Why do so few artworks of the Early Byzantine Empire still exist today? A. Emperor Constantine I divided the Roman Empire. B. Em
peror Leo III destroyed religious images. C. Artworks were lost in the fall of the Western Roman Empire. D. The art was influenced by the Ottoman invasion.
This is the main reason why so few artworks of the Early Byzantine Empire still exist today. During the "Byzantine Iconoclasm,"Emperor Leo III banned religious images. This ban was first motivated by the Orthodox Church, and later maintained by the imperial hierarchy. Not only were icons banned, but many images were destroyed.
As in Roman sculptures, the reliefs sculpted on monuments erected to celebrate some important feat of the empire, received very realistic representation.
