Content 1.
Byzantine civilization, a brief overview 2.
The culture of Byzantium 3.
The birth of a new ideology.
From Paganism to Christianity 4.
Constantinople – "New Rome" 5.
The Empire is in danger.
The onslaught of the Arabs 6.
The Rise of the Byzantine State 7.
The heyday of Byzantine culture 8.
Late Byzantium.
The beginning of the end Conclusion Literature
1.
The Byzantine civilization, a brief overview of the Formation: IV - VII - 1 period - the formation of the Byzantine civilization VII - XI - 2 period - the heyday of the Byzantine civilization XI - XV - 3 period - the period of feudal fragmentation Political structure: The feudal monarchy - in the hands of the monarch all the branches of power, an extensive wide bureaucratic and bureaucratic apparatus, local administrative division represented power and management to military citizens, the remnants of horizontal ties were destroyed, the state subordinated society - the institution did not develop succession to the throne…
Social structure: peasants, townspeople, slaves, military feudal nobility, priests and monks, feudal lords did not have full power on their territory.
The feudal lords obeyed the emperor on the principle of citizenship, there was no system of a closed social structure.
The cities did not receive autonomy and were completely dependent on the government.
The city lands were in state ownership.
The standard of living of most of the population was low.
The population was heterogeneous.
The state controlled all the activities of the urban population, subordinated it to itself, tried to extract the maximum benefit.
Rural population: free community members and dependent population carried duties.
There was a mutual responsibility in the community.
There was no freedom of movement.
The Church: depended on the state.
Economically weaker, because it depended on state taxes.
She adhered to the idea of national unity.
The monarchs influenced the election of the patriarch.
Economy: An industrial type of economic development.
Intensive development of domestic and foreign trade.
State support, the development of commodity money relations, the leading maritime power, the forms of b/s are not developed, the state largely regulated the economy.
2. The culture of Byzantium The creation of the Byzantine culture was a complex, sometimes contradictory process.
The Byzantine civilization, unlike the Western European one, in many respects remained the last stronghold of the Greco Roman traditions in the troubled times of the barbarian invasions.
The formation of the culture of Byzantium took place in the context of the deeply contradictory ideological life of early Byzantium.
It was the time of the formation of the ideology of the Byzantine society, the formation of the system of the Christian worldview.
Christianity absorbed many of the philosophical and religious teachings of that era.
In the IV - V centuries, fierce philosophical and theological disputes unfolded in the empire: christological - about the nature of Christ and trinitarian about his place in the Trinity.
In these disputes, the differences in the philosophical orientation of the East and the West within the framework of the same worldview system – Christianity were already very early manifested.
Over time, these differences will worsen and lead to the separation of the Eastern – Orthodox and Western – Catholic churches.
In the early Byzantine period, Christian scientific literature reaches a high degree of refinement, combining the elegance of form with deep content.
The era of the formation of a new, medieval culture gives birth to talented thinkers, writers, poets: Pseudo Dionysius the Areopagite, Grigory Nazianzin, Roman Sladkopevets.
The mysterious figure of the outstanding thinker, theologian and philosopher Pseudo – Dionysius the Areopagite rises in the Christian philosophy of this era.
His grandiose religious and philosophical system combines Neoplatonism with Christianity.
Grigory Nazianzin was not only an outstanding theologian, but also a talented writer and poet The third bright star in the constellation of talents of early Byzantium was the poet Roman Sladkopevets.
According to the power of talent, originality of poetic thinking, sincerity and depth of feelings, the famous hymnographer rightfully belongs to the first place in church poetry.
In his works, Roman expressed the element of folk poetry and the worldview of the broad masses of the population.
The VI century was rich in outstanding historical works.
Among the historians of this century, the first place belongs to Procopius of Caesarea.
Procopius is a brilliantly educated rhetorician and lawyer, devoted himself to a diplomatic and court career.
Adviser and confidant of the commander Belisarius, he made many long campaigns with his patron, participated in the conquests of the Vandal kingdom, fought against the Persians and other enemies of the empire.
He invested his vast knowledge and life experience in the historical works he created.
His main work is considered to be "Secret History", written in deep secrecy, it exposes all the vices of the empire and its ruler with the utmost frankness.
