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○ Removed over 400 years of outdated Roman laws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

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNMoi5Af1SY

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

The Bubonic Plague

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