On May 11, 330 AD, on the European shore of the Bosphorus, the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great solemnly founded the new capital of the empire - Constantinople (and to be precise and use its official name, then New Rome). The emperor did not create a new state: Byzantium in the strict sense of the word was not the successor of the Roman Empire, it itself was Rome. The word "Byzantium" appeared only in the West during the Renaissance. The Byzantines called themselves Romans (Romeans), their country - the Roman Empire (Empire of the Romans). Constantine's plans corresponded to this name. New Rome was built at a major crossroads of major trade routes and was originally planned as the greatest of cities. Built in the 6th century, Hagia Sophia was the tallest architectural structure on Earth for more than a thousand years, and its beauty was compared to Heaven.
Until the mid-12th century, New Rome was the main trading hub of the planet. Before its devastation by the Crusaders in 1204, it was also the most populated city in Europe. Later, especially in the last century and a half, more economically significant centers appeared on the globe. But even in our time, the strategic importance of this place would be difficult to overestimate. Owner of the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits owned the entire Near and Middle East, and this is the heart of Eurasia and the entire Old World. In the 19th century, the real owner of the straits was the British Empire, which protected this place from Russia even at the cost of an open military conflict (during the Crimean War of 1853–1856, and the war could have started in 1836 or 1878). For Russia, this was not just a matter of “historical heritage,” but an opportunity to control its southern borders and main trade flows. After 1945, the keys to the straits were in the hands of the United States, and the deployment of American nuclear weapons in this region, as is known, immediately caused the appearance of Soviet missiles in Cuba and provoked the Cuban Missile Crisis. The USSR agreed to retreat only after the curtailment of American nuclear potential in Turkey. Nowadays, the issues of Turkey’s entry into the European Union and its foreign policy in Asia are primary problems for the West.
They only dreamed of peace
New Rome received a rich inheritance. However, this also became his main “headache”. In his contemporary world there were too many contenders for appropriation of this inheritance. It's hard to remember even one a long period tranquility on the Byzantine borders; the empire was in mortal danger at least once a century. Until the 7th century, the Romans, along the perimeter of all their borders, waged difficult wars with the Persians, Goths, Vandals, Slavs and Avars, and ultimately the confrontation ended in favor of New Rome. This happened very often: young and vibrant peoples who fought the empire went into historical oblivion, while the empire itself, ancient and almost defeated, licked its wounds and continued to live. However, then the former enemies were replaced by Arabs from the south, Lombards from the west, Bulgarians from the north, Khazars from the east, and a new centuries-old confrontation began. As the new opponents weakened, they were replaced in the north by the Rus, Hungarians, Pechenegs, Polovtsy, in the east by the Seljuk Turks, and in the west by the Normans.
In the fight against enemies, the empire used force, diplomacy, intelligence, military cunning, honed over centuries, and sometimes the services of its allies. The last resort was double-edged and extremely dangerous. The crusaders who fought with the Seljuks were extremely burdensome and dangerous allies for the empire, and this alliance ended with the first fall for Constantinople: the city, which had successfully fought off any attacks and sieges for almost a thousand years, was brutally devastated by its “friends.” Its further existence, even after liberation from the crusaders, was only a shadow of its previous glory. But just at this time, the last and most cruel enemy appeared - the Ottoman Turks, who were superior in their military qualities to all previous ones. The Europeans truly got ahead of the Ottomans in military affairs only in the 18th century, and the Russians were the first to do this, and the first commander who dared to appear in the internal regions of the Sultan's empire was Count Pyotr Rumyantsev, for which he received the honorary name of Transdanubia.
Irrepressible subjects
The internal state of the Roman Empire was also never calm. Its state territory was extremely heterogeneous. At one time, the Roman Empire maintained its unity through its superior military, commercial and cultural capabilities. The legal system (the famous Roman law, finally codified in Byzantium) was the most perfect in the world. For several centuries (since the time of Spartacus), Rome, within which more than a quarter of all humanity lived, was not threatened by any serious danger; wars took place on distant borders - in Germany, Armenia, Mesopotamia (modern Iraq). Only internal decay, the crisis of the army and the weakening of trade led to disintegration. Only from the end of the 4th century the situation on the borders became critical. The need to repel barbarian invasions in different directions inevitably led to the division of power in a huge empire between several people. However, this also had Negative consequences– internal confrontation, further weakening of ties and the desire to “privatize” their piece of imperial territory. As a result, by the 5th century the final division of the Roman Empire became a fact, but did not alleviate the situation.
The eastern half of the Roman Empire was more populated and Christianized (by the time of Constantine the Great, Christians, despite persecution, already accounted for more than 10% of the population), but in itself did not constitute an organic whole. Amazing ethnic diversity reigned in the state: Greeks, Syrians, Copts, Arabs, Armenians, Illyrians lived here, and soon Slavs, Germans, Scandinavians, Anglo-Saxons, Turks, Italians and many other peoples appeared, from whom only the confession of the true faith and submission to the imperial power appeared . Its richest provinces - Egypt and Syria - were geographically too distant from the capital, fenced off by mountain ranges and deserts. As trade declined and piracy flourished, maritime communication with them became increasingly difficult. In addition, the overwhelming majority of the population here were adherents of the Monophysite heresy. After the victory of Orthodoxy at the Council of Chalcedon in 451, a powerful uprising broke out in these provinces, which was suppressed with great difficulty. Less than 200 years later, the Monophysites joyfully greeted the Arab “liberators” and subsequently converted to Islam relatively painlessly. The western and central provinces of the empire, primarily the Balkans, but also Asia Minor, experienced a massive influx of barbarian tribes - Germans, Slavs, Turks - for many centuries. Emperor Justinian the Great tried in the 6th century to expand the state's boundaries in the west and restore the Roman Empire to its “natural borders,” but this led to enormous effort and expense. Within a century, Byzantium was forced to shrink to the limits of its “state core,” predominantly inhabited by Greeks and Hellenized Slavs. This territory included the west of Asia Minor, the Black Sea coast, the Balkans and southern Italy. The further struggle for existence mainly took place in this territory.
The people and the army are united
The constant struggle required constant maintenance of defense capabilities. The Roman Empire was forced to revive the peasant militia and heavily armed cavalry that were characteristic of Ancient Rome during the republican period, and again create and maintain a powerful navy at state expense. Defense has always been the main expense of the treasury and the main burden for the taxpayer. The state closely monitored that the peasants maintained their fighting capacity, and therefore strengthened the community in every possible way, preventing its disintegration. The state fought against the excessive concentration of wealth, including land, in private hands. State regulation of prices was a very important part of the policy. The powerful state apparatus, of course, gave rise to the omnipotence of officials and large-scale corruption. Active emperors fought against abuses, while inert ones started the disease.
Of course, slow social stratification and limited competition slowed down the pace of economic development, but the fact of the matter is that the empire had more important tasks. It was not because of a good life that the Byzantines equipped their armed forces with all sorts of technical innovations and types of weapons, the most famous of which was the “Greek fire” invented in the 7th century, which brought the Romans more than one victory. The army of the empire maintained its fighting spirit until the second half of the 12th century, until it gave way to foreign mercenaries. The treasury now spent less, but the risk of it falling into the hands of the enemy increased immeasurably. Let us recall the classic expression of one of the recognized experts on the issue, Napoleon Bonaparte: the people who do not want to feed their army will feed someone else’s. From that time on, the empire began to depend on Western “friends,” who immediately showed it the value of friendship.
Autocracy as a recognized necessity
The circumstances of Byzantine life strengthened the perceived need for the autocratic power of the emperor (Basileus of the Romans). But too much depended on his personality, character, and abilities. That is why the empire developed a flexible system of transferring supreme power. In specific circumstances, power could be transferred not only to a son, but also to a nephew, son-in-law, brother-in-law, husband, adopted successor, even one’s own father or mother. The transfer of power was secured by a decision of the Senate and the army, popular approval, and a church wedding (from the 10th century, the practice of imperial anointing, borrowed from the West, was introduced). As a result imperial dynasties rarely survived their centennial anniversary, only the most talented - the Macedonian - dynasty managed to hold out for almost two centuries - from 867 to 1056. A person of low origin could also be on the throne, promoted thanks to one or another talent (for example, the butcher from Dacia Leo Macella, a commoner from Dalmatia and uncle of the Great Justinian Justin I, or the son of an Armenian peasant Basil the Macedonian - the founder of that same Macedonian dynasty). The tradition of co-government was extremely developed (co-rulers sat on the Byzantine throne for a total of about two hundred years). Power had to be held firmly in hands: throughout Byzantine history there were about forty successful coups d'etat, usually ending with the death of the defeated ruler or his removal to a monastery. Only half of the basileus died on the throne.Empire as a katechon
The very existence of an empire was for Byzantium more of an obligation and a duty than an advantage or a rational choice. The ancient world, the only direct heir of which was the Roman Empire, has become a thing of the historical past. However, his cultural and political legacy became the foundation of Byzantium. The Empire, since the time of Constantine, was also a stronghold of the Christian faith. The basis of the state political doctrine was the idea of the empire as a “katechon” - the guardian of the true faith. The barbarian Germans who filled the entire western part of the Roman ecumene accepted Christianity, but only in the Arian heretical version. The only major “acquisition” of the Universal Church in the West until the 8th century was the Franks. Having accepted the Nicene Creed, the Frankish king Clovis immediately received the spiritual and political support of the Roman Patriarch-Pope and the Byzantine Emperor. This began the growth of the power of the Franks in western Europe: Clovis was granted the title of Byzantine patrician, and his distant heir Charlemagne, three centuries later, already wanted to be called Emperor of the West.
