Byzantium period. The most important facts about Byzantium

BYZANTIAN STATE AND LAW

In 395, the Roman Empire was divided into Western (capital - Rome) and Eastern (capital - Constantinople). The first empire ceased to exist in 476 under the blows of the Germanic tribes. The Eastern Empire, or Byzantium, existed until 1453. Byzantium got its name from the ancient Greek colony of Megara, a small town of Byzantium, on the site of which Emperor Constantine
in 324-330 he founded the new capital of the Roman Empire - Constantinople. The Byzantines themselves called themselves "Romans", and the empire - "Roman", because for a long time the capital was called "New Rome".

Byzantium was in many ways a continuation of the Roman Empire, preserving its political and state traditions. At the same time, Constantinople and Rome became the two centers of political life - the "Latin" West and the "Greek" East.

The stability of Byzantium had its own reasons,
in the features of socio-economic and historical development. Firstly, the Byzantine state included economically developed regions: Greece, Asia Minor, Syria, Egypt, the Balkan Peninsula (the territory of the empire exceeded 750,000 sq. km.
with a population of 50-65 million people), who conducted a brisk trade
with India, China, Iran, Arabia and North Africa. The decline of the economy based on slave labor was not felt here as strongly as in Western Rome, since the population was
in free or semi-free state. Agriculture was built not on forced labor in the form of large slave-owning latifundia, but on small peasant farms (communal peasantry). Therefore, small farms reacted faster to the changing market conditions and more quickly, compared to large farms, restructured their activities. And in the craft here the free workers played the main role. For these reasons, the eastern provinces suffered less than the western provinces from the economic crisis of the 3rd century.

Secondly, Byzantium, having large material resources, had a strong army, navy and a strong branched state apparatus, which made it possible to contain the raids of the barbarians. There was a strong imperial power with a flexible administrative apparatus.

Thirdly, Byzantium was built on the basis of a new Christian religion, which, in comparison with the pagan Roman religion, had a progressive significance.

The Byzantine Empire reached its greatest power
during the reign of Emperor Justinian I (527-565), who carried out extensive conquests, and again the Mediterranean Sea became an inland sea, this time of Byzantium. After the death of the monarch, the state entered into a long crisis. The countries conquered by Justinian were quickly lost. In the VI century. clashes with the Slavs begin,
and in the 7th century - with the Arabs, who at the beginning of the VIII century. seized North Africa from Byzantium.

At the beginning of the same century, Byzantium was hardly beginning to emerge from the crisis. In 717, Leo III, nicknamed the Isaurian, came to power and founded the Isaurian dynasty (717-802). He carried out a number of reforms. In order to find funds for their implementation, as well as for the maintenance of the army and administration, he decided to liquidate the monastic land ownership. This was expressed in the fight against icons, since the church was accused of paganism - the worship of icons. The authorities used iconoclasm to strengthen their political and economic positions, to subjugate the church and its wealth. Laws are being issued against the veneration of icons, regarding it as idolatry. The struggle with icons made it possible to appropriate church treasures - utensils, icon frames, shrines with the relics of saints. 100 monastic patrimonies were also confiscated, the lands of which were distributed to the peasants, as well as in the form of remuneration to soldiers for their service.

These actions strengthened the internal and external position of Byzantium, which again annexed Greece, Macedonia, Crete, South Italy and Sicily.

In the second half of the 9th century, and especially in the 10th century, Byzantium reached a new height, since the powerful Arab Caliphate gradually disintegrated into a number of independent feudal states and Byzantium conquered Syria and numerous islands in the Mediterranean from the Arabs, and at the beginning of the 11th century . annexes Bulgaria.
At that time, Byzantium was ruled by the Macedonian dynasty (867-1056), under which the foundations of a socially centralized early feudal monarchy took shape. Under her, Kievan Rus in 988 accepts Christianity from the Greeks.

Under the next dynasty, Komnenos (1057-1059, 1081-1185),
in Byzantium, feudalization intensifies and the process of enslaving the peasants is completed. With her, the feudal institution is strengthened pronia("care"). Feudalization leads to the gradual disintegration of the state, small independent principalities appear in Asia Minor. The foreign policy situation is also becoming more complicated: the Normans were advancing from the west, the Pechenegs from the north, and the Seljuks from the east. Saved Byzantium from the Seljuk Turks the first crusade. Byzantium managed to return part of its possessions. However, Byzantium and the crusaders soon began to fight among themselves. Constantinople in 1204 was taken by the Crusaders. Byzantium broke up into a number of states, loosely connected with each other.

With the coming to power of the Palaiologos dynasty (1261-1453), Byzantium managed to strengthen itself, but its territory noticeably decreased. Soon a new threat loomed over the state from the Ottoman Turks, who extended their power over Asia Minor, bringing it to the shores of the Sea of Marmara. In the fight against the Ottomans, the emperors began to hire foreign troops, who often turned their weapons against the employers. Byzantium was exhausted in the struggle, aggravated by peasant and urban uprisings. The state apparatus fell into decay, which leads to the decentralization of power and its weakening. The Byzantine emperors decide to seek help from the Catholic West. In 1439, the Union of Florence was signed, according to which the Eastern Orthodox Church submitted to the Pope. However, Byzantium never received real help from the West.
Upon the return of the Greeks to their homeland, the union was rejected by the majority of the people and the clergy.

In 1444, the crusaders suffered a severe defeat from the Ottoman Turks, who delivered the final blow to Byzantium. Emperor John VIII was forced to seek mercy from Sultan Murad II. In 1148 the Byzantine emperor dies. The last Byzantine emperor, Constantine XI Palaiologos, entered into a struggle with the new sultan Mehmed II Fatih (the Conqueror). On May 29, 1453, under the blows of the Turkish troops, Constantinople was taken, and with its fall, the Byzantine Empire actually ceased to exist. Turkey becomes one
of the powerful powers of the medieval world, and Constantinople becomes the capital of the Ottoman Empire - Istanbul (from "Islambol" - "abundance of Islam").

The name of the capital of the Byzantine Empire is the subject of endless disputes of several generations of historians. One of the most magnificent and largest cities in the world has gone by several names. Sometimes they were used together, sometimes separately. The ancient name of the capital has nothing to do with the modern name of this city. How has the name of one of the largest European cities been transformed over the centuries? Let's try to figure it out.

First inhabitants

The first known inhabitants of Byzantium were Megars. In 658 B.C. e. they founded a settlement at the narrowest point of the Bosporus and named it Chalcedon. Almost simultaneously, on the other side of the strait, the town of Byzantium grew up. A few hundred years later, both villages united and gave the name to the new city.

Steps to Prosperity

The unique geographical location of the city made it possible to control the transport of goods to the Black Sea - to the shores of the Caucasus, to Tauris and Anatolia. Thanks to this, the city quickly became rich and became one of the largest shopping centers in the Old World. The city changed several owners - it was ruled by the Persians, Athenians, Macedonians, Spartans. In 74 BC. e. Rome seized power in Byzantium. For the city, this meant the onset of a time of peace and prosperity - under the protection of the Roman legionnaires, the city began to develop at an accelerated pace.

