Bayezid I was the figure chiefly responsible for greatly increasing the territory of his empire with a series of aggressive expansionist military campaigns during the late 14th century. His conquests in Europe marked the last days of Byzantium. While he did not succeed in conquering Constantinople, he set the demise of the already-declined empire in motion. His military actions in the Eastern Mediterranean-specifically the Siege of Constantinople from 1394 to 1402- impacted the Byzantines by transforming the political relations between the Eastern and Western Christians, disabling the Byzantine economy for nearly a decade, and altering the social make-up of Constantinople. Bayezid’s rapid expansion into the Balkan Peninsula exemplified both …show more content…
The city had a specialized quarter in which the Turkish merchants who dealt with the Byzantines were based. The relationship between the Turkish merchants and their Byzantine counterparts consisted of a peaceful coexistence between the two. The Turkish people were granted this quarter when Constantinople returned to Byzantine control in 1261. The Turkish people had their own kadis (a judge) to settle commercial disputes as well. This Turkish community had been left in peace by the Byzantines up until Bayezid’s siege. When the siege began, Manuel II was prompted to evict all of the Turkish population from the city and to destroy their mosque. Manuel II did as expected: he removed anyone associated with their enemy from the city. This ensured that there were no Ottoman sympathizers that could provide aid to Bayezid’s army from inside Constantinople’s walls. The impact of their removal was insignificant; as people were more concerned with getting enough to eat than potential espionage. Bayezid’s move resulted in the removal of the entire Turkish community from Constantinople for the duration of the siege. After the siege was lifted, the merchants and kadis returned to the city shortly thereafter, resuming business as usual for the Turkish
Two of the most powerful powers in the post-classical period were the Arabian and Byzantine empires. Each had different political, religious, and economic differences that defined their respective cultures, and managing to create vast empires that greatly rivaled each other.
They invaded the city over and over again taking the young children and turning them into slaves and humiliating them in front of the entire city. They wanted to get rid of Christianity completely in a short amount of time. The turks felt victorious every time that they captured a new group. This shows how this time period was at a constant war. There was never peace among cities.
The Byzantine empire was under attack from the Seljuk Turks and Alexius Comnenus, the emperor of the Byzantine empire, required help from Western Europe. Knights were sent for support, but during the Fourth Crusade, defending the Byzantine empire was not made an important priority, and the Crusaders therefore pillaged Constantinople for their own benefit. Pope Innocent the Third was outraged to hear that the Crusaders destroyed Constantinople, saying in the reprimand of papal legate, “It was your duty to attend to the business of your legation and to give careful consideration, not to the capture of the Empire of Constantinople, but rather to the defense of what is left of the Holy Land…”. Through the quote, it is proved that defending the Holy Land was a higher priority than attacking the Byzantine empire. Furthermore, Pope Innocent the Third did not mention that defending the Byzantine empire was the Crusaders’ ‘business of their legation’ and therefore means that the cause is very trivial, or it has been neglected. Although defending the Byzantine empire was a cause of the Crusades, it did not last long and did not contribute much to the creation of the other
Chronicle of the First Crusade is an excerpt from Gesta Francorum Jherusalem peregrinantium, written in three installments, 1101, 1106, and 1124–27, by Fulcher of Chartres, a French chaplain and chronicler of the First Crusade. Born in approximately 1059, and educated for the priesthood in Chartres, in what is now France, Fulcher attended the Council of Clermont, accompanying his overlord, Stephen of Blois, to southern Italy, Bulgaria, and Constantinople in 1096, following the call to action instigated by Pope Urban II as response to a request for assistance from the Byzantine emperor Alexius I. In June 1097, Fulcher became chaplain to Baldwin of Flanders, with whom he remained, traveling with him to Jerusalem in the winter of 1099. Fulcher, who remained in Jerusalem for the remainder of his life, dying there in approximately 1127, provides, as an eyewitness to the events, the Christian perspective of the Siege of Jerusalem.
The First Crusade is often cited as one of the most damnable consequences of religious fanaticism. A careful inspection of the circumstances and outcomes, however, will reveal a resultant political restructuring of Europe under the banner of Christendom. The purpose of this investigation is to investigate Pope Urban II’s motives in initiating the First Crusade, with a particular focus on the consolidation of the Western Church’s influence in Europe. Among the primary sources that will be consulted are the letter sent by Patriach Alexios of Constantinople to Urban, and an account of Urban’s speech at Clermont. Relevant excerpts from both of these primary sources, as well as contextual evidence and a wide array of historiography, will be taken
In the 16th century, the Mesopotamia had served as an intermediate for trade between Europe, Africa, and Asia. It was also an important supplier on food goods on foreign trade, especially silk and cotton. Other than the Ottoman Empire who had control over it, they also had there competitive rivals, the Persian Safavids who also had control over it. The Persians Muslim faith clashed with the Ottoman’s devotion to Sunnism. Both groups had fought economically for the control over the western trade routes to the East. The Ottomans had captured Europe’s largest city, Constantinople, in May 1453. After it was captured, the Ottoman’s had renamed it Istanbul, as it became the city capital of The Ottoman Empire.