The Byzantine mission of that period could easily compete with the Western one. Missionaries of the Church of Constantinople preached throughout the Central and of Eastern Europe– from the Czech Republic to Novgorod and Khazaria; The English and Irish Local Churches maintained close contacts with the Byzantine Church. However, papal Rome quite early began to be jealous of its competitors and expelled them by force; soon the mission itself in the papal West acquired an openly aggressive character and predominantly political objectives. The first large-scale action after Rome's fall from Orthodoxy was the papal blessing of William the Conqueror for his campaign in England in 1066; after this, many representatives of the Orthodox Anglo-Saxon nobility were forced to emigrate to Constantinople.
Within the Byzantine Empire itself, there were heated disputes on religious grounds. Heretical movements arose either among the people or in the government. Under the influence of Islam, the emperors began iconoclastic persecutions in the 8th century, which provoked resistance from the Orthodox people. In the 13th century, out of a desire to strengthen relations with the Catholic world, the government agreed to a union, but again did not receive support. All attempts to “reform” Orthodoxy based on opportunistic considerations or to bring it under “earthly standards” have failed. The new union in the 15th century, concluded under the threat of Ottoman conquest, could no longer even ensure political success. It became a bitter smile of history over the vain ambitions of the rulers.
What is the advantage of the West?
When and in what ways did the West begin to gain the upper hand? As always, in economics and technology. In the spheres of culture and law, science and education, literature and art, Byzantium until the 12th century easily competed with or was far ahead of its Western neighbors. The powerful cultural influence of Byzantium was felt in the West and East far beyond its borders - in Arab Spain and Norman Britain, and in Catholic Italy it dominated until the Renaissance. However, due to the very conditions of existence of the empire, it could not boast of any special socio-economic successes. In addition, Italy and Southern France were initially more favorable for agricultural activity than the Balkans and Asia Minor. In the 12th–14th centuries, Western Europe experienced rapid economic growth - one that had not happened since ancient times and would not happen until the 18th century. This was the heyday of feudalism, papacy and chivalry. It was at this time that a special feudal structure of Western European society arose and was established with its estate-corporate rights and contractual relations (the modern West emerged precisely from this).
The Western influence on the Byzantine emperors from the Komnenos dynasty in the 12th century was the strongest: they copied Western military art, Western fashion, and for a long time acted as allies of the crusaders. The Byzantine fleet, so burdensome to the treasury, was disbanded and rotted, its place was taken by flotillas of the Venetians and Genoese. The emperors cherished the hope of overcoming the not so long ago falling away of papal Rome. However, the strengthened Rome already recognized only complete submission to its will. The West marveled at the imperial splendor and, to justify its aggressiveness, loudly resented the duplicity and corruption of the Greeks.
Did the Greeks drown in debauchery? Sin coexisted with grace. The horrors of palaces and city squares were interspersed with the genuine holiness of the monasteries and the sincere piety of the laity. Evidence of this is the lives of saints, liturgical texts, high and unsurpassed Byzantine art. But the temptations were very strong. After the defeat of 1204 in Byzantium, the pro-Western trend only intensified, young people went to study in Italy, and a craving for the pagan Hellenic tradition arose among the intelligentsia. Philosophical rationalism and European scholasticism (and it was based on the same pagan scholarship) began to be viewed in this environment as higher and more refined teachings than patristic ascetic theology. Intellect took precedence over Revelation, individualism over Christian achievement. Later, these trends, together with the Greeks who moved to the West, would greatly contribute to the development of the Western European Renaissance.
Historical scale
The empire survived the fight against the crusaders: on the Asian shore of the Bosphorus, opposite the defeated Constantinople, the Romans retained their territory and proclaimed a new emperor. Half a century later, the capital was liberated and held out for another 200 years. However, the territory of the revived empire was practically reduced to the great city itself, several islands in the Aegean Sea and small territories in Greece. But even without this epilogue, the Roman Empire existed for almost a whole millennium. In this case, one can not even take into account the fact that Byzantium directly continues the ancient Roman statehood, and considered the founding of Rome in 753 BC its birth. Even without these reservations, there is no other such example in world history. Empires last for years (Napoleon's Empire: 1804–1814), decades (German Empire: 1871–1918), best case scenario– for centuries. The Han Empire in China lasted four centuries, the Ottoman Empire and the Arab Caliphate - a little more, but by the end of their life cycle they became only fictional empires. For most of its existence, the Western-based Holy Roman Empire of the German nation was also a fiction. There are not many countries in the world that did not claim imperial status and existed continuously for a thousand years. Finally, Byzantium and its historical predecessor - Ancient Rome- also demonstrated a “world record” of survival: any state on Earth withstood, at best, one or two global foreign invasions, Byzantium – much more. Only Russia could be compared with Byzantium.
Why did Byzantium fall?
Her successors answered this question differently. The Pskov elder Philotheus at the beginning of the 16th century believed that Byzantium, having accepted the union, betrayed Orthodoxy, and this was the reason for its death. However, he argued that the demise of Byzantium was conditional: the status of the Orthodox empire was transferred to the only remaining sovereign Orthodox state - Moscow. In this, according to Philotheus, there was no merit of the Russians themselves, such was God’s will. However, from now on the fate of the world depended on the Russians: if Orthodoxy falls in Rus', then the world will soon end with it. Thus, Philotheus warned Moscow about its great historical and religious responsibility. The coat of arms of the Palaiologos, inherited by Russia, is a double-headed eagle - a symbol of such responsibility, a heavy cross of the imperial burden.The elder’s younger contemporary Ivan Timofeev, a professional warrior, pointed to other reasons for the fall of the empire: the emperors, having trusted in flattering and irresponsible advisers, despised military affairs and lost combat readiness. Peter the Great also spoke about the sad Byzantine example of the loss of fighting spirit, which became the cause of the death of a great empire: a solemn speech was delivered in the presence of the Senate, Synod and generals in the Trinity Cathedral of St. Petersburg on October 22, 1721, on the day of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, at the acceptance king of the imperial title. As you can see, all three - the elder, the warrior and the newly proclaimed emperor - meant similar things, only in different aspects. The power of the Roman Empire rested on strong power, a strong army and the loyalty of its subjects, but they themselves had to have a strong and true faith at their core. And in this sense, the empire, or rather all those people who made it up, always balanced between Eternity and destruction. The constant relevance of this choice contains an amazing and unique flavor of Byzantine history. In other words, this story in all its light and dark sides is a clear evidence of the correctness of the saying from the rite of the Triumph of Orthodoxy: “This apostolic faith, this paternal faith, this Orthodox faith, this faith establish the universe!”
On May 29, 1453, the capital of the Byzantine Empire fell to the Turks. Tuesday May 29 is one of the most important dates in world history. On this day, the Byzantine Empire, created back in 395, ceased to exist as a result of the final division of the Roman Empire after the death of Emperor Theodosius I into western and eastern parts. With her death, a huge period of human history ended. In the lives of many peoples of Europe, Asia and North Africa, a radical change occurred due to the establishment of Turkish rule and the creation Ottoman Empire.
It is clear that the fall of Constantinople is not a clear line between the two eras. The Turks established themselves in Europe a century before the fall of the great capital. And by the time of its fall, the Byzantine Empire was already a fragment of its former greatness - the emperor’s power extended only to Constantinople with its suburbs and part of the territory of Greece with the islands. Byzantium of the 13th-15th centuries can only be called an empire conditionally. At the same time, Constantinople was a symbol of the ancient empire and was considered the “Second Rome”.
Background of the fall
In the 13th century, one of the Turkic tribes - the Kays - led by Ertogrul Bey, forced out of their nomadic camps in the Turkmen steppes, migrated westward and stopped in Asia Minor. The tribe assisted the Sultan of the largest Turkish state (founded by the Seljuk Turks) - the Rum (Konya) Sultanate - Alaeddin Kay-Kubad in his fight against the Byzantine Empire. For this, the Sultan gave Ertogrul land in the region of Bithynia as fief. The son of the leader Ertogrul - Osman I (1281-1326), despite his constantly growing power, recognized his dependence on Konya. Only in 1299 did he accept the title of Sultan and soon subjugated the entire western part of Asia Minor, winning a series of victories over the Byzantines. By the name of Sultan Osman, his subjects began to be called Ottoman Turks, or Ottomans (Ottomans). In addition to wars with the Byzantines, the Ottomans fought for the subjugation of other Muslim possessions - by 1487, the Ottoman Turks established their power over all Muslim possessions of the Asia Minor Peninsula.
The Muslim clergy, including local dervish orders, played a major role in strengthening the power of Osman and his successors. The clergy not only played a significant role in the creation of a new great power, but justified the policy of expansion as a “struggle for faith.” In 1326, the largest trading city of Bursa, the most important point of transit caravan trade between the West and the East, was captured by the Ottoman Turks. Then Nicaea and Nicomedia fell. The sultans distributed the lands captured from the Byzantines to the nobility and distinguished warriors as timars - conditional possessions received for serving (estates). Gradually, the Timar system became the basis of the socio-economic and military-administrative structure of the Ottoman state. Under Sultan Orhan I (ruled from 1326 to 1359) and his son Murad I (ruled from 1359 to 1389), important military reforms were carried out: the irregular cavalry was reorganized - cavalry and infantry troops convened from Turk farmers were created. Warriors of the cavalry and infantry troops were farmers in peacetime, receiving benefits, and during the war they were obliged to join the army. In addition, the army was supplemented by a militia of peasants of the Christian faith and a corps of Janissaries. The Janissaries initially took captured Christian youths who were forced to convert to Islam, and from the first half of the 15th century - from the sons of Christian subjects of the Ottoman Sultan (in the form of a special tax). The sipahis (a kind of nobles of the Ottoman state who received income from the timars) and the janissaries became the core of the army of the Ottoman sultans. In addition, units of gunners, gunsmiths and other units were created in the army. As a result, a powerful power arose on the borders of Byzantium, which claimed dominance in the region.
