusrau II captured Antioch and Damascus, stole the True Cross from Jerusalem, occupied Alexandria, and even reached the Bosporus. In the end, the Byzantine armies were victorious under the emperor Heraclius (reign 610-642 A.D.). However, the empire was weakened and soon lost Syria, Palestine, Egypt, Cryonic, and Africa to the Islamic Arabs. For a moment, Syracuse on Sicily served as imperial residence. At the same time, parts of Italy were conquered by the Lombards, while Bulgars settled south of the Danube. The ultimate humiliation took place in 800 A.D., when the leader of the Frankish barbarians in the West, Charlemagne, preposterously claimed that he, and not the ruler in Constantinople, was the Christian emperor.
The second period in Byzantine history consists of its apogee. It fell during the Macedonian dynasty (867-1057 A.D.). After an age of contraction, the empire expanded again and in the end, almost every Christian city in the East was within the empire's borders. On the other hand, wealthy Egypt and large parts of Syria were forever lost, and Jerusalem was not reconquered. In 1014 A.D. the mighty Bulgarian empire, which had once been a very serious threat to the Byzantine state, was finally overcome after a bloody war, and became part of the Byzantine Empire. The victorious emperor, Basilius II, was surnamed Boulgaroktonos, "slayer of Bulgars". The northern border now was finally secured and the empire flourished.
Throughout this whole period the Byzantine currency, the nomisma, was the leading currency in the Mediterranean world. It was a stable currency ever since the founding of Constantinople. Its importance shows how important Byzantium was in economics and finance. Constantinople was the city where people of every religion and nationality lived next to one another, all in their own quarters and with their own social structures. Taxes for foreign traders were just the same as for the inhabitants. This was unique in the world of the middle ages.
Despite these favorable conditions, Italian cities like Venice and Amalfi, gradually gained influence and became serious competitors. Trade in the Byzantine world was no longer the monopoly of the Byzantines themselves. Fuel was added to these beginning trade conflicts when the pope and patriarch of Constantinople went separate ways in 1054 A.D. (the Great Schism). Decay became inevitable after the Battle of Manzikert in 1071 A.D. Here, the Byzantine army under the emperor Romanus IV Diogenes, although reinforced by Frankish mercenaries, was beaten by an army of the Seljuk Turks, commanded by Alp Arslan ("the Lion"). Romanus was probably betrayed by one of his own generals, Joseph Tarchaniotes, and by his nephew Andronicus Ducas.
After the battle, the Byzantine Empire lost Antioch, Aleppo, and Manzikert, and within years, the whole of Asia Minor was overrun by Turks. From now on, the empire was to suffer from manpower shortage almost permanently. In this crisis, a new dynasty, the Comnenes, came to power. To obtain new Frankish mercenaries, emperor Alexius sent a request for help to pope Urban II, who responded by summoning the western world for the Crusades. The western warriors swore loyalty to the emperor, reconquered parts of Anatolia, but kept Antioch, Edessa, and the Holy Land for themselves.
For the Byzantines, it was increasingly difficult to contain the westerners. They were not only fanatic warriors, but also shrewd traders. In the twelfth century, the Byzantines created a system of diplomacy in which deals were concluded with towns like Venice that secured trade by offering favorable positions to merchants of friendly cities. Soon, the Italians were everywhere, and they were not always willing to accept that the Byzantines had a different faith. In the age of the Crusades, the Greek Orthodox Church could become a target of violence too. So it could happen that Crusaders plundered the Constantinople in 1204 A.D. Much of the loot can still be seen in the church of San Marco in Venice.
For more than half a century, the empire was ruled by monarchs from the West, but they never succeeded in gaining full control. Local rulers continued the Byzantine traditions, like the grandiloquently named "emperors" of the Anatolian mini-states surrounding Trapezus, where the Comnenes continued to rule, and Nicaea, which was ruled by the Palaiologan dynasty. The Seljuk Turks, who are also known as the Sultanate of Rum, benefited greatly of the division of the Byzantine Empire, and initially strengthened their positions. Their defeat, in 1243 A.D., in a war against the Mongols, prevented them from adding Nicaea and Trapezus as well. Consequently, the two Byzantine mini-states managed to survive.
The Palaiologans even managed to capture Constantinople in 1261 A.D., but the Byzantine Empire was now in decline. It kept losing territory, until finally the Ottoman Empire (which had replaced the Sultanate of Rum) under Mehmet II conquered Constantinople in 1453 A.D. and took over government. Trapezus surrendered eight years later. After the Ottoman take-over, many Byzantine artists and scholars fled to the West, taking with them precious manuscripts. They were not the first ones. Already in the fourteenth century, Byzantine artisans, abandoning the declining cultural life of Constantinople, had found ready employ in Italy. Their work was greatly appreciated and western artists were ready to copy their art. One of the most striking examples of Byzantine influence is to be seen in the work of the painter Giotto, one of the important Italian artists of the early Renaissance. [Ancient History Encyclopedia].
Ancient Constantinople/Byzantium: Built in the seventh century B.C., the ancient city of Byzantium proved to be a valuable city for both the Greeks and Romans. Because it lay on the European side of the Strait of Bosporus, the Emperor Constantine understood its strategic importance and upon reuniting the empire in 324 A.D. built his new capital there; Constantinople. Emperor Diocletian who ruled the Roman Empire from 284 to 305 A.D. believed that the empire was too big for one person to rule and divided it into a tetrarchy (rule of four) with an emperor (Augustus) and a co-emperor (Caesar) in both the east and west.
Diocletian chose to rule the east. Young Constantine rose to power in the west when his father, Constantius, died. The ambitious ruler defeated his rival, Maxentius, for power at the Battle of Milvian Bridge and became sole emperor of the west in 312 A.D. When Lucinius assumed power in the east in 313 A.D., Constantine challenged and ultimately defeated him at the Battle of Chrysopolis, thereby reuniting the empire. Constantine was unsure where to locate his new capital. Old Rome was never considered. He understood the infrastructure of the city was declining; its economy was stagnant and the only source of income was becoming scarce. Nicomedia had everything he could want for a capital; a palace, a basilica and even a circus; but it had been the capital of his predecessors, and he wanted something new.
Although he had been tempted to build his capital on the site of ancient Troy, Constantine decided it was best to locate his new city at the site of old Byzantium, claiming it to be a New Rome (Nova Roma). The city had several advantages. It was closer to the geographic center of the Empire. Since it was surrounded almost entirely by water, it could be easily defended (especially when a chain was placed across the bay). The location provided an excellent harbor; thanks to the Golden Horn; as well as easy access to the Danube River region and the Euphrates frontier. Thanks to the funding of Lucinius’s treasury and a special tax, a massive rebuilding project began. Constantinople would become the economic and cultural hub of the east and the center of both Greek classics and Christian ideals.
Although he kept some remnants of the old city, New Rome, four times the size of Byzantium, was said to have been inspired by the Christian God, yet remained classical in every sense. Built on seven hills (just like Old Rome), the city was divided into fourteen districts. Supposedly laid out by Constantine himself, there were wide avenues lined with statues of Alexander the Great, Caesar, Augustus, Diocletian, and of course, Constantine dressed in the garb of Apollo with a scepter in one hand and a globe in the other. The city was centered on two colonnaded streets (dating back to Septimus Severus) that intersected near the baths of Zeuxippus and the Testratoon.
The intersection of the two streets was marked by a four-way arch, the Tetraphylon. North of the arch stood the old basilica which Constantine converted into a square court, surrounded by several porticos, housing a library and two shrines. Southward stood the new imperial palace with its massive entrance, the Chalke Gate. Besides a new forum, the city boasted a large meeting hall that served as a market, stock exchange, and court of law. The old circus was transformed into a victory monument, including one monument that had been erected at Delphi, the Serpent Column, celebrating the Greek victory over the Persians at Plataea in 479 B.C. While the old amphitheater was abandoned (the Christians disliked gladiatorial contests), the hippodrome was enlarged for chariot races.
One of Constantine’s early concerns was to provide enough water for the citizenry. While Old Rome didn’t have the problem, New Rome faced periods of intense drought in the summer and early autumn and torrential rain in the winter. Together with the challenge of the weather, there was always the possibility of invasion. The city needed a reliable water supply. There were sufficient aqueducts, tunnels and conduits to bring water into the city but a lack of storage still existed. To solve the problem the Binbirderek Cistern (it still exists) was constructed in 330 A.D.
Religion took on new meaning in the empire. Although Constantine openly supported Christianity (his mother was one), historians doubt whether or not he truly ever became a Christian, waiting until his deathbed to convert. New Rome would boast temples to pagan deities (he had kept the old acropolis) and several Christian churches; Hagia Irene was one of the first churches commissioned by Constantine. It would perish during the Nika Revolts under Justinian in 532 A.D. In 330 A.D., Constantine consecrated the Empire’s new capital, a city which would one day bear the emperor’s name. Constantinople would become the economic and cultural hub of the east and the center of both Greek classics and Christian ideals. Its importance would take on new meaning with Alaric’s invasion of Rome in 410 A.D. and the eventual fall of the city to Odoacer in 476 A.D. During the Middle Ages, the city would become a refuge for ancient Greek and Roman texts.
In 337 A.D. Constantine died, leaving his successors and the empire in turmoil. Constantius II defeated his brothers (and any other challengers) and became the empire’s sole emperor. The only individual he spared was his cousin Julian, only five years old at the time and not considered a viable threat; however, the young man would surprise his older cousin and one day becomes an emperor himself, Julian the Apostate. Constantius II enlarged the governmental bureaucracy, adding quaestors, praetors, and even tribunes. He built another cistern and additional grain silos. Although some historians disagree (claiming Constantine laid the foundation), he is credited with building the first of three Hagia Sophias, the Church of Holy Wisdom, in 360 A.D. The church would be destroyed by fire in 404 A.D., rebuilt by Theodosius II, destroyed and rebuilt again under Justinian in 532 A.D.
A convert to Arianism, Constantius II’s death would place the already tenuous status of Christianity in the empire in jeopardy. His successor, Julian the Apostate, a student of Greek and Roman philosophy and culture (and the first emperor born in Constantinople), would become the last pagan emperor. Although Constantinius had considered him weak and non-threatening, Julian had become a brilliant commander, gaining the support and respect of the army, easily assuming power upon the emperor’s death. Although he attempted to erase all aspects of Christianity in the empire, he failed. Upon his death fighting the Persians in 363 A.D., the empire was split between two brothers, Valentinian I (who died in 375 A.D.) and Valens.
Valentinian, the more capable of the two, ruled the west while the weaker and short-sighted Valens ruled the east. Valens only contribution to the city and the empire was to add a number of aqueducts, but in his attempt to shore up the empire’s frontier --he had allowed the Visigoths to settle there-- he would lose a decisive battle and his life at Adrianople in 378 A.D. After Valens embarrassing defeat, the Visigoths believed Constantinople to be vulnerable and attempted to scale the walls of the city but ultimately failed. Valen’s successor was Theodosius the Great (379 – 395 A.D.).
In response to Theodosius outlawed paganism and made Christianity the official religion of the empire in 391 A.D. He called the Second Ecumenical Council, reaffirming the Nicene Creed, written under the reign of Constantine. As the last emperor to rule both east and west, he did away with the Vestal Virgins of Rome, outlawed the Olympic Games and dismissed the Oracle at Delphi which had existed long before the time of Alexander the Great. His grandson, Theodosius II (408 – 450 A.D.) rebuilt Hagia Sophia after it burned, established a university, and, fearing a barbarian threat, expanded the city’s walls in 413 A.D.; the new walls would be forty feet high and sixteen feet thick.
A number of weak emperors followed Theodosius II until Justinian (527 – 565 A.D.), the creator of the Justinian Code, came to power. By this time the city boasted over three hundred thousand residents. As emperor Justinian instituted a number of administrative reforms, tightening control of both the provinces and tax collection. He built a new cistern, a new palace, and a new Hagia Sophia and Hagia Irene, both destroyed during the Nika Revolt of 532 A.D. His most gifted advisor and intellectual equal was his wife Theodora, the daughter of a bear trainer at the Hippodrome. She is credited with influencing many imperial reforms: expansion of women’s rights in divorce, closure of all brothels, and the creation of convents for former prostitutes.
