Byzantine Era
(330 to 1453)
What Happened?
The Byzantine Empire survived for a thousand years after the fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It finally fell to Ottoman Turkish onslaughts in 1453. It is also referred o as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, as the continuation of the Roman Empire during the Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages. During these 10 centuries, the empire was most powerful economic, cultural and military force in Europe. The empire formed for a long time a buffer between Western Europe and the Arab Empire, and the Central Asian empires such as Seljuks and Mongols.
In the view of the inhabitants, it was non other than the Roman Empire, founded shortly before the beginning of the Christian era by God’s grace to unify His people in preparation of the coming of His Son. The Byzantine Empire was a term that was used after the fall of Byzantium. They called themselves Romanioi or Romans and although the Roman traditions were maintained, modern historians distinguish it by the Roman empire. Constantinople was the center and characterized by Eastern Orthodox Christianity. Constantine I (324-337), reorganized the empire, who made Constantinople the new capital in 330 AD and legalized Christianity. Theodosius I made Christianity become the state religion, other religions were proscribed. Heraclius reconstructed the military and administration in the empire and adopted Greek for official use, replacing Latin.
The borders fluctuated through the centuries. During the reign of Justinian I, between 525-565, the empire reached its greatest extent. They reconquered much of the historically Roman westerns Mediterranean coast, including North Africa, Italy and Rome. Until the Byzantine-Sasanian War (602-628) when the resources became exhausted and during the Early Muslim conquests of the 7th century, Byzantium lost its richest provinces Egypt and Syria.
The Byzantines Empire influenced on the culture and knowledge of Western Europe. Through the Byzantines, science was reintroduced to Europe. From 1204, the year in which Crusaders sacked Constantinople and the empire declined definitively, the empire received a mortal blow during the Fourth Crusade. This was an important stimulus for the Renaissance in Italy.
In the last centuries of its existence, the empire had dwindled, mainly due to losses to the Turkish Ottomans. 1453 Marked the end of the Byzantine Empire, when Ottoman sultan Mehmet II conquered Constantinople.
Replica. Found: Greece (JN0202)
Mastic
± 330 to 1453
The resin from the mastic tree only grows on the island of Chios in Greece. Mastic has been harvested from about 500 BC since Greek Antiquity. The first mention of actual mastic “tears” was by Hippocrates. He used mastic for the prevention of digestive problems, colds and as a breath freshener.
The Romans used mastic with honey, pepper, and egg in the spiced wine conditum paradoxum. It has been used in cooking since ancient Greece, but it is mainly found with these "tears" in medieval Arabic cookbooks. Under the Byzantine Empire, the trade of mastic was made Emperor’s monopoly. In the Ottoman Empire, the Sultan gathered the finest mastic crop to send to his harem.
To protect the sap from invaders, the mastic villages were surrounded by high walls, with no doors at street level. The villages were only entered by ladders.
Mastic gives a sweet bitter taste to dishes and sweets.
Byzantine Hand Grenade
± 1100 to ± 1400
The gray decorated ceramic object has a simple body and a rim that encloses a narrow round (= circular) mouth. Such piriform (= pear-shaped) vessels were filled with combustible material. Just like an earlier form of Molotov cocktail. A wick was then inserted into the opening and lit. Following, the whole barrel was hurled at the enemy. These bombs were used by the Byzantine soldiers in naval battles and would have been very devastating to wooden ships.
Naphtha is an example of this. It is a mixture of hydrocarbons that forms when crude oil is distilled as condensate. Petroleum used to be called "naphtha" and may have been a component of Greek fire. Presumably, Greek fire was invented about 673 by a Syrian refugee. This weapon was the forerunner of more modern weapons such as the flamethrower and napalm. The production process for the fuel was a military top secret. It was so secret that it has been lost. We do not know what it was exactly. The fuel was not only used in grenades. On the bow of the ship was a siphon, the siphonarios, which launched Greek fire to the enemy ships.
This invention was the key to many military victories of the Byzantine Empire. They first applied it at the siege of Constantinople by the Arabs between 674-678. It quickly became one of the most feared weapons of the Middle Ages. Many enemies were afraid at the sight of the hand grenades and siphons. However, they were exceedingly difficult to use, and it also happened that own ships were ablaze by mistake.