Chapter 11 - Section 1 The Byzantine Empire Midterm Review

Key Concepts/Terms

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Key Questions

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What happened in 1054 C.E.?

Christianity officially split between the Roman Catholic Church in the West and Eastern Orthodox Church in the East.

What happened in 330 C.E.?

Emperor Constantine establishes the new eastern Roman capital of Constantinople.

What happened in 730 C.E.?

Emperor Leo III banned the use of icons.

Justinian

In 395, the Roman leaders had divided the empire mainly due to the lack of communication between the eastern and western parts of the empire. In 527, a Byzantine nobleman came into power. His name was Justinian. He succeeded his uncle and became ruler of the eastern empire. In 533, he sent Belisaurius (his best general) to recover North Africa from the invading Germanic tribes. Over the next 16 years, Justinians armies won nearly all of Italy and parts of Spain.

What caused the split in the church in 730?

In the east, icons were banned by Emperor Leo III. But, in the west, the pope supported icons. The emperor viewed the use of icons as idol worship. Many people responded with riots and the clergy rebelled. This controversy tested the emperors authority. Their differences is what split them apart.

Nika Rebellion

In the hippodrome, fans of different teams would form rowdy gangs based upon the colors that their heroes wore. There were the Reds, Green, Blues, and Whites. The Blues and the Greens started riots in 532. They started these riots because they were angry with government. They all packed into the hippodrome and demanded that Justinian be overthrown. Although, Belisaurius came in and slaughter 30,000 of these rebels. During this rebellion, Justinian was considering whether or not to leave, but his wife, Theodora, convinced him to stay.

Excommunication

In the west, the pope supported icons. One pope even ordered the excommunication of a Byzantine emperor which means that he declared the emperor to be an outcast from the church. This could also happen to anyone else, it is when you are no longer allowed to be a member of the church. In 843, more than 100 years after this began, empress Theodora brought icons back to eastern churches.

What happened in 527 C.E.?

Justinian become emperor of the Byzantine Empire.

Patriarch

Leading bishop of the east. Still bowed to the emperor. Saint John Chrysostom was the bishop of Constantinople from 398 to 404. He was the patriarch.

What happened in 532 C.E.?

Nika Rebellion.

Icon

Religious images used by eastern Christians to aid their devotions. In 730, Emperor Leo III banned the use of icons.

What are the two sides of the split in the Christian church? How are they similar and different?

The two sides of the Christian church are the Roman Catholic Church in the West and the Eastern Orthodox Church in the East. Similarities: based off of Jesus and the bible, they have bishops and priest as religious leaders, they use baptism (and other sacraments), and they both seek to convert people. Differences: Roman Catholic: services are conducted in Latin, the pope is the main authority over all bishops, the pope had authority over all emperors and kings, priests can't marry, and divorce is not permitted. Eastern Orthodox: services are conducted in Greek (or other local languages), the patriarch and bishops run the church together, the emperor has authority over the patriarch and other bishops, priests are allowed to marry, and divorce is allowed but it depends on the conditions.

What were some of the threats to the Byzantine Empire in the 500's, 600's and 700's? What different methods did the Byzantines use to hold off their enemies? (Military and diplomacy).

There were threats from street riots, religious quarrels, palace intrigues, and foreign dangers. There was also a plague that broke out that came from ships in India that was on rats. This was called the bubonic plague, but they also called it "The Plague of Justinian". The Byzantine Empire also received threats from foreign enemies. Persians and Avars struck Constantinople in 626. The Avars, Slcas, and Bulgars would attack frequently. On the northern borders and the Sassinid Persians would attack relentlessly in the east. Arab armies attacked both in 674 and 717 because Islam was rising.

Justinian Code

This code was made up of four works: The code - contained 5,000 Roman laws that could be used for the Byzantine empire. The digest - summarized the opinions of Romans greatest legal thinkers on all of the laws - total of 50 volumes. The institutes - A textbook that told people how to use the laws. The novellae - (New laws) presented legislation passed after 534. This code decided legal questions such as marriage, slavery, inheritance, women's rights, property, criminal justice, and many more. Justinian died in 565, but this code lived in the Byzantine empire for the next 900 years.

Hagia Sophia

This means "holy wisdom" in Greek. There was a previous church named the Hagia Sophia, but it had been destroyed in 532 from riots in Constantinople, so Justinian rebuilt it. When he built it, people considered it the most splendid church in the Muslim world.