Bunaken island

Who does not know Bunaken, which is very popular with tourist submarine (diving) it. Bunaken is an island covering an area of ​​8.08 km ² at Manado Bay, situated on the northern island of Sulawesi, Indonesia. This island is part of the city of Manado, the provincial capital of North Sulawesi, Indonesia. Bunaken Island can be traveled by fast boat (speed boat) or a rented boat with about 30 minutes journey from the port city of Manado. Around the island there Bunaken Bunaken marine park that is part of the National Park has Bunaken.Taman sea marine biodiversity among the highest in the world. Scuba diving attracts many visitors to the island. Overall Bunaken marine park covers an area of ​​75,265 hectares with five islands within it, namely the island of Manado Tua, Bunaken Island, Siladen Island, Island Mantehage follows several children of the island, and island Naen. Although it covers an area of ​​75,265 hectares, the location of the dive (diving) is limited in each of the five beaches that surround the island of Bunaken marine itu.aman has a 20 point dive (dive spot) with varying depths of up to 1344 meters. Of the 20 point dive, dive 12 points of which are located around the island of Bunaken. Twelve dive spot is the one most frequented by divers and lovers of the beauty of the underwater scenery.

Most of the 12 point dive in Bunaken Island lined up from the southeast to the northwest of the island. In this region there is a great underwater walls, also called the hanging walls, or walls of the giant rock standing vertically and curved upward. These rock walls are also a source of food for fish in the waters around Pulau Bunaken National Bunaken.Taman is representative of tropical aquatic ecosystems Indonesia consisting of mangrove ecosystems, seagrass beds, coral reefs, and land / coastal ecosystems. In the northern part of the island of Bunaken, Manado Tua island, island Montehage, Siladen island, the island of Nain, Nain Small islands, and some coastal areas of Cape Pisok. While in the Southern Cape coast includes some Kelapa.Potensi land islands national park is rich in species of palm, sago, woka, silar and coconut. Animal species that live on the mainland and coastal regions such as Sulawesi black macaques (Macaca nigra nigra), deer (Cervus russa timorensis), and fitch (Ailurops ursinus ursinus). Plant species in the mangrove Rhizophora Bunaken National Park is sp., Sonneratia sp., Lumnitzera sp., And Bruguiera sp. This forest is rich with various kinds of crabs, shrimp, mollusks and various types of sea birds such as gulls, herons, sea virgin, and cangak laut.Jenis algae found in this park include the type of Caulerpa sp., Halimeda sp., And Padina sp. Seagrass Montehage dominated mainly on the island, and the island of Nain Thalassia hemprichii, Enhallus acoroides, and Thalassodendron ciliatum. Recorded 13 genera of corals living in waters of Bunaken National Park, dominated by fringing reefs and coral reef barrier. The most interesting is the extent of vertical cliffs 25-50 meter.Sekitar 91 species of fish found in the waters of Bunaken National Park, including fish gusumi horse (Hippocampus horse), white OCI (Seriola rivoliana), lolosi yellow tail (Lutjanus kasmira), goropa (Ephinephelus spilotoceps hypselosoma), ila trunk (Scolopsis bilineatus), and others. Types of mollusks like giant clams (Tridacna gigas), head of the goat (Cassis cornuta), hollow nautilus (Nautilus pompillius), and tunikates / ascidian.Cara achievement of the location: Bunaken National Park can be achieved through the Port of Manado, Marina Nusantara Diving Centre (NDC) in Molas subdistrict and Marina Blue Banter. From Port of Manado to use a motor boat to the island can be reached Siladen + 20 minutes + 30 minutes Bunaken island, island Montehage + 50 minutes and +60 minutes Nain island. From Blue Banter Marina with yacht that is available to the tourist area on Bunaken island can be reached within 10-15 minutes, while the NDC from the port to the dive sites in Bunaken island by speed boat to within + 20 minutes.

Tanah Toraja

Tana Toraja is a famous tourist attraction with its cultural richness. District is located approximately 350 km north of Makassar was very famous with their customary form of house building. This custom home named Tongkonan.

The roof is made of Nipa or coconut leaves and can last up to 50 years. Tongkonan also have the appropriate degree of aristocratic strata of society, like the strata of gold, bronze, iron, and brass.

Because of Tana Toraja attach images with this custom home building, as a form of tourism promotion and to attract Japanese tourists to this region, then the custom house was built in the country's sunrise.

The building was done by his own Toraja people and carried off to the land of cherry tourism entrepreneurs. Now in Japan there have been two Tongkonan very similar to the original Tongkonan. The presence Tongkonan always amaze people of the country because of its unique. The difference with the existing in Tana Toraja is located on the roof only using leaf sago (sago palm).

There are many other attraction besides Tana Toraja ritual signs solo (funeral) that has been notorious for this. Call it baby graves in the tree in Kampung Kambira Tarra, Sangalla District, about 20 km from Rantepao, prepared for the body of a baby aged 0-7 years.

Although burying the baby in the tree Tarra was not implemented since the last decades, the tree where the "save" the baby's body was still upright and much visited by tourists.

Above the tree Tarra - whose fruits resemble breadfruit - a circle of trees about 3.5 meters, saved dozens of dead babies.

Before the body is inserted into the tree trunk, in advance hollowed tree trunk. Placed into a dead baby, then covered with black palm tree fibers. After decades, the baby's body will blend with the tree.

This is an attraction for travelers and for the people of Tana Toraja still consider this place sacred as a newborn child.

Placement of the baby's body on the tree, adapted to the social strata of society. The higher the degree of family social position that the higher the infant who was buried in the trunk Tarra.

In addition, infants who die are placed in the direction of the bereaved family residences. If the house is in the western part of the tree, then the child's body will be laid to the west.

In the meantime, to get this amazing Tana Toraja existing domestic airlines Makassar-Tana Toraja. The flight was only once a week and wear a small plane air passengers  eight people. However, it takes quite short, only 45 minutes from Airport Hasanuddin Makassar. And if by land, which is quite tiring journey takes seven hours.

Events of interest in this tourist area is a burial ceremony (sign solo) and shower (Tuka signs) which is a fixed calendar each year.

In addition to these events, visitors can see up close the other interesting cultural attractions, such as storage bodies in the shape of the container body holding a giant size with a width of 3 meters and a height of 10 meters and tongkonan 600 years old in Londa, Rantepao.

Green Canyon

Green Canyon store incredible charm. A mix of rivers, green valleys, forests, and various stalactite-stalagmite. The beauty wrapped in silence, like a hidden paradise.
green Canyon were developed in 1989, but initially do not have a dock, so many boats that rush of passengers. But after Kompepar and managed by the Department of Culture and Tourism Office, which may operate boats limited to 20 boats per day. The boat was owned by the community here, there are about 75 boats are registered. Green Canyon is often called by local people Cukang Taneuh which means the land bridge, located in the Village Kertayasa, District Cijulang, Ciamis, West Java. The distance is about 31 kilometers from Pangandaran or about 393 km from Jakarta. The name Green Canyon itself was popularized by Frank and Astrid, tourists from France and Switzerland, who in 1990 came to Cukang Taneuh. From the pier Cisereuh, tourists along the river where the water is greenish. The boat could only carry a maximum of five passengers only and manned by two people in charge of operating the motor and another set the direction and keep the passenger in front. All the way lizards occasionally seen swimming in the river and disappeared into the bushes. River Cijulang indeed splitting dense forests overgrown with trees and inhabited by wild animals one lizard. Distance from dock to Cukang Taneuh about 3 kilometers or traveled in 15 minutes. Although the stinging afternoon sun but the air was cool, probably oxygen supply from the surrounding forests provide coolness and comfort. Arriving at Cukang Taneuh No fewer than 10 boats have been lean in the mouth of the cave. Apparently the trip was not the worst, other views of the phenomenon is still stored in it. Actually this Cijulang River divides the cliff, but there are parts which form the land bridge that connects the top of the cliff. Local people call it Cukang Taneuh tourist areas, which means the land bridge.
Once off the boat and climbed the rocks to pass through the base of the land bridge, It appeared natural beauty. On both sides of the river towering green cliffs, in some parts there are stalactite and stalagmite, and the cliff wall reliefs that formed naturally over millions of years more and make tourists amazed.
Not only that, if tourists want to see more beautiful scenery can swim about 10 to the buoy using. Once up, the most stunning scenery plastered front, relentless rush of water that resembles a rain soaked cliffs and rock walls. This area is called Eternal Rain, because walalupun drought, the water coming out from the cliff wall has never subsided. Still not finished admire and immortalize the beauty of this, Ade invited to go up to the cliffs as high as 15 meters into the bathing pool. It is said that anyone believed that bathing in the place will stay young, smooth soul mate and fortune.

BALI

1.Kuta is located in the southern island of Bali, is one of the forerunner to the development of tourism in Bali. This place was once a fishing village as the development of tourism of Bali and Indonesia and Bali in particular, the locals started renting out private homes for rent as a place of lodging. Now Kuta has developed into an icon of tourism in Bali or better known as International city because it is a meeting place for tourists from all over the world and also local tourists. In terms of Kuta facility has complete facilities. Inns or hotels, restaurants, spas and other tourism supporters can too much here. Kuta Beach is a tourist spot that has been chosen to spend the holidays while in Kuta. Beaches with white sand was chosen as a place to surf sports and is also very suitable place to relax while waiting for the beautiful sunset beach of Kuta. Not one of thousands of tourists this beach is always crowded.                                
2.tanah Lot is one of the favorite destinations on the island of Bali. This tourist attraction famous for its temple of Tanah Lot which is located separately from the mainland, but still can be reached if low tide without having to use a boat. This temple is one of the main temple in Bali is known as Sad heaven.

Pura Tanah Lot Beraban situated in the village, Tabanan, about 1 hour 15 minutes drive from Kuta.

According to the story, this temple was built in the 16th century by the successful Nirartha Danghyang strengthen Hinduism in Bali island. Besides laden with historical value, this temple also offers the charm of these wonderful sunset (sunset) and is very crowded by tourists, especially in the afternoon.Offered a view similar to that in Uluwatu temple. Surely this place has always been an option for the tourist who was vacationing in Bali. How about you?.                                                                               3.Ubud, which is located in Gianyar regency, offers arts and cultural attractions for visitors.

Since the booming tourism in Bali, Ubud region also berkembangan become a center for the arts in Bali crafts ranging from wood carvings, gold and silver handicrafts, paintings and other art. Local cultural life of Bali is still maintained strong here.Not surprisingly, in the Ubud area much used as a place to learn the art of its main foreign tourists. They live here and the day-to-day filled with learning interaction with local residents. view  too nother place are beatuful, like ; Mas Village, Ubud region, known as a center of wood carving producing second to none. Almost along the road and the house you will find traditional Balinese art carvings in the gallery.As with the village craftsmen Celuk known as gold and silver, also a favorite place to get souvenirs.In the travel or tour route, the trip from Ubud you can continue to visit Kintamani For accommodation needs, Ubud offers many options that offer a "private escape" atmosphere away from the crowd with a beautiful view of hills. Among Pitamaha resorts, Maya Ubud, Sayan Four Seasons Resort and other international class hotel is a small example. Kintamani, which is located in Bangli district, is one of the favorite tourist attractions tourist options both domestically and abroad. Generally in almost any travel agent or tour operator in Bali, Kintamani entry in the itinerary (travel route) after visiting the Moon Stone (Barong Dance), the tourist area of ​​Ubud or Sukawati as a shopping center.

