Chapter 9 Civilizations in Eastern Europe: Byzantium and Orthodox Europe

1. Chapter 9Civilizations in Eastern Europe: Byzantium and Orthodox Europe

2. Chapter Summary • The byzantine Empire in western Asia and SE Europe expanded into eastern Europe • Catholicism influenced western and central Europe • The byzantine empire had territories in the Balkans, the Middle East and eastern Mediterranean • The Byzantium empire maintained very high levels of political, economic, and cultural life between 500 and 1450 CE • The empire continued many Roman patterns and spread orthodox Christianity

4. The Byzantine Empire • Once part of the greater Roman empire • Continued from a eastern Mediterranean after Roman decline • Although there were roman patterns it copied the empire developed its own form of civilization

5. The Origins of the empire • Emperor Constantine in the 4th cent. CE established a capital at Constantinople • Latin was the court language • Greek became the official language after the 6th cent. • The empire benefitted from a high level of civilization in the Hellenistic world • It developed a trained civilian bureaucracy

6. Justinian’s Achievements • Attempted to reconquer western territory but without lasting success • Military efforts weakened the empire as Slavs and Persians attacked the frontiers • Justinian rebuilt Constantinople in the classical style; among the architectural achievements was the church of Hagia Sophia • Justinian codified Roman law which later spread throughout Europe

7. Arab pressure and the empires Defenses • The empire was centered in the Balkans and western and central turkey • This location blended a rich Hellenistic culture with Christianity • The revived empire withstood the 7th cent. Arab advance • The wars and permanent Muslim threat had significant cultural and commercial influences

8. Arab pressure and the empires Defenses • The free rural population, the provider of military recruits and taxes, was weakened • Aristocratic estates grew larger and aristocratic generals became stronger • The empires fortunes fluctuated as it resisted pressure from Arab and Slavic kingdoms • Bulgaria was a strong rival, but Basil II defeated and conquered it in the 11th cent.

9. Byzantine Society and Politics • Politics resembled the earlier Chinese system • An emperor was ordained by god and surrounded by elaborate court ritual headed by both church and state • Women occasionally held the throne • Officials were trained in Hellenistic knowledge in a secular school system • Provincial governors were appointed from the center and a spy system helped preserve loyalty

10. Byzantine Society and Politics • Military organization defended the empire • Troops were recruited locally and given land for service • The empire socially and economically depended on Constantinople's control of the countryside • The bureaucracy regulated trade and food prices • A wide spread commercial network extended into Russia, Asia, Scandinavia, western Europe and Africa • Despite the busy trade merchants never developed political power • Cultural life centered on Hellenistic secular traditions and orthodox Christianity

11. The split between Eastern and Western Christianity • Byzantine culture, political orgainizati0n and economic orientation help to explain the rift between eastern and western versions of Christianity • Different rituals grew from Greek and Latin versions of the bible • Emperors resisted papal attempts to interfere in religious issues • Charlemagne, the first Frankish king, tried to be recognized as Roman emperor • In 1054 the final break occurred over arguments about the type of bread to use in the mass and the celibacy of the priests

12. The Empires Decline • Decline began in the 11th cent. • Muslim Turkish invaders seized most of the empire’s provinces in Asia, removing the most important sources of taxes and food • The empire never recovered from the loss of its army at Manzikert in 1071 • Independent Slavic states appeared in the Balkans • Crusades, led by Venetian merchants, sacked constantinople in 1204 • Italian navies were used to secure special trading priovileges • In 1453 the Ottoman turks conquered Constaninople

13. The spread of Civilization in Eastern Europe • Byzantine empire influenced spread among the people of the Balkans and southern Russia through conquest, commerce and Christianity • 9th cent. missionaries, Cyril and Methodius devised a written script, Cyrillic • This script was for the Slavic language to provide a base for literacy in eastern Europe • Unlike western Christians, the Byzantines allowed the use of local languages in church services

14. The east central borderlands • East and west Christians competed in eastern Europe • Roman Catholics and their Latin alphabet prevailed in Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Poland • A series of regional monarchies- Poland, Bohemia, Lithuania-with powerful land-owning aristocracies developed • Eastern Europe received an influx of Jews from the Middle East western Europe

15. The emergence of Kievan Rus’ • Slavic people from Asia migrated into Russia and eastern Europe during the period of the Roman empire • They possessed iron and extended agriculture in the Ukraine and western Europe • Political organization centered in the family tribes and villages • The Slavs followed an animist religion and had a rich tradition of music and oral legends

16. The emergence of Kievan Rus’ • A monarchy emerged at Kiev around 855 under the Danish merchant, Rurik • Kiev became a prosperous commercial center • Contacts with the Byzantines resulted in the conversion of Vladimir I (980-1015) to orthodox Christianity • Kiev’s rulers issued a formal law code

17. Institutions and Culture in Kievan Rus • Kiev borrowed much from Byzantium but it was unable to duplicate its bureaucracy or education system • Cultural, social, and economic patterns developed differently from western European experience • Rulers favored Byzantine ceremonials and the concept of a strong central ruler • Orthodox Christian practices entered Russian culture • Almsgiving emphasized the obligation of the wealthy to the poor • Literature focused on religious and royal events

18. Kievan decline • Decline began in the 12th cent. • Rival princes established competing gov. while the royal family fought over succession • Asian invaders seized territory as trade diminished because of Byzantine decay • Mongol invasions of the 13th cent. incorporated Russia into its territory

19. Kievan decline • Russian Orthodox Christianity survived because the tolerant mongol rulers didn’t interfer with Russian religious beliefs or daily life as long as tributes were paid • In the 15th cent mongol control ends and the russian cultural and political tradition incorporating the Byzantine inheritance reemerged • The Russians claimed to be the successors to the Roman and Byzantine states, the 3rd Rome

20. The end of an era in eastern Europe • Mongol invasions, the decline of Russia and the collapse of Byzantium eastern Europe entered into a difficult period • Border territories such as Poland fell under western influence • The Balkans fell to the Islamic world of the Turks • Western and eastern Europe evolved separately, with the east pushing ahead in power and cross-cultural sophistication