ipl-logo

The Vita Basilii: Understanding The Macedonian Dynasty

1218 Words5 Pages

The Vita Basilii is an important work to understand the Byzantine empire and particularly the Macedonian Dynasty. Its title means “The Life of Basil.” Its subtitle is “Historical Narrative of the Life and Deeds of Emperor Basil of Glorious Memory, which his grandson Constantine, by the Grace of God Emperor of the Romans, Assiduously Gathered from Various Accounts and Submitted to the (-- removed HTML --) Writer.” The title of the work, as extensive as it is, tells the reader quite a bit about the text that follows. This is a text that chronicles the life of Basil, emperor of Byzantium from 867-886. It was commissioned by his Grandson, Emperor Constantine VII, who reigned from 944-959. The writing is from around the 950s. The author is unknown. The title “Life of Basil” is meant to emulate saint’s life titles, which gives Basil a closer connection to God as well as elevates him to a pseudo-saintly status. The account starts with tracking the lineage …show more content…

While this work is notable for the many things it provides us in the modern day about Byzantium in the 9th and 10th centuries, what it tells us about Constantine VII is perhaps most interesting. What is notable about Constantine VII’s relationship to the The Life of Basil is the fact that it was commissioned by Constantine VII, but not written by him. Constantine was a scholar and a writer. In his youth, while he was held in a semi-hostage state under the twenty-four-year long reign of Romanos Lekapenos, Constantine spent his time reading and writing extensively. The fact that he left such an important document, one that establishes the greatness of the Macedonian dynasty, to someone else is somewhat perplexing, unless we look through the lens that Constantine VII didn’t think it was all that

Show More
Related
563 Words | 3 Pages

Document Study 1, Ignatius of Antioch Ignatius of Antioch is also called Ignatius Theophoros, meaning “God Bearer” (Greek). He was the second Bishop of Antioch in Syria at the time of his arrest- 107A.D. He is mainly known from seven highly regarded letters that he wrote during a trip to Rome, as a prisoner condemned to be executed for his belief and is believed to have died c.110, in Rome by martyrdom during Trajan’s reign (AD. 98-117).

Read More
434 Words | 2 Pages

In 330 A.D. a Roman emperor named Constantinople founded a city named Constantinople on the old Greek city of Byzantium. This city expanded into the Byzantine Empire, a continuation of the Roman Empire in Eastern Europe even after the Western Roman Empire fell. During the entire span of the Byzantine Empire, there were several emperors that influenced the empire, but one emperor, Justinian I, is widely acknowledged as the greatest Byzantine emperor. Very little is known about Justinian's early life, as he was born to a Latin-speaking peasant family in Tauresium, which is now the Republic of Macedonia. His mother was the sister of a Excubitor, (the Imperial Bodyguard) Justin.

Read More
532 Words | 3 Pages

Byzantine DBQ Essay Many people think of "devious" or "sneaky" when they hear the word Byzantine. Therefore, most tend to think it is not important to study the Byzantines. The Byzantines actually had a great impact on our lives today from the law system that we have in place to the architecture. There is more behind this loaded word than what meets the eye. The purpose of this essay is to explain why it is imperative to study the Byzantines.

Read More
1713 Words | 7 Pages

Irene reins alone as emperor for five years, an impressive reign as a women suppressed in society. The book describes Irene and her reign in Constantinople, “Attempting to balance tradition, innovation, and scandal, she learned the ways of Constantinople on her own terms, making the city, the empire, and its people her own.” (pg.

