State of the Byzantine Empire. Brief history of Byzantium

Byzantium

Byzantine Empire, a state that arose in the 4th century. during the collapse of the Roman Empire in its eastern part and existed until the mid-15th century. The capital of Byzantium was Constantinople, founded by Emperor Constantine I in 324-330 on the site of the former Megarian colony of Byzantium (hence the name of the state, introduced by humanists after the fall of the empire). In fact, with the founding of Constantinople, the isolation of Vietnam began in the depths of the Roman Empire (from this time the history of Vietnam is usually traced). The completion of separation is considered to be 395, when, after the death of the last emperor of the unified Roman power, Theodosius I (reigned 379-395), the final division of the Roman Empire into the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) and Western Roman Empires took place. Arcadius (395-408) became Emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire. The Byzantines themselves called themselves Romans - in Greek “Romeans”, and their state “Romean”. Throughout Vietnam's existence, its territory underwent repeated changes (see map).

The ethnic composition of the population of Vietnam was varied: Greeks, Syrians, Copts, Armenians, Georgians, Jews, Hellenized Asia Minor tribes, Thracians, Illyrians, and Dacians. With the reduction of the territory of Europe (from the 7th century), some peoples remained outside the borders of Europe. At the same time, new peoples settled on the territory of Europe (Goths in the 4th-5th centuries, Slavs in the 6th-7th centuries, Arabs in the 7th-7th centuries). 9th centuries, Pechenegs, Cumans in the 11th-13th centuries, etc.). From 6th to 11th centuries The population of Britain included ethnic groups from which the Italian nation was later formed. The Greek population played a predominant role in the economy, political life and culture of Vietnam. The official language of the empire in the 4th-6th centuries. - Latin, from the 7th century. until the end of V.'s existence - Greek. Many problems of the socio-economic history of Byzantium are complex and there are different concepts in solving them in Soviet Byzantine studies. For example, in determining the time of Vietnam's transition from slaveholding to feudal relations. According to N.V. Pigulevskaya and E.E. Lipshits, in V. 4-6 centuries. slavery has already lost its meaning; according to the concept of Z. V. Udaltsova (which in this matter is shared by A. P. Kazhdan), until the 6-7 centuries. Slavery dominated in Vietnam (generally agreeing with this point of view, M. Ya. Syuzyumov considers the period between the 4th and 11th centuries as “pre-feudal”).

In the history of Vietnam, approximately 3 main periods can be distinguished. The first period (4th - mid-7th centuries) is characterized by the decomposition of the slave system and the beginning of the formation of feudal relations. A distinctive feature of the beginning of the genesis of feudalism in Britain was the spontaneous development of the feudal system within the decaying slave society, in the conditions of the preservation of the late antique state. Features of agrarian relations in early Vietnam include the preservation of significant masses of the free peasantry and peasant communities, the widespread use of kolonata and long-term leases (emphyteusis), and the distribution of plots of land to slaves in the form of peculia, more intensive than in the West. In the 7th century. In the Byzantine countryside, large slave-owning landholdings were undermined and in some places destroyed. The dominance of the peasant community was established on the territory of the former estates. At the end of the 1st period, in the remaining large estates (mainly in Asia Minor), the labor of colons and slaves began to be replaced by the increasingly widely used labor of free peasants - tenants.

Byzantine city 4-5 centuries. basically remained the ancient slaveholding Polis; but from the end of the 4th century. there was a decline in small policies, their agrarianization, and those that arose in the 5th century. new cities were no longer policies, but trade, craft and administrative centers. The largest city in the empire was Constantinople, a center of crafts and international trade. Vietnam conducted brisk trade with Iran, India, China, and others; In trade with Western European states along the Mediterranean Sea, Britain had hegemony. In terms of the level of development of crafts and trade, and the degree of intensity of urban life, Vietnam during this period was ahead of the countries of Western Europe. In the 7th century, however, city-polises finally fell into decline, a significant part of the cities underwent agrarianization, and the center of public life moved to the countryside.

B. 4-5 centuries was a centralized military-bureaucratic monarchy. All power was concentrated in the hands of the emperor (basileus). The advisory body under the emperor was the Senate. The entire free population was divided into classes. The highest class was the senatorial class. They became a serious social force in the 5th century. unique political parties - dimas, the most important of which were the Venets (headed by high-ranking nobility) and Prasins (reflecting the interests of the trade and craft elite) (see Venets and Prasins). From the 4th century Christianity became the dominant religion (in 354, 392 the government issued laws against paganism). In the 4th-7th centuries. Christian dogma was developed, and a church hierarchy was formed. From the end of the 4th century. monasteries began to emerge. The church became a wealthy organization with numerous land holdings. The clergy was exempt from paying taxes and duties (with the exception of land tax). As a result of the struggle between various currents in Christianity (Arianism (See Arianism), Nestorianism (See Nestorianism), etc.), Orthodoxy became dominant in Britain (finally in the 6th century under Emperor Justinian I, but still at the end of the 4th century the emperor Theodosius I tried to restore church unity and turn Constantinople into the center of Orthodoxy).

Since the 70s 4th century not only the foreign policy, but also the internal political situation of Vietnam was largely determined by the empire’s relations with the barbarians (See Barbarians). In 375, with the forced consent of Emperor Valens, the Visigoths settled in the territory of the empire (south of the Danube). In 376, the Visigoths, outraged by the oppression of the Byzantine authorities, rebelled. In 378, the united troops of the Visigoths and parts of the rebel population of the empire completely defeated the army of Emperor Valens at Adrianople. With great difficulty (at the cost of concessions to the barbarian nobility), Emperor Theodosius managed to suppress the uprising in 380. In July 400, the barbarians almost captured Constantinople, and only thanks to the intervention of broad sections of the townspeople in the struggle were they expelled from the city. By the end of the 4th century. with the increase in the number of mercenaries and federates, the Byzantine army became barbarized; temporarily, due to the settlements of the barbarians, small free land ownership and kolonat expanded. While the Western Roman Empire, which was experiencing a deep crisis, fell under the blows of the barbarians, Britain (where the crisis of the slave economy was weaker, where cities remained as centers of craft and trade and a powerful apparatus of power) turned out to be economically and politically more viable, which allowed it resist barbarian invasions. In the 70-80s. 5th century V. repelled the onslaught of the Ostrogoths (See Ostrogoths).

At the end of the 5th-6th centuries. economic recovery and some political stabilization of Vietnam began. A financial reform was carried out in the interests of the trade and craft elite of large cities of Vietnam, primarily Constantinople (the abolition of the chrysargir - a tax levied on the urban population, the transfer of tax collection by the state to tax farmers, the collection of land taxes in money and etc.). Social discontent among the broad plebeian masses led to an intensification of the struggle between the Veneti and the Prasin. In the eastern provinces of Britain, the oppositional religious movement of the Monophysites (see Monophysites) intensified, in which the ethnic, church, social, and political interests of various segments of the population of Egypt, Syria, and Palestine were intertwined. At the end of the 5th - beginning of the 6th centuries. Slavic tribes began to invade Eastern territory from the north across the Danube (493, 499, 502). During the reign of Emperor Justinian I (See Justinian I) (527-565), Vietnam reached the apogee of its political and military power. Justinian's main goals were to restore the unity of the Roman Empire and strengthen the power of a single emperor. In his policy, he relied on wide circles of medium and small landowners and slave owners, limited the claims of the senatorial aristocracy; At the same time he achieved an alliance with the Orthodox Church. The first years of Justinian's reign were marked by major popular movements (529-530 - the Samaritan uprising in Palestine, 532 - the Nika uprising in Constantinople). Justinian's government carried out the codification of civil law (see Codification of Justinian, Digest, Institutes). Justinian's legislation, aimed largely at strengthening slaveholding relations, reflected at the same time the changes that had taken place in the social life of Britain, promoted the unification of forms of ownership, leveled the civil rights of the population, established a new order of inheritance, and forced heretics to convert to Orthodoxy under the threat of deprivation of civil rights. rights and even the death penalty. During the reign of Justinian, the centralization of the state increased, and a strong army was created. This enabled Justinian to repel the onslaught of the Persians in the east, the Slavs in the north and carry out extensive conquests in the west (in 533-534 - the Vandal states in North Africa, in 535-555 - the Ostrogothic kingdom in Italy, in 554 - the south-eastern regions of Spain) . However, Justinian's conquests turned out to be fragile; in the western regions conquered from the barbarians, the dominance of the Byzantines, their restoration of slavery and the Roman tax system caused uprisings of the population [the uprising that broke out in the army in 602 escalated into a civil war and led to a change of emperors - the centurion (centurion) Phocas took the throne]. At the end of the 6th-7th centuries. Vietnam lost the conquered regions in the West (with the exception of Southern Italy). In 636-642, the Arabs conquered the richest eastern provinces of Turkey (Syria, Palestine, Upper Mesopotamia), and in 693-698 - its possessions in North Africa. By the end of the 7th century. V.'s territory accounted for no more than 1/3 of Justinian's empire. From the end of the 6th century. the settlement of the Balkan Peninsula by Slavic tribes began. In the 7th century. they settled over a large territory within the Byzantine Empire (in Moesia, Thrace, Macedonia, Dalmatia, Istria, part of Greece, and were even resettled in Asia Minor), however, retaining their language, way of life, and culture. The ethnic composition of the population also changed in the eastern part of Asia Minor: settlements of Armenians, Persians, Syrians, and Arabs appeared. However, in general, with the loss of part of the eastern provinces, Vietnam became ethnically more unified; its core consisted of lands inhabited by Greeks or Hellenized tribes who spoke the Greek language.

The second period (mid 7th - early 13th centuries) is characterized by the intensive development of feudalism. As a result of the decrease in territory at the beginning of this period, Europe was predominantly Greek, and in the 11th-12th centuries. (when it temporarily included Slavic lands) - a Greco-Slavic state. Despite the territorial losses, Vietnam remained one of the most powerful powers in the Mediterranean. In a Byzantine village in the 8th-1st half of the 9th centuries. The free rural community became predominant: the communal relations of the Slavic tribes who settled in Byzantium also contributed to the strengthening of local Byzantine peasant communities. Legislative monument of the 8th century. The agricultural law testifies to the presence of neighboring communities, and to the property differentiation within them, to the beginning of their decomposition. Byzantine cities in the 8th-1st half of the 9th centuries. continued to experience decline. In the 7th-8th centuries. In V. there were important changes in the administrative structure. The old dioceses and provinces are replaced by new military-administrative districts - themes (See themes). The entirety of military and civil power in the theme was concentrated in the hands of the commander of the theme army - the strategist. The free peasants who made up the army - stratiots - for performing military service were enrolled by the government in the category of hereditary holders of military land plots. The creation of the feminine system essentially marked the decentralization of the state. At the same time, it strengthened the military potential of the empire and made it possible, during the reigns of Leo III (See Leo) (717-741) and Constantine V (741-775), to achieve success in the wars with the Arabs and Bulgarians. The policy of Leo III was aimed at combating the separatist tendencies of the local nobility (publication of the legislative collection Eclogue in 726, disaggregation of femes), and limiting the self-government of cities. In the 8th-1st half of the 9th centuries. A broad religious and political movement began in Britain - Iconoclasm (reflecting mainly the protest of the popular masses against the ruling church, closely associated with the Constantinople dignitaries), which was used by the provincial nobility in their own interests. The movement was led by the emperors of the Isaurian dynasty (See Isaurian dynasty), who, during the fight against icon veneration, confiscated monastic and church treasures for the benefit of the treasury. The struggle between iconoclasts and icon-worshippers unfolded with particular force during the reign of Emperor Constantine V. In 754, Constantine V convened a church council that condemned the veneration of icons. The policies of the iconoclast emperors strengthened the provincial nobility. The growth of large landownership and the attack of the feudal lords on the peasant community led to an intensification of the class struggle. In the middle of the 7th century. in the east of the Byzantine Empire in Western Armenia, the popular heretical movement of the Paulicians arose (See Paulicians), which spread in the 8th-9th centuries. in Asia Minor. Another major popular movement in the 9th century. - uprising 820-825 of Thomas the Slav (See Thomas the Slav) (died in 823), which covered the Asia Minor territory of the empire, part of Thrace and Macedonia and from the very beginning had an anti-feudal orientation. The aggravation of the class struggle frightened the feudal class, forced it to overcome the split in its ranks and restore icon veneration in 843. The reconciliation of the government and military nobility with the higher clergy and monasticism was accompanied by brutal persecution of the Paulicians. The Paulician movement, which resulted in the mid-9th century. into an armed uprising, it was suppressed in 872.

