Byzantine Empire

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Byzantine Empire

• After the Western Roman Empire fell to German
  barbarian invasions in the 5th century, the
  Eastern Roman Empire, with its capital at
  Constantinople, repelled the invasions and went
  on to survive for 1000 more years
• Known by historians as the Byzantine Empire
• Played important role in
• preserving and spreading the culture of ancient
  Greeks and Romans

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Constantinople A Strategic CityWhere Europe
Asia Meet
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• Located on a peninsula that overlooked the
  Bosporus Strait
• Controlled movement between Mediterranean Black
  Seas
• Key trade center between East West

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FortificationsGreek fire

• Natural protection from invaders water on 3
  sides
• Triple Walls fortified open side
• The Golden Horn inlet could be blocked off with
  iron chains

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Modern Istanbul
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Eastern Roman Empire

• Politically Highly centralized emperor superb
  military, defenses Roman Law (theoretically
  innocent until proven guilty evidence to
  convict)
• Economically trade crossroads prospered but
  also had excellent agricultural production
  manufacturing
• Culturally uniform church (enforced heretics
  persecuted) church subject to Emperor in
  practice art/architecture

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Justinian Theodora ruled Byz. Empire 527-565
CE

• Why did the Byzantine Empire develop this way?
• Why did it eventually collapse?

Muslim Ottoman TurksConq. Constantinople 1453 CE
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Primary source Precopius

• Read the assigned excerpt
• What were the major accomplishments of Justinian
  Theodora?
• What were their characteristics as rulers?
• What effect did their rule have on the Empire?

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Justinian and Theodora

• Justinian was a 6th century Byzantine Emperor
  Theodora, his wife, was very influential in his
  reign
• Theodora urged Justinian to give women more
  rights own land, business, protection from
  spousal abuse
• Theodora encouraged Justinian not to flee when
  taxpayers revolted (Nika Rebellion)
• Justinian stayed and his army crushed the rebels

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Justinian and Theodora

• Justinian wife, Theodora
• 6th century Emperor Empress
• Gave women more rights own land, business,
  protection from spousal abuse
• Justinians army Put down Nika Rebellion
  crushed rebels heretics
• Expanded the empire

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Theodora Her Attendants
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Justinian and His Attendants
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Belasarius Expands Empire

• peasant with little military experience
  Theodoras friend
• Led the troops that crushed Nika Rebellion
• Appointed general of Byzantine armies which
  fought against the Vandals, Ostrogoths
  Visigoths
• Byzantines extended their rule in the west
  temporarily

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Brief expansion of empire
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Byzantine Art

• Glorified religion
• Icons small religious paintings in homes,
  churches shrines (Jesus, the Madonna, Saints)
• Mosaics - pictures made of many tiny pieces of
  colored glass or flat stone set in plaster
• Illuminated manuscripts
• Subjects of Byzantine art appeared stiff and
  artificial with calm, meditative faces to inspire
  reverence - artists tried to preserve what they
  believed to be the true appearances of the
  religious figures

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Byzantine Art

• Glorified religion
• Icons
• Mosaics
• Illuminated manuscripts -
• - artists tried to preserve what they believed to
  be the true appearances of the religious figures

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Mausoleum of Galla Placidia
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Illuminated manuscript
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Byzantine Architecture

• Greatest form of Byzantine art
• Hagia Sophia, meaning holy wisdom Greatest
  masterpiece
• Huge building in form of a cross
• huge dome that rests on massive columns

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Hagia Sophia
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Inside Hagia Sophia
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Blue Mosque later, Muslim architecture copied
aspects of Byzantine
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Justinians Code

• Justinian had Roman laws codified and classified
• Omits repetitions, inconsistencies, and statutes
  dealing with Roman religion
• Preserved Romes legal heritage and later became
  the basis for most European legal systems
• Principles like innocent until proven guilty

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Justinians Code

• Justinian had Roman laws codified and classified
• Preserved Romes legal heritage
• Principles like innocent until proven guilty
• later became the basis for most European legal
  systems

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Justinians Accomplishments

• Expanded the Empire
• Created Justinians Code
• Commissioned rebuilding of Hagia Sophia
• Helped spread Christianity
• Increased womens rights

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Conflict in the Christian Church

• Arguments over use of icons Nature of Christ
  (monophysite vs dual) - (although eventually
  settled on the dual nature persecuted
  monophysites as heretics)
• AD 726 Byz Emperor ordered all icons removed from
  churches Emperors supporters known as
  iconoclasts (image breakers)
• All church leaders resisted order and were
  supported by the Roman Pope - so both sides used
  images

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Conflict in the Christian Church

• Arguments over use of icons Nature of Christ
  (monophysite vs dual)
• dual nature prevailed
• persecuted monophysites as heretics
• AD 726 Byz Emperor condemned icons supporters
  iconoclasts (image breakers)
• All church leaders resisted order and were
  supported by the Roman Pope - so both sides used
  images
• But causes rift

