I think you will find the Byzantine Empire intriguing with its backroom dealings and in-house squabbling. For each interesting bit of information I'll give one point. The only catch is that I get to select what I think constitutes interesting (and point worthy). I will also give a twenty point bonus to the most impressive submission. Happy hunting! We will run this one up to October 9.
Peace,
Mr. P
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
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In regards to Theodora,...
While married to Justinian, she held a truly egalitarian drive to give women the same legal rights as men, such as
+establishing homes for prostitutes,
+passing laws prohibiting forced prostitution,
+advocating abortion,
+granting women more rights in divorce cases,
+allowing women to own and inherit property, and
+enacting the death penalty for rape,
all of which raised women's status far above that current in the Western portion of the Empire.
Theodora was born into the lowest class of Byzantine society, the daughter of a bearkeeper for the circus.
As soon as they were old enough, Theodora's mother put her children on the stage. Theater was considered the embodiment of immorality in the 6th century and by the end of the 7th century, the Church would succeed in banning it entirely.
She was renowned for her animal acts as a comic actress in burlesque theater.
"The staple fare was the mime, involving obscene burlesque, and on the evidence of Procopius, Theodora made a name for herself with her portrayal of Leda and the Swan: she stripped off her clothes as far as the law allowed, for complete nudity was banned, and lay on her back while some attendants scattered barley on her groin. Then geese, evidently playing Zeus in several guises, picked up the barley with their bills. She also entertained notables at banquets and accepted a multitude of lovers. Procopius pretends that her appetite for sexual intercourse was voracious and relates stories about her that sound like men's locker room humor, but nonetheless they were probably tales current on the streets of Constantinople."
just a basic history lesson,...
Alexios V Doukas Mourtzouphlos was first blinded by his father-in-law, the former Emperor Alexios III Angelos, then caught by Crusaders and pushed from the top of the Column of Theodosius.
Theodora is a saint in the Orthodox Church, commemorated on 14November.
Justin accommodated his heir's attraction to Theodora by changing the law that forbid a patrician from marrying an actress.
Justinian's Corpus iuris civilis became the foundation of all European law and legal practice.
In 1071, however, the Seljuk Turks conquered the Byzantine army at Manzikert in Asia Minor.
After this victory, the Seljuks quickly overran all of Byzantine territory in the east.
The Byzantines, however, inherited the Roman idea that the emperor was near divinity and practiced a form of Christianity where enormous ecclesiastical and theological authority was vested in the emperor.
It was in Byzantium that Plato and Aristotle continued to be studied and were eventually transmitted first into the Islamic world and then back into western Europe.
Unlike Greece and Rome during the classical period or the Latin West during the Middle Ages, women actively participated in the intellectual life of the culture.
Thats all for now
-Tyler Heath
Known as the First Female Byzantine Emperor...
Irene of Athens, was the first female emperor to rule alone she specifically took the title of emperor not empress. Upon the death of her husband, Emperor Leo IV, Irene of Athens became regent for her 10-year-old son, Constantine VI. She successfully defended her position against numerous plots and victimized her son in the process.
Empress Irene was a strong proponent of the use of Icons in the Christian church, a practice that had been prohibited for 60 years. After violent opposition from Iconoclasts, Irene managed to arrange the Second Council of Nicaea in 787, at which the use of Icons was restored. For this and for her patronage of monasteries, Irene is considered a saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church.
When her son grew older and tried to wrest his indepencence from his mother, Irene had him blinded and imprisoned. She then took the title of Emperor for herself, becoming the first woman to rule the empire. Irene was also rumored to have considered a marriage to Charlemagne, who visited Constantinople during her reign.
In 802 Irene was exiled to Prinkipo and then to Lesbos, where she died.
What a powerful woman!
-Emilie!
Hello well here is some INTERESTING facts.....
