The Byzantine Empire
EXCESSIVELY COMPLICATED, TYPICALLY INVOLVING A GREAT DEAL OF ADMINISTRATIVE DETAIL. THEY HAD THESE LONG COMPLICATED WAYS OF SOING THINGS AND RULES AND WHATEVER WAS WRITTEN IN THE BOOK HAD TO BE DONE.
At present times, what is the term "byzantine" use to indicate?
-The emperor was extremely powerful, it was a very centralized type of government -The emperor was considered divine/godlike, and had powers from the Christian God -Absolute rulers; could not be questioned -The emperor was not only a political ruler, but was also a religious leader as well
Byzantine Politics
Constaninople
Where was the Capital of the Byzantine Empire?
the emperor
Who appointed the patriarch in the Byzantine empire?
Cyril and Methodius
Who created the Slavic Alphabet?
the Hellenistic (Greek) world
Who did the Byzantine empire base their culture off of?
Constantine
Who rebuilt the Greek city of Byzantium and renamed it Constantinople?
-First Emperor of the Byzantine Empire -Founder of the Empire, he was actually a Roman Emperor -Split the Roman Empire in half; moved the Capital from Rome to Constantinople, in the East -First Christian Emperor -Claimed power from God meaning that he was both the political ruler and the spiritual/religious leader -After the western half of the Roman Empire fell, the eastern half survived and became the Byzantine Empire
Who was Constantine?
-An energetic and tireless emperor, known as "the sleepless emperor" who rose up from being a peasant 1) Rebuilt Constantinople to make it more glorious 2) Constructed the biggest church in Christendom, the Hagia Sophia, and established the first Christian state 3) Created a code of laws for people to follow; this was THE definitive law code, it's named after him; lots of later European codes would be based on it 4) Also increased the size of the empire and grew it to be bigger than it had been
Who was Justinian? What were his greatest achievements?
-Daughter of a bear keeper in a circus, born a peasant -Was even a striptease artist before winning the heart of Justinian, the Emperor -Very intelligent and strong-willed, often influenced the policies of her husband Justinian
Who was Theodora?
Patriarch
Who was the Second in command in the Orthodox Eastern Church?
Procopius
Who wrote about Justinian?
*Its great location* Ability to attack from the peninsula with flamethrowers and Greek fire
Why was Constantinople one of the most well defended cities?
-Cloths, textiles, wools -fine work in gold and silver -Glassware
What were the Byzantine Trading Goods?
1. The Codex Justinian (5000 laws) 2. The Digest (quoted opinions) 3. The Institutes (textbook) 4. The Novellae (laws after 534)
Four Works of the Code of Justinian *
In 1453, the Ottoman Turks attacked and conquered the city of Constantinople.
How and when did the Byzantine Empire come to an end?
Two monks, Cyril and Methodious, converted the Russians to eastern orthodoxy and developed the cyrillic alphabet
How did Christianity spread to Russia?
Good / flattered him while he was alive; Bad / put him in a bad light once he died
How did Procopius write about Justinian?
- Big riot occurs at the Hippodrome and spreads - Justinian wants to grabs things and flee - Theodora makes a speech causing them to stay - Justinian calls everyone to the stadium for a peace treaty, but he tricks them and slaughters thousands of people
How does Theodora give Justinian backbone in the Nika riot?
1123 years, from approximately 330 ce-1453 CE
How long did the Byzantine Empire last?
the emperor
In the Byzantine Empire, who had more power, the emperor or the Church?
Greece, Asia Minor, Palestine, Syria, Egypt
Name some lands in the Eastern Empire
-Major Empire in the Mediterranean/SW Asia/North Africa from 330 CE to 1453 CE (1123 years) -Famous rulers include Constantine and Justinian -Started as Eastern half of Roman Empire -Capital City of Constantinople -Fell to the Ottomans in 1453 CE
The Byzantine Empire
Greece and Turkey
The Size of the Byzantine Emoire fluctuated over the centuries, but what modern day countries did it generally include?
-THE HAGIA SOPHIA -Massive Christian church in Constantinople -Built by Justinian to show his power -famous for its massive dome -Taken over by Ottomans and turned into a mosque
The byzantine emperors promoted a style of art and architecture. What is the famous building that exemplies Byzantine style of architecture?
1. Member of the Christian church 2. Speak Greek
What were the requirements to be a citizen of Constantinople?
Justinian
Under what emperor did the Byzantine empire reach its greatest size?
West - Roman Catholic Church East - Orthodox Church
What Church did the Eastern and Western Church become?
There was Plague in the empire. The Lombards were in Italy, the Avars in the Balkan Peninsula and there were Threats from Persia and Arabs. The eastern patriarch of Constantinople, Eutychius, was deposed and the Emperor Justinian died.
What Happened in 565?
Bosporus Straits = critical Black and Mediterranean Seas Golden Horn
What bodies of water was Constantinople near that made it a major port for trade?
The Secret History
What book did Procopius write that put Justinian in a bad light and talked about the worst of him?
an autocrat
What did Justinian rule as?
their right to marry
What did the Byzantine clergy keep that differed from Christianity in Western Europe?
strong central government and a prosperous economy
What did the Byzantine empire's greatest strengths come from?
icons
What did the Byzantines create as a type of art?
Greek fire (chemicals squirted through copper tubes at Arab ships) Burned on top of water and caused ships to burst into flames
What did the Byzantines use to fight?
Held services Greek, Allowed priests to marry, allowed followers to divorce, The patriarch accepted the emperor's authority
What did the Eastern Orthodox Church do differently than the Western Catholic Church?
That the Pope (Bishop of Rome) was the supreme leader who served as both the political and religious heads
What did the Eastern Orthodox Church not accept of the Western Church?
