Tom Luxsox Coins

Byzantine Constantine

Christian Arts

In the second century of the Christian era, important events were developing in Rome that eventually shook the foundations of the Empire itself. The Roman legions had suffered defeats which had weakened the confidence of the people in their existing government. Insurrections, civil wars and murders of emperors commenced.

The examples of moral degradation set by the heads of the State, and followed by the nobility were soon adopted by large parts of the population, who endeavored to forget their Mailing glories in riotous living. The pious philosophy of the Christian religion starting among the poorer classes in the Roman provinces of Asia Minor, had been accepted by other members of the Roman citizenry, whose prayers to the pagan gods had remained unanswered, and who willingly grasped at the simple beliefs and hopes that were offered by the early Christians.

The teachings of Christ came to a civilized world at a time when they were most needed. The twilight of the power of force and terrorism was to fade before the dawn of the power of humility. The Christians were the "radicals" of the period and were in severe conflict with the existing government for the first three centuries of our era.

They had been obliged to pursue their beliefs in secret and to suffer much martyrdom for their cause. By the beginning of the fourth century they had become a party powerful enough to obtain representation in the Roman senate, and a conflict between the followers of the pagan and Christian beliefs was finally brought to a crisis when Constantine the Great came to the throne in A.D. 324.

Constantine had proclaimed Christianity the official religion of the Roman State, but felt that it was impossible to follow his beliefs in peace within the precincts of Rome itself, which was still the hotbed of the pagan party. He had had ample opportunity in his visits and conquests in the outlying districts of the Empire to observe the incomparable position of Byzantium both in respect to being guarded by nature against hostile attack as well as being accessible on all sides to commerce.

He was also driven enough by the ambition of glorifying and perpetuating his name that he founded a city to which he could give it. The Roman Empire had already been divided into two governing parts when Constantine decided to leave the confusion at Rome to be straightened by a local governor, while he with his followers would remain on the banks of Bosporus. He changed the name of the provincial city to Constantinople and there established the Roman Empire of the East, known as the Byzantine Empire.

The wisdom of Constantine in removing his capital to a far distant point was proved by the confusion that continued in Rome during the next century and a half. The city was repeatedly invaded by the "barbarians" from the North and finally fell in the year A.D. 475, at which time a barbarian proclaimed himself Emperor, thereby officially extinguishing the Empire of the West.

The Byzantine Empire continued until the year 1453, when Sultan Mahamet II captured and pillaged Constantinople, defended by 10,000 Christians, and made it the Capital of the Turkish Empire.

There are only a few examples of Byzantine art of the first four centuries after Constantine's reign. Details show a separate development from that of the arts of the West. They consist largely of an admixture of debased Roman forms with those of the Orient. Byzantine art is distinctly that of a people whose most important thoughts were those of monastic religion.

The products of the craftsmen were those that could best be carried out within the walls of the monasteries. From the 10th to the 12th centuries, they are primarily those of the enamel worker, ivory carver, and painter of illuminated manuscripts.

Through a ruling of the early leaders of the church, sculptured figures were not permitted to be used as decorative features in ecclesiastical edifices, recalling too vividly the idols of the pagan religions. There were, however, no objections to the human figure being used in surface decoration or on stone fireplaces (http://www.ferche.com/). For this reason the art of the mosaic worker became highly developed. The most magnificent examples of this work are shown in St. Mark's in Venice and St. Sophia in Constantinople, the latter now being used as a Turkish mosque.

The influence of the Byzantine arts has come down to us in the products of modern Greece and Russia. Their influence is also seen upon the Gothic arts in France and England, after the Crusades, when millions of the inhabitants of Western Europe traveled to the East and learned to appreciate the superior civilization and luxury that had developed in Constantinople under the influence of Persia and Arabia.

About the Author

Sarah Martin is a freelance marketing writer based out of San Diego, CA. She specializes in art, culture, home improvement, and landscaping. For the finest in the hardwood moulding industry, please visit
http://www.ferche.com/
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