Civilization in Eastern Europe: Byzantium & Orthodox Europe Chapter 9
The Byzantine Empire I. Origins of the Empire Former Eastern Roman Empire Constantine (4th century CE) Constantinople Greek official language Commerce Flourished for centuries & weathered many attacks
The Byzantine Empire II. Justinian’s Achievements Justinian Emperor after Constantine Tried to restore Roman Empire Belisarius – general Hagia Sophia- noted for its large dome Justinian’s Code Unified law based on Roman legal principles Faced attacks from Slavs & Persians
The Byzantine Empire III. Arab Pressure & the Empire’s Defenses 7th Century Arab Muslims constantly attack Byzantine Burdened economy Peasants taxed heavily Aristocratic estates grew in power Center of Empire Shifts East Bulgaria – Slavic Kingdom Defeated by Basil II 11th Century Byzantine possibly the most powerful empire at the time
The Byzantine Empire IV. Byzantine Society & Politics Emperor Ordained by god Head of Church Passed religious & secular laws Some women held throne Theodora & Zoe Sophisticated bureaucracy Open to all classes Provincial governors
The Byzantine Empire Bureaucracy controlled trade & food prices Trade with Russia, Asia, Scandinavia, Europe, & Africa Specialized in luxury goods Byzantine Empire resembled China in many aspects
The Byzantine Empire V. Split between Eastern & Western Christianity Eastern church not under papal authority West = priest chaste Eastern = priests could marry Patriarch Michael (over Eastern Church) excommunicated him and his followers Responded by doing the same to Roman Catholics
The Byzantine Empire VI. Empire’s Decline From 11th century Lost Battle of Manzikert to Seljuk Turks and the empire never recovered Take most of Byzantine Asian provinces Turkish settlements & Slavic kingdoms Appeal to West brings Crusades Venetian crusaders conquer Constantinople Empire falls in 1453
The Spread of Civilization in Eastern Europe Influence through conquests, conversions, & trade Cyril and Methodius sent to Czech and Slovak republics Created a written script for the Slavic language Cyrillic
The Spread of Civilization in Eastern Europe I. The east central Borderlands Competition between Catholics & Orthodox Greeks Catholics – Czechs, Hungary, & Poland Regional monarchies prevail Jews from Middle East & W. Europe migrating to Poland
The Spread of Civilization in Eastern Europe II. Slavs from Asia Iron working & agriculture Mixed with earlier inhabitants & invaders Animistic Gods of sun, wind, thunder, and fire Regional kingdoms Traded with Byzantine & Scandinavian merchants used Dnieper River for trade routes 855CE first Kievian Monarch Rurik Kiev center of kingdom
The Spread of Civilization in Eastern Europe Vladimir I – Rurik descendant Forced subjects to convert via mass baptisms Russian Orthodox Controls church Formal law code Yaroslav – last Kievan prince Used marriages to create ties with other Europeans Translated religious literature from Greek to Slavic
The Spread of Civilization in Eastern Europe III. Institutions and Culture in Kievan Rus’ Adopted many Byzantine ceremonies Orthodox Christianity penetrated Russian culture Ornate churches Icons Monasticism Literature, Art – dominated by religion and royalty Free Farmers predominate Russian aristocrats - boyars
The Spread of Civilization in Eastern Europe IV. Kievan Decline From 12th century Rival governments Succession issues Invasion of Mongols (tartars) 13th century Traditional culture survives Christianity survives
The Spread of Civilization in Eastern Europe The end of an era in Eastern Europe Western Europe remained free from outside control Eastern Europe fell as the Byzantine & Russian Empire fell