Byzantium and Rome

At the beginning of the new millennium, Byzantium faced a real danger. The eternal rivalry of the Roman aristocrats for the right to be called emperor led to a fatal mistake. The Byzantines took the side of Piscenius Niger, who never became emperor. In Rome, they crowned Septimus Severus with a scarlet mantle - a stern warrior, an excellent military leader and a hereditary aristocrat. Enraged by the murmurings of the Byzantines, the new lord took Byzantium into a long draft. After a long standoff, the besieged Byzantines surrendered. Prolonged hostilities brought disaster and destruction to the city. Perhaps the city would not have been reborn from the ashes if not for Emperor Constantine.

New name

The new ambitious emperor began his career with several military campaigns, which ended with the victory of the Roman army. Having become the ruler of the vast territories of the Roman Empire, Constantine was faced with the fact that the eastern lands were controlled by Roman governors in a semi-autonomous mode. It was necessary to reduce the distance between the center and outlying areas. And Constantine decided to lay the second most important city of Rome in the eastern lands. He settled on the dilapidated Byzantium and directed his efforts to turning this provincial village into the brilliant capital of the Eastern Roman Empire.

The transformation began in 324. with his own spear outlined the boundaries around the city. Later, the city walls of the new metropolis were erected along this line. Enormous money and the personal participation of the emperor made a miracle possible - in just six years the city became worthy of the title of the capital. The grand opening took place on May 11, 330. On this day, the city received a new impetus to development. Revived, it was actively populated by settlers from other regions of the empire, acquired splendor and splendor, befitting the new capital. So the city got its new name - Constantinople, and became a worthy embodiment of everything that the Byzantine Empire represented. The capital of this state was not in vain called the second Rome - the eastern sister in grandeur and splendor was in no way inferior to her western brother.

Constantinople and Christianity

After the split of the great Roman Empire, Constantinople became the center of a new state - the Eastern Roman Empire. Soon the country began to be called by the first name of its own capital, and in the history books it received the corresponding name - the Byzantine Empire. The capital of this state played a huge role in the formation of Orthodox Christianity.

The Byzantine Church professed orthodox Christianity. Byzantine Christians considered representatives of other movements to be heretics. The emperor was the personification of both the secular and religious life of the country, but there was no power of God, as was often the case with eastern tyrants. The religious tradition was quite diluted with secular ceremonies and rituals. The emperor was endowed with divine authority, but nevertheless he was elected among mere mortals. There was no institution of succession - neither blood relationship nor personal ties guaranteed the Byzantine throne. In this country, anyone could become an emperor... and almost a god. Both the ruler and the city were full of power and grandeur, both secular and religious.

Hence a certain duality in the definition of Constantinople as the city in which the entire Byzantine Empire was concentrated. The capital of a great country has been a place of pilgrimage for many generations of Christians - magnificent cathedrals and temples were simply amazing.

Russia and Byzantium

In the middle of the first millennium, the state formations of the Eastern Slavs became so significant that they began to attract the attention of their wealthier neighbors. Russians regularly went on campaigns, bringing home rich gifts from distant lands. Campaigns against Constantinople astonished the imagination of our ancestors, which soon spread the new, Russian name of the capital of the Byzantine Empire. Our ancestors called the city Tsargrad, thereby emphasizing its wealth and power.

The collapse of the empire

Everything in the world has its end. The Byzantine Empire did not escape this fate either. The capital of the once mighty state was captured and plundered by the soldiers of the Ottoman Empire. After the establishment of Turkish rule, the city lost its name. The new owners preferred to call it Stanbul (Istanbul). Linguists argue that this name is a twisted copy of the ancient Greek name polis - city. It is under this name that the city is known today.

As you can see, there is no single answer to the question, what is the capital of the Byzantine Empire, and what is its name. It is necessary to indicate the historical period of interest.

