World History IMr. Pawlowski 2010 - 2011

BYZANTINE EMPIRE (‘EASTERN ROMAN

EMPIRE’)330 – 1453 CE

UNIT VCHAPTER 11

SECTION 1

667 BCE: Founding of Byzantium as a Greek colony

Byzas the Megarian295 CE:

Roman Empire is divided into East and West Emperor Diocletian

330 CE: Constantine moves imperial capital to Byzantium

renamed Constantinople395 CE:

Formal division of the Roman Empire

476 CE: Emperor Romulus Augustus is deposed by Odoacer

Fall of the Western Roman Empire

‘Byzantine’: coined by sixteenth-century scholar Hieronymus Wolf

popularized by Montesquieu referred to as the Roman Empire by inhabitants

inhabitants called themselves either ‘Romans’ or ‘Greeks’

BACKGROUND

Location: Bosphorus Strait

Sea of Marmara Golden Horn

Black Sea

Advantages: Distance from border conflict

Eastern Frontier Germanic Tribes

Protection Natural Protection Easily Fortified

Crossroads of trade Europe, Asia & Africa

taxes on trade Cultural Melting Pot

CONSTANTINOPLE

CONSTANTINOPLE

Justinian I (483 – 565 CE) ‘Justinian the Great’

last Roman Emperor to speak Latin Absolute (totalitarian) Rule

Wife: Empress Theodora

Conquest: Italy (Gothic War), Spain, North Africa (Vandalic War)

wanted to recover lands of the Roman Empire Secured Eastern Boarders (Iberian & Lazic Wars – Sassanid

Persians) Greatest territorial extent of the Byzantine Empire

Expansion of Trade: gold, silver, grain, silk, grapes & olives

for spices, silk, tin, ivory & precious stones

‘Silk Road’ Building Program:

rebuilt & refortified Constantinople Church of the Saints Sergius and Bacchus (‘Little Hagia Sophia) Church of the Holy Wisdom (‘Hagia Sophia’)

projects & fortifications throughout provinces

AGE OF JUSTINIAN (527 – 565 CE)

JUSTINIAN’S EMPIRE

Codification of Roman Law Corpus Juris Civilis

‘Code of Justinian’

Four Parts: Code (Codex):

Compilation of Roman imperial enactments/laws Digest (Digesta):

Encyclopedia of brief extracts and summarized opinions of Roman jurists and legal thinkers

Institutes (Institutiones): Instructional and conceptual student textbook on

how to use the laws New Constitutions (Novellae Constitutiones):

New laws passed after 534 CE

Influence: Foundation of Western European civil law

jurisdictions Influential in later Canon Law

CODE OF JUSTINIAN

BYZANTINE CULTURE

Influences: Hellenistic, Roman & Greek

Cultures Christian Beliefs

Language: Greek

Official language of Church & Government Latin - West

Greco-Roman Culture: Preserved in Byzantine libraries,

art & architecture

Eastern (Greek) Orthodox Christianity

Art: Mosaics:

Public & Religious Structures Icons:

Religious images used to aid devotions

Religious Art: Objective: spiritual elevation of the

believer Manuscript Illumination:

painted pictures/text within a text

Architecture: Western Influence:

Romanesque & Gothic Architecture Eastern Influence:

Islamic & Russian Architecture

Byzantine art/architecture glorified the Empire & Church

DECLINE OF THE BYZANTINE EMPIRE

Plague of Justinian (541 – 542 CE): 1st recorded outbreak of the bubonic plague

est. 25 million deaths

674 – 717 CE: Arab attacks on Constantinople

‘Greek Fire’

Battle of Manzikert (1071 CE): Decisive defeat against the Seljuq (Seljuk) Empire

weakens authority in Anatolia and Armenia

1st Crusade (1095 CE): Emperor Alexios I convinces Pope Urban II to call for a crusade

puts Constantinople as a midpoint of crusading Western Europeans

1204 CE: Constantinople is sacked by Crusaders (4th Crusade)

established the Latin Empire (1204 – 1261 CE)

1452 CE: Ottoman Turks conquer Constantinople

main weapon: cannon

EAST/WEST (‘GREAT’) SCHISM

Icon Dispute: 730 CE: Emperor Leo III

bans use of icons viewed as idol worship

iconoclasm: deliberate destruction of religious icons

Pope Gregory III threatened excommunication 843 CE: Empress Theodora

Restores use of icons to Eastern churches

Aid to Rome: Germanic tribe (Lombards) invade Rome

Pope Stephen II appeals to the Byzantines for aid (fails) turns to the Franks for aid

Pepin the Short leads the Franks against the Lombards establishes the Papal States (‘Donation of Pepin’)

800 CE: Pope Leo III crowns Charlemagne as Holy Roman Emperor ‘Emperor of the Romans’

DIVISION BETWEEN EAST & WEST

Other Conflicts: Alteration of the Nicene Creed by

the West Territorial dispute Imperial vs Papal/Patriarchal

authority Use of unleavened bread for

Eucharist in the West Celibacy among Priests

Mutual Excommunication (1054 CE): Papal legates excommunicate

Patriarch Michael I Patriarch Michael I excommunicates

the Pope Initiates the East-West

‘Great’ Schism West accepts authority of the

Pope East accepts authority of the

Patriarch

DIVISION BETWEEN EAST & WEST

Roman Catholic

Centered in Rome Far from seat of power

post-Constantinople Latin used in liturgy Head: Pope

Authority over all kings & emperors God more important than

empire/kingdom

Clergy - celibacy requirement Divorce – not permitted Icons – for devotional purposes Holy Day (most important) -

Christmas

Eastern Orthodox

Centered in Constantinople Close to seat of power

post-Constantinople Greek used in liturgy Head: Patriarch & Bishops

Under authority of emperor Empire more important than God

Clergy – allowed to marry Divorce – permitted under

conditions Icons – for decorative purposes Holy Day (most important) -

Easter

WESTERN (ROMAN CATHOLIC)vs

EASTERN (GREEK ORTHODOX)

BYZANTINE INFLUENCE (RUSSIA & EASTERN EUROPE)

Trade Routes: Land routes through Slav territory

between Black and Baltic Seas Slavs:

West Slavs – Poland, Czech and Slovakia South Slavs – Serbs, Croats, Slovenes Eastern Slavs (largest) – Ukraine and Russia

Early contact centered on Slavic raids Trade relations brings cultural diffusion

Orthodox Religion: Adopted by Russia and much of Eastern Europe

Diffuses Byzantine culture and religious traditions Control of Eastern Orthodox Church shifts to the Slavs after the fall

of Constantinople

BYZANTINE INFLUENCE (RUSSIA & EASTERN EUROPE)

Art/Architecture: Church architecture & art

Icons Mosaics Domes Basillicas

Cyrillic Language: Saint Methodius & Saint Cyril

Introduced an alphabet based upon Greek and Slavic languages aided in converting and teaching illiterate Slavs the Bible

Cyrillic Alphabet: basis for Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Bulgarian, Serbian & Macedonian

Greek is introduced to Slavic language Byzantine (Greek & Roman) works are translated

Russians viewed themselves as inheritors of the Byzantine empire Russian leaders assumed title of ‘Tsar’

Russian for ‘Caesar’ Moscow was declared the ‘third Rome’

BYZANTINE INFLUENCE (RUSSIA & EASTERN EUROPE)

CYRILLIC ALPHABET