-People living in the Byzantine empire called the empire Romania
-Constantine I developed the Byzantine Senate in the 4th century
-Romania used many of the Romano-Hellenistic traditions
-Charlegame was crowned Emperor of the West in the year 800
-In 843, icons were brought back to the Orthodox worshiping
-Constantinople's name was changed to Istanbul in 1930
-Justinian came into rule in 527 AD
-Justinian married Theodora, but this upset the people because they didnt like her background of being in a "circus"
-Theodora and Justinian were unable to have children
-Justinian was able to send Roman troops into Africa because he made peace with King Khusrho
-The Hagia Sophia church was built while Justinian was ruleing
-Hagia Sophia, as of 1935, is now a famous museum in Turkey
-one emperor of the Byzantine Empire,Constantine VIII (1025-1028), is said to have been 9 FEET tall! WoW!
-Heraclius was a famous emperor, but he lost Palestine, Egypy, Byzantine Mesopotamia, and Persia to Arab Muslims
-Just a year after Heraclius's wife died, he married hi niece = this offended the church
-Family names played a big role in people's lives. the Names were used to represent pride and tradition
Well..... thats all for now. Bye Guys :)
*SaBrInA PeRez*
The Crusades
and the Templar Knights
~The Crusades were a serious of religiously sanctioned military campaigns launched with the goal of recapturing Jerusalem and the Holy Land that started in 1095 and ended in 1291, with various other non-religious crusades stretching into the 1500s.
~The religious ardor in the Fist Crusade was so great that they captured Jerusalem in 1099(barely).
~The crusading life appealed to many since you took vows and were granted penance for past sins.
~During the Fourth Crusade the city of Constantinople was sacked at the urging of the Venetians , to help pay for transporting the army through the sea.
~The city was sacked 900000 silver marks (at the very least). Most of the money was kept by the looters.
~The Children's Crusade, which is probably fake, tells of how more than 30000 children marched to Jerusalem (none made it), being led by a 12 year old French shepherd, who claimed to have a letter from Jesus to King Philip IV. The king sent him home back to his sheep.
~The Templar Knights were a religious order that gained much popularity when the Crusades started (they were very rich), but when the Crusades failed, they went down too.
~The French King Philip IV took advantage of the situation (he owed a lot of moolah to the order) to accuse the Templar Knights of heresies.
TheTemplar Knights were asked (that means tortured) to confess to their "crimes".
~Jacques de Molay (The last Grand Master) cursed the King and Pope. The King died 9 months later, the Pope one.
Little follow up...
~The sacking of Constantinople was one of the reasons that led up to the great schism that divided the Latin and Orthodox Churches.
~On Friday, October 13, 1307 the Templars were arrested as heretics.
In 1310 dozens of Templars were burned.
~Byzantine Empire succumbed to Muslim control 1453.
*Although we think of Constantine I, the Great (306-337), as the first "Byzantine" emperor, he actually spent most of his reign as Emperor of the Western Roman Empire. On defeating Licinius, the Eastern Emperor, he unified the Empire, which remained intact for the rest of his life.
*Leo I (457-474), who committed as many consciousless bloodthirsty acts as any ruler of his age, sometimes sounded like a flower child: "May it happen in my time that the pay of the soldiers is handed over to the teachers," he is said to have uttered.(parker i think you will like this one)
* The emperor with the longest beard was probably Constantine III (641-668).
*The highly effective Nicaean emperor John III Doukas Vatatzes, like his ancient imperial predecessor Julius Caesar, was an epileptic. Despite his affliction, he often led his forces personally.
*The longest Byzantine dynasty, almost two hundred years, was also its last. The Palaiologos dynasty began with Michael VIII, who in 1259 blinded and imprisoned his ten-year-old predecessor (John IV Laskaris), and ended with Constantine XI, who died bravely in battle when the Ottomans took Constantinople.
