We explain what the Byzantine Empire was and how is the history of this empire. In addition, the territories it understood and its characteristics.
What was the Byzantine Empire?
The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Roman Empire of the East or Byzantium, was a Division of the Roman Empire that remained during the Middle Agesand was located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. Its capital was the city of Constantinople (current Istanbul, Türkiye).
Byzantium was a multiethnic Christian state, of important cultural, economic and political influence in the world of the time. The Byzantines considered heirs of the Roman Empireand they called themselves Romans. However, over time he distinguished himself from the Roman Empire of the West, due to its political, cultural and religious characteristics.
The Byzantine Empire existed between 285 and 1453 d. C. And during the Middle Ages, it constituted a barrier against the advance of Islam towards Europe. The history of Byzantium is often interpreted as the symbol of the growing abyss between Western and Oriental cultures in the history of the world.
See also: Byzantine civilization
Geographic location of the Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire It was established fundamentally in the current territories of Türkiye and Greece. During some periods of its history, its extension included the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, part of Egypt and some regions of Italy.
Political Organization of the Byzantine Empire
In Byzantium, The Greek term was used Basileus (which means “king”) to define the emperor. The position was not hereditary, but was defined through a selection procedure in which the Senate, the Army and representatives of the people intervened. Over time, this procedure began to have religious features and the figure of the Basileus obtained divine character.
On the other hand, The Byzantine government was autocratic: he Basileus He imposed his power on all matters of his citizens’ life. He was at the head of the administration and the army, created the laws and made them written, and was the supreme judge in the most important matters.
For the administration of the empire, the Basileus It had a group of officials that constituted an organized bureaucracy in a hierarchical way.
Byzantine Empire Economy
The Byzantine economy It was based on agricultural production, trade and tax collection.
The majority of the population was peasant. The main agricultural products in Byzantium were wheat, legumes, honey, wine and nuts.
Byzantium managed to develop long distance trade with different regions of Asia and North Africa. Constantinople, the capital of the Empire, became the center of large commercial networks. The main imported products were wheat (such as food for the population of cities) and silk (as a luxury article for urban high classes).
In addition, the Byzantine state charged taxes to the majority of the population. Most tax collection was invested in the Army.
Byzantine Empire Society
The population of the empire was varied, and historians They estimate that in their apogee era it reached 34 million inhabitants.
The majority of the population was peasant and There were great inequalities in relation to land possession. Some had small plots for cultivation, which allowed them to maintain family subsistence and pay state taxes. Others did not have land and worked in foreign fields in exchange for a salary. In addition, there were great landowners who, over time, incorporated plots of impoverished peasants.
Religion in the Byzantine Empire
The majority of the population practiced the Christian religion. Christianity in Byzantium had its peculiarities and, over time, it was differentiated from Western Christianity, whose center of power was Rome.
In Byzantium There was a dispute between different currents of religious interpretation. Most of the churches were decorated with images in which Christ was represented, the Virgin and the saints in biblical scenes. At the beginning of the seventh century d. C., a group of believers, known as iconoclassthey began to oppose the representation of religious images because they considered it a pagan practice.
Between 720 and 843 d. C., the Byzantine emperors adopted the iconoclast trend: They prohibited and destroyed religious representations and replaced them with crosses. However, in the middle of the ninth century, the use of religious representations was imposed again.
On the other hand, towards the eleventh century, there was the “great schism” within the Christian Church, and the churches of the East and West were as separate institutions. The Byzantine Church acquired the name of Orthodox Church: The Byzantines considered that they followed the Christian doctrine with more fidelity than the West Christians. Without good the difference between both churches was based on doctrine issues (that is, on how to interpret and practice the Christian faith), the reasons for separation were eminently political.
History of the Byzantine Empire
Throughout its history, the Byzantine Empire crossed different important moments:
Orizantine Empire Origin
At the end of the third century, before the continuous political and economic crisis of the Roman Empire, The Diocletian emperor decided to divide the empire into two partsto facilitate your control and administration. Each half was governed by a august and a cease. This system is known as Tetrarchy.
This model remained alive until the death of Dioclecian and then produced a set of internal wars to which Emperor Constantine I ended, by unifying both halves of the Empire and declare Bizancio as the new capital (“Nueva Rome” was called, but it was popularly known as as Constantinopolisthe city of Constantine). In 395 d. C., at the death of Theodosius I, the Empire was divided again. Each of his children inherited a part: Flavio Honorio prevailed over the Empire of the West, with capital in Rome; and Arcadio ruled on the Eastern Empire, with capital in Byzantium.
