1. The Byzantine Empire
After Rome split, the Eastern Empire, known as Byzantium, flourishes for a thousand years.

2. A New Rome
Constantine planned Constantinople as the new capital of the empire: the New Rome
The Roman Empire officially was divided in two in 395; however, emperors still thought of themselves as Roman emperors
The Western Roman Empire fell in 476 AD. The Eastern Roman Empire came to be known as the Byzantine Empire.

3. Emperor’s Power Ruled w/ absolute power Lived under constant risk
Of 88 Byzantine emperors, 29 died violently, 13 abandoned the throne to live in monasteries

4. Justinian In 527, Justinian becomes emperor
In 533, he sends out his best general, Belisarius, to reconquer the Roman empire
W/ help of Belisarius, reconquers almost all of the territory that Rome ruled

5. Byzantine Expansion under Justininian

6. Life in the New Rome Justinian’s Code: single, uniform civil law
Laws from Roman law and legal opinions
Served the empire for 900 years
Became basis for much of Europe
4 works:
The Code: 5,000 Roman Laws
The Digest: Roman legal opinions
The Institutes: Instructed law students how to use the laws
The Novellae: New laws

7. Creating the Imperial Capital
Justinian launched most ambitious public bldgs in Roman world
Rebuilt the crumbling fortifications: 14 mile stone wall
Constantinople protected by deep moat and 3 walls
Innermost wall 25’ thick
Built baths, aqueducts, law courts, schools, hospitals

8. Hagia Sophia Means “Holy Wisdom” in Greek
Completed in 537 as the most splendid church in the Christian world
After fall of Constantinople in 1453, changed over to a mosque and now it is a museum
Rich mosaics
An enormous dome which seems to float in space
42 windows which allow light

9. Hagia Sophia

10. View from the cupola in the Hagia Sophia

11. Constantinople’s Hectic Pace
City became a trading hub with a huge marketplace
Products from the Asia, Africa, and Europe
Hippodrome offered chariot races and circus acts
Held 60,000 spectators
Fans of different teams wore the colors of their heroes
Hippodrome Today in Istanbul

12. Nika Rebellion 532, the “Blues” and “Greens” start citywide riots
Mobs angry that gov’t was too severe in putting down a previous riot
Mobs pack the Hippodrome and proclaim a new emperor
W/ Theodora’s advice, Justinian orders Belisarius to slaughter the 30,000 rebels

13. Theodora Most powerful woman in Byzantine history Grew up in poverty
Was an actress who caught Justinian’s eye
Married Justinian in 525
Met w/ foreign envoys, wrote to foreign leaders, passed laws, built churches
Championed women’s rights (own property, divorce husbands, widows keep children)
Convinces Justinian to put down Nika Rebellions and not to flee (“I think that flight, even if t brings us to safety, is not in our interest.”)

14. Byzantium Preserves Learning
They valued education
Basic courses focused on Greek and Latin
Classic Greek and Roman literature served as textbooks
Homer, Euclid, Herodotus
Preserved the great works of Greece & Rome

15. The Empire Falls
After death of Justinian in 565, empire suffers many setbacks

16. The Plague of Justinian
Began before Justinian’s death
Disease that resembled bubonic plague hits
At its peak in 542, estimates say 10,000/day died
Broke out every 8-12 years until 700
Destroyed a huge % of their population
Small population left them vulnerable

17. Attacks from East and West
Empire is attacked by many different groups from both sides
Lombards from west
Avars, Slavs, Bulgars from north
Arab armies attack city in 674 and 717
Russians attempt invasions in 860 and 1043

18. Greek fire was used by Byzantine Navy
Invented in 7th century by Byzantines. Squirted from tubes or thrown from clay pots, it would ignite spontaneously and burn, even on water. Ingredients and proportions were never written down.

19. What did they use to prop up the empire?
Empire survives for a while using bribery, diplomacy, and military power
Ex. Reorganize empire into military districts run by a general who would report back to emperor
Falls to the Ottoman Turks in 1453
This date marks the end of the Byzantine Empire
Today Constantinople is called Istanbul

20. Icons: religious images used to aid devotion
The Church Divides
Christianity develops differently in the Eastern and Western Roman Empire
The 2 churches disagree over the use of icons in the 8th century
Emperor of Constantinople thought icons amounted to idol worship
Iconoclasts “icon breakers” broke into churches and destroy the images
The pope in Rome supported the use of icons and excommunicated a Byzantine Emperor
842, an empress named Theodora restored icons to Eastern churches
Differences continued
1054 the Schism permanently divided the Roman Catholic and the Orthodox Church
Icons: religious images used to aid devotion

21. Differences between 2 Christian Traditions
Roman Catholic
Services in Latin
Pope has authority over bishops
Pope claims authority over kings/emperors
Priest may not marry
Divorce isn’t permitted
Eastern Orthodox
Services in Greek or local languages
Patriarch and other bishops head church
Emperor claims authority over patriarch & other bishops
Priests may be married
Divorce is allowed under certain conditions

22. Byzantine Missionaries Convert the Slavs
Eastern Orthodox missionaries seek to convert northern peoples, Slavs
Missionaries create Cyrillic alphabet—basis of many Slavic languages today
Alphabet enables many groups to read the Bible

23. Cyrillic Alphabet