Who made up the majority of the population of Byzantium. Byzantium: the history of the rise and fall

BYZANTINE EMPIRE
the eastern part of the Roman Empire, which survived the fall of Rome and the loss of the western provinces at the beginning of the Middle Ages and existed until the conquest of Constantinople (the capital of the Byzantine Empire) by the Turks in 1453. There was a period when it stretched from Spain to Persia, but it was always based on Greece and other Balkan lands and Asia Minor. Until the middle of the 11th century. Byzantium was the most powerful power in the Christian world, and Constantinople was the largest city in Europe. The Byzantines called their country the "Empire of the Romans" (Greek "Roma" - Roman), but it was extremely different from the Roman Empire of Augustus. Byzantium retained the Roman system of government and laws, but in terms of language and culture it was a Greek state, had an oriental-type monarchy, and most importantly, zealously preserved the Christian faith. For centuries, the Byzantine Empire acted as the guardian of Greek culture; thanks to it, the Slavic peoples joined the civilization.
EARLY BYZANTIA
Founding of Constantinople. It would be legitimate to start the history of Byzantium from the moment of the fall of Rome. However, two important decisions that determined the character of this medieval empire - the conversion to Christianity and the founding of Constantinople - were taken by Emperor Constantine I the Great (reigned 324-337) about a century and a half before the fall of the Roman Empire. Diocletian (284-305), who ruled shortly before Constantine, reorganized the administration of the empire, dividing it into East and West. After the death of Diocletian, the empire was plunged into a civil war, when several applicants fought for the throne at once, among whom was Constantine. In 313, Constantine, having defeated his opponents in the West, retreated from the pagan gods with whom Rome was inextricably linked, and declared himself an adherent of Christianity. All of his successors, except one, were Christians, and with the support of the imperial power, Christianity soon spread throughout the empire. Another important decision of Constantine, taken by him after he became the sole emperor, having overthrown his rival in the East, was the election as the new capital of the ancient Greek city of Byzantium, founded by Greek sailors on the European coast of the Bosporus in 659 (or 668) BC . Constantine expanded Byzantium, erected new fortifications, rebuilt it according to the Roman model and gave the city a new name. The official proclamation of the new capital took place in 330 AD.
Fall of the Western Provinces. It seemed that Constantine's administrative and financial policies breathed new life into the united Roman Empire. But the period of unity and prosperity did not last long. The last emperor who owned the entire empire was Theodosius I the Great (reigned 379-395). After his death, the empire was finally divided into East and West. Throughout the 5th c. at the head of the Western Roman Empire were mediocre emperors who were unable to protect their provinces from barbarian raids. In addition, the welfare of the western part of the empire has always depended on the welfare of its eastern part. With the division of the empire, the West was cut off from its main sources of income. Gradually, the western provinces disintegrated into several barbarian states, and in 476 the last emperor of the Western Roman Empire was deposed.
The struggle to save the Eastern Roman Empire. Constantinople and the East as a whole were in a better position. The Eastern Roman Empire had more capable rulers, its borders were less extensive and better fortified, and it was richer and more populous. On the eastern borders, Constantinople retained its possessions during the endless wars with Persia that began in Roman times. However, the Eastern Roman Empire also faced a number of serious problems. The cultural traditions of the Middle Eastern provinces of Syria, Palestine, and Egypt were very different from those of the Greeks and Romans, and the population of these territories regarded imperial domination with disgust. Separatism was closely connected with ecclesiastical strife: in Antioch (Syria) and Alexandria (Egypt) every now and then new teachings appeared, which the Ecumenical Councils condemned as heretical. Of all the heresies, Monophysitism has been the most troubling. Constantinople's attempts to reach a compromise between orthodox and Monophysite teachings led to a schism between the Roman and Eastern churches. The split was overcome after the accession to the throne of Justin I (reigned 518-527), an unshakable orthodox, but Rome and Constantinople continued to drift apart in doctrine, worship and church organization. First of all, Constantinople objected to the pope's claim to supremacy over the entire Christian church. Discord arose from time to time, which led in 1054 to the final split (schism) of the Christian Church into the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox.

Justinian I. A large-scale attempt to regain power over the West was made by Emperor Justinian I (reigned 527-565). Military campaigns led by outstanding commanders - Belisarius, and later Narses - ended with great success. Italy, North Africa and southern Spain were conquered. However, in the Balkans, the invasion of the Slavic tribes, crossing the Danube and devastating the Byzantine lands, could not be stopped. In addition, Justinian had to content himself with a tenuous truce with Persia, following a long and inconclusive war. In the empire itself, Justinian maintained the traditions of imperial luxury. Under him, such masterpieces of architecture as the Cathedral of St. Sophia in Constantinople and the church of San Vitale in Ravenna, aqueducts, baths, public buildings in cities and border fortresses were also built. Perhaps Justinian's most significant achievement was the codification of Roman law. Although it was subsequently replaced by other codes in Byzantium itself, in the West, Roman law formed the basis of the laws of France, Germany and Italy. Justinian had a wonderful assistant - his wife Theodora. Once she saved the crown for him by persuading Justinian to stay in the capital during the riots. Theodora supported the Monophysites. Under her influence, and also faced with the political realities of the rise of the Monophysites in the east, Justinian was forced to move away from the orthodox position he had held in the early period of his reign. Justinian is unanimously recognized as one of the greatest Byzantine emperors. He restored cultural ties between Rome and Constantinople and prolonged the period of prosperity for the North African region by 100 years. During his reign, the empire reached its maximum size.

FORMATION OF MEDIEVAL BYZANTH
A century and a half after Justinian, the face of the empire changed completely. She lost most of her possessions, and the remaining provinces were reorganized. Greek replaced Latin as the official language. Even the national composition of the empire changed. By the 8th c. the country effectively ceased to be the Eastern Roman Empire and became the medieval Byzantine Empire. Military setbacks began shortly after Justinian's death. The Germanic tribes of the Lombards invaded northern Italy and established duchies in their own right further south. Byzantium retained only Sicily, the extreme south of the Apennine Peninsula (Bruttius and Calabria, i.e. "sock" and "heel"), as well as the corridor between Rome and Ravenna, the seat of the imperial governor. The northern borders of the empire were threatened by the Asian nomadic tribes of the Avars. Slavs poured into the Balkans, who began to populate these lands, establishing their principalities on them.
Heraclius. Together with the attacks of the barbarians, the empire had to endure a devastating war with Persia. Detachments of Persian troops invaded Syria, Palestine, Egypt and Asia Minor. Constantinople was almost taken. In 610 Heraclius (reigned 610-641), the son of the governor of North Africa, arrived in Constantinople and took power into his own hands. He devoted the first decade of his reign to raising a crushed empire from ruins. He raised the morale of the army, reorganized it, found allies in the Caucasus, and defeated the Persians in several brilliant campaigns. By 628, Persia was finally defeated, and peace reigned on the eastern borders of the empire. However, the war undermined the strength of the empire. In 633, the Arabs, who converted to Islam and were full of religious enthusiasm, launched an invasion of the Middle East. Egypt, Palestine and Syria, which Heraclius managed to return to the empire, were again lost by 641 (the year of his death). By the end of the century, the empire had lost North Africa. Now Byzantium consisted of small territories in Italy, constantly devastated by the Slavs of the Balkan provinces, and in Asia Minor, now and then suffering from the raids of the Arabs. Other emperors of the Heraclius dynasty fought off the enemies, as far as it was in their power. The provinces were reorganized, and administrative and military policies were radically revised. The Slavs were allocated state lands for settlement, which made them subjects of the empire. With the help of skillful diplomacy, Byzantium managed to make allies and trading partners of the Turkic-speaking tribes of the Khazars, who inhabited the lands north of the Caspian Sea.
Isaurian (Syrian) dynasty. The policy of the emperors of the Heraclius dynasty was continued by Leo III (ruled 717-741), the founder of the Isaurian dynasty. The Isaurian emperors were active and successful rulers. They could not return the lands occupied by the Slavs, but at least they managed to keep the Slavs out of Constantinople. In Asia Minor, they fought off the Arabs, driving them out of these territories. However, they failed in Italy. Forced to repel the raids of the Slavs and Arabs, absorbed in ecclesiastical disputes, they had neither the time nor the means to protect the corridor connecting Rome with Ravenna from the aggressive Lombards. Around 751, the Byzantine governor (exarch) surrendered Ravenna to the Lombards. The Pope, who himself was attacked by the Lombards, received help from the Franks from the north, and in 800 Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne as emperor in Rome. The Byzantines considered this act of the pope an infringement on their rights and in the future did not recognize the legitimacy of the Western emperors of the Holy Roman Empire. The Isaurian emperors were especially famous for their role in the turbulent events around iconoclasm. Iconoclasm is a heretical religious movement against the worship of icons, images of Jesus Christ and saints. He was supported by broad sections of society and many clergy, especially in Asia Minor. However, it went against ancient church customs and was condemned by the Roman church. In the end, after the cathedral restored the veneration of icons in 843, the movement was suppressed.
THE GOLDEN AGE OF THE MEDIEVAL BYZANTINE
Amorian and Macedonian dynasties. The Isaurian dynasty was replaced by the short-lived Amorian, or Phrygian, dynasty (820-867), whose founder was Michael II, formerly a simple soldier from the city of Amorius in Asia Minor. Under Emperor Michael III (reigned 842-867), the empire entered into a period of new expansion that lasted almost 200 years (842-1025), which made us recall its former power. However, the Amorian dynasty was overthrown by Basil, the harsh and ambitious favorite of the emperor. A peasant, in the recent past a groom, Vasily rose to the post of great chamberlain, after which he achieved the execution of Varda, the powerful uncle of Michael III, and a year later he deposed and executed Michael himself. By origin, Basil was an Armenian, but was born in Macedonia (northern Greece), and therefore the dynasty he founded was called the Macedonian. The Macedonian dynasty was very popular and lasted until 1056. Basil I (reigned 867-886) was an energetic and gifted ruler. His administrative transformations were continued by Leo VI the Wise (ruled 886-912), during whose reign the empire suffered setbacks: the Arabs captured Sicily, the Russian prince Oleg approached Constantinople. Leo's son Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus (ruled 913-959) focused on literary activity, and military affairs were managed by the co-ruler, naval commander Roman I Lakapin (ruled 913-944). The son of Constantine Roman II (reigned in 959-963) died four years after accession to the throne, leaving two young sons, until the age of majority of which the outstanding military leaders Nicephorus II Phocas (in 963-969) and John I Tzimisces (in 969) ruled as co-emperors -976). Having reached adulthood, the son of Roman II ascended the throne under the name of Basil II (reigned 976-1025).

Successes in the fight against the Arabs. The military successes of Byzantium under the emperors of the Macedonian dynasty took place mainly on two fronts: in the struggle against the Arabs in the east, and against the Bulgarians in the north. The advance of the Arabs into the interior regions of Asia Minor was stopped by the Isaurian emperors in the 8th century, however, the Muslims fortified themselves in the southeastern mountainous regions, from where they continually raided the Christian regions. The Arab fleet dominated the Mediterranean. Sicily and Crete were captured, and Cyprus was under the complete control of the Muslims. In the middle of the 9th c. the situation has changed. Under pressure from the large landowners of Asia Minor, who wanted to push the borders of the state to the east and expand their possessions at the expense of new lands, the Byzantine army invaded Armenia and Mesopotamia, established control over the Taurus Mountains and captured Syria and even Palestine. Equally important was the annexation of two islands - Crete and Cyprus.
War against the Bulgarians. In the Balkans, the main problem in the period from 842 to 1025 was the threat from the First Bulgarian Kingdom, which took shape in the second half of the 9th century. states of the Slavs and Turkic-speaking Proto-Bulgarians. In 865, the Bulgarian prince Boris I introduced Christianity among the people subject to him. However, the adoption of Christianity in no way cooled the ambitious plans of the Bulgarian rulers. The son of Boris, Tsar Simeon, invaded Byzantium several times, trying to capture Constantinople. His plans were violated by the naval commander Roman Lekapin, who later became co-emperor. Nevertheless, the empire had to be on the alert. At a critical moment, Nikephoros II, who focused on conquests in the east, turned to the Kyiv prince Svyatoslav for help in pacifying the Bulgarians, but found that the Russians themselves were striving to take the place of the Bulgarians. In 971, John I finally defeated and expelled the Russians and annexed the eastern part of Bulgaria to the empire. Bulgaria was finally conquered by his successor Vasily II during several fierce campaigns against the Bulgarian king Samuil, who created a state on the territory of Macedonia with the capital in the city of Ohrid (modern Ohrid). After Basil occupied Ohrid in 1018, Bulgaria was divided into several provinces as part of the Byzantine Empire, and Basil received the nickname Bulgar Slayer.
Italy. The situation in Italy, as had happened before, was less favorable. Under Alberic, "princeps and senator of all the Romans," papal power was unaffected by Byzantium, but from 961 control of the popes passed to the German king Otto I of the Saxon dynasty, who in 962 was crowned in Rome as Holy Roman Emperor. Otto sought to conclude an alliance with Constantinople, and after two unsuccessful embassies in 972, he still managed to get the hand of Theophano, a relative of Emperor John I, for his son Otto II.
Internal achievements of the empire. During the reign of the Macedonian dynasty, the Byzantines achieved impressive success. Literature and art flourished. Basil I created a commission tasked with revising the legislation and formulating it in Greek. Under Basil's son Leo VI, a collection of laws was compiled, known as the Basilicas, partly based on the code of Justinian and in fact replacing it.
Missionary. No less important in this period of development of the country was missionary activity. It was started by Cyril and Methodius, who, as preachers of Christianity among the Slavs, reached Moravia itself (although in the end the region ended up in the sphere of influence of the Catholic Church). The Balkan Slavs who lived in the neighborhood of Byzantium adopted Orthodoxy, although this did not go without a short quarrel with Rome, when the cunning and unprincipled Bulgarian prince Boris, seeking privileges for the newly created church, put either Rome or Constantinople. The Slavs received the right to hold services in their native language (Old Church Slavonic). Slavs and Greeks jointly trained priests and monks and translated religious literature from Greek. About a hundred years later, in 989, the church achieved another success when Prince Vladimir of Kyiv converted to Christianity and established close ties between Kievan Rus and its new Christian church with Byzantium. This union was sealed by the marriage of Vasily's sister Anna and Prince Vladimir.
Patriarchy of Photius. In the last years of the Amorian dynasty and the first years of the Macedonian dynasty, Christian unity was undermined by a major conflict with Rome in connection with the appointment of Photius, a layman of great learning, as Patriarch of Constantinople. In 863, the pope declared the appointment null and void, and in response, in 867, a church council in Constantinople announced the removal of the pope.
DECLINE OF THE BYZANTINE EMPIRE
The collapse of the 11th century After the death of Basil II, Byzantium entered into a period of reign of mediocre emperors that lasted until 1081. At this time, an external threat loomed over the country, which eventually led to the loss of most of the territory by the empire. From the north, the Turkic-speaking nomadic tribes of the Pechenegs advanced, devastating the lands south of the Danube. But far more devastating for the empire were the losses suffered in Italy and Asia Minor. Beginning in 1016, the Normans rushed to southern Italy in search of fortune, serving as mercenaries in endless petty wars. In the second half of the century, they began to wage wars of conquest under the leadership of the ambitious Robert Guiscard and very quickly took possession of all the south of Italy and expelled the Arabs from Sicily. In 1071, Robert Guiscard occupied the last remaining Byzantine fortresses in southern Italy and, having crossed the Adriatic Sea, invaded Greece. Meanwhile, the raids of the Turkic tribes on Asia Minor became more frequent. By the middle of the century, Southwestern Asia was captured by the armies of the Seljuk khans, who in 1055 conquered the weakened Baghdad Caliphate. In 1071, the Seljuk ruler Alp-Arslan defeated the Byzantine army led by Emperor Roman IV Diogenes at the Battle of Manzikert in Armenia. After this defeat, Byzantium was never able to recover, and the weakness of the central government led to the fact that the Turks poured into Asia Minor. The Seljuks created a Muslim state here, known as the Rum ("Roman") Sultanate, with its capital in Iconium (modern Konya). At one time, young Byzantium managed to survive the invasions of Arabs and Slavs into Asia Minor and Greece. To the collapse of the 11th century. gave special reasons that had nothing to do with the onslaught of the Normans and Turks. The history of Byzantium between 1025 and 1081 is marked by the reign of exceptionally weak emperors and the ruinous strife between the civil bureaucracy in Constantinople and the military landed aristocracy in the provinces. After the death of Basil II, the throne passed first to his incompetent brother Constantine VIII (ruled 1025-1028), and then to his two elderly nieces, Zoe (ruled 1028-1050) and Theodora (1055-1056), the last representatives of the Macedonian dynasty. Empress Zoe was not lucky with three husbands and an adopted son, who did not stay in power for long, but nevertheless devastated the imperial treasury. After Theodora's death, Byzantine politics came under the control of a party headed by the powerful Duca family.

