The Byzantine Empire & Middle Ages

The Byzantine Empire• The capital of the Roman

Empire was moved to Byzantium in 330 C.E by Constantine

• The West fell in 476 C.E to Germanic Tribes

• The East continued and was named the Byzantine Empire

• Its capital was renamed Constantinople.

Justinian (483-565 C.E)• Considered most famous

Byzantine Emperor• Re-conquered the West

from Germanic tribes• Created the Justinian

Code-laws• Had great churches built

(Hagia Sophia)• Theodora-Justinian’s

wife; strong woman, fought for women’s rights

The Church Divides• Christianity in the East lost

contact with the Roman Catholic Church in Rome.

• Eastern Orthodox Church emerged

• Patriarch-leading figure of Eastern Church

• Pope in the West• Roman Catholic and Eastern

Orthodox Churches fought over the use of icons.

• Byzantine missionaries converted many Slavs using the Cyrillic Alphabet.

The Middle Ages (Medieval)• Time in between the fall

of Rome and modern era (500-1500 C.E)

• Medieval-Latin for Middle

• Refers mainly to Western Europe

Invasions by Germanic Tribes• 476 C.E-Rome

conquered by Germanic Tribes

• Decline of learning• Loss of common

language– New languages emerge

• Decline of cities• Church in Rome

remained and became powerful

Franks Unite and Convert

• The Franks became the most unified and powerful of Germanic tribes

• Clovis was their first great leader.

• Converted to Christianity • Alliance between Church

and King.• Charles Martel-Stopped

Muslims at the Battle of Tours in 732 C.E.

Charlemagne (742-814 C.E)• Greatest ruler of the

Franks• Created an empire

almost as large as the old Rome

• Spread Christianity• Encouraged learning• Made an alliance with

the Pope• Crowned Emperor by

Pope

Feudalism Develops in Europe• After Rome fell to

Germanic tribes, power in Western Europe became decentralized.

• Charlemagne’s Empire was divided

• Invasions from 800-1000 C.E by Vikings, Muslims, and Magyars further divided Europe

• People sought protection from local lords instead of a central ruler.

Feudalism• System in which kings

and local lords grant land (fief) to a vassal in return for services (usually military)

• People worked on the Lord’s manor or estate

The Crusades (1096-1204 C.E)• A series of holy wars

fought between Christian and Muslim armies.

• Sought to gain control of the “Holy Land” or Jerusalem.

• The main impact was an increase in trade.