The Despotate was centred on the region of
Epirus, encompassing also
Albania and the western portion of
Greek Macedonia and also included
Thessaly and western Greece as far south as
Nafpaktos. Through a policy of aggressive expansion under
Theodore Komnenos Doukas the Despotate of Epirus also briefly came to incorporate central
Macedonia, with the establishment of the
Empire of Thessalonica in 1224, and
Thrace as far east as
Didymoteicho and
Adrianopolis, and was on the verge of recapturing Constantinople and restoring the Byzantine Empire before the
Battle of Klokotnitsa in 1230 where he was defeated by the
Bulgarian Empire. After that, the Epirote state contracted to its core in Epirus and Thessaly, and was forced into vassalage to other regional powers. It nevertheless managed to retain its autonomy until being conquered by the restored
PalaiologanByzantine Empire in ca. 1337. In the 1410s, the
Count palatine of Cephalonia and ZakynthosCarlo I Tocco managed to reunite the core of the Epirote state, but his successors gradually lost it to the advancing
Ottoman Empire, with the last stronghold,
Vonitsa, falling to the Ottomans in 1479. (Full article...)
Thessalonica's ascendancy was brief, ending with the disastrous
Battle of Klokotnitsa against Bulgaria in 1230, where Theodore Komnenos Doukas was captured. Reduced to a Bulgarian vassal, Theodore's brother and successor
Manuel Komnenos Doukas was unable to prevent the loss of most of his brother's conquests in
Macedonia and
Thrace, while the original nucleus of the state, Epirus, broke free under
Michael II Komnenos Doukas. Theodore recovered Thessalonica in 1237, installing his son
John Komnenos Doukas, and after him
Demetrios Angelos Doukas, as rulers of the city, while Manuel, with Nicaean support, seized
Thessaly. The rulers of Thessalonica bore the imperial title from 1225/7 until 1242, when they were forced to renounce it and recognize the suzerainty of the rival
Empire of Nicaea. The Komnenodoukai continued to rule as
Despots of Thessalonica for four more years after that, but in 1246 the city was annexed by Nicaea. (Full article...)
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Byzantine art comprises the body of Christian Greek artistic products of the
Eastern Roman Empire, as well as the nations and states that inherited culturally from the empire. Though the empire itself emerged from the
decline of Rome and lasted until the
Fall of Constantinople in 1453, the start date of the Byzantine period is rather clearer in art history than in political history, if still imprecise. Many
Eastern Orthodox states in Eastern Europe, as well as to some degree the
Islamic states of the eastern
Mediterranean, preserved many aspects of the empire's culture and art for centuries afterward.
A number of
contemporary states with the
Byzantine Empire were culturally influenced by it without actually being part of it (the "
Byzantine commonwealth"). These included the
Rus, as well as some non-Orthodox states like the
Republic of Venice, which separated from the Byzantine Empire in the 10th century, and the
Kingdom of Sicily, which had close ties to the Byzantine Empire and had also been a Byzantine territory until the 10th century with a large Greek-speaking population persisting into the 12th century. Other states having a Byzantine artistic tradition, had oscillated throughout the Middle Ages between being part of the Byzantine Empire and having periods of independence, such as
Serbia and
Bulgaria. After the
fall of the Byzantine capital of Constantinople in 1453, art produced by Eastern Orthodox Christians living in the
Ottoman Empire was often called "post-Byzantine." Certain artistic traditions that originated in the Byzantine Empire, particularly in regard to icon painting and church architecture, are maintained in
Greece,
Cyprus,
Serbia,
Bulgaria,
Romania,
Russia and other Eastern Orthodox countries to the present day. (Full article...)
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The Byzantine economy was among the most robust economies in the Mediterranean for many centuries.
Constantinople was a prime hub in a trading network that at various times extended across nearly all of
Eurasia and North Africa. Some scholars argue that, up until the arrival of the Arabs in the 7th century, the
Eastern Roman Empire had the most powerful economy in the world. The Arab conquests, however, would represent a substantial reversal of fortunes contributing to a period of decline and stagnation. Constantine V's reforms (c. 765) marked the beginning of a revival that continued until 1204. From the 10th century until the end of the 12th, the Byzantine Empire projected an image of luxury, and the travelers were impressed by the wealth accumulated in the capital. All this changed with the arrival of the
Fourth Crusade, which was an economic catastrophe. The
Palaiologoi tried to revive the economy, but the late Byzantine state would not gain full control of either the foreign or domestic economic forces.
One of the economic foundations of the empire was trade. The state strictly controlled both the internal and the international trade, and retained the monopoly of issuing
coinage. Constantinople remained the single most important commercial centre of Europe for much of the
Medieval era, which it held until the
Republic of Venice slowly began to overtake Byzantine merchants in trade; first through tax exemption under the Komnenoi, then under the
Latin Empire. (Full article...)
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Byzantine music (
Greek: Βυζαντινή μουσική) is the music of the
Byzantine Empire. Originally it consisted of songs and hymns composed to Greek texts used for courtly ceremonials, during festivals, or as paraliturgical and liturgical music. The ecclesiastical forms of Byzantine music are the best known forms today, because different Orthodox traditions still identify with the heritage of Byzantine music, when their cantors sing monodic chant out of the traditional chant books such as the
Sticherarion, which in fact consisted of five books, and the
Irmologion.
