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Do to increasing difficulties dealing with those who wanted to practice Christianity, its rising popularity, and Constantine's own beliefs, he allowed its toleration in the empire.

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408-450 Theodosian Walls Built Around Constantinople

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408-450 Theodosian Walls Built Around Constantinople

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The Theodosian Walls are the fortifications of Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine Empire, which were first built during the reign of Theodosius II (408-450 CE). Sometimes known as the Theodosian Long Walls, they built upon and extended earlier fortifications so that the city became impregnable to enemy sieges for 800 years. The fortifications were the largest and strongest ever built in either the ancient or medieval worlds. Resisting attacks and earthquakes over the centuries, the walls were particularly tested by Bulgar and Arab forces who sometimes laid siege to the city for years at a time. Sections of the walls can still be seen today in modern Istanbul and are the city's most impressive surviving monuments from Late Antiquity.

Making the City Safe

Although the city had benefitted from previous emperors building fortifications, especially Constantine I when he moved his capital from Rome to the east, it is Emperor Theodosius II who is most associated with Constantinople's famous city walls. It was, though, Theodosius I (r. 379-395 CE) who began the project of improving the capital's defences by building the Golden Gate of Constantinople in November 391 CE. The massive gate was over 12 metres high, had three arches, and a tower either side. It was entirely built of marble and decorated with statues and was topped with a sculpture of a chariot pulled by four elephants. The Golden Gate probably marked the start of triumphal processions which ended in the Hippodrome. Two decades later, Theodosius II was alarmed at the recent fall of Rome to the Goths in 410 CE and set about building a massive line of triple fortification walls to ensure Constantinople never followed the same fate. The man credited with supervising their construction is Theodosius' Praetorian Prefect Anthemius. The walls extended across the peninsula from the shores of the Sea of Marmara to the Golden Horn, eventually being fully completed in 439 CE and stretching some 6.5 kilometres. They expanded the enclosed area of the city by 5 square kilometres.

The inner wall of three was almost 5 metres thick, 12 metres high, & presented to the enemy 96 projecting towers.

The defensive walls were made of a combination of elements designed to make the city impregnable. Attackers first faced a 20-metre wide and 7-metre deep ditch which could be flooded with water fed from pipes when required. The water, once in, was retained by a series of dams. Behind that was an outer wall which had a patrol track to oversee the moat. Behind this was a second wall which had regular towers and an interior terrace so as to provide a firing platform to shoot down on any enemy forces attacking the moat and first wall. Then, behind that wall was a third, much more massive, inner wall. This final defence was almost 5 metres thick, 12 metres high, and presented to the enemy 96 projecting towers. Each tower was placed around 70 metres distant from another and reached a height of 20 metres. The towers, either square or octagonal in form, could hold up to three artillery machines. The towers were so placed on the middle wall so as not to block the firing possibilities from the towers of the inner wall. The inner wall was constructed using bricks and limestone blocks while the outer two were built from mixed rubble and brick courses with a limestone facing. Access to the city when not under attack, besides via the Golden Gate, was provided by ten additional gates.

The walls were built on a rising embankment so that the defenders could easily fire down on the structures in front of them if necessary. The plan of the fortifications ensured that the enemy could not place their siege engines anywhere near the all-important inner wall, and even artillery fire from a distance was presented with a much more limited target than in more traditional, single-wall fortifications. The distance between the outer ditch and inner wall was 60 metres while the height difference was 30 metres. A formidable obstacle indeed, especially when the defenders also had their secret weapon, the incendiary liquid known as " Greek Fire " which could be poured down upon or fired in grenades at the attackers. Defenders were organised according to the factions of the Hippodrome of the city. The four supporter groups were also responsible for the upkeep of the walls. By stocking up on food, rounding up livestock and with plenty of water in the city's massive cisterns, Constantinople was ready to withstand all comers.

Significant Sieges

The city was severely tested several times in its long history but the massive walls never let down the capital's inhabitants. There was an unsuccessful siege in 626 CE by the army of Persian king Kusro II helped by his Slav and Avar allies. One of the most persistent attacks came with the Arab siege of 674-678 CE when the walls withstood siege engines and artillery fire from massive catapults. Another Arab siege came in 717 CE, this time an all-year-round affair involving 1,800 ships and an army of 80,000 men. Rumours of the approaching army provoked the Byzantine emperor into insisting that any family without three-years' worth of provisions flee the city. In the end, the harsh winter did more harm to the attackers than the defenders, and Constantinople survived yet again. The next to try his luck was Thomas the Slav, who besieged the capital in 821 CE but, predictably, the city held on. In 860 CE, 941 CE, and 1043 CE Russian attacks proved as ineffectual as any that had gone before.

Mother nature was not always friendly to the city either, and repairs from earthquake damage were needed every so often, notably after the destructive quakes of August and September 478 CE after which repairs were made by Emperor Anastasius (r. 491-518 CE). There was another major quake on 26 October 740 CE. The damage was then so severe that the convention of the city's inhabitants, having to club together to maintain their own defences, was overridden and emperor Leo III (r. 717-741 CE) funded the repairs from the state treasury, albeit raising taxes by 8.5% for the purpose. Inscriptions on several of the wall's stone blocks record this work, and they can still be seen today at the end near the Sea of Marmara. Theophilos (r. 829-867 CE) and Michael III (r. 842-867 CE) were other emperors noted for their defence repair projects during the troubled 9th century CE.

