vania-janet/multiturn-rag-retrieval-data huggingface dataset:
History of the Roman Empire
Diocletian secured the empire 's borders and purged it of all threats to his power . He defeated the Sarmatians and Carpi during several campaigns between 285 and 299 , the Alamanni in 288 , and usurpers in Egypt between 297 and 298 . Galerius , aided by Diocletian , campaigned successfully against Sassanid Persia , the empire 's traditional enemy . In 299 he sacked their capital , Ctesiphon . Diocletian led the subsequent negotiations and achieved a lasting and favorable peace . Diocletian separated and enlarged the empire 's civil and military services and reorganized the empire 's provincial divisions , establishing the largest and most bureaucratic government in the history of the empire . He established new administrative centers in Nicomedia , Mediolanum , Antioch , and Trier , closer to the empire 's frontiers than the traditional capital at Rome had been . Building on third - century trends towards absolutism , he styled himself an autocrat , elevating himself above the empire 's masses with imposing forms of court ceremonies and architecture . Bureaucratic and military growth , constant campaigning , and construction projects increased the state 's expenditures and necessitated a comprehensive tax reform . From at least 297 on , imperial taxation was standardized , made more equitable , and levied at generally higher rates .
Fall of the Western Roman Empire
In 475 , Orestes , a former secretary of Attila , drove Julius Nepos out of Ravenna and proclaimed his own son Flavius Momyllus Romulus Augustus ( Romulus Augustulus ) to be Emperor , on October 31 . His surname ' Augustus ' was given the diminutive form ' Augustulus ' by rivals because he was still a minor , and he was never recognized outside of Italy as a legitimate ruler .
Camel
In the East Roman Empire , the Romans used auxiliary forces known as dromedarii , whom they recruited in desert provinces . The camels were used mostly in combat because of their ability to scare off horses at close ranges ( horses are afraid of the camels ' scent ) , a quality famously employed by the Achaemenid Persians when fighting Lydia in the Battle of Thymbra . 19th
History of the Roman Empire
In 212 , during the reign of Caracalla , Roman citizenship was granted to all freeborn inhabitants of the Empire . But despite this gesture of universality , the Severan dynasty was tumultuous -- an emperor 's reign was ended routinely by his murder or execution -- and following its collapse , the Roman Empire was engulfed by the Crisis of the Third Century , a period of invasions , civil strife , economic disorder , and plague . In defining historical epochs , this crisis is typically viewed as marking the start of the Late Roman Empire , and also the transition from Classical Antiquity to Late Antiquity . Diocletian ( reigned 284 -- 305 ) brought the Empire back from the brink , but declined the role of princeps and became the first emperor to be addressed regularly as domine , `` master '' or `` lord '' . This marked the end of the Principate , and the beginning of the Dominate . Diocletian 's reign also brought the Empire 's most concerted effort against the perceived threat of Christianity , the `` Great Persecution '' . The state of absolute monarchy that began with Diocletian endured until the fall of the Eastern Roman Empire in 1453 .
Libya
The decline of the Roman Empire saw the classical cities fall into ruin , a process hastened by the Vandals ' destructive sweep through North Africa in the 5th century . When the Empire returned ( now as East Romans ) as part of Justinian 's reconquests of the 6th century , efforts were made to strengthen the old cities , but it was only a last gasp before they collapsed into disuse . Cyrenaica , which had remained an outpost of the Byzantine Empire during the Vandal period , also took on the characteristics of an armed camp . Unpopular Byzantine governors imposed burdensome taxation to meet military costs , while the towns and public services -- including the water system -- were left to decay . By the beginning of the 7th century , Byzantine control over the region was weak , Berber rebellions were becoming more frequent , and there was little to oppose Muslim invasion .
