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OUR GREEK BYZANTINE EMPIRE LIVED , OUR GREAT CONSTANTINE AND GREEKS STILL LIVE/ LOOK AT ALL IN " CONSTANTINOPLE/ AND YOU WILL SEE ITS GREATNESS !.!. OUR HAGIA SOPHIA ( HOLY WISDOM FOR GOD / STILL STANDS
The Byzantine Empire is the name given to the eastern part of the Roman Empire, which survived until well into the Middle Ages!. First split into an Eastern and Western divisions by Constantine in the 300s A!.D!., the Eastern Empire went on to outlive its Western half by 1000 years!. The empire was multi-ethnic and predominantly Greek-speaking!. The empire's heritage consisted of the Eastern Orthodox Church, Greek philosophy, and Greek Law!.
The empire's history was extremely violent as it was often at war with at least one foreign power!. As a result, its borders fluctuated greatly over time, but it was always centered in Constantinople!. While taking on offensive position to "reunite" with the west under Justinian in the 500's, for the most part the positiion of the Empire was defensive in nature, having little desire to increase its borders!. For years the cultured Byzantine Empire was the protector of
Dark Age Europe, repelling Islamic armies that would stretch to control lands from Morocco to India!. An important element in Byzantine survival was Greek Fire, a substance that could burn even in water and was a terror to enemy fleets!. The contents were such a carefully guarded secret that to this day they are unknown!.
In 1453, the capital of the Byzantine Empire fell to the Ottoman Turks after a long cannon bombardament at a time when the Empire had been reduced to a mere shell of its former self!. Retrieved from "http://www!.conservapedia!.com/Byzantine_!.!.!.
ISTANBUL IS A GREEK NAME ( NOT TURKISH
Even the name "Istanbul" is originally Greek, as many other city names in Turkey!. !.
Sehir Haritasi] Istanbul!.IS STILL GREEK / IT MAY BE ALL GREEK TO YOU BUT THE TRUTH IT IT IS STILL GREEK
The name ?stanbul' is of the Greek words to the city', a phrase !.!.!. The income annually produced in ?stanbul is equal to 1,5 times the GNP
CHURCH
http://www!.pbase!.com/dosseman/istanbul_k!.!.!.
Kariye museum or the Church of St!. Saviour in Chora is the most interesting Byzantine church in Istanbul, after the Haghia Sophia that is!. For that reason I gave it a gallery of it’s own!. It contains both frescoes and mosaics (1315-1321), restored by the Byzantine Institute of America!. Chora means “in the country”, because the monastery it was attached to stood outside the Constantian walls, later when the Theodosian walls were erected the name remained!. Symbolicaly the name received the implication of referring to “Christ”, him being “the land of the Living”!. "

Adapted from Sumner-Boyd and Freely; Strolling through Istanbul, a very good book!.
http://www!.pbase!.com/dosseman/istanbul_k!.!.!.
STURCTURES / ARCHITECTURES OF ISTANBUL
http://en!.wikipedia!.org/wiki/Architectur!.!.!.
ISTANBUL MEANS CITY OF STEEL IN GREEK
http://www!.answers!.com/topic/istanbul!?ca!.!.!.

CONSTANTINOPE FELL DUE TO THE INVANSION OF THE MUSLIM AND THE WESTERN EUROPEN EMPEROR
(Browning 94)!. The walls of the empire were sufficient to repel most minor threats without greatly taxing the army (Hollister 38)!. Later, after years of indirect protection from this empire the west showed its appreciation by arranging a crusade which not only attacked the empire but which brought the empire under the rule of a western European emperor for a time (Browning 190)!. The constant attacks on both borders slowly weakened the empire, but the strong, professional military helped to insure the long life of the empire!.

