1. Chapter 10 Section 1
The Byzantine Empire

2. The Growth of the Byzantine Empire
Emperor Justinian ruled from A.D. 527 to A.D. 565 his accomplishments made this a great period in Byzantine history
He ordered scholars to collect the laws of the Roman Empire this collection is knows as the Justinian Code
{the Justinian Code preserved Roman History}
One of Justinian’s advisors was {his wife, Theodora. Under her advice Justinian gave women the right to own property}

4. Justinian

5. Continued……
In A.D. 532 the Nika Revolt threatened to overthrow Justinian. He wanted to flee to Constantinople but Theodora convinced him to stay and fight. Justinian prevailed
Justinian wisely made Belisarius general of the army. Belisarius won the Roman lands back from the Germanic tribes
{Thus, under the rule of Justinian the Byzantine Empire expanded to its largest size}

7. Strengths of the Empire
{The Byzantine Empire was ruled by an all powerful emperor} along with a strong central Government
Government officials made sure the empire ran smoothly
The Byzantine empire had created a strong defense including a Navy
In the A.D. 500’s Byzantine navy ships were equipped with “Greek Fire” a chemical used in naval warfare

8. What is Greek Fire?

9. Strengths Continued
The East had always been the richest part of the Roman Empire with the majority of the wealth in Constantinople
The trade from Europe to Asia went through Constantinople and was taxed raising huge government revenue
{The trade routes of Constantinople were extremely valuable to the empire} because the taxes put on these items brought large sums of money into the empire

10. “Greek Fire”

11. The Christian Church
Christianity was important in the Byzantine Empire, but the West and East had different ideas about church practices
In the West the pope was the most powerful leader
{In the East the most powerful religious leader was the patriarch of Constantinople}
One debate between the two was the role of Icons, or holy pictures of Jesus, the Virgin Mary, or the Saints which helped the people that couldn’t read learn about Christianity
Many Byzantines were Iconoclasts. They believed that icons were the same as worshiping false idols.
This became known as the Iconoclastic Controversy

12. Continued…..
In A.D. 787 the Pope in Rome called for a discussion of the controversy and they ruled that it was heresy not to allow icons and they threatened iconoclasts with excommunication
This split the Christian Church in two.
The West became the Roman Catholic Church with the Pope as its head The
East became the Eastern Orthodox Church with the patriarch of Constantinople
The two churches are still split today
Ironically, {today the Eastern Orthodox accepts icons}

13. Byzantine Culture
Religion was the main subject of Byzantine art Murals and icons covered the churches
{One of the greatest artistic achievements of Justinian’s rule was the Hagia Sophia}
The Hagia Sophia, in Constantinople, was a huge, ornate church that Justinian put a lot of money, energy and time to.

18. The Decline of the Empire
After Justinian died, the empire suffered from many wars and conflict with outside powers
Even the west turned on the empire and captured Constantinople
The Byzantines recaptured the city but never regained its full strength
In A.D the Ottoman Turks ended the Byzantine Empire

19. Section Review the Justinian Code preserved ______ _______
Under the rule of Who? did the Byzantine Empire expanded to its largest size
his wife, Theodora. Under her advice Justinian gave women the right to ____ ________
In the East the most powerful religious leader was the _________ __ ____________
The Byzantine Empire was ruled by Who?

20. Shall we end the presentation with some Weird Beards…..