Finally, after 800 years, the city's defences were breached by the knights of the Fourth Crusade in 1204 CE, although the attackers got in through a carelessly left-open door and not because the fortifications themselves had failed in their purpose. Byzantine emperor Michael VIII (r. 1261-1282 CE) rebuilt the fortifications in the 1260s CE, but they could not withstand a second successful attack on them when the walls suffered severe damage from Ottoman canon fire in 1453 CE.

Large parts of the Theodosian Long Walls, including many towers, can still be seen today in Istanbul, where portions have been significantly restored. The Golden Gate still stands, too, as it was made part of the castle treasury of Mehmed II in 1453 CE.

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The Theodosian Walls are the fortifications of Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine Empire, which were first built during the reign of Theodosius II (408-450 CE). Sometimes known as the Theodosian Long Walls, they built upon and extended earlier fortifications so that the city became impregnable to enemy sieges for 800 years.

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451 Council of Chalcedon Denounces Monophysites

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451 Council of Chalcedon Denounces Monophysites

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Denounced the idea that Jesus is wholly divine and not human at all. There was a great controversy between people who believed he was both divine and human and those that felt he was wholly divine.

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In the 5th century A.D. the Roman empire began to lose power and fall apart. There were several reasons for the collapse of the Roman empire, including the break down of economic, political and, military aspects, and invasion. Look through the subpages to learn more about each.

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In the 5th century A.D. the Roman empire began to lose power and fall apart. There were several reasons for the collapse of the Roman empire, including the break down of economic, political and, military aspects, and invasion. Look through the subpages to learn more about each.

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486 Clovis (Barbarian) Defeats last Roman Official in Gaul

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486 Clovis (Barbarian) Defeats last Roman Official in Gaul

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Conquest for control over Frankish territories. His actions begin the Merovingian Era. His children preside over the disunited Frankish kingdoms of Australia, Neustria, Bergundy, and Aquitane.

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491 Anastasius Comes to Power in Byzantium As Christian Emperor

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491 Anastasius Comes to Power in Byzantium As Christian Emperor

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Issued gold coins, was a Monophysite in hiding, invaded Persia, and added to the walls of Constantinople.

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He persecuted Monophysites to get Pope's support, destroyed diplomacy with Persia, had no mentorship, dealt with many natural disasters, was thought to be cruel. Kept Roman Law intact, much rebellion, gave public offices to friends and family, created ties with local barbarian rulers.

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533-554 Justinian's General Belisarius Reconquers Vandal and Italian Lands

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533-554 Justinian's General Belisarius Reconquers Vandal and Italian Lands

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Flavius Belisarius (Greek: Βελισάριος, c. 500 - 565 AD) was a general of the Byzantine Empire. He was instrumental to Emperor Justinian's ambitious project of reconquering much of the Mediterranean territory of the former Western Roman Empire, which had been lost less than a century previously.

One of the defining features of Belisarius' career was his success despite varying levels of support from Justinian. His name is frequently given as one of the so-called "Last of the Romans".

Belisarius was probably born in Germane or Germania, a fortified town (some archaeological remains exist) on the site of present day Sapareva Banya in south-west Bulgaria, in the borders of Thrace and Illyria. Born into an Illyrian or Thracian family, he became a Roman soldier as a young man, serving as bodyguard of Emperor Justin I.

He came to the attention of Justin and his nephew, Justinian, as a promising and innovative officer. He was given permission by the emperor to form a bodyguard regiment (bucellarii), of heavy cavalry, which he later expanded into a personal household regiment, 1,500 strong. Belisarius' bucellarii were the nucleus around which all the armies he would later command were organized. Armed with a lance, (possibly Hunnish style) composite bow, and broadsword, they were fully armoured to the standard of heavy cavalry of the day. A multi-purpose unit, they were capable of skirmishing at a distance with bow, like the Huns; or could act as heavy shock cavalry, charging and crushing an enemy with lance and sword. In essence, they combined the best and most dangerous aspects of both of Rome's greatest enemies, the Huns and the Goths.

Following Justin's death in 527, the new emperor, Justinian I, appointed Belisarius to command the Roman army in the east to deal with incursions from the Sassanid Empire. He quickly proved himself an able and effective commander, defeating the larger Sassanid army through superior generalship. In June/July 530, during the Iberian War, he led the Romans to a stunning victory over the Sassanids in the Battle of Dara, followed by a tactical defeat at the Battle of Callinicum on the Euphrates in 531 - this was perhaps a strategic victory in that the Persian retreated to their own borders. This led to the negotiation of an " Eternal Peace" with the Persians, and Roman payment of heavy tributes for years in exchange for peace with Persia. This freed resources for redeployment elsewhere.

In 532, he was the highest-ranking military officer in the Imperial capital of Constantinople when the Nika riots broke out in the city (among factions of chariot racing fans) and nearly resulted in the overthrow of Justinian. Belisarius, with the help of the magister militum of the Illyricum, Mundus, along with Narses and John the Armenian, suppressed the rebellion with a bloodbath in the Hippodrome, the gathering place of the rebels, that is said to have claimed the lives of 30,000 people.