Eastern Orthodox Church
Due to the influence of the Roman Catholic Church in the west , where the English language itself developed , the words `` catholic '' and `` catholicity '' are sometimes used to refer to that church specifically . However , the more prominent dictionary sense given for general use is still the one shared by other languages , implying breadth and universality , reflecting comprehensive scope . In a Christian context , the Church , as identified with the original Church founded by Christ and His apostles , is said to be catholic ( or universal ) in regard to its union with Christ in faith . Just as Christ is indivisible , so are union with Him and faith in Him , whereby the Church is `` universal '' , unseparated , and comprehensive , including all who share that faith . Orthodox Bishop Kallistos Ware has called that `` simple Christianity '' . That is the sense of early and patristic usage wherein the Church usually refers to itself as the `` Catholic Church '' , whose faith is the `` Orthodox faith '' . It is also the sense within the phrase `` One , Holy , Catholic , and Apostolic Church '' , found in the Nicene Creed , and referred to in Orthodox worship , e.g. in the litany of the catechumens in the divine liturgy .
Eastern Orthodox Church
The term ' icon ' comes from the Greek word eikon , which simply means image . The Eastern Orthodox believe that the first icons of Christ and the Virgin Mary were painted by Luke the Evangelist . Icons are filled with symbolism designed to convey information about the person or event depicted . For this reason , icons tend to be formulaic , following a prescribed methodology for how a particular person should be depicted , including hair style , body position , clothing , and background details .
History of the Roman Empire
The election of Valens was soon disputed . Procopius , a Cilician maternal cousin of Julian , had been considered a likely heir to his cousin but was never designated as such . He had been in hiding since the election of Jovian . In 365 , while Valentinian was at Paris and then at Rheims to direct the operations of his generals against the Alamanni , Procopius managed to bribe two legions assigned to Constantinople and take control of the Eastern Roman capital . He was proclaimed Augustus on September 28 and soon extended his control to both Thrace and Bithynia . War between the two rival Eastern Roman Emperors continued until Procopius was defeated . Valens had him executed on May 27 , 366 .
Balkans
The earliest mention of the name appears in an early 14th - century Arab map , in which the Haemus mountains are referred to as Balkan . The first attested time the name `` Balkan '' was used in the West for the mountain range in Bulgaria was in a letter sent in 1490 to Pope Innocent VIII by Buonaccorsi Callimaco , an Italian humanist , writer and diplomat . The Ottomans first mention it in a document dated from 1565 . There has been no other documented usage of the word to refer to the region before that , although other Turkic tribes had already settled in or were passing through the Peninsula . There is also a claim about an earlier Bulgar Turkic origin of the word popular in Bulgaria , however it is only an unscholarly assertion . The word was used by the Ottomans in Rumelia in its general meaning of mountain , as in Kod̲j̲a - Balkan , Čatal - Balkan , and Ungurus - Balkani̊ , but especially it was applied to the Haemus mountain . The name is still preserved in Central Asia with the Balkan Daglary ( Balkan Mountains ) and the Balkan Province of Turkmenistan . English traveler John Morritt introduced this term into the English literature at the end of the 18th - century , and other authors started applying the name to the wider area between the Adriatic and the Black Sea . The concept of the `` Balkans '' was created by the German geographer August Zeune in 1808 . During the 1820s , `` Balkan became the preferred although not yet exclusive term alongside Haemus among British travelers ... Among Russian travelers not so burdened by classical toponymy , Balkan was the preferred term . ''
Eastern Orthodox Church
In the 9th and 10th centuries , Christianity made great inroads into pagan Europe , including Kievan Rus ' . This work was made possible by the work of the Byzantine - era saints Cyril and Methodius . When king Rastislav of Moravia asked Byzantium for teachers who could minister to the Moravians in their own language , Byzantine emperor Michael III chose these two brothers . Cyril and Methodius translated the Bible and many of the prayer books . As the translations prepared by them were copied by speakers of other dialects , the hybrid literary language Old Church Slavonic was created . Originally sent to convert the Slavs of Great Moravia , Cyril and Methodius were forced to compete with Frankish missionaries from the Roman diocese . Their disciples were driven out of Great Moravia in AD 886 . The