2nd half. 9th-10th centuries - the period of creation in Britain of a centralized feudal monarchy with strong state power and an extensive bureaucratic administrative apparatus. One of the main forms of exploitation of peasants in these centuries was centralized rent, levied in the form of numerous taxes. The presence of a strong central government largely explains the absence of a feudal-hierarchical ladder in Vietnam. Unlike Western European states, in Britain the vassal-feudal system remained undeveloped; feudal squads were more likely to be detachments of bodyguards and retinues than an army of vassals of the feudal magnate. Two layers of the ruling class played a major role in the political life of the country: large feudal lords (dinats) in the provinces and the official aristocracy associated with trade and craft circles in Constantinople. These social groups, constantly competing, replaced each other in power. By the 11th century. Feudal relations in Vietnam basically became dominant. The defeat of popular movements made it easier for the feudal lords to attack the free peasant community. The impoverishment of peasants and military settlers (stratiotes) led to the decline of the stratiot militia and reduced the solvency of peasants, the main tax payers. Attempts by some emperors of the Macedonian dynasty (See Macedonian dynasty) (867-1056), relying on the bureaucratic nobility and trade and craft circles of Constantinople, interested in receiving taxes from the peasants, were not successful in delaying the processes of landlessness among the community members, the disintegration of the peasant community and the formation of feudal estates. In the 11th-12th centuries. In Britain, the formation of the basic institutions of feudalism was completed. A patrimonial form of exploitation of peasants is maturing. The free community was preserved only on the outskirts of the empire; the peasants turned into feudal-dependent people (wigs). Slave labor in agriculture lost its importance. In the 11th-12th centuries. Pronia (a form of conditional feudal land tenure) gradually spread. The government distributed the rights of excussion to the feudal lords (See Excussion) (a special form of immunity). The specificity of feudalism in Vietnam was the combination of seigneurial exploitation of dependent peasants with the collection of centralized rent in favor of the state.

From the 2nd half of the 9th century. The rise of Byzantine cities began. The development of crafts was associated mainly with the increased demand for handicraft products of the strengthened Byzantine feudal nobility and with the growth of foreign trade. The flourishing of cities was facilitated by the policies of the emperors (providing benefits to trade and craft corporations, etc.). Byzantine city by the 10th century. acquired features characteristic of medieval cities: small craft production, the formation of trade and craft corporations, regulation of their activities by the state. A specific feature of the Byzantine city was the preservation of the institution of slavery, although the main figure in production was the free artisan. From the 10th-11th centuries. for the most part, Byzantine cities were not only fortresses, administrative or episcopal centers; they become the center of crafts and trade. Constantinople until the middle of the 12th century. remained a center of transit trade between East and West. Byzantine navigation and trade, despite competition from the Arabs and Normans, still played a major role in the Mediterranean basin. In the 12th century changes occurred in the economy of Byzantine cities. Handicraft production decreased somewhat and production technology in Constantinople decreased, at the same time there was a rise in provincial cities - Thessalonica, Corinth, Thebes, Athens, Ephesus, Nicaea, etc. The penetration of Venetians and Genoese into Europe, who received from Byzantine emperors had significant trade privileges. State regulation of the activities of trade and craft corporations hindered the development of Byzantine (especially capital) crafts.

In the 2nd half of the 9th century. The influence of the church increased. The Byzantine Church, usually submissive to emperors, under Patriarch Photius (858-867) began to defend the idea of ​​equality of spiritual and temporal power and called for the active Christianization of neighboring peoples with the help of church missions; tried to introduce Orthodoxy in Moravia, using the mission of Cyril and Methodius (See Cyril and Methodius), carried out the Christianization of Bulgaria (about 865). Disagreements between the Patriarchate of Constantinople and the papal throne, which worsened under Patriarch Photius, led in 1054 to an official break (schism) between the Eastern and Western churches [from that time on, the Eastern Church began to be called Greek-Catholic (Orthodox), and the Western - Roman Catholic]. However, the final Division of the Churches occurred after 1204.

Foreign policy of Vietnam in the 2nd half of the 9th-11th centuries. characterized by constant wars with the Arabs, Slavs, and later with the Normans. In the middle of the 10th century. V. conquered Upper Mesopotamia, part of Asia Minor and Syria, Crete and Cyprus from the Arabs. In 1018 V. conquered the Western Bulgarian kingdom. The Balkan Peninsula up to the Danube was subordinated to the power of Great Britain. In the 9th-11th centuries. Relations with Kievan Rus began to play a major role in Vietnam’s foreign policy. After the siege of Constantinople by the troops of the Kyiv prince Oleg (907), the Byzantines were forced to conclude a trade agreement beneficial for the Russians in 911, which contributed to the development of trade relations between Rus' and Vietnam along the great route from the “Varangians to the Greeks” (See The path from the Varangians to the Greeks). In the last third of the 10th century. V. entered into the fight with Russia for Bulgaria; despite the initial successes of the Kiev prince Svyatoslav Igorevich (See Svyatoslav Igorevich), the victory was won. An alliance was concluded between Europe and Kievan Rus under the Kiev prince Vladimir Svyatoslavich (See Vladimir Svyatoslavich), the Russians helped the Byzantine emperor Vasily II suppress the feudal rebellion of Phocas Varda (See Foca Varda) (987-989), and Vasily II was forced to agree to the marriage of his sister Anna with the Kyiv prince Vladimir, which contributed to the rapprochement of Vladimir with Russia. At the end of the 10th century. In Rus', Christianity was adopted from V. (according to the Orthodox rite).

From the 2nd third to the beginning of the 80s. 11th century V. was going through a period of crisis, the state was shaken by “turmoil”, the struggle of provincial feudal lords against the capital’s nobility and officials [the feudal revolts of Maniak (1043), Tornik (1047), Isaac Komnenos (1057), who temporarily seized the throne (1057-1059)]. The foreign policy situation of the empire also worsened: the Byzantine government had to simultaneously repel the onslaught of the Pechenegs (See Pechenegs) and the Seljuk Turks (See Seljuks). After the defeat of the Byzantine army by Seljuk troops in 1071 at Manazkert (in Armenia), Vietnam lost most of Asia Minor. Vietnam suffered no less heavy losses in the West. By the middle of the 11th century. The Normans captured most of the Byzantine possessions in southern Italy, and in 1071 they captured the last stronghold of the Byzantines - the city of Bari (in Apulia).

The struggle for the throne, which intensified in the 70s. The 11th century ended in 1081 with the victory of the Komnenos dynasty (See Komnenos) (1081-1185), which expressed the interests of the provincial feudal aristocracy and relied on a narrow layer of nobility connected with it by family ties. The Komnenos broke with the old bureaucratic system of government and introduced a new system of titles, which were assigned only to the highest nobility. Power in the provinces was transferred to military commanders (ducas). Under the Comnenians, instead of the people's militia of the stratiots, whose importance fell back in the 10th century, the main role began to be played by heavily armed cavalry (cataphracts), close to Western European knighthood, and mercenary troops from foreigners. The strengthening of the state and army allowed the Komnenos to achieve success in the late 11th and early 12th centuries. in foreign policy (repel the Norman offensive in the Balkans, conquer a significant part of Asia Minor from the Seljuks, establish sovereignty over Antioch). Manuel I forced Hungary to recognize the sovereignty of Hungary (1164) and established his power in Serbia. But in 1176 the Byzantine army was defeated by the Turks at Myriokephalon. At all borders, Vietnam was forced to go on the defensive. After the death of Manuel I, a popular uprising broke out in Constantinople (1181), caused by dissatisfaction with the policies of the government, which patronized Italian merchants, as well as Western European knights who entered the service of the emperors. Taking advantage of the uprising, Andronikos I (1183-85), a representative of the side branch of the Comneni, came to power. The reforms of Andronikos I were aimed at streamlining the state bureaucracy and fighting corruption. Failures in the war with the Normans, dissatisfaction among the townspeople with the trade privileges granted by the emperor to the Venetians, and terror against the highest feudal nobility pushed even his former allies away from Andronikos I. In 1185, as a result of the rebellion of the nobility of Constantinople, the dynasty of Angels (See Angels) (1185-1204) came to power, whose reign marked the decline of the internal and external power of V. The country was experiencing a deep economic crisis: feudal fragmentation and the virtual independence of provincial rulers from the central government intensified , the cities fell into decay, the army and navy weakened. The collapse of the empire began. In 1187 Bulgaria fell away; in 1190 V. was forced to recognize the independence of Serbia. At the end of the 12th century. contradictions between Byzantium and the West intensified: the papacy sought to subordinate the Byzantine Church to the Roman Curia; Venice sought to be ousted from V. their competitors - Genoa and Pisa; the emperors of the “Holy Roman Empire” hatched plans to subjugate Britain. As a result of the interweaving of all these political interests, the direction (instead of Palestine - to Constantinople) of the 4th Crusade (See Crusades) (1202-04) changed. In 1204, Constantinople fell under the attacks of the crusaders, and the Byzantine Empire ceased to exist.

The third period (1204-1453) is characterized by a further increase in feudal fragmentation, the decline of central power and a constant struggle with foreign conquerors; elements of the disintegration of the feudal economy appear. On the part of the territory of Vietnam conquered by the crusaders, the Latin Empire (1204-61) was founded. The Latins suppressed Greek culture in Byzantium, and the dominance of Italian traders prevented the revival of Byzantine cities. Due to the resistance of the local population, the crusaders were unable to extend their power to the entire Balkan Peninsula and Asia Minor. Independent Greek states arose on the territory of Britain that they had not conquered: the Nicaean Empire (1204-61), the Empire of Trebizond (1204-1461) and the Epirus state (1204-1337).

