Byzantine Empire
Greece, 395 CE–1453. Draft, not yet reviewed
The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Eastern part of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. The term 'Byzantine Empire' was coined only after its demise; its citizens used the term 'Roman Empire' and called themselves 'Romans'. Theodosius I made Christianity the state religion and Greek gradually replaced Latin for official use. The fall of Constantinople to the Ottomans in 1453 brought the empire to an end.
Seat of power: Constantinople
Rulers
Theodosius II
Byzantine emperor, 408 CE–450 CE
He was proclaimed Augustus as an infant and ruled as the Eastern Empire's sole emperor after the death of his father Arcadius in 408. His reign was marked by the promulgation of the Theodosian law code, the construction of the Theodosian walls of Constantinople, and the founding of the University of Constantinople in 425.
Anastasius I
Byzantine emperor, 491 CE–518 CE
His reign was characterized by reforms and improvements in the empire's government, finances, economy and bureaucracy. A career civil servant, he came to the throne at the age of 61 after being chosen by Ariadne, the wife of his predecessor, Zeno.
Portrait of Anastasius I: CNG, CC BY-SA 2.5, file
Justinian I
Byzantine emperor, 527 CE–565 CE
His reign was marked by the ambitious but only partly realized renovatio imperii ('restoration of the Empire'). His general, Belisarius, swiftly conquered the Vandal Kingdom in North Africa.
Portrait of Justinian I: Petar Milošević, CC BY-SA 4.0, file
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Heraclius
Byzantine emperor, 610 CE–641 CE
Heraclius's reign was marked by wars against the Persians and the Arabs. Heraclius drove the Persians out of Asia Minor and pushed deep into their territory, defeating them in 627 at the Battle of Nineveh and devastating much of Mesopotamia.
Portrait of Heraclius: Classical Numismatic Group, CC BY-SA 2.5, file
Constantine IV
Byzantine emperor, 654 CE–685 CE
His reign saw the first serious check to nearly 50 years of uninterrupted Arab expansion, most notably his successful defence of Constantinople, and the temporary stabilization of the Byzantine Empire after decades of war, defeats, and civil strife. His calling of the Sixth Ecumenical Council saw the end of the monothelitism controversy in the Byzantine Empire.
Portrait of Constantine IV: Sailko, CC BY-SA 4.0, file
Konstantinos V
Byzantine emperor, 741 CE–775 CE
His reign saw a consolidation of Byzantine security from external threats. With this eastern frontier secure, he undertook repeated campaigns against the Bulgars in the Balkans. His fervent support of iconoclasm and opposition to monasticism led to his vilification by some contemporary commentators and the majority of later Byzantine writers.
Portrait of Konstantinos V: CNG, CC BY-SA 2.5, file
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Konstantinos VII
Byzantine emperor, 913 CE–959 CE
Most of his reign was dominated by co-regents: from 913 until 919 he was under the regency of his mother, while from 920 until 945 he shared the throne with Romanos Lekapenos, whose daughter Helena he married, and his sons. He is best known for the Geoponika, an important agronomic treatise compiled during his reign.
Portrait of Konstantinos VII: Wooofer, CC BY-SA 4.0, file
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Basil II
Byzantine emperor, 976 CE–1025
His reign of 49 years and 11 months was the longest of any Roman emperor. Basil then oversaw the stabilization and expansion of the eastern frontier of the Byzantine Empire and the complete subjugation of the First Bulgarian Empire, its foremost European foe, after a long struggle.
Portrait of Basil II: from the Middle Ages, unknown, Public domain, file
Alexios I Komnenos
Byzantine emperor, 1081–1118
After usurping the imperial office he was faced with a collapsing empire and constant warfare throughout his reign. Alexios was able to curb the Byzantine decline and begin the military, financial, and territorial recovery known as the Komnenian restoration. His appeals to Western Europe for help against the Seljuk Turks were the catalyst that sparked the First Crusade.
Portrait of Alexios I Komnenos: Alexios1komnenos.jpg: UnknownUnknown derivative work: Constantine ✍, Public domain, file
Manuel I Komnenos
Byzantine emperor, 1143–1180
His reign saw the last flowering of the Komnenian restoration, during which the Byzantine Empire experienced a resurgence of military and economic power and enjoyed a cultural revival. He invaded the Norman Kingdom of Sicily, although unsuccessfully, being the last Eastern Roman emperor to attempt reconquests in the western Mediterranean.
Portrait of Manuel I Komnenos: Uploader: User:Tokle, Public domain, file
Andronikos II Palaiologos
Byzantine emperor, 1282–1328
His reign marked the beginning of the recently restored empire's final decline. The Turks conquered most of Byzantium's remaining Anatolian territories, and Andronikos spent the last years of his reign fighting his own grandson in the First Palaiologan Civil War.
Portrait of Andronikos II Palaiologos: George Pachymeres, CC BY-SA 4.0, file
John V Palaiologos
Byzantine emperor, 1341–1376
His long reign was marked by constant civil war, the spread of the Black Death and several military defeats to the Ottoman Turks, who rose as the dominant power of the region. John V assumed real power in 1354, removing John VI and his son Matthew.
Portrait of John V Palaiologos: David Hendrix (photographer), Public domain, file
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Manuel II Palaiologos
Byzantine emperor, 1391–1425
Manuel was a vassal of the Ottoman Empire, which sometimes threatened to capture his territory outright. Accordingly he continued his father's practice of soliciting Western European aid against the Ottomans, and personally visited several foreign courts to plead his cause. These efforts failed, although an Ottoman civil war and Byzantine victories against Latin neighbors helped Manuel's government survive and slightly expand its influence.
Portrait of Manuel II Palaiologos: The original uploader was Pitchka, CC BY-SA 4.0, file
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Culture
- The Byzantine Empire reached its greatest extent under the reign of Justinian I, who briefly reconquered much of Italy and the western Mediterranean coast.
- The empire was severely fragmented in 1204, following the sack of Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade; its former territories were then divided into competing Greek rump states and Latin realms.
- The current structure was built by the Byzantine emperor Justinian I as the Christian basilica of Constantinople between 532 and 537 and was designed by the Greek geometers Isidore of Miletus and Anthemius of Tralles.
Picture
Hagia Sophia, the last of three church buildings to be successively erected on its site by the Eastern Roman Empire, was completed in AD 537, becoming the world's largest interior space.
Image: Adli Wahid, CC BY-SA 3.0, file
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Sources
Text adapted from the Wikipedia articles listed as sources, CC BY-SA 4.0.