Byzantine Empire Notes

I. Justinian: Military VictoriesA. becomes emperor

of eastern empire in 527CE

B. decided to reunite fallen western empire

C. sent his best general, Belisarius, to recover North Africa from Vandals

1. Belisarius does so in matter of months

D. Belisarius took Rome away from Ostrogoths 2 years later

E. after numerous campaigns, Justinian’s armies had re-conquered nearly all of Italy & most of Spain

II. Building the New RomeA. Byzantine Empire had its

own character1. citizens thought of

themselves as sharing Roman tradition

2. most citizens in east spoke Greek, not Latin

3. they also belonged to eastern branch of Christian Church

B. Corpus Juris Civilis1. Corpus Juris Civilis--Justinian Code: a

single, uniform law code; contained 4 partsi. The Codex (Code) contained nearly 5,000

Roman lawsii. The Digest quoted & summarized opinions of

Rome’s greatest legal thinkers (50 volumes)iii. The Institutes was textbook that told law

students how to use the lawiv. The Novellae (New Laws) presented legislation

after 534 AD

Code of Justinian still underlies legal system of most countries in modern western Europe today

C. Justinian rebuilt the crumbling fortifications of Constantinople

D. Hagia Sophia1. Hagia Sophia (HAY-ee-uh so-FEE-uh-- means “Holy

Wisdom” in Greek)i. Justinian wanted to make it most splendid church in the

world

ii. had form of square topped by central giant dome

iii. gold, marble, & countless precious stones were used in its construction & decoration

E. other building projects1. enlarged the palace complex

2. baths, aqueducts, law courts, schools, hospitals

F. Hippodrome (from 2 Greek words meaning horse & track)

III. Byzantium Preserves LearningA. Byzantine families valued

education1. basic courses included Greek &

Latin grammar

2. Philosophy

3. classics of Greece & Rome (Homer)

4. geometry (Euclid)

5. history (Herodotus)

6. medicine (Galen)

B. Byzantine scholars helped preserve many of great works of Greece & Rome

IV. The Empire Confronts Its EnemiesA. bubonic plague struck Constantinople &

Byzantine Empire 1. at its peak in 542 CE it is estimated that 10,000

people were dying every day

2. plague reoccurred every 8-12 years until 700 CE

3. plague devastated population of Byzantine Empire

4. left it exposed

to enemies

B. attacked by barbarians in west

C. pillaged by Crusaders in 1204

D. also attacked by Persians & Arabs from east

E. empire slowly shrank under impact of foreign attacks

F. Constantinople fell to Ottoman Turks in 1453 CE

V. The Church DividesA. Bishop of Rome: pope

B. Bishop of Constantinople: patriarch

C. Emperor Leo III banned use of icons (religious images) in worship (CE 730)1. army supported him

2. iconoclasts (icon-breakers) broke into churches to destroy images

3. people rebelled

4. in West, pope supported using icons in worship

5. more than 100 years later, empress restored use of icons to Eastern churches

Icon

D. Other differences between the two Christian traditions

Roman Catholic Eastern Orthodoxservices conducted in Latin services conducted in Greek

or local languages

pope has authority over all other bishops

patriarch and other bishops head the church as a group

pope claims authority over all kings and emperors

emperor claims authority over the patriarch and other bishops in the empire

priests may not marry priests may marry

divorce is not permitted divorce is allowed under certain conditions

E. The Great Schism

• 1054 pope & patriarch excommunicated each other over religious dispute

• after this schism, or split, Christianity was permanently divided between Roman Catholics in West and Orthodox Church in East