For his efforts, Belisarius was rewarded by Justinian with the command of a land and sea expedition against the Vandal Kingdom, mounted in 533-534. The Romans had political, religious, and strategic reasons for such a campaign. The pro-Roman Vandal king Hilderic had been deposed and murdered by the usurper Gelimer, giving Justinian a legal pretext. Furthermore, the Arian Vandals had periodically persecuted the Nicene Christians within their kingdom, many of whom made their way to Constantinople seeking redress. The Vandals had launched many pirate raids on Roman trade interests, hurting commerce in the western areas of the Empire. Justinian also wanted control of the Vandal territory in north Africa, which was vital for guaranteeing Roman access to the western Mediterranean.

In the late summer of 533, Belisarius sailed to Africa and landed near Caput Vada (near Chebba on the coast of Tunisia). He ordered his fleet not to lose sight of the army, then marched along the coastal highway toward the Vandal capital of Carthage. He did this to prevent supplies from being cut off, and to avoid a great defeat such as occurred during Basiliscus' first attempt to retake northern Africa 65 years before, which had ended in the Roman disaster at the Battle of Cape Bon in 468.

Ten miles from Carthage, the forces of Gelimer (who had just executed Hilderic) and Belisarius finally met at the Battle of Ad Decimum on September 13, 533. It nearly turned into a defeat for the Romans. Gelimer had chosen his position well and had some success along the main road. The Romans, however, seemed dominant on both sides of the main road to Carthage. At the height of the battle, Gelimer became distraught upon learning of the death of his brother in battle. This gave Belisarius a chance to regroup, and he went on to win the battle and capture Carthage. A second victory at the Battle of Tricamarum on December 15 of the same year resulted in Gelimer's surrender early in 534 at Mount Papua, restoring the lost Roman provinces of north Africa to the empire. For this achievement, Belisarius was granted a Roman triumph (the last ever given) when he returned to Constantinople. According to Procopius in the procession were paraded the spoils of the Temple of Jerusalem (the Vandal treasure, including many objects looted from Rome 80 years earlier, the imperial regalia and the menorah of the Second Temple among them) which had been recovered from the Vandal capital along with Gelimer himself before he was sent into peaceful exile. Medals were stamped in his honor with the inscription Gloria Romanorum, though none seem to have survived to modern times. Belisarius was also made sole Consul in 535, being one of the last persons ever to hold this office, which originated in the ancient Roman Republic.

Nevertheless, the recovery of Africa was not complete; army mutinies and revolts by the native Berbers would plague the new praetorian prefecture of Africa for almost 15 years.

Justinian now resolved to restore as much of the Western Roman Empire as he could. In 535, he commissioned Belisarius to attack the Ostrogothic Kingdom in Italy. Belisarius landed in Sicily and took the island for use as a base against Italy, while Mundus recovered Dalmatia. The preparations for the invasion of the Italian mainland were interrupted in Easter 536, when Belisarius sailed to Africa to counter an uprising of the local army. His reputation made the rebels abandon the siege of Carthage, and Belisarius pursued and defeated them at Membresa. Thereupon he returned to Sicily, and then crossed into mainland Italy, where he captured Naples in November and Rome in December 536.

In 537-538 he successfully defended Rome against the Goths and moved north to take the Ostrogoth capital of Ravenna in 540, where the Goth king Witiges was captured. Shortly before the taking of Ravenna, the Ostrogoths offered to make Belisarius the western emperor. Belisarius feigned acceptance and entered Ravenna via its sole point of entry, a causeway through the marshes, accompanied by a of bucellarii, his personal household regiment. Soon afterwards, he proclaimed the capture of Ravenna in the name of the Emperor Justinian.

The Goths' offer raised suspicions in Justinian's mind and Belisarius was recalled. He returned home with the Gothic treasure, king and warriors.

Belisarius was recalled in part to deal with the Persian conquest of Syria, a crucial province of the empire. Belisarius took the field and waged a brief, inconclusive campaign in 541-542. He eventually managed to negotiate a truce (aided with the payment of a large sum of money, 5,000 pounds of gold), in which the Persians agreed not to attack Roman territory for the next five years.

Belisarius returned to Italy in 544, where he found that the situation had changed greatly. In 541 the Ostrogoths had elected Totila as their new leader and had mounted a vigorous campaign against the Romans, recapturing all of northern Italy and even driving the Romans out of Rome. Belisarius managed to recover Rome briefly but his Italian campaign proved unsuccessful, due in no small part to his limited supplies and reinforcements, perhaps as Justinian's empire had suffered from the plague. In 548/9, Justinian relieved him. In 551, after economic recovery (from the effects of the plague) the eunuch Narses led a large army to bring the campaign to a successful conclusion. For his part, Belisarius retired from military affairs. At the Second Ecumenical Council of Constantinople (553), Belisarius was one of the Emperor's envoys to Pope Vigilius in their tug of war over The Three Chapters. The Patriarch Eutychius, who presided over this council in place of Pope Vigilius, was the son of one of Belisarius' generals.

During the Siege of Rome an incident occurred for which the general would be long condemned: Belisarius, an Orthodox Christian, was commanded by the monophysite Christian Empress Theodora to depose the reigning Pope, who had been installed by the Goths. This Pope was the former subdeacon Silverius, the son of Pope Hormisdas. Belisarius was to replace him with the Deacon Vigilius, Apocrisarius of Pope John II in Constantinople. Vigilius had in fact been chosen in 531 by Pope Boniface II to be his successor, but this choice was strongly criticised by the Roman clergy and Boniface eventually reversed his decision.