The Komnenos dynasty. The further decline of the empire was temporarily suspended with the coming to power of a representative of the military aristocracy, Alexei I Komnenos (1081-1118). The Komnenos dynasty ruled until 1185. Alexei did not have the strength to expel the Seljuks from Asia Minor, but at least he managed to conclude an agreement with them that stabilized the situation. After that, he began to fight with the Normans. First of all, Alexei tried to use all his military resources, and also attracted mercenaries from the Seljuks. In addition, at the cost of significant trading privileges, he managed to buy the support of Venice with its fleet. So he managed to restrain the ambitious Robert Guiscard, who was entrenched in Greece (d. 1085). Having stopped the advance of the Normans, Alexei again took up the Seljuks. But here he was seriously hampered by the crusader movement that had begun in the west. He hoped that mercenaries would serve in his army during campaigns in Asia Minor. But the 1st crusade, which began in 1096, pursued goals that differed from those outlined by Alexei. The crusaders saw their task as simply driving the infidels out of Christian holy places, in particular from Jerusalem, while they often ravaged the provinces of Byzantium itself. As a result of the 1st crusade, the crusaders created new states on the territory of the former Byzantine provinces of Syria and Palestine, which, however, did not last long. The influx of crusaders into the eastern Mediterranean weakened the position of Byzantium. The history of Byzantium under Komnenos can be characterized as a period not of rebirth, but of survival. Byzantine diplomacy, which has always been considered the greatest asset of the empire, succeeded in playing off the crusader states in Syria, the strengthening Balkan states, Hungary, Venice and other Italian cities, as well as the Norman Sicilian kingdom. The same policy was carried out with respect to various Islamic states, which were sworn enemies. Inside the country, the policy of the Komnenos led to the strengthening of large landlords at the expense of weakening the central government. As a reward for military service, the provincial nobility received huge possessions. Even the power of the Komnenos could not stop the slide of the state towards feudal relations and compensate for the loss of income. Financial difficulties were exacerbated by the reduction in revenue from customs duties in the port of Constantinople. After three prominent rulers, Alexei I, John II and Manuel I, in 1180-1185 weak representatives of the Komnenos dynasty came to power, the last of which was Andronicus I Komnenos (reigned 1183-1185), who made an unsuccessful attempt to strengthen the central power. In 1185, Isaac II (reigned 1185-1195), the first of the four emperors of the Angel dynasty, seized the throne. The Angels lacked both the means and the strength of character to prevent the political collapse of the empire or to oppose the West. In 1186 Bulgaria regained its independence, and in 1204 a crushing blow fell upon Constantinople from the west.
4th crusade. From 1095 to 1195, three waves of crusaders passed through the territory of Byzantium, who repeatedly looted here. Therefore, every time the Byzantine emperors were in a hurry to send them out of the empire as soon as possible. Under the Komnenos, Venetian merchants received trade concessions in Constantinople; very soon most of the foreign trade passed to them from the owners. After the accession to the throne of Andronicus Comnenus in 1183, Italian concessions were withdrawn, and Italian merchants were either killed by a mob or sold into slavery. However, the emperors from the dynasty of Angels who came to power after Andronicus were forced to restore trade privileges. The 3rd Crusade (1187-1192) turned out to be a complete failure: the Western barons were completely unable to regain control over Palestine and Syria, which were conquered during the 1st Crusade, but lost after the 2nd Crusade. Pious Europeans cast envious glances at the Christian relics collected in Constantinople. Finally, after 1054, a clear schism emerged between the Greek and Roman churches. Of course, the popes never directly called for the Christians to storm the Christian city, but they sought to use the situation in order to establish direct control over the Greek church. Eventually, the crusaders turned their weapons against Constantinople. The pretext for the attack was the removal of Isaac II Angel by his brother Alexei III. Isaac's son fled to Venice, where he promised the aged Doge Enrico Dandolo money, assistance to the crusaders, and the union of the Greek and Roman churches in exchange for support from the Venetians in restoring his father's power. The 4th crusade, organized by Venice with the support of the French military, was turned against the Byzantine Empire. The crusaders landed at Constantinople, meeting only token resistance. Alexei III, who usurped power, fled, Isaac became emperor again, and his son was crowned as co-emperor Alexei IV. As a result of the outbreak of a popular uprising, a change of power took place, the aged Isaac died, and his son was killed in the prison where he was imprisoned. Enraged crusaders in April 1204 took Constantinople by storm (for the first time since its founding) and betrayed the city to plunder and destruction, after which they created a feudal state here, the Latin Empire, headed by Baldwin I of Flanders. Byzantine lands were divided into fiefs and transferred to the French barons. However, the Byzantine princes managed to maintain control over three regions: the Despotate of Epirus in northwestern Greece, the Empire of Nicaea in Asia Minor, and the Empire of Trebizond on the southeastern coast of the Black Sea.
NEW RISE AND FINAL COLLAPSE
Restoration of Byzantium. The power of the Latins in the Aegean region was, generally speaking, not very strong. Epirus, the Empire of Nicaea, and Bulgaria vied with the Latin Empire and with each other, making attempts by military and diplomatic means to regain control of Constantinople and drive out the western feudal lords who had entrenched themselves in various parts of Greece, in the Balkans and in the Aegean Sea. The Empire of Nicaea became the winner in the struggle for Constantinople. July 15, 1261 Constantinople surrendered without resistance to Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos. However, the possessions of the Latin feudal lords in Greece turned out to be more stable, and the Byzantines did not succeed in putting an end to them. The Byzantine dynasty of Palaiologos, which won the battle, ruled Constantinople until its fall in 1453. The empire's possessions were significantly reduced, partly as a result of invasions from the west, partly as a result of the unstable situation in Asia Minor, in which in the middle of the 13th century. the Mongols invaded. Later, most of it ended up in the hands of small Turkic beyliks (principalities). Greece was dominated by Spanish mercenaries from the Catalan Company, which one of the Palaiologos invited to fight the Turks. Within the significantly reduced borders of the empire split into parts, the Palaiologos dynasty in the 14th century. torn apart by civil unrest and strife on religious grounds. The imperial power turned out to be weakened and reduced to supremacy over a system of semi-feudal appanages: instead of being controlled by governors responsible to the central government, the lands were transferred to members of the imperial family. The financial resources of the empire were so depleted that the emperors depended to a large extent on loans granted by Venice and Genoa, or on the appropriation of wealth in private hands, both secular and ecclesiastical. Most of the trade in the empire was controlled by Venice and Genoa. At the end of the Middle Ages, the Byzantine church was significantly strengthened, and its tough opposition to the Roman church was one of the reasons why the Byzantine emperors failed to obtain military assistance from the West.

Fall of Byzantium. At the end of the Middle Ages, the power of the Ottomans increased, who initially ruled in a small Turkish udzha (border inheritance), only 160 km away from Constantinople. During the 14th century The Ottoman state took over all other Turkish regions in Asia Minor and penetrated into the Balkans, formerly belonging to the Byzantine Empire. A wise domestic policy of consolidation, coupled with military superiority, ensured that the Ottoman sovereigns dominated their strife-torn Christian adversaries. By 1400, only the cities of Constantinople and Thessaloniki, plus small enclaves in southern Greece, remained from the Byzantine Empire. During the last 40 years of its existence, Byzantium was actually a vassal of the Ottomans. She was forced to supply recruits to the Ottoman army, and the Byzantine emperor had to personally appear at the call of the sultans. Manuel II (reigned 1391-1425), one of the brilliant representatives of Greek culture and Roman imperial tradition, visited the capitals of European states in a vain attempt to secure military assistance against the Ottomans. On May 29, 1453, Constantinople was taken by the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II, while the last Byzantine emperor, Constantine XI, fell in battle. Athens and the Peloponnese held out for several more years, Trebizond fell in 1461. The Turks renamed Constantinople Istanbul and made it the capital of the Ottoman Empire.

GOVERNMENT
Emperor. Throughout the Middle Ages, the tradition of monarchical power, inherited by Byzantium from the Hellenistic monarchies and imperial Rome, was not interrupted. The basis of the entire Byzantine system of government was the belief that the emperor was the chosen one of God, his viceroy on Earth, and that the imperial power was a reflection in time and space of the supreme power of God. In addition, Byzantium believed that its "Roman" empire had the right to universal power: in accordance with a widely spread legend, all sovereigns in the world formed a single "royal family", headed by the Byzantine emperor. The inevitable consequence was an autocratic form of government. Emperor, from the 7th c. who bore the title of "basileus" (or "basileus"), single-handedly determined the domestic and foreign policy of the country. He was the supreme legislator, ruler, protector of the church, and commander in chief. Theoretically, the emperor was elected by the senate, the people and the army. However, in practice, the decisive vote belonged either to a powerful party of the aristocracy, or, which happened much more often, to the army. The people vigorously approved the decision, and the elected emperor was crowned king by the Patriarch of Constantinople. The emperor, as the representative of Jesus Christ on earth, had a special duty to protect the church. Church and state in Byzantium were closely connected with each other. Their relationship is often defined by the term "caesaropapism". However, this term, implying the subordination of the church to the state or emperor, is somewhat misleading: in fact, it was about interdependence, not subordination. The emperor was not the head of the church, he did not have the right to perform the religious duties of a clergyman. However, the court religious ceremonial was closely connected with worship. There were certain mechanisms that supported the stability of imperial power. Often children were crowned immediately after birth, which ensured the continuity of the dynasty. If a child or an incapable ruler became emperor, it was customary to crown junior emperors, or co-rulers, who might or might not belong to the ruling dynasty. Sometimes commanders or naval commanders became co-rulers, who first acquired control over the state, and then legitimized their position, for example, through marriage. This is how the naval commander Roman I Lekapin and the commander Nicephorus II Phocas (reigned 963-969) came to power. Thus, the most important feature of the Byzantine system of government was the strict succession of dynasties. There were sometimes periods of bloody struggle for the throne, civil wars and mismanagement, but they did not last long.
Right. Byzantine legislation was given a decisive impetus by Roman law, although traces of both Christian and Middle Eastern influences are clearly felt. Legislative power belonged to the emperor: changes in laws were usually introduced by imperial edicts. Legal commissions have been set up from time to time to codify and revise existing laws. Older codices were in Latin, the most famous of them being Justinian's Digests (533) with additions (Novels). Obviously Byzantine in character was the collection of laws of the Basilica compiled in Greek, work on which began in the 9th century. under Basil I. Until the last stage of the country's history, the church had very little influence on law. Basilicas even canceled some of the privileges received by the church in the 8th century. However, gradually the influence of the church increased. In the 14-15 centuries. both laity and clergy were already placed at the head of the courts. The spheres of activity of church and state overlapped to a large extent from the very beginning. Imperial codes contained provisions relating to religion. The Code of Justinian, for example, included rules of conduct in monastic communities and even attempted to define the goals of monastic life. The emperor, like the patriarch, was responsible for the proper administration of the church, and only secular authorities had the means to maintain discipline and carry out punishments, whether in church or secular life.
Control system. The administrative and legal system of Byzantium was inherited from the late Roman Empire. In general, the organs of the central government - the imperial court, the treasury, the court and the secretariat - functioned separately. Each of them was headed by several dignitaries directly responsible to the emperor, which reduced the danger of the appearance of too strong ministers. In addition to actual positions, there was an elaborate system of ranks. Some were assigned to officials, others were purely honorary. Each title corresponded to a certain uniform worn on official occasions; the emperor personally paid the official an annual remuneration. In the provinces, the Roman administrative system was changed. In the late Roman Empire, the civil and military administration of the provinces was separated. However, since the 7th century, in connection with the needs of defense and territorial concessions to the Slavs and Arabs, both military and civil power in the provinces was concentrated in one hand. The new administrative-territorial units were called themes (a military term for an army corps). Themes were often named after the corps based in them. For example, the Fem Bukelaria got its name from the Bukelaria Regiment. The system of themes first appeared in Asia Minor. Gradually, during the 8th-9th centuries, the system of local government in the Byzantine possessions in Europe was reorganized in a similar way.
Army and Navy. The most important task of the empire, which almost continuously waged wars, was the organization of defense. The regular military corps in the provinces were subordinate to the military leaders, at the same time - to the governors of the provinces. These corps, in turn, were divided into smaller units, the commanders of which were responsible both for the corresponding army unit and for the order in the given territory. Along the borders, regular border posts were created, headed by the so-called. "Akrits", who have become virtually undivided masters of the borders in a constant struggle with the Arabs and Slavs. Epic poems and ballads about the hero Digenis Akrita, "the lord of the border, born of two peoples," glorified and glorified this life. The best troops were stationed in Constantinople and at a distance of 50 km from the city, along the Great Wall that protected the capital. The imperial guard, which had special privileges and salaries, attracted the best soldiers from abroad: at the beginning of the 11th century. these were warriors from Russia, and after the conquest of England by the Normans in 1066, many Anglo-Saxons expelled from there. The army had gunners, craftsmen who specialized in fortification and siege work, artillery to support the infantry, and heavy cavalry, which formed the backbone of the army. Since the Byzantine Empire owned many islands and had a very long coastline, a fleet was vital to it. The solution of naval tasks was entrusted to the coastal provinces in the south-west of Asia Minor, the coastal districts of Greece, as well as the islands of the Aegean Sea, which were obliged to equip ships and provide them with sailors. In addition, a fleet was based in the area of ​​​​Constantinople under the command of a high-ranking naval commander. Byzantine warships varied in size. Some had two rowing decks and up to 300 rowers. Others were smaller, but developed more speed. The Byzantine fleet was famous for its destructive Greek fire, the secret of which was one of the most important state secrets. It was an incendiary mixture, probably prepared from oil, sulfur and saltpeter, and thrown onto enemy ships with the help of catapults. The army and navy were recruited partly from local recruits, partly from foreign mercenaries. From the 7th to the 11th century in Byzantium, a system was practiced in which residents were provided with land and a small payment in exchange for service in the army or navy. Military service passed from father to eldest son, which provided the state with a constant influx of local recruits. In the 11th century this system was destroyed. The weak central government deliberately ignored the needs of defense and allowed residents to pay off military service. Moreover, local landlords began to appropriate the lands of their poor neighbors, in fact turning the latter into serfs. In the 12th century, during the reign of the Comneni and later, the state had to agree to granting certain privileges to large landowners and exemption from taxes in exchange for the creation of their own armies. Nevertheless, at all times, Byzantium was largely dependent on military mercenaries, although the funds for their maintenance fell on the treasury as a heavy burden. Starting from the 11th century, the support from the navy of Venice, and then Genoa, cost the empire even more expensive, which had to be bought with generous trade privileges, and later with direct territorial concessions.
Diplomacy. The principles of defense of Byzantium gave a special role to its diplomacy. As long as it was possible, they never skimped on impressing foreign countries with luxury or buying potential enemies. Embassies to foreign courts presented magnificent works of art or brocade garments as gifts. Important envoys arriving in the capital were received in the Grand Palace with all the splendor of imperial ceremonials. Young sovereigns from neighboring countries were often brought up at the Byzantine court. When an alliance was important to Byzantine politics, there was always the option of proposing marriage to a member of the imperial family. At the end of the Middle Ages, marriages between Byzantine princes and Western European brides became commonplace, and since the time of the Crusades, Hungarian, Norman or German blood flowed in the veins of many Greek aristocratic families.
CHURCH
Rome and Constantinople. Byzantium was proud to be a Christian state. By the middle of the 5th c. the Christian church was divided into five large regions under the control of the supreme bishops, or patriarchs: Roman in the West, Constantinople, Antioch, Jerusalem and Alexandria - in the East. Since Constantinople was the eastern capital of the empire, the corresponding patriarchate was considered the second after Rome, while the rest lost their significance after the 7th century. Arabs took over. Thus, Rome and Constantinople turned out to be the centers of medieval Christianity, but their rituals, church politics and theological views gradually moved further and further away from each other. In 1054, the papal legate anathematized Patriarch Michael Cerularius and "his followers", in response he received anathemas from the council that met in Constantinople. In 1089, it seemed to Emperor Alexei I that the schism was easily overcome, but after the 4th Crusade in 1204, the differences between Rome and Constantinople became so clear that nothing could force the Greek Church and the Greek people to abandon the schism.
Clergy. The spiritual head of the Byzantine Church was the Patriarch of Constantinople. The decisive vote in his appointment was with the emperor, but the patriarchs did not always turn out to be puppets of the imperial power. Sometimes the patriarchs could openly criticize the actions of the emperors. Thus, Patriarch Polyeuctus refused to crown Emperor John I Tzimisces until he refused to marry the widow of his rival, Empress Theophano. The patriarch headed the hierarchical structure of the white clergy, which included metropolitans and bishops who headed the provinces and dioceses, "autocephalous" archbishops who did not have bishops under their command, priests, deacons and readers, special cathedral ministers, such as custodians of archives and treasuries, as well as the regents who were in charge of church music.
Monasticism. Monasticism was an integral part of Byzantine society. Originating in Egypt in the early 4th century, the monastic movement has fired the Christian imagination for generations. In organizational terms, it took different forms, and among the Orthodox they were more flexible than among the Catholics. Its two main types were cenobitic ("coenobitic") monasticism and hermitage. Those who chose cenobitic monasticism lived in monasteries under the guidance of abbots. Their main tasks were the contemplation and celebration of the liturgy. In addition to monastic communities, there were associations called laurels, the way of life in which was an intermediate step between kinovia and hermitage: the monks here gathered together, as a rule, only on Saturdays and Sundays to perform services and spiritual communion. The hermits made various kinds of vows on themselves. Some of them, called stylites, lived on poles, others, dendrites, lived on trees. One of the numerous centers of both hermitage and monasteries was Cappadocia in Asia Minor. The monks lived in cells carved into the rocks called cones. The purpose of the hermits was solitude, but they never refused to help the suffering. And the more holy a person was considered, the more peasants turned to him for help in all matters of everyday life. In case of need, both the rich and the poor received help from the monks. Widowed empresses, as well as politically dubious persons, were removed to monasteries; the poor could count on free funerals there; monks surrounded orphans and elders with care in special houses; the sick were nursed in the monastic hospitals; even in the poorest peasant hut, the monks provided friendly support and advice to those in need.
theological disputes. The Byzantines inherited from the ancient Greeks their love of discussion, which in the Middle Ages usually found expression in disputes over theological issues. This propensity for controversy led to the spread of heresies that accompanied the entire history of Byzantium. At the dawn of the empire, the Arians denied the divine nature of Jesus Christ; the Nestorians believed that the divine and human nature existed in it separately and separately, never completely merging into one person of the incarnated Christ; Monophysites were of the opinion that only one nature is inherent in Jesus Christ - divine. Arianism began to lose its positions in the East after the 4th century, but it was never completely possible to eradicate Nestorianism and Monophysitism. These currents flourished in the southeastern provinces of Syria, Palestine and Egypt. The schismatic sects survived under Muslim rule, after these Byzantine provinces had been conquered by the Arabs. In the 8th-9th centuries. iconoclasts opposed the veneration of images of Christ and saints; their teaching was for a long time the official teaching of the Eastern Church, which was shared by emperors and patriarchs. The greatest concern was caused by dualistic heresies, which believed that only the spiritual world is the kingdom of God, and the material world is the result of the activity of the lower devilish spirit. The reason for the last major theological dispute was the doctrine of hesychasm, which split the Orthodox Church in the 14th century. It was about the way in which a person could know God while still alive.
Church cathedrals. All the Ecumenical Councils in the period before the division of the churches in 1054 were held in the largest Byzantine cities - Constantinople, Nicaea, Chalcedon and Ephesus, which testified both to the important role of the Eastern Church and to the wide spread of heretical teachings in the East. The 1st Ecumenical Council was convened by Constantine the Great in Nicaea in 325. Thus, a tradition was created in accordance with which the emperor was responsible for maintaining the purity of the dogma. These councils were primarily ecclesiastical assemblies of bishops, who were responsible for formulating rules concerning doctrine and ecclesiastical discipline.
Missionary activity. The Eastern Church devoted no less energy to missionary work than the Roman Church. The Byzantines converted the southern Slavs and Russia to Christianity, they also began its spread among the Hungarians and the Great Moravian Slavs. Traces of the influence of Byzantine Christians can be found in the Czech Republic and Hungary, their huge role in the Balkans and in Russia is undoubted. Starting from the 9th c. Bulgarians and other Balkan peoples were in close contact with both the Byzantine church and the civilization of the empire, since church and state, missionaries and diplomats acted hand in hand. The Orthodox Church of Kievan Rus was directly subordinate to the Patriarch of Constantinople. The Byzantine Empire fell, but its church survived. As the Middle Ages came to an end, the church among the Greeks and Balkan Slavs gained more and more authority and was not broken even by the domination of the Turks.