Under the leadership of his brilliant general Belisarius, Justinian expanded the empire to include North Africa, Spain and Italy. Sadly, he would be the last of the truly great emperors; the empire would fall into gradual decline after his death until the Ottoman Turks conquered the city in 1453 A.D. One of the darker moments during his reign was the Nika Revolt. It started as a riot at the hippodrome between two sport factions, the blues and greens. Both were angry at Justinian for some of his recent policy decisions and openly opposed his appearance at the games. The riot expanded to the streets where looting and fires broke out. The main gate of the imperial palace, the Senate house, public baths, and many residential houses and palaces were all destroyed.
Although initially choosing to flee the city, Justinian was convinced by his wife, to stay and fight: thirty thousand would die as a result. When the smoke cleared, the emperor saw an opportunity to clear away remnants of the past and make the city a center of civilization. Forty days later Justinian began the construction of a new church; a new Hagia Sophia. No expense was to be spared. He wanted the new church to be built on a grand scale -- a church no one would dare destroy. He brought in gold from Egypt, porphyry from Ephesus, white marble from Greece and precious stones from Syria and North Africa. The historian Procopius said: "it soars to a height to match the sky, and as if surging up from other buildings it stands as high and looks down on the remnants of the city … it exults in an indescribable beauty."
Over ten thousand workers would take almost six years to build it. Afterwards Justinian was reported to say, “Solomon, I have surpassed thee.” Near the height of his reign, Justinian’s city suffered an epidemic in 541 A.D. --the Black Death-- where over one hundred thousand of the city’s residents would die. Even Justinian wasn’t immune, although he survived. The economy of the empire would never completely recover. Two other emperors deserve mention: Leo III and Basil I. Leo III (717 – 741 A.D.) is best known for instituting iconoclasm, the destruction of all religious relics and icons, the city would lose monuments, mosaics and works of art, but he should also be remembered for saving the city.
When the Arabs lay siege to the city, he used a new weapon “Greek fire”, a flammable liquid to repel the invaders. It was comparable to napalm, and water was useless against it as it would only help to spread the flames. While his son Constantine V was equally successful, his grandson Leo IV, initially a moderate iconoclast, died shortly after assuming power, leaving the incompetent Constantine VI and his mother and regent Irene in power. Irene ruled with an iron hand, preferring treaties to warfare, aided by several purges of the military. Although she saw the return of religious icons (endearing her to the Roman church), her power over her son and the empire ended when she chose to have him blinded; she was exiled to the island of Lesbos.
Basil I (867- 886 A.D.), the Macedonian (although he had never set foot in Macedonia), saw a city and empire that has fallen into disrepair and set about a massive rebuilding program: Stone replaced wood, mosaics were restored, churches as well as a new imperial palace were constructed, and lastly, considerable lost territory was recovered. Much of the rebuilding, however, was lost during the Fourth Crusade (1202 -1204 A.D.) when the city was plundered and burned, not by the Muslims, but by the Christians who had initially been called to repel invaders but sacked the city themselves. Crusaders roamed the city, tombs were vandalized, churches desecrated, and Justinian’s sarcophagus was opened and his body flung aside. The city and the empire never recovered from the Crusades leaving them vulnerable for the Ottoman Turks in 1453 A.D. [Ancient History Encyclopedia].
The Ancient City of Byzantium: The ancient city of Byzantium was founded by Greek colonists from Megara (one of the four districts of ancient Attica) around 657 BC. According to the 2nd century Roman historian Tacitus, it was built on the European side of the Strait of Bosporus. It was settled on the order of the “god of Delphi” who said to build “opposite the land of the blind”. This was in reference to the inhabitants of Chalcedon who had built their city on the eastern shore of the Strait. The west side was considered far more fertile and better suited for agriculture. Although the city accepted the alphabet, calendar, and cults of Megara, much of the city’s founding still remains unknown.
The region would remain important to the Greeks as well as the Romans. While it lay in a highly fertile area, the city was far more important due to its strategic location. Not only did it stand guard over the only entrance into the Black Sea but it also lay by a deep inlet known as “The Golden Horn”. The geography meant that the city could only be attacked from the west. Because of its location, the city became the center of the continued war between the Greeks and Persians. During the Greek and Persian Wars the Byzantines initially supported Darius I in his Scythian campaign. Byzantium provided Darius with ships, but turned against him later. Darius responded by destroying the city. The area was incorporated into the Achaemenid Empire in 513 BC.
During the Ionian Revolt, Greeks forces captured the city but were unable to maintain control, losing it again to the Persians. Many of the residents of both Byzantium and Chalcedon fled, fearing reprisals from the Persians. Eventually the Spartan general Pausanias was victorious against the Persians at the Battle of Plataea in 478 BC. Pausanias then traveled northward and conquered the city, becoming its governor. With the Persians so close, he made peace with the Persian king Xerxes I. Some historical accounts suggest that Pausanias offered to help the Persians to conquer Greece. He remained Byzantine governor until 470 BC when he was recalled by the Spartans.
Throughout the Peloponnesian War between Sparta and Athens the area had split loyalties. The Athenians wanted to control Byzantium because they needed to import grain through the strait from the Black Sea. The Spartans wanted take the city in order to stop the grain flow to Athens. Byzantium’s prosperous economy in the past had benefited Athens. Because of this the city had been made part of the Delian League. However the city had been made to p[ay high tributes to Athens. Now Athens was losing its war with Sparta. Byzantium switched sides in the conflict, choosing in 411 BC to support the Spartans. The Spartan general Clearchus seized the city, allowing Sparta to stop vital grain shipments through the strait to Athens.
The Athenian leader Alcibiades outwitted the Spartans in battle in 408 BC. The Spartan General Clearchus was forced to abandon Byzantium. The area again became Athenian. However Sparta later regained control when Lysander defeated the Athenians in 405 BC. This final defeat cut off the Athenian food supply. This forced Athens to surrender to Sparta in 404 BC. This ended the Peloponnesian War. The following year Byzantium faced a threat from the Thracians to the west. They sought help from Sparta who promptly took control of the city. Around 390 BC the city changed hands again when the Athenian general Thrasybulus ended Spartan power.
In 340 BCE Phillip II of Macedon laid siege to Byzantium. The city had initially asked Phillip for help when threatened by Thrace. However when Byzantium refused to side with Phillip in the military efforts he directed against Athens, Phillip attacked. However Phillip soon retreated after the Persian army threatened war. Phillip’s son Alexander the Great understood the strategic value of the city. Alexander annexed the area when he moved across the Bosporus into Asia Minor on his way to defeat Darius III and conquer the Persian Empire. The city would regain its independence under Alexander’s more feeble successors. Byzantium continued to exert control over trade through the strait. However when the island of Rhodes refused to pay exorbitant fees Byzantium was attempting to levy for passage through the strait, war erupted. However the war was quickly settled after the city agreed to reduce its harsh policies.
Byzantium became an ally of the Roman Empire and in many ways became very Romanized. Nonetheless Byzantium remained fairly independent. But Byzantium did provide a stopping-off point for Roman armies on their way to Asia Minor. The fishing, agriculture, and tributes from ships passing through the strait made it a valuable source of income for Rome. After the Emperor Commodus was assassinated in 192 AD a Roman civil war emerged over who would succeed him. Byzantium refused to support the contender who eventually won the civil war, Septimus Severus. Byzantium instead supported Pescennius Niger of Syria. Septimus Severus laid siege to and destroyed the city of Byzantium. Due to the influence of his son Caracalla Septimus would later regret his actions and rebuild the city.
When Emperor Diocletian divided the Roman Empire into a tetrarchy (rule by four) Byzantium fell into the eastern half, ruled by Diocletian. In 312 AD Constantine I (“the Great”) came into power in the western half of the Roman Empire. Constantine would eventually reunite an undivided Roman Empire when he defeated Licinius at the Battle of Chrysopolis in 324 AD. Constantine would build his new capital on the site of ancient Byzantium. “New Rome” would become the cultural and economic center of the Eastern Roman Empire. Upon Constantine’s death in 337 the city would be renamed Constantinople in his honor. The city itself maintained its role as an important part, if not the pivotal center of the Byzantine Empire for the next 1100 years until it was invaded and captured by the Ottoman Turks in 1453 AD [Ancient History Encyclopedia].
The City of Constantinople: The city of Constantinople is now known as Modern-day Istanbul. It was founded by Roman emperor Constantine I (“the Great”) in 324 AD at the ancient site of the city of Byzantium. Thereafter Constantinople acted as the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire. The Eastern Roman Empire eventually became known as the “Byzantine Empire”, and it lasted for well over 1,000 years. Although the city suffered many attacks, prolonged sieges, and internal rebellions. It even suffered a period of occupation in the 13th century by the Fourth Crusaders. Its legendary defenses were the most formidable in both the ancient and medieval worlds. It could not however resist the mighty cannons of the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II. Constantinople, the jewel and bastion of Christendom, was conquered, smashed, and looted on Tuesday, 29 May 1453 AD.
Constantinople had withstood many sieges and attacks over the centuries. These included most notably the attacks by Arab forces Arabs between 674 and 678 AD and again between 717 and 718 AD. The Bulgarians under Khans Krum who ruled from 802 to 814 AD and Symeon who ruled from 893 to 927 AD both attempted to attack the Byzantine capital. The ancient Rus, the descendants of Vikings based around Kiev attacked Constantinople in 860, 941, and 1043 AD. However all these attacks failed to breach the walls of Constantinople. Another major siege was instigated by the usurper Thomas the Slav between 821 and 823 AD. All of these attacks were unsuccessful thanks to the city’s location by the sea, its naval fleet, and the secret weapon of Greek Fire which was a highly inflammable petroleum based liquid. However the most important element which again and again saved Constantinople from all of these attacks was the protection afforded by the massive Theodosian Walls.
The city’s celebrated walls were a triple row of fortifications built during the reign of Theodosius II (408 to 450 AD). The walls protected the land side of the peninsula occupied by the city. They extended across the peninsula from the shores of the Sea of Marmara to the Golden Horn. They were eventually fully completed 439 AD. The walls stretched some 6½ kilometers (4 miles). Anyone attached Constantinople first faced a 20 meter (65 foot) wide and 7 meter (23 foot) deep moat or large ditch. The moat could be flooded with water fed from pipes when the city faced an external threat. Behind that was an outer wall which had a patrol track to oversee the moat. Behind this was a second wall which had regular towers and an interior terrace so as to provide a firing platform. From the platform the city’s defenders could shoot downward upon any enemy forces attacking the moat and first wall. Then behind that wall and platform was a third much more massive inner wall.
This final defensive wall was almost 5 meters (16 feet) thick, and 12 meters (40 feet) high. The wall afforded the defenders 96 towers which would project into any attacking force. Each tower was placed about 70 meters (230 feet) distant from another and reached a height of 20 meters (65 feet). The towers were either square or octagonal in form. Each could hold up to three artillery machines. The towers were so placed on the middle wall so as not to block the firing possibilities from the towers of the inner wall. The total distance between the outer ditch and inner wall was 60 meters (200 feet) while the total height difference was 30 meters (100 feet).
To take Constantinople an army would need to attack by both land and sea. However every army that attempted to do so attempts failed. It did not matter whose army, no matter what weapons and siege engines they launched at the city. All attempts to take Constantinople failed. In short, Constantinople had the greatest defenses in the medieval world and had proved impregnable. Well, not quite. After 800 years of resisting all comers, the city’s defenses were finally breached by the knights of the Fourth Crusade in 1204 AD. However it should be described that the attackers breached the city’s defenses by coming in through a carelessly left-open door. It was not because the fortifications themselves had failed in their purpose.