*Rulers of the Byzantine Empire
Emperor (or Empress) Dates of Reign
Constantine I (the Great) 330-37
Constantius 337-61
Julian (the Apostate) 361-63
Jovian 363-64
Valens 364-78
Theodosius I (the Great) 379-95
Arcadius 395-408
Theodosius II 408-50
Marcian 450-57
Leo I (the Great or the Thracian) 457-74
Leo II 474
Zeno 474-75
Basiliscus 475-76
Zeno (restored) 476-91
Anastasius I 491-518
Justin I 518-27
Justinian I (the Great) 527-65
Justin II 565-78
Tiberius II Constantinus 578-82
Maurice 582-602
Phocas 602-10
Heraclius 610-41
Constantine III and Heracleonas 641
Heracleonas 641
Constans II Pogonatus 641-68
Constantine IV 668-85
Justinian II Rhinotmetus 685-95
Leontius 695-98
Tiberius III 698-705
Justinian II (restored) 705-11
Philippicus Bardanes 711-13
Anastasius II 713-15
Theodosius III 716-17
Leo III (the Isaurian or the Syrian) 717-41
Constantine V Copronymus 741-75
Leo IV (the Khazar) 775-80
Constantine VI 780-97
Irene 797-802
Nicephorus I 802-11
Stauracius 811
Michael I 811-13
Leo V (the Armenian) 813-20
Michael II (the Stammerer) 820-29
Theophilus 829-42
Michael III (the Drunkard) 842-67
Basil I (the Macedonian) 867-86
Leo VI (the Wise or the Philosopher) 886-912
Alexander 912-13
Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus 913-19
Romanus I Lecapenus 919-44
Constantine VII (restored) 944-59
Romanus II 959-63
Basil II Bulgaroktonos 963
Nicephorus II Phocas 963-69
John I Tzimisces 969-76
Basil II (restored) 976-1025
Constantine VIII 1025-28
Zoë and Romanus III Argyrus 1028-34
Zoë and Michael IV (the Paphlagonian) 1034-41
Zoë and Michael V Calaphates 1041-42
Zoë and Theodora 1042
Zoë, Theodora, and Constantine IX Monomachus 1042-50
Theodora and Constantine IX 1050-55
Theodora 1055-56
Michael VI Stratioticus 1056-57
Isaac I Comnenus 1057-59
Constantine X Ducas 1059-67
Michael VII Ducas (Parapinaces) 1067-68
Romanus IV Diogenes 1068-71
Michael VII Ducas (restored) 1071-78
Nicephorus III Botaniates 1078-81
Alexius I Comnenus 1081-1118
John II Comnenus 1118-43
Manuel I Comnenus 1143-80
Alexius II Comnenus 1180-83
Andronicus I Comnenus 1183-85
Isaac II Angelus 1185-95
Alexius III Angelus 1195-1203
Isaac II (restored) and Alexius IV Angelus 1203-4
Alexius V Ducas 1204
Theodore I Lascaris 1204-22
John III Vatatzes or Ducas 1222-54
Theodore II Lascaris 1254-58
John IV Lascaris 1258-61
Michael VIII Palaeologus 1259-82
Andronicus II Palaeologus 1282-1328
Andronicus III Palaeologus 1328-41
John V Palaeologus 1341-76
John VI Cantacuzenus (usurper) 1347-55
Andronicus IV Palaeologus 1376-79
John V Palaeologus (restored) 1379-91
John VII Palaeologus (usurper) 1390
Manuel II Palaeologus 1391-1425
John VII Palaeologus (restored as coemperor) 1399-1412
John VIII Palaeologus 1425-48
Constantine XI Palaeologus 1449-53
*Byzantine Empire and Eastern Roman Empire are conventional names used to describe the Roman Empire
(The Roman Empire was the Roman Republic phase of the Ancient Rome, characterised by an autocracy form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean)
during the Middle Ages Constantinople
(Constantinople was the empire capital of the Roman Empire , the Byzantine Empire , the Latin Empire , and the Ottoman Empire . Strategically located between the Golden Horn and the Sea of Marmara at the point where Europe meets Asia, Byzantine Constantinople had been the capital of a Christendom empire, successor to ancient ancient Greece)
. It was referred to by its inhabitants simply as the Roman Empire, the Empire of the Romans
im not sure if some of these have alredy been posted, ow by the way can you post more E.C.
Well here are some INTERESTING FACTS…
•The Byzantine Empire was named after Byzantium which Emperor Constantine I rebuilt into Constantinople. WOWW I never knew that how interesting.
•The people who we know today as the Byzantines called themselves Romans, spoke Greek, and lived in modern-day Turkey.
•The Byzantine Empire was vey hierarchical ;
-At the top was the Emperor who made many decisions involving the Empire.
-He was advise by advisors and bureaucrats.
-He also had a senate who prepared laws for his approval.
