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• Origins Surviving eastern half of

Roman Empire Byzantine rulers saw

themselves as Roman emperors

Constantinople founded by Constantine on site of Greek colony of Byzantium

Constantine

• Early Byzantine Period From 324 CE to 842 CE

Emperor Justinian I Empress Theodora General Belisarius and

reconquest of empire – peak of territory

Codification of Roman law

Emperor Justinian and Theodora

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• The Middle Byzantine Period 843-1081 CE

Golden Age Extended power over

Middle Eastern lands previously lost to Muslims

Use of secret weapons such as Greek Fire

Byzantine court life adopted by other rulers

Period of wealth and military strength

Greek Fire in action

• The Crusades Period 1081-1204 CE

Emperor Alexius Comnenus Call to West for help versus Seljuk

Turks Constantinople base for operations Dislike between Western

“Barbarians” and Byzantine “Sissies” Sack of Constantinople 1204 –

Fourth Crusade

• Byzantine Decline 1261-1453 Empire restored to

Byzantine control Territories lost to

Ottoman Turks Commerce dominated

by Italian city-states of Venice and Genoa

The Black Death in 1300’s

1453 - Constantinople fell to Ottoman Turks

Ottoman ruler, Mehmet II, directs the attack on Constantinople

Byzantine Empire – Animated Map

Hellenic – from the Greek word “Hellenes”

The Greek word for “Greece”

Constantinople - The fortified capital of the Byzantine Empire

• External threats:Sassanid

EmpireHunsGermanic tribesMuslimsVenice

Attila the Hun

• The EmperorByzantine rulers wielded absolute power –

“divinely” appointedEarly emperors elected to office by the

Senate, the army, and the peopleDynasties and co-emperorsPomp and ceremony used to awe

diplomats

• Byzantine GovernmentLogothesia- government ministers that ran

day-to-day administrationImperial Senate- advised the emperor and

provided a pool for higher appointmentsEunuchs- held positions closest to the

emperorHigh Chamberlain- chief of the Eunuchs

• Byzantine BureaucracyGoal to expand Byzantine influence and

protect the empire through vassal statesLogothete of the Dromus-

Spied on foreign ambassadors / visitorsKept notes on strengths / weaknesses of other

nations

• Byzantine BureaucracyByzantine ambassadors spied on the nations to

which they were postedBribes were used to buy off enemies and pay

enemies of friendly states to keep those states off-balance

“Stables” of potential heirs to foreign thrones were maintained for possible use

What does the word “byzantine” mean today? Why?

• The Family Oldest male dominated the householdUnlike Rome, children were protected from

incest, and could not be sold or abandonedParents were required by law to find

spouses for childrenChildlessness was viewed by society as a

disaster

Upper-class children were educatedLower-class children received little to no educationThe primary duty of a woman was to marry, bear

children, and run the householdMarriage contracts agreed upon disposition of

propertyWomen could inherit and dispose of property in

any way they wished

Upper-class females were secluded and veiled

Seclusion extended into the home itselfWomen had their own quarters surrounded

by slaves and servants (her gynaeceum)If women ventured outside the home she

was accompanied by her gynaeceumVery few women were educated

• Byzantine ArtRoman architectural

traditionsHagia SophiaMosaicsThe Icon

• Iconoclasm Initiated by Emperor Leo the

Isaurian and son, Emperor Constantine V

Eighth century Worship of icons seen as

idolatry Appropriation of Church wealth

by emperor Destruction of Byzantine art

form Back to status quo in ninth

centuryIcon of Madonna and Child

• Effects of Iconoclasm on the West Iconoclasm damaged

relations between Byzantines and Christian West - Pope against iconoclastic movement

Western Christianity turned away from Byzantines and to the Franks for support

Icon of Mother and Child

• Byzantine Religion Emperor chosen by God

– head of Church Patriarch – highest

Church official First Christian

monasteries 1054 - Papal claims to

primacy led to split of Church creating Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches

• Byzantine ReligionOrthodox

missionaries converted Slavs in Balkans, Ukraine, and Russia

Saint Cyril developed Cyrillic alphabet for Slavs

Saint Cyril

• The Byzantine EconomyCenter of trade –

locationTrade routes

MediterraneanSilk RoadBlack SeaRussian

The Byzantine Nomisma

Government influence on industrySilk industryConcessions to

foreign merchants

Competitors VeniceGenoa – Genoese

coins supplanted Byzantine Nomisma

Byzantine silk found in tomb of Charlemagne

Byzantines: Roman or Greek?

• Greek replaced Latin as state language around 610 CE with ascension of Emperor Heraclius (Greek)

• Subsequent emperors ethnically Greek

• Chariot races • Baths• Emphasis on bureaucracy• Roman law• Center of Christianity in East Chariot races in the Hippodrome

Impact of Byzantines on Neighbors

• Societies most influenced were Balkans, Ukraine, and Russia

• Byzantine religion, art, architecture, and court life were adopted

• Russia adopted Byzantine double-headed eagle as royal symbol

• Russian rulers adopted title of “Caesar” (Tsar)• Russia considered itself “The Third Rome” and heir to

the Byzantines after the fall of Constantinople