In 1260 AD Constantinople’s walls were repaired and rebuilt during the 1261 to 1282 reign of Emperor Michael VIII. The city remained the most impregnable fortress in the world. However their reputation did not provide them with any security against the ever-more ambitious Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman Empire began in the late 13th century as a small Turkish emirate. It was founded by Osman in Eskishehir, which was in western Asia Minor. By the early 14th century CE the Ottoman Empire had already expanded into Thrace. With their capital at Adrianople further conquests included Thessaloniki and Serbia. In 1396 AD at Nikopolis on the Danubean Ottoman army defeated a Crusader army. Constantinople was the next target as the Byzantine Empire teetered on the brink of collapse. It became no more than a vassal state within the Ottoman Empire.
Constantinople was attacked in 1394 and 1422 AD but had still managed a successful defense of the city. Another Crusader army was defeated in 1444 AD at Varna near the Black Sea coast. However an even more resourceful and ambitious Sultan came to rule the Ottoman Empire, Mehmed II. Mehmed II ruled from 1451 to 1481 AD. He began extensive preparations such as building, extending, and occupying fortresses along the Bosporus. These were most notably at Rumeli Hisar and Anadolu in 1452 AD. Mehmed II was finally in a position to sweep away the Byzantines and their capital at Constantinople.
The crushing defeat the Byzantium Empire upon Crusader army at Varna in 1444 AD left the Byzantines alone, on their own. No significant help could be expected from the West where the Popes were already disgruntled with the Byzantine Empire’s unwillingness to reunite the Church and accept the supremacy of the West. The Venetians did send paltry reinforcements of two ships and 800 men to aid Constantinople in April 1453. Genoa promised another ship, and even the Pope later promised five armed ships. However by the Ottomans had by then already blockaded Constantinople. The people of the city could only stockpile food and weapons and hope their defenses would save them yet again.
According to the 15th-century Greek historian and eyewitness Georges Sphrantzes Constantinople’s defending army was composed of fewer than 5,000 men. This was a wholly insufficient number to adequately cover the length of the city’s walls which were 19 kilometers (12 miles) in total length. Worse still the once great Byzantine navy consisted of a mere 26 ships. Most of those belonged to the Italian colonists of the city. The Byzantines were hopelessly outnumbered in men, ships, and weapons. It seemed that only divine intervention could save them now. It was believed that just such intervention had saved the city in the many previous sieges over centuries gone by. Perhaps history would be repeated.
Then again there were also ominous tales of impending doom. There had been many prophesies that proclaimed the fall of Constantinople when the emperor was named Constantine. The Byzantine emperor at the time of the attack was Constantine XI who ruled from 1449 to 1453. Of course in the history of the Byzantine Empire quite a number of emperors had been named Constantine, and Constantinople had not fallen. Other prophesies claimed that Constantinople would fall during an eclipse of the moon. And there had indeed been an eclipse of the moon in the days leading up to the siege of 1453 AD.
The Emperor Constantine XI took personal charge of Constantinople’s defenses. He was accompanied by such notable military figures as Loukas Notaras, the Kantakouzenos brothers, Nikephoros Palaiologos, and the Genoese siege expert Giovanni Giustiniani. The Byzantines had catapults and Greek Fire, the highly inflammable napalm-like liquid which could be sprayed under pressure from ships or walls to torch an enemy. However the technology of warfare had relentlessly advanced over the centuries since the walls of Constantinople had been built by the Emperor Theodosian. Those Theodosian Walls were about to get their sternest test ever.
Mehmed II had one thing that previous besiegers of Constantinople had lacked: cannons. And Mehmed’s cannons were big ones. The Byzantines had actually had first option on the cannons. Their inventor the Hungarian engineer named Urban had first offered them to the Byzantine Empire first. But Constantine could not meet his asking price. Urban then peddled his expertise to the Sultan. Mehmed showed much more interest and offered him four times the price that Urban had been asking. These fearsome weapons were put to good use in November 1452 AD when a Venetian ship disobeyed Mehmed’s ban on traffic. The ship was blown out of the water as it sailed down the Bosporus. The captain of the vessel survived but was captured, decapitated, and then impaled on a stake. It was an ominous sign of things to come.
According to the historian Georges Sphrantzes the Ottoman army numbered 200,000 men. However modern scholars estimate a more realistic figure of 60-80,000. It still vastly outnumbered the defending force of 5,000. When the army assembled at the city walls of Constantinople on 2 April 1453 the Byzantines got their first glimpse of Mehmed’s cannons. The largest was 9 meters (20 feet) long with a gaping mouth one meter (over three feet) across. Already proven in tests it could fire a ball weighing 500 kilos (1100 pounds) over 1½ kilometers (almost a mile). So mammoth was this cannon that it took an awfully long time to load and cool down. So that it could only be fired seven times a day. Still, the Ottomans had plenty of smaller cannon, each capable of firing over 100 times a day.
On 5 April Mehmed sent a demand for immediate surrender to the Byzantine emperor but received no reply. On 6 April the attack began. The Theodosian Walls were relentlessly blasted into rubble, chunk by chunk. The defenders could do no more than fire back with their own smaller cannons by day in an attempt hold off the attackers where Mehmed’s massive cannons had punched the biggest holes. At night the defenders would try and repair those gaps each night as best they could. They used rocks, rubble, barrels, and anything else they could get their hands on. The resulting rubble piles actually absorbed the cannon shot better than fixed walls. But it was clear that eventually one of Mehmed’s infantry assaults would surely get through the walls.
The onslaught went on for six weeks, as there was some brave and effective resistance despite the overwhelming odds. The Ottoman attack on the boom which blocked the city’s harbor was repelled. Several direct assaults on the land walls were also repelled. Miraculously on 20 April three Genoese ships sent by the Pope and a ship carrying vital grain sent by Alphonso of Aragon managed to break through the Ottoman naval blockade and reach the defenders. Mehmed was infuriated. His troops got around the harbor boom by building a railed road. Using that railed road 70 of his ships were loaded onto carts pulled by oxen. These could be launched into the waters of the Golden Horn.
The Ottomans then built a pontoon and fixed cannons to it so that they could now attack any part of the city from the direction of the sea, not just the land. The defenders now struggled to station men where they were needed, especially along the structurally weaker sea walls. Time was running out for the city but, then, a reprieve came from an unexpected quarter. Back in Asia Minor Mehmed faced several revolts as his subjects became unruly while their Sultan and his army were abroad. For this reason Mehmed offered Constantine a deal. If Constantine would pay tribute, Mehmed’s forces would withdraw. The Byzantine emperor refused. Mehmed gave the news to his army that circumstances had changed. When the city of Constantinople fell, as surely it would, Mehmed would allow them to plunder whatever they wished from one of the richest cities in the world.
Mehmed launched a massive go-for-broke, throw-everything-at-them assault at dawn on 29 May. First to be sent in after the usual cannon barrage were the second-rate troops. Then a second wave was launched with better-armed troops. Finally a third wave attacked the walls. The third wave was composed of the Janissaries. These were the well-trained and highly determined elite of Mehmed's army. By this point in time the defenders were forced to employ women and children to defend the walls. It was during this third wave that disaster struck the Byzantines. Someone had left the small Kerkoporta gate in the Land Walls open. The Janissaries did not hesitate in using it. They climbed to the top of the wall and raised the Ottoman flag. They then worked their way around to the main gate. Opening it, they allowed their comrades to flood into the city.
Chaos ensued within the walls of Constantinople. Some of the defenders maintained their discipline and met the surge of enemy soldiers flooding into the city from the main gate. However other defenders broke discipline and rushed back to their homes to defend their own families. It is at this point that the Byzantine Emperor Constantine was killed in the action. It happened most likely near the Gate of St. Romanos. However he had discarded any indications of his status as emperor to avoid his body being used as a trophy. So with his corpse mixed in with the rest of the slain defenders, the details of his demise was not known for certain.
The emperor could have fled the city days before but he chose to stay with his citizens, defending their city. A legend soon grew up that he had not died at all. Instead some believed that he had been magically encased in marble. He was then buried beneath the city which he would one day return to rule again. Meanwhile, the rape, pillage, and destruction began. Many of the city’s inhabitants committed suicide rather than be subject to the horrors of capture and slavery by Mehmed’s forces. Perhaps 4,000 of Constantinople’s citizens were killed outright. Over 50,000 were shipped off as slaves.
Many sought refuge in churches and barricaded themselves in inside. This include inside the Hagia Sophia. However all of he churches were obvious targets for their ecclesiastical treasures. After the churches were looted for their gems and precious metals, the buildings and their priceless icons were smashed. The cowering Byzantine inhabitants of the city who sought refuge within the churches were butchered. Uncountable art treasures were lost. Books were burned, and anything with a Christian message was hacked to pieces. Tragically this included priceless ancient frescoes and mosaics.
In the afternoon Mehmed himself entered the city of Constantinople. He called an end to the pillaging and declared that the Hagia Sophia church be immediately converted into a mosque. It was a powerful statement that the city’s role as a bastion of Christianity for twelve centuries was now over. Mehmed then rounded up the most important survivors from the city’s nobility and executed them. Constantinople was made the new Ottoman capital. The massive Golden Gate of the Theodosian Walls was made part of the castle treasury of Mehmed. Those Christian inhabitants of the city that survived the slaughter and were not sold into slavery were allowed to remain. They were also permitted to remain Christian, guided by the bishop Gennadeios II.
What was left of the old Byzantine Empire was absorbed into Ottoman territory following the conquest of Mistra in 1460 and Trebizond in 1461 AD. Meanwhile Mehmed only 21 years of age was now known as "Mehmed the Conqueror". He settled in for a long reign and another 28 years as Sultan. Byzantine culture would survive, especially in the arts and architecture. Nonetheless the fall of Constantinople was a momentous and tragic episode of world history. It was the end of the old Roman Empire and the last surviving link between the medieval and ancient worlds. As one historian wrote, “that is why throughout the Greek world five and a half centuries later Tuesday is still believed to be the unluckiest day of the week. That is why the Turkish flag still depicts not a crescent but a waning moon, reminding us that the moon was in its last quarter when Constantinople finally fell [Ancient History Encyclopedia].
Daily Life in the Byzantine Empire: Like almost everywhere else before or since daily life in the Byzantine Empire was largely dependent on one’s birth and the social circumstances of one's parents. Outside of being born into privileged circumstances, there were some opportunities for advancement based on education and/or gaining the favor of a powerful sponsor or mentor. There was the opportunity to gain wealth as well. However working in order to produce or buy food was the preoccupation of most citizens of the ancient Byzantine Empire. Nonetheless there were as well many possibilities for entertainment. These ranged from shopping at fairs held at religious festivals to chariot races. There were also acrobatic performances in the public arenas most towns providing entertainment for the town’s inhabitants.
As in most other ancient cultures the family one was born into in Byzantium greatly determined one’s social status and profession in adult life. There were two broad groups of citizens of the ancient Byzantine Empire. There were first the “honestiores”, or the “privileged”. Secondly there were the “humiliores”, or the “humble”. Basically then either you were rich, privileged, and titled, or you were everyone else. Legal punishments were more lenient for the privileged “honestiores”. In most cases being composed of fines rather than corporal punishment. Flogging and mutilation, were common forms of punishment for such crimes as adultery and the rape of a nun. The common punishment for crimes such as these was having one’s nose cut off. For crimes such as murder and treason there was no social distinction made. Such crimes simply met with the death penalty regardless of who you were (or were not).
Below the two broad social classes composed of the “honestiores” and the “humiliores” described above mentioned above were the slaves. Slaves were acquired in markets and through warfare. Life expectancy was generally low by modern standards. Anyone who managed to live more than 40 years of age was doing better than average. Wars occurred roughly once every generation while diseases were rife and ever-present. The primitive medicine prevalent was often as dangerous as the illness it sought to cure. Lower class children essentially learned the profession of their parents. Aristocratic girls learnt to spin, weave, and to read and write. Perhaps they also studied the Bible and lives of saints. But girls had no formal education as they were expected to marry and then look after the children, household property, and manage the slaves.
For aristocratic boys most cities had a school run by the local bishop. However there were also private tutors for those who could afford them. Boys were first taught to read and write in Greek and then schooled in the seven classical arts of antiquity. These seven classical arts included grammar, rhetoric, logic, arithmetic, geometry, harmonics, and astronomy. Such texts as Homer’s “Iliad” and Hesiod’s “Theogony” and “Works and Days” were standard subjects of study. Students would memorize whole chunks of these works. To what purpose this memorization is not clear other than to impress future dinner guests with weaker memories.
