Ближний Восток и его соседи

g 212 h George Tsoutsos tical to the concept of the “Church” as a liturgical congregation of the flock. Gradually, and due to the free construction of temples under the Edictum Me- diolani, attention was directed toward the Temple itself and towards the “Holy Topography” (places where Jesus Christ walked and taught), that is to the Holy Land. After the 4 th century, Jerusalem became a city of particular glamour. The Emperor Constantine the Great contributed to that concept by building temples. However, Gregory of Nyssa in his letter no 7, Περί τῶν ἀπιόντων εἰς Ἱεροσόλυμα, is not contrary to the “holy” pilgrimage to the Holy Zion but instead recommends a spiritual life and asceticism “in all peace”. 4 Unlike the Roman Church, the Byzantine Church left the call to arms and the waging of war, to the imperial government. According to George Dennis “in the Byzantium world, war was not, as sometimes in the West, a lethal playing field on which so-called noblemen displayed their prowess and sought glory. Byzan- tines believe in Aristotle’s belief that “the purpose of all wars is peace”. Western knights believed that war was evil and could be justified only in the case of the Empire’s defence and in the name of Empire’s faith. Byzantines believed that they were defending Christianity itself and the Christian people”. 5 The Byzantine state defends the faith much in accordance with Aeschylus The Persians where the soldiers are called in to fight and protect their faith, homeland and families. The Byzantines were quite tolerant towards their religious policy. There were mosques operating in times of good relations with the Arabs, and Chris- tian temples operating in the Arabic territories of the Empire. However, there were measures taken against the clergy after the weakening of the Baghdad Caliphate. 6 Towards the end of the 12 th century there were quite a few Muslim subjects residing in Constantinople. The settlement of Francs in Constantinople in 1203 AD created a lot of tension with the Orthodox subjects and additionally created problems with the Muslim subjects too. In contrast, the Muslim people of Constantinople coexisted peacefully with the Byzantine subjects. The Francs burnt down the mosque in 1203 and the Byzantines along with the Muslims became the mosque’s guarantors of protection. In 1204, after the capture of Constantinople by the Crusaders, the mosque ceased to operate for fifty-seven 4 G. Metallenos. Ιχνηλασία πνευματικής σχοινοβασίας: ψηλάφηση καίριων στιγμών στην πο- ρεία του Χριστιανικού Ελληνισμού. Katerine: Tertios, 1999. P. 39–40. 5 G. Dennis. Defenders of the Christian People // Angeliki E. Laiou, R. P. Mottahedeh. The Crusades from the Perspective of Byzantium and the Muslim World. Washington, D. C.: Dumbarton Oaks, 2001. P. 38–39. 6 Katerina Karaple. Κατευόδωσις Στρατού, Η οργάνωση και η ψυχολογική προετοιμασία του βυζαντινού στρατού πριν από τον πόλεμο (610–1081). V. 1. Athens: Myrmidones, 2010. P. 301.