accepted in East. science is the name of the state-va, which arose in the east. parts of Rome. empire in the 4th century and existed until ser. 15th century; adm., economic and the cultural center of V. was Constantinople. Official name On Wednesday. century - Basileia ton Romaion - the empire of the Romans (in Greek "Romes"). V.'s emergence as independent. state-va prepared in the bowels of Rome. empires where the slave owners are economically more powerful and less affected by the crisis. about-va hellenized east. districts (M. Asia, Syria, Egypt, etc.) already in the 3rd century. tried to separate themselves politically from lat. West. Creation at the beginning 4th c. new political center in the East was actually the division of the empire into 2 states and led to the emergence of V. In the continuation of the 4th century. both states sometimes united under the rule of one emperor, they will finish. the gap occurred in con. 4th c. The emergence of V. contributed to the economic. stabilization and delayed the fall of the slave owners. building in the east. parts of the Mediterranean. 4 - early 7th century for V. were characterized by economic. rise, the transformation of a number of agr. settlements in the centers of craft and trade in M. Asia, Syria, east. parts of the Balkan Peninsula; the development of trade with Arabia, the Black Sea region, Iran, India, China; densification of the population in Syria, M. Asia. In Marxist historiography, the periodization of the history of early Hungary is connected with the problem of the existence of slave-owners in Hungary. building, with the stages of transition to feudalism and its development. Most scientists consider V. slave-owning to ser. 7th c. (M. Ya. Syuzyumov, Z. V. Udaltsova, A. P. Kazhdan, A. R. Korsunsky), although some believe that V. was moving to feudalism already in the 4th-5th centuries, believing that already in the 4th c. feud began to take shape. property, main the colony became a form of exploitation in the countryside, the labor of free artisans was used in the city, slavery was preserved only as a dying way of life (E. E. Lipshitz most consistently defends this term) (see the discussion on page VDI, No 2 and 3 for 1953, Nos. 2 and 3 for 1954, Nos. 1, 3 and 4 for 1955, No. 1 for 1956 and on the pages of the VI magazine, No. 10 for 1958, No. 3 for 1959, No. 2 for 1960, NoNo 6, 8 for 1961). V. in the last period of the existence of the slave system (4th - early 7th centuries). The state, the nobility, the church, townspeople, and free peasant communities were the owners of the land of V. of this period. Members of the peasant community (mitrokomia) had plots of arable land in private ownership; the sale of land to "foreigners" was limited (Codex Justinian, XI, 56). The peasants were bound by mutual responsibility; communal relations were regulated by customary law; horticultural and horticultural crops, viticulture have become widespread; main economic the trend was towards the growth of small x-va. Slavery still retained a predominant place in society, both in the countryside and in the city. Although the number of slaves entering as military. production decreased, but the influx of slaves into the state continued, since barbarian tribes neighboring V., fighting with each other, sold many slaves to V. (almost the only equivalent in trade with V.). Slave prices were stable for a long time. The slave was still considered a thing, the use of which was regulated by law; the slave was not a subject of family law, did not have personal property guaranteed by law. However, the impact of the new relationship was taking its toll; legislation facilitated the release of slaves into the wild, which took in the 4th-6th centuries. wide range. The estates of large landowners were processed not only by slaves, but also by dependent peasants - enapographers, freedmen, or rented out. Slave owners sought to use the benefits of small x-va. Contrary to the main economic tendencies of the era, they tried to enslave and attach small landowners to the land, the dependence of which was under the rule of slave owners. relations often approached a slave state (especially among the Enapographers). Slave owner the nature of society in the 4th-6th centuries. was determined not only by the predominance of slave labor in society, but also by the preservation of slave owners. superstructure, which came into conflict with the progressive development trends. State. the apparatus was in the hands of those strata of the nobility who were interested in the conservation of slave-owning property relations. From Byzantium. only a part of the cities were centers of crafts and trade (for example, Constantinople, Antioch, Alexandria, Laodicea, Seleucia, Skitopol, Byblos, Caesarea, Beirut, Thessaloniki, Trebizond, Ephesus, Smyrna). Most cities are settlements of small proprietors, slave owners united in municipalities. Provincial the cities were exploited by the nobility of Constantinople; local self-government (curia) has become an auxiliary apparatus of the tax system. Most cities in the 4th-6th centuries. lost its society. land; a number of settlements that were previously part of the district subordinate to the city received the rights of the metrocomia. Large estates of the provinces. the nobility also got out of subordination to the city, moreover, the election of officials and the bishop (who was of great importance in self-government) was decided by the surrounding large landowners (Justinian Code 1, 4, 17 and 19). Production in the cities was small, artisans rented premises from the nobility, the church, and the state. Trade and craft. associations were associated with a system of liturgies, therefore rich townspeople and landowners were forcibly included in the colleges. Taxes and rent swallowed up means. part of the surplus product of artisans. Luxury goods and weapons were manufactured in the state. workshops where slave labor prevailed (Codex Justinian, XI, 8, 6); the legally free were also usually assigned to such workshops and, in case of flight, were forcibly returned. In large cities, there were many a lumpen-proletarian stratum that lived at the expense of either the state-va (the policy of "bread and circuses") or the mountains. liturgists. From the 4th c. does good. functions began to be assigned to the church and special. "charitable institutions". The bulk of the bread for the capital came from Egypt. Local markets were supplied with Ch. arr. suburban x-you: mountains. nobility sought to have "proasti" (suburban estate) with vineyards, olive groves, vegetable gardens, orchards. Despite the devastation caused by the barbarian invasions, the burden of taxes, which sometimes forced the townspeople to flee the city, until the 7th century. there were no signs of urban agrarianization. Inscriptions, papyri testify rather to the enlargement of old and the founding of new cities. The development of the city was based, however, on the shaky ground of the degrading slave-owner. x-va and interrupted at the beginning. 7th c. (this t. sp., however, is disputed by some scientists). Cities were cultural centers (see article Byzantine culture). Those types of antique. property, to-rye already actually ceased to exist, were canceled by the Code of Justinian, where a single "complete property" was proclaimed. Justinian law, imbued with the idea of the supra-class essence of the state, theoretical. the justification for the swarm was the provision on the deities, the origin of imperial power, was aimed at guaranteeing property. slave-owner relations. about-va. The social base of the monarchy in V. 4-6 centuries. were mountains. slave owners: owners of suburban estates ("proastians"), homeowners, usurers, merchants, from among whom a high-ranking nobility was created by buying positions. The material base of the monarchy was heavy taxes for the population, absorbing means. part of the surplus product of slaves and colonies. Class. wrestling in V. 4-6 centuries. was a protest against the military-fiscal dictatorship, against attempts to artificially hold back societies. development within the slaveholding. relations. From the 4th c. it took mostly the form of a heretic. movements. Under Constantine, Christianity became the dominant religion, which caused an aggravation of the internal. controversy in the church. Christianity, genetically associated with the protest of the oppressed masses, in the 4th century. kept still democratic. phraseology. Church. hierarchs and exploitative layers sought to eliminate in Christ. democratic doctrine. trends; nar. the masses sought to preserve them. The origin of any "heresy" of that time lies in this contradiction. Dep. hierarchs, relying on the mood of the masses, dogmatically formalized those who disagreed with dominance. the church of doctrine (see Donatists, Arianism, Nestorianism, etc.); in the future, having become a "church", heresy lost its democratic character. character. Repressions, restrictions on rights and religions were used against heretics. "anathemas" (the church hierarchy fiercely defended slaveholding relations). In Egypt and Syria, the church. unrest, taking religion. shell, were also due to separatist sentiments. Dr. a form of class struggle was the movement of dims - organizations of the mountains. population by circus parties (see Venets and Prasins). Both parties sought to attract people. masses, to-rye sometimes opposed the oppression of slave owners. state-va as a whole, against the will of their leaders (for example, in the Nika uprising in 532). V. ethnically represented a combination of various nationalities involved in the Hellenic-Rome. statehood and culture. Greek the population prevailed in Greece, to the east. coast of the Mediterranean; Romanizir lived in the Balkans. tribes, into the environment of which German, Alanian and Slavs were poured. settlers. In the East, Britain subjugated the Armenians, Syrians, Isaurians, and Arabs; in Egypt, the local Coptic population. Official lang. was Latin, which was gradually replaced by Greek with con. 5th and 6th centuries. Language of citizens acts would be h. Greek. Protest against national oppression took religion. form (rebellion of the Samaritans 529-530). A serious danger to the slave owner. V. were attacked by barbarians. The rural population of V. sometimes supported the barbarians, hoping with their help to get rid of the fiscal oppression and oppression of the landowners. know. But mountains. patriciate and trade.-crafts. layers, fearing barbaric robberies and violations of bargaining. connections, fiercely defended the city. Among the Byzants. landowner nobility there was a stratum, ready to get close to the barbarian leaders. In an effort to merge with the military. the nobility of V., the leaders of the barbarians went to the service of the Byzantine. pr-woo, which used barbarians as punishers in the fight against bunks. movements (especially in cities). The Visigoths who had been recruited into the service of V. rebelled in 376, which led to a revolution. movement among the population of the Balkan Peninsula. In the battle of Adrianople (378) Byzant. the army was destroyed. However, with the support of the mountains. population and due to the betrayal of the barbarian leaders, this movement was suppressed in 380 imp. Theodosius I. To the end. 4th c. the barbarian element began to predominate in Byzantium. army and a real threat of a united action of barbarian slaves with barbarian soldiers loomed. In the face of this danger, the patriciate of Constantinople in 400 massacred the barbarian mercenaries and the slaves who supported them, eliminating the threat of barbarian conquest. Having overcome in the 5th c. danger from the Ostrogoths and Huns, the empire in order to stabilize the slave owners. relations throughout the Mediterranean, under Justinian, went on the offensive against the barbarian states of the West (Vandal, Ostrogothic and Visigothic). However, V.'s successes were fragile. In Africa, the resistance of the broad masses arose (the uprising of Stotza), in Italy - the uprising of the Ostrogoths under the arm. Totils with the support of slaves and columns. V. suppressed these movements with difficulty. Difficulties increased in the East, where the Persians, using separatist sentiments, waged wars against Britain, trying to break through to sea trade. routes in the Mediterranean and Black Seas. V. fought hard with various tribes advancing from the North. Black Sea coast, repelling their attacks either by force of arms or by bribery of leaders. Under Justinian, V. achieved the highest degree of its power; However, Justinian's aggressive policy undermined Britain's strength, and already in the last quarter of the 6th c. V. began to lose her conquests in Italy and Spain. Fundamental changes in the position of the empire are associated with the attack on the Balkan Peninsula of the Slavs. Failures in the wars with the Slavs, the general discontent of the population caused an uprising in the army. Rebelled in 602 with the support of the mountains. The lower classes took possession of Constantinople and, having proclaimed the emperor of the centurion Fok, began to carry out terror against the nobility. Regardless of Foca's subjective goals, his government objectively performed progressive functions. After 8 years, the uprising was crushed, but dominance. the class as a whole was dealt a crushing blow. The power of the slave owner. the superstructure was broken and the forces striving for social reorganization were given free rein. In the 1st floor. 