The Byzantine Empire, the Eastern Roman Empire, so called from its capital Byzantium or Constantinople was founded in 395 AD when Theodosius at his death divided the Roman Empire between his sons Arcadius and Honorius. In this empire the Greek language and civilization were prevalent; but the rulers claimed still to be Roman emperors, and under their sway the laws and official forms of Rome were maintained. It lasted for about a thousand years after the downfall of the Western Empire.
The Eastern Empire, then comprising Asia Minor, Syria, Egypt, Greece, Thrace, Moesia, Macedonia, and Crete, fell to Theodosius's elder son Arcadius, through whose weakness and that of several of his immediate successors it suffered severely from the encroachments of Huns, Goths, Bulgarians, and Persians. In 527 the celebrated Justinian succeeded,, whose reign is famous for the codification of Roman law, and the victories of his generals Belisarius and Narses over the Vandals in Africa, and the Goths in Italy, which was henceforth governed for the Eastern Empire by an exarch residing at Ravenna. But his energy could not revive the decaying strength of the empire, and Justin II his successor, a weak and avaricious prince, lost his reason by the reverses encountered in his conflicts with plundering Lombards, Avars, and Persians.
Tiberius, a captain of the guard, succeeded in 578, and in 582 Mauricius; both were men of ability. In 602 Phocas, proclaimed emperor by the army, succeeded, and produced by his incapacity tlie greatest disorder in the empire. Heraclius, son of the governor of Africa, who headed a conspiracy, conquered Constantinople, and caused Phocas to be executed in 610. He was an excellent general, and finally succeeded in repressing the Avars and recovering the provinces lost to the Persians, whose power indeed he overthrew. But a far more dangerous enemy to the Byzantine empire now appeared in the Muslim power, founded amongst the Arabians by Mohammed and the caliphs, which gradually extended its conquests over Phoenicia, the countries on the Euphrates, Judea, Syria, and Egypt from 635-641.
The empire was in sore straits when Leo the Isaurian (Leo III), general of the army of the East, mounted the throne in 716, and a new period of comparative prosperity began. Some writers date the beginning of the Byzantine Empire proper, and the end of the Eastern Roman Empire, from this era.
Numerous reforms, civil and military, were now introduced, and the worship of images was prohibited. Leo repelled the Arabians or Saracens from Constantinople, but allowed the Lombards to seize the Italian provinces, while the Arabians plundered the Eastern ones. Constantine V in 741 recovered part of Syria and Armenia from the Arabians; and the struggle was carried on not unsuccessfully by his son Leo IV. Under his grandson, Constantine VI, Irene, the ambitious mother of the latter, raised a large faction by the restoration of image worship, and, in conjunction with her paramour Stauratius, deposed her son, and had his eyes put out in 797.
A revolt of the patricians placed one of their order, Nicephorus, on the throne, who fell in the war against the Bulgarians in 811. Stauratius, Michael, Leo V and Michael II in 820 ascended the throne in rapid succession. During the reign of the latter the Arabians conquered Sicily, Lower Italy, Crete, and other countries. The long dispute as to image-worship was brought to a close in 842, when the practice was finally sanctioned at the council of Nicaea, under Michael III.
He was put to death by Basil the Macedonian, who came to the throne as Basil I in 867, and whose reign formed a period of great glory in the history of the Byzantine Empire. He founded a dynasty (the Macedonian) which lasted until 1056. Among the greatest of his successors were Nicephorus II (Phocas), and John Zimisces in 969, who carried on successful wars against the Muslims, Bulgarians, and Russians.
Basil II succeeded this prince in 976. He vanquished the Bulgarians and the Arabians. His brother, Constantine IX was succeeded by Romanus III in 1028, who married Zoe, daughter of Constantine. This dissolute but able princess caused her husband to be executed, and successively raised to the throne Michael IV, Michael V, and Constantine X. Russians and Muslims meanwhile devastated the empire. Her sister Theodora succeeded her on the throne in 1054.
