home Social science What is the Byzantine Empire. What is Byzantium. The history of Byzantium, one of the "world" powers of the Middle Ages, a society of peculiar development and high culture, a society at the junction of the West and the East, was full of turbulent internal events, endless

What is the Byzantine Empire. What is Byzantium. The history of Byzantium, one of the "world" powers of the Middle Ages, a society of peculiar development and high culture, a society at the junction of the West and the East, was full of turbulent internal events, endless

Byzantine Empire, in short, this 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. V- VIII 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.

The end has come. But at the beginning of the 4th c. the center of the state moved to the calmer and richer eastern, Balkan and Asia Minor provinces. Soon Constantinople, founded by Emperor Constantine on the site of the ancient Greek city of Byzantium, became the capital. True, the West also had its own emperors - the administration of the empire was divided. But it was the sovereigns of Constantinople who were considered elders. In the 5th century The Eastern, or Byzantine, as they said in the West, the empire withstood the attack of the barbarians. Moreover, in the VI century. its rulers conquered many lands of the West occupied by the Germans and held them for two centuries. Then they were Roman emperors, not only in title, but also in essence. Having lost by the IX century. a large part of the western possessions, Byzantine Empire nevertheless continued to live and develop. She existed before 1453., when the last stronghold of her power - Constantinople fell under the pressure of the Turks. All this time, the empire remained in the eyes of its subjects as a legitimate successor. Its inhabitants called themselves Romans, which in Greek means "Romans", although the main part of the population were Greeks.

The geographical position of Byzantium, which spread its possessions on two continents - in Europe and Asia, and sometimes extended power to the regions of Africa, made this empire, as it were, a link between East and West. The constant bifurcation between the eastern and western worlds became the historical destiny of the Byzantine Empire. A mixture of Greco-Roman and Eastern traditions left its mark on public life, statehood, religious and philosophical ideas, culture and art of Byzantine society. However, Byzantium went on its own historical way, in many respects different from the fate of the countries of both the East and the West, which determined the features of its culture.

Map of the Byzantine Empire

History of the Byzantine Empire

The culture of the Byzantine Empire was created by many nations. In the first centuries of the existence of the Roman state, all the eastern provinces of Rome were under the rule of its emperors: Balkan Peninsula, Asia Minor, southern Crimea, Western Armenia, Syria, Palestine, Egypt, northeast Libya. The creators of the new cultural unity were the Romans, Armenians, Syrians, Egyptian Copts and the barbarians who settled within the borders of the empire.

The most powerful cultural layer in this cultural diversity was the ancient heritage. Long before the emergence of the Byzantine Empire, thanks to the campaigns of Alexander the Great, all the peoples of the Middle East were subjected to the powerful unifying influence of ancient Greek, Hellenic culture. This process is called Hellenization. Adopted Greek traditions and immigrants from the West. So the culture of the renewed empire developed as a continuation of the mainly ancient Greek culture. Greek language already in the seventh century. reigned supreme in writing and oral speech Romans (Romans).

The East, unlike the West, did not experience devastating barbarian raids. Because there was no terrible cultural decline. Most of the ancient Greco-Roman cities continued to exist in the Byzantine world. In the first centuries new era they retained their former appearance and structure. As in Hellas, the agora remained the heart of the city - a vast square where public meetings were previously held. Now, however, people increasingly gathered at the hippodrome - a place of performances and races, announcements of decrees and public executions. The city was decorated with fountains and statues, magnificent houses of local nobility and public buildings. In the capital - Constantinople - the best masters erected monumental palaces of emperors. The most famous of the early ones - the Great Imperial Palace of Justinian I, the famous conqueror of the Germans, who ruled in 527-565 - was erected over the Sea of Marmara. The appearance and decoration of the capital's palaces reminded of the times of the ancient Greek-Macedonian rulers of the Middle East. But the Byzantines also used the Roman urban planning experience, in particular the plumbing system and baths (terms).

