Tricky Byzantine questions...

[stavro]

I've seen a lot of posts about World War Two, Vietnam and so on, but nothing about the civ that I'm interested in: the Byzantine Empire. So for any of you who are interested, try your luck with these questions. They start easy, but I'd like to see if anyone gets the last few!

1. Who founded the Byzantine Empire and when?
2. How many years - and days - did it last?
3. What happened to the Byzantine Empire in 1203?
4. What was the nickname of Emperor Basil II and why did he get it?
5. What was unusual about the Empress Theodora (wife of Emperor Justinian I)?
6. Why was it a (very) bad idea to go to the races in Constantinople?
7. What was rhinokopia? :flamedevi
8. Why does the Turkish flag depict a waning moon as opposed to the crescent of Islam (yes, this is related!)?

[Knight-Dragon]

1) Constantine. He didn't found the Byzantine Empire since officially the Byzantine empire was really the Eastern Roman Empire. He just followed the normal Roman std with two emperors (one senior, one junior) ruling the western and eastern halves of the empire. Constantine chose to rule the East and made Constantinople his capital. As the yrs went by, the West fell to the barbarian hordes whilst the East survived and became the Byzantine Empire.
Not sure what yr. 411 BC?
2) Lasted until 1453 AD. Lazy to count.
3) The Latins sacked and occupied it while on their way to the Holy Land?
4)
5) Commoner, courtesan I think; later in power for some yrs.
6) Stampedes and riots.
7)
8) I thought this is a Byzantine quiz? Maybe the Turks wanted it to signify that they were continuing the Islamic jihad after the Arabs.

[stavro]

Hey, SKM, nice to see how much you know about my favourite civ! Here are the answers to the questions you answered.

1. Yup, you're right, Constantine really just used the same old pattern, although the split was to become permanent. The date was Monday 11 May, 330 AD (to be precise!).

2. Yes, it finally fell in 1453. That makes 1123 years and 18 days... :crazyeyes

3. Right again! The Crusaders were going to retake the Holy Land, but the Doge of Venice diverted them to conquer Constantinople so they could pay back a debt to him. Incidentally, the four bronze horses above the main door to St Mark's Cathedral in Venice were looted from Constantinople.

5. Not only was she a courtesan, but her mother was an acrobat and her father was a bear keeper. Very low rent!

6. Yup - massive riots, including the biggest one of all, on 13 January 532, when 30,000 people were killed in the hippodrome (main stadium) as the imperial troops reasserted control.

8. The symbol of Islam is commonly a crescent moon, but the Turkish flag has a waning moon. This is because the Turkish finally conquered Constantinople (which they made their capital) when the moon was in its last quarter.

I wonder if anyone will work out 4 or 7...?

[Magnus]

You may be curious to know that the very word 'Byzantine' was a slur - the Western Empires (most notably the Franks) called them such to insult them. Those living in the 'Eastern Roman Empire' referred to themsleves as Romans, and their empire as Romania. But as they say, the victors write the history books...

[Knight-Dragon]

I have thought that the term Byzantine comes fr Byzantium, which was the old city that existed on the site that was to become Constantinople. Byzantine sounds cool to me. In what way was it an insult?

[Lefty Scaevola]

Diocletian created the split empire system, but with the Eastern part senior. He also was the Emperor that had a sucessfull (live) retirement.

[stavro]

Seems like Diocletian had a pretty tough choice: hmm... which to do, which to do? ... rule the known world or retire and grow cabbages? ... rule the known world or retire and grow cabbages?
I know! Retire and grow cabbages!

[Vrylakas]

1. Who founded the Byzantine Empire and when?

Constantinius I, Roman Emperor, founded the city of Constantinople on 11. May, A.D.330. Some consider this the beginning of the Byzantine Empire, although West and East Rome were still united officially. Others think the Byzantine Empire really begins in A.D. 476 when the western half of the Roman Empire collapsed. The Byzantines considered themselves Romans, so their empire was never "founded", it found itself existing when the west collapsed.

2. How many years - and days - did it last?

If we count from the founding of Constantinople, then 977 years and eighteen days.

3. What happened to the Byzantine Empire in 1203?

Constantinople was captured by Western Crusader armies, who founded the "Latin" dynasty. All of the empire didn't collapse; resistance continued in Attica and the Balkans, eventually driving the Latins out in 1282.

4. What was the nickname of Emperor Basil II and why did he get it?

"Bulgarokthonos", "Killer of the Bulgarians". Basil II had defeated the Bulgars in 1014 at the Battle of Belasitsa Mountain, and he blinded most of the prisoners. (Despite his name, he didn't actually kill too many Bulgars.)

5. What was unusual about the Empress Theodora (wife of Emperor Justinian I)?

??? Got me here. She was the sister to the Khazar Khagan Ibuzir, that's all I know of her. Particularly ugly?

6. Why was it a (very) bad idea to go to the races in Constantinople?

Green-Blue riots.

7. What was rhinokopia?

Byzantine Emperors who weren't killed after being overthrown had their tongues and noses mutilated, as a branding.