After the short reign of Michael VI from 1054 until 1057 Isaac Comnenus, the first of the Comnenian dynasty, ascended the throne, but soon after became a monk. The three chief emperors of this dynasty were Alexius, John, and Manuel Comnenus. During the reign of Alexius I from 1081 to 1118 the Crusades commenced. His son, John II, and grandson, Manuel I, fought with success against the Turks, whose progress also was considerably checked by the Crusades. The Latins, the name given to the French, Venetian, etc, crusaders, now forced their way to Constantinople in 1204, conquered the city, and retained it, together with most of the European territories of the empire.
Baldwin, count of Flanders, was made emperor; Boniface, marquis of Montferrat, obtained Thessalonica as a kingdom, and the Venetians acquired a large extent of territory. Theodore Lascaris seized on the Asiatic provinces, in 1206 made Nice (Nicaea) the capital of the empire, and was at first more powerful than Baldwin. Neither Baldwin nor his successors, Henry, Peter, and Robert of Courtenay, were able to secure the tottering throne. John, emperor of Nice, conquered all the remaining Byzantine territory except Constantinople, and at last, in 1261, Michael Palaeologus, king of Nice, conquered Constantinople, and thus overthrew the Latin dynasty.
Thus again the vast but exhausted Byzantine Empire was united under Michael Palaeologus, founder of the last Byzantine dynasty. Internal disturbances and wars with the Turks disturbed the reigns of his descendants Andronicus II and Andronicus III. For a time the Cantacuzenes shared the crown with John Palasologus, son of Andronicus III; but in 1355 John again became sole emperor. In his reign the Turks first obtained a firm footing in Europe, and conquered Gallipoli in 1357. In 1361 Sultan Amurath took Adrianople. Bajazet conquered almost all the European provinces except Constantinople, and was pressing it hard when Timur's invasion of the Turkish provinces saved Constantinople for this time in 1402. Manuel then recovered his throne, and regained some of the lost provinces from the contending sons of Bajazet. To him succeeded his son John, Palaeologus II whom Amurath II stripped of all his territories except Constantinople, and laid under tribute in 1444.
To the Emperor John succeeded his brother Constantine Palaeologus. With the assistance of his general Giustiniani, a Genoese, he withstood the superior forces of the enemy with fruitless courage, and fell in the defence of Constantinople, by the conquest of which on May the 29th, 1453 Mohammed II put an end to the Greek or Byzantine Empire. The Byzantine Empire, which thus lasted for over a thousand years, stemmed the tide of the advance of Islam and instead spread Christianity and maintained a regular system of government, law, and policy in the midst of surrounding conflicting systems. Research Byzantine Empire
The ISO (International Standards Organisation) assigns a two character code to each country name. These codes are used by Internet 'whois' databases (these two character abbreviations are the whois country codes) and also other applications.
The Treaty of Berlin was signed on the 13th of July, 1878, at the close of the Berlin Congress, which was constituted by the representatives of the six Great Powers and Turkey. The Treaty of SanStefano, previously concluded between Turkey and Russia, was modified by the Berlin Treaty, which resulted In the division of Bulgaria into two parts, Bulgaria proper and Eastern Rumelia, the cession of parts of Armenia to Russia and Persia, the independence of Rumania, Serbia, and Montenegro, the transference of Bosnia and Herzegovina to Austrian administration, and the retrocession of Bessarabia to Russia. Greece was also to have an accession of territory. The British representatives were Beaconsfield, Salisbury, and LordOdo Russell. By a separate arrangement previously made between Britain and Turkey, the former got Cyprus to administer. Research Treaty of Berlin
Arminius Vambery was a Hungarian traveller and orientalist. He was born in 1832 and died in 1913. He travelled through Armenia and Persia between 1861 and 1864 and was the Professor of Oriental languages at the University of Budapest until 1905. Research Arminius Vambery
Ceasar Germanicus was a distinguished Roman. The son of NeroClaudiusDrusus and the younger Antonia, a niece of Augustus, he was born in 15 BC and died in 19 AD. He was adopted by Tiberius, his paternal uncle, and married Agrippina, the granddaughter of Augustus. When Augustus died, in 14 AD, Germanicus was invited by the rebellious legions on the Rhine to assume the sovereignty, but refused, and quelled the revolt. He then crossed the Rhine, surprised and defeated the Marsi with great slaughter. Next year a campaign against the Catti and the Germans, led by Arminius, resulted in a series of victories. The following year he again made his way into Germany, defeated the Cherusci twice, and made an incursion into the country of the Marsi. Tiberius now became jealous of the glory of Germanicus, called him home under pretence of granting him a triumph, then, to get rid of him, sent him into the East to compose the disturbances in Armenia and Cappadocia. This he performed in 18 AD, visited Egypt the following year, and died on his return to Syria under some suspicion of having been poisoned by Cn. Piso, the governor of Syria. Research Caesar Germanicus
St Blasius was Bishop of Sebaste in Armenia. He was said to have been martyred around 316 by torture with a wool-comb, from which he became the patron St of wool-combers. Research St Blasius
St John Chrysostom was a Greek missionary. He was born in 344 at Antioch and died in 407. Secundus, his father, who had the command of the imperial troops in Syria, died soon after the birth of his son, whose early education devolved upon Anthusa, his mother. Chrysostom Studied eloquence with Libanius, the most famou's orator of his time, and soon excelled his master.
