"Not since the world was made was there ever seen or won so great a treasure, or so noble or so rich, nor in the time of Alexander, nor in the time of Charlemagne, nor before, nor after, nor do I think myself that in the forty richest cities of the world had there been so much wealth as was found in Constantinople. For the Greeks say that two-thirds of the wealth of this world is in Constantinople and the other third scattered throughout the world."

--Robert of Clari, a French crusader who witnessed the pillage of the city in 1204, describing Constantinople.

The Glory of the Byzantines

Outline of Presentation Part One – Introduction with timeline

Part Two – Early and Middle Byzantium

Part Three – The Hagia Sophia

Part Four – The Fall of Byzantium

Part Five – Legacy and Influence

Part One - Introduction

Byzantiwho?

“Byzantine Empire” invention of historiansViewed themselves as RomansLater develops own identity

Relation to what we have done?

MosaicsGovernment System and LawsChristianity and StateMilitary and Trade policiesArchitecture and ArtPreservation and study of Classics

Byzantine Empire circa 555 CE

Timeline of Events 330 – Constantine I moves capital to the East

410 – Rome is sacked by the Visigoths

476 – Last Roman Emperor, Augustulus, is deposed

527 – Justinian I becomes Eastern Roman Emperor

726 – Leo III orders all religious icons in the empire destroyed

843 – Icons are then restored to religious worship

1054 – The Great Schism

1204 – Constantinople is captured by Crusaders

1453 – The Siege of Constantinople ends with occupation of the city by Ottomans

The Great Schism of 1054 CE

The Siege of Constantinople, 1453 CE

Part Two – Early and Middle Byzantium

Justinian and Theodora, 527-565 CE

Corpus Juris Civilis

Laws against heresy, paganism, and status of Jews

Was the basis of the revival of Roman law in the Middle Ages

influenced the Canon Law of the churchecclesia vivit lege romana — the church lives under Roman law.

The Nika Riots

Justinian and his Retinue

Part Three – The Hagia Sophia

The Hagia Sophia

The Hagia Sophia

A Modern Day Orthodox Church

Iconoclastic Controversy

Theodosia

Part Five – The Fall of Byzantium

The Loss of Constantinople

Mehmet II Occupies Constantinople

Part Six – The Legacy of Byzantium

Byzantine Science

Byzantine Music and Food

Byzantine Recipes

Omayyad Mosque at Damascus

Byzantium as a Derogatory Term

Discussion of Texts

How do the two works on Justinian compare? What does this tell us about the legacy of Justinian I?

Can you find any symbolism in the mosaic and do you have any questions about the work?

Bonus Picture and Trivia

Bonus Picture and Trivia

A search of “Byzantine Empire” on Amazon yields 9,720 books, and only 1 DVD.

A search of “Roman Empire” on Amazon yields 64,961 books, and 77 DVDs.