A Hodegetria, or Virgin Hodegetria, is an
iconographic depiction of the
Theotokos (
Virgin Mary) holding the
Child Jesus at her side while pointing to him as the source of salvation for humankind. The Virgin's head usually inclines towards the child, who raises his hand in a blessing gesture. In the
Western Church this type of icon is sometimes called Our Lady of the Way.
The most venerated
icon of the Hodegetria type, regarded as the original, was displayed in the
Monastery of the Panaghia Hodegetria in
Constantinople, which was built specially to contain it. Unlike most later copies it showed the Theotokos standing full-length. It was said to have been brought back from the
Holy Land by
Eudocia, the wife of emperor
Theodosius II (408–450), and to have been painted by
Saint Luke the apostle himself. The icon was double-sided, with a
crucifixion on the other side, and was "perhaps the most prominent cult object in Byzantium". (Full article...)
After the crusaders of the
Fourth Crusade overthrew Alexios V and established the
Latin Empire, the Empire of Trebizond became one of three Byzantine successor states to claim the imperial throne, alongside the
Empire of Nicaea under the
Laskaris family and the
Despotate of Epirus under
a branch of the Angelos family. The ensuing wars saw the
Empire of Thessalonica, the imperial government that sprang from Epirus, collapse following conflicts with Nicaea and
Bulgaria and the final recapture of
Constantinople by the Empire of Nicaea in 1261. Despite the Nicaean reconquest of
Constantinople, the Emperors of Trebizond continued to style themselves as "Roman emperors" for two decades and continued to press their claim on the Imperial throne. Emperor
John II of Trebizond officially gave up the Trapezuntine claim to the Roman imperial title and Constantinople itself 21 years after the Nicaeans recaptured the city, altering his imperial title from "
Emperor and
Autocrat of the Romans" to "Emperor and Autocrat of all the East,
Iberia and
Perateia". (Full article...)
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Byzantine medicine encompasses the common
medical practices of the
Byzantine Empire from c. 400 AD to 1453 AD. Byzantine medicine was notable for building upon the knowledge base developed by its Greco-Roman predecessors. In preserving medical practices from antiquity, Byzantine medicine influenced
Islamic medicine and fostered the Western rebirth of medicine during the Renaissance.
Byzantine physicians often compiled and standardized medical knowledge into
textbooks. Their records tended to include both diagnostic explanations and technical drawings. The
Medical Compendium in Seven Books, written by the leading physician
Paul of Aegina, survived as a particularly thorough source of medical knowledge. This compendium, written in the late seventh century, remained in use as a standard textbook for the following 800 years. This tradition of compilation continued from around the tenth century into the twentieth through the genre of medical writings known as iatrosophia. (Full article...)
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The Great Palace of Constantinople (
Greek: Μέγα Παλάτιον, Méga Palátion;
Latin: Palatium Magnum), also known as the Sacred Palace (
Greek: Ἱερὸν Παλάτιον, Hieròn Palátion;
Latin: Sacrum Palatium), was the large imperial
Byzantine palace complex located in the south-eastern end of the peninsula now known as
Old Istanbul (formerly
Constantinople), in modern
Turkey. It served as the main imperial residence of the
Eastern Roman or Byzantine emperors until 1081 and was the centre of imperial administration for over 690 years. Only a few remnants and fragments of its foundations have survived into the present day. (Full article...)
As the chief aide and closest friend of Emperor Andronikos III, Kantakouzenos became regent for the underage John V upon Andronikos's death in June 1341. While Kantakouzenos was absent from
Constantinople in September the same year, a coup d'état led by Alexios Apokaukos and the Patriarch John XIV secured the support of Empress Anna and established a new regency. In response, Kantakouzenos' army and supporters proclaimed him co-emperor in October, cementing the rift between himself and the new regency. The split immediately escalated into armed conflict. (Full article...)
Byzantine currency, money used in the
Eastern Roman Empire after the fall of the West, consisted of mainly two types of
coins: the
goldsolidus and a variety of clearly valued
bronze coins. By the end of the empire the currency was issued only in silver
stavrata and minor copper coins with no gold issue.
The
East Roman or Byzantine Empire established and operated several
mints throughout its history. Aside from the main metropolitan mint in the capital,
Constantinople, a varying number of provincial mints were also established in other urban centres, especially during the 6th century. Most provincial mints except for
Syracuse were closed or lost to invasions by the mid-7th century. After the loss of Syracuse in 878, Constantinople became the sole mint for
gold and
silver coinage until the late 11th century, when major provincial mints began to re-appear. Many mints, both imperial and, as the Byzantine world fragmented, belonging to autonomous local rulers, were operated in the 12th to 14th centuries. Constantinople and Trebizond, the seat of the independent
Empire of Trebizond (1204–1461), survived until their conquest by the
Ottoman Turks in the mid-15th century. (Full article...)
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Mount Athos (/ˈæθɒs/;
Greek: Ἄθως, [ˈa.θos]) is a mountain in the distal part of the eponymous
Athos peninsula and site of an important centre of
Eastern Orthodoxmonasticism in northeastern
Greece. The mountain along with the respective part of the peninsula have been governed as the
monastic community of Mount Athos, an
autonomous region within the Hellenic Republic, ecclesiastically under the direct jurisdiction of the
Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, while the remainder of the peninsula forms part of the
Aristotelis municipality. Mount Athos has been inhabited since ancient times and is known for its long Christian presence and historical monastic traditions, which date back to at least 800 AD during the
Byzantine era. Because of its long history of religious importance, the well-preserved agrarian architecture within the monasteries, and the preservation of the flora and fauna around the mountain, Mount Athos was inscribed on the
UNESCOWorld Heritage List in 1988.
