The Byzantine Empire

1. The Byzantine Empire The “New” Rome

2. The Byzantine Empire Constantine, son of the Roman general and governor Constantius and Helena (later St. Helena who was a Christian and who reputedly found and dug up the “true Cross of Christ” in Palestine), was made emperor Augustus by his/his father’s troops on his father’s death in 306 CE.

3. The Byzantine Empire Six years later, Constantine’s army defeated Maxentius (his co-emperor in the West). Legend has it that Constantine was inspired by a heavenly (Christian) vision during the campaign.

4. The Byzantine Empire Over the next 11 years, Constantine defeated the two “Eastern” Roman emperors (Maximum and Licinius) and by 323 CE, was sole ruler of the disintegrating Roman Empire. Constantine was now faced with trying to slow (or stop) the Empire’s collapse and create one that would be durable (since formidable enemies like the barbarian Germanic tribes and the Persians were close).

5. The Byzantine Empire He quickly made two major decisions: 1). He assured Christianity legal status within the Empire. Priests were allowed the same tax exemption as other religions, and Christian holy days were honored as respectfully as pagan festivals, and; 2). He moved the Empire’s sole capital from Rome...the scene of plot and counterplot, treason, and conspiracy.

6. The Byzantine Empire To the north and west, the Empire’s provincial capitals were too remote and uncivilized to serve as suitable nerve centers for the vast Roman realm. But to the east lay an urban civilization older and richer than Rome’s…it was there that the main trade routes converged and there lay some of the most important centers of Christianity.

7. The Byzantine Empire After considering several cities to be his capital (like Jerusalem, Naissus (Constantine’s birthplace), Nicomedia (in Anatolia), Sardica (today’s Sophia), Thessalonica (Salonika—a city visited by St. Paul and vital to eastern commerce), he chose ancient Ilium (Troy) the site of the epic battle between the Greeks and the Trojans immortalized by Homer.

8. The Byzantine Empire Journeying to that site Constantine declared it a proper location for his future capital. According to legend, he had the lines of his capital city laid out and construction had begun (the gates in the main wall had already been hung) when God appeared one night and commanded another location. He then chose Byzantium.

9. The Byzantine Empire On May 11, 330 CE the Emperor Constantine inaugurated the “New Rome which is Constantinople,” to share with Rome, as co-capital, the administration of his huge empire.

10. The Byzantine Empire • On the city’s inauguration day, a statue of Apollo had its head replaced with that of Constantine and was hoisted to the top of the column in the Forum. • In its right hand was a scepter and in its left was a globe (it survived until the 12th century when a storm knocked it over—it was replaced by a golden cross).

11. The Byzantine Empire The statue of Constantine as Apollo (an artistic recreation).

12. The Byzantine Empire • Constantinople stood where the land routes from Asia to Eastern Europe found their narrowest sea crossing. • Goods came to and through Constantinople from China, India, Africa, and Ceylon…ivory and amber, porcelain and precious stones, silks and damask, aloes and balsam, cinnamon and ginger, etc. • West of the city grapes and grains flourished and the seas teemed with fish.

13. The Byzantine Empire • The defenses that nature bestowed on the city were impressive. To the south stretched the Sea of Marmara, and almost at the point where the Bosporus flowed into this sea a narrow inlet leads along the northern shore of the triangular peninsula to form a perfect landlocked harbor. • This is the Golden Horn, named for its shape and the wealth that commerce of the world deposited on its docks.

14. The Byzantine Empire

15. The Byzantine Empire • When Constantine decided to move his capital city, his new city was to be more magnificent than the old Rome. • Like Rome, Constantinople was a city of seven hills divided into 14 districts. • From the old Rome, Constantine brought the sacred talisman of the Empire, the Palladium.

16. The Byzantine Empire • The Palladium was the wooden statue of Pallas Athena believed to have been dropped from the sky and to have been carried by Aeneas from Troy to Italy.

17. The Byzantine Empire • Constantine had members of noble families follow him to form a new senatorial class. • The main imperial buildings were built on Roman models and all statues and works of art he could take from Rome were sent to his new city (including the Calydonian boar and the serpentine column from Delphi which listed the Greek cities that defeated the Persians at Plataea in 479 BCE).

