Why Byzantine 'Decline' Was Actually Strategic Survival | 9th Century

Описание: Imagine an empire that loses two-thirds of its territory, watches its cities crumble into fortresses, and produces almost no literature for a century—yet this period laid the foundation for its greatest revival. Discover how ninth-century Byzantium challenges everything we think we know about civilizational decline.

Key concepts covered:
• Transformation, Not Collapse — How losing Egypt, Syria, and the Near East forced Byzantium to consolidate into a resilient Greek Orthodox core
• The End of Classical Urbanism — Why every Byzantine city except Constantinople became a fortress by the 800s, marking the true end of Greco-Roman civilization
• The Paradox of Diminishment — How a rural, militarized, intellectually quiet society became the foundation for the Byzantine Renaissance
• Orthodox Christianity's Middle Path — Understanding Byzantine theology between Nestorianism and Monophysitism (before the 1054 East-West Schism)

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ORIGINAL SOURCE
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This video distills insights from a longer lecture.
Watch the full original:    • 08. Survival in the East  

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About Lecture Distilled
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