It must be said that the Byzantine Empire and the Balkan states themselves accelerated their fall. During this period, there was a sharp struggle between Byzantium, Genoa, Venice and the Balkan states. Often the fighting parties sought to gain military support from the Ottomans. Naturally, this greatly facilitated the expansion of the Ottoman power. The Ottomans received information about routes, possible crossings, fortifications, strengths and weaknesses of the enemy troops, the internal situation, etc. Christians themselves helped cross the straits to Europe.
The Ottoman Turks achieved great success under Sultan Murad II (ruled 1421-1444 and 1446-1451). Under him, the Turks recovered from the heavy defeat inflicted by Tamerlane in the Battle of Angora in 1402. In many ways, it was this defeat that delayed the death of Constantinople for half a century. The Sultan suppressed all the uprisings of the Muslim rulers. In June 1422, Murad besieged Constantinople, but was unable to take it. The lack of a fleet and powerful artillery had an effect. In 1430, the large city of Thessalonica in northern Greece was captured; it belonged to the Venetians. Murad II won a number of important victories on the Balkan Peninsula, significantly expanding the possessions of his power. So in October 1448 the battle took place on the Kosovo Field. In this battle, the Ottoman army opposed the combined forces of Hungary and Wallachia under the command of the Hungarian general Janos Hunyadi. The fierce three-day battle ended with the complete victory of the Ottomans, and decided the fate of the Balkan peoples - for several centuries they found themselves under the rule of the Turks. After this battle, the Crusaders suffered a final defeat and made no further serious attempts to recapture the Balkan Peninsula from the Ottoman Empire. The fate of Constantinople was decided, the Turks had the opportunity to solve the problem of capturing ancient city. Byzantium itself no longer posed a great threat to the Turks, but a coalition of Christian countries, relying on Constantinople, could cause significant harm. The city was located practically in the middle of the Ottoman possessions, between Europe and Asia. The task of capturing Constantinople was decided by Sultan Mehmed II.
Byzantium. By the 15th century, the Byzantine power had lost most of its possessions. The entire 14th century was a period of political failure. For several decades it seemed that Serbia would be able to capture Constantinople. Various internal strife were a constant source of civil wars. Thus, the Byzantine emperor John V Palaiologos (who reigned from 1341 to 1391) was overthrown from the throne three times: by his father-in-law, his son and then his grandson. In 1347, the Black Death epidemic swept through, killing at least a third of the population of Byzantium. The Turks crossed to Europe, and taking advantage of the troubles of Byzantium and the Balkan countries, by the end of the century they reached the Danube. As a result, Constantinople was surrounded on almost all sides. In 1357, the Turks captured Gallipoli, and in 1361, Adrianople, which became the center of Turkish possessions on the Balkan Peninsula. In 1368, Nissa (the suburban seat of the Byzantine emperors) submitted to Sultan Murad I, and the Ottomans were already under the walls of Constantinople.
In addition, there was the problem of the struggle between supporters and opponents of the union with the Catholic Church. For many Byzantine politicians it was obvious that without the help of the West, the empire could not survive. Back in 1274, at the Council of Lyon, the Byzantine Emperor Michael VIII promised the pope to seek reconciliation of the churches for political and economic reasons. True, his son Emperor Andronikos II convened a council of the Eastern Church, which rejected the decisions of the Lyon Council. Then John Palaiologos went to Rome, where he solemnly accepted the faith according to the Latin rite, but did not receive help from the West. Supporters of union with Rome were mainly politicians or belonged to the intellectual elite. The lower clergy were the open enemies of the union. John VIII Palaiologos (Byzantine emperor in 1425-1448) believed that Constantinople could only be saved with the help of the West, so he tried to conclude a union with the Roman Church as quickly as possible. In 1437, together with the patriarch and a delegation of Orthodox bishops, the Byzantine emperor went to Italy and spent more than two years there, first in Ferrara, and then at the Ecumenical Council in Florence. At these meetings, both sides often reached an impasse and were ready to stop negotiations. But John forbade his bishops to leave the council until a compromise decision was made. In the end, the Orthodox delegation was forced to concede to the Catholics on almost all major issues. On July 6, 1439, the Union of Florence was adopted, and the Eastern churches were reunited with the Latin. True, the union turned out to be fragile; after a few years, many Orthodox hierarchs present at the Council began to openly deny their agreement with the union or say that the decisions of the Council were caused by bribery and threats from Catholics. As a result, the union was rejected by most Eastern churches. The majority of the clergy and people did not accept this union. In 1444, the Pope was able to organize a crusade against the Turks (the main force was the Hungarians), but at Varna the crusaders suffered a crushing defeat.
Disputes about the union took place against the backdrop of the country's economic decline. Constantinople at the end of the 14th century was a sad city, a city of decline and destruction. The loss of Anatolia deprived the capital of the empire of almost all agricultural land. The population of Constantinople, which in the 12th century numbered up to 1 million people (together with the suburbs), fell to 100 thousand and continued to decline - by the time of the fall there were approximately 50 thousand people in the city. The suburb on the Asian shore of the Bosphorus was captured by the Turks. The suburb of Pera (Galata) on the other side of the Golden Horn was a colony of Genoa. The city itself, surrounded by a 14-mile wall, lost a number of neighborhoods. In fact, the city turned into several separate settlements, separated by vegetable gardens, orchards, abandoned parks, and ruins of buildings. Many had their own walls and fences. The most populous villages were located along the banks of the Golden Horn. The richest quarter adjacent to the bay belonged to the Venetians. Nearby were streets where Westerners lived - Florentines, Anconans, Ragusians, Catalans and Jews. But the piers and bazaars were still full of traders from Italian cities, Slavic and Muslim lands. Pilgrims, mainly from Rus', arrived in the city every year.
Last years before the fall of Constantinople, preparation for war
The last emperor of Byzantium was Constantine XI Palaiologos (who ruled in 1449-1453). Before becoming emperor, he was the despot of Morea, a Greek province of Byzantium. Konstantin had a sound mind, was a good warrior and administrator. He had the gift of arousing the love and respect of his subjects; he was greeted in the capital with great joy. During the short years of his reign, he prepared Constantinople for a siege, sought help and alliance in the West, and tried to calm the turmoil caused by the union with the Roman Church. He appointed Luka Notaras as his first minister and commander-in-chief of the fleet.
Sultan Mehmed II received the throne in 1451. He was a purposeful, energetic, intelligent person. Although it was initially believed that this was not a young man brimming with talents, this impression was formed from the first attempt to rule in 1444-1446, when his father Murad II (he transferred the throne to his son in order to distance himself from state affairs) had to return to the throne to resolve emerging issues. problems. This calmed the European rulers; they all had their own problems. Already in the winter of 1451-1452. Sultan Mehmed ordered the construction of a fortress to begin at the narrowest point of the Bosphorus Strait, thereby cutting off Constantinople from the Black Sea. The Byzantines were confused - this was the first step towards a siege. An embassy was sent with a reminder of the oath of the Sultan, who promised to preserve the territorial integrity of Byzantium. The embassy left no response. Constantine sent envoys with gifts and asked not to touch the Greek villages located on the Bosporus. The Sultan ignored this mission too. In June, a third embassy was sent - this time the Greeks were arrested and then beheaded. In fact, it was a declaration of war.
By the end of August 1452, the Bogaz-Kesen fortress (“cutting the strait” or “cutting the throat”) was built. Powerful guns were installed in the fortress and a ban was announced on passing the Bosporus without inspection. Two Venetian ships were driven off and the third was sunk. The crew was beheaded and the captain was impaled - this dispelled all illusions about Mehmed's intentions. The actions of the Ottomans caused concern not only in Constantinople. The Venetians owned an entire quarter in the Byzantine capital; they had significant privileges and benefits from trade. It was clear that after the fall of Constantinople the Turks would not stop; Venice’s possessions in Greece and the Aegean Sea were under attack. The problem was that the Venetians were bogged down in a costly war in Lombardy. An alliance with Genoa was impossible; relations with Rome were strained. And I didn’t want to spoil relations with the Turks - the Venetians also carried out profitable trade in Ottoman ports. Venice allowed Constantine to recruit soldiers and sailors in Crete. In general, Venice remained neutral during this war.
Genoa found itself in approximately the same situation. The fate of Pera and the Black Sea colonies caused concern. The Genoese, like the Venetians, showed flexibility. The government appealed to the Christian world to send assistance to Constantinople, but they themselves did not provide such support. Private citizens were given the right to act as they wished. The administrations of Pera and the island of Chios were instructed to follow such a policy towards the Turks as they considered most appropriate in the current situation.
The Ragusans, residents of the city of Ragus (Dubrovnik), as well as the Venetians, recently received confirmation of their privileges in Constantinople from the Byzantine emperor. But the Dubrovnik Republic did not want to put its trade in Ottoman ports at risk. In addition, the city-state had a small fleet and did not want to risk it unless there was a broad coalition of Christian states.
Pope Nicholas V (head of the Catholic Church from 1447 to 1455), having received a letter from Constantine agreeing to accept the union, appealed in vain to various sovereigns for help. There was no proper response to these calls. Only in October 1452, the papal legate to the emperor Isidore brought with him 200 archers hired in Naples. The problem of union with Rome again caused controversy and unrest in Constantinople. December 12, 1452 in the church of St. Sophia served a solemn liturgy in the presence of the emperor and the entire court. It mentioned the names of the Pope and Patriarch and officially proclaimed the provisions of the Union of Florence. Most of the townspeople accepted this news with sullen passivity. Many hoped that if the city stood, it would be possible to reject the union. But having paid this price for help, the Byzantine elite miscalculated - ships with soldiers from Western states did not arrive to help the dying empire.