4.Kintamani offers a fresh atmosphere of the hills with temperatures around 18 degrees Celsius, much like the air in Bedugul. The main attraction of the region is a view of Mount Kintamani and Lake Batur. Mount Batur is a mountain that is still active status and the second highest after Mount Agung at Besakih. The best atmosphere is when enjoy lunch while enjoying the beauty of lake and mountain belching smoke friendly.

Interested in knowing more about Kintamani? Also a time to yourself to visit the village Trunyan located near the lake. But you have to cross by boat to get there by traveling approximately 20 minutes. The interesting and unique is the way the funeral locals certainly different from the prevalence in Bali. The bodies were buried without leaning against the tree. But the issue is not unique body odor because neutralized by the smell of fragrant wood called incense.

Unique is not it? If interested, why not incorporate alternative Kintamani attractions in your vacation? Congratulations on holiday in Bali.
5.Uluwatu, which is located at the southern tip of Bali island and towards the Indian Ocean, is a charming     tourist attractions.

What was interesting to see here is the temple that stands firmly on the rocks that jutted into the sea to a height of about 50 meters. In the afternoon enjoying the beautiful sunset, you can watch the famous Balinese dance performances up to foreign countries, the Kecak dance.

Not only that, for those of you who love to learn history, pretending that this one will be full of historical value. History will be outlined as follows:

In some sources said, about the year 1489 AD came to the island of Bali a purohita, writers and clergy named Danghyang Dwijendra. Danghyang Dwijendra is a Hindu priest, born in Kediri, East Java

Danghyang Dwijendra at walaka named Danghyang Nirartha. He married a daughter in Daha, East Java. In that place he also studied and in-diksa by law. Danghyang Nirartha bhiseka kawikon awarded by the name Danghyang Dwijendra. After in-diksa, Danghyang Dwijendra a duty to dharmayatra as one of the requirements kawikon. Dharmayatra this should be implemented on the island of Bali, with the addition of a very heavy task of arranging in-law, especially customary and religious life on the island of Bali. When deemed necessary dharmayatra it can be forwarded to the Sasak and Sumbawa Island.

Danghyang Dwijendra come to the island of Bali, first set foot on the outskirts of the southwestern coast of Jembrana for a moment to rest before continuing the journey dharmayatra. This is where Danghyang Dwijendra pemutik left (there is also mention pengutik) with shaft (starch) wood shelf. Starch wood shelf life and it turned into a tree thrives rack. Until now the leaves are used as a wood shelf completeness of offerings in Bali. As a memorial and tribute to him, built a temple named Purancak. After holding dharmayatra Sasak and Sumbawa Island, Danghyang Dwijendra headed southwest tip of the southern island of Bali, which is in arid regions, full of rock called the hills area. After some time living there, he was getting calls from Hyang Creator to get back amoring acintia Parama moksha. This is where Ida Rauh recalled Wawu (icang eling) with Samaya (promise) himself to return to his home. That's why this place is called Cangeling and gradually became Cengiling until now.

Hence, Ida Rauh Wawu ngulati (find) a place deemed safe and appropriate to do Parama moksha. Therefore deemed ineligible, he moved again to another location. In this place, then built a temple called Pura Toadstool. The name was derived from the word ngulati.The temple is located in the village of Pecatu.

While walking to get a new location deemed eligible for Parama moksha, Ida Rauh Wawu very sad and crying inside her. Why? Because he was not willing to leave this world scale because swadharmanya not felt completely, namely the life of the Hindu religion in the Sasak and Sumbawa. At this place he mengangis, and built a temple called Pura cry (tears of origin of the word). Tears temple is located in Middle Village Banjar Indigenous Pecatu.

Ida Rauh Wawu have not found a place that is appropriate for the Parama moksha. He then arrived at a place full of large boulders. He felt alone. In this place, and built a temple called Pura Batu Diyi. Also in this place Danghyang Dwijendra feel less safe for Parama moksha. With a pretty exhausting trip hunger and thirst, he finally arrived in the hills that always gets the hot sun. For the umbrella away, he took a piece of leaf beetles and try to get drinking water sources. After the tour did not find the source of drinking water, Dwijendra Danghyang finally stuck his stick. Amertha water came forth. In this place and built a temple called Pura Umbrella with springs used Tirtha means until now.

Ida Rauh Wawu then moved again to another location, to amuse themselves before carrying out the seconds back to the origin. In this place and built a temple called Pura Selonding located in Banjar Kangin Pecatu Indigenous Village. Having satisfied herself, Danghyang Dwijendra feel tired. So he was looking for a place to rest. I was so tired to the point that he was quiet (asleep). In this place and built a temple called Pura Parerepan (parerepan means pasirepan, the inn) is located in the village of Pecatu.

Approaching the final seconds to Parama moksha, Danghyang Dwijendra purify themselves and mulat sarira first. In this place until now there stood a temple called Pura Pangleburan located in Banjar Kauh Pecatu Indigenous Village. After purifying himself, he continued his journey to the location of the southwestern tip of Bali. This place consists of the cliff rocks. When observed from below sea level, looks bertindih each other, shaped head perched on the cliff rocks, with a height between 50-100 meters above sea level.Thus called Uluwatu. Ulu Watu mean head and mean stone.

Before Danghyang Dwijendra Parama moksha, he summoned a boat skipper who had taken her from Sumbawa to the island of Bali. Boat skipper named Ki Pacek Nambangan Boat. The Pandita for help to skipper a boat carrying clothes and stick to his fourth wife in pasraman Griya Sakti in Banjar Pule Mas, Mas Village, Ubud, Gianyar. Clothing was a light green silk robe and wooden sticks. After Ki Pacek Nambangan boat headed pasraman Danghyang Dwijendra in Mas, Ida Rauh Wawu immediately toward a large rock on the east heap stones temple relics of the former kingdom of Sri Wira Kesari Dalem. On top of that stone, Ida Rauh Wawu mengranasika yoga, like a dagger off so urangka, disappeared without a trace, amoring acintia Parama moksha. Also at Uluwatu beach area with a fairly large waves is very challenging to surf sports lovers. Each year the event is always held at the international level adjacent beach about Uluwatu.

Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈmatʃu ˈpitʃu], Quechua: Machu Pikchu [ˈmɑtʃu ˈpixtʃu], "Old Peak") is a pre-Columbian 15th-century Incasite located 2,430 metres (7,970 ft) above sea level. It is situated on a mountain ridge above the Urubamba Valley in Peru, which is 80 kilometres (50 mi) northwest of Cusco and through which the Urubamba River flows. Most archaeologists believe that Machu Picchu was built as an estate for the Inca emperor Pachacuti (1438–1472). Often referred to as the "Lost City of the Incas", it is perhaps the most familiar icon of the Inca World.

The Incas started building the "estate" around AD 1400, but abandoned it as an official site for the Inca rulers a century later at the time of theSpanish Conquest. Although known locally, it was unknown to the outside world before being brought to international attention in 1911 by the American historian Hiram Bingham. Since then, Machu Picchu has become an important tourist attraction. Most of the outlying buildings have been reconstructed in order to give tourists a better idea of what the structures originally looked like. By 1976, thirty percent of Machu Picchu had been restored.The restoration work continues to this day.

Since the site was never known to the Spanish during their conquest, it is highly significant as a relatively intact cultural site. Machu Picchu was declared a Peruvian Historical Sanctuary in 1981 and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983.In 2007, Machu Picchu was voted one of the New Seven Wonders of the World in a worldwide Internet poll.

Machu Picchu was built in the classical Inca style, with polished dry-stone walls. Its three primary buildings are the Intihuatana, the Temple of the Sun, and the Room of the Three Windows. These are located in what is known by archaeologists as the Sacred District of Machu Picchu. In September 2007, Peru and Yale University almost reached an agreement regarding the return of artifacts which Yale has held since Hiram Bingham removed them from Machu Picchu in the early 20th century. In November 2010, a Yale University representative agreed to return the artifacts to a Peruvian university.

Machu Picchu was built around 1450, at the height of the Inca Empire. It was abandoned just over 100 years later, in 1572, as a belated result of the Spanish Conquest. It is possible that most of its inhabitants died from smallpox introduced by travelers before the Spanish conquistadorsarrived in the area.[9] The latter had notes of a place called Piccho, although there is no record of the Spanish having visited the remote city. The types of sacred rocks defaced by the conquistadors in other locations are untouched at Machu Picchu.

History, Hiram Bingham theorized that the complex was the traditional birthplace of the Incan "Virgins of the Suns". More recent research by scholars such as John Howland Rowe and Richard Burger, has convinced most archaeologists that Machu Picchu was an estate of the Inca emperorPachacuti.[8] In addition, Johan Reinhard presented evidence that the site was selected because of its position relative to sacred landscape features such as its mountains, which are purported to be in alignment with key astronomical events important to the Incas. 

Although the citadel is located only about 80 kilometers (50 mi) from Cusco, the Inca capital, the Spanish never found it and consequently did not plunder or destroy it, as they did many other sites. Over the centuries, the surrounding jungle grew over much of the site, and few outsiders knew of its existence.

Johan Reinhard believes Machu Picchu to be a sacred religious site. This theory stands mainly because of where Machu Picchu is located. Reinhard calls it "sacred geography" because the site is built on and around mountains that hold high religious importance in the Inca culture and in the previous culture that occupied the land. At the highest point of the mountain in which Machu Picchu was named after, there are “artificial platforms [and] these had a religious function, as is clear from the Inca ritual offerings found buried under them” (Reinhard 2007). These platforms also are found in other Incan religious sites. The site’s other stone structures have finely worked stones with niches and, from what the “Spaniards wrote about Inca sites, we know that these [types of] building were of ritual significance” (Reinhard 2007). This would be the most convincing evidence that Reinhard points out because this type of stylistic stonework is only found at the religious sites so it would be natural that they would exist at this religious site.  Another theory maintains that Machu Picchu was an Inca llaqta, a settlement built to control the economy of conquered regions. Yet another asserts that it may have been built as a prison for a select few who had committed heinous crimes against Inca society. An alternative theory is that it is an agricultural testing station. Different types of crops could be tested in the many different micro-climates afforded by the location and the terraces; these were not large enough to grow food on a large scale, but may have been used to determine what could grow where. Another theory suggests that the city was built as an abode for the deities, or for the coronation of kings.

On 24 July 1911, Hiram Bingham announced the discovery of Machu Picchu to scholars. An American historian employed as a lecturer at Yale University, Bingham had been searching for the city of Vilcabamba, the last Inca refuge during the Spanish conquest. He had worked for years in previous trips and explorations around the zone. Pablito Alvarez, a local 11 year-old Quechua boy, led Bingham up to Machu Picchu. Some Quechuas lived in the original structures at Machu Picchu.

Bingham started archaeological studies and completed a survey of the area. He called the complex "The Lost City of the Incas", which was the title of his first book. Bingham made several more trips and conducted excavations on the site through 1915, collecting various artifacts which he took back to Yale. He wrote a number of books and articles about the discovery of Machu Picchu.