In 537, at the height of the siege, Silverius was accused of conspiring with the Gothic King and several Roman senators to secretly open the gates of the city. Belisarius had him stripped of his vestments and exiled to Patara in Lycia in Asia Minor. Following the advocacy of his innocence by bishop of Patara he was ordered to return to Italy at the command of the Emperor Justinian and, if cleared by investigation, reinstated. However, Vigilius had already been installed in his place and Silverus was intercepted before he could reach Rome and exiled once more, this time on the island of Palmarola (Ponza), where he is said to have starved to death. He remains the patron saint of Ponza today.

Belisarius, for his part, built a small oratory on the site of the present church of Santa Maria in Trivio in Rome as a sign of his repentance. He also built two hospices for pilgrims and a monastery, which have since disappeared. Santa Maria in Trivio is around the corner from the Trevi fountain; a 12th-century inscription is the only surviving monument of the great general.

The retirement of Belisarius came to an end in 559, when an army of Kutrigur Bulgars, under Khan Zabergan crossed the Danube River to invade Roman territory for the first time and threatened Constantinople itself. Justinian recalled Belisarius to command the Roman army. In his last campaign, Belisarius defeated the Kutrigurs and drove them back across the river with a greatly outnumbered force at his command.

In 562, Belisarius stood trial in Constantinople on a charge of corruption. The charge is presumed to be trumped-up, and modern research suggests that his former secretary Procopius of Caesarea, may have judged his case.[citation needed ] Belisarius was found guilty and imprisoned. However, not long after, Justinian pardoned him, ordered his release, and restored him to favour at the imperial court.

In the first five chapters of his Secret History, Procopius characterises Belisarius as a cuckold husband, who was emotionally dependent on his debauched wife, Antonina. According to the historian, Antonina cheated on Belisarius with their adopted son, the young Theodosius. Procopius claims that the love affair was well known in the imperial court and the general was regarded as weak and ridiculous; this view is often considered biased as Procopius nursed a longstanding hatred of both Belisarius and Antonina. Empress Theodora reportedly helped and saved Antonina when Belisarius tried to charge his wife at last.

Fittingly, Belisarius and Justinian, whose partnership increased the size of the empire by 45%, died within a few months of one another in 565. Belisarius owned the estate of Rufinianae on the Asiatic side of the Constantinople suburbs. He may have died there and been buried near one of the two churches in the area, perhaps Saints Peter and Paul.

According to a story that gained popularity during the Middle Ages, Justinian is said to have ordered Belisarius' eyes to be put out, and reduced him to the status of homeless beggar near the Pincian Gate of Rome, condemned to asking passers-by to "give an obolus to Belisarius" ( date obolum Belisario), before pardoning him. Most modern scholars believe the story to be apocryphal, though Philip Stanhope, a 19th-century British philologist who wrote Life of Belisarius - the only exhaustive biography of the great general - believed the story to be true. Based on a parsing of the available primary sources, Stanhope created an argument for the legend's authenticity.

Though the legend remains of dubious provenance, after the publication of Jean-François Marmontel's novel Bélisaire (1767), this account became a popular subject for progressive painters and their patrons in the later 18th century, who saw parallels between the actions of Justinian and the repression imposed by contemporary rulers. For such subtexts, Marmontel's novel received a public censure by Louis Legrand of the Sorbonne, which contemporary divines regarded as model expositions of theological knowledge and clear thinking ( Catholic Encyclopedia: "Louis Legrand"). Marmontel and the painters and sculptors (a bust of Belisarius by the French sculptor Jean-Baptiste Stouf is at the J. Paul Getty Museum) depicted Belisarius as a kind of secular saint, sharing the suffering of the downtrodden poor. The most famous of these paintings, by Jacques-Louis David, combines the themes of charity (the alms giver), injustice (Belisarius), and the radical reversal of power (the soldier who recognises his old commander). Others portray him being helped by the poor after his rejection by the powerful.

Belisarius was featured in several works of art before the 20th century. The oldest of them is the historical treatise by his very own secretary, Procopius. The Anecdota, commonly referred to as the Arcana Historia or Secret History, is an extended attack on Belisarius and Antonina, and on Justinian and Theodora, indicting Belisarius as a love-blind fool and his wife as unfaithful and duplicitous. Other works include:

Belasarius - a play by Jakob Bidermann (1607)

The life and history of Belisarius, who conquer'd Africa and Italy, with an account of his disgrace, the ingratitude of the Romans, and a parallel between him and a modern hero - a drama by John Oldmixon (1713)

Bélisaire - a novel by Jean-François Marmontel (1767)

The character "Bel Riose" in Foundation & Empire by Isaac Asimov is based on Belisarius.

Belisarius: A Tragedy - by Margaretta Faugères (1795). Though she wrote it as a play, Faugères "intended [this work] for the closet," i.e., to be read and not performed. Her preface voices complaints about "maledictions" and long-winded rhetoric in popular tragic drama, which she says tend to bore and even outrage a reader, and announces her intent to "substitute concise narrative and plain sense." The drama's plot and character development are secondary to moral conflicts, mainly between vengeance and mercy/pity, respectively associated with pride and humility.

Beliar - 18th-century poem by Friedrich de la Motte Fouque.

