Unlike several earlier empires, the rulers of the Byzantine Empire were viewed as Servants of God an

1

• Unlike several earlier empires, the rulers of the
  Byzantine Empire were viewed as Servants of God
  and not as deities themselves

2

• One of the greatest leaders of the Byzantine
  Empire was the Emperor Justinian who ruled from
  527-565. During his rule the Byzantine Empire
  reached its greatest height of power.

3

• Led by his general Belisarius, Justinians forces
  were able to recapture Northern Africa, Italy and
  southern Spain from barbarous tribes.

4

• Through these conquests Justinian was able to
  restore much of the glory that had been Ancient
  Romes.

5

• However, these victories drained much of the
  wealth from the Empire and proved to be too
  costly to maintain. In addition, the powerful
  military forces of Western Europe prevented
  Justinian from realizing his goal of conquering
  all of the former Roman Empire.

6

• Justinian was successful though, in establishing
  trade relations with Western Europe and thus was
  able to spread the ideas of the Byzantine world
  into Europe.

7

• In the Byzantine Empire the Empress often had
  considerable power. Among the greatest of these
  female rulers was Justinians wife, Theodora.

8

• Theodora was born to a family of entertainers and
  as such was considered to be of low social class.
  However, she was able to climb the social ladder
  due to the Byzantine Empires relatively lax
  social structure.

9

• Theodora was quite strong-willed and her
  leadership actually helped to save the Empire and
  Justinians life on at least two separate
  occasions.

10

• Another significant ruler of the Byzantine Empire
  was the Emperor Byzas II. It was during his reign
  that the term Basilieu was created to refer to
  the emperors of the Byzantine Empire. This term
  simply means king of kings indicating that the
  Byzantine king was the king over all other kings
  in the world.

11

• In the Eastern Church religious leaders were
  consulted on nearly every important issue in a
  persons life.

12

• The Church was ever-present in the daily lives of
  people.

13

• For men of great intelligence the Church offered
  many opportunities for advancement and as a
  result a career in the Church was VERY desirable.

14

• All of the Byzantine Empire was greatly
  concerned with the nature of the Trinity and
  attempted to explain the true relationship
  between the Father, The Son and The Holy Ghost.
  As a result religious issues dominated the daily
  lives of the Byzantine Empire.

15

• The Church dominated the political, social,
  artistic, personal and economic life in the
  Empire.