Although Bingham was the first person to bring word of the ruins to the outside world, other outsiders were said to have seen Machu Picchu before him.Simone Waisbard, a long-time researcher of Cusco, claims that Enrique Palma, Gabino Sánchez, and Agustín Lizárraga left their names engraved on one of the rocks at Machu Picchu on 14 July 1901. In 1904, an engineer named Franklin supposedly spotted the ruins from a distant mountain. He told Thomas Payne, an English Christian missionary living in the region, about the site, Payne's family members claim. They also report that in 1906, Payne and fellow missionary Stuart E. McNairn (1867–1956) climbed up to the ruins. 1981 Peru declared an, The site may have been discovered and plundered in 1867 by a German businessman, Augusto Berns. There is some evidence that a German engineer, J. M. von Hassel, arrived earlier. Maps found by historians show references to Machu Picchu as early as 1874.

 area of 325.92 square kilometers surrounding Machu Picchu as a "Historical Sanctuary". In addition to the ruins, the sanctuary includes a large portion of the adjoining region, rich with the flora and fauna of the Peruvian Yungas and Central Andean wet puna ecoregions.

The site received significant publicity after the National Geographic Society devoted their entire April 1913 issue to Machu Picchu.

In 1983 UNESCO designated Machu Picchu a World Heritage Site, describing it as "an absolute masterpiece of architecture and a unique testimony to the Inca civilization"

The World Monuments Fund placed Machu Picchu on its 2008 Watch List of the 100 Most Endangered Sites in the world because of environmental degradation. This has resulted from the impact of tourism, uncontrolled development in the nearby town of Aguas Calientes, which included a poorly sited tram to ease visitor access, and the construction of a bridge across the Vilcanota River, which is likely to bring even more tourists to the site, in defiance of a court order and government protests against it.

Early encounters

Man sitting on ruins, hand-colored glass slide by Harry Ward Foote, who accompanied Hiram Bingham to Machu Picchu, 1911

Geography
Map of Machu Picchu
Machu Picchu lies in the southern hemisphere, 13.164 degrees south of the equator. It is 80 kilometers northwest of Cusco, on the crest of the mountain Machu Picchu, located about 2,450 metres (8,040 ft) above mean sea level, over 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) lower than Cusco, which has an altitude of 3,600 metres (11,800 ft). As such, it had a milder climate than the Inca capital. It is one of the most important archaeological sites in South America, one of the most visited tourist attractions in all of Latin America  and the most visited tourist attraction in Peru.
The year at Machu Picchu is divided between wet and dry seasons, with the majority of annual rain falling from October through to April. It can rain at any time of the year.
Machu Picchu is situated above a loop of the Urubamba River, which surrounds the site on three sides, with cliffs dropping vertically for 450 metres (1,480 ft) to the river at their base. The area is subject to morning mists rising from the river. The location of the city was a military secret, and its deep precipices and steep mountains provided excellent natural defenses. The Inca Bridge, an Inca rope bridge, across the Urubamba River in the Pongo de Mainique, provided a secret entrance for the Inca army. Another Inca bridge was built to the west of Machu Picchu, the tree-trunk bridge, at a location where a gap occurs in the cliff that measures 6 metres (20 ft). It could be bridged by two tree trunks, but with the trees removed, there was a 570 metres (1,870 ft) fall to the base of the cliffs.
The city sits in a saddle between the two mountains Machu Picchu and Huayna Picchu, with a commanding view down two valleys and a nearly impassable mountain at its back. It has a water supply from springs that cannot be blocked easily, and enough land to grow food for about four times as many people as ever lived there. The hillsides leading to it have been terraced, not only to provide more farmland to grow crops, but to steepen the slopes which invaders would have to ascend. The terraces reduced soil erosion and protected against landslides. Two high-altitude routes from Machu Picchu go across the mountains back to Cusco, one through the sun gate, and the other across the Inca bridge. Both could be blocked easily, should invaders approach along them. Regardless of its original purpose, it is strategically located and readily defended.

The site

The central buildings of Machu Picchu use the classical Inca architectural style of polished dry-stone walls of regular shape. The Incas were masters of this technique, called ashlar, in which blocks of stone are cut to fit together tightly without mortar. Many junctions in the central city are so perfect that it is said not even a blade of grass fits between the stones.The ruins of Machu Picchu are divided into two main sections known as the Urban and Agricultural Sectors, divided by a wall. The Agricultural Sector is further subdivided into Upper and Lower sectors, while the Urban Sector is split into East and West sectors, separated by wide plazas.
View of the residential section of Machu Picchu
Interior of an Inca building, featuring trapezoidal windows
Some Inca buildings were constructed using mortar, but by Inca standards this was quick, shoddy construction, and was not used in the building of important structures. Peru is a highly seismic land, and mortar-free construction was more earthquake-resistant than using mortar. The stones of the dry-stone walls built by the Incas can move slightly and resettle without the walls collapsing.
Inca walls had numerous design details that helped protect them against collapsing in an earthquake. Doors and windows are trapezoidal and tilt inward from bottom to top; corners usually are rounded; inside corners often incline slightly into the rooms; and "L"-shaped blocks often were used to tie outside corners of the structure together. These walls do not rise straight from bottom to top, but are offset slightly from row to row.
The Incas never used the wheel in any practical manner. Its use in toys demonstrates that the principle was well-known to them, although it was not applied in their engineering. The lack of strong draft animals, as well as steep terrain and dense vegetation issues, may have rendered the wheel impractical. How they moved and placed the enormous blocks of stones remains a mystery, although the general belief is that they used hundreds of men to push the stones up inclined planes. A few of the stones still have knobs on them that could have been used to lever them into position; it is believed that after the stones were placed, the Incas would have sanded the knobs away, but a few were overlooked.
The space is composed of 140 structures or features, including temples, sanctuaries, parks, and residences that include houses with thatched roofs. There are more than one hundred flights of stone steps — often completely carved from a single block of granite — and numerous water fountains. These were interconnected by channels and water-drains perforated in the rock that were designed for the original irrigation system. Evidence suggests that the irrigation system was used to carry water from a holy spring to each of the houses in turn.
According to archaeologists, the urban sector of Machu Picchu was divided into three great districts: the Sacred District, the Popular District to the south, and the District of the Priests and the Nobility.




Temple of the Sun
Located in the first zone are the primary archaeological treasures: the Intihuatana, the Temple of the Sun and the Room of the Three Windows. These were dedicated to Inti, their sun god and greatest deity.
The Popular District, or Residential District, is the place where the lower-class people lived. It includes storage buildings and simple houses.
The royalty area, a sector for the nobility, is a group of houses located in rows over a slope; the residence of the Amautas (wise persons) was characterized by its reddish walls, and the zone of the Ñustas (princesses) had trapezoid-shaped rooms. The Monumental Mausoleum is a carved statue with a vaulted interior and carved drawings. It was used for rites or sacrifices.
As part of their road system, the Incas built a road to the Machu Picchu region. Today, tens of thousands of tourists walk the Inca Trail to visit Machu Picchu each year. They acclimate at Cusco before starting on the two- to four-day journey on foot from the Urubamba valley, walking up through the Andes mountain range to the isolated city.
The people of Machu Picchu were connected to long-distance trade, as shown by non-local artifacts found at the site. As an example, Bingham found unmodified obsidian nodules at the entrance gateway. In the 1970s, Burger and Asaro determined that these obsidian samples were from the Titicaca orChivay obsidian source, and that the samples from Machu Picchu showed long-distance transport of this obsidian type in pre-Hispanic Peru.
The Guardhouse is a three-sided building, with one of its long sides opening onto the Terrace of the Ceremonial Rock. The three-sided style of Inca architecture is known as the wayrona style.
3D laser scanning of site
In 2005 and 2009, the University of Arkansas made detailed laser scans of the entire Machu Picchu site and of the ruins at the top of the adjacent Huayna Picchu mountain. The university has made the scan data available online for research purposes.
January 2010 evacuation
See also: El Niño-Southern Oscillation
In January 2010, heavy rain caused flooding which buried or washed away roads and railways leading to Machu Picchu, trapping more than 2,000 local people and more than 2,000 tourists, who were taken out by airlift. Machu Picchu was closed temporarily, but it reopened on 1 April 2010.
Intihuatana stone
The Intihuatana ("sun-tier") is believed to have been designed as an astronomic clock or calendar by the Incas
The Intihuatana stone is one of many ritual stones in South America. These stones are arranged to point directly at the sun during the winter solstice. The name of the stone (coined perhaps by Bingham) is derived from the Quechua language: inti means 'sun', and wata- is the verb root 'to tie, hitch (up)' ('huata-' is simply a Spanish spelling). The Quechua -na suffix derives nouns for tools or places. Hence inti watana is literally an instrument or place to 'tie up the sun', often expressed in English as "The Hitching Post of the Sun". The Inca believed the stone held the sun in its place along its annual path in the sky. The stone is situated at 13°9'48" S. At midday on November 11th and January 30th the sun stands almost above the pillar, casting no shadow at all. On June 21st the stone is casting the longest shadow on his southern side and on December 21st a much shorter one on his northern side. Researchers believe that it was built as an astronomic clock or calendar.[citation needed]
Concerns over tourism


Machu Picchu is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Since its discovery in 1911, a growing number of tourists visit Machu Picchu, reaching 400,000 in 2003.As Peru's most visited tourist attraction and major revenue generator, it is continually threatened by economic and commercial forces. In the late 1990s, the Peruvian government granted concessions to allow the construction of a cable car and development of a luxury hotel, including a tourist complex with boutiques and restaurants. Many people protested against the plans, including members of the Peruvian public, international scientists, and academics, as they were worried that the greater numbers of visitors would pose a tremendous physical burden on the ruins. Many protested a plan to build a bridge to the site as well. A no-fly zone exists above the area. UNESCO is considering putting Machu Picchu on its List of World Heritage in Danger.
During the 1980s a large rock from Machu Picchu's central plaza was moved out of its alignment to a different location to create a helicopter landing zone. Since the 1990s, the government has forbidden helicopter landings there. In 2006 a Cusco-based company, Helicusco, sought to have tourist flights over Machu Picchu and initially received a license to do so, but the government quickly overturned the decision.

View of Machu Picchu from Huayna Picchu, showing the Hiram Bingham Highway used by tour buses to and from the town of Aguas Calientes

In 1912 and 1914–15, Bingham excavated treasures from Machu Picchu—ceramic vessels, silver statues, jewelry, and human bones—and took them from Peru to Yale University in the United States for further study, supposedly for a period of 18 months. Yale has retained the artifacts until now, under the argument that Peru did not have the infrastructure or proper conditions to take care of the pieces.
Eliane Karp, an anthropologist who is married to the former Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo, accused Yale of profiting from Peru's cultural heritage by claiming title to thousands of pieces removed by Bingham. Many have been on display at Yale's Peabody Museum since their removal. Yale returned some of the artifacts to Peru, but the university kept the remainder, claiming its position was supported by federal case law involving Peruvian antiquities.
On 19 September 2007, the Courant reported that Peru and Yale had reached an agreement regarding the requested return of the artifacts. The agreement includes sponsorship of a joint traveling exhibition and construction of a new museum and research center in Cusco about which Yale will advise Peruvian officials. Yale acknowledges Peru's title to all the excavated objects from Machu Picchu, but Yale will share rights with Peru in the research collection, part of which will remain at Yale as an object of continuing study.
On 19 June 2008, National Geographic Society's vice-president Terry Garcia was quoted by the daily publication, La República. "We were part of this agreement. National Geographic was there, we know what was said, the objects were lent and should be returned."
On 21 November 2010, Yale University agreed in principle to the return of the controversial artifacts to their original home in Peru.

