BYZANTINE EMPIRE Survived for next 1000 years

In Fact……  There was no Byzantine at the time  The city Byzantine was called Constantinople  People called themselves Romans

City Constantinople  Modern day Istanbul, biggest city of Turkey  Location:  Bosporus Strait – control water trade with two sea, Black Sea and Aegean Sea.  Trade allow Byzantine to be rich (Silk Road, fur from Russia, etc.)

Defense  Moat – surrounded three thick wall, three side of water, etc.  Easier defense than Rome  Strong wall  Heavy chain in harbor  Greek Fire  Chemical mixed, still available in water! 

High Point  Justinian  Goal: retrieve the land that Rome had owned  Failed, but got some lands back

Justinian - 1  Son of peasant farmer  Uncle rebels, succeed, become emperor  Justinian was the successor  Married with daughter of low class, Theodora

Justinian - 2  Worked for 30 years  Empire was biggest then  Wars caused economic problems  Next 500 years, gradually, lost lands

Invasion  German started taking land  Slavic entered  Arab Muslim invade Syria, Egypt, North Africa  Turk took many part of Turkey  Byzantine still kept Constantinople & greece  At last, Byzantine  like city – state

Failing Defense  Crusaders from west  Last attack, Turkish Ottoman  Break wall with cannons  1453, Byzantine vanished

Eastern Orthodox  Byzantine believed in Eastern Orthodox  A branch of Christianity  Emperor was the highest

Architecture & Literature  Hagia Sophia  Model of many buildings  Orthodox Church  Mosque  Museum (today)  Librarians & Monks copied book – Homer’s Iliad & Odyssey was saved!

Justinian’s Code  Roman laws were stuffed!  Justinian used the ones that were good  Unified laws  Published: A.D. 529  If not Justinian, Roman laws would have been unknown  Non-Christians were treated badly  Emperor had all power

Cyrillic Alphabet  Cyril a Methodius – brothers  Made language for Russian and Bulgarian  Missionaries of Eastern Orthodox

Early Russia – I  Large group that become Russia 7 Ukraine – Kievan Rus  People of Kiev – based on it, Rus (Vikings) found it  Join Slavs  Converts to Eastern Orthodox  Trade brings contact

Early Russia – II  Cultural Diffusion  Eastern Orthodox – Onion domes, icons  Russian Empire rise after Byzantine Empire’s fall  They, themselves, consider as “third Rome” Took part of the culture and legacy of Byzantine and Rome