Civilization in Eastern Europe: Byzantium and Orthodox Europe Chapter 9 Civilization in Eastern Europe: Byzantium and Orthodox Europe

Chapter 6-8 Multiple Choice Quiz

Make sure you are practicing brainstorming and outlining questions. We will be moving on to the next step in a couple days (Friday/Monday). Study/Review Units I & II for Friday/Monday. (Focus on Rome, China and India up to 600 C.E.) Read Russia Turns to Christianity (p. 206) for Wednesday/Thursday. Post a comment AND a response on the In Depth article (pp. 186-187). Inner/Outer Circle style. Due by Friday/Monday. Make sure it is in YOUR class discussion.

Cross-cultural comparisons You should be making comparisons among and between the civilizations that you have been studying so far in the course. The Byzantine Empire provides an opportunity for you to compare the religious, commercial, and political patterns of a post-classical civilization with earlier civilizations.

The Byzantine Empire under Justinian

The Byzantine empire and its neighbors 527-554 C.E.

The Byzantine Empire, 1000-1100

Lecture Describe the Byzantine political organization and culture and how they affected the development of eastern Europe.

Byzantine political organization was based on a centralized monarchy supported by a trained bureaucracy educated in classical traditions. Local administrators were appointed by the central administration. Political ideology focused on the principle of a divinely authorized monarchy supported by elaborate court ritual.

The Byzantines continued the use of Roman patterns of government as typified by the use of legal codes to organize society. Members of the military were recruited from the imperial population in return for grants of heritable land, which led eventually to regional control by military commanders.

There was a close relationship between the Orthodox church and the state, with the emperor as head of both. Byzantine culture expressed itself in religious artifacts (churches, icons, liturgical music). The expansion of Byzantine culture northward was through the conversion of Kiev to Orthodox Christianity.

The Russians also adopted the concept of a divinely inspired monarchy with close relations to a state-controlled church. Church-related art forms came along with orthodoxy. The Russians, however, were unable to adopt the Byzantine-trained bureaucracy.

Change Analysis Byzantine Empire: 565-1200

Conflict Analysis Arab incursions

Arab Pressure and the Empire’s Defenses. (pp. 198-199) Justinian’s successors concentrated on the defense of their eastern territories. The empire henceforth centered in the Balkans and western and central Turkey, a location blending a rich Hellenistic culture with Christianity. The revived empire withstood the 7th-century advance of Arab Muslims, although important regions were lost along the eastern Mediterranean and the northern Middle Eastern heartland. The wars and the permanent Muslim threat had significant cultural and commercial influences.

Arab Pressure and the Empire’s Defenses. (pp. 198-199) The free rural population, the provider of military recruits and taxes, was weakened. Aristocratic estates grew larger, and aristocratic generals became stronger. The empire’s fortunes fluctuated as it resisted pressures from the Arabs and Slavic kingdoms. Bulgaria was a strong rival, but Basil II defeated and conquered it in the 11th century. At the close of the 10th century, the Byzantine emperor may have been the strongest contemporary ruler.

The Empire’s Decline. (pp. 202-203) A long period of decline began in the 11th century. Muslim Turkish invaders seized almost all of the empire’s Asian provinces, removing the most important sources of taxes and food. The empire never recovered from the loss of its army at Manzikert in 1071. Independent Slavic states appeared in the Balkans.

The Empire’s Decline. (pp. 202-203) An appeal for western European assistance did not help the Byzantines. Crusaders, led by Venetian merchants, sacked Constantinople in 1204. Italian cities used their navies to secure special trading privileges. Byzantine Empire becomes a buffer between Western Europe and the growing Islamic Empire. A smaller empire struggled to survive for another two centuries against western Europeans, Muslims, and Slavic kingdoms.

The End of an Era in Eastern Europe. (p. 207) In 1453, the Ottoman Turks conquered Constantinople. With the Mongol invasions, the decline of Russia, and the collapse of Byzantium, eastern Europe entered into a difficult period. Border territories, such as Poland, fell under Western influence, while the Balkans fell to the Islamic world of the Turks. Western and eastern Europe evolved separately, with the former pushing ahead in power and cross-cultural sophistication.

Compare the development of civilization in eastern and western Europe. Class Discussion Compare the development of civilization in eastern and western Europe.

The West developed around Rome and its empire; likewise, the East branched from the Roman Empire during its decline. The religions also branched from the Romans. Rome developed by conquest, while trade was what spread to the East.

Class Discussion Evaluate the significance of the Byzantine Empire to the civilization of Europe.

