Byzantine Empire

"Byzantine" redirects here. For other uses, see Byzantine (disambiguation).

Byzantine Empire
330–1453
The empire in 555 under Justinian I, its greatest extent since the fall of the Western Roman Empire, with vassals in pink
Capital	Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul)
Common languages	Latin and Greek Regional languages
Religion	Christianity (official)
Demonym(s)	Byzantine Roman
Government	Autocracy
Notable emperors
• 306–337	Constantine I
• 379–395	Theodosius I
• 408–450	Theodosius II
• 527–565	Justinian I
• 610–641	Heraclius
• 717–741	Leo III
• 976–1025	Basil II
• 1081–1118	Alexios I
• 1143–1180	Manuel I
• 1261–1282	Michael VIII
• 1449–1453	Constantine XI
Historical era	Late antiquity to Late Middle Ages
Population
• 457	16,000,000
• 565	26,000,000
• 775	7,000,000
• 1025	12,000,000
• 1320	2,000,000
Currency	Solidus, denarius, and hyperpyron

The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred in Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. The eastern half of the Empire survived the conditions that caused the fall of the West in the 5th century AD, and continued to exist until the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire in 1453. During most of its existence, the empire remained the most powerful economic, cultural, and military force in the Mediterranean world. The term "Byzantine Empire" was only coined following the empire's demise; its citizens referred to the polity as the "Roman Empire" and to themselves as "Romans". Due to the imperial seat's move from Rome to Byzantium, the adoption of state Christianity, and the predominance of Greek instead of Latin, modern historians continue to make a distinction between the earlier Roman Empire and the later Byzantine Empire.

During the earlier Pax Romana period, the western parts of the empire became increasingly Latinised, while the eastern parts largely retained their preexisting Hellenistic culture. This created a dichotomy between the Greek East and Latin West. These cultural spheres continued to diverge after Constantine I (r. 324–337) moved the capital to Constantinople and legalised Christianity. Under Theodosius I (r. 379–395), Christianity became the state religion, and other religious practices were proscribed. Greek gradually replaced Latin for official use as Latin fell into disuse.

The empire experienced several cycles of decline and recovery throughout its history, reaching its greatest extent after the fall of the west during the reign of Justinian I (r. 527–565), who briefly reconquered much of Italy and the western Mediterranean coast. The appearance of plague and a devastating war with Persia exhausted the empire's resources; the early Muslim conquests that followed saw the loss of the empire's richest provinces—Egypt and Syria—to the Rashidun Caliphate. In 698, Africa was lost to the Umayyad Caliphate, but the empire subsequently stabilised under the Isaurian dynasty. The empire was able to expand once more under the Macedonian dynasty, experiencing a two-century-long renaissance. This came to an end in 1071, with the defeat by the Seljuk Turks at the Battle of Manzikert. Thereafter, periods of civil war and Seljuk incursion resulted in the loss of most of Asia Minor. The empire recovered during the Komnenian restoration, and Constantinople would remain the largest and wealthiest city in Europe until the 13th century.

The empire was largely dismantled in 1204, following the Sack of Constantinople by Latin armies at the end of the Fourth Crusade; its former territories were then divided into competing Greek rump states and Latin realms. Despite the eventual recovery of Constantinople in 1261, the reconstituted empire would wield only regional power during its final two centuries of existence. Its remaining territories were progressively annexed by the Ottomans in perennial wars fought throughout the 14th and 15th centuries. The fall of Constantinople to the Ottomans in 1453 ultimately brought the empire to an end. Many refugees who had fled the city after its capture settled in Italy and throughout Europe, helping to ignite the Renaissance. The fall of Constantinople is sometimes used to mark the dividing line between the Middle Ages and the early modern period.

Nomenclature

See also: Names of the Greeks

The inhabitants of the empire, now generally termed Byzantines, thought of themselves as Romans (Romaioi). Their Islamic neighbours similarly called their empire the "land of the Romans" (Bilād al-Rūm), but the people of medieval Western Europe preferred to call them "Greeks" (Graeci), due to having a contested legacy to Roman identity and to associate negative connotations from ancient Latin literature. The adjective "Byzantine", which derived from Byzantion (Latinised as Byzantium), the name of the Greek settlement Constantinople was established on, was only used to describe the inhabitants of that city; it did not refer to the empire, which they called Romanía—"Romanland".

After the empire's fall, early modern scholars referred to the empire by many names, including the "Empire of Constantinople", the "Empire of the Greeks", the "Eastern Empire", the "Late Empire", the "Low Empire", and the "Roman Empire". The increasing use of "Byzantine" and "Byzantine Empire" likely started with the 15th-century historian Laonikos Chalkokondyles, whose works were widely propagated, notably by Hieronymus Wolf. "Byzantine" was used adjectivally alongside terms such as "Empire of the Greeks" until the 19th century. It is now the primary term, used to refer to all aspects of the empire; however, some modern historians believe that, as an originally prejudicial and inaccurate term, it should not be used.

History

Main article: History of the Byzantine Empire

As the historiographical periodizations of "Roman history", "late antiquity", and "Byzantine history" significantly overlap, there is no consensus on a "foundation date" for the Byzantine Empire, if there was one at all. The growth of the study of "late antiquity" has led to some historians setting a start date in the seventh or eighth centuries. Others believe a "new empire" began during changes in c. 300 AD. Still others hold that these starting points are too early or too late, and instead begin c. 500. Geoffrey Greatrex believes that it is impossible to precisely date the foundation of the Byzantine Empire.

Early history (pre-518)

Further information: Byzantine Empire under the Constantinian and Valentinianic dynasties, Byzantine Empire under the Theodosian dynasty, and Byzantine Empire under the Leonid dynasty

Four-way division of the Roman Empire under the Tetrarchy system established by Diocletian.

In a series of conflicts between the third and first centuries BC, the Roman Republic gradually established hegemony over the eastern Mediterranean, while its government ultimately transformed into the one-person rule of an emperor. The Roman Empire enjoyed a period of relative stability until the third century AD, when a combination of external threats and internal instabilities caused the Roman state to splinter as regional armies acclaimed their generals as "soldier-emperors". One of these, Diocletian (r. 284–305), seeing that the state was too big to be ruled by one man, attempted to fix the problem by instituting a Tetrarchy, or rule of four, and dividing the empire into eastern and western halves. Although the Tetrarchy system quickly failed, the division of the empire proved an enduring concept.

Diocletian's reforms significantly altered governmental structure, reach and taxation, and these reforms also had the effect of downgrading the first capital, Rome. Constantine I (r. 306–337) secured sole power in 324. Over the following six years, he rebuilt the city of Byzantium as a capital city, which was renamed Constantinople. Rome was further from the important eastern provinces and in a less strategically important location; it was not esteemed by the "soldier-emperors" who ruled from the frontiers or by the empire's population who, having been granted citizenship, considered themselves "Roman". Constantine extensively reformed the empire's military and civil administration and instituted the gold solidus as a stable currency. He favoured Christianity, which he had converted to in 312.

Constantine's dynasty fought a lengthy conflict against Sasanid Persia and ended in 363 with the death of his son-in-law Julian. The short Valentinianic dynasty, occupied with wars against barbarians, religious debates, and anti-corruption campaigns, ended in the East with the death of Valens at the Battle of Adrianople in 378.

Division of the empire after the death of Theodosius I in 395.

  The Western Roman Empire

  The Byzantine/Eastern Roman Empire

Valens's successor, Theodosius I (r. 379–395), restored political stability in the east by allowing the Goths to settle in Roman territory; he also twice intervened in the western half, defeating the usurpers Magnus Maximus and Eugenius in 388 and 394 respectively. He actively condemned paganism, confirmed the primacy of Nicene Christianity over Arianism, and established Christianity as the Roman state religion. He was the last emperor to rule both the western and eastern halves of the empire; after his death, the West would be destabilised by a succession of "soldier-emperors", unlike the East, where administrators would continue to hold power. Theodosius II (r. 408–450) largely left the rule of the east to officials such as Anthemius, who constructed the Theodosian Walls to defend Constantinople, now firmly entrenched as Rome's capital.

Theodosius' reign was marked by the theological dispute over Nestorianism, which was eventually deemed heretical, and by the formulation of the Codex Theodosianus law code. It also saw the arrival of Attila's Huns, who ravaged the Balkans and exacted a massive tribute from the empire; Attila however switched his attention to the rapidly-deteriorating western empire, and his people fractured after his death in 453. After Leo I (r. 457–474) failed in his 468 attempt to reconquer the west, the warlord Odoacer deposed Romulus Augustulus in 476, killed his titular successor Julius Nepos in 480, and the office of western emperor was formally abolished.

