Table 2 :        Terminology pertaining to Byzantium
 

People	Comment
Mt. Athos	In Greek called Hagion Oros, a monastic republic located on the Athos promontory (the eastern  'finger' of Chalkidike). The republic consists of 20 monasteries; there is neither a village, nor a single  woman, not even a female goat permitted within the republic. The various christian orthodox   communities (Greeks, Serbians, Bulgarians, Russians, Rumanians, Georgians) are represented by   monasteries.    The entire peninsula was granted to the monastery of St. Colobos by Emperor Basil I. in 885; the  first monastic communities were constructed here soon after. A constitution prohibiting the presence  of women in the republic was passed on 1046. The Ottoman Sultans respected the status of the  monastic republic.
Battle of   Mantzikert	Fought in 1071. A Seljuk force under Alp Arslan moved toward Syria, when a Byzantine army   approached in their back. The Seljuks annihilated the Byzantine army; the victory opened Anatolia  to Seljuk raids; the Seljuks established the Sultanate of Rum ("Rome", centered in Iconion/Konya).
Caesaropapism	Constantinople (Byzantium) was the seat of both the Emperor and the patriarch; the patriarchs of  Constinople rarely were able to establish an independent position. As most patriarchs were little  more than instruments of the Emperors, historians refer to the unity of Caesar (Emperor) and Pope  (patriarch) as Caesaropapism.
Codex Justinianus	Under Emperor Justinian, Byzantinian Law was codified. One copy, the so-called Codex Justinianus,  was discovered in Pisa in the 11th century. The title "Imperial Law" mistaken for a western Roman   codex, it became the basic text for law classes at emerging universities, most notably the University  of Bologna. As such it has influenced the development of western European law considerably.
Epirus,  Despotat of	What the Angeli Dynasty could hold on to in 1204 : the region of Epirus, on the Adriatic Sea. Despot  Theodor in 1224 conquered Thessalonike, moving his capital there and claiming the title of Emperor.  See : Thessalonike, Empire of
Golden Horn	An inlet  branching off from the Bosphorus. The city of Byzantium bordered on the Golden Horn in   the north, thus surrounded by water in the south, east and north, leaving only one side open to   attackers from the land. The Golden Horn was chained off, to prevent enemy fleets from entering.  The city defenses facing the Golden Horn were less elaborate than those facing the exposed west.  The crusaders in 1203/1204 and the Ottoman Turks in 1453 broke through here.
Greek Fire	Constantinople is located on the Bosphorus and the Sea of Marmara. A natural fortress, protected  by water on three sides, in a period exceeding 1100 years it was only conquered 3 times (1203,  1204, 1453). A major weapon defeating attackers was the so-called Greek Fire : the defenders  would approach the enemy from upwind, release a liquid on the water surface and set it on fire,  watching the enemy fleet burning. The consistence of the liquid was successfully kept a secret; it is  assumed that it was petrol or a derived product. In 678 and 717-718 the Byzantines successfully  used Greek Fire to destroy Saracen fleets.
Greens and Blues	Teams competing for victory in the chariot races in Constantinople's hippodrome, along with other   teams. Each team represented a certain city quarter. The races were highly emotional affairs,   the teams at times representing political factions; in 532 the greens and blues featered prominently  in the Nika riots.
Hagia Sophia	Spectacular church, erected between 532 and 537 under Emperor Justinian. The dome collapsed  in 568, after an earthquake, and was rebuilt in 573. Long regarded the most beautiful church of  christianity, since the conquest of Constantinople by the Ottoman Turks in 1453 it serves as a mosq,  called in Turkish Aya Sofia.
Hippodrome	Byzantinian equivalent for the Roman Collosseum. At the hippodrome, chariot races were held   which were political events. The competing teams (whites, blacks, greens and blues) not only   represented city quarters, but at times also political factions.
Iconoclasm	Emperors Leo III. (716-741), Constantine V. (741-775), Leo IV. (775-780), Constantine VI.   (780-790) strongly supported iconoclasm, i.e. the destruction of existing paintings of christ and the   saints and prohibition of creating new ones. The issue divided the Byzantinian community; Empress   Irene, on the second Council of  Nicaea (787) had iconoclasm condemned, icons reintroduced in  churches. However, iconoclasm was reinstituted again in 814 and only overcome under Michael III.   (842-867).
Lazica	Region in northeastern Anatolia, on the shore of the Black Sea, adjacent to the Caucasus region.  For centuries it used to be the easternmost outpost of the Byzantine Empire. Here, the Byzantines  recruited mercenaries among the pastoral nomads from the steppe road.
Nicaea,   Empire of	Region in Asia Minor, a part of the Bzantine Empire the crusaders did not get a hold of. Here   the Lascarids proclaimed to be Emperors, ruling from Nicaea. In 1258 they were succeeded by  Michael VIII. Palaiologos, who regained Byzantium in 1261.
Schism	In 1054 an envoy of Pope Leo IX. arrived in Constantinople, entered the Hagia Sophia during holy  mass and excommunicated the Patriarch of Constantinople in public, in front of the assembled   community. The patriarch immediately excommunicated Pope Leo (who ironically had died earlier,  but neither the patriarch nor the papal envoy knew). This event resulted in the lasting split of the Catholic  and the Greek Orthodox church. This event is referred to by some as the Great Schism, and sometimes  confused with the Catholic schism 1378-1435 (two or more popes).
Thessalonike,   Empire of	In 1204 the crusaders established the Latin Empire and a number of smaller crusader states, among  them the Kingdom of Thessalonike, which in 1224 was conquered by Despot Theodor of Epirus  who moved his capital to Thessalonike and claimed the title of Emperor. In 1246 Thessalonike was  swallowed up by the Empire of Nicaea.
Trebizond,  Empire of	Stretch of land on the norteastern coast of Anatolia, ancient Pontus. When the crusaders established  the Latin Empire in 1204, the region was proclaimed an independent, Greek orthodox Empire, under the  Comneni dynasty. It lasted on until 1461.
Varangian Guard	A guard recruited from Varangians, i.e. Vikings who had sailed down the Dnjepr. An elite unit of  Byzantian forces. One of the most famous men having served in the Varangian Guard is Harald  Hardrada, later King of Norway and invader of England.