June 65438 +65438 10+July 395, the Roman emperor Theodosius I (346-395) died. On his deathbed, he divided the empire among his two sons.
In 395, the Roman Empire split into two, and the Eastern Roman Empire lasted for nearly a thousand years, during which it was generally referred to as the "Roman Empire". Constantinople, the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire, was established on the basis of the ancient Greek city of Byzantium. At first, its territory included the Balkans, Asia Minor, Syria, Palestine, Egypt, Mesopotamia and a part of Transcaucasia. During the reign of Emperor Justinian, western North Africa, Italy and southeastern Spain were incorporated into the territory.
/kloc-in the 0 th and 7 th centuries, historians in western Europe introduced the name "Byzantine Empire" in order to distinguish the ancient Roman Empire from the holy Roman Empire in the Middle Ages.
After the establishment of Byzantine Empire, the national strength increased rapidly. In the dark middle ages of Europe, it became the only place in Europe with advanced civilization. In the 7th century, the national strength reached its peak, and it was called the three great empires in the world together with the Tang Empire and the Arab Empire, and its comprehensive national strength also ranked third in the world.
The Byzantine Empire experienced 12 dynasties and 93 emperors. 1204, the imperial capital, New Rome (Constantinople), was captured by the fourth Crusade until it was recovered in 126 1 year. 1453 On May 29th, Sultan Muhammad Ⅱ of the Ottoman Empire led an army into Constantinople (now Istanbul), and the Eastern Roman Empire officially perished.
In 324 AD, the Roman Emperor Constantine I defeated his opponent Ricini. After unifying the empire, he ordered the construction of a new Rome in Byzantium, with East as its capital. He chose the address himself.
Constantine mobilized tens of thousands of soldiers to imitate the old capital Rome and establish a new capital. Meanwhile, the imperial government moved to New Rome, which was called Constantinople.
Later, it gradually developed into the most important economic, political, religious and cultural center in Europe and the Mediterranean world, with a population of one million.
In order to find a way out of the crisis in the general chaos and turmoil in the late Roman Empire, the rulers consciously or unconsciously tried various social reforms.
Constantine I and Justinian I became outstanding representatives. Justinian ascended the throne in 527, vigorously promoted the comprehensive social tax reform, and promulgated the Justinian Code, which effectively helped Persians launch a large-scale conquest war to the western Mediterranean after invading from the eastern part of the empire. Destroy the Vandals, ostrogoths, the two Germanic kingdoms. Let the Mediterranean almost become the inland sea of the empire again.
However, the Byzantine rulers' efforts to establish new ideas within the old framework of the Roman Empire eventually failed. Justinian spent a lot of national strength and people's strength year after year. After his death, his territory shrank rapidly.
Half a century after his death, he was trapped in internal affairs and diplomacy until 6 10 AD, when Chirac proclaimed himself emperor.
Opened a new chapter in Byzantine history.
Chirac's reform of the military region system laid the foundation for the prosperity of the Byzantine Empire. The national strength of the Byzantine Empire reached its peak during the Macedonian dynasty.
The Macedonian dynasty reached its peak on the basis of previous dynasties. Economically, continuing to promote the achievements of the military post reform has laid the economic foundation for the development of small farmers throughout the empire. Politically, the kingship has been strengthened. Externally, it is manifested in successive victories in foreign wars. On the basis of all kinds of prosperity, the dynasty realized a large-scale Renaissance movement, which is called the Macedonian Renaissance in history.
Vasily II was a very outstanding monarch of the Byzantine Empire. On the one hand, he gave up the life of an aristocratic emperor in the past and devoted himself to the governance of the whole empire. On the other hand, he is a military genius, which is difficult for other emperors to possess.
Everything has two sides, and the military system that once saved the Byzantine Empire also has its side effects. Under the military system, the nobles of the big land are getting stronger and stronger; Anti-centralization in all directions. The empire also faces many other tests.
Finally, talk about the famous Battle of Constantinople.
The Battle of Constantinople took place in A.D. 1453, and the Ottoman Turkish Empire destroyed the Byzantine Empire. This battle was a typical fortress offensive and defensive war at that time. It is also a shocking battle in the history of the world.
The battle of Constantinople led to the interruption of the main land trade routes connecting Eurasia, which made many Europeans seriously consider the feasibility of reaching Asia by sea, and eventually led Europeans to discover the new continent. Constantinople fell on Tuesday, and to this day, many Greeks still think Tuesday is the most ominous day of the week.
/kloc-At the beginning of the 5th century, the declining Byzantine Empire was only the capital Constantinople and several nearby cities, as well as the Peloponnesian region isolated by the Turkish army. Constantinople is actually an isolated city. /kloc-at the beginning of 0/453, Turkish Sultan Muhammad Ⅱ led more than 70,000 infantry, more than 20,000 cavalry and 320 warships, surrounded by land and water, in an attempt to occupy Constantinople and completely destroy the Byzantine Empire. Constantinople is located on a promontory on the west bank of Bosphorus. The whole city is triangular, with Golden Horn Bay (also known as Chalik Bay) in the north and Marmarahi in the south. There are fortifications in the coastal areas, and the entrance of Jinjiaowan is blocked by chains, so it is easy to defend and difficult to attack on both sides. To the west is land, with two walls. There is a trench as deep as 100 feet outside the city. There are only about 9,000 troops stationed in the city and a fleet of more than 20 sailboats at sea.
On April 6th, Turkish troops stormed Constantinople from the west. They violently smashed the city walls with cannons, battering hammers and catapults, filled trenches, erected ladders and dug tunnels under the city walls. The soldiers and civilians in Constantinople, under the leadership of Emperor Constantine ·Xi· Palogus, resisted tenaciously and smashed the Turkish army's attack from the west. Naval reinforcements of the Byzantine Empire also broke through the blockade of the Turkish army in the Strait.
Muhammad Ⅱ changed his offensive strategy. He bribed Genoese businessmen to sneak into Golden Horn Bay through Galatia controlled by Genoese, so that they were attacked by land and water. He mobilized 50,000 troops and laid a log taxiway with a length of about 1.5km between Bosphorus Strait and Golden Horn Bay. Then drag 80 light sailboats to the shore of the strait overnight, pull people, livestock and pulleys over the hills, and then slide into the Golden Horn Bay from the oblique waves. A pontoon bridge was erected at the narrowest part of Jinjiaowan, and artillery was deployed on the bridge.
On May 29th, the Turkish army launched a general attack on Constantinople from land and sea, and at the same time destroyed fortifications in Golden Horn Bay and bombarded defensive ships with artillery. In the west, Muhammad Ⅱ commanded tens of thousands of troops to attack castles from many places. The defenders of Constantinople fought bloody battles to defend the castle to the death, but in the end, because they were outnumbered and ran out of ammunition, the castle was finally captured. The Byzantine Empire, which lasted for thousands of years, ended. This war was a typical fortress offensive and defensive war at that time.