Through a combination of luck, cultural factors, and political decisions, the Eastern empire never suffered from rebellious barbarian vassals and was never ruled by barbarian warlords—the problems which ensured the downfall of the West. Zeno (r. 474–491) convinced the problematic Ostrogoth king Theodoric to take control of Italy from Odoacer, which he did; dying with the empire at peace, Zeno was succeeded by Anastasius I (r. 491–518). Although his Monophysitism brought occasional issues, Anastasius was a capable administrator and instituted several successful financial reforms including the abolition of the chrysargyron tax. He was the first emperor to die with no serious problems affecting his empire since Diocletian.

518–717

Further information: Byzantine Empire under the Justinian dynasty and Byzantine Empire under the Heraclian dynasty

Emperor Justinian (left), and the general Belisarius (right). Mosaics, 6th century, from the Basilica of San Vitale, Ravenna, Italy

The reign of Justinian I was a watershed in Byzantine history. Following his accession in 527, the law-code was rewritten as the influential Corpus Juris Civilis and Justinian produced extensive legislation on provincial administration; he reasserted imperial control over religion and morality through purges of non-Christians and "deviants"; and having ruthlessly subdued the 532 Nika revolt he rebuilt much of Constantinople, including the original Hagia Sophia. Justinian took advantage of political instability in Italy to attempt the reconquest of lost western territories. The Vandal Kingdom in North Africa was subjugated in 534 by the general Belisarius, who then invaded Italy; the Ostrogothic Kingdom was destroyed in 554.

In the 540s, however, Justinian began to suffer reversals on multiple fronts. Taking advantage of Constantinople's preoccupation with the West, Khosrow I of the Sasanian Empire invaded Byzantine territory and sacked Antioch in 540. Meanwhile, the emperor's internal reforms and policies began to falter, not helped by a devastating plague that killed a large proportion of the population and severely weakened the empire's social and financial stability. The most difficult period of the Ostrogothic war, against their king Totila, came during this decade, while divisions among Justinian's advisors undercut the administration's response. He also did not fully heal the divisions in Chalcedonian Christianity, as the Second Council of Constantinople failed to make a real difference. Justinian died in 565; his reign saw more success than that of any other Byzantine emperor, yet he left his empire under massive strain.

Financially and territorially overextended, Justin II (r. 565–578) was soon at war on many fronts. The Lombards, fearing the aggressive Avars, conquered much of northern Italy by 572. The Sasanian wars restarted that year, and continued until the emperor Maurice finally emerged victorious in 591; by that time, the Avars and Slavs had repeatedly invaded the Balkans, causing great instability. Maurice campaigned extensively in the region during the 590s, but although he managed to re-establish Byzantine control up to the Danube, he pushed his troops too far in 602—they mutinied, proclaimed an officer named Phocas as emperor, and executed Maurice. The Sasanians seized their moment and reopened hostilities; Phocas was unable to cope and soon faced a major rebellion led by Heraclius. Phocas lost Constantinople in 610 and was soon executed, but the destructive civil war accelerated the empire's decline.

Top: the Sasanian Empire at its territorial apex under Khosrow II
Bottom: the Theodosian Walls of Constantinople, critically important during the 717–718 siege.

Under Khosrow II, the Sassanids occupied the Levant and Egypt and pushed into Asia Minor, while Byzantine control of Italy slipped and the Avars and Slavs ran riot in the Balkans. Although Heraclius repelled a siege of Constantinople in 626 and defeated the Sassanids in 627, this was a pyrrhic victory. The early Muslim conquests soon saw the conquest of the Levant, Egypt, and the Sassanid Empire by the newly-formed Arabic Rashidun Caliphate. By Heraclius' death in 641, the empire had been severely reduced economically as well as territorially—the loss of the wealthy eastern provinces had deprived Constantinople of three-quarters of its revenue.

The next seventy-five years are poorly documented. Arab raids into Asia Minor began almost immediately, and the Byzantines resorted to holding fortified centres and avoiding battle at all costs; although it was invaded annually, Anatolia avoided permanent Arab occupation. The outbreak of the First Fitna in 656 gave Byzantium breathing space, which it used wisely: some order was restored in the Balkans by Constans II (r. 641–668), who began the administrative reorganisation known as the "theme system", in which troops were allocated to defend specific provinces. With the help of the recently rediscovered Greek fire, Constantine IV (r. 668–685) repelled the Arab efforts to capture Constantinople in the 670s, but suffered a reversal against the Bulgars, who soon established an empire in the northern Balkans. Nevertheless, he and Constans had done enough to secure the empire's position, especially as the Umayyad Caliphate was undergoing another civil war.

Justinian II sought to build on the stability secured by his father Constantine but was overthrown in 695 after attempting to exact too much from his subjects; over the next twenty-two years, six more rebellions followed in an era of political instability. The reconstituted caliphate sought to break Byzantium by taking Constantinople, but the newly crowned Leo III managed to repel the 717–718 siege, the first major setback of the Muslim conquests.

718–867

Further information: Byzantine Empire under the Isaurian dynasty, Byzantine Empire under the Nikephorian dynasty, and Byzantine Empire under the Amorian dynasty

Gold solidus of Leo III (left), and his son and heir, Constantine V (right)

Leo and his son Constantine V (r. 741–775), two of the most capable Byzantine emperors, withstood continued Arab attacks, civil unrest, and natural disasters, and reestablished the state as a major regional power. Leo's reign produced the Ecloga, a new code of law to succeed that of Justinian II, and continued to reform the "theme system" in order to lead offensive campaigns against the Muslims, culminating in a decisive victory in 740. Constantine overcame an early civil war against his brother-in-law Artabasdos, made peace with the new Abbasid Caliphate, campaigned successfully against the Bulgars, and continued to make administrative and military reforms. However, due to both emperors' support for the Byzantine Iconoclasm, which opposed the use of religious icons, they were later vilified by Byzantine historians; Constantine's reign also saw the loss of Ravenna to the Lombards, and the beginning of a split with the Roman papacy.

In 780, Empress Irene assumed power on behalf of her son Constantine VI. Although she was a capable administrator who temporarily resolved the iconoclasm controversy, the empire was destabilized by her feud with her son. The Bulgars and Abbasids meanwhile inflicted numerous defeats on the Byzantine armies, and the papacy crowned Charlemagne as Roman emperor in 800. In 802, the unpopular Irene was overthrown by Nikephoros I; he reformed the empire's administration but died in battle against the Bulgars in 811. Military defeats and societal disorder, especially the resurgence of iconoclasm, characterised the next eighteen years.

Stability was somewhat restored during the reign of Theophilos (r. 829–842), who exploited economic growth to complete construction programs, including rebuilding the sea walls of Constantinople, overhaul provincial governance, and wage inconclusive campaigns against the Abbasids. After his death, his empress Theodora, ruling on behalf of her son Michael III, permanently extinguished the iconoclastic movement; the empire prospered under their sometimes-fraught rule. However, Michael was posthumously vilified by historians loyal to the dynasty of his successor Basil I, who assassinated him in 867 and who was given credit for his predecessor's achievements.

867–1081

Further information: Byzantine Empire under the Macedonian dynasty and Byzantine Empire under the Doukas dynasty

The Byzantine Empire, c. 867

Basil I (r. 867–886) continued Michael's policies. His armies campaigned with mixed results in Italy but defeated the Paulicians of Tephrike. His successor Leo VI (r. 886–912) compiled and propagated a huge number of written works. These included the Basilika, a Greek translation of Justinian I's law-code which included over 100 new laws of Leo's devising; the Tactica, a military treatise; and the Book of the Eparch, which codified Constantinople's trading regulations. In non-literary contexts Leo was less successful: the empire lost in Sicily and against the Bulgarians, while he provoked theological scandal by marrying four times in an attempt to father a legitimate heir.

The early reign of that heir, Constantine VII, was tumultuous, as his mother Zoe, his uncle Alexander, the patriarch Nicholas, the powerful Simeon I of Bulgaria, and other influential figures jockeyed for power. In 920, the admiral Romanos I used his fleet to secure power, crowning himself and demoting Constantine to the position of junior co-emperor. His reign, which brought peace with Bulgaria and successes in the east under the general John Kourkouas, was ended in 944 by the machinations of his sons, whom Constantine soon usurped in turn. Constantine's ineffectual sole rule has often been construed as the zenith of Byzantine learning, but while several works were compiled, they were largely intended to legitimise and glorify the emperor's Macedonian dynasty. His son and successor died young; under two soldier-emperors, Nikephoros II (r. 963–969) and John I Tzimiskes (r. 969–976), the Roman army claimed numerous military successes, including the conquest of Cilicia and Antioch, and a sensational victory against Bulgaria and the Kievan Rus' in 971. John in particular was an astute administrator who reformed military structures and implemented effective fiscal policies.

