The History of the Byzantines

The History of the Byzantines

Period: 300 to Sep 15, 1500

Emperor Constantine I Founded the Byzantine Capital

330

Emperor Constantine decided to build a "new Rome" where he city of Byzantium once stood. He did not keep the name of Byzantium and renamed the city after himself, calling it Constatinople. In 330 Emperor Constantine made Constantinople the new capital of the Byzantine Empire.

Nike Revolt (riots)

532

Crowds who had collected at the hippodrome for races began to attack the palace of their emperor Justinian who had created new taxes which many were not fond of. The palace was under assault for 5 days and fires which started during the chaos killed many people and destroyed almost half of the city including the church the Hagia Sophia. Justinian later had many of the senators and rioters executed.

General Belisarius Military Campaigns

533

Justinian I sent General Belisarius to fight the Persians and using military strategies unusual to he Persians, he defeated them. Belisarius was then sent to win back African provinces which the vandals had taken from the Roman Empire but had since reverted back to Roman ways. Belisarius and his cavalry of 5,000 men conquered the vandals in mere months. These were just a few of his many victories.

Hagia Sophia Completed

537

In 537 the Hagia Sophia was completed. The first two versions of this cathedral were destroyed by rioters during the Nika riots. Emperor Justinian, who was the reason for the riots, ordered that the church be rebuilt. The church is known for its massive dome and is a prime example of Byzantine architecture.

Early Islamic military campaigns into Byzantine territory

Sep 15, 634

The Islamic military began their seige of Byzantine territory in Syria. In Syria, the Arabs conquered a major Byzantine expedition in southern Palestine. They then took over Egypt, an important strategic province for the Byzantine empire, and finally Mesopotamia and Persia.

Emperor Basil II military conquests of Bulgaria

Sep 15, 986

Emperor Basil II took his army of 30,000 men into Sofia, Bulgaria and attacked. He worried that his army would not stay loyal to him so he brought them back to Byzantine Thrace but on the way he was ambushed and defeated. The next time he attacked Bulgaria, he annexed it bit by bit. The Bulgarians risked it all in the battle of kleidion and lost finally giving in to Basil II's rule.

Great Schism

Sep 15, 1054

The great schism was the division of the Eastern Orthodox and Catholic churches. In 1054, a representative of the pope came to Constantinople to insist that cerularius recognize the pope's claim to be head of all churches. Cerularius refused to except which led to him and and Cardinal Humbert excommunicating each other, which was the first act out of many leading up to the schism. Several attempts have been made at reconciliation, but none have helped.

Emperor Alexios I contacts Pope Urban II for military help in the Middle East

Sep 14, 1095

Alexios the Byzantine emperor contacts Pope Urban II and asks for some Christian knights to help fight the Muslim Turks who had migrated to the Holy Land. This migration caused conflict between the Byzantines and the Turks and have could caused the downfall of the Byzantine Empire. The pope agreed to help even though he was a rival of the Byzantine empire.

Fourth Crusade (attack on Constantinople)

Sep 15, 1202

This 2 year long attack which started in 1202, began with Pope Innocent III calling an expedition to conquer Muslim-Controlled Jerusalem. This didn't happen and the crusaders instead ended up heading to and eventually attacking the city of Constantinople. The crusaders were promised military and financial help from the Byzantine empire and when they couldn't receive these things, they murdered emperor Alexios and conquered the city.

Fall of Constantinople to the ottoman Turks

Sep 15, 1453

Mehmed the conquerer lead the ottomans and began his seige by weakening the Byzantine strongholds outside of Constantinople. The ottomans struggled to break through walls so they decided to dig underneath them but were eventually discovered. The ottomans prepared for a final assault and then attacked the empire in waves and broke into the city and took it over.