The Byzantine Empire

World History I

The Byzantine Empire – 565 C.E.

The New Eastern Empire• When the Western Roman Empire fell

in 476, the eastern empire still survived as the Byzantine Empire

• Lasted for 1000 years after fall of Rome

• Capital city – Constantinople– Center of trade– Easily fortified site on a peninsula

bordering natural harbor

Constantinople - Center of Trade

Byzantine Empire became wealthy due to being center of trade

Justinian (ruled 527 – 565)• Byzantine emperors

enjoyed absolute power• Expanded empire• Beautified

Constantinople• Created Justinian Code

of Law• Relied heavily on wife,

Theodora, to help run empire

Justinian Conquers (Again)• Justinian reconquered lands lost by the

Eastern Empire

• Lands included parts of Italy, Africa, and Spain

Rebuilt Constantinople• Justinian began rebuilding the capital,

Constantinople, after being damaged in a revolt

• Rebuilt city walls• Built schools, hospitals, courts,

churches• Most famous church and great

architectural achievement was the Hagia Sophia

Hagia Sophia

Byzantine Art • Greatly inspired by Christianity

and imperial power

• Icons – religious images

• Mosaics - the art of creating images using small pieces of colored glass, stone, or other material

Icons

Mosaics

Influence of Roman Law – Justinian Code

• Justinian was highly influenced by Roman law– Had 10 scholars look through thousands of

Roman laws to develop own code of law• Developed Justinian Code – uniform code of law

based on Roman law– Included laws on marriage, slavery, property,

women’s rights, and crime– Laws were strict but fair– Gave same rights to everyone – rich or poor

• Highly influential – laws became model for lawmakers in Europe and our own laws

Influence of Roman and Greek Culture

• Byzantines spoke Greek

• Studied Latin, Greek, Roman literature and history

Tension between Eastern and Western Christian Churches

• Division of the Roman empire affected the Christian Church

• In the east – emperor had control over head of church– Caused by different cultural practices– Limited contact between areas– Religious practices developed differently

• In the west – lack of emperor gave pope more responsibilities

• Western pope claimed control over all Christian churches in east and west

• Eastern church rejected authority of pope

The Church Divides• Christian Church split in 1054

– Known as “The Great Schism”

– Roman Catholic Church in the west• Catholic – “universal”• Latin – official language

– Eastern Orthodox Church in the east• Orthodox – “holding established

beliefs”• Greek – official language

• Split led to creation of two separate European civilizations

Eastern Orthodox Church

Roman Catholic Church

Influence on Russia• The Byzantine Empire greatly influenced Russia• Trade routes between Black Sea and Baltic Sea• Byzantine missionaries established Orthodox

Churches in Russia– Russia and most of Eastern Europe

adopted Orthodox Christianity as main religion

• Byzantine missionaries even created an alphabet, the Cyrillic alphabet, to write the Bible in Russian.

Russian Orthodox Church

Byzantine Empire Collapses

• New Arabian religion of Islam began in 600s

– Muslims armies attacked Constantinople

• Civil wars, attacks by Ottoman Turks, Serbs, and Europeans hurt Byzantine Empire

• Only small section of empire remained by 1350

• Ottoman Turks captured Constantinople in 1453

– This officially ended the Byzantine Empire