History of the Byzantine

History of the Byzantines

Period: 300 to Jan 1, 1500

Emperor Constantine I Founded the Byzantine Captal

379

Augustus built a new imperial residence at Byzantium and renamed the city Constantinople after himself the laudatory epithet of "New Rome" came later, and was never an official title. It would later become the capital of the Empire for over one thousand years; for which reason the later Eastern Empire would come to be known as the Byzantine Empire.

Nika Revolt

532

From the start, the crowd had been hurling insults at Justinian. The crowds broke out and began to atack the palace. For the next five days, the palace was under siege. There were fires that started during the riot resulted in the destruction of much of the city. [Nika riot](penelope.uchicago.edu/~grout/.../nika.htm)

General Belisarius Military campaigns

535

Roman territory for the first time and threatened Constantinople itself. Justinian recalled Belisarius to command the Roman army. In his last campaign, Belisarius defeated the Kutrigurs and drove them back across the river with the greatly outnumbered force under his command.

Hagia Sophia Completed

537

From the date of its construction in 537 until 1453, it served as a cathederal. The current building was originally constructed as a church between 532 and 537 on the orders of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I and was the third Church of the Holy Wisdom to occupy the site, the previous two having both been destroyed by rioters.

Early islamic military campaigns into Byzantine territory

Jan 1, 629

The Arab–Byzantine wars were a series of wars between the mostly Arab Muslims and the East Roman or Byzantine Empire between the 7th and 11th centuries AD. Started during the initial Muslim conquests under the expansionist Rashidun and Umayyad caliphs in the 7th century and continued by their successors until the mid-11th century.During the first centuries, the Byzantines were usually in the defensive, and avoided open field battles, preferring to retreat to their fortified strongholds.

Emperor Basil II Military conquest of Bulgaria

Jan 1, 986

Bulgars had been raiding Byzantine lands since 976, the Byzantine government sought to cause dissension amongst them by allowing the escape of their captive emperor Boris II of Bulgaria. This ploy failed, so Basil used a respite from his conflict with the nobility to lead an army of 30,000 men into Bulgaria and besiege Sredets in 986. Taking losses and worried about the loyalty of some of his governors, Basil lifted the siege and headed back for Thrace, but he fell into an ambush and lost.

Emperor Alexios I contacts the pope Urban II for help

Jan 1, 1095

Pope Urban II makes a decision to call war to Christians against Muslims to reclaim the Holy Land. The Middle East became a conflict for Christians in Europe and were barred from it. When the turks threatened to take Constantinople, Alexius I confronted Urban for help.

Fourth Crusade

Jan 1, 1202

The Fourth Crusade was a Western European armed expedition originally intended to conquer Muslim controlled Jerusalem by means of an invasion.Instead, a sequence of events culminated in the Crusaders sacking the city of Constantinople.

Great Schism

Jan 1, 1378

The Western Schism or Papal Schism was a split within the Roman Catholic Church which lasted from 1378 to 1417.[1] Three men simultaneously claimed to be the true pope. Driven by politics rather than any theological disagreement, the schism was ended by the Council of Constance (1414–1418). For a time these rival claims to the papal throne damaged the reputation of the office. The affair is sometimes referred to as the Great Schism

Fall of Constantinople to the Ottomann Turks

May 29, 1453

Constantinople was capture by the capital of the Eastern Roman the Byzantine Empire by an invading army of the Ottoman Empire on 29 May 1453.