"The Elusive Byzantine Empire" Topic

"he Byzantine empire means different things to different people. Some associate it with gold: the golden tesserae in the mosaics of Ravenna, the golden background in icons, the much coveted golden coins, the golden-hued threads of Byzantine silks used to shroud Charlemagne. Others think of court intrigues, poisonings and scores of eunuchs. Most will think of Constantinople, which used to be Byzantium and is now Istanbul, and will possibly bring to mind the city's skyline with the huge dome of the Hagia Sophia. Little else perhaps exists in the collective imagination. All this is indeed evocative of Byzantium, but there is so much more to explore.

To begin at the beginning is tricky. Did the empire begin when the emperor Constantine moved his capital from Rome to Constantinople in 324? When the city was consecrated by both pagan and Christian priests in May 330? Or did it begin in 395 when the two halves of the vast Roman empire were officially divided into East and West, or even later in the late 5th century when Rome was sacked, conquered and governed by the Goths, leaving Constantinople and the East as the sole heir of the empire? But, if its beginning is unclear, its demise is not: on 29 May 1453, the armies of the Ottoman sultan Mehmed II entered the city and brought the existence of this state to an end after more than a millennium…"
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Amicalement
Armand

The Byzantine empire did not exist- in the time of the Byzantines. It is a label applied to the Roman Empire by historians. It has a legitimate use to avoid confusion and promote a common understanding. Just as those who lived during the "Renaissance" did not have any idea that they were living in the Renaissance. However, we have a understanding of ….blah, blah blah. Then something about the empire of the Franks…blah, blah…then Japan…blah then America…blah, blah….then we all slap each other on the backs and share some liquid refreshments.

Glup!….

Amicalement
Armand

Well, that was a silly point …