Nevra Necipoglu on the Byzantine Emprire

Istanbul, May 29th, 2009

History Professor Nevra Necipoglu spoke with us on Tuesday, May 26th. She is a specialist in the Byzantine Empire.

The Byzantine Empire, whose capital was Constantinople (now Istanbul) spanned the period from the 4th Century BC to the 15th Century. It began when Roman Emporer Constantine moved his capital from Rome to the shores of the Bosphorus. It ended when Sultan Memhet II captured the city 556 years ago today.

Some myths and misconseptions about of the Byzantine Empire:

1) Nobody in the Byzantine Empire had heard of the "Byzantine Empire". That term was conied by German scholars in the 16th Century. The Byzantines thought of themselves as part of the Roman Empire.

2) Gibbon ("Fall of the Roman Empire") describes the Byzantine Empire as suffereing "1000 years of decilne". This is untrue, says Professor Necipoglu. Even when in political decline, modern scholars agree, the Empire advanced culturally.

3) The Empire has a popular image of having been very rigid for 11 centuries. Not true, says Professor Necipoglu. The Empire was poliically and culturally dynamic.