The Byzantine Empire

The Beginnings of Byzantium Diocletian had originally split the Roman Empire. Constantine reunited the empire, but after his rule was over it continued as two empires. Constantine had made Byzantium the new capital (renamed Constantinople.) The Western Roman Empire fell in 476. There was no good way to choose good emperors, so they were usually bad. The economy was terrible, people weren’t working and inflation made money worthless. Barbarians were attacking, people were rebelling, and Rome did not have effective armies to defend the huge empire. In A.D. 476 a barbarian named Odoacer took command of Rome. He removed the powerless emperor Romulus Augustus.

So why didn’t the East fall as well? Barbarians almost entirely ignored the Eastern Roman Empire (while destroying the west) The east was much wealthier than the west. The west included, Gaul (France), Germania (Germany), and Hispania (Spain and Portugal) these lands are agrarian. The East had MANY ancient cities (due to Greece and then Alexander the Great’s empire. The east had a more unified culture. The east was Hellenistic, the people adopted Greek culture and language. The west had many different cultures and languages. 15 barbarian tribes attacked the Western Roman Empire, while only 1 attacked the Eastern Empire.

Constantinople

Constantinople Constantine had chosen this city because it was surrounded on three sides by water. This allows Constantinople to be a trade hub. Makes the city easy to defend. Stays the most advanced city in the world for 1000 years. Had a sewer system, which the rest of Europe had lost. Hippodrome gave entertainment through chariot races. Had gigantic walls making it a fortress to protect amazing architecture. Had hospitals and homes for old and orphans. The Byzantines were masters of naval warfare due to Greek Fire. This is an early napalm. It would burn even more when in contact with water.

Byzantine Trade Routes

Justinian I (527 C.E. – 565 C.E.) Justinian attempted to restore a united Roman Empire. Considered one of Byzantium’s greatest emperors. Married an actress, not a princess, named Theodora. A large riot almost cut his reign short in 532, but his wife convinced him to put down the rebellion as opposed to flee. Constantinople was in ruins, but Justinian uses this as an excuse to build new bridges, public paths, parks, roads, hospitals, and grand churches. He also conquers many lands lost in the Empire, including much of the old Roman Empire. Created Justinian’s code which simplified Roman law making it easier to understand, removing bad laws, and extending rights to women.

Eastern Orthodox Church The emperor of Byzantium became the head of the Eastern Orthodox Church. Orthodox means “in agreement with right belief” They believed they were going back to Jesus’ teachings and that of the early church. Religion became a daily part of people’s lives. People would use icons, which are pictures of Christ, Mary, or other saints. The church’s architecture influences much of Eastern Europe. These churches have domes, which represents the “dome of heaven.”

Conflicts between East and West The Hagia Sophia

Disagreements between East and West After Rome adopted Christianity, the Pope became the head of the Christian church. This is where we get the Roman Catholic. The Pope was in charge all Catholic priests and bishops. In the east, the Byzantine emperor said he was the head of the Christian church. This means, two different people were saying they were in charge. The patriarch of Constantinople was a bishop but equal to all Eastern Orthodox bishops.

Great schism of 1054 Schism means split or division. Iconoclasm – Many people used pictures to help them worship and pray. Byzantine Emperor Leo III banned the use of icons because he thought people were worshiping the icon and not God. This was stopped in 843, and is still a large part of the Orthodox church today. In 800 C.E. Pope Leo III crowned a Holy Roman Emperor, Charlemagne. The Byzantines saw themselves as Roman.

Schism (cont.) In 1054 all churches that Byzantium controlled that followed western rites (were Roman Catholic) were closed by Cerularius, the Patriarch of Constantinople. This infuriated Pope Leo IX, especially since Byzantium had taken control over parts of Italy. In return he excommunicated Cerularius. Cerularius then excommunicated Pope Leo IX Excommunication is when you are not allowed to participate in church activities or go to heaven. This division lasted until 1964. They finally unexcommunicated each other.

Impact of the Byzantines Byzantine Empire lasts almost 1000 years. This is attributed to an excellent geographic position, massive wealth, huge walls, and Greek Fire. They will be later conquered in 1453 by the Ottoman Turks (we’ll get to that much later.) Justinian’s code is an excellent example of law. While Europe digressed and lost knowledge, the Byzantines recorded and saved the ancient knowledge of the Greeks and Romans by copying many scrolls and books.