What event did the Byzantine Empire begin with? Fall of Constantinople and the Byzantine Empire

After the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 under the blows of the Germanic tribes, the Eastern Empire was the only surviving power that preserved the traditions of the Ancient World. The Eastern or Byzantine Empire managed to preserve the traditions of Roman culture and statehood over the years of its existence.

Foundation of Byzantium

The history of the Byzantine Empire begins with the founding of the city of Constantinople by the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great in 330. It was also called New Rome.

The Byzantine Empire turned out to be much stronger than the Western Roman Empire in terms of a number of reasons :

The slave system in Byzantium in the early Middle Ages was less developed than in the Western Roman Empire. The population of the Eastern Empire was 85% free.
In the Byzantine Empire there was still a strong connection between the countryside and the city. Small-scale farming was developed, which instantly adapted to the changing market.
If you look at the territory that Byzantium occupied, you can see that the state included extremely economically developed regions at that time: Greece, Syria, Egypt.
Thanks to a strong army and navy, the Byzantine Empire quite successfully withstood the onslaught of barbarian tribes.
Trade and crafts were preserved in the large cities of the empire. The main productive force were free peasants, artisans and small traders.
The Byzantine Empire adopted Christianity as its main religion. This made it possible to quickly establish relationships with neighboring countries.

Rice. 1. Map of the Byzantine Empire in the 9th and early 11th centuries.

The internal structure of the political system of Byzantium was not very different from the early medieval barbarian kingdoms in the West: the power of the emperor rested on large feudal lords, consisting of military leaders, Slavic nobility, former slave owners and officials.

Timeline of the Byzantine Empire

The history of the Byzantine Empire is usually divided into three main periods: Early Byzantine (IV-VIII centuries), Middle Byzantine (IX-XII centuries) and Late Byzantine (XIII-XV centuries).

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Speaking briefly about the capital of the Byzantine Empire, Constantinople, it should be noted that the main city of Byzantium rose even more after the absorption of the Roman provinces by barbarian tribes. Until the 9th century, buildings of ancient architecture were built, and exact sciences were developed. The first higher school in Europe opened in Constantinople. The Church of Hagia Sophia became a real miracle of human creation.

Rice. 2. Church of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople.

Early Byzantine period

At the end of the 4th and beginning of the 5th centuries, the borders of the Byzantine Empire covered Palestine, Egypt, Thrace, the Balkans and Asia Minor. The Eastern Empire was significantly ahead of the Western barbarian kingdoms in the construction of large cities, as well as in the development of crafts and trade. The presence of a merchant and military fleet made Byzantium a major maritime power. The heyday of the empire continued until the 12th century.

527-565 reign of Emperor Justinian I.
The emperor proclaimed the idea or recornista: “Restoration of the Roman Empire.” To achieve this goal, Justinian waged wars of conquest with the barbarian kingdoms. The Vandal states in North Africa fell under the blows of Byzantine troops, and the Ostrogoths in Italy were defeated.

In the occupied territories, Justinian I introduced new laws called the “Justinian Code”; slaves and columns were transferred to their former owners. This caused extreme discontent among the population and later became one of the reasons for the decline of the Eastern Empire.

610-641 The reign of Emperor Heraclius.
As a result of the Arab invasion, Byzantium lost Egypt in 617. In the east, Heraclius abandoned the fight against the Slavic tribes, giving them the opportunity to settle along the borders, using them as a natural shield against the nomadic tribes. One of the main merits of this emperor is the return to Jerusalem of the Life-Giving Cross, which was captured from the Persian king Khosrow II.
717 Arab siege of Constantinople.
For almost a whole year, the Arabs unsuccessfully stormed the capital of Byzantium, but in the end they failed to take the city and rolled back with heavy losses. In many ways, the siege was repulsed thanks to the so-called “Greek fire.”
717-740 Reign of Leo III.
The years of the reign of this emperor were marked by the fact that Byzantium not only successfully waged wars with the Arabs, but also by the fact that Byzantine monks tried to spread the Orthodox faith among Jews and Muslims. Under Emperor Leo III, the veneration of icons was prohibited. Hundreds of valuable icons and other works of art related to Christianity were destroyed. Iconoclasm continued until 842.

At the end of the 7th and beginning of the 8th centuries, a reform of self-government bodies took place in Byzantium. The empire began to be divided not into provinces, but into themes. This is how the administrative districts headed by the strategists began to be called. They had power and held court on their own. Each theme was obliged to field a militia-stratum.

Middle Byzantine period

Despite the loss of the Balkan lands, Byzantium is still considered a powerful power, because its navy continued to dominate the Mediterranean Sea. The period of the highest power of the empire lasted from 850 to 1050 and is considered the era of “classical Byzantium”.

886-912 Reign of Leo VI the Wise.
The emperor followed the policies of previous emperors; Byzantium, during the reign of this emperor, continues to defend itself from external enemies. A crisis was brewing within the political system, which was expressed in the confrontation between the Patriarch and the Emperor.
1018 Bulgaria joins Byzantium.
The northern borders can be strengthened thanks to the baptism of the Bulgarians and Slavs of Kievan Rus.
In 1048, the Seljuk Turks, led by Ibrahim Inal, invaded Transcaucasia and took the Byzantine city of Erzurum.
The Byzantine Empire did not have enough forces to protect the southeastern borders. Soon the Armenian and Georgian rulers recognized themselves as dependent on the Turks.
1046 Peace Treaty between Kievan Rus and Byzantium.
Emperor of Byzantium Vladimir Monomakh married his daughter Anna to the Kyiv prince Vsevolod. Relations between Rus' and Byzantium were not always friendly; there were many aggressive campaigns of ancient Russian princes against the Eastern Empire. At the same time, one cannot fail to note the enormous influence that Byzantine culture had on Kievan Rus.
1054 The Great Schism.
There was a final split between the Orthodox and Catholic Churches.
1071 The city of Bari in Apulia was taken by the Normans.
The last stronghold of the Byzantine Empire in Italy fell.
1086-1091 The war of the Byzantine Emperor Alexei I with the alliance of the Pecheneg and Cuman tribes.
Thanks to the cunning policy of the emperor, the alliance of nomadic tribes disintegrated, and the Pechenegs were decisively defeated in 1091.

From the 11th century, the gradual decline of the Byzantine Empire began. The division into themes became obsolete due to the growing number of large farmers. The state was constantly exposed to attacks from the outside, no longer able to fight numerous enemies. The main danger was the Seljuks. During the clashes, the Byzantines managed to clear them from the southern coast of Asia Minor.

Late Byzantine period

Since the 11th century, the activity of Western European countries has increased. The Crusader troops, raising the flag of the “defenders of the Holy Sepulcher,” attacked Byzantium. Unable to fight numerous enemies, the Byzantine emperors used armies of mercenaries. At sea, Byzantium used the fleets of Pisa and Venice.

