The Byzantine Empire

My tribute to the Byzantine Empire, if you like it, share it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ei9xKYXe464&feature=channel_video_title

Thanks to Kryanwan8 for his extended version of immediate music's "With Great Power"

The Byzantine Empire (or Byzantium) was the predominantly Greek-speaking Eastern Roman Empire throughout Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages. Known simply as the Roman Empire (Greek: Βασιλεία Ῥωμαίων, Basileia Rhōmaiōn) or Romania (Ῥωμανία, Rhōmanía) by its contemporaries, the empire was centered on the capital of Constantinople and was ruled by emperors in direct succession to the ancient Roman emperors after the collapse of the Western Roman Empire.

As the distinction between "Roman Empire" and "Byzantine Empire" is largely a modern convention, it is not possible to assign a date of separation, but an important point is Emperor Constantine I's transfer in 324 of the capital from Nicomedia (in Anatolia) to Byzantium on the Bosphorus, which became Constantinople, "City of Constantine" (alternatively "New Rome").
The Byzantine Empire existed for more than a thousand years (from approximately 306 to 1453). During its existence, the Empire remained one of the most powerful economic, cultural, and military forces in Europe, despite setbacks and territorial losses, especially during the Roman--Persian and Byzantine--Arab Wars. The Empire recovered during the Macedonian dynasty, rising again to become a preeminent power in the Eastern Mediterranean by the late 10th century, rivaling the Fatimid Caliphate.

After 1071, however, much of Asia Minor, the Empire's heartland, was lost to the Seljuk Turks. The Komnenian restoration regained some ground and briefly reestablished dominance in the 12th century, but following the death of Andronikos I Komnenos and the end of the Komnenos dynasty in the late 12th century the Empire declined again. The Empire received a mortal blow in 1204 from the Fourth Crusade, when it was dissolved and divided into competing Byzantine Greek and Latin realms.

Despite the eventual recovery of Constantinople and re-establishment of the Empire in 1261, under the Palaiologan emperors, successive civil wars in the 14th century further sapped the Empire's strength. Most of its remaining territories were lost in the Byzantine--Ottoman Wars, which culminated in the Fall of Constantinople and the cession of remaining territories to the Ottoman Empire in the 15th century.

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Knights Templar

My new video is on the warriors of the Knights Templar.  It's a quick blurt of hacking and slashing horseback templars with some nice music.  The footage is from Kingdom of Heaven and Arn: The Knight Templar.  Both are very good movies that anyone with an interest in history should see.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3b1w56W9LM

The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon (Latin: Pauperes commilitones Christi Templique Solomonici), commonly known as the Knights Templar, the Order of the Temple (French: Ordre du Temple or Templiers) or simply as Templars, were among the most famous of the Western Christian military orders. The organization existed for nearly two centuries during the Middle Ages.

Officially endorsed by the Catholic Church around 1129, the Order became a favored charity throughout Christendom, and grew rapidly in membership and power. Templar knights, in their distinctive white mantles with a red cross, were among the most skilled fighting units of the Crusades. Non-combatant members of the Order managed a large economic infrastructure throughout Christendom, innovating financial techniques that were an early form of banking, and building fortifications across Europe and the Holy Land.

he Templars' existence was tied closely to the Crusades; when the Holy Land was lost, support for the Order faded. Rumors about the Templars' secret initiation ceremony created mistrust, and King Philip IV of France, deeply in debt to the Order, took advantage of the situation. In 1307, many of the Order's members in France were arrested, tortured into giving false confessions, and then burned at the stake.  Under pressure from King Philip, Pope Clement V disbanded the Order in 1312. Portugal was the only European country where Templars were not persecuted and arrested (due to the King's will). The abrupt disappearance of a major part of the European infrastructure gave rise to speculation and legends.