The resentment that formed between Emperor Sushun and the influential Soga clan leader Soga no Umako resulted in the assassination of the emperor in 593 AD. Although Sushun and his brothers who ruled before him belonged to the Soga clan, it was their uncle, Soga no Umako, who held the strings of power in the land. Sushun’s death left the throne vacant with only the former emperors’ half-sister Suiko (who also happened to be former emperor Bidatsu’s empress-consort) fit to rule. For Soga no Umako, she was perfect. These events led to Shotoku compiling Japanese history around the 6th century AD according to the Bible Timeline Poster with World History.
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Suiko acceded the throne in 593 AD and Soga no Umako also appointed Shotoku Taishi, the son of the former Emperor Yomei, as regent in the same year. The prince was one of the leading Buddhists among the Japanese nobility during the Asuka period and staunchly opposed Shintoism that was supported by the rival Mononobe clan. It seemed that Soga no Umako’s choice of coregent was a good one as Shotoku was an excellent administrator who helped Suiko maintain good diplomatic relations with Japan’s neighbors with his excellent foreign policies.
He established the Twelve Cap and Rank System in 603/4 AD wherein government officials were appointed not because they were born from a noble family, but promoted based on their virtues and merits. It was patterned after the Chinese-style government ranking wherein officials belonged to twelve levels named after virtues (sincerity, benevolence, justice), and distinguished by the color of the cap they wore (purple, yellow, white, blue). He also issued the Jushichijo no Kempo or Seventeen-Article Constitution in 604 AD. One of his greatest legacies was his compilation of the lives of the former emperors and early Japanese history (it was said that his compilation was later included in the Kojiki chronicle).
References:
Picture By Unknown – Japanese Painting Anthlogy, ed.et publ. by SINBI-SHOIN, TOKYO, 1941, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2584076
Brown, Delmer Myers. The Cambridge History of Japan. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 1993.
Louis-Frédéric, and Käthe Roth. Japan Encyclopedia. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2002.
“Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697/Book XIX.” – Wikisource, the Free Online Library. Accessed August 09, 2016. https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Nihongi:_Chronicles_of_Japan_from_the_Earliest_Times_to_A.D._697/Book_XIX.
“The Creed of Half Japan: Chapter XVIII. The Crown Prince Shōtoku Taishi.” The Creed of Half Japan: Chapter XVIII. The Crown Prince Shōtoku Taishi. Accessed August 09, 2016. http://www.sacred-texts.com/bud/chj/chj20.htm.
Empress Suiko Tenno (Heavenly Sovereign) was Japan’s first female empress and a member of the powerful Soga clan through her mother, Soga no Kitashihime. She was the daughter of Emperor Kimmei, and half-sister of the emperors Bidatsu, Yomei, and Sushun. She was also known as the Empress Toyomike Kashikiya hime no Mikoto, as well as Nakudabe in her childhood. According to the classical Japanese history chronicle Nihon Shoki, she was acclaimed as empress consort of Emperor Bidatsu at eighteen years old. But Bidatsu died after a reign of thirteen years, and he was followed by his half-brothers Yomei (reigned for two years) and Sushun (reigned for five years). Together, Empress Suiko and Emperor Bidatsu had seven sons. She is recorded on the Biblical Timeline Chart with World History between 593 – 628 AD.
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When Suiko was thirty-nine years old when the Soga clan leader Soga no Umako had the Emperor Sushun assassinated. This left the royal throne vacant which led the ministers to convince Suiko, the most qualified of the royal children, to claim the throne. She initially refused, but the ministers were adamant until she finally accepted the role of Empress in 593 AD. Prince Shotoku Taishi (Mŭmayado no Toyotomimi), the second child of Emperor Yomei, was acclaimed as Imperial Prince in the same year and appointed as regent, as well as chief administrator of the government.
Rise of Buddhism
“Empress Suiko”
Buddhism played a large part in Suiko’s youth after her father, Emperor Kimmei, accepted the gifts of the Baekje King Seong. During her first year as Empress, Suiko commissioned the construction of the Temple of Hokoji which was famed for having the relics of Buddha inside the foundation stone of one of its pagoda pillars. The popularity of Buddhism peaked during her reign and was marked by the increase of construction of Buddhist shrines as well as the arrival of Buddhist priests from the Korean peninsula. Two of the earliest arrivals were Hye-cha from Koryo and Hye-chong from Baekje. She allowed the Buddhist priests to live in the Temple of Hokoji. In 606 AD, Suiko commissioned for a 16-foot copper statue of Buddha to be installed inside the Golden Hall of the Gangoji Temple.
