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.