“New Rome” Roman Emperor Constantine shifted Capital to Eastern Mediterranean and rebuilt the Greek city of Byzantium Named it after himself, Constantinople Great location makes it a crossroads for trade between the east and the west Was a harbor and was built with massive land and sea walls for defense

Trading Post of the East Many goods for all over the world were available in Constantinople Silk from China Wheat from Egypt Gems from India Spices from SE Asia Furs from Viking lands Emperors and Empresses lived lavishly Had chariot races just like the Romans Part of their Roman heritage

Justinian Reign The Byzantine empire reached its peak under the emperor JUSTINIAN Ruled from 527 to 565 Aimed to retake old Roman lands from invaders Had a general BELISAURIUS who helped regain lands in North Africa, Italy, Iberian Peninsula (Spain) The fighting exhausted the money supply and the empire only had the lands temporarily Other emperors would lose the one after another

Rebuilding Constantinople Constantinople suffered from devastating riots and a fire in 532 Justinian vowed to rebuild grander than before Rebuilt the church of HAGIA SOPHIA and compared it to King Solomon’s temple in Jerusalem He claimed to surpass Solomon The structure is still standing today and has been an Eastern Orthodox cathedral, Roman Catholic cathedral and an Islamic mosque

Justinian’s Code Justinian then decided to reform law He set up a commission to collect, organize and revise all law of ancient Rome Called the “Body of Civil Laws” and then known as JUSTINIAN’S CODE Roman laws passed by assemblies or emperors, legal writing of Roman judges and a student handbooks Used by monarchs when forming their government The “code” lasted a long time and reached Western Europe around 1100

Absolute Ruler Justinian unified the empire under his complete control He ruled as an AUTOCRAT, sole ruler with complete authority Had power over the Church Given the distinction, Christ’s co-ruler on Earth His wife Theodora was a sharp politician and was a co-ruler with Justinian

Economic and Military Might Byzantine had a strong central government and plenty of money Peasants worked the land, paid taxes and were soldiers in the military Trade and industry flourished When the Western Europe declined, Byzantine coins (Byzant) with emperor’s face on it was used circulated from England to China Military was second to none GREEK FIRE was unstoppable The Byzantines used a liquid that would catch fire on contact and could not be put out, even on water The recipe for the mixture was lost

Under Attack The empire faced many challenges after Justinian Persians, Slavs, Vikings, Huns and Turks attacked the empire The city was a stop to Muslim conquests Arab armies began to control the Mediterranean Byzantines held strong in Balkans and Asia Minor

Christianity Western Europe Christianity and Byzantine Empire Christianity became different but equally influential Two different practices caused friction though The emperor controlled church affairs and appointed a PATRIARCH or highest church official Byzantine Christians rejected the Pope’s claim that he had authority over all Christians

Byzantine Christianity Differences Western Europe Christianity Head of Church was Pope Clergy did not have the right to marry Latin was religious language More emphasis on Christmas ICONS, holy images are allowed Byzantine Christianity Head of Church was Emperor Clergy had the right to marry Greek was religious language Less emphasis on Christmas ICONS were not allowed

The Church Divides When the Byzantine church ended the use of icons, battles broke out Icons were restored but the damage and divide were long lasting THE GREAT SCHISM (split) Eastern Church became known as Eastern, or Greek, Orthodox West became known as the Roman Catholic church Pope and patriarch excommunicate each and look at one another as enemies under the same faith (cray)

And Boom Goes the Empire Byzantine was declining before the Great Schism Western lords were gaining land The Normans conquered southern Italy Seljuk Turks advanced across Asia Minor They converted to Islam going toward the west The emperor calls for help from the west, claiming a block in the pilgrimage to Jerusalem, against the Islamic Turks

Crusades Abound The West helped the East through a series of religious wars, CRUSADES There were many more Crusades followed By 1204, trade rivalry was occurring between Byzantine and Venice (in Italy) VENETIAN MERCHANTS persuaded knights to during the Fourth Crusade to attack Constantinople Many riches went west Western Christians ruled for 57 years

The Downfall Venetian merchants had control of all the trade and Byzantine was not receiving nearly as much money as before, even though Byzantine was reclaimed 1453, the OTTOMAN TURKS sacked Constantinople and after two months the Empire fell Mehmet II entered the city in victory and renamed it Istanbul and was the capital of the Ottoman empire

Lasting Impression Byzantine’s falling marked an end of Roman and Byzantine empires Even the Ottoman empire adopted government, law, architecture and social life from the Byzantine empire Byzantine was a mix of religious beliefs and Greek philosophy

Onward Byzantine artists made great strides in religious art, a lot still used today Gave people a personal contact with their God Byzantine scholars also recorded all the Byzantine history as well as preserving the Roman and Greek philosophies of old When the empire started to fall in the 1400s, Greek scholars left for Italian universities and brought valuable manuscripts and their knowledge helped spark the Renaissance in the West