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BYZANTINE EMPIRE

BYZANTINE EMPIRE. 330-1453. SIGNIFICANCE. Endured 11 centuries (330-1453 C.E.) Strategic bridge between antiquity and modern world Preserve government and laws of Romans Preserve culture of Greeks Origins of Eastern Orthodox church

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BYZANTINE EMPIRE

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  1. BYZANTINE EMPIRE 330-1453

  2. SIGNIFICANCE • Endured 11 centuries (330-1453 C.E.) • Strategic bridge between antiquity and modern world • Preserve government and laws of Romans • Preserve culture of Greeks • Origins of Eastern Orthodox church • Contributed art, architecture and music to European civilization • Buffer shielding medieval Europe from empire building Persians, Arabs and Turks

  3. EMPEROR JUSTINIAN 527-565 • Marks splendid period in Byzantine history in art and architecture – Hagia Sophia • Roman laws collected and brought up to date in Corpus JurisCivilis • Decline of use of Latin as official language and return to Greek • Influence of Belisarius: regained territory in Mediterranean • Influence of Theodora • Women’s rights • equipped Constantinople with hospitals for the poor • encouraged her husband to stay and fight rebels in Nika Rebellion in 532

  4. CHARACTERISTICS:LAW • Corpus Juris Civilis • 4,652 Roman laws revised from Hadrian to present • included Digest: summary of writings of great Roman experts on law and government • Justinian commissioned 10 scholars, took 6 years to compile

  5. CHARACTERISTICS:POLITICAL • highly centralized; Emperor had absolute power • well paid, efficient, skilled and usually loyal officials • practiced shrewd diplomacy • intelligence service bribed foreign officials for information • arranged marriages between Byzantine princesses and foreign princes • routinely provoked one neighbor against another to prevent attack • paid large tribute to Persian King

  6. CHARACTERISTICS:ECONOMIC • industrial enterprises owned and operated by the state • wages and prices fixed by government decree • system of guilds: workers inherited status as member of a guild • agriculture: tenant farmers and serfs, concentration of land in church hands

  7. CHARACTERISTICS:RELIGION • Christian Church of Roman Empire organized into a hierarchy • local gatherings of parishes led by priests • several parishes together formed a diocese, each overseen by a bishop • patriarchs – bishops in 5 leading cities (Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem) • patriarch of Rome claimed authority over other patriarchs in 400’s -- Pope • Byzantines never recognized the authority of the church in Rome or the Pope

  8. CHARACTERISTICS:RELIGION • 1054 Christian Church split -- Schism: Roman Catholic Church (Pope) and Eastern Orthodox Church (Constantinople Patriarch) • conflict over icons: authority of Emperor • Pope claimed to be supreme leader of the Church; patriarch of Constantinople opposed claim • conflicts over doctrine: Church of Rome had added “and the son” to the Niocene Creed and used unleavened bread in the Eucharist • Byzantine Emperor refused Pope in Rome military protection from invasions by Germanic Lombards in the 700’s

  9. CHARACTERISTICS:ART • Known for: • Brilliance of design and ornamentation • Religious feeling and regal splendor • Style blended techniques of Classic and East Asian traditions • Art • mosaics • illuminated manuscript: books decorated with elaborate designs, beautiful lettering and miniature paintings • Architecture • Hagia Sophia (Church of Saint Sophia) built in 532

  10. BYZANTINE ARCHITECTURE

  11. Interior of the Hagia Sophia

  12. Byzantine Art • Art valuable to inspire greater appreciation of Christian ideals • Figures tended to be flat and two dimensional

  13. MOSAICS

  14. MOSAICS • Figures of Jesus and the saints become conventionalized  (that is, there is a set formula for the appearance of the image) in Byzantine art.  Jesus is shown holding the scriptures with one hand and the other hand is raised in blessing;  his hair, beard and moustache are in the "Greek style" rather than the "Roman style" short hair and clean-shaven