Panoramic photograph of Machu Picchu, looking towards Huayna Picchu

Panoramic photograph of the residential section

Komodo island

Relax the nerves and relieve your mind to adventure in this amazing place. While at the Park if you have just been on another planet, a very memorable experience and unforgettable when visiting.Komodo is a large creature with a giant lizard-like 2-3 m in length and weight reached 165 kg, or 100 kg when empty stomach. Despite the creepy appearance, the Komodo dragon is not an active hunter of animals, they are predators who wait. In the wild, Komodo dragons usually hunt prey that is weak or has been injured. They only need one bite to paralyze its prey. After stalking its prey, sometimes for days, dragons will eat prey that was dying.Come to the Park in East Nusa Tenggara. There is a beauty waiting for you here, not to mention the wealth of underwater biota. While on it plastered the islands beautiful white sandy beaches to the beautiful pink sand while the sun is addressed.Komodo dragons (Varanus komodoensis) is a rare endangered species, can only be found in Komodo National Park. Because of the uniqueness and rarity, Komodo National Park declared as a World Heritage Site and Man and Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in 1986. The scientific world was first discovered in 1911 by JKH Van Steyn. Since then conservation goals also extend to protect the entire biodiversity, both marine and terrestrial.Although large in size, scaly, sharply hoofed, forked tongue protruding, and ancient form, but you do not need to be afraid of it as sordid as it is for every visitor including you who want to see these animals will ditemanijagawana the same time as the handler. You can just follow the instructions and suggestions are all these experienced guides.This park includes three major islands, Komodo Island, Rinca, and Padar, as well many other small islands which, when added together have a land area of ​​603 km ². Total area of ​​Komodo National Park is 1,817 km ². Expanded up to 25 km ² (Banta Island) and 479 km ² of marine waters would result in a total area of ​​up to 2321 km ². At least 2500 live dragons tail in this region. Large Komodo usually have a length of 3 m and weighing 90 kg. Komodo dragons are the natural habitat open grassland savanna, rainforest, white sandy beaches, coral reefs, and beaches where the water is clear. In this area, you can also find horses, wild buffalo, deer, wild boar males, snakes, monkeys, and various species of birds.Komodo National Park has an amazing underwater biota. The divers say that the waters of Komodo is one of the best dive sites in the world. Having a stunning underwater scenery.You can find 385 species of beautiful corals, mangroves, and sea grass as home to thousands of species of fish, 70 species of sponges, 10 species of dolphins, six kinds of whales, green turtles, and various types of sharks and stingrays.

                                                                                                 

Mount Rinjani

Mataram (Reuters) - Mount Rinjani in Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) with a height of 3,726 meters above sea level (asl) is an active volcano in the world's first proposed a geopark (garden earth).Expert researchers Volcano / Geology Geological Survey of Bandung Igan Supratman Sutawidjaja in Mataram said Tuesday, 53 geopark in 17 countries now no one has the status of active volcanoes, geopark in Europe is generally a hill "meta-sediments" is not an active volcano.Igan located in Mataram collect data and information on the Mount Rinjani volcano associated with the proposed plan became the first geopark in Indonesia and two in Southeast Asia."If the proposed Mount Rinjani geopark accepted into the United Nations Organization for Education, Science and Culture (UNESCO), the highest mountain in the NTB was the first volcano is still active is the geopark," he said.Langkawi Island in Malaysia is now listed as Southeast Asia's first geopark of 53 geoprak worldwide, 12 of them in China is a hill "meta-sediments".According to her, Mount Rinjani is the second highest volcano in Indonesia after Mount Kerinci (3800 asl) in Sumatra worthy and qualified to be a geopark, because it has many advantages.Mount Rinjani is administratively entered the district of the West Lombok, Central Lombok and East Lombok is a volcano that has the potential geowisata, but it also has a panoramic view of the caldera, lakes, peaks, craters, waterfalls, hot springs, caves, historical eruptions and lava flows new."Rinjani volcano cone appeared on the eastern edge of the caldera that has a crescent-shaped lake and in it there is a new volcanic cone which remains active until now, according to a study volcanoes that have several times experienced a major eruption," he said.The results of a series of eruptions that have formed the Mount Rinjani National Park area (TNGR) which has a morphology with the variation of rock that naturally form a stunning landscape.He said Mount Rinjani, which is part of the current TNGR has been managed by an agency that involves an element of government, private, public and private stakeholders in tourism with the name of Rinjani Tracking Management Board (RTMB).Since managed RTMB, Rinjani has several times won national and international awards including World Agency Award 2004 and the Tourism For Tomorrow Awards (2006/2008)."I am therefore optimistic that the proposal to Mount Rinjani first geopark be accepted and if the proposal is successful it will increase the number of world geopark is currently under the network (UNESCO)," said Igan.So far, tourists who visit the Mount Rinjani is still limited due to special interest tourists have to climb through the field pretty hard and heavy, to reach the top of the mountain to take between 8-12 hours.According to data from the climber of Mount Rinjani about 2,600 people per year, the actual number of visitors could be more if there is no access road to the site."Actually, could have used a cable car, but because the mountain is there sulfur gas that it could lead to material metal cable car will quickly rust so dangerous," he said.Therefore, said Igan, a solution that can be taken so that more tourists can enjoy the beauty of Mount Rinjani is to reopen the access road impassable to motor vehicles Plawangan.From Plawangan can enjoy the Segara Anak Lake at an altitude of 2,000 meters above sea level, in a way that the tourist visits to Mount Rinjani will increase.