Western Roman Empire
Though the Empire had seen periods with more than one Emperor ruling jointly before , the view that it was impossible for a single emperor to govern the entire Empire was established by Emperor Diocletian following the disastrous civil wars and disintegrations of the Crisis of the 3rd century . His ideas were instituted in Roman law by the introduction of the Tetrarchy in AD 286 , which divided the position of Augustus ( Emperor ) into two ; one in the East and one in the West , each with an appointed Caesar ( junior Emperor and designated successor ) . Though the tetrarchic system would collapse in a matter of years , the East - West geographical administrative division would endure in one form or another for centuries to come . As such , the Western Roman Empire would exist intermittently in several periods between the 3rd and 5th centuries . Though some emperors , such as Constantine I and Theodosius I , would manage to rise to the position of Augustus in both halves and as such reunify the Empire , it would often divide again upon their deaths . After the death of Theodosius I in AD 395 , the Empire was divided between his sons after which it would never again be unified . Eighty - five years later , in 480 , following various invasions and the collapse of central control in the West , Zeno of the Eastern Empire recognized the reality of the Western Empire 's reduced domain -- effective central control had ceased to exist even in the Italian Peninsula after the depositions of Julius Nepos and Romulus Augustulus -- and therefore abolished the Western court and proclaimed himself the sole emperor of the Roman Empire .
Fall of the Western Roman Empire
The new supreme rulers disposed of the legal fiction of the early Empire ( seeing the emperor as but the first among equals ) ; emperors from Aurelian ( reigned 270 -- 275 ) onwards openly styled themselves as dominus et deus , `` lord and god '' , titles appropriate for a master - slave relationship . An elaborate court ceremonial developed , and obsequious flattery became the order of the day . Under Diocletian , the flow of direct requests to the emperor rapidly reduced and soon ceased altogether . No other form of direct access replaced them , and the emperor received only information filtered through his courtiers .
Fall of the Western Roman Empire
Aurelian reunited the empire in 274 ; and from 284 Diocletian and his successors reorganized it with more emphasis on the military . John the Lydian , writing over two centuries later , reported that Diocletian 's army at one point totaled 389,704 men , plus 45,562 in the fleets , and numbers may have increased later . With the limited communications of the time , both the European and the Eastern frontiers needed the attention of their own supreme commanders . Diocletian tried to solve this problem by re-establishing an adoptive succession with a senior ( Augustus ) and junior ( Caesar ) emperor in each half of the Empire , but this system of tetrarchy broke down within one generation ; the hereditary principle re-established itself with generally unfortunate results , and thereafter civil war became again the main method of establishing new imperial regimes . Although Constantine the Great ( in office 306 to 337 ) again re-united the Empire , towards the end of the fourth century the need for division was generally accepted . From then on , the Empire existed in constant tension between the need for two emperors and their mutual mistrust .
Fall of the Western Roman Empire
Without an authoritative ruler , the Balkan provinces fell rapidly into disorder . Alaric was disappointed in his hopes for promotion to magister militum after the battle of the Frigidus . He again led Gothic tribesmen in arms and established himself as an independent power , burning the countryside as far as the walls of Constantinople . Alaric 's ambitions for long - term Roman office were never quite acceptable to the Roman imperial courts , and his men could never settle long enough to farm in any one area . They showed no inclination to leave the Empire and face the Huns from whom they had fled in 376 ; indeed the Huns were still stirring up further migrations which often ended by attacking Rome in turn . Alaric 's group was never destroyed nor expelled from the Empire , nor acculturated under effective Roman domination .
Western Roman Empire
Constantius II was proclaimed caesar in 334 , and became Eastern Emperor in 337 , after the death of Constantine I. After Constans was killed by the usurper Magnentius , Constantius laid claim to the Western Empire , and after defeating Magnentius in 351 , took possession of it , becoming sole emperor . Constantius II died in 361 , of a violent fever .