7th c. most of the Balkan Peninsula was settled by the Slavs, while Syria, Palestine, and Egypt were lost to Britain as a result of the Arab conquests. Early feudal warfare during the period of domination by a free peasant community (mid-7th - mid-ninth centuries). As a result, fame and Arab. conquests of the territory. V. decreased. V. of this period is a country with a strong glory. ethnic element. In the north and west of the Balkan Peninsula, the Slavs created their own states (from 681 - Bulgaria) and assimilated the local population, in the south of the peninsula and in M. Asia, on the contrary, they joined the Greek. nationality. The Slavs did not create new social forms in Byzantium, but they did introduce Byzantine. community strong remnants of the tribal system, which strengthened the Byzantine. community, the nature of which is the subject of discussion. The customary law of the community was formalized by the Agricultural Law (approximately the beginning of the 8th century). Large-scale landownership has been extremely reduced; sources speak of abandoned, forested deposits, of the division of land between peasants ("merismos"). Apparently, there was a gradual violence. the destruction of that form of earth. property, which was based on the labor of slaves, enapographers, and other categories of the dependent population. The institution of peasants attached to the land disappeared: not in the Eclogue - legislator. collection of the 8th century, which replaced the Code of Justinian, nor in the later Tax Charter did not provide for attachment to the land. Free cross. the community became dominant. The community owned pastures, forests, and undivided land, but the arable land was apparently privately owned. The changes were generally favorable for the peasants - and if in the 4th-6th centuries. the peasants fled from V. to the barbarians, then from horseback. 7th and 8th centuries from arab. caliphate and from Bulgaria there was an exodus of the population to V. This allowed the Byzants. pr-woo go to the military service villages. population, to-paradise with ser. 7th c. spread throughout the empire; the structure of the army acquired the territory. character. New military-adm. districts - themes, with a strategos at the head (theme device). The command structure of the femme was formed from consist. landowners, from the environment to-rykh was made provincial. military-landowner. nobility, turning into a feudal one. The process of feudalization was facilitated by the fact that the freedom of the peasant was relative - although the peasant did not depend on a large landowner, he was in the grip of the state. taxes and debts to usurers; the differentiation of the village progressed. Various forms of rent and hired labor were common within the community; slavery also survived. Ch. enemy cross. communities in that period was a state-in with its tax system and dominance. church. At the end of the 7th c. the peasant-plebeian heresy of the Paulicians, which originated in Armenia, is spreading. Social shifts 7-8 centuries. affected the city as well. Some cities remained centers of commodity production (Constantinople, Thessaloniki, Ephesus). With the loss of the largest cities of Syria, Palestine, and Egypt, conquered by the Arabs, the role of Constantinople in the history of Byzantium increased. At the end of the 7th-8th centuries. economical the power of the Constantinople nobility is falling, the position of free craft is being strengthened. Commodity circulation has decreased. In the archaeological finds of coins of the 7th-8th centuries. almost never meet. Outlying cities, without losing their nominal ties with V., actually achieved independence and turned into aristocratic, patriciate-controlled republics (Venice, Amalfi, Chersonese). Int. the policy of V. of this period was characterized by the struggle of the mountains. and provincial nobility, and both groups sought to preserve the centralists. state-in. End of 7th c. was marked by the confiscation of the property of the ancient mountains. surnames (terror of Justinian II) in favor of the military. settlements and the emerging military. provincial know. In the future, the struggle for the ways of feudalization took the form of iconoclasm, which originated as a bunk. a movement against the oppression of the state and the church (bourgeois historians consider iconoclasm from a confessional point of view, seeing in it an exclusively ideological struggle and tearing it away from socio-economic conditions). Provincial the hierarchs, demagogically leading the movement of the masses, perverted its social meaning, concentrating the attention of the masses on the question of the cult of icons. Folding military-landowner estate used the movement to strengthen its political. and economic provisions. The government supported iconoclasm, seeking to strengthen its power over the church and seize its treasures. Mountains acted on the side of the iconodules. know Constantinople, monasticism associated with it, bargaining. centers of Hellas and islands. Iconoclast emperors of the Isaurian (Syrian) dynasty, confiscating the property of the mountains. nobility and recalcitrant monasteries, significantly strengthened the thematic nobility and supported the free cross. community and mountains. artisans. However, the thematic nobility began to use their privileges to attack the peasants, which caused the discontent of the peasants and thereby narrowed the social base of the iconoclasts. This led to a big bunk. uprising under the arms Thomas the Slav (820-823) - the first anti-feud. movement. In the early period of feudalization, ethnicity intensified in Hungary. the diversity of the population. Of particular importance is the glory pouring into the ranks of the Byzantine nobility. and arm. to know: a number of emperors and major politicians come out of the Armenians. and cultural figures. The foreign policy of V. was aimed at the struggle for the preservation of independence. Having lost Syria, Palestine, Egypt, huge territories. on the Balkan Peninsula, V. repulsed the onslaught of the Arabs and Bulgarians and in the middle. 8th c. went on the offensive. Feudalization of V. in the period of domination of the urban dignitary nobility (mid. 9th - late 11th centuries). Two centuries of free cross dominance. communities have had a positive impact on the development of manufactures. forces: empty lands were settled, water mills spread more widely, the profitability of the village rose. x-va. In the 9th century free cross. the community became the object of attack by the landowners. nobility, especially after the defeat of the uprising of Thomas the Slav. The social struggle intensified; part of the peasantry joined the Paulicians, who founded a military near the borders of the caliphate. the center of Tefriku. Duration the wars ended in 872 with the defeat of the Paulicians, who were partially exterminated and partially resettled on the Balkan Peninsula. Violence. The resettlement was aimed at weakening the resistance of the masses in the East and creating a military. barriers from an alien population to counter the Bulgarians in the west. Massa cross. land was taken over by the military. nobility. Further attack on the cross. the community was carried out by buying up the lands of impoverished peasants, followed by the provision of plots of acquired land to the settlers on the "parichi law" (see Pariki). Feud spread widely. dependence of the peasants: a wig, rarely found in the monuments of the 9th century, is made ch. figure in the village in con. 11th c. Slavery to con. 11th c. almost disappeared, although isolated cases of it were observed, for example. sale of children in the years of Nar. disasters. In the process of feudalization, the military changed. organization of the population. Nar. the militia lost its meaning. Consist. part of the peasants was included in the stratiotsky lists (see. Stratioty) with the announcement of the definition. part of the land inalienable. The sizes of these sites to ser. 10th c. were increased in connection with the introduction of heavy cavalry and reached the size of the estate (cost 12 liters, approx. 4 kg of gold). Among the stratiotes, differentiation was observed: those who were economically weakened lost their plots and fell into a dependent state, at the same time becoming a politically unreliable element; wealthier stratiots tended to merge into the privileged military landowning nobility. The vast territories confiscated during the Paulician wars served as the basis for the power of the Asia Minor nobility, which in the 10-11 centuries. makes attempts to seize state power. From Ser. 9th c. there is a rapid development of cities, especially large seaside ("emporia"). The concentration of wealth as a result of the formation of the feud. property in the province, the rapid growth of ext. trade with the East. Europe, the restoration of maritime power in the Aegean and the Adriatic - all this contributed to the development of crafts. Trade relations were strengthened. The civil the law of Justinian (see Prochiron, Epanagoge, Vasiliki). were codified (ie. n. Eparch's book) decrees on trade and crafts. corporations, in which, along with the free owners of ergasterii, there could also be slaves (as figureheads for masters). Corporations were given benefits - benefits. the right to manufacture and trade, purchase goods from foreigners. The ergasteria were staffed by employees with little connection to the corporation, as well as slaves and apprentices. Both the types of products and the rate of profits were regulated by the mayor (eparch). Builds. workers were outside the corporations and worked hand in hand. contractors. Standard of living osn. the mass of artisans was extremely low. The policy of the pr-va was reduced to the encouragement of associations in order to facilitate the state. control and regulation. Despite the presence of remnants of the slave owner. relations, to-rye hindered the development of technology, the craft was mainly worn by the Middle Ages. character: small-scale production, associations by profession, regulation. To avoid Nar. unrest, the government sought to ensure the supply of the capital and large cities with the necessary goods; to a lesser extent, the state was interested in exporting abroad. Rich merchants and craftsmen, by purchasing positions and titles, became part of the high-ranking nobility, refusing to directly participate in trade and crafts. activities, which weakened the position of the Byzantines. merchant class in its competition with the Italian. Int. the policy of V. in the 9th-10th centuries. was carried out in the main for the benefit of the mountains. dignitaries, united around the synclite of the nobility, striving to maintain a leading position in the state and through taxes, adm. and the judiciary to exploit the population. Enslavement of the rural population of the provinces. landowners (dinats) and the development of private power on the ground damaged the influence of the capital's nobility, in the interests of which the Macedonian dynasty began to support a free cross. community against the dinats, forbidding them to buy a cross. land, and the poor were given incentives to buy back the sold land. Peasant relatives and neighbors were given the right of preference when buying a cross. plots. This policy was persistently pursued throughout the 10th century. However, the rules of preference created such advantages for the wealthy village elite that votchinniki began to stand out from among the peasants themselves, who later merged with the feud. nobility. From the 2nd quarter 11th c. Byzantium Prospect increased the tax burden by transferring natures. cash contributions. The importance of the synclite, the local court, has increased. institutions, the influence of handicrafts increased. corporations, the intervention of Nar. masses (especially in the capital) in the political. a life. At the same time, typical forms of exploitation of the peasantry through the feud were planted in the provinces. rent. Subordination center. state institutions of the mountains. the nobility did not at all correspond to the prevailing power of the provinces. feud. land ownership, in connection with this, the struggle between the capital and the provinces intensified. strata of the nobility, and the pr-in maneuvered between them. After the defeat of iconoclasm and the restoration of icon-worship (843), the importance of monasticism and politics increased. the role of the patriarch. Patriarch Photius came up with the theory of the strong (equal imperial) power of the patriarch (Epanagogue). The church actively intervened in the struggle of various strata for power, hence a number of conflicts with imp. Leo VI, Nicephorus II Phocas, Isaac Komnenos. But Byzantium. The (Orthodox) Church failed to create a strong centralization. organization, like the papacy in the West: and state. system, and legislation, and education in V. were less dependent on the church than in the West. Differences between Byzantine. feudalism and feudalism in the West led to disagreements between the East. and app. churches. In the 9th-10th centuries. disagreements between the churches intensified in the struggle for influence in the glory. countries and in the South. Italy. The strife of the hierarchs was fueled by the hatred of trade and crafts. circles of Constantinople to Italian. competitors. In 1054 the "separation of the churches" followed. In the 10-11 centuries. large monasteries were created. feud. possessions, to-rye received special privileges in the field of taxation and rights over the dependent population. The foreign policy of V. of this period was characterized by feud. expansion. In the 10th century a number of victories were won over the