Posted on 03/16/2023 5:16:32 AM PDT by MtnClimber
When Constantinople finally fell to the Ottomans on Tuesday, May 29, 1453, the Byzantine Empire and its capital had survived for 1,000 years beyond the fall of the Western Empire at Rome.
Always outnumbered in a sea of enemies, the Byzantines’ survival had depended on its realist diplomacy of dividing its enemies, avoiding military quagmires, and ensuring constant deterrence.
Generations of self-sacrifice ensured ample investment for infrastructure. Each generation inherited and improved on singular aqueducts and cisterns, sewer systems, and the most complex and formidable city fortifications in the world.
Brilliant scientific advancement and engineering gave the empire advantages like swift galleys and flame throwers—an ancient precursor to napalm.
The law reigned supreme for nearly a millennium after the emperor Justinian codified a prior thousand years of Roman jurisprudence.
Yet this millennium-old crown jewel of the ancient world that once was home to 800,000 citizens had only 50,000 inhabitants left when it fell.
There were only 7,000 defenders on the walls to hold back a huge Turkish army of over 150,000 attackers.
The Islamic winners took over the once magical city of Constantine and renamed it Istanbul. It had been the home of the renowned Santa Sophia, the largest Christian church in the world for over 900 years. Almost immediately, this “Church of the Holy Wisdom” was converted into the then largest mosque in the Islamic world, with minarets to follow.
So what happened to the once indomitable city fortress and its empire?
Christendom had cannibalized itself. Western Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy fought endlessly. Westerners often hated each other more than they did their common enemy.
In the final days of Constantinople, almost no help was sent from Western Europe to the besieged city.
In fact, 250 years earlier, the Western Franks of the Fourth Crusade had detoured...
(Excerpt) Read more at amgreatness.com ...
Overextension
Economic Decline
Political Instability
Military Defeat
Cultural and Social Change
As far as I know the only author lost in the fall of Constantinople was Diodorus Siculus (and we do have much of his history, but apparently all of it was available before 1453...not a great historian but still would be useful to have the other books). A large amount had been lost since the 9th century. Probably the Franks were to blame for some of that when they sacked Constantinople in 1204.
The Byzantines and the western Europeans had not got along very well for centuries--the Byzantines had contempt for the "Franks" as barbarians. Odo of Deuil, writing about the Second Crusade, gives examples of the Greeks' hostility to the Crusaders.
We are far below the level of that bunch. They still knew the difference between men and women.
Good article.
True: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sack_of_Constantinople
That was the end of Byzantium. They never really recovered after that and simply waited to be over run by the Ottomans. Their destruction was at their own brothers hands- greed.
In our case I believe our destruction is more in line with Western Rome. We are so perverted, weird, dysfunctional, over run by outside interests and corrupt that we are becoming weak, just waiting for someone to eventually knock us off the thrown like when Rome was sacked: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sack_of_Rome_(410)
I guess my point is that the Byzantines were brought down by an outside force, while Rome was more or less brought down by internal forces which is what is happening to us.
From what I gather from history, he’s right in that every empire gets this feeling of being “forever” and “invincible” eventually. Of course all their power and wealth was created usually over many generations and in the later years this wealth and power simply gets squandered to the wind.
We are a nation that began with 13 Colonies, like Christ and His 12.
We are a nation that grew to 50 states, like the New Covenant Church grew at 50.
America is a picture, on a nations level, of the Kingdom of heaven on earth, the Church.
A fully leavened garden, where lawlessness and disorder have overcome law and order. Where Just us has overcome Justice..
A habitation of demons..
Just as predicted..
For the Church.
And its nation level equivalent, America..
Spiritually, that has to fall.
Symbolically, the serpent has to be transformed back into a staff for shepherding and ministering, like Moses and Aaron’s staffs transformed back from serpents.
That helps Israel to believe in their deliverance by the Passover Lamb.
A little hope that a corrupted, serpent led America and Church, aren’t lost and doomed.
Just walking out His plan..
For His purposes and His Glory..
Not mentioned is that anything that might try to overtake us is even more incompetent and stupid than we are. That includes the ChiComm Han grandpas and the 50 IQ muslims.
Inflation, debasing the currency.
The last generations of Byzantines had inherited a global reputation and standard of living that they themselves no longer earned.
They neglected their former civic values and fought endless battles over obscure religious texts, doctrines, and vocabulary.
They did not expand their anemic army and navy. They did not reunite their scattered Greek-speaking empire. They did not properly maintain their once life-giving walls.
Instead of earning money through their accustomed nonstop trade, they inflated their currency and were forced to melt down the city’s inherited gold and silver fixtures.
The once canny and shrewd Byzantines grew smug and naïve. Childlessness became common. Most now preferred to live outside of what had become a half-empty, often dirty, and poorly maintained city.
Umm, not much let to say. At least about Constantinople.
Perhaps we can write a different ending to our story.
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American Greatness: Victor Davis Hanson on American Greatness
His website: Victor Davis Hanson
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What is astonishing and different with the USA is the sheer speed of self-destruction. It took centuries for former empires (Roman, Byzantine) to destroy themselves. We are doing it in a few snort decades.
Because literacy was not widespread, the self-realization and awareness of the decline of previous empires was probably minimal. There were no printed books, no media. Lifespans were short, so living memory was short. People heard of the glory of the old days through legends and family lore. Few people were educated or went to school, so people didn’t have the knowledge to look to history for examples of previous empire decline.
We see enough of that here on this board don't we. We are rewarded, for expressing our love for this country that we put first above all other countries, by those who cheerlead for Ukraine & Messiah Zelenskyy, as Putinist's, Russian Bots, etc.
When will these people open their eyes are realize that our nation is being led by evil, who in addition to being evil, are idiots.
Russia tried to ally itself with the U.S., because they fear China who lives within striking distance of them, and are far more ambitious then the American people are.
But they were forced to join forces with China by the U.S. full of people who inherited and or moved into a standard of living that they themselves had no longer earned, just as VDH says of the Byzantines had done. But the Byzantines was able to hold on 4 times longer than we were able to.
Of course, some of the staunchest supporters are immigrants who came to this nation and added to her greatness, instead of getting whatever they could, however they could, instead of good hard honest work.
Yes, we are the Byzantines, but on steroids.
Thanks for the ping!
TRUE
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