At the end of January 1453, the issue of war was finally resolved. Turkish troops in Europe were ordered to attack Byzantine cities in Thrace. The cities on the Black Sea surrendered without a fight and escaped pogrom. Some cities on the coast of the Sea of Marmara tried to defend themselves and were destroyed. Part of the army invaded the Peloponnese and attacked the brothers of Emperor Constantine so that they could not come to the aid of the capital. The Sultan took into account the fact that a number of previous attempts to take Constantinople (by his predecessors) failed due to the lack of a fleet. The Byzantines had the opportunity to transport reinforcements and supplies by sea. In March, all the ships at the Turks' disposal are brought to Gallipoli. Some of the ships were new, built within the last few months. The Turkish fleet had 6 triremes (two-masted sailing-rowing ships, one oar was held by three oarsmen), 10 biremes (a one-masted ship, where there were two rowers on one oar), 15 galleys, about 75 fustas (light, fast ships), 20 parandarii (heavy transport barges) and a lot of small sailing boats, lifeboats The head of the Turkish fleet was Suleiman Baltoglu. The rowers and sailors were prisoners, criminals, slaves and some volunteers. In late March Turkish fleet passed through the Dardanelles into the Sea of Marmara, causing horror among the Greeks and Italians. This was another blow to the Byzantine elite; they did not expect that the Turks would prepare such significant naval forces and be able to blockade the city from the sea.
At the same time, an army was being prepared in Thrace. All winter, gunsmiths tirelessly worked on various types of weapons, engineers created battering and stone-throwing machines. A powerful strike force of approximately 100 thousand people was assembled. Of these, 80 thousand were regular troops - cavalry and infantry, Janissaries (12 thousand). There were approximately 20-25 thousand irregular troops - militias, bashi-bazouks (irregular cavalry, the “crazy” did not receive pay and “rewarded” themselves with looting), rear units. The Sultan also paid great attention to artillery - the Hungarian master Urban cast several powerful cannons capable of sinking ships (with the help of one of them a Venetian ship was sunk) and destroying powerful fortifications. The largest of them was pulled by 60 oxen, and a team of several hundred people was assigned to it. The gun fired cannonballs weighing approximately 1,200 pounds (about 500 kg). During March, the Sultan's huge army began to gradually move towards the Bosphorus. On April 5, Mehmed II himself arrived under the walls of Constantinople. Morale the army was high, everyone believed in success and hoped for rich booty.
The people in Constantinople were depressed. The huge Turkish fleet in the Sea of Marmara and strong enemy artillery only increased anxiety. People recalled predictions about the fall of the empire and the coming of the Antichrist. But it cannot be said that the threat deprived all people of the will to resist. All winter, men and women, encouraged by the emperor, worked to clear ditches and strengthen the walls. A fund was created for unforeseen expenses - the emperor, churches, monasteries and private individuals made investments in it. It should be noted that the problem was not the availability of money, but the lack required quantity people, weapons (especially firearms), food problem. All weapons were collected in one place so that, if necessary, they could be distributed to the most threatened areas.
There was no hope for external help. Only a few private individuals provided support to Byzantium. Thus, the Venetian colony in Constantinople offered its assistance to the emperor. Two captains of Venetian ships returning from the Black Sea, Gabriele Trevisano and Alviso Diedo, took an oath to participate in the fight. In total, the fleet defending Constantinople consisted of 26 ships: 10 of them belonged to the Byzantines themselves, 5 to the Venetians, 5 to the Genoese, 3 to the Cretans, 1 came from Catalonia, 1 from Ancona and 1 from Provence. Several noble Genoese arrived to fight for the Christian faith. For example, a volunteer from Genoa, Giovanni Giustiniani Longo, brought 700 soldiers with him. Giustiniani was known as an experienced military man, so he was appointed by the emperor to command the defense of the land walls. In total, the Byzantine emperor, not including his allies, had about 5-7 thousand soldiers. It should be noted that part of the city’s population left Constantinople before the siege began. Some of the Genoese - the colony of Pera and the Venetians - remained neutral. On the night of February 26, seven ships - 1 from Venice and 6 from Crete - left the Golden Horn, taking away 700 Italians.
To be continued…
"The Death of an Empire. Byzantine lesson"- a journalistic film by the abbot of the Moscow Sretensky Monastery, Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov). The premiere took place on the state channel “Russia” on January 30, 2008. The presenter, Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov), gives his version of the collapse of the Byzantine Empire in the first person.
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1. Features of the development of Byzantium. Unlike the Western Roman Empire, Byzantium not only withstood the onslaught of the barbarians, but also existed for more than a thousand years. It included rich and cultural areas: the Balkan Peninsula with adjacent islands, part of Transcaucasia, Asia Minor, Syria, Palestine, Egypt. Since ancient times, agriculture and cattle breeding have developed here. Thus, it was a Euro-Asian (Eurasian) state with a population very diverse in origin, appearance and customs.
In Byzantium, including in the territory of Egypt and the Middle East, lively, crowded cities remained: Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem. Crafts such as the production of glassware, silk fabrics, fine jewelry, and papyrus were developed here.
Constantinople, located on the shores of the Bosphorus Strait, stood at the intersection of two important trade routes: land - from Europe to Asia and sea - from the Mediterranean to the Black Sea. Byzantine merchants grew rich in trade with the Northern Black Sea region, where they had their own colony cities, Iran, India, and China. They were also well known in Western Europe, where they brought expensive oriental goods.
2. The power of the emperor. Unlike the countries of Western Europe, Byzantium maintained single state with despotic imperial power. Everyone had to be in awe of the emperor, glorifying him in poetry and songs. The emperor's exit from the palace, accompanied by a brilliant retinue and large guards, turned into a magnificent celebration. He performed in silk robes embroidered with gold and pearls, with a crown on his head, a gold chain around his neck and a scepter in his hand.
The emperor had enormous power. His power was inherited. He was the supreme judge, appointed military leaders and senior officials, and received foreign ambassadors. The emperor ruled the country with the help of many officials. They tried with all their might to gain influence at court. The cases of petitioners were resolved through bribes or personal connections.
Byzantium could defend its borders from barbarians and even wage wars of conquest. At the disposal of a rich treasury, the emperor maintained a large mercenary army and a strong navy. But there were periods when a major military leader overthrew the emperor himself and became the sovereign himself.
3. Justinian and his reforms. The empire especially expanded its borders during the reign of Justinian (527-565). Intelligent, energetic, well-educated, Justinian skillfully selected and directed his assistants. Beneath his outward approachability and courtesy hid a merciless and insidious tyrant. According to the historian Procopius, he could, without showing anger, “in a quiet, even voice, give the order to kill tens of thousands of innocent people.” Justinian was afraid of attempts on his life, and therefore easily believed denunciations and was quick to take reprisals.
Justinian's main rule was: "one state, one law, one religion." The emperor, wanting to enlist the support of the church, granted it lands and valuable gifts, and built many churches and monasteries. His reign began with unprecedented persecution of pagans, Jews and apostates from the teachings of the church. Their rights were limited, they were dismissed from service, and sentenced to death. The famous school in Athens, a major center of pagan culture, was closed.
To introduce uniform laws for the entire empire, the emperor created a commission of the best lawyers. In a short time, she collected the laws of the Roman emperors, excerpts from the works of outstanding Roman jurists with an explanation of these laws, new laws introduced by Justinian himself, and compiled a brief guide to the use of the laws. These works were published under the general title “Code of Civil Law”. This set of laws preserved Roman law for subsequent generations. It was studied by lawyers in the Middle Ages and Modern times, drawing up laws for their states.
4. Justinian's wars. Justinian made an attempt to restore the Roman Empire within its former borders.
Taking advantage of the discord in the Vandal kingdom, the emperor sent an army on 500 ships to conquer North Africa. The Byzantines quickly defeated the Vandals and occupied the capital of the kingdom, Carthage.
Justinian then proceeded to conquer the Ostrogothic kingdom in Italy. His army occupied Sicily, southern Italy and later captured Rome. Another army, advancing from the Balkan Peninsula, entered the capital of the Ostrogoths, Ravenna. The Kingdom of the Ostrogoths fell.
But the oppression of officials and the robberies of soldiers caused uprisings of local residents in North Africa and Italy. Justinian was forced to send new armies to suppress uprisings in the conquered countries. It took 15 years of intense struggle to completely subjugate North Africa, and in Italy it took about 20 years.
Taking advantage of the internecine struggle for the throne in the Visigoth kingdom, Justinian's army conquered the southwestern part of Spain.
To protect the borders of the empire, Justinian built fortresses on the outskirts, placed garrisons in them, and laid roads to the borders. Destroyed cities were restored everywhere, water pipelines, hippodromes, and theaters were built.
But the population of Byzantium itself was ruined by unbearable taxes. According to the historian, “the people fled in large crowds to the barbarians just to escape from their native land.” Uprisings broke out everywhere, which Justinian brutally suppressed.
In the east, Byzantium had to fight long wars with Iran, even cede part of its territory to Iran and pay it tribute. Byzantium did not have a strong knightly army, as in Western Europe, and began to suffer defeats in wars with its neighbors. Soon after the death of Justinian, Byzantium lost almost all the territories it had conquered in the West. The Lombards occupied most of Italy, and the Visigoths took back their former possessions in Spain.
5. Invasion of the Slavs and Arabs. From the beginning of the 6th century, the Slavs attacked Byzantium. Their troops even approached Constantinople. In the wars with Byzantium, the Slavs gained combat experience, learned to fight in formation and storm fortresses. From invasions they moved on to settling the territory of the empire: first they occupied the north of the Balkan Peninsula, then penetrated into Macedonia and Greece. The Slavs turned into subjects of the empire: they began to pay taxes to the treasury and serve in the imperial army.
The Arabs attacked Byzantium from the south in the 7th century. They captured Palestine, Syria and Egypt, and by the end of the century - all of North Africa. Since the time of Justinian, the territory of the empire has shrunk almost threefold. Byzantium retained only Asia Minor, the southern part of the Balkan Peninsula and some areas in Italy.
