Byzantium

The fading glory of an Empire

 

A map of ancient Byzantium

 

 

 

Now hark you scholars of history

Mark uneven hand of destiny

Hear a tragic tale, what will become

Of the empire named Byzantium

 

                 ***      ***

 

In former glory you had no peer

For you conquered all within your sphere

To laude your splendor oft bells have rung

Ringing praise to you Byzantium

 

When with Delphi’s presage¹ he did pass

In Bosporus² settled Byzantas³

Of bold new city now song was sung

This beginning of Byzantium

 

Now betwixt Europe and Asia⁴

From the Black Sea on to Marmara⁵

The crux of interests you’ve become

Of the world, cross roads, Byzantium

 

On the murder of harsh Pertinax⁶

After Didius⁷ fell to the axe

Then did Severus⁸, the african

Turn ambitions to Byzantium

 

Aiding ill fated Pescennius⁹

Fighting forces of bold Severus

This a battle of equestrians¹⁰

Now in ashes laid Byzantium¹¹

 

But in ruin this city won’t be long

Not this city oft rememb’red in song

With the city under Roman thumb

You are raised from ruin, Byzantium

 

Then did Emperor, Saint Constantine¹²

With his finest art improve your sheen

You’ve the center of the world become¹³

Your good fortune, proud Byzantium

 

Now from your square of Augustaeum¹⁴

Is the empire ruled, frontiers succumb

And new Nicene¹⁵ church is now welcome

Rise your glory, vain Byzantium

 

Then Visigoths¹⁶ of Germania

From the Huns flee beloved Dacia¹⁷

Soon the warlike Goths your strengths will plumb

Mind your peril, blind Byzantium

 

After Valens¹⁸ fell with thousands strong

Gothic horsemen piercing Roman throng

Just a few days march, the city won

Praise your luck, sons of Byzantium¹⁹

 

Now with bribes you pay Hun Rugila²⁰

Make Generals of Romania²¹

Western Empire to Ravenna²² runs

Will you fall, besieged Byzantium?

 

Then the Avar and the cruel Bulgar

Prove a threat to crescent moon and star²³

From the east, might Persian forces come?

Sacking you, bejeweled Byzantium

 

Attack Avars and the Persian fleet

Eighty thousand testing Roman seat

At Nineveh battle fought and won²⁴

Song of Legend, brave Byzantium!

 

Muslim sieges now they come and go²⁵

But your massive walls²⁶ hold out your foe

They’ll not fail until gun powder comes²⁷

Safe your fortress, walled Byzantium

 

When Rurik, the Varangian²⁸ chief

Struck the isles with you in disbelief

Oryphas soon put him on the run²⁹

You are shocked and stunned, Byzantium

 

In waning years does the Fourth Crusade

On you it turns despite Papal rage

With Latins paid less than promised sum

You were torched and raped, Byzantium³⁰

 

Weak from disaster you recover

Yet ever ‘round you foes do hover

And at the end the fierce Turk will come

Dealing death to you, Byzantium³¹

 

Roman empire’s story now complete

Nevermore walk Caesars down the Mese³²

Turkish canons roar, your walls succumb

Sadly, Rome now ends, Byzantium

 

So philosophers, historians

Note the battles, the praetorians³³

Rise and fall of fate, your course now run

This your story’s end, Byzantium

 

And your villains and your heroes rest

‘neith the ground in grave with fallen crest

All their glories setting with the sun

In this eve’tide of Byzantium

 

With tale now told, here I end my song

Of your story full, your legend strong

Weigh we now the value and the sum

Of an empire lost, Byzantium

 

 

A satellite picture of modern-day Byzantium (Istanbul). Note there are some changes such as the ports to the south of the city, but you can still see the two great walls, the Mese, the palace, etc.

 

Notes:

 

The history of Byzantium is rich with triumphs and disasters, and traces many of the roots of modern western culture. The story is also amazingly fresh and relevant today, and we can see many modern parallels, including “punk” gangs, such as the competing Blues and Greens that wore beards, shaved the fronts of their heads with long hair in the back, wore wide-sleeved tunics with tight waists, and who mugged and beat people caught on the street at night. The gang violence eventually led to a major rebellion in 532 AD with fires that destroyed a number of major buildings.

