World History I Ms. Costas January 9, 2014 The Byzantine Empire World History I Ms. Costas January 9, 2014

The Fall of Rome After Rome became too big to control, Emperor Diocletian split the empire into two halves Western Roman Empire Capital: Rome Eastern Roman Empire Capital: Constantinople The West became cut off from trade, began to fall The East flourished, but was weakened over time as the West continued to fall The capital of Constantinople was taken over an changed hands Renamed the Byzantine Empire

Outlasting the Western Empire Historians called Eastern Empire the Byzantine Empire Named after the capital city’s original name of Byzantium The Byzantine Empire lasted about 1,000 years after the Western Empire Emperors were absolute rulers Struggled against Germanic peoples, Huns, other groups Lost much land to invaders

Emperor Justinian Justinian was emperor from C.E. 527 to 565 Reconquered lost Eastern Empire lands in Italy, Africa, Spain Justinian began rebuilding the capital, which was damaged in a revolt Rebuilt city walls; build schools, hospitals, courts, churches Most famous church was Hagia Sophia

Theodora’s Historic Speech If flight were the only means of safety, still I would not flee. Those who have worn the crown should never survive its loss… Emperor, if you wish to flee, well and good, you have the money, the ships are ready, the sea is clear. But I shall stay. I accept the ancient proverb: Royal purple is the best burial sheet

Preserving Roman Culture Justinian’s Code – uniform code of law based on Roman law Included laws on marriage, slavery, property, women’s rights, crime Byzantines spoke Greek but considered themselves culturally Roman Studied Latin, Greek, Roman literature and history Eastern Empire preserved Greek and Roman culture In former Western Empire, Germanic, and Roman cultures blended

The Church Divides Division of the empire affected the Christian church Caused by different cultural practices, limited contact between areas Religious practices developed differently In the east, the emperor had control over the head of the church In the west, the lack of an emperor gave pope more responsibilities Western Pope claimed control over churches in both the east and west Eastern Church rejected the authority of the Pope Christian Church split in 1054 Roman Catholic Church in the west, Eastern Orthodox Church in the east Orthodox – “holding established beliefs”; catholic – “universal” Split led to creation of two separate European civilizations

Religion & Government Pope claimed authority over Christian emperors, kings Roman Catholic Church influenced government in the west Disagreements between church and kings later caused conflicts Byzantine emperor was absolute ruler Had power over spiritual head of Eastern Orthodox Church Overall, had greater power than rulers in the west

The Byzantine Empire Collapses New Arabian religion of Islam began in 600s Muslim armies attacked Constantinople Civil wars, attacks by Ottoman Turks, Serbs hurt Byzantine Empire Only small section of empire remained by 1350 Ottoman Turks captured Constantinople in 1453 Ended the Byzantine Empire