Byzantine Empire – Eastern Roman Empire

Byzantine Empire (330 CE-1453 CE) The Eastern Empire split from Rome after 330 CE, and continued under Greek rule While the West fell in 485 CE, the East continued and was a dominant force In economics, politics, trade, and culture throughout the P-C Era Throughout the Post-Classical Era, the Byzantine Empire would connect The trade routes of the MSTN to the East through the Silk Road in Antioch At its height, Justinian (527-565) and Theodora reconquerd the West However, plagues, like the Black Death (14th century), rebellions (Basil the Copperhand), and invasions (Arabs and Turks) would lead to its decline in 1453

Eastern Orthodox Church – 1054 CE to Present United with the pope in Rome, religious differences causes the Great Schism in 1054, starting the Eastern Orthodox Church in Constantinople This split in Christendom established the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church separately, and as enemies However, the Patriarch of Constantinople was setup as the equivalent of the pope in Rome and gave legitimacy to the emperor by anointing him (constructed Hagio Sophia) Religious hierarchy was similar to the Church in Rome, with bishops and priests heading churches and convents throughout From here, missionaries (Cyril and Methodius) spread throughout eastern Europe, and converted the Kievan Rus and other Slavic peoples

Byzantine Domestic Policies and Issues Initially, caesaropapism the gave the emperor both political and religious power as head of both the state and the church However, it soon became clear that having a moral religious leader and political leader were impossible, as well as the presence of laws that were Christian-focused in nature As a result, law became a civil (purely state, and not religious) subject under the Byzantines Common laws were formed that applied to all citizens, and attempted to be treated as fair rules and regulations for human beings, rather than simply a way for rulers to exert power Code of Justinian – was established as the form of common law throughout the empire, & marked the beginning of a unified civil law (with juries, judges, etc.) that cont. in the West

Kievan Rus

Hagia Sophia

Contemporary Hagia Sophia