SOCIO-ECONOMIC LIFE OF BYZANTIA
Diversity within the empire. The ethnically diverse population of the Byzantine Empire was united by belonging to the empire and Christianity, and was also to some extent influenced by Hellenistic traditions. Armenians, Greeks, Slavs had their own linguistic and cultural traditions. However, the Greek language has always remained the main literary and state language of the empire, and fluency in it was certainly required from an ambitious scientist or politician. There was no racial or social discrimination in the country. Among the Byzantine emperors were Illyrians, Armenians, Turks, Phrygians and Slavs.
Constantinople. The center and focus of the entire life of the empire was its capital. The city was ideally located at the crossroads of two great trade routes: the land route between Europe and Southwest Asia and the sea route between the Black and Mediterranean Seas. The sea route led from the Black to the Aegean Sea through the narrow Bosphorus (Bosporus) Strait, then through the small Sea of ​​Marmara squeezed by land and, finally, another strait - the Dardanelles. Immediately before the exit from the Bosphorus to the Sea of ​​Marmara, a narrow crescent-shaped bay, called the Golden Horn, deeply protrudes into the shore. It was a magnificent natural harbor that protected ships from dangerous oncoming currents in the strait. Constantinople was erected on a triangular promontory between the Golden Horn and the Sea of ​​Marmara. From two sides the city was protected by water, and from the west, from the land side, by strong walls. Another line of fortifications, known as the Great Wall, ran 50 km to the west. The majestic residence of the imperial power was also a trading center for merchants of all conceivable nationalities. The more privileged had their own quarters and even their own churches. The same privilege was given to the Anglo-Saxon Imperial Guard, which at the end of the 11th century. belonged to a small Latin church of St. Nicholas, as well as Muslim travelers, merchants and ambassadors who had their own mosque in Constantinople. Residential and commercial areas mainly adjoined the Golden Horn. Here, and also on both sides of the beautiful, wooded, steep slope that towered over the Bosphorus, residential quarters grew up and monasteries and chapels were erected. The city grew, but the heart of the empire was still a triangle, on which the city of Constantine and Justinian originally arose. The complex of imperial buildings, known as the Grand Palace, was located here, and next to it was the church of St. Sofia (Hagia Sophia) and the Church of St. Irene and St. Sergius and Bacchus. Nearby were the hippodrome and the Senate building. From here Mesa (Middle Street), the main street, led to the western and southwestern parts of the city.
Byzantine trade. Trade flourished in many cities of the Byzantine Empire, for example, in Thessaloniki (Greece), Ephesus and Trebizond (Asia Minor) or Chersonese (Crimea). Some cities had their own specialization. Corinth and Thebes, as well as Constantinople itself, were famous for the production of silk. As in Western Europe, merchants and artisans were organized into guilds. A good idea of ​​trade in Constantinople is given by a 10th-century An eparch's book containing a list of rules for artisans and merchants, both in everyday goods such as candles, bread or fish, and in luxury goods. Some luxury items, such as the finest silks and brocades, could not be exported. They were intended only for the imperial court and could only be taken abroad as imperial gifts, for example, to kings or caliphs. The importation of goods could only be carried out in accordance with certain agreements. A number of trade agreements were concluded with friendly peoples, in particular with the Eastern Slavs, who created in the 9th century. own state. Along the great Russian rivers, the Eastern Slavs descended south to Byzantium, where they found ready markets for their goods, mainly furs, wax, honey and slaves. The leading role of Byzantium in international trade was based on income from port services. However, in the 11th c. there was an economic crisis. The gold solidus (known in the West as "bezant", the monetary unit of Byzantium) began to depreciate. In Byzantine trade, the dominance of the Italians, in particular the Venetians and Genoese, began, who achieved such excessive trading privileges that the imperial treasury was seriously depleted, which lost control over most of the customs fees. Even trade routes began to bypass Constantinople. At the end of the Middle Ages, the eastern Mediterranean flourished, but all the riches were by no means in the hands of the emperors.
Agriculture. Even more important than customs duties and trade in handicrafts was agriculture. One of the main sources of income in the state was the land tax: both large land holdings and agricultural communities were subject to it. Fear of tax collectors haunted smallholders who could easily go bankrupt due to poor harvests or the loss of a few heads of livestock. If a peasant abandoned his land and ran away, his share of the tax was usually collected from his neighbors. Many small landowners preferred to become dependent tenants of large landowners. Attempts by the central government to reverse this trend were not particularly successful, and by the end of the Middle Ages, agricultural resources were concentrated in the hands of large landowners or were owned by large monasteries.

Where is Byzantium

The great influence that the Byzantine Empire had on the history (as well as religion, culture, art) of many European countries (including ours) in the era of the gloomy 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, using our time machine to send you to the time of the highest heyday of the Byzantine Empire, so get comfortable and let's go.

Where is Byzantium

But before going on a journey through time, first let's deal with the movement in space, and determine where is (or rather was) Byzantium on the map. In fact, at different points in historical development, the boundaries of the Byzantine Empire were constantly changing, expanding during periods of development and shrinking during periods of decline.

For example, this map shows Byzantium in its heyday and, as we can see at that time, 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 was in a state of permanent war for centuries, and then the warlike Arab nomads, carrying in their hearts the banner of a new religion - Islam.

And here the map shows the possessions of Byzantium at the time of its decline, in 1453, as we see at that 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 successor 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, the Roman Empire gradually began to lean towards its death, which was largely facilitated by both the decline in morals in the empire itself and the waves of warlike barbarian tribes that now and then rolled onto the borders of the empire. And now, in the 5th century, the Western Roman Empire finally fell, the eternal city of Rome was captured and plundered by the barbarians, the end came in the era of antiquity, 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 became the largest city in Europe in the Middle Ages. The 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 gold rather than fight from the ferocious conqueror Attila. Yes, and the destructive impulse of the barbarians was directed precisely 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, a new great state of Byzantium or the Byzantine Empire was formed.

Although the population of Byzantium consisted mainly of Greeks, they always felt themselves to be the heirs of the great Roman Empire and called them accordingly - "Romans", which in Greek means "Romans".

Since the 6th century, during the reign of the brilliant emperor Justinian and his no less brilliant wife (our website has an interesting article about this “first lady of Byzantium”, follow the link), the Byzantine Empire begins to slowly recapture the territories once occupied by barbarians. So the Byzantines from the barbarians of the Lombards captured significant territories of modern Italy, which once belonged to the Western Roman Empire, the power of the Byzantine emperor extends to northern Africa, the local city of Alexandria becomes an important economic and cultural center of the empire in this region. The military campaigns of Byzantium extend to the East, where for several centuries there have been continuous wars with the Persians.

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 were 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, we give a brief description of them:

• The first period of the initial heyday of the empire, its territorial expansion under the emperors Justinian and Heraclius lasted from the 5th to the 8th century. During this period, there is an active dawn of the Byzantine economy, culture, and military affairs.
• The second period began with the reign of the Byzantine emperor Leo III the Isaurian and lasted from 717 to 867. At this time, on the one hand, the empire reaches the greatest development of its culture, but on the other hand, it is overshadowed by numerous unrest, including religious ones (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 hand by constant wars with external enemies, it lasted from 867 to 1081. Interestingly, 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 (Prophetic), Igor, Svyatoslav against Constantinople (as the capital of Byzantium Constantinople was called in Russia) took place.
• The fourth period began with the reign of the Komnenos dynasty, the first emperor Alexei Komnenos ascended the Byzantine throne in 1081. Also, this period is known as the “Komnenian Revival”, the name speaks for itself, during this period Byzantium revives its cultural and political greatness, somewhat faded after unrest and constant wars. The Komnenos turned out to be wise rulers, skillfully balancing in those difficult conditions in which Byzantium found itself at that time: from the East, the borders of the empire were increasingly pressed by the Seljuk Turks, from the West, Catholic Europe was breathing, considering the Orthodox Byzantines apostates and heretics, which is little better than infidel Muslims.
• The fifth period is characterized by the decline of Byzantium, which, as a result, led to its death. It lasted from 1261 to 1453. During this period, Byzantium is waging a desperate and unequal struggle for survival. The growing strength of the Ottoman Empire, the new, this time the 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 owned 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 their first victims, subsequently the Ottoman Janissaries and Sipahs would shake many other European nations on their nerves, even reaching Vienna in 1529 (from where they were knocked out only by the combined efforts of the Austrian and the Polish troops of King Jan 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 an effect, resulting in the fourth crusade, directed not against infidel Muslims, but against the Byzantines, these “wrong 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 in the history of Byzantium. So, for example, the Byzantine emperor John Palaiologos V, who ruled from 1341 to 1391, was overthrown from the throne three times (it is interesting that first by his father-in-law, then by his son, then by his grandson). The Turks, on the other hand, skillfully used the intrigues at the court of the Byzantine emperors for their own selfish purposes.

In 1347, the most terrible epidemic of the plague swept through the territory of Byzantium, black death, as this disease was called in the Middle Ages, the epidemic claimed about a third of the inhabitants of Byzantium, which was 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 again to seek help from the West, but relations with the Catholic countries, as well as the Pope of Rome, were more than strained, only Venice came to the rescue, whose merchants traded profitably with Byzantium, and in Constantinople itself even had a whole Venetian merchant quarter. At the same time, Genoa, the former trade and political opponent of Venice, on the contrary, helped the Turks in every possible way and was interested in the fall of Byzantium (primarily with the aim of causing problems to its commercial competitors, the Venetians). In a word, instead of uniting and helping Byzantium resist the attack of the Ottoman Turks, the Europeans pursued their own interests, a handful of Venetian soldiers and volunteers, yet 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 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 time of ancient Greece were preserved and transformed in Byzantium. So the spoken written language of the citizens of the empire was precisely Greek. The cities of the Byzantine Empire retained Greek architecture, the structure of Byzantine cities, 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 masters and architects of the empire built the palaces of the Byzantine emperors in Constantinople, the most famous among them is the Grand Imperial Palace of Justinian.

The remains of this palace in a medieval engraving.

