Ο τελευταιος Παλαιολογος

Ο Κώστας Πλεύρης περί Βυζαντίνης Αυτοκρατορίας

Ο Σπύρος Βρυώνης στην εκπομπή «Ανιχνεύσεις»

Ο κορυφαίος βυζαντινολόγος Σπύρος Βρυώνης.

GreekMuslims

Mια άλλη πλευρά του φαινομένου της Ελληνικής Διασποράς
στον παρευξείνιο χώρο, αλλά και στο χώρο της σύγχρονης Τουρκίας,
είναι οι ελληνόφωνοι που κατοικούν στην επικράτειά της.

http://vaalades.blogspot.com

Michael Paleologos

Year 1204, the western "crudaders" have captured Constantinople, killed, destroyed, ravaged and pillaged. They created the "Latin Empire of Constantinople", the "Kingdom of Salonica" and other smaller states from sharing between them the territories of the destroyed by them Byzantine Empire. 3 territories remained free though.

The Despotate of Epirus, the Empire of Trabizond and the Empire of Nicaea. 3 Greek Orthodox states resisted the invadors. From the Empire of Nikae came the man that was destined to resurect the Byzantine Empire...His Magesty Michael Palaeologos.

Michael was crowned as an Emperor with the name Michael VIII in 1259, 55 years after the destruction of the Empire by the "crusaders" of the 4th "crusade" .

After a whille in the battle of Pelagonia he defited the united forces of the Despotate of Epirus, Sicily and the Principality of Achaea. It was a triumph of Michael! The power of Latin Principate of Achaea in Greece was destroyed, the threat over Salonica was over and now Michael could turn in setting free Constantinople from Latin occupation.

His general Alexios Strategopoulos, whille he was returning from the Bulgarian borders sow that the Queen of the cities was not guarded well. He managed to get inside the walls with his 800 men and set free the City. Michael went to Constantinople where he was crowned as King and Emperor of the Romans inside the holy church of Hagia Sofia.

In order to set free the Latin Prince of Achaea William II Villehardouin which he captured after the battle of Pelagonia Michael received by him the castle of Monemvasia and of the great Mani and the Castle of Mystras.  By that action the Principate of Achaea of the Latin invadors lost its strength and the Greek despotate of Moreos was born, a fact that was very important because Pelloponesse became the Acropolis of Hellenism at the last years of the Empire, during the Turkish occupation of Greece and during the Great Greek rebellion of 1821.

Charles of Anjou King of Sisely head of a very strong anti-Byzantine western alliance wanted to destroy once more the resurected Empire and reenslave Constantinople and the rest of Greece. Anjou's first step was to occupy the Greek island of Corfu in order to use it as a base to threat the Byzantine Empire. Next year (1270) he gathered a huge fleet in the Italian port of Trapani in order to attack and destroy the Empire. Suddenly a storm came from nowhere destroyed his fleet inside the port an incident that was considered by Michael and Orthodox Greeks as a miracle of the Holy Virgin Mary the Protector of Constantinople.

Charles returned, attacked Epirus and made alliance with the Despot but he was heavily defited by the Byzantine general Michael Tarhaniotes in the battle of Veration ( 1281).

Charles that insisted, gathered a stronger and fearsome army in Sisely in order to eliminate Byzantium but the famous Siselian Vespers (sikelikos esperinos) took place, a rebellion of the locals against the French that ended with the total slaughtering of French on Sisely. It is undoubtable that the famous Byzantine diplomacy of Michael (known as the best Emperor in diplomacy) was behind the rebellion and the slaughtering of their dangerous enemies.

Michael VIII Paleologos was one of the greatest Byzantine Emperors that managed to resurect the Empire, defit all its western enemies and establice the Paleology dynasty that live longer than any other in the Empire. He is considered by many historians as the best diplomat-Emperor the Empire ever had. The Hellenic Nation owns a lot to Michael Paleologos because it secured its continuation as an Empire for almost 200 years, set free almost all metropolitan Greece and put the basis for Pelloponesse to be the Acropolis of Hellenism through the dark ages of Turkish occupation and the succes of the Great Greek rebellion of 1821 that took place.

Learn more about this author, 
George Papasimakis.