Arabs. In the Balkans, Hungary in 1018 took possession of Bulgaria and strengthened its influence in Serbia; fought to maintain positions in the South. Italy and for dominance over the Adriatic and the Aegean m. In the 9th century. V. established a connection with Kievan Rus. In 860, after repelling the first Russian campaign against Constantinople, V. managed to achieve the baptism of part of the population of Russia. In 907, as a result of a successful campaign, Prince. Oleg V. had to conclude a mutually beneficial bargain on the basis of equality of the parties. contract, basic the positions of which were consolidated as a result of the campaigns of 941, 944 and the visit of Princess Olga to Constantinople in 957. In 967, a struggle for Bulgaria began between V. and Rus, which ended, despite the initial. book success. Svyatoslav Igorevich, the victory of V. In 987, V. entered into an alliance with Prince. Vladimir Svyatoslavich, who helped Vasily II to deal with the rebellious feudal lords. With the adoption (c. 988) of Prince. Vladimir Christianity by Byzantium. the rite of intercourse with Russia V. became even closer. However, V. failed to use Christianization for political. subjugation of Russia. In east. In parts of M. Asia, V. continued its expansion, pursuing a policy of oppression of the Transcaucasian peoples. In 1045 Armenia was conquered with the center of Ani. The resistance of the oppressed peoples made Britain's position in the East unstable. All R. 11th c. in the East there was a danger from the Seljuks. The population conquered by V. was not inclined to support the Byzantines. domination. The result was the defeat of the Byzantines. army at Manazkert (Manzikert) in 1071 and the loss of most of M. Asia, conquered by the Seljuks. At the same time, V. loses his possessions in Italy as a result of the offensive of the South Italian Normans. At the same time, the resistance of the popular masses in conquered Bulgaria is intensifying. V. during the period of domination of the military-feudal (provincial) nobility (late 11th - early 13th centuries). In 1081, using a heavy int. position V., the throne was seized by a representative of the provinces. nobility Alexei I Komnenos, who managed to repel the dangerous offensive of the Normans, Pechenegs, Seljuks, and from 1096 used crusades to recapture part of M. Asia. By the end of the 11th century. major provinces. landowners (Komneni, Duki, Angels, Palaiologos, Kantakouziny, Vrany, etc.) became the main. dominance political force in the state-ve. During the 12th century Byzantine institutions are being formed. feudalism: charistic, pronia, excursion. The progressive ruin of the peasantry led (from the 11th century) to the formation of a special category of "have-nots"—actimons. Monastic centers (especially Athos) became semi-independent churches. gos-you. On the contrary, political the influence of the white clergy fell. Despite the decline of the political the influence of urban high-ranking nobility, V. remained bureaucratic. monarchy: preserved numerous. staff of financial and judicial officials; civil law (Vasiliki) extended to the entire territory. empire. Numerous still survive. strata of the independent peasantry, to which the settlements around the military can be included. fortifications (kastra). Cross. the community fought against pressure from the feudal lords: sometimes it used legal forms, turning complaints to the court or to the emperor, and sometimes embarked on the path of arson of the master's estates. Unlike the predecessors. period, main by enslaving the peasants during this period is no longer the purchase of land by the feudal lords, but the measures of the state. authorities. Usually k.-l. a person in the form of a grant was given the right to collect taxes from the defined. settlements. Under Manuel, the cross. lands were widely distributed to foreign knights and petty Byzantines. feudal lords. These actions, which caused indignation among contemporaries, were in fact an expropriation of the cross. property, which, having become the object of the award, passed into the conditional possession of the feudal lord. Formed in the 12th century Byzantium feud. institutions grew organically on local soil, however, since the Komnenos dynasty relied in part on Western European. mercenary knights, in Byzantium. feud. law began to appear app. concepts and terms. Transfer of power to the provincials. nobility somewhat restricted privileges. the position of Constantinople, which in general had a positive effect on the economy of the provinces, where there was an increase in crafts and trade, revived den. appeal. Many agrarianized in the 7-8 centuries. centers again became cities in the economy. sense. Silk industry developed in the cities of Hellas. However, the Komnenos dynasty did not take into account the importance of the mountains. economy and often at the conclusion of international. agreements sacrificed the interests of the townspeople. Italian privileges. merchants had a detrimental effect on the cities: in the economy of V., bargaining prevailed. Latin capital. Thus, the process of creating an internal, which was favorably developing for V., was stopped. market and determined the beginning of economic. decline B. Unsuccessful external. policy under Manuel I undermined the military. the power of V. (in 1176, after the battle of Myriokephalon, V. forever lost most of M. Asia). After the death of Manuel in Constantinople, a bunk erupted. movement against his "Western" policies. There was a pogrom against the Latins. Andronicus Komnenos took advantage of this, to-ry, having seized power, tried to revive centralization by means of terror. state apparatus and thereby prevent the collapse of the empire. However, Andronicus failed to create support for his government and under the influence of time, failures in the war against the Normans was overthrown from the throne. The collapse of V. Otd began. feudal lords and cities sought to obtain complete independence. Rebelled against the Byzantines. the dominance of the Bulgarians and Serbs revived their state-va. The weakened empire could not withstand the onslaught of the French. knights and crown. fleet - Constantinople in 1204 as a result of the 4th crusade fell into the hands of the crusaders, to-rye created on the territory. conquered areas of the Latin Empire. V. during the period of feudal fragmentation, the heyday of feudalism (beginning of the 13th - middle of the 15th centuries). Britain broke up into a number of independent feudal regions, some of which at various times were under the rule of the French knights, Venetians, Genoese, and Catalans, some fell into the hands of the Bulgarians, Serbs, and Turks, and some remained under the rule of the Greek feudal lords. map); however, the uniformity of economic and social life, linguistic and cultural community, preserved ist. traditions make it possible to interpret V. as a single state, which is in the stage of a feud. fragmentation. Feud. the estate was the main household unit. In the 13th-15th centuries. it was involved in market relations, sending products from buyers through buyers. x-va on ext. market. The lordly plow, especially on the monastic lands, meant pastures for the master's herds. part of the land and were served by dependent wigs, elefters (free, not included in the tax lists), some of which settled, merging with dependents. Deposits and virgin lands were given to settlers from "persons unknown to the treasury", who also joined the dependent population (proskathimenes). The scribe books reflected the strong fluidity of the dependent population of the feuds. estates. Cross. the community, which fell under the rule of the feudal lord, survived (for example, sources testify to the acute struggle of the cross. communities against the monasteries, which sought to expand their farm at the expense of the cross. land). In the countryside, social stratification deepened even more: the low-powered worked as farm laborers (dulevts). Cross. plots, so-called. Stasi, were in inheritance. possession of the cross. families. State. peasants had their own land, they could sell it, donate it. However, in the 13-15 centuries. state the peasants were the object of rewards and easily turned into dependents. Pronia in the 13th-15th centuries. turned into legacy. conditional possession with military duties. character. Secular feudal lords usually lived in cities where they had houses and rented workshops. In rural areas, purgoi were built - piers, fortified castles - strongholds of feudal lords. Mountain wealth, salt works, alum developments were usually state-owned. property, but were farmed out or ceded to individual nobles, monasteries, foreigners. Late Byzantine. the city was the centers of agricultural - x. territory drawn into the external. agricultural trade products (grain, olive, wine, in some areas raw silk). Economically stood out Ch. arr. seaside cities. Leading role in external trade belonged to the auction. Italian capital. cities. V. from a country that sold in the 4th-11th centuries. luxury goods, has become a country that sends products abroad with. x-va and raw materials. Each district participating in the external trade, was economically cut off from other regions of the country. This prevented the creation of a single internal market. Economical disunity prevented nat. reunification of the country. Constantinople, although it was no longer an economic, adm., cultural center of the whole country, retained an important place in the international. trade. Sources are distinguished in the cities of archons (landowners to know), burgesians, or mesoi (prosperous trade and crafts. layer), plebeian masses. Inside the city trade-crafts. circles and the plebeian masses fought against the patriciate, which sought to use the feud. unrest, to strengthen the independence of the city in their own interests. At the same time, the population, in the form of support for Orthodoxy, opposed the dominance of the Italians. merchants and zap. feudal lords. Cultural, linguistic and religious. unity, ist. traditions determined the presence of tendencies towards the unification of V. The leading role in the struggle against Lat. empire was played by the Nicaean Empire, one of the most powerful Greek. state-in, established in the beginning. 13th c. on the territory V., not captured by the crusaders. Its rulers, relying on small and medium-sized landowners and cities, managed in 1261 to expel the Latins from Constantinople. However, this victory did not lead to the reunification of V. Vneshnepolitich. situation and centrifugal forces, weakness and lack of unity in the mountains. estates hampered attempts to unite. The Palaiologos dynasty, fearing the activity of the Nar. the masses, did not enter the path will decide. struggle against large feudal lords, preferring dynastic. marriages, intrigues and feuds. wars using foreign mercenaries. Foreign Policy V.'s position turned out to be extremely difficult: attempts by the West to recreate Lat did not stop. empire and extend the power of Rome to V. dads; economics intensified. and military pressure from Venice and Genoa; Serb offensive from S.-Z. and the Turks from the East became more and more successful. Exaggerating the influence of Rome. pope, Byzantine. Emperors have repeatedly sought to get military. help by subordinating the Greek. Church of the Pope (Union of Lyon, Union of Florence), but the dominance of the Italian. bargain. capital and zap. the population was so hated by the feudal lords that the government could not force the people to recognize the union. As a religion strife, and internecine wars were an expression of internal. contradictions in the country: produces. forces developed, there were some economic. conditions for the introduction of capitalist. relations. However, when exclude. the weakness of the townspeople and the complete dominance of the feud. orders of any strengthening external. trade in centers (Mistra, Monemvasia, etc.) only strengthened (economically) the feudal lords. overcome feud. fragmentation was impossible without revolution. performances of the masses and follow. wrestling center. governments against feuds. fragmentation. The decisive period was the 40s. 14th century, when in the course of the struggle of two cliques for power the cross flared up. motion. Having taken the side of the "legitimate" dynasty, the peasantry began to sack the estates of the rebellious feudal lords headed by John Kantakouzin. The government of Apokavka and Patriarch John began to pursue a progressive policy, sharply speaking out against the feuds. aristocracy (confiscation of the estates of the nobility) and against the reaction. mystical hesychast ideologies. The townspeople of Thessalonica, having organized the plebeian masses, supported Apokavkas. The movement was led by the party of zealots, whose program was soon adopted by the anti-feud. character. The Constantinople government was frightened by the activity of the masses and did not use the bunks. motion. Apokavk was killed in 1345, the struggle of the pr-va against the rebellious feudal lords actually stopped. In Thessalonica, the situation worsened as a result of the crossing of the mountains. nobility (archons) on the side of Cantacuzenus. The plebs who came out destroyed most of the mountains. know. However, the movement, having lost contact with the center. Prospect, acquired a local character and was suppressed. The collapse of the policy of centralization and the defeat of the bunk. movements in Thessalonica marked the final victory of the reactionaries. forces. The exhausted V. could not resist the onslaught of the Turks, who