After John's death, Constantine VII's grandsons Basil II and Constantine VIII ruled jointly for half a century, although the latter exercised no real power. Their early reign was occupied by conflicts against two prominent generals, Bardas Skleros and Bardas Phokas, which ended in 989 with the former's death and the latter's submission, and with a power struggle against the eunuch Basileios, who was dismissed in 985. Basil, who for unknown reasons never married or had children, subsequently refused to delegate any authority: he sidelined the military establishment by taking personal command of the army and promoting officers loyal to him. His reign was preoccupied with the decades-long campaign against Bulgaria, which ended in total Byzantine victory in 1018. Diplomatic efforts, critical for that success, also contributed to the annexation of several Georgian provinces in the 1020s and coexistence with the new Fatimid Caliphate. When he died in 1025, Basil's empire stretched from the Danube and Sicily in the west to the Euphrates in the east; his swift expansion was however unaccompanied by administrative reforms.

The seizure of Edessa (1031) by the Byzantines under George Maniakes and the counterattack by the Seljuk Turks

After Constantine VIII's death in 1028, his daughters, the empresses Zoe (r. 1028–1052) and Theodora (r. 1042–1056), held the keys to power: four emperors (Romanos III, Michael IV, Michael V, and Constantine IX) ruled only because of their connection to Zoe, while Michael VI (r. 1056–1057) was selected by Theodora. This political instability combined with regular budget deficits, a string of expensive military failures, and other problems connected to over-extension, to create substantial issues in the empire; its strategic focus moved from maintaining hegemony to prioritizing defence.

The empire soon came under sustained assault on three fronts, from the Seljuk Turks in the east, the Pecheneg nomads in the north, and the Normans in the west. The Byzantine army struggled with confronting these enemies, who did not organise themselves as traditional states and who were thus untroubled by defeats in set-piece battles. The year 1071 brought two consequential reverses: Bari, the last remaining Byzantine settlement in Italy, was captured by the Normans, while the Seljuks won a decisive victory at the Battle of Manzikert, taking the emperor Romanos IV Diogenes prisoner. The latter event sparked a decade-long civil war, during which the Seljuks took possession of Anatolia up to the Sea of Marmara.

1081–1204

Further information: Byzantine Empire under the Komnenos dynasty and Byzantine Empire under the Angelos dynasty

One prominent general, Alexios I, usurped the throne in 1081. In contrast to the prior turmoil, the three reigns of Alexios (r. 1081–1118), his son John II (r. 1118–1143), and his grandson Manuel I (r. 1143–1180) lasted a century and restored the empire's regional authority for the final time. Alexios immediately faced the Normans under Robert Guiscard, who were repelled through warfare and diplomacy. He then targeted the Pechenegs, who were decisively defeated in 1091 with help from the Cumans, who were in turn defeated three years later. Finally, looking to recover Asia Minor from the Seljuks, he approached Pope Urban II for help c. 1095. He did not anticipate the scale of western Christendom's response—the First Crusade allowed the recapture of western Anatolia, although Alexios soon fell out with its leaders. The rest of his reign was spent dealing with the Normans and Seljuks, establishing a new, loyal aristocracy to ensure stability, and carrying out fiscal and ecclesiastical reforms.

A mosaic from the Hagia Sophia of Constantinople (modern Istanbul), depicting Mary and Jesus, flanked by John II Komnenos (left) and his wife Irene of Hungary (right), 12th century

Alexios' concentration of power in the hands of his Komnenos dynasty meant the most serious political threats would come from within the imperial family—before his coronation, John II had to overcome his mother Irene and his sister Anna, and the primary threat during his reign was his brother Isaac. John campaigned annually and extensively—he fought the Pechenegs in 1122, the Hungarians in the late 1120s, and the Seljuks throughout his reign, notably waging large campaigns in Syria in his final years—but did not achieve large territorial gains. In 1138, John raised the imperial standard over the Crusader Principality of Antioch to intimidate the city into allying with the Byzantines, but chose not to attack, fearing that it would provoke western Christendom to respond.

Manuel I utilised his father's overflowing imperial treasury in pursuit of his ambitions and to secure the empire's position in an increasingly multilateral geopolitical landscape. Through a combination of diplomacy and bribery, he cultivated a ring of allies and clients thuaround the empire: the Turks of the Sultanate of Rum, the Kingdom of Hungary, the Cilician Armenians, Balkan princes, Italian and Dalmatian cities, and most importantly Antioch and the Crusader States, marrying one of their princesses in 1161. Manuel averted the threat of war from the tumultuous passage of the Second Crusade through Byzantine territories in 1147, but the campaign's failure was blamed on the Byzantines by western contemporaries. He was less successful militarily: an invasion of Sicily was decisively defeated by King William I in 1156, leading to tensions with Frederick Barbarossa, the Holy Roman Emperor; two decades later, an invasion of Anatolia was resoundingly defeated at the Battle of Myriokephalon.

The Entry of the Crusaders into Constantinople, by Eugène Delacroix (1840)

Manuel's death left the empire rudderless and it soon came under intense pressure. His son Alexios II was too young to rule, and his troubled regency was soon overthrown by an uncle, who was himself replaced by Isaac II in 1185. Centrifugal forces swirled at the borders as ambitious rulers seized their chance: Hungary and the Turks captured Byzantine territories, an exiled Komnenian prince seized Cyprus; and most injuriously, a revolt in 1185 caused the foundation of a resurrected Bulgarian state. Relations with the west deteriorated further after Constantinople allied with Saladin, the vanquisher of the Third Crusade, whose leaders had also conflicted with Byzantium as they passed through its territory. In 1195, Isaac II was deposed by his brother Alexios III; this particular quarrel would prove fatal.

The Fourth Crusade was originally intended to target Egypt, but amid strategic difficulties, Isaac II's son Alexios Angelos convinced the crusaders to restore his father to the throne in exchange for a huge tribute. They attacked Constantinople in 1203, reinstating Isaac II and his son to the throne. The new rulers grew swiftly unpopular and were deposed by Alexios V, which the crusaders used as a pretext to sack the city in April 1204, ransacking the accumulated wealth of nine centuries.

1204–1453

The partition of the empire following the Fourth Crusade, c. 1204

Further information: Byzantine Empire under the Palaiologos dynasty

Byzantine territories fragmented into competing political entities. The crusaders crowned Baldwin I as ruler of a new Latin Empire in Constantinople; it soon suffered a crushing defeat against the Bulgarians in 1205. It also failed to expand west or east, where three Greek successor states had formed: the Empire of Nicaea and the Empire of Trebizond in Asia Minor, and the Despotate of Epirus on the Adriatic. The Venetians acquired many ports and islands, and the Principality of Achaea came into being in southern Greece. Trebizond lost the key port of Sinope in 1214 and thereafter was unable to affect matters away from the southeastern Black Sea. For a time, it seemed like Epirus was the most likely to reclaim Constantinople from the Latins, and its ruler Theodore Doukas crowned himself emperor, but he suffered a critical defeat in 1230 and Epirote power waned.

Nicaea, ruled by the Laskarid dynasty and composed of a mixture of Byzantine refugees and native Greeks, blocked the Latins and the Seljuks of Rum from expanding east and west respectively. John III (r. 1221–1254) was a very capable emperor. His protectionist economic policies strongly encouraged Nicaean self-sufficiency, while he made many diplomatic treaties, especially after Mongol armies ravaged Bulgaria and defeated Rum between 1237 and 1243. This chaos was an opportunity for John, who fought numerous successful campaigns against the states which bore the brunt of the Mongol invasions. Soon after his death, his grandson was usurped by Michael VIII, founder of the Palaiologos dynasty, who recaptured Constantinople in 1261.

Michael chose to expand the empire, gaining only short-term success. To avoid another sacking of the capital by the Latins, he forced the Church to submit to Rome, again a temporary solution for which the peasantry hated Michael and Constantinople. The efforts of Andronikos II and later his grandson Andronikos III marked Byzantium's last genuine attempts to restoring the glory of the empire. However, the use of mercenaries by Andronikos II often backfired, with the Catalan Company ravaging the countryside and increasing resentment towards Constantinople.

The siege of Constantinople in 1453, depicted in a 15th-century French miniature

The situation became worse for Byzantium during the civil wars after Andronikos III died. A six-year-long civil war devastated the empire, allowing the Serbian ruler Stefan Dušan to overrun most of the empire's remaining territory and establish a Serbian Empire. In 1354, an earthquake at Gallipoli devastated the fort, allowing the Ottomans (who were hired as mercenaries during the civil war by John VI Kantakouzenos) to establish themselves in Europe. By the time the Byzantine civil wars had ended, the Ottomans had defeated the Serbians and subjugated them as vassals. Following the Battle of Kosovo, much of the Balkans became dominated by the Ottomans.