Most of the major cities of antiquity remained centers of trade, crafts, science, literature and art. Such were Athens and Corinth in the Balkans, Ephesus and Nicaea in Asia Minor, Antioch, Jerusalem and Berytus (Beirut) in Syro-Palestines, Alexandria in ancient Egypt.

The collapse of many cities in the West led to the shift of trade routes to the east. At the same time, barbarian invasions and conquests made land roads unsafe. Law and order were preserved only in the possessions of the emperors of Constantinople. Therefore, the "dark" centuries filled with wars (V-VIII centuries) became sometimes heyday of Byzantine ports. They served as transit points for military detachments sent to numerous wars, and as stations for the strongest Byzantine fleet in Europe. But the main meaning and source of their existence was maritime trade. The commercial relations of the Romans stretched from India to Britain.

Ancient crafts continued to develop in the cities. Many products of early Byzantine masters are real works of art. Masterpieces of Roman jewelers - from precious metals and stones, from colored glass and Ivory- caused admiration in the countries of the Middle East and barbarian Europe. Germans, Slavs, Huns adopted the skills of the Romans, imitated them in their own creations.

Coins in the Byzantine Empire

For a long time, only Roman coins circulated throughout Europe. The emperors of Constantinople continued to mint Roman money, making only minor changes to their appearance. The right of the Roman emperors to power was not questioned even by fierce enemies, and the only mint in Europe was proof of this. The first in the West to dare to start minting his own coin was the Frankish king in the second half of the 6th century. However, even then the barbarians only imitated the Roman model.

Legacy of the Roman Empire

The Roman heritage of Byzantium is even more noticeable in the system of government. Political figures and the philosophers of Byzantium did not get tired of repeating that Constantinople is the New Rome, that they themselves are Romans, and their state is the only empire protected by God. The branched apparatus of the central government, the tax system, the legal doctrine of the inviolability of the imperial autocracy remained in it without fundamental changes.

The life of the emperor, furnished with extraordinary splendor, admiration for him were inherited from the traditions of the Roman Empire. In the late Roman period, even before the Byzantine era, palace rituals included many elements of Eastern despotisms. Basileus, the emperor, appeared before the people only accompanied by a brilliant retinue and an impressive armed guard, who followed in a strictly defined order. They prostrated themselves before the basileus, during the speech from the throne they covered him with special curtains, and only a few received the right to sit in his presence. Only the highest ranks of the empire were allowed to eat at his meal. The reception of foreign ambassadors, whom the Byzantines tried to impress with the greatness of the emperor's power, was especially pompously arranged.

The central administration was concentrated in several secret departments: the Shvaz department of the logotheta (manager) of the genikon - the main tax institution, the department of the military cash desk, the department of mail and external relations, the department for managing the property of the imperial family, etc. In addition to the staff of officials in the capital, each department had officials sent on temporary assignments to the provinces. There were also palace secrets that controlled the institutions that directly served the royal court: food, dressing rooms, stables, repairs.

Byzantium retained Roman law and foundations of Roman judiciary. In the Byzantine era, the development of the Roman theory of law was completed, such theoretical concepts of jurisprudence as law, law, custom were finalized, the difference between private and public law was clarified, the foundations of regulation were determined. international relations, norms of criminal law and process.

The legacy of the Roman Empire was a clear tax system. A free citizen or peasant paid taxes and duties to the treasury from all types of his property and from any kind of labor activity. He paid for land ownership, and for a garden in a city, and for a mule or sheep in a barn, and for a room for rent, and for a workshop, and for a shop, and for a ship, and for a boat. Practically not a single product on the market passed from hand to hand, bypassing the watchful eye of officials.

Warfare

Byzantium also preserved the Roman art of waging a "correct war." The empire carefully kept, copied and studied ancient strategons - treatises on martial arts.