Three Kingdoms of Korea
The wars between the kingdoms of Silla, Baekje, and Imna (Gaya confederacy) still simmered during the reign of Suiko, but by 600 AD, Baekje had pretty much faded into the background and was on the verge of collapse. In the same year, a full-scale war flared up between the two remaining kingdoms. Imna was forced to ask Suiko for support against Silla. The Empress agreed to send some troops to the peninsula to help Imna defeat Silla. Both kingdoms sent tributes to Suiko after peace was established, but it would not last as they fought once again after Suiko recalled her generals from the peninsula.
Suiko was compelled to help out Imna in 602 AD, but this time, she decided to send her navy to Silla for an invasion. Preparations for an invasion were underway when Prince Kume, the general of the expedition, fell ill and died. Prince Tahema replaced him as the leader of the expedition, but his wife died on the way to Silla, an event which forced the navy to return to Japan. Empress Suiko canceled the expedition. She would not interfere with Silla-Imna affairs until 622 AD. She died after an illness in 628 AD at the age of 75 and was succeeded by Emperor Jomei as ruler of Japan.
Prince Shotoku Taishi as Coregent
Prince Shotoku Taishi proved to be a capable administrator for Empress Suiko and helped her improve diplomatic relations between Japan and its immediate neighbors. He sent ambassadors to China more than ten years after his appointment as coregent and established a government system based on the ancient Chinese meritocracy. In 604 AD, he issued the Seventeen-Article Constitution based on the values of the Yamato dynasty and established the emperor as the only one who held the highest authority in the land. He also wrote a chronicle of the history of past emperors in 620 AD but died in the following year in the Palace of Ikaruga.
Buddhism in Japan came by way of the Kingdom of Baekje (present-day South Korea). Buddhist monks had visited Japan before the sixth century AD. However, it was only during the tumultuous period of the wars between the Korean kingdoms of Baekje, Silla, and Goguryeo that Buddhism became Japan’s state religion. This occurred around 527 AD according to the Bible Timeline with World History.
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During the middle of the sixth century, King Seong of Baekje decided to retake the land in the Han river valley that once belonged to his kingdom but was conquered by Goguryeo many years back. He sent an offer of alliance to the king of Silla, as well as the Gaya confederacy, to help him wrest the valley from the kingdom of Goguryeo. The leaders of the two kingdoms agreed to help the Baekje army drive out the Goguryeo troops, but the king of Silla betrayed King Seong and switched sides to the king of Goguryeo. They drove the king of Baekje and his troops out of the Han river basin and occupied the area themselves.
Enraged that his plan had backfired and his efforts came to nothing, the king of Baekje reconsidered his strategy. He already made an alliance with the Southern Liang, as well as the Eastern and Western Wei dynasties of China, but he needed a powerful ally in the distant east to counter Silla and Goguryeo. To this end, he prepared gifts—a golden statue of Buddha and some Buddhist texts—and sent them to the Yamato ruler in Japan (then called the land of Wa); these gifts arrived in 552 AD.
“Rock cut seated Buddha statue”
Kimmei, the Tennō or Heavenly Sovereign of the Yamato polity, called together the clan leaders who were under his rule to discuss whether he should accept the gifts from Baekje or not. Some clan leaders opposed the acceptance of the gifts because they were suspicious of any foreign influence especially on their religion, but the leader of the Soga clan convinced Kimmei to accept the gifts. Kimmei accepted the gifts King Seong sent to him and in return, he sent some troops to help the King of Baekje. However, the offensive King Seong launched with the help of the Japanese troops ended only in disaster; he was killed in battle against King Chinhung of Silla who then conquered a large tract of Baekje territory to enlarge his own.
News of the disastrous battle in the Korean peninsula reached Japan which made the Tennō reconsider his earlier decision of accepting the gifts sent by the unfortunate king of Baekje. He regretted his decision later when an epidemic swept the capital, a sign that he took as the old gods’ punishment for his acceptance of Buddhism. Fearful of the gods’ wrath upon the land, Kimmei had the statue of Buddha thrown into a canal and ordered the destruction of the Buddhist temple. But his efforts to stop Buddhism from spreading in Japan were too late; many people had already adopted the teachings of Buddha although Shintoism was still widely practiced.
