Research Document
Rewind
Introduction:
The purpose of this document is to present research that was performed as part of a fashion design project. I've been appointed to design a fashion design collection with some inspiration drawn from the Byzantine era in history. This research includes general information about the era, analysis of the clothing during the period and a description of the design concept.
The transformation of the Roman empire into the Byzantine empire was slow, and was not divided clearly by any time period. Some historians place the start of the Byzantine era during the reign of Diocletian (284-305) because of administrative reforms that he introduced. Some place it during the reign of Theodosius I (379-395) and Christianity's victory over paganism. Other historians place it even later, following the death of Theodosius and the division of the empire into Eastern and Western halves.
The Byzantine empire was one of the most powerful cultural, military and economic powerhouses during its existence that lasted for more than a thousand years. The capital of the Byzantine Empire – Constantinople was captured by the Ottomans eventually and the city was renamed to Istanbul. This is seen by most to be the end of the empire (1204)
The Byzantine Era
The Byzantine people were descendants of various ancient civilizations, and they spoke mostly Greek, yet they still called themselves Romans. The word Byzantine comes from “Byzantium” which is a Greek name for an ancient city on the straight of Bosphorus which is the worlds narrowest straight used for international navigation, it connects the Black sea with the sea of Marmara. The Greeks were the first to colonize the area during the mid-600's BC, before the area was conquered by Alexander the Great (334BC).
Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire is located between the Black Sea and the entrance to the Mediterranean Sea which gave them a strategic geographical importance. Because...