 

^[1]There is a legend that Byzantas (also Byzas) consulted the oracle at Delphi (667 BC) as to where he should found his city and that he was cryptically told to find it "opposite the blind." The legend continues that when he reached the Bosporus, that he found the city of Chelcedon on the Asiatic shore, and this was so obviously inferior to the “Golden Horn” site of Byzantium that the citizens of Chelcedon must truly be blind.

 

^[2]The Bosporus, also known today as the Istanbul straits, is the channel connecting the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara. It also separates Europe (Rumelia of Turkey) from Asia (Anatolia).

 

^[3]Byzantas (Byzas) is the Greek leader of settlers from Megara (a town near Athens) that founded the city of Byzantium.

 

^[4]Byzantium stands between Europe (Rumelia of Turkey) and Asia (Anatolia).

 

^[5]Byzantium is on the Bosphrus, the Instanbul Straight, that links the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara, and eventually the Mediterranean.

 

^[6]Pertinax (Publius Helvius Pertinax, August 1, 126 - March 28, 193) was the first Emperor of Rome during the “Year of the Five Emperors”. His rule lasted a mere 86 days, and occurred after assassinating Commodus, when Commodus’ behavior became erratic. Pertinax was succeeded by Didius after Pertinax’s murder at the hands of Praetorian Guards who were angered by receiving insufficient pay for supporting him as Emperor. He earned his reputation of being “harsh” after severely punishing soldiers that tried to kill him and left him for dead when he lead Rome’s armies in Britain.

 

^[7]Didius Julianus (Marcus Didius Severus Julianus, 133 AD or 137 AD -193 AD) also makes a bid to be Emperor on the death of Pertinax. He wins the aid of the Praetorian soldiers, but is eventually sentenced to be beheaded by the senate, clearing the way for Severus. Didius is one of the five emperors in the “Year of the Five Emperors”.

 

^[8]Septimus Severus (April 11, 145 - February 4, 211) was born in Africa in Leptis Magna (modern Libya, southeast of Carthage, modern Tunisia) of Berber (father) and Roman ancestry (mother). He was of equestrian rank (see note [10]), but was made a senator by Emperor Marcus Aurelius. The next Emperor, Commodus gave him command of the Roman legions in Pannonia. At the murder of Pertinax, his troop proclaimed him Emperor of Rome.

 

^[9]Gaius Pescennius Niger (c. 140-194), was born of an Italian equestrian family, and was a governor of Syria, and like Severus was proclaimed emperor by his troops after the murder of Pertinax and Didius Julianus. Niger was finally defeated by Severus at Issus in 194 AD, and finally killed fleeing to Parthia (Iran).

 

^[10]A member of the Equestrian Order, ranking below Senators, and provided a horse at public expense and the leadership of 300 horseman. Equestrians often rose to higher office (e.g., the senate) when favored by the Emperor.

 

^[11]After the battle between Severus and Pescennius (who were both originally Equestrians), Byzantium, which sided with Pescennius, was destroyed in 196 AD and rebuilt by Severus.

 

^[12]Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus (27 February ca. 272 - 22 May 337),

Constantine I, Constantine the Great, or Saint Constantine (by the Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Catholics, but not recognized by the Latin church), was Rome’s Emperor from 306 AD to his death. He welcomed Christianity (Edict of Milan in 313 AD), developed the Nicene faith, built one of the first walls around the city, with its “Golden Gate”, built the “Mese”, the “Middle Street”, and decorated the city with costly art. He was the Emperor that made Byzantium the center of Roman civilization and Byzantium would remain its capital for over 1000 years.

 

^[13]Constantine moved the royal court to Byzantium.

 

^[14]Constantine also built a new central square in the city named the “Augustaeum”.

 

^[15]The Nicene church is the foundation of most of modern Christianity and was the first to profess the “Triune God”, of the “Father”, the “Son”, and the “Holy Ghost”. This was in opposition to the position of the “Arian” church that held that only the “Father” was true god and than the “Son” was created and was not equal and did not have partnership, for example, in the creation of the world. The Nicene Creed was first adopted in 325 AD by vote at the First Council of Nicaea, and also added belief in the “Holy Ghost” as part of the deity of the Triune God.