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• First split (schism) in Christendom
• east and west argued over religious authority
• Pope in Rome Patriarch of Constantinople each
  declared their seat the supreme church
  authority
• Other differences in custom ritual
• Eventually led to a schism in 1054 AD
• Roman Catholic Church in West and Eastern
  Orthodox Church in East

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• Eventual weakening of the Empire
• Muslim Seljuk Turks -
• Crusades -
• Ottoman Turks conquered Constantinople 1453
• Istanbul

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11th Century Crusaders

• from western European kingdoms
• helped defend the Empire from invading Muslims,
  the Seljuk Turks
• Butin 4th crusade, crusaders burned and looted
  the city, stealing destroying priceless
  manuscripts and works of art
• Established a Latin Empire
  briefly in Constantinople
  (lasts until
  1261AD)
• weakened Constantinople

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Orthodox Clerics Get Papal Apology May 5, 2001
! news article

• Pope John Paul II, in a sweeping statement of
  regret aimed at healing Christianitys East-West
  divide, begged forgiveness for sins committed by
  Roman Catholics
• Pope John Paul II singled out the plunder of
  Constantinople, now Istanbul, as an example of
  Catholic sin. In an animated voice, he called it
  disastrous and tragic that assailants, who
  had set out to secure free access to Christians
  to the Holy Land, turned against their own
  brothers in faith.

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Fall of Constantinople

• Ottoman Turks from
  central Asia attacked
  the Eastern provinces
• In AD 1453 the
  Ottomans laid siege to
  Constantinople
• fell to Mehmet II of the
  Ottoman Empire
• After almost
  1500 years, the Roman Empire
  ended

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Legacy of the Byzantine Empire

• Preserved writings of ancient Greeks and Romans
  and the importance of scholarship
• Codified and preserved Roman Law (Code of
  Justinian)
• Spread Christianity (Eastern Orthodox Church) to
  the Russians and other eastern Europeans
• cultural diffusion

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• Istanbul became the capital of the Ottoman Empire
  continued to spread into Europe
• Weakened in the 18th century regions in Europe
  broke away in 19th century
• After World War I end of the Ottoman Empire
• Turkey moved capital to Ankara

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Next

• How did early Russia develop how was that
  development influenced by the Byzantine Empire?
• Look at maps

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Early Russia

• Kievan Rus

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Pink Kievan Rus
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The Kievan Rus

• Kiev developed along the Dnieper River- important
  trade route connecting Baltic Sea and Black Sea
• Other geographic features
• steppe - grassland plain stretching from central
  Asia to eastern Europe many nomads/ traded
  animals
• taiga - huge forested area north of the steppe/
  honey, wax, furs

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The Kievan Rus

• Kiev developed along the Dnieper River- important
  trade route connecting Baltic Sea and Black Sea
• Byzantine goods culture traveled along the
  river systems
• Other geographic features
• steppe
• taiga -

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Steppe in southern Russia
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• influenced by both Byzantines south and
• Scandinavians (Vikings/Swedes/ Varangians)
  north

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Kievan Rus

• language/nationality Slavic
• Govt from Varangians?
• Principalities - area ruled by a prince
• Boyars - nobles (large landowners)
• farming hunting main livelihood

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Important Developments during the Kievan Rusall
influenced by the Byzantines

• Alphabet
• religion
• law code
• Art/architecture

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• 9th century Cyrillic Alphabet
• alphabet for the Slavic languages
• Named for St. Cyril, a Greek monk who, with
  Methodius, created a writing system to western
  slavic Christian converts in the mid-ninth
  century (c.860)
• The Cyrillic alphabet is closely based on the
  Greek alphabet - with about a dozen additional
  letters invented to represent Slavic sounds not
  found in Greek.

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Hello, I am called Ivan Selvia. Today I will
study/learn the Russian language. Will you also
study/learn?
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12th century Cyrillic script
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Vladimir I11th century

• Investigated various religions
• adopted Eastern Orthodox Christianity (because of
  Hagia Sophias magnificence
• mass baptism for his subjects
• married Byzantine princess
• brought Byzantine culture to Kiev
• Metropolitan (chief bishop) appointed

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Cathedral of Saint Sophia in Novgorod
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Yaroslav the wise (I) Vladimirs son

• Established first
• school
• library
• law code (Russkaia Pravda)
• but Kiev declined after his death - became part
  of Mongol Empire

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Russkaia Pravda

• Article 2
• If a man is bleeding or is blue from bruises, he
  does not need any eyewitness if he has no sign
  of injury he is to produce an eyewitness if he
  cannot, the matter ends there if he cannot
  avenge himself he is to receive three grivnas,
  while the physician is to get an honorarium.

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Russian Icon
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Byzantine influence

• alphabet adapted from Greek (Cyrillic)
• Religion (Eastern Orthodox)
• Law code - ish
• art (icons) and architecture

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After Yaroslav

• Disorder disunity
• ca. 1250 - Conquered by the Mongols for 240
  years!
• Little contact with central and western Europe