The Byzantine Empire, in short, is a state that appeared in 395, after the collapse of the Great Roman Empire. She could not stand the invasion of barbarian tribes and was divided into two parts. Less than a century after its collapse, the Western Roman Empire ceased to exist. But she left behind a strong successor - the Byzantine Empire. The Roman Empire lasted 500 years, and its eastern successor over a thousand, from the 4th to the 15th century.
Initially, the Eastern Roman Empire was called "Romania". In the West, for a long time it was called the "Greek Empire", since most of it was made up of the Greek population. But the inhabitants of Byzantium themselves called themselves Romans (in Greek - Romans). It wasn't until after the fall in the 15th century that the Eastern Roman Empire began to be referred to as "Byzantium".

This name comes from the word Byzantium - this is how Constantinople, the capital of the empire, was first called.
The Byzantine Empire, in short, occupied a vast territory - almost 1 million square meters. kilometers. It was located on three continents - in Europe, Africa and Asia.
The capital of the state is the city of Constantinople, founded in the times of the Great Roman Empire. At first it was the Greek colony of Byzantium. In 330, Emperor Constantine moved the capital of the empire here and called the city by its own name - Constantinople. In the Middle Ages, it was the richest city in Europe.

The Byzantine Empire did not manage to avoid the invasion of the barbarians, but it avoided such losses as the west of the Roman state, thanks to a wise policy. For example, Slavic tribes participating in the great migration of peoples were allowed to settle on the outskirts of the empire. Thus, Byzantium received populated borders, the population of which was a shield against other invaders.
The basis of the Byzantine economy was production and trade. It included many rich cities that produced almost all goods. In the 5th - 8th centuries, the Byzantine ports flourished. Land roads became unsafe for merchants due to long wars in Europe, so the sea route became the only possible one.
The empire was a multinational country, so the culture was amazingly diverse. Its basis was the ancient heritage.
On May 30, 1453, after two months of stubborn resistance by the Turkish army, Constantinople fell. Thus ended the thousand-year history of one of the great powers of the world.

