2/6/15

Warm up

Why was the city of Constantinople so important after the fall of the Western Roman Empire?

ACT word of the day: collaborate (verb)To work together, usually in a professional context.

Main Idea

• The Byzantine Empire, once the eastern half of the Roman Empire, was held together for centuries by strong leaders, profitable trade, and the influence of Christianity.

Constantinople—Greek for “The City of Constantine”—became the capital of the Roman Empire under Emperor Constantine I.

A New Rome

• Constantinople seat of Eastern Roman Empire

• Became known as Byzantine Empire

• Remained capital of Eastern Empire long after Rome fell

• Even before fall of Rome, Constantinople larger, richer city than Rome

Location• Location on Bosporus Strait

helped control trade between Asia, Europe

• Also helped guard city from attack

– Sea protected city on two sides

– Heavily fortified walls protected landward side

Reclaiming Western Empire

Claim to Empire• Western part of empire

still claimed by eastern emperors

• Byzantine emperor Justinian I wanted to restore original Roman Empire

Military Action• Military action needed

to accomplish Justinian’s goal

• First had to reconquer North African territories taken by Germanic tribe, Vandals

Belisarius• 533, Justinian sent

ships, troops to northern Africa

• Troops led by top general, Belisarius

Successes• By 534, fleet had

recaptured African region, absorbed back into Roman Empire

• 535, Belisarius led troops to Italy to retake that region

Rebellion at Home

Facing Problems• Justinian, wife Theodora

served as co-rulers of empire

• At home, faced threat from rebels

• Many resented Justinian’s efforts to reform empire’s administration

Rebellion Quelled• Two factions led revolt: Greens

representing lower classes, Blues upper classes

• Constantinople in flames, Justinian prepared to flee

• Theodora stood firm, refused to flee, back down, convinced Justinian to do same

• Belisarius attacked rioters, slaughtered them by thousands

Assignments

Assignment “A”• Johnathan• Keilani• An• Priscilla• Blake• Cairo• Judith• Nathanial • Brianna• Mathew

Assignment “B”• Brandyn• Yahira• Michelle• Carlos• Elizabeth• Mia• Brian• Akaya• Patience

Assignments

Assignment “A”• Page 346• Analyze Christian areas in

325 vs. 1000.• Compare to modern maps

and list modern countries that would have been Christian in 1000 CE.

• How did Christianity spread? Why did it to these areas and not to others?

Assignment “B”• In pairs, read pages

347+348 about the rule of Justinian and Theodora.

• Develop a summary using standard English.

• Write 2 journal entries from your summary describing events during the reign of Justinian from either his POV or his wife’s.

WARM UP 2/10/15

• What were some of the issues that lead to the split in the Christian Church?

• How did the Byzantine Empire “protect” Western Europe?

• ACT word of the day- enmity (noun)Strong hatred.

Achievements

• rebuilt city with new monuments after rebellion

• Most important new building, church, Hagia Sophia, “Holy Wisdom”

• Spectacular blend of domes, arches; building still stands

What are some notable changes?

Justinian’s Code

• Justinian set up commission that codified and arranged the empire’s existing laws and legal opinions into clear system

• Corpus Juris Civilis: reorganized and simplified Roman laws that dated to the founding of Rome to the time of Justinian.

Changes after Justinian

• Justinian’s achievements are many, but did not last – Died 565, left government nearly bankrupt

from expenses of taking back empire’s territory

– Had expanded empire beyond what government could effectively administer

– Western provinces fell to migrating tribes after his death

Reign of Heraclius began 610

– Defeated Persians on eastern border– Settled Croats, Serbs within Balkan frontiers

to west to act as buffers against new invaders

– Croats, Serbs converted to Christianity, extending Byzantine influence into region

Byzantine Culture

• The Role of the Emperor• Emperor, priest-king, considered deputy of

Jesus Christ on earth, his co-ruler

• Emperor responsible for both civil, religious law

Changing Culture

• People of Constantinople referred to selves as Roman, but Greek cultural influences grew stronger

• Greek is the official language, replacing Latin

Religious Conflicts

• The controversy involved the use of icons—paintings or sculptures of sacred figures.

• Churches contained beautiful icons

• Some Christians objected to their presence, believed use too close to non-Christian worship of idols

• People called iconoclasts, “icon breaker”

• 726, Emperor Leo III forbade use of icons, ordered destruction

• Iconoclast movement unpopular with many in church hierarchy

• Since few could read, clergy found sacred images useful for teaching

• Reaction against iconoclasm raged on and off until 843 when a council settled the issue by accepting icons. The dispute played a crucial role in the growing divide between the emperor in Constantinople and the pope in Rome.

The Church Splits

• Growing Divisions• Over time, number of issues that divided

eastern, western churches grew• Use of Greek one difference; theological

differences also emerged• Eastern church allowed clergy to marry,

western church did not

• Church Governance• Pope in Rome, patriarchs in Constantinople,

Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem were church leaders; emperor oversaw church law, did not govern church

• Byzantines did not accept pope as supreme authority over religious issues

• Schism• 1054, differences became so large, a schism,

split, occurred between churches• Church in east became Orthodox Church, west

remained Roman Catholic• Later hurt Byzantine Empire, could not rely on

western help against invaders

2/12/15

• What lead to the fall of the Byzantine Empire?

The Empire Declines

• As far back as the reign of Heraclius, Muslims had threatened the empire. Over time, Islam, pressure from migrating tribes, and internal conflict and corruption brought about the Byzantine Empire’s fall.

Internal Weaknesses

• Constantinople government composed of well-educated, cultured aristocrats

• Supported emperors who restrained military, used energies to make Constantinople center of culture, learning

• Focus on culture came at a cost

• Members of military saw things differently

• Continuing strife between the military and the Constantinople government weakened the empire, making it vulnerable to challengers from the outside

Byzantine Legacy

• 1453, Constantinople fell to Ottoman Turks

• Turks renamed city Istanbul; Hagia Sophia became mosque

• Ottomans had gained important seat of power, spread influence into Greece, Balkans

• Byzantine legacy: preservation of ancient Greco-Roman heritage; buffer between Christian West, Muslim East

• Identifying Cause and Effect

• What was the connection between the rise of Islam and the fall of the Byzantine Empire?

• As Islam spread and gained followers, Muslim invaders threatened the Byzantines.

Home work

• 356-360

Assignments

Assignment “A”• Johnathan• Keilani• An• Priscilla• Blake• Cairo• Judith• Nathanial • Brianna• Mathew

Assignment “B”• Brandyn• Yahira• Michelle• Carlos• Elizabeth• Mia• Brian• Akaya• Patience

AssignmentsAssignment A

Art, architecture, religion and society were all intermixed in

Byzantine empire. In the US, religion and government

are separated by law. Small groups will create a mosaic

representing the importance of education in the US in similar

fashion to that of the Byzantine mosaic tiles as a means to

communicate thoughts, ideas and central message to a population

that may be illiterate.

Assignment BYou will review the info in text/notes concerning the

split in East/Western Christianity (page 350).

Small groups, you will discuss differences and

similarities. Students will create a Venn

diagram, detailed and thorough in your notebooks.