Ancient crafts continued to develop actively in Byzantine cities, the masterpieces of the local jewelers, craftsmen, weavers, blacksmiths, artists were valued throughout Europe, the skills of Byzantine masters were actively adopted by representatives of other peoples, including the Slavs.

Of great importance in the social, cultural, political and sports life of Byzantium were hippodromes, where chariot races were held. For the Romans, they were about the same as football is for many today. There were even their own, in modern terms, fan clubs rooting for 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, the Byzantine fans of chariot racing were also very eager for this matter.

But besides just unrest, various groups of Byzantine fans also had a strong political influence. So one day, an ordinary brawl of 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 rebellious fans). The uprising of Nika's supporters 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, he was able to suppress.

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, such key concepts as law, law, and custom were formed.

The economy in Byzantium was also largely driven by the legacy of the Roman Empire. Each free citizen paid taxes to the treasury from 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 the countries of Western Europe, in turn, were 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, about which 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 precisely in Byzantium.

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

Art of Byzantium

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

True, one of the political and religious unrest in the history of Byzantium, known as Iconoclasm, was connected with icons. This was the name of the religious and political movement in Byzantium, which considered icons to be idols, and therefore subject to extermination. 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 returned the veneration of icons, and the art of icon painting was revived with the same 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.

Capital
Constantinople
(330 - 1204 and 1261 - 1453)

Languages
Greek (in the first centuries of existence, the official language was Latin)

Religions
Orthodox Church

Emperor

– 306 – 337
Constantine the Great

– 1449 – 1453
Constantine XI

Mega Doux

– Until 1453
Duca Notar

historical period
Middle Ages

- Based
330

- Church schism
1054

- Fourth Crusade
1204

- Reconquest of Constantinople
1261

- ceased to exist
1453

Square

– Peak
4500000 km 2

Population

– 4th century
34000000 ? persons

Currency
solid, hyperpyron

Before 13th century
The founding date is traditionally considered to be the restoration of Constantinople as the new capital of the Roman Empire.
Div.qiu table provided by the Department of History of the University of Tulane. Data based on J.S. Russell's Late Ancient and Medieval Populations (1958), ASIN B000IU7OZQ.

(Basileia ton Romaion, the kingdom of the Romans, the kingdom of Rome, the Roman Empire, 395-1453) is a medieval state, the eastern part of the Roman Empire.
The name "Byzantine Empire" the state received in the writings of historians after its fall, for the first time from the German scientist Jerome Wolf in 1557. The name comes from the medieval name of Byzantium, which denoted a settlement that existed on the site of modern Istanbul (Tsargrad, Constantinople) to its restructuring by Constantine the Great .
The inhabitants of the empire, among whom were the ancestors of modern Greeks, southern Slavs, Romanians, Moldavians, Italians, French, Spaniards, Turks, Arabs, Armenians and many other modern peoples, called themselves Romans or Romans. They sometimes called the empire itself simply “Romania”, but often called it the state of the Romans. The capital is Constantinople (ancient Byzantium, Slavic Constantinople, now Istanbul).
As the heir of the Roman Empire, the Byzantine state not only inherited its rich provinces and preserved its cultural heritage, therefore, for a long time it was the spiritual, cultural, economic and political center of the Mediterranean. Its capital - Constantinople (ancient Byzantium) in the documents of those times was called Rome. Its rulers at the time of their greatest power ruled over lands from the African deserts to the Danube banks, from the Strait of Gibraltar to the ranges of the Caucasus.
There is no consensus on when the Byzantine Empire was formed. Many consider Constantine I (306-337), the founder of Constantinople, to be the first Byzantine Emperor. Some historians believe that this event happened in advance, during the reign of Diocletian (284-305), who, in order to facilitate the management of a huge empire, officially divided it into eastern and western halves. Others consider the turning point of the reign of Theodosius I (379-395) and the official extrusion of paganism by Christianity, or, at his death in 395, when the political division between the Eastern and Western parts of the empire arose. Also a milestone is the year 476, when Romulus Augustus, the last Western emperor, relinquished power and, accordingly, the emperor remained only in Constantinople. An important moment was the year 620, when Greek officially became the state language for Emperor Heraclius.
The decline of the empire is associated with many reasons, both external and internal. This is the development of other regions of the world, in particular Western Europe (primarily Italy, the Venetian and Genoese republics), as well as the countries of Islam. It is also the aggravation of contradictions between the various regions of the empire and its split into Greek, Bulgarian, Serbian and other kingdoms.
It is believed that the empire ceased to exist with the fall of Constantinople under the blows of the Ottoman Empire in 1453, although its remnants lasted for several more years, until the fall of Mistra in 1460 and the Trebizond Empire in 1461. But it should be noted that medieval South Slavic sources describe the fall of the Byzantine Empire not as the fall of the Roman or Roman Empire (after all, they also considered themselves Romans), but as the fall of the Greek kingdom - one of the kingdoms that was part of the empire. It should also be remembered that both the emperors of the Holy Roman Empire and the sultans of the Ottoman Empire called themselves Roman emperors and heirs of the Roman Empire.
The empire controlled the largest territories under Emperor Justinian I, who pursued a broad policy of conquest in the western Mediterranean in an effort to restore the former Roman Empire. From that time on, she gradually lost land under the onslaught of barbarian kingdoms and Eastern European tribes. After the Arab conquests, it occupied only the territory of Greece and Asia Minor. Strengthening in the 9th-11th centuries was replaced by serious losses, the collapse of the country under the blows of the crusaders and death under the onslaught of the Seljuk Turks and the Ottoman Turks.
The ethnic composition of the population of the Byzantine Empire, especially at the first stage of its history, was extremely diverse: Greeks, Syrians, Copts, Armenians, Georgians, Jews, Hellenized Asia Minor tribes, Thracians, Illyrians, Dacians. With the reduction of the territory of Byzantium (starting from the 7th century), part of the peoples remained outside its borders - at the same time, new peoples came and settled here (the Goths in the 4th-5th centuries, the Slavs in the 6th-7th centuries, the Arabs in the 7th-12th centuries, the Pechenegs , Cumans in the XI-XIII centuries, etc.). In the VI-XI centuries. the population of Byzantium included ethnic groups, from which the Italian nationality was later formed. The predominant role in the economy, political life and culture of Byzantium was played by the Greek population. The state language of Byzantium in the 4th-6th centuries is Latin, from the 7th century until the end of the existence of the empire - Greek.
Story
Division into Eastern and Western Roman Empires
Map of the Western and Eastern Roman Empires for 395, after the death of Theodosius I on May 11, 330, the Roman emperor Constantine the Great declared the city of Byzantium his capital, renaming it Constantinople. The need to move the capital was caused primarily by the remoteness of the former capital - Rome - from the tense eastern and northeastern borders of the empire. The peculiarities of the political tradition made it mandatory for the emperor to have personal control over the powerful military, it was possible to organize defense from Constantinople much faster and at the same time control the troops more effectively than from Rome.
The final division of the Roman Empire into Eastern and Western took place after the death of Theodosius the Great in 395. The main difference between Byzantium and the Western Roman Empire (Hesperia) was the predominance of Greek culture on its territory, almost entirely of a Latinized event. Over time, the Roman heritage changed more and more under local influence and as a result of development, however, it is impossible to draw a sharp border between Rome and Byzantium, which has always self-identified itself precisely as the Eastern Roman Empire.
The formation of independent Byzantium
The formation of Byzantium as an independent state can be attributed to the period 330-518. During this period, through the borders on the Danube and the Rhine, numerous barbarian, mainly Germanic tribes penetrated into Roman territory. If some were small groups of settlers who were attracted by the security and wealth of the empire, others made raids and arbitrarily settled on its territory. Taking advantage of the weakness of Rome, the Germans switched from raiding to seizing land, and in 476 the last emperor of the Western Roman Empire was overthrown. The situation in the east was also difficult, especially after the Visigoths won the famous battle of Adrianople in 378, in which the emperor Valens was killed and the Goths, led by Alaric, devastated all of Greece. But soon Alaric went west - to Spain and Gaul, where the Goths founded their state, and the danger from their side for Byzantium passed. In 441, the Goths were replaced by the Huns. Attila started the war several times, and only by paying a large tribute it was possible to prevent his further attacks. In the second half of the 5th century, danger came from the Ostrogoths - Theodoric ravaged Macedonia, threatened Constantinople, but he also went west, conquering Italy and founding his state on the ruins of Rome.
The situation in the country was greatly destabilized by numerous Christian heresies - Arianism, Nestorianism, Monophysitism. While in the West the popes, beginning with Leo the Great (440-462), asserted 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 strife and separatist tendencies surfaced; thus, political interests and goals were closely intertwined with the religious conflict.
Since 502, the Persians resumed their onslaught in the east, the Slavs and Avars began raids south of the Danube. Internal unrest reached extreme limits, in the capital there was a tense struggle between the parties of "green" and "blue" (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.
VI century. Emperor Justinian
The Byzantine Empire in its heyday around 550. In 518, after the death of Emperor Anastasius, the head of the guard Justin, a native of Macedonian peasants, ascended the throne. Power would be very difficult for this illiterate old man if he did not have a nephew Justinian. From the very beginning of Justin's reign, Justinian, also a native of Macedonia, who received an excellent education and possessed excellent abilities, was in fact in power.
In 527, having received full power, Justinian began to fulfill his plans to restore the Empire and strengthen the power of a single emperor. He achieved an alliance with the Orthodox Church. Under Justinian, heretics were forced to convert to Orthodoxy under the threat of deprivation of civil rights and even the death penalty.
Until 532, he was busy suppressing speeches in the capital and repelling the onslaught of the Persians, but soon the main direction of politics moved to the west. The barbarian kingdoms had weakened over the past half century, the inhabitants called for the restoration of the empire, finally even the kings of the Germans themselves recognized the legitimacy of the claims of Byzantium. In 533, an army led by Belisarius attacked the Vandal state in North Africa. Italy was the next target - a difficult war with the Ostrogothic kingdom lasted 20 years and ended in victory.
Invading the kingdom of the Visigoths in 554, Justinian also conquered the southern part of Spain. As a result, the territory of the empire almost doubled. But these successes required too much effort, which was used by the Persians, Slavs and Avars, who, although they did not conquer significant territories, destroyed many lands in the east of the empire.
The Byzantine Empire in 550 Byzantine diplomacy also sought to secure the empire's prestige and influence throughout the outside world. Thanks to the clever distribution of favors and money and the skillful ability to sow discord among the enemies of the empire, she brought under Byzantine rule the barbarian peoples who wandered on the borders of the state. One of the main ways to include Byzantium in the sphere of influence was through the preaching of Christianity. The activities of missionaries who spread Christianity from the shores of the Black Sea to the plateaus of Abyssinia and the oases of the Sahara were one of the characteristic features of Byzantine politics in the Middle Ages.
Imp. Justinian I and Belisarius (left). Mosaic. Ravenna, Church of St. Vitalis In addition to military expansion, Justinian's other major task was administrative and financial reform. The empire's economy was in a severe crisis, management was stricken with corruption. In order to reorganize the management of Justinian, legislation was codified and a number of reforms were carried out, which, although they did not solve the problem radically, undoubtedly had positive consequences. Across the empire, construction began - the largest in scale since the "golden age" of the Antonines. Culture experienced a new heyday.
VI-VII centuries
However, greatness was bought at a high price - the economy was undermined by wars, the population became impoverished, and the successors of Justinian (Justin II (565-578), II (578-582), Mauritius (582-602)) were forced to focus on defense and transfer policy towards the east. The conquests of Justinian turned out to be fragile - at the end of the 6th-7th centuries. Byzantium lost all the conquered areas in the West (with the exception of Southern Italy).
While the invasion of the Lombards took away half of Italy from Byzantium, Armenia was conquered in 591 during the war with Persia, and the confrontation with the Slavs continued in the north. But already at the beginning of the next, VII century, the Persians resumed hostilities and achieved significant success due to numerous unrest in the empire. In 610, the son of the Carthaginian exarch, Heraclius, overthrew the emperor Phocas and founded a new dynasty that was able to withstand the dangers that threatened the state. It was one of the most difficult periods in the history of Byzantium - the Persians conquered Egypt and threatened Constantinople, the Avars, Slavs and Lombards attacked the borders from all sides. Heraclius won a number of victories over the Persians, transferred the war to their territory, after which the death of Shah Khosrov II and a series of uprisings forced them to abandon all conquests and make peace. But the severe exhaustion of both sides in this war prepared fertile ground for the Arab conquests.
In 634, Caliph Omar invaded Syria, over the next 40 years Egypt, North Africa, Syria, Palestine, Upper Mesopotamia were lost, and often the population of these areas, exhausted by wars, considered the Arabs, who at first significantly reduced taxes, their liberators . The Arabs created a fleet and even besieged Constantinople. But the new emperor, Constantine IV Pogonatus (668-685), repelled their onslaught. Despite a five-year siege of Constantinople (673-678) by land and sea, the Arabs were unable to capture it. The Greek fleet, which had been given superiority by the recent invention of "Greek fire", forced the Muslim squadrons to retreat and inflicted defeat on them in the waters of Silleum. On land, the troops of the Caliphate were defeated in Asia.
From this crisis, the empire emerged more united and monolithic, its national composition became more homogeneous, religious differences mainly became a thing of the past, because Monophysitism and Arianism were most widespread in Egypt and North Africa, now lost. By the end of the 7th century, the territory of Byzantium was no more than a third of the power of Justinian. Its core was made up of lands inhabited by Greeks or Hellenized tribes who spoke the Greek language. At the same time, the mass settlement of the Balkan Peninsula by Slavic tribes began. In the 7th century, they settled in a large area in Moesia, Thrace, Macedonia, Dalmatia, Istria, part of Greece, and were even resettled in Asia Minor), while retaining their language, way of life, and culture. There were also changes in the ethnic composition of the population in the eastern part of Asia Minor: settlements of Persians, Syrians, and Arabs appeared.
In the 7th century, significant reforms were carried out in governance - instead of dioceses and exarchates, the empire was divided into themes subordinate to stratigs. The new national composition of the state led to the fact that the Greek language became official, even the title of the emperor began to sound in Greek - basileus. In the administration, the old Latin titles either disappear or are Hellenized, and new names take their place - logothetes, strategii, eparchs, drungaria. In an army dominated by Asian and Armenian elements, Greek becomes the language of orders.
8th century
At the beginning of the VIII century, temporary stabilization was again replaced by a series of crises - wars with the Bulgarians, Arabs, continuous uprisings. Leo the Isaurian, who ascended the throne under the name of Emperor Leo III and founded the Isaurian dynasty (717-867), managed to stop the disintegration of the state and inflicted a decisive defeat on the Arabs.
After half a century of reign, the first two Isaurians made the empire rich and prosperous, despite the plague that devastated it in 747, riots caused by iconoclasm. The religious policy of the Isaurian emperors was at the same time political. Many at the beginning of the 8th century were dissatisfied with the excess of superstition, and especially with the place occupied by the worship of icons, belief in their miraculous properties, the combination of human actions and interests with them; many were troubled by the evil they thought was thus done to religion. At the same time, the emperors sought to limit the growing power of the church. The policy of iconoclasm led to strife and unrest, while at the same time deepening the split in relations with the Roman Church. The restoration of icon veneration took place only at the end of the 8th century thanks to Empress Irina, the first female empress, but already at the beginning of the 9th century, the policy of iconoclasm was continued.
IX-XI centuries
In 800, Charlemagne announced the restoration of the Western Roman Empire, which for Byzantium was a sensitive humiliation. At the same time, the Baghdad Caliphate intensified its onslaught in the east.
Emperor Leo V the Armenian (813-820) and two emperors of the Phrygian dynasty - Michael II (820-829) and Theophilus (829-842) - resumed the policy of iconoclasm. Again, for thirty years, the empire was in the grip of unrest. The treaty of 812, which recognized the title of emperor for Charlemagne, meant serious territorial losses in Italy, where Byzantium retained only Venice and lands in the south of the peninsula.
The war with the Arabs, resumed in 804, led to two serious defeats: the capture of the island of Crete by Muslim pirates (826), who began to devastate the eastern Mediterranean from here with almost impunity, and the conquest of Sicily by the North African Arabs (827), who in 831 captured the city Palermo. The danger from the Bulgarians was especially formidable, since Khan Krum expanded the limits of his empire from Gem to the Carpathians. Nicephorus tried to break it by invading Bulgaria, but on the way back he was defeated and died (811), and the Bulgarians, having recaptured Adrianople, appeared at the walls of Constantinople (813). Only the victory of Leo V at Mesemvria (813) saved the empire.
The period of unrest ended in 867 with the coming to power of the Macedonian dynasty. Basil I the Macedonian (867-886), Roman I Lecapenus (919-944), Nicephorus II Phocas (963-969), John Tzimiskes (969-976), Basil II (976-1025) - emperors and usurpers - provided Byzantium 150 years of prosperity and power. Bulgaria, Crete, southern Italy were conquered, successful military campaigns against the Arabs deep into Syria were carried out. The borders of the empire expanded to the Euphrates and the Tigris, Armenia and Iberia entered the sphere of Byzantine influence, John Tzimiskes reached Jerusalem.
In the IX-XI centuries, relations with Kievan Rus acquired great importance for Byzantium. After the siege of Constantinople by the Kyiv prince Oleg (907), Byzantium was forced to conclude a trade agreement with Russia, which contributed to the development of trade along the high route from the "Varangians to the Greeks." At the end of the 10th century, Byzantium fought with the Kyiv prince Svyatoslav) for Bulgaria and won. Under the Kiev prince Vladimir Svyatoslavovich, an alliance was concluded between Byzantium and Russia. Basil II gave his sister Anna in marriage to Vladimir. At the end of the 10th century, Russia adopted Christianity from Byzantium according to the Orthodox rite.
In 1019, having conquered Bulgaria, Armenia and Iberia, Basil II celebrated with a great triumph the greatest strengthening of the empire since the Arab conquests. The picture was completed by a brilliant state of finance and the flourishing of culture.
Byzantium in 1000 However, at the same time, the first signs of weakness began to appear, which was expressed in increased feudal fragmentation. The nobility, which controlled vast territories and resources, often successfully opposed itself to the central government. The decline began after the death of Basil II, under his brother Constantine VIII (1025-1028) and under the daughters of the latter - first under Zoya and her three successive successors - Roman III (1028-1034), Michael IV (1034-1041), Constantine Monomakh (1042-1054), with whom she shared the throne (Zoya died in 1050), and then under Theodore (1054-1056). The weakening manifested itself even more sharply at the end of the reign of the Macedonian dynasty.
As a result of a military coup, Isaac I Comnenus (1057-1059) ascended the throne; after his abdication, Constantine X Doukas (1059-1067) became emperor. Then Roman IV Diogenes (1067-1071) came to power, who was overthrown by Michael VII Doukas (1071-1078); as a result of a new uprising, the crown went to Nicephorus Botaniatus (1078-1081). During these short reigns, anarchy increased, the internal and external crisis from which the empire suffered became more and more severe. Italy was lost by the middle of the 11th century under the onslaught of the Normans, but the main danger was coming from the east - in 1071, Roman IV Diogenes was defeated by the Seljuk Turks near Manazkert (Armenia), and Byzantium was never able to recover from this defeat. In 1054, an official break took place between the Christian churches, which increased strained relations with the West to the brink and predetermined the events of 1204 (the capture of Constantinople by the crusaders and the collapse of the country), and the uprisings of the feudal lords undermined the last forces of the country.
In 1081, the Komnenos dynasty (1081-1204) came to the throne - representatives of the feudal aristocracy. The Turks remained in Iconium (Sultanate of Konya), in the Balkans, with the help of Hungary, the Slavic peoples created almost independent states; finally, the West also represented a serious danger to Byzantium, both from the aggressive aspirations, the ambitious political plans generated by the first crusade, and the economic claims of Venice.
XII-XIII centuries
Under Komnenos, heavily armed cavalry (Cataphracts) and mercenary troops from foreigners began to play the main role in the Byzantine army. The strengthening of the state and the army allowed the Komnenos to repel the offensive of the Normans in the Balkans, to win back a significant part of Asia Minor from the Seljuks, and to establish sovereignty over Antioch. Manuel I forced Hungary to recognize the sovereignty of Byzantium (1164) and established his authority in Serbia. On the whole, however, the situation continued to be difficult. The behavior of Venice was especially dangerous - the former purely Greek city became a rival and enemy of the empire, creating strong competition for its trade. In 1176 the Byzantine army was defeated by the Turks at Myriokephalon. On all borders, Byzantium was forced to go on the defensive.
The policy of Byzantium against the crusaders was to bind their leaders with vassal ties and return territories in the east with their help, but this did not bring much success. Relations with the crusaders were constantly deteriorating. Like many of their predecessors, the Komnenos dreamed of restoring their power over Rome, either by force or by alliance with the Papacy, and destroy the Western Empire, whose existence had always seemed to them a usurpation of their rights.
Manuel I. especially tried to realize these dreams. It seemed that Manuel acquired incomparable glory for the empire all over the world and made Constantinople the center of European politics; but when he died in 1180, Byzantium found itself ruined and hated by the Latins, ready to attack it at any moment. At the same time, a serious internal crisis was brewing in the country. After the death of Manuel I, a popular uprising broke out in Constantinople (1181), caused by dissatisfaction with government policies that favored Italian merchants, as well as Western European knights who entered the service of the emperors. The country was going through a deep economic crisis: feudal fragmentation intensified, the rulers of the provinces were actually independent of the central government, cities fell into decay, the army and navy weakened. The collapse of the empire began. In 1187 Bulgaria fell away; in 1190 Byzantium was forced to recognize the independence of Serbia. When Enrico Dandolo became Doge of Venice in 1192, the idea arose that the best way to satisfy the accumulated hatred of the Latins and to ensure the interests of Venice in the East would be the conquest of the Byzantine Empire. The hostility of the pope, the harassment of Venice, the bitterness of the entire Latin world - all this taken together predetermined the fact that the fourth crusade (1202-1204) instead of Palestine turned against Constantinople. Exhausted, weakened by the onslaught of the Slavic states, Byzantium was unable to resist the crusaders.
In 1204, the crusader army captured Constantinople. Byzantium broke up into a number of states - the Latin Empire and the Achaean Principality, created on the territories captured by the crusaders, and the Nicaean, Trebizond and Epirus empires - remaining under the control of the Greeks. The Latins suppressed Greek culture in Byzantium, the dominance of Italian merchants prevented the revival of Byzantine cities.
The Byzantine Empire in the first half of the 13th century The position of the Latin Empire was very precarious - the hatred of the Greeks and the attacks of the Bulgarians greatly weakened it, so in 1261 the Emperor of the Nicaean Empire Michael Palaiologos, with the support of the Greek population of the Latin Empire, having recaptured Constantinople and defeated the Latin Empire, announced the restoration Byzantine Empire. Epirus joined in 1337. But the Principality of Achaea, the only viable formation of the crusaders in Greece, lasted until the conquest of the Ottoman Turks, as did the Empire of Trebizond. It was no longer possible to restore the Byzantine Empire in its integrity. Michael VIII (1261-1282) tried to do this, and although he did not succeed in fully realizing his aspirations, his efforts, practical gifts and flexible mind make him the last significant emperor of Byzantium.
In the face of external danger that threatened the empire, it was necessary that it maintain unity, calmness and strength. The era of the Palaiologos, on the other hand, was full of uprisings and civil unrest. In Europe, the Serbs turned out to be the most dangerous opponents of Byzantium. Under the successors of Stefan Nenad - Uros I (1243-1276), Dragutin (1276-1282), Milutin (1282-1321) - Serbia expanded its territory so much at the expense of the Bulgarians and Byzantines that it became the most significant state on the Balkan Peninsula.
XIV-XV centuries
The pressure of the Ottomans, led by three major military leaders - Ertogrul, Osman (1289-1326) and Urhan (1326-1359) was constantly increasing. Despite some successful attempts by Andronikos II to stop them, in 1326 Bursa fell to the Ottomans, who turned it into their capital. Then Nicaea was taken (1329), followed by Nicomedia (1337); in 1338, the Turks reached the Bosphorus and soon crossed it at the invitation of the Byzantines themselves, who persistently sought their alliance to help in internal unrest. This circumstance led to the fact that the emperors had to seek help at the event. John V (1369) and then Manuel II (1417) had to resume negotiations with Rome, and John VIII, in order to prevent the Turkish danger, made a desperate attempt - the emperor personally appeared in Italy (1437) and at the Florence Cathedral signed a union with Eugene IV, which put an end to the division of churches (1439). But the common people did not accept Catholicism, and these attempts at reconciliation only exacerbated internal strife.
Finally, the conquests of the Ottomans began to threaten the very existence of the country. Murad I (1359-1389) conquered Thrace (1361), which John V Palaiologos was forced to recognize in 1363, then he captured Philippopolis, and soon Adrianople, where he transferred his capital (1365). Constantinople, isolated, surrounded, cut off from the rest of the regions, was waiting behind its walls for a mortal blow that seemed inevitable. Meanwhile, the Ottomans had completed their conquest of the Balkan Peninsula. At Maritsa they defeated the southern Serbs and Bulgarians (1371); they established their colonies in Macedonia and began to threaten Thessalonica (1374); they invaded Albania (1386), defeated the Serbian Empire and, after the Battle of Kosovo, turned Bulgaria into a Turkish pashalik (1393). John V Palaiologos was forced to recognize himself as a vassal of the Sultan, pay tribute to him and supply him with contingents of troops to capture Philadelphia (1391) - the last stronghold that Byzantium still owned in Asia Minor.
The territory of the Byzantine Empire in 1400 Bayazid (1389-1402) acted even more energetically towards the Byzantine Empire. He blockaded the capital from all sides (1391-1395), and when the attempt of the West to save Byzantium at the Battle of Nicopolis (1396) failed, he tried to take Constantinople by storm (1397) and at the same time invaded Morea. The invasion of the Mongols and the crushing defeat inflicted by Timur on the Turks at Angora (1402) gave the empire another twenty years of respite. But in 1421 Murad II (1421-1451) resumed the offensive. He attacked, though unsuccessfully, Constantinople, which resisted vigorously (1422); captured Thessalonica (1430), bought in 1423 by the Venetians from the Byzantines; one of his generals penetrated the Morea (1423); he himself successfully operated in Bosnia and Albania and forced the ruler of Wallachia to pay tribute.
The Byzantine Empire, driven to despair, now owned, in addition to Constantinople and the neighboring region to Derkon and Selymvria, only a few separate regions scattered along the coast: Anchial, Mesemvria, Athos and the Peloponnese, almost completely conquered from the Latins, became, as it were, the center of the Greek nation. Despite the heroic efforts of Janos Hunyadi, who in 1443 defeated the Turks at Yalovac, despite the resistance of Skanderbeg in Albania, the Turks stubbornly pursued their goals. In 1444, at the Battle of Varna, the last serious attempt by Eastern Christians to resist the Turks turned into a defeat. The Athenian duchy submitted to them, the Principality of Morea, conquered by the Turks in 1446, was forced to recognize itself as a tributary; in the second battle on the Kosovo field (1448), Janos Hunyadi was defeated. Only Constantinople remained - an impregnable citadel that embodied the entire empire. But the end was near for him. Mehmed II, assuming the throne (1451), firmly set his intention to seize it. April 5, 1453 the Turks began the siege of Constantinople.
Constantine XI on the walls of Constantinople Even earlier, the sultan had built on the Bosphorus the stronghold of Rumili Rumelihisar, which cut off the communications between Constantinople and the Black Sea, and at the same time sent an expedition to Morea to prevent the Greek despots Mistra from helping the capital. Against the colossal Turkish army, which consisted of about 80 thousand people, Emperor Constantine Dragash was able to put up only 9 thousand soldiers, of which about half were foreigners; The population of the once huge city at that time was only about 30 thousand people. However, despite the power of the Turkish artillery, the first attack was repulsed (April 18).
Mehmed II managed to lead his fleet into the Golden Horn and thus jeopardize another section of the fortifications. However, the assault on May 7 failed again. But in the city rampart on the outskirts of the gates of St. Romana has been breached. On the night of May 28 to May 29, 1453, the last attack began. Twice the Turks were repulsed; then Mehmed threw the Janissaries to the assault. At the same time, the Genoese Giustiniani Longo, who, along with the emperor, was the soul of defense, was seriously injured and left the ranks, while his spirit broke and began to talk about the inevitability of defeat. Such statements from the lips of one of the most ardent warriors and the disappearance of the leader significantly weakened the Genoese and other warriors. The emperor continued to fight valiantly, but part of the enemy army, having mastered the underground passage from the fortress - the so-called Xyloport, attacked the defenders from the rear. It was the end. Konstantin Dragash died in battle. The Turks took over the city. In the captured Constantinople, robberies and murders began; more than half of the inhabitants were taken prisoner.
On May 30, 1453, at eight o'clock in the morning, Mehmed II solemnly entered the capital and ordered the central cathedral of the city, the Hagia Sophia, to be converted into a mosque. The last remnants of the once great empire - Trebizond and the seas - fell under Turkish rule over the next few decades.
Historical heritage