The Byzantine Empire was the birth place of Orthodox Christianity. This branch of Christianity spread through Eastern Europe westward, creating an alternative to Catholicism. Russia was also influenced by this empire, and claimed to be its heir. The Orthodox church and the civilization of Russia are the two most significant contributions to Europe.

Compare Orthodox Christianity to Roman Catholicism. Class Discussion Compare Orthodox Christianity to Roman Catholicism.

Byzantine culture, political organization, and economic orientation help to explain the rift between the eastern and western versions of Christianity. Different rituals grew from Greek and Latin versions of the Bible. Emperors resisted papal attempts to interfere in religious issues.

Hostility greeted the effort of the Frankish king, Charlemagne, to be recognized as Roman emperor. The final break between the two churches occurred in 1054 over arguments about the type of bread used in the mass and celibacy of priests. Even though the two churches remained separate, they continued to share a common classical heritage.

Lecture Compare the effect of Byzantium on eastern Europe with the effect of the Islamic core on Africa and southern Asia.

For Byzantine culture, see the previous lecture notes. Both civilizations first spread their influence through missionaries; both civilizations passed on influences that produced centralized governments supported by the religious organization of the core cultures. Islam had a much greater effect than did Byzantium.

The latter was limited to eastern Europe, while Islam spread into much of Asia and Africa. Byzantium’s influence was more tenuous, since there was less direct continuity over time because it did not survive the postclassical period. In Russia, Byzantine influence was interrupted by the Mongol conquest. Islam has endured in all regions until the present.

Byzantine Empire and early Russia Societal Comparison Byzantine Empire and early Russia

Russia Turns to Christianity Document Analysis Russia Turns to Christianity (p. 206)

Evaluate the reasons for the decline of the Byzantine Empire. Class Discussion Evaluate the reasons for the decline of the Byzantine Empire.

The Byzantine Empire began to decline after the split between the East and the West. Turkish invaders pressed in on the eastern borders, eventually annihilating the emperor’s large army. Independent Slavic kingdoms in the Balkans, such as Serbia, and the Western leaders ignoring the requests for help from the East further established decline, and eventually the Turks gained complete control.

Class Discussion Describe the influence of the Byzantine Empire on the development of Russia.

Princes were attracted to and borrowed several Byzantine ideas, such as the concept that a central ruler should have wide powers. They also borrowed Byzantine ceremonies and luxury. Orthodox Christianity penetrated into the culture of Russia and soon traditional practices such as polygamy were replaced with Christian practices. Russia also adopted Byzantine models in its art and architecture.

Class Discussion How did eastern Europe fall behind western Europe in terms of political development?

Soon after the split between the East and the West, eastern Europe declined as Byzantine and Kievan rule fell. As this was going on, the “barbaric” West was developing its own strengths. Within a few centuries the dynamism of western Europe eclipsed that of eastern Europe, partially due to the strengthening of feudal monarchy around 1400, which provided stronger and more effective regional and national governments in the West.

Leader Analysis Justinian

PRACTICE FOR THE AP EXAM

In answering the essay questions, remember to answer the question asked, not the one you think is being asked. In order to be clear about what is being asked, you need to read the question prompt carefully, underlining, bracketing, or in some way highlighting the core components of the question. You should then restate the question in your own words and check this restatement against the original question prompt to be sure you understand what is being asked. A minute or two spent clarifying the question will reap the reward of a focused essay.

ASSESSMENT

Each student is to write the opening sentence to an essay answering the question he or she received. Before writing, students should brainstorm a list of ideas, words, names, and facts that will help them answer the question. They should write the list on the front side of the sheet. When they have their lists, students should turn the sheet over and write their thesis statements on the reverse. When they have finished, they hand the sheet and the question to the person their right who will add the next sentence in the essay. Continue in this way until students have written seven or eight sentences.

Discuss the major similarities and differences between the collapse of TWO of the following empires: Rome (200-600 C.E.) Han (50 B.C.E.-220 C.E.) Gupta (300-550 C.E.) Analyze the cultural and political changes and continuities in ONE of the following civilizations during the last centuries of the classical era. Chinese, 100 C.E. to 600 C.E. Roman, 100 C.E. to 600 C.E. Indian, 300 C.E. to 600 C.E.

Analyze similarities and differences in methods of political control in TWO of the following empires in the Classical period. Han China (206 B.C.E.-220 C.E.) Mauryan/Gupta India (320 B.C.E-550 C.E.) Imperial Rome (31 B.C.E-476 C.E.) Describe and analyze the spread, changes, and impact of a religion/belief system on a civilization, from the origins of the religion/belief system up to 600 C.E. Be sure to discuss continuities as well as changes to the civilization as a result of that religion/belief system. Choose ONE from below: Hinduism: India Confucianism: China Christianity: Roman Empire