Constantinople by this stage was underpopulated and dilapidated. The population of the city had collapsed so severely that it was now little more than a cluster of villages separated by fields. On 2 April 1453, Sultan Mehmed's army of 80,000 men and large numbers of irregulars laid siege to the city. Despite a desperate last-ditch defence of the city by the massively outnumbered Christian forces (c. 7,000 men, 2,000 of whom were foreign), Constantinople finally fell to the Ottomans after a two-month siege on 29 May 1453. The final Byzantine emperor, Constantine XI Palaiologos, was last seen casting off his imperial regalia and throwing himself into hand-to-hand combat after the walls of the city were taken.

Government

The themes, c. 750

The themes, c. 950

Governance

See also: Roman emperor, Coronation of the Byzantine emperor, and Byzantine bureaucracy and aristocracy

The crowds of Constantinople proclaimed their support, and the patriarch inaugurated emperors from 457 onward, legitimsing their rule. The senate originally had its own identity but later became a ceremonial extension of the emperor's court. The reign of Phocas (r. 602–610) marked the first military overthrow since the third century, and he was one of 43 emperors violently removed from power. Between Heraclius in 610 and 1453, nine dynasties ruled the Empire. During this time, only 30 of the 843 years were governed by rulers unrelated by blood or kinship, largely due to the practice of co-emperorship.

Diocletian and Constantine's reforms reorganized the Empire into Praetorian prefectures and separated the army from civil administration. From the 7th century onward, these prefectures were reorganized into provinces and later divided into districts called themata, governed by military commanders known as strategos, who oversaw both civil and military matters. Earlier, cities were self-governing communities represented by central government and church officials, while emperors focused on defense and foreign relations. However, constant wars and raids by Arab forces drastically changed this structure. City councils declined along with the local elites who supported them. During his legal reforms, Leo VI (r. 886–912) centralised power, formally ending city councils' rights and the legislative authority of the senate.

Diplomacy

Main article: Byzantine diplomacy

See also: Foreign relations of the Byzantine Empire

Diplomacy is often regarded as one of the Empire's lasting contributions to European history, particularly in preserving civilization in Eastern Europe. This reputation stems from its aggressive treaty negotiations, alliances with the enemies of its adversaries, and strategic partnerships. For instance, the Empire supported the Turks against the Persians during the Perso-Turkic War (627–629) and exploited tensions between the Umayyads in Spain and the Aghlabids in Sicily. Diplomacy frequently involved long-term embassies, hosting foreign royals as political pawns, and deliberately displaying wealth and power to ensure such impressions spread widely. Other diplomatic strategies included political marriages, granting titles, bribery, persuasion, and intelligence gathering. Notably, the 'Bureau of Barbarians', established in the 4th century, is considered one of the earliest foreign intelligence agencies.

The embassy of John the Grammarian in 829, between the emperor Theophilos and the Abbasid caliph Al-Ma'mun

Diplomacy after the reign of Theodosius I (r. 379–395) shifted significantly from the more conquest-focused policies of the Roman Republic, emphasizing peace as a strategic necessity. Even in the 6th century, when the Empire had greater resources and fewer threats, the enormous costs of defense, agricultural reliance, and aggressive neighbors made avoiding war a priority. Between the 4th and 8th centuries, diplomats capitalized on the Empire's reputation as the Orbis Romanus and its administrative sophistication to influence new settlements on former Roman territories. Byzantine diplomacy often drew fledgling states into dependency, creating a network of inter-state relations (the oikouménē) dominated by the Empire and leveraging Christianity to strengthen these ties. This network emphasized treaty-making, integrating new rulers into the "family of kings," and assimilating values, institutions, and attitudes. These practices have even been referred to as creating a "Byzantine Caliphate". Diplomatic relations with Muslim states, however, focused primarily on war-related issues, such as negotiating hostages or preventing hostilities.

Italian sketch of Emperor John VIII during his visit in Ferrara and Florence in 1438

Peace and survival, rather than conquest, were central objectives. Historians describe this approach as "defensive imperialism," which evolved between the 9th and 10th centuries to include halting and reversing Muslim advances, cultivating alliances with Armenians and Rus, and subjugating the Bulgarians. Diplomatic relations with Western states became more challenging after 752–753 and particularly during the Crusades, as shifts in the balance of power undermined the Empire's dominance and its use of the Limitrophe system. By the 11th century, the Empire adopted a principle of diplomatic equality, leveraging the emperor's personal presence to negotiate.

After recovering Constantinople in 1261, the Empire maintained its influence as a great power in the 13th and 14th centuries, despite its declining strength. This success is attributed to its efficient statecraft and strategic use of the Constantinople patriarch.

Law

Main article: Byzantine law

Roman law originated with the Twelve Tables and evolved primarily through the annual Praetorian Edict and the opinions of educated specialists known as Jurists. During Hadrian's reign (r. 117–138), he made the Praetorian Edict permanent and established that if jurists unanimously agreed on a legal point, it would become law. Over time, conflicting legal sources caused confusion about what the law should be. Efforts to address this included two private collections of imperial constitutions compiled during Diocletian's reign (284–305), the Gregorianus and the Hermogenianus.(r. 284–305).

Theodosius II (r. 402–450) formalized Roman law by appointing five jurists as principal authorities and compiling legislation issued since Constantine’s reign into the Codex Theodosianus. This process culminated in the Corpus Juris Civilis under Justinian I (r. 527–565), who commissioned a complete standardization of imperial decrees since Hadrian’s time and resolved conflicting legal opinions. The result became the definitive legal authority. This body of law covered not only civil matters but also public law, including imperial power and administrative organization. After 534, Justinian issued the Novellae (New Laws) in Greek, which marked a transition from Roman to Byzantine law. Legal historian Bernard Stolte distinguishes Roman law as this because Western Europe inherited law through the Latin texts of the Corpus Juris Civilis only.

Zachary Chitwood argues that the Corpus Juris Civilis was largely inaccessible in Latin, particularly in the provinces. Following the 7th-century Islamic conquests, people began questioning the development and application of law, leading to stronger ties between law and Christianity. This context influenced Leo III (r. 717–741) to develop the Ecloga, which emphasized humanity. The Ecloga inspired practical legal texts like the Farmers' Law, Seamen's Law, and Soldiers' Law, which Chitwood suggests were used daily in the provinces as companions to the Corpus Juris Civilis. During the Macedonian dynasty, efforts to reform law began with the Procheiron and the Eisagoge, which aimed to replace the Ecloga due to its association with iconoclasm and to define the emperor's power under prevailing laws. Leo VI (r. 886–912) completed a complete codification of Roman law in Greek through the Basilika, a monumental work of 60 books that became the foundation of Byzantine law. Later, in 1345, Constantine Harmenopoulos compiled the Hexabiblos, a six-volume law book derived from various Byzantine legal sources.

Military

Army

Main articles: Eastern Roman army, Byzantine army, and Byzantine army (Komnenian era)

In the 5th century the East was fielding five armies of ~20,000 each in two army branches: stationary frontier units (limitanei) and mobile forces (comitatenses). The historian Anthony Kaldellis claims that the fiscally stretched Empire could only handle one major enemy at a time in the 6th century. The Islamic conquests between 634 and 642 led to significant changes, transforming the 4th-7th centuries field forces into provincialised militia-like units with a core of professional soldiers. The state shifted the burden of supporting the armies onto local populations and during Leo VI (r. 886–912) wove them into the tax system, with provinces evolving into military regions known as themata. Despite many challenges, the historian Warren Treadgold states that the field forces of the Eastern Empire between 284 and 602 were the best in the western world, while the historian Anthony Kaldellis believes that during the conquest period of the Macedonian dynasty (r. 867–1056), they were the best in the empire's history.

The military structure would diversify to include militia-like soldiers tied to regions, professional thematic forces (tourmai), and imperial units mostly based in Constantinople (tagmata). Foreign mercenaries also increasingly became employed, including the better-known tagma regiment, the Varangians, that guarded the emperor. The defence-orientated thematic militias were gradually replaced with more specialised offensive field armies but also to counter the generals who would rebel against the emperor. When the Empire was expanding, the state began to commute thematic military service for cash payments: in the 10th century, there were 6,000 Varangians, another 3,000 foreign mercenaries and when including paid and unpaid citizen soldiers, the army on paper was 140,000 (an expeditionary force was 15,000 soldiers and field armies seldom were more than 40,000).

The thematic forces faded into insignificance—the government relying on the tagmata, mercenaries and allies instead—and which led to a neglect in defensive capability. Mercenary armies would further fuel political divisions and civil wars that led to a collapse in the Empire's defence and resulting in significant losses such as Italy and the Anatolian heartland in the 11th century. Major military and fiscal reforms under the emperors of the Komnenian dynasty after 1081 re-established a modest-sized, adequately compensated and competent army. However, the costs were not sustainable and the structural weaknesses of the Komnenian approach—namely, the reliance on fiscal exemptions called pronoia—unraveled after the end of the reign of Manuel I (r. 1143–1180).

