The Byzantine Empire

1. The Byzantine Empire The last stand of the Roman Empire

2. The Division of the Roman Empire In 284 AD Diocletian became Roman emperor. He decided that the huge Roman empire could only be ruled effectively by splitting it into two parts.

4. In 330 Diocletian’s successor, Constantine, rebuilt the old Greek port of Byzantium, at the entrance to the Black Sea. He renamed it Constantinople and made the city the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire.

6. The Byzantine Empire Under Justinian

7. At first, this Empire controlled only a small area around the eastern Mediterranean, but during the reign of Justinian (527-565), it started to recover much of the territory of the old Roman empire.

8. Justinian and Theodora • Justinian ruled as an autocrat with the help of Theodora. Created a huge Christian empire • Empire reached its greatest size • Built Hagia Sophia

11. The Byzantine economy • The Byzantine Empire was wealthy and produced: gold, silk, grain, olives and wine. It traded these for spices, ivory and precious stones from countries as far away as China and India along the Silk Road trade routes.

12. Justinian’s Code of Laws • Laws were fairer to women. They could own property and raise their own children after their husbands died. • Children allowed to choose their own marriage partners. • Slavery was legal and slaves must obey their masters. • Punishments were detailed and fit the crime • His work inspired the modern concept and, indeed, the very spelling of "justice".

13. The Fall of the Western Roman Empire By 395 AD, the Roman Empire was formally divided into two empires: East and West. With the invasion of Germanic forces from the north, the Western Roman Empire was conquered and further divided. This left the eastern part of the Roman empire to carry on the Greco-Roman tradition.

14. The shrinking Byzantine Empire http://

15. I The events leading to this reduction in size were: • Repeated attacks from the Ottomans • Constantinople was a very desirable port • It had fallen into disrepair because of attacks by Christians during the Crusades • The Bubonic Plague had weakened areas and left them vulnerable to northern nomadic tribes

16. II To wrest control of Constantinople from the Byzantines Mehmed II….. • Built a huge fortress (called “Throat-cutter” in Turkish) on the opposite coast from Constantinople • Had about 80,000 soldiers and 5,000 Janissaries (mercenaries-paid soldiers) • Had a naval fleet to attack from the sea

17. Constantine begged Europe for help in holding back the Ottomans but… • Europeans were too consumed with the Schism in the Catholic church and other battles that were going on at the same time. • A few troops arrived from north Italy but it was too few.

18. The only defense for Constantinople was… • 14 miles of thick, strong, walls • About 7,000 soldiers, 2000 of which were mercenaries

19. III Both sides had weapons and strategies that they used in this history-making contest… • Mehmed had… • 27 foot long cannon called “Basilic” • BUT, the cannonballs weighed 1200 lbs. and only went one mile! • AND it took 3 hours to re-load it! • And even worse, it couldn’t hit anything and after 6 weeks it collapsed under it’s own recoil!

20. B. The Byzantines had…. Smaller cannons AND Their recoil actually damaged their own defense walls!

21. As for tactics… • A. The Byzantines built a blockade across the entrance to the Golden Horn to stop Mehmed’s ships from entering • B. Mehmed II then built a road of greased logs across the peninsula and ROLLED his ships across!

22. Another tactic tried… • A. The Ottomans tried to build tunnels under the walls of Constantinople • B. So the Byzantines built counter tunnels that allowed them to kill Turkish workers. Finally, the Byzantines captured an Ottoman tunnel engineer and tortured him until he told them where all the tunnels were

23. And then the Byzantines… • Flooded the tunnels and destroyed them!

24. IV Finally, Mehmed II made an offer… • That the Byzantines would pay an astronomical fee and he would lift the seige • When the Byzantines refused, he planned to overpower them by sheer force.

26. The foreshadowing of the fall… • The symbol of Constantinople was a moon and on 5/22/1453 there was an lunar eclipse and they saw this as an omen • A thick unusual fog covered the city and when it lifted there was a firelike glow over the Hagia Sophia. They thought it meant the Holy Spirit was leaving the church.

