We invite you to an interactive journey to
early Byzantium, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire. Our
journey will commence at the Empire's capital, Constantinople.
We will pass from Asia Minor to the eastern part of the Mediterranean,
to the lands of Syria and Palestine and we will reach the
north shores of Africa, in Egypt. We will conclude our tour
in the Balkan peninsula, where we will focus mainly on the
large Greek cities. In each stop of our itinerary we will
have the opportunity to explore various aspects of the history
of the Early Years of Byzantium, with special emphasis on
the writings, monuments and achievements during the period
of the reign of Emperor Justinian I, from 527 to 565.
Our journey to the Eastern Roman Empire is structured in three
units, which are linked among them, but can also be visited
independently. You can start by entering one from the three
choices/menus. In Choice/Menu 1, the
Historical Framewor k of the era is developed
as an introduction. General issues of the Early Byzantine
years are presented with emphasis given to the period of Justinian's
reign. Choice/Menu 2 is the main body
of our presentation, the Journey. From
here you can visit a specific geographical area or archaeological
site. Elements of the early Byzantine urban planning and architecture
are examined through a selection of representative monuments.
In Choice/Menu 3 and in Culture
there is a more extensive analysis of the issues that are
presented in Choice 2, providing an overview of early Byzantine
art, architecture, and the material aspects of the culture
in the eastern provinces.
Every text is accompanied by the corresponding visual
material. By selecting the photograph you can see an enlargement
of it, as well as its historical commentary. The highlighted
words of the text open up a different window, in which the
interpretation of the term or the historical commentary on
the word (person or object) is provided. References, if there
are any, are given in the end of the text, in relative texts
of the other two Choices/Menus.
In the column in the right of the main page all the above
functions are collected plus some extra ones. Selecting the
"Map" you can see the frontiers of the Empire in the
Justinian era, while the most important cities of each area
is indicated. Selecting one of the cities, you are transported
to more detailed map of the area, where every city mentioned
in the text is depicted. In the "Gallery" you will
find some of the most characteristic photographs from our
tour to the Byzantine Empire. In the "Time Line" all
the important events in the history of the early stage of
the empire are cited in a time sequence. In the "Glossary"
the terms that can be found in the text are collected with
their interpretations. In the "Bibliography" all the
sources and studies that were used by the writers of the text
are cited. In the end you are provided with a "Site
Map", where all the titles and subchapters of all
three Choices/Menus are collected, and which you can
visit independently of order or time sequence.
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