Byzantine Iconoclasm

Image 1: Theodora and Her Attendants is a beautiful mosaic that is located in San Vitale in Ravenna. Some believe that this piece is part of a religious and political statement. The mosaic was created in 547 ca. This piece is making a statement of power. Justinian regained control of Italy and Ravenna after many years of being under anothers power. Justinian immediately reinstated Christanity as the religion of the country. In this piece Theodora is standing in front of a group of her…

The “Fall” of Rome is a huge mystery so anything could have happened to make one of the most powerful empires drop into ruins. But there are still many huge pieces of evidence to back us up for the critical events that made them feel defeat. First of all, the reasons why Rome was weakening was the economical problems. According to Document E it states, “...taxes were severe” In other words, this shows that the emperors taxed heavily to pay for their own personal uses like throwing festivals and…

half surviving for more than 1,000 years known as the Byzantine Empire. The Byzantine Empire was a continuation of the Roman Empire also known as the Eastern half. A high-ranking nobleman who succeeded his uncle to the throne known as Justinian. Justinian being a significant leader later on rebuilt the crumbling fortifications of Constantinople, built vast and complex buildings, created new laws known as the Justinian codes, and the Byzantine Missionaries convert the Slavs. Nemours of laws were…

Christianity plays an important role in everyone’s life in Constantinople. Religion makes up the center of the empire, which means that church is very important to everyone. The Byzantine church is known as the Eastern Orthodox Church. The Eastern Orthodox Church is based on beliefs that traced back to Jesus Christ. Jesus is known to be part of everyone’s life. People attended church regularly. The church supports many poor and sick people through the monasteries and convents. There will always…

Late Antiquity saw a fundamental shift in the economy of the Roman Empire. Throughout this period, citizens began to increasingly rely on gold rather than land to measure this wealth. While prosperity could be achieved by all classes of society, this change in the empire’s economy greatly affected the elite. As a result of the new coinage based economy, the aristocracy gained more power both publically and privately. Beginning in the third century and continuing throughout the rest of the…

This work gives us an idea of what Justinian and Theodora might actually have been like, while giving us an insight to how Procopius could have been treated and his feelings towards the royal couple. Given that Procopius waited to write this piece until Justinian had died, we can assume that he was afraid of Justinian and what kind of backlash may occur if he wrote this piece at a time where Justinian could read it. The title in itself, ‘The Secret History” is representative how Procopius felt…

The Ottoman empire was a vast and powerful empire, but in the 18th century suffered military problems and challenges to its rule. These problems in fact were solved by reformations and the creation of the “Tanzimat”, which were a series of series of reforms that brought over culture, education, society, and religions more in line with Europe. The western reforms allowed the Ottoman empire to improve in their military army, their education, and economic, which they were struggling in before the…

Kayla Woodcock Mr. Kusch Theology 12 14 November 2014 WICA Crusades The crusades were a holy war that started because of disagreements in faith. The Crusades began in 1095 when armies of Christians originating from Western Europe went into war by Pope Urban II’s request against the Muslims in the Holy Land. The first Crusade reached its goal capturing the people of Jerusalem in 1099 and the Christians set up many Latin Christian states to regain control over their land.…

With a diverse population, centralized power, and an imperialist regime, the Ottoman Empire’s effect on Europe and the Middle East from the 15th to the 17th century was profound. However, the Ottoman’s rise to being recognized as a prominent player on the world stage was not as notable as usually portrayed. For Instance, the Ottomans asserted their dominance during a somewhat dormant era in Europe. In Short, the Ottoman Empire did not go through the same transformations as Europe did during…

Rome was a massive empire. When the Empire finally started to decline, it was a big upset to the people living there and around it. There were many causes to the fall of the Roman Empire. I believe that the Roman Empire became so large the borders became difficult to control, the constant competing of the Roman generals for power, and the fact that Christianity lead to people not fighting in battle, which lead to Rome having to rely on foreign soldiers, this all lead to the fall of the Empire.…