In modern Greek, Mount Athos is referred to as Oros Athos (
Greek: Όρος Άθως), the peninsula as Hersonisos tou Atho (
Greek: Χερσόνησος του Άθω), while the designation Agio Oros (
Greek: Άγιο Όρος) translating to 'Holy Mountain' is used to denote the autonomous region of Greece governed by the
monastic community of Mount Athos. In the
classical era, while the mountain was called Athos, the peninsula was known as Acté or Akté (
Koinē Greek: Ἀκτή). Some languages of Orthodox tradition use names translating to 'Holy Mountain', these include
Bulgarian,
Macedonian and
Serbian (Света Гора, Sveta Gora; Svyataya Gora); and
Georgian (მთაწმინდა, mtats’minda). However, not all languages spoken in the Eastern Orthodox world use this name: in
Russian it is simply called Афон (Afon, meaning "Athos"), while in
Romanian it is called "Mount Athos" (Muntele Athos or Muntele Atos). (Full article...)
The building is an example of
Byzantine architecture. In the 16th century, during the
Ottoman era, it was converted into a mosque; it became a museum in 1945, and was turned back into a mosque in 2020 by President
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The interior of the building is covered with some of the finest surviving Byzantine Christian
mosaics and
frescoes, which were left in plain sight during Muslim worship throughout much of the Ottoman era. They were restored after the building was secularized and turned into a museum. (Full article...)
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The
Byzantine Empire was ruled by emperors of the dynasty of
Heraclius between 610 and 711. The
Heraclians presided over a period of cataclysmic events that were a watershed in the history of the Empire and the world.
The second Arab siege of Constantinople in 717–718 was a combined land and sea offensive by the Muslim Arabs of the
Umayyad Caliphate against the capital city of the
Byzantine Empire,
Constantinople. The campaign marked the culmination of twenty years of attacks and progressive Arab occupation of the Byzantine borderlands, while Byzantine strength was sapped by
prolonged internal turmoil. In 716, after years of preparations, the Arabs, led by
Maslama ibn Abd al-Malik, invaded Byzantine
Asia Minor. The Arabs initially hoped to exploit Byzantine civil strife and made common cause with the general
Leo III the Isaurian, who had risen up against Emperor
Theodosius III. Leo, however,
tricked them and secured the Byzantine throne for himself.
After wintering in the western coastlands of Asia Minor, the Arab army crossed into
Thrace in early summer 717 and built
siege lines to blockade the city, which was protected by the massive
Theodosian Walls. The Arab fleet, which accompanied the land army and was meant to complete the city's blockade by sea, was neutralized soon after its arrival by the
Byzantine navy through the use of
Greek fire. This allowed Constantinople to be resupplied by sea, while the Arab army was crippled by
famine and
disease during the unusually hard winter that followed. In spring 718, two Arab fleets sent as reinforcements were destroyed by the Byzantines after their Christian crews defected, and an additional army sent overland through Asia Minor was ambushed and defeated. Coupled with attacks by the
Bulgars on their rear, the Arabs were forced to lift the siege on 15 August 718. On its return journey, the Arab fleet was almost completely destroyed by natural disasters. (Full article...)
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The Byzantine Empire underwent a revival during the reign of the
Macedonian emperors of the late 9th, 10th, and early 11th centuries, when it gained control over the
Adriatic Sea,
Southern Italy, and all of the territory of the
TsarSamuil of Bulgaria. The Macedonian dynasty was characterised by a cultural revival in spheres such as philosophy and the arts, and has been dubbed the "
Golden Age" of
Byzantium.
The cities of the empire expanded, and affluence spread across the provinces because of the newfound security. The population rose, and production increased, stimulating new demand for
trade. (Full article...)
The work as planned had three parts: the Code (Codex) is a compilation, by selection and extraction, of imperial enactments to date; the Digest or Pandects (the Latin title contains both Digesta and Pandectae) is an encyclopedia composed of mostly brief extracts from the writings of Roman jurists; and the Institutes (Institutiones) is a student textbook, mainly introducing the Code, although it has important conceptual elements that are less developed in the Code or the Digest. All three parts, even the textbook, were given force of law. They were intended to be, together, the sole source of law; reference to any other source, including the original texts from which the Code and the Digest had been taken, was forbidden. Nonetheless, Justinian found himself having to enact further laws and today these are counted as a fourth part of the Corpus, the Novellae Constitutiones (Novels, literally New Laws). (Full article...)
From the start, the regime faced numerous problems. The
Turks of
Asia Minor had begun conducting raids and expanding into Byzantine territory in Asia Minor by 1263, just two years after the enthronement of the first Palaiologos emperor
Michael VIII.
Anatolia, which had formed the very heart of the shrinking empire, was systematically lost to numerous Turkic ghazis, whose raids evolved into conquering expeditions inspired by
Islamic zeal, the prospect of economic gain, and the desire to seek refuge from the Mongols after the disastrous
Battle of Köse Dağ in 1243. The Palaiologoi were engaged on several fronts, often continually, while the empire's supply of food and manpower dwindled. In this period, the Byzantine Empire found itself continually at war, both civil and interstate, with most interstate conflicts being with other Christian empires. Most commonly, these comprised the
Second Bulgarian Empire, the
Serbian Empire, the remnants of the
Latin Empire and even the
Knights Hospitaller. (Full article...)
