The Byzantine Empire

Oh No!! Rome Has Fallen! Umm…. Not quite. Eastern and Western halves were officially split into two distinct empires in 395 CE 5 th century (476 CE): Rome is sacked by the invading Germanic tribes, but only the Western Empire falls. The Eastern Empire exists for 1,000 more years. Capital is Constantinople (modern name: Istanbul) Called the Byzantine Empire

Characteristics of Byzantine Empire Elegant buildings Christian churches Language: Greek Commerce Armies based on barbarian recruits Emperor separate from society

Emperor Justinian (r CE) Successes: –Law Code –Rebuild Constantinople –Reclaims some Roman provinces: North Africa, city of Rome (temporarily), parts of Spain Failures: –Unable to retake Italiy for good –Weakened empire through expansion

Justinian Code Created between CE by a panel of ten legal experts –Preserved and reformed/updated Roman law that had existed for 400 years. –Ultimate Goal: Create a single, uniform law code for the Byz. Empire. –Forms the basis of modern legal systems. Covered all aspects of life: marriage, slavery, property, inheritance, women’s rights and crimes Code is used for over 900 years

Four Parts of the Justinian Code 1.Code: 5,000 Roman laws 2.Digest: quoted and summarized Rome’s greatest legal opinions and thinkers about laws (50 volumes) 3.Institutes: textbook for law students; handbook on how to use laws 4.Novellae (New Laws): any legislation (laws) created after 534

Empress Theodora Justinian’s wife Very powerful in her own right: –Met with foreign leaders, passed laws, built churches Theodora pushes for women’s rights: –Man couldn’t beat wife –Women could sue for divorce. –Women could own property

Byzantine Politics Emperor head of church and state Make religious and secular laws Bureaucracy –Trained in Greek classics –From all classes –Spies –Emperor appointed local leaders to be sent throughout the empire

Constantinople (Istanbul) Founded by Constantine and established as the capital of the Byzantine Empire in 330 CE

Constantinople Naturally protected by waterways on either side –Coasts were lined with a 14-mile stone wall –Controlled the water between the Aegean and Black Sea. Only land border is protected by a moat and three other walls –70 feet tall; 25 feet thick Constantinople is in middle of trade routes. City became rich from taxes on trade.

With the money made from trade, Justinian was able to fund and complete great architectural projects –Hagia Sophia (“Holy Wisdom”) –Palace –Aqueducts –Schools –Hospitals

Life in Constantinople Great trade, shopping and cultural attractions in the city –Offered goods from Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Middle East Entertainment: –Hippodrome: chariot races; circus; held 60,000 people Intellectual Life: –education highly prized, influenced by ancient Greek literature and historical writings –passed on Greco-Roman mathematics and geometry to the Arabs who adopted and improved it

Problems in the Byzantine Empire The Plague –Originated in rats on an Indian trading ship –542: 10,000 die per day –Occurred every 8-10 years –Smaller population caused empire to be an easy target for outside groups Outside Attacks: –Several groups attempted to attack the empire: Slavs, Persians, Arab armies, Russians, Turks, knights from Western Europe –The Crusaders –Finally falls in 1453 to the Ottoman Turks