Eastern Europe (650-1450)

1. Eastern Europe (650-1450)

2. Empire Byzantine Empire 330-1453 • capital of Constantinople • Emperors ruled the eastern Mediterranean and northern Africa • Fought to secure borders from Muslim Empire

3. Politics Byzantine • Religion based • Delegation of responsibility • Bureaucrats • Military leaders • 6th century Justinian rule • codify Roman law • Tried to recreate Roman Empire

4. Economy Byzantine empire • Lower Danube region was the breadbasket of the empire • Global trade • Merchants respected • Emperors controlled the economy • Prevented wealthy from seizing peasant lands • Wealthy could buy exemptions from taxes • Monopolized silk production

5. Global Trade Byzantine empire • Most important western terminal of the Silk Road Russia • Hanseatic League: trade monopoly established along Northern Europe

6. Social/Class/Gender Byzantine • Serfdom began in Middle Age • Original sin devalues women Russia • Influx of Jews from W. Europe • Monogamy replaced polygamy • Fairly free farmers • Boyars-aristocrats-less political power

7. Science/Inventions • Preserved Greek language, culture, philosophy • Learned silk production from China • Coined Money useful for trade

8. Religion Byzantine • Orthodox Christianity • Differed from Catholicism • Secular leaders headed the church • Officially split in 1054 Russia • Vladimir I convert to Christianityforced conversion

9. Art/Architecture • Greek language • Cultural center • Mosaic art Hagia Sophia 

10. What was the nature of Byzantine political organization and culture and how they affected the development of Eastern Europe?

11. The Byzantine political organization and culture and the affect on the development of Eastern Europe. • based on a centralized monarchy supported by a trained bureaucracy educated in classical traditions. • local administrators were appointed by the central administration. • politics focused on the principle of a divinely authorized monarchy supported by elaborate court ritual.

12. The Byzantine political organization and culture and the affect on the development of Eastern Europe. • continued the use of Roman use of legal codes to organize society. • The military were recruited from the imperial population in return for grants of heritable land leading eventually to regional control by military commanders.

13. The Byzantine political organization and culture and the affect on the development of Eastern Europe. • close relationship between the Orthodox Church and the state, with the emperor as head of church organization. • culture expressed itself in religious artifacts (churches, icons, liturgical music). • expansion of Byzantine culture northward was through the conversion of Kiev to Orthodox Christianity.

14. The Byzantine political organization and culture and the affect on the development of Eastern Europe. Kievan Rus • adopted divinely inspired monarchy with close relations to a state-controlled church, but were unable to adopt the trained bureaucracy. • Church related art forms came along with Orthodoxy. • Political division and Mongol invasions halted Byzantine influence