- The emperors ruled with the help of a strong and well-trained army that had as many as 120,000 members.
-Surrounding the emperor was an aristocracy of very wealthy people; the major cities also had a small middle class, made up of shop owners and traders.
-The majority of th people were poor and labored in the city.
•Hagia Sophia which is the most beautiful Christian Church in the world was built in the Byzantine Empire in 532 to 537. HOW COOL 5 YEARS!!!
•Flavius Petrus Sabbatius Iustinianus or as we may know him Justinian I was emperor in 527 until his death in 565.
•In around 525 he married Theodora in Constantinople. If it was not for Justinian’s uncle who passed a law allowing intermarriages between social classes they would be allowed to marry each other.
•Theodora became very influential in the empire. Later rulers also married outside of the aristocratic class. Theodora and Justinian are both saints of the Orthodox Church.
**Here are some facts on the Byzantine Empire:
-named after Byzantium, which Emperor Constantine I rebuilt(AD 330) as Constantinople and made the capital of the entire Roman Empire
-The people who we know today as the Byzantines called themselves Romans, spoke Greek, and lived in modern-day Turkey
-The core of the empire consisted of the Balkan Peninsula (i.e., Thrace, Macedonia, Epirus, Greece proper, the Greek isles, and Illyria) and of Asia Minor (present-day Turkey).
-Greek was the prevalent language, but Latin long continued in official use.
-Although we think of Constantine I, the Great (306-337), as the first "Byzantine" emperor, he actually spent most of his reign as Emperor of the Western Roman Empire. On defeating Licinius, the Eastern Emperor, he unified the Empire, which remained intact for the rest of his life.
-The first Byzantine emperor to lose the throne by violent revolution was Mavrikios (Maurice) Tiberius (586-602)
-The emperor with the longest beard was probably Constantine III (641-668)
-When Phillipikos Vardan (711-713) was deposed, rhinokopia since having been proved ineffective, he was blinded.
-The first Byzantine emperor to have a family surname was Michael I Rhangabe (811-813).
-Constantine VIII (1025-1028) was reported to be nine feet tall, but this is almost certainly an exaggeration
-Under the rule (527-65) of Justinian I and Theodora , Byzantine power grew
-During Justinian's reign a great revival of Hellenism took place in literature, and Byzantine art and architecture entered their most glorious period.
Cecilia Ponce
The Byzantine Empire News
330 C.E - 1453 C.E
??? What made Byzantium so AWESOME???
..........“Secret Weapon” GREEK FIRE.............
GREEK FIRE was pumped into bronze lion heads mounted on warships and then shot
across the water to set enemy vessels on fire. The flames could not be put out with water.
Greek Fire was probably made from petroleum products.
...Religion Factoids...
1. Christianity was the glue that held the Empire together.
2. The spread of Christianity was a reason to conquer new lands. Thus, the empire grew.
3. Monasteries and Convents arose throughout the empire.
4. Education spread.
5. Churches become the meeting places for communities.
6. Religion was the center of society.
7. They were not tolerant of other religions.
..Byzantine Family Factoids..
a. Oldest male dominated the household
b. Children were protected from incest and could not be sold or abandoned
c. Parents were required by law to find spouses for children
d. Childlessness was viewed by society as a disaster
e. Upper-class children were educated
f. Lower-class children received little to no education
g. The primary duty of a woman was to marry, bear children, and run the household
h. Marriage contracts agreed upon disposition of property
i. Women could inherit and dispose of property in any way they wished
j. Upper-class females were secluded and veiled
k. Seclusion extended into the home itself
l. Women had their own quarters surrounded by slaves and servants (her gynaeceum)
m. If women ventured outside the home she was accompanied by her gynaeceum
n. Very few women were educated
Byzantine Empire influences Russia!
1. Russia adopted Byzantine double-headed eagle as royal symbol
2. Russian rulers adopted title of “Caesar” (Tsar)
3. Russia considered itself “The Third Rome” and heir to the Byzantines after the fall of Constantinople
The Byzantine Empire News
330 C.E - 1453 C.E
???What made Byzantium so AWESOME???
continued....................
