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While investigating facts about Byzantine Empire Map and Byzantine Empire Religion, I found out little known, but curios details like:

800 years before the Black Death, the same bacteria cause plague in the Byzantine Empire. At it's peak, the plague killed 5,000 per day in Constantinople.

how byzantine empire fell?

In 552AD two monks successfully smuggled silkworm eggs in their walking sticks from China to the Byzantine Empire, essentially ending the silk monopolies of China and Persia, and bringing silk manufacture to Europe.

What was the effect of the spread of muslim armies on the byzantine empire?

In my opinion, it is useful to put together a list of the most interesting details from trusted sources that I've come across answering what was the effect of illuminated manuscripts on the byzantine empire. Here are 50 of the best facts about Byzantine Empire Timeline and Byzantine Empire Definition I managed to collect.

when was the byzantine empire at its height?

  1. Two Christian monks smuggled silkworms out of China in bamboo canes. Those silkworms were used to give the Byzantine Empire a trade monopoly in Europe, which became the foundation of their economy for the next 650 years

  2. There are still people speaking Greek dialects in south Italy, a remnant from the Byzantine Empire.

  3. The biggest sports riot in history occurred in the Byzantine Empire in 532 AD, between fans of opposing chariot racing teams. 30,000 people died.

  4. Constantine V of the Byzantine Empire (r. 741-775) was so loved for his ability as a general that following the defeat of the Byzantine army by the Bulgarians at the battle of Pliska in 811, a group of soldiers broke into his tomb and begged his corpse to come back and lead them again.

  5. The "Byzantine Empire" is a historiographical term "created after the end of the realm; its citizens continued to refer to their empire as the Roman Empire"

  6. Archeologists discovered more than 40 well preserved ship wrecks ranging from Byzantine, to the Venetian, to the Ottoman empires. The wood of some ships was so well-preserved that chisel and tool marks were still visible on individual planks due to the unusual water chemistry of the Black Sea

  7. Empress Irene of the Byzantine Empire, among other things, became empress by winning a beauty contest, after her husband died became the first empress to rule in her own right in Byzantine History, and blinded her own son in order to retain power.

  8. In 1071, the Byzantine Emperor was captured in battle by the Great Seljuk Empire. The Emperor was brought to the Sultan, Alp Arslan, and told him that had he won, he likely would have had him executed. Alp Arslan replied "My punishment is far heavier. I forgive you, and set you free."

  9. Russia was founded by a group of Scandinavian vikings and traders, called the Rus, who initially set up trading towns between their home and the Byzantine Empire.

byzantine empire facts
What religion was the byzantine empire?

Why byzantine empire fall?

You can easily fact check why byzantine empire was successful by examining the linked well-known sources.

The Wildfyre in Game of Thrones was inspired by Greek Fire, used by the 6th Century Byzantine Empire. It burned on water and was vomited onto enemy ships via pressurized nozzles handled by specially trained men. It was so deadly, its guarded secrecy means nobody fully knows how they achieved it. - source

There is a tree in Europe that is alive since 941, when the Byzantine Empire was at its peak.

The term "byzantine diplomacy" evolved from the West not understanding the Eastern Roman Empire's relative sophistication in diplomacy and preferring playing enemies against each other as opposed to outright combat. They also couldn't understanding why they read and ate with forks and knives - source

When byzantine empire fall?

The Byzantine Empire Collapsed, because one of Constantinople's gates were left Unlocked.

How byzantine empire started?

Saint Nicholas actually originated in the Byzantine empire, or modern Turkey

The biggest sports riot occurred in the Byzantine Empire in 532 AD, between fans of opposite chariot racing teams where 30,000 people died.

Thucydides continued to be read in the Greek speaking Byzantine Empire (Eastern Roman Empire) after the Western Roman Empire collapsed.

The Byzantine Empire and Mongol Empire signed an alliance that held for over 60 years (1263-1328). Mongol leader Nogai Khan even married 2 daughters of Byzantine Emperor Michael VIII.

