THE BYZANTINE EMPIRE AND RUSSIA

Global 9

ORIGINS The Eastern half of the Roman

Empire Emperor Constantine built

Constantinople on site of Greek city of Byzantium

GEOGRAPHY Constantinople was the center of the

Byzantine Empire On a peninsula Overlooking the Bosporus (strait connecting

Black Sea to the Mediterranean) Good harbor

LOCATION Constantinople controlled key trade routes because of its central location. This area blended Greek, Roman, and Christian influences and spread them to other regions of the world.

THE AGE OF JUSTINIAN Justinian- Emperor 527-565 determined to revive ancient Rome by recovering lost provinces Recovered North Africa, Italy, Southern Spain

JUSTINIAN CODE Emperor Justinian set up a commission to collect, revise, and organize all the laws of Ancient Rome

Created the Corpus Juris Civilis “Body of Civil Law” (Justininan’s Code)

By 1100 these laws had reached Western Europe

Catholic church and Medieval monarchs modeled their laws on these principles

HAGIA SOPHIA Justinian wanted to restore Roman

glory in architecture as well. Greatest accomplishment- the Church

of Hagia Sophia

ABSOLUTE POWER Justinian rule with absolute power (Autocrat) Power over church- Christ’s co-ruler Unlike feudal monarchs he combined political power and spiritual authority

AFTER JUSTINIAN Attacks by Persians, Slavs, Vikings, Mongols, and

Turks unsuccessful Served as a buffer to Western Europe Strong central government, and prosperous economy Peasants were backbone of empire- worked the land, paid taxed, served in military

BYZANTINE CHURCH

Western Europe Eastern (Byzantine)

•Pope head of spiritual matters•Used Latin as language•Priests can not get married•Christmas was the chief holy day•Icons (holy images)- Christ, Virgin Mary, saints•Pope excommunicated emperor

•Emperor controlled church affairs•Use Greek as language•Clergy had right to marry•Easter was the chief holy day• outlawed honoring of icons•Great resentment against the pope

Events leading to Schism (permanent split) between Byzantine (Greek Orthodox) and Roman Catholic Churches

CRISIS AND COLLAPSE By the time of the schism the Byzantine empire was in

decline Local lords gained power Normans conquered southern Italy Seljuk Turks advanced across Asia Minor

THE CRUSADES 1090’s Byzantine emperor called for help to fight the

Turks The result- The First Crusade Problems between Byzantine Empire and Venice

arose Venetian merchants persuaded knights to attack

Constantinople in 1204

CONSTANTINOPLE FALLS 1453 Ottoman forces surrounded

Constantinople lead by Mohammad II Capital became known as Istanbul- a

center of Muslim culture

BYZANTINE HERITAGE For almost 1000 years the Byzantine empire continued Hellenisticculture Blended Christian religious beliefs with Greek science, philosophy, arts, and literature Extended Roman achievement in engineering and law

BYZANTINE ARTS Great contributions especially in religious art and architecture Famous mosaics

WORLD OF LEARNING Scholars preserved classic works of ancient Greece Famous historians- Anna Comnena first famous female historian wrote- the Alexiad analyzing reign of her father Emperor Alexius I Work of Greek scholars contributed to growth of knowledge known as the Renaissance