Late Antiquity

Western CivilizationUniversity High School

Late Antiquity 3rd century: Western

Roman Empire begins to crumble last emperor deposed in 476

CE western Europe largely in

control of barbarian tribes ancient world medieval

world

…and the Eastern Roman Empire? survives; transitions into Byzantine Empire

named after Byzantium (old name for Constantinople) called themselves “Roman Empire” (“Romania”)

Byzantine Empire centered further east than traditional Roman Empire

culture more Greek than Roman more Greek spoken than Latin

Christianity more central in Byzantine Empire

but still, they considered themselves Romans traced emperor line back: Augustus Constantine current

emperor even same chariot factions!

Byzantine Empire

Why Didn’t ERE Fall To Barbarian Tribes Like WRE?

excellent military strategy, leadership powerful geographic location of

Constantinople

Why Is This A Good Place For A Powerful City?

Why Is This A Good Place For A Powerful City?

Why Is This A Good Place For A Powerful City?

Constantinople surrounded by massive series

of stone walls construction began under

Constantine entirely surrounded city (land

& water) problems: earthquakes,

population growth Theodosian Walls: 2nd

series of walls, larger city perimeter

Theodosian Walls

Sea Walls walls built along coastline ship-wrecking chain stretched across harbor on

floating barrels quick current

Justinian I (Justinian the Great) Byzantine emperor from

527-565 CE goal: restore Roman Empire

to dominance, reclaim WRE reclaimed some lost lands,

even claimed some new lands…

Lazica land on eastern Black Sea (Laz People!)

Justinian I (Justinian the Great) greatest accomplishment?

(probably not reclaiming Italy…) Roman law was a mess by

nowenormous number of

laws, contradictory, confusing, outdated, repetitive

Justinian I (Justinian the Great) Justinian leads effort to

codify, condense, and clarify Roman law Corpus Juris Civilis translation: “body of civil

law”

An Excerpt From Corpus Juris Civilis

“Roman citizens unite in legal marriage when they are joined according to the precepts of the law, and males have attained the age of puberty and the females are capable of childbirth … if the latter have also the consent of the relatives under whose authority they may be, for this should be obtained and both civil and natural law required that is should be secured.”

An Excerpt From Corpus Juris Civilis

“The Julian law declares that wives have no right to bring criminal accusations for adultery against their husbands, even though they may desire to complain of the violation of the marriage vow, for while the law grants this privilege to men it does not concede it to women.”

Plague of Justinian

outbreak of bubonic plague in Constantinople in 541-542 CE infectious disease

usually passed by rodents, fleas

kills 2 out of 3 people within 48 hours

Plague of Justinian

comes from Greek “bubo” meaning “swollen gland” swollen lymph nodes,

fever, chills, muscle cramps, seizures, changing skin color, inflammation of lungs, bleeding from ears (black blood!)

Plague of Justinian probably arrived on

trading ships from Egypt 10,000+ dying in

Constantinople each day?

no room for bodies; corpses stacked in streets

greatly weakened Byzantine Empire