Periodically, the authorities reformed the army, partly because of the emergence of new enemies, partly to meet the capabilities and needs of the state itself. The basis of the Byzantine army became the cavalry. Its number in the army ranged from 20% in late Roman times to more than one third in the 10th century. An insignificant part, but very combat-ready, became cataphracts - heavy cavalry.

navy Byzantium was also a direct inheritance of Rome. The following facts speak of his strength. In the middle of the 7th century Emperor Constantine V was able to send 500 ships to the mouth of the Danube to conduct military operations against the Bulgarians, and in 766 - even more than 2 thousand. The largest ships (dromons) with three rows of oars took on board up to 100-150 soldiers and about the same rowers.

An innovation in the fleet was "greek fire"- a mixture of oil, combustible oils, sulfur asphalt, - invented in the 7th century. and terrified enemies. He was thrown out of the siphons, arranged in the form of bronze monsters with open mouths. The siphons could be turned to different sides. The ejected liquid spontaneously ignited and burned even on water. It was with the help of "Greek fire" that the Byzantines repulsed two Arab invasions - in 673 and 718.

Military construction was excellently developed in the Byzantine Empire, based on a rich engineering tradition. Byzantine engineers - builders of fortresses were famous far beyond the borders of the country, even in distant Khazaria, where a fortress was built according to their plans

The large seaside cities, in addition to the walls, were protected by underwater breakwaters and massive chains that blocked the entrance of the enemy fleet to the bays. Such chains closed the Golden Horn in Constantinople and the Gulf of Thessaloniki.

For the defense and siege of fortresses, the Byzantines used various engineering structures (ditches and palisades, tunnels and embankments) and all kinds of tools. Byzantine documents mention rams, movable towers with bridges, stone-throwing ballistas, hooks for capturing and destroying enemy siege devices, cauldrons from which boiling tar and molten lead were poured onto the heads of the besiegers.

Where is Byzantium

The great influence that the Byzantine Empire had in the era of the gloomy Middle Ages on the history (as well as religion, culture, art) of many European countries(including ours) is difficult to cover in one article. But we will still try to do this, and tell you as much as possible about the history of Byzantium, its way of life, culture and much more, in a word, using our time machine to send you to the time of the highest heyday of the Byzantine Empire, so get comfortable and let's go.

Where is Byzantium

But before going on a journey through time, first let's deal with the movement in space, and determine where is (or rather was) Byzantium on the map. In fact, at different times historical development The boundaries of the Byzantine Empire were constantly changing, expanding during periods of development and shrinking during periods of decline.

For example, this map shows Byzantium in its heyday, and as we can see at that time, it occupied the entire territory of modern Turkey, part of the territory of modern Bulgaria and Italy, and numerous islands in the Mediterranean Sea.

During the reign of Emperor Justinian, the territory of the Byzantine Empire was even larger, and the power of the Byzantine emperor also extended to North Africa (Libya and Egypt), the Middle East, (including the glorious city of Jerusalem). But gradually they began to be ousted from there first, with whom Byzantium was in a state of permanent war for centuries, and then the militant Arab nomads, carrying in their hearts the banner of a new religion - Islam.

And here the map shows the possessions of Byzantium at the time of its decline, in 1453, as we see at that time its territory was reduced to Constantinople with the surrounding territories and part of modern Southern Greece.

History of Byzantium

The Byzantine Empire is the successor of another great empire– . In 395, after the death of the Roman Emperor Theodosius I, the Roman Empire was divided into Western and Eastern. This division was caused by political reasons, namely, the emperor had two sons, and probably, so as not to deprive any of them, the eldest son Flavius became the emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire, and the youngest son Honorius, respectively, the emperor of the Western Roman Empire. At first, this division was purely nominal, and in the eyes of millions of citizens of the superpower of antiquity, it was still the same one big Roman Empire.

But as we know, the Roman Empire gradually began to lean towards its death, which was largely facilitated by both the decline in morals in the empire itself and the waves of warlike barbarian tribes that now and then rolled onto the borders of the empire. And now, in the 5th century, the Western Roman Empire finally fell, the eternal city of Rome was captured and plundered by the barbarians, the end of antiquity came, the Middle Ages began.