Vasil II The Bulgar Slayer

Vasil II

The Bulgar Slayer

Basil II the Bulgar slayer was Born in 958 and died in 15 December 1025. He was the Predecessor of John I Tzimiskes and he was successed by Constantine VIII.
His father was Romanos II and his mother Theophano. He was a member of the famous Macedonian dynasty. Emperor Basill II is one of the most important men of the Hellenic Nation. He is the one that saved Macedonia and the rest of Greece from the Bulgarian threat that after the creation of the Bulgaric state in the lands of Ano Mysia became very dangerous for all European lands of the Empire. Basill became an Emperor in the age of 18 and he managed to win the battle against the rebels great landowners of Asia Minor, Bardas Skleros and Bardas Phokas which he was stricktly punished.

After that, he turned his attention to the Bulgarians that have occupied Macedonia except Salonica and have moved to southern Greece.
He was heavily defited at first in the battle of Larisa in 987 and that incident gave the Bulgarians the change to begin an orgy of killings, burning, pillage and all kinds off atrocities against the native Hellenic population of Macedonia and Southern Greece.
Vasill managed to stop them with his general Nikiphoros Ouranos, Nikiforos Ksifias, Eustathos Dafnomilis and in the end in the battle of KLEIDION he destroyed them uterly!

In that battle he destroyed the army of Samuel of Bulgaria and he arrested 14.000 as prisoners. Bulgarians were stricktly punished for the crimes of rebellion, killings, burning and destrucion. Basill blinded 99 to every 100 men.In very 100 men he left 1 with one eye to guide the others back to Bulgaria. When Samuel sow that, he died. After his victory Basill visited southern Greece and he went to the church of Holy Mary of Parthenon in Athens to thank the Lord for his success in the Bulgarian war.

His Imperial Magesty also launched a campaign against Muslim Arabs that besieged Antioch and Aleppo. In 995 with 40,000 men and 80,000 mules he attacked and won many battles he relieved Aleppo, took over Orontes valley all north Syria and moved south.Moving to lands that were lost for the Empire since the Arab expantion, he sacked all cities between Emessa and Tripoli. This lands would remain in Greek hand for 75 years.

Vasil managed to stabilize the Byzantine rull in Crimea in the north of the Black Sea by making alliance with the Russians from which he had millitary help which later transformed in to the IMPERIAL VARANGIAN GUARD. He also gave his younger sister Anna as a wife to the Russian Ruller. He win over the Khazar turks with jewish relligion, beat the Persians that invaded Armenia, united Armenia with the Empire after the Armenian King has died, took back important lands in South Italy known till today by his name (Basillikata). Death caught him before he set free the island of Sisely, giving an end to that plan of the Glorious King.

He was buried in the Church of St. John the Theologian the Evangelist at the Hebdomon Palace outside the Theodosian walls of Constantinople. Unfortunatelly the barbarians of the 4th (1204) crusade vandalised, and ravaged his grave. Michael Paleologos set free Constantinople in 1261 and the religious Greek soldiers were socked in the site of the grave being ravaged.
But thats another story...

---

Petition for the reopen of theological school of Halki

Theological school of Halki

Reopen of the theological school of Halki

History:

The theological school of Halki was housed on the Monastery of the Holy Trinity, founded by Photius I, Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople (858–861 and 878–886). Patriarch Germanos IV turned the monastery into a school of theology in 1844.

An earthquake in June 1894 destroyed all the buildings except for the chapel. The buildings were rebuilt by architect Periklis Fotiadis and the reconstruction finished in October 1896. Other reconstruction was made in 1950.

The library contains over 120,000 book tittles and rare manuscripts. Other facilities are the offices, infirmary, a hospice, sports institution, dormitories and the Chapel of the Holy Trinity. Since 1951, the school has adopted a 3 years high school + 4 years higher level studies.

Patriarch Bartholomew I. Patriarchs, bishops, eastern Orthodox scholars, priests, theologians, native born Greeks and Orthodox Christians from all around the world have graduated from the theological school of Halki. Many of them are buried in the schools ground. The school was enforced closure in 1971, with the excuse that the Turkish Constitutional Court found certain articles of private university law unconstitutional.

The decision was that all private institutions of higher education in Turkey either unite with the state universities or be shut down. That was when the seminary section of the school was closed while the high school is still open but doesn't work because it has no students. In 1998 the school owners committee was ordered by the Turkish government to be disbanded but the international criticism aborted that plan.