The Nicene Empire played a leading role in the fight against the Latin Empire. In 1261, the Nicaean emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos, with the support of the Greek population of the Latin Empire, recaptured Constantinople and restored the Byzantine Empire. The Palaiologan dynasty strengthened on the throne (See Palaiologi) (1261-1453). In the last period of its existence, Vietnam was a small feudal state. The Empire of Trebizond (until the end of Vietnam) and the Epirus state (until it was annexed to Vietnam in 1337) remained independent. Feudal relations continued to dominate in Britain during this period; Under the conditions of the undivided domination of large feudal lords in Byzantine cities, Italian economic dominance, and the Turkish military threat (from the late 13th to early 14th centuries), the sprouts of early capitalist relations (for example, entrepreneurial-type rent in the countryside) in Vietnam quickly died. The intensification of feudal exploitation caused popular movements in the countryside and in the city. In 1262 there was an uprising of the Bithynian Akrites - border military settlers in Asia Minor. In the 40s 14th century During the period of intense struggle between two feudal cliques for the throne (supporters of the Palaiologos and Cantacuzenes (See Cantacuzenes)), anti-feudal uprisings swept Thrace and Macedonia. A feature of the class struggle of the masses of this period was the unification of the actions of the urban and rural population against the feudal lords. The popular movement unfolded with particular force in Thessalonica, where the uprising was led by the Zealots (1342-49). The victory of the feudal reaction and constant feudal civil strife weakened Vietnam, which was unable to resist the onslaught of the Ottoman Turks. At the beginning of the 14th century. they captured the Byzantine possessions in Asia Minor, in 1354 - Gallipoli, in 1362 - Adrianople (where the Sultan moved his capital in 1365) and then captured all of Thrace. After the defeat of the Serbs at Maritsa (1371), Vietnam, following Serbia, recognized vassal dependence on the Turks. The defeat of the Turks by the troops of the Central Asian commander Timur in 1402 at the Battle of Ankara delayed the death of V. for several decades. In this situation, the Byzantine government sought in vain the support of Western European countries. The union between the Orthodox and Catholic churches concluded in 1439 at the Council of Florence on the condition of recognition of the primacy of the papal throne did not provide any real help (the union was rejected by the Byzantine people). The Turks resumed their attack on Vietnam. The economic decline of Vietnam, the aggravation of class contradictions, feudal strife, and the self-interested policies of Western European states facilitated the victory of the Ottoman Turks. After a two-month siege, on May 29, 1453, Constantinople was stormed by the Turkish army and plundered. In 1460 the conquerors conquered the Morea, and in 1461 they captured the Trebizond Empire. By the beginning of the 60s. 15th century The Byzantine Empire ceased to exist, its territory became part of the Ottoman Empire.

Lit.: Levchenko M.V., History of Byzantium. Brief essay, M. - L., 1940; Syuzyumov M. Ya., Byzantium, in the book: Soviet Historical Encyclopedia, vol. 3, M., 1963; History of Byzantium, vol. 1-3, M., 1967; Pigulevskaya N.V., Byzantium on the routes to India, M. - L., 1951; hers, Arabs at the borders of Byzantium and Iran in the IV-VI centuries, M. - L., 1964; Udaltsova Z.V., Italy and Byzantium in the 6th century, M., 1959; Lipshits E. E., Essays on the history of Byzantine society and culture. VIII - first half. IX century, M. - L., 1961; Kazhdan A.P., Village and city in Byzantium in the 9th-10th centuries, M., 1960; Goryanov B. T., Late Byzantine feudalism, M., 1962; Levchenko M.V., Essays on the history of Russian-Byzantine relations, M., 1956; Litavrin G., Bulgaria and Byzantium in the XI-XII centuries, M., 1960; Bréhier L., Le monde byzantin, I-3, P., 1947-50; Angelov D., History of Byzantium, 2nd ed., parts 1-3, Sofia, 1959-67; Cambridge medieval history, v. 4, pt 1-2, Camb., 1966-67; Kirsten E., Die byzantinische Stadt, in: Berichte zum XI. Byzantinisten-Kongress, München, 1958: Treitinger O., Die Oströmische Kaiser-und Reichsidee, 2 Aufl., Darmstadt, 1956; Bury J., The imperial administrative system in the ninth century, 2 ed., N. Y., 1958; Dölger F., Beiträge zur Geschichte der byzantinischen Fi-nanzverwaltung, Münch., 1960; Ostrogorski G., Istorija Byzantije, Beograd, .

Z. V. Udaltsova.

Byzantine culture. The peculiarities of the culture of Vietnam are largely explained by the fact that Vietnam did not experience the radical breakdown of the political system that Western Europe experienced, and the influence of the barbarians was less significant here. Byzantine culture developed under the influence of Roman, Greek and eastern (Hellenistic) traditions. It took shape (like the medieval Western European) as Christian: in the most important areas of culture, all the most significant ideas about the world, and often every significant thought, were clothed in the images of Christian mythology, in traditional phraseology drawn from the Holy Scriptures and the writings of the church fathers (See. Church Fathers). Based on Christian doctrine (which viewed man’s earthly existence as a short episode on the threshold of eternal life, which put forward as the main life task of man the preparation for death, which was considered as the beginning of life in eternity), Byzantine society defined ethical values, which, however, remained abstract ideals. and not guidance in practical activity: neglect of earthly goods, assessment of work mainly as a means of discipline and self-abasement, and not as a process of creation and creativity (since earthly goods are fleeting and insignificant). Humility and piety, a sense of one's own sinfulness and asceticism were considered by the Byzantines as the highest Christian values; They also largely determined the artistic ideal. Traditionalism, generally characteristic of the Christian worldview, turned out to be especially strong in Britain (where the state itself was interpreted as a direct continuation of the Roman Empire and where the language of written culture remained predominantly the Greek language of the Hellenistic era). This resulted in admiration for book authority. The Bible and, to a certain extent, the ancient classics were regarded as the body of necessary knowledge. Tradition, not experience, was proclaimed the source of knowledge, because tradition, according to Byzantine ideas, went back to the essence, while experience introduced only the superficial phenomena of the earthly world. Experiments and scientific observation were extremely rare in Vietnam, the criterion of reliability was undeveloped, and many legendary news were perceived as genuine. Something new, not supported by book authority, was seen as rebellious. Byzantine culture is characterized by a desire for systematization with a lack of interest in the analytical consideration of phenomena [which is characteristic of the Christian worldview in general, and in V. aggravated by the influence of Greek classical philosophy (especially Aristotle) ​​with its tendency to classification] and the desire to reveal the “true” (mystical) meaning of phenomena [arising on the basis of the Christian opposition of the divine (hidden) to the earthly, accessible to direct perception]; Pythagorean-Neoplatonic traditions further strengthened this trend. The Byzantines, based on the Christian worldview, recognized the presence of divine (in their view, objective) truth, and accordingly clearly divided phenomena into good and bad, which is why everything existing on earth received an ethical assessment from them. From the (illusory) possession of truth flowed intolerance towards any dissent, which was interpreted as a deviation from the good path, as heresy.

Byzantine culture differed from Western European medieval culture by: 1) a higher (until the 12th century) level of material production; 2) sustainable preservation of ancient traditions in education, science, literary creativity, fine arts, and everyday life; 3) individualism (underdevelopment of corporate principles and concepts of corporate honor; belief in the possibility of individual salvation, while the Western church made salvation dependent on the sacraments, i.e., on the shares of the church-corporation; individualistic, not hierarchical interpretation of property), which does not combined with freedom (the Byzantine felt directly dependent on higher powers - God and the emperor); 4) the cult of the emperor as a sacred figure (earthly deity), who required worship in the form of special ceremonies, clothing, addresses, etc.; 5) the unification of scientific and artistic creativity, which was facilitated by the bureaucratic centralization of the Byzantine state. The capital of the empire, Constantinople, determined artistic taste, subjugating local schools.

Considering their culture as the highest achievement of humanity, the Byzantines consciously protected themselves from foreign influences: only from the 11th century. they begin to draw on the experience of Arab medicine, translate monuments of Eastern literature, and later an interest in Arabic and Persian mathematics, Latin scholasticism and literature arose. The bookish nature of Byzantine culture was combined with the absence of strict differentiation between individual branches: the typical figure of Byzantine culture was that of a scientist who wrote on a wide variety of branches of knowledge - from mathematics to theology and fiction (John of Damascus, 8th century; Michael Psellus, 11th century; Nikephoros Blemmydes, 13th century; Theodore Metochites, 14th century).

The definition of the totality of monuments that make up Byzantine culture is conditional. First of all, it is problematic to attribute late antique monuments of the 4th-5th centuries to Byzantine culture. (especially Latin, Syriac, Coptic), as well as medieval ones created outside of Vietnam - in Syria, Sicily, Southern Italy, but united according to ideological, artistic or linguistic principles in the circle of Eastern Christian monuments. There is no clear line between late antique and Byzantine culture: there was a long transition period when ancient principles, themes and genres, if not dominant, then coexisted with new principles,

The main stages of the development of Byzantine culture: 1) 4th - mid-7th centuries. - transitional period from ancient to medieval culture (proto-Byzantine). Despite the crisis of ancient society, its basic elements are still preserved in Byzantium, and proto-Byzantine culture still has an urban character. This period is characterized by the formation of Christian theology while preserving the achievements of ancient scientific thought, and the development of Christian artistic ideals. 2) Mid 7th - mid 9th centuries. - cultural decline (although not as consistent as in Western Europe), associated with economic decline, agrarianization of cities, and the loss of Eastern provinces and large centers. 3) Mid 9th-12th centuries. - cultural upsurge, characterized by the restoration of ancient traditions, systematization of preserved cultural heritage, the emergence of elements of rationalism, the transition from formal use to the assimilation of ancient heritage, 4) 13th - mid-15th centuries. - a period of ideological reaction caused by the political and economic decline of Vietnam. At this time, attempts were made to overcome the medieval worldview and medieval aesthetic principles, which were not developed (the question of the emergence of humanism in Vietnam remains debatable).

The culture of Vietnam had a great influence on neighboring countries (Bulgaria, Serbia, Rus', Armenia, Georgia, etc.) in the field of literature, fine arts, religious beliefs, etc. The role of Vietnam in preserving the ancient heritage and transferring it to Italy on the eve of Renaissance.

Education. The traditions of ancient education were preserved in Britain until the 12th century. education was at a higher level than anywhere else in Europe. Primary education (learning to read and write) was received in private grammar schools, usually for 2-3 years. Until 7th century the curriculum was based on the mythology of pagan religions (student notebooks from Egypt with lists of mythological names have been preserved), and later on Christian ones. Psalms. Secondary education (“enkiklios pedia”) was received under the guidance of a teacher-grammar or rhetorician using ancient textbooks (for example, “Grammar” by Dionysius the Thracian, 2nd century BC). The program included spelling, grammatical norms, pronunciation, principles of versification, oratory, sometimes tachygraphy (the art of abbreviated writing), as well as the ability to compose documents. The educational subjects also included philosophy, which, however, meant different disciplines. According to the classification of John of Damascus, philosophy was divided into “theoretical”, which included theology, the “mathematical quaternity” (arithmetic, geometry, astronomy and music) and “physiology” (the study of the surrounding nature), and “practical” (ethics, politics, economics ). Sometimes philosophy was understood as “dialectics” (in the modern sense - logic) and was considered as a preparatory discipline, sometimes it was interpreted as a final science. History was included in the curriculum of some schools. In V. there were also monastery schools, but (unlike Western European ones) they did not play a significant role. In the 4th-6th centuries. Higher schools preserved from the era of antiquity continued to function in Athens, Alexandria, Beirut, Antioch, Gaza, and Caesarea in Palestine. Gradually, the provincial higher school ceases to exist. Created in 425, the higher school in Constantinople (auditoriums) supplanted the rest of the higher schools. The auditorium of Constantinople was a state institution, whose professors were considered civil servants, only they were allowed to teach publicly in the capital. There were 31 professors in the audience: 10 on Greek grammar, 10 on Latin grammar, 3 on Greek eloquence and 5 on Latin, 2 on law, 1 on philosophy. The question of the existence of higher school in the 7th-8th centuries. controversial: according to legend, the building of the Constantinople school was burned by Emperor Leo III in 726 along with teachers and books. Attempts to organize a higher school began in the mid-9th century, when the Magnavra school began to function (in the Palace of Constantinople), led by Leo the Mathematician. Its program was limited to general education subjects. The school trained high secular and spiritual dignitaries. In the middle of the 11th century. Law and philosophical schools were opened in Constantinople - government institutions that trained officials. John Xiphilinus, Konstantin Likhud (law), Michael Psellus (philosophy) taught here. From the end of the 11th century. The philosophical school became the focus of rationalistic views, which led to the condemnation by the Orthodox Church of its teachers John Italus and Eustratius of Nicaea as heretics. In the 12th century Higher education is placed under the patronage of the church and is entrusted with the task of combating heresies. At the end of the 11th century. The Patriarchal School was opened, the program of which included interpretation of the Holy Scriptures and rhetorical training. In a school created in the 12th century. at the church of St. The Apostle in Constantinople, in addition to traditional subjects, was taught medicine. After 1204, the higher school in Vietnam ceased to exist. State schools are increasingly being replaced by schools at monasteries, where scientists settled (Nicephorus Vlemmydes, Nikephoros Grigora, etc.). Such schools usually closed after the death of the teacher or his disgrace. Ancient libraries did not survive the early Byzantine period. The Library of Alexandria was destroyed in 391; The public library in Constantinople (founded around 356) burned down in 475. Little is known about libraries in later times. There were libraries of the emperor, patriarch, monasteries, higher schools and private individuals (the collections of Arethas of Caesarea, Michael Choniates, Maximus Planud, Theodore Metochites, Vissarion of Nicaea are known).