Navy

Main article: Byzantine Navy

The navy dominated the eastern Mediterranean and were active also on the Black Sea, the Sea of Marmara, and the Aegean. Imperial naval forces were restructured to challenge Arab naval dominance in the 7th century, and would later cede its own dominance to the Venetians and Genoans in the 11th century. The navy's patrols, along with chains of watchtowers and fire signals that warned inhabitants of threats, created the coastal defense for the Empire and were the responsibility of three themes (Cibirriote, Aegean Sea, Samos) and an imperial fleet that consisted of mercenaries like the Norsemen and Russians that later became Varangians.

A new type of war galley, the dromon, appeared early in the sixth century. A multi-purpose variant, the chelandia, appeared during the reign of Justinian II (r. 685–711) and could be used to transport cavalry. The galleys were oar-driven, designed for coastal navigation, and are estimated to be able to operate for up to four days at a time. They were equipped with apparatus to deliver Greek fire in the 670s, and when Basil I (r. 867–886) developed professional marines, this combination kept a check on Muslim raiding through piracy. The dromon were the most advanced galleys on the Mediterranean, until the 10th century development of a dromon called a galeai and which superseded dromons with the development of a late 11th century Western (Southern Italian) variant.

Late era (1204–1453)

Main article: Byzantine army (Palaiologan era)

The rulers of the Empire of Nicaea that retook the capital and the Palaiologos that ruled until 1453, built on the Komnenian foundation initially with four types of military units—the Thelematarii (volunteer soldiers), Gasmouloi and the Southern Peloponnese Tzacones/Lakones (marines), and Proselontes/Prosalentai (oarsmen)—but similarly could not sustain funding a standing force, largely relying on mercenaries as soldiers and fiscal exemptions to pronoiars who provided a small force of mostly cavalry. The Fleet was disbanded in 1284 and attempts were made to build it back later but the Genoese sabotaged the effort. The historian John Haldon claims that over time, the distinction between field troops and garrison units eventually disappeared as resources were strained. The frequent civil wars further drained the Empire, now increasingly instigated by foreigners such as the Serbs and Turks to win concessions, and the emperors were dependent on mercenaries to keep control all the while dealing with the impact of the Black Death. The strategy of employing mercenary Turks to fight civil wars was repeatedly used by emperors and always led to the same outcome: subordination to the Turks.

Society

Demography

Main article: Population of the Byzantine Empire

See also: Armenians in the Byzantine Empire

As many as 27 million people lived in the Empire at its peak in 540, but fell to as low as 12 million by 800. Although plague and territorial losses to Arab Muslim invaders weakened the Empire, it eventually recovered and by the near end of the Macedonian dynasty in 1025, the population is estimated to have been as high as 18 million. A few decades after the recapture of Constantinople in 1282, the Empire's population was in the range of 3–5 million; by 1312, the number had dropped to 2 million. By the time the Ottoman Turks captured Constantinople, there were only 50,000 people in the city, which was one-tenth of its population in its prime.

Education

Further information: Byzantine university and Byzantine rhetoric

Education was voluntary and required financial means, so the most literate people were often those associated with the church. Primary education focused on teaching foundational subjects like reading, writing, and arithmetic whereas Secondary school focused on the trivium and quadrivium as their curriculum. The Imperial University of Constantinople was formed in 425, and refounded in 1046 as a centre for law.

Slavery

Further information: Slavery in the Byzantine Empire

During the third century, 10–15% of the population was enslaved (numbering around 3 million in the east). Youval Rotman calls the changes to slavery during this period "different degrees of unfreedom". Previous roles fulfilled by slaves became high-demand free market professions (like tutors), and the state encouraged the coloni, tenants bound to the land, as a new legal category between freemen and slaves. From 294, but not completely, the enslavement of children was forbidden; Honorius (r. 393–423) began freeing enslaved people who were prisoners of war, and from the 9th century onward, emperors freed the slaves of conquered people. Christianity as an institution had no direct impact, but by the 6th century it was a bishop's duty to ransom Christians, there were established limits on trading them, and state policies which prohibited the enslavement of Christians shaped Byzantine slave-holding from the 8th century onwards. However, slavery persisted due to a steady source of non-Christians with prices remaining stable until 1300, when prices for adult slaves, particularly females, started rising.

Socio-economic

Agriculture was the main basis of taxation and the state sought to bind everyone to land for productivity. Most land consisted of small and medium-sized lots around villages, with family farms serving as the primary source of agriculture. The coloni, sometimes called proto-serfs, were free citizens, though historians still debate their exact status.

The Ekloge in 741 made marriage a Christian institution and no longer a private contract, where it evolved alongside the increased rights of slaves and the change in power relations. Marriage was considered an institution to sustain the population, transfer property rights, support the elderly of the family; and the Empress Theodora had additionally said that it was needed to restrict sexual hedonism. Women usually married between ages 15 and 20, and the average family had two children. Divorce could be done by mutual consent but would be restricted over time, for example, only being allowed if a married person was joining a convent.

Inheritance rights were well developed, including for all women. The historian Anthony Kaldellis claims that these rights may have been what prevented the emergence of large properties and a hereditary nobility capable of intimidating the state. The prevalence of widows (estimated at 20%) meant that women often controlled family assets as heads of households and businesses, contributing to the rise of some empresses to power. Women played significant roles as taxpayers, landowners, and petitioners, often seeking to resolve property disputes in court.

Women

Further information: Women in the Byzantine Empire

Although women shared the same socio-economic status as men, they faced legal discrimination and had limitations in economic opportunities and vocations. Prohibited from serving as soldiers or holding political office, and restricted from serving as deaconesses in the Church from the 7th century onwards, women were mostly assigned household responsibilities that were "labour-intensive". They worked in professions, such as in the food and textile industry, as medical staff, in public baths, had a heavy presence in retail, and were practicing members of artisan guilds. They also worked in disreputable occupations: entertainers, tavern keepers, and prostitutes; a class where some saints and empresses allegedly originated from. Prostitution was widespread, and attempts were made to limit it, especially during Justinian's reign under the influence of Theodora. Women participated in public life, engaging in social events and protests. Women's rights would not be better in comparable societies, Western Europe or America until the 19th century.

Language

Further information: Languages of the Roman Empire

Left: The Mudil Psalter, the oldest complete psalter in the Coptic language (Coptic Museum, Egypt, Coptic Cairo)
Right: The Joshua Roll, a 10th-century illuminated Greek manuscript possibly made in Constantinople (Vatican Library, Rome)

There was never an official language of the Empire, however, Latin and Greek were the main languages. During the early years of the Roman Empire, educated nobles often relied on their knowledge of Greek to meet societal expectations, and knowledge of Latin was useful for a career in the military, government, or law. In the east, Greek was the dominant language, a legacy of the Hellenistic period. Greek was also the language of the Christian Church and trade.

Most early emperors were bilingual but had a preference for Latin in the public sphere for political reasons, a practice that first started during the Punic Wars. Classical languages expert Bruno Rochette claims Latin had experienced a period of spread from the second century BC onwards, and especially so in the western provinces, but not as much in the eastern provinces with a change due to Diocletian's reforms: there was a decline in the knowledge of Greek in the west, and Latin was asserted as the language of power in the east.

Distribution of Greek dialects in Anatolia in the late Byzantine Empire through to 1923. Demotic in light grey. Pontic in orange. Cappadocian in green. Green dots indicate Cappadocian Greek-speaking villages in 1910.

Despite this, Greek's influence gradually grew in the government, beginning when Arcadius in 397 AD allowed judges to issue decisions in Greek, Theodosius II in 439 expanded its use in legal procedures, the first law in Greek was issued in 448, and when Leo I legislated in the language in the 460s. Justinian I's Corpus Juris Civilis, a compilation of mostly Roman jurists, was written almost entirely in Latin; however, the laws issued after 534, from Justinian's Novellae Constitutiones onwards, were in both Greek and Latin, which marks the year when the government officially began to use the former language.

Historian Nikolaos Oikonomides states that Greek for a time became diglossic with the spoken language, known as Koine (later, Demotic Greek), used alongside an older written form (Attic Greek) until Koine won out as the spoken and written standard. Latin fragmented into the incipient Romance languages in the 8th century, following the collapse of the Western Empire after the Muslim invasions broke the connection between speakers. During the reign of Justinian (r. 527–565), Latin disappeared in the east, though it may have lingered in the military until Heraclius (r. 610–641). Historian Steven Runciman claims contact with Western Europe in the 10th century revived Latin studies, and by the 11th century, knowledge of Latin was no longer unusual in Constantinople.