Eastern Roman Empire

Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantine Empire (other spellings: Byzantine, Byzantine, Byzantine) Roman Empire was the eastern region which is mainly Greek-speaking  on the Ancient and Middle Ages. Residents and neighbors of this country dubbed the Byzantine Empire the Roman Empire or Romania (Greek: Ῥωμανία, Rhōmanía). Empire is centered in Constantinople, and ruled by emperors who is the replacement for the ancient Roman emperors after the collapse of the Western Roman Empire. There is no consensus regarding the exact date of commencement of the Byzantine period. Some people call the reign of Diocletian (284-305) due to government reforms he introduced, dividing the kingdom into a pars Orientis and pars Occidentis. The other party called the reign of Theodosius I (379-395), or after his death in 395, when the empire was split into East and West. There is also a mention in 476, when the Romans invaded for the third time in a century which marks the fall of the Western (Latin), and resulted in the emperor in the East (Greece) to get a single power. However, an important point in Byzantine history was when Constantine the Great moved the capital from Nicomedia (in Anatolia) to Byzantium (which would be Constantinople) in the year 330.This country has stood for over thousands of years. During its existence, the Byzantine economic strength, cultural, and military ties in Europe, although it continued to decline, especially during the Roman-Persian Wars and Byzantine-Arab. This imperial dynasty restored in Macedonia, rose as much power in the Eastern Mediterranean at the end of the 10th century, and is able menyaingiKekhalifahan Fatimids. After the year 1071, most of Asia Minor by the Seljuk Turks captured. Restoration Komnenos managed to reinforce the dominance in the 12th century, but after the death of Andronikos I Komnenos and the end of the Komnenos dynasty at the end of the 12th century, imperial setback. Byzantines increasingly shaken during the Fourth Crusade in 1204, when the empire was forcibly disbanded and split into the kingdoms of Greek and Latin are mutually hostile. Empire's success was founded back in 1261, under the leadership of Palaiologos emperors, but the civil war in the 14th century continued to weaken the imperial power. The remaining territory annexed by the Ottoman Empire in the Byzantine-Ottoman War. Finally, successfully captured by the Ottoman Constantinople on May 29, 1453, marked the end of the Eastern Roman Empire.
This empire began to be called "Byzantine" in Western Europe in the year 1557, when German historian Hieronymus Wolf published his work entitled Corpus Historiæ Byzantinæ. The term "Byzantine" comes from "Byzantium", the name of the city of Constantinople before it became the capital of Constantine the Great. Since then, the old name is rarely used, except in the context of history and poetry. Furthermore, the Byzantine du Louvre (Corpus Scriptorum Historiæ Byzantinæ) in 1648 and the work of Du Cange Byzantina Historia in 1680 further popularized the term Byzantine among French authors, such as Montesquieu. [3] The term was then disappears until the 19th century when peopleWesterners re-use previously, the Greek term was used for this empire.NomenclatureThis country is called by its inhabitants by the name of the Roman Empire, Empire Romans (Latin: Imperium Romanum, Imperium Romanorum, Greece: Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileia ton Rhōmaíōn, Αρχη τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Arche Rhōmaíōn tons), Romania (Latin, Romanian, Greek : Ῥωμανία, Rhōmanía), Roman Republic (Latin: Res Publica Romana, Greece: Πολιτεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Politeίa Rhōmaíōn tons), Graikía (Greek: Γραικία), and also Rhōmaís (Ῥωμαΐς).Although the Eastern Roman Empire is characterized multiethnic in its history, as well as maintaining the tradition of the Roman-Hellenistic, [10] the country is known by the lands west and north of its time under the name Empire Greeks because of the strong Greek influence. The use of the term Empire Greeks (Latin: Imperium Graecorum) in the West is a symbol of rejection of the claim as the Byzantine Empire. Byzantine claims to Roman inheritance was opposed in the West at the time of Empress Irene of Athens, since the appointment of the Great Charlemagne as Holy Roman Emperor in 800 by Pope Leo III, who viewed the Roman throne is empty (no ruler of men). The Pope and the rulers of the West prefers the term Imperator Imperator Romaniæ than Romanorum, titles are used only to Charlemagne the Great, and successor-successor.Meanwhile, the Persian civilization, Islamic, and Slavic, Roman identity of this country are recognized. In the Islamic world, the Eastern Roman Empire known as روم (Rum "Rome").In-atlas atlas of modern history, the empire is usually dubbed the Eastern Roman Empire in the period between 395 to 610. On the maps that depict the Empire after the year 610, the Byzantine Empire the term is usually used, because in the year 620, kaisarHeraklius replace official language from Latin to the Greek empire.Identity
"Byzantium may be defined as a multi-ethnic empire that emerged as a Christian empire,which then immediately made ​​up of Eastern empire that has been in-Hellenization and end the history of thousands annually, in 1453, as a Greek Orthodox state: An empire that became the state, almost with a sense of modern the word ". a
In the centuries after the Arab occupation and the Lombards in the 7th century, multi-ethnicnature (though not the multi-nation) still exist although parts of it, the Balkans and Asia Minor, has a large Greek population. Large community of ethnic minorities and other religions (eg the Armenians) living near the border. People consider themselves RomanEast was a Ρωμαίοι (Rhomaioi-Roman) which has become a synonym for a Έλλην(Hellene - Greek), and vigorously develop self-awareness as a nation, as a residentΡωμανία (Romania, which is a call for the State and the Eastern Roman his world). This clearly appears in the literature of the period, especially in the epic as Digenes Akrites.
Consolidation in the Eastern Roman state official the 15th century are not directlydestroying the Eastern Roman society. During the Turkish occupation, the Greekscontinued to call themselves as Ρωμαίοι (the Romans) and Έλληνες (the Greeks), acharacteristic that persists until the beginning of the 21st century and still exists in modernGreece today, although "the Roman "has become the name of" the people "rather than asynonym for nation like the old days.
HistoryThe early history of the Roman EmpireThe Roman army when it has managed to master the vast area that encompasses the entire Mediterranean region and much of Eastern Europe. These areas consist of various cultural groups, both of which are still primitive and which has advanced civilization. In general, the provinces in the eastern Mediterranean region more prosperous and developed because it has been experiencing rapid development in the Empire of Macedonia and has undergone a process hellenisasi. Meanwhile, the Western provinces in mostly rural areas of the left. The difference between the two regions was long-lasting and became important in subsequent years.Separation of the Roman EmpireIn the year 293, Diocletian created a new administrative system (tetrarki), as an institution intended to streamline the control of a vast Roman Empire. He split the Empire into two parts, with two emperors ruling from Italy and Greece, each has a vice-emperor. After the reign of Diocletian and Maximian ended, tetrarki collapse, danKonstantinus I replaced it with the principle of hereditary replacement.Constantine moved the imperial center, and bring important changes to the constitution of civil and religious. In 330, he founded Constantinople as a second Rome at Byzantium.The city's strategic position in the trade between East and West. The emperor introduced the coin (the gold solidus) a high value and stable, as well and change the structure of the armed forces. Under Constantine, the imperial military forces recovered. The period of stability and prosperity can be enjoyed.Under Constantine, Christianity did not become the exclusive religion of the state, but is supported by the empire, especially the emperor supported by an abundance of rights.The emperor introduced the principle that the emperor does not have to settle questions of doctrine, but need to call ecclesiastical councils for the purpose itu.Synod Arles gathered by Constantine, and the First Council of Nicaea showcased his claim to be the head of the church.Conditions of the empire in 395 may be said of the work of Constantine. Dynastic principle is applied strictly so that the emperor who died at that time, Theodosius I, could bequeath the empire to his sons: Arcadius and Honorius in the West in the East. Theodosius was the last emperor who controlled the whole of the West and East.Eastern Empire avoid the difficulties faced by the West in the third and fourth centuries, because the East has a more established urban culture and financial resources are more robust, so as to stop an attacker with a tribute and hire soldiers bayaran.Theodosius II reinforce the wall Constantinople, making the city safe from the attacks; wall can not be penetrated until the year 1204. To repel the Huns under the leadership of Attila, Theodosius gave them subsidies (purportedly 300 kg (700 lb) of gold). Moreover, he favored merchants living in Constantinople WHO traded with the Huns and other foreign groups.His successor, Marcianus, refused to continue paying this tribute. Luckily, Attila has turned his attention to the Western Roman Empire. After his death in 453, Attila the country collapsed and Constantinople opened a profitable relationship with the remaining Huns.They eventually fight as mercenaries in the Byzantine army.After the fall of Attila, peace can be enjoyed in the East, while the Western Roman collapse (collapse recorded in the year 476, when the Germanic Roman general Odoacer dropped the emperor Romulus Augustulus).To recapture Italy, the emperor Zeno could only negotiate with the Ostrogoths which had settled in Moesia. He sent the king OstrogothTheodoric to Italy as a master militum per Italiam ("head of the command to Italy"). After successfully dropping Odoacer in 493, Theodoric the Italian master.In 491, Anastasius I becomes emperor. He is an energetic reformer and an able administrator. Anastasius coin Constantine I tune the system by adjusting the weight of bronze follis, the coin which is widely used in everyday life. He also changed the taxation system, as well as abolishing tax chrysargyron unwelcome. When Anastasius died in 518, the amount of cash the state was recorded at 320,000 lbs (145,150 kg) of gold.Reconquest of the Western RomanMosaics of Justinian I in the Basilica of San Vitale, Ravenna.Justinian I, who ascended the throne in 527, launched the reconquest of the West. In the year 532, Illyria farmer's son signed a peace treaty with Khosrau I of Persia. Despite having to pay a large annual tribute, the Byzantine east front to be safe. In the same year, Justinian survived the Nika riots in Constantinople, which ended with the death of thirty thousand rioters. This victory strengthens the position of Justinian. Pope Agapetus I was sent to Constantinople by the king of the Ostrogoths Theodahad, but failed to reach a peace treaty with Justinian. However, he managed to make monophysitism reprehensible.Roman reconquest of the West began in the year 533. Justinian sent his general Belisarius and 15,000 troops to retake the province of the tribe of Vandal Africa. Vandal kingdom successfully subdued. Meanwhile, in Italy the Ostrogoths, the king Athalaric on October 2 534. His mother, Amalasuntha, imprisoned and killed by Theodahad Martana island. Justinian saw it as an opportunity to intervene. In the year 535, the Byzantine army sent keSisilia. Victory managed to grasp, but the Ostrogoths strengthen their resistance.Totally new victory achieved in the year 540, when Belisarius captured Ravenna.Unfortunately, managed to put back together in the Ostrogoths under Totila and captured Rome on December 17, 546. Belisarius drawn by Justinian in early 549. Eunuch Narses replace it by the end of the year 551 by bringing the army number 35,000. Totila was defeated and killed in the Battle of Busta Gallorum. His successor, Teia, conquered in the Battle of Mons Lactarius (October 552). Furthermore, the Goth tribes still melawan.Suku Franka and Alamanni had launched their invasion. Even so, the war for control of the Italian peninsula has ended with the victory of the East.In the year 551, Visigothic nobility in Hispania, Athanagild, pleading for help Justinian in a revolt against the king. The emperor sent troops under Liberius. Byzantine Empire managed to master a piece of territory on the coast until the reign of Heraclius Spania.
Meanwhile, in the east, Roman-Persian Wars raged until the year 561, when Justinian and Khosrau approve the peace for 50 years. In mid-550, Justinian had achieved victory in all wars, with the exception of the Balkans, when the empire constantly attacked by the Slavs.In the year 559, the empire was threatened by Kutrigur and Sklavinoi. Justinian called Belisarius, and once the danger has gone, the emperor took power himself. The news that Justinian strengthen the fleet Donaunya make Kutrigur anxious, so they agree with the treaty that gives them subsidies and a safe path on the river.Justinian is also famous for its achievements in the field of law. In the year 529, a commission of ten men, headed by Iohannis Orientalist revise the law of ancient Rome.The whole "Justinian legislation" currently known as the Corpus Juris Civilis.During the 6th century, Greco-Roman cultural influence is still strong in the East.Philosophy and Christian culture is becoming increasingly important and begin to dominate the old culture. Hymns of Romanus Melodus Divine Liturgy marking the development. An architecture-architects and builders are working hard to complete the new church of Hagia Sophia which replaces the old church destroyed by the Nika riots.During the sixth and seventh centuries, the empire was rocked by bubonic plague, which destroyed many lives, and the resulting economic slowdown and weakening the empire.After Justinian died in 565, his successor, Justin II, refused to pay tribute to Persia.Meanwhile, Lombard tribes invaded Italy. Substitute Justin, Tiberius II, giving subsidies to ethnic Avars, while launching an attack on Persia. Subsidies fail to calm ethnic Avars.They seize the fortress of Sirmium in 582, while the Slavs began to cross the river Danube.Maurice, who succeeded Tiberius, intervened in the civil war the Persians, and put Khosrau II returned to the throne and married his daughter to him. Treaty Maurice with his new in-laws bring new status quo in the east, and reduce the cost of defense during this peace (millions solidi were rescued thanks to the remission of tribute to Persia). After his victory on the Eastern Front, Maurice can divert his attention to the Balkans, and in the year 602, he drove the Avars and Slavic tribes.Shrinking of the borderHeraclius DynastyAfter Maurice was murdered by Phocas, Khosrau trying to conquer the Roman province of Mesopotamia. Phocas, an unpopular leader who is described as a "tyrant" in the Byzantine sources, was the target of conspiracies senate. He was dropped in the year 610 by Heraclius. After Heraclius came to power, the Persian army pressed on until well into Asia Minor. They occupied Damascus and Jerusalem, and move the Cross to Ctesiphon fact. Heraclius launched a counterattack with the characteristics of a holy war.Byzantine army at war with the image of Christ as a banner acheiropoietos military.Persian army had been destroyed in the battle at Nineveh in 627. In 629, Heraclius returns to Jerusalem Behold the Cross in a ceremony full of majesty. This war weakened the Byzantine and Persian Sassanians, as well as making them vulnerable to attack by the Arab Muslim soldiers who are on the rise at that time. Arab armies succeeded in destroying the Eastern Roman army in the Battle of Yarmuk in 636, and Ctesiphon fell in 634.
