Tìm hiểu về đế chế La Mã

Nhầm chứ. Người lật đổ La Mã là một tướng man tộc tên là Odoacre vào năm 476 - sau Công nguyên, tức chẳng bao lâu sau trận Chalons và sau cái chết của tướng Aetius.
Nhưng có một điều khiến tôi vẫn cảm thấy khó hiểu: Đồng ý là sự sụp đổ của Đế chế La Mã là tất yếu. Nhưng tại sao nền văn minh và dân tộc La Mã nhanh chóng trở thành cát bụi. Thường thì cái gì đã tồn tại một thời gian tương đối dài, xấp xỉ 1.000 năm và đã đạt được những thành quả rực rỡ như thế, thì ít ra phải có sức sống trường tồn chứ. Tại sao ngày nay chúng ta chỉ có thể biết được về La Mã qua hàng sử liệu, qua những Công trình phế tích. Thành Rome khi xưa rộng phải gấp 10 lần ngày nay. Quân đội La Mã trước khi sụp đỏ cũng đông đến 500 ngàn người. Đó là một con số khổng lồ nếu ta so sánh với dân số các nước Tây Âu nhỏ bé thời kỳ trung cổ sau đó.
Vây đâu là hậu duệ trực tiếp của Người La Mã. Có phải người Ý không. Tôi không tin như vậy.

Hì hì...
Thế mới nói khái niệm "sự sụp đổ của đế chế Roma" còn tuỳ vào tiêu chuẩn nào mà.
Một số vị vua châu Âu - Cơ đốc thời trung cổ sau khi "xưng bá" vẫn thường vẫn tự nhận mình là ""Hoàng đế La Mã" và được Giáo Hoàng Vatican trao vương miện cho.
Tớ chỉ nhớ được cái tên Constantin (thế kỉ thứ 5 sau CN) là vị hoàng đế La Mã đầu tiên theo Thiên chúa giáo.
Cần nói thêm rằng, nếu thánh Paul là người có công biến Thiên chúa giáo từ 1 nhánh nhỏ của Do thái giáo thành một tôn giáo lớn riêng rẽ thì chính Constantin đã biến nó thành một thứ "quốc đạo" của cả Châu Âu.
Napoleon sau khi xâm lược nước Ý cũng đã từng xưng "Hoàng đế La Mã".
Nguyên nhân sụp đổ của đế chế này thì mọi người đã bàn nhiều rồi, túm lại là "Mặt trời đứng bóng thì xế, trăng tròn thì khuyết", đế chế nào trên TG này cũng vậy thôi - riêng chú Khựa có lẽ là nhờ các vị Trọng Ni, Doanh Chính, Mao Chổi Sể... nên mới trở thành ngoại lệ
Đế chế La Mã chỉ tàn tụi về mặt "vật thể" là chính còn các giá trị "phi vật thể" như văn hoá - chính trị - khoa học của nó nhờ có vụ "Phục Hưng" nên chưa bao giờ mất.
Theo ngu ý của em, "mấy thằng Tây" được như bây giờ - tức là "chăn" cả thế giới - công đầu thuộc về người Hi Lạp, nhì đến người Ý, ba đến người Ả Rập, bốn đến dân Tàu (chấp "nhịn" sự thật )
Suýt quên! Cám ơn bác Chỉ nốc rất nhiều!
Được simbat1080 sửa chữa / chuyển vào 08:35 ngày 20/03/2006

em thấy bên neobyzantine.org có bài về hải quân Byzantine nên xin post lên cho mọi người cùng xem
Byzantine naval power
At the end of the 7th century, the Byzantines organised and developed their naval fleet after the Arabs had spread throughout the eastern Me***erranean to challenge their control of the sea. Thus a large Byzantine fleet was formed and governed by the strategos (general) of the Kara-bisianoi who often bore the title of imperial spatharios orpatrikios.
The Arabic fleet wages a campaign against Crete.
The forces which made up the fleet were located in the capital, south-west Asia Minor and the islands.
The organisation of the fleet
The organisation of the fleet in the 7th century was part of a gradual restructuring of naval administration. The navy was organised as a part of the themata, the provincial administrative system. The thema of the Kibyrrhaiotai was developed in the 8th century and a little later the themata of the Aegean Sea, Samos, and European Kephalonia (9th century) came into existence, thus creating a provincial fleet governed by strategoi and droungarioi.
Separate from these, however, was the fleet of the capital itself - the imperial ploimon - under the droungarios tou ploimou (high admiral). This officer was a general with the rank of stratarchos and was empowered with the overall command of the ships of the Byzantine fleet.
The ex-droungarios of the fleet Romanos Lekapenos is exiled by the emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogennitos.

