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The Byzantine Empire, c.520 - 1204
A map illustrating the Byzantine Empire (the Greek-speaking eastern half of the Roman Empire with Constantinople as its capital) from the ascension of Justinian I in 527, through the reign of Basil II until the sacking of Constantinople by...
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Hagia Sophia, Istanbul
Hagia Sophia was built as a church by Isidore of Miletus and Anthemius of Tralles who were chosen as architects by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian. Hagia Sophia (meaning "holy wisdom") was completed in 537 BCE and was transformed into a mosque...
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Byzantine Empire, 717 CE
A map of the Byzantine empire and its themes and provinces in 717 CE.
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Painting of Hagia Sophia
An artist's depiction of the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople, as it may have appeared in 537 CE. From the game Old World.
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Theodora I
Theodora: Detail from the 6th-century mosaic "Empress Theodora and Her Court" in the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna.
Interview
Interview: Barry Strauss on Ten Caesars
Dr. Barry Strauss' Ten Caesars: Roman Emperors from Augustus to Constantine tells the epic story of the Roman Empire from its rise to its eastern reinvention, from Augustus, who founded the empire, to Constantine, who made it Christian and...
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San Vitale, Ravenna
More free lessons at: http://www.khanacademy.org/video?v=It3i-dKusIM San Vitale is one of the most important surviving examples of Byzantine architecture and mosaic work. It was begun in 526 or 527 under Ostrogoth rule. It was consecrated...
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Basil I
Basil I was emperor of the Byzantine Empire from 867 to 886 CE and he founded the "Macedonian" dynasty which lasted for over 200 years. Basil was an Armenian from a humble background who had risen to become the second most powerful...
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Bayan I
Bayan I (reigned 562/565-602 CE) was a king of the Avars, a confederation of heterogeneous people who migrated from the region of Mongolia, north of China, in 552 CE and came in contact with the Eastern Roman Empire c. 557 CE. Bayan I is...
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Anastasios I
Anastasios I ruled the Byzantine empire from 491 to 518 CE. Although his tax and monetary reforms were both popular and successful, the emperor could not repair the damaging split in the Christian Church created by his predecessors. He faced...