Byzantine Greece
After the collapse
of the western part of the Roman Empire around 400 AD,
Greece continued to be ruled by Romans,
but now from their new capital at Constantinople. The Romans weren't as
strong as they had been before, so there were a lot of invasions, especially
by the Slavs
from the Balkans in the north, and also by pirates from the sea in the south.
Greece was much poorer during this time. Also, as people became Christians,
the old schools in Athens were closed,
because they taught old ideas that were not Christian.
Greece continued to be ruled by Constantinople until 1453 AD.
But during the 1100's and 1200's many Norman
Crusaders took over parts of Greece and built castles there.
Then in 1453 Greece was taken over by the Turks
and became part of the Ottoman Empire.
To find out more about Byzantine and Norman Greece, check out these books from Amazon.com or from your library:
A Short History of Byzantium, by John J. Norwich (reprinted 1998). A little sensationalist, but good information and not too long.
Modern Greece: A Short History, by C. M. Woodhouse (5th edition 2000). Starts with the 300's AD.
Medieval Greece by Sir Nicolas Cheetham (1981).
History
of the Byzantine State, by George Ostrogorsky (reprinted 1986). Old,
but still the standard full-length account.
