postclassical eastern europe (byzantine, slavs & russia)
TRANSCRIPT
Postclassical Eastern Europe
(Byzantine, Slavs & Russia)
Byzantine Emperor Justinian (r. 527-565)
• Caesaropapism• Wife Theodora was very
influential:– Women got property rights– Inspired Justinian to crush the
Nika rebellion in 532• Wanted to restore the Roman
Empire:– 533 – began the reconquest of
Italy (against Ostrogoths), North Africa (against Vandals) & Spain (against Visigoths)
– After Justinian’s death, the empire lost most of the territory
Justinian Code
• Wanted to restore Roman Law – so appointed a commission to codify the old laws.
• After 6 years, the commission published the Corpus of Civil Law, or Justinian Code, which became the basis for most European legal systems.
Byzantine Architecture: Hagia Sophia
Church of Hagia Sophia
Byzantine Empire – Administration
• Theme system – political reorganization which included a theme (province) under the authority of a general responsible for the military defense and civil administration (closely monitored by the emperor) – Free peasants would be granted land after
completion of military service– The system declined in the late postclassical
period → decline of free peasantry and the tax collection of the Byzantine Empire
The Great Schism 1054 Roman Catholic Pope and Byzantine
Patriarch differed on several issues:1. Use of icons (religious images used in
worship)
2. The religious authority of the Pope
3. The Pope of Rome granting the title of Emperor to Charlemagne of the Franks (only the Byzantine leader was supposed to grant the title emperor)
What was the impact of the schism on the Byzantine Empire?
Russian Steppe – rich black soil, but harsh climate made farming difficult.
Slavic Groups
Trade Routes ran from the Baltic Sea (Vikings) to the Black Sea
(Byzantium) by the 800s.
Kiev
Kiev’s Golden AgeVladimir (r. 980 – 1015) • Officially converted the empire to Orthodox
Christianity • Cyrillic alphabet• Expanded borders (Poland & along Baltic Sea)Yaroslav (r.1019 – 1054)• Established 1st library in Kiev• Kievan legal system• Skilled diplomat* After his death, there was no clear line of succession
& the empire was eventually taken over by the Mongols
What effects of trade with the Byzantine Empire are evident in Eastern Europe?
Postclassical Western Europe
(The Middle Ages)
Postclassical Western Europe
• Stages of postclassical development– 1st time period (6th – 10th centuries)
• Chaotic conditions• Church is important• Charlemagne
– 2nd time period (post c.1000)• Improvements in trade & agriculture• From feudal monarchies to stronger political• Expansionist tendencies (a.k.a. Crusades)
1st stage• Chaotic conditions
– Italy fragmented (not unified under one government)
– Cities and trade shrinking – subsistence agriculture– Intellectual achievements diminished– Raids from Vikings (Scandinavia) from Ireland to
Sicily• Church
– Christianity expanding– Most powerful institution in western Europe– Intellectual life focused here – literacy & copying
manuscripts from classical period
King
Lords
Vassals
Serfs
Feudal Hierarchy
Provides protection
Provides protection
& land
Provides protection
& land
Owes loyalty & military service
Owes loyalty & military service
Owes loyalty & crops
Frankish Kingdom/Carolingians
• Charles Martel – defeated the Moors (Muslim) at the battle of Tours in 732
• Charlemagne – pope crowned him “Holy Roman Emperor”– Led to increased intellectual activity
• Lack of political unity in western Europe, but there was culture (Christianity)
Manor System• Manorialism – economic system during the
Middle Ages in which peasants farmed the land for lords in exchange for protection – it used subsistence agriculture (the serfs never left the manor)/self-sufficient
• Serf – peasants farmers/laborers who are BOUND TO THE LAND (not slaves – cannot be bought or sold) –some property rights
• New Agricultural Techniques– Moldboard – iron plow– 3-field system (only 33% of the land is fallow
instead of 50%)
Vikings• Invaded Western
Europe during the early postclassical period
• Traded through port cities in the North Sea, Baltic Sea & Mediterranean Sea
• Used the Dnieper River to trade with the Byzantine Empire & settlers found Kiev
The Church - RCC• Church organization
– Pope– Cardinal– Archbishops– Bishops– Priests– Clergy (deacon, monk, nun, brother, etc.)
• Monastic Life– Benedictine rules – Provided education
Illuminated Manuscripts
Development of towns & cities
High Middle Ages: Economic Changes • Agricultural improvements
– The plow – increased amount of land that could be farmed
– Collar Harness – ox could be replaced by the faster horse for plowing
– 3-field system of planting• Expansion of Trade
– Roman roads were rebuilt– Mediterranean Sea trade flourished (Venice,
Genoa & Pisa)– Hanseatic League
Hanseatic League
High Middle Ages: Economic Changes cont. • Banking & the money economy
– Moneychangers exchanged currencies (Jews or Italians)
– Developed procedures for deposits, loans, etc. & became the first bankers in Europe
– Serfs became able to buy their freedom & feudalism declined
• Development of Towns & Cities– As feudalism declined, people moved to towns– Development of a middle class not bound by feudalism – Rise of guilds (early unions)– No sanitation – which led to the rapid spread of disease
The Reconquista (1492)
In 1469, Isabel of Castille and Ferdinand of Aragon are married & by 1492, Muslim rulers were completely
defeated when they lost their last caliphate – Granada
The Spanish Inquisition• Ferdinand and Isabel were Catholic monarchs →
they united the whole country under their crown & tried to re-Christianize Spain, which resulted in the Spanish Inquisition.
• Large number of Jews and moors were killed who refused to be converted.
The Crusades