Prince Shotoku and Buddhism as State Religion
Japan descended into a brief, tumultuous period when the Soga clan leader Soga no Umako had the emperor—and his nephew—Sushun assassinated. Emperors Kimmei, Bidatsu, and Yomei were long dead by then, and no one else was fit to rule Japan at that time. He convinced Kimmei’s daughter and Bidatsu’s widow, Princess Suiko, to accede the throne now that Emperor Sushun was dead. Hesitant at first, Suiko eventually accepted the offer but Sugo no Umako also appointed emperor Yomei’s son, Prince Shotoku Taishi, as coregent.
Prince Shotoku was famous for his capable administration of the land, sound foreign policies, and reorganization of the government appointment system from inheritance to meritocracy. He also issued Japan’s Seventeen-Article Constitution (Jushichijo no Kempo) and was known as one of Japan’s first statesmen. Shotoku Taishi and Suiko Tenno were both devout Buddhists, but the prince was credited as the one who made Buddhism the state religion in 594 AD—a year after he was proclaimed as coregent. The construction of Buddhist shrines all over the Yamato polity and the arrival of Buddhist priests from the Korean peninsula continued to increase during the joint rule of Empress Suiko and Imperial Prince Shotoku Taishi.
The Roman empire was no longer influential by the time Justinian was crowned as emperor of the Byzantines in 527 AD, but Rome’s former rulers left behind many laws that the Eastern emperors used to govern their people. These laws were often contradictory and/or outdated, so in 529 AD, Emperor Justinian decided these laws needed an update. He assembled a committee composed of ten men (decemvirs) who helped him put together the laws passed down from the time of Emperor Hadrian to the reign of his uncle, Emperor Justin I, into an easily understandable code. Their task also included the revision of the laws that were contradictory and the elimination of some that were deemed outdated. The Justinian Code was established during the 5th century AD according to the Bible Timeline with World History.
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The committee was led by the Praetorian Prefect John of Cappadocia and supervised by Tribonian, a renowned Roman jurist. They used three earlier compilations of the laws set by the former emperors which included the Codex Theodosianus, Codex Gregorianus, and Codex Hermogenianus. It had taken four years before the committee released the first part of the revised set of laws that made up the Justinian Code (Corpus Iurus Civilis or Body of Civil Law). It consisted of four parts: the Digesta or the Digest (released in 533 AD), the Codex or the Code (534 AD), the Institutiones or Institutes (535 AD), and the Novellae or Novella (556 AD).
The Digest was a compilation and summary of the writings on the law of the classical Roman jurists, while the Code was an outline of the empire’s laws and other proclamations. The smallest of these was the summary of the Digest, the Institutes, and all of these were updated twenty later with the Novella which included new laws set out by Emperor Justinian.
Emperor Leo III was born in the city of Germanicea in the kingdom of Commagene (present-day southern Turkey) sometime around 685 AD. His original name was Konon, and he grew up in Thrace after his parents were resettled there from their native homeland in the Mount Taurus region. He entered military service under Justinian II and rapidly rose through the ranks over the years. Leo was familiar with the Muslim threat when he was sent to the regions of Lazica and Alania (in modern Georgia) to lead the defense against the Umayyad invasion under Caliph Al-Walid I. Leo III is recorded on the Bible Timeline Chart with World History around 741 AD.
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He became the strategos (general) of the Anatolic theme (province) during the reign of Emperor Anastasios II between 713 AD and 715 AD. Anastasios abdicated in favor of Theodosius III in 715 after a two-year stint as the Byzantine emperor. Leo III conspired with the Armenian general Artabasdos in a coup against Theodosius. From the start, the former emperor was only compelled to fulfill the role of Byzantine ruler. Theodosius was just happy to enter a monastery after the success of Leo’s coup. In return for his support, Leo had his daughter marry Artabasdos and promoted him as the commander of the Opsikion theme.
Second Siege of Constantinople
Emperor Leo III started his reign on the 25th of May in 717 AD. He had no time to waste as the Umayyad navy threatened Constantinople with another invasion (the first siege of Constantinople in 674 AD ended in failure in 678 AD). Leo only had months to prepare the Byzantine navy and army for the invasion before the enemy fleet, led by caliph Sulayman, sailed to the Sea of Marmara. By the time Sulayman’s fleet arrived in the Sea of Marmara on the first of September in 717, an Umayyad army composed of 80,000 men marched from the Middle East to Asia Minor to help them take Constantinople.