After having studied philosophy with Andragathius he devoted himself to the Holy Scriptures, and determined upon quitting the world and consecrating his life to God in the deserts of Syria. He spent several years in solitary retirement, studying and meditating with a view to the church. Having completed his voluntary probation he returned to Antioch in 381, when he was appointed deacon by the Bishop of Antioch, and in 386 consecrated priest. He was chosen vicar by the same dignitary, and commissioned to preach the Word of God to the people.
He became so celebrated for the eloquence of his preaching that the Emperor Arcadius determined, in 397, to place him in the archiepiscopal see of Constantinople (Istanbul). He now exerted himself so zealously in supressing heresy, paganism, and immorality, and in enforcing the obligations of monachism, that he raised up many enemies, and Theophilus, patriarch of Alexandria, aided and encouraged by the Empress Eudoxia, caused him to be deposed at a synod held at Chalcedon. The emperor banished him from Constantinople, and Chrysostom purposed retiring to Bithynia; but the people threatened a revolt. In the following night an earthquake gave general alarm. In this dilemma Arcadius recalled his orders, and Eudoxia herself invited Chrysostom to return. The people accompanied him triumphantly to the city, his enemies fled, and peace was restored, but only for a short time.
A feast given by the empress on the consecration of a statue, and attended with many heathen ceremonies, roused the zeal of the archbishop, who publicly exclaimed against it; and Eudoxia, violently incensed, recalled the prelates devoted to her will, and Chrysostom was condemned and exiled to Armenia. Here he continued to exert his pious zeal until the emperor ordered him to be conveyed to a town on the most distant shore of the Black Sea. The officers who had him in charge obliged the old man to perform his journey on foot, and he died at Comana, by the way. Here he was buried; but in 438 his body was conveyed solemnly to Constantinople, and there interred in the Church of the Apostles, in the sepulchre of the emperor.
At a later period his remains were placed in the Vatican at Rome. The Greek Church celebrates his feast on the 13th of November, the Roman on the 27th of January. His .works, which consist of sermons, commentaries, and treatises, abound with information as to the manners and characteristics of his age. Research St John Chrysostom
Thothmes III was a king of Egypt of the XVIIIth dynasty. He appeared to have reigned as co-regent from the death of Thothmes II in 1501 with his aunt and step-mother, Hatshepsut. He married Hatshepsut's younger daughter and after the death of his aunt reigned alone for about thirty-two years. He undertook seventeen foreign campaigns and established his power from Armenia to the Sudan. Research Thothmes III
Trajan (Marcus Ulpius Trajanus) was a Roman emperor. He was born in 53 at Italica, Spain and died in 117. He was a soldier, and fought many campaigns in Dacia, Armenia, Mesopotamia and Ctesiphon and while in command of the forces on the Rhine was selected as colleague and successor by Emperor Nerva.
On Nerva's death in 98, Trajan became emperor of the Roman Empire. Trajan proved himself one of the greatest of all Roman emperors, equally skilled in military matters as administration and was highly praised by all except members of the Christian sect whom he persecuted. Research Trajan
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Matt and Leela Probert
Abbreviations
Research Byzantine Empire
