#byzantine history meme

[victusinveritas]

I've got my own answer and it's none of these.

[temtamtom]

If I had a nickel for every time Veneziano stole the body of a Saint to bring back to Venice, I'd have two nickels.

Which isn't a lot but it's weird that it happened twice.

[nanshe-of-nina]

Women’s History Meme || Empresses (5/5) ↬ Zoe Porphyrogénnētē (c. 978 – 1050)

When Michael V met his fate on Tuesday evening, 20 April 1042, the Empress Theodora was still in St Sophia. She had by now been there for well over twenty-four hours, steadfastly refusing to proceed to the Palace until she received word from her sister. Only the following morning did Zoe, swallowing her pride, send the long-awaited invitation. On Theodora's arrival, before a large concourse of nobles and senators, the two old ladies marked their reconciliation with a somewhat chilly embrace and settled down, improbably enough, to govern the Roman Empire. All members of the former Emperor's family, together with a few of his most enthusiastic supporters, were banished; but the vast majority of those in senior positions, both civil and military, were confirmed in office. From the outset Zoe, as the elder of the two, was accorded precedence. When they sat in state, her throne was placed slightly in advance of that of Theodora, who had always been of a more retiring disposition and who seemed perfectly content with her inferior status. Psellus gives us a lively description of the pair: Zoe was the quicker to understand ideas, but the slower to give them utterance. With Theodora it was just the reverse: she concealed her inmost thoughts, but once she had embarked on a conversation she would chatter away with an informed and lively tongue. Zoe was a woman of passionate interests, prepared with equal enthusiasm for life or death. In this she reminded me of the waves of the sea, now lifting a vessel on high, now plunging it down again. Such extremes were not to be found in Theodora: she had a calm disposition - one might almost say a dull one. Zoe was prodigal, the sort of woman who could dispose of a whole ocean of gold dust in a single day; the other counted her coins when she gave away money, partly no doubt because all her life her limited resources had prevented her from any reckless spending, but partly also because she was naturally more self-controlled In personal appearance there was a still greater divergence. The elder, though not particularly tall, was distinctly plump. She had large eyes set wide apart, with imposing eyebrows. Her nose was inclined to be aquiline, though not overmuch. She still had golden hair, and her whole body shone with the whiteness of her skin. There were few signs of age in her appearance … there were no wrinkles, her skin being everywhere smooth and taut. Theodora was taller and thinner. Her head was disproportionately small. She was, as I have said, readier with her tongue than Zoe, and quicker in her movements. There was nothing stem in her glance: on the contrary she was cheerful and smiling, eager to find any opportunity for talk. — Byzantium: The Apogee by John Julius Norwich

[baebeylik]

[historynerdj2]

History Memes #44

[sovietkitty420]

[cceanvvaves]

a lil meme i made for a project in ss about the filioque controversy in the Nicaean creed which is one little cause for the great schism (1054) between the orthodox and roman catholic church-

[youvebeengreeked]

ON THIS DAY, 474 AD

ZENO made EMPEROR in CONSTANTINOPLE, alongside his son LEO II 👑

[nanshe-of-nina]

Women’s History Meme || Empresses (2/5) ↬ Catherine de Valois-Courtenay (before 15 April 1303 – October 1346)

