Byzantine Empire and Islamic Civilizations Tara Madsen

Background Info Constantine was the Roman emperor from 306-337 AD… he granted freedom of worship to the Christians. Constantine himself had converted to Christianity… before this time Christians and Jews were often persecuted for believing in only one God. He also moved the capital in 330 to Byzantium which he renamed Constantinople.

Constantine’s New Capital Constantine had decided to move the capital away from Rome because of the Germanic people constantly invading Rome. He also wanted to keep track of the rival Sassanid Empire in Persia which was easier to do from Constantinople. Like many emperors, Constantine liked to build… he added churches, palaces, theaters, a university and four courts of law. He called the capital “New Rome” and the City of Rome itself fell to invading Germanic people in 476.

Expanding Empire Several emperors ruled after Constantine’s death… one of the greatest was Justinian. He became emperor in 527… after riots destroyed the city in 532, Justinian rebuilt it adding aqueducts which supplied the city with water. Justinian is best known for his law code known as Justinian's Code… it simplified Roman law and influenced many laws in parts of Western Europe.

Life in the Byzantine Empire For most of its existence, Constantinople was the largest city in Europe… almost 1 million people lived there. Constantinople was an important trade center… it was a trade crossroads for north-south and east-west…. Its gold coin, the bezant, became the standard form of currency for traders from the 500s to the 1200s. The city was also a part of the famous Silk Road… the road was used by traders to transport goods and ideas in-between Asia and Europe.

Rise of Russia The lands we know as Russia were settled by nomadic peoples from Europe around 500 AD. These people were very influenced by the Byzantine Empire. They eventually developed trade routes throughout Russia along the rivers.

The Beginnings of Islam Most of the major religions of the world began with the thoughts and teachings of one person. Typically these teachers are known as prophets. Judaism- 2000 BC… Abraham Christianity- 0 AD… Jesus Islam- 620 AD… Muhammad

The Life of the Prophet Muhammad When he was forty years old, an Arab merchant named Muhammad Ibn Abdallah heard a voice that changed his life… he was in a cave on Mount Hira outside of Mecca. He usually went there during the day to pray and fast for the month of Ramadan… he was worried about the Arabian Empire… he felt that the values of the Arabic people had fallen off. They were worshiping other gods besides Allah. An angel appeared to Muhammad in the cave and gave him words of wisdom that eventually formed the Quran or the Muslim Holy Book.

Muhammad became unpopular in Mecca because he spoke out against injustices and he had to flee to Medina. While there he gathered many followers and raised an army… At first he did not think that he was founding a new religion, he considered himself a Jewish or Christian prophet… he respected both religions. Jews did not accept Muhammad as a prophet nor did they accept his version of their scriptures… he finally realized that the Muslims were going to be their own religious group.

Five Pillars of Islam Islam has five specific rules or pillars to follow. Prayer Fasting Charity Pilgrimage Belief

Crusades In 1096, Christians from Europe began a series of crusades against Islamic areas… they wanted to take back the Holy Land. The during the first wave of crusades, the Christians were successful in massacring thousands of Muslims and Jews. A powerful Muslim ruler, Saladin, invaded Jerusalem in 1187 and fought against the Christian Crusaders… he did not massacre the Christians that remained in Jerusalem.