Eastern Roman Empire in 650.Arab armies, who had conquered Syria and the Levant, Anatolia constantly attacked, and between the years 674 to 678mengepung Constantinople. Arab fleet had expelled with Greek fire, and a truce for thirty years between the empire was approved by the Umayyad Caliphate. The attack on Anatolia continue, and accelerate the demise of classical urban culture. Residents-many of which fortify the population back the territories which are smaller in the old city walls, or move to the nearest fortresses. Large Constantinople itself also shrank, from 500,000 residents to only 40000-70000 alone, which caused loss of wheat Constantinople in the year 618 when Egypt was captured by the Persians (the province can be taken back 629 years, but ultimately ruled by the Arabs in 642 AD).Withdrawal of troops in the Balkans to fight against the Persians and Arabs in the east has opened the door for expansion of the Slavs region. Consequently, as in Anatolia, many cities shrank to small settlements terbenteng. [48] In 670's, the nation urged Bulgaria to the south of the Danube by the Khazars. Byzantine troops sent to disperse these new settlements were defeated in the year 680. Constantine IV signed a treaty with Bulgaria Asparukh khan, and the new Bulgarian state to obtain sovereignty over some of the Slavic tribes that were previously recognized the authority of Byzantium. [49] In 687-688, the emperor Justinian II led an expedition against the Slavs and Bulgarians are quite successful.Last emperor Heraclius, Justinian II, tried to destroy the power of the urban aristocracy through taxation and the appointment of "outsiders" in administrative positions. He was dropped in the year 695, and shelter to the Khazars, and Bulgaria. In the year 705, Justinian II soldiers returned to Constantinople with Bulgaria khan, Tervel. He took back the throne, and established the regime of terror for his enemies. Justinian II was dropped back in the year 711, so that ended the dynasty of Heraclius.Isauria Dynasty until the time when Basil I took the throneEastern Roman Empire when Leo III took the throne in 717. Striped region is an area that was attacked by the Arabs.Leo III managed to repel the attack Muslims in 718, and reached the victory with the help of the Bulgarian khans, Tervel, who managed to kill 32,000 Arab troops to the army. His successor, Constantine V, achieving victories in northern Syria, and weaken the power of Bulgaria.In 826, Arabs captured Crete, and invade Sicily, but on September 3, 863, general Petronas menggapaikemenangan great success in the battle against Omar al-Aqta, emir Melitene. Under the leadership of the emperor Bulgaria Krum, Bulgaria threat reappears, but in the year 814, the son of Krum, Omortag, make peace with the Byzantine Empire.Iconoclasm Bizantiumpada the 9th century.Eighth and ninth centuries steeped in controversy and religious divisions due to iconoclasm. The icons are forbidden by Leo III and Constantine V, which resulted in the rebellion launched by ikonodul (supporters of icons) throughout the empire. The efforts of Empress Irene, the Second Nicene Council gathered in 787, and affirmed that icons could be respected but not worshiped. In the year 813, Leo V reassign policy iconoclasm, but the Empress Theodora restored the worship of icons with the help of the Patriarch Methodios in the year 843. [53] iconoclasm widen the gulf of division between East and West, which worsened during the schism Photios, when Pope Nicholas I opposeappointment of Photios as patriarch.Dynasty and the rise of MacedoniaEastern Roman Empire in 867.
In the year 867, the East has to stabilize its position in the east and west. Thanks to the efficiency of the military structure, the emperor was able to plan the reconquest of the war in the east.The process of reconquest began with no permanent results. Crete conquered for a while (843), but subsequently the Byzantine army suffered defeat on the Bosporus, while the emperor was unable to prevent the Muslim conquest of Sicily (827-902). By using Tunisia as a springboard, the Muslims conquered Palermo in 831, Messina in 842, Enna in 859, Syracuse in 878, Catania in 900, and the last Byzantine stronghold, Taormina, in 902.Military success in the tenth century followed by a cultural revival, called the Renaissance of Macedonia.Shortage immediately balanced by the success of the expedition terhadapDamietta in Egypt (856), defeat of Emir Melitene (863), ensuring the imperial power in Dalmatia (867), and attacks Basil I against the Euphrates (870s). Basil I be able to handle the situation in southern Italy well, so that the province will remain in the hands of the Byzantines over the next 200 years.In 904, disaster struck the empire when the two cities, Thessaloniki, plundered by Arab fleet led by the traitor Byzantine Leo of Tripoli. Byzantine army retaliated by destroying the Arab fleet in 908, and looted the city of Laodicea in Syria two years later. Although the retaliation has been done, Byzantium was unable to shake the Muslims, who have destroyed the imperial army in Crete in 911.The situation on the border with the Arabs remain liquid. Varangia, who attacked Constantinople for the first time in the year 860, a new challenge. In the year 941, they appeared on the Bosporus coast of Asia. This time they successfully destroyed, indicating the strengthening of Byzantine military power after the year 907, when only diplomacy that is able to repel the invaders.Emperor Nikephoros II Phokas (reigned 963-969) and John I Tzimiskes (969-976) expanded the empire to Syria, beat-emir emir in northwestern Iraq, as well as re-conquered Crete and Cyprus. In John's reign, the imperial army had threatened Jerusalem. EmiratAleppo and its neighbors to become vassal empire. Having launched many military campaigns, the last Arab threat to Byzantium Basil II conquered as quickly attracted 40,000 soldiers to liberate Syria Roman riding. With a surplus of natural resources, Basil II planned the expedition to Sicily to take it from the Arabs. After his death in 1025, the expedition set off in the year 1040s, and succeeded in reaching the initial success, but success was further inhibited.
he battle against the Empire BulgariaEmperor Basil II the Bulgar slayer (976-1025).Long struggle with the Holy See continues, spurred by the question of religious superiority of the newly Christianized Bulgaria. As a result, Tsar Simeon Imelancarkan invasion in 894, but he is stopped by the Byzantine diplomacy, which solicits the help of the Hungarians. East Rome finally defeated in the Battle Bulgarophygon (896) and ordered to pay tribute to the nation of Bulgaria. Subsequently (912), Simeon succeeded in forcing the Byzantine throne bestowed basileus (emperor) of Bulgaria and the Emperor Constantine VII marry one of Simeon's daughter. When the revolt in Constantinople hamper this effort, Trakia Simeon attacked and conquered Adrianople.Imperial expedition under the leadership of Leo Phocas and Romanos Lekapenos suffered a major defeat in the Battle of Acheloos (917), and the following year entered Bulgaria and northern Greece as far as robbing Corinth. Successfully recaptured Adrianople in 923, but in the year 924 Bulgarian soldiers besieged Constantinople. The situation in the Balkans improved after Simeon's death in 927. In the year 968, Bulgaria was invaded by Rus' under pimpinanSviatoslav I of Kiev. Three years later, Emperor John I Tzimiskes successfully defeated the Rus' and enter Bulgarian territory east into the empire.Bulgaria opposition raged on Cometopuli dynasty. The new emperor Basil II (reigned 976-1025) attempt to subjugate the people of Bulgaria. Basil's first expedition to fail at the Gate Trajanus. In subsequent years, the emperor was busy with an internal rebellion in Anatolia, while Bulgaria expanding their power in the Balkans. Protracted war for nearly twenty years. Byzantine victory in Skopje Spercheios and Bulgaria managed to weaken the army. In its annual military campaigns, Basil continues to reduce the number of Bulgarian fortress. Finally, in the Battle Kleidion year 1014, Bulgaria was defeated.Bulgarian soldiers were arrested, and said 99 of the 100 soldiers blinded, while the rest were given one eye to lead the compatriots back home. When Tsar Samuil saw the fate of his army, he died from shock. In 1018, the last Bulgarian fortresses had surrendered, and their country became part of Byzantium. This victory restore the Danube frontier, which is controlled from the time of the emperor Heraclius.Relations with Rus' of KievRus' of Kiev under the walls of Constantinople (860).Between the years 850 to 1100, the imperial relationship with the Rus' of Kiev. Byzantine culture and trade partner for Kiev, but the relationship between them is not always warm.The most serious conflict between the two countries was the war in Bulgaria 968-971. Rus 'attacks' against Byzantine towns on the coast of the Black Sea and Constantinople are also recorded in history. Although these attacks can be driven, the attack ended a profitable trade dengantraktat Rus'.Rus'-Byzantine relations improved after marriage porphyrogenita Anna with Vladimir the Great. Thanks to the Christianization of all, relations between the two countries the more sweet. Pastors, architects, and artists are invited to help those working Byzantine cathedrals and churches in Rus', so the influence of Byzantine culture more widely. Some soldiers Rus' became mercenaries in the Byzantine army, with the most famous is the Keeper Varangia.PeakByzantine Empire stretched from Armenia in the east to Calabria in the west. Many successes have been achieved, from the conquest of Bulgaria, Georgia and Armenia annexation of territory, until the destruction of the Egyptian attacker outside Antioch. The victories are still not enough; Basil considering to expel the Arab occupation of Sicily. He plans to conquer the island again, but first demanded the death of his life in 1025.The crisis and disintegrationByzantine period immediately mired in difficulties, mainly caused by damage to the system and neglect the military. Nikephoros II (963-969), John Tzimiskes and Basil II changed the military divisions (τάγματα, tagmata) of the population of a defensive army into a professional army that many filled by mercenaries. However, the costs to hire a mercenary is not a little. Meanwhile, the threat of invasion continued to disappear in the tenth century, and so did the need garrisons and expensive fortifications. Basil II inherited the cash that developed in the successor-successor, but forgot to plan for his successor.None of his successors who have political or military talent, so that the imperial government fell into the hands of civil servants. Efforts to restore the Byzantine economy only resulted in inflation and the declining value of gold coins. The army then viewed as important and needs no political threat. Therefore, the original army sacked and replaced by foreign mercenaries.At the same time, the empire faces a new enemy that ambitious. Byzantine provinces in southern Italy was threatened by a tribe of Norman, who came to Italy in the early eleventh century. During the period of strife between Constantinople with Rome that ended with the East-West Schism in 1054, tribes began to invade the Italian Byzantine Norman. [58] Eastern Roman also lose their influence over the cities on the Dalmatian coast as captured Peter Krešimir IV of Croatia in 1069.In Asia Minor was the biggest disaster to happen. Seljuq Turks launched their first explorations across the Byzantine frontier into Armenia in 1065 and 1067. Emergency imposed on the military aristocracy in Anatolia who in 1068 secured the selection of one of their own, Romanos Diogenes, as emperor. In the summer of 1071, Romanos launched a major military campaign against the Seljuks. At the Battle of Manzikert, Romanos not only suffered defeat at the hands of Sultan Alp Arslan, but was also arrested. Alp Arslan treated him with respect, and not wearing a hard terms on the Byzantines. Meanwhile, in Constantinople, Michael Doukas supporting the coup took place. In 1081, the Seljuks expanded their rule in Anatolia. Their territory stretched from Armenia in the east to Bithynia in the west. Seljuks established the capital at Nicaea, which lies just as far as 55 miles (88 km) from Constantinople.Komnenos dynasty and Crusaders