  15. DECLINE OF THE EMPIRE • By 626 Slavic people moved into Balkans and were at the walls of Constantinople • Arab followers of Islam took Syria and Palestine and had expanded into Persia and N Africa by 630’s • by 700’s, Byzantine Empire was reduced to territory that was primarily Greek • 1071 Seljuk Turks (Islam) invaded from central Asia • 1204 Crusaders attacked Byzantine empire and captured Constantinople, recaptured after 50 years • 1453 Ottoman Turks from central Asia capture Constantinople

  16. EXPANSION OF THE SLAVS

  17. SLAVS CONTINUE TRADITIONS • Slavs living in the territories north of Byzantine Empire -- trade and religious relationship since 9th century • After fall of Byzantine Empire: • Leadership of Eastern Orthodox church • Based civilization on Byzantine law • Adopted Byzantine culture • Also influenced by Western Europe and Asian cultures

  18. KIEVAN RUS

  19. KIEVAN RUS • late 800s A.D. - Slavs were not warlike • depended on Vikings for protection (group of warriors and traders from Scandinavia) • Primary Chronicle - a collection of Eastern Slavic history, tales, legends • written around 1100 A.D. • records the arrival of the Vikings (Varangians) • 860 - Slavic people of Novgorod asked for Viking aid: invited them to rule and provide order • Rurik accepted the invitation

  20. Kievan Government • 880 - Prince Oleg - (880 - 912) conquered Kiev • it lay on the Dnieper River trade route : gave Oleg control of the water trade • Kievan Rus - this region of Slavic territories controlled by Oleg and his successors • rulers - known as Grand Princes • conducted raids against Constantinople • 911 - treaty ended raids - established trade with Byzantine Empire • Exports: furs, honey • Imports: cloth, wine, weapons, jewelry

  21. SPREAD OF CHRISTIANITY • Byzantine missionaries carried message beyond borders of empire: Convert Slavs to Christianity • Byzantine Monk Cyril and brother Methodius reasoned Christianity more acceptable to Slavs if presented in their own language: 863, Cyril created Cyrillic alphabet for Slavs so they could read Bible • Script is still used by Russians, Ukranians, Bulgarians and Serbs • Impacted development of Eastern Europe

  22. Vladimir’s Conversion • Olga - princess of Kiev (945 - 969) • 957 - first member of the Kievan nobility to become a Christian • Prince Vladimir (980 - 1015) • grandson of Olga • 988 - adopted Christianity • thought it would help the Eastern Slavs to become a more powerful civilization • legend - Vladimir sent observers to examine • Judaism • Roman Catholicism • Eastern Orthodoxy • Islam • beauty of ceremony at Hagia Sophia impressed the observers • 989 - ordered a mass baptism in the Dnieper River for his people

  23. POSITIVE EFFECTS OF CONVERSION • Brought Byzantine culture to Kievan Rus • Byzantine priests and bishops introduced • rituals • the art of painting icons • Cyrillic alphabet • schools were established • Byzantine architects built stone churches with domes • Monasteries were founded in the towns and countryside

  24. NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF CONVERSION • Eastern Orthodox religion also isolated Kievan Rus from the outside world • after the schism - separated from western Europe • lost contact with the developments that took place in western Europe after 1200 • practice of translating the Bible and church services into local languages further isolated • never learned Greek or Latin • did not deepen their knowledge of western European civilization

  25. KIEV’S GOLDEN AGE • Vladimir (980 - 1015) • Warrior -expanded west - captured Poland; land near Baltic Sea • Yaroslav (1019-1054) • son of Vladimir • greatest ruler of Russia during the Kievan period • Kievan culture reached its height • encouraged the spread of learning: established the first library in Kiev • organized the Kievan legal system: drew from Justinian's Code, primarily for princes and merchants • arranged for his daughters and sisters to marry kings in neighboring lands • Kievan culture outshone any in western Europe at the time

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