The USA congress has supported the reopening of the school in October 1998 and the same did the European Union (E.U.). President Bill Clinton during his visit in Turkey in 1999 asked for the reopening of the school, giving hope to all Orthodox Christians all around the world.

Petition:

Their excellencies the Secretary general of the united nations Ban Ki moon, President of France and European Union Nikola Sarkozi, President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev,President of the Hellenic republic Karolos Papoulias President of the USA George Bush, Prime minister of Russia Vladimir Putin.

We ask that the enforced closure of the Theological school of Halki by the Turkish constitutional court will be aborted because it is against basic human rights in education, religion and property.

The continuation of the schools closure will cause extreme damage to the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople because that was the only institution that used to give supreme theological studies and its students used to become Patriarchs, bishops an priest for the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople.

We note here that the Turkish law also does not allow the election of a non Turkish citizen Patriarch, facts that in combination with the closure of the Theological school of Halki drives the spiritual head of 250.000.000 million Orthodoxes into extinction from lack of personnel with supreme theological studies that also have the Turkish citizenship.

So our request in the name of justice, truth and right is the immediate reopening of the theological school of Halki.

---

Αιτηση για την επαναλειτουργια Θεολογικης σχολης της Χαλκης

Συλλογη υπογραφων δια την επαναλειτουργια της Θεολογικης σχολης της Χαλκης.

Online petition - Reopen of the theological school of Halki

ΚΛΕΙΔΙ 1014

ΚΛΕΙΔΙ 1014
Η ΜΑΧΗ
Α. ΖΕΝΑΚΟΣ
Τρεις χειμώνες προετοίμαζε ο Βασίλειος τη μάχη στο Κλειδί. Εχοντας ως βάση και κέντρο ανεφοδιασμού τις Σέρρες συγκέντρωνε στρατό και οπλισμό. Την άνοιξη του 1014 ξεκίνησε για το Κλειδί, το σημερινό Ρούπελ. Η διάταξη του στρατεύματός του είχε πάντα την ίδια μορφή: δύο ίλες ιππικού ως εμπροσθοφυλακή, μία από κατάφρακτους και μία από μονόζωνους και ακολουθούσε το κύριο σώμα. Ο Βασίλειος επιδίωκε να φθάσει στο στενό ανάμεσα σε Κλειδί και Κίμβα Λόγγο, με απώτερο στόχο την κοιλάδα του Μελένικου και της Στρούμνιτζας, όπου υπήρχαν ακόμη τότε αρκετές βουλγαρικές κτήσεις. Η κατάκτησή τους θα του άνοιγε τον δρόμο για τις Πρέσπες και την Αχρίδα, την καρδιά του βουλγαρικού κράτους.
Ο αντιπερισπασμός του Σαμουήλ

Βασίλειος Β'

