The Byzantine Empire

Byzantine Empire: Brief History Diocletian divided the Roman Empire in half o Western Half o Eastern Half Eastern Roman Empire was renamed to Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire was a mixture of Middle Eastern and Greek cultures Constantinople became the capitol of the Byzantine Empire (which is where modern day Istanbul, Turkey is!)

Byzantine Technology Invention of Greek Fire helped defend the Empire Greek Fire, also known as sea fire or liquid fire Primarily used in ship-to-ship battles It is essentially like a flamethrower !!

Byzantine Jobs Women stayed at home. Middle class men worked in the fields, because the city was rural. The city contained blacksmiths, clothiers, and merchants Many services and sales were offered Carpenters, day laborers, plasterers, painters, and mosaic workers were among some of the jobs within the Empire.

Byzantine Writing Latin continued to be the main written language. However, Greek became the main spoken language. Referred to as “ Byzantine Greek.”

Byzantine Government Had a highly efficient bureaucracy Had an impressive army Government was an absolute monarchy

Byzantine Religion Greek Orthodox and Christianity became the two official religions in the empire. Emperors were given high places in the Church.

Byzantine Cities & Stable Food Supply Constantinople – the capitol of the empire o Had paved streets o Great homes and churches o Parks and playgrounds o Museums, libraries, and schools o Most advanced city in medieval Europe Trade helped bring about new food for the empire Food was consumed based on social class

Byzantine Social Structure Emperor was at the very top Local aristocracy, state representatives, senior military officers, and large landowners were all members of the upper class Middle class consisted of businessmen, medium- sized landowners, and merchants Lower class were wage-owners and paupers

Emperor Justinian Byzantine’s most important emperor Born into Macedonian peasant family His wife Theodora was his advisor They crushed riots over high taxes Ambitious construction projects : Hagia Sophia

Justinian Code A collection of Roman Law compiled into a single volume Collected all of the old laws from the Roman Empire, such as the Twelve Tables Added new laws as well to give people more freedom “Innocent until proven guilty.” We still use and apply his laws today in our society

After Justinian Empire was in debt, successors of Justinian were forced to heavily tax the citizens to keep the empire alive New threat: Expansion of Islam o Monotheistic religion o Followers are called Muslims Muslim vs. Byzantine Empire Muslims attacked the Byzantine Empire by storming into Syria Byzantine lost to the Islamic forces

The Great Schism Eastern Roman Empire vs. Western Roman Empire Greek Orthodox vs. Catholics The pope and the patriarch excommunicated each other Split because they each claimed authority over one another Start of the Roman Catholic religion

The Empire Falls Constant attacks from foreign invaders severely weakened the empire Left vulnerable to the Ottoman Turks who eventually seized the Byzantine Empire in 1453 AD.