1. What happened to the Roman Empire by 500 A.D.?

2. The Fall of the Roman Empire
After the Pax Romana, the Roman Empire entered an era of decline
The Roman Empire had a series of weak emperors
Romans had a large trade imbalance (they bought more than they produced)
As Rome grew more in debt, the military became weak & began using foreign mercenary soldiers

3. Emperor Constantine moved the Roman capital to Constantinople in the Eastern Roman Empire
The Western Roman Empire continued to grow weak
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Emperor Diocletian tried to save Rome by dividing the empire

4. The Fall of the Roman Empire
By 476, barbarians conquered the Western Roman Empire
The Western Roman Empire fell into the Middle Ages (“Dark Ages”) from 500 to 1300 A.D.

5. What happened in the Eastern Roman Empire?

6. The Fall of the Roman Empire
While the Western Roman Empire was in decline…
…the Eastern Roman Empire remained strong
The Eastern Roman Empire became known as the Byzantine Empire

7. How did physical geography impact the Byzantine capital of Constantinople?
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8. The Byzantine capital was Constantinople
Constantinople was a wealthy trade city located between the Mediterranean & Black Seas

9. Byzantine Capital of Constantinople

10. The Byzantine Empire
Citizens in the Byzantine Empire thought of themselves as Romans & they shared some similarities with the Roman Empire:
The Byzantine Empire kept alive Greco-Roman culture
Constantinople was a center for learning where schools taught philosophy, medicine, Greek and Latin grammar, geometry

11. The Byzantine Empire
Citizens in the Byzantine Empire thought of themselves as Romans & they shared some similarities with the Roman Empire:
Byzantine Hagia Sophia
Roman Pantheon
How was architecture similar?

12. The Byzantine Empire
Citizens in the Byzantine Empire thought of themselves as Romans & they shared some similarities with the Roman Empire:
Constantinople used Roman-style architecture such as arches & domes
Byzantine cities had forums for trade & arenas to entertain citizens

13. One of the most impressive architectural buildings in the Byzantine Empire was a Christian cathedral called the Hagia Sophia

14. The Byzantine Empire
Citizens in the Byzantine Empire thought of themselves as Romans & they shared some similarities with the Roman Empire:
The official language was Latin, but most Byzantines spoke Greek

15. The Byzantine Empire
Citizens in the Byzantine Empire thought of themselves as Romans & they shared some similarities with the Roman Empire:
Religion in the Byzantine Empire
Religion in the late Roman Empire
How was religion similar?

16. Because of its location close to Judea, most Byzantines had converted to Christianity before those in the Western Roman Empire

17. How was government similar?
The Byzantine Empire
Citizens in the Byzantine Empire thought of themselves as Romans & they shared some similarities with the Roman Empire:
Both the Roman & Byzantine Empires were ruled by emperors who had absolute power over the empire
Justinian was the most famous Byzantine Emperor
Roman government
Byzantine government
How was government similar?

18. About 50 years after the fall of Rome, Byzantine Emperor Justinian came to power & began reconquering Roman territories

19. In addition to empire building, what else did Emperor Justinian value?

20. The Justinian Code
To oversee his new empire, Justinian ordered legal experts to consolidate old Roman laws into a single law code
The Justinian Code served as the legal basis for criminal justice, marriage, property, slavery, & women’s rights
The law code became one of the most important legacies of the Byzantine Empire & served as the basis for laws for the next 900 years

21. Justinian
In addition to expanding the empire & creating a uniform set of laws, Emperor Justinian also began large building projects
He ordered the construction of the Hagia Sophia to show the importance of the church
He built hospitals, aqueducts, public baths, schools, & courts

22. Justinian (Reigns 527-565) Most significant Byzantine ruler
1) Military gains and huge expansion to rebuild original Roman Empire
Gains in North Africa and Italy
2) Systemizes Roman legal code
Influences future law codes in Europe
Reduces legal confusion; united and organized the new empire
3) Projects to renovate Constantinople
Hagia Sophia – engineering and architectural achievements (dome)
4) Makes Greek language official

23. Byzantine Height under Justinian

24. Empress Theodora
Justinian’s wife Theodora had a lot of power & influence in the Byzantine Empire:
She met with & wrote to foreign leaders
She advised Justinian & helped him pass laws
She encouraged building of Christian cathedrals

25. The Division of Christianity
Because of the distance & lack of contact between Byzantine Empire & Western Europe, Christianity developed differently
All Christians based their faith on Jesus & the Bible
But they had different practices to show their faith

26. The Division of Christianity
Christians were organized the same way:
Archbishops & bishops oversaw regions where Christianity was practiced
Priests led individual churches
But, Christians in the East & West disagreed over leadership of the Church

