World History 173: The Foundation of Empires
Artifacts
![Casket [box] with Warriors and Dancers](https://images.metmuseum.org/CRDImages/md/original/DP-424-001.jpg)
Casket [box] with Warriors and Dancers (c. 11th Century CE)
Classical literature and classical images were preserved throughout the Byzantine period. The erotes [cupids] who dance and wage mock battles on the sides of this casket and tame a female panther on the lid recall imagery associated with the ancient pagan cult of the god Dionysos.
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Click HERE for more information on the artifact (including audio).
Hagia Sophia’s Christian figural mosaics were mostly introduced across the 9th to 13th centuries
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Photo credit: Getty Images
For more on the history of mosaics, click HERE
Icon with the Triumph of Orthodoxy (circa 1400 CE)
The subject of the icon is the Triumph of Orthodoxy (the restoration of images in Byzantium in 843 after decades of an official ban on icons, the so-called period of iconoclasm from c.730).
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For more information on the icon and the subjects it depicts, click HERE
A Byzantine ship using Greek fire against a ship belonging to the rebel Thomas the Slav, 821. 12th century illustration from the Madrid Skylitzes.
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For more on Greek Fire and its inventor, click HERE
Deeper Dives
Deeper Dives
- The Institutes, 535 CE
"The Institutes" was intended as a sort of legal textbook for law schools and included extracts from the two major works [Corpus Iurus Civilis (Body of Civil Law) and the Codex Justinius - Art of Eternity - The Glory of Byzantium - BBC Documentary (49:00)
Andrew Graham-Dixon unravels the mysteries of the art of the pre-perspective era. In Istanbul, he immerses himself in the world of the Byzantine Empire. - Hagia Sophia: Istanbul's Ancient Mystery (55:00)
For 800 years, it was the largest enclosed building in the world—the Statue of Liberty can fit beneath its dome with room to spare. How has it survived its location on one of the world's most active seismic faults, which has inflicted a dozen devastating earthquakes since it was built in 537?
Byzantine Empire
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General Overviews
- The Beginnings of the Byzantine EmpireLibrarian Recommended. A concise overview that contextualizes the Empire in world history.
Society under Justinian & his successors
- The Byzantine State under Justinian I (Justinian the Great)
Includes images of gorgeous Byzantine artifacts
Politics & Government
- Roman Legal tradition & the compilation of Justinian
Focus on the section "Emperor Justinian and the Corpus iuris civilis". Includes a helpful glossary
Economy / Trade
- Cross-cultural artistic interaction in the Early Byzantine period
Librarian Recommended. Lots of artifacts here that illustrate the scope of trade and cultural relations.
Religion & Philosophy
- Ravenna, Italy: Exquisite Byzantine Mosaics at the Church of San Vitale (3:00)Video & transcript. Provides insight into the religion, art, and politics of Justinian & the early Byzantine empire.
- Byzantine philosophy (Summary)
If you are interested in accessing the entire article, please let Ms. Jacobson know.
Technology & the Arts
- 360° Explore Hagia Sophia, Istanbul's incredible Roman church - BBC (3:00)Navigate through the Hagia Sophia in 3D. Click on the image to rotate the view.
Decline & Legacy
- The Bad Manners of A Crusading Prince by Anna Comnena (circa 1140s or 1150s)
Among the sources for the First Crusade there is a history of the eastern emperor, Alexis, written by his daughter, Anna Comnena. After speaking of the kindly but sagacious way in which her father treated the inconvenient and often disorderly troops of crusaders when they reached Constantinople, she gives the following example of their bad manners
Legacy
- Stanford professor sees Hagia Sophia as a “time tunnel” linking Ottomans to the Roman Empire
Stanford history professor says conquest narratives don’t fully explain Hagia Sophia’s lasting legacy. - 60 Minutes: Bob Simon visits Mt. Athos (14:00)
In 2011, the 60 Minutes correspondent got a rare look at Mount Athos, where prayers have been offered every day without interruption for more than a thousand years. - The Dome of the RockEssay & Images
- El Greco (1541–1614)Essay & images.
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