1. Civilization in Eastern Europe: Byzantium & Orthodox Europe
Chapter 9

2. The Byzantine Empire I. Origins of the Empire
Former Eastern Roman Empire
Constantine (4th century CE)
Constantinople
Greek official language
Commerce
Flourished for centuries & weathered many attacks

3. The Byzantine Empire II. Justinian’s Achievements
Justinian Emperor after Constantine
Tried to restore Roman Empire
Belisarius – general
Hagia Sophia- noted for its large dome
Justinian’s Code
Unified law based on Roman legal principles
Faced attacks from Slavs & Persians

6. The Byzantine Empire III. Arab Pressure & the Empire’s Defenses
7th Century Arab Muslims constantly attack Byzantine
Burdened economy
Peasants taxed heavily
Aristocratic estates grew in power
Center of Empire Shifts East
Bulgaria – Slavic Kingdom
Defeated by Basil II 11th Century
Byzantine possibly the most powerful empire at the time

7. The Byzantine Empire IV. Byzantine Society & Politics Emperor
Ordained by god
Head of Church
Passed religious & secular laws
Some women held throne
Theodora & Zoe
Sophisticated bureaucracy
Open to all classes
Provincial governors

9. The Byzantine Empire Bureaucracy controlled trade & food prices
Trade with Russia, Asia, Scandinavia, Europe, & Africa
Specialized in luxury goods
Byzantine Empire resembled China in many aspects

10. The Byzantine Empire V. Split between Eastern & Western Christianity
Eastern church not under papal authority
West = priest chaste
Eastern = priests could marry
Patriarch Michael (over Eastern Church) excommunicated him and his followers
Responded by doing the same to Roman Catholics

11. The Byzantine Empire VI. Empire’s Decline From 11th century
Lost Battle of Manzikert to Seljuk Turks and the empire never recovered
Take most of Byzantine Asian provinces
Turkish settlements & Slavic kingdoms
Appeal to West brings Crusades
Venetian crusaders conquer Constantinople
Empire falls in 1453

13. The Spread of Civilization in Eastern Europe
Influence through conquests, conversions, & trade
Cyril and Methodius sent to Czech and Slovak republics
Created a written script for the Slavic language
Cyrillic

14. The Spread of Civilization in Eastern Europe
I. The east central Borderlands
Competition between Catholics & Orthodox Greeks
Catholics – Czechs, Hungary, & Poland
Regional monarchies prevail
Jews from Middle East & W. Europe migrating to Poland

15. The Spread of Civilization in Eastern Europe
II. Slavs from Asia
Iron working & agriculture
Mixed with earlier inhabitants & invaders
Animistic
Gods of sun, wind, thunder, and fire
Regional kingdoms
Traded with Byzantine & Scandinavian merchants used Dnieper River for trade routes
855CE first Kievian Monarch Rurik
Kiev center of kingdom

17. The Spread of Civilization in Eastern Europe
Vladimir I – Rurik descendant
Forced subjects to convert via mass baptisms
Russian Orthodox
Controls church
Formal law code
Yaroslav – last Kievan prince
Used marriages to create ties with other Europeans
Translated religious literature from Greek to Slavic

18. The Spread of Civilization in Eastern Europe
III. Institutions and Culture in Kievan Rus’
Adopted many Byzantine ceremonies
Orthodox Christianity penetrated Russian culture
Ornate churches
Icons
Monasticism
Literature, Art – dominated by religion and royalty
Free Farmers predominate
Russian aristocrats - boyars

19. The Spread of Civilization in Eastern Europe
IV. Kievan Decline
From 12th century
Rival governments
Succession issues
Invasion of Mongols (tartars) 13th century
Traditional culture survives
Christianity survives

20. The Spread of Civilization in Eastern Europe
The end of an era in Eastern Europe
Western Europe remained free from outside control
Eastern Europe fell as the Byzantine & Russian Empire fell