Byzantium was to be the only stable entity in Europe throughout the Middle Ages. Its armed and diplomatic strength guaranteed Europe protection from the Persians, Arabs, Seljuk Turks, and for a time, the Ottomans. Russia played a similar role during the Mongol-Tatar invasion. Only in our time has the importance of Byzantium been recognized in the development of modern civilization.
Economy

For centuries, the Byzantine economy was the most advanced in Europe. The Byzantine coin - Solidus was stable for 700 years, only after 1204 was gradually replaced by the Venetian ducat. The wealth of the empire was incomparable to any state in Europe, and Constantinople for centuries was one of the largest and richest cities in the world. This economic wealth was helped by the fact that the empire included the most developed lands of that time - Greece, Asia Minor, Egypt, as well as the passage through its territory of many trade routes - between the Chinese and Persian East and Western Europe (the Great Silk Road), between the northern Scandinavia and Russia and Africa in the south (The path "from the Varangians to the Greeks"). Byzantium held the trade advantage until the 13th and 14th centuries, until it was intercepted by Venice. Constant wars, and especially the capture of Constantinople by the crusaders in 1204, caused a tragic effect on the economy of the empire, after which Byzantium never recovered.
Science and Law
Byzantium played an important role in the accumulation and transmission of classical knowledge to the Arab world and Renaissance Europe. Its rich historical tradition has preserved ancient knowledge, has become a bridge between Antiquity and the Middle Ages.
A significant event was the compilation of the Code of Justinian, which became the result of the development of Roman law. Laws are constantly improved. The foundations of the courts of appeal and the system of maritime law were laid. In this, Byzantine law contributed to the evolution of legal systems even more than its direct predecessor, Roman law.
Religion
Religious institutions in the Byzantine state had a significant impact on society, culture and politics. The emperor often managed to direct the higher clergy in the direction of his own interests, so we can talk about the service of religion to the state.
867 there was a gap between Patriarch Photius of Constantinople and Pope Nicholas. The split of Christianity into Orthodoxy and Catholicism finally took shape in 1054, when the highest hierarchs of Constantinople and Rome mutually cursed each other.
From Byzantium, Christianity spread to Transcaucasia and Eastern Europe. Russia was also baptized according to the Orthodox Byzantine rite, which strengthened the cultural connection of our ancestors with Byzantium and with the entire Christian world as a whole.
Culture, architecture and literature
Main article: Culture of the Byzantine Empire
Byzantine culture and literature was centered around religion. The icon has taken a central place in artistic creation. The architecture focused on the dome, arches, cross-square building plan of religious buildings. Church interiors were decorated with mosaics and paintings depicting saints and biblical scenes. The formal elements of Byzantine architecture had a significant impact on Ottoman architecture. Byzantine architecture and architectural decoration also developed in medieval and early modern Ukrainian architecture. More generally, Byzantine artistic traditions, in particular icon painting, influenced the art of Orthodox societies in southeastern Europe, Russia, and the Middle East.
Imp. Nicephorus III (1078-1081) Literature was characterized by the absence of strict differentiation between individual branches: for Byzantium, a typical figure of a scientist who writes on a wide variety of topics of knowledge - from mathematics to theology and fiction (John of Damascus, 8th century; Michael Psel, 11th century ; Nikephoros Vlemmids, 13th century; Theodore Metochites, 14th century). Religious hymns and treatises were widely distributed. Folk oral art for the lack of records in most cases has not come down to us.
The music of Byzantium is represented primarily by Christian liturgical chants, for which the collective term hymns is usually used. In the work of immigrants from Syria, St. Roman Sladkospivtsya, St. Andrew of Crete, and St. John of Damascus, a system of octoglas is formed, on which the musical accompaniment of Christian worship was based. Liturgical hymns were recorded using non-mental notation.
There are many outstanding personalities in Byzantine historiography - Prokop of Caesarea, Agathius of Mirinea, John Malala, Theophan the Confessor, George Amartol, Michael Psel, Michael Attalias, Anna Komnena, John Kinnam, Nikita Choniates. A significant influence of science is observed on the chroniclers of Russia.
Byzantine culture differed from Western European medieval culture:

Higher (until the 12th century) the level of material production;
sustainable preservation of ancient traditions in education, science, literary creativity, fine arts, everyday life;
individualism (underdevelopment of social principles; belief in the possibility of individual salvation, while the Western Church made salvation dependent on the sacraments, that is, on the actions of the church; individualistic, not hierarchical interpretation of property), which was not combined with freedom (the Byzantine felt himself directly dependent from higher powers - god and emperor);
the cult of the emperor as a sacred figure (an earthly deity), which required worship in the form of special dress ceremonies, conversions, etc.;
unification of scientific and artistic creativity, which was facilitated by the bureaucratic centralization of power.