Higher education was available in major cities like Constantinople, Alexandria, Athens, and Gaza. The curriculum consisted of the study of philosophy. This would include especially the works of Plato and Aristotle, as well as Christian theology. Children might also be sent for training in either the church or imperial court in the hope of social advancement. Indeed Constantinople had a specialist school to train young men for the state bureaucracy. There was also a famous law school in Berytus. In the 9th century a university was created at the Great Palace of Constantinople where such academic luminaries as Leo the Mathematician taught. Then in the mid-11th century a new school of law and philosophy was founded at the capital.
The father was the head of the family but a widow could inherit her husband’s property and so take over that role if necessary. Family names became increasingly descriptive of a person’s profession or geographical location. The surname Paphlagonitis for example was oftentimes used for people from Paphlagonia, or Keroularios for the “candle-maker”. The earliest a girl married was around the age of 12 while for boys it was 14. The involvement and consent of the parents were expected. Consequently a betrothal was usually regarded as binding. Remarriage was possible as long as a suitable period of mourning was observed by the widow. However a third marriage was rare and only permitted under special circumstances which included being without children. Divorce was difficult to achieve, however there were exceptions for special circumstances. If a wife committed adultery she could be divorced. A husband could be divorced if he was guilty of murder or witchcraft. The laws of Justinian I who reigned from 527 to 565 went even further and prohibited divorce altogether except if both parties consented to retire to a monastic life.
Mealtimes were an important family occasion, Food typically consumed by the lower classes and farmers included boiled vegetables, cereals, coarse bread, eggs, cheese, and fruit. Meat and fish would have been a rarity reserved for special occasions. Richer families could afford such meat as wild birds, hares, pork, and lamb more often. Olive oil was a common condiment. Many spices came from the east. Wine was widely available. Some known desserts are vine leaves or pastry stuffed with currants, nuts, cinnamon, and honey. People mostly ate with their fingers or perhaps a knife. The two-pronged fork used by the ancient Romans and then forgotten, did make a comeback amongst the aristocracy of Byzantium.
At the top of the Byzantine career ladder were the 'white-collar' workers who had acquired specific knowledge through education. These would include lawyers, accountants, scribes, minor officials and diplomats. All of the forgoing skills were essential to the efficient running of the state. Then there were traders, merchants, and even bankers who might have been extremely rich. Nonetheless they were held in low esteem by the aristocracy and viewed with some suspicion. Craftsmen and food producers as members of the major guilds, or “collegia”, were less socially mobile. This was true whether they were men or women. They were expected to remain in their professions and pass on their skills to their children. This was especially so for vintners, ship-owners, bakers, and pork producers.
Women did many of the same jobs that men did. However women also often provided specialized services in occupations such as midwives, medical practitioners, washerwomen, cooks, matchmakers, actresses and prostitutes. Women could own their own businesses if they had the means. Converting ancient currency to modern ones can be misleading. However it is interesting to compare the value of one profession’s work with another as described in Diocletian’s monetary reforms of the early 4th century. A comparison gives some idea of the relative value of labor costs in the early Byzantine Empire. While a laborer earned 25 denarii for a day’s wages, a baker earned 50 denarii a day, and a painter earned 150 denarii a day.
The largest population group was the small-scale farmers who owned their own land. The most humble large population group were those who worked as agricultural laborers. Known as “coloni” they worked on the large estates of the aristocratic landowners, who were known as “dynatoi”. These laborers were not very much higher on the social ladder or treated better than slaves who were the lowest of the low. The well-off had large multi-roomed houses with inner courtyards, bathrooms, gardens, fountains, and even a small chapel. The public rooms of such houses had marble floors and walls decorated with mosaics. Private rooms such as bedrooms which were usually on the second floor had painted interiors. Grander houses even had a segregated part of the home reserved only for the women of the household known as the “gynaikonitis”. However this seems to have been a private space to keep men out rather than a restricted place from which women could not leave.
Most ordinary folks’ houses were built using bricks and stones. Oftentimes these materials would be sourced from older damaged buildings. To give a smarter appearance, exterior walls were covered in plaster. They were also often incised with regular lines to make them look like they were made from regular stone blocks. Even more common was to paint the walls in bright colors. Oftentimes these colors would be in the form of bold geometric patterns. These types of homes had only rudimentary sanitation. Nonetheless we do know that laws forbade city residents from emptying their chamber pots out of the window and into the street.
Many poorer citizens would have lived in the simple multi-story buildings. Still more lived on the outskirts of town in ramshackle buildings of wood, mud bricks, and reused rubble. There were no planning rules and no building permits required. So the various designs and materials used in buildings meant that the towns presented an eclectic urban landscape with a maze of small haphazard streets. Outside the town or city were such communal places as those for washing clothes, the rubbish dump, and an execution ground.
In rural areas a small group of houses might be built to form a village. Buildings in such rural areas typically had two stories. The lower floor was for animals and the upper for the family of farmers. There was also usually an inner courtyard overlooked by a verandah. Rural houses had no running water, and there is no evidence of interior bathrooms. Perhaps surprisingly most of these country houses were often built of dressed stone with well-carved frames and niches.
The aristocracy wore fine clothes, particularly silk. Silk was first imported from China and Phoenicia. But from 568 onward it was produced in Constantinople. Nobles could wear clothes dyed with Tyrian purple. This set them apart from commoners because it was tremendously expensive to produce. Commoners were banned from wearing it any event. The rich Byzantines also favored wearing gold, silver, and gemstone-studded jewelry. Aristocrats were not entirely free from following fashion rules. Emperor Justinian I who ruled from 527 to 565 decreed that nobody except himself could embellish their belt or their horse’s bridle and saddle with pearls, emeralds or hyacinth. Most experts believe that hyacinth was hat we known as zircon today.
Certain high-ranking officials even had their own distinct clothes of office. The color of a cloak, tunic, belt, and shoes, or the particular design and material of a fibula could be a visual indication of the wearer’s office. Indeed some of the buckles worn were so precious and the risk of theft so high that many officials wore imitations made from gilded bronze. Poorer members of society had to make do with less splendid attire. A woolen short tunic and long cloak dominated the ordinary person’s wardrobe. Trousers were not introduced to Byzantium until the 12th century.
Getting out and about in a Byzantine town was an entertainment in itself. Much like any modern metropolis today the streets were filled with jugglers, acrobats, beggars, food and drink vendors, idlers, prostitutes, fortune tellers, lunatics, holy men ascetics and preachers. Citizens could shop in markets which were held in dedicated squares or in the rows of permanent shops which lined the streets of larger towns and cities. Shoppers were protected from the sun and rain in such streets by colonnaded roofed walkways. These walkways were often paved with marble slabs and mosaics. Some shopping streets were pedestrian friendly. Such streets would be blocked to wheeled traffic by large steps at either end.
The Byzantine shopper with money in their purse might find in the markets a wide range of meat, seafood, fruit and vegetables. They might also be tempted by spices, perfumes, incense, soap, medicines, jewelry, pottery, glassware, brass wares, silver plates, small art objects carved from wood or ivory, and even slaves. There was also a wide range of textiles available in the marketplace, ranging from silk, wool, and linen to furs. Goods in markets were scrupulously weighed out using official standardized weights and measures. Prices too were regularly checked by state inspectors to ensure there was no unnecessary profiteering.
Especially good moments to go shopping were during the many festivals and fairs held on such important religious dates as saint’s birthdays or death anniversaries. During those occasions churches became the focus point for temporary markets where stalls sold all manner of goods. Especially effective magnets drawing crowds to such markets were Churches that possessed holy relics to attract pilgrim visitors from far and wide. One of the largest such fairs was at Ephesus, held on the anniversary of Saint John’s death.
For an even more thrilling pastime than strolling about there was the Hippodrome of Constantinople. Like many other hippodromes across the empire where chariot races were held. Of course the Hippodrome of Constantinople was in its own class. Most venues for chariot races would have been simple tracks without seating. The intermission At the Constantinople Hippodrome’s chariot races was worth waiting for as well. Musicians, acrobats, and animal trainers amused the crowd. Betting on the races and supporting particular teams as part of the crowd factions or supporter groups added much spice to the proceedings. Public arenas offered more than just sports though. There were festivals, commemorative events, public executions and punishments. There were also military triumphs with their glittering war booty and exotic prisoners. All these types of events were held there throughout the year.
In smaller towns the theatre served a similar purpose. They were as well a place of venue for public meetings. Such meetings frequently developed into a riot that spread through the town in protest of local government policies or high taxes. Another sporting venue was the stadium where athletic contests were staged. Finally there were plenty of places where both men and women could just “hang out”. They could meet up and chat over the issues of the day. Such venues would include public baths, the local gymnasia or even the church.
The dead were commonly buried in dedicated cemeteries located outside the town proper. Different classes ranging from public officials to actresses had epitaphs carved in stone above their graves. This custom vividly illustrates that commemorating the dead was not a practice limited to the rich. For historians and archaeologists these epitaphs are a valuable source of information regarding Byzantine daily life. They reveal such details as names, professions and attitudes to life in general [Ancient History Encyclopedia].
Sociology of the Byzantine Empire: The society in the Byzantine Empire of the 4th through 15th centuries was dominated by the imperial family and the male aristocracy. However there were opportunities for social advancement thanks to wars, population movements, imperial gifts of lands and titles, and intermarriage. The majority of the lower classes would have followed the profession of their parents. Nonetheless inheritance, the accumulation of wealth, and a lack of any formal prohibition for one class to move to another did at least offered a small possibility for a person to better their social position. In Constantinople and other cities foreign merchants, mercenaries, refugees, travelers, and pilgrims were constantly passing through or establishing themselves permanently within the empire. Thus Byzantium and in particular Constantinople became famously cosmopolitan. This is a fact that was recorded thousands of times for posterity. Contemporary visitors recorded their astonishment at the diversity of the society they visited. Those records remain in the historical record.
As in that of later Roman society in the west Byzantine society has been traditionally divided into two broad groups of citizens. The upper classes were the “honestiores”, or the “privileged”. The lower class were the “humiliores” or the “humble”. “In a nutshell”, there were the rich, privileged, and titled as opposed to everyone else. The sole exception would be the slaves, who were an even lower social class than the “humiliores”. These two terms were applied in Roman law throughout antiquity. The “honestiores” traditionally included senators, equestrian knights, cavalry officers or “decurions”, and military veterans. Their treatment in terms of legal punishments was more lenient than that of the “humiliores”. In most cases civil punishment for a “honestiore” would take the form of a fine rather than corporal punishment.
However for serious crimes such as murder and treason, no social distinction was made. Just how distinct these two groups were in everyday life is less clear. But there was clearly a general prejudice against those of a lower social position. Conversely there was greater respect and trust for those with titles, wealth, and positions of power. There was a huge divide in terms of living standards between the haves and have-nots. This was a situation commented on and criticized by many Byzantine Christian writers. This division of socials classes was perpetuated by the importance given to the family name, inherited wealth, and the respectable birth of an individual. All of these elements made it very difficult though certainly not impossible for a person to rise the social ladder.
There was no aristocracy of blood as such in Byzantine society. The ever-changing dynasties of emperors over the centuries meant that the individual components of the nobility were not static and families rose and fell over the centuries. The imperial dynasties were often seemingly random or at least haphazard in the dispensing of favors, lands and titles. There were as well indiscriminate demotions, as well as the hazards of foreign invasions and wars. All of these conditions created a constantly changing mix of aristocratic families. Even if one was handicapped by not possessing a noteworthy family name or patron one method of gaining access to the higher levels of society was through education.
The aristocracy derived their wealth and status from land ownership. Initially this was based on the old Roman system of large estates worked on by peasants who were bound to the land. But from the 10th century onward there developed a new military aristocracy. This latter group derived their authority and ownership from the administrative division of the empire’s territory into regions. This was in response to the increasing number of attacks and invasions from such enemies as the Bulgars and Arab caliphates.