Conducted Mass in Latin Priests could not marry Pope claimed leadership over all Christians
What did the Western Catholic Church do that contrasted with what the Eastern Orthodox did?
Good - Financed building projects that beautified Constantinople - Provided many jobs - Very intelligent - Reclaimed much of lost Roman lands Bad - Waged wars that cost lots of money and many lives - Raised / cheated taxes to pay for the wars - Slaughter after the riot
What were the Good and Bad sides of Justinian?
The Great Schism officially happened in 1054, though it was a gradual process. Many factors led to the split, including 1) THE LACK OF COMMUNICATION, 2) THE ICONOCLAST CONTROVERSY, 3) THE DISAGREEMENT OVER THE NATURE OF JESUS (FILIOQUE), 4) SPOKE DIFFERENT LANGUAGES (Greek in east, Latin in west), 5) SACK OF CONSTANTINOPLE MADE CHURCH SEPARATION PERMANENT, 6) DISAGREEMENT OVER ROLE OF POPE.
What factors led to the split of the Christian Church? When did that happen?
Lombards Avars Persians Arabs
What groups threatened the Byzantine Empire?
Byzantine emperors in 700's tried to end use of icons. The western Catholic Pope supported icons and excommunicated the Byzantine Emperor.
What happened becuase of the arguments over icons?
A great, permanent split in the Church called the Great Schism occurred between the Eastern Orthodox and the western Catholics.
What happened in 1054?
The sack of Constantinople and the end of the 4th crusade. The crusaders attacked Constantinople an ousted ruler who promised to fund them if he was returned to the throne, but when he couldn't so they looted the city.
What happened in 1204?
-The Ottoman Turks invaded and conquered Constantinople, which marked the final downfall of the Byzantine Empire and resulted in the fall of Constantinople -The Hagia Sophia was turned from a Church to a Mosque
What happened in 1453 CE?
Constantine renamed the eastern city of Byzantium as Constantinople and declared it to be the location of "new Rome" after the western city of Rome fell.
What happened in 330?
JUSTINIAND BECAME THE EMPEROR of the Byzantine empire.
What happened in 527?
The Nika revolt occurred where citizens (blues vs greens) rose up against Justinian in the Hippodrome. Justinian brutally stopped the revolt, destroying many buildings and killing many people. After the revolt was over, Justnian rebuilt the city and secured absolute control over the empire.
What happened in 532?
invaders plundered the city and sent the treasure westward; empire never recovered from defeat
What happened to the Byzantine empire during the Fourth Crusade?
his reform of the law
What is Justinian best remembered for?
highest Church official in eastern orthodox church
What is a patriarch?
sole ruler with complete authority
What is an autocrat?
a holy image
What is an icon?
West - Latin East - Greek
What languages were spoken in the East and the West?
the Crusades
What resulted when the Byzantine empire called for help to fight the advancing Turks?
The Pope (West) and the Patriarch (East)
What two people excommunicated each other to cause the Schism?
peninsula
What type of land mass was Constantinople?
-Byzantines were a highly organized government -the Byzantines used lots of officials and secretaries to run the government, collect taxes, etc. -This is a fancy word for government officials, secretaries, tax collectors, etc. -Some say the Byzantines even had TOO MANY government officials; today, people say "byzantine" to mean too complicated
What was Byzantine bureaucracy/government like?
The new Rome
What was Constantinople called?
-Capital city of Byzantine Empire -KEY trading city; lots of trade running through the city from the Silk Roads, Middle East on its way to Europe -Also key religious city; cite of the Hagia Sophia, largest Church in Christendom -Fell in 1453 CE to the Ottomans
What was Constantinople?
-This was a set of laws that a Byzantine Emperor came up with -Created a civil code that governed all aspects of Byzantine law -Based on the Roman laws -Was very significant and many later European laws were based off of it
What was Justinian's Code
Corpus Juris Civilis, "Body of Civil Law"
What was Justinian's collection of laws?
the church of Hagia Sophia (large, arching dome; colored marble and embroidered silk curtains)
What was Justinian's greatest triumph in his program to beautify Constantinople?
Icons
What was main topic that was argued over in religion?
The split of the eastern Greek Orthodox and the western Roman Catholic churches
What was the Great Schism?
-massive stadium in Constantinople -Thousands watched chariot horse races -Two fan groups, the Greens and Blues, often fought in the streets
What was the Hippodrome?
Mese / Middle Way
What was the Main street at the Marketplace of Constantinople called?
Greek
What was the chief language of the Byzantine Church?
Byzantium (Greek)
What was the city before Constantine renamed it Constantinople?
During the 3 day sack of Constantinople in the 4th crusade in 1204, the library was ransacked, the relics stolen, churches burned and people murdered. This marked the beginning of the end of the empire as the city was devastated, the break between the western Catholic and eastern Orthodox became permanent and anardhy ruled for 200 years. THE ECONOMY BECAME WEAK BECAUSE THE TRADERS STOPPED COMING.
What was the role of the 4th Crusade in the decline of the Byzantine empire?
Riots Religious quarrels Palace intrigues Foreign Threats
What weakened the Byzantine Empire?
Icon-smashers
What were iconoclasts?
Small art objects that depicted Jesus and saints
What were icons?
TO PROTECT THEMSELVES FROM THE GERMANIC INVASIONS THEY MOVED TO CONSTANTINOPLE BECAUSE OF ITS STRATEGIC LOCATION. -Constantine split the Roman Empire in half; -There were differences in communication because the west spoke Latin and the east Greek -After the western half of the Roman Empire fell and the eastern half survived, Constantine moved the capitol to Byzantium and named it Constantinople, the "New Rome." Thus began the Byzantine Empire -The Byzantine Empire survived for more than a thousand years after its beginning
Why was the Roman capital moved to Constantinople?
