The Byzantine Empire: The Other half of the Rome Puzzle

Writing into the Day-Possible test question Why did Constantinople fall and how did this affect the region in years to come?

Discussion What is the source of the icon debate? What is the essence of the pro-icon argument What is the essence of the anti-icon argument? Why was this such a divisive issue? How does this argument contribute to the development of two separate “Christian” churches?

I. The Byzantine Empire A. The Origins of the Empire – The Emperor Constantine accomplished many things, starting with the conversion of the Empire to Christianity. He also moved the seat the seat of the Eastern Empire to Constantinople, which developed into a huge metropolis and an epicenter of trade and culture, a gateway from the west to the east. – The Empire had become to large to be controlled from one capital, so the split made sense, even though the western Empire could not withstand the onslaught of various barbarian tribes. – The capital of The Eastern Empire became Constantinople, while the capital of the western empire, as long as it lasted, was in Rome. Rome remained the seat of the Western Empires branch of Christianity, the Roman Catholic Church. – Latin, the language of the western Empire, became synonymous with barbarism and therefore Greek was the language of choice in the eastern Empire.

B. Justinian – While Justinian unsuccessfully attempted to reunite the Roman Empire by invading Italy, his actual accomplishments included the rebuilding of Constantinople after being damages by a series of invasions. – The Slavic kingdom of Bulgaria was eventually taken over by Byzantium, making the Byzantine Empire the most powerful empire in the world for a short time. – The Hagia Sophia, a wonder of the Christian World, was an engineering achievement commissioned by Justinian – The Justinian code was a codification of Roman law, meaning that finally the edicts and decisions of the roman courts were finally written down in a formal way, reducing confusion and uniting the Byzantine Empire. This code helped spread Roman Legal principals all across Europe.

Example From the Justinian Code 1. Jurisprudence is the knowledge of things divine and human; the science of the just and the unjust. 2. Having explained these general terms, we think we shall commence our exposition of the law of the Roman people most advantageously, if we pursue at first a plain and easy path, and then proceed to explain particular details with the utmost care and exactness. For, if at the outset we overload the mind of the student, while yet new to the subject and unable to bear much, with a multitude and variety of topics, one of two things will happen- --we shall either cause him wholly to abandon his studies, or, after great toil, and often after great distrust to himself (the most frequent stumbling block in the way of youth), we shall at last conduct him to the point, to which, if he had been led by an easier road, he might, without great labor, and without any distrust of his own powers, have been sooner conducted. 3. The maxims of law are these: to live honesty, to hurt no one, to give every one his due. 4. The study of law is divided into two branches; that of public and that of private law. Public law regards the government of the Roman empire; private law, the interest of the individuals. We are now to treat of the latter, which is composed of three elements, and consists of precepts belonging to the natural law, to the law of nations, and to the civil law.

I. The Byzantine Empire (continued) C. Arab Pressure and the Empire's Defenses – The center of empire shifts to the east as emperors after Justinian fortify this area against Muslim invaders, advancing Christianity and Roman engineering Achievements into the Middle east. – The Empire’s external threats were Arabs, Muslim Turks, and Slavic kingdoms from Bulgaria. D. Byzantine Society and Politics – Byzantine Politics-*Think China here* The emperor was ordained by God, and was considered the Head of the Church and the state. This was to be contrasted with e Western Church(Roman Catholic) which was led by a pope, but secular leaders typically led the governments of the various kingdoms. Women occasionally ruled, a big no-no in the Western Empire. Theodora ( ) was an Example of a powerful female emperor.

– Byzantine Court ritual was related to the state religion (Christianity) but often limited the actual power of the ruler, though they were supposed to be all- power, with het authority of God. – The Byzantine bureaucracy was similar to China, as there was a civil service style exam which required applicants to be scholars educated in the classics of Greek and Roman Culture and philosophy. There were state governors similar to that of the original Roman Empire, though this time with spies that would detect dissention among the military authorities(think about how military power translates to political power, lets not have a repeat of Julius Caesar). Economic control: – The Byzantine empire controlled its economy by regulating trade and controlling food prices, keeping them low enough so that Urban poor could afford to buy food. The money for this came from high taxes, typically garnered from rural farmers. – Silk production became important, as formerly silk came form China, but with silkworms ant the techniques to make silk came to the empire, they were able to compete with traders from China, and because they were closer to western Europe and the Slavic kingdoms to the north, a strong and lucrative trade emerged. – Byzantine art and architecture evolved very differently to the art and archtecture of Western Europe. Influences from the east as well as the religious traditions of the new Eastern Orthodox church(icons) combined to create an elaborate new style very distinct to the Byzantines.

I. The Byzantine Empire (continued) E. The Split Between Eastern and Western Christianity The two groups took Separate paths for several reasons. 1.Tensions mounted over whether or not the Pope should have ultimate control over the doctrine and organization of the church. Also, the debate over Icons rose as a major and divisive factor. Patriarch Michael was a church leader that debated two main issues-celibacy of priests and the leavening of bread. Mutual excommunication-This led to the formal spit between the eastern Church and the Western Church. Patriarch Michael excommunicated all roman Catholics, and the Pope excommunicated Patriarch Michael and all of his followers. F. The Empire's Decline The Period of decline in the Byzantine Empire occurred right after the church split, and lasted about 400 years. The invasions of the Seljuk Turks The Turks slowly seized all asian provinces of the empire. At Manzikert, there was a decisive loss by the Byzantine Meporer to the turks, and the empire never recovered. The emergence of the Slavic states came from missionaries from the Byzantine Empire who brought Byzantine culture and religion to the slavic peoples of this region. Crusaders came through to free the holy land, and actually at one point took over Constantanople. Constantinople fell