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Copyright 2007, Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman

2. The Byzantine Empire
Shaped by decline of Roman Empire and rise of Arabs
Prospered for many centuries
Known for arts and trade
The Spread of Civilization in Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe influenced by Byzantine Empire through spread of the Orthodox religion, trade, and the Byzantine military
Kievan Rus’ became an important part of Russian culture and politics

3. The Origins of the Empire Began in 4th century C.E.
The Byzantine Empire under Justinian
I. The Byzantine Empire
The Origins of the Empire
Began in 4th century C.E.
Emperor Constantine founded the empire
Empire was divided
Western empire was at Rome, Eastern was at Constantinople
Eastern Empire became the Byzantine Empire and continued Hellenistic traditions
Constantinople became the capital= trade and cultural center
Taxed people from profits gained through peasant agriculture
6. Byzantine Empire controlled the Balkan peninsula, northern Middle East, Mediterranean coast, and north Africa
7. Greek language official from 6th century
8. Hellenized Egyptians and Syrians became a part of Byzantine trade an administration
9. Faced pressures from foreign countries, such as the Huns, Germanic tribes, and the Middle East

4. C. Arab Pressure and the Empire's Defenses
I. The Byzantine Empire
B. Justinian's Achievements
1. Justinian= 6th century C.E.
a. Attempts reconquest of Italy
i. Managed to establish a temporary capital at Ravenna, which became known for Christian mosaics
ii. Later taken over by Germanic tribes
iii. Persian invaders and Slavic groups caused Justinian to loose hold on new territories
b. Building projects
i. Hagia Sophia= architectural feat that is symbol of Byzantine accomplishments
c. Legal codification= unified law system
i. Organized the empire
ii. Spread Roman law principles across Europe
C. Arab Pressure and the Empire's Defenses
1. Center of empire shifts to east
2. Constant external threats
a. Arab Muslims built a navy, but development of Greek fire held them back
b. Bulgars (Bulgaria)
i. Threatened Balkan territories
ii. Defeated by Byzantine emperor Basil II
iii. Becomes a part of the Byzantine Empire as a result
The Byzantine Empire under Justinian

5. I. The Byzantine Empire
D. Byzantine Society and Politics
- Emperors resemble Chinese rulers
a. Court ritual- symbolizes the ideal of a divinely inspired, all-powerful ruler.
b. Head of church and state- women held the imperial throne while maintaining the ceremonial power of the office.
- Sophisticated bureaucracy
a. Open to all classes; trained in Greek classics, philosophy , and science in a secular school system that paralleled church education for the priesthood
- Provincial governors- were appointed from the center and were charged with keeping tabs on military authorities.
a. Elaborated system of spies helped preserve loyalty while creating intense distrust even among friends.
- Economic control
a. Regulation of food prices, trade- The empire depended on Constantinople’s control over the countryside, with the bureaucracy regulating trade and controlling food prices. The food prices were kept artificially low, to content the numerous urban lower classes, in a system supported largely by taxes on the hard-pressed peasantry.
b. Silk production- expanded in the empire, with silkworms and techniques initially imported from China, and various luxury products, including cloth, carpets, and spices. This gave the empire a favorable trading position with less sophisticated lands.
- Trade network
a. Asia, Russia, Scandinavia, Europe, Africa
- Arts
a. Creativity in architecture- arts and architectures were exception; a distinct Byzantine style developed fairly early.
b. The adaptation of Roman domed buildings, the elaboration of powerful and richly colored mosaics, and etc. expressed this artistic impulse and its marriage with Christianity.

6. I. The Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, 1000-1100
E. The Split Between Eastern and Western Christianity
- Separate paths
a. Break between eastern Christianity, and western headed by pope in Rome.
b. Different rituals developed as the western church translated the Greek Bible into Latin.
- Patriarch Michael
a. 1054, attacks Catholic practice, and developed some centuries earlier, of insisting on celibacy for its priests.
- Mutual excommunication
a. Patriarch responded by excommunicating all Roman Catholics.
b. The split between the eastern and western churches fell short of complete divorce.
The Byzantine Empire,
F. The Empire's Decline
Period of decline from 11th century
- Seljuk Turks
a. Seized almost all the Asiatic provinces of the empire, thus cutting off the most prosperous sources of tax revenue.
b. 1071, Manzikert’s larger army was annihilated and the empire never recovered
c. Byzantine defeat- staggered along for another four centuries, but its doom, at least as a significant power, was sealed
- Slavic states emerge- eastern emperors appealed to Western leaders for help against the Turks, but their requests were largely ignored
- Appeal to West brings crusaders
a. 1204, Venetian crusaders sack Constantinople, briefly unseating the emperor and weakening the whole imperial structure.
- 1453, Constantinople taken by Ottoman Turks
a. 1461, the Turks had conquered remaining pockets of Byzantine control, bringing Islamic power farther into eastern Europe than ever before.