Western Roman Empire
Honorius ' death in 423 was followed by turmoil until the Eastern Roman government with the force of arms installed Valentinian III as Western Emperor in Ravenna , with Galla Placidia acting as regent during her son 's minority . Theodosius II , Eastern Emperor , had hesitated to announce the death of Honorius and in the ensuing interregnum , Joannes was nominated as Western Emperor . Joannes `` rule '' was short and the forces of the East successfully defeated and executed him in 425 .
Russian Orthodox Church
By the end of the first millennium AD , eastern Slavic lands started to come under the cultural influence of the Eastern Roman Empire . In 863 -- 69 , the Byzantine Greek monks Saint Cyril and Saint Methodius , both from Greek Macedonia , translated parts of the Bible into Old Church Slavonic language for the first time , paving the way for the Christianization of the Slavs and Slavicized peoples of Eastern Europe , the Balkans , Ukraine , and Southern Russia . There is evidence that the first Christian bishop was sent to Novgorod from Constantinople either by Patriarch Photius or Patriarch Ignatios , c. 866 -- 67 .
Fall of the Western Roman Empire
Alaric was again declared an enemy of the Emperor . The conspiracy then massacred the families of the federate troops ( as presumed supporters of Stilicho , although they had probably rebelled against him ) , and the troops defected en masse to Alaric . The conspirators seem to have let their main army disintegrate , and had no policy except hunting down supporters of Stilicho . Italy was left without effective indigenous defence forces thereafter . Heraclianus , a co-conspirator of Olympius , became governor of the Diocese of Africa , where he controlled the source of most of Italy 's grain , and he supplied food only in the interests of Honorius 's regime .
Fall of the Western Roman Empire
the troops , which had been sent against Genseric , were hastily recalled from Sicily ; the garrisons , on the side of Persia , were exhausted ; and a military force was collected in Europe , formidable by their arms and numbers , if the generals had understood the science of command , and the soldiers the duty of obedience . The armies of the Eastern empire were vanquished in three successive engagements ... From the Hellespont to Thermopylae , and the suburbs of Constantinople , ( Attila ) ravaged , without resistance , and without mercy , the provinces of Thrace and Macedonia .
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine economy was among the most advanced in Europe and the Mediterranean for many centuries . Europe , in particular , could not match Byzantine economic strength until late in the Middle Ages . Constantinople operated as a prime hub in a trading network that at various times extended across nearly all of Eurasia and North Africa , in particular as the primary western terminus of the famous Silk Road . Until the first half of the 6th century and in sharp contrast with the decaying West , the Byzantine economy was flourishing and resilient .
Byzantine Empire
Of the approximately two to three thousand volumes of Byzantine literature that survive , only 330 consist of secular poetry , history , science and pseudo-science . While the most flourishing period of the secular literature of Byzantium runs from the 9th to the 12th century , its religious literature ( sermons , liturgical books and poetry , theology , devotional treatises , etc . ) developed much earlier with Romanos the Melodist being its most prominent representative .
Byzantine Empire
In the early years of Basil I 's reign , Arab raids on the coasts of Dalmatia were successfully repelled , and the region once again came under secure Byzantine control . This enabled Byzantine missionaries to penetrate to the interior and convert the Serbs and the principalities of modern - day Herzegovina and Montenegro to Orthodox Christianity . An attempt to retake Malta ended disastrously , however , when the local population sided with the Arabs and massacred the Byzantine garrison .
History of the Catholic Church
In 380 , mainstream Christianity -- as opposed to Arianism -- became the official religion of the Roman Empire . Christianity became more associated with the Empire , resulting in persecution for Christians living outside of the empire , as their rulers feared Christians would revolt in favor of the Emperor . In 385 , this new legal authority of the Church resulted in the first use of capital punishment being pronounced as a sentence upon a Christian ' heretic ' , namely Priscillian .
Ancient Greek architecture
The religion of ancient Greece was a form of nature worship that grew out of the beliefs of earlier cultures . However , unlike earlier cultures , man was no longer perceived as being threatened by nature , but as its sublime product . The natural elements were personified as gods of completely human form , and very human behaviour .
