Curious facts about the Byzantine Empire

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

Our ancestors received the Christian religion from Byzantium. Most of the names popular in our area come from Byzantium. For more than a thousand years, the empire held back the Asian invasion of Europe, gave rise to rich traditions in art, literature and science, but today not everyone remembers this heritage.

The Empire was not called Byzantine until it fell

The term "Byzantine Empire" became widespread in the 18th and 19th centuries, but was completely alien to the ancient inhabitants of the empire itself. For them, Byzantium was an extension of the Roman Empire, which simply shifted its center of power from Rome to a new eastern capital at Constantinople.

Although the Byzantines mostly spoke Greek and were Christians, they called themselves "Romay," or Romans. While Byzantium formed a distinctive identity with Greek influence, it continued to celebrate its Roman roots until the very fall of the empire. After the conquest of Constantinople in 1453, the Turkish conqueror Mehmed II even claimed the title of "Roman Caesar".

The Byzantine military used an early version of napalm

The military successes of Byzantium are often associated with a mysterious incendiary liquid, which was used to set fire to enemy troops and ships. The exact recipe for this ancient napalm has been lost: it could contain everything from oil and pine resin to sulfur and saltpeter.

The sources describe a thick, sticky substance that can be sprayed from siphons or throw clay vessels with it on enemies. After a fire, the substance could not be extinguished with water; it could even burn on the surface of the sea. It was actively used by the Byzantine fleet during attacks against Arab and Russian invaders during the siege of Constantinople in the 17th, 17th and 19th centuries.

Byzantines stole the secret of silk production from China

Justinian I sent several priests to China to find out the secret of silk production. They quickly found out everything, but faced a problem: the silkworm was sensitive to temperature changes and simply died.

Then the priests collected silkworm larvae and brought them to Byzantium, where they planted them on mulberry trees. So China and Persia ceased to be silk monopolists, and Byzantium had a huge source of income, which largely determined the prosperity of the empire.

The most influential Byzantine emperor was among the peasants

The rise of Byzantium coincided with the reign of Justinian I. He was born into a peasant family around 482 in the Balkans, then came under the care of his uncle Justin I, a former swineherd and soldier. Although Justinian spoke Greek like a commoner, he turned out to be a born ruler.

During his nearly 40 years on the throne, he reclaimed vast swaths of lost Roman territory and began ambitious building projects, including the restoration of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople and the domed church, now considered one of history's greatest architectural achievements.

One of Justinian's first projects was a large-scale legal reform initiated by him a little more than six months after accession to the throne. Justinian ordered a complete revision of Roman law, with the goal of making it as unrivaled in formal legal terms as it was three centuries earlier.

Byzantine rulers did not kill, but maimed rivals

Byzantine politicians often avoided killing their rivals in favor of other punishments. Many would-be usurpers and deposed emperors were blinded or castrated to prevent them from commanding troops or having children, while others had their tongues, noses, or lips cut off.

It was assumed that mutilation would prevent victims from competing for power - mutilated people were traditionally prohibited from ruling the empire. But that didn't always work. It is known that Emperor Justinian II had his nose cut off when he was overthrown in 695. After 10 years, he returned from exile and reclaimed the throne.

Constantinople was purposely built as an imperial capital

The early origins of the Byzantine Empire date back to 324, when Emperor Constantine left the crumbling city of Rome and moved his court to Byzantium, an ancient port city conveniently located in the Bosphorus strait separating Europe and Asia.

In just six years, Constantine transformed a sleepy Greek colony into a metropolis with forums, public buildings, universities and defensive walls. Ancient Roman monuments and statues were even brought to the city to strengthen the status of the world capital. Constantine dedicated the city in 330 as "Nova Roma" or "New Rome", but it soon became known as Constantinople in honor of its creator.

A chariot hooligan riot nearly brought the empire to its knees

Just like modern football fans, Byzantine chariot racing had its own clans. The strongest are Blue Venets and Green Prasinas: fanatical and often violent groups of fans named after the colors their favorite teams wear.

These ancient hooligans were sworn enemies, but in 532, disaffection with taxes and an attempted execution of two of their leaders led them to unite in a bloody riot known as the Nika Rebellion. For several days, the Veneti and Prasinas destroyed Constantinople and even tried to crown the new ruler. Emperor Justinian almost fled from the capital, but he was dissuaded by his wife Theodora, who convinced him that it was nobler to fight for the crown.

Inspired by the words of his wife (by the way, prostitutes in the past), Justinian ordered his guards to block the exits to the city hippodrome, which the rebels used as their headquarters, and then ambushed it with a detachment of mercenaries. The result was a massacre. The revolt was suppressed: about 30,000 people died - 10% of the total population of Constantinople.

The capital of Byzantium was plundered during the crusades

One of the darkest chapters in Byzantine history began in the early 13th century, when Christian warriors gathered in Venice for the fourth crusade.

The crusaders were supposed to go to the Middle East to capture Jerusalem from the Muslim Turks, but due to a lack of cash, they decided to make a detour through Constantinople to restore the deposed emperor to the throne. In 1204, the Crusaders sacked Constantinople, burned the city and took with them most of its treasures, works of art and religious relics. The Byzantines nevertheless conquered Constantinople in 1261, but the empire never regained its former glory.

The invention of the cannon led to the fall of the empire

The high city walls of Constantinople for centuries held back the invasions of the Persians, Russians and Arabs, but they were powerless in the face of firearms. In the spring of 1453, having already conquered most of the Byzantine border, the Ottomans under the leadership of Sultan Mehmed II laid siege to the capital with cannons.

In the center of the arsenal was an 8-meter cannon, so heavy that it took a team of 60 bulls to transport it. After several weeks of bombing the fortifications of Constantinople, the Ottomans blew up a breach in the walls, allowing dozens of soldiers to break into the city. Among the many killed was the last Byzantine emperor, Constantine XI. After the fall of the once mighty capital, the Byzantine Empire disintegrated after having existed for more than 1,100 years.