Coptic & Byzantine Art

Commencing in 330 AD when Constantine founds the new capital of the Roman Empire on the existing site of the ancient Greek city Byzantium.   Whereas in Egypt, Christian monasticism began in the Egyptian desert in the 4th century, where many Coptic Christians had fled a century earlier to avoid persecution. With Constantine's acceptance of Christianity, Coptic monasteries were founded all over Egypt, and over time simple monastic structures grew into lavish complexes.