27. These phenomena were actually caused by… • A volcanic eruption in the Pacific whose ashes were thrown high into the atmosphere and caused the eerie glow

28. The Fall of Constantinople • Constantine XI led the last attack and died • The Ottomans began to rape, pillage and enslave the population • The Hagia Sophia was converted to a mosque

29. The Fall of Constantinople was seen as a key event in ending the Middle Ages and starting the Renaissance due to….. * use of cannon and gunpowder in battle * end of the old religious order

30. Results of the Fall of Constantinople • It severed the main overland trade link between Europe and Asia so Europeans began to look for ways to reach Asia by sea….. This led to the discovery of the New World!

31. The Schism in the Catholic Church • Bishop of Rome- represented center of the Roman Empire and it was considered to be the seat of Saint Peter. • Bishop of Constantinople- because it was the center of the Byzantine Empire and the seat of Saint Andrew (Peter’s brother)

32. Factors that led to the schism… • Separation of the Roman Empire into western and eastern segments • The western empire crumbled but the Byzantine empire continued to thrive. • Language of the West was Latin and the language of the East was Greek. Made communications difficult

33. Continued… • Cultural unity began to crumble too • Different approaches to religious practices

34. Tensions increased to the point… • Led to the mutual excommunication of leading clergy of both sides • Excommunication-to be refused ability to communicate with God

35. Recent movements towards healing the split • 1999- Pope John Paul II met Teoctist (Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church) • 2002- Teoctist visited the Pope in Rome • 2004- Pope John Paul II, to promote unity returned the bones of former Eastern Orthodox patriarchs to Istanbul (Constantinople)

36. 2005- Patriarch Bartholomew attended the funeral of Pope John Paul II. First time a patriarch had attended a pope’s funeral in centuries. Considered to be a serious sign of possible reconciliation. • May 2005- Pope Benedict XVI said reconciliation is his goal. He scheduled a visit to Turkey in Nov. 2006. • Nov. 2006- Meeting was warm and productive. New hope for reconciliation in future

37. Kievan Rus • Begun by invasion of Viking tribes – also known as Slavs – from north of the Baltic. • Both trade partner and sometime enemy of the Byzantine Empire.

38. During Roman times, the Slavs expanded into southern Russia. Like the Germanic peoples who pushed into western Europe, the Slavs had a simple political organization divided into clans. They lived in small villages, farmed, and traded along the rivers that ran between the Baltic and the Black seas. • In the 700s and 800s, the Vikings steered their long ships out of Scandinavia. These expert sailors were as much at home on Russian rivers as on the stormy Atlantic. The Vikings, called Varangians by later Russians, worked their way south along the rivers, trading with and collecting tribute from the Slavs. They also conducted a thriving trade with Constantinople. • Located at the heart of this vital trade network was the city of Kiev. In time, it would become the center of the first Russian state.

39. Ivan the Great(Ivan III Vasilevich) • Grand Duke of Muscovy • Adopted the title of Grand Duke of all Russias • Quadrupled the territory of his state • Claimed Moscow to be the third Rome • Built the Moscow Kremlin • Laid the foundations for Russian autocracy • Longest reigning Russian ruler

40. Ivan the Great

41. Accomplishments • Conflict with Khan Ahmed of the Golden Horde of Mongols led to finally defeating this branch of the Mongols for a time • He had peaceable relations with the Ottomans and other Mongol leaders • Eventually took over Lithuania

42. The Pope hoped to heal the Great Schism so… • He encouraged Ivan to marry Sophia (Zoe) Paleologue, niece to the last Byzantine emperor. • He failed because Ivan took up the Orthodox faith rather than the Roman Catholic faith

43. Influence of the Grand Duchess • Wanted Moscow to be the third Rome so she introduced grand Byzantine ceremonies and etiquette. • She also encouraged imperial ideas in Ivan and suggested he adopt the imperial double-headed eagle as his symbol.

45. Ivan wanted to be a worthy successor to the Byzantine empire… • Invited many artists and thinkers to Moscow • Led in the construction of cathedrals and palaces in the Kremlin (center of Russian government and power) in Moscow which showed Ivan’s power

46. St. Basil’s Cathedral