1. The Byzantine Empire and Crisis and Recovery in the West
Chapter 13
The Byzantine Empire and Crisis and Recovery in the West

2. Justinian and Theodora
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3. I. From Eastern Roman to Byzantine Empire
A. The Reign of Justinian ( )
1. The Codification of Roman Law
2. The Empress Theodora
3. The Emperor’s Building Program

4. I. From Eastern Roman to Byzantine Empire
B. A New Kind of Empire
1. Problems of the Seventh Century
2. The Byzantine Empire in the Eight Century
3. The Byzantine Emperor
4. Intellectual Life
5. Life in Constantinople: The Importance of Trade

5. The Emperor Justinian and His Court
The Emperor Justinian and His Court. As the seat of late Roman power in Italy, the town of Ravenna was adorned with examples of late Roman art. The Church of San Vitale at Ravenna contains some of the finest examples of sixth-century mosaics. Small pieces of colored glass were set in mortar on the wall to form these figures and their surroundings. The emperor is seen as both head of state (he wears a jeweled crown and a purple robe) and head of the church (he carries a gold bowl symbolizing the body of
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6. MAP 13. 1 The Eastern Roman Empire in the Time of Justinian
MAP 13.1 The Eastern Roman Empire in the Time of Justinian. The Eastern Roman emperor Justinian briefly restored much of the Mediterranean portion of the old Roman Empire. His general, Belisarius, conquered the Vandals in North Africa quite easily but wrested Italy from the Ostrogoths only after a long and devastating struggle.
Figure 13-1 p360

7. Theodora and Attendants
Theodora and Attendants. This mosaic, located on the south wall of the apse of the Church of San Vitale (Justinian is on the north wall), depicts Theodora and her attendants. Her presence on the wall of this church indicates the important role she played in the late Roman state. At the bottom of her robe is a scene of the Three Wise Men, an indication that Theodora was special enough to have belonged in the company of the three kings who visited the newborn Jesus.
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8. MAP 13.2 Constantinople. In the Middle Ages, Constantinople was the largest European city and a nexus of trade between east and west. Emperor Justinian oversaw a massive building program that produced important architectural monuments such as Hagia Sophia.
Figure 13-2 p361

