1. Byzantine Empire
Chapter 11:1
Hagia Sophia

2. Chapter Overview Focus on 5 areas How did it start?
Byzantine Empire
How did it start?
What did they do that was significant?
How did it end?
Focus on 5 areas
Government
Justinian Code
Preservation of Greek and Roman Learning
Split in Christianity
Hagia Sophia Church

3. How did it start? Meanwhile ….. Eventually, Western Roman Empire gone
Background: Roman World Transforms
Roman Empire Split
Germanic tribes move into Roman Empire
Eventually, Western Roman Empire gone
Germanic states ruled by German kings
Romans and Germans merge
Meanwhile …..

4. Roman Empire Split
In 284 AD, Diocletian splits empire into 4 units – divides into 2 halves
Constantine moves capital from Rome to Byzantium
Renamed Constantinople
Divided after he dies
East survives
West falls
Constantine wins civil war after Diocletian retires.
He gains control of West and East – single ruler
330 AD he moves capital from Rome to city of Byzantium
Renames it Constantinople (Istanbul, Turkey today)

6. Justinian Reign - Government
Byzantine nobleman - crowned emperor in 527 AD
Takes back much of old Roman Empire from Germanic tribes
Absolute power of religion and state
Can appoint or fire bishops
He is brutal and nasty, but pragmatic – does what’s needed to strengthen & expand empire

7. Justinian Reign - Government
Theodora
She was an “actress” in the Hippodrome (prostitute), but converts to Christianity while in Egypt
Different from Orthodox Christianity
Justinian has law against marrying an “actress” appealed & marries her
Two years later they are crowned emperor & empress
She was strong leader & fought for women’s rights
Credited with saving the empire during the Nika Rebellion

8. Justinian Reign - Government
Hippodrome – free entertainment (what does that remind you of?)
Wild chariot & horse races with rowdy gangs
Colors signified their heroes - fanatical
Nika or “Victory” rebellion
Disagreement between two sects of Christianity – the Greens and the Blues
Riot breaks out – want to overthrow Justinian
Justinian & generals consider fleeing, but Theodora’s speech convinces them to stay
Belisarius tricks them into coming to Hippodrome and kills 30,000 rebels

9. Justinian Reign - Government
Largest building program in all of Rome
Immense palace complex
Hundreds of churches
Rebuilds Hippodrome
Built protective walls around the city
Roads, bridges, walls, public baths, courts, schools, underground reservoirs to hold water supply
Greatest achievement – famous Hagia Sophia – Church of the Holy Wisdom
Considered one of the wonders of the world
Mosque for awhile, now a museum, World Heritage Site
“Outstanding Universal Value”
Why do governments or leaders build magnificent buildings?
Hagia Sophia had been destroyed in riots in 532
He rebuilt it

10. Hippodrome

11. Justinian Code
As empire got more complex, create panel to regulate society
Codification of Roman Law – Justinian Code
Body of civil law in four parts
Sorted through 400 years worth of Roman laws
Created a single, uniform code
Made it simpler to follow the laws
Basis of law in Eastern Empire for 900 years
Eventually used as legal system in West and all of Europe
Code: decided legal questions to regulate many areas of life – marriage, slavery, property, women’s rights, inheritance, criminal justice.

12. Preservation of Greek & Roman Learning
Eastern Empire has its own unique culture
Greek-speaking in the East, Latin-speaking in the West
Byzantines valued education
Children learned from classics
Homer
Geometry from Euclid
History from Herodotus
Medicine from Galen
While Eastern Empire is flourishing, West is in the “Dark Ages” – survival mode
Books are burned by Vikings, Germanic tribes
Classic works are reintroduced to West after Dark Ages

13. Split in Christianity Christianity was one church based in Rome
Differences cause it to split between East & West
Long distance, low communication
Different beliefs about how to live as Christians
East – Saint Basil – don’t be showy, or boast, don’t desire material wealth, embrace poverty
In East, became known as Eastern Orthodox Church
West East
Rewrite this slide – don’t go to 8th Century – put religious info in next section
West is in survival mode-Vikings burned books there; knowledge, learning disappear – Dark Ages
Byzantines preserve much of it, take there later
Pope
Emperor
Emperor
Patriarch

14. Split in Christian Church
Icon Controversy
Emperor Leo III bans icons, “idol worship”
Pope supports use of icons
Hundreds of valuable icons are destroyed
Pope “excommunicates” an emperor
He kicks him out of the church
Theodora restores icons to Eastern Church
Differences between the churches grows
1054 the Pope and Patriarch excommunicate each other over doctrine dispute
Churches officially split into
Roman Catholic Church – official church in West
Orthodox Church – official church in East

15. How Did It End? Byzantine Empire slowly shrinks over time
Series of crises after Justinian’s death
Before his death, horrible plague strikes - rats
At peak, killed 10,000 people per day
Economy and society break down
Numerous invasion attempts on all sides
In 1453, the Turkish armies breach the walls with cannons
We’ll learn more about this when we study the Crusades

16. Crash Course