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Political Mutilation In Byzantine Culture
Mutilation was a common method of punishment for criminals in the Byzantine Empire, but it also had a role in the empire's political life. By blinding a rival, one would not only restrict his mobility but also make it almost impossible for him to lead an army into battle, then an important part of taking control of the empire. Castration was also used to eliminate potential opponents. In the Byzantine Empire, for a man to be castrated meant that he was no longer a man—half-dead, "life that was half death". Castration also eliminated any chance of heirs being born to threaten either the emperor’s or the emperor's children's place at the throne. Other mutilations were the severing of the nose ( rhinotomy), or the amputating of limbs. Rationale The mutilation of political rivals by the emperor was deemed an effective way of side-lining from the line of succession a person who was seen as a threat. Castrated men were not seen as a threat, as no matter how much power they gaine ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blinding Of Leo Phokas
{{disambiguation ...
Blinding may refer to: * Blinding (punishment) *Blinding (cryptography) * ''Blinding'' (novel), a novel by Mircea Cărtărescu *'' The Blinding EP'' * "The Blinding" (song), a song by Jay Electronica *"Blinding", a song by Florence and the Machine from ''Lungs'' See also * ''Auto-da-Fé'' (novel) or ''Die Blendung'', a novel by Elias Canett * Blind experiment, in which the researcher is not aware of which data points were generated by an intervention * Blindness Visual impairment, also known as vision impairment, is a medical definition primarily measured based on an individual's better eye visual acuity; in the absence of treatment such as correctable eyewear, assistive devices, and medical treatment ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alexios I Komnenos
Alexios I Komnenos ( grc-gre, Ἀλέξιος Κομνηνός, 1057 – 15 August 1118; Latinized Alexius I Comnenus) was Byzantine emperor from 1081 to 1118. Although he was not the first emperor of the Komnenian dynasty, it was during his reign that the Komnenos family came to full power and initiated a hereditary succession to the throne. Inheriting a collapsing empire and faced with constant warfare during his reign against both the Seljuq Turks in Asia Minor and the Normans in the western Balkans, Alexios was able to curb the Byzantine decline and begin the military, financial, and territorial recovery known as the Komnenian restoration. His appeals to Western Europe for help against the Turks was the catalyst that sparked the First Crusade. Biography Alexios was the son of John Komnenos and Anna Dalassene,Kazhdan 1991, p. 63 and the nephew of Isaac I Komnenos (emperor 1057–1059). Alexios' father declined the throne on the abdication of Isaac, who was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thrace
Thrace (; el, Θράκη, Thráki; bg, Тракия, Trakiya; tr, Trakya) or Thrake is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe, now split among Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey, which is bounded by the Balkan Mountains to the north, the Aegean Sea to the south, and the Black Sea to the east. It comprises southeastern Bulgaria ( Northern Thrace), northeastern Greece (Western Thrace), and the European part of Turkey (East Thrace). The region's boundaries are based on that of the Roman Province of Thrace; the lands inhabited by the ancient Thracians extended in the north to modern-day Northern Bulgaria and Romania and to the west into the region of Macedonia. Etymology The word ''Thrace'' was first used by the Greeks when referring to the Thracian tribes, from ancient Greek Thrake (Θρᾴκη), descending from ''Thrāix'' (Θρᾷξ). It referred originally to the Thracians, an ancient people inhabiting Southeast Europe. The name ''Europe'' first referred ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cuman
The Cumans (or Kumans), also known as Polovtsians or Polovtsy (plural only, from the Russian exonym ), were a Turkic nomadic people comprising the western branch of the Cuman–Kipchak confederation. After the Mongol invasion (1237), many sought asylum in the Kingdom of Hungary, as many Cumans had settled in Hungary, the Second Bulgarian Empire playing an important role in the development of the state. Cumans played also an important role in (The Byzantine Empire, the Latin Empire, and the Nicaea Empire) Anatolia . Related to the Pecheneg, they inhabited a shifting area north of the Black Sea and along the Volga River known as Cumania, from which the Cuman–Kipchaks meddled in the politics of the Caucasus and the Khwarazmian Empire. The Cumans were fierce and formidable nomadic warriors of the Eurasian Steppe who exerted an enduring influence on the medieval Balkans. They were numerous, culturally sophisticated, and militarily powerful. Many eventually settled west of t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Constantine VIII
Constantine VIII Porphyrogenitus ( el, Κωνσταντῖνος Πορφυρογέννητος, ''Kōnstantinos Porphyrogénnetos''; 960 – 11/12 November 1028) was ''de jure'' Byzantine emperor from 962 until his death. He was the younger son of Emperor Romanos II and Empress Theophano. He was nominal co-emperor for 63 years (longer than any other), successively with his father; stepfather, Nikephoros II Phokas; uncle, John I Tzimiskes; and brother, Basil II. Basil's death in 1025 left Constantine as the sole emperor. Constantine displayed a lifelong lack of interest in politics, statecraft and the military, and during his brief sole reign the government of the Byzantine Empire suffered from mismanagement and neglect. He had no sons and was instead succeeded by Romanos Argyros, husband of his daughter Zoë. Family Constantine's father, Romanos II, was the sixth Byzantine emperor of the Macedonian dynasty. After the death of his first wife, Bertha (who took the n ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nikephoros I