Ein Kampf um Rom - an historical novel by Felix Dahn (1867)

Belisarius, 19th-century poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

Count Belisarius - a novel by Robert Graves (1938); Ostensibly written from the viewpoint of the eunuch Eugenius, servant to Belisarius' wife, but actually based on Procopius's history, the book portrays Belisarius as a solitary honorable man in a corrupt world, and paints a vivid picture of not only his startling military feats but also the colorful characters and events of his day, such as the savage Hippodrome politics of the Constantinople chariot races, which regularly escalated to open street battles between fans of opposing factions, and the intrigues of the emperor Justinian and the empress Theodora.

Lest Darkness Fall - an alternative history novel by L. Sprague de Camp (1939). Belisarius appears first as the Roman opponent of the time traveler Martin Padway who tries to spread modern science and inventions in Gothic Italy. Eventually Belisarius becomes a general in Padway's army and secures Italy for him.

A Flame in Byzantium - an historical horror fiction novel by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro (1987)

The Belisarius series - six science fiction novels by Eric Flint and David Drake. Alternate history exploring what might have happened if Belisarius and a rival were granted knowledge of future events and technologies. The first four books are available as free ebooks from the Baen Free Library, or all six at The Fifth Imperium website.

Belisarius: The First Shall Be Last (2006) and Belisarius: Glory of the Romans (2010) - novels by Paolo Belzoni

Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings - a video game by Ensemble Studios (1999). Belisarius is a "Hero" that can only be accessed in the map editor. He has the appearance of a Cataphract, the Roman unique unit.

Civilization IV - a video game by Take Two (2005). Belisarius is a "Great Person"; specifically, one of many Great Generals that arise through gameplay via successful warfare with other civilizations but not barbarians.

Civilization V - Belisarius, like in Civilization IV, appears as a "Great General".

- novel by Herman Melville (1849); Melville playfully assigns the moniker "my Belisarius" to the Samoan Islander first encountered aboard the abandoned vessel "Parki".

Jorge Luis Borges mentioned the legend of Belisario as a blind beggar in some of his poetic works, for example, "A quien ya no es joven," the first verse of which reads: "Ya puedes ver el tragico escenario y cada cosa en lugar debido; la espada y la ceniza para Dido y la moneda para Belisario."

Foundation and Empire - a science fiction novel by Isaac Asimov, second novel in the Foundation Series (1952). The character Bel Riose, based on Belisarius, is the last great general of the first Galactic Empire, which was modelled on the late Roman Empire.

The General - a series of military science fiction novels by S.M. Stirling and David Drake. The plot draws much from the life and campaigns of Belisarius; the main character, Raj Whitehall, sets out to reunite the planet of Bellevue after the fall of galactic civilization.

Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb - a video game by LucasArts (2005). During his quest to find the tomb of the first emperor of China, Indiana Jones learns that the Nazis have discovered Belisarius' "sunken temple" beneath a mosque in Constantinople.

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion - a video game by Bethesda Softworks (2006). A soldier named Belisarius is found in the Cloud Ruler Temple as a non-player character and another character with the name Belisarius is a speaker of the Black Hand only seen in the final Dark Brotherhood quest Honor thy Mother.

Freespace 2 - A video game by Volition Inc. The ship NTCv Belisarius is destroyed after emerging from subspace, heavily damaged and defiant of all calls to surrender, despite facing a superior enemy.

"Belisarius' War" game by Decision Games (reviewed positively on YouTube).

"Belisarius" Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 27 Apr 2009

R. Boss, R. Chapman, P. Garriock, Justinian's War: Belisarius, Narses and the Reconquest of the West, Montvert Publications, 1993, ISBN 1-874101-01-9.

Glanville Downey, Belisarius: Young general of Byzantium, Dutton, 1960

Percy Stickney Grant, The search of Belisarius: A Byzantine legend, Brentano's, 1907.

Edward Gibbon has much to say on Belisarius in The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire , Chapter 41 online.

Lillington-Martin, Christopher 2006 - 2013:

2006, "Pilot Field-Walking Survey near Ambar & Dara, SE Turkey", British Institute of Archaeology at Ankara:Travel Grant Report, Bulletin of British Byzantine Studies, 32 (2006), p 40-45;

2007, "Archaeological and Ancient Literary Evidence for a Battle near Dara Gap, Turkey, AD 530: Topography, Texts and Trenches" in: BAR -S1717, 2007 The Late Roman Army in the Near East from Diocletian to the Arab Conquest Proceedings of a colloquium held at Potenza, Acerenza and Matera, Italy edited by Ariel S. Lewin and Pietrina Pellegrini, p 299-311;

2008, "Roman tactics defeat Persian pride" in Ancient Warfare edited by Jasper Oorthuys, Vol. II, Issue 1 (February 2008), pages 36-40;

2009, "Procopius, Belisarius and the Goths" in: Journal of the Oxford University History Society,(2009) Odd Alliances edited by Heather Ellis and Graciela Iglesias Rogers. ISSN 1742917X, pages 1- 17, https://sites.google.com/site/jouhsinfo/issue7specialissueforinternetexplorer;

2010, "Source for a handbook:Reflections of the Wars in the Strategikon and archaeology" in: Ancient Warfare edited by Jasper Oorthuys, Vol. IV, Issue 3 (June 2010), pages 33-37;

2011, "Secret Histories", http://classicsconfidential.co.uk/2011/11/19/secret-histories/;

2012, "Hard and Soft Power on the Eastern Frontier: a Roman Fortlet between Dara and Nisibis, Mesopotamia,Turkey, Prokopios' Mindouos?" in: The Byzantinist, edited by Douglas Whalin, Issue 2 (2012), pages 4-5, http://oxfordbyzantinesociety.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/obsnews2012final.pdf;

2013a, "La defensa de Roma por Belisario" in: Justiniano I el Grande (Desperta Ferro) edited by Alberto Pérez Rubio, 18 (July 2013), pages 40-45, ISSN 2171-9276;

2013b, "Procopius on the struggle for Dara and Rome" in: War and Warfare in Late Antiquity: Current Perspectives (Late Antique Archaeology 8.1-8.2 2010-11) by Sarantis A. and Christie N. (2010-11) edd. (Brill, Leiden 2013), pages 599-630, ISBN 978-90-04-25257-8.

