During its thousand-year history the Byzantine Empire outfought, out-maneuvered, or simply outlasted successive waves of enemies who attacked it from all four points of the compass. The remarkably varied peoples who made up the Byzantine Empire created a distinctive and vibrant civilization where art and learning flourished when most of Western Europe was still literally mired in the Dark Ages. And although the Byzantine Empire as a political entity was finally extinguished in the mid-fifteenth century, it survived long enough to transmit to the West the great literary works of classical antiquity that helped inspire the Italian Renaissance.

The members of the “Byzantium” group at AncientWorlds have joined together to explore the history of this unique, colorful, and intriguing civilization. “Byzantium” tries to provide a comfortable home both for those who enjoy reading (and writing) historical posts and for those who enjoy role-play. Our Bulletin Board contains both threads devoted to Role-Play (presently inactive) and a number of threads exploring aspects of Byzantium’s history and culture, such as the “Byzantine Lives” and “Byzantine Antiquities” threads, and the various threads discussing the lives and reigns of Byzantium’s Emperors or the lands that (at one time or another) were part of the Empire. "The House of Constantine," "The Comneni," and "Byzantium's Successor States" threads are the best-developed of the latter so far. The Group's Caesar has also posted a number of new items on the thread entitled "Excerpts from Medieval Texts."

In both our historical posts and our Role-Play activities, we seek to use original (primary) as well as secondary historical sources to explore the personalities and motives of the remarkable individuals who fill the pages of Byzantine history, as well as the aristocrats, common people, and religious figures with whom they may have interacted.

We encourage you to join with us in exploring a world that is both similar to and very different from our own: a world of emperors and empresses good and bad, strong and weak, fortunate and doomed; a world of conniving court officials, brilliant generals, hardy soldiers, cunning diplomats, astounding architects, and dazzling artists; a world of self-denying hermits, shrewd clerical politicians, pious men of God, and bigoted religious fanatics; a world of bold deeds, religious passion, shocking betrayals, great crimes, and soul-stirring courage. This is the world of "Byzantium."

[Please note that in the list of Boards and Threads below, the most active Boards appear at the bottom of the list, not at the top; and the most active Threads on each Board likewise appear at the bottom of each Board's list.]

The Discussions of Byzantium:

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Chronologies, Bibliographies, & Lists of Dramatis Personae (Capsule Biographies)

Byzantine History Chronologies

Life of the City

RP: Magnaura: The Great Hall
RP: The Hippodrome
RP: The Taverna
RP: Shadows on the Bosphorus

 

Byzantium's Neighbors: Adversaries, Allies, and Others

The Papacy and the Western (Latin) Church
The Crusader States of the Levant and Greece (1099-1430)
The Islamic World, 632-1453 CE

Military History

RP: On Campaign
The Battles
The Army and Navy

Medieval Greek

Diacritics and Punctuation
The Greek Alphabet
The Grammar and Syntax of the Language
Excerpts From Medieval Texts

The Emperors

The House of Constantine (also known as the Neo-Flavians) (306-364 C.E.)
The House of Valens (364-383 C.E.)
The Theodosians
The Leonines
The Justinians
The Heraclians
The Isaurians
The Nicephorans
The Amorians
The Macedonians
The Ducae
The Comneni (1081-1185 C.E.)
The Angeli (1185-1204)
The Latin Empire of Constantinople (1204-1261)
Byzantium's Successor States: The Laskarids of Nicaea (1205-1261), the Despots of Epirus (1205-1340), and the Grand Comneni of Trebizond (1205-1461)
The Palaeologi
The Usurpers of Byzantium

Lands of Byzantium

Anatolia: The Breadbasket of the Empire
Syria
Spain
Africa
Egypt
The Balkans
The Islands: The Byzantine Impact on the Mediterranean Islands
Italy
Hellas: Mother of Byzantium
The Holy Land
Illyria and Pannonia
Armenia

Byzantium: Religious and Historical Discussion and Essays

Orthodoxy and a divided Christianity
The Women of Byzantium
Byzantine Religion: Christological Controversies, Ecclesiastical Politics, and Religious Fads and Enthusiasms
Today in Byzantine, Late Roman, and Medieval History
Antiquities of Byzantium: Churches, Castles, Palaces, & More
Byzantine Lives: The Biography Thread

Extended Works

Memoirs of Andronicus Comnenus
The Fall of the House of Constantine (337 - 363 C.E.)
The Empire of Trebizond
The History of Michael Attaliates

Byzantium General Discussion

Readings, References, Resources, and Links
Welcoming Group Members
Byzantium: Group Announcements and administrative matters
Inquiries, Trivia Questions & Comments / Reactions to Posts
RP: Developing the Role Play Environment in Byzantium Group

Byzantine Culture

Byzantine Architecture
Byzantine Iconography
Byzantine Literature
Byzantine Government
Byzantine Art