Chapter 9

1. Chapter 9 Section 3 The Byzantine Empire

2. I. The Rise of the Byzantines • The Eastern Roman, or Byzantine, Empire reached a high point in the A.D. 500’s and stretched west to Italy, south to Egypt, and east to the border of Arabia. • Many groups of people made up the empire, including: Egyptians, Syrians, Arabs, Armenians, Jews, Persians, Slavs, Turks, and the largest group, Greeks

3. Why is Constantinople Important? • Constantinople became the capital of the Byzantine Empire and by the A.D. 500’s, it had become one of the world’s greatest cities. • Constantinople’s location was one reason for its success. • It lay on the Black Sea and the Aegean Sea and sat at the crossroads of trade routes between Europe and Asia. • Constantinople was also easily defended, being protected on three sides by water and a huge wall guarding the fourth side.

4. Influence of Greek Culture • At first, the Byzantine Empire followed Roman ways and was known as the “New Rome.” • As time passed, the Byzantine Empire became less Roman and more Greek. • The ideas of non-Greek peoples, like the Egyptians and Slavs, also shaped the Byzantine Empire. • Between A.D. 500 and A.D. 1200, the Byzantines had one of the world’s richest and most advanced empires.

5. II. Emperor Justinian • Justinian (juh*stih*nee*uhn) became emperor of the Byzantine Empire in A.D. 527 and ruled until A.D. 565. • Justinian was a strong leader who made laws, controlled the military, and was supreme judge. • Justinian’s wife, the empress Theodora (thee*uh*dohr*uh), helped Justinian run the empire and convinced him to give women more rights.

6. Justinian’s Conquests • Justinian wanted to reunite the Roman Empire and bring back the glory of Rome. • To accomplish this, he would have to conquer western Europe and northern Africa. • He ordered a general named Belisarius (beh*luh*sar*ee*uhs) to reorganize and strengthen the Byzantine army.

7. Belisarius reorganized the army making primarily cavalry, soldiers mounted on horses. • During Justinian’s reign, the Byzantine military conquered most of Italy, northern Africa, and the Persians in the east. • However, after Justinian’s death, the empire did not have enough money to maintain an army large enough to hold the territory to the west.

8. Justinian’s Law Code • Justinian decided that the empire’s laws were disorganized and too difficult to understand. • He ordered a group of legal scholars headed by Tribonian (truh*boh*nee*uhn) to reform the law code. • This new simplified code was now more easily understood and became known as Justinian Code. • The Justinian Code has had a great influence on the laws of almost every country in Europe.

9. III. Byzantine Civilization • The Byzantine Empire lasted approximately 1,000 years. • Constantinople was the largest and richest city in Europe for much of that time. • They preserved and passed on Greek culture and Roman law to other peoples. • They gave the world new methods in the arts and spread Christianity to the people in Eastern Europe.

10. The Importance of Trade • From the A.D. 500’s to the A.D. 1100’s, the Byzantine Empire was the center of trade between Europe and Asia. • This enormous trade made the Byzantine Empire very rich.

11. Most people in the empire were farmers, herders, laborers, and artisans. • One of the major Byzantine industries was weaving silk. • Byzantine travelers smuggled silkworm eggs out of China and weavers would used silk threads to make the silk cloth

12. Byzantine Art and Architecture • Justinian and other Byzantine emperors supported artists and architects. • Constantinople was known for its hundreds of churches and palaces.

13. One of Justinian’s greatest achievements was building the huge church called Hagia Sophia (hah*jee*uh soh*fee*uh), or “Holy Wisdom.” • Inside Hagia Sophia were walls of beautiful mosaics, pictures made from many bits of colored glass or stone.

14. Byzantine Women • The family was the center of social life for most Byzantines. • Byzantine women were expected to stay home and take care of their families. • However, thanks to Empress Theodora, some Byzantine women became well educated and involved in politics. • Several royal women served as regents. • A regent is a person who stands in for a ruler who is too young or too ill to govern.

15. Byzantine Education • Learning was highly respected in Byzantine culture and the government supported the training of scholars and government officials. • In schools, boys studied religion, medicine, law, arithmetic, grammar, and other subjects. • Most Byzantine authors wrote about religion and stressed the need to obey God and save one’s soul. • They also copied and passed on the writings of the ancient Greeks and Romans.