6. The fight against external enemies in the VIII-IX centuries. In order to successfully repel enemy attacks, a new procedure for recruiting into the army was introduced in Byzantium: instead of mercenaries, soldiers from peasants who received plots of land for their service were taken into the army. In peacetime, they cultivated the land, and when the war began, they went on a campaign with their weapons and horses.
In the 8th century there was a turning point in the wars of Byzantium with the Arabs. The Byzantines themselves began to invade the possessions of the Arabs in Syria and Armenia and later conquered from the Arabs part of Asia Minor, regions in Syria and Transcaucasia, the islands of Cyprus and Crete.
From the commanders of the troops in Byzantium, nobility gradually developed in the provinces. She built fortresses in her domains and created her own detachments of servants and dependent people. Often the nobility raised rebellions in the provinces and waged wars against the emperor.
Byzantine culture
At the beginning of the Middle Ages, Byzantium did not experience such a cultural decline as Western Europe. She became the heir to the cultural achievements of the ancient world and the countries of the East.
1. Development of education. In the 7th-8th centuries, when Byzantium's possessions declined, Greek language became the official language of the empire. The state needed well-trained officials. They had to competently draw up laws, decrees, contracts, wills, conduct correspondence and court cases, respond to petitioners, and copy documents. Often educated people achieved high positions, and with them came power and wealth.
Not only in the capital, but also in small towns and large villages, children of ordinary people who were able to pay for education could study in primary schools. Therefore, even among peasants and artisans there were literate people.
Along with church schools, public and private schools were opened in cities. They taught reading, writing, arithmetic and church singing. In addition to the Bible and other religious books, the schools studied the works of ancient scientists, the poems of Homer, the tragedies of Aeschylus and Sophocles, the works of Byzantine scientists and writers; solved quite complex arithmetic problems.
In the 9th century, a higher school was opened in Constantinople, at the imperial palace. It taught religion, mythology, history, geography, and literature.
2. Scientific knowledge. The Byzantines preserved ancient knowledge of mathematics and used it to calculate tax amounts, in astronomy, and in construction. They also widely used the inventions and writings of great Arab scientists - doctors, philosophers and others. Through the Greeks, Western Europe learned about these works. In Byzantium itself there were many scientists and creative people. Leo the Mathematician (9th century) invented sound signaling for transmitting messages over a distance, automatic devices in the throne room of the imperial palace, driven by water - they were supposed to capture the imagination of foreign ambassadors.
Compiled teaching aids in medicine. To teach the art of medicine, in the 11th century, a medical school (the first in Europe) was created at the hospital of one of the monasteries in Constantinople.
The development of crafts and medicine gave impetus to the study of chemistry; Ancient recipes for making glass, paints, and medicines were preserved. “Greek fire” was invented - an incendiary mixture of oil and tar that cannot be extinguished with water. With the help of “Greek fire,” the Byzantines won many victories in battles at sea and on land.
The Byzantines accumulated a lot of knowledge in geography. They knew how to draw maps and city plans. Merchants and travelers wrote descriptions of different countries and peoples.
History developed especially successfully in Byzantium. Vivid, interesting works by historians were created on the basis of documents, eyewitness accounts, and personal observations.
3. Architecture. The Christian religion changed the purpose and structure of the temple. In an ancient Greek temple, a statue of the god was placed inside, and religious ceremonies were held outside in the square. Therefore, they tried to make the appearance of the temple especially elegant. Christians gathered for common prayer inside the church, and the architects cared about the beauty of not only the external, but also its internal premises.
The Christian church's plan was divided into three parts: the vestibule - a room at the western, main entrance; nave (ship in French) - the elongated main part of the temple where believers gathered for prayer; an altar where only clergy could enter. With its apses - semicircular vaulted niches that protruded outwards, the altar faced the east, where, according to Christian ideas, the center of the earth Jerusalem is located with Mount Golgotha - the site of the crucifixion of Christ. In large temples, rows of columns separated the wider and higher main nave from the side naves, of which there could be two or four.
A remarkable work of Byzantine architecture was the Church of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople. Justinian did not skimp on expenses: he wanted to make this temple the main and largest church of the entire Christian world. The temple was built by 10 thousand people over five years. Its construction was supervised by famous architects and decorated by the best artisans.
The Church of Hagia Sophia was called “a miracle of miracles” and was sung in verse. Inside it amazed with its size and beauty. A giant dome with a diameter of 31 m seems to grow from two half-domes; each of them rests, in turn, on three small semi-domes. Along the base, the dome is surrounded by a wreath of 40 windows. It seems that the dome, like the vault of heaven, floats in the air.
In the 10th-11th centuries, instead of an elongated rectangular building, a cross-domed church was established. In plan, it looked like a cross with a dome in the middle, mounted on a round elevation - a drum. There were many churches, and they became smaller in size: the inhabitants of a city block, a village, or a monastery gathered in them. The temple looked lighter, directed upward. To decorate its exterior, they used multi-colored stone, brick patterns, and alternated layers of red brick and white mortar.
4. Painting. In Byzantium, earlier than in Western Europe, the walls of temples and palaces began to be decorated with mosaics - images made of multi-colored stones or pieces of colored opaque glass - smalt. Smalt
reinforced with different inclinations in wet plaster. The mosaic, reflecting the light, flashed, sparkled, flickered with bright multi-colored colors. Later, the walls began to be decorated with frescoes - paintings painted with water paints on wet plaster.
There was a canon in the design of temples - strict rules for the depiction and placement of biblical scenes. The temple was a model of the world. The more important the image was, the higher it was placed in the temple.
The eyes and thoughts of those entering the church turned primarily to the dome: it was represented as the vault of heaven - the abode of the deity. Therefore, a mosaic or fresco depicting Christ surrounded by angels was often placed in the dome. From the dome the gaze moved to the upper part of the wall above the altar, where the figure of the Mother of God reminded us of the connection between God and man. In 4-pillar churches, on sails - triangles formed by large arches, frescoes with images of the four authors of the Gospels were often placed: Saints Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
Moving around the church, the believer, admiring the beauty of its decoration, seemed to be making a journey through the Holy Land - Palestine. On the upper parts of the walls, artists unfolded episodes from the earthly life of Christ in the order as they are described in the Gospels. Below were depicted those whose activities are connected with Christ: prophets (messengers of God) who predicted his coming; apostles - his disciples and followers; martyrs who suffered for the sake of faith; saints who spread the teachings of Christ; kings as his earthly governors. In the western part of the temple, pictures of hell or the Last Judgment after the second coming of Christ were often placed above the entrance.
In the depiction of faces, attention was drawn to the expression of emotional experiences: huge eyes, a large forehead, thin lips, an elongated oval face - everything spoke of high thoughts, spirituality, purity, holiness. The figures were placed on a gold or blue background. They appear flat and frozen, and their facial expressions are solemn and concentrated. The flat image was created specifically for the church: wherever a person went, he everywhere met the faces of saints turned to him.
Khludov Psalter (see explanation at the end of the article).
Iconoclasm (Greek iconoclasm)
Iconoclasm is a religious and political movement in Byzantium in the 8th - early 9th centuries, directed against the veneration of icons. Iconoclasts considered sacred images to be idols, and the cult of veneration of icons to be idolatry, referring to the Old Testament commandments (“you shall not make for yourself an idol or any image of anything that is in heaven above... you shall not worship them or serve them” (Ex. 20:4-5) ).
In 730, Emperor Leo III the Isaurian banned the veneration of icons. The result of iconoclasm was the destruction of thousands of icons, as well as mosaics, frescoes, statues of saints and painted altars in many churches. Iconoclasm was officially recognized at the Iconoclastic Council in 754 with the support of Emperor Constantine V Copronymus, who severely took up arms against icon worshipers, especially monks. With the support of Empress Irina, the widow of Leo IV the Khazar, the Seventh Ecumenical Council was held in 787, which approved the dogma of icon veneration and overturned the decision of the previous church council, depriving it of its “ecumenical” status. Emperors who ruled after her: Nikephoros? Genik and Michael I Rangave adhered to icon veneration. However, the crushing defeat of Michael I in the war with the Bulgarians in 813 brought Leo V the Armenian to the throne, under whom iconoclasm was resumed and the decisions of the council of 754 were again recognized.
During the regency of Empress Theodora, Patriarch John VII was overthrown, and in his place was erected the defender of icon veneration, Methodius. Under his chairmanship, a church council was held in 843, which approved and approved all the definitions of the VII Ecumenical Council and again excommunicated the iconoclasts. At the same time, the rite of proclamation was established and performed for the first time (March 11, 843). eternal memory zealots of Orthodoxy and anathematization of heretics, performed in the Orthodox Church to this day on the Week of Orthodoxy (“Triumph of Orthodoxy”).
John Chrysostom writes about the distribution of images of Meletius of Antioch, and Theodoret of Cyrus reports about portraits of Simeon the Stylite being sold in Rome.
Despite such support for the depiction of persons and events of Sacred and Church history, in the same period the first objections to the use of icons appeared. So Eusebius of Caesarea speaks negatively about the desire of the emperor’s sister to have an icon of Christ. He explains this not by the Old Testament prohibition, but by the fact that the divine nature is indescribable. Active iconoclastic actions during this period are also known: Epiphanius of Cyprus, seeing a curtain with the image of a man in the church, tore it and gave it to cover the coffin of a beggar; in Spain, at the Council of Elvira (c. 300), a decree was passed against wall painting in churches.
By the beginning of the 6th century, iconoclastic positions intensified due to the spread of Monophysites in the Byzantine Empire. The leader of the Monophysites, Sevier of Antioch, denied not only the icons of Christ, the Virgin Mary, and saints, but even the image of the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove. The breadth of the movement to deny icon veneration during this period is evidenced by reports that Anastasius Sinait wrote in defense of icons, and Simeon the Stylite (the younger) complained to Emperor Justinian II about insulting “the icons of the Son of God and the All-Holy Most Glorious Mother of God.” !!! Iconoclasm intensified at the end of the 6th-7th centuries. In Marseilles, Bishop Seren in 598 destroyed all the icons in the church, which in his opinion were superstitiously revered by the parishioners. Pope Gregory the Great wrote to him about this, praising him for his zeal in the fight against superstition, but demanded that the icons be restored as they serve ordinary people instead of a book and asked to explain to the flock the true way of venerating icons.
