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TRANSCRIPT
The Byzantine Empire
330-1453 CE
The Collapse of the Roman Empire
The Byzantine Empire
Connections to the Classical World
● Emperor Constantine moved Rome’s capital to Byzantium
○ Byzantium then renamed Constantinople
● Byzantium remained the name of the ENTIRE Eastern
Empire
How might geography benefit or hurt the empire?
What is important about the empire’s capital (constantinople)?
Justinian as Emperor
● Justinian became emperor in 527 CE
● Goal: to regain Rome’s fading glory
○ Reconquered Northern Africa, most of Italy, and parts of
Spain
Expansion Under Justinian
Role of Byzantine Emperors
● Emperors had absolute power
● Head of the church and state
● Appointed and dismissed bishops
○ Review! What is a bishop?
● Politics were brutal and deadly
Empress Theodora
● Justinian’s wife
● Persuaded him to make laws fairer for women
● Jobs should be given based on ability, not class
Life in the New Rome
● Kept Roman traditions, but mostly spoke Greek
● Merchant stalls lined the streets
○ Sold products from Europe, Africa, and Asia
● Free entertainment at the Hippodrome
Justinian Code
● A single uniform code for the Byzantines
○ Removed over 400 years of outdated Roman laws
● Applied to all areas of life
○ Marriage, slavery, property, inheritance, women’s rights,
and criminal justice
Public Works
● Justinian built a 14 mile defensive wall around
Constantinople’s coastline and western land border
● Baths, schools, hospitals
Hagia Sophia
● Church built by Justinian
● Name means “Holy Wisdom” in Greek
● Believe by some to be the most magnificent church in the
Christian World
Hagia sophia
Preservation of Classical Influences
● Despite Justinian advancements, the emperor chose to
preserve several aspects of Classical life:
○ Grammar
○ Philosophy
○ Literature
○ Math
○ History
○ Medicine
Byzantine Economy
● Strong economy
● Constantinople was meeting place for merchants
Silk
● Smuggled silkworms from China
● Ended the monopoly China had on silk
● Merchants traveled along the Silk Road
*Monopoly-when one company (or place)
has control of an entire market
The silk road
The Fall of the Byzantine Empire
Internal Causes
● Street riots
● Religious quarrels
● Bubonic plague
○ Killed an estimated 10,000 people PER DAY
External Causes
● Foreign armies attacked the Byzantines from the North,
West, and East
● Empire gradually shrank
● Constantinople fell to the Ottoman Turks (1453 CE)
Part IIThe Great Schism: The Church Divides
(1054 CE)
Review! Eastern and western roman empires
Development of Christianity
● Christianity developed differently in the Eastern and Western
Roman Empires
○ Distance and lack of communication
● This led to The Great Schism, or a split in the Christian
church
Use of Icons
● Icon-a picture of Christ, which was forbidden
in Eastern Orthodox Church
○ Worshipping idols (physical object that
represents God)
● In the West few were literate
○ Church leaders were effective way to teach
those who are illiterate