9. Interior View of Hagia Sophia
Interior View of Hagia Sophia. Pictured here is the interior of the Church of the Holy Wisdom in Constantinople (modern Istanbul), constructed under Justinian by Anthemius of Tralles (an-THEEmee- uss of TRAL-leez) and Isidore of Miletus (IH-zuh-dor of mih-LEE-tuss). Some of the stones used in the construction of the church had been plundered from the famous Classical Temple of Diana, near Ephesus, in Asia Minor (modern Turkey). This view gives an idea of how the windows around the base of the dome produced a special play of light within the cathedral. The pulpits and plaques bearing inscriptions from the Qur’an were introduced when the Turks converted this church to a mosque in the fifteenth century.
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11. The Byzantine Empire, c. 750
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12. Religious Imagery in the Medieval World
Religious Imagery in the Medieval World. The Middle Ages was a golden age of religious art, reflecting the important role of religion itself in medieval society. These three illustrations show different aspects of medieval religious imagery. In Europe, much Christian art appeared in illuminated manuscripts. The illustration at the top left shows a page depicting the figure of Jesus from The Book of Kells, a richly decorated manuscript of the Christian gospels produced by the monks of Iona in the British Isles. Byzantine art was also deeply religious, as was especially evident in icons. At the top right is an icon of the Virgin and Child (Mary and Jesus) from the monastery of Saint Catherine at Mount Sinai in Egypt dating to around the year 600. Painted on wood, this icon shows the enthroned Virgin and Child between Saints Theodore and George with two angels behind them looking upward to a beam of light containing the hand of God. The figures are not realistic; the goal of the icon was to bridge the gap between the divine and the outer material world. Artists in the Muslim world faced a different challenge—Muslims warned against imitating God by creating pictures of living beings, thus effectively prohibiting the representation of humans, especially Muhammad. Islamic religious artists therefore used decorative motifs based on geometric patterns and the Arabic script. The scriptural panel in the lower illustration is an artistic presentation of a verse from the Qur’an, thus blending the spiritual and artistic spheres.
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13. Religious Imagery in the Medieval World
Religious Imagery in the Medieval World. The Middle Ages was a golden age of religious art, reflecting the important role of religion itself in medieval society. These three illustrations show different aspects of medieval religious imagery. In Europe, much Christian art appeared in illuminated manuscripts. The illustration at the top left shows a page depicting the figure of Jesus from The Book of Kells, a richly decorated manuscript of the Christian gospels produced by the monks of Iona in the British Isles. Byzantine art was also deeply religious, as was especially evident in icons. At the top right is an icon of the Virgin and Child (Mary and Jesus) from the monastery of Saint Catherine at Mount Sinai in Egypt dating to around the year 600. Painted on wood, this icon shows the enthroned Virgin and Child between Saints Theodore and George with two angels behind them looking upward to a beam of light containing the hand of God. The figures are not realistic; the goal of the icon was to bridge the gap between the divine and the outer material world. Artists in the Muslim world faced a different challenge—Muslims warned against imitating God by creating pictures of living beings, thus effectively prohibiting the representation of humans, especially Muhammad. Islamic religious artists therefore used decorative motifs based on geometric patterns and the Arabic script. The scriptural panel in the lower illustration is an artistic presentation of a verse from the Qur’an, thus blending the spiritual and artistic spheres.
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14. Religious Imagery in the Medieval World
Religious Imagery in the Medieval World. The Middle Ages was a golden age of religious art, reflecting the important role of religion itself in medieval society. These three illustrations show different aspects of medieval religious imagery. In Europe, much Christian art appeared in illuminated manuscripts. The illustration at the top left shows a page depicting the figure of Jesus from The Book of Kells, a richly decorated manuscript of the Christian gospels produced by the monks of Iona in the British Isles. Byzantine art was also deeply religious, as was especially evident in icons. At the top right is an icon of the Virgin and Child (Mary and Jesus) from the monastery of Saint Catherine at Mount Sinai in Egypt dating to around the year 600. Painted on wood, this icon shows the enthroned Virgin and Child between Saints Theodore and George with two angels behind them looking upward to a beam of light containing the hand of God. The figures are not realistic; the goal of the icon was to bridge the gap between the divine and the outer material world. Artists in the Muslim world faced a different challenge—Muslims warned against imitating God by creating pictures of living beings, thus effectively prohibiting the representation of humans, especially Muhammad. Islamic religious artists therefore used decorative motifs based on geometric patterns and the Arabic script. The scriptural panel in the lower illustration is an artistic presentation of a verse from the Qur’an, thus blending the spiritual and artistic spheres.
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15. II. The Zenith of Byzantine Civilization (750-1025)
A. The Beginning of Revival
B. The Macedonian Dynasty
1. Economic and Religious Policies
2. Political and Military Achievements

16. The Byzantine Empire, 1025
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17. Emperor Leo VI. Under the Macedonian dynasty, the Byzantine Empire achieved economic prosperity through expanded trade and gained new territories through military victories. This mosaic over the western door of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople depicts the Macedonian emperor Leo VI prostrating himself before Jesus. This act of humility symbolized the emperor’s function as an intermediary between God and the people. Leo’s son characterized him as the ‘‘Christ-loving and glorious emperor.’’
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18. III. Decline and Fall of the Byzantine Empire (1025-1453)
A. New Challenges and New Responses
1. A Christian Schism
2. Islam and the Seljuk Turks
3. A New Dynasty

19. III. Decline and Fall of the Byzantine Empire (1025-1453)
B. Impact of the Crusades
1. The Latin Empire of Constantinople
2. Revival of the Byzantine Empire
C. The Ottoman Turks and the Fall of Constantinople