Justinian’s Code of Laws
1. Laws were fairer to women. They could own property and raise their own children after their husbands died.
2. Slavery was legal and slaves must obey their masters.
3. Punishments were detailed and fit the crime
4. Justinian’s work inspired the modern concept of law and the spelling of "justice".
The Plague
The plague swept through much of the civilized world in 542–543 A.D. and to quote Procopius, “It killed up to 10,000 people daily in Constantinople.” Emperor Justinian caught the plague, but he recovered.
Who was THEODORA?
1. Born into lower class as daughter of bear-keeper
2. Worked as an actress and dancer as a teenager
3. Married Justinian while in her 20’s
4. Equaled and sometimes surpassed Justinian in political skill and wisdom
5. Convinced her husband to crush Nika Rebellion
…Fascinating Fact…
29 of Byzantium’s 88 emperors died violent deaths.
...Basil II – Slayer of Bulgarians...
In 1014, Byzantine emperor Basil II put and end to a war that lasted forty years. To break the spirit of the hated Bulgarians, he blinded all but 150 of 15,000 prisoners. The 150 were blinded in one eye only. A one-eyed leader guided every 100 blind men back to the Bulgarian capital of Ohrid. Samuel, the Bulgarian leader, received word that his army was returning to him. He hurried to meet his men - and found himself staring at thousands of helpless blind men. The sight was fatal. Samuel suffered a stroke on the spot, and died two days later.
!!!NOSE SLITTING WITHIN THE EMPIRE!!!
In 695, Leontius, the leader of a group of rebellious Constantinopolitans, seized emperor, Justinian II, and had Justinian's nose SLIT. He believed that being disfigured, Justinian would never again attempt to regain the throne. Seven years after that, Justinian II then retook the throne and publicly humiliated and executed Leontius.
Popular Entertainment in Constantinople
1. The common people enjoyed the baths, theaters and taverns and frequently belonged to one of the two rival civic organizations known as the Blues and the Greens, or “the factions.”
2. The Blues and Greens sponsored entertainers such as dancers, actors, singers, and most important, chariot racing.
3. The Hippodrome was where chariot races took place. It was the most popular sport/entertainment in the Byzantine Empire.
4. In their early days, the Blues and the Greens resembled something like a cross between a street gang and group of rabid sports fans, but by the late 7th c. their rivalry cooled and they became respectable civic organizations.
The Cyrillic Alphabet
1. The people that lived in central and Eastern Europe were Slavic and did not have a written language.
2. Two brothers, Cyril and Methodius, were missionaries that taught the Slavs to read and write by creating a new, “Cyrillic” alphabet.
3. Cyrillic remains the foundation for the modern Russian alphabet.
4. Cyril & Methodius are recognized as saints today both by the Roman Catholic Church as well as the Eastern Orthodox Church.
Facts about the Byzantine Empire!
-An authentic "lost weapon" is Greek fire, which the Byzantine Empire used on several occasions between the seventh and ninth centuries to defend Constantinople against attacking Muslims. Constantinople might have fallen but for Greek fire, and conceivably the Muslims might have taken over a weak and divided Europe. To this day, we don't know exactly what the "recipe" for Greek fire was. All we know is that it burned all the more fiercely when wet (hence it likely contained some sort of petrol compound), and that it could be floated toward the enemy's wooden ships.
-Phokas (602-610) was probably one of the cruelest of the Emperors as well as one of the most incompetent. He compelled the deposed Maurice to observe the execution of the latter's sons, the youngest just a baby, before being killed himself. Although he was described as being physically very ugly, Phokas began a fashion followed by almost every adult emperor that succeeded him: wearing a beard. Prior to this time, the emperors were clean shaven in the classical Roman fashion (except for those who affected the Greek "philosopher's beard," like Julian [361-363]). Phokas probably grew the beard to cover a scar.
-Herakleios (610-641) was known for his military prowess with the Persians, recapturing the "True Cross" from them and restoring it to Jerusalem. However, he was so afraid of water that he took months to get up the courage to cross the Bosporus and finally could do so only after having a bridge built of boats heavily camouflaged by shrubbery.
