byzantine

The town’s dominant monument is Little Hagia Sophia, a Byzantine church that in the eighth century hosted the last ecumenical council recognized by both the Eastern and Western churches.

Like ‘string bean,’ and ‘soup tureen,’ and ‘Byzantine,’ and—well, there are far too many to list.

Glass objects from the Byzantine era were extremely rare.

With its Bronze Age origins, Ancient Roman traces, Byzantine and Norman monuments and subtropical flair, Bari makes for a fine contrast with the Renaissance grandeur and contemporary design of central and northern Italian towns.

Meanwhile diplomacy provided Byzantium with the intelligence to deflect pressure from the Huns and otherwise shape the Byzantine near abroad to favor its own interests.