But the Eastern Roman Empire, thanks to a happy coincidence, survived, the center of its cultural and political life was concentrated around the capital of the new empire, Constantinople, which in the Middle Ages became the most big city in Europe. The waves of barbarians passed by, although, of course, they also had their influence, but for example, the rulers of the Eastern Roman Empire prudently preferred to pay off gold rather than fight from the ferocious conqueror Attila. Yes, and the destructive impulse of the barbarians was directed precisely at Rome and the Western Roman Empire, which saved the Eastern Empire, from which, after the fall of the Western Empire in the 5th century, a new great state of Byzantium or the Byzantine Empire was formed.

Although the population of Byzantium consisted mainly of Greeks, they always felt themselves to be the heirs of the great Roman Empire and called them accordingly - "Romans", which in Greek means "Romans".

Since the 6th century, during the reign of the brilliant emperor Justinian and his no less brilliant wife (our website has an interesting article about this “first lady of Byzantium”, follow the link), the Byzantine Empire begins to slowly recapture the territories once occupied by barbarians. So the Byzantines from the barbarians of the Lombards captured significant territories of modern Italy, which once belonged to the Western Roman Empire, the power of the Byzantine emperor extends to northern Africa, the local city of Alexandria becomes an important economic and cultural center empire in this region. The military campaigns of Byzantium extend to the East, where for several centuries there have been continuous wars with the Persians.

Samo geographical position Byzantium, which spread its possessions on three continents at once (Europe, Asia, Africa), made the Byzantine Empire a kind of bridge between the West and the East, a country in which the cultures of different peoples were mixed. All this left its mark on social and political life, religious and philosophical ideas and, of course, art.

Conventionally, historians divide the history of the Byzantine Empire into five periods, we give a brief description of them:

Fall of Byzantium

What are the main reasons for the fall of Byzantium? Why did an empire that owned such vast territories and such power (both military and cultural) fall? First of all, the most important reason was the strengthening Ottoman Empire, in fact, Byzantium became one of their first victims, subsequently the Ottoman Janissaries and Sipahs would shake many other European nations on their nerves, even reaching Vienna in 1529 (from where they were knocked out only by the combined efforts of the Austrian and Polish troops King Jan Sobieski).

But in addition to the Turks, Byzantium also had a number of internal problems, constant wars exhausted this country, many territories that it owned in the past were lost. The conflict with Catholic Europe also had an effect, resulting in a fourth one, directed not against infidel Muslims, but against the Byzantines, these "wrong Orthodox Christian heretics" (from the point of view of Catholic crusaders, of course). Needless to say, the fourth crusade, which resulted in the temporary conquest of Constantinople by the crusaders and the formation of the so-called "Latin Republic" was another important reason for the subsequent decline and fall of the Byzantine Empire.

Also, the fall of Byzantium was greatly facilitated by the numerous political unrest that accompanied the final fifth stage in the history of Byzantium. So, for example, the Byzantine emperor John Paleolog V, who ruled from 1341 to 1391, was overthrown from the throne three times (it is interesting that first by his father-in-law, then by his son, then by his grandson). The Turks, on the other hand, skillfully used the intrigues at the court of the Byzantine emperors for their own selfish purposes.

In 1347, the worst epidemic of the plague swept through the territory of Byzantium, black death, as this disease was called in the Middle Ages, the epidemic claimed about a third of the inhabitants of Byzantium, which was another reason for the weakening and fall of the empire.

When it became clear that the Turks were about to sweep away Byzantium, the latter began again to seek help from the West, but relations with the Catholic countries, as well as the Pope of Rome, were more than strained, only Venice came to the rescue, whose merchants traded profitably with Byzantium, and in Constantinople itself even had a whole Venetian merchant quarter. At the same time, Genoa, the former trade and political opponent of Venice, on the contrary, helped the Turks in every possible way and was interested in the fall of Byzantium (primarily with the aim of causing problems to its commercial competitors, the Venetians). In a word, instead of uniting and helping Byzantium resist the attack of the Ottoman Turks, the Europeans pursued their own interests, a handful of Venetian soldiers and volunteers, yet sent to help Constantinople besieged by the Turks, could no longer do anything.