Land ownership was inherited but it could also be granted by the emperor or removed. This was especially when an emperor thought certain families were becoming too much of a threat to his own position. The emperors were constantly fighting the tax evasion of the landed aristocracy. Largely unsuccessful attempts were made to prevent greedy aristocrats from buying up land and reducing the peasantry to no more than tenant farmers, or “paroikoi”. The emperor exercised all-encompassing power over not only the aristocracy but everyone else.
The imperial court exercised a hegemonic power which integrated all sectors of society and reinforced imperial authority. It was recognized as the center of superior culture and unrivalled brilliance. Ambitious provincial inhabitants usually identified with it and aspired to a place in it. Within the upper classes there were further layers of status based on one’s family name and who one knew. Patronage was an important factor in easing one’s progress through life. Just as today who one went to school with, who were one’s friends, family, and who one shared political and religious views were critical. They helped determine one’s career and the opportunities available for social advancement.
Nonetheless even if one was handicapped by not possessing a noteworthy family name or patron one method of gaining access to the higher levels of society was education. Because leading positions in all spheres were open to talent, education was seen even then as a means of social mobility, a key to the rewards of high office and social prominence. In a circular process the education of younger members might bring an increase in family fortunes. This benefited all family relations. These in turn invested in the educational facilities and intellectual activities which consolidated and enhanced the status of scholars in Byzantium.
Besides titles and forms of address the aristocracy were easily identified by their status symbols such as fine jewelry and silk clothing. Certain high-ranking officials even had their own distinct clothes of office. The color of a cloak, tunic, belt, and shoes, or the particular design and material of a fibula could be a visual indication and reminder of the wearer’s office and prestige. Indeed some of the buckles worn were so precious and the risk of theft so high that many officials wore imitations made from gilded bronze. Additional badges of rank included small ivory plaques, metal stamped disks, a gold collar or gilded whip. Even the correspondence of people of rank contained clear indicators of their status such as titles and stamped lead seals.
The lower classes of Byzantine society worked for a living in a wide variety of industries. The more successful ones owned their own small businesses. This section of society would include the middle class if we were to apply modern terms. There were at the top what we would today call 'white-collar' workers who had acquired specific knowledge through education. These would include lawyers, accountants, scribes, minor officials and diplomats. All of these occupations were essential to the efficient running of the state. Even at the top end of this broad social group however there was not much respectability to be had from the perspective of the uppermost social classes. Traders, merchants, and even bankers might have been extremely rich. But they were held in low esteem by the aristocracy. In fact Byzantine religious art frequently portrays these professions being tormented in hell for their dishonesty and sharp practices.
It is also no coincidence that the state imposed all kinds of checks and controls on markets, the prices of goods, and the weights used by merchants. Those who made money from others had to be watched carefully. Nevertheless the steady march of commerce meant that by the 12th century merchants were beginning to join the ruling, land-owning social class. The next level down was the craftsmen and food producers. As members of the major trade guilds or “collegia” members of this social class were rather less upwardly mobile. They were expected to remain in their professions and pass on their skills to their children. Whether the expectation was met in practice is a moot point. There must certainly have been a feeling of constraint which perpetuated the convention that everyone had their place in society and it was a fixed one.
Finally and by far the largest population group there were the small-scale farmers who owned their own land. Below them the most humble citizens of all who worked as agricultural laborers for others, the “coloni”. This latter group were not very much higher or treated better than slaves who were the very lowest of the low. Slaves were ever-present in Byzantine society. They came to Byzantium from conquered peoples, prisoners of war, and from slave markets. They were brought into the empire in great numbers, especially from the Balkan peninsula and around the Black Sea.
However great their numbers however they never outnumbered free-peasant labor in rural areas. This is probably because a slave was always an expensive a pricey commodity costing around 30 gold coins in the 5th century. In comparison a pig would set you back 1 gold coin, a donkey 3. It is one of the oddities of Byzantium that slavery continued. This was despite the acknowledgement from the Church that all humans were equal before God whatever their social status. Such was the importance of slavery to the functioning of the state and in particular the imperial workshops that the Church adopted a conciliatory policy of toleration rather than seek its cessation.
Aristocratic women were largely expected to run the family home, look after the children, and supervise the servants and property. They did not live a secluded life but neither could they hold any public office of note. They learned to spin, weave, and to read and write but had no formal education. Expected to marry, women could own their own property and their dowry. They could also assume the role as head of the family if they were left a widow. Divorce procedures were in favor of the male. In any case divorce was not easy to achieve for either party.
Working women earned their living doing pretty much what many working men did. Women could own their own businesses or work for others such as in the agricultural, manufacturing, medical, and retail sectors. The lowest class of women were actresses and prostitutes. Social advancement could be achieved through marriage. However as with men, most women would have learned the profession of their mothers. Some women did make spectacular progress up the social ladder by marrying into higher-class families. Sometimes this marriage might even be into the imperial family itself. It was even possible to enter the imperial family by marriage and become an empress, all achievable winning a formal bride show organized just for that purpose.
As described above education for men was an important opportunity for social advancement. Most cities had a school ran by the local bishop. Young men whose parents could afford it were first taught to read and write in Greek. Subsequently they were schooled in the seven classical arts of antiquity. These seven classical arts were: grammar, rhetoric, logic, arithmetic, geometry, harmonics, and astronomy. Higher education consisted in the study of philosophy. This would include particularly the works of Plato and Aristotle, as well as Christian theology.
Although not unique to Byzantium an interesting feature of society and government was the use of eunuchs in the royal court at Constantinople and the wider state administration. Indeed the great number of eunuchs in Constantinople in general often astonished foreign visitors. Eunuchs had no heirs and at least in theory no sexual appetite. So the idea was that eunuchs could be trusted to serve the emperor and the state without reservation or personal interests. The belief was that a eunuch would serve the imperial family or government without the risk of them lining their own pockets or philandering with the ladies of the imperial household. The personal attendants of the emperor were eunuchs too. These would those who served his food and dressed him. Many important figures in the Church were eunuchs as well, even including some bishops. There were even several successful generals in the army who were eunuchs.
Many parents were very willing to send their male children as eunuchs to the palace in the hope of gaining positions of favor there, to whatever degree of influence their child might grow into. Likewise girls were sent to try and gain positions as ladies-in-waiting. There was also a significant slave trade specializing in eunuchs. Castration was not an uncommon treatment of prisoners of war. Consequently many upper-class households had eunuch slaves to look after the women of the house and teach the children. Castration and other physical mutilations were a common punishment in Byzantine law. However the practice of self-harm was at odds with the Church. So self-castration was officially prohibited. Still the churches of Constantinople were happy enough to employ choirs of castrated male sopranos, or “castrati”. This was in fact even copied by the Vatican in Rome. Nonetheless socially eunuchs were disdained by just about everybody, and generally viewed with contempt.
Christianity was of course widely practiced. The members of its clergy were many and important to their communities. The clergy and church were headed by the “Patriarch” or bishop of Constantinople. However emperors sometimes concerned themselves and became involved with church policies and even doctrines. The appointment and removal of the Patriarch was also the prerogative of the emperor. This right was often exercised so as to install like-minded bishops or remove those who proved an obstacle to imperial plans such as re-marriages or the destruction of icons. Local bishops presided over larger towns and their surrounding territories. They officially represented both the church and emperor. As such they possessed considerable wealth and powers.
There were some social restrictions on the clergy. Priests and deacons were permitted to have wives if they had married before being ordained. Bishops on the other hand were obliged to separate from their spouses. The bishop's wife’s position was even worse. After separation from her husband/Bishop, the wife had involuntarily retire to a monastery. Naturally many women freely and voluntarily chose an ecclesiastical life. And there were many monasteries dedicated specifically to them. Within those monasteries nuns devoted themselves to Christ and helped the poor and ill.
Amongst all the different social levels already mentioned there were also foreigners and non-Christians. The Byzantine Empire had conquered many lands. These peoples were incorporated into the existing structure of society. Multitudes of people were forcibly displaced and found themselves as a part of the Byzantine Empire. Still more sought a better life than that in their birthplace and voluntarily migrated to Byzantium. Traders, merchants, and craft-workers migrated to where they could earn a living from their skills and goods. The Byzantine military itself gave employment to Scandinavians, Russians, Armenians, Anglo-Saxons, and Germans amongst others.
Jews were prevalent in the areas of money-lending and textiles. Muslim traders from Arabia peddled their wares in the local markets. Italian merchants came from the great trading cities of Genoa, Pisa, and Venice. Christian pilgrims from all over Europe passed through to see the Empire’s sacred sites and relics on their way to the Holy Lands. This constantly changing mixture of peoples; indigenous citizens, soldiers, traders, pilgrims, immigrants and displaced/conquered peoples made Byzantium a very cosmopolitan society. This was particularly true with respect to the capital city of Constantinople. However there was not always harmony between these groups. This may have been most vividly illustrated by the infamous riot of 1042 when the local traders of Constantinople attacked their foreign rivals. [Ancient History Encyclopedia].
Trade and Commerce Within the Byzantine Empire: Trade and commerce were essential components of the success and expansion of the Byzantine Empire. Trade was carried out by ship over vast distances. However for safety most sailing cargo vessels were restricted to the better weather conditions between April and October. On land the old Roman road system was put to good use. So between these two methods of conveyance goods traveled from one end of the empire to the other. Aside from internal trade, external trade was very vigorous as well. The Byzantine Empire traded with such far-away places as modern-day Afghanistan, Russia, and Ethiopia.
The bigger Byzantine cities had thriving cosmopolitan markets. Constantinople itself became one of the largest trading hubs in the world. It was a place where shoppers could stroll down covered streets and pick up anything from Bulgarian linen to Arabian perfumes. The attitude to trade and commerce in the Byzantine Empire had changed very little since antiquity when Byzantium had been part of the Roman or Hellenic Empire. Merchants, traders, and commercial activity in general was not regarded highly. It was considered a little too undignified for the general landed aristocrat to pursue. For example Emperor Theophilos who reigned from 829 to 842 famously burned an entire ship and its cargo. Why? He found out that his wife Theodora had been dabbling in commerce and had a financial interest in the vessel.
This attitude may explain why Byzantine chroniclers of the time often avoid the subject entirely. In Byzantine art and literature, traders, merchants, bankers and money-lenders who had tried to cheat their clients were often portrayed as inhabiting the lower levels of Hell. There was also a general mistrust of traders and entrepreneurs, whether they were men or women. The mistrust was not only by the general populace but by the authorities as well. Emperors were then often very stringent with regard to enforcing such matters as the standardization of weights and measures and of course, prices as well. Heavy goods were scrupulously weighed using steelyards and weights. The weights were most often in the form of a bust of either the emperor or the goddess Minerva/Athena.
Lighter goods such as spices were measured out using a balance with weights made of copper-alloy or glass. To minimize cheating, weights were inscribed with their representative weight or equivalent value in gold coinage. The weights were regularly checked by the municipal authorities. Perhaps because of these attitudes to trade as a slightly less than respectable profession, the state was much more involved in it than might be expected. Unlike in earlier times for instance the state played a much greater role in trade and the provisioning of major cities. The critical role of provisioning the cities was rarely left to private traders. It was simply considered too critical.
Trade operated through a variety of hereditary guilds with merchants who transported the goods being subsidized by the state. They were also subject to significantly reduced duties and tolls. Duty on imported goods was collected by state-appointed officials known as “kommerkiarioi” who collected duties on all commercial transactions. Once duties had been collected they issued an official lead seal. To limit the possibilities for corruption the “kommerkiarioi” were given one-year posts and then moved elsewhere. Customs stations were dotted along the frontiers and major ports of the empire. Two of the most important customs stations were at Abydos and Hieron. Hieron controlled the Straits between the Black Sea and the Dardanelles.
