Byzantium, Western Europe, and the Americas on the Eve of Invasion

1. AP World History Exam Study Session #4 Byzantium, Western Europe, and the Americas on the Eve of Invasion

2. BYZANTINE EMPIRE AND EASTERN EUROPE BYZANTINE EMPIRE • 4th century—Constantine built Constantinople as his capital • Became the capital of the Byzantine Empire when the Roman Empire split • Characteristics of the Byzantine Empire: • Complex administration centered around a remote emperor • Use of elaborate ceremonies • Greek became the empire’s official language

3. Justinian • Rebuilt Constantinople • Built the Hagia Sophia • Codified Roman legal code • Made military gains at great cost • Justinian’s successors held off Arab invaders from the east and Bulgaria • Used “Greek fire” • Empire’s size and strength were reduced

4. Byzantine politics were very similar to politics in China • Emperor was seen as ordained by God • Emperor was head of church and state • Women could serve as emperor • An elaborate bureaucracy organized the empire politically, socially, and economically • Byzantine culture blended Hellenism and Orthodox Christianity • 1054—The Church split into a western branch (Roman Catholic) and eastern branch (Eastern Orthodox)

5. Declined gradually over time • Started after the schism in the church • Survived because of careful diplomacy until 1453 • Turks overran Constantinople

6. SPREAD OF CIVILIZATION IN EASTERN EUROPE • Christian missionaries helped bring Eastern Orthodox Christianity north • To Russia and the Balkans • Included Cyril and Methodius • Created a new alphabet—Cyrillic

7. Roman Catholicism competed for converts in Eastern Europe • Jews migrated to the area in large numbers • Valued education and literacy • Gained strength in local commerce

8. 1000—Kievan Rus’ increased in power and influence • After conversion of Vladimir to Orthodox Christianity • State soon developed its own Russian Orthodox Church • Grew along the trade route between Scandinavia and Constantinople • Yaroslav issued codified Russian laws • Russian culture borrowed from Byzantium

9. Boyars (Russian nobles) were more powerful than their western counterparts • Lost power because of Mongol invasions • Also called the Tartars • These cut the region off from western contacts • Stifled economic, political, and cultural development

10. NEW CIVILIZATION IN WESTERN EUROPE STAGES OF POSTCLASSICAL DEVELOPMENT • Postclassical West suffered from several key problems: • Political fragmentation of Italy • Muslim conquest of Spain • Viking raids • Decline in intellectual life

11. Effective political organization was usually local • Manorialism created oppressive system of political and economic organization • Between landlords and peasants • Many peasants were serfs • Three-field system and other developments improved agriculture

12. Christian Church was the most organized institution in western Europe • Had a clear hierarchy • Established a chain of monasteries • Clovis’ conversion to Christianity helped him gain control over the Franks

13. 800-Charlemagne established a substantial empire in France and Germany • His empire didn’t survive his death • Europe split into regional monarchies • After 900-Agricultural advances, population increase, and growing towns helped Europe revitalize

14. Key military and political system during the Middle Ages was feudalism • Lords provided protection and aid to vassals • Vassals owed their lords military service and goods or payments • 1066—William the Conqueror introduced feudal monarchy to England after his invasion

15. 1215—Noblemen forced English King John to sign the Magna Carta • Limited the power of the king • Parliament became more powerful • Western Europe wanted to expand which led to: • The conquest of Muslim Spain • Exploration in the Americas • The Crusades • These ended in epic failure • Connected Europe to the Middle East, Asia, and Africa • Increased trade

16. Reforms affected the Catholic Church • Investiture controversy gave the church power over monarchies

17. WESTERN CULTURE IN THE POST-CLASSICAL ERA • Theologians like Thomas Aquinas helped assimilate Greek philosophical ideas into Catholicism • Bernard of Clairvaux opposed this • Scholasticism prevailed • Christian devotion among lay people increased • Pagan traditions still continued

18. Religious themes were found in medieval architecture, literature, and art • Gothic cathedrals sprang up around western Europe

19. CHANGING ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL FORMS IN THE POST-CLASSICAL CENTURIES • Western Europe grew commercially • Peasants gained more freedom with agricultural advances • Urban growth allowed more specialized manufacturing and commercial activities • This promoted greater trade

20. Hanseatic League was a good example of cities working together for mutual economic benefit • Guilds grouped people in the same business or trade in a single city • Men placed new limits on women • Patriarchal structure took deep root

21. DECLINE OF MEDIEVAL SYNTHESIS • Hundred Years’ War caused devastation and antifeudal innovations • Agricultural resources couldn’t sustain population • Devastating plagues like the Black Death swept Europe

22. Growth of professional armies shook the authority of feudal lords • Series of controversies over papal authority distanced the Catholic Church from everyday devotion • Intellectual and artistic life moved away from Church influence • Legacy includes: • Birth of universities • New political ideas • Change in the relationship between the West and the regions around it

23. THE AMERICAS ON THE EVE OF INVASION POSTCLASSICAL MESOAMERICA (1000-1500 CE) • Toltecs moved into the political power vacuum left by the collapse of Teotihuacán • Established a strong military ethic and a cult of human sacrifice and war • Influence spread over much of central Mexico • Introduced the legend of Quetzalcoatl

24. Aztecs gained control in the Lake Texcoco region following the Toltecs • Made their capital at Tenochtitlan • Had a reputation as tough warriors and fanatical followers of their gods • By the time of Moctezuma II, the king represented civil power and served as a representative of the gods on earth • Cult of human sacrifice and conquest became very important

25. Aztec polytheistic religion united and oppressed • There was little distinction between the world of the gods and the natural world • Human sacrifice increased in the name of religion • Used ingenious and successful irrigation system • Chinampas were floating gardens • Special merchant class regulated markets • State oversaw a vast tribute network

26. AZTEC SOCITY IN TRANSITION • A new social hierarchy replaced the old kinship-based clan system • Women had more rights than their contemporaries elsewhere • Area they controlled may have included 20 million people • Each city-state was ruled by a noble speaker • Conquered city-states were left unchanged if they recognized Aztec supremacy and met their obligations

27. WORLD OF THE INCAS • Achieved a level of integration previously unknown in the Americas • Utilized strong state organization and bureaucratic control over different people • Pachacuti helped the empire spread • From modern Columbia to Argentina

28. Adopted the practice of royal split inheritance • Required new land and wealth • May have caused the empire’s growth • Temple of the Sun at Cuzco was the center of religious life • Developed a bureaucracy headed by an inca and four regional governors • Spread their language • Used colonists • Built extensive road networks to encourage unity

29. Empire demanded mita • Mandatory labor on church and state lands • Used system of royal multiple marriages • Created to forge alliances • Also created rival claimants to the throne • Empire was on the verge of civil war when the Spanish invaded

30. Cultural achievements include: • Pottery, art, and metalworking • Recording device—quipu • Land and water management system • Extensive road system • Incan and Aztecs empires were two variations of similar patterns and processes • Sedentary agriculture was the most important shared characteristic • There were similarities in religion, cosmology, and social structure

31. THE OTHER INDIANS • 1500—Americas may have had as many inhabitants as Europe • Between 57-72 million people • Chieftainships based on sedentary agriculture were found outside the major American empires • Cultural diversity was especially great in North America

32. Most American societies were strongly kin-based • Unlike Incas, Aztecs, and European and Asian societies • Contained a broad range of societies • From great civilizations to small bands of hunters • Religion played a great role in defining relationships