1122 The troops of Emperor John II Komnenos repelled the Pecheneg invasion.
There are continuous wars with Venice at sea. However, the main danger was the Seljuks. During the clashes, the Byzantines managed to clear them from the southern coast of Asia Minor. In the fight against the crusaders, the Byzantines managed to clear Northern Syria.
1176 Defeat of the Byzantine troops at Myriokephalos from the Seljuk Turks.
After this defeat, Byzantium finally switched to defensive wars.
1204 Constantinople fell under the attacks of the crusaders.
The core of the crusader army was the French and Genoese. Central Byzantium, occupied by the Latins, is formed into a separate autonomy and is called the Latin Empire. After the fall of the capital, the Byzantine Church was under the jurisdiction of the pope, and Tomazzo Morosini was appointed supreme patriarch.
1261
The Latin Empire was completely cleared of the crusaders, and Constantinople was liberated by the Nicaean emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos.

Byzantium during the reign of the Palaiologos

During the reign of the Palaiologans in Byzantium, a complete decline of cities was observed. The dilapidated cities looked especially shabby against the backdrop of flourishing villages. Agriculture experienced a boom caused by high demand for the products of feudal estates.

The dynastic marriages of the Palaiologans with the royal courts of Western and Eastern Europe and the constant close contact between them became the reason for the appearance of their own heraldry among the Byzantine rulers. The Palaiologan family was the first to have its own coat of arms.

Rice. 3. Coat of arms of the Palaiologan dynasty.

In 1265, Venice monopolized almost all trade in Constantinople.
A trade war broke out between Genoa and Venice. Often, stabbings between foreign merchants took place in front of local onlookers in city squares. By strangling the domestic sales market, the emperor's Byzantine rulers caused a new wave of self-hatred.
1274 Conclusion of Michael VIII Palaiologos in Lyon of a new union with the pope.
The union carried the conditions of the supremacy of the Pope over the entire Christian world. This completely split society and caused a series of unrest in the capital.
1341 Revolt in Adrianople and Thessalonica of the population against the magnates.
The uprising was led by zealots (zealots). They wanted to take land and property from the church and magnates for the poor.
1352 Adrianople was captured by the Ottoman Turks.
They made it their capital. They took the Tsimpe fortress on the Gallipoli Peninsula. Nothing prevented the further advance of the Turks into the Balkans.

By the beginning of the 15th century, the territory of Byzantium was limited to Constantinople with its districts, part of Central Greece and islands in the Aegean Sea.

In 1452, the Ottoman Turks began the siege of Constantinople. On May 29, 1453 the city fell. The last Byzantine emperor, Constantine II Palaiologos, died in battle.

Despite Byzantium's alliance with a number of Western European countries, it was impossible to count on military assistance. Thus, during the siege of Constantinople by the Turks in 1453, Venice and Genoa sent six warships and several hundred people. Naturally, they could not provide any significant help.

What have we learned?

The Byzantine Empire remained the only ancient power that retained its political and social system, despite the Great Migration. With the fall of Byzantium, a new era begins in the history of the Middle Ages. From this article we learned how many years the Byzantine Empire lasted and what influence this state had on the countries of Western Europe and Kievan Rus.

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In the middle of the 14th century, the Byzantine Empire was completely drained of blood by civil wars and civil strife; the capture of Byzantium by the Ottoman Turks was only a matter of time. The insignificant forces of Byzantium were opposed by a powerful enemy. Neither Byzantium, reduced to an insignificant size, nor the Italian republics could organize resistance to the Turks. The Ottoman wars of conquest were carried out under the slogans of the struggle for the Muslim faith against the “infidels.” Hatred towards Christians reigned among the troops. That is why Byzantium was the most convenient target for the Ottoman nobility. This was further aggravated by its military weakness.

Under Osman's successor, Urhan (1326-1362), the Turks conquered almost all Byzantine possessions in Asia Minor, which were the richest regions of the Byzantine Empire.

Sultan Murad I continued his policy of conquest and captured such large centers as Adrianople (which soon became the capital of the Turkish state) and Philippopolis and moved west towards Thessalonica. Soon after this, the Turks captured almost all of Thrace and began invading Bulgarian lands. The Byzantine Emperor John V began to repair the city walls and build fortifications, but the Sultan ordered him to destroy all the buildings, and in case of refusal he promised to blind the emperor’s son and heir Manuel, who was at the court of Bayezid at that time. John was forced to fulfill this demand. This humiliation hastened the death of the aged emperor. After his death, Manuel fled and, reaching Constantinople, was crowned emperor.

Soon after this, Byzantium had to endure a blockade. According to the Byzantine historian Duca, Bayazid’s ambassador presented the following demands to the new emperor: “If you want to carry out my orders, close the gates of the city and reign inside it; yet everything that lies outside the city belongs to me.” Manuel refused the Sultan and from that moment Constantinople was under siege. the surroundings of Constantinople were devastated, the city was isolated from land. The blockade lasted for seven years; communication with the outside world was maintained only by sea. Hunger and disease began in the city, and population discontent grew. Deliverance came from the army of Timur (Tamerlane), who defeated the army of Bayezid at the Battle of Ankara (1402). This circumstance delayed the death of the Byzantine Empire for another half century.

Bayezid I was succeeded by his son Mehmed I (1402-1421), who pursued a peaceful policy towards Byzantium. After the death of Mehmed I, radical changes took place: the new sultan, Murad II (1421-1451), returned to an aggressive policy. And again the Turks struck the Byzantine Empire: in the summer of 1422, the Sultan besieged Constantinople and tried to take the city by storm. However, the attack was repulsed by the heroic efforts of the population. The siege was unsuccessful, but it was a prelude to the events of 1453. For another thirty years, Constantinople awaited a tragic, inevitable death.

The empire fell apart into separate small fiefs, economic problems continued to grow: the decline of trade and commodity-money relations that arose as a result of constant wars. Under John VIII, the territory of the empire was quite modest. Shortly before the death of his father, he ceded some Thracian cities to the Sultan. John's power extended only over Constantinople and its immediate surroundings. Other parts of the state were under the control of his brothers in the form of separate independent fiefs. On October 31, 1448, John VIII died in Constantinople, depressed by the successes of his enemies and despairing of saving his state. His successor was Constantine Moray. He owned a territory that was limited to Constantinople and its immediate surroundings in Thrace. At this time, the son of Murad II, Sultan Mehmed II (1451-1481), came to power.

The reason that the Ottoman Empire was so passionate about conquering Byzantium cannot be attributed to religion or territorial expansion alone. The opinion of Georgy Lvovich Kurbatov on this issue is interesting: “In the new conditions, the Ottoman Empire faced an increasingly urgent task of connecting the Balkan and Asian regions of the empire. Constantinople became the main obstacle. The point was not only the fact of its existence. The reasons lay deeper, in the very development of the Ottoman Empire. It is believed that it was precisely with the perception of the Byzantine and Balkan heritage, its feudal basis, that more developed forms of Ottoman feudalism took shape. Only by relying on the Balkan possessions could it be possible to overcome the threatening gap between the more backward Asian part of the empire and the Balkan one. Therefore, a more rigid “coupling” between them was necessary. The connection of the two parts of the empire became increasingly necessary. The fate of Byzantium was decided."