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Byzantine law was essentially a continuation of
Roman law with increased
Orthodox Christian and
Hellenistic influence. Most sources define Byzantine law as the Roman legal traditions starting after the reign of
Justinian I in the 6th century and ending with the
Fall of Constantinople in the 15th century. Although future Byzantine codes and constitutions derived largely from Justinian's Corpus Juris Civilis, their main objectives were idealistic and ceremonial rather than practical. Following
Hellenistic and
Near-Eastern political systems, legislations were tools to idealize and display the sacred role and responsibility of the emperor as the holy monarch chosen by God and the incarnation of law "nómos émpsychos", thus having philosophical and religious purposes that idealized the perfect Byzantine king.
Though during and after the
European Renaissance Western legal practices were heavily influenced by Justinian's Code (the Corpus Juris Civilis) and Roman law during classical times, Byzantine law nevertheless had substantial influence on Western traditions during the
Middle Ages and after. (Full article...)
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The Byzantine Empire was ruled by the Isaurian or Syrian dynasty from 717 to 802. The Isaurian emperors were successful in defending and consolidating the Empire against the
Caliphate after the onslaught of the early
Muslim conquests, but were less successful in Europe, where they suffered setbacks against the
Bulgars, had to give up the
Exarchate of Ravenna, and lost influence over Italy and the
Papacy to the growing power of the
Franks.
The Isaurian dynasty is chiefly associated with
Byzantine Iconoclasm, an attempt to restore divine favour by purifying the Christian faith from excessive adoration of
icons, which resulted in considerable internal turmoil. (Full article...)
A group of
Andalusian exiles led by
Abu Hafs Umar al-Iqritishi conquered Crete in either 824 or 827/828, and established an independent Islamic state. The Byzantines launched a campaign that took most of the island back in 842-43 under
Theoktistos, but the reconquest was not completed and would soon be reversed. Later attempts by the Byzantine Empire to recover the island failed, and for the approximately 135 years of its existence, the emirate was one of the major foes of Byzantium. Crete commanded the sea lanes of the Eastern Mediterranean and functioned as a forward base and haven for Muslim corsair fleets that ravaged the Byzantine-controlled shores of the
Aegean Sea. The emirate's internal history is less well known, but all accounts point to considerable prosperity deriving not only from piracy but also from extensive trade and agriculture. The emirate was brought to an end by
Nikephoros Phokas, who successfully campaigned against it in 960–961. (Full article...)
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The Despotate of the Morea (
Greek: Δεσποτᾶτον τοῦ Μορέως) or Despotate of Mystras (
Greek: Δεσποτᾶτον τοῦ Μυστρᾶ) was a province of the
Byzantine Empire which existed between the mid-14th and mid-15th centuries. Its territory varied in size during its existence but eventually grew to include almost all the southern
Greek peninsula now known as the
Peloponnese, which was known as the
Morea during the medieval and early modern periods. The territory was usually ruled by one or more sons of the current
Byzantine emperor, who were given the title of despotes (in this context it should not be confused with
despotism). Its capital was the fortified city of
Mystras, near ancient
Sparta, which became an important centre of the
Palaiologan Renaissance. (Full article...)
Initially built by Constantine the Great, the walls surrounded the new city on all sides, protecting it against attack from both sea and land. As the city grew, the famous double line of the Theodosian Walls was built in the 5th century. Although the other sections of the walls were less elaborate, they were, when well-manned, almost impregnable for any medieval besieger. They saved the city, and the
Byzantine Empire with it, during
sieges by the
Avar-Sassanian coalition,
Arabs,
Rus', and
Bulgars, among others. The advent of
gunpowder siege cannons rendered the fortifications vulnerable, but cannon technology was not sufficiently advanced to capture the city on its own, and the walls could be repaired between reloading. Ultimately,
the city fell from the sheer weight of numbers of the
Ottoman forces on 29 May 1453 after a two-month siege. (Full article...)
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The sack of Amorium by the
Abbasid Caliphate in mid-August 838 was one of the major events in the long history of the
Arab–Byzantine Wars. The Abbasid campaign was led personally by the Caliph
al-Mu'tasim (
r. 833–842), in retaliation to a virtually unopposed expedition launched by the
Byzantine emperorTheophilos (r. 829–842) into the
Caliphate's borderlands the previous year. Mu'tasim targeted
Amorium, an
Eastern Roman city in western
Asia Minor, because it was the birthplace of the
ruling Byzantine dynasty and, at the time, one of Byzantium's largest and most important cities. The caliph gathered an exceptionally large army, which he divided in two parts, which invaded from the northeast and the south. The northeastern army defeated the Byzantine forces under Theophilos
at Anzen, allowing the Abbasids to penetrate deep into Byzantine Asia Minor and converge upon
Ancyra, which they found abandoned. After sacking the city, they turned south to Amorium, where they arrived on 1 August. Faced with intrigues at Constantinople and the rebellion of the large
Khurramite contingent of his army, Theophilos was unable to aid the city.