On May 29, 1453, the ancient capital of Byzantium, the city of Constantinople, fell (later renamed Istanbul by the Turks), and the once great Byzantium fell with it.

Byzantine culture

The culture of Byzantium is the product of a mixture of cultures of many peoples: Greeks, Romans, Jews, Armenians, Egyptian Copts and the first Syrian Christians. The most striking part of Byzantine culture is its ancient heritage. Many traditions from the time of ancient Greece were preserved and transformed in Byzantium. So the spoken written language of the citizens of the empire was precisely Greek. The cities of the Byzantine Empire retained Greek architecture, the structure of Byzantine cities, again borrowed from ancient Greece: the heart of the city was the agora - a wide square where public meetings were held. The cities themselves were lavishly decorated with fountains and statues.

The best masters and architects of the empire built the palaces of the Byzantine emperors in Constantinople, the most famous among them is the Great Imperial Palace of Justinian.

The remains of this palace in a medieval engraving.

Ancient crafts continued to develop actively in Byzantine cities, the masterpieces of the local jewelers, craftsmen, weavers, blacksmiths, artists were valued throughout Europe, the skills of Byzantine masters were actively adopted by representatives of other peoples, including the Slavs.

Of great importance in the social, cultural, political and sports life of Byzantium were hippodromes, where chariot races were held. For the Romans, they were about the same as football is for many today. There were even their own, in modern terms, fan clubs rooting for one or another team of chariot hounds. Just as modern ultras football fans who support different football clubs from time to time arrange fights and brawls among themselves, the Byzantine fans of chariot racing were also very eager for this matter.

But besides just unrest, various groups of Byzantine fans also had a strong political influence. So once an ordinary brawl of fans at the hippodrome led to the largest uprising in the history of Byzantium, known as "Nika" (literally "win", this was the slogan of the rebellious fans). The uprising of Nika's supporters almost led to the overthrow of Emperor Justinian. Only thanks to the determination of his wife Theodora and the bribery of the leaders of the uprising, he was able to suppress.

Hippodrome in Constantinople.

In the jurisprudence of Byzantium, Roman law, inherited from the Roman Empire, reigned supreme. Moreover, it was in the Byzantine Empire that the theory of Roman law acquired its final form, such key concepts as law, law, and custom were formed.

The economy in Byzantium was also largely driven by the legacy of the Roman Empire. Each free citizen paid taxes to the treasury from his property and labor activity (a similar tax system was also practiced in ancient rome). High taxes often became the cause of mass discontent, and even unrest. Byzantine coins (known as Roman coins) circulated throughout Europe. These coins were very similar to the Roman ones, but the Byzantine emperors made only a number of minor changes to them. The first coins that began to be minted in the countries of Western Europe, in turn, were an imitation of Roman coins.

This is what coins looked like in the Byzantine Empire.

Religion, of course, had a great influence on the culture of Byzantium, about which read on.

Religion of Byzantium

In religious terms, Byzantium became the center of Orthodox Christianity. But before that, it was on its territory that the most numerous communities of the first Christians were formed, which greatly enriched its culture, especially in terms of the construction of temples, as well as in the art of icon painting, which originated precisely in Byzantium.

Gradually, Christian churches became the center of the public life of Byzantine citizens, pushing aside the ancient agoras and hippodromes with their violent fans in this regard. Monumental Byzantine churches built in V-X centuries, combine both ancient architecture (from which Christian architects borrowed a lot of things) and already Christian symbolism. The most beautiful temple creation in this regard can rightfully be considered the Church of St. Sophia in Constantinople, which was later converted into a mosque.

Art of Byzantium

The art of Byzantium was inextricably linked with religion, and the most beautiful thing that it gave to the world was the art of icon painting and the art of mosaic frescoes, which adorned many churches.

