Byzantine Empire

After the Western Roman Empire fell to German barbarian invasions in the 5th century, the Eastern Roman Empire, with its capital at Constantinople, repelled the invasions and went on to survive for 1000 more years, preserving and spreading the culture of ancient Greeks and Romans Byzantine Empire Welcome to the Byzantine Empire

Located on a peninsula that overlooked the Bosporus Strait • Controlled movement between Med. & Black Seas • Key trade center between East & West

The Golden Horn • Natural protection from invaders: water on 3 sides • Triple Walls fortified open side

Constantinople: A Strategic CityWhere Europe & Asia Meet

Constantine and the move east • - western Roman Empire crumbled in 5th century due to invading Germanic tribes from the north • - the threat to the Roman Empire was already apparent in the 4th century as Emperor Constantine rebuilt they city of Byzantium (a port city) on the Bosporus straight • - 2 reasons as to why he built here: • 1. he could respond to the danger of the Germanic tribes • 2. he could be close to his rich eastern provinces Fill in noteS

- city named Constantinople in his honor and in 330 it was the capital of the Byzantine Empire, the New Rome • - center of power for the Empire shifted east as a result and the eastern provinces began to develop independently of the declining west • - communication difficulties officially divided the Empire in 395 Fill in noteS

- even though a split had taken place, rulers in the east continued to think of themselves as Roman emperors • -cultural blend of people from Africa, Europe, Middle East • -mainly Greeks occupied Byzantium Fill in noteS

Justinian and Theodora • Justinian was a 6th century Byzantine Emperor considered one if its greatest rulers & his wife Theodora was very influential in his reign • Theodora was concerned with improving the social standing of women; urged Justinian to give women more rights • Theodora urged Justinian not to flee when taxpayers revolted (Nika Rebellion) • Justinian stayed and his army crushed the rebels

Theodora & Her Attendants

Justinian and His Attendants

Justinian • - in 527 he succeeded the throne from his uncle • - described as a serious, even-tempered ruler who worked from dawn til dusk by Procopius, his court historian • - Justinian made good on his claim to be the head of the whole Roman Empire, east and west • - sent his best general Belisarius to take North Africa from the Vandals, Rome from the Ostrogoths, parts of Spain and nearly all of Italy • - by this time Justinian ruled almost all the territory that Rome had ever ruled Fill in noteS

Belasarius Expands Empire • Belasarius was a peasant with little military experience • He was a friend of Theodora’s. • Led the troops that crushed Nika Rebellion • Appointed general of Byzantine armies which fought a series of wars against the Vandals, Ostrogoths & Visigoths • Byzantines conquered these Germanic groups and extendedtheir rule in the west

Power of the Emperors: • - Byzantine emperors ruled with absolute power like old Caesars • - they headed the state and the Church (appointed and dismissed bishops at will) • - politics were more brutal (of 88 Byzantine emperors, 29 died violently and 13 abandoned throne to live in monasteries) Fill in noteS

Building the New Rome: • - the Byzantine Empire is different that western ones, difficulty of communications gave Byzantine Empire its own character • - citizens thought they shared Roman traditions, but in actuality few spoke Latin (most spoke Greek and belonged to eastern branch of Christian church) Fill in noteS

- such a complex society needed some regulation, so Justinian set up a legal panel of ten experts to comb through 400 yrs of Roman law and legal opinions • - goal of the panel was to create a single, uniform code for Justinian's New Rome, as many of the previous laws had become outdated or contradicted themselves • -result was a body of civil laws known as Justinian Code Fill in noteS

Code consisted of 4 works: • 1. The Code --> contained nearly 5,000 Roman laws, which experts still considered useful for the Byzantine Empire • 2. The Digest --> quoted and summarized the opinions of Rome's greatest legal thinkers about the laws (50 volumes) • 3. The Institutes --> a textbook that told law students how to use the laws • 4. The Novellae (New Law) --> presented legislation assed after 534 • -decided legal questions that regulated whole areas of Byzantine life: marriage, slavery, property, inheritance, women’s rights, crimes • -even though Justinian died in 565 his code served Empire for 900 years Fill in noteS

Justinian’s Code • Justinian had Roman laws codified and classified • Omits repetitions, inconsistencies, and statutes dealing with Roman religion • Preserved Rome’s legal heritage and later became the basis for most European legal systems

