Byzantium The Eastern legacy of the Roman empire

Byzantium Barbarians are now the Western masters – Military strength, but they get culture from the Romans they subdued Partly Christianized by missionaries already Roman culture becomes dominant over Germanic tribal culture in the West – Marks the beginning of European Middle Ages Break between East and West Early Middle Ages in Europe: ad A mix of Greco Roman culture, new Germanic culture, and evolving Christian traditions

Byzantium In the East, imperial power survives 324 ad: Constantine defeats Licinius and becomes sole emperor of the Roman Empire 330 ad: Byzantium is dedicated as new capitol city: Constantinople : The Eastern Empire’s greatest territorial expansion and cultural golden age

Byzantium Latin is official language of empire until 610 Greek (which the majority of the population knew) becomes the official language until its fall in 1453 Foreshadowing of the major differences in cultural and religious development between East and West

Byzantium Justinian comes to power in 527 Wages wars in the West to regain imperial territory from barbarian settlers Wins most campaigns until his death in 565 Succeeding emperors lose most of Italy to the Lombards (the West), but secure tribute from Persia (the East)

Byzantium

Major cultural achievements in the Byzantine golden age (under Justinian) – Ancient Roman legal code updated as the Corpus Juris Civilis (“body of civil law”) which comes to be known as “Justinian’s Law Code.” – Christianity continues to outshine Greco-Roman paganism in culture and philosophy; the Hagia Sophia (Church of the Holy Wisdom) built between

Byzantium Major challenge to the Eastern Empire in the centuries following Justinian was Islam – Muhammad’s prophecy: 610 – Byzantine-Arab wars occur from the 7 th century till the 12 th century, the age of the Crusades – Other people groups were constantly putting pressure on the Empire also: Serbs and Avars (Slavs) in the Balkans, Lombards (Goths) in Italy, Persians in the East, and even African Abyssinians in the Mediterranean

Byzantium

8 th century Byzantine Empire – Leo iii the Isaurian inherits war with the Muslims – At least partially credits Muslim success with a puritanical, no-idolatry kind of religious practice – Bans icons, starting the “Iconoclastic Controversy” – Further weakens the connection between East and West

Byzantium 9 th - 11 th century Byzantine Empire – Relations between emperors and aristocracy frequently leads to Civil War – Major people groups conquered and brought into the sphere of Byzantine empire: Bulgaria and the Rus (Russia) – The apex of Byzantine conquest was the beginning of the 11 th century under Basil ii – Eastern and Western Christianity formally split at this time also: 1054: Humbert excommunicates Cerularius

Byzantium The Great Schism – This is when we can begin talking about Roman Catholic Church in the west and Eastern Orthodox Christianity in the east – Pope Leo ix / Patriarch Michael Cerularius – Several controversies over the course of history that contributed to the split

Byzantium Great Schism controversies – A matter of language: Greek versus Latin – The church leaders suppress languages in their domains – Primacy Bishops of various geographies from the beginning of the church’s history frequently consulted and collaborated, but some geographies were more important than others Jerusalem, Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch were all important centers

Byzantium Great schism controversies (continued) – Primacy (continued) Papal authority therefore becomes an issue Jurisdiction over certain geographies (Balkans, Sicily) Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem are silent: why? – Filioque: a matter of accepted practice becoming a dividing issue – Liturgical practices – Iconoclasm (as we’ve noted) – Celibacy

Byzantium 11 th century defeat by Seljuk Turks fragments Empire in Anatolia Age of Crusades Western Crusaders sack Constantinople 1204 Constantinople finally falls to the Ottoman Turks in 1453