The emergence of Islam, which was hostile to images of the animate, played a great role in the growth of iconoclasm. In the regions of the empire bordering the territories of the Arab tribes, the Christian heresies of Montanism, Marcionism, and Paulicianism have long flourished. For their adherents, Islam revived doubts about the legitimacy of icons. The Byzantine emperors, trying to ensure a peaceful neighborhood with Muslims, made concessions to the iconoclasts. So Emperor Philippic, before his overthrow in 713, was going to issue a law against the veneration of icons. Defenders of icon veneration called such iconoclast emperors “Saracen wise.”
Emperor Justinian with his retinue.
2. Reasons for iconoclasm
2.1 Theological
The iconoclasts based their views on one of the ten commandments given by God to Moses: “You shall not make for yourself an idol or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth below, or that is in the water under the earth; You shall not worship them or serve them…” (Exodus 20:4-5). Although picturesque images of Christ and saints were already known to the ancient church, there was no uniform canon of attitude towards icons. At the same time, the icons were surrounded by superstitious worship among the masses:
Among the masses, icon veneration was sometimes refracted by crude and sensual superstition... The custom arose of taking icons as children's recipients, mixing paint scraped from icons into Eucharistic wine, placing the sacrament on the icon in order to receive it from the hands of the saints, etc... In other words, something happened with icon veneration , which previously happened often with the cult of saints and the veneration of relics. Having arisen on the correct Christological basis, as the fruit and revelation of the Church’s faith in Christ, they are too often torn away from this basis, turned into something self-sufficient, and consequently fall back into paganism.
(Schmeman A. The historical path of Orthodoxy)
There was “an increase in magical absurdities in the veneration of sacred objects, a gross fetishization of the icon.” This behavior led to accusations of paganism and idolatry. Academician V.N. Lazarev also notes that religious art in that period was already characterized by excessive sensitivity, which for some questioned the holiness of the icon. At the same time, as the historian Kartashev notes, enlightenment in Byzantium by this time had significantly decreased compared to the times of Emperor Justinian, and “the subtle problems of dogma became beyond the capabilities of most theological minds.”
2.2 Political
Researchers divide the political reasons for iconoclasm into two groups:
Related to Judaism and Islam
Through iconoclasm, the Byzantine emperors wanted to destroy one of the main obstacles to the rapprochement of Christians with Jews and Muslims, who had a negative attitude towards icons. Through this it was planned to facilitate the subjugation of the peoples professing these religions to the empire.
Fight against the power of the church
By the 8th century, the political role of the church in the empire had increased significantly, and there was a significant increase in church property and monasteries. The clergy began to actively participate in the administration of the empire, so in 695 Abba Theodotus became Minister of Finance, and in 715 the deacon of Hagia Sophia was appointed commander-in-chief of the troops. For this reason, the iconoclast emperors considered it necessary to divert manpower and funds from the church and direct everything to the state treasury. Therefore, as the Greek historian Paparrigopulo notes, “in parallel with the religious reform, which condemned icons, banned relics, reduced the number of monasteries and at the same time did not affect the basic tenets of the Christian faith, social and political reform was carried out.”
Execution of monks in the era of iconoclasm.
3.Rep Russia
Destruction of icons, mosaics and frescoes
During the period of iconoclasm, works of art dedicated to Christian themes were mercilessly destroyed: icons were burned, mosaics and frescoes adorning the walls of churches were knocked down. To the most known facts Vandalism includes the destruction of the decoration of the Church of the Virgin Mary in Blachernae, which hosted the iconoclastic council of 754. The life of Stephen the New, who suffered for the veneration of icons, reports: “... the icons were thrown - some into the swamp, others into the sea, others into the fire, and others were cut and crushed with axes. And those icons that were on church walls, - some were struck with iron, others were covered with paint.”
Persecution and execution of icon venerators
Many commanders and soldiers were subjected to various executions and cruel tortures due to the slander that they worshiped icons. He obliged by oath everyone in his kingdom not to venerate icons and forced even Constantine, the falsely named patriarch, to ascend to the pulpit and, raising the honorable and life-giving trees, swear that he did not belong to the venerators of holy icons. He convinced him to become a monk and marry, eat meat and be present at the royal table during songs and dances.
The persecution primarily affected Byzantine monasticism: Constantine V declared their rank politically unreliable. Supporters of Constantine publicly persecuted and reviled the monks, throwing stones at them: “... he killed many monks with blows of whips, and even with a sword, and blinded countless numbers; some had their beards smeared with wax and oil, then the fire was turned on and thus burned their faces and heads; after many torments he sent others into exile.” Stefan the New suffered from persecution with his disciples; their executions, according to A.V. Kartashev, forced them to compare the times of Copronymus with the time of Diocletian. For their sympathy with this icon-venerator, on August 25, 766, 19 high-ranking officials were publicly ridiculed and punished at the hippodrome.
A number of Constantinople patriarchs suffered from persecution (Herman I, Nikephoros), diocesan bishops (for example, St. Evschimon, who died in exile), among theologians John of Damascus was anathematized, the brothers Theophanes and Theodore, distinguished by “extraordinary learning,” were subjected to scourging, and Their faces are carved with iambic verses composed by Emperor Theophilus (for this the brothers received the nickname Inscribed). Under Emperor Leo V, the famous Byzantine chronicler Theophanes, who was an implacable enemy of the iconoclasts, was sent into exile and died in exile on one of the islands of the Aegean Sea.
Persecution and confiscation of monastic property caused a massive migration of monastics to places unaffected by imperial policies. During the reigns of Leo III and Constantine V, about 50,000 monks moved to Southern Italy alone. The northern shores of the Black Sea and the coast of Syria and Palestine also became places of migration.
Persecution of icon painters
The fight against the spread of iconographic images also affected their creators. The best known story is the story of the monk-icon painter Lazarus, who suffered under Emperor Theophilos:
...he decided to force the monk Lazar (he was a famous draftsman of that time). However, the monk turned out to be above flattering convictions... he repeatedly blasphemed the king, and he, seeing this, subjected him to such torture that his flesh bled out along with his blood and no one thought that he was still alive. When the king heard that the imprisoned draftsman had gradually come to his senses and, having again taken up his art, was depicting the faces of saints on tablets, he ordered hot metal plates to be applied to his palms. The fire consumed and consumed his flesh until he fell exhausted, almost dead.
Researchers note that during the period of iconoclasm, religious art physically could not exist. Icon painters who suffered from repression went to remote monasteries (for example, in Cappadocia) and continued their work there.
Patriarch Herman lowers the revered Lida Icon of the Mother of God into the sea, saving it from the iconoclasts.
4. Chronicle of iconoclasm
Byzantine iconoclasm is divided into two periods, the border between which is the Seventh Ecumenical Council and the subsequent temporary restoration of icon veneration. The first period, which lasted about 50 years, begins during the reign of Emperor Leo III and ends with the regency of Empress Irene. The second period, which lasted about 30 years, begins with the reign of Emperor Leo V and ends with the regency of Empress Theodora. In total, during the iconoclast period in the empire, there were 12 emperors, of whom only 6 were active iconoclasts (the throne of the Patriarch of Constantinople during this time was occupied by 11 people, 6 of them were iconoclasts). The table shows the emperors and patriarchs of Constantinople of this period, the iconoclasts are marked in yellow.
4.1 1st period of iconoclasm
By the 8th century, exaggerated forms of icon veneration brought reproaches of idolatry upon Christians, especially from Muslims, who at that time not only energetically spread their religion, which denied any form of icon veneration, but also demanded that Christians under their control stop worshiping icons. Leo III the Isaurian, who became emperor in 717 (a native of Germanicia on the border with Syria, accustomed during the years of his governorship in Phrygia to the ideas of iconoclasm and Paulicianism), sought in the course of his military campaigns not only to subjugate the territories occupied by the Arabs to the empire, but to spread among Muslims and Jewish Christianity. At the same time, he believed that it was permissible for the emperor to interfere in matters of church life; he wrote to Pope Gregory II: “I am an emperor and a priest,” thereby expressing his ideas of Caesaropapism.!!! Isaurian
In the first ten years of his reign, Leo did not take energetic action in the field of church activities; we only know about his demand in 723 for the Jews and the Montanist sect to accept baptism. Only in 726, according to Theophanes:
...the wicked king Leon began to talk about the destruction of holy and venerable icons. Having learned about this, Gregory, the Pope of Rome, deprived him of taxes in Rome and the rest of Italy and wrote an instructive message that the king should not interfere in matters of faith and change the ancient teachings of the church, decreed by the holy fathers.
In the same year, a strong volcanic eruption occurred northwest of Crete and a new island was formed among the Cycladic Islands; this was perceived by Leo as a sign of God’s wrath for idolatry and he began a campaign against icon veneration. The first decisive action was the removal of the icon of Christ from the gates of Chalcopratia. As a result of this, clashes between townspeople and soldiers occurred: “they killed some of the royal people who were removing the icon of the Lord from the copper gates of the great church; and many, for zeal for piety, were executed by beheading, lashes, expulsion and deprivation of property, especially people famous both by birth and education.” Icons began to be removed from prominent outdoor places; in churches they were raised higher so that people would not kiss or bow to them. At the same time, icons were not removed from the Hagia Sophia during the reign of Leo the Isaurian.