7. II. The Spread of Civilization in Eastern Europe
Influence through conquest, conversion, trade
Conquest
- Slavic peoples had moved into the sweeping plains of Russia and eastern Europe from an Asian homeland during the time of the Roman Empire; they mixed and incorporated some earlier inhabitants and some additional invaders, such as the Bulgarians, who adopted Slavic language and customs (iron, agriculture, animist religion, and folk music and oral legends).
Conversion
- Orthodox missionaries and Roman Catholic missionaries converted people in the eastern Europe; Prince Vladimir I converted to Christianity, not only in his own name but on behalf of all his people
Trade
- Traders from Scandinavia began to work through the Slavic lands; through this trade route the Norse traders were able to reach the Byzantine Empire, and a regular, flourishing trade developed between Scandinavia and Constantinople; the Scandinavian traders gradually set up some governments along their trade route & a monarchy emerged
Cyril, Methodius, to Slavs
- Continued their efforts in the Balkans and in southern Russia after the venture failed in now the Czech and Slovak republics
Cyrillic script
- Cyril and Methodius devised a written script for the Slavic language; the Slavic alphabet is known as Cyrillic. A. The East Central Borderlands
Competition from Catholics and Orthodox Greeks
- Orthodox missionaries sent from Constantinople busily converted most people in the Balkans to their version of Christianity. The venture failed in Czech and Slovak republics; Roman Catholic missionaries were more successful
Catholics
- Czechs, Hungary, Poland: Roman Catholicism and the Latin alphabet prevailed not only in the Czech area but also in most of Hungary and in Poland.
- Regional monarchies prevail: During the centuries after the conversion to Christianity, the stretch of eastern Europe north of the Balkans was organized in a series of regional monarchies, loosely governed amid a powerful, land-owning aristocracy.
Jews from western Europe
- Eastern Europe received an important influx of Jews who were fleeing intolerance in western Europe. Eastern Europe’s Jews, largely barred from agriculture and often resented by the Christian majority, gained strength in local commerce while maintaining their own religious and cultural traditions.

8. East European Kingdoms and Slavic Expansion, c. 1000
II. The Spread of Civilization in Eastern Europe B. The Emergence of Kievan Rus'
Slavs from Asia
Iron working, extend agriculture
- Used iron, and they extended agriculture in the rich soils of what is now Ukraine and western Russia.
Mix with earlier populations
- Mixed with and incorporated the Bulgarians
Family tribes, villages
- Had a rich tradition of folk music and oral legends
Kingdoms
- Developed very loose regional kingdoms.
Animistic
- Maintained an animist religion.
6th, 7th centuries
Scandinavian merchants
- They gradually set up some governments along their trade route, particularly in the city of Kiev.
Trade between Byzantines and the North
- Luxury products from Byzantium and the Arab world traveled north in return for furs and other crude products.
c. 855, monarchy under Rurik
Center at Kiev
- Contacts between Kievan Rus’ and Byzantium extended steadily; Kiev became a prosperous trading center, and from there many Russians visited Constantinople.
Vladimir I ( )
Converts to Orthodoxy
- He converted to Christianity, not only in his own name but on behalf of all his people; he organized mass baptisms for his subjects, forcing conversions by military pressure.
Controls church
- Early church leaders were appointed from Byzantium, and they helped train a literate Russian priesthood; the king characteristically controlled major appointments.
East European Kingdoms and Slavic Expansion, c. 1000

9. II. The Spread of Civilization in Eastern Europe
C. Institutions and Culture in Kievan Rus’
1. Cultural, social, and economic
patterns developed differently from
western European experience
a. Rulers favored Byzantine ceremonials & concept of strong central ruler
b. Religion
i. Orthodox Christian practices
entered Russian culture
c. Almsgiving emphasized obligatation
of weathly toward poor
i. Aristocratic landlords had less
political power
d. Literature
i. focused on relgious & royal
events
e. Art
i. Dominated by icon painting & illuminated religious manu-
scripts.
f. Architecture
i. Church adapted Byzantine
themes to local conditions

10. II. The Spread of Civilization in Eastern Europe
D. Kievan Decline
1. Decline began in the 12th century
a. Rival princes
i. established competing
governments while royal
family fought over succession b. Asian Invasions
i. Seized territory as trade
diminished
c. Mongol (tatar) dominance
i. further separated Russia from
western European developments
d. Religion
i. survived due to no interference fr.
Mongols
2. Result of Kievan Decline
a. A Russian cultural political tradition
incorporating Byzantine inheritance
emerged.
II. The Spread of Civilization in Eastern Europe
E. The End of an Era in Eastern Europe
1. Eastern Europe entered difficult period after Mongol invasions, the decline of Russia, and
the collapse of Byzantium
a. Border territories fell under Western
influence
b. Balkans fell to the Islamic world of the
Turks
2. Western & eastern Europe evolved separately
a. Each pushing ahead in power and cross-cultural sophistication
F. Global Connections: Eastern Europe and the World
1. Byzantine Empire
a. Active in interregional trade
2. Constantinople
a. One of the world’s greatest trading cities
b. Served as a link between northern Europe & the Mediterranean
3. Russia (after decline of Byzantium)
a. Began to regain independence
b. Faced decisions about how to re engage with the West