Technique. V. inherited ancient agricultural technology (a wooden wheelless plow with removable coulters, a threshing drag to which livestock was harnessed, artificial irrigation, etc.) and crafts. This allowed V. to remain until the 12th century. a leading European state in the field of production: in jewelry, silk weaving, monumental construction, shipbuilding (from the 9th century, oblique sails began to be used); from the 9th century The production of glazed ceramics and glass (according to ancient recipes) became widespread. However, the desire of the Byzantines to preserve ancient traditions fettered technological progress, which contributed to the progress that began in the 12th century. the lag of most Byzantine crafts from Western European ones (glassmaking, shipbuilding, etc.). In the 14th-15th centuries. Byzantine textile production could no longer compete with Italian.

Mathematics and natural sciences. In Britain, the social prestige of mathematics was significantly lower than rhetoric and philosophy (the most important medieval scientific disciplines). Byzantine mathematics in the 4th-6th centuries. was primarily limited to commenting on the ancient classics: Theon of Alexandria (4th century) published and interpreted the works of Euclid and Ptolemy, John Philoponus (6th century) commented on the natural science works of Aristotle, Eutocius of Ascalon (6th century) - Archimedes. Much attention was paid to tasks that turned out to be unpromising (squaring the circle, doubling the cube). At the same time, in some issues, Byzantine science went further than ancient science: John Philoponus came to the conclusion that the speed of falling bodies does not depend on their gravity; Anthemius of Thrall, architect and engineer, famous as the builder of the temple of St. Sofia, proposed a new explanation for the action of burning mirrors. Byzantine physics (“physiology”) remained bookish and descriptive: the use of experiment was rare (it is possible that John Philoponus’s conclusion about the speed of falling bodies was based on experience). The influence of Christianity on the Byzantine natural sciences was expressed in attempts to create holistic descriptions of the cosmos (“six-day”, “physiologists”), where live observations were intertwined with pious moralization and the disclosure of allegorical meaning supposedly contained in natural phenomena. A certain rise in the natural sciences can be traced back to the mid-9th century. Leo the Mathematician (apparently one of the creators of the fire telegraph and automata - gilded figures driven by water that decorated the Great Palace of Constantinople) was the first to use letters as algebraic symbols. Apparently in the 12th century. an attempt was made to introduce Arabic numerals (positional system). Late Byzantine mathematicians showed interest in Eastern science. Trebizond scientists (Gregory Chioniades, 13th century, his successors Gregory Chrysococcus and Isaac Argyrus, 14th century) studied the achievements of Arab and Persian mathematics and astronomy. The study of the eastern heritage contributed to the creation of the consolidated work of Theodore Melitiniot “Astronomy in Three Books” (1361). In the field of cosmology, the Byzantines adhered to traditional ideas, some of which went back to the biblical concept [in the clearest form of the doctrine of a flat earth washed by the ocean, set forth by Cosmas Indicopleus (6th century), who polemicized with Ptolemy], others - to the achievements of Hellenistic science, which recognized sphericity of the earth [Basily the Great, Gregory of Nyssa (4th century), Photius (9th century. ) believed that the doctrine of the spherical shape of the earth does not contradict the Bible]. Astronomical observations were subordinated to the interests of astrology, widespread in Britain, which in the 12th century. came under sharp attack from Orthodox theology, which condemned the direct connection of the movement of the heavenly bodies with human destiny as contrary to the idea of ​​​​divine providence. In the 14th century Nikephoros Grigora proposed reform of the calendar and predicted a solar eclipse.

The Byzantines had great traditional practical skills in chemistry, necessary for the production of dyes, colored glazes, glass, etc. Alchemy, closely intertwined with magic, was widespread in the early Byzantine period, and, perhaps, the largest chemical discovery is to some extent associated with it of that time - invention at the end of the 7th century. “Greek fire” (a spontaneously combustible mixture of oil, saltpeter, etc., used to fire at enemy ships and fortifications). From the passion for alchemy, which swept Western Europe from the 12th century. and ultimately led to the establishment of experimental science, Byzantine speculative natural science practically remained on the sidelines.

Zoology, botany, and agronomy were of a purely descriptive nature (the imperial collection of rare animals in Constantinople, of course, was not of a scientific nature): compilation manuals on agronomy (“Geoponics,” 10th century) and horse breeding (“Hippiatrics”) were created. In the 13th century Demetrius Pepagomen wrote a book about falcons, containing a number of lively and subtle observations. Byzantine descriptions of animals included not only real fauna, but also the world of fairy-tale animals (unicorns). Mineralogy dealt with the description of stones and soil types (Theofastus, late 4th century), while endowing minerals with occult properties supposedly inherent to them.

Byzantine medicine was based on ancient tradition. In the 4th century. Oribasius of Pergamon compiled the “Medical Manual,” which is a compilation of the writings of ancient physicians. Despite the Christian attitude of the Byzantines towards illness as a God-sent test and even as a kind of contact with the supernatural (especially epilepsy and insanity), in Byzantium (at least in Constantinople) there were hospitals with special departments (surgical, women's) and medical schools with them. In the 11th century Simeon Seth wrote a book about the properties of food (taking into account Arab experience) in the 13th century. Nikolai Mireps - a guide to the pharmacopoeia, which was used in Western Europe back in the 17th century. John the Actuary (14th century) introduced practical observations into his medical writings.

Geography in Vietnam began with official descriptions of regions, cities, and church dioceses. Around 535, Hierocles compiled the Synecdemus, a description of 64 provinces and 912 cities, which formed the basis of many later geographical works. In the 10th century Konstantin Porphyrogenitus compiled a description of the themes (regions) of V., based not so much on contemporary data as on tradition, which is why it contains many anachronisms. This circle of geographical literature includes descriptions of the travels of merchants (itineraria) and pilgrims. Anonymous itinerary 4th century. contains a detailed description of the Mediterranean Sea, indicating the distances between ports, goods produced in certain places, etc. Descriptions of the travels of the merchant Cosmas Indicoplov (See Cosmas Indicoplov) (6th century) have been preserved (“Christian topography”, where, in addition to general cosmological ideas, there are live observations, reliable information about different countries and peoples of Arabia, Africa, etc.), John Phocas (12th century) - to Palestine, Andrei Livadin (14th century) - to Palestine and Egypt, Kanan Lascaris ( late 14th or early 15th centuries) - to Germany, Scandinavia and Iceland. The Byzantines knew how to make geographical maps.

Philosophy. The main ideological sources of Byzantine philosophy are the Bible and Greek classical philosophy (mainly Plato, Aristotle, the Stoics). Foreign influence on Byzantine philosophy is negligible and mostly negative (polemics against Islam and Latin theology). In the 4th-7th centuries. Byzantine philosophy is dominated by three directions: 1) Neoplatonism (Iamblichus, Julian the Apostate, Proclus), which defended, in the crisis of the ancient world, the idea of ​​harmonious unity of the Universe, achieved through a chain of dialectical transitions from the One (deity) to matter (there is no concept of evil in ethics) ; the ideal of the polis organization and ancient polytheistic mythology were preserved; 2) Gnostic-Manichaean dualism, based on the idea of ​​an irreconcilable split of the Universe into the kingdom of Good and Evil, the struggle between which should end in the victory of Good; 3) Christianity, which developed as a religion of “sublated dualism”, as the middle line between Neoplatonism and Manichaeism. The central moment in the development of theology of the 4th-7th centuries. - affirmation of the doctrine of the Trinity (See Trinity) and the divine-humanity of Christ (both were absent from the Bible and were sanctified by the church after a stubborn struggle against Arianism, Monophysitism, Nestorianism and Monothelitism). Recognizing the essential difference between the “earthly” and the “heavenly,” Christianity allowed for the possibility of a supernatural (thanks to the help of the God-man) overcoming this schism (Athanasius of Alexandria, Basil the Great, Gregory of Nazianzus, Gregory of Nyssa). In the field of cosmology, the biblical concept of creation was gradually established (see above). Anthropology (Nemesius, Maximus the Confessor) proceeded from the idea of ​​man as the center of the universe (“everything was created for man”) and interpreted him as a microcosm, as a miniature reflection of the Universe. In ethics, the problem of salvation occupied a central place. Diverging from Western theology (Augustine), Byzantine philosophy, especially mysticism, which was strongly influenced by Neoplatonism (see Areopagitism), proceeded from the possibility of not so much corporate (through the church) as individual (through personal “deification” - a person’s physical achievement of the deity) salvation . Unlike Western theologians, Byzantine philosophers, continuing the traditions of the Alexandrian school (Clement of Alexandria, Origen), recognized the importance of the ancient cultural heritage.

The completion of the formation of Byzantine theology coincides with the decline of cities in the 7th century. Byzantine philosophical thought was faced with the task not of the creative development of Christian teaching, but of the preservation of cultural values ​​in a tense economic and political situation. John of Damascus proclaims compilation as the principle of his work, borrowing ideas from Basil the Great, Nemesius and other "church fathers", as well as from Aristotle. At the same time, he strives to create a systematic presentation of Christian doctrine, including a negative program - the refutation of heresies. “The Source of Knowledge” by John of Damascus is the first philosophical and theological “sum”, which had a huge influence on Western scholasticism (See Scholasticism). The main ideological discussion of the 8th-9th centuries. - the dispute between iconoclasts and icon worshipers - continues to some extent the theological discussions of the 4th-7th centuries. If in disputes with the Arians and other heretics of the 4th-7th centuries. The Orthodox Church defended the idea that Christ carries out a supernatural connection between the divine and the human, then in the 8th-9th centuries. opponents of iconoclasm (John of Damascus, Theodore the Studite) viewed the icon as a material image of the heavenly world and, therefore, as an intermediary link connecting “above” and “below.” Both the image of the god-man and the icon in the orthodox interpretation served as a means of overcoming the dualism of the earthly and the heavenly. In contrast, Paulicianism (see Paulicianism) and Bogomilism supported the dualistic traditions of Manichaeism.