3. The birth of a new ideology.
From paganism to Christianity, significant changes took place both in the field of art and in the entire artistic culture of Byzantine society.
In the VI – VII centuries, Byzantine artists managed not only to absorb the diverse influences of the East and antiquity, but also, overcoming them, to create their own style in art.
Since that time, Constantinople has become the Orthodox art center of the medieval world.
The rapid construction in the cities of early Byzantium became a powerful incentive for the development of architecture.
The unsurpassed masterpiece of Byzantine architecture was the Church of St. Nicholas built in 532-537.
Sofia in Constantinople.
Erected on a high hill, next to the imperial palace and the hippodrome, far visible from the sea and land, the temple became not only a symbol of the power of Byzantium, but also the main shrine of the Christian East.
For the first time, the idea of a grandiose centric temple crowned with a colossal dome was actually implemented here.
Under Justinian, the entire dome was decorated with mosaics; at the top of the dome was depicted a huge cross in the middle of the star studded sky.
The decoration of the temple was striking with its solemn splendor and exquisite interior.
The splendor of the temple was given by marble colonnades located in two tiers along the central space of the temple.
The lower part of the walls and floors of the temple were covered with colorful marbles.
The poet Corippus calls St. Sofia is a miracle of the world, which outshines all other temples and represents an accurate representation of the sky itself.
The brilliance of multi colored marbles, the shimmer of gold mosaics and precious utensils, the radiance of many lamps, the soaring of the shining dome all this really created the illusion of the infinity of the cathedral's space, turned it into a kind of cosmos, symbolically brought it closer to the image of the Universe.
In the architecture and painting of St.
The foundations of the artistic style were laid in Sofia, which was destined to become dominant in the entire subsequent history of Byzantine art.
In early Byzantium, other masterpieces of Byzantine architecture were created – the Church of the 12 Apostles in Constantinople, the Church of St. Demetrius in Thessaloniki.
Especially striking is the refinement of architectural forms, the smoothness and purity of lines, the elegance of the decor of the Church of St. Nicholas.
Vitaly is in Ravenna.
Unfortunately, not so many monuments of secular art of Byzantium have been preserved.
After all, during the invasion of external enemies, it was the palaces of the emperors and the rich houses of the nobility that were first of all destroyed and looted, many died in the flames of fires.
But what has come down to our time, and what written sources tell us, is worthy of admiration.
Even today, the fortress walls and towers of Constantinople, the complex system of aqueducts and cisterns erected to supply the city with water, amaze with their grandeur.
Under Justinian, a magnificent cistern was built, a real underground palace decorated with many columns and filled with clear water.
The Turks after the conquest of Constantinople, struck by the beauty of the cistern, called it "A Thousand and one Columns".
It still delights the residents.
Back in the IV V centuries.
4. Constantinople – "New Rome" On the very shore of the Sea of Marmara, a large Imperial Palace has grown - a whole complex of luxurious buildings - an excellent architectural ensemble of palaces with ceremonial halls, thermal baths, residential premises, surrounded by gardens and fountains.
The vast hippodrome of the capital, the center of social and cultural life, was decorated with ancient monuments; among them, the famous column from Delphi, the Egyptian obelisk of Thutmose and the bronze columns of Lysippus stand out.
The works of artistic craft and applied art of Byzantium received world recognition in the Middle Ages - amazingly beautiful jewelry made of gold and precious stones, diptychs and ivory caskets decorated with carvings and inlays, silk fabrics embroidered with fancy patterns, refined products made of colored glass - vessels, beads, lamps.
Byzantine artists in the field of painting, mosaics, fine plastics, jewelry, enamels and fabrics, book miniatures remained the legislators of tastes for a long time.5 The Empire is in danger.
The onslaught of the Arabs.
The seventh century was a difficult time in the history of Byzantium.
Torn by internal strife, pressed by formidable external enemies, the empire was experiencing a serious crisis.
The most terrible danger threatened from the East —from the powerful Arab Caliphate.
In 634-640, Arab troops conquered Palestine, Syria and Upper Mesopotamia.
In 636, they defeated the army of Heraclius on the Yarmuk River.
