1. The Byzantine Empire: The Evolution of Rome

2. REWIND… To before the fall of the Roman Empire Rome Splits
into EASTERN and WESTERN EMPIRES in 330 C.E.
CHRISTIANITY becomes the official religion

3. The Byzantine Empire (330-1453 CE)

4. Byzantium = Blend Greek Language
Philosophy: Small groups met discussed the great Greek ideas
Religion: Eastern Orthodoxy will be the synthesis of Greek Christians who separated from Rome
Roman
Empire Building
Practicality
Warfare
City Building and Planning Roman Law

5. Founded on Two Principles Byzantium Characteristics
Religion: it was an amazing religious center that was to be based on the Byzantine tradition of splendor in architecture and faith.
Principle 2:
Military: Tough Army and city! In 1100 years it was sieged almost relentlessly yet fell only 2 times…due in large part to the militaristic design of its cities inside the triple walls of Theodosius I

6. Geography •Constantinople was in an ideal place for
trade and protection.
•Gateway between
East and West for
Trade.
•Surrounded by water
for protection.

7. Trade and Industry Trade: • Gateway between Europe and Asia
• Taxed goods traveling through the city
Industry:
• Byzantium created their own goods to export.
– Farms
– Cattle Ranches
– Marble Quarries
– Gold and Silver Mines
From the 5th to the 15th centuries Constantinople
remained the greatest market and shipping center
in the world.”-Will Durant

8. Wealth and Economy • Trade and Industry, made Byzantium wealthy.
• Coinage-gold coins called nomisma, which became the standard coin throughout the Mediterranean.
• The empire’s wealth came from taxes:
sales taxes, property taxes, income taxes,
Christ Enthroned / Virgin Mary Crowning Emperor

9. Political Organization
Emperor
The head of the Empire
– Determined taxes
– Controlled the Army
– Controlled the Treasury
– Presided over all festivities
– Head of the Eastern Orthodox Church
The Emperor was the most powerful person in the Empire.
But, this does not mean that he was all powerful.
Alexios III Angelos: Byzantine Emperor ( )

10. Notice the reclaimed lands by the New Rome!
Byzantine Empire to 1000
Notice the reclaimed lands by the New Rome!

11. The Age of Justinian 1
Justinian ruled the Byzantine empire from 527 to During his reign, Justinian
recovered provinces that had been previously overrun by invaders.
-The Byzantine empire reached its greatest size under Justinian.
launched a program to beautify Constantinople.
-The church of Hagia Sophia improved on earlier Roman buildings.

12. Justinian's Reign… collected and reformed the Roman law
- Justinian’s Code was a model for medieval monarchs, the Roman Catholic Church, and later legal thinkers.
- Corpus Juris Civilis – Body of Civil Law
used the law to unite the empire under his control
- Justinian ruled as an autocrat, or sole ruler with complete authority. He also had power over the Church.
- All leaders following him would follow that tradition of autocratic rule.

13. Characteristics of Many Byzantine Emperors
Skillful diplomats
Used spies
Played one enemy against another
Bought peace by marring daughters of possible rivals
Were not afraid to use military force! Loved their “Greek Fire”

14. Military • At its height, the Byzantine Empire had
the strongest military in Europe
• The Military also had a part to play in
politics, making them an important part
of the empire.
• The Military was divided:
– Army for land battles
– Navy for sea battles
• The Army and Navy both defended AND
conquered.

15. The Army Army (on foot and horseback) 120,000 Soldiers
Led by the emperor
Well-Supplied with steel swords, spears & armor
Calvary-On horseback-Supplied with lances and bows
Army had political power=more prone to supporting their empire

16. The Navy Smaller than the Army 100-300 sailors per ship
• GREEK FIRE: most potent weapon

17. Byzantine Religion History: Icons East and West Growing Apart?
381 AD refusal to accept authority of the Papacy over the church in the East
Byzantines, not Romans coveted their faith and this was the worlds first religious state.
1054 Differences between the east and west caused a schism, or permanent split; forming the Eastern (Greek) Orthodox and the Roman Catholic Church
History: Icons

18. Christianity in East and West
Western European Christianity
Byzantine Christianity
Pope controlled Church affairs
People accepted pope’s claim to authority over all Christians
Clergy prohibited from marrying
Latin was language of the Church
Christmas was main holy day
Use of holy images permitted.
Byzantine emperor controlled Church affairs
People rejected pope’s claim to authority over all Christians
Clergy kept right to marry
Greek was language of the Church
Easter was main holy day
Emperor outlawed the use of icons, or holy images
Eventually worship of the icon would return.
1054 – Differences between east and west provoked a schism, or permanent split, between the Eastern (Greek) Orthodox and the Roman Catholic Church.

19. The Byzantine Heritage
Byzantine artists made unique contributions that influenced western styles from the Middle Ages to the present.
Best example
Icons were created to give the believer
the personal presence of God
Byzantine scholars preserved the classic works of ancient Greece. Greeks scholars took their philosophies to Western Europe
Impact
The movement of those ideas would lay the foundation for the cultural explosion known as the Renaissance
Greatly influenced Russian society

20. The Byzantine Heritage
Art and Architecture
Literature/Histories
Mosaics
Religious Art
Hagia Sophia
Monasteries
Imperial Palace
Illuminated Manuscripts

21. The Art of Byzantium Architecture
Anthemius of Tralles and Isidorus of Miletus
Hagia Sophia
Constantinople (Istanbul), Turkey, ca
Architecture
The canopy-like dome that also dominates the inside of the church rides on a halo of light from windows in the dome's base. The forty windows create the illusion that the dome is resting on the light that comes through them--like a "floating dome of heaven."
Huge wall piers to the north, half-domes to the east and west, and smaller domes covering columned niches give a curving flow to the design.
The "walls" in Hagia Sophia indicate that the architects sought Roman monumentality as an effect, but did not design according to Roman principles.
The use of brick instead of concrete was a further departure from Roman practice and characterized Byzantine architecture as a distinctive style.
Figure 12-3