-Justinian II Rhinotmetos (685-695 and 705-711) was first deposed by Leontios, who subjected the defeated monarch to a typical punishment for same: rhinokopia, or mutilation of the nose. It was believed that a disfigured man could not serve as emperor. However, after an adventure-filled interregnum, Justinian re-took Constantinople. It is said that he hid his disfigurement with a prosthetic nose fashioned of pure gold. The sobriquet "Rhinotmetos" means "cut nose." After this, rhinokopia was never used again.
-When Phillipikos Vardan (711-713) was deposed, rhinokopia since having been proved ineffective, he was blinded.
-Nikephoros I (802-811), who overthrew Irene, was killed in war against the Bulgars. The victorious King Krum had the dead Roman Emperor's skull made into a silver-lined goblet from which visiting Byzantine ambassadors were thereafter forced to drink a toast.
-The longest continuously reigning Byzantine monarch was Basil II Bulgaroctonus (976-1025). The most memorable story associated with him is that after decisively defeating the Bulgars (ending their menace forever), he had all of the prisoners blinded, except for sparing one eye of every hundredth man. Each group of one hundred was tied together with a one-eyed man, who then led the group back home. It is said that when King Samuel beheld the pitiful sight of his blind army returning home, he died suddenly of grief.
-Jovian (363-364) never ruled from Constantinople.
-Theodosios III, the Reluctant (715-717), was forced by conspirators to take the crown, probably because they thought their chance of success so wobbly that they needed to have a puppet to take the fall if the coup failed. The emperor spent much of his reign trying to find an opportune time to abdicate safely, which he finally accomplished. He retired to a monastery, where he was much happier and successful and came to be regarded as an Orthodox saint.
-Emperor Irene of Athens (797-802): To secure the power of the throne, she had her son Constantine VI (780-797) blinded and then imprisoned him for life in the room in which he was born. Irene was the first Byzantine or Roman woman to rule the Empire alone and specifically took the title of "Emperor," not "Empress." She ruled at a time of magnificent contemporaries, especially Harun al-Rashid (who ruled the Abbasid caliphate at its peak) and Charlemagne. Apparently the latter wanted to marry Irene (thus reuniting the Empires), but she would not rule from such a barbaric venue as Aachen.
-Michael II of Amorion (820-829) was freed from prison by his supporters, who had killed his predecessor Leo V Gnuni, the Armenian (813-820). The keys to Michael's chains could not be found in time, so he has proclaimed Emperor while still fettered.
-The great emperor Basil I, the Macedonian (867-886), was killed in a freak mishap. While hunting, he was thrown from his horse and impaled on the horns of a stag, which carried him for sixteen miles before it was hunted down.
-The highly effective Nicaean emperor John III Doukas Vatatzes, like his ancient imperial predecessor Julius Caesar, was an epileptic. Despite his affliction, he often led his forces personally.
-Manuel II Palaiologos (1392-1425) had the misfortune of being born at the wrong time, he typically clothed himself in solid white, the customary Byzantine color of mourning, in reference to the moribund state of his empire.
*Kathryn Montemayor
follow up..
-Byzantine medicine was practiced from 400 AD to 1453 ad it largely from knowledge of the greeks and romans.
-Byzantine medicine also had a large impact with islamic medicine and the Western rebirth durning the renaissance.
-Byzantine law was a continuation of the Roman law with Cristian influence. The byzantine law was divided into two spheres, Ecclesiastical Law and Secular Law.
-In the 5th to 7th century the architects and mathematicians Isidore of Miletus and Anthemius of Tralles used complex mathematical formulas to construct Hagia Sophia.
-The byzantine army was active from 330 AD to 1453 AD.
- The leader of the the amy was always the emperoe and the headquarters were in Constantinople.
- The area of operations were in the following places;
Balkans, Asia Minor, Middle East, Italy, North Africa, Spania, Caucasus, Crimea
-Thier allies included;
Bulgars, Crusader states, Anatolian Turkish Beyliks.
- Thier opponents/enemies were:
Goths, Huns, Sassanid Persia, Vandals, Ostrogoths, Avars, Slavs, Muslim Caliphate, Bulgaria, Rus', Normans, Crusader states, Seljuks, Anatolian Turkish Beyliks, Ottomans and many others.
That is it for todayy
Priscilla mOra:)
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