Annotated Bibliography: The Church Of Early Byzantine Church

The Word Iconoclasm refers to the destruction of images or hostility towards visual representations in general. This word more specifically is used for the iconoclastic Controversy that shook the Byzantine Empire for more than 100 years. The Hostility towards religious representations began in 726 when Emperor Leo publicly opposed the icons. The word icon refers to many different things today. "It can refer to graphic symbols in our software and to powerful cultural figures.

follow. That was the first goal of icons. The second goal was to form an

Early Christian and Byzantine art started after Jesusí death in the first century ranging and ending to the fourth century AD. The art produced during this period was secretive because Christianity was not a formal religion but as a cult; the Romans and rest of Europe persecuted Christians so the artist disguised their work with symbols and hints of Christian aspects. Christianity was the first cult to not involve rituals of sacrifice of animals and refused to worship an Emperor causing the Roman Empire to make Christianity illegal. Byzantine art excelled in the Justinian period in the east during 520-540 AD. The art was produced in Ravenna, Byzantine, Venice, Sicily, Greece, and Russia. The

The Byzantine Empire, sometimes known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the predominantly Greek-speaking continuation of the eastern half of the Roman Empire during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages. Its capital city was Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul), originally founded as Byzantium. It survived the 5th century fragmentation and fall of the Western Roman Empire and continued to exist for an additional thousand years until it fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1453. During most of its existence, the empire was the most powerful economic, cultural, and military force in Europe. Both "Byzantine Empire" and "Eastern Roman Empire" are historiographical terms created after the end of the realm; its citizens continued to refer to their empire

In 527 AD, Justinian took control of the Byzantine Empire. Although it is currently referred to as the Byzantine Empire, many citizens and leaders, including Justinian, considered themselves to be Roman and part of the Roman Empire. This mentality led to the revival of the Roman Empire in Byzantine and in its capital, Constantinople. During his rule, Justinian led the empire to its greatest size both in the amount of controlled land and influence over groups in Europe and Asia. He also contributed to the spread of Christianity both within the Byzantine Empire and without. Finally, Justinian preserved Roman laws for the Byzantine Empire and other European systems of government. Justinian’s successful emulation and revival of the Roman Empire through his beautification and improvements on Constantinople and other parts of the Byzantine Empire, strong support of Christianity and role in its growth as a major religion, and his codification of Byzantine law benefited the Byzantine Empire and the surrounding regions.

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The Byzantine Empire, or the eastern Roman Empire, was formed in the year 330 after Roman Emperor Constantine I moved the seat of the Roman government to the city of Constantinople. It was designated a second Rome, and had the advantage of being located on an Asian-Eurpoean trade route and on the Bosporus Strait, which made it incredibly hard to sack or besiege, since water surrounded half of the city. Constantinople was also free from any corruption and political assassination, which made governing easier to do and to manage as well. When the western Roman Empire collapsed in the year 476, the eastern half remained intact, and it remained relatively stable until Emperor Justinian came to power. Emperor Justinian was Emperor of the Byzantine Empire in the mid sixth century, from 527 to 565, and headed his empire’s notable renovatio imperii, or “restoration of the Empire” during that time. Justinian devoted his reign to reclaim the lost western half of the Roman Empire, and recreate it through military conquest and social reform. The military conquest was to expand the Byzantine Empire so it reached the farthest extent of the Roman Empire, which was around the early second century, while the social reform was to recreate the Roman law that once applied during the height of the Roman Empire. So, these questions must be posed: How did Emperor Justinian attempt to reform and recreate the Roman Empire, and what did he do to restore it? Were his legislative and social reforms

The Persian empire is on the outskirts of the Byzantine Empire, which is depicted in the first photo, a map of the area surrounding the Turkish capital Constantinople. In the next photo, a map of Constantinople, it is shown that the city is surrounded by three rivers and is located on a peninsula. Looking at the photo we can predict that the main religion was Christianity, due to churches being represented by crosses and being the majority of buildings on the map. The southwest of the map has an entrance called “Golden Gate.” The next photo is of a fort. This fort is in the water, indicating that it could be a strategy to keep away opposing naval forces. It also has large walls and towers, for keeping a lookout, and for having a high vantage

Throughout the reign of the Byzantine Empire, sculpting and architecture were the pinnacle of ancient Byzantine art; leaving a vast collection of masterpieces for later cultures to admire, and even adopt their majestic styles and techniques. A focal period during the lifespan of the Byzantine Empire was the reign of Justinian the Great (527-565 A.D.), which is also referred to as the Golden Age. It is during this time that architecture and sculpture begin to flourish, along with other mediums of art such as mosaics, murals, and illuminative manuscripts. Very many religious works of art were created during this time as well, however very few survived the onset of the iconoclast uproar in 726.