On the European shore of the Bosphorus the fortress of Rumeli-Hissar was built, and on the Asian shore, somewhat earlier, Anatoli-Hissar. Now the Turks were firmly established on both banks of the Bosphorus and cut off Constantinople from the Black Sea. The struggle has entered its final phase.

Emperor Constantine began preparations for the defense of the city: he repaired the walls, armed the city’s defenders, and stockpiled food. In early April, the siege of Constantinople began. The army of Mehmed II consisted of 150 - 200 thousand soldiers, the Turks used bronze cannons that ejected cannonballs over a long distance. The Turkish squadron consisted of about 400 ships. Byzantium could only field defenders of the city and a small number of Latin mercenaries. George Sfrandzi says that with the beginning of the siege of the city, the lists of all residents of Constantinople capable of defending the city were checked. In total there were 4,973 people capable of holding weapons, in addition to about 2 thousand foreign mercenaries. The fleet of the defenders of Constantinople consisted of about 25 ships.

First, the Turks began to storm the walls from land. However, despite the enormous superiority, the besieged successfully repelled the attacks and the Turkish troops suffered setbacks for a long time. An eyewitness to the events, George Sfrandzi, wrote: “It was surprising that, having no military experience, they (the Byzantines) won victories, because, meeting the enemy, they courageously and nobly did what was beyond human strength.” On April 20, the first naval battle took place, ending in the victory of the Byzantines. On this day, four Genoese and one Byzantine ship arrived, carrying troops and food to Constantinople. Before entering the Golden Horn, they fought with the Turkish fleet. The victory was achieved thanks to the military experience and skill of the Byzantine and Genoese sailors, the best weapons of their ships, as well as “Greek fire.” But this victory, unfortunately, did not change the course of events.

Mehmed II decided to besiege the city not only from land, but also from the sea and ordered the Turks to drag about 80 ships overland to the Golden Horn in one night. This was a heavy blow for the besieged; a radical change occurred in favor of the Turks.

The general assault on the city was scheduled by the Sultan for May 29. Both sides spent the last two days before the battle in preparations: one for the final assault, the other for the final defense. Alexander Alexandrovich Vasiliev writes about this: “The ancient capital of the Christian East, anticipating the inevitability of a fatal outcome for itself and knowing about the upcoming assault, spent the eve of one of the greatest historical days in prayer and tears. By order of the emperor, processions of the cross, accompanied by a huge crowd of people singing “Lord, have mercy,” went around the city walls. People encouraged each other to show brave resistance to the enemy in the last hour of the battle.”

On May 29, 1453, Turkish troops moved to Constantinople. At first, the advantage was on the side of the besieged, but the forces were unequal, and, moreover, more and more new detachments of Turks arrived at the walls of Constantinople. Very soon the Turks broke into the besieged city. Nestor Iskander writes about this: “When Baltauliy arrived in time with large forces, the strategists met him at the destroyed place, but could not restrain him, and he made his way into the city with all his regiments and attacked the townspeople. And a battle broke out even more fierce than before, and the strategists, and megistani, and all the nobles died in it, so that of the many, few were able to later bring the news to the Caesar, and the dead townspeople and Turks could not be counted.” . The emperor himself died in a battle with the Turks. Having burst into the city, the Turks killed the remnants of the Byzantine troops, and then began to exterminate everyone who crossed their path, sparing neither the elderly, nor women, nor children. The Turks captured the population, killed old people and babies, destroyed palaces and temples, and monuments of art.

On May 29, 1453, the famous and once richest city of Constantinople fell, and with its fall the Byzantine Empire ceased to exist.

On May 29, 1453, the thousand-year-old Byzantine Empire fell under the blows of the Ottoman Turks.

In modern historiography, the fall of the Byzantine Empire in 1453 marks the boundary of two major historical periods - the Middle Ages and the Modern Age. The border is quite arbitrary, but, nevertheless, it quite eloquently indicates the full scale of this event. The assault and capture of the capital of Byzantium, Constantinople, seriously influenced the entire course of world history. This was also of great importance for Rus', which at that time, on the contrary, was gathering its lands, preparing in a few decades to become a new Orthodox empire and officially proclaim itself the heir of the lost Byzantium. Nevertheless, the history of the disappeared empire is still relevant for us now. Modern Russia should know the history of Byzantium so as not to repeat its mistakes.

By the middle of the 15th century, the once powerful Byzantine (or Eastern Roman) Empire, which in its heyday owned vast lands across three continents, was a rather pitiful sight. As a result of numerous clashes with the Turks who had gained power under the leadership of the Ottoman dynasty, by this time only the capital of Constantinople with the surrounding lands, several cities along the Bulgarian coast of the Black Sea, as well as small possessions in the south of Greece remained in the possessions of Byzantium, which, moreover, were very nominally subject to the last Byzantine Emperor Constantine XI.

In fact, the emperor ruled only the capital. However, she was also in an extremely sad state at that time. Previously, the richest and largest city of the Middle Ages, whose population was more than 500 thousand people, was in a dilapidated state as a result of wars, epidemics and general economic decline, and its population hardly exceeded 50 thousand people. In essence, the city within the walls was a conglomeration of villages separated by fields and gardens. Not a trace remained of the former greatness of the capital of the powerful empire.

The empire was restored in 1261, but it would never reach its former greatness, remaining only a shadow of its former mighty power. At the same time, the Byzantines, who previously disliked the West, began to treat it as their worst enemy. Notable in this regard are the words of the last commander of the imperial fleet, Luke Notaras, shortly before the fall of Constantinople: “Better is a Turkish turban than a papal tiara.”.

However, the last Byzantine emperors, facing the threat of complete encirclement of the remnants of Byzantium by the Turks, sought help in the West, including the Vatican. The European powers did not want to help the Greeks, demanding first to conclude a church union and subordinate the Eastern Church to the Western. As a result, in 1439, when the position of Byzantium had already become hopeless, the emperor John VIII concluded a union, which, however, was not recognized in Rus'. As a result, having promised the Greeks military support, the West, having received its due, did not want to help Byzantium. A couple of small expeditions sent over the next ten years could not reverse the overall negative situation. Thus, in anticipation of its destruction, Byzantium was left to its own devices by the West. Rus' could not help Constantinople either, since the access to the Black Sea was then tightly blocked by fragments of the Golden Horde, primarily by the Crimean Khanate.

Ottomans under the leadership of the young Sultan Mehmed II began the siege of the city on April 2. The Turks assembled a powerful army. According to various estimates, its number was about 150 thousand people, although some sources speak of 200 and even 300 thousand. The Sultan's main trump card was huge cannons, one of which, the Basilica, had a 12-meter long barrel and fired cannonballs weighing half a ton.

The forces of the besieged under the leadership of Emperor Constantine XI were much smaller: about five thousand Greeks, 600 Genoese living in the city, several hundred Constantinople Venetians, Cretans, 600 Turks (the claimant to the Ottoman throne, Prince Orhan and his guard) and some other troops. In total no more than 7 thousand people. Against at least 150. The Ottomans had a more than 20-fold superiority of forces.

