The Final Days of Byzantium, “Of what is past, or passing, or to come.”

John 8

• Son of Manuel 2

• Thessaloniki fell to Turks

• Ottomans were scaring the west

Despotate of Morea

• Crusader and Byzantine culture, independent

• Optimism

• Revival at Mystras

• Churches, architectural combination

• Manuel 2 and Theodore supported intellect

• Connection to Greek culture, language (Plethon)

• Defense of Peloponnesos, empire revival planning

• Reforms not implemented

Council, Crusade of Varna

• John 8 negotiating with pope

• Italian Renaissance

• Council at Ferrara and Florence

• Murad 2 conquering Balkans

• Crusade to Hungary, ended by Murad’s army

• Byzantium wasn’t going to get western help

Fall of the City

• Constantine 11 as successor of John 8

• Capital divided about western union

• Sultan Mehmed 2 would go on to be successful

• Preparing for assault on capital

• Papal legit arrived for defense, union issues

• People aware of siege

• Were more willing to fall to turks than west?

• Cannon and gunpowder: Ottoman success

• Way more Ottomans than Byzantines

• Duke defense

• Attacking from land and sea

• Very end: people in Hagia Sophia practicing Christianity

• Destroying city and making Hagia Sophia into mosque

• Never found Constantine 11 — “Marble Emperor” waiting to bring back empire

Lament for Beleaguered Emperor

• Image of ideal

• Mauel 2 went to ask English for help

• Seeing Christian devotion

Meganas Dukes at Fall of Capital

• Grand duke

• Navy was pretty much nonexistent

Opposing Armies at Final Siege

• Too much mercenary use

• Not enough manpower

Reception of Legots from Florence

• Council eventually failed

• Hostile reception of Greeks return

A Depopulated Capital

• Fleeing

• Army was less than 5,000

Russian Reaction to Florence

• Desire for independence

• Kiev

Russians Elect Metropolitan

• Drastic, their own

• Not from Constantinople unlike before

Cydones’ Apologia

• More identification with Greekness

• Saying Latins were alien

• Wanted to read western documents about Aristotle (east)

Greeks and Western Tech

• West surpassed east

• Bessarion wanted people to study arts and military in Italy

Western Art

• Opposed their icons

• Did not recognize saints/style

Turkish Conquest in Asia Minor

• Ottomans

• Cydones lamented

Greco-Turkish Empire?

• Underlying hope?

• East, west, and turks

Scholars Warns Byzantines

• Chaos during siege

• Saying they had rejected faith, would be judged

O My City

• Lamenting sad, fallen city

• Ducas

• All that had been lost

Pletho: Calendar and New Order

• Closer to earth and planet movements

• Using moon and sun cycles

• Wanting to go back to paganism

• New military and peasant class structure

• Hellenic state, Peloponnesus

Eclipse of the Sun

• “Enlightened” science-focused population

• Gregoras

Omens before Final Conquest

• Superstition

• Icons and water