Read More
1738 Words | 7 Pages

The history book Lost to the West: The Forgotten Byzantine Empire That Rescued Western Civilization by Lars Brownworth is about the Roman Empire from the time it was created to the time it fell. This book includes the main and important people and events that make up the history of the Roman empire. In the book Lars wrote “ This book is my small attempt to redress that situation, to give voice to a people who have remained voiceless far too long. It’s intended to whet the appetite, to expose the reader to the vast sweep of Byzantine history, and to put flesh and sinew on their understanding of the East and the West” (p. xviii). The author states that the purpose of the book is to expose the reader to Byzantine history, to give the reader a

Read More
623 Words | 3 Pages

In this paper I will argue that the text was intended for Christians instead of the Romans based on the way Perpetua is praised in the text and how Perpetua’s disobedience towards her father who was the paterfamilias was most shocking to the Romans. Essentially this autobiography was written for Christian’s, particularly for those who were or later

Read More
1492 Words | 6 Pages

In order to complete any analysis of the Life of Marius, it is necessary to understand the author and context of the work. Plutarch himself was a Greek who lived from 46-127AD,

Read More
1790 Words | 8 Pages

This book has given me a greater understanding on the Classics as a whole. The book touches on a plethora of classical topics in chapter 2, and often compares the western civilization to our west. The author also gave me better understanding of the time periods. I didn’t know slaves had better treatment than the free people in Persia at the time, or that war was an enormous role in Classics age. From the western civilization class I’ve took earlier this year, this books discuss the importance of money in a war, when Sparta beat Athens, or when Rome beat the Carthaginians because of the new money they received to build ships.

Read More
73 Words | 1 Pages

The main thing i learned while reading this article was that the main focus was about using the risk focus method. This whole article is about a study that uses the risk focus approach to help adolescents with prevention from drugs and alcohol. The risk focus approach requires identifying the risk factors for drug abuse and identify effective methods that have been addressed and applying these methods to high risk populations to see results.

Read More
1086 Words | 5 Pages

This book brilliantly written by Plutarch has the common theme of Agis’ life,

Read More
818 Words | 4 Pages

In Isocrates Address to Philip of Macedonia, he found “that on no other condition could Athens remain at peace, unless the greatest states of Hellas should resolve to put an end to their mutual quarrels and carry the war beyond our borders into Asia...to wrest from the barbarians the advantages which they now think it proper to get for themselves at the expense of the Hellenes” (Isocrates). The barbaric, omnipresent influence of the Persians, which Isocrates and the rest of the Greek world felt was truly responsible for their misfortunes was quickly recognized by Philip as an fruitful opportunity for magnifying his power and authority over Greek affairs. The motivation to punish the Persians for the glory of Greece was not the ultimate goal of Philip as stated by the historian Polybius who perceived that Philip “reckoned on the cowardice and indolence of the Persians…further fixing his eyes on the splendor of the great prizes which the war promised… seizing on the pretext that it was his urgent duty to take vengeance on the Persians for the injurious treatment of the Greeks” (qtd. in Fredericksmeyers). The Persian characterization was powerful in conjuring intense emotions among both Macedonians and Greeks, creating an avenue for

Read More
283 Words | 2 Pages

Marin Elizabeth Pomeroy. The name my parents finally chose after having a nameless baby for weeks. Marin Elizabeth Pomeroy. The Marin came from Mariana which came from my great Italian grandmother on my Mom’s side.

Read More
1484 Words | 6 Pages

Constantine benefited greatly from his father’s promotion and his duty fell to the battlefield (Lenski, 2006:59-60). After his father’s death in 306 A.D, there became fierce competition between him and Maxentius for the role of emperor.

Read More
2304 Words | 10 Pages

Introduction. Greek mythological heroes, and Roman mythological heroes share similar trades, however are different in many ways. These similarities and differences can be identified when looking at the means for the creation of a hero, and a hero’s life. This essay will discuse the similarities and differences in Roman and Greek heroes by anylysing the primary and secondary sources they feuture in respectively. Firstly will context be given, secondly the secondary sources in which the heroes feature, and lastly the spefic Greek and Roman hero will be compared.

Read More
829 Words | 4 Pages

This paper aims at differentiating and matching the medieval society in Europe and Byzantine Empire. Among the major similarities between Byzantine Empire and the medieval society in Europe was the existence of a dominant religion which was Christianity. At the time of the rule of the Romans, Christianity was legalized by Emperor Constantine. This outlawed torment and punishments for those who acknowledged Christianity as their faith.

Read More

More about The Vita Basilii: Understanding The Macedonian Dynasty

Related Topics

Open Document