18. The fabled serpentine column from Delphi. The Byzantine Empire

19. The Byzantine Empire • But Constantinople was not an imitation of old Rome…it was to be a Christian city. • Constantine began building the Hagia Sophia (the Church of Holy Wisdom— later completed by Justinian) and the Church of the Holy Apostles. Here there were 12 symbolic tombs of the apostles and a 13th for himself.

20. The Byzantine Empire • The Hagia Sophia:

21. The Byzantine Empire • Interior of the Hagia Sophia:

22. Here in the Church of the Holy Apostles many later emperors were buried. All were regarded as “the equal of the apostles.” This building would inspire Venice’s Cathedral of St. Mark. The Byzantine Empire

23. The Byzantine Empire • Throughout the new city Constantine introduced Christian emblems such as crosses and relics of the saints because the Byzantines regarded themselves as the chosen people of God. • In the Imperial Palace the Four gospels were placed on an empty throne as a symbol of the living presence of God.

24. The Byzantine Empire • The emperor claimed to rule by divine right and to serve as the spokesman of Heaven’s will…to dramatize the point they occasionally mounted the pulpit and preached a sermon to their court. • Artists always portrayed the emperor with a halo or nimbus around his head.

25. The Byzantine Empire • The Forum of Constantine featured the adze of Noah (with which he supposedly built the Ark) and the spikenard (fragrant oil) that Mary Magdalen supposedly anointed the feet of Jesus.

26. The Byzantine Empire • Many monuments were dedicated to the Virgin Mary, who was considered the city’s special protectress and spiritual guardian against all enemies. • Several churches were dedicated to her and several of her relics were housed in the city (including her robe and belt). During times of great peril, these relics were paraded around walls and battlements of the city, begging her protection.

27. The Byzantine Empire • Relics were brought to Constantinople from all over the Christian world. • These included the linen worn by the Infant Jesus, the Crown of Thorns, the lance that pierced His side, and the stone of the Tomb; the venerated relics of St. Luke, St. Andrew, and St. Timothy, and the head of John the Baptist. • It was believed that by possessing these relics, something of heaven’s influence and radiance might be conferred on Constantinople.

28. The Byzantine Empire • Constantine’s appetite for building was formidable. Using marble brought from the islands in the Sea of Marmara and wood from forests bordering the Black Sea, the city became the envy of the Mediterranean world. • It boasted two theaters, eight public and 153 private baths, five granaries, eight aqueducts or cisterns, 14 churches, 14 palaces, and 4,388 houses of sufficient size to be recorded.

29. The Byzantine Empire • Constantine’s Hippodrome could seat 60,000 spectators; it was 1300 feet long and nearly 500 feet wide. • Down the center ran the spina—the backbone—a low stone barrier with three cones at each end marking the turning points for the course.

30. The Byzantine Empire Inside the great walls surrounding the city (over 13 miles and 50 gates—Constantinople was a fortress) there were a few thoroughfares but mostly it was a dense tangle of streets (some a cart couldn’t get through).

31. The Byzantine Empire • The city had no distinct area for the wealthy …the homes of the very rich were often flanked by modest homes of the middle class or even the shelters or tenements of the poor. • The supply of fresh water, stored in covered cisterns and piped to fountains at street corners and public squares, was available to everyone without charge.

32. The Byzantine Empire • Sewage and waste water were carried away from the houses and down to the sea through an intricate system of underground drains. • The city’s many public baths were open to men and women at different times.

33. The Byzantine Empire • The main street of the city ran from the westward walls almost to the gates of the Imperial Palace and was called the Mese’ (or Middle Street). • Bordered by columned porticos and interrupted by squares containing the statues of emperors and empresses, it was the “royal highway.” • All major imperial processions followed the Mese’.

34. The Byzantine Empire • Here too were most of the city’s fine shops, piled with the products of Byzantium’s luxury industries: silks and brocades, copper and gold work, leather and glass, jewels, etc. • Where the street ended near the palace the perfumers had their shops (so the area near the imperial palace always smelled nice).