Alexios I and the First CrusadeSee also: First CrusadeEastern Roman Empire and the Sultanate of Rum before the Crusades.After the battle of Manzikert, thanks to the efforts Komnenos dynasty, the recovery is successful. The first emperor of this dynasty adalahIsaac I (1057-1059), and the second is Alexios I. In his reign, Alexios menghadai Norman attack, led by Robert Guiscard and his son Bohemund of Taranto. They captured Dyrrhachium and Corfu, and besieged Larissa diThessaly. The death of Robert Guiscard in 1085 Norman alleviate the problem temporarily. Meanwhile, Alexios defeated in the Battle Levounion Pecheneg on April 28, 1091.Portrait of Emperor Alexios I.After achieving stability in the West, Alexios could turn his attention to the economic difficulties and the disintegration of the old imperial defense. He wants to reclaim the territory that is loose in Asia Minor and destroy the Seljuks, but do not have enough troops.At the Council of Piacenza in 1095, Alexios envoys spoke to Pope Urban II about the suffering of Christians in the East, and stressed that without assistance from the West, they will continue to suffer from Muslim rule. Urban saw Alexios request as an opportunity to strengthen Western Europe and strengthen the power of the papacy. On 27 November 1095, Pope Urban IImenyerukan crusade to recapture Jerusalem and the East from the hands of Muslims.Alexios had been looking forward to aid in the form of mercenaries from the West, but totally unprepared to face the great power that will pass through Byzantine territory. Alexios felt uncomfortable because four of the eight leaders of the main crusaders were Norman, one of them Bohemund. Crusaders must pass through Constantinople. Fortunately, the emperor managed to handle it. It requires its leaders vowed to crusade on their way to the Holy Land, they must submit their region or city from the Turks conquered the Byzantine.Instead, Alexios will give them guidance, food, and a military escort. Thanks to that vow, Alexios succeeded in reconquering the towns and islands important, and even most of western Asia Minor. Unfortunately, the crusaders believed their oaths are invalid when Alexios did not help them in the siege of Antioch (he actually had prepared the way to Antioch, but Stephen of Blois to convince him to resign. Stephen assured him that the expedition had failed). Bohemund, who set himself as Prince of Antioch, had fought against the Byzantines, but finally agreed to become a vassal of the Byzantine Treaty of Devol in 1108. Thanks to the treaty, Norman managed to extinguish the threat.John II, Manuel I, and the Second CrusadeManuscript menggambarkandirebutnya Jerusalem during the First Crusade.Alexios's son, John II Komnenos, succeeded him in 1118, and ruled until the year 1143.John was a pious and dedicated emperor, who wanted to repair the damage caused by the Battle of Manzikert. He is renowned for his piety and his reign is gentle and fair. John is an example of moral leadership, at a time when cruelty is the norm. Thus, he dubbed the Byzantine Marcus Aurelius. In his reign, John allied with the Holy Roman Empire in the West, defeated in the Battle Beroia Pecheneg, and led the military campaign against the Turks in Asia Minor. John's military campaign to change the balance of power in the east, forcing Turkey to take a defensive position, as well as reclaim the Byzantine cities in Anatolia. [70] He also managed to repel the attack Hungary and Serbia in the year 1120's.In 1130, John allied with the German emperor Lothair III. Together they fought against the Norman king, Roger II of Sicily. At the end of his reign, John focused his activities in the East. He beat the emirate Danishmend, conquer back all Cilicia, and forcing Raymond of Poitiers, Prince of Antioch, to recognize the power of Byzantium. In an effort to demonstrate the role of the East as a leader in the Christian world, John advanced to the Holy Land. Dashed hopes for treason ally soldiers cross. In 1142, John re-emphasized his claim to Antioch, but he died in 1143 due to hunting incidents. Raymond ventured to invade Cilicia, but failed and had to go to Constantinople to beg mercy of the new emperor.Eastern Roman Empire (purple) in 1180, at the end of the Komnenos period.Manuel I Komnenos, the fourth son of John, was elected as the successor to the imperial throne. He launched a military campaign against its neighbors in the west and east. In Palestine, he allied with the Kingdom of Jerusalem, and sent a large fleet to participate in the Fatimid invasion to Egypt. Manuel strengthen its position as overlord Crusader states.Hegemony of Antioch and Jerusalem ascertained by agreement with Raynald, Prince of Antioch, and Amalric, King of Jerusalem. In an effort to restore Byzantine power in the ports of Southern Italy, Manuel sent an expedition to Italy in 1155, but disputes with the coalition resulted in the failure of this military campaign. Even so, Manuel managed the armed forces invaded the Kingdom of Hungary in 1167. Hungarian army could be defeated in the Battle of Sirmium. In 1168, almost the entire eastern Adriatic coast in the hands of Manuel. Manuel then allied with the Pope and Western Christian kingdoms. In masaPerang Second Crusade, the crusaders must pass through the East Roman territory to reach the holy land. Manuel let them pass, and ensure the crusaders did not cause chaos.In the east, Manuel suffered defeat in the Battle Myriokephalon year 1176. However, the defeat was soon repaired. In the following year, Manuel defeated the Turkish army.Byzantine commander John Vatatzes, which destroyed the Turkish invaders in the Battle Hyelion and Leimocheir, not only brought troops from the capital, but also managed to raise troops in transit. This is a symbol that the Byzantine army remained strong and defense programs in western Asia Minor was still successful.Manuel I Komnenos.
Twelfth-century renaissanceJohn and Manuel active military policy, and utilize existing resources for the defense of the city or siege. Aggressive fortification policies are jatung their military policy. Despite defeat in Myriokephalon, policies Alexios, John, and Manuel, succeeded in extending the empire, reaching the border of stability in Asia Minor, as well as securing the borders of the empire of Europe. From the years 1081 to 1180, the armed forces Komnenos ensure the safety of the Eastern Roman, Byzantine civilizations that have a chance to develop.Western provinces are able to reach an economic revival. During the twelfth century, the population increases and agricultural land. Archaeological evidence from Europe and Asia Minor shows a magnification of urban settlements. At this time, trade is also growing.Decline and disintegrationIn the artistic field, emerging renaissance in the field of mosaic. Regional schools of architecture began producing many new styles coming from different cultural influences.During the twelfth century, models of early humanism emerged as a renaissance of interest in classical authors.Dynasty AngeloiManuel died on September 24, 1180. He was succeeded by his son who was eleven years old, Alexios II Komnenos. Alexios II is not competent. His government is less favored because of the background Franka mother, Mary of Antioch. Finally, Andronikos I Komnenos, Alexios I's grandson, fomenting rebellion against his brother and got him in a coup. He hold rally in Constantinople in August 1182 to take advantage of its popularity in the armed forces. Andronikos Further promote the massacre of the Latin. [85] After eliminating his enemies, he declared himself emperor in September 1183. Andronikos kill and rob Alexios II Alexios's wife is aged 12 years, Agnes of France.Andronikos began his reign well. The launching of the reform government was praised by historians. According to George Ostrogorsky, Andronikos dedicated to eradicate corruption to its roots. Under his rule, the sale of office terminated. Election officials based on service, not because of favoritism. Officials were given a decent wage so that the graft can be reduced. Aristocrat, aristocrats were furious with him. Meanwhile, Andronikos behavior is also seen as less good. Punishment of death and violence often occur, so that the regime's reign of terror. [87] Andronikos trying to finish off the aristocracy. The struggle against the aristocracy turned into a massacre, while the Emperor launched a more violent action to prop up his regime.Illustration of the death of Andronikos.Although it has a military background, Andronikos could not fight against Isaac Komnenos of Cyprus, Béla III of Hungary who annexed territories Croatia, and Stephen Nemanja of Serbia who declared independence from the Roman East. Conditions had deteriorated ketikaWilliam II of Sicily attacked the Eastern Roman army of 300 ships and 80,000 soldiers in 1185. Andronikos mobilized a small fleet of 100 ships to protect the capital.These new invaders were repelled during the reign of the next emperor, Isaac Angelos.For the support of the people, Andronikos eventually dropped by Isaac Angelos. [89] Emperor who has dropped attempts to flee with his wife, but was arrested. Isaac handed it to the masses for three days. After various kinds of torture, Andronikos finally died on September 12, 1185. He is a past member of the Komnenos dynasty that controls Constantinople. Isaac Angelos Angeloi Dynasty succeeded him as emperor.In the reign of Isaac II and Alexios III Angelos also his successors, Byzantine government and defense began to crumble. Although Norman had expelled from Greece, in 1186 launched a Vlach and Bulgarian uprising that led to the founding of the Second Bulgarian Empire. Angeloi domestic policy characterized by wasting of public property and the fiscal maladministration. Byzantine government continues to weaken, and the growing power vacuum in the empire triggered the split. One proof is that when several successors Komnenos establish semi-independent state in Trebizond before the year 1204. [90] According to Alexander Vasiliev, "Angeloi accelerate the collapse of the imperial dynasty.Fourth CrusadeCrusaders Entering Constantinople, by Eugène Delacroix (1840).In 1198, Pope Innocent III to start talks on a new crusade through legatus and encyclical letters. The goal crusade was to conquer Egypt, which is the center of Muslim power in the Levant. Crusaders who arrived in Venice in the summer of 1202 the number was smaller than anticipated. They also do not have enough funds to hire a fleet of Venice. In exchange for payment, the Crusaders agreed to help seize the port of (Christian) Zara in Dalmatia (vassal city of Venice, but rebelled and protected by Hungary in 1186). Zara successfully taken in November 1202 after a brief siege. [94] Innocent, who had been told about the plan but the opposition is ignored, does not want to jeopardize the Crusade plan, so he gave pengampunyan conditional to the Crusaders, but the Venetians did not get it.Crusaders arrived at Constantinople in the summer of 1203. Alexios III fled from the capital. Alexios Angelos took the throne as Alexios IV along with a blind father, Isaac.Unfortunately, Alexios IV and Isaac II was unable to keep their promises and dropped by Alexios V. Then the Crusaders captured Constantinople on April 13, 1204. Constantinople was plundered for three days later. Many of the icons, relics, and other objects in Constantinople, transported to Western Europe. According Choniates, prostitution was founded on the throne of the patriarch. When Innocent III heard of the behavior of the Crusaders, he wanted to punish them, but the situation was out of control, especially after legatusnya, which on its own initiative, to free the Crusaders from their duty to conquer the Holy Land. When the government has been restored, the Crusaders and the Venetians set their approval: Baldwin of Flanders was chosen as the emperor and the Venetian Thomas Morosini was appointed as the patriarch. So stood the Latin Empire in Constantinople.Meanwhile, Byzantine refugees founded their own state, with the most important is the Empire of Nicaea, Empire of Trebizond, and Epirus Kedespotan.After Theobald III died, the leadership changed hands Crusaders to Boniface of Montferrat, a friend of Philip of Swabia. Both Boniface and Philip had been married with a family member of the Byzantine empire. Philip-in-law, Alexios Angelos (son of Emperor Isaac II Angelos, who has been dropped and blinded), pleading for assistance to Europe and has been associated with the Crusaders. Alexios offered reunification Byzantine church with Rome, the payment of 200,000 marks of silver, and other assistance. Innocent informed about plans to divert the Crusade to Constantinople and prohibit attacks against the city, but the papal letter arrived after the fleets had left Zara.The fall of the ByzantineEmpire in exileAfter the Crusaders looted Constantinople in 1204, the two countries stood Byzantium: the Empire of Nicaea and Epirus Kedespotan. Third country, Trebizond Empire, founded by Alexios I of Trebizond few weeks before the looting of Constantinople. Among these three states, Epirus and Nicaea were the most likely retake Constantinople. Empire of Nicaea continue to struggle to stay afloat, and in the middle of the 13th century had lost much of its territory in southern Anatolia. The weakening of the Sultanate of Rum in the attack of the Mongols in 1242-43 allowed the beylik and ghazis to establish their own principality in Anatolia, thus weakening Byzantine power in Asia Minor. However, the Mongol invasions also provide time for Nicaea to divert attention to the Latin Empire.Reconquest of ConstantinopleEastern Roman Empire in 1263.Empire of Nicaea retook Constantinople from the Latin in 1261. Furthermore, they also managed to defeat Epirus. Then the Byzantines successfully restored under the leadership of Michael VIII Palaiologos. However, due to the war-torn empire is now vulnerable to nearby enemies. To reinforce his army in battle against the Latin Empire, Michael pulled troops from Asia Minor, and to collect high taxes from the farmers, resulting in hatred.Large-scale development projects launched in Constantinople to repair damage caused by the Fourth Crusade, but none of these businesses are profitable farmers in Asia Minor, suffering from an attack-ghazis ghazis.Michael chose to expand the empire rather than maintaining its colonies in Asia Minor. To prevent looting the other, he forced the church subject to Rome, which became a temporary solution. Furthermore, the Emperor Andronikos II and his grandson KaisarAndronikos III, seeks to revive the empire, but the mercenaries hired by Andronikos II often backfire.The rise and fall of the Ottoman ConstantinopleKonstantinopeltahun Siege of 1453.The situation worsened after Andronikos III died. During the six-year civil war raged in the empire, and earthquakes in Gallipoli in 1354 destroyed the fortifications, so that Ottoman (hired as mercenaries during the civil war by John VI Kantakouzenos) can strengthen its position in Europe. When the civil war has ended, the Ottomans had been defeated Serbia and subjugate them as a vassal. SetelahPertempuran Kosovo, most of the Balkans has been dominated by the Ottomans.Eastern Mediterranean before the fall of Constantinople.Emperor for help from the west, but the pope will only send aid if the Eastern Orthodox Church would be reunited with the Holy See. Unification Church has been