These actions of the emperor caused irritation among the icon-worshipers (iconodules, iconolaters, idolaters - icon-worshippers, idolaters, as their opponents called them), which included mainly the clergy and especially monks, the masses of the common people and women of all classes of society; when the icons were destroyed, fights took place and carnage. The population of Greece (Hellas) and the Cyclades Islands, having proclaimed a new emperor, rose up in revolt, which ended in the complete defeat and victory of Leo III. Many inhabitants of the interior parts of the empire fled to the outskirts of the state; a significant part of the Italian possessions of Byzantium, together with Ravenna, came under the rule of the Lombards.
Patriarch Herman of Constantinople began to denounce Leo for heresy. Leo invited him to a meeting of the Privy Council (Silentium), but the patriarch, when asked about the veneration of icons, replied that he did not agree to introduce anything new in matters of faith without an ecumenical council.
On January 17, 729, the Emperor invited the patriarch to a meeting of the Supreme Council and again raised the issue of icon veneration. Herman objected to the policy of iconoclasm, but, not finding support among the imperial entourage, resigned from patriarchal power:
...Leon gathered a council against the saints and venerable icons in a tribunal of 19 advisers, to which he also called His Holiness Patriarch Herman, hoping to convince him to sign against the holy icons. But the courageous servant of Christ not only did not succumb to his hateful malice, but, affirming the word of truth, renounced the episcopacy, put off his omophorion and uttered the instructive words: “If I am Jonah, then throw me into the sea. Without an ecumenical council I cannot change my faith, sir.”
Before this, Germanus wrote to the Pope about his resistance to the emperor and sent to Rome a number of Constantinople shrines, which are currently kept in the personal papal chapel of San Lorenzo next to the Basilica of San Giovanni in Laterano.
Instead of Herman, the iconoclast Anastasius became Patriarch of Constantinople, who signed an edict against the veneration of icons. This edict became the first iconoclastic document issued not only on behalf of the emperor, but also on behalf of the church.
In the West, Leo's policies became known from Western merchants who were eyewitnesses of the removal of the image of Christ from the gates of Chalcopratia. Pope Gregory II wrote to the emperor: “Arriving at your homeland, they told... about your childish actions. Then everywhere they started throwing your portraits on the ground, trampling them underfoot and disfiguring your face.” In 727, the Pope convened a Council in Rome, which confirmed the legality of icon veneration. Byzantium's relations with the West deteriorated significantly. After the capture of Ravenna by the Longobards, Byzantine governors increased taxes in southern Italy, which Pope Gregory II opposed. In response to the message of Patriarch Anastasius, the pope rejected the epithet of “brother and co-servant” that the patriarch applied to him, convicted him of heresy and, under threat of anathema, demanded his repentance and return to Orthodoxy. After the death of Gregory II, his successor Gregory III took the same firm position; he assembled a Council of 93 bishops in Rome, which decreed: “In the future, whoever takes away, destroys, or dishonors and desecrates icons... let him be excommunicated.”
In the East, the strongest opponent of iconoclasm in this era was the famous theologian John of Damascus, who wrote in 726-730 “Three words of defense against those who condemn holy icons.” In his work, for the first time, the differences between “service” due only to God and “worship” provided to created things, including icons, were defined.
Despite such strong opposition, Leo, relying on the army and the court aristocracy, who formed the main stronghold of the iconoclast party (iconomachos, iconoclasts, iconocausts - crushers, burners of icons, as their opponents called them), and also found support for himself in some part of the clergy, until the end of his reign supported iconoclasm. At the same time, as historian F.I. Uspensky notes, in the synodbook compiled after the restoration of icon veneration, only 40 names were indicated during the reign of Leo, that is, at first the iconoclasts took a wait-and-see attitude.
Coin of Leo III the Isaurian
4.1.1 Constantine V and the Iconoclastic Council
The son and successor of Leo III, Constantine V Copronymus (in Church Slavonic: the namesake of pus, dung, feces), the nickname given to the emperor by icon venerators) spoke out against icon veneration with even greater energy, despite the difficult struggle (at the beginning of his reign) with the Orthodox party, which opposed him the new emperor, his son-in-law Artavazd, who ruled Constantinople for almost two and a half years (741-743). During this period, even the iconoclast patriarch Anastasius recognized the icons and publicly declared Constantine a heretic.
Wanting to more definitely implement iconoclastic ideas, and having prepared minds for this through “popular assemblies,” Constantine in 754 convened a large cathedral in the palace of Hieria, on the Asian shore of the Bosphorus, between Chalcedon and Chrysopolis (Scutari), which later received the name iconoclastic, at which 348 bishops, but not a single representative from Rome, Alexandria, Antioch or Jerusalem. The Council, which declared itself the “Seventh Ecumenical”, decided:
Who tries to depict on icons as a keepsake, with soulless and voiceless material colors, the faces of saints, which do not bring any benefit, because this is a stupid idea and an invention of the devil’s cunning, instead of depicting their virtues, which are narrated in the scriptures, in themselves, as if some animated images of them, and thus arouse in oneself jealousy to be like them, as our divine fathers said, let him be anathema.
At the same time, the council did not speak out against the veneration of saints and relics, but, on the contrary, declared an anathema to everyone “does not ask for prayers from them, as from those who have the boldness, according to church tradition, to intercede for peace.” The Oros of the cathedral was solemnly proclaimed on August 27 at the Hippodrome of Constantinople, Constantine V was called the 13th Apostle and anathema was proclaimed to the defenders of the icons: Herman of Constantinople, John of Damascus and George of Cyprus.
After the council, Constantine began to implement his decisions: icons, mosaics, and illuminated manuscripts began to be destroyed en masse (sheets of some were cut out, some were burned). Instead of the previous iconographic images, the walls of the temples were decorated with arabesques and vignettes of birds and plants. Although the council did not reject the veneration of relics, the emperor was their opponent. So in Chalcedon, on his instructions, the revered temple of St. Euphemia was closed, her relics were thrown into the sea, and the building itself was turned into an arsenal. This period was called the “Persecution of Constantine” and was marked by numerous executions of icon worshipers.
Under the influence of Constantine’s patronage of the Syrians and Armenians, who adhered to Paulicianism, the eastern element (generally influential under the iconoclastic emperors) strengthened in the European part of the empire. After 761, Constantine not only began to openly persecute and torture individual representatives of monasticism (for example, the Venerable Martyr Stephen the New), but apparently also persecuted the very institution of monasticism. Thanks to this, the emigration of Greek monasticism increased, fleeing mainly to southern Italy and the northern shores of the Black Sea. Despite the strengthening of the opposition (which already included high-ranking secular figures), iconoclasm persisted not only until the death of Constantine, but also during the reign of his son, the more moderate iconoclast Leo IV the Khazar (775-780).
VII Ecumenical Council.
4.1.2 Seventh Ecumenical Council
After the death of Leo IV, due to the minority of his son, Emperor Constantine VI, his wife Empress Irene, a supporter of icon veneration, became regent. Having gained a foothold in power, she began preparations for holding an Ecumenical Council to resolve the issue of venerating icons.
In 784, Patriarch Paul of Constantinople retired to the monastery of St. Florus, accepted the schema and announced his renunciation of the patriarchate. After this, at the suggestion of Irina, Tarasius, the imperial secretary (asicritus), was elected patriarch of Constantinople.
The first attempt to open a meeting of the council, which brought together representatives of all Christian churches, including the legates of the Pope, was made on August 7, 786. The cathedral was opened in the Church of the Holy Apostles, but when the holy scriptures began to be read out, armed soldiers, supporters of the iconoclasts, burst into it and threatened to stop the meeting. After this, Irina, under a plausible pretext, moved the capital’s army to the provinces and released the veterans to their homeland, and then gathered a new army, placing loyal military leaders over them.
On September 24, 787, the Seventh Ecumenical Council opened in Nicaea, in which, according to various estimates, 350-368 hierarchs took part, but the number of signatories of its Act was 308 people. The Council began its work by making a decision regarding the iconoclast bishops, many of whom were allowed to participate in the work of the Council, accepting their public repentance. And only at the fourth meeting, at the suggestion of the papal legates, was the icon brought to the temple where the Council met. At the council, the decrees of the iconoclastic council of 754 were rejected, the iconoclasts were anathematized, and the dogma of icon veneration was established:
...like the image of the Honest and Life-Giving Cross, place in the holy churches of God, on sacred vessels and clothes, on walls and on boards, in houses and on paths, honest and holy icons, painted with paints and from fractional stones and from other substances capable of doing so, like the icons of the Lord and God and our Savior Jesus Christ, and our immaculate Lady, the Holy Mother of God, like the honest angels, and all the saints and reverend men. ...and to honor them with a kiss and reverent worship, not true, according to our faith, worship of God, which befits the only Divine nature, but veneration in that image, like the image of the honest and life-giving Cross and the Holy Gospel and other shrines with incense and the lighting of candles, honor is given, such and the ancients had a pious custom. For the honor given to the image passes to the original, and the one who worships the icon worships the being depicted on it.
(Dogma on the veneration of icons of the Three Hundred and Sixty-seven Saints, father of the Seventh Ecumenical Council)
After the cathedral, the Empress ordered the image of Jesus Christ to be made and placed above the gates of Chalcopratia to replace the one destroyed 60 years earlier under Emperor Leo III the Isaurian. An inscription was made to the image: “[the image], which was once overthrown by the ruler Leo, was again installed here by Irina.”
4.2 2nd period of iconoclasm
The veneration of icons, restored at the Seventh Ecumenical Council, was preserved in the empire during the reign of Constantine VI and Irene. Emperor Nikephoros I, who took the throne in 802, also adhered to icon veneration and at the same time was tolerant of the iconoclasts and Paulicians, which caused discontent among the Orthodox party and especially the monks. Only during the short reign of Emperor Michael I (811-813), who was under the strong influence of the clergy, did the iconoclasts (and Paulicians) begin to be persecuted. In 813, Michael was overthrown by soldiers. Dissatisfied with the defeat in the war with the Bulgarians, the soldiers, who still shared the ideas of iconoclasm, burst into the tomb of Constantine Copronymus and opened it with the words “Rise up and help the dying state!” Michael was forced to abdicate the throne and go to a monastery, and in his place was elevated to the energetic and popular commander Leo V the Armenian (813-820). This emperor of Eastern origin again took the side of iconoclasm.