In the next two years, the Arabs conquered Jerusalem and Antioch, dealing a terrible blow to the empire.
The turn was for Egypt, which submitted to the power of the Caliphs almost without resistance.
By 642, the eastern provinces of Byzantium, the richest areas of ancient culture, were lost to it.
By the end of the seventh century, the Arabs had deprived Byzantium of its last possessions in North Africa — Carthage and Cyrenaica.
In the Balkans, in 681, the first independent barbarian kingdom appeared on the territory of the empire — the Bulgarian state of Khan Asparukh.
The Byzantine influence in Italy, in Africa, in the Transcaucasian countries (in Armenia and Lazica) was significantly weakened.
By the end of the tragic seventh century, the Byzantine Empire ceased to exist as a great Mediterranean power.
Its place was taken by the medieval Byzantine state, much smaller in size, but distinguished by greater ethnic unity, political and religious cohesion.
Greek has become the official state language.
Fundamental changes have taken place in the sphere of socio economic relations.
The Empire entered a new period of its development - the formation and victory of the feudal system.
This long period of about five centuries (VII—XII centuries), in turn, can be divided into two stages: the Genesis of feudalism (VII—IX centuries); the development and final triumph of feudal relations (X—X11 centuries).
Community Byzantine period of the Genesis of feudalism was a neighborhood community with its inherent dualism of communal and private property.
The characteristic features of the Byzantine rural community were the absence of periodic land redistribution, the slow crystallization of the allod.
The VII IX centuries were marked by a certain weakening of the central power in Byzantium.
Some stabilization of the Byzantine state occurred during the reign of the first emperors of the Isaurian dynasty, Leo and Constantine.
Significant changes took place in the VII IX centuries.
in the public life and culture of the Byzantine Empire.
In the middle of the seventh century, the first stage of the development of Byzantine culture and ideology was completed.
By this time, Christian dogmatics is finally crystallized, some ideological calm comes to replace the dramatic tension of the restless first centuries of the history of Byzantium, the Christological and trinitarian disputes that agitated early Byzantine society subside, obeying a single church dogmatic worldview.
However, this pacification turned out to be only temporary.
Since the first quarter of the eighth century, theological and ideological disputes have flared up with a new force, this time taking the form of iconoclasm.
The iconoclasts put forward the thesis of the indescribability and unknowability of the deity.
Their teaching was based on the main dogma of Christianity about the unity of the three divine hypostases in the Trinity.
All of them are indescribable and cannot be comprehended by the human mind, and even more so cannot be represented in an anthropomorphic image.
If the artist portrays only the human nature of Christ, he will fall into the heresy of the Nestorians, who separated two hypostases in Christ; if he tries to represent the divine nature of Christ, it will be a manifestation of the heresy of the Monophysites, who allowed the complete absorption of the human nature of the divine.
In other words, any attempt to depict Christ entails heretical errors.
The ideological struggle in the Byzantine society of the VIII—IX centuries mobilized all intellectual forces.
The warring parties and to one degree or another had an impact on the public consciousness of the era.
Religious and philosophical disputes of the VIII IX centuries caused the need to systematize Christian theology, which was reflected in the writings of John of Damascus and later Theodore the Studite.
John of Damascus (about 675 to 753) —one of the largest Byzantine theologians in his work "The Source of Knowledge" set a difficult task to build an integral system of Orthodox Christianity.
In the VIII — first half of the IX century, the influence of religious ideology on Byzantine literature increased, such literary genres as the lives of saints and liturgical poetry became particularly popular.
In the liturgical poetry of the iconoclastic era, the figures of two talented hymnographers — Andrew of Crete and John of Damascus stand out.
Andrew of Crete (about 660 — about 726) in his work continued the traditions of the great hymnographer of early Byzantium, Roman Sladkopevets.
Another hymnographer of that era, the philosopher and theologian John of Damascus, the creator of many church hymns, brought to poetic creativity his characteristic theological reasonableness, scholastic pathos, solemn parade, refinement of the poetic form.
In the Byzantine science, the idea of the iconoclastic period as the "dark ages" of Byzantine history, the era of the decline of culture and education, has long prevailed.
But the iconoclastic era cannot be painted with one black paint: it is deeply contradictory and ambivalent.
