Download PDF | Byzantium The Bridge From Antiquity To The Middle Ages St. Martin’s Press ( 2001)
236 Pages
Michael Angold’s book is a clear, concise, and authoritative history of Imperial Rome's successor: the Byzantine Empire. Byzantium was a Greek polis on the Bosphorus that gained importance in A.D. 324 when it was refounded by Constantine the Great and named Constantinople. One of the preeminent cities of the Middle Ages, Constantinople played a vital role in the emergence of the medieval order in which Byzantium, western Christendom, and Islam became three distinct civilizations.
This book charts precisely the development and characteristics of Byzantine art and society. Angold begins in Constantinople and examines the city in relation to the world of the early Middle Ages. He shows how the foundation and subsequent growth of the city altered the equilibrium of the Roman Empire and shifted the center of gravity eastward; he describes the emergence of political factions and their impact on political life, analyzes the disintegration of the culture of late antiquity, and elucidates the reaction among Muslims and western Europeans to Byzantine iconoclasm.
Angold concludes with au account of Byzantium’s collapse. His book is an excellent introduction to one of the most important, but least studied, European civilizations.
NOTES FOR TRAVELLERS
The events described in this book took place largely around the Mediterranean. The best time to travel is either the spring or the autumn. You can take your chances in March but it 1s often cold and rainy; April and May are better bets. The autumn is at its best in October, but, if you are lucky, an Indian summer may last well into November. The monuments of the early Middle Ages are widely scattered, but many of the best preserved and most evocative are concentrated in the cities of Rome, Ravenna, Thessaloniki, and Istanbul.
Byzantine civilization was far more original and creative than it is usually given credit for. Its domed churches challenge classical temples and Gothic cathedrals in their originality and daring, while its mosaics vie with classical sculpture and Renaissance painting as supreme works of art. Byzantine civilization was largely the creation of the city of Byzantium, or Constantinople, which is where we must begin. The massive and hugely impressive transformation that the city underwent in the centuries after 1453 — when it became Istanbul, the capital of the Ottoman Empire — did not obliterate the Byzantine city. How could it? Justinian’s Church of St Sophia continues to preside. The nave with its colossal dome still staggers us.
Much has been done to preserve what is left of the Byzantine mosaics. The apse mosaic of the Virgin and Child remains among the greatest works of Byzantine art. Within reasonably easy distance of St Sophia are other Justinianic churches. The Church of St Sergius and Bacchus (Kiiciik Ayasofya Camii) should not be missed for the daring of its planning and the beauty of its architectural detail. In contrast there is the Church of St Irene (Aya Irini Kilisesi), which impresses with its severity. Note the iconoclast cross in the apse.
The church now stands within the precincts of the Topkapi Palace. This residence of the Ottoman sultans survives intact, which is more than can be said of the Byzantine imperial palace, which stood on the opposite side of St Sophia. More or less all that is left is a famous mosaic floor, which has been turned into the Mosaics Museum (Mozaik Miisesi), but archaeological work in the area promises to reveal more of the palace’s splendours. Next to the palace was the hippodrome (At Meydani), where the chariot races were staged. It was in many ways the focus of city life. It is now a park, where some of the old monuments still stand, notably an Egyptian obelisk that the Byzantines mounted on a base showing scenes from the hippodrome. Even more evocative of the early Byzantine city are the public monuments. Close to St Sophia is the great Basilica cistern (Yerebatan Saray) built by Justinian. It was fed by water brought by the Aqueduct of Valens (Bozdogan Kemer1), which dwarfs Atatiirk Bulvari, the main artery of the modern city. The walls of Constantinople should not be missed. Built in the early fifth century, they are the supreme achievement of Roman military engineering. It is worth making a special trip to the Sea of Marmora end in order to see the fortress of Yedikule, which contains the Golden Gate — now blocked up — the ceremonial entrance to the city of Constantinople. Within easy distance is the monastery of St John of Stoudios (Imrahor Camii). Though now just a shell, it was for a thousand years the greatest of Byzantine monasteries.
Ravenna and Thessaloniki complement early Constantinople.
The former boasts the greatest surviving assemblage of sixth-century ecclesiastical buildings, and with most of their mosaic decoration still intact. There is San Vitale, with its famous mosaics of the courts of Justinian and Theodora and much more; San Appollinare Nuovo, with its processions of martyrs and virgins — don’t miss the small portrait of Justinian as an old man hidden away at the west end; San Appollinare in Classe, with its lovely grey marble columns and its famous apse mosaic of the Transfiguration showing the apostles as sheep and Christ as a cross. There are the baptisteries and the mausoleum of Galla Placidia, with its star-spangled ceiling. Long stretches of the medieval walls are still intact. On Via di Roma next to San Appollinare Nuovo you can still make out the facade of the Byzantine governor’s palace. Well worth the effort is the short trip out of town to the mausoleum of King Theodorich.