There must have been a good deal of smuggling but measures were taken to counter it such as a 6th-century treaty between the Byzantines and Sassanids which stipulated that all traded goods must pass through official customs posts. Records were scrupulously kept. This included the Book of the Prefect in Constantinople most famously. This document outlined the rules for trade and trade guilds in the city. Other examples of state intervention in trade include the provision made for loss or damage to goods transported by sea. The Rhodian Sea Law of the 7th or 8th century AD stipulated that in the case of loss or damage at sea merchants received a fixed compensation. The state also ensured that no goods useful to an enemy were permitted to be exported. This included gold, salt, timber for ships or iron for weapons. High on that list was also “Greek Fire”. “Greek Fire” was a secret Byzantine weapon most famously in sea battles. Archaeologists and historians believe it was a petroleum based highly inflammable liquid which could be ignited and then squirted at opposing forces.
Neither was the prestigious silk dyed with Tyrian purple permitted for sale abroad. Another area of close state supervision was of course coinage. Copper, silver, and gold coins were minted and issued carrying images of emperors, their heirs, the Cross, Jesus Christ, or other images related to the Church. The state minted coins primarily for the purpose of paying armies and officials. Nonetheless the coinage did filter down and through all levels of society. Coinage in the form of the standard gold “nomisma”, or “solidus” was also necessary to pay one’s annual taxes. There were times when coins could become scarce. Citizens and merchants would have to resort to barter, particularly in the provinces. This situation might arise when there were fewer wars and so fewer soldiers and suppliers to pay. Or as in the 7th and 8th centuries this situation might arise when the tentacles of the local state bureaucracy declined.
Cities too were in decline during the period cited in the 7th and 8th centuries. Cities were required to be ever-more self-sufficient. Shipping became increasingly the domain of private traders as the role of the government in trade declined. Greater stability in the Mediterranean allowed for a resurgence in wider trade networks from the 10th century onward. But it would be the Italian states and not Byzantium which seized the opportunity. They reaped enormous profits from the transport and sale of goods from one end of the known world to the other. Great merchants such as the Venetians were even given their own facilities and preferential regulations and duties at Constantinople.
At first this preferential treatment was in return for naval aid in Byzantine wars. But steadily the presence of Italian merchants from Amalfi, Pisa, Genoa, and Venice on the wharfs of the capital of Constantinople would become a permanent fixture. Despite the heavy influence of Italian traders Constantinople nonetheless boasted the most vibrant markets in Europe. Merchants from Syria, Russia, Arabia and many other places formed a semi-permanent cosmopolitan residency within Constantinople. Quarters sprang up in the city where Jews built synagogues, Arabs built mosques, and Christians their churches.
The goods traded since antiquity continued to be the most commonly shipped in the Byzantine Empire of the medieval period. These trade goods included olive oil, wine, wheat, honey, and fish sauce. And just as in antiquity, the terracotta amphora remained the storage vessel of choice. The design of amphorae changed depending on the location of their manufacture. Handles became significantly larger from the 10th century onward, The contents were carefully labeled with either stamped inscriptions on the sides of the amphorae themselves or via the addition of clay tags. Contemporary archaeologists have found Byzantine amphorae across the Mediterranean. But they have also been found afar afield as ancient Britain, as well as the regions of the Black Sea, the Red Sea, and the Arabian Sea. Not until the 12th century would the amphorae be challenged and surpassed in use by the wooden barrel.
Other goods which were traded between regions included cattle, sheep, pigs, bacon, vegetables, fruit, pepper and other spices, medicines, incense, perfumes, soap, wax, timber, metals, worked gemstones, lapis lazuli from Afghanistan, glass, ivory from India and Africa, worked bone, flax, wool, textiles, linen from Bulgaria, fur from Russia, silver plate, enamels, amber from the Baltic Sea region, bronze vessels, and brass goods. The brass goods in particular included buckets and decorated doors panels largely destined for Italy. The slave trade continued to be important as well. Most of the slaves were supplied from Russia. Pottery tableware was another common part of any ship’s cargo as indicated by shipwrecks.
Slipped red-bodied ceramics with stamped or applied decoration were common until the 7th century. Thereafter they were then slowly replaced by finer ceramic wares which were lead-glazed, white-bodied, and then red-bodied from the 9th century onward. When present, ceramic ware decorative elements included impressed, incised, or painted. Constantinople was a major production center for white-bodied ceramics. Corinth produced a large quantity of red-wares from the 11th century onward. Silk was first introduced from China. However imported raw silk was eventually replaced by silk produced on mulberry farms first in Phoenicia, and then in Constantinople itself from 568 onward. Mulberry leaves were of course the food of the silkworm.
The silk factory at the Byzantine capital was under imperial control. The five silk trade guilds were under the auspices of the Imperial Prefect of the city. Other notable silk-producing sites within the empire included southern Italy, Greek Thebes and Corinth. Marble was always in demand across the empire as it was used by those who could afford it for buildings, flooring, church altars, decoration, and furniture. The basic grey-white marble which became the staple of any Byzantine architect’s project was quarried in large quantities from the island of Proconnesus in the Sea of Marmara up to until the 7th century.
More exotic marble came from Greece, Bithynia and Phrygia. Shipwrecks provide evidence that marble was worked before it was shipped to its final destination. Many ancient monuments across the Mediterranean were also plundered for whatever useful marble bits and pieces could be reused and shipped elsewhere. This included in particular sculpture and monuments which were of pagan themes. The region of the Sea of Marmara became a noted center of marble production and recycling from the 8th century onward.
Ordinary citizens could purchase goods in markets which were held in dedicated squares or in the rows of permanent shops which lined the streets of larger towns and cities. Shops usually had two floors. The first floor was at street level where the goods were manufactured, stocked and sold. The second floor was where the shopkeeper or artisan and their family lived. Shoppers were protected from the sun and rain in such streets by colonnaded roofed walkways. These walkways were often paved with marble slabs and mosaics. Some shopping streets were pedestrian-friendly, and blocked to wheeled traffic by large steps at either end. In some cities the shopkeepers were expected to maintain lamps outside their shops to provide street lighting. Just as today shopkeepers tried to spread their wares out as far as possible to catch the casual shopper. There survive today imperial records of the time recording complaints about the practice.
One final highlight of the shopping calendar was the festivals and fairs held on such important religious dates as saint’s birthdays or death anniversaries. Then churches became the focal points of temporary markets where stalls sold all manner of goods. This was particularly true of those churches which were fortunate enough to possess holy relics with which to attract pilgrim visitors from far and wide. One of the largest such fairs was at Ephesus, held on the anniversary of Saint John’s death. Typically the 10% sales tax collected by the state kommerkiarioi at such events was a tidy sum. According to one extant historical one record the state’s take was much as 100 pounds, or 45 kilograms in gold [Ancient History Encyclopedia].
The Women of Ancient Byzantium: Women in the 4th to 15th century Byzantine Empire amongst the upper classes were generally expected to supervise the family home and raise children. Those women of the lower social orders who had to work for a living did so in most of the industries of the period, from manufacturing to hospitality. Although they were the minority some women did manage to rise above the limitations imposed on them by the male-dominated culture. These became hugely successful businesswomen, writers, and philosophers. Some even became empresses who ruled as regents or in their own right. Such figures include the empresses Theodora, Irene and Zoe, the biographer Anna Komnene, Hypatia the philosopher, and Kassia the poet.
Unlike in many other medieval cultures Byzantine history, as written by the people of the period themselves, almost exclusively focuses on the exaggerated deeds and misdemeanors of emperors. The second most common theme in literature of the age dealt with the was equally problematic issues pertaining to saints and squabbles over religious doctrine. Social history is almost entirely neglected. What remains for modern historians to study is unfortunately woefully insufficient. There is simply inadequate literary sources available to comprehensively reconstruct such features of Byzantine history as class relations, family life and economics.
As the renowned contemporary Byzantine scholar and historian C. Mango regretfully summarizes, “…there is little hope that this meager and haphazard body of material will ever be increased. Nor can we remedy the near absence of inscriptions on stone, which for classical antiquity provide such a rich source of information for society, institutions, and religion…” Another difficulty is that sources are almost always written by men, not women, writing from their own perspectives and with their own prejudices. This is a common problem with respect to historians who study ancient societies. Still scholars must make the best of what history has left in the way of sources. And it is nonetheless possible to make many useful observations on the role of women in Byzantine society. This is accomplished by piecing together indirect references, colorful biographies of famous women, sometimes the literary works of women themselves, depictions in art, etc.
As in most ancient cultures the women we know most about in ancient Byzantium are those who belonged to the upper classes. The increasing prominence of Christianity through the centuries however is one characteristic which greatly affected the role of all women in Byzantine society. Options for women evolved throughout the empire albeit while still reflecting both the provisions of Roman law and longstanding customs. Christian values became more widely accepted. With celibacy and virginity seen as an ideal lifestyle, women increasingly saw a life of chastity as an option. Many girls in the fourth and fifth centuries went into monastic institutions. Even more typically they lived celibately at home. Meanwhile the church instituted an “order” of virgins to support such girls, much as it did for widows. However marriage was to remain the norm. The majority of women in Byzantium were expected to concentrate on family duties as wives and mothers.
To better ensure a girl remained a virgin until marriage some attempt at segregating boys and girls was made. Girls were expected to largely remain in the confines of the family home. Generally they were only permitted to come into direct contact with males who were close members of the family. For more well-off Byzantine families the “gynaikonitis” was a segregated part of the home reserved only for the leisure and privacy of women of the household. This appears to have been a private space to keep men out rather than a restricted place from which women could not leave. In practice it is clear that women could and did enter the wider world. Women spent time in public places. This included but was not limited to shopping in the market squares, attending the public baths, visiting relatives, participating in festivals, and attending church. However even while attending church the women sat apart from the men.
Aristocratic women in the Byzantine Empire as in the earlier Western Roman Empire were largely expected to marry, produce children, and then look after them. Women also managed for the family home. This specifically included its property and servants. If they received education at all girls were educated in the family home. They were taught spinning and weaving. They studied the Bible and the lives of the saints. The ability among women to read was much more common than the ability to write. Studies of literacy based on later Byzantine documents suggest that the ability to at least read (but perhaps not write) was more widespread among women in Byzantium than in medieval Europe at the same period in time.
The earliest a girl married was around the age of 12. For boys they married at the earliest around 14. The involvement and consent of the parents was expected. Consequently a betrothal (or “engagement”) was usually regarded as binding. In the event a woman’s husband died, re-marriage was possible. However a suitable period of mourning had to be observed by the widow first. A third marriage however was very rare. It was only permitted under special circumstances which included being without children. Divorce was difficult to achieve. However if a wife committed adultery her husband was able to put aside the marriage.
Following the reforms of Constantine I the only grounds for a woman to divorce her husband was if he was found guilty of murder or witchcraft. Constantine I was of course “Constantine the Great” who ruled the Roman Empire (both East and west) from 306 to 337, and for whom “Constantinople” was named. The laws of Justinian I who ruled Byzantium from 527 to 565 CE went even further. Those laws prohibited divorce under any circumstances unless both parties consented to retire to a monastic life. Aristocratic women however did play an important role in Byzantine politics and society. They were the medium through which alliances between aristocratic families were made. And since women had property of their own both in the form of both dowry and patrimonial property, they had considerable economic clout.
Names, lineage, property, and family connections were transmitted down to offspring along the female as well as the male line. Aristocratic women were as acutely conscious and proud of their lineage as their male relatives. But not every woman in ancient Byzantium was born into the aristocracy. Women who had to earn a living worked in the agricultural, retail, manufacturing and hospitality industries. Women were particularly prevalent in the textiles and silk manufacturing industries. Some of the more well-known jobs which were often performed by women included those of the weavers, bakers, cooks, innkeepers, washer-women, midwives, medical practitioners, money-lenders and bath keepers. Many of these jobs and the knowledge connected to them would have been passed down from generation to generation. Some of the more unusual female professions were sorcerers and matchmakers. And there was nothing to prevent women from owning their own businesses such as inns and retail shops.
Illustrating that women could own their own business and do very well indeed is the case of the well-connected aristocrat Anicia Juliana who lived from 461 to 527. She became perhaps the wealthiest woman in the entire Byzantine Empire. Anicia did not simply hoard her fortune but was a celebrated sponsor of church buildings and art. Most notably she funded the building and furnishing of the Saint Polyeuktos and Saint Euphemia churches in Constantinople. The furnishings included costly fine artworks. The Saint Polyeuktos Church was probably the largest church in the capital city of Constantinople until the reconstruction of the Hagia Sophia by Justinian I.