35. The Byzantine Empire • Medical and hospital care was provided by the government and the Church to those who could not afford to pay. • The only criteria for citizenship were simply the use of Greek in everyday speech and membership in the Orthodox Church.

36. The Byzantine Empire • To most, the greatest architectural gem of Constantinople was the church of Hagia Sophia (Holy Wisdom). • Started by Constantine, destroyed by fire, then reconstructed by Justinian (and today a museum), it remains one of the greatest artistic expressions of the Christian world.

37. The Byzantine Empire • By the time of Justinian (6th century), Constantinople was believed to have over 600,000 inhabitants…a cosmopolitan mixture of peoples from Britain, Spain and Gaul, from Scandinavia and Russia, from Persia, Arabia, Africa and Asia. • These visitors were merchants, sailors, diplomats, and travelers, mingling with the simply clad Byzantines with their furs, exotic headdresses, brightly colored cloaks—and unfamiliar languages.

38. The Byzantine Empire • On national holidays and religious celebrations, the whole city would turn out to watch the magnificent procession of the emperor and his court, accompanied by the patriarch and his attendants. • Many in the throng of spectators would be recognized by the type of clothing they wore: philosophers wore gray, physicians wore blue, and ascetics wore robes of scarlet with their hair in nets.

39. The Byzantine Empire • The life of the city was centered around three great structures or groups of buildings—the Hippodrome, the Imperial Palace, and the Church of Hagia Sophia. • They represented the three main constituents of the Byzantine world: the people, the imperial authority and the religion. • They were located close to each other.

40. The Byzantine Empire From its inception, three elements characterized the new city: 1. Greek language and customs; 2. Roman law and administration; and 3. Christian faith and organization.

41. In 335 CE Constantine had the Church of the Holy Sepulcher built in Jerusalem. The church was believed to be built on top of the spot where Christ was crucified at Golgatha (Hill of Calvary). Since the 4th century, this has been the most visited/important pilgrimage site in Jerusalem for Christians. The Byzantine Empire

42. The Byzantine Empire • The last of the great Roman emperors (and the last to speak Latin instead of Greek) was Justinian I (r. 527-565). • He became emperor at the age of 45. • Under Justinian, the Byzantine world became distinct from the Roman world.

43. The Byzantine Empire • As emperor, Justinian thrived on a strict regimen: he ate little and fasted often; he arose early and worked late on affairs of state. • After a full day he usually studied late into the night to enlarge his considerable knowledge of law, theology, music, and architecture.

44. The Byzantine Empire • His wife Theodora was an equally remarkable person: she was an actress and courtesan, daughter of a bear-keeper at the Hippodrome, and before her marriage, she had so great a reputation for debauchery that people avoided her in the streets. • But she was also known to be very intelligent and compassionate…she built hospitals for the poor and she converted an old palace into a home for destitute women.

45. The Byzantine Empire Legend has it that Justinian fell madly in love with Theodora and she initially became his mistress (a man of senatorial rank was barred by law to marry an actress). So Justinian had the law rewritten.

46. The Byzantine Empire Under the leadership of the legendary Byzantine general Belasarius and using German (barbarian) mercenaries, Justinian’s armies recaptured many of the western regions lost to Ostrogoths (Italy and even Rome itself), the Visigoths (southern Spain and Sicily), and the Vandals (North Africa), but the costs in blood and national treasure crippled his empire.

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48. The Byzantine Empire But Justinian’s conquests were indefensible and were soon lost after his death. So it was Justinian’s legal, administrative, and architectural initiatives that produced more lasting results.

49. The Byzantine Empire Most famously, he had the tangled collection of Roman law codified and reduced into a coherent system known as the Justinian Code.

50. The Byzantine Empire • Considered one of the greatest Byzantine contributions to Western civilization, in 528 CE Justinian appointed a commission of 10 men who classified the constitutions written by various Roman emperors into a single code of 4,652 laws. • Another commission produced a 50-volume digest of major decisions that had been handed down by authoritative jurists in the Second and Third Centuries (considered the golden age of Roman law).