A cross of light bearing the inscription “in
hoc
signo vinces” (in this sign you will conquer)
miraculously appeared to Roman Emperor
Constantine before the battle of Milvian
Bridge.
His victory over his brother-in-law and co-
emperor Maxentius and subsequent
conversion
to Christianity had a profound impact on
the
course of Western civilization.
Byzantine is the term commonly used
since the
19th century to refer to the Greek-speaking
Roman Empire of the Middle Ages
centered in the
capital city of Constantinople. During much
of its
history, it was known to many of its
Western
contemporaries as the Empire of the
Greeks, due
to the dominance of the Greek language
and
culture. However, it is important to
remember
that the Byzantines referred to themselves
as
simply as the Roman Empire. As the
Byzantine
era is a period largely fabricated by
historians,
there is no clear consensus on exactly
when the
Byzantine age begins; although many
consider
the reign of Emperor Constantine the
Great, who
moved the imperial capital to the glorious
city of
Byzantium, renamed Constantinople and
nicknamed the “New Rome,” to be the
beginning.
Others consider the reign of Theodosius I
(379-
395), when Christianity officially supplanted
the
pagan beliefs, to be the true beginning.
And yet
other scholars date the start of the
Byzantine age
to the era when division between the east
and
western halves of the empire became
permanent.
While Christianity replaced the gods of
antiquity,
traditional Classical culture continued to
flourish.
Greek and Latin were the languages of the
learned classes. Before Persian and Arab
invasions devastated much of their eastern
holdings, Byzantine territory extended as
far as
south as Egypt. After a period of
iconoclastic
uprising came to resolution in the 9th
Century, a
second flowering of Byzantine culture
arose and
lasted until Constantinople was temporarily
seized by Crusaders from the west in the
13th
Century. Christianity spread throughout the
Slavic lands to the north. In 1453,
Constantinople
finally fell to the Ottoman Turks effectively
ending the Byzantine Empire after more
than
1,100 years. Regardless of when it began,
the
Byzantine Empire continued to carry the
mantle
of Greek and Roman Classical cultures
throughout the Medieval era and into the
early
Renaissance, creating a golden age of
Christian
culture that today continues to endure in
the
rights and rituals of the Eastern Orthodox
Church. Byzantine art and culture was the
epitome of luxury, incorporating the finest
elements from the artistic traditions of both
the
East and the West.