On the one hand, there is a noticeable temporary fading of ancient traditions, the sacralization of literature and art, the dominance of church dogmatics.
The ancient ideal of a beautiful person is gradually disappearing into the past and is being replaced by the ideal of spiritual perfection, chastity.
Literature and art are becoming more and more didactic, moralizing.
Human thought is looking for spiritual values other than before, other ways of development.
The development of science and education continues, and secular artistic creativity does not fade either.
It seems that the Iconoclastic period should be considered a natural stage in the development of Byzantine culture, when the process of formation of the medieval vision of the world and medieval ideology is intensively underway.
6. The rise of the Byzantine State.
Since the tenth century, a new stage in the history of Byzantine culture has begun.
Since that time, a certain stabilization of public consciousness begins, the systematization of Christian theology is completed.
There is a generalization and classification of everything achieved in science, theology, philosophy, literature.
In Byzantine culture, the tenth century was associated with the creation of generalizing works of an encyclopedic nature.
During this period, encyclopedias on history, agriculture, and medicine were compiled.
The treatises of Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus (913-959) "On the administration of the state", "On the themes", "On the ceremonies of the Byzantine court" are an extensive encyclopedia of the most valuable information about the political and administrative structure of the Byzantine state.
In the XI—XII centuries, secular education, based on ancient traditions, experienced a significant flourishing.
In Constantinople, in the XI century, the university was revived - the center of secular education for the entire empire.
Around 1045, the Faculty of Law was re established, the "museum of legislation", as it was called by contemporaries.
In the XI XII centuries.
serious ideological shifts are taking place in the Byzantine culture.
The growth of provincial cities, the rise of crafts and trade, the rapprochement with the West under the Komnenos could not but affect the culture.
The development of cultural communication with the countries of Europe and the Arab world all this leads to the enrichment of Byzantine culture and major changes in the outlook of Byzantine society.
In the XI XII centuries.
in Byzantium, the genre of "stories", so common in early Byzantium, is being revived again.
A whole galaxy of outstanding historians appears, in whose writings the author's position clearly emerges, the narrative approaches the present, the chronological principle of the presentation recedes into the background, the characteristics of the actors acquire an individual color
At the same time, rhetoric and epistolography are reviving.
Along with religious hymns, secular love lyrics and accusatory satirical poetry are developing.
But new trends are manifested not only in the evolution of literary genres - ethical views are changing.
The creative position of artists is noticeably changing.
The passive worship of the church's dogmatic representation of the world is gradually being replaced by the artist's conscious perception of real reality.
Folk literature occupied an important place in the artistic creativity of Byzantium.
Its formation and development fall on the IX XII centuries.
In the IX X centuries, the so called "Akrit songs" and military stories glorifying the exploits of organic Akrit warriors became widespread in the empire.
In the XII century, the old literary genre of the late romantic novel was revived in Byzantium.
Almost simultaneously, a number of novels appear, prose, poetic, based on an ancient plot.
The Byzantine novel differs from its ancient prototype in the slow development of events, the deepening of symbolism and the abundance of allegories, the duplication of episodes, the presence of naturalistic details.
Cultural contacts with the West in the Komnenian era had a certain impact on the Byzantine literary process.
The revival of the novel genre is associated in Byzantium with the name of the outstanding poet Theodore Prodrom( 1100 about 1170).
7. The heyday of Byzantine culture In the XI XII centuries.
there is a certain rise in Byzantine literature.
The range of interests of writers is expanding, new literary genres are emerging, storylines are becoming more dynamic, new stylistic forms are being born.
There is a gradual departure, sometimes still timid, from the rigid cliches and canons that dominated the literature of previous centuries.
The attitude to the ancient heritage is beginning to change.
Ancient traditions are no longer perceived mechanically, but are reinterpreted under the influence of real reality.
The use of ancient literature is purposeful, obeying new needs and new trends of the time.
In literature, the motives of denial, criticism of the social system with its unification and canonization of cultural values are increasingly heard.
Folk literature of various genres is flourishing, the folk language is receiving the rights of citizenship.
8. Late Byzantium.
Beginning of the end The capture of Constantinople by the Crusaders in 1204 led to the collapse of the Byzantine Empire.
