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Illuminated Gospel
Ethiopia (Lake Tana region), 14th century
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Rogers Fund, 1998
(1998.66)
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•• The late Byzantine period was a time of intensive
contact between the complex worlds
of Byzantium and Islam. Cultural interactions occurred at
many levels of society, especially among elites, merchants,
and the military. Travel between cities and larger towns, pilgrimage
sites, and monasteries linked Byzantine and Islamic cultures.
Many Christian communities remained in the Byzantine territories
taken over by Islamic powers—the Mamluks in Egypt and
Syria, the Seljuks in Anatolia, and ultimately the Ottoman Turks
with their conquest of Constantinople on Tuesday, May 29, 1453.
The Christians of these Islamic-controlled regions combined
decorative trends current in the art of their Islamic milieus
with their Christian, Byzantine artistic traditions; Muslim
artists used Christian art for inspiration as well. It is important
to note that the cultural influence of Byzantium did not wane
over the years in proportion to its lessening political power.
From Syria and Asia Minor to Egypt and Ethiopia, Christian buildings
and works of art continued be inspired by Byzantine traditions.
Byzantine iconography, combined with local styles and design,
can be found in eastern Christian manuscript painting as well
as wood carving
and textile production.
Themes in Late Byzantine Art
1. Introduction | 2. Peoples
of the Byzantine Sphere | 3. Visual
Expressions of the Faith | 4. The Byzantine Sphere and the
Islamic World | 5. The Byzantine Sphere and
the West
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