Theodora

Constantine

Book Recommendation

     
     A Little History of the World (originally in German, Eine kurze Weltgeschichte für junge Leser) was written in 1935, by Vienna native,  Ernst Gombrich at the age of 25.  The short history chronicles human development from the cavemen to the First World War. Additionally, the book describes the beliefs of many major world religions, including Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam.  Gombrich was convinced that an intelligent child could understand complicated ideas in history if put into understandable terms and set out to write a history book using only words and concepts that children could understand.  The result is an amazing book that summarizes world history in an easy and understandable way that any child can comprehend and enjoy. 

Byzantine Art

The most famous of the surviving Byzantine mosaics of the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople the image of Christ Pantocrator on the walls of the upper southern gallery. The mosaics were made in the 12th century. 

Mosaic from the church of Hagios Demetrios in Thessaloniki, late 7th or early 8th century, showing St. Demetrios with donors.

Miniatures of the 6th-century Rabula Gospel display the more abstract and symbolic nature of Byzantine art.

The Annunciation from Ohrid, one of the most admired icons of the Paleologan Mannerism, bears comparison with the finest contemporary works by Italian artists.

Miniatures of the 6th-century Rabula Gospeldisplay the more abstract and symbolic nature of Byzantine art.

Frescoes in Nerezi (1164)

Helios in his chariot, surrounded by symbols of the months and of the zodiac.  The "Handy Tables" of  Ptolemy, produced during the reign of Constantine V (1291)

Mosaic from San Vitale in Ravenna, showing the Emperor Justinian and Bishop Maximian of Ravenna surrounded by clerics and soldiers.

St Mark's Basilic in Venice, where imported Byzantine mosaicists were succeeded by Italians they had trained.

Constantinople

Map of Byzantine Constantinople 

Constantinople in Byzantine Times

Map of Constantinople (1422) by Florentine Cartographer Cristoforo Buondelmonte  

Artistic Map of Constantinople  

The Byzantine Empire

Chapter 6
OBJECTIVES
Students will...

•  explain the importance of the city of Constantinople as a trading hub and how mit emerged as the capital of the Byzantine Empire.
• describe the importance of the reign of Justinian I and the lasting impact of the new code of laws organized during his reign.
• trace the development of the Eastern Orthodox Church and its relations to the west.

Happy Constitution Day

Julius Caesar Gets Stabbed in the Back

The Fall of Rome

Plato's Allegory of the Cave