History of the Catholic Church
When Constantine became emperor of the Western Roman Empire in 312 , he attributed his victory to the Christian God . Many soldiers in his army were Christians , and his army was his base of power . With Licinius , ( Eastern Roman emperor ) , he issued the Edict of Milan which mandated toleration of all religions in the empire . The edict had little effect on the attitudes of the people . New laws were crafted to codify some Christian beliefs and practices . Constantine 's biggest effect on Christianity was his patronage . He gave large gifts of land and money to the Church and offered tax exemptions and other special legal status to Church property and personnel . These gifts and later ones combined to make the Church the largest landowner in the West by the 6th century . Many of these gifts were funded through severe taxation of pagan cults . Some pagan cults were forced to disband for lack of funds ; when this happened the Church took over the cult 's previous role of caring for the poor . In a reflection of their increased standing in the Empire , clergy began to adopt the dress of the royal household , including the cope .
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Eastern Orthodox Church , also known as the Orthodox Church , or officially as the Orthodox Catholic Church , is the second - largest Christian Church , with over 250 million members . As one of the oldest religious institutions in the world , it has played a prominent role in the history and culture of Eastern Europe , Greece ( including Anatolia ) , the Caucasus , and the Near East . A communion of autocephalous churches ( '' jurisdictions '' , or national churches ) , each typically governed by its own group of Bishops called a Holy Synod . The Church has no central doctrinal or governance authority analogous to the Roman Catholic Church 's pope ; however , the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople is recognised by all as primus inter pares ( `` First among equals '' ) of the bishops .
Fall of the Western Roman Empire
In 313 Constantine I declared official toleration of Christianity , followed over the ensuing decades by establishment of Christian orthodoxy and by official and private action against pagans and non-orthodox Christians . His successors generally continued this process , and Christianity became the religion of any ambitious civil official . Under Constantine the cities lost their revenue from local taxes , and under Constantius II ( r . 337 -- 361 ) their endowments of property . This worsened the existing difficulty in keeping the city councils up to strength , and the services provided by the cities were scamped or abandoned . Public building projects became fewer , more often repairs than new construction , and now provided at state expense rather than by local grandees wishing to consolidate long - term local influence . A further financial abuse was Constantius 's increased habit of granting to his immediate entourage the estates of persons condemned of treason and other capital charges ; this reduced future though not immediate income , and those close to the emperor gained a strong incentive to stimulate his suspicion of plots .
Byzantine Empire
In the early 9th century , Leo V reintroduced the policy of iconoclasm , but in 843 empress Theodora restored the veneration of icons with the help of Patriarch Methodios . Iconoclasm played a part in the further alienation of East from West , which worsened during the so - called Photian schism , when Pope Nicholas I challenged the elevation of Photios to the patriarchate .
Golden Horde
The Khan was married to Mary , illegitimate daughter of the Byzantine Emperor , securing the Byzantine - Mongol alliance after the defeat of Nogai . A report reached Western Europe that Toqta was highly favourable to the Christians . According to Muslim observers , however , Toqta remained an idol - worshiper ( Buddhism and Tengerism ) and showed favour to religious men of all faiths , though he preferred Muslims .
Crusades
Tolerance , trade , and political relationships between the Arabs and the Christian kingdoms waxed and waned . Pilgrimages by Catholics to sacred sites were permitted , Christian residents in Muslim territories were given Dhimmi status , legal rights , and legal protection . These Christians were allowed to maintain churches , and marriages between faiths were not uncommon . The various cultures and creeds coexisted and competed , but the status quo was disrupted by the western migration of the Turkish tribes . The 1071 victory over the Byzantine army at the Battle of Manzikert was once considered a pivotal event by historians but is now regarded as only one further step in the expansion of the Great Seljuk Empire into Anatolia . Though Catholic pilgrims and merchants reported that the frontier conditions between the Syrian ports and Jerusalem became increasingly inhospitable .