Byzantine Culture
The Living Legacy of the Eastern Roman Empire
Start here
The Five Pillars of Byzantium
Five comprehensive guides open the door to the Byzantine world. Each links onward to detailed articles on the people, places, and ideas that defined the empire.
History
History of the Byzantine Empire
From Constantine's founding of New Rome to the fall of Constantinople in 1453.
Explore the guide → Art & ArchitectureByzantine Art and Architecture
Domes, mosaics, icons, and the sacred beauty of the Byzantine world.
Explore the guide → Religion & ChurchByzantine Religion and the Orthodox Church
Orthodox theology, liturgy, monasticism, and the saints of the Christian East.
Explore the guide → Society & Daily LifeByzantine Society and Daily Life
Family, food, dress, education, and the rhythms of life in Byzantium.
Explore the guide → Legacy & InfluenceByzantine Legacy and Influence
How a thousand-year empire shaped law, faith, and culture to this day.
Explore the guide →Browse everything
Explore the Library
154 articles across history, art, religion, society, and legacy.
History
Overview guide →- Byzantine Church Architecture
- Byzantine Church Government
- Byzantine Clothing and Fashion
- Byzantine Cuisine and Food
- Byzantine Diplomacy
- Byzantine Emperors
- Byzantine Enamel and Metalwork
- Byzantine Fresco Painting
- Byzantine Hymnography
- Byzantine Iconoclasm
- Byzantine Iconography
- Byzantine Influence on the Renaissance
- Byzantine Ivory Carving
- Byzantine Law and its Modern Influence
- Byzantine Legacy in Modern Greece
- Byzantine Legacy in Russia and Eastern Europe
- Byzantine Literature
- Byzantine Liturgy and Worship
- Byzantine Manuscripts and Illuminated Texts
- Byzantine Medicine and the Hospital
- Byzantine Monasticism
- Byzantine Mosaics
- Byzantine Music
- Byzantine Sculpture
- Byzantine Studies
- Byzantium and the Islamic World
- Byzantium and the Ottoman Empire
- Constantine the Great and the Founding of Constantinople
- Family and Social Structure in Byzantium
- Hagia Sophia
- Hesychasm and the Palamite Controversy
- How Byzantine Icons Were Made
- Saints in Byzantine Tradition
- The Byzantine Aristocracy
- The Byzantine Army
- The Byzantine Economy
- The Byzantine Legacy in the Balkans
- The Byzantine Navy
- The Byzantine Rite Today
- The Christological Controversies
- The Church Fathers of the Byzantine East
- The Fall of Constantinople in 1453
- The Great Schism of 1054
- The Heraclian Dynasty
- The Komnenian Dynasty
- The Macedonian Dynasty
- The Palaiologan Dynasty
- The Reign of Justinian I
- The Seven Ecumenical Councils
- The Transmission of Classical Learning
- Women in Byzantium
- Alexios I Komnenos and the First Crusade
- Basil II the Bulgar-Slayer
- Bessarion and the Greek Scholars of Italy
- Byzantine Baths
- Byzantine Chant Today
- Byzantine Churches of Cappadocia
- Byzantine Coinage
- Byzantine Court Titles
- Byzantine Eunuchs
- Byzantine Houses
- Byzantine Icon Veneration and Theology
- Byzantine Law
- Byzantine Revival Architecture
- Byzantine Science and Technology
- Byzantine Silk Production
- Byzantine Southern Italy
- Byzantine Wedding Traditions
- Byzantium in the Modern Imagination
- Byzantium, Armenia and Georgia
- Childhood in Byzantium
- Constantine XI Palaiologos
- Constantinople to Istanbul
- Crime and Punishment in Byzantium
- Crusader Art and Byzantium
- Daily Life in Constantinople
- Daphni Monastery
- Death and Burial in Byzantium
- Education in the Byzantine Empire
- Empress Theodora
- Greek Fire
- Hagios Demetrios, Thessalonica
- Heraclius and the Last Roman–Persian War, 602–628
- Hosios Loukas
- John Chrysostom
- John of Damascus
- Maximus the Confessor
- Michael VIII Palaiologos
- Moscow, the Third Rome
- Mount Athos
- Mystras
- Nea Moni of Chios
- Orthodox Canon Law
- Patriarch Photios
- Relics and Pilgrimage in Byzantium
- Roads and Travel in Byzantium
- Romanos the Melodist
- Slavery in Byzantium
- St. Mark's Basilica in Venice
- Stylites and Holy Men
- Symeon the New Theologian
- The Akathist Hymn
- The Archangel Michael in Byzantine Art
- The Avar Siege of Constantinople, 626
- The Basilica Cistern
- The Battle of Kleidion, 1014
- The Battle of Manzikert in 1071
- The Battle of Myriokephalon, 1176
- The Battle of Yarmouk in 636 AD
- The Blues and the Greens
- The Book of the Eparch
- The Byzantine Church Calendar
- The Byzantine Legacy in Romania and Moldavia
- The Byzantine Village
- The Byzantine–Bulgarian Wars
- The Cappadocian Fathers
- The Chora Church (Kariye)
- The Council of Chalcedon, 451
- The Council of Florence, 1438–1439
- The Cyrillic Alphabet and Byzantine Missionaries
- The Deësis Mosaic of Hagia Sophia
- The Despotate of the Morea
- The Donation of Constantine
- The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople
- The Fall of Trebizond
- The First Council of Nicaea, 325
- The Fourth Crusade and the Sack of Constantinople in 1204
- The Gold Ground Technique in Byzantine Art
- The Great Palace of Constantinople
- The Hippodrome of Constantinople
- The Icon of the Virgin Hodegetria
- The Iconostasis
- The Icons of Saint Catherine's Monastery, Sinai
- The Latin Empire of Constantinople, 1204–1261
- The Megali Idea
- The Mosaics of Ravenna
- The Nika Riots of 532 AD
- The Pala d'Oro
- The Pantokrator Monastery
- The Paris Psalter
- The Plague of Justinian
- The Second Council of Nicaea, 787
- The Siege of Constantinople, 717–718
- The Theme System
- The Theotokos in Byzantine Art
- The Varangian Guard
- The Vladimir Mother of God
- The Walls of Constantinople
- Why "Byzantine"? The Name Nobody in Byzantium Used