Favourite Period of Byzantine History

Originally posted by Knights Me personally, I think that the 476AD-640AD period in Byzantine history is very fascinating, and possibly my favourite. The campaigns of Narses and Belisarius are very interesting, but not to be outdone later on in this period by the antics of Heraclius (namely his Sassanian Wars). Various legal, civil and economic achievements also take my interest, such as the rebuilding of the Hagia Sophia under Justinian I in the 530's and the revision of the ancient roman law code, the corpus juris civilis. The era of Basil II is probably equally favourable to me - because of the fact that the Byzantines were probably at their peak under his rule - however I can only vote for one period

I completely agree the reign of Justinian is probably (in my opinion) the most interesting in Byzantine History (and that's saying something) so many interesting events/personalities are crammed into his reign such as the Nika Riot, Empress Theodora, Belisarius and Smugling silk! Then there's the epic struggle between the Byzantine and Sassanid empires, culminating in the brilliant campaigns of Heraclius. my second choice would be the time of the Byzantine counter-offensive and apogee under such emperors as Nicephorus Phocas II ("pale death of the saracens"), John Tzimisces and Basil the II (Bulgar slayer) a great deal of military campaigns, political intrigues and Constantinople at its true peak. In other words I agree completely with Knights but just wanted to share my opinion and and the reasons why this is so.

Well of course I had to vote for the age of Justinian (476-640), although I gave serious thought about voting for the 640-1071 period the rise of Islam or the glory days of the Komnenus dynasty 1071-1185.

I chose the second era. Come on people! The reigns of Justinian the Great and Maurice! It just can't be beat. Lol.

Originally posted by Red_Lord As a bulgar my favourite periods are when Byzantia is not so strong(then we were strong).But I think 717-718 and common defence of Constantinopol(agains islamic armies of arabians) is a great part from our and Byzantine history.

You do have to give the Bulgars credit for assisting the Byzantines in that conflict, it was a smart move which ensured their own survival for centuries to come. Infact, this is one event where the Bulgars helped achieve one of the most decisive victories in world history.

As a bulgar my favourite periods are when Byzantia is not so strong(then we were strong).But I think 717-718 and common defence of Constantinopol(agains islamic armies of arabians) is a great part from our and Byzantine history.

Edited by Red_Lord - 06-Sep-2006 at 07:59

Spoken byzantine greek is very similar to modern greek (in fact it is considered that the modern greek language took its form in the 9th century).

Written byzantine greek is different, as byz emperor said, byzantine authors try to immitate the classical greek language.

Hmmm....The book doesn't really go into great detail about military campaigns. His writing style is great at condensing the big picture into managable bites, but he usually focuses on the political and religious environment of the empire. I don't know if you've read "The Fall of Constantinople, 1453" by Steven Runciman, but it goes into great military detail and it is oh-so gripping.

Originally posted by Herschel How close is Modern Greek to Medieval Greek? If someone were to learn the Greek language, would it help them in reading ancient Byzantine texts?

Originally posted by vulkan02 To Byz. emperor, I find John Haldon's book very appealing from the title it has. What do you suggest?

Definitely 640 - 1071, provide a good lesson in how to survive against the odds.