Byzantine Capital Research Articles

Florence, Byzantium and the Florentine Colony in Constantinople: An Impossible Love?

ABSTRACT This study examines the diplomatic and political efforts made by Florence to establish a significant institutional presence in Constantinople. It explores Florence's diplomatic relations with the Byzantine Empire, which are analysed in three distinct phases: the first, from the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade in 1204; the second, from 1421 to 1434, following the arrival of the Medici; and the third, from 1434, including the Ecumenical Council, to the fall of Constantinople in 1453. The research aims to provide an historical narrative and a comprehensive study of the origins and development of political contacts between Florence and the Byzantine Empire, an enquiry into the Florentine privileges granted in 1439, and a critical discussion of the genuine presence of a Florentine colony in the Byzantine capital.

The Preacher and the King: vision and meaning in Atheniensis 211

Codex Atheniensis 211 is the earliest surviving illustrated Chrysostomic anthology. Its unique and sophisticated illustration still puzzles and fascinates scholars. The relative chronology of the manuscript fluctuates between the end of the ninth century and the first half of the tenth, while its provenance remains to this day unspecified. In an attempt to illuminate the circumstances of its creation, this study engages with the examination of a unique homily and its illustration. In my view, the people responsible for the selection of the sermon and the design of its illustration conceived it as a meaningful re-contextualization of the homily's original delivery; the historical background of fifth-century Constantinople served as a springboard for the articulation of an eloquent visual comment on current public issues in the Byzantine capital.

Byzantine Epic of the French Knight Chateaumorand

This article discusses French-Byzantine relations in the late fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries and France's participation in the struggle against Ottoman expansion. The author shows the role of the French knight Jean de Chateaumorand (1352–1429) in the defence of Constantinople. When the Ottomans besieged the Byzantine capital, Emperor Manuel II Palaiologos asked the French King Charles VI for military assistance. In 1399, the king sent a troop of knights to Constantinople under the command of Marshal Boucicaut. Among them was the king’s adviser Jean de Chateaumorand. The knights, in conjunction with the Byzantine warriors, successfully defended the city for a period of six months; however, their endeavours to lift the siege ultimately proved unsuccessful. Following the departure of Manuel II and Marshal Boucicaut for the West, a contingent of the French forces, under the command of Chateaumorand, remained in Constantinople and continued to defend the city for a period of two and a half years. It is evident that the substantial support provided by the French troops was not ultimately decisive. The Byzantine Emperor John VII Palaiologos, who ruled during Manuel II’s stay in Western Europe, provided Chateaumorand with relics and jewels from the imperial treasury as a form of remuneration for his military service. Despite the French sources designating Chateaumorand as the primary saviour of the Byzantine capital, the Byzantine writers do not even mention the involvement of the French knights in the defence, attributing the city’s salvation solely to the intercession of the Mother of God. The history of Chateaumorand’s participation in the struggle against the Ottomans and in the defence of Constantinople demonstrates the distinctive characteristics of French-Byzantine relations during this period and sheds light on crucial aspects of the organisation of the protection of the Byzantine capital, which was besieged by Sultan Bayezid I.

The Monastery near Kıyıköy in European Turkey

The monastery near today’s Kıyıköy settlement on the Black Sea coast is a very interesting rock-cut complex. It probably inherited an ancient sanctuary near the ancient Thracian and Roman city of Salmydessos, which became an important Christian center in the vicinity of Constantinople. In this text, we briefly review the historical information about the city, then describe the monastery, because there has been only one scientific publication since 1970 and the monastery is very difficult to access. We apply the three plans of the monastery that have been published since the 19th century to trace the change in the condition of the rock and the rooms that have been added. Then we analyze the architectural program and types of decoration of the three-nave basilica and the sacred spring, which have no exact analogue and are comparable both to examples from antiquity and to the best temples in the Byzantine capital. Based on this analysis, we assume three construction periods – ancient, from the time of Justinian and from the end of the iconoclastic period after the destruction of the city by the Bulgarian Khan Krum.

