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 […]
Kat Cendana
Empress Suiko
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 […]
Buddhism Becomes Japan’s State Religion
Arrival of Buddhism in the Yamato Polity 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 […]
Justinian Code (Corpus Juris Civil)
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 These laws were often contradictory and/or outdated, so in 529 AD, Emperor Justinian decided these laws needed […]
Leo III
Early Life and Military Career 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 […]
Apostle Andrew
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, […]
Idols Forbidden, Worship of
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 […]
Arabs, Repulse of the
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 […]
Thanksgiving Offering (Mosaic Law)
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 […]
Arabs and Constantine IV, Attacks of the
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 […]