2. The Byzantine Empire and Russia 1

3. Fall of the Roman Empire Emperor Diocletian split the Roman Empire in an attempt to better control it’s huge territory. He took the eastern part, which was more stable and wealthy. 2

4. Emperor Constantine moved the capital of the Roman Empire from Rome to the city of Byzantium. In 330 AD, he renamed the city “Constantinople”. 3

5. Throughout the 300 and 400’s, the Western Roman Empire was attacked repeatedly by Germanic tribes. Rome finally collapsed in 476 AD. 4

6. = While the Western Empire collapsed, the Eastern Empire carried on the traditions of Rome. Their kings still considered themselves Roman Emperors. 5

7. “Nova Roma” Eastern Roman emperors were determined to make a “New Rome” and even take back the Western empire from the German tribes. = 6

8. Geography of the Byzantine Empire Constantinople’s strategic location near the Black Sea was good for both defense and trade. 7

9. Geography of the Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire was far away from the areas conquered by Germanic tribes. 8

10. Geography of the Byzantine Empire Constantinople was built on a peninsula, which was easy to defend once walls were built. 9

11. Emperors Constantine and Theodosius created multi- layered wall systems that protected Constantinople until the invention of cannons, 900 years later. 10

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13. Geography of the Byzantine Empire A natural harbor, called the Golden Horn, protected ships. 12

14. Geography of the Byzantine Empire Constantinople was built on the Bosporus Strait, which was a narrow, easily controlled passageway between the Black and Mediterranean Seas. 13

15. Constantinople was located in between many wealthy trading nations, so it became a crossroads of trade. Geography of the Byzantine Empire 14

16. Role of Constantinople Constantinople was the capital of the Byzantine Empire until its conquest in 1453 AD by the Ottomans. 15

17. Role of Constantinople Scholars in Constantinople helped preserve Greek and Roman learning and culture. – Read Homer and Virgil – Shared Socrates, Plato and Aristotle’s ideas – Studied Euclid, Pythagoras, etc. 16

18. Role of Constantinople Trade routes from Asia, Europe and Africa met in Constantinople, which helped spread products and learning from different regions. 17

19. Emperor Justinian Justinian was a wealthy nobleman who took over as emperor in 527 AD and ruled until 565. He was determined to take back the Western Empire. 18

20. Justinian was an absolute ruler who controlled both the government and religion in the Byzantine Empire. 19

21. Justinian’s greatest advisor was his wife, Theodora. – She started out as an actress. – Later, she met with foreign leaders, built churches and passed laws. 20

22. Justinian’s Accomplishments He sent powerful armies to reconquer North Africa and Italy. – Orange = before Justinian, Orange+Yellow = after Justinian 21

23. Justinian wanted Constantinople to become a “New Rome”, so we authorized many building projects. Justinian’s Accomplishments 22

24. Justinian rebuilt the city walls. They were 25 feet thick and had towers 70 feet tall. 23

25. He rebuilt a destroyed church called the Hagia Sophia (“Holy Wisdom” in Greek). 24

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27. One of the largest interior domed spaces in the world. 26

28. The interior contains many religious icons in the form of mosaics. – Icon – a religious image used by Eastern Christian groups. – Mosaic - an illustration created using small pieces of stone, glass or other materials. 27

29. Justinian Code Many Roman laws were outdated, repeated or contradictory, so Justinian gathered legal experts from around the empire to make a simplified unified law code. 28

30. The simplified law code contained 5,000 laws and texts for students of the law to study. It was used by the Byzantine empire for the next 900 years. 29

31. Trade under Justinian A major road called the Mese (middle) was built going in to Constantinople. – It ran from the city walls to the Emperor’s palace. 30

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33. Constantinople’s markets traded products from all around Europe, Asia and Africa. – Tin from England – Wine from France – Cork from Spain – Spices from Asia – Ivory and gold from Africa 32

