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A Brief Byzantine History
These are three early sound files from the Byzantine civilization.
They are only a few seconds in length, but they are high quality.
Sound one (long.wav, 365kb)
Sound two (female.wav, 21kb)
Sound three (villager.wav, 19kb)
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The Byzantines were a durable and great power during the Dark and Middle Ages. Prior to the downfall of Rome, the Roman Empire was composed of two portions: a Western region centered on Italy and an eastern region revolving around Turkey and the Black Sea. However, while Rome fell to barbarians and eventually disintegrated, the western portion of the empire stood tall and claimed the mantle of the Roman Empire for itself. From the late fifth century well into the Middle Ages, the Roman Empire survived in Byzantium, which was renamed Constantinople by the Roman Emperor Constantine in the fourth century.
click to enlarge.
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From there, the Byzantines would try to uphold their civilization in the face of what they thought was a dark age of barbarians. According to Ensemble Studios, the Byzantines took their name from Byzantium, a Greek city on the Bosphorus, which was the waterway linking the Black Sea to the Aegean Sea. While Rome collapsed, Constantinople survived due to its heavy fortifications and easy access to the sea. Even if its overland supply routes could be cut off by ground armies of Turks, Persians, and eastern barbarians, Byzantine could always be supplied by sea, for no other empire of the era could match the Byzantine's sea power. This geographical situation also enabled Byzantine to grow in riches and wealth, as it was a vital destination on the trade routes between China and the West. Ensemble says that the "nomisma," the Byzantine coin, was the standard currency throughout the Mediterranean for 800 years. The Byzantine navy ensured that trade lanes and supply lines were always free, and many an Arab sea campaign was defeated by Byzantine warships and their use of Greek fire. In addition to its strong navy, Byzantine upheld its reign through the use of highly trained and well-equipped soldiers. The Byzantine army drew its recruits and strategies from the best of Roman, Greek, Gothic, and Middle Eastern traditions, and was among the best-trained and disciplined of forces in the region.
click to enlarge.
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For much of their history, the Byzantines tried to restore the Roman Empire to its former glory. The first to attempt this was Justinian I, the first Byzantine emperor. His general, Belisarius, was heralded as the greatest Western military mind of his era. It was Belisarius who crushed the Ostrogoths in Italy, beat back the Persians in the east, and pushed into North Africa and other neighboring regions to cement Byzantine authority. However, these hard-fought victories were oftentimes contested by the powerful Arabs. In the seventh and eighth centuries, they took Egypt, North Africa, and Spain, slowly whittling away at the empire's territory. Asia Minor was also taken by the Arabs in the early 11th century, thus depriving the empire of a vital source of food and horses. However, the Byzantine Empire also had to fend off jealousy from the Italian states, and in 1204 it was treacherously betrayed by Venice, which sacked Constantinople.
Eventually, abandoned and betrayed by jealous Italian neighbors and always on the defensive against the Arabs and Turks, Byzantine fell. In the 14th century, the Turks captured Adrianople. In 1453, the Turks captured Constantinople and ended the long reign of the Byzantine Empire.
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