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Constantine Doukas (usurper)
Constantine Doukas (or Doux) (; died 913) was a prominent Byzantine general. In 904, he stopped the influential eunuch court official Samonas from defecting to the Arabs. In return, Samonas manipulated his father, Andronikos Doukas (general under Leo VI), Andronikos Doukas, into rebelling and fleeing to the Abbasid court in 906/7. Constantine followed his father to Baghdad, but soon escaped and returned to Byzantium, where he was restored by Leo VI the Wise to favour and entrusted with high military offices. Upon the death of the Emperor Alexander (Byzantine emperor), Alexander, Constantine with the support of several aristocrats unsuccessfully tried to usurp the throne from the young Constantine VII, but was killed in a clash with supporters of the legitimate emperor. Life Early life and career Constantine Doukas was the son of Andronikos Doukas (general under Leo VI), Andronikos Doukas, a prominent general under Emperor Leo VI the Wise () and the first prominent member of th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Madrid Skylitzes
The ''Madrid Skylitzes'' is a 12th-century illuminated manuscript version of the ''Synopsis of Histories'' () by John Skylitzes, which covers the reigns of the Byzantine emperors from the death of Nicephorus I in 811 to the deposition of Michael VI Bringas, Michael VI in 1057. The manuscript was produced at the Norman court of Palermo in Sicily (although there is some debate on whether the main body was made in Palermo or Constantinople) and is now housed in the Biblioteca Nacional de España in Madrid. It remains the only preserved Greek-language illustrated chronicle from the Byzantine period. The chronicle includes 574 Miniature (illuminated manuscript), miniatures detailing depictions of everyday life in the Byzantine Empire such as boats, literary practices, sieges, and ceremonies, in "both purely Byzantine illuminated manuscripts, Byzantine and Western styles while also reflecting Islamic miniature, Islamic elements".Helen C. Evans, Evans, Helen C. & Wixom, William D. (1997) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bilad Al-Sham
Bilad al-Sham (), often referred to as Islamic Syria or simply Syria in English-language sources, was a province of the Rashidun, Umayyad, Abbasid, and Fatimid caliphates. It roughly corresponded with the Byzantine Diocese of the East, conquered by the Muslims in 634–647. Under the Umayyads (661–750), Bilad al-Sham was the metropolitan province of the Caliphate and different localities throughout the province served as the seats of the Umayyad caliphs and princes. Bilad al-Sham was first organized into the four '' ajnad'' (military districts; singular ''jund'') of Dimashq (Damascus), Hims (Homs), al-Urdunn (Jordan), and Filastin (Palestine), between 637 and 640 by Caliph Umar following the Muslim conquest. The ''jund'' of Qinnasrin was created out of the northern part of Hims by caliphs Mu'awiya I () or Yazid I (). The Jazira (Upper Mesopotamia) was made an independent province from the Mesopotamian part of Qinnasrin by Caliph Abd al-Malik in 692. In 786, the ''j ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Coronation Of Constantine VII In 913
A coronation ceremony marks the formal investiture of a monarch with regal power using a crown. In addition to the crowning, this ceremony may include the presentation of other items of regalia, and other rituals such as the taking of special vows by the new monarch, the investing and presentation of regalia to them, and acts of homage by the new monarch's subjects. In certain Christian denominations, such as Lutheranism and Anglicanism, coronation is a religious rite. As such, Western-style coronations have often included anointing the monarch with holy oil, or chrism as it is often called; the anointing ritual's religious significance follows examples found in the Bible. The monarch's consort may also be crowned, either simultaneously with the monarch or as a separate event. Once a vital ritual among the world's monarchies, coronations have changed over time for a variety of socio-political and religious reasons; most modern monarchies have dispensed with them altogether, pr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Theme (Byzantine District)
