History of the Byzantines

Byzantine Empire Timeline

Period: 300 to Jan 1, 1500

Emperor Constantine I Founded the Byzantine Capital

330

The ancient Byzantine Capital was founded by Constantine I and named Constantinople. We now know as present day Istanbul Turkey. The city was founded on top of the previous city named Byzantium. The location of Constantinople was picked because of its security and access to waters. The city was constructed with a large wall around it and the city was made with beautiful and elaborate materials.

General Belisarius Military Campaigns

527

Belisarius was a very powerful General from the Byzantine empire. He was made general by Justinian I emperor of the Byzantine empire. He was made general of the army because the emperor wanted him to take care of the Sassanian army their rivals. He handled many big military situations such as: The Sassanians, the Nika riots,and reclaiming the African provinces from the Vandal Kingdom. This is what made him popular as a general and gained him power to lead his emperors army.

Nika Revolt

532

This was a giant riot against the emperor Justinian I. The riots were started because the city was broken into four factions and the people would have their faction participate in games and one time after the games a riot broke out and events escalated. It got serious it went into a full scale riot. The people wanted to take power because of the emperors decisions. In the end the emperor paid off his faction and killed the other factions causing problems. There for making peace again.

Hagia Sophia Completed

537

The Hagia Sophia was a magnificent cathedral built by the emperor Justinian I in Constantinople. It is considered the Byzantine's most prestigious structure. It was built because the original church on its current grounds was burnt during the Nika revolt. It only took six years for this grand cathedral to be built which was astounding for how long ago that was! The cathedral has many elaborate structures including a giant dome surrounded by two semi-domes.

Early Islamic military campaigns into Byzantine territory

634

During these campaigns by the Muslims the Byzantines lost a lot of territory. The reason for this was because. The Byzantine empire was worn out from multiple years of war and were economically expired. A few were dissatisfied with the Byzantines and welcomed the new people. Others allied and fought back. The territories fell and it impacted the Byzantines a lot. Most notable the loss of Egypt. Egypt was an important grain producing center and a base for conquests into Africa.

Emperor Basil II millitary conquests of Bulgaria

986

Basil the II assumed power in Byzantium and became emperor. After he secured power in his nation he then took lead of his military of about 30,000 men and marched into Bulgaria and attempted to siege the country's capital Sofia. He failed and got defeated. In about 1000 AD Basil attempted another siege this time he succeeded but at a price in the battle of Kelidion. He lost many men but the Bulgarians lost more and some were taken captive and they were blinded. The Bulgarians surrendered.

Great Schism

1054

The Great Schism or the Schism of 1054 refers to the splitting of the Byzantine empires religious branch. They split into the two branches the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church. The reason the split was because some of the people agreed with certain teachings and some didn't. In the Roman Catholic they listened to the pope and in the Eastern Orthodox they had many rulers in the church. The Great Schism was literally the permanent divide of the religious groups.

Emperor Alexios I contacts Pope Urban II

1095

In this event the Muslims have control of the Christians holy city Jerusalem. The problem was is that now the Christians cannot make pilgrimages to their holy city and the enemy threatened the city of Constantinople. So the emperor Alexios I contacted the pope Urban II. Urban II gathered up a force of men to go take the holy city back. They were able to, but many died. Their army was not well trained but had lots of men. The enemy had fewer, but were more trained. In the end it was success.

Fourth Crusade

1202

The Fourth Crusade was a Crusade meant to be the re-claiming of Jerusalem that was ordered by Pope Innocent III. Along the way though the Crusaders decided to capture the city of Constantinople and restore a new power to the throne. Then gather more troops/riches.Then they would move on. The Crusaders took the city in a 2 year siege. They came in through the sea and on land. They kept pushing forward, even after their first failed attempts they finally captured it. They killed many.

Fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Turks

1453

This event marks the official end for the Byzantine empire. The Ottoman Turks started a siege of Constantinople that lasted 53 days till they prevailed. It was the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror against the Byzantine emperor Constantine XI Palaiologos. In the end the Ottomans came out victorious. The reason for their success was they had cannons, and gunpowder to breach the walls with. They defeated a power that lasted 1500 years. This event marked the end of the Middle ages.