The Ottoman Empire was one of the longest running empires in history, spanning 624 years. The women of the Ottoman empire were often limited to the household of their husband’s and held back by Ottoman lawmakers and authorities. The point of view of outsiders was varied, but there were both positive and negative views.
Thomas Madden’s Crusades is an exposition of the crusades, which occurred during the Middle Ages. The Crusades were a series of military conflicts of a religious character. They remain a very important movement in human history, and are hard to understand, as they include several themes and they lasted for a long time (about two hundred years, and the author covers a period of about eight centuries in his chronological work). Religion is, of course, the most recurrent theme we think about the Crusades, but is it the only factor to explain them? How does Madden, considered as one of the most foremost historian of the Crusades, expose them in his book? Is his work effective to understand this period of History? Madden has the ambition to relate the Crusades from the Middle Ages to today events, such as the attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001. For him, it is a recall of what happened in the past, and what can still happen today: making wars for religion. Madden wants to intrigue readers with this concise book so they go further to discover more about the Crusades.
The Ottoman Empire were Muslims and included Hungary, Syria, Egypt, Bulgaria, and Albania, and they marched on land. The Ottoman Empire is said to have first appeared somewhere around the 1300’s, and can be related to the decline of the Byzantine Empire. They began conquering Christian lands and by the late 1600’s all Christians were afraid of the “terrible Turk”. It is no wonder that many other people were afraid of the Ottoman Empire since they seem to be really rather powerful and they conquered a lot of land. It was in the 1330’s when the Morroccan Abu Abdallah Ibn Battuta passed through Constantinople and became impressed with the Ottomans who seemed to be gaining power rather quickly, he noticed that they had close to 100 forts and
hammed. Byzantine and the Muslims worlds were the very first in the western world to base their governing off of their monotheistic beliefs. The religion of Islam began in Mecca, however the beginning of the Muslim period started with Mohammed’s voyage from Mecca to Medina. The religion quickly spread from India to Spain.
Their power was immense. Their walls were up to 40 feet high, and their armies were feared. With the help of key allies like Venice and the Holy Roman Empire, the Byzantines were able to accumulate wealth at an astonishing rate. The Byzantines were a gateway to the Middle East and India. They served as a blockage for the Turks and Egypt. The Byzantines were able to do more and be more because they had knowledge that most of Europe did not have. The Byzantines went through many rules, each better than the last. The Byzantines didn’t allow armies to march onto their cities until the eventual sack of Constantinople. The Byzantines are a rule that will be remembered for
The initial cultural and political decline of the Byzantine Empire that preceded the rule of emperor Michael III can be attributed to the second iconoclast crisis; the religious dispute between those in favor of and against religious images and symbols. The Byzantine Empire, “ a Graeco-Christian Empire, also occupied a unique cultural position, set midway between the East and the West” at the divide of the crisis (Ostrogorski 217). However, this fall in political standing was followed by reversal and expansion into the East under the rule of Theodora, Michael’s mother. Michael III lacked the ambition to carry out the topographical expansion of the Byzantine Empire, as he was “capricious and fickle to the point of complete unreliability” (Ostrogorski 223). Regardless, his reign was considered profitable due to the genius of his uncle Bardas and the politician Photius. However by the end of Michaels reign, the tension from the iconoclast division between the Roman Chur...
In the early sixteenth century, the powers of the Ottoman Empire grew weary of Europe’s vigorous pursuit of territory, indigenous peoples of which they would take command, and use of natural goods. Piracy as harassment and deterrent began in the Mediterranean with the Barbarossa brothers along the North African coastline, starting in Algiers. As privateering against Spain drew to a close privateers looked elsewhere to continue their craft and found a home with the Barbarossa brothers. (Thomas, Woodward, 2004) Eventually, Europe struck a treaty with the Barbary States to end the continuing war between the powers and brought relative safety to the waters. Those in treaty with the Barbary States were safe, but what of those maritime competitors without a treaty? The United States considered these implications as they were no longer protected by treaties held by the British. After a time of conflict with the Barbary pirates, US maritime safety from the Barbary pirates would be finalized in the late 18th century.
Iran was included in the territory of what was then the ancient Persian Empire. For centuries Iran (land of the Aryans) was also referred to as Persia, which was the official name until 1935. Fourteen years had passed before the Iranian government allowed the use of both names. Few groups of people today have significant history like the Iranians, descending from the ancient Persians, who possess one of the world’s richest and oldest cultures. Historically, a variety of other cultures and groups had once occupied the ancient Iranian plateau as early as 4,000 B.C.E, with little importance. Beginning by the third millennium, Persia was ruled by some of the greatest kings of all time, from Cyrus the Great to Darius the III, who turned the Persian Empire into one of the world’s greatest civilizations.
Justinian ruled the Byzantine Empire during its height. His military faced strength from the East that greatly endangered his people. The Sassanian Empire of Persia was one threat that Byzantines needed to conquer. The Persians endangered eastern lands, so Justinian's military prevented any conquest. The Sassanians were defeated and security was briefly gained. After his success, Justinian wanted to regain lands the Roman Empire once lost to invaders. Byzantine armies began a reconquest of Spain, Italy, and North Africa. Battles against various Germanic groups took place, and western lands were conquered by the Byzantines. The wars were expensive, and resources were low. Defense became weak and territories were lost increasingly after Justinian's death.