Unit 3: Postclassical Civilizations- Byzantine Empire Hagia Sophia

What are the advantages of building a major city here?

Geography of Byzantine Empire A.Byzantine Empire- “Eastern Roman Empire” 1.Capital- Constantinople a)Distant from Germanic invasions in west. b)Crossroads of trade between Black and Mediterranean Seas. c)Easily fortified on a peninsula. 2.Territory of Empire- a)Greece, Balkan Peninsula, Asia Minor, Egypt, Syria, Palestine, Central Europe.

Role of Byzantine Empire A.“Second Rome”- 1.Once part of the Roman Empire. 2.Heirs to Roman tradition after the fall of Rome. 3.Preserved classical Greco-Roman culture.

Byzantine Culture A.Byzantine Culture- 1.Greco-Roman culture from Western Rome. 2.Hellenistic culture from Persia. 3.Empire begin with Latin but shifted to Greek as Rome fades. 4.Greek and Roman knowledge preserved in Byzantine libraries.

“The Emperor Who Never Sleeps” A.Justinian ( CE) 1.He chose those who served under him based on ability, and not wealth 2.He was leader of the army & navy, made laws, headed the government & church, and was the supreme judge 3.Theodora- Justinian’s wife. Very active in women’s rights movements, worked through her husbands laws. B.Contributions of Justinian 1.Military Campaigns- a)Reconquest of the Western Roman Empire. b)Reunite the Roman Empire. c)Take back the city of Rome. d)Results: Belisarius 1.Took back: North Africa, Italy, Rome, and parts of Spain. 2.Rome was destroyed. 3.All land lost after the death of Justinian.

“The Emperor Who Never Sleeps” 2.Code of Laws- a) Corpus Juris Civilis- body of civil law. b)Consisted on 4 parts: 1.Codex- list of 5000 laws 2.Digest- summarized opinions of Rome’s greatest legal writers. 3.Institutes- text on how to use the new code. 4.Novellae- laws added after 534 CE. c)Impact of the Code- 1.Justinians most important work. 2.Served as the main guide for emerging European nations. 3.Justinian’s Code gave Europeans Roman Law.

Laws About:Justinian Code:American Laws Women’s Rights All women can own property, make contracts and wills, and bring a lawsuit. All women can own property, make contracts and wills, and bring a lawsuit. Women are guaranteed the same rights as men. Robbery Robbery was not a crime. The victim could sue the robber for up to four times the values of the stolen property. Robbery is a crime and is punishable by a fine and/or a prison sentence. Failure to Pay Debts Borrowers must repay their debts. Murder Murder was punished by banishment. Murder is punished by a prison sentence or death. Inheritance Women could not inherit property from their husbands unless it was provided in a will. Children received equal amounts of the father’s estate. Standard law allows wives and children to divide an estate. Other directions can be provided for in a will.

“The Emperor Who Never Sleeps” 3.Expansion of Trade- a)Controls the Bosporus and Dardanelles b)“Crossroads of Trade”- center of trade goods from the Near and Far East as well as Western European. c)Control over the Mediterranean Sea.

“The Emperor Who Never Sleeps” 4.Building Projects- Undertook a city building project bigger than of any past Roman Emperor. Made Constantinople “The City” a)Sea Walls- series of 3 walls (6, 27, 70ft) protect the land route. 70 ft high sea walls protect the 3 water routes. b)Hagia Sophia- great Christian cathedral of the Eastern Orthodox Church ft high, 4 acres of gold cover the roof. 2.Floors & columns made of marble, gold, silver, precious stones. c) Hippodrome- 60,000 seat arena similar to the Roman coliseum. d)University- emphasized arts of writing and public speaking. 1.Training ground for civil servants & administrators. 2.Scholars preserved the ancient Greek and Roman writings.

Byzantine Civilization A.Art- inspired by Christian religion and Imperial power. 1.Icon- religious artwork used in worship. 2.Mosaic- pictures created from many pieces of colored tile or glass set in plaster. 3.Illuminated Manuscript- books decorated with elaborate designs, drawings, & edges.

Byzantine Civilization B.Education- 1.Empire supported education. 2.Educated citizens=efficient civilization. C.Economy- 1.Basis was agriculture and trade. 2.Farming was a huge source of tax revenue. 3.Control of trade routes from Silk road to western Mediterranean. 4.Silk- Byzantine monks smuggled silk worm cocoons from China and created a rival silk industry.

Byzantine Civilization C.Social Hierarchy- 1.Flexible, allowed movement up or down. 2.Family is the center of social life. 3.Marriage was sacred, divorce rare. 4.Women lived in semi- seclusion, not allowed to mingle with men. a)Some rights were gained through the work of Theodora.

Christian Church Splits A.Eastern Church- 1.Constantinople 2.Based on Greek language & culture B.Western Church- 1.Rome 2.Based on Latin language & culture.

Christian Church Splits C.Reasons for Split 1.Use of Icons a)Eastern- believed Icons were idol worship. b)Western- accepted the use of Icons c)Pope excommunicates the Byzantine Emperor as a heretic. d)Excommunicate- cut off from the sacraments of the church e)Heretic- person who’s beliefs go against the doctrine of the Church.

Christian Church Splits 2.Church Practices- a)Eastern Church 1.Services in local vernacular. a)Vernacular- native language or dialect 2.Clergy could marry b)Western Church 1.Services conducted in Latin only. 2.Clergy could not marry. (Celibacy)

Christian Church Splits 3.Petrine Doctrine- a)Idea that the Pope was the supreme leader of the Christian church because St. Peter was the Bishop of Rome. 1.Pope- Bishop of Rome and leader of the entire Christian Church. b)Eastern patriarchs did not agree. (Power struggle) 1.Patriarch- powerful bishop and leader in the Eastern Church.

Christian Church Splits D.Great Schism CE 1.Roman Pope claimed authority over the Eastern churches. 2.Byzantine Patriarch accepted the authority of Byzantine Emperor, Roman Pope did not. 3.Pope crowned French King, Charlemagne as Holy Roman Emperor. This angered the Byzantines who claimed they already had a Roman Emperor. 4.Pope and Patriarch excommunicated each other and the church split. a)Western Church- Roman Catholic (Universal) b)Eastern Church- Eastern Orthodox (Correct belief)

Eastern Europe is Influenced By Byzantine Culture A.Religion- 1.St. Cyril- created an alphabet for the Eastern Slavs. 2.Education of Slavic people. 3.Conversion of thousands to Orthodox Faith. 4.Pushed services in their vernacular. a)Cyrillic Alphabet- Slavic alphabet created by Cyril from Greek origins. Basis of Russian and eastern European languages.

Eastern Europe is Influenced By Byzantine Culture B.Trade 1.Major river systems from Eastern Europe flow into the Black Sea. 2.Trade relationship developed between Byzantines & Eastern Europeans (Russia)

Fall of the Byzantine Empire A.Barbarians Attack 1.After the death of Justinian the Byzantines slowly lost all land except Greece and the Balkans. 2.This strengthened the Empire, because it became one culture; Greek.

Fall of the Byzantine Empire B.Christian Attacks 1.Western crusaders attacked Constantinople on the 4 th Crusade. 2.This attack was arranged by the City- state of Venice. 3.This weakened the Byzantines.

Fall of the Byzantine Empire C.Constantinople Falls 1.Ottoman Turks conquer the city in 1453 CE. 2.The last territories of the Empire fall in Greece. 3.Constantinople is renamed Istanbul.