Mistra as alterum Byzantium

This research addresses the history of Mistra, which in the Late Byzantine Period was the capital of the Despotate of Morea and the Byzantine stronghold in the Peloponnesos. The historians have interpreted Mistra, which appeared in the thirteenth century, as one of the “new cities/towns,” which shaped with no concern to classical architectural tradition. The feature of historical development of Mistra was determined by its position at a distance from the seacoast combined with the natural landscape factor, as the city appeared at a hillside. This influenced the city-planning regulations, the nature of the private and public urban buildings, and the architectural features. Nevertheless, the city appearance shaped under the influence of the Byzantine capital. A considerable role in the history of Mistra was played by a great degree of autonomy of the despotai of the Morea from Constantinople. Mistra primarily was the administrative centre, where the despotai created their own court and a team of officials following the parallels with the imperial capital. From the second half of the fourteenth century on, Mistra’s status of cultural capital of the empire rivalled that of Constantinople. The climax of sciences and intellectual surge in Mistra, combined with the latter’s growing political importance, made it alterum Byzantium (“Second Constantinople”). Similarly to the capital, Mistra embodied the “imperial idea,” which was realized in the definite court hierarchy, glittering palace, rich urban buildings, and cultural superiority.

A Dwarf Among Giants: A Diplomatic and Political Reading of Florence’s First Commercial Expedition to Ottoman Constantinople

ABSTRACT This article investigates the start of Florence’s approach to Ottoman Constantinople. It analyses the elements that enticed the Florentine Signoria to reconsider its commercial interest in Constantinople by highlighting the political role of the Ottoman sultan. In addition, this study intends to shed light on the difficulties the Florentine establishment faced in its diplomatic effort to successfully establish a profitable state trade route with the former Byzantine capital. The Signoria’s diplomatic groundwork has never been extensively studied, but doing so reveals how an apparently routine matter of administration, the negotiations over the safe-conduct with the Kingdom of Naples, became a salient political issue that took nearly three years (1455–1458) to resolve. The article also aims to make an original contribution to the history of the Florentine Mediterranean thanks to material from previously unconsulted sources.

Dancing in the Streets of Byzantine Constantinople

This article evaluates the significance of processions in Byzantine Constantinople and the role of dancing within them. Evidence is drawn from literary sources concerning imperial, church-sponsored, guild, hippodrome and more spontaneous urban processions, as well as from material culture. Medieval Constantinople saw a large number of processions, perhaps two a week, and they traversed all areas of the city. They were noisy affairs, accompanied by chanting, acclamations and, often, musical noise, so that even when they were not directly visible, they were audible more or less everywhere in the city. Dancing was incorporated in all but liturgical processions (though it may also have been part of these, on occasion). Processions could create a sense of urban unity, or become expressions of conflict: audience participation was normal and sometimes violent. Hence one key-though unofficial-the role played by processions in the Byzantine capital was to give voice to the urban population.

The church and religious situation in Central and Eastern Europe in the first third of the 15th century

The church and religious situation in Central and Eastern Europe in the first half of the 15th century, which changed dynamically under the influence of both foreign policy and internal church factors, was analysed. The Western Church was able to emerge from the process known to historians as the Great Schism only after the proclamation of the principle of conciliarism at the Council of Constance (the idea of reviving the ecumenical (general) councils); a single pope was elected, which meant the victory of the synodal model in governing the Latin Church. The condemnation of Jan Hus’s views as heretical at this council and his burning caused a great resonance in Czech society, and gave impetus to the development of the Hussite movement, which had a reformist religious and political character. Hussies found a response in the Kingdom of Poland.From the end of the 14th century changes in church life on the Ukrainian lands were becoming visible. Kyiv gradually lost its role as the religious centre for the Eastern Slavs. At a time when the patriarchs of Constantinople insisted on preserving the unity of the Metropolitanate of Kyiv, Grand Duke Vytautas of Lithuania did not want to subordinate his lands to the metropolitan who came under the control of the Moscow princes, so he insisted on dividing the Metropolitanate of Kyiv into Lithuanian and Moscow. He sought the ordination of Gregory Tsamblak as Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Rus.During the first decades of the 15th century in the eastern territories of the Kingdom of Poland and in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, a network of Catholic parishes was formed, not only in cities but also in rural areas. Until 1430, all Catholic bishoprics on the Ukrainian lands were endowed with land holdings and other income.At that difficult time, the idea of the unity of the two Churches, the Western and the Eastern, did not disappear. It was argued that the unification of the Churches would make it possible to achieve the unity of the completely Christian world against the Turks. The Council of Constance launched a series of negotiations between Constantinople and the Apostolic Capital. King Wladyslaw of Poland and Duke Vytautas of Lithuania supported the idea of the unity of the Churches. Due to the threat of Turkish attacks on the Byzantine capital, a unification council proved impossible.