Political system
From the Roman Empire, Byzantium inherited a monarchical system of government with an emperor at the head. For a long time, the former system of state and financial management was preserved. But from the end of the VI century, significant changes begin. The reforms are mainly related to defense (administrative division into themes instead of exarchates) and predominantly Greek culture of the country (introduction of the positions of logothete, strategist, drungaria, etc.). Since the 10th century, feudal principles of governance have been widely spread, this process has led to the approval of representatives of the feudal aristocracy on the throne. Until the very end of the empire, numerous uprisings and the struggle for the imperial throne did not stop.
Army

The army of Byzantium was inherited from the Roman Empire. By the end of the existence of Byzantium, she was mainly mercenary and was distinguished by a rather low combat capability. On the other hand, the system of command and control of the army was developed in detail, works on strategy and tactics are published, and various "technical" means are widely used. In contrast to the old Roman army, the importance of the fleet (which the invention of "Greek fire" provides dominance at sea), cavalry (heavy cavalry - cataphracts penetrate from the Sassanids) and small arms is greatly increasing.
The transition to the theme system of recruitment of 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 the quality of the troops. The recruiting system was changed to the Western one, that is, typically feudal, when the nobility was obliged to supply military contingents for the right to own land.
Later, the army and navy fall into ever greater decline, and at the very end they are mainly mercenary formations. In 1453, Constantinople was able to field only a 5,000-strong army (and 4,000 mercenaries.
Diplomacy

Byzantium skillfully used diplomacy in conflicts with neighboring states and peoples. So, under the threat from Bulgaria, agreements were concluded with Russia, with the strengthening of Russia's influence in the Danube region - the Pechenegs were put forward as a counterweight to them. Byzantine diplomats also interfered extensively in the internal affairs of other states. In 1282, Michael VIII supported an uprising in Sicily against the Angevin dynasty. Emperors supported pretenders to the throne in other states if they guaranteed peace and cooperation with Constantinople.
See also

Byzantine emperors
Timeline of the Byzantine Empire

On May 29, 1453, the capital of the Byzantine Empire fell under the blows of the Turks. Tuesday May 29 is one of the most important dates in the world. On this day, the Byzantine Empire ceased to exist, created back in 395 as a result of the final division of the Roman Empire after the death of Emperor Theodosius I into the western and eastern parts. With her death, a huge period of human history ended. In the life of many peoples of Europe, Asia and North Africa, a radical change occurred due to the establishment of Turkish rule and the creation of the Ottoman Empire.

It is clear that the fall of Constantinople is not a clear line between the two eras. The Turks had established themselves in Europe a century before the fall of the great capital. And by the time of the fall, the Byzantine Empire was already a fragment of its former greatness - the emperor's power extended only to Constantinople with its suburbs and part of the territory of Greece with the islands. Byzantium of the 13th-15th centuries can be called an empire only conditionally. At the same time, Constantinople was a symbol of the ancient empire, was considered the "Second Rome".

Background of the fall

In the XIII century, one of the Turkic tribes - kayy - led by Ertogrul-bey, squeezed out of nomad camps in the Turkmen steppes, migrated westward and stopped in Asia Minor. The tribe assisted the Sultan of the largest of the Turkish states (it was founded by the Seljuk Turks) - the Rum (Koniy) Sultanate - Alaeddin Kay-Kubad in his struggle with the Byzantine Empire. For this, the Sultan gave Ertogrul a fief of land in the region of Bithynia. The son of the leader Ertogrul - Osman I (1281-1326), despite the constantly growing power, recognized his dependence on Konya. Only in 1299 did he take the title of sultan and soon subjugated the entire western part of Asia Minor, having won a number of victories over the Byzantines. By the name of Sultan Osman, his subjects began to be called Ottoman Turks, or Ottomans (Ottomans). In addition to the wars with the Byzantines, the Ottomans fought for the subjugation of other Muslim possessions - by 1487, the Ottoman Turks asserted their power over all the Muslim possessions of the Asia Minor peninsula.

The Muslim clergy, including the local orders of dervishes, played an important role in strengthening the power of Osman and his successors. The clergy not only played a significant role in the creation of a new great power, but justified the policy of expansion as a "struggle for faith." In 1326, the largest trading city of Bursa, the most important point of transit caravan trade between the West and East, was captured by the Ottoman Turks. Then Nicaea and Nicomedia fell. The sultans distributed the lands seized from the Byzantines to the nobility and distinguished soldiers as timars - conditional possessions received for service (estates). Gradually, the Timar system became the basis of the socio-economic and military-administrative structure of the Ottoman state. Under Sultan Orhan I (reigned from 1326 to 1359) and his son Murad I (reigned from 1359 to 1389), important military reforms were carried out: the irregular cavalry was reorganized - cavalry and infantry troops convened from Turkish farmers were created. The soldiers of the cavalry and infantry troops in peacetime were farmers, receiving benefits, during the war they were obliged to join the army. In addition, the army was supplemented by a militia of peasants of the Christian faith and a corps of Janissaries. The Janissaries initially took captive Christian youths who were forced to convert to Islam, and from the first half of the 15th century - from the sons of Christian subjects of the Ottoman Sultan (in the form of a special tax). Sipahis (a kind of nobles of the Ottoman state, who received income from the Timars) and the Janissaries became the core of the army of the Ottoman sultans. In addition, subdivisions of gunners, gunsmiths, and other units were created in the army. As a result, a powerful state arose on the borders of Byzantium, which claimed dominance in the region.

It must be said that the Byzantine Empire and the Balkan states themselves accelerated their fall. During this period, there was a sharp struggle between Byzantium, Genoa, Venice and the Balkan states. Often the belligerents sought to enlist the military support of the Ottomans. Naturally, this greatly facilitated the expansion of the Ottoman state. The Ottomans received information about the routes, possible crossings, fortifications, the strengths and weaknesses of the enemy troops, the internal situation, etc. The Christians themselves helped to cross the straits to Europe.

The Ottoman Turks achieved great success under Sultan Murad II (ruled 1421-1444 and 1446-1451). Under him, the Turks recovered after a heavy defeat inflicted by Tamerlane in the Battle of Angora in 1402. In many ways, it was this defeat that delayed the death of Constantinople for half a century. The Sultan suppressed all the uprisings of the Muslim rulers. In June 1422, Murad laid siege to Constantinople, but could not take it. The lack of a fleet and powerful artillery affected. In 1430, the large city of Thessaloniki in northern Greece was captured, it belonged to the Venetians. Murad II won a number of important victories in the Balkan Peninsula, significantly expanding the possessions of his power. So in October 1448, the battle took place on the Kosovo field. In this battle, the Ottoman army opposed the combined forces of Hungary and Wallachia under the command of the Hungarian general Janos Hunyadi. The fierce three-day battle ended with the complete victory of the Ottomans, and decided the fate of the Balkan peoples - for several centuries they were under the rule of the Turks. After this battle, the crusaders suffered a final defeat and no longer made serious attempts to recapture the Balkan Peninsula from the Ottoman Empire. The fate of Constantinople was decided, the Turks got the opportunity to solve the problem of capturing the ancient city. Byzantium itself no longer posed a great threat to the Turks, but a coalition of Christian countries, relying on Constantinople, could bring significant harm. The city was practically in the middle of the Ottoman possessions, between Europe and Asia. The task of capturing Constantinople was decided by Sultan Mehmed II.

Byzantium. By the 15th century, the Byzantine state had lost most of its possessions. The entire 14th century was a period of political setbacks. For several decades, it seemed that Serbia would be able to capture Constantinople. Various internal strife were a constant source of civil wars. So the Byzantine emperor John V Palaiologos (who ruled from 1341 - 1391) was overthrown from the throne three times: by his father-in-law, son and then grandson. In 1347, an epidemic of "black death" swept through, which claimed the lives of at least a third of the population of Byzantium. The Turks crossed over to Europe, and taking advantage of the troubles of Byzantium and the Balkan countries, by the end of the century they reached the Danube. As a result, Constantinople was surrounded on almost all sides. In 1357, the Turks captured Gallipoli, in 1361 - Adrianople, which became the center of Turkish possessions on the Balkan Peninsula. In 1368, Nissa (the suburban residence of the Byzantine emperors) submitted to Sultan Murad I, and the Ottomans were already under the walls of Constantinople.

In addition, there was the problem of the struggle between supporters and opponents of the union with the Catholic Church. For many Byzantine politicians, it was obvious that without the help of the West, the empire could not survive. Back in 1274, at the Council of Lyon, the Byzantine emperor Michael VIII promised the pope to seek reconciliation of the churches for political and economic reasons. True, his son, Emperor Andronicus II, convened a council of the Eastern Church, which rejected the decisions of the Council of Lyons. Then John Palaiologos went to Rome, where he solemnly accepted the faith according to the Latin rite, but received no help from the West. Supporters of the union with Rome were mostly politicians, or belonged to the intellectual elite. The open enemies of the union were the lower clergy. John VIII Palaiologos (Byzantine emperor in 1425-1448) believed that Constantinople could be saved only with the help of the West, so he tried to conclude a union with the Roman Church as soon as possible. In 1437, together with the patriarch and a delegation of Orthodox bishops, the Byzantine emperor went to Italy and spent more than two years there without a break, first in Ferrara, and then at the Ecumenical Council in Florence. At these meetings, both sides often reached an impasse and were ready to stop the negotiations. But, John forbade his bishops to leave the cathedral until a compromise decision was made. In the end, the Orthodox delegation was forced to yield to the Catholics on almost all major issues. On July 6, 1439, the Union of Florence was adopted, and the Eastern churches were reunited with the Latin. True, the union turned out to be fragile, after a few years many Orthodox hierarchs present at the Council began to openly deny their agreement with the union or say that the decisions of the Council were caused by bribery and threats from Catholics. As a result, the union was rejected by most of the Eastern churches. Most of the clergy and people did not accept this union. In 1444, the pope was able to organize a crusade against the Turks (the main force was the Hungarians), but near Varna the crusaders suffered a crushing defeat.

Disputes about the union took place against the backdrop of the country's economic decline. Constantinople at the end of the 14th century was a sad city, a city of decline and destruction. The loss of Anatolia deprived the capital of the empire of almost all agricultural land. The population of Constantinople, which in the XII century numbered up to 1 million people (together with the suburbs), fell to 100 thousand and continued to decline - by the time of the fall, there were about 50 thousand people in the city. The suburb on the Asian coast of the Bosporus was captured by the Turks. The suburb of Pera (Galata), on the other side of the Golden Horn, was a colony of Genoa. The city itself, surrounded by a wall of 14 miles, lost a number of quarters. In fact, the city has turned into several separate settlements, separated by vegetable gardens, gardens, abandoned parks, ruins of buildings. Many had their own walls, fences. The most populous villages were located along the banks of the Golden Horn. The richest quarter adjacent to the bay belonged to the Venetians. Nearby were the streets where people from the West lived - Florentines, Anconians, Ragusians, Catalans and Jews. But, moorings and bazaars were still full of merchants from Italian cities, Slavic and Muslim lands. Every year, pilgrims arrived in the city, mainly from Russia.

The last years before the fall of Constantinople, preparations for war

The last emperor of Byzantium was Constantine XI Palaiologos (who ruled from 1449-1453). Before becoming emperor, he was despot of the Morea, the Greek province of Byzantium. Constantine had a sound mind, was a good warrior and administrator. Possessed the gift of evoking the love and respect of his subjects, he was greeted in the capital with great joy. During the short years of his reign, he was engaged in preparing Constantinople for a siege, seeking help and alliance in the West and trying to calm the confusion caused by union with the Roman Church. He appointed Luka Notaras as his first minister and commander-in-chief of the fleet.

Sultan Mehmed II received the throne in 1451. He was a purposeful, energetic, intelligent person. Although it was initially believed that this was not a young man sparkling with talents, such an impression was formed on the first attempt to rule in 1444-1446, when his father Murad II (he handed over the throne to his son in order to move away from state affairs) had to return to the throne to solve the problems that appeared. problems. This calmed the European rulers, all their problems were enough. Already in the winter of 1451-1452. Sultan Mehmed ordered the construction of a fortress at the narrowest point of the Bosporus, thereby cutting off Constantinople from the Black Sea. The Byzantines were confused - this was the first step towards the siege. An embassy was sent with a reminder of the oath of the Sultan, who promised to preserve the territorial integrity of Byzantium. The embassy was left unanswered. Constantine sent messengers with gifts and asked not to touch the Greek villages located on the Bosphorus. The Sultan ignored this mission as well. In June, a third embassy was sent - this time the Greeks were arrested and then beheaded. In fact, it was a declaration of war.

By the end of August 1452, the fortress of Bogaz-Kesen (“cutting the strait”, or “cutting the throat”) was built. Powerful guns were installed in the fortress and a ban was announced on passing the Bosphorus without inspection. Two Venetian ships were driven off and a third sunk. The crew was beheaded, and the captain was impaled - this dispelled all illusions about Mehmed's intentions. The actions of the Ottomans caused concern not only in Constantinople. The Venetians in the Byzantine capital owned a whole quarter, they had significant privileges and benefits from trade. It was clear that after the fall of Constantinople, the Turks would not stop; the possessions of Venice in Greece and the Aegean were under attack. The problem was that the Venetians were bogged down in a costly war in Lombardy. An alliance with Genoa was impossible; relations with Rome were strained. And I didn’t want to spoil relations with the Turks - the Venetians conducted profitable trade in the Ottoman ports. Venice allowed Constantine to recruit soldiers and sailors in Crete. In general, Venice remained neutral during this war.

Genoa found itself in roughly the same situation. Concern was caused by the fate of Pera and the Black Sea colonies. The Genoese, like the Venetians, showed flexibility. The government appealed to the Christian world to send aid to Constantinople, but they themselves did not provide such support. Private citizens were given the right to act at their own discretion. The administrations of Pera and the island of Chios were instructed to follow such policy towards the Turks as they thought best in the circumstances.