Many other languages are attested in the Empire, not just in Constantinople but also at its frontiers. They include Syriac, Coptic, Slavonic, Armenian, Georgian, Illyrian, Thracian, and Celtic; these were typically the languages of the lower strata of the population and the illiterate, who were the vast majority. The Empire initially was a multi-lingual state, and although Greek bound everyone, there was a decline in the diversity of its peoples' languages over time.

Economy

Main article: Byzantine economy

Further information: Byzantine silk and Sino-Roman relations

Following the split of the Western and Eastern Roman Empires, the West fell victim to political instability, social unrest, civil war, and invasions from foreign powers. In contrast, the Byzantines remained comparatively stable, allowing for the growth of a flourishing and resilient economy.z Institutional stability, such as the presence of a legal system, and the maintenance of infrastructure created a secure environment for economic growth. In the 530s, the territory of the empire encompassed both a massive population of around 30 million people and a wide array of natural resources. The Byzantines had access to resources such as abundant gold mines in the Balkans or the fertile fields of Egypt. Large sections of the Byzantine population lived within the many urbanized settlements inherited from the previously unified Roman Empire. Constantinople, the capital of the empire, was the largest city in the world at the time; it housed at least 400,000 people. These cities continued to grow during the 6th century, with evidence of massive construction projects suggesting that the Byzantine treasury remained strong. During the 5th and 6th centuries, rural development continued alongside urban development; the number of documented agricultural settlements increased significantly during this period. Although the reconquests of North Africa and Italy by Justinian I were expensive and draining campaigns, they reopened Mediterranean trade routes and parts of the Roman west were reconnected with the east.

Golden solidus of Justinian I (527–565) excavated in India probably in the south, an example of Indo-Roman trade during the period. British Museum, London

The Plague of Justinian caused significant demographic decline, negatively affecting the production and demand of the Byzantine economy; consequently, the Imperial treasury took a substantial hit. Economic downturn was worsened by conflicts with the Slavs, Avars, and Sassanids. Heraclius waged numerous campaigns to fend off the mounting threats to the empire, recovering the wealthy provinces of Syria, Egypt, and Palestine. However, these short-term fortunes were quickly reversed following the Arab conquests. Beginning in the 630s, the Arab wars with the Romans halved Byzantine territory, including rich provinces such as Egypt. These collective disasters led to severe economic deterioration, culminating in large-scale deurbanization and impoverishment throughout the empire. Demographic and urban decline sparked the destruction of trade routes, with trade reaching its lowest point by the 8th century. Isaurian reforms and Constantine V's repopulation, public works, and tax measures marked the beginning of a revival that continued until 1204 despite territorial contraction. From the 10th century until the end of the 12th, the Byzantine Empire projected an image of luxury; travellers were impressed by the wealth accumulated in the capital.

The Fourth Crusade led to the disruption of Byzantine manufacturing and the commercial dominance of the Western Europeans in the eastern Mediterranean, both events which amounted to an economic catastrophe for the empire. The Palaiologoi tried to revive the economy, but the late Byzantine state could not gain full control of either foreign or domestic economic forces. Eventually, Constantinople also lost its influence on the modalities of trade, price mechanisms, control over the outflow of precious metals and, according to some scholars, even over the minting of coins.

The government attempted to exercise formal control over interest rates and to set the parameters for the activity of the guilds and corporations, where they held special interests. The emperor and his officials intervened at times of crises to ensure the stockpiling of provisions for the capital and to keep the prices of cereals affordable. Finally, the government often collected a part of the economic surplus through taxation, and put it back into circulation through either redistribution in the form of salaries to state officials or in the form of investment in public works.

One of the economic foundations of Byzantium was trade, fostered by the maritime character of the empire. Textiles must have been by far the most important item of export; silks were certainly imported into Egypt and appeared also in Bulgaria and the West. The state strictly controlled internal and international trade, and retained the monopoly of issuing coinage, maintaining a durable and flexible monetary system adaptable to the needs of trade.

Daily life

Clothing

Main article: Byzantine dress

Historical evidence of Byzantine dress is scant. However, it is known that the court had a distinguishable dress, while non-elite men and women observed certain conventions of clothing. Fashion trends started in the provinces, and not in the capital, which was more conservative. The imperial dress was centred around the loros, tzangia and crown which represented the empire and the court. The loros derived from the trabea triumphalis, a ceremonial toga worn by consuls. It was more prominent in the early empire, indicating a continuation of the traditions of the Roman Empire. Historian Jennifer Ball claims that the chlamys cloak was like a modern-day business suit, which originated with the military, and was an evolution of the paludamentum cloak worn by aristocratic men including the emperor during the early empire. In the middle empire, dresses replaced the tunic for women. The late empire saw the larger influence on Byzantine dress of non-Greek cultures like the Italians (Genoese, Venetian), Turks (Ottomans) and Bulgarians.

Cuisine

Main article: Byzantine cuisine

Feasting was a major part of Byzantine culture and included the use of clean tables and forks. Modern Italian standards of gastronomy are likely to have been influenced by this era. Foods which are contemporary in the modern world are, among others, a cured meat called paston, baklava, Feta cheese, salt roe similar to the modern boutargue, black sea caviar, fermented fish sauce, tiropita, dolmades, and the soup trachanas. Fruits unknown from classical times which were added to Byzantine diets included aubergines (eggplants) and oranges. There were famed medieval sweet wines such as the Malvasia from Monemvasia, the Commandaria, and the eponymous Rumney wine that were drunk, as were millet beer (known as boza) and Retsina.

A game of τάβλι (tabula) played by the Byzantine emperor Zeno in 480 and recorded by Agathias in c. 530 because of a very unlucky dice throw for Zeno (red), as he threw 2, 5 and 6 and was forced to leave eight pieces alone.

Recreation

Chariot races were held since the early era till 1204, becoming one of the world's longest continuous sporting events. Mimes, the pantomime and some wild-animal shows were prominent until the 6th century. Because Christian bishops and pagan philosophers did not like these activities, the state's funding for them would cease, leading to their decline and a shift to private entertainment and sporting. A Persian version of Polo introduced by the Crusaders called Tzykanion was played by the nobility and urban aristocracy in major cities during the middle and late era, along with the sport of jousting introduced from the West. Over time, game boards like tavli became increasingly popular.

Religion

Main article: Christianity as the Roman state religion

Further information: History of Christianity, History of the Eastern Orthodox Church § Byzantine period, and History of the Jews in the Byzantine Empire

The granting of citizenship to all free Roman men in 212 fostered greater societal uniformity, particularly in religious practices. Christianity, bolstered by Constantine's support, began shaping all aspects of life. Subsequent emperors encouraged conversion and enacted laws in the late 4th century to restrict pagan activities. In 529, Justinian enforced conversions, specifically targeting polytheists. The confiscation of pagan treasures, diversion of funds, and legal discrimination led to the decline of paganism, resulting in events like the closure of schools of philosophy and the end of the Ancient Olympics. Christianity's debates increased the importance of Greek, making the emergent church dependent on branches of Hellenic thought such as Neoplatonism. Despite the transition, the historian Anthony Kaldellis views Christianity as "bringing no economic, social, or political changes to the state other than being more deeply integrated into it".

Map of the Roman empire with the distribution of the Christian congregations of the first three centuries displayed for each century

Mosaic of Jesus in the Pammakaristos Church, Istanbul

When the Roman state in the West politically collapsed, cultural differences began to divide the Christian churches of the East and West. Internal disputes within the Eastern churches led to the migration of monastic communities to Rome, exacerbating tensions between Rome and Constantinople. These disputes, particularly in Egypt and the eastern Mediterranean, eventually split the church into three branches: Chalcedonian, Monophysite (Coptic), and Nestorian. The Chalcedonian group maintained dominance within the Empire’s territories, while the Monophysite and Nestorian branches largely fell under Muslim rule following the rise of Islam in the 7th century.

Eastern patriarchs frequently sought the Papacy’s mediation in doctrinal and practical matters, but the pope’s authority was not universally acknowledged, even in nearby regions like Northern Italy. By 600, the Slavic settlement of the Balkans disrupted communication between Rome and Constantinople, further widening the divide. Arab and Lombard invasions deepened this estrangement, intensifying disputes over jurisdiction and authority between the two spiritual centers. Differences in ritual and theology, such as the use of unleavened bread and the Filioque clause, along with divergences in ecclesiology — plenitudo potestatis versus the authority of Ecumenical Councils — and issues of mutual respect, contributed to the separation of Western Christianity from Eastern Christianity. This separation began as early as 597 and culminated more definitively in 1054 with the East–West Schism.