 

^[16]The Visigoths were part of the Germanic Gothian tribes (Vandals, Ostrogoths, Franks, Burgundians, Lombards, and Visogoths). Of these tribes the only one that would lead to an enduring state (eventually France) were the Franks. However it was the Visigoths (that lived in Dacia, now modern Romania) that imparted the major damage to the Roman empire, upon refusal of being absorbed into the Roman empire as were other civilizations, and they eventually settled in the Aquitane. One of their most famous kings, Athaulf (410-415 AD), is often quoted as saying “At first I wanted to erase the Roman name and convert all Roman territory into a Gothic Empire: I longed for Romania to become Gothia, and Athaulf to be what Caesar Augustus had been. But long experience has taught me that the ungoverned wildness of the Goths will never submit to laws, and that without law, a state is not a state. Therefore I have more prudently chosen the different glory of reviving the Roman name with Gothic vigour, and I hope to be acknowledged by posterity as the initiator of a Roman restoration, since it is impossible for me to alter the character of this Empire.” translated in Stephen Williams, Diocletian and the Roman Recovery, Routledge, 1985, 2000, p.218.

 

^[17]The Visigoths left Dacia (now Romania), fleeing the Huns.

 

^[18]In a very famous defeat of Rome, Emperor Valens was defeated (and killed) by the Visigoths at Adrianople in 378 AD in a most unexpected way. The heavy cavalry of the Goths actually got the better of the Roman cavalry and the heavily armed Roman infantry and caused pandemonium. This was the first time that cavalry actually got the best of heavy Roman infantry. The Roman historian Ammianus Marcellinus said of the battle: "Never, except in the battle of Cannae, had there been so destructive a slaughter recorded in our annals." After this, Roman Emperors, starting with Theodosius I relied heavily on Goth and Hun cavalry in their armies.

 

^[19]The defeat at Adrianopole was only a few day’s march from Byzantium, but fortunately, the Visigoths never attacked the city.

 

^[20]In 424 AD Theodosius agreed to pay yearly bribes to the king of the Huns, Rugila. A bit later, Attila the Hun negotiated a doubling of the subsidy. In 441 AD, Attila attacked Rome and negotiated a trebling of the bribe.

 

^[21]The Visigoths lived at the time in Dacia, now Romania. Since Byzantium was in need of good fighting men, and since the Goths were abundant and showed good fighting skills, many a Goth became a General in the Roman armies.

 

^[22]With the Goths running loose in the Roman empire, especially in the Western Empire, they eventually chase the Western Roman court from Rome and drive them to Ravenna in northern Italy, where the Western Roman court eventually disappears, leaving Byzantium (now Constantinople) as the only seat of Roman power.

 

^[23]The crescent moon and star is the emblem of Byzantium.

 

^[24]Emperor Heraclius, in a famous battle, held off a siege by 80,000 Avars and the Persian fleet. He simultaneously launched an attack into Persia and defeated his enemies outside Nineveh. Subsequently he surrounded the Persian capital at Ctesiphon, recovering in 627 AD much of the Roman lands lost in previous Persian attacks.

 

^[25]Constantinople was attacked twice by the Arabs, once between 674 AD and 678 AD, and again in 717 AD.

 

^[26]Byzantium had a number of massive walls, some of which still stands today, and the evidence of which can be clearly seen from satellite photographs. The two most famous walls are that built by Emperor Constantine (Constantine Wall) and the much larger 5^th century moat and double wall (5,630 meters long) built by Emperor Theodosius II.

 

^[27]Byzantium's wall will not be breached by any attacker until its fall to canon fire in the attack of the Ottoman Turks in 1453 AD.

 

^[28]The Varangian guard were a personal guard of the Emperor tracing their origins back to the Vikings. As a gift, in 980 AD the Emperor Basil II received 6000 Varangian warriors from Prince Vladimir of Kiev. Being detached from the politics of the Roman courts, they were known for their loyalty to the Emperor.

 

^[29]Oryphas was an admiral of the Byzantine fleet when they were attacked by 200 Russian ships lead by Rurik, a Varangian chief. The attack by Rurik was soon turned back, but the surprise invasion had a strong psychological affect on Byzantium’s citizens.

