1. The Byzantine Empire & Middle Ages

2. The Byzantine Empire
The capital of the Roman Empire was moved to Byzantium in 330 C.E by Constantine
The West fell in 476 C.E to Germanic Tribes
The East continued and was named the Byzantine Empire
Its capital was renamed Constantinople.

3. Justinian (483-565 C.E) Considered most famous Byzantine Emperor
Re-conquered the West from Germanic tribes
Created the Justinian Code-laws
Had great churches built (Hagia Sophia)
Theodora-Justinian’s wife; strong woman, fought for women’s rights

4. The Church Divides
Christianity in the East lost contact with the Roman Catholic Church in Rome.
Eastern Orthodox Church emerged
Patriarch-leading figure of Eastern Church
Pope in the West
Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches fought over the use of icons.
Byzantine missionaries converted many Slavs using the Cyrillic Alphabet.

5. The Middle Ages (Medieval)
Time in between the fall of Rome and modern era ( C.E)
Medieval-Latin for Middle
Refers mainly to Western Europe

6. Invasions by Germanic Tribes
476 C.E-Rome conquered by Germanic Tribes
Decline of learning
Loss of common language
New languages emerge
Decline of cities
Church in Rome remained and became powerful

7. Franks Unite and Convert
The Franks became the most unified and powerful of Germanic tribes
Clovis was their first great leader.
Converted to Christianity
Alliance between Church and King.
Charles Martel-Stopped Muslims at the Battle of Tours in 732 C.E.

8. Charlemagne (742-814 C.E) Greatest ruler of the Franks
Created an empire almost as large as the old Rome
Spread Christianity
Encouraged learning
Made an alliance with the Pope
Crowned Emperor by Pope

9. Feudalism Develops in Europe
After Rome fell to Germanic tribes, power in Western Europe became decentralized.
Charlemagne’s Empire was divided
Invasions from C.E by Vikings, Muslims, and Magyars further divided Europe
People sought protection from local lords instead of a central ruler.

10. Feudalism
System in which kings and local lords grant land (fief) to a vassal in return for services (usually military)
People worked on the Lord’s manor or estate

11. The Crusades ( C.E)
A series of holy wars fought between Christian and Muslim armies.
Sought to gain control of the “Holy Land” or Jerusalem.
The main impact was an increase in trade.