The Byzantine Empire

1. The Byzantine Empire By Zoe Stephan

2. The Beginning • One of the many emperors of Rome, Constantine, realized how impossible it was to control the borders of the empire from a single capitol. • To remedy the problem, in 330 CE he created a second capitol in a city called Byzantium, which he renamed Constantinople. • He chose this particular city because it was close to Asia Minor, where most of Rome’s wealth came from. • This led to the split of the Roman Empire into the East and the West, both parts led by different emperors. It is under debate as to when this occurred. • In 476 CE , the West officially fell when its last leader was dethroned and a military leader, Odoacer, took power. • http://www.history.com/topics/byzantine-empire/videos#the-fall-of-rome

3. Constantine and Christianity • Constantine was the first emperor of Rome to convert to Christianity, and the first to support freedom of religion. • Constantine created the Edict of Milan in 313 CE, which granted religious freedom to all. This set him apart from previous emperors, who had prosecuted those who didn’t worship them as gods. • This allowed the Byzantine empire to become a center of culture for many religions, but also allowed it to become predominantly Christian, as many of Constantine’s subjects converted.

4. Emperor Justinian Emperor Justinian • Justinian, born PetrusSabbatius, not high-class from birth, was adopted by his uncle, Roman emperor Justin (. • He was given the rank of co-emperor by his uncle on April 4, 527. After his uncle died in August of the same year, he became the sole ruler of the Byzantine Empire. • One of Justinian’s main goals as emperor was to expand the Byzantine Empire to control all the land Rome had once had. Surprisingly, he succeeded, retaking Spain, Italy, and even parts of North Africa. • Unfortunately, that didn’t really last. Within four years of Justinian’s death, northern Italy had fallen to the Lombards, another Germanic tribe, and by the early eighth century, Muslim armies had conquered North Africa and Spain. The empire was never as large again. • Another thing majorly hindered his conquests – the Bubonic Plague.

6. The Bubonic Plague • In 541, a plague arrived in Egypt and rapidly began to spread. In 541 a plague arrived in Egypt and rapidly began to spread. In the words of the scholar, Procopius, “It began with the Egyptians who live in Pelusium. It divided and part went to Alexandria and the rest of Egypt, and part to the people of Palestine, the neighbors of the Egyptians, and from there overran the whole earth.” • It arrived in Constantinople most likely from the port of Alexandria, and from there spread across Byzantium. “This disease always began from the coast and then moved up to the country inland.” • Procopius offers a detailed, if perhaps slightly exaggerated, account of the terror of the plague and the death toll left in the wake. “The plague lasted in Byzantium for four months and was at its peak for about three. At the beginning not many more people died than usual, then the disaster grew greater, and finally the number of dead reached five thousand a day, and then attained ten thousand and even more than this.” • http://www.history.com/videos/the-black-death-and-the-byzantine-empire#the-black-death-and-the-byzantine-empire

7. Justinian and the Arts • During his rule, Justinian sought to “remake the capital” through an architectural campaign, which included building new aqueducts, roads, monasteries, and orphanages. • He was very religious, a devoted Christian, and fought to drive out the last traces of paganism. He even had over thirty churches built in the capital as part of his campaign, and even rebuilt the Hagia Sophia, which later served as the bishop’s seat in the city and still stands today. • Also, silk production was introduced into the Empire during this time, something that it would later become famous for.

8. The Hagia Sofia

10. Justinian’s Code of Law • Justinian’s Code of Law, also known as Corpus lurusCivilis, was the result of Emperor Justinian’s idea that all existing Roman laws should be collected into a simple and clear system. • It took a group of scholars fourteen months to create the first Justinian code, which was completed in 529 CE. It was later expanded to include Justinian’s own laws, as well as two additional books. • These laws are still referred to when creating laws today, especially the one that states “innocent until proven guilty”.

11. Byzantine Society • Byzantine society was very hierarchical, with people at different levels of rank and status. At the top was the emperor, who, like the Roman emperors or before, made all the major decisions. However, he was usually helped by an inner circle of advisers and bureaucrats. Emperors usually chose their successor, who was not always related. • There was also a Byzantine senate, which prepared laws for approval by the emperor. (Just like Rome.) • Surrounding the emperor was an aristocracy of very wealthy people. The major cities also had a small middle class, mostly made up of merchants and traders. However, the majority of the population was poor and either labored in the city or grew their own food on small plots of land that were controlled by rich landowners.

12. Byzantine Culture • At first, the people of the Byzantine Empire thought of themselves as Roman. They called themselves Romans, they spoke Latin like Romans, and they dressed like Roman. Like the Greeks and the Romans, they had a strong love of learning and preserved many documents from these civilizations in their libraries. (Much of what we now know about ancient Greece and Rome comes from Byzantine libraries.) • However, this didn’t last. Soon, the Byzantine empire began inheriting a more eastern feel, partly due to the location and also due to the opening of new trade routes. • For example, most Byzantine citizens wore Roman garments, such as the tunic (shirt) and the stola (a type of long dress) with Eastern decorations and patterns. It was this mix that made Byzantine culture distinct. • Under the reign of Heraclius (610–641), The Byzantine Empire adopted Greek as its official language.

13. Byzantine Attire

15. Women of the Byzantine Empire • Women had many more rights in the Byzantine Empire than in other societies of this time. • Although most still married young, women ran business, participated in the church as nuns or deaconesses, and occasionally took an active role in affairs of the state. • Contrary to Western European noble ladies, Byzantine women had equal rights to bequeath and inherit property. Married women even maintained ultimate ownership over their dowries, which was uncommon. • Women cold also be art and architecture commissioners, and even doctors, though only for other women. • A few famous women in Byzantine history were Theodora, Justinian’s wife and co-ruler, who helped protect women by passing laws preventing human trafficking and by altering divorce laws, and Emperess Irene, who actually led the entire empire (ca. 753- 803).

16. The Byzantine Empire and the Crusades • While the Crusades were founded in many different reasons, the event that actually triggered the First Crusade was a request for assistance from Byzantine Emperor AlexiosI Komnenos to Pope Urban II. • Alexios wanted aide against the Seljuqs, who had advanced as far as Nicaea, whish was not far from Constantinople. They had also captured Anatolia, a large producer for the Byzantine Empire. • The Pope eagerly accepted, probably partly because he was looking to heal rivalries between the two churches caused by the Great Schism. • Despite being the ones to start it, The Byzantine empire did not send many troops, only around 2,000 men. However, they did provide supplies to troops that passed through Constantinople. • This peace with the West did not last. During the Fourth Crusade, in 1204, the Venetian army stormed the city and brutally sacked it. • The Byzantines recaptured the city in 1261, but never held the same power.

17. The Siege of Constantinople

18. The Effect of the Crusades • Largest among the effects of the Crusades was the final fatal weakening of the Byzantine Empire. Essentially, the Crusades killed it. • The Crusades did not recover Anatolia from the Turks, and the sack of Constantinople destroyed Byzantium as a large power. • From that point on, it only existed because the Turks let it. Initially it served as a buffer state, protecting them from attacks. By the late 1300's, the Byzantines had lost so much power they were even encouraging the Turks to invade the Balkans to create a buffer to protect the Byzantines from rival European groups. • When it had finally outlived its usefulness, they conquered the empire. The Byzantine Empire finally fell in 1453, bringing to an end the last remnants of the Roman Empire.

19. The Byzantine Empire’s Extent Under Justinian Before The Fall