HIST-102 Lecture 42: Byzantium
13 Oct 2020
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Byzantium.
• The Roman Empire didn't fall at the end of late antiquity.
The usurpation of Romulus Augustulus by Odoacer in 476 affected the Western half of Roman's
empire more than the east.
Potential bifurcations had been in place for centuries both politically and culturally.
Politically, the empire begun to fracture back during the crises of the 3rd century as warring
generals battled for control.
In the late 3rd century, Diocletian introduced the tetrarchy in order to divide up political power
in a manageable way.
Having 2 Augusti and 2 and Caesars across east and west could cause further strife as these
erstwhile allies became rivals.
This tetrarchy spawned strife that allowed Constantine the Great to rise to power in the early
4th century.
Culturally, Constantine and his successors oversaw Christianity's rise into the realms of political
acceptability and supremacy.
The ideal of Christian unity was accompanied by linguistic difference across the various
Christian cultures of the Mediterranean.
Syriac, Ethiopic and Coptic were joined by Greek and later Latin as some of the major languages
of ancient Christianity.
The eastern half of the empire used Koine Greek as its lingua franca for high level political and
cultural exchanges.
The western half kept Latin alive in Italia, Gaul, Hispania, Africa and a number of other formerly
imperial regions.
In 476, the Greek or eastern empire retained more power than the fragmented western
provinces.
The emperors who continued to rule in Constantinople were still Roman.
They could also now be called Byzantine.
Document Summary
Byzantium: the roman empire didn"t fall at the end of late antiquity. The usurpation of romulus augustulus by odoacer in 476 affected the western half of roman"s empire more than the east. Potential bifurcations had been in place for centuries both politically and culturally. Politically, the empire begun to fracture back during the crises of the 3rd century as warring generals battled for control. In the late 3rd century, diocletian introduced the tetrarchy in order to divide up political power in a manageable way. Having 2 augusti and 2 and caesars across east and west could cause further strife as these erstwhile allies became rivals. This tetrarchy spawned strife that allowed constantine the great to rise to power in the early. Culturally, constantine and his successors oversaw christianity"s rise into the realms of political acceptability and supremacy. The ideal of christian unity was accompanied by linguistic difference across the various.
