World HistoryEra 4: Part 3

NEAR EASTERN CIVILIZATIONS

Byzantium

Russia

Islam

The Byzantine CivilizationA. The Rise of New Rome

1. Name: Greek Byzantium, Constantinople, Istanbul

2. Location: peninsula on the Bosporus Straits separating southeastern Europe from Asia Minor; present day Turkey

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3. Importance

a. Commercial center where east/west trade routes met

b. Capital of the eastern Roman empire

c. One of the major patriarchates of the early Christian church

d. Replaced Rome (after 476) as the primary city of the empire

e. Byzantine civilization was more Greek than Roman, more Asian than European

B. The Reign of Justinian

1. His chief objective was to restore the greatness of the Roman empire by

a. Recovering the Roman territory in the West that had fallen to the barbarians (Italy, Southern Spain, France, and Northern Africa)

b. Revitalizing the Roman legal system. This became known as the Justinian Code.

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2. His reign was the Golden Age of Byzantine Culture

a. Extensive building programs – public buildings, roads, aqueducts

b. Art and architecture developed and prospered -- mosaics

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3. His successors were not prepared to rule

a. Financially, the empire was drained from wars and building projects

b. The eastern and northern borders were unprotected

C. Separation of the eastern and western churches

1. Constantine legalized Christianity and his city became the natural center of this “new religion”

2. Religious rivalry resulted in the bishop of Rome excommunicating the patriarch of Constantinople and vice versa

3. Differences between the two churches

a. Control of religious affairsb. Celibacyc. Iconsd. Western influenced by Roman and German

tribes; eastern influenced by Greek and Oriental ideas

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D. A Chronology of Byzantine History

1. 4th-5th : Heavy barbarian attacks

2. 7th: Arab Muslims advanced into all of Byzantium except the most western areas

3. 850-1050: Revival of Byzantine culture

4. 1000-1100: Rivalry with Italian commercial cities

5. Seljuk Turks from Central Asia conquered Asia Minor

6. 1204: the 4th Crusade sacked Constantinople

7. 1453: Ottoman Turks captured Constantinople

E. The Contributions of the Byzantine Civilization

1. A shield to protect Europe from the spread of Islam

2. The means by which the classical heritage of Greece and Rome was preserved and transmitted to the West

3. A model for the “less civilized” people to copy the culture, government, and religion

4. Art and architecture intended to glorify God: mosaic and domed buildings

The Islamic CivilizationA. The Land of Arabia

1. Barren wilderness and desert kept Arabia isolated until the birth of Islam.

2. Descendants of Abraham through Hagar’s son Ishmael.

3. Bedouins: nomadic herdsmen with little organized government

4. Some cities developed along major routes: Mecca, Medina

B. The Religion of Islam

1. The founder

a. Muhammad, claiming to be the last and greatest prophet of Allah, founded Islam

b. He believed the angel Gabriel gave him a revelation to warn the people of Allah’s judgment

c. His teaching was rejected by the people of Mecca and conflicts forced him to flee to Medina—the Hegira (722). There, he was well received and his teaching spread

2. The holy book of Islam: the Koran (recitations)

a. Central doctrine: monotheism; unity of Islam

b. Allah is to be feared because he will reward good and punish evil

c. Muhammad borrowed from Judeo-Christian religion, but changed those doctrines

3. The Five Pillars of Islam

a. Reciting the confession “There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is his prophet”

b. Reciting prayer 5 times a day while facing Mecca

c. Giving alms to the poor

d. Fasting from sunrise to sunset during Ramadan

e. Making a pilgrimage to Mecca; Kaaba (black stone which gives forgiveness)

Allah u Akbar, Allah u Akbar -- Allah u Akbar, Allah u Akbar Allah is Great, Allah is Great -- Allah is Great, Allah is Great

Ash-hadu al-la llaha ill Allah – Ash hadu al-la llaha ill AllahI bear witness that there is no divinity but Allah