The lowest class of women were the prostitutes and actresses. Both prostitutes and actresses were considered to be pretty much the same thing in Byzantine society, at least in the eyes of the upper classes. Brothels were present in Byzantium, especially in the busy ports of the empire such as the capital of Constantinople and Ephesus. Actresses usually delivered pornographic singing and dancing routines in theatres or public arenas like the Hippodrome of Constantinople. Of course this contributed strongly to their dubious reputation.
There was likely very little movement between classes in Byzantine society. However there was one quick route that could take a young lady from the bottommost social class to the very top of the social ladder. This was the imperial bride show organized for an emperor to find himself an empress. Naturally a girl from an important family, even a foreign one, might have had an advantage as she provided a means to strengthen diplomatic relations at home or abroad. However a girl of common social standing might just get chosen if she were pretty and bright enough. Empress Irene became one such case when she was plucked from the obscurity of a modest Athenian family. She was chosen to be the wife of Emperor Leo IV who ruled from 775 to 780 CE). A less ambitious goal for many mothers was to send their daughters to the Byzantine Imperial Court. There they might gain employment as ladies-in-waiting.
Women had certain rights regarding property. A wife could not be separated from her dowry. Daughters could inherit an equal portion of the family estate with their brothers if no specific will was made. If a husband died his wife became the official guardian of the children. Women could then become landowners in their own right, head a household and be subject to taxes like any landowning male. However a woman could not perform any judicial duties or any significant religious function in the Church. The only exception was that widows over 40 years of age could act as deaconesses or be involved with religious services specifically aimed at women. One example might be female baptisms.
As well there were many monasteries devoted to women and at these they held all posts, including that of the abbess. Such nunneries attracted not only those wishing to devote their lives to Christ. They also attracted women who had become widows and/or lacked the means to live independently in the outside world. These monasteries were also a place of refuge and help for female victims of crime, illness and general misfortune. A Byzantine woman may not have enjoyed exactly the same rights and privileges as a male. However in one area they were regarded as equal. That was in the realm of the Christian faith. Spiritual equality did exist for women in ancient Byzantium. Many of the most revered saints and martyrs were women. Mary Theotokos was in Byzantine Christianity the Mother of Jesus. Depictions of her holding the infant Christ were one of the most common images in icons of the Byzantine Church.
Women may not have had much opportunity in the formal church hierarchy. However they could make their mark as individual holy persons who inspired others to follow them. Byzantine ascetics achieved celebrity for their great feats of endurance and personal sacrifice in order to be closer to God. A small number of these ascetics were women. The most famous is perhaps the 5th-6th century Saint Matrona of Perge. Saint Matrona following a vision cut off her hair, disguised herself as a eunuch and entered a male-only monastery in Constantinople.
St. Matrona called herself “Babylas”. At the monastery in Constantinople she outdid the male monks in her fasting and ascetic lifestyle. However ultimately she was discovered by the abbot. She was forced to move out to a female monastery in Emesa, Syria. There she performed miracles. Her reputation grew so great that it enabled her return to Constantinople. There she established her own monastery which became very famous. The clientele included many who were members of the imperial family. Her ascetic life did her no harm physically. She lived to the ripe old age of 100.
Byzantium has a long history of over 1100 years. It involves many women of note. Perhaps the first Byzantine woman to achieve lasting fame is Helena, born about 250 AD. Helena was the mother of Constantine the Great (also known as “Saint Constantine”). Constantine famously embarked on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem in the company of his mother Helena. There Helena built several churches. This included most notably the Church of the Nativity at Bethlehem. Helena also gave out money to the worthy and needy. According to legend Helena discovered the “True Cross” in her travels and brought it back to Constantinople. The “True Cross” of course is the legendary wooden cross upon which Jesus was said to have been crucified.
Another notable example would be Hypatia of Alexandria, who lived from approximately 370 to 415 AD. Hypatia was a celebrated philosopher, scientist and mathematician. She also tutored at the famous Alexandria University, which was a part of the legendary Library of Alexandria. Hypatia met a violent end for her pagan views. She was dragged into a church by a rioting Pro-Christian mob of zealots. They were protesting the existence of Alexandrians who still held faith with the pagan Egyptian and/or Roman religions. Once inside the church Hypatia was confronted by a group of monks. Hypatia failed to mollify their zealous accusations that she was not a Christian. Depending upon which version of the event various historians ascribe to, Hypatia was either stabbed to death with quill pens crushed with heavy roofing tiles. According to legend the monks then scraped the flesh from her bones with oyster shells. Then dragged Hypatia’s remains from the blood-spattered church outside where her remains were burned.
And yet another notable example would be Empress Theodora, who reigned from 527 to 548 AD. Theodora was the wife of Justinian I. She is probably the most famous of all the Byzantine empresses. She was somehow able to overcome the stigma of her early career as an actress in the Hippodrome of Constantinople. She would become an invaluable support and counsel for her husband. She famously convinced him to face and put down the dangerous Nika Revolt of 532. She is also the subject of one of the most celebrated Byzantine artworks. These were the mosaics of the San Vitale church in Ravenna, Italy. One glittering panel shows Theodora resplendent with a large halo, wearing a great deal of jewelry and a Tyrian purple robe. It is an iconic image of Byzantine womanhood that has colored how empresses and aristocratic women of the period are viewed ever since it was made.
Then there was Irene, who ruled as emperor in her own right. She was the first woman to do so in Byzantine history. Irene was the only female Byzantine ruler to assume the male title of Basileus or “Emperor”, as opposed to the title of Empress. Irene was the wife of Emperor Leo IV, who ruled from 775 to 780. When Leo IV died Irene assumed the role of regent for her son Constantine VI from 780 to 790. From 797 to 802 she ruled as emperor in her own right. Her reign was troubled by scheming plots to keep her throne and the infamous blinding of her son. These issues have led to her gaining the darkest of reputations. And her reputation was not helped by such conceits as Irene being the only Byzantine ruler to ever put her face on both sides of her gold coins.
Another famous Byzantine woman was Zoe, the daughter of Emperor Constantine VIII who ruled from 1025 to 1028. Constantine VIII had no sons. So Zoe became empress in 1028 and ruled until 1050. This included a brief spell as co-ruler with her sister Theodora in 1042. Zoe had a hand in the succession of five different emperors, three of whom were her husband. The three husbands were Romanos III who ruled from 1028 to 1034. Then came Michael IV the Paphlagonian who ruled from 1034 to 1041. Next came Constantine IX who ruled from 1042 to 1055. Accused of murdering her first husband Zoe was banished to a monastery. However she returned once more to the throne in 1041 after her second husband’s death. She is the subject of a colorful biography by the 11th century CE Byzantine historian Michael Psellos.
There were several Byzantine women writers of note who wrote hymns, verses and biographies of saints. However none were more famous than Anna Komnene. She wrote “Alexiad” on the life and reign of her father Alexios Komnenos who ruled from 1081 to 1118. Besides her own work Anna sponsored that of other scholars such as Eustratius of Nicaea. Finally in this brief summary of only a few of the notable Byzantine women, there is Kassia the poet. Living in the 9th century despite her great beauty she was not selected in a bride show for the Emperor Theophilos, who ruled from 829 to 842. She retired thereafter to a monastery. There she wrote religious poems and the music to accompany them. Some of them are still used in Orthodox church services today [Ancient History Encyclopedia].
History of Roman Constantinople: Constantinople grew from a tiny Hellenic city known as Byzantium into one of the ancient world’s greatest cities. Prior to the fifth century collapse of the Western Roman Empire, one of Rome’s greatest emperors, Constantine the Great, established a second capital city for the Roman Empire in the East at Byzantium, present day Turkey. Constantine The Great sought to reunite the Roman Empire, centered upon Christian faith, by establishing a second "capital" for the Eastern Roman, away from the pagan influences of the city of Rome. Established as the new capital city for the Eastern Roman Empire in the fourth century, Constantine named the city in his own honor, “Constantinople”.
Eventually the Byzantine Empire stretched from its capital in Constantinople (present-day Istanbul, Turkey) through much of Eastern Europe, Asia Minor, and small portions of North Africa and the Middle East. After the fifth-century collapse of the Western Roman Empire, the Eastern Roman Empire, the “Byzantine Empire”, lasted for another thousand years as the cultural, religious and economic center of Eastern Europe. At the same time, as a consequence of the fall of the Western Roman Empire, most of the rest of Europe suffered through one thousand years of the "dark ages".
As the center of the Byzantine Empire, Constantinople was one of the most elaborate, civilized, and wealthy cities in all of history. The Christian Church eventually became the major political force in the Byzantine Empire. In Byzantine art, God rather than man stood at the center of the universe. Constantine the Great is also credited with being the first Christian Roman Emperor, and was eventually canonized by the Orthodox Church. Christianity had of course been generally outlawed prior to his reign. Under the Byzantine Empire, Christianity became more than just a faith, it was the theme of the entire empire, its politics, and the very meaning of life.
Christianity formed an all-encompassing way of life, and the influence of the Byzantine Empire reached far both in terms of time and geography, certainly a predominant influence in all of Europe up until the Protestant Reformation. In Byzantine art, God rather than man stood at the center of the universe. Representations of Christ, the Virgin, and various saints predominated the coinage of the era. The minting of the coins remained crude however, and collectors today prize Byzantine coins for their extravagant variations; ragged edges, "cupped" coins, etc. Other artifacts such as rings, pendants, and pottery are likewise prized for their characteristically intricate designs [AncientGifts].
Byzantine Shipwrecks: A trove of ancient Byzantine ships found in waters near Istanbul, Turkey, displayed more advanced construction than scholars previously knew for that era. The ships include two unique Byzantine galleys propelled by oars, which are the first of their kind to be salvaged and were previously known only from text and images. Officials are planning a large museum to show the ships, which date back between 800 and 1,500 years, but it may be several years before their hulls are prepared to the point that they may be exhibited. Ships so far removed from the waters of the Sea of Marmara have had to be continuously sprayed with water to prevent deterioration.
The Byzantine Empire, extant from 330 to 1450 A.D., at one point covered much of southern Europe, Asia Minor and North Africa. Several historians have called it a ‘maritime empire’ as the sea became vital to its very existence. Excavated along with the galleys, were 35 other Byzantine shipwrecks at the port of Yenikapi in Istanbul, known then as Constantinople. "Never before has such a large number and types of well-preserved vessels been found at a single location," study author Cemal Pulak of the Institute of Nautical Archaeology at Texas A&M University told LiveScience.com. "The ships are in very good condition."
A new report, published in December in the International Journal of Nautical Archeology, highlights eight of the ships. The report says the ships were built incorporating two techniques: building the shell first and then adding the skeleton, and vice versa. This shift in technique from shell first to skeleton first, which is more advanced, was underway by the seventh century. Scholars thought the skeleton-first technique came later in history. Six of the eight ships examined in the new report were round ships 26 to 48 feet (8 to 14.7 meters) long and between 8 and 16 feet (2.5 to 5 meters) wide. Round ships are propelled mostly or fully by sails. The two others were oar-propelled galleys 100 feet (30 meters) long by 13 feet (4 meters) wide.
“Previously, Byzantine galleys were known only from books and artwork dating to the time period, and such sources tend to be difficult to interpret. Therefore the well-preserved remains of these vessels at Yenikapi play a crucial role in archaeologists' study of Byzantine ships, the researchers said,” LiveScience reports. Much information about Byzantine ships prior to the 2004 find had come from several medium-size seagoing ships excavated in the Mediterranean Sea. "Yenikapi has yielded a wide array of small rowboats, fishing boats, utility vessels and even naval ships, all directly from Constantinople itself, the capital of the Byzantine Empire," Pulak told LiveScience.com.