Creating the Capital • his rebuilding of Constantinople was the most ambitious public building program ever seen in the Roman world • church building was his biggest passion as he believed it help show a close connection between church and state • Hagia Sophia “Holy Wisdom” in Greek built 532-537; decorated in mosaics, lamps and candles; its beauty helped convince Russian nobility that they should adopt Christianity; remained Christian until Ottoman Empire took over Constantinople in 1453 and converted it into a mosque; in 1935 country of Turkey made it into a museum Fill in noteS

Byzantine Architecture • Greatest form of Byzantine art • Greatest masterpiece is church of Hagia Sophia, meaning “holy wisdom” • Huge building in form of a cross; includes murals, mosaics, stone carvings and insets of ivory, silver and jewels • Capped by huge dome that rests on massive columns

Inside Hagia Sophia

Constantinople • in time city became unparalleled with its baths, aqueducts, law courts, schools and hospitals • the main street running through the center was Mese (MEH-see) or “Middle Way” lined with merchants, here shoppers could buy wine from France or tin from England, city seen as a vibrant mercantile area and Byzantine currency was widely accepted around Europe and Asia Minor Fill in noteS

free entertainment was at the Hippodrome “horse track” which held 60,000 people • fans cheered on their teams, such as Greens and Blues, in 532 a city-wide riot sparked called the Nika Rebellion (“nika” is what they yelled, meaning conquer) • the quelling of this revolt is often attributed to the quick thinking and eloquent speaking of Theodora Fill in noteS

Justinian’s Accomplishments • Expanded the Empire • Created Justinian’s Code • Commissioned rebuilding of Hagia Sophia • Helped spread Christianity • Increased women’s rights

Conflict in the Christian Church • Argument over use of icons (religious images) in worship • AD 726 Emperor Leo III ordered all icons removed from churches b/c he believed they encouraged superstition and the worship of idols • Emperor’s supporters known as iconoclasts (image breakers)

Church leaders resisted order and were supported by the Roman Pope • Christian church in east and west argued over source of religious authority • Pope in Rome said he was supreme leader of church • Patriarch of Constantinople opposed this claim • Eventually led to a schism (separation) in 1054 • Roman Catholic Church in West and Eastern Orthodox Church in East

The Church Divides • the distance and communication difficulties led the West and East (Byzantine) to split on doctrines and rituals • outcome: Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches • Eastern Orthodox built on the early works of church fathers, such as St Basil and St John Chrysostom (KRIHS-uh-stuhm) who later became the patriarch or leading bishop of the east • even patriarchs bowed to emperor’s authority which led to controversy • the use of icons (religious images used by eastern Christians to aid their devotions) was banned by Emperor Leo III b/c he believed it led to idol worship Fill in noteS

this led to iconoclasts or “icon-breakers” who broke into churches to destroy images • 1054 dispute b/t east and west came to head when pope and patriarch excommunicated each other over religious doctrine • after this schism (split) Christianity was permanently divided between the Roman Catholic Church in the west and the Orthodox Church in the east Fill in noteS

Differences Between Two Christian Traditions Fill in noteS

now both churches competed with one another for converts • eastern missionaries tried to convert the Slavs, they invented an alphabet for the Slavic languages so they could read the Bible in their native tongue • this led to the creation of the Cyrillic alphabet Fill in noteS

Orthodox Clerics Get Papal Apology May 5, 2001 Pope John Paul II, in a sweeping statement of regret aimed at healing Christianity’s East-West divide, begged forgiveness for sins committed by Roman Catholics Pope John Paul II singled out the plunder of Constantinople, now Istanbul, as an example of Catholic sin. In an animated voice, he called it “disastrous” and “tragic” that assailants, who had set out to secure free access to Christians to the Holy Land, “turned against their own brothers in faith.”

Byzantine Art • Glorified religion • Icons in homes, churches & shrines • Mosaics - pictures made of many tiny pieces of colored glass or flat stone set in plaster • Illuminated manuscript • Subjects of Byzantine art appeared stiff and artificial with calm, meditative faces to inspire reverence

Hagia Sophia

11th Century Crusaders • Came from western European kingdoms to help defend the Empire from invading Muslims, the Seljuk Turks • But…for three days crusaders burned and looted the city, stealing & destroying priceless manuscripts and works of art • Established a “Latin Empire” in Constantinople (lasts until 1261AD)

Fall of Constantinople • Ottoman Turks from central Asia attacked the Eastern provinces • In AD 1453 the Ottomans laid siege to Constantinople Fill in noteS

Byzantine Empire