After the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 under the blows of the Germanic tribes, the Eastern Empire was the only surviving power that preserved the traditions of the ancient world. The Eastern or Byzantine Empire managed to preserve the traditions of Roman culture and statehood over the years of its existence.

Founding of Byzantium

The history of the Byzantine Empire is customarily conducted from the year the Roman emperor Constantine the Great founded the city of Constantinople in 330. It was also called New Rome.

The Byzantine Empire was much stronger than the Western Roman Empire in terms of a number of reasons :

The slave system in Byzantium in the early Middle Ages was less developed than in the Western Roman Empire. The population of the Eastern Empire was 85% free.
In the Byzantine Empire, there was still a strong connection between the village and the city. A small land economy was developed, which instantly adapted to the changing market.
If you look at what territory Byzantium occupied, you can see that the state included extremely developed economically, for those times, regions: Greece, Syria, Egypt.
Thanks to a strong army and navy, the Byzantine Empire quite successfully withstood the onslaught of barbarian tribes.
In the major cities of the empire, trade and crafts were preserved. The main productive force were free peasants, artisans and small merchants.
The Byzantine Empire adopted Christianity as the main religion. This made it possible to quickly establish relations with neighboring countries.

Rice. 1. Map of the Byzantine Empire in the 9th and early 11th centuries.

The internal structure of the political system of Byzantium did not differ much from the early medieval barbarian kingdoms in the West: the power of the emperor was based on large feudal lords, consisting of military leaders, the nobility of the Slavs, former slave owners and officials.

Timeline of the Byzantine Empire

The history of the Byzantine Empire is usually divided into three main periods: Early Byzantine (IV-VIII centuries), Middle Byzantine (IX-XII centuries) and Late Byzantine (XIII-XV centuries).

Early Byzantine period

At the end of the 4th-beginning of the 5th centuries, the borders of the Byzantine Empire covered Palestine, Egypt, Thrace, the Balkans and Asia Minor. The eastern empire was far ahead of the western barbarian kingdoms in the construction of large cities, as well as in the development of crafts and trade. The presence of a merchant and military fleet made Byzantium the largest maritime power. The heyday of the empire continued until the XII century.

527-565 reign of Emperor Justinian I.
The emperor proclaimed the idea or recornist: "The restoration of the Roman state." To achieve this goal, Justinian waged wars of conquest against the barbarian kingdoms. Under the blows of the Byzantine troops, the Vandal states in North Africa fell, and the Ostrogoths in Italy were defeated.