Amorium was strongly fortified and garrisoned, but a traitor revealed a weak spot in the wall, where the Abbasids concentrated their attack, effecting a breach. Unable to break through the besieging army, Boiditzes, the commander of the breached section privately attempted to negotiate with the Caliph without notifying his superiors. He concluded a local truce and left his post, which allowed the Arabs to take advantage, enter the city, and capture it. Amorium was systematically destroyed, never to recover its former prosperity. Many of its inhabitants were slaughtered, and the remainder driven off as slaves. Most of the survivors were released after a truce in 841, but prominent officials were taken to the caliph's capital of
Samarra and executed years later after refusing to convert to
Islam, becoming known as the
42 Martyrs of Amorium. (Full article...)
Selected biographies
Image 1
Alexios Doukas Philanthropenos (
Greek: Ἀλέξιος Δούκας Φιλανθρωπηνός) was a
Byzantine nobleman and notable general. A relative of the ruling
Palaiologos dynasty, he was appointed commander-in-chief in
Asia Minor in 1293 and for a time re-established the Byzantine position there, scoring some of the last Byzantine successes against the
Turkish beyliks. In 1295 he rose up in revolt against
Andronikos II Palaiologos, but was betrayed and blinded. Nothing is known of him until 1323, when he was pardoned by Andronikos II and sent again against the Turks, relieving a siege of
Philadelphia, allegedly by his mere appearance. He was then named briefly governor of
Lesbos in 1328, and again in 1336, when he recovered the island's capital from
Latin occupation. He ruled the island thereafter, probably until his death in the 1340s. (Full article...)
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Manuel the Armenian (
Greek: Μανουήλ ὁ Ἀρμένιος), was a prominent
Byzantine general of
Armenian origin, active from circa 810 until his death. After reaching the highest military ranks, a palace
conspiracy forced him to seek refuge in the
Abbasid court in 829. He returned to Byzantine service the next year, receiving the position of
Domestic of the Schools from Emperor
Theophilos, who had married his niece
Theodora. Manuel remained in the post throughout Theophilos's reign, and reportedly saved the emperor's life in the
Battle of Anzen in 838. According to one report, he died on 27 July 838 of wounds received during the battle, but other sources record his survival past this date, ascribing him a major role in the regency that governed the empire after Theophilos's death, and report that he died some time around 860. (Full article...)
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Procopius of Caesarea (
Greek: Προκόπιος ὁ ΚαισαρεύςProkópios ho Kaisareús;
Latin: Procopius Caesariensis;
c. 500 – 565) was a prominent
late antiqueGreek scholar and historian from
Caesarea Maritima. Accompanying the Roman general
Belisarius in
Emperor Justinian's wars, Procopius became the principal Roman historian of the 6th century, writing the History of the Wars, the Buildings, and the Secret History. (Full article...)
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John Kourkouas (
Greek: Ἰωάννης Κουρκούας,
romanized: Ioannes Kourkouas,
fl.
c. 900–946), also transliterated as Kurkuas or Curcuas, was one of the most important generals of the
Byzantine Empire. His success in battles against the
Muslim states in the East reversed the course of the centuries-long
Arab–Byzantine wars and set the stage for Byzantium's eastern conquests later in the century.
Kourkouas belonged to a family of
Armenian descent that produced several notable Byzantine generals. As commander of an imperial bodyguard regiment, Kourkouas was among the chief supporters of
EmperorRomanos I Lekapenos (
r. 920–944) and facilitated the latter's rise to the throne. In 923, Kourkouas was appointed commander-in-chief of the Byzantine armies along the eastern frontier, facing the
Abbasid Caliphate and the semi-autonomous Muslim
border emirates. He kept this post for more than twenty years, overseeing decisive Byzantine military successes that altered the strategic balance in the region. (Full article...)
Some older writers refer to her as "Catherine". Charles Diehl has shown that it was based on
Du Cange’s misunderstanding of the Mongol title "Khatun" as "Catherine". (Full article...)
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Gold solidus struck during the revolt of the Heraclii, depicting Heraclius the Elder and his son, the future Emperor
Heraclius, wearing consular robes.
Heraclius the Elder (
Greek: Ἡράκλειος, Herákleios; died 610) was a
Byzantine general and the father of
Byzantine emperorHeraclius (r. 610–641). Generally considered to be of
Armenian origin Heraclius the Elder distinguished himself in the
war against the
Sassanid Persians in the 580s. As a subordinate general (or hypostrategos), Heraclius served under the command of
Philippicus during the
Battle of Solachon and possibly served under
Comentiolus during the Battle of Sisarbanon. In circa 595, Heraclius the Elder is mentioned as a magister militum per
Armeniam sent by
Emperor Maurice (r. 582–602) to quell an Armenian rebellion led by Samuel Vahewuni and Atat Khorkhoruni. In circa 600, he was appointed as the
Exarch of
Africa and in 608, Heraclius the Elder rebelled with his son against the usurper
Phocas (r. 602–610). Using
North Africa as a base, the younger Heraclius managed to overthrow Phocas, beginning the
Heraclian dynasty, which would rule Byzantium for a century. Heraclius the Elder died soon after receiving news of his son's accession to the Byzantine throne. (Full article...)