tiếp nữa
This chain of command included a group of officers who constituted the "spinal cord" of each and every naval unit, but in certain instances the du-ties of these officers varied.
The Byzantine army embarks
They included :
Topoteretai (vice-admirals): they stood in for the droungarios touploimou.
Droungarioi: these officers performed specific duties, such as the droun-garios of the gulf.
Tourmarchs of the fleet: these officers administered the tourmai, subdi-visions of the thematic fleet. Counts: the captains of detachments (one detachment equalled 3 or 5 ships). In the imperial fleet, these officers held the title protospatharios or, spatharokandidatos.
Counts of the Hetaireia: commanders of the foreign mercenaries.
Sakellarios: the director of the fleet''s financial resources.
Chartoularios: the caretaker of the fleet and head of the secretariat.
Protomandator: the head of the corps of messengers.
Mandatores: officers entrusted with the delivery of orders and information.
Protokaravos: the leader of the oar-bearers.
Kentarchos: the captain of a ship, who directed it from the prow, where his quarters (the krabbatos) were located.
It should be noted that men from these two lower positions could reach the imperial throne, as in the case of Romanes I Lekapenos who became co-emperor.

At the base of this pyramid of officers were, of course, the marines or kab-balarikoi, who manned the warships. Of these, theproreus was responsible for the training of the soldiers while the siphonarios was responsible for the pipes and pumps which shot Greek fire, a flammable liquid that could burn on water.
The grand dome Alexios Apokaukos.
In the llth century, the navy was manned almost exclusively by mercenaries. With the invasion of Asia Minor by the Seljuk Turks, the thematic fleets suf-fered a series of major setbacks which resulted in their breakdown. Thus, the remainder of the thematic fleets and the fleet of the capital were united under the grand doux, or admiral, who replaced the droungarios tou ploimou of the fleet. The latter now held the title of great droungarios, director of the imperial dromonion, a small fleet at the disposal of the emperor and his family. The doukes-katepano led units of the fleet based in the provinces.

The most important Byzantine naval ship was the dromon (ẻẽẽOẻẳẻẻẵ), a light and swift boat which came in many different forms and sizes. It had two or three masts, was two-decked, and could be up to 55 metres long and six metres wide. The ship was manned according to its type and dimensions. Some could carry 100, 200 or even 300 men of whom some were marines who in battle were supported by a number of the rowers.
Byzantine dromon (drawn reconstruction)
The dromons were each equipped with a xylokastron (ẻắẽ.ẻằẽOẻẻẽfẽ"ẽẻẻẵ "wooden castle"), a tower around the main mast from which the marines hurled their spears and used their bows, or threw stones and pieces of metal at the enemy. At the prow and stern were fixed mechanical devices known as toxobolistres which were used to fire small arrows (myies). These ships are described in the sources as tube-bearing dromons because of the pipe-like weapons they bore to douse enemy ships with Greek fire.
Such ships are described by Anna Komnene in the Alexiad (the book):
"The emperor knew that the Pisans were skilled in warfare at sea and was afraid to clash with them. Thus he ordered the construction on all the ships of bronze and iron heads of lions and other wild animals of all types, with open mouths and covered in gold leaf, so that their appearance alone was enough to spread fear. The liquid fire that was to attack the enemy would pass through the mouths of these heads, so that it would appear verily that they were vomiting forth flames..."
The marines also used smaller dispensers of liquid fire that could be operated by a single person, the cheirosiphones. Although originally in the 9th century the chelandion was a different type of ship from the dromon, both terms came to be used later for the same vessel, as Basileios Parakoimomenos attests in his On Naval Warfare (2nd half of the 10th century).
Some late Byzantine authors, however, do attest to a distinction being made between the chelandion and the dromon. The word dromon (in Greek edramon means "I ran") suggests the ship''s speed, while the chelandion (ẽ?ẻàẻằẻơẻẵẻẻạẻẻẵ - from chetys, Greek for "eel") refers to its elongated shape and was a term used in common parlance.
The dromons-chelandia in certain instances were used as horse carriers, each capable of holding twelve horses. The pamphyloi were smaller ships than the dromons, nevertheless just such as ship was the flagship of the imperial fleet according to the emperor Leo VI. It was very fast, well equipped and had a select crew and experienced marines.