Martindale, John R.; Jones, A. H. M.; Morris, J. (1992). . The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire. IIIa. Cambridge University Press. pp. 181-224. ISBN 0-521-20160-8 http://books.google.com/books?id=fBImqkpzQPsC.

Lord Mahon, The Life of Belisarius, 1848. Reprinted 2006 (unabridged with editorial comments) Evolution Publishing, ISBN 1-889758-67-1

Lord Mahon, The Life of Belisarius, J. Murray, 1829. With a new critical introduction and further reading by Jon Coulston. Westholme Publishing, 2005. ISBN 1-59416-019-8

Ancient Warfare magazine, Vol. IV, Issue 3 (Jun/Jul, 2010), was devoted to "Justinian's fireman: Belisarius and the Byzantine empire", with articles by Sidney Dean, Duncan B. Campbell, Ian Hughes, Ross Cowan, Raffaele D'Amato, and Christopher Lillington-Martin.

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Flavius Belisarius (Greek Βελισάριος, c. 5002 - 565 AD) was a general of the Byzantine Empire. He was instrumental to Emperor Justinian's ambitious project of reconquering much of the Mediterranean territory of the former Western Roman Empire, which had been lost less than a century previously.

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541 Byzantium and Sassanids Lose Control and Trade Power 

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541 Byzantium and Sassanids Lose Control and Trade Power 

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The Eastern Empire and Sassanids are hit with the Bubonic Plague, Ostrogothic Revolts, Slavic Raids, and ineffective governments

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552 Justinian Has Final Defeat of Ostrogoths

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552 Justinian Has Final Defeat of Ostrogoths

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559 Justinian Controls People of the Black Sea

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559 Justinian Controls People of the Black Sea

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Leaves Byzantium with no succession plan. Destroyed economy, high taxes, upper class angry, large military.

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Fights Persia on 3 fronts, helps economy through silk smuggling, chaotic time.

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Grows up in a dried up economy, due to Arabs not being able to "middle-man" the trade between the Persians and Byzantines.

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Stopped taxes, crashed economy by buying off enemies, stopped sale of political offices, could not control the vast territory of Byzantium.

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Fights war after war, empire in chaos.

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597 Pope Gregory Sends Missionaries to Britain

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597 Pope Gregory Sends Missionaries to Britain

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Loses Egypt and Jerusalem to Jews and Persians, rebellion from Northern barbarians.

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Heraclius reforms military, raises troops based on land promises, forces Persians to ask for peace. Both Empires, which were troubled to begin with, were left in shambles.

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622 Muhammed Starts Conquest of Medina -> 628 Conquest of Mecca

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622 Muhammed Starts Conquest of Medina -> 628 Conquest of Mecca

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Jews expelled during this time.

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627 Northumbria Becomes Christian Under Edwin

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627 Northumbria Becomes Christian Under Edwin

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He goes on to conquer Gwynned and the Isla of man. He was considered to be the most powerful king in England at the time.

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633 Northumbria Converts Back to Paganism Through Revolt

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633 Northumbria Converts Back to Paganism Through Revolt

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Nephews of Edwin overthrow him and get rid of Christianity.

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634 Oswald Reestablishes Christian Northumbria

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634 Oswald Reestablishes Christian Northumbria

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After a series of local battles and power struggles, King Oswald emerges victorious and re-institutes Christianity. He uses St. Aiden from Iona, Scotland to convert his subjects.

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This became the center of Christian conversion in England.

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Oswald killed by Mercians, led by Penda.

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Penda is killed in battle and loses to Oswui, successor of Oswald. Oswui gains control of Mercia through this.

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Expands Muslim rule from India to Spain

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Northumbria moves from Celtic Christianity to Roman Catholicism.

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Pippin II begins to unite some of the Frankish kingdoms. Becomes sole mayor

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Tariq Ibn Ziyad conquers it and it becomes "Al-Andalus."

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714 Charles Martel is Mayor of Austrasia

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714 Charles Martel is Mayor of Austrasia

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Pepin's son.

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Charles Martel unites Frankish Christians as Mayor of the Palace, and defends Tours from Islamic Spain's invasion into the rest of Europe. This battle marks the end of Islam's attempts to invade through Gaul, and stops Europe from becoming a Muslim stronghold.

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750 Vikings Begin to Settle Along the Volga River in Russia-Area

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750 Vikings Begin to Settle Along the Volga River in Russia-Area

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They went through trading with, raiding conquered peoples.

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752 Donation of Pepin III Creates Papal States

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752 Donation of Pepin III Creates Papal States

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Charles Martel's son.

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762 Abbasids Move Muslim Capital to Baghdad, Umayyads Overthrown.