In the 2nd half of the 9th-10th centuries. accounts for the activities of scholars who revived the knowledge of antiquity. From the 11th century The philosophical struggle takes on new features in connection with the emergence of Byzantine rationalism. The desire for systematization and classification, characteristic of the previous period, evokes criticism from two sides: consistent mystics (Simeon the Theologian) oppose the cold system with an emotional “merger” with the deity; Rationalists discover contradictions in the theological system. Michael Psellus laid the foundation for a new attitude towards the ancient heritage as an integral phenomenon, and not as a sum of information. His followers (John Italus, Eustratius of Nicea, Sotirich), relying on formal logic (Eustratius: “Christ also used syllogisms”), questioned a number of theological doctrines. Interest in applied knowledge, especially medical knowledge, is growing.

The collapse of Britain after 1204 into a number of states forced to fight for existence gave rise to a heightened sense of the tragedy of its own situation. 14th century - time of a new rise of mysticism (Hesychasm - Gregory of Sinaite, Gregory of Palamas); despairing of the possibility of preserving their state, not believing in reforms, hesychasts limit ethics to religious self-improvement, developing formal “psychophysical” methods of prayer that open the way to “deification.” The attitude towards ancient traditions becomes ambivalent: on the one hand, in the restoration of ancient institutions they try to see the last opportunity for reform (Plithon), on the other hand, the greatness of antiquity gives rise to a feeling of despair, one’s own creative helplessness (George Scholarius). After 1453, Byzantine emigrants (Plithon, Vissarion of Nicaea) contributed to the spread of ideas about ancient Greek philosophy, especially Plato, in the West. Byzantine philosophy had a great influence on medieval scholasticism, the Italian Renaissance and on philosophical thought in the Slavic countries, Georgia, and Armenia.

Historical science. In Byzantine historical science of the 4th - mid-7th centuries. Ancient traditions were still strong, and the pagan worldview dominated. Even in the writings of 6th century authors. (Procopius of Caesarea, Agathias of Myrinea) the influence of Christianity had almost no effect. At the same time, already in the 4th century. a new direction in historiography is being created, represented by Eusebius of Caesarea (See Eusebius of Caesarea), who viewed the history of mankind not as the result of cumulative human efforts, but as a teleological process. 6th-10th centuries The main genre of historical works is the world historical chronicle (John Malala, Theophan the Confessor, George Amartol), the subject of which was the global history of mankind (usually starting from Adam), presented with outright didacticism. In the middle of the 11th-12th centuries. historical science was on the rise, historical works began to predominate, written by contemporaries of the events, telling about a short period of time (Michael Psellus, Michael Attaliatus, Anna Comnena, John Kinnam, Niketas Choniates); the presentation became emotionally charged and journalistic. In their writings there is no longer a theological explanation of events: God does not act as the direct engine of history, history (especially in the works of Michael Psellus and Nikita Choniates) is created by human passions. A number of historians expressed a skeptical attitude towards the main Byzantine social institutions (for example, Choniates opposed the traditional cult of imperial power and contrasted the belligerence and moral fortitude of the “barbarians” with Byzantine corruption). Psellus and Choniates moved away from the moralistic unambiguous characteristics of the characters, drawing complex images that are characterized by good and bad qualities. From the 13th century Historical science was in decline; its main subject was theological discussions (with the exception of the memoirs of John Cantacuzenus, 14th century). The last rise of Byzantine historiography occurred at the end of Byzantine history, when the tragic perception of reality gave rise to a “relativistic” approach to understanding the historical process (Laonicus Chalkokondylos ), the driving force of which was seen not in the guiding will of God, but in “quiet” - fate or chance.

Legal science. The desire for systematization and traditionalism, characteristic of Byzantine culture, were especially clearly manifested in Byzantine legal science, which began with the systematization of Roman law and the compilation of codes of civil law, the most significant of which is the Corpus juris civilis (6th century). Byzantine law was then based on this code; the task of jurists was limited mainly to the interpretation and retelling of the code. In the 6th-7th centuries. Corpus juris civilis was partially translated from Latin into Greek. These translations formed the basis of the compilation collection Vasiliki (9th century), which was often copied with marginal scholia (marginal comments). Various reference guides were compiled for Vasiliki, including “synopses”, where articles on individual legal issues were arranged in alphabetical order. In addition to Roman law, Byzantine legal science studied Canon Law, which was based on the decrees (rules) of church councils. The rise of legal science began in the 11th century, when a higher law school was founded in Constantinople. An attempt to generalize the practice of the Constantinople court was made in the 11th century. in the so-called “Pir” (“Experience”) - a collection of court decisions. In the 12th century Byzantine jurists (Zonara, Aristin, Balsamon) issued a number of interpretations on the rules of church councils, trying to harmonize the norms of canon and Roman law. There was a notary in Vietnam, and in the 13th and 14th centuries. individual provincial offices developed local types of forms for drawing up documents.

Literature. The literature of Byzantium was based on the thousand-year-old traditions of ancient Greek literature, which throughout the history of Byzantium retained its role as a model. The works of Byzantine writers are full of reminiscences from ancient authors; the principles of ancient rhetoric, epistolography, and poetics remained effective. At the same time, early Byzantine literature was already characterized by new artistic principles, themes and genres, developed partly under the influence of early Christian and eastern (mainly Syrian) traditions. This new corresponded to the general principles of the Byzantine worldview and was expressed in the author’s feeling of his own insignificance and personal responsibility before God, in an evaluative (Good - Evil) perception of reality; the focus is no longer on the martyr and fighter, but on the ascetic-righteous; metaphor gives way to symbol, logical connections - to associations, stereotypes, simplified vocabulary. The theater, condemned by Christian theologians, had no soil in Europe. The transformation of liturgy into the main form of dramatic action was accompanied by the flowering of liturgical poetry; the largest liturgical poet was Roman Sladkopevets. Liturgical chants (hymns) were kontakia (in Greek “stick”, since the manuscript of the hymn was wrapped on a stick) - poems consisting of an introduction and 20-30 stanzas (troparia), ending with the same refrain. The content of liturgical poetry was based on the traditions of the Old and New Testaments and on the lives of the saints. Kontakion was essentially a poetic sermon, sometimes turning into dialogue. The novel Sladkopevets, who began to use tonic metrics, making extensive use of alliteration and assonance (at times even rhymes), managed to fill it with bold maxims, comparisons and antitheses. History as a narrative about the clash of human passions (Procopius of Caesarea) is replaced by the history of the church and the world historical chronicle, where the path of humanity is shown as a theological drama of the clash of Good and Evil (Eusebius of Caesarea, John Malala), and life, where the same drama unfolds within the framework of one human destiny (Palladius of Elenopolis, Cyril of Scythopolis, John Moschos). Rhetoric, which even in Libanius and Sinesius of Cyrene (See Sinesius) corresponded to the ancient canons, already among their contemporaries turns into the art of preaching (Basily the Great, John Chrysostom). Epigram and poetic ekphrase (description of monuments), which before the 6th century. preserved the ancient figurative system (Agathias of Myrinea, Paul the Silentiary), were replaced by moralizing gnomes.

In subsequent centuries (mid-7th to mid-9th centuries), the ancient traditions almost disappeared, while the new principles that emerged in the proto-Byzantine period became dominant. In prose literature, the main genres are chronicle (Theophanes the Confessor) and hagiography; Hagiographic literature experienced a special upsurge during the period of iconoclasm, when lives served the purpose of glorifying monastic iconoclasts. Liturgical poetry during this period loses its former freshness and drama, which is outwardly expressed in the replacement of the kontakion with a canon - a chant consisting of several independent songs; The “Great Canon” of Andrei Kritsky (7th-8th centuries) has 250 stanzas, is distinguished by its verbosity and prolixity, the author’s desire to contain all the wealth of his knowledge in one work. But the gnomes of Cassia and the epigrams of Theodore the Studite (See Theodore the Studite) on the themes of monastic life, with all their moralization, sometimes naive, are sharp and vital.

From the middle of the 9th century. a new period of accumulation of literary traditions begins. Literary collections are being created (“Miriobiblon” by Photius (See Photius) - the first experience of critical-bibliographic literature, covering about 280 books), dictionaries (Svida). Simeon Metaphrastus compiled a set of Byzantine Lives, arranging them according to the days of the church calendar.

From the 11th century in Byzantine literature (for example, in the works of Christopher of Mytilene (See Christopher of Mytilene) and Michael Psellus), along with elements of rationalism and criticism of monastic life, there is an interest in specific details, humorous assessments, attempts to psychologically motivate actions, and use colloquial language. The leading genres of early Byzantine literature (liturgical poetry, hagiography) are declining and ossifying. The world historical chronicle, despite the attempt of John Zonara (See John Zonara) to create a detailed narrative using the works of the best ancient historians, is being pushed aside by memoir and semi-memoir historical prose, where the subjective tastes of the authors are expressed. A military epic (“Digenis Akritus”) and an erotic novel appeared, imitating the ancient one, but at the same time claiming to be an allegorical expression of Christian ideas (Makremvolit). In rhetoric and epistolography, a lively observational attitude emerges, tinged with humor and, at times, sarcasm. Leading writers of the 11th-12th centuries. (Theophylact of Bulgaria, Theodore Prodromus, Eustathius of Thessalonica, Michael Choniates and Nikita Choniates, Nikolai Mesaritus) - mainly rhetoricians and historians, but at the same time philologists and poets. New forms of organizing literary creativity were also being created - literary circles united around an influential patron of the arts, such as Anna Komnena, who herself was a writer. In contrast to the traditional individualistic worldview (Simeon the Theologian, Kekavmen), relationships of friendship are cultivated, which in epistolography appears almost in erotic images (“languor”). However, there is no break with either the theological worldview or traditional aesthetic norms. There is also no tragic feeling of a time of crisis: for example, the anonymous essay “Timarion” describes a journey to hell in gently humorous tones.

The capture of Constantinople by the crusaders (1204) practically put an end to “pre-Renaissance” phenomena in Byzantine literature. Late Byzantine literature is distinguished by compilation and is dominated by theological polemics. Even the most significant poetry (Manuel Phila) remains within the circle of themes and images of Theodore Prodromus (a 12th-century court poet and author of panegyrics to emperors and nobles). A living personal perception of reality, such as the memoirs of John Cantacuzene, is a rare exception. Folklore elements (“animal” themes of fables and epics) and imitations of the West are being introduced. chivalric romance (“Florius and Placeflora”, etc.). Perhaps under Western influence in Britain in the 14th and 15th centuries. theatrical performances based on biblical stories appeared, for example about young men in the “cave of fire.” Only on the eve of the fall of the empire and especially after this event does literature emerge, permeated with an awareness of the tragedy of the situation and responsibility, although usually seeking solutions to all problems in “omnipotent” antiquity (Gemist, George Pliphon). The conquest of Byzantium by the Turks brought to life a new rise in ancient Greek historical prose (George Sphranzi, Dukas, Laonikos Chalkokondylos, Kritovul), which chronologically lay outside the boundaries of Byzantine literature proper.

The best works of Bulgarian literature had a great influence on Bulgarian, Old Russian, Serbian, Georgian, and Armenian literature. Individual monuments (Digenis Akritus, Lives) were also known in the West.

