1. Chapter 9 - Civilization in eastern Europe: Byzantium and orthodox Europe
L.B.

2. Byzantine empire
Emperor Constantine in 4th Century c.e. established a capital at Constantinople
Roman’s eastern capital
Separate emperors ruled even before Rome fell»
Constantinople responsible for the Balkan peninsula, northern Middle east, Mediterranean coast, and North Africa
Latin » Greek (6th century)
Benefited from the high level of civilization in the former Hellenistic world and from the region’s prosperous commerce
Held of barbarian invaders
Developed a trained civilian bureaucracy

3. Justinian’s Achievements
In the 6th century attempted to reconquer Western territory but without lasting success
Slavs, and Persians attacks
Created defensive line
Weakening the empire and creating new tax pressures
Theodora heavily influenced him
Died in 565 C.E.

5. Justinian’s achievements
Rebuilt Constantinople in classical style
Many architectural achievements
Hagia Sophia
Justinian’s code
Reduced legal confusion, spread Roman legal concepts

7. Arab pressure and empire’s defenses
Justinian’s successors concentrated on the defense of their eastern territories
Centered in the Balkans and western and central turkey
Blending Hellenistic culture with Christianity
Withstood the seventh century advance of Arab Muslims, important regions lost
Wars and permanent threat had significant cultural and commercial influences
Free rural population, the provider of military recruits and taxes, weakened
Aristocratic estates grew larger, and generals became stronger
Empire’s fortunes fluctuated as it resisted pressures from the Arabs and Slavic kingdoms
At the close of the tenth century, the byzantine emperor may have been the strongest contemporary ruler

8. Byzantine Society
Emperor held to be ordained by god, head of church and states
Women occasionally held the throne
Elaborate bureaucracy supported the imperial authority
Officials trained in Hellenistic knowledge in a secular school system, recruited from all social classes
Provincial governors were appointed from the center, and a spy system helped to preserve loyalty
Careful military organization defended the empire
Troops recruited locally and given land in return for service

9. Byzantine society and politics
Socially and economically depended on Constantinople’s control of the countryside
Bureaucracy regulated trade and food prices
Widespread commercial network extended into Asia, Russia, Scandinavia, western Europe and Africa.
Cultural life centered on Hellenistic secular traditions and orthodox Christianity
Little artistic creativity, except in art and architecture
Domed buildings, colored mosaics, and painted icons expressed an art linked to religion

11. Split between eastern and western Christianity
Different rituals grew form Greek and Latin versions of the bible
Contact between the two branches of Christianity trailed off
Roman Catholic priests insisted of celibacy; Eastern orthodox priests could marry
Final split in 1054

12. Empire’s Decline Long period of decline began in the 11th century
Muslim Turkish invaders
Independent Slavic states appeared in the Balkans
Crusaders sacked Constantinople in 1204
Smaller empire struggled for another two centuries against western Europeans, Muslims, and Slavic kingdoms
In 1453, the Ottoman Turks conquered Constantinople

13. The spread of civilization in eastern Europe
Byzantine empire’s influence spread among the people of the Balkans and southern Russia through conquest, commerce, and Christianity.
In the ninth century, missionaries Cyril and Methodius devised a written script, Cyrillic, for the Slavic languages

14. The emergence of kievan rus’
Slavic peoples migrated into Russia and eastern Europe
Possessed iron and extended agriculture in Ukraine and western Russia
Political organization centered in family tribes and villages
Animist religion
Rich traditions of music and oral legends
Monarchy emerged in Kiev around 855 under Rurik
Kieve became prosperous commercial center
Conversion to the Orthodox Christianity (980 – 1015)

16. Institutions and culture in kievan rus’
Borrowed much from Byzantium
Favored Byzantine ceremonials and concept of strong central ruler
Orthodox Christianity part of culture
Almsgiving
Literature focused on religious and royal events
Art was dominated by icon painting and illuminated religious manuscripts
Church architecture adapted to local conditions
Peasants were free farmers
Aristocratic landlords (boyars) had less political power than similar westerners

17. Kievan Decline Began in twelfth century
Asian invaders seized territory while trade diminished
Mongol invasions of the 13th century, Russian lands into territories
Further Mongol (Tatar) dominance separated them from western world
1480 end of Tatars