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762 Abbasids Move Muslim Capital to Baghdad, Umayyads Overthrown.

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Golden age begins: Ancient philosophers translated to Arabic, libraries and research, doctors, manufacturing, texts, physics, algebra, astronomy, first observatory, economic theory.

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He leaves behind a more united France to Carloman and Charles, his sons.

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771 Carloman Dies/Charlemagne Sole Ruler

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771 Carloman Dies/Charlemagne Sole Ruler

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"King of the English," King Offa, establishes a powerful rule in the kingdom of Mercia. He built a dyke wall for defense against the Welsh.

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787 Charlemagne Takes Bavaria and 790 Avars

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787 Charlemagne Takes Bavaria and 790 Avars

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The Viking invasion here was not the first attack on England, however Lindesfarne was the center of Christianity for Northumbria and England overall. This large attack struck a home chord with the English kings of the time, realizing the large viking threat.

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The devastating Viking attack on the church of St Cuthbert in 793 sent a shockwave through Europe. But a Christian community at Lindisfarne survived, and recorded the event on the famous 'Domesday stone'.

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The devastating Viking attack on the church of St Cuthbert in 793 sent a shockwave through Europe. But a Christian community at Lindisfarne survived, and recorded the event on the famous 'Domesday stone'.

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794 Charlemagne takes Burgundy and Lombards

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794 Charlemagne takes Burgundy and Lombards

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796 Charlemagne Builds Cathedral in Aachen 

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796 Charlemagne Builds Cathedral in Aachen 

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This was done to solidify Christianity in the empire and rival the Hagia Sophia.

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800 Christmas Day Charlemagne Becomes Emperor Under Pope Leo III

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800 Christmas Day Charlemagne Becomes Emperor Under Pope Leo III

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Following Lindesfarne, the vikings slaughtered all the Christian monks in Iona, again striking a deep chord with Christian England. Many monasteries moved their operations inland in England due to the viking raids.

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Churches and monasteries were treasure troves for the pagan raiders. In AD 793 the Vikings attacked the Holy Island of Lindisfarne. A year later they launched raids in the Hebrides. Next the Vikings attacked Iona or as they called it 'Ilkolmkill'. The monastery was sacked and the monks slaughtered.

The 'fury of the Northmen' in their streamlined long ships struck terror into people from the Northern Isles, Caithness, Sutherland, round western Scotland, and south to Dublin.

The Vikings attacked Iona in AD 795, then again in AD 802. Four years later, in AD 806, the Vikings killed 68 monks by the shore at Martyr's Bay.

An account of the attack on Lindisfarne, from a north English chronicle of the time, paints a picture of a Viking raid:

... they miserably ravaged and pillaged everything; they trod the holy things under their polluted feet, they dug down the altars, and plundered all the treasures of the church. Some of the brethren they slew, some they carried off with them in chains ...
Simeon of Durham, A History of the Church of Durham
In the early 9th century the greatest treasure of Iona was taken to safety in County Meath in Ireland, where it was named The Book of Kells.

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Churches and monasteries were treasure troves for the pagan raiders. In AD 793 the Vikings attacked the Holy Island of Lindisfarne. A year later they launched raids in the Hebrides. Next the Vikings attacked Iona or as they called it 'Ilkolmkill'. The monastery was sacked and the monks slaughtered.

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Charlemagne's surviving heir has to deal with various uprisings after his father's death.

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Leaving his brothers Charles the Bald, Louis, and Emperor Lothair to fight.

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Louis gets Germany, Charles gets France, and Lothair retains title and controls Rhineland/Italy.

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Home / All / Political / Control / Treaty of Verdun 843

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Following the death Charlemagne's son, Louis I, the Carolingian Empire was split between his three sons in keeping with the method of succession of the Old Frankish Kingdoms. Lothair, the eldest son, had attempted to claim sole leadership of the empire upon the death of his father who left him the imperial insignia. This prompted an alliance between the other two sons, Charles and Louis, who entered into a war with Lothair to defend their equal claims to the empire. Lothair was defeated in 841 and the brothers entered into negotiations to determine the division of the empire under the Treaty of Verdun. The treaty was signed in 843 and split the empire into three sections, which centred on areas in which the three brothers were already established. Lothair was allowed to keep the title of Holy Roman Emperor but did not have any power over either brother's lands.

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Following the death Charlemagne's son, Louis I, the Carolingian Empire was split between his three sons in keeping with the method of succession of the Old Frankish Kingdoms. Lothair, the eldest son, had attempted to claim sole leadership of the empire up

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Danish Vikings take 350 ships and invade England. They are eventually stopped by King Ethelwolf at Wessex.

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859 Vikings Begin to Demand Tribute in Eastern Europe from Those They Conquered

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859 Vikings Begin to Demand Tribute in Eastern Europe from Those They Conquered

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Rurik settles in Novgarod and establishes his rule there.

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868 King Alfred Marries Ealswith of Mercia.

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868 King Alfred Marries Ealswith of Mercia.

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This creates unity between the two kingdoms.

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This begins a period of defeats for Wessex and Mercia.

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871 Alfred Calls Truce with Vikings After Losses

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871 Alfred Calls Truce with Vikings After Losses

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This forces him to begin paying tribute to the Danes, who now control Southern England.