After numerous skirmishes near the powerful fortress wall of Constantinople, where the Turks, with attacks from their numerous infantry, were unable to break the resistance of the Byzantines, as well as the continuous powerful artillery bombardment of the city from all guns for 6 weeks, on May 21, Mehmed sent Constantine a proposal to surrender. In this case, the Sultan promised to have mercy on the besieged and grant them life. In response, the last emperor of Byzantium replied that he was ready to give all the lands to the Sultan, but not the city itself. After this, the Ottomans began to prepare for the decisive assault.

It is worth saying that the physical and emotional state of the besieged was difficult. The following events had a particularly depressing effect on them. A few days before the decisive assault, the townspeople decided to take a religious procession along the wall with the most revered icon of Constantinople, Hodegetria, calling on the Holy Virgin for help. However, during the procession, the icon suddenly fell to the ground, and when they began to lift it, as contemporaries of the time describe the events, the icon remained in place, as if crushed by something very heavy. And when the icon was finally raised, a terrible storm broke out, which forced the procession to stop and disperse. The Byzantines considered this an obvious sign - the Holy Virgin rejected their prayers. And the next morning a surprisingly dense fog descended on the city. The townspeople perceived it unambiguously: the Lord is leaving the city, turning away from it, hiding from the eyes of people in the fog. This conviction was strengthened that same evening when the Byzantines saw a strange glow above the dome of Hagia Sophia, which, as chronicler Nestor Iskander, an eyewitness to the event, then soared into the heavens. “People, seeing this, began to cry bitterly, crying out: “Lord have mercy!” When the fire reached heaven, the doors of heaven opened and, having received the fire, closed again,” he describes. In the tense atmosphere of anticipation of the approach of the final assault and the subsequent end of the world, these events had a colossal demoralizing effect on the townspeople. People waited for their end and asked for mercy, appealing to higher powers.

The Turks began the decisive assault on the night of May 28-29. The first to go into battle were the militias - the Bashi-Bazouks. Rolling in more and more new waves onto the walls, which by that time had been fairly destroyed by artillery fire, they failed each time. The small garrison of the besieged under the command of the emperor himself steadfastly repulsed all attacks. After the bashi-bazouks, the elite Ottoman units - the Janissaries - went into battle. The battle was terrible: a sea of blood, cries of pain and despair mixed with artillery fire on one side and the harmonious choir of bells from all the city churches on the other.

The Byzantines and their few allies fought courageously, but the forces were too unequal. The defense of Constantinople began to collapse after the commander of the Genoese covering one of the most important sections of the wall was wounded and left the battlefield. Giovanni Giustiniani. The departure of the Italians immediately exposed a huge piece of the wall. In addition, the Turks discovered an open gate in the fortifications - Kerkoporta, which the Greeks, apparently, forgot to close after the next foray. One small gate ultimately played a fatal role in the fate of the thousand-year-old empire. Emperor Constantine XI, who fought to the last, died surrounded by enemies at one of the city gates.

After this, the Turks rushed into the city, hoping to find colossal riches there. The townspeople, having learned about what had happened, rushed to the column Constantine the Great in the very center of the capital. According to ancient legend, if enemies break into the city and reach the column, then an angel with a punishing fiery sword in his hand will descend from heaven and drive the invaders away. The angel, however, did not appear from heaven. The Turks plundered the city for three days, after which the Sultan himself entered it. First of all, Mehmed read a prayer at the Hagia Sophia, thus turning the Christian cathedral into an Islamic mosque. Thus ended the history of one of the world's greatest empires, which was the religious and cultural center of Europe for many centuries.

However, Byzantium did not completely disappear. On the contrary, many attributes of Byzantium were later transferred to Russian soil. The architect of the Russian state - the prince, who married the niece of Constantine XI Sofya Paleolog, officially announced to the whole world about Russia as the heir of Byzantium. Ivan adopted its ideology, coat of arms, ceremony and many other attributes from the fallen empire. It is no coincidence that the Pskov monk Filofey soon called Moscow the “Third Rome” - the new capital of the true, Orthodox faith. Subsequently, all this had a direct impact on the development of the new Russian Empire, which, like the Byzantine double-headed eagle, turns its imperial gaze to both the East and the West.

At the same time, modern Russia should remember and not forget the history of its great predecessor. Our country is a state with a huge number of people living

on its territory of peoples. The same as Byzantium in its time. And as in any other similar state, the authorities must be strong in order to curb the centrifugal tendencies arising on this basis. The history of Byzantium shows that in such conditions there are always those who want to profit at the expense of others. For the Byzantine Empire, these were Western countries and the Crusaders on one side, as well as Arabs and Turks on the other. Modern Russia is also vulnerable on two sides - from the West, with which we entered into a “New Cold War,” and China, which is eyeing the rich resources of Siberia and the Far East.

Moreover, speaking of resources, parallels inevitably arise with the sack of Constantinople by the crusaders in 1204, already mentioned at the very beginning. Then the untold wealth of Byzantium, exported after its fall by the “Christian brothers” to the West. As a result of speculation in Byzantine values, the first large capitals of Jewish merchants were formed, which in modern times became the foundation for the subsequent emergence of the global banking system, including the financial dynasties of the Rothschilds and Rockefellers as its basis. Thus, the prosperity of the West and its rise in the 15th-16th centuries was based precisely on the plunder of Byzantium. Very similar to the situation 20 years ago, when Russia, which lost the Cold War, became a raw material appendage of the West, pumping out valuable natural resources from us for next to nothing..

In addition, the history of Byzantium clearly demonstrates to us a simple truth - we can never hope for the West to comply with its agreements, even if it promises it a hundred times. Remember Mikhail Gorbachev, who believed at one time that NATO would not expand to the East. Now the North Atlantic Alliance troops are standing close to our borders. Modern Russia, taking into account all this tragic experience, should under no circumstances follow the lead of Western countries, taking their admonitions on faith, including regarding the sanctions that they will supposedly lift when we make concessions on the Ukrainian question.

Among other things, Byzantium’s acceptance of church union with the West, and therefore the actual betrayal of the Orthodox faith, tells us of the need to adhere to its religious foundations, in no way sacrificing them for the sake of political, ideological, cultural and any other conjuncture. Byzantine society split after the conclusion of the union; it ceased to be united, which helped the enemies of the empire to completely crush it. The Russian people must now be united in the face of external threats. And Orthodoxy here constitutes one of the most important foundations of our moral and spiritual unity. And when we are together, we are invincible.

By the way, there is still a legend according to which the priest of the Hagia Sophia, seeing how Ottoman soldiers burst into it for robbery, entered the wall and disappeared into it. And he will come out of it, according to popular belief, only when Constantinople becomes Christian again. And how can one not remember the prophecies of the holy venerable elder Paisiy Svyatogorsky, who predicted that Constantinople was destined to once again become an Orthodox city. And it will be Russia, the spiritual heir of the Byzantine Empire, that will own it.

Ivan Proshkin

The history of Byzantium, one of the “world” powers of the Middle Ages, a society of unique development and high culture, a society at the junction of the West and the East, was full of turbulent internal events, endless wars with neighbors, intense political, economic, cultural relations with many countries of Europe and the Middle East .