Under the leadership of Mehmet II, the Ottomans moved to the end of the Byzantine Empire. With 80,000 men, the ottomans conquered Constantinople in 1453, which they later became their new capital. From 1514 to 1517, Sultan Selim I took control of Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Arabia. The empire controlled several of the holy cities of Islam, including Mecca, Medina, and Jerusalem. Next, the Ottoman Empire advanced westward along the African coast, eventually almost reaching the Strait of Gibraltar. The empire then continued to advance through Europe. The Ottomans took the Romanian territory of Walachia, seized Belgrade, conquered most of Hungary, and advanced as far as Vienna, where they were defeated. They stopped advancing during the first half

the Byzantine Empire encompassed the eastern half of the Roman Empire, centering at Constantinople (today know as Istanbul). The Byzantine reign advanced for approximately a millennium until 1453 when Constantinople fell to a siege executed by the Ottoman Empire. The Byzantine Empire acquired its height under the reign of Justinian (A.D. 527-565), with advanced infrastructure in the form of cathedrals that still stand today.

The Eastern Roman Empire was gradually reduced in size until it was made up only of the Greek lands surrounding Constantinople, which by the 8th century was transformed into the Byzantine Empire. The Empire was faced with threats to be invaded by Bulgars, Muslim and Christians. It slowly lost touch with the Latin kingdoms of the West. It was just an memory of Roman survival to people in Western Europe it no longer was a state. In Byzantium, unlike Western Europe with its popes and kings, church and state were one, with the emperor supreme over both authorities a new administrative unit, a theme, combined military and civilian jobs into the hands of one person. The rise of Islam was a huge problem at this time. It was a Christian and Greek state,

When it comes to something like the Byzantine worship, Christians in the Byzantine world asked to Christ, the Virgin Mary, and the saints while looking at images of them on panels which are known as icons. The veneration of icons was viewed with some apprehension from the Church. This was because of the Mosaic proscription of religious descriptions and the persecution of Christians who refused to venerate images of Roman emperors. Iconoclasm that happened was the veto and obliteration of works of art because they were considered inappropriate in religious contexts. Images of saints and sacred stories on icons and in churches were destroyed and the people who worshiped them were persecuted. During this time, the Church leaders were fearful that

The Byzantine Empire is another word for the eastern half of the Roman Empire. It was born after a series of events that led to the fall of the western half of the Roman Empire. In 285 A.D., Diocletian decided to split the Roman Empire in half because the rapidly growing population was becoming too large to govern for a single person. This decision is considered to be one of the main acts that led to the downfall of the Western Roman world. The Byzantine Empire began to take shape after Constantine I took control of the Western Roman Empire after winning the Battle of the Milvian Bridge in October of year 312 A.D. Around 324 A.D., the Constantine I, defeated his co-emperor, Licinius, in a battle. Constantine became the first Christian emperor the Roman Empire ever had. In 330 A.D., Constantine I relocated the capital of Rome and chose to establish it in the city on the east, known as Byzantium. The new Roman capital became known as Constantinople. The Western Roman Empire began to slowly disintegrate as Germanic tribes, like the Vandals began invading the Western Roman Empire. In 476, the barbarian Odoacer invaded Rome and overthrew the last emperor, Romulus Augustus, and Rome fall. The fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 separated the prosperous eastern half of the Roman Empire and spawned a “new” Rome with a rich culture and the most powerful economy in all of Europe. The capital

In shifting power away from Rome to the Eastern Mediterranean and establishing a Christian empire, Byzantium had a primary role in both keeping continuity and beginning to contrast with the Classical styles and traditions. This panel displays both stylistic and iconographic connections with, and deviations from, Classical tradition, depicting the complexity and fluidity of this transition from the Classical world to the medieval world