The architecture and fine arts of Vietnam, unlike most European countries, did not experience significant influence from the culture of “barbarian” peoples. It also avoided the catastrophic destruction that befell the Western Roman Empire. For these reasons, ancient traditions were preserved for a long time in Byzantine art, especially since the first centuries of its development passed under the conditions of a late slave state. The process of transition to medieval culture in Vietnam dragged on for a long time and proceeded along several channels. The features of Byzantine art were clearly defined by the 6th century.

In the town planning and secular architecture of Vietnam, which largely preserved the ancient cities, medieval principles took shape slowly. Architecture of Constantinople 4-5 centuries. (the forum with the column of Constantine, the hippodrome, the complex of imperial palaces with vast rooms decorated with mosaic floors) maintains connections with ancient architecture, mainly Roman. However, already in the 5th century. A new, radial layout of the Byzantine capital begins to take shape. New fortifications of Constantinople are being built, representing a developed system of walls, towers, ditches, Escarpments and Glacis. In the cult architecture of V. already in the 4th century. new types of temples arise, fundamentally different from their ancient predecessors - church basilicas (See Basilica) and centric domed buildings, mainly baptisteries (See Baptistery). Along with Constantinople (the Basilica of John the Studite, around 463), they were also erected in other parts of the Byzantine Empire, acquiring local features and a variety of forms (the austere stone basilica of Kalb-Luzeh in Syria, around 480; the brick Basilica of St. Demetrius in Thessaloniki, which preserved the Hellenistic picturesque interior , 5th century; rotunda of St. George in Thessaloniki, rebuilt at the end of the 4th century). The stinginess and simplicity of their external appearance contrasts with the richness and splendor of the interiors, associated with the needs of Christian worship. A special environment is created inside the temple, separated from the outside world. Over time, the internal space of temples becomes more and more fluid and dynamic, involving in its rhythms ancient order elements (columns, entablatures, etc.), which were abundantly used in Byzantine architecture until the 7-8 centuries. The architecture of church interiors expresses a sense of the vastness and complexity of the universe, beyond the control of human will in its development, derived from the deepest shocks caused by the death of the ancient world.

V. architecture reached its highest rise in the 6th century. Numerous fortifications are being built along the country's borders. Palaces and temples of truly imperial splendor were built in cities (the centric churches of Sergius and Bacchus in Constantinople, 526-527, and San Vitale in Ravenna, 526-547). The search for a synthetic religious building combining a basilica with a domed structure, which began back in the 5th century, is coming to an end. (stone churches with wooden domes in Syria, Asia Minor, Athens). In the 6th century. large domed, cross-shaped churches were erected (the Apostles in Constantinople, Panagia on the island of Paros, etc.) and rectangular domed basilicas (the churches in Philippi, St. Irene in Constantinople, etc.). The masterpiece among domed basilicas is the Church of St. Sophia in Constantinople (532-537, architects Anthimius and Isidore: see Temple of Sophia). Its huge dome is erected on 4 pillars with the help of sails (See Sails). Along the longitudinal axis of the building, the pressure of the dome is absorbed by complex systems of semi-domes and colonnades. At the same time, the massive supporting pillars are masked from the viewer, and 40 windows cut into the base of the dome create an extraordinary effect - the bowl of the dome seems to easily float above the temple. Commensurate with the greatness of the Byzantine state of the 6th century, the Church of St. Sophia embodies in her architectural and artistic image ideas about eternal and incomprehensible “superhuman” principles. The type of domed basilica, which requires extremely skillful strengthening of the side walls of the building, was not further developed. In the urban planning of V. by the 6th century. medieval features are identified. In the cities of the Balkan Peninsula, the fortified Upper City stands out, with residential neighborhoods growing near its walls. Cities in Syria are often built on an irregular plan to suit the terrain. The type of residential building with a courtyard in a number of areas of Vietnam has long retained connections with ancient architecture (in Syria - until the 7th century, in Greece - until the 10th-12th centuries). Multi-storey buildings are being built in Constantinople, often with arcades on the facades.

The transition from antiquity to the Middle Ages caused a deep crisis in artistic culture, causing the disappearance of some and the emergence of other types and genres of fine art. The main role began to be played by art related to church and state needs - temple paintings, icon painting, as well as book miniatures (mainly in cult manuscripts). Penetrating the medieval religious worldview, art changes its figurative nature. The idea of ​​human value is transferred to the otherworldly realm. In this regard, the ancient creative method is destroyed, and a specific medieval convention of art is developed. Shackled by religious ideas, it reflects reality not through its direct depiction, but mainly through the spiritual and emotional structure of works of art. The art of sculpture comes to a sharp expression that destroys the ancient plastic form (the so-called “Head of the Philosopher from Ephesus”, 5th century, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna); Over time, round sculpture almost completely disappeared in Byzantine art. In sculptural reliefs (for example, on the so-called “consular diptychs”) individual observations of life are combined with schematization of visual means. Antique motifs are most firmly preserved in artistic craft products (products made of stone, bone, metal). In church mosaics of the 4th-5th centuries. the ancient feeling of the colorfulness of the real world is preserved (mosaics of the Church of St. George in Thessaloniki, late 4th century). Late Antique techniques up to the 10th century. repeated in book miniature (“Scroll of Joshua”, Vatican Library, Rome). But in the 5th-7th centuries. in all types of painting, including the first icons (Sergius and Bacchus, 6th century, Kiev Museum of Western and Eastern Art), the spiritual and speculative principle is growing. Coming into collision with the volumetric-spatial method of representation (mosaics of the Church of Hosios David in Thessaloniki, 5th century), it subsequently subjugates all artistic means. Architectural landscape backgrounds are replaced by abstractly solemn golden backgrounds; images become flat, their expressiveness is revealed with the help of consonances of pure spots of color, rhythmic beauty of lines and generalized silhouettes; human images are endowed with a stable emotional meaning (mosaics depicting Emperor Justinian and his wife Theodora in the church of San Vitale in Ravenna, around 547; mosaics in the church of Panagia Kanakaria in Cyprus and the monastery of St. Catherine in Sinai - 6th century. , as well as mosaics of the 7th century, marked by greater freshness of perception of the world and spontaneity of feeling - in the churches of the Assumption in Nicaea and St. Demetrius in Thessaloniki).

The historical upheavals experienced by Britain in the 7th and early 9th centuries caused a significant change in artistic culture. In the architecture of this time, a transition was made to the cross-domed type of temple (its prototype is the Church “Outside the Walls” in Rusafa, 6th century; buildings of a transitional type - the Church of the Assumption in Nicaea, 7th century, and St. Sophia in Thessaloniki, 8th century .). In the fierce struggle between the views of icon-worshipers and iconoclasts, who denied the legitimacy of using real pictorial forms to convey religious content, the contradictions accumulated in the previous time were resolved, and the aesthetics of developed medieval art was formed. During the period of iconoclasm, churches were decorated mainly with images of Christian symbols and decorative paintings.

In the middle of the 9th-12th centuries, during the heyday of Eastern art, the cross-domed type of the temple was finally established, with a dome on a drum, stably mounted on supports, from which 4 vaults diverge crosswise. Lower corner rooms are also covered with domes and vaults. Such a temple is a system of small spaces, cells, securely connected to each other, lining up with ledges into a harmonious pyramidal composition. The structure of the building is visible inside the temple and clearly expressed in its external appearance. The outer walls of such temples are often decorated with patterned masonry, ceramic inserts, etc. The cross-domed church is a complete architectural type. In the future, V. architecture only develops variants of this type, without discovering anything fundamentally new. In the classic version of the cross-domed temple, the dome is erected with the help of sails on free-standing supports (the Church of Atticus and Kalender, 9th century, the Church of Mireleion, 10th century, the temple complex of Pantocrator, 12th century, all in Constantinople; the Church of Our Lady in Thessaloniki , 1028, etc.). On the territory of Greece, a type of temple with a dome on tromps (See Tromps) resting on 8 ends of the walls developed (temples: Katolikon in the monastery of Hosios Loukas, in Daphne - both 11th century). In the monasteries of Athos, a type of temple developed with apses at the northern, eastern and southern ends of the cross, forming a so-called triconch in plan. In the provinces of Europe, private varieties of the cross-domed church were found, and basilicas were also built.

In the 9th-10th centuries. The paintings of temples are brought into a harmonious system. The walls and vaults of churches are completely covered with mosaics and frescoes, arranged in a strictly defined hierarchical order and subordinate to the composition of the cross-domed building. An architectural and artistic environment imbued with a single content is created in the interior, which also includes the icons placed on the iconostasis. In the spirit of the victorious teaching of icon worshipers, images are considered as a reflection of the ideal “archetype”; The plots and composition of paintings, drawing and painting techniques are subject to certain regulation. Byzantine painting expressed its ideas, however, through the image of a person, revealing them as properties or states of this image. Ideally sublime images of people dominate the art of Europe, to a certain extent preserving in a transformed form the artistic experience of ancient art. Thanks to this, the art of V. looks relatively more “humanized” than many other great arts of the Middle Ages.

General principles of Byzantine painting of the 9th-12th centuries. are developed in their own way in individual art schools. Capital art is represented by mosaics of St. Constantinople. Sofia, in which from the “Macedonian” (mid-9th - mid-11th centuries) to the “Komnenian” period (mid-11th century - 1204) the sublime severity and spirituality of images, the virtuosity of the pictorial manner, combining the grace of linear drawing with an exquisite color scheme, increased. The best works of icon painting, distinguished by deep humanity of feelings, are associated with the capital (Our Lady of Vladimir, 12th century, Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow). A large number of mosaics were created in the provinces - majestic and calm in the monastery of Daphne near Athens (11th century), dramatic and expressive in the monastery of Nea Moni on the island of Chios (11th century), provincially simplified in the monastery of Hosios Loukas in Phokis (11th century .). A variety of trends also exists in fresco painting, which has spread especially widely (the dramatic paintings of the Church of Panagia Kouvelitissa in Kastoria, 11-12 centuries; naive-primitive paintings in the cave churches of Cappadocia, etc.).

In book miniatures, after a brief flowering of art, imbued with vital spontaneity and political polemics (Khludov Psalter, 9th century, Historical Museum, Moscow), and a period of fascination with ancient models (Parisian Psalter, 10th century, National Library, Paris) The jewelry and decorative style is spreading. At the same time, these miniatures are also characterized by individual apt life observations, for example, in portraits of historical figures. Sculpture 9-12 centuries. It is represented mainly by relief icons and decorative carvings (altar barriers, capitals, etc.), distinguished by a wealth of ornamental motifs, often of ancient or oriental origin. Decorative and applied arts reached a high peak at this time: artistic fabrics, multi-color cloisonné enamel, ivory and metal products.