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875 Charles the Bald Takes Louis II's Territory 

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875 Charles the Bald Takes Louis II's Territory 

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With the favor of Pope John VIII, Charles now has all the power and is to defend the Holy Roman Empire from an impending Islamic threat.

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876 Treaty of Wedmore Establishes Viking Kingdom in Britain

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876 Treaty of Wedmore Establishes Viking Kingdom in Britain

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Treaty of Wedmore divides England into different kingdoms including a non-salon, viking kingdom called the "Danelaw."

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At this time he also begins to create burghs, or fortified towns where he groups up citizens so they can be called in large numbers for service and better protect their towns. This also makes taxation and keeping track of local economies easier and more accurate.

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878 Viking Raids Begin in Francia/Germania

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878 Viking Raids Begin in Francia/Germania

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With support of Pope John VIII he takes the title to defend the empire once again from Islam.

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Oleg, successor of Rurik establishes his power after overtaking Kiev.

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After dealing with viking raids, rebellions, and his nephews inciting civil war, Charles dies leaving no heir behind.

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Dukes of Saxony begin to hold things together.

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917 Aethelflaed Captures Darby from Danelaw

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917 Aethelflaed Captures Darby from Danelaw

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Alfred's daughter continues the burgh system and centralizes her authority well enough to organize defense.

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This really makes the HRE fractured and weak on top of everything else that had been going on.

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936 Heinrich the Fowler is King of Saxons

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936 Heinrich the Fowler is King of Saxons

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Also, interestingly, this is a Nazi medal given to those who guarded Heinrich Himmler. Himmler believed he was the reincarnation of Henry I.

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Son of Henry I (Heinrich) gains power.

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The Vikings that had moved into and settled Eastern Europe, especially closer to Byzantium, fought with the locals and Byzantines. They lost due to Greek fire being used to destroy their ships.

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Ends the conflict between the Byzantines and Vikings.

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After working his way to control of the empire, it is time for some new structure and unity.

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After their Christianization, they go through their own "renaissance" and focus on achievement in infrastructure, language, and agriculture.

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Vikings, which had already invaded and conquered multiple English towns had met an army of resistance at Maldon in 991. The vikings were led by Olaf Tryggvason. They won the ordeal, but were too many wounded or dead to continue their raids.

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As recalled in the 325-line Anglo-Saxon poem 'The Battle of Maldon', a marauding army of Vikings were confronted by a...

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Very mixed ethnic and genetic makeup.

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1000 Collapse of Viking Rule in Eastern Europe

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1000 Collapse of Viking Rule in Eastern Europe

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They revert to paganism once again, trade moves North.

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After years of viking raids and control of the North in England, King Aethelred of Wessex ordered the killing of all Danish men in England. Many were massacred, but we do not know for sure how many. This was the result of years of tension between England and the vikings.

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On November 13, A.D. 1002, Æthelred Unræd, ruler of the English kingdom of Wessex, "ordered slain all the Danish men who were in England," according to a royal charter. This drastic step was not taken on a whim, but was the product of 200 years of Anglo-Saxon frustration and fear. Vikings, who had long plagued the Isles with raids and wars, had taken over the north and begun settling there. Concerns were growing that they had designs on Æthelred's southern realm as well.

Æthelred's order led to what is known as the St. Brice's Day Massacre, named for the saint's feast day on which it fell. The event has long been cloaked in mystery and misinformation. Archaeology, so far, has had little to offer in the matter of what actually happened and how many people died that day, but two mass burials recently unearthed are beginning to expose this turbulent period around the end of the first millennium. Could they be the first archaeological evidence of the massacre? Or might they offer a glimpse into some other aspect of the conflict between Anglo-Saxons and Vikings? Archaeologists are examining a trail of clues, including historical sources, wound patterns, and isotopic analysis of teeth, to put what was no doubt a violent series of deaths into perspective.

The Vikings of popular imagination were raiders and pillagers in longboats and (mythical) horned helmets, but the term "Viking" also refers to the farming, trading, crafting, exploring Scandinavian culture from which these raiders came. The Vikings that attacked and settled England and France were, for the most part, from or identified with Denmark. (The Norwegians went north and west, and the Swedes east, though there was a lot of movement of people among the Viking territories.) Viking raids in England began in the late eighth century A.D. and led to the fall of England's northern kingdoms. Many of the Danish settlers were warriors granted land as a reward for success in battle. The only Anglo-Saxon holdout was Wessex, a powerful and wealthy kingdom that controlled most of the south of the island. An 878 treaty established the boundaries of Wessex and the Danish-controlled area, known as the Danelaw.

There is much discussion among historians about the nature of the relationship between the Anglo-Saxons and the Danes. Many of the new settlers had once been warriors, but they eventually brought along their families. The Danes farmed, traded, and even intermarried with the Anglo-Saxon population, and their cultural influence can be seen in language, place names, and surnames that persist in England today. Some historians argue that there weren't all that many Danish settlers and that they assimilated many local traditions and beliefs. But there was likely some tension and resentment between the Danish settlers and the Anglo-Saxons (who, ironically, were also descended from continental invaders).

Burial Pit, ca. 960-1020, St. John's College, Oxford

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Vengeance on the Vikings - Archaeology Magazine

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On November 13, A.D. 1002, Æthelred Unræd, ruler of the English kingdom of Wessex, "ordered slain all the Danish men who were in England," according to a royal charter. This drastic step was not taken on a whim, but was the product of 200 years of Anglo-Saxon frustration and fear.