Ash-hadu anna Muhammadan RasulullaahI bear witness that Muhammad is Allah’s Messenger

Ash-hadu anna Muhammadan RasulullaahI bear witness that Muhammad is Allah’s Messenger

Hayya la-s-seleah – Hayya la-s-saleahHasten to the prayer, Hasten to the prayer

Hayya la-l-faleah – Hayya la-l-faleahHasten to real success, Hasten to real success

Allah u Akbar, Allah u AkbarAllah is Great, Allah is Great

La llaha ill AllahThere is no divinity but Allah

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C. The Spread of Islam

1. Caliphs (successors of Muhammad) directed a rapid expansion of Islam

a. Islam spread into productive land of the weakening Byzantine and Persian empires

b. Islam organized the Arab people around a common cause, but not wholly united

c. Sunni: leadership belongs to “one who follows…the Prophet”; Shia: leadership belongs to a hereditary descendant of Muhammad’s household (imam)

2. Umayyad Dynasty (671-750)

a. Capital: Damascusb. Hereditaryc. Extended the empire from France, northern

Africa and into India

3. Abbasid Caliphate

a. Capital: Baghadb. Non-Arab Muslims became dissatisfied being

treated as second class citizensc. Revolted against the Umayyads and

established their own dynasty d. Worked to create a multi-cultural Muslim

empire

D. The Contributions of the Muslim Culture

1. A unified civilization through a blending of the cultures of the conquered people

2. Economics: extensive trade routes: spices, silk, muslin, carpets

3. Academics: copied and preserved many manuscripts which may have been lost

4. Medicine: hospitals, pharmacies, delicate operations

5. Literature: picturesque poetry and prose

6. Mathematics: Arabic numerals, decimal, zero

7. Art and architecture

a. Islam forbids the representation of man and animals in art

b. Calligraphy: elaborate, beautiful handwriting

c. Mosque: place of Muslim worshipd. Manuscript illumination: illustrated

writing

The Early Russian CivilizationA. Beginnings of the Russian State

1. The Slavs are the most important and numerous people of the multi-racial Russian heritage.2. Varangians. Bands of Swedish Norsemen who sailed along the Russian waterways plundering Slavic villages in hopes of joining in the prosperous trade with the east. They were eventually welcomed and their culture was absorbed.

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3. Rurik established the first ruling dynasty of Russia (capitaled at Novgorod)

4. Under Oleg, Kiev became the prominent city in a loose confederation of city-states

a. Along the shores of the Dnieper River, centrally located between Scandinavia and the Byzantines

b. Became “Russia”, land of the Rus (sea-farers, rowers)

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B. Influence of Byzantine Culture

1. Close cultural ties with Constantinople

2. Cut off from western thought and ideas; a “southern” connection

3. Accepted Orthodox Church

4. Russian language from Slavic, from Greek

5. Russian architecture patterned after Byzantine models

C. The Height of Kievan Russia

1. Yaroslav the Wise

a. Great territorial expansion

b. Marriage alliances with royal families (FR, PO, SW, NO)

c. Sponsored Russian code of laws

d. Made Kiev a rival of Constantinople

e. Built schools and libraries

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C. The Height of Kievan Russia

1. Yaroslav the Wise

a. Great territorial expansion

b. Marriage alliances with royal families (FR, PO, SW, NO)

c. Sponsored Russian code of laws

d. Made Kiev a rival of Constantinople

e. Built schools and libraries

2. Civil war over succession to the throne—even though he told his children how to manage the kingdom

3. New trade routes and other cities (Moscow) grew more popular, decreasing the importance of Kiev

4. The Tartars/Tatars destroyed Kiev in 1240 and ruled Russia for 200 years.

The Tatars (meaning mounted messengers) originated somewhere in northern Mongolia; they became part of the Mongol’s Golden Horde that swept across the steppes of Russia. The name Tartar may originate from the Greek mythology (the lowest regions of Hades/hell)