byzantine Empire Worksheet Key

Roman Emperor Constantine moved the capital to Byzantium and renamed it Constantinople. Two reasons why: A. He could respond to the danger of Germanic tribes (defense- military) B. He could be close to his rich eastern provinces (money- economy)

Byzantine Empire was an autocratic theocratic monarchy. A Byzantine Empire was an autocratic theocratic monarchy. A. Autocratic- ruled with absolute power B. Theocratic- headed the government and the church

Two ways Byzantine citizens where different from Roman citizens: A Two ways Byzantine citizens where different from Roman citizens: A. Few people spoke Latin; most spoke Greek B. Belonged to eastern branch of the Christian Church– Eastern Orthodox

Description of Justinian’s Code/Corpus Juris Civilius and its impact: A. Collection of over 400 years of Roman law and decisions made by Roman judges; created a single uniform code of law; comprised of nearly 5000 laws, legal opinions, textbook for law students, and new legislation B. Impact- provided the basis of law for the Byzantine Empire for 900 years; many of those ideas used in the USA today

Why was Constantinople in an advantageous location for trade and defensive purposes? It was at the entrance to the Black Sea; could serve as a choke point Helps in defense, provides great advantage in trade; act as “middle men” and gain large amounts of wealth

Hagia Sophia: A. “Holy Wisdom”- a cathedral (church) Justinian wanted to make the most splendid in the Christian world to show the close connection between church and state in his empire B. Today, it is a mosque

Byzantine families valued education is important to us today because: A. Byzantine scholars preserved many of the great works of Greece and Rome that could be passed on to us today

In 1054, the Christian Church split into two parts, the Roman Catholic Church in western Europe and the Orthodox Church in Eastern Europe. The leader of the western Church is called the Pope and the leader of the eastern Church is called the Patriarch. The split in 1054 is called the (Great) Schism.

Differences between these two churches in the 11th century: Roman Catholic Eastern Orthodox Services are conducted in Latin Pope has authority over all other bishops Pope claims authority over all kings/emperors Priests may not marry Divorce is not permitted Services are conducted in Greek or local language Patriarch & other bishops head the church as a group Emperor claims authority over Patriarch/bishops Priests may be married Divorce is allowed under certain conditions

Two ways that Byzantine culture impacted Russia: A. St Two ways that Byzantine culture impacted Russia: A. St. Cyril created Slavic language – now Russian (Cyrillic alphabet) B. Vladimir converted to Christianity

Modern countries that the Byzantine Empire covers and how this compared to the original Roman Empire in size: A. Italy, Greece, Turkey, N. Africa B. Smaller