Some magnificent discoveries have been made in Turkish waters in the last year, including eight Ottoman era shipwrecks near Antalya, and an ancient ship in the Port of Urla underwater site, a port city located near Izmir, which is believed to date back an incredible 4,000 years, making it the oldest known shipwreck in the world. [Ancient Origins].
The Royal Byzantine Bodyguard: The Varangians: The Varangian Guard: Berserkers of the Byzantine Empire. The tale of the Varangians continues in its prime in the form of the Varangian Guard, a prominent and selective Byzantine army arising in the tenth century. Composed of the Scandinavian marauders in the beginning, the Varangian Guard survived until the thirteenth or fourteenth centuries as the Byzantine Emperor's elite sentinel. Dressed in battle armor of blue tunics and crimson cloaks, with man-high battle axes gilded with gold, the bright colors of the Varangian Guard did nothing to quell the terrible berserking power, which they laid against all those who threatened their Byzantine leader.
Berserkers were Old Norse warriors who fought as unchecked, frenzied shock troops who, when deployed, appeared so mad that neither "fire nor iron" frightened them. Much of what is known about the Varangian Guard comes down through the centuries from scholars such as Princess Anna Komnene, daughter of Emperor Alexios I, and Michael Psellos, a monk from Constantinople—both writing in the eleventh century A.D. It is believed that the Varangian Guard had been formed around the year 874 when a treaty between the Rus' and Byzantine Empire dictated that the Rus' had to send warriors to the aid of the Empire as necessary.
Though it was initially a forced military draft, the practice later became voluntary, undoubtedly in part to ensure the Varangians did not revolt against their new Byzantine leaders. However, it was not hard to keep the foreign warriors working in the Empire, as the Empire reportedly treated the Varangians far more generously than the leaders of Rus', who tended to withhold payments and ignore promises of land and status. It was Emperor Basil II, also known as Basil Bulgaroktonos (Bulgar slayer), who truly brought the Varangians to the forefront of Byzantine culture in the tenth century. Born of Macedonian stock, Basil II reigned from 976 to 1025, and is in large part remembered for stabilizing the eastern empire against foreign threats.
The stabilization, however, was in large part due to Varangian aid, given to him by Vladimir I of the Kievan Rus', and cemented because of Vladimir's marriage to Basil's own sister, Anna. With this wedding, the Varangian forces became a interchangeable unit between Rus' and the Byzantine Empire, and they were uniquely tied for as long as the Empire remained. This is how the Varangians became Christianized (see Part 1). Part of Basil's agreement to allow Vladimir to wed his sister was that Vladimir had to accept Anna's religion. Thus, Vladimir was baptized and Rus' was Christianized not long after.
Initially, the Varangian Guard was utilized as extra fighting power in skirmishes between Byzantium and some of her eastern foes. However, as history shows, with usurpers such as Basil II's own namesake Basil I, the native protectors of the city and of the Emperor could easily be swayed to shift loyalties. Thus Emperor Basil II came to actually trust the Varangians more than his own people, and they were therefore given a more critical role in his armed forces. Princess Anna even notes in her work The Alexiad, the Varangians were uniquely known for their loyalty to the ruling emperor. (This is in reference to her father's own seizing of the Byzantine throne).
Eventually, they became the personal protectors of the emperor himself: an elite, close knit force that remained near the emperor's side at all times. Accompanying him to festivals and parties, religious activities and private affairs, the Guard remained at all times close to the emperor and his family. They were the guardians of his bedchambers in the evenings, remaining barracked within the palace to ensure they were always nearby, and went so far as to provide crowd control at illustrious gatherings to ensure the emperor was always protected and always had a way to escape. Within a short time, it became quite a prestigious endeavor to be one of the emperor's elite defenders. Though initially comprised of Scandinavian descendants, the Varangian Guard grew over the years to include most of the races of the British Isles: Anglo-Saxons, Irishmen, Scotsmen, etc.
A fee of seven to sixteen pounds of gold was charged to allow entrance into the army, oftentimes on a loan basis from the Byzantine emperor himself. The warriors then quickly repaid their debt with the large salary they were provided for their services, on top of the booty they were allowed to take after the success of decisive battles. Furthermore, modern author Lars Magnar Enoksen claimed that, upon the death of each Byzantine Emperor, it was customary for the Varangians to pillage the palace treasury in an Old Norse rite. This act made the warriors even wealthier, and in showing off this wealth to their own families, many other Scandinavians were eager to pay the fee to become part of the Guard.
The berserkers of the Byzantine Empire, the Varangian Guard allowed the Viking name to survive well into the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries as protectors and warriors of the eastern empire. It can be postulated that without the Varangian Guard the Byzantine Empire could have taken a vastly different turn. The unyielding protection they provided their emperors helped prevented the vicious usurpations that had plagued the Roman Empire that preceded them. Though even this defense eventually came to an end with the Fourth Crusade's siege of Constantinople in the year 1204 AD, the Varangians survived long beyond their Viking ancestors as a strong, elite force, rich in both wealth, as well as power. [Ancient Origins].
Symbol Of Byzantium – The Two-Headed Eagle: The double-headed eagle has been a popular symbol associated with the concept of a powerful Empire. Most contemporary uses of the symbol are exclusively associated with its use by the Byzantine Empire and the Greek Orthodox Church. However, the double-headed eagle has been in use for thousands of years – way before the Greeks identify it with the Byzantine Empire and Orthodox religion – while its original meaning is debated among scholars. The eagle was a common symbol representing power in ancient Greek city-states.
In Greek mythology, there was an implication of a "dual-eagle" concept in the tale that Zeus let two eagles fly East and West from the ends of the world with them eventually meeting in Delphi thus proving it to be the center of the earth. According to many historians, however, the two-headed eagle appears to be of Hittite origin. Early examples of the symbol come from the Hittite empire in central Anatolia, where two-headed eagles can be found on seals and also on sculptures. Interestingly, some of those sculptures also have other beasts in their claws and appear to be the symbol of the ruler standing on it.
Thus, the two-headed eagle could have been the symbol of the tribe of the ruler but also of the ruler himself. After the Hittite two-headed eagles there is a gap of almost two millennia to be filled. In the meantime, the emblem of the supreme commander in the Hellenistic world was a monstrous head, being the head of the army personified by Medusa or Nike (Goddess of Victory). The famous symbol re-appears again thousands of years later, during the Early Middle Ages, around the 10th century, where it was mainly used as the absolute symbol of the Byzantine Empire. It is suggested that the early Byzantine Empire inherited the Roman eagle as an imperial symbol. During his reign, Emperor Isaac I Comnenus (1057–1059) modified it as double-headed, influenced by traditions about such a beast in his native Paphlagonia in Asia Minor.
After the recapture of Constantinople by the Byzantine Greeks in 1261, two crowns were added (one over each head) representing the newly recaptured capital and the intermediate "capital" of the empire of Nicaea. In the following two centuries (11th and 12th), representations of the symbol were also found in Islamic Spain, France and Bulgaria, while from the 13th century onward it becomes more and more widespread. In the meantime the two-headed eagle was adopted by the Islamic world as well, especially after the fall of the Seljuq Empire and the restoration of the temporal power of the Caliphate of Baghdad in 1157. This is testified mainly by coins bearing a two-headed eagle and from the vassals of the Caliphate.
Even more impressively, the two-headed bird is also found in Indian culture. Known as “Gandhabherunda” in India, the symbol has the same Hittite origin as the two-headed eagle in the West. A myth says that Vishnu assumed the form of a two-headed eagle to annihilate Sarabha, a form taken by Shiva to destroy Narasimha (an avatar of Vishnu) again, a sectarian device to humble a rival creed. Such a bird appears at Sirkap Stupa which usually is dated at about the beginning of the Christian era. It is depicted there sitting and turned to the dexter and this seems to have been the common attitude for centuries. It can also be found on a fresco in Brihadiswara Temple, consecrated 1010, and much later on a 16th century Vijayanagar coin.
However, it was Christianity that ultimately arrogated the symbol. The now widely-recognized yellow with a black crowned double-headed eagle flag, became the symbol of the Palaiologoi family, the last Greek royal family to rule the Byzantine Empire before the fall of Constantinople in 1453. As already mentioned, after Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos recaptured Constantinople from the Crusaders in 1261, he adopted the double-headed eagle which symbolized the dynasty's interests in both Asia and Europe. During these two centuries of the dynasty’s reign though, the flag became identified not just with the specific family but with the Empire itself.
Additionally, in the eyes of the Byzantines the double-headed eagle gradually became the absolute symbol of Orthodoxy, symbolizing the unity between the Byzantine Orthodox Church and State, which was governed by the principle of “Symphonia”, thus the "symphony" between the civil and the ecclesiastical functions of Byzantine Orthodox society. In addition, the heads of the eagle also represented the dual sovereignty of the Byzantine Emperor, with the left head representing Rome (the Western part) and the right head representing Constantinople – the Hellenistic part of the Empire.
Apparently, when the Holy Crusaders passed through Constantinople on their way to what is now Israel, they most likely first came in contact with the impressive double-headed symbol embroidered in gold on heavy banners of silk, borne aloft by the Seljuk Turks. It was from the Turks and not the Byzantines, as some may falsely think, that the crusaders took this banner to adorn the courts of Charlemagne and hung as a sacred relic in the great cathedrals. Frederick of Prussia is the one to “blame” for popularizing the eagle symbol throughout Western Europe, as he was the one who supplied the emblem during the formative stages of the Rite, even though he or Prussia couldn’t use it exclusively as their own.
In England we find it used upon knightly arms. Most notably Robert George Gentleman displayed it upon his shield, with the motto, "Truth, Honor and Courtesy." In France, it became popular by Count de Montamajeur, who associated with the motto, "I shall hold myself erect and not blink,” and in Italy we find it upon the arms of the Duke of Modena in 1628 under the motto "No age can destroy it. As for its modern use? It remains the absolute symbol of the Greek Orthodox Church, while it is often seen in the world of sports. Several football (soccer) clubs across Europe, bear the double-headed eagle in their insignia, with the Greek sport club of AEK – Athletic Union of Constantinople – which was founded by Greek refugees who fled to Greece from Constantinople in the 1920s, being the most popular and successful of them. [Ancient Origins].
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ABOUT US: Prior to our retirement we used to travel to Eastern Europe and Central Asia several times a year seeking antique gemstones and jewelry from the globe’s most prolific gemstone producing and cutting centers. Most of the items we offer came from acquisitions we made in Eastern Europe, India, and from the Levant (Eastern Mediterranean/Near East) during these years from various institutions and dealers. Much of what we generate on Etsy, Amazon and Ebay goes to support worthy institutions in Europe and Asia connected with Anthropology and Archaeology. Though we have a collection of ancient coins numbering in the tens of thousands, our primary interests are ancient/antique jewelry and gemstones, a reflection of our academic backgrounds.
Though perhaps difficult to find in the USA, in Eastern Europe and Central Asia antique gemstones are commonly dismounted from old, broken settings – the gold reused – the gemstones recut and reset. Before these gorgeous antique gemstones are recut, we try to acquire the best of them in their original, antique, hand-finished state – most of them originally crafted a century or more ago. We believe that the work created by these long-gone master artisans is worth protecting and preserving rather than destroying this heritage of antique gemstones by recutting the original work out of existence. That by preserving their work, in a sense, we are preserving their lives and the legacy they left for modern times. Far better to appreciate their craft than to destroy it with modern cutting.
Not everyone agrees – fully 95% or more of the antique gemstones which come into these marketplaces are recut, and the heritage of the past lost. But if you agree with us that the past is worth protecting, and that past lives and the produce of those lives still matters today, consider buying an antique, hand cut, natural gemstone rather than one of the mass-produced machine cut (often synthetic or “lab produced”) gemstones which dominate the market today. We can set most any antique gemstone you purchase from us in your choice of styles and metals ranging from rings to pendants to earrings and bracelets; in sterling silver, 14kt solid gold, and 14kt gold fill. When you purchase from us, you can count on quick shipping and careful, secure packaging. We would be happy to provide you with a certificate/guarantee of authenticity for any item you purchase from us. There is a $3 fee for mailing under separate cover. I will always respond to every inquiry whether via email or eBay message, so please feel free to write.