Barbarians in the context of "Byzantine Greeks"

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⭐ Core Definition: Barbarians

A barbarian is a person or tribe of people that is perceived to be primitive, savage, and warlike. A "barbarian" may also be an individual reference to an aggressive, brutal, cruel, and insensitive person, particularly one who is also dim-witted, while cultures, customs and practices adopted by peoples and countries perceived to be primitive may be referred to as "barbaric".

The term originates from the Ancient Greek: βάρβαρος (barbaros; pl. βάρβαροι barbaroi). In ancient Greece, the Greeks used the term not only for those who did not speak Greek and follow classical Greek customs, but also for Greek populations on the fringe of the Greek world with peculiar dialects. In ancient Rome, the Romans adapted and applied the term to tribal non-Romans such as the Xiongnu, Mongols, Germans, Celts, Iberians, Helvetii, Thracians, Illyrians, and Sarmatians. In the early modern period and sometimes later, the Byzantine Greeks used it for the Turks in a clearly pejorative manner.

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Barbarians in the context of Romanization (cultural)

Romanization or Latinization (Romanisation or Latinisation), in the historical and cultural meanings of both terms, indicate different historical processes, such as acculturation, integration and assimilation of newly incorporated and peripheral populations by the Roman Republic and the later Roman Empire. The terms were used in ancient Roman historiography and traditional Italian historiography until the Fascist period, when the various processes were called the "civilizing of barbarians".

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Barbarians in the context of Amantes (tribe)

The Amantes (alternatively attested in primary sources, as Amantieis or Amantini; Ancient Greek: Ἄμαντες or Αμαντιεῖς; Latin: Amantinii) were an ancient tribe located in the inland area of the Bay of Vlora north of the Ceraunian Mountains and south of Apollonia, in southern Illyria near the boundary with Epirus, nowadays modern Albania. A site of their location has been identified with the archaeological settlement of Amantia, placed above the river Vjosë/Aoos. Amantia is considered to have been their main settlement. The Amantes also inhabited in the area of an ancient sanctuary of the eternal fire called Nymphaion.

The Amantes firstly appear in ancient literature in the 4th century BCE in the Periplus of Pseudo-Skylax as an Illyrian tribe bordering the Epirote Chaonians. In Hellenistic sources they are mentioned among the Epirotes. In Roman-times literature they appear as barbarians. In modern historiography a number of scholars regard the Amantes as Illyrians, and others consider them as Epirotes.

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Barbarians in the context of High culture

In a society, high culture encompasses cultural objects of aesthetic value that a society collectively esteems as exemplary works of art, as well as the literature, music, history, and philosophy a society considers representative of its culture.

In popular usage, the term high culture identifies the culture either of the upper class (an aristocracy) or of a status class (the intelligentsia); "high culture" also identifies a society's common repository of broad-range knowledge and tradition (folk culture) that transcends its social-class system. Sociologically, the term is contrasted with "low culture", which comprises the forms of popular culture characteristic of the less-educated social classes, such as the barbarians, the philistines, and hoi polloi (the masses), though the upper classes very often also enjoy low culture.

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Barbarians in the context of Peregrinus (Roman)

In the early Roman Empire, from 30 BC to AD 212, a peregrinus (Latin: [pɛrɛˈɡriːnʊs]) was a free provincial subject of the Empire who was not a Roman citizen. Peregrini constituted the vast majority of the Empire's inhabitants in the 1st and 2nd centuries AD. In AD 212, all free inhabitants of the Empire were granted citizenship by the Constitutio Antoniniana, with the exception of the dediticii, people who had become subject to Rome through surrender in war, and freed slaves.

The Latin peregrinus "foreigner, one from abroad" is related to the Latin adverb peregre "abroad", composed of per- "through" and an assimilated form of ager "field, country", i.e., "over the lands"; the -e is an adverbial suffix.During the Roman Republic, the term peregrinus simply denoted any person who did not hold Roman citizenship, full or partial, whether that person was under Roman rule or not. Technically, this remained the case during the Imperial era, but in practice the term became limited to subjects of the Empire, with inhabitants of regions outside the Empire's borders denoted barbari (barbarians).

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Barbarians in the context of Enlightened absolutism

Enlightened absolutism, also called enlightened despotism, refers to the conduct and policies of European absolute monarchs during the 18th and early 19th centuries who were influenced by the ideas of the Enlightenment, espousing them to enhance their power. The concept originated during the Enlightenment period in the 18th and into the early 19th centuries. An enlightened absolutist is a non-democratic or authoritarian leader who exercises their political power based upon the principles of the Enlightenment. Enlightened monarchs distinguished themselves from ordinary rulers by claiming to rule for their subjects' well-being. John Stuart Mill stated that despotism is a legitimate mode of government in dealing with barbarians, provided the end be their improvement.

Enlightened absolutists' beliefs about royal power were typically similar to those of regular despots, both recognizing that they were destined to rule. Enlightened rulers may have played a part in the abolition of serfdom in Europe. The enlightened despotism of Emperor Joseph II of the Holy Roman Empire is summarized as "Everything for the people, nothing by the people".

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Barbarians in the context of Barbagia

Barbagia (Italian: [barˈbaːdʒa]; Sardinian: Barbàgia or Barbàza) is a geographical, cultural and natural region of inner Sardinia, contained for the most part in the province of Nuoro and Ogliastra and located alongside the Gennargentu massif.

The name comes from Cicero, who described the land as inhabited by barbarians; Roman domination over this part of the island was in fact never more than nominal as a result of the Roman-Sardinian Wars. This word shares its etymology with the now antiquated Barbary.

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Barbarians in the context of Barbarians in the Byzantine Empire

In the Byzantine Empire, the term "barbarians" (Greek: βάρβαρος) was used for several non-Greek people. The Byzantines regarded most neighbouring people as barbarians. The Bureau of Barbarians was a department of government dealing with matters relating to these "barbarians". In the Early Middle Ages in Europe, the term was applied to Huns, Goths, Pechenegs, Avars, Slavs, Bulgars, and others.

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