Author Topic: Constantinople and Byzantine history  (Read 34687 times)

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Constantinople

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Constantinople and Byzantine history
« on: December 01, 2007, 05:37:49 AM »
I have been living in Istanbul for 3 years and have a strong interest in Byzantine history and its effect on Russian history.  If anyone has any questions about these please feel free to send me a message. 
A couple of points.  There is a strong connection between Russia and the Ottoman Empire/Turkey.  It goes back to about 700 when Varengian troops were imported from Russia to form the Imperial body guard of the Byzantine Emperor. These were actually Vikings who were migrating across Rus.  One reason why there are a lot of blonde scandinavian looking people in Russia is because of this period. They used runic script and if  you go to Aya Sofia today you can still see some of their graffiti carved into the stonework.
    Another connection was the many wars that were fought between Turkey and Russia, including the Balkan wars in the period immediately preceding the First World War. 
Another is the fact that one of Paleologus princesses was married to one of the first Russian Tsars.  Another was married to the Russian who invited St Kyril into Russia to end paganism and introduce Greek Orthodox religion as the state religion. In terms of Paleologues, the last French Ambassador had the surname of Paleologue and made allusions to imperial Byzantine forebears but they were not substantiated.
One last connection was the fact that the deal for the financing of Lenin was concluded in the German Embassy in Istanbul.

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Robert_Hall

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Re: Constantinople and Byzantine history
« Reply #2 on: January 13, 2009, 10:31:24 AM »
I recently returned from a week-long visit to Istanbul and must say, although my interests were limited to to Ottomans, I loved the place! We were ideally situated in the centre of old Istanbul, with great views and within walking distance of all the major attractions. We had no problems getting around to the outer palaces and left feeling there was much more to explore. Particularly in the more modern districts. I do hope for return visits. The people were great, very friendly, even if a lot of them  just want to sell you a rug or something! They were very nice about it, at least...
 The excavations across from Topkapi Palace complex should prove even more fascinating than the  subway dig.  As there is very little left of the Byzantine era, other than the wall ruins and the cistern, this may provide even more insight to the past history. I was  intrigued just watching the workers...
  On the other hand, back in London, at the Royal Academy,  I did see the Byzantium exhibition.  I was less than impressed.
 To view the links between the Russians and the Byzantines, one really should go to Moscow, I think.  Rurikinds-Romanovs connection is pretty well illustrated, in my view, there.

Naslednik Norvezhskiy

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Re: Constantinople and Byzantine history
« Reply #3 on: March 03, 2010, 07:32:02 PM »
A couple of points.  There is a strong connection between Russia and the Ottoman Empire/Turkey.  It goes back to about 700 when Varengian troops were imported from Russia to form the Imperial body guard of the Byzantine Emperor. These were actually Vikings who were migrating across Rus.  One reason why there are a lot of blonde scandinavian looking people in Russia is because of this period.
Very interesting what you write, but I don't think this is quite true. Blond hair is most common in the lands bordering the Baltic, both in the Slavic, Baltic, Finnic and Germanic peoples, not just Scandinavians.

Constantinople

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Re: Constantinople and Byzantine history
« Reply #4 on: March 14, 2010, 12:26:38 PM »
And it all comes from the same genetic pool. 
If  you go into Aya Sophia  you can see the graphiti carved into the stone and it is all Runic or Viking script. 
I quote from The Russians by Robin Miller-Gulland
The origins of the Rus were the Varangians or vikings.  The name Rus derives from the Germanic Scandinavian word Rod which means to row.  There are a number of other quotes and if you are interested there are several other books that substantiate this. Varangian was also another term for viking. It is quite possible that one of the reasons that Russia adopted Greek Orthodox was the religion travelling back to Moscow when Varangian soldiers returned to Russia.  Russian orthodoxy goes back to 945 when St Cyril was active with the Kievan Rus.  The Rus were Varangian and the Varangian were Viking.  Varangian colonies
and this
The Varangians or Varyags (Old Norse: Væringjar; Greek: Βάραγγοι, Βαριάγοι, Varangoi, Variagoi; Russian and Ukrainian: Варяги, Varyagi / Varyahy ), sometimes referred to as Variagians, were Vikings[1][2] who went eastwards and southwards through what is now Russia, Belarus and Ukraine mainly in the 9th and 10th centuries.

and this

Having settled Aldeigja (Ladoga) in the 750s, Scandinavian colonists were probably an element in the early ethnogenesis of the Rus' people, and likely played a role in the formation of the Rus' Khaganate. The Varangians (Varyags, in Old East Slavic) are first mentioned by the Primary Chronicle as having exacted tribute from the Slavic and Finnic tribes in 859. It was the time of rapid expansion of the Vikings in Northern Europe; England began to pay Danegeld in 859, and the Curonians of Grobin faced an invasion by the Swedes at about the same date.

According to the Primary Chronicle, in 862, the Finnic and Slavic tribes rebelled against the Varangian Rus, driving them overseas back to Scandinavia, but soon started to conflict with each other. The disorder prompted the tribes to invite back the Varangian Rus "to come and rule them" and bring peace to the region. Led by Rurik and his brothers Truvor and Sineus, the invited Varangians (called Rus) settled around the town of Holmgård (Novgorod).

In the 9th century, the Rus' operated the Volga trade route, which connected Northern Russia (Gardariki) with the Middle East (Serkland). As the Volga route declined by the end of the century, the trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks rapidly overtook it in popularity. Apart from Ladoga and Novgorod, Gnezdovo and Gotland were major centres for Varangian trade.[11]

Western historians tend to agree with the Primary Chronicle that these Varangians organized the existing Slavic settlements into the political entity of Kievan Rus' in the 880s and gave their name to the land. Many Slavic scholars are opposed to this theory of Germanic influence on the Rus' (people) and have suggested alternative scenarios for this part of Eastern European history because the author of the Primary Chronicles, that is a monk named Nestor, worked in the court for the Varangians.


Naslednik Norvezhskiy

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Re: Constantinople and Byzantine history
« Reply #5 on: March 14, 2010, 01:06:28 PM »
Oh, yes, I don't question the fact that the Nordic Varangians and Rurik had links to Byzantium and were crucial in founding Rus, I just wanted to point out that ascribing all blond heads in Russia to the Varangians is a bit far-fetched, when in fact blondness is a very Baltic trait. (So it's more likely to come from Finnic and Baltic peoples intermarrying with Slavs than the probably numerically quite few Varangians.)
« Last Edit: March 14, 2010, 01:25:35 PM by Fyodor Petrovich »

Constantinople

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Re: Constantinople and Byzantine history
« Reply #6 on: March 14, 2010, 03:50:03 PM »
well the varengians may have been numericially less but in the 9th and 10th century they were dominant members of society but i am also sure that some of the blonde traits came from finns and there was a lot of intermarriage going on

Williamsorb

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Constantinople and Byzantine history
« Reply #7 on: October 09, 2016, 02:16:49 AM »
I doubt that anyone would attend a movie named Average Joe and His Middle-class Lifestyle. People want to see something out of the ordinary when they watch a movie. "Normal" is boring. Why would anyone want to make or watch boring movies?