34. Artistic and Cultural achievements of the Byzantine Empire. 33

35. Art and Architecture Inspiration for most art was provided by the Christian religion. – Ex. The largest buildings were churches and their artwork the most detailed. 34

36. Icons were religious images that Christians would use in worship. – Usually pictures of Jesus and the saints. 35

37. Mosaics showed both religious and non-religious topics. 36

38. The Hagia Sophia was originally a Christian church and later changed into a Muslim mosque. 37

39. Byzantine Culture The Byzantine Empire continued to collect and expand upon the ideas of Greece and Rome. – Libraries contained many copies of Greek and Roman works (ex. Homer, Virgil, etc). 38

40. Greek was the official language, as opposed to Latin in the Western Empire. 39

41. Christianity evolved into the Eastern Orthodox religion in this empire. 40

42. The Division of Christianity 41

43. As time passed, Byzantine power grew and Rome’s weakened. 42

44. 43 Christianity evolved into a different religion in the East and conflict arose over several major issues.

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46. 1) What language should the liturgy be in? Roman Catholic services were in Latin. Eastern Orthodox services were in Greek. Liturgy - the customary public worship (service) done by a specific religious group. 45

47. 2) Who should control the church? In the Roman Catholic church the pope has control over other bishops and priests. In the Eastern Orthodox church, the Patriarchs of different cities run the church as a group. 46

48. 3) How will the government and church relate? In the Roman Catholic church, the Pope has power over kings and emperors. In the Eastern Orthodox church, the king or emperor controlled the church. 47

49. 4) Can priests marry? Roman Catholics thought priests should practice celibacy. – the state of not being married. Eastern Orthodox priests were allowed to get married. 48

50. 5) Can people get divorced? Roman Catholics do not permit divorce. Eastern Orthodoxy allows divorce under certain conditions. 49

51. Western Church (Roman Catholic) Services conducted in Latin The Pope has authority over all church officials The Pope has authority over kings and emperors Priests may not marry Divorce not permitted Eastern Orthodox Church Services conducted in Greek The patriarch and other officials rule the church as a group The emperor claims authority over the church Priests may marry Divorce permitted under certain conditions 50

52. The Schism In 730 AD, Byzantine emperor Leo III banned the use of icons, claiming that they were similar to worshiping idols. 51

53. Leo’s supporters broke into churches, smashed idols and defaced mosaics. His supporters were called iconoclasts. – Iconoclast – “icon breaker”. 52

54. The Pope and the Patriarch became increasingly hostile towards each other. 53

55. In 1054 AD, the Pope and Patriarch excommunicated each other, which formalized the split between the eastern and western Christian churches. – Excommunication – the taking away of a person’s right of membership in a Christian church. 54

56. This split between the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches is known as the Great Schism. 55

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58. The spread of Eastern Orthodox Christianity 57

59. Around 800 AD Vikings from Scandinavia moved into modern Russia and began to mix with the native Slavic people. – Slavs – people who originate from Eastern Europe in the area north of the Black Sea. 58

60. The Vikings were fierce warriors but also excellent navigators and merchants. 59

61. Vikings traded along the rivers of Russia south to Constantinople. 60

62. Viking longships were strong enough to travel on the ocean, but shallow enough to travel up rivers. 61

63. They traded cloth, furs, metal bars, timber and slaves (taken from the word “Slav”). 62

64. The Vikings and Slavs merged into modern Russian groups. 63

65. Russian kingdoms were later controlled the czars (sometimes spelled “tsar”) with the help of the boyars. – Boyars – the land- owning noble class in Russia. – Czar (or Tsar) – the emperor of Russia. 64

66. In the 800’s, Saints Cyril and Methodius went to the Russian territory to convert people to Orthodox Christianity. 65

67. They developed an alphabet (later called the Cyrillic alphabet) for the Slavic language. This helped Christianity spread more quickly. 66

68. Russian culture, religion, art and architecture is a combination of Byzantine, Slavic and Viking backgrounds. 67

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