Nikephoros I or Nicephorus I ( gr, Νικηφόρος; 750 – 26 July 811) was Byzantine emperor from 802 to 811. Having served Empress Irene as '' genikos logothetēs'', he subsequently ousted her from power and took the throne himself. In reference to his career before becoming emperor, he is sometimes surnamed "the Logothete" (ὁ Λογοθέτης) and "Genikos" or "Genicus" (ὁ Γενικός). Nikephoros pursued wars against the Arabs and Bulgarians, with mixed results; while invading Bulgaria he was defeated and killed at the Battle of Pliska. Background Sources outside the Byzantine context, including Michael the Syrian, al-Tabari, and Mas'udi, preserve the tradition that Nikephoros was of Ghassanid Arab origin. al-Tabari claims that he derived this information from Byzantine sources, but no surviving Byzantine chronicle makes explicit mention of the emperor's ethnic background. The modern scholar Paul Julius Alexander suggests that al-Tabari did transmit inform ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Strategios Podopagouros
Strategios Podopagouros ( el, Στρατήγιος Ποδοπάγουρος; died 25 August 766) was a Byzantine military commander and with his brother Constantine leader of a conspiracy against Emperor Constantine V (). "Podopagouros" is a sobriquet that means "crabfoot". Very little is known about his life and career other than his involvement in the conspiracy against the emperor, which came to light in the summer of 766. According to Theophanes the Confessor, Strategios was then ''spatharios'' and commander (''domestikos'') of the '' tagma'' of the Exkoubitores. Strategios and his brother, who at the time held the high post of ''logothetes tou dromou'', were the leaders of the conspiracy which, according to Theophanes, included nineteen high-ranking officials in total, including several senior provincial governors ('' strategoi''). After the plot's discovery, the conspirators were publicly paraded and humiliated at the Hippodrome of Constantinople on 25 August 766, following w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Constantine Podopagouros
Constantine Podopagouros ( el, Κωνσταντῖνος Ποδοπάγουρος; died 25 August 766) was a high-ranking Byzantine official and, with his brother Strategios, leader of a conspiracy against Emperor Constantine V (). "Podopagouros" is a sobriquet that means "crabfoot". Very little is known about his life and career other than his involvement in the conspiracy against the emperor, which came to light in the summer of 766. According to Theophanes the Confessor, Constantine was then ''patrikios'' and ''logothetes tou dromou''. Constantine and his brother, who at the time was commander of the elite '' tagma'' of the Exkoubitores, were the leaders of the conspiracy which, according to Theophanes, included nineteen high-ranking officials in total, including several senior provincial governors ('' strategoi''). After the plot's discovery, the conspirators were publicly paraded and humiliated at the Hippodrome of Constantinople on 25 August 766, following which Strategios a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Byzantine Iconoclasm
The Byzantine Iconoclasm ( gr, Εικονομαχία, Eikonomachía, lit=image struggle', 'war on icons) were two periods in the history of the Byzantine Empire when the use of religious images or icons was opposed by religious and imperial authorities within the Orthodox Church and the temporal imperial hierarchy. The First Iconoclasm, as it is sometimes called, occurred between about 726 and 787, while the Second Iconoclasm occurred between 814 and 842. According to the traditional view, Byzantine Iconoclasm was started by a ban on religious images promulgated by the Byzantine Emperor Leo III the Isaurian, and continued under his successors. It was accompanied by widespread destruction of religious images and persecution of supporters of the veneration of images. The Papacy remained firmly in support of the use of religious images throughout the period, and the whole episode widened the growing divergence between the Byzantine and Carolingian traditions in what was still ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Niketas (son Of Artabasdos)
Niketas ( el, Νικήτας) was the eldest son of the Byzantine general and usurper Artabasdos (r. 741–743). He served as a general during his father's usurpation against Emperor Constantine V (r. 741–775). Biography Niketas was the eldest son of Artabasdos. His mother may have been Anna, but it is not certain: Paul Speck hypothesized that he descended from an earlier marriage, since Artabasdos named his younger brother Nikephoros, and not him, as co-emperor. According to the hagiography of Michael Synkellos, there were further seven siblings, whose names are not mentioned.. In 741 Artabasdos rebelled against his brother-in-law Constantine V, and was crowned emperor. Niketas was then appointed ''strategos'' of the Armeniac Theme (some sources call him ''monostrategos'', "commander-in-chief"). In August 742 or 743, however, he was defeated in the Battle of Modrine by the forces of Emperor Constantine V. Niketas fled the field, but regrouped his scattered army and resumed the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