The official Neapolitan investigation into Andrew of Hungary’s murder targeted Johanna’s closest supporters and left her isolated and vulnerable. Her aunt, Catherine of Valois, took advantage of that vulnerability to become the queen’s confidant in order to make certain that one of her sons would be Naples’s next king. At first, it appeared that this son would be Robert, the eldest of the Tarantini, who for a time seemed to be winning the competition between the Angevin princes for power and whom Johanna requested a papal dispensation to marry. Soon, however, Louis gained the upper hand, and Johanna’s requests for dispensations began to identify him as her intended. — From She-Wolf to Martyr: The Reign and Disputed Reputation of Johanna I of Naples by Elizabeth Casteen Of the many relatives who chose to avail themselves of the glittering social whirl of the capital, one stood out: Joanna’s aunt, Catherine of Valois, widow of Robert the Wise’s younger brother Philip, prince of Taranto. Catherine was Joanna’s mother’s older half-sister (both were fathered by Charles of Valois). Catherine had married Philip in 1313, when Philip was thirty-five and she just ten. Catherine was Philip’s second wife. He had divorced his first on a trumped-up charge of adultery after fifteen years of marriage and six children in order to wed Catherine, who had something he wanted. She was the sole heir to the title of empress of Constantinople. … Catherine was twenty-eight years old, recently widowed, and a force to be reckoned with when the newly orphaned Joanna and her sister, Maria, first knew her at the Castel Nuovo in 1331. Shrewd, highly intelligent, and vital, Catherine was supremely conscious of her exalted ancestry and wore her title of empress of Constantinople as though it were a rare gem of mythic origin. Even the death of her husband, Philip, in 1331 had not dissuaded her from persisting in her efforts to reclaim the Latin Empire for herself and her three young sons: Robert, Louis, and Philip. A series of shockingly inept leaders had left the Byzantine Empire vulnerable to attack from the west, and this state of affairs was well known in Italy. Moreover, Catherine was used to getting her way. — The Lady Queen: The Notorious Reign of Joanna I, Queen of Naples, Jerusalem, and Sicily by Nancy Goldstone

[baebeylik]

[girlactionfigure]

109 is fake, 32 is real

Muslims have faced at least 32 major expulsions in the last 1000 years. I’ve compiled a list for your reference. You can help by expanding it.

Interestingly, Muslims have faced more expulsions than Jews in the same time period. In fact, their history starts with an expulsion! Why is that, I wonder?

But wait! Weren’t the Jews expelled 109 times?

Actually, no. The 109 meme is utterly false. The actual number is closer to 20. Here’s why:

It counts expulsions done in stages from the same country as multiple expulsions. For example, it counts France 5 times even though these were different waves from the same expulsion. 

It artificially divides countries into regions to increase the count.For example, it counts different cities within the Holy Roman Empire as different expulsions even though they’re all in the same country and happened in the same time. 

It depicts immigration as expulsion. For example, while many Jews did leave Iran after 1979, the regime never expelled them. They simply didn’t want to live under an Islamic Republic. Many Muslims have left as well.

It just plain makes up events. For example, it mentions an expulsion of Jews from Morocco in the 15th century. Morocco famously accepted Jewish refugees in the 15th century, making the claim the literal opposite of the truth.

In any case, here’s my list of Muslim expulsions in the last 1000 years. It is by no means exhaustive. If I’ve missed something, please let me know in the comments!

Country: Byzantine Empire Date: 1000s Perpetrators: Byzantine rulers Estimated number expelled: Tens of Thousands

Country: Sicily Date: 1061–1300s Perpetrators: Normans Estimated number expelled: 100,000

Country: Kingdom of Jerusalem Date: 1099 Perpetrators: Crusaders Estimated number expelled: Tens of thousands

Country: Edessa Date: 1144 Perpetrators: Zengi and Crusaders Estimated number expelled: Thousands

Country: France Date: 1300 Perpetrators: King Philip IV of France Estimated number expelled: Thousands

Country: Spain Date: 1492–1614 Perpetrators: Catholic Monarchs Estimated number expelled: 300,000

Country: Portugal Date: 1496–1497 Perpetrators: Portuguese Crown Estimated number expelled: 10,000

Country: Safavid Persia Date: 1500s–1700s Perpetrators: Safavid Shiite regime Estimated number expelled: 500,000

Country: Ottoman Empire Date: 16th–17th c. Perpetrators: Ottoman Sunni regime Estimated number expelled: 100,000

Country: India (Bengal)Date: 1757Perpetrators: British East India CompanyEstimated number expelled: Several thousand

