The Byzantine Empire

1
The Byzantine Empire
2
Constantine
3

• Constantine rebuilt the city of Byzantium and
  names it Constantinople
• located on a strait that connects the
  Mediterranean Sea to the Black Sea
• Commanded key trade routes between Europe and
  Asia
• Influenced by Greece, Rome, and Christianity

4
Mosaic of Justinian
5
Justinian

• Constantinople reached its peak under Justinians
  rule
• In 532 a fire destroyed much of the city
  Justinian had it rebuilt even grander than before
  
• The church of Hagia Sophia, Holy Wisdom ,was
  his great triumph
• Justinians Code- list of Roman civil laws
• Spread to Western Europe and is used in modern
  international law

6
Hagia Sophia
7
Greek Fire
8

• Justinian ruled as an autocrat- one ruler with
  total power
• Viewed as Christs co-ruler
• His wife Theodora was his advisor to govt.
• The military was one of the worlds best
• Greek fire was a new, deadly weapon
• the empire fell after Justinians death

9

• The practice of Christianity was different in the
  Eastern and Western Europe
• A dispute over icons, or holy images, caused the
  Great Schism
• The Byzantine Church became the Greek Orthodox
  Church , while the Western branch became the
  Roman Catholic Church
• In the 1090s Alexius I asked the Pope Urban II
  for help in fighting the Muslim Turks , this
  began the 1st Crusade
• Ottoman Turks eventually took control and renamed
  the city Istanbul