“19th-century Italian painting, The Iconoclasts”
The Byzantines first used the “Greek fire” during the First Siege of Constantinople. They used the flamethrower once again during the second Umayyad invasion. It was effective; the result was a massive loss of ships and men on the Umayyad side. Leo was also a good strategist. He removed the chain that guarded the Golden Horn so that the enemy would think that he intended to lure them inside and trap them. The ruse worked, and it forced the enemy ships to sail away to a nearby inlet to take refuge.
The descent of a harsh winter in 717 AD lessened the chances of success of the Umayyad navy and army who were not used to the bitter cold. Admiral Sulayman fell sick and died in the same year; he was then hastily replaced by another admiral from Egypt who brought with him a shipment of additional men, food, and weapons. Among those who came with the new navy were Egyptian Christians who jumped ship the moment they arrived near Constantinople and switched sides to Leo III. They passed on information to the Byzantine emperor who used this to raid the Egyptian ships for food and weapons.
The Byzantines called on their Bulgar allies during the last few months of the siege in 718 AD, and together they attacked the enemy which resulted in a loss of about 20,000 on the Muslim side. The new Umayyad caliph Umar II saw that it was useless to continue the siege and agreed to sign a peace treaty with Leo III. He then recalled his men from the Sea of Marmara on August 15, 718 AD. Only five ships returned to the shores of the Levant after a storm destroyed them on the way. Many were also destroyed by a volcano eruption in the Aegean or captured by the Byzantines.
The Muslim army continued to harass the Byzantines on land in the years that followed. They took Cappadocia and besieged Nicaea in 724 AD. Leo faced a bigger Muslim invasion during the last years of his reign as emperor when a 90,000-strong Muslim army invaded much of Asia Minor and took their Byzantine captives to Syria. The emperor, with his son Constantine and their troops, later drove them back to the Levant.
Rebellions and Iconoclasm
Rebellions hounded Emperor Leo in the early years of his reign, with the first one led by a man named Artemius on the island of Sicily. The rebellion happened during the Second Siege of Constantinople, but Leo sent troops to Sicily to quash the revolt when he had a small break from the naval battles with the Muslims. The former Emperor Anastasios II also decided to return to Constantinople and rallied his allies in 719 AD to seize the throne. But the Bulgars who joined his cause abandoned Anastasios during an important battle. He was captured by Leo who later had him executed.
Emperor Leo’s greatest challenge was the prohibition he imposed on the worship of idols after the Second Siege of Constantinople. During the siege, Patriarch Germanos paraded an icon of the Virgin Mary and Child Jesus around the city which made the people believe that it was the icon that helped lift the invasion. Insulted that he was not properly credited as the one who led the successful defense of the city, Leo promptly had the icons all over the Byzantine Empire removed or destroyed. The eruption of the underwater volcano near the island of Thera (which he took as a sign of God’s wrath) and the Muslims’ prohibition of the worship of idols also pushed him to issue this edict.
The first “victim” of Leo’s iconoclasm was the icon of Christ that decorated the Bronze Gate (Chalke) of the Great Palace in Constantinople. He ordered the soldiers to remove it from its usual place. This enraged the crowd that gathered in front of the palace, and a riot subsequently flared up in the city that resulted in the death of one soldier. The members of the mob that committed the riot were arrested and fined. Leo ordered more icons all over the empire to be removed and destroyed. He had a falling out with Pope Gregory II over this issue which resulted in his excommunication; in addition, the edict was not received very well and rejected as blasphemy in many parts of his own empire.
Legacy
Leo was one of the most energetic Byzantine emperors who ruled during a very chaotic period. His army was one of the most disciplined and effective during the early Middle Ages. During his reign, he reformed the justice system and released a handbook called Ecloga which was a summary of laws issued by the former emperors. The book was published in 740 AD and covered diverse topics such as marriage, divorce, inheritance, maritime laws, and agriculture. He did not expand the empire, but he did keep what remained of the Byzantine territories intact during his reign.
He had four children by his wife Maria and one of them, Constantine, succeeded him as emperor. Leo reigned for a total of twenty-four years and died on June 18, 741 AD after an illness.