Country: Russian Empire (Crimea)Date: 1783Perpetrators: Russian Empire under Catherine the GreatEstimated number expelled: Around 200,000

Country: Russian Empire (Circassia)Date: 1864Perpetrators: Russian Empire under Tsar Alexander IIEstimated number expelled: 1.5 million

Country: Wahhabi Arabia Date: 18th–19th c. Perpetrators: Wahhabi movements Estimated number expelled: 100,000

Country: India (Under British control)Date: 19th centuryPerpetrators: Mughal EmpireEstimated Number Expelled: Tens of thousands

Country: Bulgaria Date: 19th–20th c. Perpetrators: Bulgarian nationalists Estimated number expelled: 300,000

Country: Greece Date: 1923 Perpetrators: Greek state Estimated number expelled: 500,000

Country: Soviet Union (Chechnya, Ingushetia, and Crimea)Date: 1944Perpetrators: Soviet UnionEstimated number expelled: Around 700,000

Country: India Date: 1947 Perpetrators: Partition violence Estimated number expelled: 8,000,000

Country: Israel Date: 1948 Perpetrators: Israeli state Estimated number expelled: 700,000

Country: Jordan Date: 1970–71 Perpetrators: Jordanian Army Estimated number expelled: 20,000

Country: Nigeria Date: 1960s-1970s Perpetrators: Nigerian government, ethnic violence Estimated number expelled: Tens of thousands

Country: Ethiopia Date: 1970s-1990s Perpetrators: Ethiopian government Estimated number expelled: Tens of thousands

Country: Uganda Date: 1972 Perpetrators: Idi Amin Estimated number expelled: 30,000

Country: Cyprus Date: 1974 Perpetrators: Greek Cypriot militia Estimated number expelled: 60,000

Country: Myanmar Date: 1978–present Perpetrators: Myanmar military Estimated number expelled: 1,200,000

Country: Sri Lanka Date: 1990s Perpetrators: Tamil Tigers (LTTE) Estimated number expelled: Tens of thousands

Country: Afghanistan Date: 1990s–present Perpetrators: Taliban Estimated number expelled: 100,000

Country: Kuwait Date: 1991 Perpetrators: Kuwaiti state Estimated number expelled: 400,000

Country: Bosnia Date: 1992–1995 Perpetrators: Serbian forces Estimated number expelled: 1,200,000

Country: Yugoslavia (Kosovo) Date: 1998–1999 Perpetrators: Serbian forces Estimated number expelled: 800,000

Country: Central African Republic Date: 2013–2014 Perpetrators: Anti-balaka militias Estimated number expelled: 100,000

Country: China (Xinjiang) Date: 2017–present Perpetrators: CCP Estimated number expelled: 1,000,000+

URI KURLIANCHIK

MAR 15

[actualmermaid]

Queer saint of the day profile from the meme page: Marina the Monk, also known as Marinos or Marin, who is a patron saint of butches, transmascs, and nonbinary people. Marina's feast day is tomorrow.

I'm going to use her feminine name and she/her pronouns in this post, since that's what I (a butch in real life) use for myself, but I'll discuss that a little bit more below.

Original commentary: "Details of Marina's life are difficult to verify, but according to her legend, she lived sometime between the 5th and 8th centuries CE, somewhere in the Byzantine Middle East. After her mother died, she rejected the arranged marriage her father planned for her, and begged to be able to go with him into a monastery. He was moved by her dedication, and the two of them shared a monastic cell until his death. Marina shaved her head and wore men's clothing, and was accepted by the other brothers as a eunuch. According to her legend, she was staying at an inn where a Byzantine soldier raped the innkeeper's daughter and told her to blame the attack on Marina. Marina accepted the blame and asked for forgiveness, but was expelled from her monastery. The innkeeper's daughter became pregnant, and Marina took the child in, caring for it as her own in the wilderness and nursing it with sheep's milk. They were eventually let back into the monastery, but Marina was sentenced to perform menial labor for the other monks. After her death at the age of 40, the other monks realized that she was a woman, and that she could not have been responsible for fathering the child. They repented, and Marina's spirit blessed them with miracles.

