The Byzantine Empire Copyright © Clara Kim 2007. All rights reserved.
Western Rome SPLITS EASTERN ROME
Western Rome EASTERN ROME Byzantine
Capital = Constantinople Continued as the New ROME EASTERN ROME Capital = Constantinople Continued as the New ROME Kings saw themselves to still be considered ROMAN emperors
EASTERN ROME BECOMES Byzantine Empire
Justinian Justinian was a serious emperor who worked from dawn to midnight He helped rebuild and re-unite the Roman Empire Had ABSOLUTE POWER = controlled both government and church
Byzantine Under Justinian He wanted a re-conquest of the Roman territories that were lost through Germanic invasions
Justinian’s Accomplishments Sent Belisarius to take North Africa from the Vandals 2 Years later Best general Belisarius took Rome back from the Ostrogoths Justinian won back nearly all the territory Rome used to rule
Justinian Code Justinian set up a panel of legal experts to look through 400 years of Roman law. Some laws were outdated Justinian wanted to create a single, uniform code This became known as the Justinian Code, which was used for 900 years after his death
Justinian Code Consisted of four works that that regulated areas of Byzantine life, such as marriage, slavery, property, inheritance, women’s rights, and criminal justice. The Code (Contained nearly 5,000 Roman laws) The Digest (Quoted the opinions of Rome’s greatest legal thinkers) The Institutes (Textbook that told students how to use law) The Novellae (New laws that were passed after 534)
Empress Theodora Most powerful woman in Byzantine history During her husband Justinian’s reign, she met with foreign leaders, passed laws, and built churches.
Byzantine Culture During a war against three rivals, Byzantine emperor Constantine prayed for divine intervention and ended up winning the battle In 313, he announced the end of the persecution of Christians and declared Christianity to be one of the official religions of the empire.
Capital of Constantinople Imported goods and products from many different countries from Asia, Africa, and Europe. Acrobats and street musicians were a secondary form of entertainment The Hippodrome (similar to the Coliseum) offered citizens the chance to see various chariot races and performing acts.
Constantinople Survived because it was far away from the Germanic tribe invasions Was known as the crossroads of trade, so it was successful Preserved Greco-Roman culture
Byzantine Culture The main street that ran through Constantinople was called the MESE which means “Middle Way” It ran from the imperial palace to the outer walls
Byzantine Culture There was a giant open-air market where shoppers could buy Tin from England Wine from France Cork from Spain Ivory and gold from Africa
Byzantine Culture Families valued education Sent children to monastic or public schools Hired private tutors Greek and Latin grammar, philosophy and rhetoric They preserved Greek and Roman great works
Byzantine Culture Launched the most ambitious public building program the Roman world had ever seen. City protected by a deep moat, and three walls that were 25 feet thick City coast was surrounded by a 14-mile stone wall
Byzantine Culture Preserved and mainly utilized Greco-Roman culture Utilized Greek educational resources from scholars such as Homer, Herodotus, and Euclid.
The Hagia Sophia Justinians’ most splendid building Means “Holy Wisdom” in Greek Was destroyed by riots in 532, but re-built by Justinian to be most splendid Christian church in the world.
Byzantine Impact on Russia Because of trading, Slavs began absorbing and utilizing the Byzantine culture Vikings founded the city of Kiev in Russia in order to sail by river and sea to trade with Constantinople
Byzantine Impact on Russia Princess Olga visited Constantinople and publicly converted to Christianity Her son, Vladimir, came to the throne, converted to Christianity, and made all of his subjects do the same Yaroslav the Wise came to power and, like Byzantine rulers, married his sisters and daughters off to different rulers of Western Europe