6 th /Social Studies R ISE OF THE B YZANTINES

O BJECTIVES  Identify the many achievements made by the Romans in government, law, language, and the arts  Learn how the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire, grew rich and powerful as the Western Roman Empire fell apart  Discuss how the policies of Justinian and Theodora made the Byzantine Empire strong  Describe Byzantine culture, which was based on Roman, Greek, and Christian ideas

I NTRODUCTION In the chat pod, give me one interesting word? Latin, the language of ancient Rome, is the root for about 60% of the words in the English language! In what other ways have the Romans left their mark on the World today? Let’s find out!

B ACKGROUND  Poor leadership, a declining economy, and attacks by Germanic tribes weakened the Roman Empire until Rome fell to invaders  Diocletian and Constantine attempted reforms to save the Empire  Constantine moved the capital of the empire from Rome to Constantinople (Byzantium in Greece)  The Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire, grew rich and powerful as the Western Roman Empire fell apart

L EGACY OF R OME  Rome has influenced today’s world in many areas  Law  Government  Language  Building techniques  Architecture  Spread of Christianity Poll Question!!

R ISE OF THE B YZANTINES  The Eastern Roman Empire became the Byzantine Empire  The location of its capital city, Constantinople, helped to make it safe from invaders and accessible to trade  Located on a peninsula  Wall built to protect against invaders  Located on trade route between Black and Aegean Seas  Greeks were the largest group, but Byzantines also included Egyptians, Syrians, Arabs, Armenians, Jews, Persians, Slavs, and Turks  Roman culture was initially very strong, but was eventually replaced with Greek and then a mixture of cultural ideas

E MPEROR J USTINIAN  The policies and reforms of Emperor Justinian and his wife, Empress Theodora, helped make the Byzantine Empire strong  Theodora helped gain more rights for women  Justinian strengthened the military to attempt to reunite the two Roman Empires  Justinian simplified laws to make them easier to understand

C ULTURE OF THE B YZANTINES  Byzantines developed a rich culture based on Roman, Greek, and Christian ideas  Byzantine Empire was the center of trade between Europe and Asia  Became a center for silk production after silkworms were smuggled out of China  Trade made Byzantine Empire wealthy  Emperors supported the arts and building of churches, forts, and other public buildings  The religious center of the empire, the church Hagia Sophia, features mosaics of saints Mosaics- picture made from many bits of colored glass, tile, or stone Saint- Christian holy person Watch Video Poll Question!!

S OCIAL L IFE OF B YZANTINES  Family was the center of social life  Women gained rights and some even became Regents  Education was highly respected  Boys went to school to learn religion, law, medicine, math, reading  Authors wrote about religion and copied many works of the ancient Romans and Greeks Regent- person who acts as a temporary ruler Poll Question!!

R EVIEW  Roman influence is seen today in government, law, language, and the arts  The Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire, grew rich and powerful as the Western Roman Empire fell apart  The policies of Justinian and Theodora made the Byzantine Empire strong  Byzantine culture was based on Roman, Greek, and Christian ideas

F OLLOW UP A CTIVITY  With the permission of your Learning Coach, conduct a web search for “Mosaics of Hagia Sophia” images  For extra credit, webmail me an image of a mosaic from Hagia Sophia