The Ragusans, the inhabitants of the city of Raguz (Dubrovnik), as well as the Venetians, have recently received confirmation of their privileges in Constantinople from the Byzantine emperor. But the Republic of Dubrovnik did not want to jeopardize its trade in the Ottoman ports either. In addition, the city-state had a small fleet and did not want to risk it if there was no broad coalition of Christian states.

Pope Nicholas V (head of the Catholic Church from 1447 to 1455), having received a letter from Constantine agreeing to accept the union, vainly turned to various sovereigns for help. There was no proper response to these calls. Only in October 1452, the papal legate to the emperor Isidore brought with him 200 archers hired in Naples. The problem of union with Rome again caused controversy and unrest in Constantinople. December 12, 1452 in the church of St. Sophia celebrated a solemn liturgy in the presence of the emperor and the entire court. It mentioned the names of the Pope, the Patriarch, and officially proclaimed the provisions of the Union of Florence. Most of the townspeople accepted this news with sullen passivity. Many hoped that if the city held out, the union could be rejected. But having paid this price for help, the Byzantine elite miscalculated - the ships with the soldiers of the Western states did not come to the aid of the dying empire.

At the end of January 1453, the issue of war was finally resolved. Turkish troops in Europe were ordered to attack the Byzantine cities in Thrace. The cities on the Black Sea surrendered without a fight and escaped the pogrom. Some cities on the coast of the Sea of ​​Marmara tried to defend themselves, and were destroyed. Part of the army invaded the Peloponnese and attacked the brothers of Emperor Constantine so that they could not come to the aid of the capital. The Sultan took into account the fact that a number of previous attempts to take Constantinople (by his predecessors) failed due to the lack of a fleet. The Byzantines had the opportunity to bring reinforcements and supplies by sea. In March, all the ships at the disposal of the Turks are pulled to Gallipoli. Some of the ships were new, built within the last few months. The Turkish fleet had 6 triremes (two-masted sailing and rowing ships, three rowers held one oar), 10 biremes (single-masted vessel, where there were two rowers on one oar), 15 galleys, about 75 fusta (light, high-speed vessels), 20 parandaria (heavy transport barges) and a lot of small sailing boats, boats. Suleiman Baltoglu was at the head of the Turkish fleet. The rowers and sailors were prisoners, criminals, slaves and some volunteers. At the end of March, the Turkish fleet passed through the Dardanelles into the Sea of ​​Marmara, causing horror among the Greeks and Italians. This was another blow to the Byzantine elite, they did not expect that the Turks would prepare such a significant naval force and be able to block the city from the sea.

At the same time, an army was being prepared in Thrace. Throughout the winter, gunsmiths tirelessly made various kinds, engineers created wall-beating and stone-throwing machines. A powerful shock fist was assembled from about 100 thousand people. Of these, 80 thousand were regular troops - cavalry and infantry, Janissaries (12 thousand). Approximately 20-25 thousand numbered irregular troops - militias, bashi-bazouks (irregular cavalry, "turretless" did not receive a salary and "rewarded" themselves with looting), rear units. The Sultan also paid much attention to artillery - the Hungarian master Urban cast several powerful cannons capable of sinking ships (using one of them they sank a Venetian ship) and destroying powerful fortifications. The largest of them was dragged by 60 bulls, and a team of several hundred people was assigned to it. The gun fired cores weighing approximately 1200 pounds (about 500 kg). During March, the huge army of the Sultan began to gradually move towards the Bosphorus. On April 5, Mehmed II himself arrived under the walls of Constantinople. The morale of the army was high, everyone believed in success and hoped for rich booty.

The people in Constantinople were crushed. The huge Turkish fleet in the Sea of ​​Marmara and strong enemy artillery only added to the anxiety. People recalled predictions about the fall of the empire and the coming of the Antichrist. But it cannot be said that the threat deprived all people of the will to resist. Throughout the winter, men and women, encouraged by the emperor, worked to clear the ditches and strengthen the walls. A fund for contingencies was created - the emperor, churches, monasteries and private individuals made investments in it. It should be noted that the problem was not the availability of money, but the lack of the required number of people, weapons (especially firearms), the problem of food. All weapons were collected in one place in order to distribute them to the most threatened areas if necessary.

There was no hope for outside help. Byzantium was supported only by some private individuals. Thus, the Venetian colony in Constantinople offered its assistance to the emperor. Two captains of the Venetian ships returning from the Black Sea - Gabriele Trevisano and Alviso Diedo, swore an oath to participate in the struggle. In total, the fleet that defended Constantinople consisted of 26 ships: 10 of them belonged to the Byzantines proper, 5 to the Venetians, 5 to the Genoese, 3 to the Cretans, 1 arrived from Catalonia, 1 from Ancona and 1 from Provence. Several noble Genoese arrived to fight for the Christian faith. For example, a volunteer from Genoa, Giovanni Giustiniani Longo, brought 700 soldiers with him. Giustiniani was known as an experienced military man, so he was appointed commander of the defense of the land walls by the emperor. In general, the Byzantine emperor, not including allies, had about 5-7 thousand soldiers. It should be noted that part of the population of the city left Constantinople before the siege began. Part of the Genoese - the colony of Pera and the Venetians remained neutral. On the night of February 26, seven ships - 1 from Venice and 6 from Crete left the Golden Horn, taking 700 Italians.

To be continued…

"Death of an Empire. Byzantine Lesson»- a publicistic film by the abbot of the Moscow Sretensky Monastery, Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov). The premiere took place on the state channel "Russia" on January 30, 2008. The host - Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov) - in the first person gives his version of the collapse of the Byzantine Empire.

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BYZANTIUM(Byzantine Empire), the Roman Empire in the Middle Ages with its capital in Constantinople - New Rome. The name "Byzantium" comes from the ancient name of its capital (Byzantium was located on the site of Constantinople) and can be traced from Western sources no earlier than the 14th century.

Problems of ancient succession

The symbolic beginning of Byzantium is the year of foundation of Constantinople (330), with the fall of which on May 29, 1453, the empire ceased to exist. The "division" of the Roman Empire 395 into Western and Eastern represented only the formal legal boundary of epochs, while the historical transition from late antique state legal institutions to medieval ones took place in the 7th-8th centuries. But even after that, Byzantium retained many traditions of ancient statehood and culture, which made it possible to distinguish it into a special civilization, modern, but not identical to the medieval Western European community of peoples. Among its value orientations, the most important place was occupied by the ideas of the so-called "political orthodoxy", which combined the Christian faith, preserved by the Orthodox Church, with the imperial ideology of the "Holy Power" (Reichstheologie), which went back to the ideas of Roman statehood. Together with the Greek language and Hellenistic culture, these factors ensured the unity of the state for almost a millennium. Periodically revised and adapted to the realities of life, Roman law formed the basis of Byzantine legislation. Ethnic self-consciousness for a long time (until the 12th-13th centuries) did not play a significant role in the self-identification of imperial citizens, who were officially called Romans (in Greek - Romans). In the history of the Byzantine Empire, one can single out the Early Byzantine (4th-8th centuries), Middle Byzantine (9th-12th centuries) and Late Byzantine (13th-15th centuries) periods.

Early Byzantine period

In the initial period, the Byzantium (Eastern Roman Empire) included lands to the east of the dividing line 395 - the Balkans with Illyricum, Thrace, Asia Minor, Syro-Palestine, Egypt with a predominantly Hellenized population. After the capture of the western Roman provinces by the barbarians, Constantinople rose even more as the seat of emperors and the center of the imperial idea. Hence in the 6th c. under Emperor Justinian I (527-565), the "restoration of the Roman state" was carried out, after many years of wars, returning Italy with Rome and Ravenna, northern Africa with Carthage and part of Spain under the rule of the empire. In these territories, Roman provincial administration was restored and the effect of Roman legislation in its Justinian edition ("Justinian's Code") was extended. However, in the 7th c. the face of the Mediterranean was completely transformed as a result of the invasion of the Arabs and Slavs. The empire lost the richest lands of the East, Egypt and the African coast, and its greatly reduced Balkan possessions were cut off from the Latin-speaking Western European world. The rejection of the eastern provinces resulted in the growth of the dominant role of the Greek ethnos and the cessation of the controversy with the Monophysites, which was such an important factor in the internal policy of the empire in the east in the previous period. Latin, formerly the official state language, is falling into disuse and is being replaced by Greek. In the 7th-8th centuries. under the emperors Heraclius (610-641) and Leo III (717-740), the late Roman provincial division was transformed into a thematic device that ensured the viability of the empire for the following centuries. Iconoclastic upheavals of the 8th-9th centuries. on the whole, did not shake its strength, contributing to the consolidation and self-determination of its most important institutions - the state and the Church.

Middle Byzantine period

The empire of the Middle Byzantine period was a world "superpower", whose stable centralized statehood, military power and sophisticated culture stood in stark contrast to the fragmentation of the forces of the Latin West and the Muslim East at that time. The "golden age" of the Byzantine Empire lasted approximately from 850 to 1050. In these centuries its possessions stretched from southern Italy and Dalmatia to Armenia, Syria and Mesopotamia, the long-standing problem of the security of the northern borders of the empire was solved by the annexation of Bulgaria (1018) and the restoration of the former Roman frontier along the Danube. The Slavs who settled in Greece in the previous period were assimilated and subordinated to the empire. The stability of the economy was based on developed commodity-money relations and the circulation of gold solidus, minted since the time of Constantine I. The feme system made it possible to maintain the military power of the state and the immutability of its economic institutions, which ensured dominance in the political life of the metropolitan bureaucratic aristocracy, and therefore was steadily maintained throughout the entire 10 - early 11th century The emperors of the Macedonian dynasty (867-1056) embodied the idea of ​​chosenness and constancy of the power established by God, the only source of earthly blessings. The return to icon veneration in 843 marked the reconciliation and renewal of the symphony of "harmony" between the state and the Church. The authority of the Patriarchate of Constantinople was restored, and in the 9th century. it already claims dominance in Eastern Christendom. The baptism of the Bulgarians, Serbs, and then the Slavic Kievan Rus expanded the boundaries of Byzantine civilization, outlining the area of ​​spiritual community of the Eastern European Orthodox peoples. In the Middle Byzantine period, the foundations were formed for what modern researchers have defined as the "Byzantine Commonwealth" (Byzantin Commonwealth), the visible expression of which was the hierarchy of Christian rulers who recognized the emperor as the head of the earthly world order, and the Patriarch of Constantinople as the head of the Church. In the east, such rulers were the Armenian and Georgian kings, whose independent possessions bordered the empire and the Muslim world.

Soon after the death of the most prominent representative of the Macedonian dynasty, Vasily II the Bulgar Slayer (976-1025), the decline began. It was caused by the self-destruction of the thematic system, which went along with the growth of the stratum of the landowning, predominantly military aristocracy. The inevitable growth of private legal forms of dependence of the Byzantine peasantry weakened state control over it and led to a clash of interests between the capital's bureaucratic and provincial nobility. Contradictions within the ruling class and unfavorable external circumstances caused by the invasions of the Seljuk Turks and Normans led to the loss by Byzantium of Asia Minor (1071) and South Italian possessions (1081). Only the accession of Alexei I, the founder of the Komnenos dynasty (1081-1185) and the head of the military-aristocratic clan that came to power with him, made it possible to bring the country out of a protracted crisis. As a result of the energetic policy of the Komnenos, Byzantium in the 12th century. re-emerged as a powerful nation. She again began to play an active role in world politics, holding the Balkan Peninsula under her control and claiming the return of southern Italy, but the main problems in the east were not finally resolved. Most of Asia Minor remained in the hands of the Seljuks, and the defeat of Manuel I (1143-80) in 1176 at Myriokephalon put an end to hopes for its return.

In the Byzantine economy, Venice began to play an increasingly important place, which, in exchange for military assistance, sought unprecedented privileges from the emperors in eastern trade. The theme system is being replaced by the pronia system, based on private law forms of exploitation of the peasantry and which existed until the end of Byzantine history.

The emerging decline of Byzantium took place simultaneously with the renewal of the life of medieval Europe. The Latins rushed to the East, first as pilgrims, then as merchants and crusaders. Their military and economic expansion, which did not stop from the end of the 11th century, aggravated the spiritual alienation that was growing in relations between Eastern and Western Christians. Its symptom was the Great Schism of 1054, which marked the final divergence of the Eastern and Western theological traditions and led to the separation of Christian denominations. The Crusades and the establishment of the Latin Eastern Patriarchates further contributed to the tension between the West and Byzantium. The capture of Constantinople by the crusaders in 1204 and the subsequent division of the empire drew a line under the thousand-year existence of Byzantium as a great world power.

Late Byzantine period

After 1204, in the territories that were once part of Byzantium, several states, Latin and Greek, were formed. The most significant among the Greeks was the Asia Minor Empire of Nicaea, whose sovereigns led the struggle to recreate Byzantium. With the end of the "Nicene exile" and the return of the empire to Constantinople (1261), the last period of the existence of Byzantium begins, called by the name of the ruling dynasty Palaiologos (1261-1453). Its economic and military weakness during these years was compensated by the growth of the spiritual authority of the primate of the See of Constantinople within the Orthodox world, by the general revival of monastic life caused by the spread of the teachings of the hesychasts. Church reforms of the late 14th century. unified the written tradition and liturgical practice and spread it in all areas of the Byzantine Commonwealth. The arts and learning at the imperial court are experiencing a brilliant flowering (the so-called Palaiologan Renaissance).

From the beginning of the 14th century the Ottoman Turks took Asia Minor from Byzantium, and from the middle of the same century began to seize its possessions in the Balkans. Of particular importance for the political survival of the Palaiologan Empire were relations with the West and the inevitable union of the churches as a guarantee of help against the invaders of other faiths. Church unity was formally restored at the Ferrara-Florence Council of 1438-1439, but it had no effect on the fate of Byzantium; the majority of the population of the Orthodox world did not accept the belated union, considering it a betrayal of the true faith. Constantinople is all that remains in the 15th century. from the once great empire - was left to himself, and May 29, 1453 fell under the onslaught of the Ottoman Turks. With his fall, the thousand-year-old stronghold of Eastern Christianity collapsed and the history of the state founded by Augustus in the 1st century ended. BC e. The subsequent (16th-17th) centuries are often identified as the so-called post-Byzantine period, when there was a gradual extinction and conservation of the typological features of Byzantine culture, whose stronghold was the monasteries of Athos.

Iconography in Byzantium

The characteristic features of Byzantine icons are the frontality of the image, strict symmetry in relation to the central figure of Christ or the Mother of God. The saints on the icons are static, in a state of ascetic, dispassionate rest. Gold and purple colors on the icons express the idea of ​​royalty, blue - divinity, white symbolizes moral purity. The icon of Our Lady of Vladimir (beginning of the 12th century), brought to Russia from Constantinople in 1155, is considered a masterpiece of Byzantine icon painting. The idea of ​​sacrifice and maternal love is expressed in the image of the Mother of God.

M. N. Butyrsky

The Eastern Roman Empire arose at the beginning of the 4th century. n. e. In 330, the Roman emperor Constantine the Great - the first Christian emperor - founded the city of Constantinople on the site of the ancient Greek colony of Byzantium (hence the name given by historians of the "Christian empire of the Romans" after its fall). The Byzantines themselves considered themselves "Romans", that is, "Romans", the power - "Roman", and the emperor - Vasileus - the successor of the traditions of the Roman emperors. Byzantium was a state in which a centralized bureaucratic apparatus and religious unity (as a result of the struggle of religious movements in Christianity, Orthodoxy became the dominant religion of Byzantium) were of great importance for maintaining the continuity of state power and territorial integrity for almost 11 centuries of its existence.

In the history of the development of Byzantium, five stages can be conventionally distinguished.

