THE BYZANTINE EMPIRE Essential Question: What is the significance of the Byzantine Empire? Why did the Christian Church split into Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox denominations? THE BYZANTINE EMPIRE

The Fall of the Roman Empire After the Pax Romana, the Roman Empire entered an era of decline Romans had a trade imbalance (they bought more than they produced), which resulted in a huge debt

The Fall of the Roman Empire The Roman Empire had a series of weak emperors

The Western half of the Roman Empire continued to weaken The Eastern half was economically stronger, so Emperor Constantine moved the capital of Rome east to Constantinople Text Emperor Diocletian then tried to save the Roman Empire by dividing it to make it more manageable

The Fall of the Roman Empire By 476 CE, Germanic barbarians conquered the Western Roman Empire

The Western Roman Empire fell into the Middle Ages (or “Dark Ages”) from 500 to 1300 CE

What happened in the Eastern Roman Empire?

The Eastern Roman Empire survived and became the Byzantine Empire

How did physical geography impact the economy of Constantinople? Text Constantinople became wealthy because it was at the crossroads of trade between Europe, Asia, and Africa

How did physical geography impact the Byzantine capital of Constantinople? Its location on the water made it easy to defend the city from outside invaders

Culture of the Byzantine Empire The Byzantines thought of themselves as Romans The Byzantines kept Greco-Roman culture alive while the Western half was plunged into the Middle Ages

Culture of the Byzantine Empire Constantinople became a major center of learning Schools taught philosophy, medicine, geometry, and Greek and Latin grammar

Culture of the Byzantine Empire Byzantine architecture was influenced by Roman architecture The Hagia Sophia, a Catholic church, was the most impressive achievement of the Byzantine Empire

Culture of the Byzantine Empire The Hagia Sophia is an example of syncretism, because it will become a mosque when the Byzantine Empire is conquered by the Islamic Ottomans

Culture of the Byzantine Empire Other building projects include: hospitals, aqueducts, public baths, and courts

Culture of the Byzantine Empire The Romans spoke Latin, however, most people in the Eastern half spoke Greek. As a result, Greek became the Byzantines’ official language

Both Roman and the Byzantine Empire were ruled by emperors who had absolute power over their empires

PURPLE: BYZANTINE EMPIRE WHEN JUSTINIAN ROSE TO POWER About 50 years after the fall of Western Rome, Emperor Justinian came to power & expanded the Byzantine Empire ORANGE: OLD ROMAN TERRITORY THAT JUSTINIAN ADDED TO BYZANTINE TERRITORY PURPLE: BYZANTINE EMPIRE WHEN JUSTINIAN ROSE TO POWER

In addition to empire building, what else did Emperor Justinian value?

The Justinian Code To govern his empire, Justinian consolidate and updated Roman laws into a single law code It was called the “Justinian Code” and had laws about criminal justice, the military, property, & women’s rights

The Great Schism: the Split of Christianity How was religion similar? ROMAN RELIGION BYZANTINE RELIGION

The Division of Christianity When Christianity was allowed in the Roman Empire, it developed differently in the Eastern and Western halves.

The Division of Christianity All Christians, both in the East and the West, based their faith on Jesus Christ and the Bible

The Division of Christianity The Church was organized in the same way in both halves of the Empire Archbishops and bishops oversaw regions where Christianity was practiced

The Division of Christianity Priests led individual churches and performed sacraments like baptism & last rights However, Christians in the East and West disagreed over the leadership of the Church

The Division of Christianity Christians in Western Europe believed that a leader called the Pope was the top authority of the Church & should oversee the bishops Pope King

The Division of Christianity In the East, a religious leader called a Patriarch oversaw Church operations, but the Byzantine emperors had final authority Emperor Patriarch

The Division of Christianity Byzantine Christians did not accept the authority of the Pope

The Division of Christianity: Iconoclast Controversy The biggest issue between Christians of the West and East was over the use of icons Icons were religious images (paintings, statues) that Christians would have during prayers and worship

The Division of Christianity Some Christians, called iconoclasts, thought icons were “idol worship” In the year 730, the Byzantine emperor Leo III banned all icons and many Christians rioted

The Pope supported the use of icons and excommunicated the Byzantine emperor (formally banned him from the Church)

The Division of Christianity These disagreements led to deep divisions between Christians The Great Schism (split) occurred in 1054 CE

Christians in Western Europe became the Roman Catholic Church Christians in Eastern Europe became the Eastern Orthodox Church

Differences after the Great Schism of 1054