Every year on 29 May we remember the glory of Byzantium and millennial, because on this day in 1453, it fell under Ottoman Constantinople, capital of the empire known in history as the “Byzantine”. Byzantine culture and civilization continued after the fall of Constantinople in the Orthodox space, as Byzantium after Byzantium concept formulated by historian Nicolae Iorga. In this he describes cultural joining Orthodox countries, especially those Romanian, Byzantine cultural space.
The city of Byzantium, where does the name of Byzantium was founded on the west bank of the Bosphorus, around 660 BC But the true glory of the city begins in the reign of Constantine the Great, who transforms the imperial capital and gives its name. In 330 AD, with the inauguration of the “New Rome” starts -Constantinopol history over a thousand years of the Byzantine Empire.
Chronologically of Byzantium succeeded the Roman Empire, opening a new era. Even if the structure has retained a number of rules that supported the Roman imperial edifice, its future evolution reveals a different direction. Byzantine role in European history and the Romanian people can not be neglected, even though many times we pass by. In fact, the history of Christianity from the time it became a free religion was held in this empire.
In what concerns us, Romanians, Byzantium had a decisive role in the Daco-Roman teritory, the consolidation and spread of Christianity in our country, in the training of people and Romanian language in the organization and religious life in culture and art. During migration, the Byzantine Empire was the only political party in southeastern Europe who managed to stand in front of barbarians, forcing them to give freedom of life and faith of our ancestors. From Byzantium was led Christianization missionary activity in our area, especially among migratory barbarians, and supportive of the native Christians. After the XIVth century, when they were independent Romanian feudal states, founding metropolitan sees and ecclesiastical organization, forms that clothed monasticism, all were made in close contact with Byzantium. After his fall, our rulers felt it their duty to continue Byzantine spirituality and culture, some even wanted to restore it to Constantinople. Therefore expression is ISPIR Nicolae Iorga “Byzantium after Byzantium”. Romanian does not mean that countries had, after 1453, a leading role, but Iorga wanted to show by this way they continued the Byzantine civilization and spirituality in Orthodox countries. How Romanian countries were in a semidependent the Ottoman Empire, with no foreign power on their territory, we only pay tribute to the gate, we can say that we had some freedom here. The Turks did not build any mosque in this area. The leading role of the Orthodox Church, Ecumenical Patriarch everything he had, but he was a formal one. The entire Balkan Peninsula was subject to the Turks, who exercised a fierce exploitation. Then it tried finding a Romanian ruler to take over the banner of the fight against the Ottomans. Some have seen this personality Michael the Brave, followed half a century later, Vasile Lupu and others. But Western political unaided could not do it.
Formula circulated, Nicolae Iorga revealed Byzantium survival for several centuries after the fall of Constantinople. For Iorga, Byzantium means a continuation of the late ancient world and its survival in the modern world. For Iorga there is a real Byzantium (330-1453) and “Byzantium” ideal, which extends until the beginning of the nineteenth century. Thus, continuity is triple Byzantine politics, and human civilization.
Political continuity is the fact that it is New Rome. Also, the Byzantine emperors were called themselves “kings of the Romans”. Byzantium was popular in Romania protector who kept Latinity in this part of Europe. Continuity of civilization is the fact that Byzantium always try to be linked to the west, from which retrieves and transmits whom form of culture and civilization. According to Nicolae Iorga, and survival is threefold. He survives by institutions. Across the east, the institutions are Byzantine. Byzantium survived by civilization. Byzantine political unity is replaced by one dominated by Orthodox civilization after the fall of Constantinople. From here reflected the significant role it played in preserving Church unity of the nation peoples in this part of Europe will underpin the formation of their national consciousness. Survival is human, because after the fall of Constantinople, the exiles of empire receded in Eastern Europe, and especially in the Romanian, where they came from big families of Byzantine Paleologos Cantacuzino and Mavrocordats. Exiles in Constantinople remained faithful to a model of civilization that have spread in the Romanian.
Indeed, after the fall of Constantinople, the Byzantine fled many Orthodox countries. Some fled to Bulgaria or Serbia, but did not remain there long, because the roller Turkish arrived and on those lands. Others came to us and speaks Iorga these fugitives who roamed the Romanian Countries chained hands and feet, thereby attracting attention to their unhappiness, seeking to obtain financial aid. Some of them have left us, others went to Transylvania. An example is the Cantacuzino family, which remained permanently and entered later in composition from the Romanian ruling class.
Constantinople remained Academy, further supported by the Ecumenical Patriarchate, where they formed many people, among which we can mention St. Antim Iberia, to give just one example. These men were seen by Romanian rulers – St. Constantin Brancoveanu was the one who brought him to his court in St. Antim Iberia – and come and have contributed to the building of religious and cultural life from us. Then Romanian countries by the Royal Academies of Bucharest and Iasi, in the eighteenth century, were a kind of Balkan world universities. When he could not do Constantinople opera literacy, cultural and intellectual education center was moved to Bucharest and Iasi.
Romanian culture and our civilization are profoundly influenced by the Byzantine civilization. The most important religious monuments are Romanian Byzantine spiritual and cultural inspiration. For us, Byzantium lives through spirituality, art and culture, that we find in all Orthodox space. Formula Romanian historian Nicolae Iorga, Byzantium after Byzantium is best defines current and continuity of Byzantine Orthodox world.
source: ziarullumina.ro