THE DECLINE OF THE BYZANTINE EMPIRE

THE DISPERSED BYZANTIUM (1204-1261 AD)

After the conquest of Constantinople by the Crusaders, the Empire was divided among the conquerors:

o Latin Empire of Constantinople: Constantinople & ¼ of the former Empire (Baldwin of Flanders)

o Venetians: ¾ of Constantinople & ½ of the remaining territory, mostly important marine & commercial points Venetian domination of the sea & the marine trade

o Rest Crusaders: Division of the remaining territory into smaller states, according to the power of the contenders Governors & type of governing absolutely alien to the local population (e.g. Kingdom of Thessaloniki, Ducat of Athens, Principality of Achaea, etc.)

THE DISPERSED BYZANTIUM (1204-1261 AD)

Greek states in the geographical area: o Empire of Nice o Despotate of Epiruso Empire of Trabzon

o

THE DISPERSED BYZANTIUM (1204-1261 AD)

Constant conflicts among the new states

Empire of Nice & Despotate of Epirus, at that moment the only hope of “reconquista”

Latin Empire of Constantinople functioning as a barrier against the co-operation of the Nice ’s enemies (Latin, Slavs, etc.)

1261 AD: Re-conquest of Constantinople by the Empire of Nice

LAST ATTEMPT OF RESTORATION (1261-1321 AD)

Disruption of the Latin Empire of Constantinople

Exposition of the Byzantine Empire tothe northern & western enemies

Need of even more financial & military means

Aims of Byzantine Empire: o Survival against dangerous enemies o Re-conquest of the territories that belonged to

the Empire before the Latin conquest

LAST ATTEMPT OF RESTORATION (1261-1321 AD)

Defensive politic based on diplomacy Diplomatic split of the enemy alliances

Main enemy: Charles of Anjou(dreamer of restoration of the Byzantine Empire under his hold)

Reduction of the military force

Necessity of external enforcement from the West Attempt to gain the Pope ‘s help by accepting the subordination of the Eastern Christian Church to the Western Civil conflict between the Unionists & the Anti-Unionists

CIVIL WARS & FALL (1321-1453 AD)

Defense based on mercenary troops – Complete lack of fleet

No income of the transporting trade, because of the Italian privileges

Low monetary credit, because of the continuous devaluation of the byzantine currency

Social polarization between the wealthy owners of the land &the poor peasants or workers

CIVIL WARS & FALL (1321-1453 AD)

Civil wars between the defenders of the byzantine throne

Expansive plans & invasion in the Greek mainland by the Serbians under the command of Stefan Dusan (dreamer of a Serbian-Greek Empire)

Expansion of the Ottoman Turks (1354 in Europe) 1422 AD: First siege of Constantinople

New attempts to obtain military helpfrom the West

CIVIL WARS & FALL (1321-1453 AD)

Almost unconditional acceptance of the union of the two Christian Churches (1438 – 1439 AD Council of Ferrara-Florence)

Civil conflicts

Hatred against the Catholic West & the Pope

Enforcement of the Greek national feeling

CIVIL WARS & FALL (1321-1453 AD)

Territories of the last ByzantineEmpire:

o The area around Constantinople

o Chalkidikio Despotate of Mystras

o The last Emperor Constantine 18th Paleologos

CIVIL WARS & FALL (1321-1453 AD)

April of 1453 AD: Beginning of the last & fatal siege of Constantinople

29th May 1453 AD: Conquest of the city by the Ottomans

o The end of the Byzantine Empire

o http://qed.princeton.edu/main/MG/Empires/Byzantine_Empire

CRITICAL REVIEW

During a period of more than 1.000 years, the Byzantine Empire:

Was the frontier of Europe in the East

Combined hellenistic, western & eastern cultural elements to one culture

Offered a complicated model of a most organized administrative system

Instituted the political system of despotism on the name of the God

Offered the basis of the European law system (especially with the Justinian & Theodosian codes)

CRITICAL REVIEW

Enforced the Christian religion (Orthodox centre) – Clearly set the dogmatic bases of the religion in the ecumenical councils

Set the bases of the (orthodox) monastic life (St. Catharine ‘ s in Sinai Peninsular, Mount Athos, Cappadocia, Desert of Nitria in Egypt, etc.)

CRITICAL REVIEW

Enlightened the Christian-Greek culture to the other European & especially to the Slavic nations, respecting their own language & culture

Developed the byzantine secular (mainly inherited through folk songs) & religious (hymns, chants, etc, all chanted only by the human voice, without any instrumental accompaniment) music

CRITICAL REVIEW Preserved the Hellenistic

Common Greek Language (based on the attic dialect) & developed it to the Medieval Greek Language

Simpler Complicated oral written language language

(“attikizousa”)

Appointed the Greek language as the official language of the Byzantine Empire since the 7th c. AD

CRITICAL REVIEW

Set the bases of the Modern Greek Literature (chivalrous poetical novels, Saga of Digenis Akritas, folk songs, etc.)

Replaced the capital letters with the small ones in the manuscripts since the 9th c. AD

Developed calligraphy & miniature painting

Preserved & commented the classical literature & the ecclesiastical tradition in the manuscripts

CRITICAL REVIEW

Formed the various byzantine architectural rates of churches (basilica, basilica with dome, cruciform church, etc)

Developed hagiography (painting of Saints& scenes of the Holy Bible or abstract decoration, during the War on Icons)

CRITICAL REVIEW

Developed the arts of metallurgy, mosaic, etc. (usually in connection with the religion) & enlightened it to the West

CRITICAL REVIEW

ALTHOUGH:

Many civil conflicts disrupted its peace

The political & the religious power were sometimes inappropriately & dangerously mixed

The strong Christian faith of some emperors harmed the previous ancient civilization (e.g. closure of the Philosophical School of Athens by Theodosius the Great)