22. The Art of Byzantium Architecture
Anthemius of Tralles and Isidorus of Miletus
Hagia Sophia
Constantinople (Istanbul), Turkey, ca
Architecture
The canopy-like dome that also dominates the inside of the church rides on a halo of light from windows in the dome's base. The forty windows create the illusion that the dome is resting on the light that comes through them--like a "floating dome of heaven."
Huge wall piers to the north, half-domes to the east and west, and smaller domes covering columned niches give a curving flow to the design.
The "walls" in Hagia Sophia indicate that the architects sought Roman monumentality as an effect, but did not design according to Roman principles.
The use of brick instead of concrete was a further departure from Roman practice and characterized Byzantine architecture as a distinctive style.
Figure 12-3

23. The Art of Byzantium Architecture
Anthemius of Tralles and Isidorus of Miletus
Hagia Sophia
Constantinople (Istanbul), Turkey, ca
Architecture
The architects were ahead of their time in that they used pendentives to transfer the weight from the dome to the piers beneath, rather to the walls. In this, the space beneath the dome was unobstructed and allowed room for windows in the walls, which created the illusion of the suspended dome. This technicality can be explained by experts today, but was a mystery to Anthemius' and Isidorus' contemporaries in the 6th century.
Additionally, the fusion of two independent architectural traditions [the vertically oriented central-plan building and the horizontally oriented basilica] was previously unseen, and was the successful conclusion to centuries of experimentation.
Figure 12-3

24. The Art of Byzantium Mosaics
Justinian, Bishop Maxanius and attendants,
mosaic from the north wall of the apse,
San Vitale, Ravenna, italy,
ca. 547
Mosaics
The golden wreath of victory Christ extends during the Second Coming to Saint Vitalis is also extended to Justinian, for he appears on the Savior's right side in the dependent mosaic below and to the left of the apse mosaic.
These rites confirmed and sanctified his rule, combining the political and the religious. The laws of the Eastern Church and the laws of the state, united in the laws of God, were manifest in the person of the emperor and in his God-given right.
Justinian is distinguished from those around him, not only by his royal purple, but by his halo, another indication of his god-like status.
Each figure's position in the mosaic is important. Justinian, in the center, is distingushed by his holy halo. He seems to be behind bishop to the right, and with the imperial powers to the left, yet his bowl is in front of the bishop, unifying the two groups of people.
Figure 12-10

25. The Art of Byzantium Mosaics
Justinian, Bishop Maxanius and attendants,
mosaic from the north wall of the apse,
San Vitale, Ravenna, italy,
ca. 547
Mosaics
All of the figures are rigid in stature but the objects everyone is holding to the right gives it the sense of slow motion.
Their feet seem to float on the ground like divine powers and they all have blank stares and simple charactersitics.
Iconography of religion is used for these figures instead of veristic expression.
Figure 12-10

26. The Art of Byzantium Mosaics Theodora and attendants,
mosaic from the south wall of the apse,
San Vitale, Ravenna, italy,
ca. 547
Mosaics
The empress stands in state beneath an imperial canopy, waiting to follow the emperor' procession. An attendant beckons her to pass through the curtained doorway.
The fact she is outside the sanctuary in a courtyard with a fountain and only about to enter attests that, in the ceremonial protocol, her rank was not quite equal to her consort's.
It is interesting in that neither she, nor Justinian ever visited Ravenna, where they are shown in the mosaic.
Theodora's portrayal is more surprising and testifies to her unique position in Justinian's court.
Theodora's prominent role in the mosaic is proof of the power she wielded at Constantinople and, by extension, at Ravenna. In fact, the representation of the Three Magi on the border of her robe suggests she belongs in the elevated company of the three monarchs who approached the newborn Jesus bearing gifts.
Figure 12-11

27. The Art of Byzantium Mosaics Virgin (Theotokos) and Child,
icon (Vladimir Virgin), tempera on wood,
Late 11th to Early 12th Century
Mosaics
The Vladimir Virgin clearly reveals the stylized abstraction that centuries of working and reworking the conventional image had wrought.
The characteristic traits of the Byzantine icon of the Virgin and Child are all present: the sharp sidewise inclination of the Virgin's head to meet the tightly embraced Christ Child; the long, straight nose and small mouth; the golden rays in the infant's drapery; the decorative sweep of the unbroken contour that encloses the two figures; the flat silhouette against the golden ground; and the deep pathos of the Virgin's expression as she contemplates the future sacrifice of her son.
The icon of Vladimir was placed before or above stairs in churches or private chapels, and incense and smoke from candles that burned blackened its surface.
Figure 12-29

28. The Art of Byzantium Mosaics Virgin (Theotokos) and Child,
icon (Vladimir Virgin), tempera on wood,
Late 11th to Early 12th Century
Mosaics
It was exported to Russia in the early twelfth century and then taken to Moscow to protect the city.
The Russians believed that the Vladimir icon saved the city of Kazan from later Tartar invasions and all of Russia from the Poles in the seventeenth century.
It is a historical symbol of Byzantium's religious and cultural mission to the Slavic world.
These types of images were not universally accepted by Christians.
Those who opposed the use of “icons” are termed iconoclasts and those who embrace the concept of the “icon” are known as iconphiles
The following passage from Exodus 20:4,5 explains the reason behind the iconclast ideal: “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or this is in the water under the earth. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them”
Figure 12-29