The themes or (, , singular: , ) were the main military and administrative divisions of the middle Byzantine Empire. They were established in the mid-7th century in the aftermath of the Slavic migrations to Southeastern Europe and Muslim conquests of parts of Byzantine territory, and replaced the earlier provincial system established by Diocletian and Constantine the Great. In their origin, the first themes were created from the areas of encampment of the field armies of the East Roman army, and their names corresponded to the military units that had existed in those areas. The theme system reached its apogee in the 9th and 10th centuries, as older themes were split up and the conquest of territory resulted in the creation of new ones. The original theme system underwent significant changes in the 11th and 12th centuries, but the term remained in use as a provincial and financial circumscription until the very end of the Empire. History Background During the late 6th and ear ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charsianon
Charsianon () was the name of a Byzantine fortress and the corresponding theme (a military-civilian province) in the region of Cappadocia in eastern Anatolia (modern Turkey). History The fortress of Charsianon (Greek: Χαρσιανόν κάστρον, ''Charsianon kastron''; Arabic: ''Qal'e-i Ḥarsanōs'') is first mentioned in 638, during the first wave of the Muslim conquests, and was allegedly named after a general of Justinian I named Charsios.. The fortress is now identified with the ruins of Muşalikalesi (Muşali Kale of old) in the Akdağmadeni district in Yozgat Province. The Arabs first seized it in 730, and it remained a hotly contested stronghold during the next century of Byzantine–Arab warfare. During the 8th century, it belonged to the Armeniac Theme and was the seat of a military and territorial district ('' tourma''). In the early 9th century, the fortress became the centre of a '' kleisoura'', a separately administered fortified frontier district. Someti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Strategos
''Strategos'' (), also known by its Linguistic Latinisation, Latinized form ''strategus'', is a Greek language, Greek term to mean 'military General officer, general'. In the Hellenistic world and in the Byzantine Empire, the term was also used to describe a military governor. In the modern Hellenic Army, it is the highest officer rank. Etymology ''Strategos'' is a compound of two Greek words: ''stratos'' and ''agos''. ''Stratos'' (στρατός) means 'army', literally 'that which is spread out', coming from the proto-Indo-European root *stere-, 'to spread'. ''Agos'' (ἀγός) means 'leader', from ''agein'' (ἄγειν), 'to lead', from the pelasgic root *ag-, 'to drive, draw out or forth, move'. Classical Greece Athens In its most famous attestation, in Classical Athens, the office of ''strategos'' existed already in the 6th century BC, but it was only with the reforms of Cleisthenes in 501 BC that it assumed its most recognizable form: Cleisthenes instituted a boa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eustathios Argyros (general Under Leo VI)
Eustathios Argyros (; died ca. 910) was a Byzantine aristocrat and one of the most prominent generals under Emperor Leo VI the Wise (r. 886–912). The first member of the Argyros family to rise to high posts, he fought with distinction against the Arabs in the east, before being disgraced ca. 907, possibly in connection with the flight of Andronikos Doukas to the Arabs. Rehabilitated soon after, he was appointed as ''strategos'' of Charsianon, from which post he oversaw the settlement of Armenian lords as march-wardens along the Empire's eastern frontier. Promoted to commander of the imperial bodyguard in late 908, he again fell into disgrace shortly after and died of poison (apparently a suicide) on his way to his estates. Life Eustathios Argyros was the son of the ''tourmarches'' Leo Argyros, the founder of the noble Argyros family. Nothing is known of his life or prior to the turn of the 10th century, although he may have been in imperial service as early as 866, when ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Theophanes Continuatus
''Theophanes Continuatus'' () or ''Scriptores post Theophanem'' (, "those after Theophanes") is the Latin name commonly applied to a collection of historical writings preserved in the 11th-century Vat. gr. 167 manuscript.Kazhdan (1991), p. 2061 Its name derives from its role as the continuation, covering the years 813–961, of the ''Chronicle'' of Theophanes the Confessor, which reaches from 285 to 813. The manuscript consists of four distinct works, in style and form very unlike the annalistic approach of Theophanes.Kazhdan (1991), pp. 2061–2062 The first work, of four books consists of a series of biographies of the emperors reigning from 813 to 867 (from Leo the Armenian to Michael III). As they were commissioned by Emperor Constantine VII (r. 913–959), they reflect the point of view of the reigning Macedonian dynasty. The unknown author probably used the same sources as Genesios. The second work is known as the '' Vita Basilii'' (Latin for "Life of Basil"), a biography ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chrysotriklinos
