Dr. Afxendiou Global History and Geography 9 Sachem North High School BYZANTINE EMPIRE Dr. Afxendiou Global History and Geography 9 Sachem North High School

So, what happened so far? The collapse of Rome left Europe divided. To the West, medieval civilization emerged. To the east, the Roman Empire survived as the Byzantine empire.

The Byzantine Empire, Russia and Medieval Europe

What happened after? Byzantine civilization influenced Eastern Europe, bringing Greek culture as well as Orthodox Christianity to the Slavic people, starting with Russia.

Byzantine Empire Survived for 1000 years after the fall of Rome. Capital at Constantinople a thriving city mainly because of its location on a major trade route between Asia and Europe Changed its language from Latin to Greek Its size kept changing with conquests and loses but it was mainly Greece and Asia Minor

Religion Christianity Byzantine Emperors were both head of the church and the state The Schism- The Christian church split into Western and Eastern branches: Latin-speaking Roman Catholics in the West Greek-speaking Orthodox Christians in the East

Emperor Justinian Many emperors but most influential was Justinian Built most magnificent Orthodox Church the Hagia Sophia brought together all of the laws of the Roman Empire into a single legal code that became the basis for modern legal systems in Europe. Came to be known as the Justinian Code.

The Hagia Sophia Best-known example of Byzantine architecture the largest Christian church in the world became the model for later Eastern Orthodox churches

Influences on Russia Trade between Byzantine Empire and Russia Russians visited Constantinople and were exposed to magnificence of Christian churches Early Russian ruler married the sister of a Byzantine Emperor and converted to Christianity Missionaries spread the religion – Cyril and Methodius Cyrillic alphabet – based on the Greek, put the sounds of Slavic languages into writing so they could read the bible Russian alphabet based on Cyrillic alphabet thus it is derived from the Greek alphabet Russian culture, art and architecture, resembled those of the Byzantine Empire

The end of the Byzantines 1453 – Constantinople captured by Muslim conquerors The Byzantine empire is overtaken by the Ottoman Empire Constantinople is renamed Istanbul Minarets are added to the Hagia Sophia as it is converted into a mosque, all its murals are covered and replaced with Muslim geometric and other decorative patterns