In 476 d. C., the Roman Empire of the West succumbed to the attack of the German tribes and the taking of the city of Rome. However, The Roman Empire of the East continued to maintain its political unit And his story lasts almost a thousand years, until his conquest for the Ottoman Empire, in 1453 d. C.
Justinian reign
The peak of the Byzantine Empire occurred during Justiniano I reignin the seventh century. The victory against the Persians on the eastern border of the empire allowed Byzantium to undertake a campaign to recover the territories of the ancient Roman Empire that, after their disintegration, now were distributed among various Germanic kingdoms. Thus, the Byzantine Empire conquered the Mediterranean coasts of North Africa, Italy and southern Spain.
During this time A cultural splendor was livedwhose best example is the temple of Santa Sofía, erected in Byzantium as a symbol of imperial rebirth. However, the war efforts had their cost and plunged the empire in a century of economic crisis and plague that eliminated a third of the population of Constantinople.
Border instability
The VI and VII centuries d. C. constitute crisis times for the Roman Empire of the Eastbesieged on multiple borders by diverse enemies: the Persians resumed their struggle in the east, the Bulgarians and Slavs did the same in the north, and Islam conquered in the Middle East the richest territories of the Empire: Syria, Palestine and Egypt.
The emperors succeeded the throne without resetting the imperial strengthand they gave up the barbaric conquests the Tiber River and almost all of Italy, and even had to defend Constantinople of the siege of the Avaros and the Slavs in 626 d. C.
In addition, there were different internal conflicts, especially linked to the religious sphere.
Macedonian Renaissance
This period continued An important recovery of the Empiregoverned by a Macedonian kings dynasty and characterized by distancing between oriental and western Christianity.
During the eleventh century, the political influence on religious aspects led to what is known as the “great schism” of Christianity, with the mutual excommunication of Pope Nicholas I and the patriarch of Constantinople Focio. With this, The official separation of the eastern and western churches was given.
Decline of the Byzantine Empire
At the end of the thirteenth century d. C., the Empire entered a crisis process that culminated in its fall in 1453 d. C. The specialists consider that there were different causes that led to the weakening of the Byzantine State:
- The bureaucratic and tax system led to local landowners to accumulate more and more land and peasants lose their small properties. This empowerment of local landowners weakened his dependence on the emperor and, therefore, his obedience.
- The great landowners used their power to evade the payment of taxes and, in turn, the impoverished peasants reduced their ability to pay taxes.
- The low collection imposed a lower investment in the Imperial Army. Given the pressure of invading groups at the borders and the development of civil wars for internal power disputes, the weakened imperial army could not sustain the power position of the emperor.
During the last century of Byzantium, The Ottoman Empire was conquering much of its territory. In 1453, the city of Constantinople was besieged for six weeks until finally the Ottoman Turks were appropriated and ended the Byzantine empire.
Culture in the Byzantine Empire
Some of important cultural features of Byzantine culture were:
- Architecture. Byzantine architecture stood out for the construction of civil and religious buildings in its main urban centers. In the city of Constantinople numerous Christian churches were built. The Church of Santa Sophia (dedicated to the “Divine Wisdom”) was sent to build by Emperor Justinian I and constitutes the top work of the “Golden Age” of Byzantine architecture. It is characterized by its huge dome and for having been, for more than a thousand years, the largest cathedral in the world.
- Art. Byzantine art stood out in sculpture, painting and mosaiquism. The beauty of wall lining work of the Byzantine churches is especially recognized.
- Identity. Byzantium was considered heiress of the Roman Empire and was called Basel Romanion (In Greek, “Roman Empire”). Its inhabitants called themselves Romioi (in Greek, “Roman”). The term “Byzantine Empire” began to be used by later historians, just around the 16th century, to differentiate it from the previous Roman Empire.
- Language. The original language of the Roman Empire was Latin. However, with the separation of the West, Latin was replaced by the Greek. Over time, the Byzantine Empire was constituted as the main state that preserved the Greek classical culture.
- Eastern influence. The Byzantine Empire took traits of Eastern cultures, with which it shared borders and held commercial exchanges. Many historians identify this influence on the accumulation of power in the emperor and the divine features he acquired.
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References
- Chrysos, E. (2004). The Byzantine Empire 565-1025 (Vol. 21). Editorial Icaria.
- TREADGOLD, W. (2001). Brief History of Byzantium. Paidós Iberian editions
- Maier, F. (1987). Byzantium. 21st century
- Patlagean, E., Ducellier, A., Asdracha, C., Mantran, R. (2003). History of Byzantium. Critical Editorial.