considered, and is sometimes done through an imperial decree, but the population and Orthodox clergy hated the authority of Rome and the Latin Rite. Some western troops arrived and strengthen the defense of Constantinople, but most Western rulers, who are busy with their business, not doing anything when the Ottomans annexed one by one the rest of the Byzantine territory.On April 2, 1453, Sultan Mehmed II the army numbered 80,000 besieged Constantinople.Constantinople finally fell to the Ottomans on May 29, 1453. Last Byzantine emperor, Constantine XIPalaiologos, visible sign of his greatness and release involve himself in combat after the walls of the city was taken.Post-collapse of the ByzantineMehmed II conquered the small states in Mistra, Greece, in 1460, and Trebizond in 1461.At the end of the 15th century, the Ottoman Empire had taken control of most of Asia Minor and the Balkans. Meanwhile, the Danube principalities refugees receive refugee-Orthodox and Byzantine nobles.The last emperor's nephew, Andrew Palaeologos, inherited the title of the Byzantine Emperor and used from year 1465 until his death in 1503. Furthermore, the emperor's role as the protector of Eastern Orthodoxy was claimed by Ivan III, Grand Duke of Mokswa. He has been married brother Andrew, Sophia Paleologue. His grandson, Ivan IV, would become the first Russian tsar (czar, atauczar, meaning caesar, is a term first used the Slavs to the Byzantine Emperor). Their successors supported the idea that Moscow was the successor of Rome and Constantinople. The idea that Russia is the Roman Empire survived until the outbreak of the Third Russian Revolution of 1917.EconomyByzantine economy is one of the most advanced in Europe and the Mediterranean for centuries. Europe was unable to match Byzantine economic strength until the late Middle Ages. Constantinople is a major hub in the trade network covering almost the whole of Eurasia and North Africa. The city is also one of the major cities in the path of silk. Some experts claim that, until the coming of the Arabs in the seventh century, the Eastern Roman economy is the strongest in the world. Arab conquest causes deterioration and stagnation.Reform of Constantine V (765) marks the start of economic recovery that lasted until the year 1204. From the tenth century until the end of the twelfth century, the Byzantine Empire projected the image of luxury, and wanderers amazed by the wealth of Constantinople.Everything changed during the Fourth Crusade, which brought economic disaster.Palaiologos trying to restore the economy, but the late Byzantine state would not gain full power over the strength of domestic and foreign economies. Slowly, the Byzantines also lost its influence in the modalities of trade and price mechanisms, and also control over the flow of precious metals, and even, according to some experts, to the printing of the coins.One of the economic foundation of the empire was trade. Textiles are the most important export commodity. Countries with strict control of internal and international trade, as well as having a monopoly in issuing coins. The government set the interest rate, and set the parameters of the activity of trade unions and companies, which imposed a special interest. The emperor and its officials to intervene in a crisis to ensure the provision of capital and keep the price of cereals. The government collects the surplus through tax collection, and put in circulation through the redistribution in the form of salaries to state officials, or in the form of investing public facilities.GovernmentIn the Eastern Roman, emperors are the sole and absolute ruler. His reign is considered to have divine origin. The Senate does not have the political and legislative authority are real, but remains as a board of honor. At the end of the 8th century, the civil administration is centralized in the palace was formed as part of the consolidation of power in the capital (the rise of sakellarios position associated with this change). The most important reform in this period was the establishment of themes. On themes, civil and military administration set up by one person, namely strategos.Titular system and the rights of the empire resulted in the introduction of government looks like bureaucracy to modern observers. Officials arranged in a tight arrangement between the emperor, and their positions depend on the will of the emperor. In the Byzantine administrative work that is actually there, but the government would be mounted on certain people rather than a service. In the 8th century and 9th, the civil service is the quickest way aristocrat status, but since the 9th century, the civil aristocracy rivaled by an aristocracy of nobility. According to some studies, 11th-century politics was dominated by the rivalry between the civilian and military aristocracy. During this period, Alexios I launched an important administrative reforms that include the procurement of rank and position the palace.DiplomacyAfter the fall of the Roman, Byzantine main challenge is to build relationships with its neighbors. Byzantine diplomacy soon attracted the attention of its neighbors. Then the network of international and interstate relations. This network revolved around treaty making, and includes welcoming new ruler, and the assimilation of actions, values ​​and social institutions of the East. [118] While the classical writers to write an ethical and legal separation between peace and war, the East Roman diplomacy regarded as one form of war . For example, the threat of Bulgaria can be overcome by providing funds to the Kiev Rus. Orthodox Church also played a diplomatic function, and the spread of Orthodox Christianity is the main diplomatic objective of the empire.Scrinium Barbarorum at Constantinople in charge of the protocol and record keeping regarding anything related to "barbaric". While the task is implementing the protocol, they ensure foreign ambassadors treated well, and also plays a role in the translation of diplomatic missions of the barbarian nations. J.B. Bury believes that the department oversees all foreigners who visited Constantinople. Some people, like Michael Antonucci, believes that Scrinium Barbarorum act as a sort of spy service to the empire, but there is no strong evidence on this matter. On Strategy from the 6th century offer advice on foreign embassies: "[Ambassadors] are sent must be accepted with respect and generosity, because anyone honor the ambassador, but their presence should be supervised to ensure they do not obtain information by questioning people we.Byzantines took the opportunity and take advantage of some of the diplomatic approach.For example, embassies to the capital often live for years. One member of the royal family from other countries are often asked to stay in Constantinople. They are not only useful as a hostage, but also a pawn that can be utilized if the political conditions of the country where he came from changed. Another important practice in the East Roman diplomacy is to show a lot of luxury goods to visitors. According to Dimitri Obolensky, the sustainability of civilization in Eastern Europe is due to reasonable skill and Byzantine diplomacy, which remains one of the Byzantine contribution to the history of Europe.Science and lawGalleries of birds in Byzantine manuscripts.The writing style of the classical era never ceases to be empowered in Byzantium. Thus, the Eastern Roman science closely related to ancient philosophy danmetafisika. Although the Byzantines succeeded in applying science (as in the construction of Hagia Sophia), after the 6th century, Byzantine experts are not much to contribute to science. New theories are not a lot was conceived, and the idea of ​​classical authors is not much developed.Expertise is hampered in those years of darkness caused by bubonic plague and the Arab conquest, but in the Byzantine renaissance in the late first millennium, experts Byzantine reappear and become an expert in Arabic and Persian scientific development, especially in the fields of astronomy and mathematics.At the end of the century the empire, the Byzantine grammarians responsible in bringing grammar and writing and literary study of Ancient Greece to Italy Renaisansawal. During this period, astronomy and mathematics are taught in Trebizond.In the field of law, reform of Justinian I have given a clear influence on the development jurisprudens. Meanwhile, Emperor Leo III Ecloga influence the formation of legal institutions in the Slavic world.LanguagePsalm Mudil dalambahasa Coptic.Initially, the imperial language is Latin. Language became the official language until the 7th century, when Heraclius replaced it with the Greek language. Scientific Latin language is no longer used by the educated population, although still a part of the ceremonial culture of the empire for several Latin waktu.Bahasa People remains a minority language of the empire, and among residents Trako-Roman, the language gave birth to the language (Proto-) Romania. Meanwhile, on the Adriatic coast, neo-Latin dialects developed, which will bring the language of Dalmatia. In the provinces that had dominated the Western Mediterranean under the reign of Justinian I, Latin (eventually evolved into the Italian language) continue to be used as a folk language and scientific language.The main language used in the Eastern Roman (even since before the fall of Western Roman) is Greek. Language has been spoken for centuries before Latin. In the early days of the Roman, Greek language is widely used in Christian churches, and also became the language of science and art. In addition, also a Greek intermediary trade.Many other languages ​​are also spoken in this multiethnic empire. Some languages ​​have official satatus limited in the provinces. In the early Middle Ages, Syriac and Aramaic language spoken by educated people in the provinces of the east end. Coptic, Armenian, and Georgia are also widely used in their respective places. Meanwhile, the language of Slavonia, Vlach, and Arabic became important because relations with foreign powers.Constantinople was the center of trade, so that every language known in medieval times sometimes spoken in the empire, even including the Chinese language. When the empire entered the final period of decline, the population becomes homogeneous Eastern Roman, and Greek became important for identity and their religion.CultureArt and literatureThumbnail Rabbula Gospel.Byzantine art mostly associated with religious expression. Byzantine forces spread through trade and conquest to Italy and Sicily; these forces will affect the Italian renaissance art. With a view to expand the Eastern Orthodox Church, Byzantine style spread to the cities of eastern Europe, especially Russia. The influence of Byzantine architecture, especially in the form of religious buildings, can be found in various areas, from Egypt and Arabia, to Russia and Romania.In literature, there are four elements of culture, namely the Greek, Christian, Roman and Oriental. Byzantine literature is often classified into five groups: historians and analysts, encyclopedic (Patriarch Photios, Michael Psellos, and Michael Choniates regarded as the largest encyclopedic Byzantine) and author of essays, as well as secular poet. Two other groups include a new literary genre: the ecclesiastical and theological literature, and popular literature. From two to three thousand volumes of Byzantine literature that survive, only three hundred and thirty that includes secular poetry, history, science, and pseudoscience. Secular literature developed from the ninth to the twelfth century, while religious literature (sermon, the liturgical books, poems, devotions, etc.) develops first, with Romanus Melodus as the most prominent examples.ReligionMosaic of Christ in the Hagia Sophia.The survival of the emperor's imperial ensure an active role in church affairs. Byzantine state inherited habits in managing administrative and financial affairs of the pagan religion, and customs applicable in the church. People look at the Byzantine emperor as a representative or a herald of Christ. So the emperor responsible for the spread of Christianity among the pagans, and to the "outside" of religion, such as administration and finance. Even so, the role of the emperor in the church was never developed into a legal system remains.Christianity has never fully united in the Eastern Empire. Eastern Orthodox Church does not represent all Christians in kekaisaran.Nestorianisme, a view which is taught by Nestorius, separated from the church of the empire, and now the Assyrian Church of the East. Orthodox Church Orientalmelepaskan themselves from the imperial church after the declaration of the Council of Chalcedon. Arianism and other Christian sects also exist in the empire, although at the time of the fall of Rome in the 5th century, Arianism is more confined to the Germanic tribes in Western Europe. At the end of empire, the Eastern Orthodox Christians represent the majority of the rest of the empire. Meanwhile, the Jews were an important minority in the empire. Although several times suffered persecution, they are generally tolerated.With the fall of Rome and the internal strife in other kepatriarkan body, the church of Constantinople became the center of Christianity is the richest and most influential of the 6th century until the 11th century.HeritageKing David wore a Byzantine emperor. Miniature from the Paris Psalter.Eastern Roman Empire Western Europe has been secured from the new powers in the East. Byzantine continuously attacked by the Persians, Arabs, Seljuk Turks, and Ottomans. For example, the Byzantine-Arab Wars, is recognized by historians as a major factor behind the rise of Charlemagne the Great, and the stimulus to feudalism and economic independence.For centuries, Western historians use the term Byzantine and Byzantinisme as a byword for decadence, political guile, and a complex bureaucracy. In addition, there is a strong negative assessment of Byzantine civilization and its legacy in Southeastern Europe.Byzantinismesecara generally defined as a body of religious, political, and philosophical as opposed to the West. In the 20th century and to-21, Western historians trying to understand the East with more accurate and balanced. The result, a complex character of the Byzantine culture of more attention and be treated objectively than ever before.If the existence of the ancient Roman Empire (including the West) with the Eastern Roman / Byzantine combined, throughout the Roman Empire during the 1480 year has been tangible. Substitute Roman Empire, Roman Republic, there are over 482 years, so that the Roman state has existed for 1962 years.