Heraclius's reign was marked by several military campaigns. The year Heraclius came to power, the empire was threatened on multiple frontiers. Heraclius immediately took charge of the
Byzantine–Sasanian War of 602–628. The first battles of the campaign ended in defeat for the Byzantines; the Persian army fought their way to the
Bosphorus but
Constantinople was protected by impenetrable walls and a strong navy, and Heraclius was able to avoid total defeat. Soon after, he initiated reforms to rebuild and strengthen the military. Heraclius drove the Persians out of
Asia Minor and pushed deep into their territory, defeating them decisively in 627 at the
Battle of Nineveh. The Persian Shah
Khosrow II was overthrown and executed by his son
Kavad II, who soon sued for a peace treaty, agreeing to withdraw from all occupied territory. This way peaceful relations were restored to the two deeply strained empires. (Full article...)
Andronikos II Palaiologos (
Greek: Ἀνδρόνικος Δούκας Ἄγγελος Κομνηνὸς Παλαιολόγος,
romanized: Andrónikos Doúkās Ángelos Komnēnós Palaiologos; 25 March 1259 – 13 February 1332),
Latinized as Andronicus II Palaeologus, reigned as
Byzantine emperor from 1282 to 1328. Andronikos' reign marked the beginning of the recently-restored empire's final decline. The Turks conquered most of its remaining Anatolian territories and, during the last years of his reign, he also had to fight his
own grandson in the
First Palaiologan Civil War. The war ended in Andronikos' forced abdication in 1328 after which he retired to a monastery for the remainder of his life. (Full article...)
His reign is marked by the ambitious but only partly realized renovatio imperii, or "restoration of the Empire". This ambition was expressed by the partial recovery of the territories of the defunct
Western Roman Empire. His general,
Belisarius, swiftly conquered the
Vandal Kingdom in North Africa. Subsequently, Belisarius,
Narses, and other generals conquered the
Ostrogothic kingdom, restoring
Dalmatia,
Sicily,
Italy, and
Rome to the empire after more than half a century of rule by the Ostrogoths. The
praetorian prefect Liberius reclaimed the south of the
Iberian peninsula, establishing the province of
Spania. These campaigns re-established Roman control over the western Mediterranean, increasing the Empire's annual revenue by over a million
solidi. During his reign, Justinian also subdued the Tzani, a people on the east coast of the
Black Sea that had never been under Roman rule before. He engaged the
Sasanian Empire in the east during
Kavad I's reign, and later again during
Khosrow I's reign; this second conflict was partially initiated due to his ambitions in the west. (Full article...)
Kassia, Cassia or Kassiani (
Greek: Κασσιανή,
romanized: Kassianí, pronounced [kasia'ni];
c. 810 – before 865) was a
Byzantine-Greek
composer,
hymnographer and poet. She holds a unique place in
Byzantine music as the only known woman whose music appears in the
Byzantine liturgy. Approximately fifty of her hymns are extant, most of which are
stichera, though at least 26 have uncertain attribution. The authenticity issues are due to many hymns being anonymous, and others ascribed to different authors in different manuscripts. She was an
abbess of a
convent in the west of
Constantinople.
Additionally, many
epigrams and
gnomic verses are attributed to her, at least 261. Kassia is notable as one of at least two women in the middle Byzantine period known to have written in their own names, the other being
Anna Comnena. Like her predecessors
Romanos the Melodist and
Andrew of Crete, the earliest surviving manuscripts of her works are dated centuries after her lifetime. (Full article...)
Image 11
Miniature from the Madrid Skylitzes version of the chronicle of
John Skylitzes depicting Thomas, on horseback and dressed as a Byzantine emperor, negotiating with the Arabs. The rebellion of Thomas is one of the most richly illustrated episodes in the chronicle.
An army officer of
Slavic origin from the
Pontus region (now north-eastern
Turkey), Thomas rose to prominence, along with the future emperors Michael II and
Leo V the Armenian (
r. 813–820), under the protection of general
Bardanes Tourkos. After Bardanes' failed rebellion in 803, Thomas fell into obscurity until Leo V's rise to the throne, when Thomas was raised to a senior military command in central
Asia Minor. After the murder of Leo and usurpation of the throne by Michael the Amorian, Thomas revolted, claiming the throne for himself. Thomas quickly secured support from most of the
themes (provinces) and troops in Asia Minor, defeated Michael's initial counter-attack and concluded an alliance with the
Abbasid Caliphate. After winning over the maritime themes and their ships as well, he crossed with his army to Europe and
laid siege to Constantinople. The imperial capital withstood Thomas's attacks by land and sea, while Michael II called for help from the
Bulgarian ruler
khanOmurtag. Omurtag attacked Thomas's army, but although repelled, the Bulgarians inflicted heavy casualties on Thomas's men, who broke and fled when Michael took to the field a few months later. Thomas and his supporters sought refuge in
Arcadiopolis, where he was soon blockaded by Michael's troops. In the end, Thomas's supporters surrendered him in exchange for a pardon, and he was executed. (Full article...)
Anastasius I Dicorus (
Greek: Ἀναστάσιος,
translit.Anastásios;
c. 431 – 9 July 518) was
Eastern Roman emperor from 491 to 518. A career civil servant, he came to the throne at the age of 61 after being chosen by the wife of his predecessor,
Zeno. His reign was characterised by reforms and improvements in the government, finances, economy, and bureaucracy of the Empire. He is noted for leaving the empire with a stable government, reinvigorated monetary economy and a sizeable budget surplus, which allowed the Empire to pursue more ambitious policies under his successors, most notably
Justinian I. Since many of Anastasius' reforms proved long-lasting, his influence over the Empire endured for many centuries.