Late Byzantium Reconsidered: The Arts of the Palaiologan Era in the Mediterranean

<i>Late Byzantium Reconsidered: The Arts of the Palaiologan Era in the Mediterranean</i>

Palaeologan Veria: A Peripheral Center under the Perspective of Its Monuments The Case of the Marble Decoration from the Old Metropolitan Cathedral as a Possible Donation by Christian Members of the Seljuk Dynasty

By the rising of the Palaiologan dynasty in Constantinople, regional centers on the Greek mainland, such as Veria, lived and prospered under the influence of the Byzantine capital, and at the same time geographically close Thessaloniki. The essay presents sculptures that came to light during the first phase of the investigations and the main phase of restoration of the Old Metropolis in Veria during the years 2011–2015. The sculptures decorated with arabesque motifs form a group with common stylistic features and are associated with a phase of renewal of the church’s liturgical furnishings in the first two decades of the 14th century, when the ecclesiastical seat of Veria was raised from an Archdiocese to a Metropolitan seat. The subject matter of the sculptures, although widespread in the Palaiologan era as the result of the interaction of the Christian with the Islamic world, might be associated with the presence, documented by written sources, of the family of Sultan ‘Izz ad-Dın Kaykaus II in Veria. The study of the documents, sources and published material and assessment of the evidence relating to members of the Seljuk ruling house of Iconium who settled in Byzantine territories of Imathia, the region of Veria including the village of Komanitzes, and the areas of Meliki, Ressiane, and Nese, reveals three noble families who took over the lands and general administration during the Palaiologan era. Since it is known from the archival researches of E. Gara that the Old Metropolis of Veria and its environs were known in the late 16th and early 17th century as the Melek Monastery, we think it is probable that the architectural sculptures described above were given to the church by that family, who could have been its patrons and benefactors.

Комплекс находок начала XI в. из цистерны в IX квартале Херсонеса

This paper discusses a complex of ceramic finds excavated from a cistern in quarter IX in the north-eastern area of Chersonese, which supplied water to a public bath at the first stage of its existence. Although the reasons why the cistern was covered with soil remain unclear, later on residential buildings appeared at this site. The finds published here comprised imported transport and table ceramic wares. The complex included brown-clay flat-handle transport pitchers, presumably from the Taman area; Günsenin I amphorae produced on the Marmara Sea coast to the south-west of Constantinople; Glazed White Ware II tableware (according to J. Hayes’ classification) and painted white-clay Polychrome Ware also produced in the vicinity of the Byzantine capital. A vessel with polished surface is probably connected with the manufacture of the Khazar Khanate circle. The questions of the chronology of specific pottery types nave been analysed with account to their modern dating. According to the combination of dates, the complex of finds from the cistern in question is attributable to the beginning of the eleventh century. An important role for the dating of the complex is played by the chronology of the white-clay polychrome ware clarified by G. Sanders and the absence of Günsenin II amphorae dating from the mid-eleventh to the early twelfth centuries. The ceramic ware from the infill of the cistern comprises only imported pieces and reflects the two directions of Cherson’s trade in the said period: first, Constantinople and its environs and second, the Azov Sea and Northern Caucasus area.