Scouting ships were single-deck minor dromons. Galleys, likewise single-deck ships, took messages and executed various missions. The saktourai were similar ships to these. Ancillary boats included the sandalion, with five pairs of oars and a single mast. The main transport ships were the so-called kamatera karavia, used for siege machinery and anything needed at a specific instance. These were well equipped and usually sailed next to the dromons. These were the warships of the Byzantines, of which an important number took part in various battles.
The battle
From the chronicle of Symeon Magister and the anonymous Continuer of Theophanes, we know that in 961 the fleet, which had gathered at Phygela to take part in the reconquest of Crete by Nikephoros Phokas, consisted of 1,000 dromons and 2,000 fire-throwing chelandia.
The battle began when the boats were still at a distance. Apart from the Greek fire, the ships catapulted each other with clay pots full of flammable material or snakes and scorpions. If the ships remained undamaged, they approached each other hurling arrows and spears.
Finally, they engaged in single combat, as we can see in the representation.
Naval battles, formations and sieges
The standard formation used by the warships in bat-tle was the semicircle.
circular battle formation (ẻ'ẽfẽ?ẻàẻằẻẻẽOẻằẻãẻẳẻàẻẵ)
The flagship would sail in the centre while the strongest dromons were situated at the extremities. This type of sea warfare was known aspelagolimen.
Other types of attack involved the ships arranged lengthways with their prows pointed at the enemy, and the division of a naval unit into three parts with one attacking in the centre and the other to the side. Ruses were often used to defeat the enemy. Furthermore, the marines were well trained since they often took part in mock battles.
Before the departure of the fleet, the men and ships were blessed by priests and the officers read various orders of the day.
Sieges and special naval structures
Several times, it was neccessary to have stable tower that would be used from the seaside as a point of invasion on the sea port under siege. Two particulary interesing structures distinguished themselves from other similar ones.
One of them was constructed on the basis of two or more tied boats in pairs, with the wooden shooting tower at the top used as a bombarder - sometimes with catapults and armed marined ready to jump over enemy walls and capture the port.
Other structures were used to crack the walls or wooden gates of the port, so the "ram" was mounted on the basis of two tied boats. The crewmen consisted of two or more soldiers operated the device, and the other used to climb the walls. As You can notice at the picture above, special balast weight statues were put at each side of the structure to provide stability and mass needed for successfull attacks of this type.

The Greek fire
Liquid fire. It is also called "Greek fire", "Sea fire ", "Persian fire "
Greek, or liquid fire The Byzantines'' most important weapon, which played a decisive role in all naval operations, was "Greek" or "liquid fire". It consisted of a developed recipe of older chemical compounds attributed to Kallinikos, a 7th-century Greek engineer from Helioupolis in Syria. Liquid fire contained sulphur, nitrogen, and naphtha (petrol) and other substances and put fear into the enemy fleet, since it burnt even on water.
Byzantine pump for "liquid fire" (reconstruction)
This chemical compound was kept as a state secret. The emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogennitos, addressing his son and heir Romanes, stressed the secret nature of the composition even stating that it should not be learnt by allies.
He continues:
"the ingredi-ents were disclosed by an angel to the first great Christian emperor, Constan-tine ... and that great emperor, wishing to secure the secret for his successors, ordained that they should curse, in writing and on the Holy Altar of the Church of God, any who should dare to give this fire to another nation, that he should not be counted amongst the Christians, neither should he hold any rank or honour and if he happens to have one already, let him be deposed and paraded like a common criminal throughout the centuries, whether he be an emperor, a patriarch or any other lord or subject; whosoever should attempt to disobey this order."
The liquid fire was kept in storehouses of the capital and at various strategic locations. Its constituents were kept secret for many centuries, until the Arabs learnt them.

Financial problems
The decline of the fleet Up till the end of the llth century, the fleet was financed in certain areas by the levying of a special tax ("the naval service") which by the be-ginning of the 12th century was con-sidered unnecessary. Further money came from the imperial vestiarios at times when ships had to be built and equipped and crew paid. Thus the empire''s naval power gradually went into decline. The Venetians and the Genoese, who at times assisted the Byzantine fleet in exchange for com-mercial privileges, finally ended up pushing it aside and controlling the entire Me***erranean.
The fleet''s finances were regulated by the Secreton tou ploimou or by the parathalassites or by the Secreton of the Sea which mostly looked after the affairs of the merchant fleet.

Mâu thuẫn quá bác ơi, Bleda lúc thì là anh lúc lại là em Attilo, cuối cùng thì Attilo là anh hay là em ??? Em chịu.
Về Constantinope, em nhớ là thành Constan được xây dựng trên 7 quả đồi tự nhiên nhìn ra eo biển Bosporus nối biển Đen và biển Marmara, phía bắc có 1 hải cảng thiên tạo là Golden Horn.
Sau khi đập tan Đông La Mã, đế chế Ottoman chọn Constantinope làm thủ đô. Đế chế Ottoman tồn tại tới tận năm 1918. Đến năm 1930 thì Constantinope được đổi tên thành Istanbul, là thành phố lớn nhất và cũng là hải cảng chính yếu của Thổ Nhĩ Kỳ.
Nhưng thủ đô mới được chọn của Thổ vào năm 1923 là Ankara.
Ngược lại lịch sử, mặc dù trước khi bị Ottoman xâm chiếm thì Đông La Mã vẫn được coi là một "đế chế" nhưng thực ra lãnh thổ của họ chỉ còn lại một dải đất nhỏ bao quanh Constantinope.
29/5/1453 - Sultan Mehmet II của Ottoman đã đánh chiếm thành công Constantinope và biến toàn bộ Đông La Mã vào trong cái túi "càn khôn" của lão, sau đó tất cả chui ra và trở thành đế chế Ottoman. Thời Trung Cổ kết thúc ở điểm này.