The Byzantine Empire: Chapter 11.1

I. Background Info. Rome divided 395 CE - East and West 330 CE Emperor Constantine made Byzantium the capital of the Roman Empire in the East 1. He renamed the city Constantinople 2. City was Christian and the language Greek not Latin 3. City combined both Eastern and Western ways of life 4. City became center of world trade and wealthy through trade

Constantinople = strategic city with multicultural character Located near centers of early Christianity & trade routes @ the crossroads of Europe and Asia People spoke Latin, Greek, and had influences from Persia – blended Christian beliefs with Greek science, etc. C. Byzantine Empire was rich and powerful 1. Unified 2. Educated (University of Constantinople est. 850 CE 3. Trade center 4. Cultural blending 5. Most advanced city in world btwn 500 CE & 1200 CE = highest standard of living D. Rulers had: Absolute power Headed church High risk of assassination

E. Byzantine Empire promoted Christianity 1. appointed church leaders 2. defined style of worship 3. unified empire under Christianity at expense of non- Christians and Jews

II. Eastern Empire - A New Rome A. Justinian, Greatest Byzantine Emperor - took throne - 527 CE (died 565 CE) 1. Greek - official lang. 2. Expanded empire to greatest size 3. Strong central government 4. Head of the Church 5. Wife Theodora - powerful – helped him rule a. Responsible for women gaining the right to own land b. Women gained right to manage late husband’s property c. Widows could raise their children as they wished d. Taxpayers revolted, she told Justinian not to flee  he then ruled w/0 challenge

III. Byzantine Empire under Justinian Expansion of Empire; by 550s, Byzantines controlled all lands around the Mediterranean except France 1. Wars to gain new lands left empire weak 2. Justinian faced constant threat of attack from the Persian Empire

B. Justinian Code Justinian gathered and organized 400 years of Roman Law and Byzantine Law Code Served empire for 900 years Through this code the basic ideas of Roman law passed into the legal system of most nations of western Europe

Built bridges, churches, forts & fortified walls C. Architectural achievements; Justinian’s most lasting architectural achievement = building program Built bridges, churches, forts & fortified walls Greatest success = Church of Hagia Sophia – huge dome & mosaics lined the marble walls Schools Hippodrome - horse races - free Hagia Sophia

Hagia Sophia

D. Byzantine Church 1. Church was combined with the state = theocracy a. Church leader appointed by the emperor 2. Believed that faith, not reason, was the way to find God’s truth 3. Used icons in their worship 4. Church united the empire E. Stable Society 1. Efficient government: well organized with educated people working for the government 2. Strong economy a. wealthy from trade btwn Europe, Asia, and Middle East b. industries of its own: farming did not depend on slave labor

IV. Muslim invasions: 630s & 640s Muslims took over many parts of the Byzantine Empire Wanted to spread their religion and gain wealth 717 Muslims attacked Constantinople Emperor Leo stopped attack with secret weapon called Greek Fire D. Leo’s victory in 717 important… STOPPED Muslims from invading Europe, which was too weak to resist

V. The relationship between the Roman Empire and the Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire adopted Christianity from the Roman Empire Byzantine Empire was created from the division of the Roman Empire into the Eastern and Western Empires Byzantine Empire adopted and modified Roman Law Code under the rule of Justinian (Justinian’s Code)

VI. Religious disputes Dispute over the use of Icons 1. 726 Emperor Leo forbade the use of icons. a. Issue of icons divided the empire b. 787, Council of Bishops said that use of icons was heresy c. 843, compromise reached– people could worship pictures, not statues d. Icon issue increased split btwn Byzantine and Roman Catholic Churches 2. 1054 Christian Church split = Schism over use of icons 1. separation of church into Roman Catholic (western empire) and Eastern Orthodox church (eastern empire B. Source of religious authority 1. Pope in Rome & Patriarch in Constantinople a. Charlemagne given title of emperor by Pope… Patriarch ticked = his job

C. Conversion of the Slavs: 800s missionaries from Byzantine Empire went to eastern Europe to convert the Slavs 1. Only converted the Bulgarians and Russians 2. Cyril and Methodius, missionaries, invented Cyrillic alphabet 3. Russia and Byzantine Empire developed strong ties

VII. Decline of the Empire: 1000s Byzantine Empire weakened A. lost trade with European cities B. 1071 Seljuk Turks from central Asia and Normans from Europe captured Byzantine lands 1. Pope sent armies of crusaders to save the Byzantine Empire from Turks, instead armies took Byzantine lands and attacked Constantinople 2. 1255 Byzantines retook Constantinople and held it for about 200 years C. 1347 Bubonic Plague “Black Death” killed two–thirds of the people of Constantinople D. 1453, the Ottoman Turks captured Constantinople (changed the name to Istanbul) 1. Used new weapon – the canon = End of Byzantine Empire