O Βυζαντινός αυτοκράτορας (976-1025) Βασίλειος Β', συχνά επονομαζόμενος Βουλγαροκτόνος, θεωρείται ο τελευταίος μεγάλος αυτοκράτορας της Μακεδονικής δυναστείας.
Ήταν γιός του αυτοκράτορα Ρωμανού Β' και της Θεοφανούς. Ανέλαβε τη διακυβέρνηση της αυτοκρατορίας σε ηλικία 18 ετών έχοντας όμως επιτροπευθεί από δύο εξαίρετους στρατιώτες-αυτοκράτορες, τον Νικηφόρο Φωκά, δεύτερο σύζυγο της Θεοφανούς, και τον Ιωάννη Τσιμισκή των οποίων το έργο ανέλαβε να συνεχίσει.
Η αρχή της βασιλείας του σημαδεύτηκε από τις εξεγέρσεις των Βάρδα Σκληρού και Βάρδα Φωκά οι οποίοι στην προσπάθειά τους να αναρριχηθούν στο θρόνο της Κωνσταντινούπολης οδήγησαν το κράτος σε εμφύλια σύρραξη. Για την αντιμετώπισή τους, μεταξύ άλλων ενεργειών, ο Βασίλειος ζήτησε τη συμμαχία του πρίγκηπα Βλαδίμηρου των Ρως. Ως μέρος αυτών των επαφών, ο αυτοκράτορας έδωσε ως γυναίκα του στο Βλαδίμηρο την πορφυρογέννητη αδελφή του Άννα, ενώ ο ίδιος ο πρίγκηπας του Κιέβου βαφτίστηκε χριστιανός με συνέπεια τον μαζικό εκχριστιανισμό και του ρωσικού λαού.
Ο Βασίλειος αφού εδραίωσε την κυριαρχία του με κατανίκηση και παραδειγματική τιμωρία των στασιαστών, έστρεψε την προσοχή του προς την Βουλγαρική λαίλαπα. Έχοντας την προσοχή του στραμμένη στην καταστολή της εξέγερσης, βρήκαν ευκαιρία οι Βούλγαροι, που ήταν υποτελείς της αυτοκρατορίας, και με αρχηγό τους τον Σαμουήλ ξεκίνησαν έναν αγώνα κατά του Βυζαντίου που διήρκησε κοντά 30 έτη. Η μάχη εναντίον τους κοντά στη Λάρισα το 987, κατέληξε σε βαριά ήττα του Βασιλείου, γεγονός που σημάδεψε για όλη του τη ζωή την πολιτική του έναντί τους. Οι Βούλγαροι κατόπιν, επιδόθηκαν σε σφαγές και λεηλασίες όλου του ελλαδικού χώρου μέχρις ότου ο Βασίλειος με τη βοήθεια των στρατηγών του Νικηφόρου Ουρανού και Νικηφόρου Ξιφία κατάφερε και τους νίκησε σε διάφορες μάχες.
Το τέλος του Βουλγαρικού κινδύνου, ήρθε με την μάχη στη θέση Κλειδί (κοντά στις Σέρρες) το 1014, όπου ο Βασίλειος κατέστρεψε τον στρατό του Σαμουήλ και συνέλαβε 14.000 αιχμαλώτους. Θεωρώντας τους Βούλγαρους στασιαστές (γιατί ήδη ανήκαν στην αυτοκρατορία) τους επέβαλε την ανάλογη ποινή, έτσι τύφλωσε όλους τους αιχμαλώτους φροντίζοντας όμως ανα 100 άνδρες να αφήνει ένα μονόφθαλμο ώστε να οδηγήσουν του υπόλοιπους στον Σαμουήλ. Εκείνος μόλις αντίκρυσε το οικτρό θέαμα που παρουσίαζε ο στρατός του έπαθε συμφόρηση και πέθανε σε φρικτούς πόνους. Ο Βασίλειος στη συνέχεια έκανε περιοδεία σε όλη τη Ελλάδα και έφτασε μέχρι την Αθήνα όπου παρέμεινε αρκετό χρονικό διάστημα και προσκύνησε στην Παναγία την Αθηνιώτισσα (Παρθενώνα), σημερινή ονομασία Παναγία Σουμελά[εκκρεμεί παραπομπή].
Εκτός από τους Βούλγαρους ο Βασίλειος πολέμησε και νίκησε τους Άραβες στη Συρία, τους Λογγοβάρδους στη Νότια Ιταλία, τους Αρμένιους στην Κιλικία και τους Νορμανδούς στη Σικελία. Απεβίωσε το 1025 σε ηλικία 68 ετών, έχοντας περάσει σχεδόν ολόκληρη τη ζωή του επάνω στο άλογο πολεμώντας διαρκώς.
Άφησε το Βυζάντιο στην ισχυρότερη θέση μετά την εποχή του Ιουστινιανού, αλλά δυστυχώς ο αδερφός του Κωνσταντίνος που τον διαδέχθηκε δεν του έμοιαζε ούτε στο ελάχιστο, με αποτέλεσμα να ξεκινήσει σχεδόν αμέσως μια περίοδος διάλυσης της αυτοκρατορίας που συνεχίσθηκε μέχρι την άνοδο στο θρόνο του Αλέξιου Α' του Κομνηνού. Εκτός από τους πολέμους όμως ο Βασίλειος ασχολήθηκε και με τη νομοθεσία, θεσπίζοντας νέους νόμους στον αγώνα του εναντίον των «δυνατών», των μεγάλων γαιοκτημόνων δηλαδή που αμφισβητούσαν την κεντρική εξουσία και απομυζούσαν το λαό. Για την καταστροφή των Βουλγάρων, ο λαός που τον λάτρεψε τον ονόμασε Βουλγαροκτόνο, ένα όνομα με το οποίο έμεινε γνωστός στην ιστορία.

Από τη Βικιπαίδεια, την ελεύθερη εγκυκλοπαίδεια