According to the writer of the XIV century.
Nikephora Grigora, the power of the Romans, like a ship caught up by evil winds and waves, split into many small parts.
But gradually, in this chaos of feudal principalities, three centers of Greek statehood stood out: the Nicene Empire in the northwestern corner of Asia Minor, the Epirus Kingdom in the Balkans and the Trapezupd Empire on the land of ancient Pontus, on the southern shore of the Black Sea.
The instability of the economy, territorial losses, endless feudal strife and the growing Turkish threat this is what characterizes the last centuries of the existence of the once great empire.
The last century of the history of Byzantium was filled with dramatic events.
The power of the terrible enemy of Byzantium, the Ottoman Turks, grew from year to year.
Political fragmentation; internal strife; hostility of the neighboring Balkan states Serbia, Bulgaria, and Hungary; the wait and see attitude of the West made the position of Byzantium extremely dangerous.
The decisive blow to the empire was dealt by the establishment of the Ottoman Turks in Europe.
The assault on Constantinople took place on May 29, 1453.
The troops of the attacking Turks significantly outnumbered the defenders.
After many hours of fighting, Constantinople was taken by storm.
Byzantium has passed a difficult, but rich in bright events of social and cultural life, a thousand year historical path.
It rightfully holds a prominent place in the progressive development of Europe and the entire medieval world.
In conclusion, it should be noted that in the XI— XII centuries, the Byzantine culture still remained medieval, traditional, and largely canonical.
What is the contribution of the Byzantine civilization to the culture of the Middle Ages?
Byzantine culture is a natural stage in the development of European and the entire world culture, a stage that had its own specific, unique typological features.
To identify them, the following factors can serve as an important reference point: in Byzantium, there was a linguistic and confessional community within a single state entity (for all the multi - ethnicity, the Byzantine Empire had one main ethnic core the Greeks, the Greek language prevailed in its cultural life); in Byzantium, the Christian religion in its special Orthodox form prevailed; in the Byzantine Empire, stable statehood and centralized management were always preserved; Byzantine culture was distinguished from the culture of Western Europe by the presence of elements of eastern civilizations; both in its geographical, ethnic and cultural According to the economic situation, Byzantium was a kind of "golden bridge" between East and West, and in the cultural development of Europe it was a link between Western and Eastern cultures.
At the same time, there was a fruitful synthesis of the cultures of the East and the West.
At various stages of the cultural development of Byzantium, this synthesis was dominated by either Eastern or Western elements.
The peculiarity of the state system of the empire had no less impact on the culture of Byzantium.
The preservation of a centralized empire and a strong imperial power in Byzantium had a great influence on the ideology and culture of Byzantium.
Unlike the fragmented medieval Europe, the Byzantine Empire preserved the state political doctrines of Rome and the cult of the emperor, which was reflected in various spheres of the cultural life of society.
This, in our opinion, is another important typological difference between the Byzantine culture and the Western European one.
In Byzantium, with the ever increasing influence of Christianity, secular artistic creativity never faded either.
The extraordinary flourishing of Constantinople , the largest center of the medieval world, which surpassed London, Paris, Venice and Florence until the XIII century in the richness and splendor of its civilization, contributed to the preservation of secular urban culture.
The cult of the empire and the emperor gave an impetus to both the development of the court culture of the capital, and the convergence of secular and ecclesiastical ideology.
In Byzantium, secular culture and education have always lived a full blooded life, connected, on the one hand, by the Byzantine aristocracy and the urban intelligentsia, and on the other, drawing powerful impulses from popular culture.
The Byzantine civilization had a profound and lasting impact on the development of the cultures of many countries of medieval Europe.
The area of influence of Byzantine culture was very extensive: Sicily, Southern Italy, Dalmatia, the states of the Balkan Peninsula, Ancient Russia, the peoples of Transcaucasia, the North Caucasus and the Crimea — all of them were in contact with Byzantine education to one degree or another.
So, the culture of Byzantium rightfully belongs to a prominent place in the development of Europe.
The cultural influence of Byzantium, as we know, outlived the empire itself.
Therefore, the Byzantine civilization is of great interest to modern people.
