Constantinople 527 CE - 1453 CE

Rise of Constantinople

Constantinople is the capital of the Byzantine Empire, whereby it was founded by Constantine the Great in 324 CE, who died in 337 CE. In my opinion, Byzantine Empire, especially its capital, Constantinople, was one of the most well-governed empires in history. The fall of the Western Roman empire contributed greatly to the rise of the Byzantine Empire, which flourished thereafter under the rule of 2 prominent emperors: Constantine the Great and Justininan I.

Battle of Adrianople

In 378 CE, the Byzantine Empire survived the Battle of Adrianople which had led to the fall of the Western Roman Empire and developed from then on, with Constantinople as the incontestable capital of the Roman Empire. ("Constantinople", n.d) This battle was significant as it was only after the fall of the Western Roman Empire that Byzantine Empire get the chance to shine and prosper.

Reign of Justinian

After Constantine the Great passed on, Emperor Justinian I took the throne and reigned the Byzantine Empire. Under the reign of Justinian I from 527 CE to 565 CE, the Eastern Roman Empire was in its heyday, especially with legal reform. Before the legal reform, early Romans lived by laws that were passed down from generations to generations like it was their custom to do so.

Corpus Juris Civilis

When Emperor Justinian ruled the Byzantine Empire, one of the ways he tried to unify and keep the empire in order was to enforce laws. Although the "Justinian's Code" is the most well-known, the Code is only one element of the whole legal reform. The entire legal reform consists of the Digest (Digesta), the Code (Codex), and the Institutes (Institutiones) ("Roman Legal Tradition and the Compilation of Justinian", n.d). In Europe's modern day civil law, its group of legal ideas and systems is taken from Code of Justinian, also known as Corpus Juris Civilis. This shows the significance of Emperor Justinian's contribution to promote law and order that extended far beyond his reign and the centuries after ("Roman Legal Tradition and the Compilation of Justinian", n.d)

Rebuilding efforts and church sponsored by Emperor Justinian

Emperor Justinian was also known for his efforts in rebuilding the Hagia Sophia, a church also known as "Holy Wisdom" that was damaged after a riot, as well as the Church of the Holy Apostles which is a “prominent church in the capital”. In 547 CE, The Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna was built with funds by Emperor Justininan (Browning, n.d).

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Fall of Constantinople

When it comes to the fall of the Byzantine Empire, it is almost certain that a combination of factors led to the downfall of this great empire. The plague which killed nearly half the population in the capital Constantinople can be considered as the start of the decline of the Byzantine Empire. Furthermore, invasions by other empires were not uncommon during that period of time. Such attacks and pandemic were several factors that caused the weakening of the Byzantine Empire, losing its glory as time cruelly passes.

Plague of Justinian

The Great Plague of Justinian happened from 541 to 542 CE in Byzantine Empire, whereby it caused a huge pandemic that claimed the lives of about 25–50 million people. As the initial outbreak happened during the reign of Justinian, this incident was named after the emperor. This plague was also similar to the Black Death that happened 600 years after the last incident under Emperor Justinian. This outbreak had a devastating impact on the Byzantine Empire in many aspects: political, social and economic, just to name a few and the results were relatively long-term ("Plague of Justinian", n.d). Due to the plague, farmers did not have the ability to grow crops and tend to them, causing the grain prices to shoot up in Constantinople. As Emperor Justinian did not anticipate the outbreak, the funds he once had has been used up for the construction of churches and for wars, causing him to be unable to receive more tax revenue as people keep on dying to the plague. This resulted in economic problems such as a fall in trade partly due to a fall in agriculture harvests ("Plague of Justinian", n.d). The plague weakened the empire as made it easier to attack when the Lombards invaded and conquered Byzantine Empire, establishing the Kingdom of Lombards in 568 CE ("Plague of Justinian", n.d). It was found that the origin of the disease came about from Central Asia, as people such as the Huns or Xiongnu in the earlier periods moved across continents and could have brought the plague over to Europe. ("Plague of Justinian", n.d). The bacteria that was known for all these epidemics is called Yersinia Pestis.

