Calendar: 1927-1928 Page 478

SOME DEBTS TO BYZANTIXISM were in intimate touch with both Byzantines and Arabs and showed theological bent especially in the direction of Judaism Constantine Copronymus married Khazar princess who adopted the name of Irene Khazar customs had some effect upon the Byzantines and Khazar mercenaries served in the Byzantine armies The Byzantine Emperors were in touch with all the different branches of the Arabs with those of Baghdad Egypt Africa and Spain Warfare with the Arabs of the East and the Fatimites of Africa was constant but certain mutual respect accompanied these conflicts The com- batants had common interests not merely in military organization but also in science This was especially the case with the Arabs of the East and the Courts of Constantinople and Baghdad tried to outdo one another in splendour The Ceremonies tell us that in 946 Arab envoys were received with splendid display of gold and silver silks and embroideries largely borrowed from the churches and were given review of the different mercenary troops of the Empire and entertained by an equestrian show in the Hippodrome mosque was allowed to Arab merchants in Constantinople Greek learning particularly the writings of Aristotle greatly affected the intellectual life of the Court of Baghdad The influence of the Orthodox Church upon the Slav peoples has already been noted But there are many other instances of the mission- ary zeal of the Byzantines and the Orthodox Church has many claims upon the gratitude of those who profess and call themselves Christians In the time of Theodosius the Younger it was the Byzantine Government which welcomed two Armenians Mesrob and Sahak who had translated the Scriptures into their native tongue and had fled into the territory of the Empire to escape the persecution of the Persians The trans- lation-school founded by these two fugitives was furthered by the Government and thus was started the translation literature of the Armenians entirely dependent on the Greek The period of the Nestorian controversy seems barren one but it was the Nestorian missionaries who carried the Gospel to India and China Justinian's reign marked something more than ambitious military expeditions in addition to its great legislative achievements it was an epoch in missions and the Emperor and Theodora used their diplomatic influence to gain protection for the missionaries These penetrated to the Heruls round Singidunum the modern Belgrade to the Hunnish stocks north of the Black Sea and to the peoples of the Caucasus Their princes appeared for baptism in the capital In Africa the oases of the Sahara were won over to Christianity The bloody persecution of the Christians in the Yemen by the Jewish king Dhu Nuwas stirred the Christians of the Empire deeply and the capture of the Yemen by the Christian king of the Ethiopians was greeted with extreme joy and by Imperial com- mand cleric was sent out as bishop to southern Arabia The Monophy- sites of Egypt under the protection of Theodora showed themselves particularly active in missionary work and Julian an Alexandrian cleric began according to John of Ephesus the conversion of the