History of the Byzantines

Emperor Constantine I Founded the Byzantine Capital

324

In 312 A.D. Constantine became emperor. For his first task as emperor he wanted Christians to be tolerated, and second he set up the capital of Byzantine now known as Constantinople. He didn't build the capital city, he just renamed it from Byzantium to Constantinople after himself a few years later.

Nika Riot

532

The Nika riot were one week long, and were described as the most violent riot in the history of Constantinople. The riot started out with many angry citizens arriving at the Hippodrome yelling insults as Justinian. The crowds got wilder and wilder and assaulted the palace. The palace was under sieges the next 5 days. 30,000 citizens were killed, and nearly have the city was destroyed or burned.

General Belsarius Military Campaigns

532

In 532, General Belisarius put down the Nika uprising, slaughtering 20,000-30,000 people. In 533 Belisarius decimated the Vandals in only a few months and restored provinces to Byzantine rule. In 535 he was sent against the ostrogoths in Italy and took victory. Belisarius was accused of corruption and was sent to jail after helping Justinian win many battles.

Hagia Sophia Completed

537

Hagia Sophia is a church meaning "Holy Wisdom." It has been build 3 times, the first structure collapsed, the second structure caught fire, and the third one is the one that still stands today. It consists of columns and marbles from all over the empire. The building of the new Hagia Sophia created 10,000 jobs for citizens, and took 5 years and 10 months to build. Hagia Sophia was a place for Byzantine ceremonies such as coronations.

Early Islamic military campaigns into Byzantine territory

Sep 15, 633

The conquest of Syria began in 634 when fortified towns resisted the rout of the imperial army and had to be conquered individually. The conquest of Egypt began in 639 when the Arab forces won victory of the Battle of Heliopolis. The last center to fall in the Egyptian conquest was Alexandria. The Conquest of Mesopotamia was from 633-651 when Muslims gained control over Iraq. The Persian forces withdrew and the Arab army pushed them across the Iranian plateau.

Emperor Basil II military conquests of Bulgaria

Sep 15, 986

In 986 Basil ll laid siege on the Bulgarian city of Sofia. He first marched his army towards the Byzantine Thrace but was ambushed by the Battle of the Gates of Trojan. By 1000 Basil defeated the lslamic threat from the east, and began another invasion to Bulgaria. In the battle of Kledion the Byzantine army captured 15,000 Bulgarians and blinded 99 out of 100 men. Many of the Bulgarian elite were integrated into Byzantine society, and were given military positions.

The Great Schism

Sep 14, 1054

The Great Schism was a permanent splitting between the eastern and western Christians. The Byzantine Christian Church became known as the Eastern Orthodox Church and the western church became known as the Roman Catholic Church. The two split because of a claim for Pope supremacy. The Byzantine church refused the claim to make the Pope the head of their church, but the western church already had the Pope as the head of the church. Both churches still followed the same fair, just not the leader.

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

Sep 15, 1095

The First crusade occurred when Pope Urban ll responded to an appeal from the Byzantine Emperor Alexio l. Alexio requested that volunteers from the west come and aid him in repelling the invading Seljuk Turks from Anatolia, He also wanted to reconquest the city of Jerusalem to free Eastern Christians from the Muslim rules.

Fourth Crusade (Attack on Constantinople)

Sep 14, 1202

The Fourth Crusade started with the crusaders diverting to fighting other Christians instead of Muslims. On the way to Jerusalem the crusader leadership came to agreement with the Byzantine prince to go to Constantinople and help him become emperor. Alexio Angelos became emperor with the crusaders support, following a fight outside Constantinople. Alexio was murdered the next month which sent the crusaders to Constantinople. In 1204 they captured Constantinople and set up a new Latin empire.

Fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Turks (Official end to Byzantines)

Sep 15, 1453

The conquest of Constantinople followed a 53-day siege. It marked the end of the Roman Empire that had lasted 1,500 years. After the conquest, Sultan Mehmed ll transferred the capital of the Ottoman Empire to constantinople. He also did not kill the citizens of the city, he just controlled the citizens that didn't escape. This conquest marks the end of the Late Middle Ages.