20. The Fall of Constantinople
The Fall of Constantinople. Few events in the history of the Ottoman Empire are more dramatic than the conquest of Constantinople in Although the Venetian painter Palma Giovane did not witness the conquest itself, he tried to capture the drama in his opulent reconstruction of the first attack by the Turks on the legendary city. This painting was one of a series done for the Doge’s Palace in Venice.
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21. The Fall of Constantinople, 1453

22. IV. The Crises of the Fourteenth Century in the West
A. The Black Death: From Asia to Europe
1. Role of the Mongols
2. The Black Death in Europe
B. Economic Dislocation and Social Upheaval

23. IV. The Crises of the Fourteenth Century in the West
C. Political Instability
1. The Hundred Years’ War
2. Political Disintegration
D. The Decline of the Church
1. The Great Schism and Cries for Reform

24. Mass Burial of Plague Victims
Mass Burial of Plague Victims. The Black Death had spread to northern Europe by the end of Shown here is a mass burial of victims of the plague in Tournai, located in modern Belgium. As is evident in the illustration, at this stage of the plague, there was still time to make coffins for the victims’ burial. Later, as the plague intensified, the dead were thrown into open pits.
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25. MAP 13. 3 Spread of the Black Death
MAP 13.3 Spread of the Black Death. The plague entered Europe through Sicily in 1347 and within three years had killed between one-quarter and one-half of the population. Outbreaks continued into the early eighteenth century, and the European population took two hundred years to return to the level it had reached before the Black Death.
Figure 13-3 p376

26. The Battle of Creｫ cy. This fifteenth-century manuscript illustration depicts the Battle of Creｫcy, the first of several military disasters suffered by the French in the Hundred Years’ War, and shows why the English preferred the longbow to the crossbow. At the left, the French crossbowmen stop shooting and prime their weapons by cranking the handle, while English archers continue to shoot their longbows (a skilled archer could launch ten arrows a minute).
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27. V. Recovery: The Renaissance
A. The Intellectual Renaissance
1. Was there a Renaissance for Women?
B. The Artistic Renaissance
C. The State in the Renaissance
1. The Italian States
2. Western Europe
3. Central and Eastern Europe

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29. Brunelleschi, Interior of San Lorenzo
Brunelleschi, Interior of San Lorenzo. Cosimo de’ Medici contributed massive amounts of money to the rebuilding of the Church of San Lorenzo. As seen in this view of the nave and choir of the church, Brunelleschi’s architectural designs were based on the basilica plan borrowed by early Christians from pagan Rome. San Lorenzo’s simplicity, evident in its rows of slender Corinthian columns, created a human-centered space.
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30. Leonardo da Vinci, The Last Supper
Leonardo da Vinci, The Last Supper. Leonardo da Vinci was the impetus behind the High Renaissance concern for the idealization of nature, moving from a realistic portrayal of the human figure to an idealized form. Evident in Leonardo’s Last Supper is his effort to depict a person’s character and inner nature by the use of gesture and movement. Unfortunately, Leonardo used an experimental technique in this fresco, which soon led to its physical deterioration.
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31. Italian States in the Middle Ages
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32. Michelangelo, David. This statue of David, cut from an 18-foot-high piece of marble, exalts the beauty of the human body and is a fitting symbol of the Italian Renaissance’s affirmation of human power. Completed in 1504, David was moved by Florentine authorities to a special location in front of the Palazzo Vecchio, the seat of the Florentine government.
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33. MAP 13. 4 Europe in the Second Half of the Fifteenth Century
MAP 13.4 Europe in the Second Half of the Fifteenth Century. By the second half of the fifteenth century, monarchs in western Europe, particularly France, Spain, and England, had begun the process of modern state building. With varying success, they reined in the power of the church and nobles, increased their ability to levy taxes, and established effective government bureaucracies.
Figure 13-4 p385

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