Andrew was one of Jesus’ first disciples. Unlike his brother Simon Peter, the readers of the Bible know so little of him. He became an apostle in Matthew 10 and remained as one of the Twelve even after the Lord’s death. It was said that he wrote the apocryphal text of the Acts of Andrew, and preached in the cities of Kiev and Novgorod. He was later crucified on an X-shaped cross or ‘saltire’ in the Greek city of Patras.
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Andrew and his older brother Simon Peter were born in Bethsaida (John 1:44). Both men worked as fishermen, and Jesus called them as his disciples just as they had cast their net into the sea (Matthew 4:18; Mark 1:16). John 1:40 offered a different version of Andrew’s calling as a disciple when he wrote that Andrew first found and followed Jesus. John also wrote that it was Andrew himself who led his brother Simon to Jesus.
“Andrew the Apostle”
Andrew’s name appeared on the list of disciples on all Synoptic Gospels (Matt. 10:2; Mark 3:18; Luke 6:14). He was also present during one of Jesus’ most important sermons on the Mount of Olives about the signs of the end of age (Mark 13:3). It was Andrew who brought the boy with five loaves of bread and two fish to Jesus during the feeding of the five thousand (John 6:8). All twelve disciples were present during the Last Supper, but unlike the others, Andrew would only be mentioned once again in the Book of Acts (1:13).
Andrew’s Life After Jesus
Church historians filled in the gaps of Andrew’s life after the death of Jesus. Eusebius of Caesarea wrote that he went to preach in Scythia and that he later wrote the book of Acts of Andrew. He travelled further north and preached in the cities of Kiev and Novgorod. He also preached in Thrace, and later travelled south to Achaea in Greece where he was crucified on an X-shaped cross. His relics remained at the Saint Andrew of Patras Cathedral in Achaea. He is honored as the patron saint of Scotland, Russia, Ukraine, Cyprus, and Romania.
His feast day is held on the 30th of November. This day is also celebrated by Scotland as its National Day, and by Romania as the official Saint Andrew’s Day.
The Byzantine Empire was one of the longest-running empires in history and its influence on religion, as well as the arts, reached even into the most distant parts of its dominion. When Constantine the Great first established Constantinople as his capital in 330 AD, he also brought to the city his new-found religion: Christianity. It flourished in Constantinople and soon, numerous churches were built left and right to accommodate the increasing number of new converts to Christianity. The finest examples of Byzantine-style churches were mostly built during the time of the Emperor Justinian and included the Hagia Sophia, Hagia Irene, and Little Hagia Sophia (Church of Saints Sergius and Bacchus). Byzantine-influenced churches can also be found in Italy, Greece, Egypt, Armenia, and the Middle East. The worship of idols was later forbidden around 726 AD according to the Biblical Timeline Chart with World History.
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These churches hosted a number of magnificent decorations, such as mosaics and icons, which early Christians used during prayers, meditations, and mass. The icons, which came from the Greek word eikon and means “images,” were depictions of the divine and for the medieval Christians. These icons offered a way to the spiritual world. Byzantine artists frequently depicted Christ, the Virgin Mary, and numerous saints with common themes such as the Nativity, Christ’s crucifixion, and life (as well as death) of the Saints dominated the church art scene. Many medieval Christians worshiped the icons and attributed to them healing powers.
These icons were portrayed in different media such as wooden panels, gems, mosaic, ivory, and frescoes. Some were for personal use (such as icons used as jewelry) and framed wooden panels with tempera or encaustic paints; while some, such as mosaics and frescoes in churches, were for public use.
Emperor Leo III and Iconoclasm
The Byzantine Emperor Leo III authorized the widespread state-sanctioned iconoclasm (image breaking) years after the end of the Second Siege of Constantinople. The Hodogetria, an icon of the Virgin Mary holding the Infant Jesus, was paraded around the city by the Patriarch Germanos during the Arab invasion and was credited by the people like the one that helped lift the siege. As the man who led the defense of Constantinople, Emperor Leo was understandably annoyed by this, and he attempted to get rid of the people’s reliance on the icons in 726 AD.
An example of the Hodogetria, an icon of the Virgin Mary holding the Infant Jesus.
