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Science and Technology of the Byzantine Empire
Vienna Dioscurides (515 CE)
• Byzantine as a political entity– Eastern Roman Empire– app. 324 CE to 1453– greatest extent during 6th
century– Emperor Justinian I (482-
565 CE)• “restoration of Empire”• rewriting of Roman law• architectural advancements
• Byzantine decline– Crusades
• 4th Crusade (1204)– Islamic conquests– Slavs
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Agriculture• main source of
wealth for Byzantine
• some examples• Olive Oil
production• large variety of
manual tools for tilling land
• can’t make easy generalizations
• why?– Long, p. 12
Byzantine Urban Infrastructure
• > 900 small cities in Mediterranean
• most cities were walled• inherited from Roman times– strict regulations on urban
life• manufacturing activities
separated from residential areas
– Aqueducts & cisterns• what was the relationship
between the two?• most urban life was strictly
regulated
Ayasoluk Castle
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Byzantine Architecture• Hagia Sophia– built 532-537 CE– great cathedral of
Constantinople– one of the largest domed
buildings in the world• Combined Roman ideas
with new innovations• made of stone, brick and
lime mortars– sophisticated brick-making
craft• design and construction
happened simultaneously
• Use of “pendentive”
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• Greek Fire• incendiary weapon used
by Byzantine Empire• Callinicus (of
Heliopolis)• used in naval battles• fire floated on water• was a closely guarded
state secret• secrecy: more important
for science or technology?
• science = knowledge shared, published
• technology = crafts, usually kept secret• especially military
technology• papyrophilic vs.
papyrophobic• knowledge of Greek fire
since lost
Byzantine Medicine• invention of the in-patient
hospital– church-sponsored– formal education of doctors
• primarily a center of medical technology, not science– what does that mean?
• inherited Greek thought (Galen, Hippocrates)– produced many textbooks– Paul of Aegina: Medical
Compendium in Seven Books (late 7th Century)
• focus on veterinary medicine– why?
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Summation of Byzantine Science & Technology• Mixed legacy• Inherited some Greco-Roman knowledge– Some if was challenged• e.g. Philoponus (6th century): critic of Aristotlean
thought• but remained firmly in Christian mold
• Also destroyed, abandoned, or rejected much of Greco-Roman legacy– why?
• Technical innovations in service of maintaining borders– compare with Romans
• Culture of compilation, not innovation