The Origin of the Crafts According to Byzantine Rosette Caskets

Byzantium, like many other cultures, possessed a story of the origin of the crafts. Three ivory caskets in Cleveland, Saint Petersburg, and Darmstadt depict the traditional story of Adam and Eve, only they include an unusual scene of the first couple at the forge as well as an image of Plutus, the god of wealth. Examining Byzantine ideas about the discovery of the technai, this article interprets these boxes as object-genealogies, tracing their own material extravagance back into economic prehistory and eliciting wonder at the first couple’s resourcefulness. The forge scene manifests a self-reflexive awareness within the artwork itself. The commodity claims to be descended from the first artifact. Romantically deriving craft labor from humanity’s invention of metallurgy and farming, ivory workshops historicized a culture of consumption within the Byzantine capital. Adam and Eve’s discoveries looked ahead to their own refined technology.

РАННЕВИЗАНТИЙСКИЙ МОЛИВДОВУЛ ИЗ ВИЗАНТИЙСКОГО ХЕРСОНА С РЕДКИМ ТИПОМ ИЗОБРАЖЕНИЯ

The article is devoted to a rare sphragistic type − an image of Christ presented on one of the molivduls, originating from the Byzantine Kherson. The rare image of the Saviour, usually found on the seals of emperors and rare high-ranking dignitaries, most likely suggests the high status of the owner of molivdovul from Kherson. Given the rather rare name of the sigillant, it is possible that the owner of the Kherson seal could be one of the eparchs of the Byzantine capital of the seventh century, also named Irenaeus.

The Rediscovery of a Byzantine Capital, Reused as a Baptismal Font, in the Nativity Church, Bethlehem

The present text provides a preliminary report on a recent, exceptional discovery in the Nativity church, Bethlehem, Palestine. In June 2019, when the restorers of Piacenti group removed the filling materials from the interior of the sixth-century octagonal baptismal font located in the southern aisle of the church nave, another, smaller font was discovered inside. The latter can be dated from either the late sixth or early seventh century and, on dimensional, formal, and functional grounds, is identical with a Byzantine capital preserved in the Islamic Museum on Jerusalem's Haram es-Sharif. The circumstances under which the latter was transformed into a baptismal font will be further elucidated through a systematic analysis of the findings emerged from the archaeological soundings that took place in the last week of August 2019.

Byzantine Monuments of Adrianoupolis

Adrianoupolis, or with its current name Edime, was one of the most important cities of Thrace during the ancient era. Located in Eastern Thrace, in the area of the intersection of Hebrus River (Evros in Modern Greek, Meri9 in Modern Turkish and Maritsa in Slavic languages), Arda and Tunca rivers, Adrianoupolis, during the Roman era, was located on the heart of BelgradeSofia- Constantinople military road and maintained close connections with the nearby - 250 km far away - Byzantine capital. The city, during the ancient times was referred to by the names of Uskudama, Orestiada or Orestian respectively. (Samothrakis 1963: 15) Included in the Roman Empire borders in AD 46-47, the city was re-established by Roman Emperor Hadrian in AD 127 and given its new name after its founder: Hadrianopolis or Adrianoupolis.

THE DECLINE OF CAIRO UNDER THE OTTOMANS

The Ottomans conquered Constantinople in the afternoon of 29 May, 1453. It only took the army a number of hours, starting at dawn, to take the Byzantine capital. The victorious Mehmed II toured the city, entering the Church of Hagia Sophia and declaring it the city’s congregational mosque. He also announced that the city would become his capital. It was still called Constantinople, but became popularly known as Istanbul. He vowed to establish Islamic rule over the lands stretching from the Euphrates to the Danube river, as well as the whole of the Byzantine Empire.