One of the first casualties of the iconoclasm was Christ’s icon that was hung on the Great Palace’s Bronze Gate (Chalke Gate). Emperor Leo sent a group of soldiers to remove the icon, but a bewildered crowd attacked them and left one of the soldiers dead during the altercation. As punishment, the emperor had the mob arrested and fined, while some were tortured for the death of the soldier. The iconoclasm continued and spread to Greece where the people revolted when they learned of Leo’s decree, but the rebellion was immediately quashed. It had, however, already divided the people into two sides: the iconoclasts (icon-breakers) and the iconodules (those who favor icons).
The iconoclasm Emperor Leo started also reached Rome and his attempt at changing one of the church doctrines deeply angered Pope Gregory II. The pope sent a dismissive letter to the Byzantine emperor and admonished him to stop meddling in church doctrine. This issue further drove a wedge between Italy and the Eastern Empire, and when Gregory II died, his successor, Pope Gregory III, excommunicated the iconoclasts in 731 AD. Iconoclasm continued in the East, while Italy ignored Leo’s decree and continued the production of icons all throughout the Middle Ages. When Leo died in 741 AD his son and successor, Constantine V, became more iconoclastic than his father was.
The former Roman provinces of the Levant, Egypt, North Africa, and Hispania quickly fell to the Arabs during the middle of the seventh century. The Byzantines proved to be more resilient and clever in their defense of their capital during the Umayyad invasion. Their use of the “Greek fire” destroyed the majority of the Umayyad navy and the Muslim warriors, led by Caliph Mu’awiyah, retreated after he was forced to sign a peace treaty with the Byzantines. The annual tribute the Byzantines required from the Arabs in exchange for peace discouraged them from attempts for reconquests for many years. It took another 39 years after the First Siege of Constantinople (674-678 AD) before the Arabs made another attempt to conquer the city. The repulse of the Arabs is recorded on the Biblical Timeline with World History at 717 AD.
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Two men were at the forefront of the fight for Constantinople: Emperor Leo III and the new Umayyad caliph Suleiman. Emperor Leo anticipated the arrival of the Arabs early in his reign and ordered for the preparation of Constantinople’s defenses months before the first Muslims ships sailed through the Dardanelles. The new Arab navy was under the command of caliph Suleiman who supplemented his sailors with as much as eighty thousand land troops who marched through Asia Minor from the Middle East to help him conquer Constantinople.
The siege on Constantinople
Emperor Leo took a cue from Constantine IV who fought the same enemy years before and used the “Greek fire” against the Arab navy; once again, the ancient flamethrower set many of their ships on fire and drowned many of their sailors. The weather also helped the Byzantines when the wind fanned the flames of the “Greek fire” and a harsh winter descended on the Sea of Marmara. Suleiman, unused to the bitter cold, died when winter set in and he was replaced by his cousin, Umar II, who then sent a new admiral from Egypt to continue the attacks.
Men from both sides died during the siege of Constantinople, but the Arabs suffered more casualties which compelled caliph Umar to stop and recall his men. All hostilities officially ended on August 15, 718. The Arab navy, as well as the overland troops, limped back home. Constantinople would remain unconquered for another nine hundred years until the rise of the Ottomans.
In a world that is full of tragedy and uncertainties, what is there to be thankful for?
For the Pilgrims who sailed from England to the New World aboard the ship Mayflower, there was a lot to be grateful for when they first landed in New England nearly four-hundred years ago. They were thankful for their safe landing on the shores of America after a dangerous voyage across the Atlantic. It was then followed by their survival from the harsh winter in their new homeland with the help of a Native American named Squanto and an allied tribe. When November 1621 arrived, those who survived celebrated the “First Thanksgiving” for God’s providence and benevolence with new friends.
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But the act of thanksgiving (or its offering and celebration) can also be traced back to the ancient Israelites right after their exodus from Egypt when they first started to craft laws and introduced punishments and rewards for their people. These were not ordinary laws as they were given by God through Moses. These laws also included something unique to the Hebrew culture called the todah or the thanksgiving offering. The todah (or specifically korban todah) means thanksgiving offering, but it can also be an act of confession, sacrifice, and even praise to God in some Biblical passages. Verses related to the act of todah or thanksgiving offering can be found from the book of Leviticus to the book of Jonah, but it was first mentioned in Leviticus 7:12-15.