"Many cultures have spaces for people who are assigned female at birth but perform masculine social roles. We are known by many names around the world and across time periods. We are a people with a history. In modern times, some of us identify as women, and some of us identify as transgender men, and some of us reject the idea of the gender binary altogether. We use many pronouns. We are often seen as being deviants or sexual predators. People want to put us in boxes, but God loves us and delights in our creative diversity."

[hasellia]

@enchanteddaydreams @risingape @broccoli-bitching @daisy-bugs @ghostinthestatic @lynxloverofcandy @crocadilly @ofals @sock-puppet-dinosaur Hehehe, I'm nosey. But as usual, no obligations.

Fuck it I'm starting a tag thing

Put one out of context picture in your camera roll and tag at least 2 people

@prisencolinensinainciusol09 @professional-termite @jules-n-gems

[gemsofgreece]

the other day someone told me that greece was actually turkish and that greece stole all turkish food from them and i am shaken to the core and still quite confused ahahahahahahahahah

Oh I have the meme for this

Having said that, Turkish and Greek cuisine also share numerous elements with Balkan and Middle Eastern and Arabic cuisines so it’s not at all an only Turkey vs Greece in fact.

In general the cuisine of this region comes from the Ottoman Empire which simply made modifications over the Byzantine Empire’s cuisine. The specific locality of each dish is usually not known because all these different peoples lived in the same empires and dishes were getting popularised within their broad borders. Most ingredients Turks use are indigenous in the Mediterranean and although they certainly like to think that, it is a little unlikely that they came last in the region only to teach Greeks, Arabs and Slavs entirely how to eat, because apparently we all ate cardboard before the Turks came. Thanks for the rice and coffee tho

It is always beneficial to us how Ancient and Byzantine Greeks recorded all but their daily dookie size, because there is knowledge available. I think you will like this series of three posts about the History of the Greek cuisine. I have added the first part, in which you will also find the links to the second and third part.

[rincewitch]

Reverse upopular opinion meme: the Byzantines

obviously they are an empire and therefore, in absolute terms, bad, but they’re obviously one i find very interesting, both just intrinsically (there’s a lot of very beautiful, very intricate byzantine art i’ve seen in museums— i remember the met in NYC had these frankly breathtaking byzantine ivory miniatures). and it has all of the fun stuff you love to see in any monarchy— dynastic struggles, civil wars, guys getting their eyes poked out, etc etc

but i also just find the byzantine empire interesting in terms of the historiography around it, the way it kind of defies periodization (even ‘the byzantine empire’ is a retroactive term obviously; they just called themselves romans), the way it stretches from antiquity to the cusp of the renaissance. it goes against the kind of received wisdom version of ancient history, where the western roman empire’s fall in 476 ad led to classical antiquity immediately immediately collapsing into ‘’’the dark ages’’’. was the roman empire of augustus the same as the roman empire of constantine xi palaiologos? the latter would have been unrecognizable to the former, but also you can’t really draw a clean line between them— diocletian reforming the principate into the dominate? constantine embracing christianity and moving the capital to constantinople? the failure of julian to restore classical paganism? the happenstance of theodosius dropping dead as last ruler of a unified roman empire? the ultimate failure of justinian’s ambitions to reclaim the west? etc, etc.

in short, it’s exactly the sort of reckoning with the messy process by which a bunch of stuff happening is woven into a historical narrative that fascinates me; it’s why so much of byzLP hinges on historical legacies, continuities and discontinuities, and The Idea of Rome (derogatory)

[who-canceled-roger-rabbit]

TAKE ME BACK TO CONSTANTINOPLE

gonna start discourse that men and women actually think about the Roman Empire with equal frequency, but men are predominantly thinking about the Western Roman Empire while women are thinking about the Eastern Roman Empire