In 1439, a proposed reunion between the Eastern and Western churches faced Eastern resistance, delaying its official publication in Constantinople until 1452. This agreement was overturned the following year by the Fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Turks in 1453. The conquest of 1453 marked the destruction of the Church as the central institution of the Christian empire established by Constantine, isolating Greek-speaking Orthodoxy from the West and restricting its influence for nearly 150 years. Despite this, the Church survived in an altered form, and the spiritual and cultural influence of the Eastern Church, Constantinople, and Mount Athos the monastic peninsula has endured.

Arts

Art and architecture

Main articles: Byzantine art and Byzantine architecture

Clockwise, from top left:

• Christ Pantocrator icon, 6th-century, Sinai Monastery
• Hosios Loukas mosaics, detail, early 11th century
• Barberini ivory, an early 6th-century ivory diptych
• The Hagia Sophia exterior
• Dead Christ and Mourners, c. 1164, Gorno Nerezi

Subjects in Byzantine art were primarily Christian and typically non-naturalistic in their representation. Emerging from both the earliest Christian and Late Antique art, many early examples were lost amid the Roman Persecution; the fragmented mosaics of the 3rd-century Dura-Europos church are a unique exception. Such Byzantine mosaics, known for their gold ground style, became a hallmark of the empire, appearing with both secular and sacred themes in diverse places, including churches (Basilica of San Vitale), the circus (Hippodrome of Constantinople), and the Great Palace of Constantinople. The early 6th-century reign of Justinian I saw systemic developments: religious art came to dominate and once-popular public marble and bronze monumental sculpture fell out of favor due to pagan associations. Justinian commmisioned the monumental Hagia Sophia church, influential elements of which became architectural hallmarks for the empire: the immense size, massive dome, innovative use of pendentives and highly decorative interior was imitated as far north as the Cathedral of Saint Sophia in Novgorod and the Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv. The Hagia Sophia's creators, the engineer-architects Isidore of Miletus and Anthemius of Tralles, are uniqely esteemed; most Byzantine artists were unrecorded and typically deemed of little importance.

Smaller-scale art flourished throughout the entire Byzantine period: costly ivory carvings—often as diptychs (Barberini ivory) or triptychs (Harbaville Triptych)—featured imperial commemorations or religious scenes and were particularly esteemed, as were metalwork and enamels. Other costly objects included illuminated manuscripts, which were lavishly illustrated for a wide range of texts, and silks, often including the prized imperial purple, both of which became highly popular in Western Europe. The rise of small, portable icon paintings, used for both public and private religious worship, grew increasingly controversial. During two periods of Byzantine Iconoclasm (726–843), possibly influenced by Islamic prohibitions on religious images, icons faced severe suppression and enormous amounts of figurative religious art was destroyed. Iconoclasts condemned their use, likening them to pagan idolatry and ascribing recent Umayyad defeats as divine retribution for their use, while iconophile supporters eventually prevailed, maintaining their essential use for veneration, considered distinct from worship, and found precedent in Gospel references.

Post-iconoclast Macedonian art (867–1056) saw a cultural Renaissance, from which an unprecedentedly vast amount of artworks survive. Subjects and styles became standardized, particularly cross-in-square churches, and already-existing frontality and symmetry evolved into a dominant artistic aesthetic, observable in the small Pala d'Oro enamel and the large mosaics of Hosios Loukas, Daphni, and Nea Moni monasteries. The subsequent Komnenos-Angelos periods (1081–1204) saw increased imperial patronage, alongside figurative artwork of increased emotional expression (Dead Christ and Mourners, c. 1164; see right). Byzantine artistic influence spread widely to Norman–Sicily (the Madrid Skylitzes) and Venice (mosaics of St Mark's Basilica). Serbian churches flourished in particular, as three successive schools of archecture—Raška (1170–1282), Byzantine Serbia (1282–1355), and Morava (1355–1489)—combined a Romanesque aesthetic with increasingly voluminous decorations and domes. As these smaller Palaeologan artworks (1261–1453) gained relic status in Western Europe—many looted in the 1204 Fourth Crusade—they greatly influenced Italo-Byzantine style of Cimabue, Duccio, and later Giotto, through whom art histories traditionally inugurated Italian Renaissance painting.

Literature

Main article: Byzantine literature

Byzantine literature concerns all Greek literature from the Middle Ages. Although the Empire was linguistically diverse, the vast majority of extant texts are in medieval Greek, albeit in two diglossic variants: a scholarly form based on Attic Greek, and a vernacular based on Koine Greek. Most contemporary scholars consider all medieval Greek texts to be literature, but some offer varying constraints. The literature's early period (c. 330–650) was dominated by the competing cultures of Hellenism, Christianity and Paganism. The Greek Church Fathers—educated in an Ancient Greek rhetoric tradition—sought to synthesize these influences. Important early writers include John Chrysostom, Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite and Procopius, all of whom aimed to reinvent older forms to fit the empire. Theological miracle stories were particularly innovative and popular; the Sayings of the Desert Fathers (Apophthegmata Patrum) were copied in practically every Byzantine monastery. During the Byzantine Dark Ages (c. 650–800), production of literature mostly stopped, although some important theologians were active, such as Maximus the Confessor, Germanus I of Constantinople and John of Damascus.

The subsequent cultural Macedonian Renaissance (c. 800–1000; the "Encyclopedism period") saw a renewed proliferation of literature and revived the earlier Hellenic-Christian synthesis. Works by Homer, Ancient Greek philosophers and tragedians were translated, while hagiography was heavily reorganized. After this early flowering of monastic literature, there was a dearth until Symeon the New Theologian in the late 10th-century. A new generation (c. 1000–1250), including Symeon, Michael Psellos and Theodore Prodromos, rejected the Encyclopedist emphasis on order, and were interested in individual-focused ideals variously concerning mysticism, authorial voice, heroism, humor and love. This included the Hellenistic-inspired Byzantine romance and Chivalric approaches in rhetoric, historiography and the influential epic Digenes Akritas. The empire's final centuries saw a renewal of hagiography and increased Western influence, leading to mass Greek to Latin translations. Authors such as Gemistos Plethon and Bessarion exemplified a new focus on human vices alongside the preservation of classical traditions, which greatly influenced the Italian Renaissance.

Music

Main article: Byzantine music

Late 4th century "Mosaic of the Musicians" with organ, aulos, and lyre from a Byzantine villa in Maryamin, Syria.

Byzantine music is eclectically descended from early Christian plainsong, Jewish music, and a variety of ancient music, although its exact connections to ancient Greek music remain uncertain. While it included both sacred and secular traditions, the latter is little known, whereas the former remains the central music of Eastern Orthodox liturgy into the 21st century. The empire's church music, known as Byzantine chant, was exclusively unaccompanied monodic vocal music, sung in Greek. From the 8th century onwards, chant melodies were governed by the Oktōēchos framework, a set of eight modes—echos (ἦχος; lit. 'sound')—each of which provide predeteremind motivic formulae for composition. These formulae were chosen for proper text stress and occasionally for text painting, then centonizationally collated into a varity of hymns or psalms.

Byzantine chant was central to the Byzantine Rite; however, the earlist music was not notated, including early monostrophic short hymns like the troparion. While proto-Ekphonetic notation (9th century onwards) marked simple recitation patterns, the neumatic Palaeo-Byzantine notation system emerged in the 10th century, while the Middle Byzantine "Round Notation" from mid-12th century onwards is the first fully diastematic scheme. Several major forms developed alongside well-known composers: the long kontakion (5th century onwards), popularised by Romanos the Melodist; the also-extensive kanōn (late 7th century onwards), developed by Andrew of Crete; and the shorter sticheron (at least 8th century onwards), championed by Kassia. By the Palaiologan period, the dominance of strict compositional rules lessened and John Koukouzeles led a new school which favoured a more ornamental "kalophonic" style that would deeply inform post-empire Neo-Byzantine music.

Secular music, often state-sponsered, was ubiquitous with daily life and featured in a variety of ceremonies, fesitvals, and theatre. Secular vocal music was rarely notated, and extant manuscripts date much later, suggesting the tradition was passed through oral tradition and likely improvised. Prohibited for liturgical use, a wide varity of Byzantine instruments flourished in secular contexts, although notated instrumental music does not survive. It is uncertain to what extent instrumentalists improvised or if they doubled vocalists monophonically or heterphonically. Among the best known instruments are the hydraulic organ, used for both circus and imperial court events; the ancient Greek-descended aulos, a wind instrument; the tambouras, a plucked string instrument; and mostly popularly, the Byzantine lyra. Prominent genres included acclamation chants of laudation or salutation; the celebratory Acritic songs; symposia instrumental banquets, based on ancient symposiums; and dance music.

Science and medicine

Main article: Byzantine science

See also: Byzantine medicine, Byzantine philosophy, and List of Byzantine inventions

Interior of the Hagia Sophia, the patriarchal basilica in Constantinople designed 537 by Isidore of Miletus, who was influenced by Archimedes' principles of solid geometry is evident.

