Byzantine Empire ( ) Mr. Snell

Setting the Stage Western Roman Empire crumbled in the 5 th century being overrun by Germanic tribes. Capital moved from Rome to Byzantium. Renamed Constantinople. Empire still called Byzantium. Carried on the glory of Rome.

Barbarian Invasions of the Roman Empire

Justinian ( ) & Theodora (d. 548) One Empire. One Religion. One Law.

The Empire 527 – Byzantine nobleman named Justinian succeeded his uncle to the throne of the Eastern Empire. 533 – Justinian sends his top general Belisarius to recover North Africa from Germanic Tribes. He succeeds.

Justinian a Caesar??? 2 years later, Belisarius goes after Rome. Attacks and seizes Rome from the Ostrogoths. Rome attacked 16 times, changed 6 times. Justinian’s army eventually wins back all of Italy. Justinian now ruled almost all the territory that Rome had ever ruled.

So…Recap.. Justinian takes throne in 527. Belisarius is his top general. Justinian sends Belisarius to reconquer lost territory in North Africa and Rome (Italy) North Africa Italy

The City: Constantinople Main street was called “Mese” or middle passage. –Merchant stalls from multiple continents. –Products from the corners of the earth. Hippodrome - Greek stadium for horse racing and chariot racing. –Held 60,000 spectators. –Fans formed formed for different teams based on the color worn by their heroes.

Hippodrome

Nika Rebellion “Nika” – Victory Nika Rebellion – anti government rebellion Stormed into the Hippodrome demanding Justinian be overthrown. General Belisarius brings in army… –Slaughters the 30,000 rebels. The destruction gave Justinian and Theodora a chance to rebuild the city even better.

Byzantine Emperors Ruled with Absolute Power Head of State & Head of Church Brutal politics-often deadly. Emperors had a constant risk of assassination. 88 Emperors –29 died violent deaths, 13 abandoned throne for life in a monastery (hiding in peace).

Life in a New Rome Separated government from the West gave Byzantium it’s own unique character. Citizens thought they shared Greek tradition Few spoke Latin. People spoke Greek. Justinian sets up a panel of legal experts to regulate the complex society.

The Law Panel combed 400 years of Roman laws. Justinian Code – single, uniform code of laws. –Decided legal questions that regulated whole areas of life. Code served the empire for 900 years!

4 parts to the Code 1. The Code (old laws)contained nearly 5,000 Roman laws that were still considered useful for the Byzantine Empire. 2. The Digest quoted and summarized the opinions of Rome’s greatest legal thinkers about the laws. This massive work ran to a total of 50 volumes. 3. The Institutes was a textbook that told law students how to use the laws. 4. The Novellae (New Laws) presented legislation passed after 534.

The Imperial Capital While the Code was being work on… Launched massive public works project. –Rebuilt Constantinople’s fortifications. –14 mile stone wall along the coastline. –Repaired Western land border walls.

Hagia Sophia – church of holy wisdom. Completed in 537. Church Building was his greatest passion!

The Empire Falls After Justinian’s death, the Empire suffered countless setbacks. The Plague of Justinian – In 542, at it’s peak, nearly 10,000 people died each day! –Kept coming back until around 700 C.E. Constant Attacks from the East/West –West – Lombards –North – Avars, Slavs, Bulgars, –East – Sassanid Persian Empire –Arabs – In 674 & 717. –Russians – 3 Attempts between

The Plague of Justinian

Byzantine Empire in 565 – Largest

Heraclius Heraclius – Defender of Constantinople! He defeated the Persians off the eastern border. Extended Byzantine territory Buffered threats by migrating Croats & Serbs, converted them to Christianity.

The legacy of Heraclius Persian power was dissolved and they were easily conquered by the Arabs The Byzantines were also exhausted and could barely sustain Arab attacks. In Europe, which had been depleted of troops, the Slavs were fast seizing Byzantine territories. Under the successors of Heraclius, his hard won gains had been lost and the empire was nearly dissolved.

Emperor Leo III ( ) Leo III, using the Greek Fire, defeats the Arabs decisively and halts Islamic expansion. Halted the dissolution of Byzantium, and preserved Christianity in Europe. 730 – Banned the use of ICONS! Icon – depicted holy or sacred image Iconoclast = Icon Destroyer

1054 Great Schism Church Splits Eastern Orthodox Church (Greek) Western Roman Catholic Church (Latin) Pope and Patriarch excommunicated each other in a dispute over religious doctrine. Excommunicate – Spiritual condemnation of the member or group.

The Fall of Constantinople to the Crusaders, 1204

The End of the Byzantine Empire The Byzantine empire drew to a close in 1453 when forces from the Muslim Ottoman Empire (Turks) surrounded and conquered Constantinople.Byzantine empire Muslim Ottoman Empire The ancient Christian city was renamed Istanbul and became the capital of the Ottoman Empire.

Millionaire Trivia Before becoming an empress, Theodora was a Burlesque dancer and possibly a prostitute. The Cyrillic alphabet was created by two monks, Cyril and Methodius, who wanted to translate religious texts for more readers.

Russian Phrases Привет! Доброе утро! Как дела? Хорошо, спасибо! меня зовут … Mp. CHeлл Hi! Good morning! How are you? Good, thanks. My name is … Mr. Snell