Political structure of Byzantium

From the Roman Empire, Byzantium inherited a monarchical form of government with an emperor at its head. From the 7th century The head of state was more often called an autocrat.

The Byzantine Empire consisted of two prefectures - the East and Illyricum, each of which was headed by prefects: the praetorian prefect of the East (Latin: Praefectus praetorio Orientis) and the praetorian prefect of Illyricum (Latin: Praefectus praetorio Illyrici). Constantinople was allocated as a separate unit, headed by the prefect of the city of Constantinople (lat. Praefectus urbis Constantinopolitanae).

For a long time, the previous system of government and financial management was maintained. But from the end of the 6th century, significant reforms began, related mainly to defense (administrative division into themes instead of exarchates) and the Greek culture of the country (introduction of the positions of logothete, strategist, drungaria, etc.).

Since the 10th century, feudal principles of governance have spread widely; this process led to the establishment of representatives of the feudal aristocracy on the throne. Until the very end of the empire, numerous rebellions and struggles for the imperial throne did not stop. The two highest military officials were the commander-in-chief of the infantry (Latin magister paeditum) and the commander of the cavalry (Latin magister equitum), later these positions were combined (Magister militum); in the capital there were two masters of infantry and cavalry (Strateg Opsikia) (lat. Magistri equitum et paeditum in praesenti). In addition, there was a master of infantry and cavalry of the East (Strategos of Anatolica), a master of infantry and cavalry of Illyricum, a master of infantry and cavalry of Thrace (Strategos of Thrace).

After the fall of the Western Roman Empire (476), the Eastern Roman Empire continued to exist for almost a thousand years; in historiography from that time on it is usually called Byzantium.

The ruling class of Byzantium was characterized by vertical mobility. At all times, a person from the bottom could make his way to power. In some cases it was even easier for him: for example, he had the opportunity to make a career in the army and earn military glory. For example, Emperor Michael II Travlus was an uneducated mercenary who was sentenced to death by Emperor Leo V for rebellion, and his execution was postponed only because of the celebration of Christmas (820). Vasily I was a peasant and then a horse trainer in the service of a noble nobleman. Roman I Lecapinus was also a descendant of peasants, Michael IV, before becoming emperor, was a money changer, like one of his brothers.

Army of the Eastern Roman Empire by 395

Although Byzantium inherited its army from the Roman Empire, its structure was closer to the phalanx system of the Hellenic states. By the end of Byzantium's existence, it became mainly mercenary and had a rather low combat capability. But a system of military command and supply was developed in detail, works on strategy and tactics are published, a variety of technical means are widely used, in particular, a system of beacons is being built to warn of enemy attacks. In contrast to the old Roman army, the importance of the fleet, which the invention of “Greek fire” helps to gain supremacy at sea, greatly increases. Fully armored cavalry - cataphracts - was adopted from the Sassanids. At the same time, technically complex throwing weapons, ballistae and catapults are disappearing, replaced by simpler stone throwers.

The transition to the femme system of recruiting troops provided the country with 150 years of successful wars, but the financial exhaustion of the peasantry and its transition to dependence on the feudal lords led to a gradual decrease in combat effectiveness. The recruitment system was changed to a typically feudal one, when the nobility was obliged to supply military contingents for the right to own land. Subsequently, the army and navy fell into ever greater decline, and at the very end of the empire’s existence they became purely mercenary formations.

In 1453, Constantinople, with a population of 60 thousand inhabitants, was able to field only a 5 thousand army and 2.5 thousand mercenaries. Since the 10th century, the emperors of Constantinople hired Rus and warriors from neighboring barbarian tribes. Since the 10th century, ethnically mixed Varangians played a significant role in the heavy infantry, and the light cavalry was recruited from Turkic nomads. After the era of Viking campaigns came to an end at the beginning of the 11th century, mercenaries from Scandinavia (as well as from Viking-conquered Normandy and England) flocked to Byzantium across the Mediterranean Sea. The future Norwegian king Harald the Severe fought for several years in the Varangian Guard throughout the Mediterranean. The Varangian Guard bravely defended Constantinople from the Crusaders in 1204 and was defeated when the city was captured.

The period of reign of emperors from Basil I of Macedon to Alexios I Komnenos (867-1081) was of great cultural significance. The essential features of this period of history are the high rise of Byzantinism and the spread of its cultural mission to southeastern Europe. Through the works of the famous Byzantines Cyril and Methodius, the Slavic alphabet - Glagolitic - appeared, which led to the emergence of the Slavs' own written literature. Patriarch Photius put barriers to the claims of the popes and theoretically substantiated the right of Constantinople to ecclesiastical independence from Rome (see Division of Churches).

In the scientific field, this period is characterized by extraordinary fertility and diversity of literary enterprises. Collections and adaptations of this period preserve precious historical, literary and archaeological material borrowed from writers now lost.

Economy

The state included rich lands with a large number of cities - Egypt, Asia Minor, Greece. In cities, artisans and merchants united into classes. Belonging to the class was not a duty, but a privilege; entry into it was subject to a number of conditions. The conditions established by the eparch (city governor) for the 22 estates of Constantinople were compiled in the 10th century in a collection of decrees, the Book of the Eparch. Despite a corrupt management system, very high taxes, slave-owning and court intrigue, the economy of Byzantium was for a long time the strongest in Europe. Trade was carried out with all former Roman possessions in the west and with India (via the Sassanids and Arabs) in the east.

Even after the Arab conquests, the empire was very rich. But the financial costs were also very high, and the country's wealth caused great envy. The decline in trade caused by the privileges granted to Italian merchants, the capture of Constantinople by the Crusaders and the onslaught of the Turks led to the final weakening of finances and the state as a whole.

In the initial period of the state's history, the basis of the economy was production and the customs structure. 85-90 percent of production in all of Eurasia (excluding India and China) came from the Eastern Roman Empire. Absolutely everything was made in the empire: from consumer products (oil lamps, weapons, armor, the production of primitive elevators, mirrors, some other items related to cosmetics), which are now quite widely represented in all museums of the world, to unique works of art, in other areas of the world are not represented at all - iconography, painting, and so on.

Medicine in Byzantium

Throughout the entire period of the existence of the state, Byzantine science was in close connection with ancient philosophy and metaphysics. The main activity of scientists was in the applied plane, where a number of remarkable successes were achieved, such as the construction of the St. Sophia Cathedral in Constantinople and the invention of Greek fire.

At the same time, pure science practically did not develop either in terms of creating new theories or in terms of developing the ideas of ancient thinkers. From the era of Justinian until the end of the first millennium, scientific knowledge was in severe decline, but subsequently Byzantine scientists again showed themselves, especially in astronomy and mathematics, already relying on the achievements of Arab and Persian science.

Medicine was one of the few branches of knowledge in which progress was made compared to antiquity. The influence of Byzantine medicine was felt both in Arab countries and in Europe during the Renaissance. In the last century of the empire, Byzantium played an important role in the dissemination of ancient Greek literature in early Renaissance Italy. By that time, the Academy of Trebizond had become the main center for the study of astronomy and mathematics.