The Byzantine Office of Ἐπὶ τῶν κρίσεων and Its Holders (in the Light of Sphragistic Evidence and Written Sources)

The paper investigates the establishment of the office of the epi ton kriseon during the Reign of emperor Constantine IX Monomachos (1042–1055), analysing the reasons behind its creation and its initial character. In addition, a list of all holders of this office is provided, based on all available sources – sphragistic, epistolary, rhetorical, documentary, etc. The list is divided into two parts – before and after the sack of the Byzantine capital by the Crusaders in 1204. Certain conclusions are reached at the end of the paper based on the data from the first part of the list. Different aspects of the problem are examined, including the honorific titles of the epi ton kriseon, their other offices, activities and social bonds. Individuals who held this position include prominent figures such as Konstantinos, nephew of patriarch Michael I Keroularios (1043–1058) and the addressee of many letters from Michael Psellos, as well as the 12th–13th century historian Niketas Choniates. In the 11th–12th century, these officials were an indelible part of the Byzantine bureaucratic elite and the Constantinopolitan society; they exerted their power not only in the capital, but also in the provinces.

Die „deutsche Spur“ in der altrussischen Erzählung über die Einnahme Konstantinopels durch die Kreuzritter

AbstractOld Rus’ literature and art reflected the capture of Constantinople by the Crusaders, in particular, in the Tale on the taking of Tsargrad by the Crusaders.The most likely author of this work, the oldest version of which has survived as part of the Older Version of the First Novgorod Chronicle, is the Novgorod Boyar Dobrynya Yadreykovich (later Archbishop Anthony). A close associate of the Galician-Volhynian prince RomanMstislavich, Dobrynya spent several years in Constantinople on his behalf and witnessed the devastation of the Byzantine capital by the Latins in April 1204. The close relationship with the Galician-Volhynian prince explains why Dobrynya paid attention to the prince’s brother-in-law - the German king Philip of Swabia - and his role in organizing the Fourth Crusade.The author of the Tale expressed the „Ibellin“ point of view, i.e. he attempted to take off the German king the responsibility for the devastation of Constantinople. He was familiar with the details of the escape of Prince Alexios (the future emperor Alexios IV) from the Byzantine capital to King Philip and used characteristic German vocabulary (place names and personal names). All this suggests that the Russian scribe used informations from a well-informed German source. Dobrynya’s informer could be one of King Philip’s supporters, Bishop of Halberstadt Konrad von Krosigk, who participated in the siege of Constantinople in 1203-1204.

The motif of Constantinople in Psellos encomiums composed for Romanos IV Diogenes

The motif of Constantinople was the topos of encomiums, a particular kind of epideictic rhetoric whose rules of composition were set by Menander, a rhetorician at the turn of the 4th century. The aforementioned motif was used in the encomiums from the early Byzantine era to the end of the Empire. Michael Psellos composed four encomiums for the Emperor Romanos IV Diogenes. These are the encomiums No.18, No. 19, No. 20 and No.21 in the edition by George Dennis. The idea of the Byzantine capital was present in the first three of the mentioned encomiums written by Psellos and dedicated to Romanos Diogenes. Since the historical external political situation during the reign of Romanos Diogenes was unfavourable to the Byzantine Empire and was geographically near Constantinople, Michael Psellos, as the then current circumstances demanded, glorified the Empire and its capital, and insisted on wars and victories which the Byzantine Empire had won over its enemies. In that way, the tradition of the Byzantine state ideology was preserved, which stated that a Roman emperor was chosen by God and was the only legitimate ruler on earth, as well as the governmental and legal view of the medieval hierarchy within the state which was headed by the Byzantine Emperor. Michael Psellos, one of the most educated leaders of the intelligentsia of the capital city in the 11th century, skilfully used those motifs which he had evaluated as suitable for the then current political situation. Having used the court rhetoric for the purposes of propaganda, Psellos exploited the 'military triumphs' of Diogenes to strengthen the shaken ideology of the Byzantine Empire caused by the threatening political situation. This was used in order to emphasise that Romanos IV Diogenes was indeed the true heir of Constantine the Great, the first Christian emperor and the founder of the Empire.

Physician and miracle worker. The cult of Saint Sampson the Xenodochos and his images in eastern Orthodox medieval painting

Physician and miracle worker. The cult of Saint Sampson the Xenodochos and his images in eastern Orthodox medieval painting