“The Embarkation of the Pilgrims (1857) by American painter Robert Walter Weir “
12 If he offers it for a thanksgiving, then he shall offer with the thanksgiving sacrifice unleavened loaves mixed with oil, unleavened wafers smeared with oil, and loaves of fine flour well mixed with oil. 13 With the sacrifice of his peace offerings for thanksgiving he shall bring his offering with loaves of leavened bread. 14 And from it he shall offer one loaf from each offering, as a gift to the Lord. It shall belong to the priest who throws the blood of the peace offerings. 15 And the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offerings for thanksgiving shall be eaten on the day of his offering. He shall not leave any of it until the morning. -Leviticus 7:12-15
For the Hebrew sages, Psalm 107 offered a glimpse of some events that deserved the thanksgiving offering which included:
* The safe arrival of a person who went on a dangerous journey across a desert.
* The safe arrival of a person’s journey across the sea.
* The freedom of those who were captured or imprisoned.
* The deliverance of those who rebelled but were later remorseful.
These were some of the many examples in the Bible. Throughout the book of Psalms, the psalmists found many instances worthy of thanksgiving offering that went beyond the occasional ones laid out in Leviticus 7. Today’s world offers an uncertain future, but the practice of todah or thanksgiving offering anchors us in God’s love and reminds us that gratitude can be practiced every day.
References:
Picture By Robert Walter Weir – PwHe6-AEvwmbIw at Google Cultural Institute maximum zoom level, Public Domain, Link
“8426. (todah) — Thanksgiving.” Bible Hub. Accessed November 09, 2016. http://biblehub.com/hebrew/8426.htm.
“History of Thanksgiving.” History.com. 2009. Accessed November 09, 2016. http://www.history.com/topics/thanksgiving/history-of-thanksgiving.
Travis, Rabbi Daniel. “Tefilah: Praying With Joy.” Torah.org. Accessed November 09, 2016. http://torah.org/learning/tefilah-korbantodah/.
The Arab Muslims conquered vast swaths of territory during the middle of the seventh century and well into the early eighth century. As early 638 AD, they wrested large parts of Palestine, Syria (Shams), and Mesopotamia from Byzantine and Persian hands. Egypt, North Africa, and Hispania soon followed with the first two provinces taken from the Byzantines and the last from the Visigoths. One jewel that remained out of the Arab Muslims’ reach, however, was the prosperous yet sometimes chaotic capital of the Byzantines: Constantinople. The Arab’s many attacks occured around 668 AD according to the Bible Timeline with World History.
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The Muslims’ first attempt to conquer the great city in 674 AD and the series of naval attacks lasted until 678 AD. The hard task of keeping the city safe from any attempts to breach it fell on Constantine IV, the son of the unpopular Constans II, who came to the throne in 668 AD. The man on the other side was the Umayyad caliph Mu’awiya who started his reign in 661 AD and assembled a navy to counter the Byzantines. He led the Muslim navy in expeditions to Cyprus, Rhodes, Kos, as well the coastal town of Kyzikos by the Sea of Marmara and established a base there as early as 670 AD. It was too close for comfort for the Byzantines, and when he saw that an attack was on the horizon, Constantine prepared the Byzantine navy to defend the city.
“Depiction of the use of Greek fire “
Constantine’s preparation proved to be a wise move as the Arab fleet led by Mu’awiyah sailed for Constantinople four years later. The Arab navy first attacked in spring of 674 but the Byzantines proved to be successful in their defense of Constantinople, and the Arab navy was forced to return to Kyzikos to spend winter there. They made another attempt in spring of the following year but were repelled by the Byzantine’s use of the ancient flamethrower they called the “Greek fire” which burned Arab ships and drowned their sailors.
The cycle of attack and retreat carried on for four years until Mu’awiya agreed to a peace treaty with Constantine IV. The Umayyad caliph was forced to pay a hefty annual tribute to the Byzantines, as well as agreed to leave the naval bases they constructed on the Byzantine islands earlier. The temporary peace allowed Constantine IV to focus on the neighboring Slavs and the Bulgars.
References:
Picture By Unknown – Codex Skylitzes Matritensis, Bibliteca Nacional de Madrid, Vitr. 26-2, Bild-Nr. 77, f 34 v. b. (taken from Pászthory, p. 31), Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=302463
Shepard, Jonathan, ed. The Cambridge History of the Byzantine Empire. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008.
Theophanes, and Harry Turtledove. The Chronicle of Theophanes: An English Translation of Anni Mundi 6095-6305 (A.D. 602-813). Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1982.
