Byzantine Empire Chapter 11 section 1
Remember… Diocletian divided the Empire in half because he felt it was too large for one man to control Diocletian controlled the East and it was far more wealthy than the West Constantine will be ruler next and he will once again reunite the empire. BUT, he moves the capital of the empire to BYZANTIUM…way east. What do you think will happen to the empire because of this????
Empire Under Diocletian Empire under Constantine, after the Western half fell to invasions—This will become known as the BYZANTINE Empire
A New Rome For nearly 1,000 years after the collapse of the Western Empire, Byzantium and it’s flourishing capital would carry on the glory of Rome. The height of the Byzantine Empire was during the Reign of Emperor Justinian and his wife Theodora.
Justinian Justinian, a high ranking Byzantine nobleman, succeeded his uncle to the throne. In an effort to recover territory lost by Rome and it’s fading glory, he sent his best generals to reclaim land that once belonged to them. After numerous battles, Justinian’s armies won nearly all of the territory that Rome had ever ruled!
Justinian Expands Byzantine Empire
The code decided legal questions that applied to whole areas of Byzantine life including; Marriage, slavery, property, inheritance, women’s rights, and criminal justice. Although Justinian died in 565, his code served the Byzantine Empire for 900 years Roman Law While Justinian’s men were off fighting and expanding territory Justinian decided he wanted to reform Roman Laws. His panel of experts looked through 400 years of roman laws. It found a number of laws that were outdated and contradictory. The panel created a single uniform law code known as Justinian Code.
New Religion Religion and law played a HUGE role in the Byzantine government. In 380, Christianity had been proclaimed the official religion of the eastern empire. Now all other religions were considered “demented and insane.” Church building was the Emperors greatest passion.
Public Works Justinian viewed churches as the most visible sign of the close connection between church and state in his empire. The ‘crowning glory’ of his reign was Hagia Sophia, which means ‘holy wisdom’ in Greek. When Justinian had rebuilt Hagia Sophia, many visitors hailed it as the most splendid church in the Christian world.
Reconstruction of Constantinople 1. Mese, 2. Augustan main square, 3. Senate, 4. Hippodrome, 5. Imperial Palace, 6. Hagia Sophia, 7. Column of Justinian, 8. Hagia Eirene, 9. Forum of Constantine, 10. City’s Walls.
Empress Theodora The most powerful women in Byzantine history rose from deep poverty. Early in life Theodora was an actress She met Justinian and eventually married in 525 Theodora recognized the rights of women and made sure others did, too. Through her influence, laws were made protecting women and granting them better legal rights After she died in 548, he was so depressed that he passed no major laws for the rest of his reign
Efforts to preserve the West Families valued education- specifically classical learning Latin Philosophy Geometry (Euclid) History (Herodotus) Literature (Homer) They helped to preserve many of the great works of Greece and Rome
Justinian’s Death After Justinian’s death in 565, the empire suffered countless setbacks. There were street riots, religious quarrels, palace intrigues, and foreign dangers. Each time the empire moved to the edge of collapse, it found some way to revive- only to face another crisis.