In 330, the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great declared the city of Byzantium his capital, renaming it “New Rome” (Constantinople is an unofficial name).

The new capital was located on the most important trade route from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean, along which grain was transported. In Rome, new contenders for the throne constantly appeared. Having defeated his rivals in grueling civil wars, Constantine wanted to create a capital that was initially and entirely subject to him alone. A deep ideological revolution was also intended to serve the same purpose: Christianity, which had recently been persecuted in Rome, was declared the state religion during the reign of Constantine. Constantinople immediately became the capital of the Christian empire.

The final division of the Roman Empire into Eastern and Western occurred in 395 after the death of Theodosius I the Great. The main difference between Byzantium and the Western Roman Empire was the predominance of Greek culture on its territory. The differences grew, and over the course of two centuries the state finally acquired its own individual appearance.

The formation of Byzantium as an independent state can be attributed to the period 330-518. During this period, numerous barbarian, mainly Germanic tribes penetrated into Roman territory across the borders on the Danube and Rhine. The situation in the East was no less difficult, and one could expect a similar ending, after in 378 the Visigoths won the famous battle of Adrianople, Emperor Valens was killed and King Alaric devastated all of Greece. But soon Alaric went west - to Spain and Gaul, where the Goths founded their state, and the danger from them to Byzantium had passed. In 441, the Goths were replaced by the Huns. Their leader Attila started a war several times, and only by paying a large tribute was it possible to buy him off. In the Battle of Nations on the Catalaunian Fields (451), Attila was defeated, and his power soon disintegrated.

In the second half of the 5th century, danger came from the Ostrogoths - Theodoric the Great ravaged Macedonia and threatened Constantinople, but he also went west, conquering Italy and founding his state on the ruins of Rome.

In 1204, Constantinople surrendered for the first time under the onslaught of the enemy: enraged by the unsuccessful campaign in the “promised land,” the crusaders burst into the city, announced the creation of the Latin Empire and divided the Byzantine lands between the French barons.

The new formation did not last long: on July 51, 1261, Constantinople was occupied without a fight by Michael VIII Palaiologos, who announced the revival of the Eastern Roman Empire. The dynasty he founded ruled Byzantium until its fall, but it was a rather miserable reign. In the end, the emperors lived on handouts from Genoese and Venetian merchants, and naturally plundered church and private property.

By the beginning of the 14th century, only Constantinople, Thessaloniki and small scattered enclaves in southern Greece remained from the former territories. Desperate attempts by the last emperor of Byzantium, Manuel II, to enlist military support from Western Europe were unsuccessful. On May 29, 1453, Constantinople was conquered for the second and last time.

Religion of Byzantium

In Christianity, diverse currents fought and collided: Arianism, Nestorianism, Monophysitism. While in the West the popes, beginning with Leo the Great (440-461), established the papal monarchy, in the East the patriarchs of Alexandria, especially Cyril (422-444) and Dioscorus (444-451), tried to establish the papal throne in Alexandria. In addition, as a result of these unrest, old national feuds and separatist tendencies surfaced.

Political interests and goals were closely intertwined with the religious conflict.

From 502, the Persians resumed their onslaught in the east, the Slavs and Bulgars began raids south of the Danube. Internal unrest reached its extreme limits, and in the capital there was an intense struggle between the “green” and “blue” parties (according to the colors of the chariot teams). Finally, the strong memory of the Roman tradition, which supported the idea of the need for the unity of the Roman world, constantly turned minds to the West. To get out of this state of instability, a powerful hand was needed, a clear policy with precise and definite plans. This policy was pursued by Justinian I.

The national composition of the empire was very diverse, but starting from the 7th century, the majority of the population was Greek. Since then, the Byzantine emperor began to be called in Greek - “basileus”. In the 9th and 10th centuries, after the conquest of Bulgaria and the subjugation of the Serbs and Croats, Byzantium became essentially a Greco-Slavic state. On the basis of religious community, a vast “zone of orthodoxy (Orthodoxy)” developed around Byzantium, including Rus', Georgia, Bulgaria, and most of Serbia.

Until the 7th century, the official language of the empire was Latin, but there was literature in Greek, Syriac, Armenian, and Georgian. In 866, the “Thessalonica brothers” Cyril (c.826-869) and Methodius (c.815-885) invented Slavic writing, which quickly spread in Bulgaria and Rus'.

Despite the fact that the entire life of the state and society was imbued with religion, secular power in Byzantium was always stronger than church power. The Byzantine Empire was always distinguished by stable statehood and strictly centralized governance.

In its political structure, Byzantium was an autocratic monarchy, the doctrine of which was finally formed here. All power was in the hands of the emperor (basileus). He was the highest judge, led foreign policy, made laws, commanded the army, etc. His power was considered divine and was practically unlimited, however (paradox!) it was not legally hereditary. The result of this was constant unrest and wars for power, ending with the creation of another dynasty (a simple warrior, even a barbarian, or a peasant, thanks to his dexterity and personal abilities, could often occupy a high position in the state or even become an emperor. The history of Byzantium is full of such examples).

In Byzantium, a special system of relationships between secular and ecclesiastical authorities developed, called Caesaropapism (Emperors essentially ruled the Church, becoming “popes.” The Church became only an appendage and instrument of secular power). The power of the emperors especially strengthened during the notorious period of “iconoclasm,” when the clergy was completely subordinated to imperial power, deprived of many privileges, and the wealth of the church and monasteries was partially confiscated. As for cultural life, the result of “iconoclasm” was the complete canonization of spiritual art.

Byzantine culture

In artistic creativity, Byzantium gave the medieval world lofty images of literature and art, which were distinguished by noble elegance of forms, imaginative vision of thought, sophistication of aesthetic thinking, and depth of philosophical thought. The direct heir of the Greco-Roman world and the Hellenistic East, in terms of the power of expressiveness and deep spirituality, Byzantium stood ahead of all the countries of medieval Europe for many centuries. Already from the 6th century, Constantinople turned into a famous artistic center of the medieval world, into a “palladium of sciences and arts.” It is followed by Ravenna, Rome, Nicaea, Thessalonica, which also became the focus of the Byzantine artistic style.

The process of artistic development of Byzantium was not straightforward. It had eras of rise and decline, periods of triumph of progressive ideas and dark years of domination of reactionary ones. There were several periods, more or less prosperous, marked by a special flowering of art:

Time of Emperor Justinian I (527-565) - "Golden Age of Byzantium"

and the so-called Byzantine "renaissances":

The reign of the Macedonian dynasty (mid-9th - end of the 11th century) - "Macedonian Renaissance".

The reign of the Komnenos dynasty (late 11th - late 12th centuries) - "Comnenos Renaissance".

Late Byzantium (from 1260) - "Palaeologian Renaissance".

Byzantium survived the invasion of the Crusaders (1204, IV Crusade), but with the formation and strengthening of the Ottoman Empire on its borders, its end became inevitable. The West promised help only on condition of conversion to Catholicism (Ferraro-Florentine Union, which was indignantly rejected by the people).