Byzantine science played an important and crucial role in the transmission of classical knowledge to the Islamic world and to Renaissance Italy. Many of the most distinguished classical scholars held high offices in the Eastern Orthodox Church.

The writings of classical antiquity were cultivated and preserved in Byzantium. Therefore, Byzantine science was in every period closely connected with ancient philosophy and metaphysics. In the field of engineering, Isidore of Miletus, the Greek mathematician and architect of the Hagia Sophia, produced the first compilation of Archimedes' works c. 530, and it is through this manuscript tradition, kept alive by the school of mathematics and engineering founded c. 850 during the "Byzantine Renaissance" by Leo the Mathematician, that such works are known today, primarily through the school's production, the Archimedes Palimpsest.

Alexandrian philosopher John Philoponus was the first to question Aristotelian physics. Unlike Aristotle, who based his physics on verbal arguments, Philoponus relied on observations. Philoponus' criticism of the Aristotelian principles of physics was an inspiration for Galileo Galilei's refutation of Aristotelian physics during the Scientific Revolution many centuries later, as Galileo cites Philoponus substantially in his works.

The Byzantines pioneered the concept of the hospital as an institution offering medical care and the possibility of a cure for the patients, as a reflection of the ideals of Christian charity, rather than merely being a place to die.

Ceramic grenades that were filled with Greek fire, surrounded by caltrops, 10th–12th century, National Historical Museum, Athens, Greece

Greek fire, an incendiary weapon which could even burn on water, is attributed to the Byzantines. It played a crucial role in the empire's victory over the Umayyad Caliphate during the siege of Constantinople (717–718). The discovery is attributed to Callinicus of Heliopolis from Syria who fled during the Arab conquest of Syria. However, it has also been argued that no single person invented Greek fire, but rather, that it was "invented by the chemists in Constantinople who had inherited the discoveries of the Alexandrian chemical school...".

In the final century of the empire, astronomy and other mathematical sciences were taught in Trebizond; medicine attracted the interest of almost all scholars. The Fall of Constantinople in 1453 fuelled the era later commonly known as the "Italian Renaissance". During this period, refugee Byzantine scholars were principally responsible for carrying, in person and writing, ancient Greek grammatical, literary, mathematical, and astronomical knowledge to early Renaissance Italy. They also brought with them classical learning and texts on botany, medicine and zoology, as well as the works of Dioscorides and John Philoponus' criticism of Aristotelian physics.

Legacy

Main article: Legacy of the Roman Empire

Political aftermath

Main article: Succession to the Byzantine Empire

The Eastern Mediterranean just before the Fall of Constantinople

By the time of the fall of Constantinople, the Byzantine Empire, already an empire in name only since the Fourth Crusade, had been reduced to three rump states: the Despotate of the Morea, the Empire of Trebizond and the Principality of Theodoro. The Morea was ruled by the brothers of Constantine XI, Thomas Palaiologos and Demetrios Palaiologos. The despotate continued as an independent state by paying an annual tribute to the Ottomans. Incompetent rule, failure to pay the annual tribute, and a revolt against the Ottomans finally led to Mehmed II's invasion of Morea in May 1460.

A few holdouts remained for a time. In the Morea, the island of Monemvasia came under the pope's protection before the end of 1460, while the Mani Peninsula submitted to Venice. The Empire of Trebizond, which had split away from the Byzantine Empire just weeks before Constantinople was taken by the Crusaders in 1204, became the last remnant of and de facto successor state to the Byzantine Empire. Efforts by Emperor David to recruit European powers for an anti-Ottoman crusade provoked war between the Ottomans and Trebizond in the summer of 1461. After a month-long siege, David surrendered the city of Trebizond on 14 August 1461. Trebizond's Crimean principality, the Principality of Theodoro (part of the Perateia), lasted another 14 years, falling to the Ottomans in December 1475.

Mehmed II and his successors continued to consider themselves heirs to the Roman Empire. They considered that they had shifted their religious basis as Constantine had done before, and they continued to refer to their conquered Eastern Roman inhabitants (Orthodox Christians) as Rûm. This claim gradually faded away as the Ottoman Empire assumed a more Islamic political identity. Meanwhile, the Danubian Principalities, whose rulers also considered themselves the heirs of the Eastern Roman Emperors, harboured Orthodox refugees, including some Byzantine nobles.

At Constantine's death, the role of the emperor as a patron of Eastern Orthodoxy was claimed by Ivan III, Grand Prince of Muscovy. He had married Andreas' sister, Sophia Palaiologina, whose grandson, Ivan IV, would become the first tsar of Russia (tsar, or czar, meaning caesar, is a term traditionally applied by Slavs to the Byzantine emperors). Their successors supported the idea that Moscow was the proper heir to Rome and Constantinople. The idea of the Russian Empire as the successive Third Rome was kept alive until its demise with the Russian Revolution.

Cultural aftermath

See also: Succession of the Roman Empire and Greek scholars in the Renaissance

Monument to St. Cyril and St. Methodius, Byzantine missionaries to the Slavs, on Mt. Radhošť in the Czech Republic

The Baptism of Kievans, by the Russian painter Klavdiy Lebedev

Byzantium has been often identified with absolutism, orthodox spirituality, orientalism and exoticism, while the terms "Byzantine" and "Byzantinism" have been used as bywords for decadence, complex bureaucracy, and repression. Both Eastern and Western European authors have often perceived Byzantium as a body of religious, political, and philosophical ideas contrary to those of the West. Even in 19th-century Greece, the focus was mainly on the classical past, while Byzantine tradition had been associated with negative connotations.

This traditional approach towards Byzantium has been partially or wholly disputed and revised by modern studies, which focus on the positive aspects of Byzantine culture and legacy. From the ninth to the twelfth centuries, Byzantine Christianity converted and helped establish multiple nations in what is now Eastern Europe. The historian Averil Cameron regards this as undeniable, and both Cameron and Obolensky recognize the major role of Byzantium in shaping Orthodoxy, which in turn occupies a central position in the history, societies and culture of Greece, Romania, Bulgaria, Russia, Georgia, Serbia and other countries. Its use of vernacular language, and the development of the first Slavic written script, increased education and literacy and influenced the direction of the spiritual, religious, and cultural development of the entire region. The Byzantines also preserved and copied classical manuscripts, and they are thus regarded as transmitters of classical knowledge, as important contributors to modern European civilization, and as precursors of both Renaissance humanism and Slavic-Orthodox culture. The Byzantine law codes form the basis of civil law traditions in much of Europe, Latin America, other countries that follow common law, Ethiopia, and possibly even Islamic countries.

As the only stable long-term state in Europe during the Middle Ages, Byzantium isolated Western Europe from newly emerging forces to the East. Constantly under attack, it distanced Western Europe from Persians, Arabs, Seljuk Turks, and for a time, the Ottomans. From a different perspective, since the 7th century, the evolution and constant reshaping of the Byzantine state were directly related to the respective progress of Islam. Following the conquest of Constantinople by the Ottoman Turks in 1453, Sultan Mehmed II took the title "Kaysar-i Rûm" (the Ottoman Turkish equivalent of Caesar of Rome), since he was determined to make the Ottoman Empire the heir of the Eastern Roman Empire.

See also

• Family tree of Byzantine emperors
• Index of Byzantine Empire–related articles
• Legacy of the Roman Empire
• List of Byzantine revolts and civil wars
• List of Byzantine wars
• List of Roman dynasties
• Outline of the Byzantine Empire
• Succession of the Roman Empire

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External links

• Byzantine Empire on In Our Time at the BBC
• 12 Byzantine Rulers Archived 18 July 2016 at the Wayback Machine by Lars Brownworth of The Stony Brook School; audio lectures.
• 18 centuries of Roman Empire by Howard Wiseman (Maps of the Roman/Byzantine Empire throughout its lifetime).
• Byzantine studies homepage at Dumbarton Oaks. Includes links to numerous electronic texts.
• Byzantium: Byzantine studies on the Internet Archived 8 October 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Links to various online resources.
• Translations from Byzantine Sources: The Imperial Centuries, c. 700–1204. Online sourcebook.
• De Re Militari. Resources for medieval history, including numerous translated sources on the Byzantine wars.
• Medieval Sourcebook: Byzantium Archived 14 August 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Numerous primary sources on Byzantine history.
• Bibliography on Byzantine Material Culture and Daily Life. Hosted by the University of Vienna; in English.
• Constantinople Home Page. Links to texts, images and videos on Byzantium.
• Byzantium in Crimea: Political History, Art and Culture.
• Institute for Byzantine Studies of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (with further resources and a repository with papers on various aspects of the Byzantine Empire)