 The empire in the West collapsed Due to invasion  The empire in the East was stable It considered itself the “Roman Empire” with a new name “Byzantine Empire” Byzantium was an old name for Constantinople

 For a couple of reasons: By the 5 th century, the bulk of population and wealth fell in the Eastern part, so they were better prepared to face hard times  The invasions eventually divided East from West  Justinian came to power in 527

 Dreamed of uniting the empire as well as the church under his rule  He was able to make his dream come true  Last strong Emperor  Kept out barbarians  But the reunion did not last long, it was almost immediately destroyed after Justinian’s death

 They were co- rulers  It was uncommon for women to rule

 He was faced with a challenge: the heresy of Monophysitism  The council of Chalcedon in 451 had dealt directly with the question of Christ’s human and divine natures, but its decision that Christ is both fully human and fully divine was not accepted everywhere.  Justinian stood firmly on the side of Chalcedon  Theodora was a supporter of the monophysites (supporters of Monophysitism)  The church was divided  Justinian was never able to re-unite the church

 Hagia Sophia

 In the year 1453 the Turks conquered Constantinople and renamed it Istanbul  They converted Hagia Sophia into a mosque A symbol of Christian faith changed into a symbol of the conqueror’s power It remained a mosque for five centuries  Today it remains as a museum

All Decorations were destroyed when Hagia Sophia was converted to a mosque