Anastasius was a
Miaphysite and his personal religious tendencies caused tensions throughout his reign in the Empire which was becoming increasingly divided along religious lines. He is venerated as a saint by the
Syriac Orthodox Church on 29 July. (Full article...)
In July 2013, David and his sons and nephew were canonized by the Holy Synod of the
Patriarchate of Constantinople. Their feast day was determined as 1 November, the anniversary of their deaths. (Full article...)
Image 16
Gold tetarteron of Isaac I Komnenos, showing the Emperor wielding a
globus cruciger and holding a sheathed sword
The son of the general
Manuel Erotikos Komnenos, he was orphaned at an early age, and was raised under the care of Emperor
Basil II. He made his name as a successful military commander, serving as commander-in-chief of the eastern armies between
c. 1042 and 1054. In 1057 he became the head of a conspiracy of the dissatisfied eastern generals against the newly crowned
Michael VI Bringas. Proclaimed emperor by his followers on 8 June 1057, he rallied sufficient military forces to defeat the loyalist army at the
Battle of Hades. While Isaac was willing to accept a compromise solution by being appointed Michael's heir, a powerful faction in
Constantinople, led by the ambitious
Patriarch of Constantinople,
Michael Keroularios, pressured Michael to abdicate. After Michael abdicated on 30 August 1057, Isaac was crowned emperor in the
Hagia Sophia on 1 September. (Full article...)
Irene of Athens (
Greek: Εἰρήνη, Eirénē; 750/756 – 9 August 803), surname Sarantapechaina (Σαρανταπήχαινα), was
Byzantine empress consort to
Emperor Leo IV from 775 to 780,
regent during the childhood of their son
Constantine VI from 780 until 790, co-ruler from 792 until 797, and finally
empress regnant and sole ruler of the
Eastern Roman Empire from 797 to 802. A member of the politically prominent Sarantapechos family, she was selected as Leo IV's bride for unknown reasons in 768. Even though her husband was an
iconoclast, she harbored
iconophile sympathies. During her rule as regent, she called the
Second Council of Nicaea in 787, which condemned iconoclasm as
heretical and brought an end to the first iconoclast period (730–787). Her public figure was very polarizing during her 5 year reign, as most saw a woman not right to solely rule. Her sole reign made her the first ever empress regnant, ruling in her own right, in Roman and Byzantine imperial history.
She was influential in government policies during her husband's reign. His untimely death caused the throne to actually fall to her, leaving her solely in charge. As Irene's son Constantine reached maturity, he began to move out from under the influence of his mother. In the early 790s, several revolts tried to proclaim him as sole ruler. One of these revolts succeeded, but in 792, Irene was re-established in all imperial powers as co-emperor with Constantine. In 797, Irene organized a conspiracy in which her supporters gouged out her son's eyes, maiming him severely. He was imprisoned and probably died shortly afterwards. With him out of the way, Irene proclaimed herself sole ruler.
Pope Leo III—already seeking to break links with the Byzantine East—used Irene's alleged unprecedented status as a female ruler of the
Roman Empire to proclaim
Charlemagne as
Emperor of the Romans on Christmas Day of 800 under the pretext that a woman could not rule and so the throne of the Roman Empire was actually vacant. A revolt in 802 overthrew Irene and exiled her to the island of
Lesbos, supplanting her on the throne with
Nikephoros I. Irene died in exile less than a year later. (Full article...)
Maurice's reign was troubled by almost constant warfare. After he became emperor, he brought the
war with Sasanian Persia to a
victorious conclusion. The empire's eastern border in the
South Caucasus was vastly expanded and, for the first time in nearly two centuries, the Romans were no longer obliged to pay the Persians thousands of pounds of gold annually for peace. (Full article...)
Alexios Komnenos (
Greek: Ἀλέξιος Κομνηνός;
c. 1135/42 – after 1182) was a
Byzantine aristocrat and courtier. A son of
Andronikos Komnenos and nephew of Emperor
Manuel I Komnenos, he rose to the high rank of prōtostratōr in 1167. In 1176 he participated in the
Myriokephalon campaign where, following the death of his older brother
John, he was raised to the titles of prōtosebastos and prōtovestiarios. Following Manuel's death in 1180, he won the favour, and reportedly became the lover, of Empress-
dowagerMaria of Antioch. Through her he ruled the Byzantine Empire for two years as de facto regent of the underage emperor
Alexios II Komnenos. The aristocracy challenged his dominance, led by the princess
Maria Komnene, who plotted to assassinate the prōtosebastos. The plot was discovered and most conspirators arrested, but Maria and her husband fled to the
Hagia Sophia, protected by Patriarch
Theodosios Borradiotes and the common people of
Constantinople.
Mounting tensions resulted in a popular uprising against Alexios' regime on 2 May 1181, (modern scholars have proposed other dates as well), which ended in a mutual reconciliation. His power shaken, the prōtosebastos reacted by punishing Borradiotes for his role in the affair. Overwhelming opposition, both among the people and the aristocracy, forced him to recall Borradiotes soon after. These events left Alexios in poor shape to oppose the advance of the adventurer
Andronikos I Komnenos, who moved against Constantinople from the east. The generals dispatched against Andronikos were defeated or defected, and the usurper entered the city in April 1182. The prōtosebastos Alexios was deposed, publicly humiliated, and
mutilated. His fate thereafter is not known. (Full article...)
