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🏛️ MEMORIALIZING BYZANTINE CIVILIZATION AND THE CITY OF CONSTANTINOPLE 🏛️

  • EMPERORS
    • Constantine the Great
    • Alexios Komnenos
    • Constantine XI Palaiologos
    • The Varangian Guard: Imperial Security
  • CONSTANTINOPLE
    • Church of the Holy Apostles
    • Hagia Sophia
    • The Pharos and it’s Relics
    • The Theodosian Walls
    • Aqueduct of Valens
    • The Sea Walls of Constantinople
    • The Anastasian Wall
  • Other Byzantine cities
    • Nicaea
    • Amorion
    • Medieval Athens
  • Byzantine Art/Mosaics
    • The Omphalion of Hagia Sophia
    • Theodora Mosaic
    • Justinian Mosaic
    • Palace of Theoderic
    • Constantine IV Mosaic
    • Leo VI “The Wise” Mosaic
    • Nikephoros Phokas Fresco
  • Sieges Of Constantinople
    • The Fourth Crusade and the Rape of Constantinople (1204)
    • Liberation of Constantinople 1261
    • The Fall of Constantinople 1453
  • Fascinating Topics
    • Roman-Chinese Foreign Relations
    • Negative Media Portrayal of Romans
    • Being Roman: Byzantine Ethnicity
  • Roman/Byzantine Continuity

Byzantine Identity

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THE WORLD OF BYZANTIUM

  • EMPERORS
    • Constantine the Great
    • Alexios Komnenos
    • Constantine XI Palaiologos
    • The Varangian Guard: Imperial Security
  • CONSTANTINOPLE
    • Church of the Holy Apostles
    • Hagia Sophia
    • The Pharos and it’s Relics
    • The Theodosian Walls
    • Aqueduct of Valens
    • The Sea Walls of Constantinople
    • The Anastasian Wall
  • Other Byzantine cities
    • Nicaea
    • Amorion
    • Medieval Athens
  • Byzantine Art/Mosaics
    • The Omphalion of Hagia Sophia
    • Theodora Mosaic
    • Justinian Mosaic
    • Palace of Theoderic
    • Constantine IV Mosaic
    • Leo VI “The Wise” Mosaic
    • Nikephoros Phokas Fresco
  • Sieges Of Constantinople
    • The Fourth Crusade and the Rape of Constantinople (1204)
    • Liberation of Constantinople 1261
    • The Fall of Constantinople 1453
  • Fascinating Topics
    • Roman-Chinese Foreign Relations
    • Negative Media Portrayal of Romans
    • Being Roman: Byzantine Ethnicity
  • Roman/Byzantine Continuity
Basil II cemented the status of “the growing presence of Venetian merchants at Constantinople. In 992 Basil II encouraged their activities by reducing the tolls on their ships paid for passage through the Hellespont to Constantinople. The effect was to favour Constantinople’s role as the clearing house of Mediterranean trade and to underline her position as the cross-roads of the medieval world.” One statistic which is always hard to evaluate with certainty is the number of soldiers in a battle. But what about the numbers of not an army but THE army. How many soldiers did the medieval Romans have defending their constantly embattled borders? What impact did the Crusades have on the survival of the medieval Roman state? Well, that’s complicated but here’s some of my opinions: John Komnenos was a great Emperor, but sadly we know less about him than either Alexios or Manuel. Sadly he has no historian which focused on his excellent tenure as Emperor of the Romans. The column of Arcadius must have been huge since it’s base is this big, those houses offer good comparative scale…it used to be a column with a spiral staircase inside, which apparently is partially intact inside it’s ruined base. It was surely impressive in its prime. Nikephoros Botaneiates ruled from 1078 until 1081. He had proved more or less to be just yet another ineffective nobody during the 10 year slide following the battle of Manzikert. According to Anna Komnene, Botaneiates offered to let Alexios run the empire in all but name after Alexios and his men broke into the city: I am a huge fan of Alexios Komnenos, but no one is perfect. A shameful episode occurred during the process of his accession to the imperial throne. His own army sacked Constantinople. This was not a fourth crusade level sack, but nonetheless deplorable I often wonder what it felt like for the people of Byzantium as Roman city after Roman city fell through the 14th and 15th centuries. Donald M. Nicol analyzed looming threat that well: I think the story of Romanos IV Diogenes would make for an epic movie, since his reign is a tragedy and to me he is a hero. His reign is short enough to make into a movie. Imagine:

A Street In Constantinople – By Raphtor

A Street In Constantinople - By Raphtor

Imperial Palace Mosaic – By ShadowsOfConstantinople

by ShadowsofConstantinople

Chalke Gate to the Great Palace of Constantinopleby AMELIANVS

Theophano: A Byzantine Tale – a Graphic novel you should buy!

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