The more drastic attacks against the empire came from the people of the Muslim faith The people had strong convictions toward a god that like the Christian god, allow conquest in his name!. They began to take land and wealth from


the empire in a series of wars which caused the empire to loose most of its domination in the Mediterranean area (Hollister 77)!. This crippling of the empire hurt the people and the empire more than an single blow during the Middle Ages!. It was only during the later life of the empire that it would be damaged in this manner again!. The results of this conquest was the change to a more provocative attitude in the empire which signaled its resurgace to both the east and the west which temporarily returned much of the empire's land to it (Guerdan 163)!.
In contrast with the few military defeats of the time the empire's military managed to retain much of the power of the empire for many years!. The military was effective in many other conflicts including defending Constantinople against great odds until its fall!. This was shown not only in valiant combat but in shrewd alliances such as that with Venice (Browning 158) and later the Cumans (Browning 160)!. These alliances were made it reserve the need for combat when the empire did not wish to stretch itself far!. Other times bribes were used as an option when an enemy was too great or not worth the time of the empire!.
While the military of the empire was its savior, but the culture of the empire is what allowed the empire to grow (Nicol)!. The culture helped give people a sense of identity which united them until the end of the empire itself (Nicol 130)!. This culture included a flowering literature, in both the Greek styles, a variety of art, and most important a rich sense of culture!. The heritage of this culture often brought the Byzantine empire in conflict with the west!. The mostly Greek background of the people of Byzantium directly contrasted in many respects with the Latin culture that the west had inherited from Rome!. These differences were amplified as the two societies contact grew further strained and the cultures each developed separately!. This later led to distrust among the two peoples which helped foster incidents such as the attack of Constantinople by the crusaders!.
The primary difference in the two societies stemmed from their background (Hollister 25)!. The Greek language and culture and heritage had never faded from the eastern region and was simply adopted by future peoples!. The west was changed by the rule of the Latins, who later developed into the Roman Empire!. This distinct difference provided a point on contention that was settled by the fall of the Greek half of the empire to the Turks in 1453, who eradicated most of the remaining Greek culture!. The Latin culture of the west survived in their less cultured conquerors and developed in to modern western culture!.
The church also helped provide a solid back bone on which the empire stood (Nicol)!. Once again it was in direct conflict with the western culture, but it provided a true sense of unity in the eastern province!. The direct linking of the ruler to the church also increased the strength and position of the church and the ruler mutually (Hollister 40)!. It was this unity more than any other aspect of the society which prevented the constant changes in government to destroy the empire!. The church influence helped guide both the people and the ruler toward a Christian style of life for both themselves and the empire in which they lived!. The church is linked to the very end of the empire as a symbol of its greatness surviving in myth until much later times (Guerdan 220)!.
The church influenced the life of all of the individuals in the empire to some extent!. The religious life of the people was the common rule which united the people in both spirit and law!. The fear of God and respect for his power was transmitted to the emperor of being in direct lineage to God!. This respect for God helped insure loyalty to the government and the emperor which helped keep another sense of unity in the empire which lasted to the fall of Constantinople when the citizens of the city wished to save their emperor!. This loyalty was reciprocated from the emperor to his people as being their protectors from God both physically and spiritually!. This was shown in his presiding over the church which was established to protect the spirit of the people through constant prayer and his leader of the military!.
The leadership of the empire was the common glue which held all of the other pieces of the empire together!. The emperor was seen as God's representative on Earth and was treated accordingly by the people!. Even when forceful changes of power occurred each new emperor contributed his own new ideas to the empire!. Emperors from Constantine I to Constantine XI (XII) Palaeologus contributed their strength to the empire (Browning 298)!. Contributions in encouraging the growth of the church, establishing the doctrine of the church, arranging the decoration of public places, and leading the army to battle unified the other elements of the society with a common icon which the people could see!. The final emperor was so close to his people he refused to flee Constantinople when its fall was eminent and fought to his own death with his people in defense of his empire (Guerdan 217)!. The power of the emperors was so strong the his body was considered a prize to the conquerors to represent the immense power they had cr
ushed (Guerdan 217-218)!.
The powerful culture, religion, military, and leadership of Byzantium preserved the empire throughout time!. Its people were a proud people who wanted to survive and fought against insurmountable odds to preserve their way of life!. The strength of this spirit was so strong that the power of even the fallen empire is still felt today in the powerful works of literature, art, and legacy that still exists from the period!. The grace of Constantinople still stands as Istanbul and was even after its fall and pillage one of the most powerful cities on Eastern Europe
http://www!.lothlorien!.net/~jason/school/!.!.!.
Get AGE OF FAITH AND REASON Book at the library
By WILL DURANT!.!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

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zena e!.!.!.!.BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

greek this greek that,but which flag flys over istanbul!? the cresent and star,thats all that matters dear!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

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The Ottoman Turks' power was much greater than the others!. It's survival of the fittest!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

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it was invaded by the Muslims!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

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