1. The Byzantine Empire
A New Rome

2. Setting the Stage
Byzantine Empire was the eastern half of the old Roman Empire
Byzantium – Capital City
Constantinople under the rule of Constantine before split of empire
Eastern Empire would continue for nearly 1000 years after the fall of the West

3. A New Rome 395: Romans divide empire
Difficult communication between East & West
Western Empire was beset by corruption and attacks from barbarians
Eastern rulers view themselves as rulers for all of Rome

4. 395: Empire Splits

5. A New Rome (cont.) 527: Justinian becomes emperor
Goal: Regain the glory of Rome
533: Sends general Belisarius to re-conquer North Africa = succeeds
535: Belisarius captures Rome from the Ostrogoths
Rome changes hands 6 times over the next 16 years
Justinian reclaims Italy, calls himself Caesar

6. Byzantine Empire – Greatest Extent
Orange: Added by Belisarius for Justinian

7. Byzantine Emperors Rule with absolute power
Head the state and the church
Appoint bishops at will and are ruthless in politics
Constantly under threat of assassination
88 Emperors (29 murdered, 13 step down)

8. Life in New Rome Byzantine Empire was Roman, but had its own identity
Complex society with a uniform law system
Justinian’s Code
Code decides legal questions & regulated life (marriage, property, etc)
Code serves empire for 900 years

9. Justinian’s Code Code consisted of 4 works
1) The Code = ~5,000 old, useful Roman laws
2) The Digest = 50 volumes of summaries & quotes from great Roman legal minds
3) The Institutes = Law textbook for students
4) The Novellae (New Laws) = legislation passed after 534

10. The Imperial Capital
Justinian sets out to create a beautiful capital for the empire
Rebuilds Constantinople’s fortifications
14-mile stone wall
Built churches, schools, aqueducts, hospitals
Crowning achievement: The Hagia Sophia

11. The Hagia Sopia

14. Culture & Education Although Roman, many Byzantines spoke Greek
Byzantines valued education
Education focused on classical learning
Greek & Latin grammar
Philosophy
Greek & Roman classics
Literature – Homer
History – Herodotus
Geometry – Euclid
Medicine – Galen

15. Constantinople & the Nika Rebellion
Main Street – the Mese (“Middle Way”)
Trade center for products from around the world
Hippodrome – chariot races & other acts (free)
60,000 capacity
Nika Rebellion – fans call for Justinian’s head, Belisarius kills 30k rebels
Theodora urges Justinian to stay – p. 303

16. The Hippodrome

17. Fall of the Empire Empire faces setbacks after Justinian dies
Riots, foreign attacks, etc
Plague of Justinian
Bubonic Plague from rats; kills 10k/day at its height
Attacks from all over the empire
West: Lombards
North: Slavs, Avars, Bulgars, Russians
East: Persians & Muslims
Constantinople attacked several times & Turks slowly take territory
Battle of Manzikert

18. 1453: Fall of the Empire (cont.)
The Byzantines used everything to maintain their empire
Diplomacy, marriages, military power
Heraclius organizes provinces into military districts (delays enemies)
Foreign attacks, slowly shrink the empire
1350: empire reduced to the tip of Anatolia & a strip on the Balkans
The Walls keep invaders out
Constantinople falls in 1453

19. The Walls

20. Division of the Church
Christianity develops differently between the east & west
Reason: Distance & Contact
As the Eastern Empire grows, distance becomes greater
Eastern Christianity built on works of early figures
St. Basil – p. 304
Patriarchs subservient to the Emperor
730: Leo III bans use of icons = riots

21. Division of the Church (cont.)
West: Pope supports use of icons
Orders excommunication of Leo III
Theodora restores icons in 843
1054: Pope & Patriarch excommunicate each other
Church splits
West: Roman Catholic Church
East: Orthodox Church

22. Conversion of Slavs Both churches fight for converts
Byzantine missionaries push to convert Slavs
North of the Black Sea
Cyril & Methodius invent the Cyrillic alphabet
Allows Slavs to read the Bible in their own tongue