8. Why does the Turkish flag depict a waning moon as opposed to the crescent of Islam (yes, this is related!)?

??? Don't know this one either.

*********************************************

SKM wrote: I have thought that the term Byzantine comes fr Byzantium, which was the old city that existed on the site that was to become Constantinople. Byzantine sounds cool to me. In what way was it an insult?

Byzants was a small fishing village that Constantine built his capital city on. No Byzantine ever referred to either the city or the empire as the Byzantine Empire; they considered themselves Romans. (The Bulgarian emperor Semeon called himself "Romaiokthonos", "Killer of the Romans", which Basil II copied later.) By calling the eastern Roman empire "Byzantine", the Western "Latin" Christians were implying that 1. it had no legitimacy, and 2. it was really an empire of Greek fisherman-peasants.

[stavro]

Well, that looks like all the questions answered, and quickly at that!

Vrylakas, I notice the German in your signature. Sind Sie Deutscher, oder sprechen sie die deutsche Sprache? Ich lernte Deutsch in der Schule und es macht mir gluecklich, mein Deutsch zu ueben. If you don't speak German, sorry about that! :grad:

[Kublai-Khan]

I think that Theodora was a whore.A prostitute.
Literally.
Before marring mr emperor.

[Vrylakas]

Stavro wrote: Vrylakas, I notice the German in your signature. Sind Sie Deutscher, oder sprechen sie die deutsche Sprache? Ich lernte Deutsch in der Schule und es macht mir gluecklich, mein Deutsch zu ueben. If you don't speak German, sorry about that!

Ich kann ein bischen auf deutsch verstehen, aber es ist sehr schwehr fuer mich.

I also had to learn German in school. My quote was taken more in the context of philosophy.

Years ago I was hired by an American to translate for him in East Berlin. All I had to do was get him to someone he could interview who could speak English; once we found such a person, I was scott-free. I did fairly well, given the very beleaguered state of my German - until we got to the train station on the way home. I couldn't understand a single word the ticket woman said, and I asked her to repeat it three times. Luckily someone in the line behind us spoke Polish, but it was extremely embarrassing and ever since I've been wary of using my German...

[Vrylakas]

Kublai Khan wrote: I think that Theodora was a whore. A prostitute. Literally.

Ah. Thanks. You'd think as emperor Justinian could get a better date...

[Sodak]

Actually, KK is not far off. One of the Roman emperor's wives (sorry, don't remember which one) back in the days of one empire really was a whore. BUT, the twist is that she took up the occupation after her marriage into power, iirc. Apparently she was insatiable and would work all night, outperforming the pros. The emperor must have been awfully lame in the sack.

Does anybody remember which emperor/wife this was? Lefty?

[stavro]

When I said that Theodora was a 'courtesan,' I meant that as a polite way of saying, well, 'whore.' In fact, just before she met her future husband, Justinian, she had had to 'work' her way back to Constantinople from Carthage, where she had just been dumped by her lover. After she married Justinian (who was, incidentally, the greatest of all Byzantine emperors), she became an effective empress - one of the most effective in Byzantine history, in fact. Go figure.

[Magnus]

Justinian owed much of his success to the greatest general of the Eastern Roman Empire (post 476) - Belisarius.

[stavro]

Yes, that's true. It's also true that Justinian hated and feared Belisarius because of his success. Justinian's conquests were all short-lived - largely because he never trusted Belisarius enough to follow up on them. There is no indication that Belisarius ever wanted to overthrow him. Perhaps if Justinian had not been so suspicious, the Mediterranean would still be a Roman lake...

[Caelth216]

Originally posted by Sodak
Actually, KK is not far off. One of the Roman emperor's wives (sorry, don't remember which one) back in the days of one empire really was a whore. BUT, the twist is that she took up the occupation after her marriage into power, iirc. Apparently she was insatiable and would work all night, outperforming the pros. The emperor must have been awfully lame in the sack.

Does anybody remember which emperor/wife this was? Lefty?

It was the emperor Claudius I whose 2nd wife Messalina had an insatiable sexual appetite. According to legend she competed with prostitutes to see who could service more customers in a night and won with a total somewhere around 100 men! Known fact: She was executed for marrying her lover even though she was still married to the emperor. Ooooops!

[andycapp]

I find Roman/Byzantine history fascinating. The thing I find most fascinating about the Byzantine/East Roman Empire is it's tenacity and resiliance in the face of great adversity century after century. I suspect this is in no small way due to the superb natural advantages of Constantinople's geographic setting
- a crossroads for trade and a great defensive position.

I sometimes ponder the historical 'what if' Constantine had chosen another site for his capital such as Nicomedia? Perhaps Byzantine history would have been much shorter.

[Magnus]

Perhaps you may be on to soemthing, andycapp - look at the Turks - they have owned Constantinople/Istanbul for 550 years and have yet to be vanquished! Something about that city....

[Kublai-Khan]

Bizantium
wasn´t a small
town
it was
a relatively
big city with 50.000 inhabitants
before
becoming Constantinopla.