In April 1453, Constantinople was surrounded by a huge Turkish army and two months later it was taken by storm. The last emperor, Constantine XI Palaiologos, died on the fortress wall with weapons in his hands.

Since then, Constantinople has been called Istanbul.

The fall of Byzantium was a huge blow to the Orthodox (and Christian in general) world. Disregarding politics and economics, Christian theologians saw the main reason for its death in the decline of morals and the hypocrisy in matters of religion that flourished in Byzantium in the last centuries of its existence. Thus, Vladimir Solovyov wrote:

"After many delays and a long struggle with material decay, the Eastern Empire, long morally dead, was finally just before

the revival of the West, demolished from the historical field. ... Proud of their orthodoxy and piety, they did not want to understand the simple and self-evident truth that real orthodoxy and piety require that we somehow conform our lives to what we believe in and what we honor - they did not want to understand that the real advantage belongs to the Christian kingdom over others only insofar as it is organized and governed in the spirit of Christ. ... Finding itself hopelessly incapable of its high purpose - to be a Christian kingdom - Byzantium lost the internal reason for its existence. For the current, ordinary tasks of public administration could, and even much better, be fulfilled by the government of the Turkish Sultan, which, being free from internal contradictions, was more honest and strong and, moreover, did not interfere in the religious area of Christianity, did not invent dubious dogmas and harmful heresies, but “it also did not defend Orthodoxy through the wholesale massacre of heretics and the solemn burning of heresiarchs at the stake.”

Where is Byzantium located?

The great influence that the Byzantine Empire had on the history (as well as religion, culture, art) of many European countries (including ours) during the Dark Middle Ages is difficult to cover in one article. But we will still try to do this, and tell you as much as possible about the history of Byzantium, its way of life, culture and much more, in a word, with the help of our time machine we will send you to the times of the highest heyday of the Byzantine Empire, so make yourself comfortable and let's go.

Where is Byzantium located?

But before we go on a journey through time, first let’s figure out how to move in space and determine where Byzantium is (or rather was) on the map. In fact, at different moments in historical development, the borders of the Byzantine Empire were constantly changing, expanding during periods of development and contracting during periods of decline.

For example, on this map Byzantium is shown in its heyday and, as we see in those days, it occupied the entire territory of modern Turkey, part of the territory of modern Bulgaria and Italy and numerous islands in the Mediterranean Sea.

During the reign of Emperor Justinian, the territory of the Byzantine Empire was even larger, and the power of the Byzantine emperor also extended to North Africa (Libya and Egypt), the Middle East, (including the glorious city of Jerusalem). But gradually they began to be forced out of there, first, with whom Byzantium had been in a state of permanent war for centuries, and then by warlike Arab nomads, carrying in their hearts the banner of a new religion - Islam.

And here on the map the possessions of Byzantium are shown at the time of its decline, in 1453, as we see at this time its territory was reduced to Constantinople with the surrounding territories and part of modern Southern Greece.

History of Byzantium

The Byzantine Empire is the heir to another great empire -. In 395, after the death of the Roman Emperor Theodosius I, the Roman Empire was divided into Western and Eastern. This division was caused by political reasons, namely, the emperor had two sons, and probably, so as not to deprive any of them, the eldest son Flavius became the emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire, and the youngest son Honorius, respectively, the emperor of the Western Roman Empire. At first, this division was purely nominal, and in the eyes of millions of citizens of the superpower of antiquity it was still the same one big Roman Empire.

But as we know, gradually the Roman Empire began to decline, which was greatly facilitated by both the decline of morals in the empire itself and the waves of warlike barbarian tribes that continually rolled onto the borders of the empire. And already in the 5th century, the Western Roman Empire finally fell, the eternal city of Rome was captured and plundered by barbarians, the era of antiquity came to an end, and the Middle Ages began.

But the Eastern Roman Empire, thanks to a happy coincidence, survived; the center of its cultural and political life was concentrated around the capital of the new empire, Constantinople, which in the Middle Ages became the largest city in Europe. Waves of barbarians passed by, although, of course, they also had their influence, but for example, the rulers of the Eastern Roman Empire prudently preferred to pay off the fierce conqueror Attila with gold rather than fight. And the destructive impulse of the barbarians was directed specifically at Rome and the Western Roman Empire, which saved the Eastern Empire, from which, after the fall of the Western Empire in the 5th century, the new great state of Byzantium or the Byzantine Empire was formed.

Although the population of Byzantium consisted predominantly of Greeks, they always felt themselves to be the heirs of the great Roman Empire and were called accordingly “Romans,” which in Greek means “Romans.”

Already from the 6th century, under the reign of the brilliant Emperor Justinian and his no less brilliant wife (on our website there is an interesting article about this “first lady of Byzantium”, follow the link) the Byzantine Empire began to slowly recapture the territories once occupied by barbarians. Thus, the Byzantines captured significant territories of modern Italy, which once belonged to the Western Roman Empire, from the Lombard barbarians. The power of the Byzantine emperor extended to northern Africa, and the local city of Alexandria became an important economic and cultural center of the empire in this region. The military campaigns of Byzantium also extended to the East, where continuous wars with the Persians had been going on for several centuries.

The very geographical position of Byzantium, which spread its possessions on three continents at once (Europe, Asia, Africa), made the Byzantine Empire a kind of bridge between the West and the East, a country in which the cultures of different peoples mixed. All this left its mark on social and political life, religious and philosophical ideas and, of course, art.

Conventionally, historians divide the history of the Byzantine Empire into five periods; here is a brief description of them:

The first period of the initial heyday of the empire, its territorial expansions under the emperors Justinian and Heraclius, lasted from the 5th to the 8th centuries. During this period, the active dawn of the Byzantine economy, culture, and military affairs took place.
The second period began with the reign of the Byzantine emperor Leo III the Isaurian and lasted from 717 to 867. At this time, the empire, on the one hand, achieved the greatest development of its culture, but on the other hand, it was overshadowed by numerous, including religious (iconoclasm), which we will write about in more detail later.
The third period is characterized on the one hand by the end of unrest and the transition to relative stability, on the other by constant wars with external enemies; it lasted from 867 to 1081. It is interesting that during this period Byzantium was actively at war with its neighbors, the Bulgarians and our distant ancestors, the Russians. Yes, it was during this period that the campaigns of our Kyiv princes Oleg (the Prophet), Igor, and Svyatoslav to Constantinople (as the capital of Byzantium, Constantinople, was called in Rus') took place.
The fourth period began with the reign of the Komnenos dynasty, the first emperor Alexios Komnenos ascended the Byzantine throne in 1081. This period is also known as the “Komnenian Renaissance”, the name speaks for itself; during this period, Byzantium revived its cultural and political greatness, which had somewhat faded after the unrest and constant wars. The Komnenians turned out to be wise rulers, skillfully balancing in the difficult conditions in which Byzantium found itself at that time: from the East, the borders of the empire were increasingly being pressed by the Seljuk Turks; from the West, Catholic Europe was breathing in, considering the Orthodox Byzantines to be apostates and heretics, which was little better than infidel Muslims.
The fifth period is characterized by the decline of Byzantium, which ultimately led to its death. It lasted from 1261 to 1453. During this period, Byzantium wages a desperate and unequal struggle for survival. The Ottoman Empire, which had gained strength, a new, this time Muslim superpower of the Middle Ages, finally swept away Byzantium.