The Chrysotriklinos (, "golden reception hall", cf. ''triclinium''), Latinized as Chrysotriclinus or Chrysotriclinium, was the main reception and ceremonial hall of the Great Palace of Constantinople from its construction, in the late 6th century, until the 10th century. Its appearance is known only through literary descriptions, chiefly the 10th-century '' De Ceremoniis'', a collection of imperial ceremonies, but, as the chief symbol of imperial power, it inspired the construction of Charlemagne's Palatine Chapel in Aachen. History and functions The hall is usually attributed to Emperor Justin II (r. 565–578), with his successor, Tiberius II (r. 578–582) finishing it and carrying out its decoration.Cormack (2007), p. 304 However, Byzantine sources present conflicting accounts: the ''Suda'' encyclopedia attributes the building to Justin I (r. 518–527), and the '' Patria of Constantinople'' to the Emperor Marcian (r. 450–457), although the latter is usually rejected ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Al-Muktafi
Abū Muḥammad ʿAlī ibn Aḥmad ibn Ṭalḥa ibn Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad ibn Hārūn al-Muktafī bi'Llāh (; 877/78 – 13 August 908), better known by his regnal name al-Muktafī bi-Llāh (), was the caliph of the Abbasid Caliphate from 902 to 908. More liberal and sedentary than his militaristic father al-Mu'tadid, al-Muktafi essentially continued his policies, although most of the actual conduct of government was left to his viziers and officials. His reign saw the defeat of the Qarmatians of the Syrian Desert, and the reincorporation of Egypt and the parts of Syria ruled by the Tulunid dynasty. The war with the Byzantine Empire under the Macedonian dynasty, Byzantine Empire continued with alternating success, although the Arabs scored a major victory in the Sack of Thessalonica (904), Sack of Thessalonica in 904. His death in 908 opened the way for the installation of a weak ruler, al-Muqtadir, by the palace bureaucracy, and began the terminal decline of the Abbasid ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Abbasid Caliphate
The Abbasid Caliphate or Abbasid Empire (; ) was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib (566–653 CE), from whom the dynasty takes its name. After overthrowing the Umayyad Caliphate in the Abbasid Revolution of 750 CE (132 AH), they ruled as caliphs based in modern-day Iraq, with Baghdad being their capital for most of their history. The Abbasid Revolution had its origins and first successes in the easterly region of Khurasan, far from the Levantine center of Umayyad influence. The Abbasid Caliphate first centered its government in Kufa, modern-day Iraq, but in 762 the caliph al-Mansur founded the city of Baghdad as the new capital. Baghdad became the center of science, culture, arts, and invention in what became known as the Golden Age of Islam. By housing several key academic institutions, including the House of Wisdom, as well as a multiethnic and multi- ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Iconium
Konya is a major city in central Turkey, on the southwestern edge of the Central Anatolian Plateau, and is the capital of Konya Province. During antiquity and into Seljuk times it was known as Iconium. In 19th-century accounts of the city in English its name is usually spelt Konia or Koniah. In the late medieval period, Konya was the capital of the Seljuk Turks' Sultanate of Rum, from where the sultans ruled over Anatolia. As of 2024, the population of the Metropolitan Province was 2 330 024 of whom 1 433 861 live in the three urban districts (Karatay, Selcuklu, Meram), making it the sixth most populous city in Turkey, and second most populous of the Central Anatolia Region, after Ankara. City has Konya is served by TCDD high-speed train ( YHT) services from Istanbul, Ankara and Karaman. The local airport ( Konya Havalimanı, KYA) is served by frequent flights from Istanbul whereas flights to and from İzmir are offered few times a week. Name Konya is believed to corre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