Leo V, after his accession to the throne, instructed the then simple monk John the Grammar (future Patriarch John VII) to compile a selection of biblical and patristic texts against the veneration of icons. In December 814, a debate took place between icon-worshipers (led by Patriarch Nicephorus and Theodore the Studite) and iconoclasts (John the Grammaticus, Anthony of Syllae). The resonance of the discussion was the throwing of the image of Christ by soldiers on the copper gates of the palace (Chalcopratia) and on January 6, 815, Emperor Leo, going to communion, for the first time did not bow to the image and ordered it to be removed under the pretext of protecting it from desecration. The reaction to this was the letters of Theodore the Studite to the Pope and the night local council of 70 bishops, held by Patriarch Nicephorus, as well as the “Defensive word to the Ecumenical Church regarding the new discord over honest icons” written by him.
The emperor demanded from the patriarch an account of church property, accepted a number of complaints against him and demanded his appearance in court before several bishops and clergy. Nikephoros, not wanting to stand before the court of ordinary bishops, refused and on March 20, 815, resigned his rank and retired to a monastery. The iconoclast Theodotus, a relative of Constantine Copronymus, the head of the Life Guards and, according to George the Monk, was completely uneducated and “more silent than fish” was elected as the new Patriarch of Constantinople. In 815, the emperor convened a council in the Church of Hagia Sophia (the 2nd Iconoclastic Council), which abolished the decrees of the Seventh Ecumenical Council and restored the definitions of the council of 754, but did not recognize its ecumenical status. Also, the cathedral of 815 no longer calls icons idols and allows them to be placed in churches on high places as an edification for the illiterate, but without the possibility of lighting candles and lamps in front of them. At the council, hierarchs opposed to the iconoclasts were anathematized and sent into exile. After the council of 815, the empire resumed the destruction of icons, the persecution of monks and their emigration to the East and Italy.
Leo's successor, Michael II the tongue-tied (Amorite), pursued a unique policy of tolerance regarding icon venerators: he gave an amnesty to everyone who suffered for icon veneration (including Patriarch Nicephorus and Theodore the Studite). Michael issued a decree: “...we insist: let there be deep silence about icons. And therefore, let no one dare raise a speech about icons (in one direction or another), but let the Council of Constantine (754) be completely eliminated and removed. , and Tarasia (787), and now former under Leo (815) on these issues."
Despite this policy of tolerance, the emperor installed the famous iconoclast Anthony, Bishop of Syllae, as patriarch. The historian Kartashev writes that Mikhail, by his own admission, “as a soldier, did not worship a single icon all his life.”
Michael’s iconoclastic sentiments are visible in his message sent to the West to Louis the Pious: “First of all, they expelled the holy cross from the churches and instead hung icons and lamps in front of them. They burn incense in front of them and generally show them the same respect as the cross on which Christ was crucified. They sing psalms before them, worship them and expect help from the icons.” However, there are no facts about the persecution of icon worshipers during the reign of Michael, but indirect confirmation of the oppression can be the uprising of the impostor Thomas, probably raised in the name of Orthodoxy. Of the famous persons, only Presbyter Methodius, the future Patriarch of Constantinople, was persecuted. The decree of Michael II remained in force under his successor, Emperor Theophilos (829-842), who, however, again began to energetically persecute icon worshipers.
“And the tyrant planned to destroy everyone who painted the divine faces, and so those who preferred life had to spit on the icon, as if it were some kind of junk, throw the holy image onto the floor, trample it underfoot and thus find salvation.” (Continued by Theophanes. “Biographies of the Byzantine kings”)
According to a number of researchers, the reign of Theophilus was the most severe time of the second period of iconoclasm. A cruel decree was issued against icon venerators in 832, the execution of which was undertaken by Patriarch John the Grammar, popularly nicknamed the Lecanomancer (wizard): monasteries were closed, monks were persecuted and imprisoned. At the same time, a number of historians note that the emperor resorted to severe punishments only in exceptional cases.
The second period of iconoclasm is characterized by the participation in the defense of icon veneration by the primates of the Eastern Orthodox churches. There is a known letter in defense of icons signed by three eastern patriarchs of the 11th century - Christopher of Alexandria, Job of Antioch and Basil of Jerusalem. In general, as F.I. Uspensky notes, during the second period of iconoclasm “... interest in iconoclastic ideas began to weaken everywhere. The movement was ideologically exhausted.”
Meeting of Empress Theodora with icon painters who suffered during the period of iconoclasm.
4.2.1 "Triumph of Orthodoxy"
After the death of Emperor Theophilus, his wife Theodora, raised in the tradition of icon veneration, became regent for Emperor Michael III’s early childhood. She, with the support of other dignitaries (among them was Manuel, the empress’s uncle, who probably acted for political reasons) and the clergy, decided to restore icon veneration in the empire. The iconoclast patriarch John VII Grammaticus was overthrown and in his place was erected the defender of icon veneration Methodius, who was persecuted under Theophilus.
At the Council of Constantinople in 843, a tomos was read and approved, the text of which has not been preserved, but from other sources it is known that it proclaimed the need to restore the veneration of icons, confirmed the legality of the resolutions of the seven ecumenical councils and anathematized iconoclasm. The council also returned from exile all those previously convicted for venerating icons; iconoclast bishops were expelled from their cathedras, to which the bishops who had suffered under Theophilos returned. At Theodora’s request, her husband Theophilus was not subjected to anathema.
After the church council, which condemned the iconoclasts and restored icon veneration in the empire, Theodora organized a church celebration, which fell on the first Sunday of Lent, which was March 11 in 843 (according to other sources - February 19). In memory of this event, significant for the Christian world, and in memory of Blessed Theodora, every year on the first Sunday of Great Lent, the Orthodox Church solemnly celebrates the restoration of icon veneration, called the “Triumph of Orthodoxy.”
4.3 Reaction period
After the Council of Constantinople, a period of reaction began in the empire, persecution of people who denied icon veneration began. The remains of the famous confessors of Orthodoxy Theodore the Studite and Patriarch Nicephorus, who suffered for their faith and died in exile, were solemnly transferred to Constantinople. Theodora and her son and the entire courtyard came out to meet the remains, carrying candles in their hands. They followed the relics on foot to the Church of the Twelve Apostles. The tomb of Emperor Constantine V was desecrated, without any respect for the imperial dignity, his remains were thrown into the street, and the marble sarcophagus was cut into thin tiles and used as cladding for one of the rooms of the imperial palace. As a sign of the victory of icon veneration, the image of Christ reappears on coins and seals after 843.
Diehl reports that Empress Theodora dreamed of the glory of exterminating heretics, and on her orders the Paulicians were offered a choice: conversion to Orthodoxy or death. After the Paulicians refused to change their religious beliefs, three military leaders were sent on punitive expeditions to the area of Asia Minor inhabited by them: Argir, Sudal and Ducas. About a hundred thousand people died under torture at the hands of the imperial inquisitors: “some of the Paulicians were crucified on the cross, others were condemned to the sword, others - deep sea. About ten myriads accounted for the number of those destroyed, their property was sent and delivered to the royal treasury.
F.I. Uspensky notes that the period of reaction is characterized not only by the restoration of the veneration of icons and the church reaction in general, but also by the abolition of many other innovations that were seen as the result of an iconoclastic system of government. Thus, many laws issued by iconoclast emperors were recognized as unsuitable in the 10th century and repealed.
A temple typical of the era of iconoclasm.
5.The art of the iconoclasm period
The iconoclasts destroyed a significant layer visual arts Byzantium of previous centuries. Images were replaced by non-fine art with plant-zoomorphic themes.
Thus, the Gospel cycle in the Blachernae Church was destroyed and replaced by flowers, trees and birds. Contemporaries said that it was “turned into a vegetable warehouse and poultry house.” In Hagia Sophia, luxurious mosaics were replaced by simple crosses. The only mosaics that survived the period of iconoclasts are those of the Basilica of St. Demetrius in Thessaloniki.
The main theme of the images was pastoral. Emperor Theophilus decorated buildings with similar ornamental bucolic images in large quantities. “The fascination with bucolicism acquired very specific, romantic-sensual forms, clearly related to the general reformation program of iconoclasm.” Theophilus built pavilion-temples, which bore names such as the Pearl Triclinium, the Bedchamber of Harmony, the Temple of Love, the Temple of Friendship and others.
There was a rise and
secular painting, which regained the traditions of the former Roman imperial themes: portraits of emperors, scenes of hunting and circus performances, wrestling, horse racing - since the ban on the depiction of human images concerned only sacred themes. It is known that Emperor Constantine V ordered the compositions with scenes of the six Ecumenical Councils to be replaced on the walls of one of the churches with an image of his favorite charioteer. In decorative techniques, precise adherence to illusory perspective and other achievements of Hellenistic pagan culture is noticeable.
The result of iconoclasm was the disappearance of sculptural images of saints or scenes of Sacred History in the Eastern Church. After the restoration of icon veneration, church art did not return to such forms of sacred images; a number of researchers see this as a partial victory of the iconoclasts over the immoderate icon venerators.
The main monuments of this period have not survived, since they were systematically destroyed by the victorious icon-worshipers, covering the ascetic works of the iconoclasts with mosaics and frescoes (for example, the mosaic of the apse of the Church of Hagia Sophia in Thessaloniki). However, the following works give some idea about them:
Mosaics in the Mosque of Omar in Jerusalem (692), made by masters invited from Constantinople
Mosaics in patio Umayyad mosque in Damascus (711).
The art of the period of the end of iconoclasm includes miniatures of the Khludov Psalter, in which researchers see the potential for the development of the next stylistic period.