The byzantine-empire tag has no wiki summary.
1
vote
1answer
49 views
What uncertainties and questions surround the death of Attila?
Merriam-Webester's Concise Encyclopedia says
Attila died on his wedding night, possibly murdered by his bride.
What uncertainty does the word possibly imply there about the death of Attila?
4
votes
0answers
70 views
Was there a state in history where influence of sport fans on politics was greater than in medieval Byzantine Empire?
It is known that sport fans got prominent role in Byzantine politics. Initially there were four teams: the greens, the reds, the whites and the blues. But later the reds and the whites were adsorbed ...
2
votes
0answers
48 views
What was the general idea of the 'Theme' system that the Byzantines employed? [closed]
I have heard that the Theme system was effective until some disaster, but what did it actually do? What was it supposed to do?
14
votes
5answers
332 views
What was “Greek fire”?
What was Greek fire?
I read in my history book that it was a flamethrower. But in certain fantasy movies it's been portrayed as something similar to dynamite. What was it dynamite or what? Did it ...
2
votes
0answers
60 views
Why did the Fourth Crusade sack Constantinople? [closed]
If the Crusade was going to help the Byzantines to drive away their enemies, as well as attack the Holy land, why did it turn on the Byzantine Empire?
25
votes
6answers
483 views
At what point was the Byzantine Empire's decline irreversible?
I've heard various arguments that the Byzantines were dealt the mortal wound at Manzikert in 1071 which allowed the Turks to claim most of Anatolia and set the stage for the later sacking of ...
5
votes
1answer
61 views
Was the Byzantine follis larger than the Roman (and why, if yes)?
Today I saw in a museum a row of coins minted by Roman emperors. The last four coins were of the follis kind, belonging to Constantine the Great, Constantius II, Anastasius and Justinian I. .
The ...
9
votes
1answer
233 views
The diminishing role of the “family name” throughout the Byzantine Empire
Why did the use of the family name (Cognomen), as one's surname, diminish and nearly disappear entirely during the 4th - 11th centuries throughout the Eastern Roman Empire?
Brief history of the early ...
3
votes
2answers
73 views
Successors of the Roman Empire
I know that the Byzantine Empire was technically the Eastern Roman Empire, but did they carry over actual Roman traditions with them? Also, did the Holy Roman Empire have anything to do with the ...
24
votes
6answers
2k views
What were the reasons for the Renaissance / scientific revolution in Europe?
One of the common reasons given for the Renaissance and the subsequent scientific revolution is the rediscovery of classical works by scholars in Europe and the social change that the study of those ...
17
votes
1answer
266 views
What was the scale of eroticism in Byzantine theater?
When reading the texts of saint John the Chrysostome i found a very severe criticism of theater because of 'nude harlots' that could be seen there. I have also read some fragments of Procopius' Secret ...
3
votes
1answer
58 views
Did loot from the 4th Crusade turn up in interesting places?
The horses of St. Mark were taken to Venice. Are there any other objects that are known to have turned up elsewhere?
6
votes
2answers
172 views
What happened to the Imperial Byzantine Family after the collapse of the empire?
After the collapse of the Byzantine Empire, what happened to the Imperial Byzantine family? Did they later establish other smaller kingdoms? Do any European Royal family trace their ancestry to them ...
28
votes
6answers
9k views
Why did the Western Roman Empire collapse but not the Eastern Roman Empire?
There were several crises in the “late” Roman Empire.
For once, the crisis of the Republic, which resulted in the creation of Principat and later Dominat. This crisis may be related to the fact that ...
11
votes
2answers
191 views
Was Theodoric the Great killed by Justinian?
In a recent Medieval History class my professor made a statement that Theodoric the Great after he signed up with Byzantines was killed on the orders of Justinian I so the Byzantines could take over ...
10
votes
1answer
522 views
“Musketeer” beard, mustache and hairdress - where did they originate?
This is a portrait of typical French musketeer, with typical triangle beard, mustache and long wavy hairs.
I wonder where this fashion originates from? Is not it the Byzantine Empire where such ...
9
votes
1answer
122 views
How widespread was practice of fusion of Graeco-Roman and barbarian names?
There are some instances when barbarian names were romanized in order to be similar to already existing Roman or Greek names. Just some examples that come to mind:
Hebrew Martha -> Marta ("of Mars")
...
