The Byzantine Empire A New Rome

Setting the Stage Byzantine Empire was the eastern half of the old Roman Empire Byzantium – Capital City Constantinople under the rule of Constantine before split of empire Eastern Empire would continue for nearly 1000 years after the fall of the West

A New Rome 395: Romans divide empire Difficult communication between East & West Western Empire was beset by corruption and attacks from barbarians Eastern rulers view themselves as rulers for all of Rome

395: Empire Splits

A New Rome (cont.) 527: Justinian becomes emperor Goal: Regain the glory of Rome 533: Sends general Belisarius to re-conquer North Africa = succeeds 535: Belisarius captures Rome from the Ostrogoths Rome changes hands 6 times over the next 16 years Justinian reclaims Italy, calls himself Caesar

Byzantine Empire – Greatest Extent Orange: Added by Belisarius for Justinian

Byzantine Emperors Rule with absolute power Head the state and the church Appoint bishops at will and are ruthless in politics Constantly under threat of assassination 88 Emperors (29 murdered, 13 step down)

Life in New Rome Byzantine Empire was Roman, but had its own identity Complex society with a uniform law system Justinian’s Code Code decides legal questions & regulated life (marriage, property, etc) Code serves empire for 900 years

Justinian’s Code Code consisted of 4 works 1) The Code = ~5,000 old, useful Roman laws 2) The Digest = 50 volumes of summaries & quotes from great Roman legal minds 3) The Institutes = Law textbook for students 4) The Novellae (New Laws) = legislation passed after 534

The Imperial Capital Justinian sets out to create a beautiful capital for the empire Rebuilds Constantinople’s fortifications 14-mile stone wall Built churches, schools, aqueducts, hospitals Crowning achievement: The Hagia Sophia

The Hagia Sopia

Culture & Education Although Roman, many Byzantines spoke Greek Byzantines valued education Education focused on classical learning Greek & Latin grammar Philosophy Greek & Roman classics Literature – Homer History – Herodotus Geometry – Euclid Medicine – Galen

Constantinople & the Nika Rebellion Main Street – the Mese (“Middle Way”) Trade center for products from around the world Hippodrome – chariot races & other acts (free) 60,000 capacity Nika Rebellion – fans call for Justinian’s head, Belisarius kills 30k rebels Theodora urges Justinian to stay – p. 303

The Hippodrome

Fall of the Empire Empire faces setbacks after Justinian dies Riots, foreign attacks, etc Plague of Justinian Bubonic Plague from rats; kills 10k/day at its height Attacks from all over the empire West: Lombards North: Slavs, Avars, Bulgars, Russians East: Persians & Muslims Constantinople attacked several times & Turks slowly take territory Battle of Manzikert

1453: Fall of the Empire (cont.) The Byzantines used everything to maintain their empire Diplomacy, marriages, military power Heraclius organizes provinces into military districts (delays enemies) Foreign attacks, slowly shrink the empire 1350: empire reduced to the tip of Anatolia & a strip on the Balkans The Walls keep invaders out Constantinople falls in 1453

The Walls

Division of the Church Christianity develops differently between the east & west Reason: Distance & Contact As the Eastern Empire grows, distance becomes greater Eastern Christianity built on works of early figures St. Basil – p. 304 Patriarchs subservient to the Emperor 730: Leo III bans use of icons = riots

Division of the Church (cont.) West: Pope supports use of icons Orders excommunication of Leo III Theodora restores icons in 843 1054: Pope & Patriarch excommunicate each other Church splits West: Roman Catholic Church East: Orthodox Church

Conversion of Slavs Both churches fight for converts Byzantine missionaries push to convert Slavs North of the Black Sea Cyril & Methodius invent the Cyrillic alphabet Allows Slavs to read the Bible in their own tongue