At the first stage (4th century - middle of the 7th century), the empire is a multinational state in which the slave-owning system is replaced by early feudal relations. The state system of Byzantium is a military-bureaucratic monarchy. All power belonged to the emperor. Power was not hereditary, the emperor was proclaimed by the army, the senate and the people (although this was often nominal). The senate was an advisory body under the emperor. The free population was divided into estates. The system of feudal relations almost did not take shape. Their peculiarity was the preservation of a significant number of free peasants, peasant communities, the spread of the colony and the distribution of a large fund of state lands to slaves.

Early Byzantium was called the "country of cities", numbering in the thousands. Such centers as Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, each had 200-300 thousand inhabitants. In dozens of medium-sized cities (Damascus, Nicaea, Ephesus, Thessaloniki, Edessa, Beirut, etc.), 30-80 thousand people lived. Cities that had polis self-government occupied a large place in the economic life of the empire. The largest city and trading center was Constantinople.

Byzantium traded with China and India, and after the conquest of the Western Mediterranean under Emperor Justinian, it established hegemony for trade with the countries of the West, turning the Mediterranean Sea back into "Roman Lake".

In terms of the level of development of crafts, Byzantium had no equal among Western European countries.

During the reign of Emperor Justinian I (527-565), Byzantium reaches its peak. The reforms carried out under him contributed to the centralization of the state, and the "Code of Justinian" (code of civil law), developed during his reign, was in effect throughout the existence of the state, having a great influence on the development of law in the countries of feudal Europe.

At this time, the empire is experiencing an era of grandiose construction: military fortifications are being erected, cities, palaces and temples are being built. This period includes the construction of the magnificent church of St. Sophia, which became known to the whole world.

The end of this period was marked by a renewed struggle between the church and the imperial power.

The second stage (the second half of the 7th century - the first half of the 9th century) took place in a tense struggle with the Arabs and Slavic invasions. The territory of the state was halved, and now the empire has become much more homogeneous in terms of national composition: it was a Greek-Slavic state. Its economic basis was the free peasantry. The barbarian invasions created favorable conditions for the liberation of the peasants from dependence, and the main legislative act that regulated agrarian relations in the empire proceeds from the fact that the land is at the disposal of the peasant community. The number of cities and the number of citizens are sharply reduced. Of the major centers, only Constantinople remains, and its population is reduced to 30-40 thousand. Other cities of the empire have 8-10 thousand inhabitants each. In small life freezes. The decline of cities and the "barbarization" of the population (that is, the growth in the number of "barbarians", primarily Slavs, among the subjects of Vasilev) could not but lead to the decline of culture. The number of schools, and consequently the number of educated people, is drastically reduced. Enlightenment is concentrated in monasteries.

It was during this difficult period that the decisive clash between the basileus and the church took place. The main role at this stage is played by the emperors of the Isaurian dynasty. The first of them - Leo III - was a brave warrior and subtle diplomat, he had to fight at the head of the cavalry, attack Arab ships on a light boat, make promises and immediately break them. It was he who led the defense of Constantinople, when in 717 the Muslim army blocked the city both from land and from the sea. The Arabs surrounded the capital of the Romans with a wall with siege towers against the gate, and a huge fleet of 1800 ships entered the Bosphorus. Nevertheless, Constantinople was saved. The Byzantines burned the Arab fleet with "Greek fire" (a special mixture of oil and sulfur, invented by the Greek scientist Kallinnik, which did not go out from the water; enemy ships were poured with it through special siphons). The blockade from the sea was broken, and the forces of the land army of the Arabs were undermined by a harsh winter: the snow lay for 100 days, which is surprising for these places. Famine began in the Arab camp, the soldiers ate first the horses, and then the corpses of the dead. In the spring of 718, the Byzantines also defeated the second squadron, and the allies of the empire, the Bulgarians, appeared in the rear of the Arab army. After standing under the walls of the city for almost a year, the Muslims retreated. But the war with them continued for more than two decades, and only in 740 Leo III inflicted a decisive defeat on the enemy.

In 730, at the height of the war with the Arabs, Leo III brought down cruel repressions on supporters of icon veneration. Icons were removed from the walls in all churches and destroyed. They were replaced by the image of the cross and patterns of flowers and trees (the enemies of the emperor taunted that the temples began to resemble gardens and forests). Iconoclasm was the last and unsuccessful attempt of Caesar to conquer the Church spiritually. From that moment on, emperors limited themselves to the role of protectors and guardians of tradition. The appearance at this time of the icon-painting plot "The Emperor bowing before Christ" reflects the significance of the change that has taken place.

In all areas of the life of the empire, conservative and protective traditionalism is becoming more and more established.

The third stage (the second half of the 9th century - the middle of the 11th century) takes place under the rule of the emperors of the Macedonian dynasty. This is the "golden age" of the empire, a period of economic growth and cultural flourishing.

Even during the reign of the Isaurian dynasty, a situation arose when the state was the predominant form of land ownership, and the basis of the army was made up of stratiot warriors who served for the land allotment. With the Macedonian dynasty, the practice of wide distribution of large lands and vacant lands to the nobility and military commanders begins. Dependent peasants-pariki (communes who lost their land) worked in these farms. The class of feudal lords is formed from the layer of landowners (dinats). The nature of the army is also changing: the militia of the stratiotes is replaced in the 10th century. heavily armed, armored cavalry (cataphractaries), which becomes the main striking force of the Byzantine army.

IX-XI centuries - a period of urban growth. An outstanding technical discovery - the invention of the oblique sail - and state support for handicraft and trading corporations made the cities of the empire for a long time the masters of the Mediterranean trade. First of all, this applies, of course, to Constantinople, which is becoming the most important center of transit trade between West and East, the richest city in Europe. Products of Constantinople artisans - weavers, jewelers, blacksmiths - will become the standard for European artisans for centuries. Together with the capital, provincial cities are also experiencing a rise: Thessaloniki, Trebizond, Ephesus and others. The Black Sea trade revives again. The monasteries, which became centers of highly productive handicrafts and agriculture, also contribute to the economic rise of the empire.

Economic growth is closely connected with the revival of culture. In 842, the activity of the University of Constantinople was restored, in which the leading scientist of Byzantium, Leo the Mathematician, played an outstanding role. He compiled a medical encyclopedia and wrote poetry. His library included the books of the church fathers and ancient philosophers and scientists: Plato and Proclus, Archimedes and Euclid. Several inventions are associated with the name of Leo the Mathematician: the use of letters as arithmetic symbols (i.e., the beginning of algebra), the invention of light signaling connecting Constantinople with the border, the creation of moving statues in the palace. Singing birds, roaring lions (the figures were set in motion by water) amazed foreign ambassadors. The university was located in the hall of the palace, called Magnavra, and received the name of Magnavra. Grammar, rhetoric, philosophy, arithmetic, astronomy, and music were taught.

Simultaneously with the university in Constantinople, a theological patriarchal school is being created. The educational system is being revived throughout the country.

At the end of the 11th century, under Patriarch Photius, an exceptionally educated person who collected the best library of his time (hundreds of titles of books by outstanding minds of antiquity), extensive missionary activity began to Christianize the barbarians. Priests and preachers trained in Constantinople go to the pagans - Bulgarians and Serbs. Of great importance is the mission of Cyril and Methodius to the Great Moravian Principality, during which they create Slavic writing and translate the Bible and church literature into Slavonic. Thus, the foundations of a spiritual and political upsurge in the Slavic world are being laid. At the same time, the Kyiv prince Askold accepts Christianity. A century later, in 988, Prince Vladimir of Kyiv is baptized in Chersonese, takes the name Vasily ("royal") and takes Anna, the sister of the Byzantine emperor Vasily, as his wife. The replacement of paganism by Christianity in Kievan Rus influenced the development of architecture, painting, literature, and contributed to the enrichment of Slavic culture.

It was during the reign of Basil II (976-1026) that the power of the Romans reached the apogee of its foreign policy power. The intelligent and energetic emperor was a harsh and cruel ruler. Having dealt with his internal political enemies with the help of the Kyiv squad, the basileus began a difficult war with Bulgaria, which lasted intermittently for 28 years, and finally inflicted a decisive defeat on his enemy, the Bulgarian Tsar Samuil.

At the same time, Basil waged constant wars in the East and by the end of his reign he returned to the empire Northern Syria, part of Mesopotamia, established control over Georgia and Armenia. When the emperor died during the preparation of a campaign in Italy in 1025, Byzantium was the most powerful state in Europe. However, it was his reign that demonstrated a disease that would undermine its power for centuries to come. From the point of view of Constantinople, the introduction of the barbarians to the Orthodox religion and Greek culture automatically meant their submission to the basileus of the Romans - the main custodian of this spiritual heritage. Greek priests and teachers, icon painters and architects contributed to the spiritual awakening of the Bulgarians and Serbs. The attempt of the basileus to preserve the universal nature of their power, relying on the power of a centralized state, contradicted the objective course of the process of Christianization of the barbarians and only exhausted the strength of the empire.

The tension of all the forces of Byzantium under Basil II led to a financial crisis. The situation became even more aggravated due to the constant struggle between the metropolitan and provincial nobility. As a result of unrest, Emperor Roman IV (1068-1071) was betrayed by his entourage and suffered a severe defeat in the war against a new wave of Muslim conquerors - the Seljuk Turks. After the victory in 1071 at Manzikert, the Muslim cavalry took control of all of Asia Minor within a decade.

However, the defeat of the end of the XI century. were not the end of the empire. Byzantium had enormous vitality.

The next, fourth (1081-1204) stage of its existence was a period of a new upsurge. The emperors of the Komnenos dynasty were able to consolidate the forces of the Romans and revive their glory for another century. The first three emperors of this dynasty - Alexei (1081-1118), John (1118-1143) and Manuel (1143-1180) - showed themselves as brave and talented military leaders, subtle diplomats and far-sighted politicians. Relying on the provincial nobility, they stopped the internal unrest and conquered the Asia Minor coast from the Turks, put the Danube states under control. Komnenos entered the history of Byzantium as "Westernizer" emperors. Despite the split between the Orthodox and Catholic churches in 1054, they turned to the Western European kingdoms for help in the fight against the Turks (for the first time in the history of the empire). Constantinople became a gathering place for participants in the 1st and 2nd Crusades. The crusaders promised to recognize themselves as vassals of the empire after they recapture Syria and Palestine, and after the victory, the emperors John and Manuel forced them to fulfill their promises and recognize the authority of the empire. Surrounded by Western knights, the Komneni were very similar to Western European kings. But, although the support of this dynasty - the provincial nobility - also surrounded itself with dependent vassals, the feudal ladder did not arise in the empire. The vassals of the local nobility were simply vigilantes. It is also characteristic that the basis of the army under this dynasty is made up of mercenaries from Western Europe and knights who settled in the empire and received lands and castles here. Emperor Manuel subjugated Serbia and Hungary to the empire. His troops fought in Italy, where even Milan recognized the authority of the empire; tried to subjugate Egypt, making expeditions to the Nile Delta. The centenary reign of the Komnenos ends in turmoil and civil war.

The new dynasty of Angels (1185-1204) only deepens the crisis by the fact that, patronizing the Italian merchants, it deals an irreparable blow to domestic crafts and trade. Therefore, when in 1204 the knights of the 1st crusade suddenly changed their route, intervened in the internal political struggle of the empire, captured Constantinople and founded the Latin Empire on the Bosphorus, the catastrophe was natural.

The inhabitants and defenders of Constantinople outnumbered the crusaders by dozens of times, and yet the city fell, although it withstood the siege and the onslaught of a more serious enemy. The reason for the defeat was, of course, that the Byzantines were demoralized by internal unrest. An important role was played by the fact that the policy of the Komnenos in the second half of the XII century. (for all its external success) contradicted the interests of the empire, tk. the limited resources of the Balkan Peninsula and parts of Asia Minor did not allow claiming the role of a "universal empire". At that time, the real ecumenical significance was no longer so much the imperial power, but the power of the ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople. It was already impossible to ensure the unity of the Orthodox world (Byzantium, Serbia, Russia, Georgia), relying on the military power of the state, but relying on church unity was still quite realistic. It turned out that the religious foundations of the unity and strength of Byzantium were undermined, and for half a century the Latin Empire of the Crusaders established itself in the place of the Roman Empire.

However, the terrible defeat could not destroy Byzantium. The Romans retained their statehood in Asia Minor and Epirus. The Empire of Nicaea became the most important stronghold of gathering forces, which, under the emperor John Vatatzes (1222-1254), accumulated the economic potential necessary to create a strong army and preserve culture.

In 1261, Emperor Michael Palaiologos liberates Constantinople from the Latins, and this event begins the fifth stage of the existence of Byzantium, which will last until 1453. The military potential of the state was small, the economy was devastated by Turkish raids and internal strife, craft and trade fell into decay. When the Palaiologoi, continuing the policy of the Angels, relied on Italian merchants, Venetians and Genoese, local artisans and merchants could not resist competition. The decline of the craft undermined the economic power of Constantinople and deprived him of his last strength.

The main significance of the Palaiologos empire is that it preserved the culture of Byzantium until the 15th century, when it was able to be adopted by the peoples of Europe. Two centuries is the flowering of philosophy and theology, architecture and icon painting. It seemed that the disastrous economic and political situation only stimulated the rise of the spirit, and this time is called the "Paleologian revival".

The Athos Monastery, founded in the 10th century, became the center of religious life. Under Komnenos, it grew in number, and in the XIV century. Holy Mountain (the monastery was located on a mountain) became a whole city in which thousands of monks of different nationalities lived. Great was the role of the Patriarch of Constantinople, who led the churches of independent Bulgaria, Serbia, Russia and pursued an ecumenical policy.

Under the Palaiologoi, the University of Constantinople is revived. There are trends in philosophy that seek to revive ancient culture. The extreme representative of this trend was George Plethon (1360-1452), who created an original philosophy and religion based on the teachings of Plato and Zoroaster.

"Paleologian Renaissance" is the flowering of architecture and painting. Until now, viewers are amazed by the beautiful buildings and amazing frescoes of Mistra (a city near ancient Sparta).

Ideological and political life of the empire from the end of the XIII century. by the 15th century takes place in the struggle around the union between Catholics and Orthodox. The growing onslaught of the Muslim Turks forced the Palaiologoi to seek military assistance from the West. In exchange for the salvation of Constantinople, the emperors promised to achieve the subordination of the Orthodox Church to the Pope of Rome (unia). Michael Palaiologos was the first to make such an attempt in 1274. This caused an outburst of indignation among the Orthodox population. And when, just before the death of the city, in 1439, the union was nevertheless signed in Florence, it was unanimously rejected by the inhabitants of Constantinople. The reasons for this were, of course, in the hatred that the Greeks felt for the "Latins" after the pogrom of 1204 and the half-century domination of the Catholics in the Bosporus. In addition, the West could not (or did not want to) provide effective military assistance to Constantinople and the empire. Two crusades in 1396 and 1440 ended in the defeat of the European armies. But no less important was the fact that the union for the Greeks meant the rejection of the mission of the guardians of the Orthodox tradition, which they had taken on. This renunciation would have crossed out the centuries-old history of the empire. That is why the monks of Athos, and after them the vast majority of the Byzantines, rejected the union and began to prepare for the defense of the doomed Constantinople. In 1453 a huge Turkish army besieged and stormed "New Rome". The "Power of the Romans" ceased to exist.

The importance of the Byzantine Empire in the history of mankind can hardly be overestimated. In the dark ages of barbarism and the early Middle Ages, she conveyed to her descendants the heritage of Hellas and Rome, and preserved Christian culture. Achievements in the field of science (mathematics), in literature, fine arts, book miniatures, arts and crafts (ivory, metal, art fabrics, cloisonné enamels), architecture, and military affairs had a significant impact on the further development of the culture of Western Europe and Kievan Rus. And the life of modern society cannot be imagined without Byzantine influence. Sometimes Constantinople is called the "golden bridge" between the West and the East. This is true, but it is even more correct to consider the power of the Romans as a "golden bridge" between antiquity and modern times.