《The fall of an empire—the Lesson of Byzantium》.doc

The text of the film “The fall of an empire—the Lesson of Byzantium” Russian winter landscape. A church. A snowstorm. Narrator. Hello. In 1453, the Byzantine Empire fell. Let us now take a look at how this happened. Islamic chant weaves into the gusts of freezing wind. Instanbul. The muezzin continues his prayer, amplified by a loudspeaker. The noise of a market place in a Middle Eastern city. Turkish conversation. Narrator. This city was once called Constantinople; six centuries ago it was the capital city of what was without exaggeration one of the greatest civilizations in world history—the Byzantine Empire. A rule by law, something we now take for granted, was created here, based upon the Roman codes, in Byzantium, 1500 years ago. A legal system which was to become the basic foundation of all types of laws in most modern governments was the monumental creation of Byzantine jurisprudence during the reign of Emperor Justinian. The system of elementary and higher education first developed in Byzantium; it was here, in the fifth century, that the first university appeared. The most stable financial system in the history of mankind was created in Byzantium, and existed in a nearly unaltered form for over one thousand years. Modern diplomacy with its basic principles, rules of conduct, and etiquette was created and refined here, in Byzantium. Byzantine engineering and architectural arts were unrivalled. Even today, such famous works by Byzantine masters as the domes of the Hagia Sophia amaze the world with their technological perfection. No other empire in human history lasted as long as Byzantium. It existed for 1123 years. In comparison: the great Roman Empire collapsed 800 after its establishment; the Ottoman Empire fell apart after 500 years; the Chinese Qing (or Manchu) Empire, after 300 years. The Russian Empire lasted 200; the British, 150; the Austro-Hungarian empire lasted around 100 years. During its height, Byzantium was home to one sixth of the entire worl