Transcriber’s Note Italic text displayed as: _italic_ THE BYZANTINES OTHER BOOKS ABOUT MAJOR CULTURES OF THE WORLD THE SUN KINGDOM OF THE AZTECS by Victor W. von Hagen THE ARABS by Harry B. Ellis THE BYZANTINES BY THOMAS CALDECOT CHUBB ILLUSTRATED BY _Richard M. Powers_ [Illustration: Byzantine people] THE WORLD PUBLISHING COMPANY CLEVELAND AND NEW YORK _Published by_ The World Publishing Company 2231 West 110th Street, Cleveland 2, Ohio _Published simultaneously in Canada by_ Nelson, Foster & Scott Ltd. _Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 59-5919_ COWP Copyright © 1959 by Thomas Caldecot Chubb All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher, except for brief passages included in a review appearing in a newspaper or magazine. Printed in the United States of America. For Rosamond Caldecot Chubb CONTENTS A Crusade That Went Astray 13 Byzantium, Crossroads of the World 22 The Roman Empire and Constantinople 39 The Holy Augustus 46 A Roman Army on Horseback 58 One Religion, One Church 68 Golden Bezants 81 The Byzantine Way of Life 93 Last Days of the Empire 107 CHRONOLOGICAL CHART OF THE BYZANTINE EMPIRE AND WORLD EVENTS 117 BOOKS FOR FURTHER READING 123 INDEX AND GLOSSARY 124 _Pronunciations for unfamiliar words are given in the Index_ THE BYZANTINES [Illustration: Boats] A CRUSADE THAT WENT ASTRAY More than 750 years ago—the exact date was May 24, 1203—a mighty and crowded armada sailed away from the beautiful island of Corfu just off the northwest corner of Greece. It headed southward toward a brilliant blue sea. The weather was balmy. The myrtle was in bloom. The leaves on the twisted gray olive trees flashed silver. The sky was fine and clear. The wind was gentle and favorable. Indeed, it barely ruffled the water. But it filled hundreds and hundreds of sails of every possible color. Red sails. Golden sails. Lavender sails. Green sails. Orange sails. And sails of a wonderful bright yellow. Even Geoffrey of Villehardouin, a bold French baron and famous historian who was one of the passengers, could not say how many they were. But he did know that they took his breath away.