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Following Constantine’s decision to move the capital to Constantinople power began to shift to the eastern half of the empire In 527 C.E. Justinian succeeded his uncle as Emperor Beginning in 533 C.. Justinian began to reclaim parts of the western empire Africa, Rome, then Spain By circa 550 C.E. Justinian had reclaimed almost all of the former Roman empire

Emperor Justinian [r ]

Justinian’s Empire at its Peak

The Byzantine emperors had complete control government and the church Byzantine emperors lived under constant threat of assassination Of the 88 emperors 29 die violently and 13 abandon the throne to live out their lives in the monastery

The Byzantine Empire became a much different place than the Western Empire Many still followed Roman tradition but few spoke Latin and most belonged to the Eastern Christian Church Justinian reviewed Rome’s laws, he repealed some laws and added others The Justinian Code contained four parts 1. The Code – 5,000 laws 2. The Digest – opinions of Rome’s greatest legal thinkers 3. The Institutes – a textbook for law students 4. The Novellae – (New Laws)

While the Law was being written Justinian began to rebuild the crumbling city of Constantinople The city would surrounded by 14 miles of stone wall Access by land was defended by a moat and 3 walls The inner most wall was 25 feet thick and had towers 70 feet tall Justinian also expanded his palace Also adding baths, aqueducts, law courts, schools, and hospitals to the city

Meaning “Holy Wisdom” in Greek Justinian had a passion for building churches A church of the same name had been destroyed in riots in 532 C.E. Justinian wanted rebuild it and make it the most splendid church in the Christian world

Church of Hagia Sophia [Holy Wisdom]

Mese or “Middle Way” was the main street through Constantinople Connecting the imperial palace to public squares and finally to the walls Merchants lined the Mese Purchasing goods from England, Spain, France, Africa, Russia, India, and China The Hippodrome (Greek for horse and race course) was free entertainment for the people Chariots and circus acts Teams were named for their colors 60,000 could fit into the Hippodrome

The Byzantine people valued education Focused on Greek and Latin grammar, philosophy, and rhetoric Learned geometry, history, and medicine Byzantine is responsible for preserving much of the Greek and Roman works

Eastern Christians distanced themselves from the Western Christians In 1054 the Pope and Patriarch (Eastern Leader) excommunicated each other This lead to the Schism of the Christian church Eventually becoming the Eastern Orthodox and the Roman Catholic

After Justinian’s death(565 C.E.) Byzantium suffered several setbacks The Plague of Justinian struck during his reign and after Most likely what is the Bubonic Plague At its peak it is believed 10,000 people died each day The illness broke out every 8-12 years until the year 700 C.E. A huge percentage of the Byzantine population was lost during the plague

The Byzantine Empire was under constant attack from all sides Lombards in the West Slavs, Avars, and Bulgars in the North The Persians in the East Byzantine held off multiple invasions with bribery, diplomacy, and political marriages Even with reorganization and military rule the empire continued to shrink Finally falling to the Ottoman Turks in 1453 C.E.