27. The Division of Christianity
Christians in Western Europe:
Believed that there should be a Pope to oversee bishops & give authority to all Christians
Christians in Western Europe accepted the authority of the Pope

28. The Division of Christianity
Christians in Eastern Europe:
Believed that the Byzantine Emperor had authority over issues involving Christianity
Byzantine emperors relied on a Patriarch to oversee the church, but the emperor had final authority
Christians in the Byzantine Empire did not accept the authority of the Pope

29. The Division of Christianity
One of the biggest controversies among Christians was the use of icons:
Icons were religious images to help Christians in their prayers & worship
Some Christians thought this was “idol worship”
In 730, the Byzantine Emperor banned icons & many Christians rioted

30. The Pope excommunicated the emperor (kicked him out of the church)
Emperor Leo III ordered the destruction of icons in the Byzantine Empire
Riots broke out between people who wanted icons & iconoclasts (those who wanted to ban icons)
The Pope excommunicated the emperor (kicked him out of the church)
The Pope in Western Europe supported the use of icons & called the Byzantine Emperor a heretic (a believer of false ideas)

31. The Division of Christianity
These disagreements led to deep divisions among Christians & the Great Schism (split) occurred in 1054:

32. The Division of Christianity
Christians in Western Europe became the Roman Catholic Church
Christians in Eastern Europe became the Eastern Orthodox Church

33. The Division of Christianity
Roman Catholics & Eastern Orthodox Christians practice their regions differently:

34. Religion in Europe Today

35. Byzantine Culture
State-organized education system: reading, writing, grammar
Boys and girls educated; literacy was quite high
Creativity in architecture (domed buildings; new heights)
Richly colored religious mosaics in a distinct Byzantine style
Flat, frontal, formal, gold backgrounds
Icon paintings (paintings of saints and religious figures)
8th c: Iconoclastic Controversy
Cultural life blended Hellenism and Orthodox Christianity

36. The Byzantine Empire (1000-1100)
Byzantine Empire went from a “major” to “minor” power after the Byzantine loss at the Battle of Manzikert in 1071 against the Seljuk Turks.

37. Jews and Christians in Eastern Europe
Competition between Catholics and Orthodox Greeks for converts
Catholic converts: mostly in Hungary, Poland
Mostly, communities convert to Orthodoxy
Influx of Jews to Western Russia/Eastern Europe to escape persecution
Later, called the Pale of Settlement
Migrate into region in large numbers (Poland)
High value placed upon education and literacy for males
Limited professions available; gain strength in local commerce; barred from agriculture
Resented by Christian community

38. The Emergence of Kievan Rus’
Who are the Russians?
Groups from Asia moved into region during Roman Empire
Agricultural society, ironwork,
Family tribes, villages
Conduit for trade between Byzantines and Scandinavia
Luxury products from Silk Roads traded for furs from Scandinavia
855: large trading city (Kiev) became kingdom under Danish merchant Rurik, first Prince of Kievan Rus’
Alliances with Byzantine rulers

40. Politics and Religion in Kievan Rus’
Vladimir I ( )
What religion to choose?
1000: Converts to Orthodoxy on behalf of all his people; organizes mass baptisms and forced conversions with military pressure.
Develops Russian Orthodox Church
Controls church and creates literate Russian priesthood
Byzantine influence flows into Russia
Yaroslav ( )
Develops and issues formal law code
Arranged marriages with central European royalty
Translates religious literature from Greek to Slavic
Conversion of Vladimir I

41. Culture/Society in Kievan Rus’
Byzantium  Kievan Rus’  Russian culture
Attracted to ceremony and luxury of Byzantium
Peaceful trade relationship between Byzantium and Kievan Rus’ facilitates cultural exchange
Greek Orthodox influence on Russian Orthodox Church
Ornate churches; domes; massive size
Monasticism develops, stress prayer and charity
Fervent religious devotion; no interest in science, math (different than Islam)
Art (icons, illuminated manuscripts), literature (using Cyrillic, focused on religious events)
Peasants were free farmers, and aristocratic landlords (boyars) had less political power than similar Westerners

42. Kievan Decline Decline from 12th century
Other regional leaders and princes became rivals
Succession struggles within royal family
Central Asian invaders weaken borders
1223: Mongols invade (Battle of the Kalka River)
Aided by rival princes, Mongols take major cities easily
Will control much of Russia for over two centuries
1453: Fall of Byzantium reduces Russian trade and wealth
Orthodox Christianity and Russian culture remain, despite political chaos  provide continuity for community