Introduction to Chi Rho Chronicles
‘There exists another history, more absurd than the history of Rome since the time of Tacitus: it is the history of Byzantium. This worthless collection contains nothing but declamations and miracles. It is a disgrace to the human mind.’
- Voltaire talking about the ‘pointlessness’ of studying Late Antique and Byzantine History.
‘The history of the Greek [Byzantine] Empire is nothing but a tissue of revolts, seditions, and perfidies.’
- Montesquieu talking about the Byzantine Empire from the 7th century AD onward.
‘The Byzantine Empire was distracted by passions of all kinds within, and pressed by the barbarians — to whom the emperors could offer but feeble resistance — without. The realm was in perpetual insecurity. Its general aspect presents a disgusting picture of imbecility; wretched, nay insane, passions stifle the growth of all that is noble in thoughts, deeds, and persons… till at last about the middle of the fifteenth century [1453AD] the rotten edifice of the Eastern Empire crumbled in pieces before the might of the vigorous Turks’
- Hegel in his Lectures on the Philosophy of History
“Let us not follow the example of the Byzantine Empire, which, being pressed from all sides by the barbarians, became the laughing-stock of posterity because it was preoccupied with petty quarrels while the battering-ram was breaking through the city gates”
- Napoleon in a speech of his to the Houses
These were the most brilliant minds of their age, some of them possibly ranking amongst the greatest scholars that the world has ever produced.
And yet look at how closed-minded they were.
It is difficult to call upon men with such lofty status and educated minds as Voltaire, Montesquieu, Hegel, and Napoleon, and then try to rip apart their writings all in one go.
Nevertheless, that is exactly what I am going to do.
The French were particularly guilty. They had a specific term for what we would call the ‘Later Roman/Byzantine Empire’:
‘Bas-Empire’ (‘Low Empire’)
It is obvious that even in how they named this period of History, the French wanted to show exactly what they thought of it.
In my collection, I have many antiquarian books on Late Roman and Byzantine Literature, History, and more, spanning a range of periods and printed in many different countries. More than half of them use the French ‘Bas-Empire’ or English ‘Lower Empire’, already implying their supposedly inferior nature when compared to earlier Classical Literature and History.
Historians in love with the virtues of the Roman Republic and Early Empire needed a way to squeeze the elephant out of the room. For contrary to popular belief, the Roman Empire did not completely collapse in 476AD when the (hotly debated) last Roman Emperor Romulus Augustus was deposed by Odoacer. A perfectly healthy Eastern Roman Empire survived this event, and continued to exist all the way up until 1453AD when Mehmet II led the Ottoman Turks to conquer Constantinople in one of the most impressive sieges of all time.
So, what do these Historians do to keep the ‘Roman’ section they treasure so dearly unsullied by the polluting influence of the Later Roman Empire? They cleave up the dish, delicately slicing off and dragging the good bits to one side of the plate, calling the dregs left on the other side of the plate the ‘Byzantine Empire’, or more simply, the ‘Greek Empire’. The Byzantines would never have described themselves as such. They called themselves Romans, whether justified or not, right up until the end.
But why pick through these dregs you may ask? What do you see in a topic that for a large part of history was looked down upon and ignored by such reputable scholars?
I see changing attitudes, anxiety, hope, and hilarity in the Literature of this age. I see, mixed in with greatness, the human traits of pride, insecurity, and lust for power that make the History of this period so tragic and yet so relatable. I see a genius and an inspiration in Imperial and Ecclesiastic Art and Architecture that can easily rival the monuments of the Classical Era.
Even decline itself is mesmerising. For it is that all too familiar tragic image of Oedipus slowly bringing about his own destruction so very unknowingly that comes to mind when the Roman Empire, step after step, stumbles blindly towards the precipice.
Or is it more complicated than that?
Find out more by following this column for its posts on a range of History, Literature, Art, Architecture, and more, spanning from the second century until the fifteenth. A daunting task, and one that I would not take on if my zeal to accomplish it did not match its size.
Do you have a suggestion for a future topic? Do you have an idea to share with your friends? Send us a message and follow the Durham University Classics Society on Twitter (@DUClassSoc) and Facebook (@DUClassics Society) to keep up with this blog and our other adventures!