 

^[30]The Latin armies of the Fourth Crusade were diverted to Constantinople despite excommunication by the Pope. Their goal was to restore Alexius son of the deposed emperor Isaac replacing Emperor Alexius III. They promised the Latin army a large sum of money for their support, but found the coffers of Constantinople lacking the funds to pay the army in full. In anger the Latin army burned, raped, and pillaged Constantinople, laying waste to the city.

 

^[31]The final destruction of Constantinople came in 1453 AD when the Ottoman Turks used canon fire to breach the city walls. This was the end of Roman rule.

 

^[32]The “Mese” is the great “Middle Road” built by Emperor Constantine, leading from the Augustaeum to the edge of the city.

 

^[33]A Roman praetor, a title given by the Roman government either for commanding an army, or an elected magistrate of the government.

 

 

 

 

 

©2008 Richard Puetter

All rights reserved

Author's Note

Okay, my friends, comments and suggestions please.

Reviews

[Lydia Shutter]

You certainly go into great detail and teach the reader so many facts about the Byzantine Empire. I must confess, if I knew some of the facts you write so poetically, I have forgotten them since my history class on the subject. The fact you are able to offer up these facts in flawless rhythm and rhyme proves your poetic talent. Thank you for teaching me so much....though I doubt I will recall some of these facts after today. After all, my days of studying for tests are long gone! :) Great work. Lydi**

[Nancy Lee Shrader]

Congrats on your First Place Win. Well done. I have learned a history lesson as well as enjoying great poetry.

[Star-Born-Soul]

Poetic history! Whouda thunk it? I see a few critics down there. As a struggling artist, who draws and paints to express himself, not to please others or mass produce pretty pictures, I have to agree with Sheila. Who says poetry has to be in a certain format? For me, words are just another medium, take from it what you will, I didn't write it for you.
I think the poem was very well written and the notes (esp. about the Nicene church)..interseting.
It was Sheila that led me here, she thought you might like a poem I wrote titled "Magnetohydrodynamics".

[Max]

wow. i'm stunned

for a history buff/poet such as myself this is just every dream come true. I've always loved the history of the Roman and Byzantine empires, they've always facinated me. and now here you come with this work of epic proportions to quench my thirst for more history.

Thankfully i already knew everything that was annotated, or else i would have to go through all those notes that are longer than the poem itself!

Tis a great city, even now, under the name of Istanbul. Absolutely facinating and i could've spent another week or two there if i had the chance!

[Sheila Kline]

Hello!
Fascinating.....and well documented. So, who says poetry has to be a certain format....I think this is brilliant. I am a genealogist, and I am particularly interested in the Visigoths/German influence. I admit that I am not studied in all, but I do find it most interesting!
I consider it to be well done!! It is different, and educational!

[Tovli]

very interesting. i like! a lot of words--a lot of history--a real epoch. it took some thought to slide this into a kyrielle--Stoken! tovli

[Kevin]

Well done. With my limited historical knowledge of the time and place. (without sounding vain, it's still more than most) I found you poem insightful and well written. That's a lot to put into a poem and you did it quite well and creatively. Thank you for sharing.

[.:Naiira Harlow:.]

More history than poem. Yet still well written. The Byzantine Empire was facinating.

[Lalli]

Rick my friend,

I want you to know your poem is the first for me to comment since my return. So feel special hahaha. NO i'm teasn, about hte special part lol.

I am going to nick name u "The Historian". You writing is creative, historically accurate, insightful, and revealing. I have learned a great deal about topics, eras, myths, or civilizations through reading your work. Your story-telling ability in a poetic rhyme can only be respected and appreciated to the fullest.

So today, i have learned about the tale I never knew therefore I am a wiser man for taking the time to read your work. As your work always leaves me a great deal to rummage over in the old mill.

Thank you for sharing

much love n' respect

-Lalli

[MarcZw]

Where's the poetry?? I only see words, words, words� (as far as the controversy [Gandre] is concerned�: to me it's obvious: Gandre needs no footnotes, she speaks not to the page but to the imagination!)

[Crazy Cat Man]

this is exactly the same as Gandre's epic poem. Same thing with no soul. plagiarism.