True, one of the political and religious unrest in the history of Byzantium, known as Iconoclasm, was connected with icons. This was the name of the religious and political trend in Byzantium, which considered icons to be idols, and therefore subject to extermination. In 730 Emperor Leo III the Isaurian officially banned the veneration of icons. As a result, thousands of icons and mosaics were destroyed.

Subsequently, the power changed, in 787 Empress Irina ascended the throne, who returned the veneration of icons, and the art of icon painting was revived with the same strength.

The art school of Byzantine icon painters set the traditions of icon painting for the whole world, including its great influence on the art of icon painting in Kievan Rus.

Byzantium, video

And finally, an interesting video about the Byzantine Empire.

When writing the article, I tried to make it as interesting, useful and of high quality as possible. I would be grateful for any feedback and constructive criticism in the form of comments on the article. You can also write your wish / question / suggestion to my mail [email protected] or on Facebook, with respect, the author.

Byzantine Empire in middle of XII For centuries, it fought back with all its might from the invasion of the Turks and the attacks of the Venetian fleet, while suffering huge human and material losses. The fall of the Byzantine Empire accelerated with the onset of the Crusades.

Crisis of the Byzantine Empire

The Crusades against Byzantium accelerated its disintegration. After the capture of Constantinople by the Crusaders in 1204, Byzantium was divided into three independent states - Epirus, Nicaea and Latin empires.

The Latin Empire, with Constantinople as its capital, lasted until 1261. Having settled in Constantinople, yesterday's crusaders, the bulk of whom were French and Genoese, continued to behave like invaders. They mocked the relics of Orthodoxy and destroyed works of art. In addition to planting Catholicism, foreigners imposed exorbitant taxes on the already impoverished population. Orthodoxy became a unifying force against the invaders who imposed their own rules.

Rice. 1. The Mother of God at the Crucifixion. Mosaic in the Church of the Assumption in Daphne. Byzantium 1100.

Board of Palaiologoi

The emperor of Nicaea, Michael Palaiologos, was a protege of the aristocratic nobility. He managed to create a well-trained, maneuverable Nicene army and capture Constantinople.

Rice. 2. Map of the Byzantine and Trebizond empires, 1453.

The Ottoman Empire had long sought to capture Byzantium. By the beginning of the reign of Constantine XI, Byzantium had only Constantinople, several islands in the Aegean Sea and Morea.

Reasons for the fall of the Byzantine Empire

The economic and political causes of the fall of Byzantium were interconnected:

Huge financial costs for the maintenance of a mercenary army and navy. These costs hit the pockets of the already impoverished and ruined population.
The monopolization of trade by the Genoese and the Venetians caused the ruin of the Venetian merchants and contributed to the decline of the economy.
The central power structure was extremely unstable due to constant internecine wars, in which, moreover, the Sultan intervened.
The apparatus of officials mired in bribes.
Complete indifference of the supreme power to the fate of their fellow citizens.
From the end of the XIII century, Byzantium waged incessant defensive wars, which completely bled the state.
Byzantium was finally knocked down by the wars with the Crusaders in the XIII century.
The absence of reliable allies could not but affect the fall of the state.

Not last role the fall of the Byzantine Empire was played by the treacherous policy of large feudal lords, as well as the penetration of foreigners into all cultural spheres of the country's way of life. To this should be added the internal split in society, and the distrust of various strata of society in the rulers of the country, and in the victory over numerous external enemies. It is no coincidence that many large cities of Byzantium surrendered to the Turks without a fight.

What have we learned?

Byzantium was a country doomed to disappear due to many circumstances, a country incapable of change, with a completely rotten bureaucracy, and besides, surrounded by external enemies on all sides. From the events described in the article, one can briefly learn not only the chronology of the collapse of the Byzantine Empire before its complete absorption by the Turkish Empire, but also the reasons for the disappearance of this state.

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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 It 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, in comparison with 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 economic crisis 3rd century

Secondly, Byzantium, having large material resources, had a strong army, a fleet 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 already 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. With 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 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").