Fall of Byzantium

What are the main reasons for the fall of Byzantium? Why did an empire that controlled such vast territories and such power (both military and cultural) fall? First of all, the most important reason was the strengthening of the Ottoman Empire; in fact, Byzantium became one of the first victims; subsequently, the Ottoman Janissaries and Sipahis would fray many other European nations, reaching even Vienna in 1529 (from where they were knocked out only by the combined efforts of the Austrians and the Polish troops of King John Sobieski).

But in addition to the Turks, Byzantium also had a number of internal problems, constant wars exhausted this country, many territories that it owned in the past were lost. The conflict with Catholic Europe also had its effect, resulting in the fourth, directed not against infidel Muslims, but against the Byzantines, these “incorrect Orthodox Christian heretics” (from the point of view of Catholic crusaders, of course). Needless to say, the Fourth Crusade, which resulted in the temporary conquest of Constantinople by the crusaders and the formation of the so-called “Latin Republic,” was another important reason for the subsequent decline and fall of the Byzantine Empire.

Also, the fall of Byzantium was greatly facilitated by the numerous political unrest that accompanied the final fifth stage of the history of Byzantium. For example, the Byzantine emperor John Palaiologos V, who reigned from 1341 to 1391, was overthrown from the throne three times (interestingly, first by his father-in-law, then by his son, then by his grandson). The Turks skillfully used intrigues at the court of the Byzantine emperors for their own selfish purposes.

In 1347, the most terrible epidemic of plague, the black death, as this disease was called in the Middle Ages, swept through the territory of Byzantium; the epidemic killed approximately a third of the inhabitants of Byzantium, which became another reason for the weakening and fall of the empire.

When it became clear that the Turks were about to sweep away Byzantium, the latter began to again seek help from the West, but relations with Catholic countries, as well as the Pope, were more than strained, only Venice came to the rescue, whose merchants traded profitably with Byzantium, and Constantinople itself even had an entire Venetian merchant quarter. At the same time, Genoa, which was a trade and political enemy of Venice, on the contrary, helped the Turks in every possible way and was interested in the fall of Byzantium (primarily in order to cause problems for its trade competitors, the Venetians). In a word, instead of uniting and helping Byzantium to withstand the attack of the Ottoman Turks, the Europeans pursued their own personal interests; a handful of Venetian soldiers and volunteers, sent to help Constantinople besieged by the Turks, could no longer do anything.

On May 29, 1453, the ancient capital of Byzantium, the city of Constantinople, fell (later renamed Istanbul by the Turks), and the once great Byzantium fell along with it.

Byzantine culture

The culture of Byzantium is the product of a mixture of cultures of many peoples: Greeks, Romans, Jews, Armenians, Egyptian Copts and the first Syrian Christians. The most striking part of Byzantine culture is its ancient heritage. Many traditions from the times of ancient Greece were preserved and transformed in Byzantium. So the spoken written language of the citizens of the empire was Greek. The cities of the Byzantine Empire preserved Greek architecture, the structure of Byzantine cities was again borrowed from ancient Greece: the heart of the city was the agora - a wide square where public meetings were held. The cities themselves were lavishly decorated with fountains and statues.

The best craftsmen and architects of the empire built the palaces of the Byzantine emperors in Constantinople, the most famous among them is the Great Imperial Palace of Justinian.

The remains of this palace in a medieval engraving.

In Byzantine cities, ancient crafts continued to actively develop; the masterpieces of local jewelers, craftsmen, weavers, blacksmiths, and artists were valued throughout Europe, and the skills of Byzantine craftsmen were actively adopted by representatives of other nations, including the Slavs.

Hippodromes, where chariot races took place, were of great importance in the social, cultural, political and sports life of Byzantium. For the Romans they were about the same as football is for many today. There were even, in modern terms, fan clubs that supported one or another team of chariot hounds. Just as modern ultras football fans who support different football clubs from time to time arrange fights and brawls among themselves, Byzantine fans of chariot racing were also very keen on this matter.

But in addition to just unrest, various groups of Byzantine fans also had strong political influence. So one day, an ordinary brawl between fans at the hippodrome led to the largest uprising in the history of Byzantium, known as “Nika” (literally “win”, this was the slogan of the rebel fans). The uprising of Nik fans almost led to the overthrow of Emperor Justinian. Only thanks to the determination of his wife Theodora and the bribery of the leaders of the uprising, it was possible to suppress it.

Hippodrome in Constantinople.

In the jurisprudence of Byzantium, Roman law, inherited from the Roman Empire, reigned supreme. Moreover, it was in the Byzantine Empire that the theory of Roman law acquired its final form, and such key concepts as law, right, and custom were formed.

The economy in Byzantium was also largely determined by the legacy of the Roman Empire. Each free citizen paid taxes to the treasury on his property and labor activity (a similar tax system was practiced in ancient Rome). High taxes often became the cause of mass discontent, and even unrest. Byzantine coins (known as Roman coins) circulated throughout Europe. These coins were very similar to the Roman ones, but the Byzantine emperors made only a number of minor changes to them. The first coins that began to be minted in Western Europe were, in turn, an imitation of Roman coins.

This is what coins looked like in the Byzantine Empire.

Religion, of course, had a great influence on the culture of Byzantium, as read on.

Religion of Byzantium

In religious terms, Byzantium became the center of Orthodox Christianity. But before that, it was on its territory that the most numerous communities of the first Christians were formed, which greatly enriched its culture, especially in terms of the construction of temples, as well as in the art of icon painting, which originated in Byzantium.

Gradually, Christian churches became the center of public life for Byzantine citizens, pushing aside in this regard the ancient agoras and hippodromes with their rowdy fans. Monumental Byzantine churches, built in the 5th-10th centuries, combine both ancient architecture (from which Christian architects borrowed a lot) and Christian symbolism. The Church of St. Sophia in Constantinople, which was later converted into a mosque, can rightfully be considered the most beautiful temple creation in this regard.

Art of Byzantium

The art of Byzantium was inextricably linked with religion, and the most beautiful thing it gave to the world was the art of icon painting and the art of mosaic frescoes that decorated many churches.

True, one of the political and religious unrest in the history of Byzantium, known as Iconoclasm, was associated with icons. This was the name of the religious and political movement in Byzantium that considered icons to be idols, and therefore subject to destruction. In 730, Emperor Leo III the Isaurian officially banned the veneration of icons. As a result, thousands of icons and mosaics were destroyed.

Subsequently, the power changed, in 787 Empress Irina ascended the throne, who brought back the veneration of icons, and the art of icon painting was revived with its former strength.

The art school of Byzantine icon painters set the traditions of icon painting for the whole world, including its great influence on the art of icon painting in Kievan Rus.

Byzantium, video

And finally, an interesting video about the Byzantine Empire.