The Plague of Justinian that wiped out nearly half the population in the capital city, Constantinople. Picture credit: Medievalists.net

Byzantine Dark Ages (565 CE - 717 CE)

The Byzantine Dark Ages started in 565 CE, when the empire was on its brink of fall. After the Great Plague of Justinian that hit hard on Byzantine, with 40% of the population being wiped out especially on the capital Constantinople, it was hard for the Byzantine Empire to rise again ("New light the Byzantine Dark Ages", 2016) . Furthermore, after the Arab's Conquest in 630 CE, the population numbers in the empire fell from 26 million to only 7 million around 715 CE ("Arab–Byzantine wars", n.d). All these events casted a dark cloud over the Byzantine Empire as the Emperor tried to salvage it with other means.

Macedonian dynasty

After the fall of the Byzantine Empire, the Macedonian dynasty took over the reigning of the Byzantine Empire from 867 CE to 1056 CE. It was considered a revival of the Byzantine Empire under the rule of the Macedonian emperors and even though the empire was smaller than the one during Emperor Justinian's reign, it was well fortified and secured than before. The Macedonian dynasty then ruled the empire until the early 11th century ("Byzantine Empire under the Macedonian dynasty", n.d).

Invasion by the Ottoman Army

The capital of the Byzantine Empire, Constantinople, was captured by the Ottoman Empire on 29 May 1453. With only a small army of about 7,000 men defending Constantinople, the Ottoman army was able to conquer the Byzantine Empire even though the casualties for the army was huge.

Modern painting that shows the invasion of the Ottoman Army to conquer the Byzantine Empire, by Fausto Zonaro

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Summary of the events and other incidents that led to the fall of the Byzantine Empire:

• Seljuk Turks defeat Byzantines at Battle of Manzikert

• Constantinople falls to Crusaders during the fourth crusade

• Constantinople liberated from Crusaders

• Macedonian Dynasty ruled the Byzantine Empire until the early 11th century

• Fall of Constantinople to Ottoman Turks

• Orthodox Christianity shifts to Moscow and Russian Empire

• Lost many of its key resources and struggled to survive

• Black Death spread to Constantinople in 1347

• Constantinople was conquered by the Ottoman Empire on 29 May 1453

The following video is a documentary by National Geographic, depicting the events that occurred during the siege and fall of Constantinople.

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References: [Cover image] Image from page 15 of "Constantinople : and the scenery of the seven churches of Asia Minor" (1839), photo by "The Commons" with no known copyrights restrictions. Retrieved from www.flickr.com/photos/126377022@N07/14596514590

[image] The Plague of Justinian, photo credits to Medievalists.net

[image] Modern painting "Mehmet II conquering Constantinople" by Fausto Zonaro under Wikimedia Commons. This work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 70 years or less. Retrieved from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Conquest_of_Constantinople,_Zonaro.jpg#filelinks

[video] https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1068&v=53yfMlws7DI

"Arab–Byzantine wars" In Wikipedia, Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab%E2%80%93Byzantine_wars

Browning, R. "Justinian I" in Dictionary of the Middle Ages, volume VII (1986) Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justinian_I#Suppression_of_other_religions_and_philosophies

"Byzantine Empire Chronology". In The web chronology project. Retrieved from http://www.thenagain.info/WebChron/EastEurope/Byzantium.html "Byzantine Empire Chronology" In National Galley of Art. Retrieved from https://www.nga.gov/features/byzantine/byzantine-empire-chronology-.html

"Byzantine Empire under the Macedonian dynasty" In Wikipedia, Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byzantine_Empire_under_the_Macedonian_dynasty

"Fall of Constantinople" In Wikipedia, Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fall_of_Constantinople

"The Fall Of Constantinople" Retrieved from https://thefallofconstantiople.weebly.com/

"Constantinople" In Wikipedia, Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constantinople

"Hagia Sophia" In Wikipedia, Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hagia_Sophia

McCall, C. (2016, April 26) "New light the Byzantine Dark Ages" In World Archaeology, Books, Issue 76. Retrieved from https://www.world-archaeology.com/books/new-light-the-byzantine-dark-ages/

"Plague of Justinian" In Wikipedia, Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plague_of_Justinian

"Roman Legal Tradition and the Compilation of Justinian" In The Robbins Religious and Civil Law Collection, University of California at Berkeley, Retrieved from https://www.law.berkeley.edu/library/robbins/RomanLegalTradition.html