After the invasion of the Crusaders, Byzantine culture was revived again in Constantinople, recaptured in 1261, and its associated states in Greece and Asia Minor. Church architecture of the 14th-15th centuries. mainly repeats old types (small graceful churches of Fethiye and Molla Gyurani in Constantinople, 14th century; decorated with brickwork patterns and surrounded by a gallery, the Church of the Apostles in Thessaloniki, 1312-1315). In Mystras, churches are built that combine a basilica and a cross-domed church (2-tier church of the Pantanassa monastery, 1428). Medieval-based architecture sometimes absorbs some motifs of Italian architecture and reflects the formation of secular, Renaissance trends (the Church of Panagia Parigoritissa in Arta, around 1295; the Tekfur Serai Palace in Constantinople, 14th century; the palace of the rulers of Mystras, 13-15th centuries; etc. .). The residential buildings of Mystras are picturesquely located on a rocky slope, on the sides of the zigzag main street. 2-3-story houses, with utility rooms below and living rooms on the upper floors, resemble small fortresses. At the end. 13th - early 14th centuries. painting is experiencing a brilliant, but short-lived flourishing, in which attention is developing to concrete life content, real relationships between people, spaces, and the depiction of the environment - the mosaics of the Chora Monastery (Kahrie Jami) in Constantinople (early 14th century), the Church of the Apostles in Thessaloniki (about 1315), etc. However, the emerging break with medieval conventions did not materialize. From the middle of the 14th century. in the capital's painting of V., cold abstraction is intensifying; Fine decorative painting, sometimes including narrative-genre motifs, is spreading in the province (frescoes of the churches of Periveleptus and Pantanassa in Mystras, 2nd half of the 14th - 1st half of the 15th centuries). The traditions of fine art, as well as secular, religious and monastic architecture of Vietnam of this period were inherited in medieval Greece after the fall of Constantinople (1453), which put an end to the history of Vietnam.

The Byzantine Empire, in short, is a state that appeared in 395, after the collapse of the Great Roman Empire. It could not withstand the invasion of barbarian tribes and was divided into two parts. Less than a century after its collapse, the Western Roman Empire ceased to exist. But she left behind a strong successor - the Byzantine Empire. The Roman Empire lasted for 500 years, and its eastern successor for more than a thousand, from the 4th to the 15th centuries.
Initially, the Eastern Roman Empire was called "Romania". In the West, for a long time it was called the “Greek Empire”, since most of its population was Greek. But the inhabitants of Byzantium themselves called themselves Romans (in Greek - Romans). It was only after its fall in the 15th century that the Eastern Roman Empire began to be called "Byzantium".

This name comes from the word Byzantium - this is how Constantinople, the capital of the empire, was first called.
The Byzantine Empire, in short, occupied a huge territory - almost 1 million square meters. kilometers. It was located on three continents - Europe, Africa and Asia.
The capital of the state is the city of Constantinople, founded during the time of the Great Roman Empire. At first it was the Greek colony of Byzantium. In 330, Emperor Constantine moved the capital of the empire here and named the city by his own name - Constantinople. In the Middle Ages it was the richest city in Europe.

The Byzantine Empire could not avoid the invasion of the barbarians, but it avoided such losses as the west of the Roman Empire thanks to wise policies. For example, Slavic tribes participating in the great migration of peoples were allowed to settle on the outskirts of the empire. Thus, Byzantium received populated borders, the population of which was a shield against the remaining invaders.
The basis of the Byzantine economy was production and trade. It included many rich cities that produced almost all goods. In the V - VIII centuries, the heyday of Byzantine ports began. Land roads became unsafe for merchants due to long wars in Europe, so the sea route became the only possible one.
The Empire was a multi-ethnic country, so the culture was amazingly diverse. Its basis was the ancient heritage.
On May 30, 1453, after two months of stubborn resistance by the Turkish army, Constantinople fell. Thus ended the thousand-year history of one of the great powers of the world.

The name of this new state was the “Kingdom of the Romans”; in the Latin West it was called “Romania”, and the Turks subsequently began to call it the “State of the Rums” or simply “Rum”. Historians began to call this state “Byzantium” or “Byzantine Empire” in their writings after its fall.

History of Constantinople, the capital of Byzantium

Around 660 BC, on a cape washed by the waters of the Bosporus Strait, the Black Sea waves of the Golden Horn Bay and the Sea of ​​Marmara, immigrants from the Greek city of Megar founded a trading outpost on the way from the Mediterranean to the Black Sea, named after the leader of the colonists, Byzantine. The new city was named Byzantium.

Byzantium existed for about seven hundred years, serving as a transit point on the route of merchants and sailors traveling from Greece to the Greek colonies of the northern shores of the Black Sea and Crimea and back. From the metropolis, traders brought wine and olive oil, fabrics, ceramics, and other handicrafts, and back - bread and furs, ship and timber, honey, wax, fish and livestock. The city grew, became richer and therefore was constantly under the threat of enemy invasion. More than once its inhabitants repelled the onslaught of barbarian tribes from Thrace, Persians, Spartans, and Macedonians. Only in 196-198 AD the city fell under the onslaught of the legions of the Roman emperor Septimius Severus and was destroyed

Byzantium is perhaps the only state in history that has exact dates of birth and death: May 11, 330 - May 29, 1453

History of Byzantium. Briefly

• 324, November 8 - Roman Emperor Constantine the Great (306-337) founded the new capital of the Roman Empire on the site of ancient Byzantium. It is not known exactly what caused this decision. Perhaps Constantine sought to create a center of the empire, remote from Rome with its continuous strife in the struggle for the imperial throne.
• 330, May 11 - solemn ceremony of proclaiming Constantinople the new capital of the Roman Empire

The ceremony was accompanied by Christian and pagan religious rites. In memory of the founding of the city, Constantine ordered a coin to be minted. On one side of it the emperor himself was depicted wearing a helmet and holding a spear in his hand. There was also an inscription here - “Constantinople”. On the other side is a woman with ears of corn and a cornucopia in her hands. The Emperor granted Constantinople the municipal structure of Rome. A Senate was established in it, and Egyptian grain, which had previously supplied Rome, began to be directed to the needs of the population of Constantinople. Like Rome, built on seven hills, Constantinople is spread over the vast territory of the seven hills of the Bosphorus cape. During the reign of Constantine, about 30 magnificent palaces and temples, more than 4 thousand large buildings in which the nobility lived, a circus, 2 theaters and a hippodrome, more than 150 baths, approximately the same number of bakeries, as well as 8 water pipelines were built here

• 378 - Battle of Adrianople, in which the Romans were defeated by the Gothic army
• 379 - Theodosius (379-395) became Roman emperor. He made peace with the Goths, but the position of the Roman Empire was precarious
• 394 - Theodosius proclaimed Christianity as the only religion of the empire and divided it among his sons. He gave the western one to Honoria, the eastern one to Arcadia
• 395 - Constantinople became the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire, which later became the state of Byzantium
• 408 - Theodosius II became Emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire, during whose reign walls were built around Constantinople, defining the borders within which Constantinople existed for many centuries.
• 410, August 24 - the troops of the Visigothic king Alaric captured and sacked Rome
• 476 - Fall of the Western Roman Empire. The German leader Odoacer overthrew the last emperor of the Western Empire, Romulus.

The first centuries of the history of Byzantium. Iconoclasm

Byzantium included the eastern half of the Roman Empire along a line running through the western part of the Balkans to Cyrenaica. Located on three continents - at the junction of Europe, Asia and Africa - it occupied an area of ​​up to 1 million square meters. km, including the Balkan Peninsula, Asia Minor, Syria, Palestine, Egypt, Cyrenaica, part of Mesopotamia and Armenia, islands, primarily Crete and Cyprus, strongholds in the Crimea (Chersonese), in the Caucasus (in Georgia), some areas of Arabia, islands of the Eastern Mediterranean. Its borders extended from the Danube to the Euphrates. The territory of the empire was quite densely populated. According to some estimates, it had 30-35 million inhabitants. The main part were Greeks and the Hellenized population. In addition to the Greeks, Syrians, Copts, Thracians and Illyrians, Armenians, Georgians, Arabs, Jews lived in Byzantium

• V century, end - VI century, beginning - the highest point of the rise of early Byzantium. Peace reigned on the eastern border. The Ostrogoths were removed from the Balkan Peninsula (488), giving them Italy. During the reign of Emperor Anastasius (491-518), the state had significant savings in the treasury.
• VI-VII centuries - Gradual liberation from Latin. The Greek language became not only the language of the church and literature, but also of government.
• 527, August 1 - Justinian I became Emperor of Byzantium. Under him, the Justinian Code was developed - a set of laws that regulated all aspects of the life of Byzantine society, the Church of St. Sophia was built - a masterpiece of architecture, an example of the highest level of development of Byzantine culture; there was an uprising of the Constantinople mob, which went down in history under the name “Nika”

Justinian's 38-year reign was the climax and period of early Byzantine history. His activities played a significant role in the consolidation of Byzantine society, the major successes of Byzantine weapons, which doubled the borders of the empire to limits never reached in the future. His policies strengthened the authority of the Byzantine state, and the glory of the brilliant capital, Constantinople, and the emperor who ruled there began to spread among the peoples. The explanation for this “rise” of Byzantium is the personality of Justinian himself: colossal ambition, intelligence, organizational talent, extraordinary capacity for work (“the emperor who never sleeps”), perseverance and perseverance in achieving his goals, simplicity and rigor in his personal life, the cunning of a peasant who knew how to hide his thoughts and feelings under a feigned external dispassion and calmness

• 513 - the young and energetic Khosrow I Anushirvan came to power in Iran.
• 540-561 - the beginning of a large-scale war between Byzantium and Iran, in which Iran had the goal of cutting off Byzantium’s connections with the countries of the East in Transcaucasia and Southern Arabia, reaching the Black Sea and striking at the rich eastern provinces.
• 561 - peace treaty between Byzantium and Iran. It was achieved at a level acceptable to Byzantium, but left Byzantium devastated and devastated the once richest eastern provinces
• 6th century - invasions of the Huns and Slavs into the Balkan territories of Byzantium. Their defense relied on a system of border fortresses. However, as a result of continuous invasions, the Balkan provinces of Byzantium were also devastated

To ensure the continuation of hostilities, Justinian had to increase the tax burden, introduce new emergency levies, natural duties, turn a blind eye to the increasing extortion of officials, as long as they ensured revenues to the treasury, he had to curtail not only construction, including military construction, but also sharply reduce army. When Justinian died, his contemporary wrote: (Justinian died) “after filling the whole world with murmurs and turmoil.”

• 7th century, beginning - In many areas of the empire, uprisings of slaves and ruined peasants broke out. The poor rebelled in Constantinople
• 602 - the rebels installed one of their military leaders, Phocas, on the throne. The slave-owning nobility, aristocracy, and large landowners opposed him. A civil war began, which led to the destruction of most of the old landed aristocracy, and the economic and political positions of this social stratum sharply weakened
• 610, October 3 - the troops of the new emperor Heraclius entered Constantinople. Phocas was executed. The civil war is over
• 626 - war with the Avar Kaganate, which almost ended with the sack of Constantinople
• 628 - victory of Heraclius over Iran
• 610-649 - rise of the Arab tribes of Northern Arabia. All of Byzantine North Africa was in the hands of the Arabs.
• 7th century, second half - the Arabs destroyed the coastal cities of Byzantium and repeatedly tried to capture Constantinople. They gained supremacy at sea
• 681 - formation of the First Bulgarian Kingdom, which for a century became the main opponent of Byzantium in the Balkans
• 7th century, end - 8th century, beginning - a period of political anarchy in Byzantium caused by the struggle for the imperial throne between factions of the feudal nobility. After the overthrow of Emperor Justinian II in 695, six emperors replaced the throne in more than two decades.
• 717 - the throne was seized by Leo III the Isaurian - the founder of the new Isaurian (Syrian) dynasty, which ruled Byzantium for a century and a half
• 718 - Failed Arab attempt to capture Constantinople. A turning point in the history of the country is the beginning of the birth of medieval Byzantium.
• 726-843 - religious strife in Byzantium. The struggle between iconoclasts and icon worshipers

