Abstract
In the fourth century CE, the stability of the Roman Empire began to rapidly diminish. As the central cohesion of the Empire was lost, glassmaking centers began to more greatly reflect their regional influences and many of the more sophisticated techniques became less widespread. Shortly before 300 CE, Diocletian became Emperor and tried to stabilize the Empire by dividing it into Western and Eastern halves. Each half of the former Empire had its own capital (Rome in West and Constantinople in the East) and Emperor, although the Emperor of the West was subservient to that of the East. The fragmentation of the empire, first into East and West, and later into isolated regions conquered by outside forces, meant the end of centralized glass production. Glassmaking shifted from urban centers to rural locations closer to sources of fuel. As a result, glassmakers within the two halves of the empire became isolated and eastern and western glassware gradually acquired distinct characteristics. Still, glassmaking was able to survive the end of the unified Roman system and adapted to the needs of the new political framework. The primary result of this changing framework was the loss of more specialized and sophisticated decoration techniques, such as cutting, polishing, and enameling. Critical techniques such as glassblowing were simplified to their basic essentials and simple procedures like mold blowing essentially disappeared.
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Notes
- 1.
The ingredients for Greek fire were kept a state secret and the precise composition is still unknown. It is thought, however, to be a mixture of naphtha and sulfur, with a mixture of resins or pitch to thicken it. This mixture was then forced through a siphon and ignited by a flame burning at the tip. The resulting spray of flaming jelly then stuck to and burned everything it hit. Supposedly, the only thing that could extinguish it was vinegar, sand, or urine [17].
- 2.
Weight to control the buoyancy and stability of the ship.
- 3.
Addition of the Arabic article al- gave al-qalīy, the Arabic term for the ash. This eventually became the familiar alkali, the modern term used to refer to the bases and elements isolated from these ashes. The Latin form of kali, kalium, is also the Latin name of potassium and the source of the symbol K for this element.
- 4.
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Rasmussen, S.C. (2012). Reinventing an Old Material: Venice and the New Glass. In: How Glass Changed the World. SpringerBriefs in Molecular Science(), vol 3. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-28183-9_4
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