Thessaloniki doesn’t have quite the same concentration of early medieval monuments, but there is the great pilgrimage Church of St Demetrius, still the city’s focus, which dates back to the midfifth century. It has survived earthquakes and a succession of fires. Somehow it has still preserved some of its early medieval mosaic work. Within easy reach of St Demetrius are the Church of the Virgin Acheiropoieitos, an impressively large early Christian basilica; the Cathedral of St Sophia, built in the middle of the Dark Ages — clumsy but immensely solid with powerful mosaics in the apse and dome; and the Rotunda, a victim of the 1978 earthquake. The last has been restored and may soon open to the public.
It was originally built around AD 300 as the mausoleum of the emperor Galerius — a notorious persecutor of Christians — but was later turned into a church, when the gold mosaics showing a calendar of saints were added. Tucked away among the winding lanes that lead up to the citadel is the tiny Church of Osios David, famed for its apse mosaic showing Christ in glory. It dates from the fifth century and is, if not the earliest, one of the earliest apse mosaics to have survived. A steep ascent will take you to the upper circuit of walls dating from roughly the same time.
It is quite impossible to do justice to Rome in a few words. The early medieval city is there, but you have to look for it, because it is obscured by later accretions. A marvellous exception are the ruins of Santa Maria Antiqua at the foot of the Palatine Hill. Its lavish frescoes give a taste of the richness of the early medieval decor. It has been preserved because it was overwhelmed by a mud slide in the ninth century, to be rediscovered a thousand years later. You are bound to visit the Pantheon, but reflect that its survival was the result of being turned into a Christian church, Santa Maria ad Martyres (Rotonda), which became one of the great pilgrimage churches of the Middle Ages. Pilgrims came to venerate an icon of the Virgin Mary donated by a Byzantine emperor in the early seventh century. Churches such as Santa Maria in Cosmedin and, particularly, San Prassede, which has been little altered, will give you a good impression of pilgrimage churches of the time. You should visit the crypts, where relics gathered from the catacombs were stored. But there is so much more.
You will find more early medieval sites and buildings scattered around Syria, Palestine, and Israel than anywhere else, but less easily accessible. There are desert palaces, deserted villages and market towns, and ruined cities boasting many churches. Not to be missed by anybody interested in early Islam are the Great Mosque at Damascus and the Dome of the Rock at Jerusalem. If you have the chance, visit the monastery of St Catherine at the foot of Mount Sinai. It was built by Emperor Justinian as a fortified monastery, and its original apse mosaic showing the Transfiguration has been preserved. It was an important place of pilgrimage, originally because of its associations with Moses, later because of the cult of St Catherine of Alexandria, famous for being broken on the wheel.
Norman Sicily gives us the opportunity to review the changes that occurred over the early Middle Ages. Most of the monuments are concentrated in and around the centre of Palermo. The Royal Palace is the place to start. Only one room from the Norman palace the Sala di Ruggero — has been preserved, but it is worth seeing. The palace chapel must not be missed. It combines Byzantine mosaics, Italian architecture and Muslim workmanship to create a dazzling ensemble. Don’t miss the nearby ruined monastery of San Giovanni degli Eremiti. Down from the palace is the cathedral. It was built in the late twelfth century on the site of the chief mosque, but has since been much altered. It houses the porphyry tombs of the Norman kings and their successors. Continue down to the main street of Palermo (Via Maqueda). Immediately to your right is a square dominated by the churches of San Cataldo and Santa Maria dell’ Ammiraglio (the Martorana).
The former can be appreciated for its severe architecture, the latter for its campanile and its wonderful mosaics. Up from the Royal Palace, in the Piazza Independenza, you can catch a bus that will take you a short distance to La Cuba, one of the Moorish palaces of the Norman kings, and further afield up to Monreale — about half an hour by bus — and its stupendous cathedral. Amazingly, the original mosaic decoration is virtually intact. The cloister should not be missed. There is much else beside to see in and around Palermo, including a number of churches in the distinctive Norman Sicilian style. It is certainly worth making the effort to reach La Zisa, the most impressive and best preserved of the Moorish palaces of the Norman kings. But most of all Cefalu — about forty minutes by train from Palermo — must be seen: a delightful setting on the coast and a cathedral that somehow combines northern French architecture with Byzantine mosaics.
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