Byzantium in the era of feudalism

• 8th century - in Byzantium the number and importance of cities decreased, most coastal cities turned into small port villages, the urban population thinned out, but the rural population increased, metal tools became more expensive and became scarce, trade became impoverished, but the role of natural exchange increased significantly. These are all signs of the formation of feudalism in Byzantium
• 821-823 - the first anti-feudal uprising of peasants under the leadership of Thomas the Slav. The people were dissatisfied with the increase in taxes. The uprising became general. The army of Thomas the Slav almost captured Constantinople. Only by bribing some of Thomas's supporters and receiving the support of the Bulgarian Khan Omortag, Emperor Michael II managed to defeat the rebels
• 867 - Basil I of Macedon became emperor of Byzantium. The first emperor of the new dynasty - the Macedonian

She ruled Byzantium from 867 to 1056, which became the heyday of Byzantium. Its borders expanded almost to the limits of early Byzantium (1 million sq. km). It again belonged to Antioch and Northern Syria, the army stood on the Euphrates, the fleet off the coast of Sicily, protecting southern Italy from attempts at Arab invasions. The power of Byzantium was recognized by Dalmatia and Serbia, and in Transcaucasia by many rulers of Armenia and Georgia. The long struggle with Bulgaria ended with its transformation into a Byzantine province in 1018. The population of Byzantium reached 20-24 million people, of which 10% were townspeople. There were about 400 cities, with the number of inhabitants ranging from 1-2 thousand to tens of thousands. The most famous was Constantinople

Magnificent palaces and temples, many thriving trade and craft establishments, a bustling port with countless ships moored at its piers, a multilingual, colorfully dressed crowd of townspeople. The streets of the capital were teeming with people. The majority crowded around the numerous shops in the central part of the city, in the rows of Artopolion, where bakeries and bakeries were located, as well as shops selling vegetables and fish, cheese and various hot snacks. The common people usually ate vegetables, fish and fruits. Countless taverns and taverns sold wine, cakes and fish. These establishments were a kind of clubs for the poor people of Constantinople.

Commoners huddled in tall and very narrow houses, in which there were dozens of tiny apartments or closets. But this housing was also expensive and unaffordable for many. The development of residential areas was carried out in a very disorderly manner. The houses were literally piled on top of each other, which was one of the reasons for the enormous destruction during the frequent earthquakes here. The crooked and very narrow streets were incredibly dirty, littered with garbage. The tall buildings did not let in any daylight. At night, the streets of Constantinople were practically not illuminated. And although there was a night watch, the city was dominated by numerous gangs of robbers. All city gates were locked at night, and people who did not have time to pass before they closed had to spend the night in the open air.

An integral part of the picture of the city were the crowds of beggars huddled at the foot of the proud columns and at the pedestals of beautiful statues. The beggars of Constantinople were a kind of corporation. Not every working person had their daily earnings

• 907, 911, 940 - the first contacts and agreements of the emperors of Byzantium with the princes of Kievan Rus Oleg, Igor, Princess Olga: Russian merchants were granted the right to duty-free trade in the possessions of Byzantium, they were given free food and everything necessary for life in Constantinople for six months, as well as supplies for the return journey. Igor took upon himself the obligation to defend the possessions of Byzantium in the Crimea, and the emperor promised to provide military assistance to the Kiev prince if necessary.
• 976 - Vasily II took the imperial throne

The reign of Vasily the Second, endowed with extraordinary tenacity, merciless determination, administrative and military talent, was the pinnacle of Byzantine statehood. 16 thousand Bulgarians blinded by his order, who brought him the nickname “Bulgarian Slayers” - a demonstration of determination to mercilessly deal with any opposition. The military successes of Byzantium under Vasily were its last major successes

• XI century - the international position of Byzantium worsened. The Pechenegs began to push back the Byzantines from the north, and the Seljuk Turks from the east. In the 60s of the 11th century. Byzantine emperors launched campaigns against the Seljuks several times, but failed to stop their onslaught. By the end of the 11th century. Almost all Byzantine possessions in Asia Minor came under the rule of the Seljuks. The Normans gained a foothold in Northern Greece and the Peloponnese. From the north, waves of Pecheneg invasions reached almost the walls of Constantinople. The borders of the empire were inexorably shrinking, and the ring around its capital was gradually shrinking.
• 1054 - The Christian Church split into Western (Catholic) and Eastern (Orthodox). this was the most important event for the fate of Byzantium
• 1081, April 4 - Alexei Komnenos, the first emperor of the new dynasty, ascended the Byzantine throne. His descendants John II and Michael I were distinguished by military valor and attention to state affairs. The dynasty was able to restore the power of the empire for almost a century, and the capital - splendor and splendor

The Byzantine economy experienced a boom. In the 12th century. it became completely feudal and produced more and more marketable products, expanding the volume of its exports to Italy, where cities in need of grain, wine, oil, vegetables and fruits grew rapidly. The volume of commodity-money relations increased in the 12th century. 5 times compared to the 9th century. The Komnenos government weakened the monopoly of Constantinople. In large provincial centers, industries similar to those in Constantinople developed (Athens, Corinth, Nicaea, Smyrna, Ephesus). Privileges were granted to the Italian merchants, which in the first half of the 12th century stimulated the rise of production and trade, crafts in many provincial centers

Death of Byzantium

• 1096, 1147 - the knights of the first and second crusades came to Constantinople. The emperors paid them off with great difficulty.
• 1182, May - the Constantinople mob staged a Latin pogrom.

The townspeople burned and robbed the houses of the Venetians and Genoese, who competed with local merchants, and killed, regardless of age or gender. When some of the Italians attempted to escape on their ships in the harbor, they were destroyed by “Greek fire.” Many Latins were burned alive in their own homes. Rich and prosperous neighborhoods were reduced to ruins. The Byzantines destroyed the churches of the Latins, their charities and hospitals. Many clergy were also killed, including the papal legate. Those Italians who managed to leave Constantinople before the massacre began began to destroy Byzantine cities and villages on the banks of the Bosphorus and on the Princes' Islands in retaliation. They began to universally call on the Latin West for retribution.
All these events further intensified the hostility between Byzantium and the states of Western Europe.

• 1187 - Byzantium and Venice entered into an alliance. Byzantium granted Venice all its previous privileges and complete tax immunity. Relying on the Venetian fleet, Byzantium reduced its fleet to a minimum
• 1204, April 13 - Constantinople was stormed by participants in the Fourth Crusade.

The city was subjected to pogrom. Its destruction was completed by fires that raged until the fall. The fires destroyed the rich trade and craft districts and completely ruined the merchants and artisans of Constantinople. After this terrible disaster, the city's trade and craft corporations lost their former importance, and Constantinople lost its exclusive place in world trade for a long time. Many architectural monuments and outstanding works of art were destroyed.

The treasures of the temples made up a huge part of the Crusaders' loot. The Venetians took many rare monuments of art from Constantinople. The former splendor of Byzantine cathedrals after the era of the Crusades could only be seen in the churches of Venice. The repositories of the most valuable handwritten books - the center of Byzantine science and culture - fell into the hands of vandals who set up bivouac fires from scrolls. The works of ancient thinkers and scientists, religious books, were thrown into the fire.
The catastrophe of 1204 sharply slowed down the development of Byzantine culture

The conquest of Constantinople by the Crusaders marked the collapse of the Byzantine Empire. Several states arose from its ruins.
— The Crusaders created the Latin Empire with its capital in Constantinople. It included lands along the shores of the Bosphorus and Dardanelles, part of Thrace and a number of islands of the Aegean Sea
— Venice received the northern suburbs of Constantinople and several cities on the coast of the Sea of ​​Marmara
— the head of the Fourth Crusade, Boniface of Montferrat, became the head of the Kingdom of Thessalonica, created on the territory of Macedonia and Thessaly
— The Principality of Morea arose in Morea
— The Empire of Trebizond was formed on the Black Sea coast of Asia Minor
— The Despotate of Epirus appeared in the west of the Balkan Peninsula.
— In the northwestern part of Asia Minor, the Nicaean Empire was formed - the most powerful among all the new states

• 1261, July 25 - the army of the Emperor of the Nicaean Empire, Michael VIII Palaiologos, captured Constantinople. The Latin Empire ceased to exist, and the Byzantine Empire was restored. But the territory of the state has shrunk several times. It belonged only to part of Thrace and Macedonia, several islands of the Archipelago, certain areas of the Peloponnesian Peninsula and the northwestern part of Asia Minor. Byzantium did not regain its trading power either.
• 1274 - Wanting to strengthen the state, Michael supported the idea of ​​a union with the Roman Church in order to, relying on the assistance of the pope, establish an alliance with the Latin West. This caused a split in Byzantine society
• XIV century - The Byzantine Empire was steadily heading towards destruction. She was shaken by civil strife, she suffered defeat after defeat in wars with external enemies. The imperial court was mired in intrigue. Even the appearance of Constantinople spoke of the decline: “it was striking to everyone that the imperial palaces and chambers of the nobles lay in ruins and served as latrines for those passing by and as cesspools; as well as the majestic buildings of the patriarchate surrounding the great church of St. Sophia... were destroyed or completely destroyed"
• XIII century, end - XIV century, beginning - a strong state of the Ottoman Turks arose in the northwestern part of Asia Minor
• XIV century, end - XV century, first half - Turkish sultans from the Osman dynasty completely subjugated Asia Minor, seized almost all the possessions of the Byzantine Empire on the Balkan Peninsula. The power of the Byzantine emperors by that time extended only to Constantinople and minor territories around it. The emperors were forced to recognize themselves as vassals of the Turkish sultans
• 1452, autumn - the Turks occupied the last Byzantine cities - Mesimvria, Anikhal, Viza, Silivria
• 1453, March - Constantinople is surrounded by the huge Turkish army of Sultan Mehmed
• 1453. May 28 - Constantinople fell as a result of the Turkish assault. The history of Byzantium is over

Dynasties of Byzantine emperors

• Dynasty of Constantine (306-364)
• Valentinian-Theodosian Dynasty (364-457)
• Lviv Dynasty (457-518)
• Justinian Dynasty (518-602)
• Dynasty of Heraclius (610-717)
• Isaurian Dynasty (717-802)
• Dynasty of Nikephoros (802-820)
• Phrygian Dynasty (820-866)
• Macedonian Dynasty (866-1059)
• Duc Dynasty (1059-1081)
• Comneni Dynasty (1081-1185)
• Dynasty of Angels (1185-1204)
• Palaiologan Dynasty (1259-1453)

The main military rivals of Byzantium

• Barbarians: Vandals, Ostrogoths, Visigoths, Avars, Lombards
• Iranian kingdom
• Bulgarian kingdom
• Kingdom of Hungary
• Arab Caliphate
• Kievan Rus
• Pechenegs
• Seljuk Turks
• Ottoman Turks

What does Greek fire mean?

The invention of the Constantinople architect Kalinnik (late 7th century) is an incendiary mixture of resin, sulfur, saltpeter, and flammable oils. Fire was thrown out from special copper pipes. It was impossible to put it out

*books used
Yu. Petrosyan “Ancient city on the banks of the Bosphorus”
G. Kurbatov “History of Byzantium”

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

Foundation of Byzantium

The history of the Byzantine Empire is usually traced back to the year the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great founded the city of Constantinople in 330. It was also called New Rome.

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

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

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

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

Timeline of the Byzantine Empire

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

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

Rice. 2. Church of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople.

Early Byzantine period

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

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

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

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

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

Middle Byzantine period

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

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

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

Late Byzantine period

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

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

Byzantium during the reign of the Palaiologos

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

What have we learned?

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

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