When did the byzantine empire fall?

The Byzantine Empire had its own units of measurement which was a combination of the Greek and Roman units

Perseus (ruled 179-168 BC) was the last Antigonid ruler of Hellenistic Greece and the last native Greece to rule the land until the Byzantine Empire.

About the Greek Plan, advanced in the 1780s by Russian Empress Catherine the Great. It would partition the declining Ottoman Empire between Russia and the Habsburgs, then restore the Byzantine Empire. Her grandson (aptly named Constantine) would rule as the 1st Emperor of the restored empire.

Bagpipes were common to the Byzantine Empire, and there is evidence to suggest that they were brought to the British Isles by the Romans, rather than being developed independently by the Scots.

The brilliant general Bardas Phokas declared himself emperor of the Byzantine Empire, conquered most of Asia Minor, and then as he rode out for his final climactic battle against the real emperor, he had a seizure, fell off his horse, and died

How long did the byzantine empire last?

The Byzantine Empire had a famous reputation for omelets

The Principality Of Theodoro was the last surviving remnant of the Roman Empire, which lasted until 1475. The Principality formed after the Trebezoid Empire, a succesor of the Byzantine Empire, fell to the Ottomans in 1461

A remnant of the Byzantine Empire (the Roman Empire's successor) remains in a Greek peninsula full of monastic communities. They fly the Byzantine flag and adhere to Byzantine time.

The Latin Massacre. Gang warfare in Constantinople between different Italian city states that eventually lead to the native Greeks slaughtering all of them by the tens of thousands, which in turn lead to the 4th crusade and the Latin conquest of the Byzantine empire.

The last titular East Roman/"Byzantine" Emperor sold his imperial title to Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon in 1502. Thus the Spanish Crown has had claim to the Roman Empire ever since.

The rightful heir of the Byzantine Empire's throne befriended the Ottomans and served as Grand Admiral. Later he served as Prime Minister of the Ottoman Empire.

Irene of Athens, the first woman to assume the title of Basileus of the Byzantine Empire. Originally only recognized as Empress Regent, after her son proved to be an unpopular ruler she ordered his eyes gouged out and assumed the title of Emperor herself.

Khalid Ibn Al Walid AKA "The Drawn Sword of God". Considered to have been one of the greatest military strategists in history, undefeated in almost 100 battles while also causing the eventual militaristic demise of the Byzantine empire.

The Atlantic Slave Trade was founded and crafted by slavers who were exiled from the Crimean Slave trade after the fall of the Byzantine Empire

The last emperor of the Western Roman Empire was named Romulus Augustulus, after the founder of the city of Rome and the founder of the Roman Empire. The last ruler of the East, Constantine Palaiologos, was named after the founder of Constantinople and arguably the first Byzantine emperor.

The Byzantine empire had a title called "hyperprōtopansebastohypertatos"

Russia tried to restore the Byzantine Empire in the 18th c. But Suvorov, tasked taking Constantinople, was drunk the whole campaign and killed so many Ottomans that they surrendered too soon while he was still 20 miles away. “You will conquer not by number, but by ability.” was his saying.

Gay Marriage Has Existed Since the Byzantine Empire

A Byzantine Emperor's friend, who when asked whether Christ or Muhammad's religion would prove true in the Council of Florence, advocated for Zeus. His last work, hoping to return the Empire to Plato's teachings, was burned and exists only by summary.

For 300 years Cyprus was jointly ruled by the Byzantine Empire and Arabs even while they were at war elsewhere. Taxes were split evenly between the two powers.

This is our collection of basic interesting facts about Byzantine Empire. The fact lists are intended for research in school, for college students or just to feed your brain with new realities. Possible use cases are in quizzes, differences, riddles, homework facts legend, cover facts, and many more. Whatever your case, learn the truth of the matter why is Byzantine Empire so important!

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