Image 20
Icon of St. Gregory the Theologian Fresco from
Kariye Camii, Istanbul, Turkey
Gregory of Nazianzus (
Greek: Γρηγόριος ὁ Ναζιανζηνός, Grēgorios ho Nazianzēnos;
c. 329 – 25 January 390), also known as Gregory the Theologian or Gregory Nazianzen, was a 4th-century
Archbishop of Constantinople and theologian. He is widely considered the most accomplished rhetorical stylist of the
patristic age. As a classically trained orator and philosopher, he infused
Hellenism into the
early church, establishing the paradigm of
Byzantine theologians and church officials.
Gregory made a significant impact on the shape of
Trinitarian theology among both Greek and
Latin-speaking theologians, and he is remembered as the "Trinitarian Theologian". Much of his theological work continues to influence modern theologians, especially in regard to the relationship among the three Persons of the Trinity. Along with the brothers
Basil the Great and
Gregory of Nyssa, he is known as one of the
Cappadocian Fathers. (Full article...)
Alexios V Doukas (
Greek: Ἀλέξιος Δούκας;
c. 1140 – December 1204), in Latinised spelling Alexius V Ducas, was
Byzantine emperor from February to April 1204, just prior to the
sack of Constantinople by the participants of the
Fourth Crusade. His family name was
Doukas, but he was also known by the nickname Mourtzouphlos or Murtzuphlus (Μούρτζουφλος), referring to either bushy, overhanging eyebrows or a sullen, gloomy character. He achieved power through a
palace coup, killing his predecessors in the process. Though he made vigorous attempts to defend Constantinople from the crusader army, his military efforts proved ineffective. His actions won the support of the mass of the populace, but he alienated the elite of the city. Following the fall, sack, and occupation of the city, Alexios V was
blinded by another ex-emperor and later executed by the new
Latin regime. He was the last Byzantine emperor to rule in Constantinople until the Byzantine
recapture of Constantinople in 1261. (Full article...)
Image 22
A mosaic in
Hagia Sophia showing Leo VI paying homage to Christ
Leo VI, called the Wise (
Greek: Λέων ὁ Σοφός,
romanized: Léōn ho Sophós, 19 September 866 – 11 May 912), was
Byzantine Emperor from 886 to 912. The second ruler of the
Macedonian dynasty (although his parentage is unclear), he was very well read, leading to his
epithet. During his reign, the renaissance of letters, begun by his predecessor
Basil I, continued; but the
Empire also saw several military defeats in the
Balkans against
Bulgaria and against the Arabs in
Sicily and the
Aegean. His reign also witnessed the formal discontinuation of several ancient Roman institutions, such as the separate office of
Roman consul. (Full article...)
Image 23
Coin depicting John II Megas Komnenos
John II Megas Komnenos (
Greek: Ἰωάννης Μέγας Κομνηνός, Iōannēs Megas Komnēnos) (c. 1262 – 16 August 1297) was
Emperor of
Trebizond from June 1280 to his death in 1297. He was the youngest son of Emperor
Manuel I and his third wife,
Irene Syrikaina, a Trapezuntine noblewoman. John succeeded to the throne after his full-brother
George was betrayed by his
archons on the mountain of Taurezion. It was during his reign that the style of the rulers of Trebizond changed; until then, they claimed the traditional title of the
Byzantine emperors, "
Emperor and
Autocrat of the
Romans", but from John II on they changed it to "Emperor and Autocrat of all the East, the Iberians, and the
Transmarine Provinces", although Iberia had been lost in the reign of
Andronikos I Gidos.
John is the first ruler of Trebizond for whom we know more than a few incidents and hints; there is enough information to compose a connected narrative of the first part of his reign. The chronicle of
Michael Panaretos, which is often terse and even cryptic, is relatively full for John's reign, and external sources add further details to Panaretos' account. Emperor John II faced many challenges to his rule, which partly explains his marriage to the daughter of the Byzantine emperor
Michael VIII Palaiologos. (Full article...)
Nikephoros Phokas (
Greek: Νικηφόρος Φωκᾶς,
romanized: Nikēphoros Phōkas; died 895/6 or
c. 900), usually surnamed the Elder to distinguish him from his grandson, Emperor
Nikephoros II Phokas, was one of the most prominent
Byzantine generals of the late 9th century, and the first important member of the
Phokas family. As a youth he was taken into the personal retinue of Emperor
Basil I the Macedonian, rising quickly to the posts of protostrator and then governor of
Charsianon, whence he fought with success against the
Arabs. In
c. 886 he led a major expedition in
southern Italy, where his victories laid the foundation for the
Byzantine resurgence in the peninsula. After his return, he was raised to the post of
Domestic of the Schools, in effect commander-in-chief of the army, which he led with success against the Arabs in the east and the
Bulgarians of Tsar
Simeon in the
Balkans. He died either in 895/6 or, less likely, sometime
c. 900. Contemporaries and later historians lauded him for his military ability and character. Both of his sons later succeeded him as Domestics of the Schools. His grandsons Nikephoros and
Leo were likewise distinguished generals, while the former became emperor in 963–969, spearheading the recovery of several lost provinces from the Arabs. (Full article...)
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