In the occupied territories, Justinian I introduced new laws called the “Code of Justinian”, slaves and columns were transferred to the former owners. This caused extreme discontent among the population and later became one of the reasons for the decline of the Eastern Empire.

610-641 The reign of Emperor Heraclius.
As a result of the invasion of the Arabs, Byzantium lost Egypt in 617. In the east, Heraclius abandoned the struggle with the Slavic tribes, giving them the opportunity to settle along the borders, using them as a natural shield against nomadic tribes. One of the main merits of this emperor is the return to Jerusalem of the Life-Giving Cross, which was recaptured from the Persian king Khosrov II.
717 year. Arab siege of Constantinople.
For almost a year, the Arabs unsuccessfully stormed the capital of Byzantium, but in the end they did not take the city and rolled back with heavy losses. In many ways, the siege was repulsed thanks to the so-called "Greek fire".
717-740 Reign of Leo III.
The years of the reign of this emperor were marked by the fact that Byzantium not only successfully waged wars with the Arabs, but also by the fact that Byzantine monks tried to spread the Orthodox faith among Jews and Muslims. Under Emperor Leo III, the veneration of icons was forbidden. Hundreds of valuable icons and other works of art associated with Christianity were destroyed. Iconoclasm continued until 842.

At the end of the 7th and beginning of the 8th centuries, Byzantium underwent a reform of self-government bodies. The empire began to be divided not into provinces, but into themes. So began to be called the administrative districts, which were headed by strategis. They had power and ruled on their own. Each theme was obliged to put up a militia-strati.

Middle Byzantine period

Despite the loss of the Balkan lands, Byzantium is still considered a mighty power, because its navy continued to dominate the Mediterranean. The period of the highest power of the empire lasted from 850 to 1050 and is considered the era of “classical Byzantium”.

886-912 Reign of Leo VI the Wise.
The emperor pursued the policy of previous emperors, Byzantium during the reign of this emperor continues to defend itself from external enemies. A crisis has matured within the political system, which was expressed in the confrontation between the Patriarch and the emperor.
1018 Bulgaria joins Byzantium.
The northern borders can be strengthened thanks to the baptism of the Bulgarians and Slavs of Kievan Rus.
In 1048, the Seljuk Turks under the leadership of Ibrahim Inal invaded Transcaucasia and took the Byzantine city of Erzerum.
The Byzantine Empire did not have enough forces to protect the southeastern borders. Soon the Armenian and Georgian rulers recognized themselves as dependent on the Turks.
1046 year. Peace treaty between Kievan Rus and Byzantium.
Emperor of Byzantium Vladimir Monomakh married his daughter Anna to Kiev Prince Vsevolod. Russia's relations with Byzantium were not always friendly; there were many aggressive campaigns of ancient Russian princes against the Eastern Empire. At the same time, one cannot fail to note the enormous influence that Byzantine culture had on Kievan Rus.
1054 year. Great schism.
There was a final split of the Orthodox and Catholic Churches.
1071 year. The Normans took the city of Bari in Puglia.
The last stronghold of the Byzantine Empire in Italy fell.
1086-1091 The war of the Byzantine emperor Alexei I with the alliance of the Pechenegs and Cumans.
Thanks to the cunning policy of the emperor, the union of nomadic tribes broke up, and the Pechenegs were decisively defeated in 1091.

From the XI century begins the gradual decline of the Byzantine Empire. The division into themes has become obsolete due to the growing number of large farmers. The state was constantly subjected to attacks from outside, no longer able to fight against numerous enemies. The main danger was the Seljuks. During the clashes, the Byzantines managed to clear the southern coast of Asia Minor from them.

Late Byzantine period

Since the 11th century, the activity of Western European countries has increased. Crusader troops, raising the flag of the “defenders of the Holy Sepulcher”, attacked Byzantium. Unable to fight against numerous enemies, the Byzantine emperors use mercenary armies. At sea, Byzantium used the fleets of Pisa and Venice.

1122 year. The troops of Emperor John II Komnenos repulsed the invasion of the Pechenegs.
At sea, continuous wars are waged with Venice. However, the main danger was the Seljuks. During the clashes, the Byzantines managed to clear the southern coast of Asia Minor from them. In the fight against the crusaders, the Byzantines managed to clear Northern Syria.
1176. The defeat of the Byzantine troops at Miriokefal from the Seljuk Turks.
After this defeat, Byzantium finally switched to defensive wars.
1204. Constantinople fell under the blows of the Crusaders.
The basis of the crusader troops were the French and the Genoese. Central Byzantium occupied by the Latins is formed into a separate autonomy and is called the Latin Empire. After the fall of the capital, the Byzantine Church was under the jurisdiction of the pope, and Tommasso Morosini was appointed supreme patriarch.
1261.
The Latin Empire was completely cleared of the crusaders, and Constantinople was liberated by the Nicaean emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos.

Byzantium during the reign of the Palaiologos

During the reign of the Palaiologos in Byzantium, there is a complete decline of cities. The half-ruined cities looked especially miserable against the backdrop of flourishing villages. Agriculture experienced an upsurge caused by high demand for the products of feudal estates.

The dynastic marriages of the Palaiologos with the royal courts of Western and Eastern Europe and the constant close contact between them caused the appearance of their own heraldry among the Byzantine rulers. The Paleolog family was the very first to have its own coat of arms.

Rice. 3. Coat of arms of the Palaiologos dynasty.

In 1265, Venice monopolized almost all trade in Constantinople.
A trade war broke out between Genoa and Venice. Often stabbings between foreign merchants took place in front of local onlookers in city squares. By strangling the domestic market for the emperor, the Byzantine rulers caused a new wave of self-hatred.
1274. The conclusion of Michael VIII Palaiologos in Lyon of a new union with the pope.
The union carried the conditions of the supremacy of the Pope of Rome over the entire Christian world. This finally split society and caused a series of unrest in the capital.
1341. The uprising in Adrianople and Thessaloniki of the population against the magnates.
The uprising was led by zealots (zealots). They wanted to take away land and property from the church and magnates for the poor.
1352. Adrianople was captured by the Ottoman Turks.
From it they made their capital. They took the Tsimpe fortress on the Gallipoli peninsula. Nothing prevented the further advancement of the Turks to the Balkans.

By the beginning of the 15th century, the territory of Byzantium was limited to Constantinople with districts, part of Central Greece and islands in the Aegean Sea.

In 1452, the Ottoman Turks began the siege of Constantinople. May 29, 1453 the city fell. The last Byzantine emperor, Constantine II Palaiologos, died in battle.

Despite the concluded alliance of Byzantium with a number of Western European countries, it was not necessary to count on military assistance. So, during the siege of Constantinople by the Turks in 1453, Venice and Genoa sent six warships and several hundred people. Naturally, they could not provide any significant help.

What have we learned?

The Byzantine Empire remained the only ancient power that retained its political and social system, despite the Great Migration of Nations. With the fall of Byzantium, a new era begins in the history of the Middle Ages. From this article, we learned how many years the Byzantine Empire existed and what influence this state had on the countries of Western Europe and Kievan Rus.

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