1. The Post-Classical Period

3.  After the Roman Empire divided in 395, the eastern half became known as the Byzantine Empire  Constantinople was the capitol  Mixture of Roman, Greek, and Persian cultural traditions made Byzantium unique  Between 500 and 1200, this civilization was one of the most advanced in the world  Wealthiest part of the Roman Empire

4.  Justinian ruled the Byzantine Empire at its height  Theodora, his wife, was very involved with politics and worked hard to improve the social standing of women  Justinian protected his empire from the Persians and fought to re-conquer the western Roman Empire  Justinian appointed a commission to codify Rome’s laws  Justinian code preserved Rome’s legal heritage and became the basis for most European legal systems

5.  During Justinian’s reign the Hagia Sophia was built  Emperors were seen as God’s representatives on earth and starting in the 400s they were crowned by the Patriarch of Constantinople  Emperors played a major role in church affairs  The controversy over the use of icons became a political issue by the 700s.  Emperor Leo III ordered all icons to be removed from churches  Church leaders resisted the order  A church council in Nicaea (787) approved the use of icons  The Eastern Church further settled the issue in 843 by allowing pictures but not statues

6.  Iconoclastic Controversy  The pope in Rome v. the patriarch in Constantinople  The pope granted Charlemagne the title of Emperor, which the patriarch was only legally able to do  In 1054 a schism, or separation, occurs  The separated the church into the Roman Catholic church in the west and the Eastern Orthodox Church in the east

7.  Byzantine society had a hierarchy of social groups, but there was much mobility  Family was the center of life  Marriage was a sacred institution- divorce was difficult  Women were to live in partial seclusion  The economy was based on farming, herding, or laborers- major industry was weaving silk  Commerce thrived in cities

8.  Art was primarily of religious subjects  Mosaics  Illuminated Manuscripts  Education and Learning was also important in Byzantine Culture  University of Constantinople est. 850  Wealthy people hired tutors for their kids  Literature focused on Salvation of the soul and obedience to God’s will  Byzantine scholars spent much of their time copying the writings of ancient Greeks and Romans

10.  By the end of the 300s, monasteries and converts were formed  Missionaries were also sent out to carry messages about Christianity to others  Cyril and Methodius  Believed that the Slavic peoples would be more accepting of Christianity if it was presented in their own language  Created the Cyrillic alphabet  Translated the Bible to this language and wom many converts

11.  Frequent attacks from the Germanic Lombards, Slavs, Avars, Bulgars, Persians, and Arabs  626- the Slavs were at the walls of Constantinople, but their advance was stopped  By the 630s, the Arabs conquered Syria and Palestine and were moving into N. Africa  By 700 the Byzantine Empire was reduced to primarily Greek territory  1071 Normans seized southern Italy and the Seljuk Turks defeated the Byzantine town of Manzikert  The Ottoman Turks invaded the eastern provinces  By 1300 the Byzantine Empire consisted of Constantinople and Greece  1453 the Ottomans laid siege to Constantinople

12.  Armenia- Kingdom came under the power of the Roman Empire in 55 B.C. In the 300s A.D. they came under the influence of Christianity. Gregory, a missionary converted the king to Christianity, and Armenia became the first officially Christian country in the world.  Georgia- the Silk road passed through the Caucasus Mountains, which allowed for much cultural diffusion. Christianity spread to Georgia in the 300s A.D. and the country eventually became a battle ground between the Persians and the Byzantines, and it eventually becomes part of Russia.

14.  When Constantinople fell, the leadership of the Eastern Orthodox Church fell to the Slavs  Their civilization was built on Byzantine religion, law and culture  Early Slavs lived in villages and relied on agriculture and hunting  Most of their houses were sturdy log homes build without nails  Rivers were used for trade

15.  Vikings protected Slavic trade routes and provided military aid  Rurik was the Viking leader who named the region Rus  Oleg, Rurik’s successor conquered Kiev, which allowed him to control the water trade route  They established a trade relationship with the Byzantine Empire  Government was organized into principalities with local self-government

16.  Before AD 900, the Slavs worshipped nature spirits and gods such as Perun, the god of thunder  Contact with the Byzantine Empire introduced them to Christianity  Olga, a Kievan princess, was the firs to accept Christianity and her grandson Vladimir made it the official religion  As a result, monasteries were developed and Kiev cut ties with western Europe

17.  Kiev’s civilization reaches its height under Yaroslav’s rule  First library was created  Legal system drew from Justinian’s Code  Culture was significantly ahead of any city in western Europe  Declined after Yaroslav’s Death  Began the practice of dividing the lands among his sons  No clear line of succession  Mongol Invaders

18.  Mongols conquered much of the Slav’s territory, but simply wanted to impose taxes, not their own culture on the conquered people  Many monks, farmers, and artisans moved to the remote northern regions to avoid Mongol rule, creating Novgorod  Novgorod becomes a strong independent principality after successfully defeated the invading Swedes

19.  Small prosperous town located near vital land and water routes  Territory grew by war and diplomatic marriages  1325 leadership of the Eastern Orthodox church was transferred there  Moscow was heavily burdened by Mongol taxes  Over the course of 100 years, the people of Moscow slowly drove the Mongols out  Under Ivan III, Moscow finally refused to pay taxes  Ivan brought the Russian principalities under his rule, and became known as Ivan the Great

20.  Ivan III married Sophia, the niece of the last Byzantine emperor  He named himself ceasar and made the two- headed eagle of the Byzantine empire the symbol of his rule  By 1493, Ivan called himself sovereign of all Russia and the land was 100 times larger than Moscow  The people spoke one language and Moscow became home to the Eastern Orthodox Church