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The Byzantine Empire
A New Rome
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
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
395: Empire Splits
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
Byzantine Empire – Greatest Extent
• Orange: Added by Belisarius for Justinian
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)
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
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
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
The Hagia Sopia
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
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
The Hippodrome
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
Byzantine Empire
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
The Walls
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
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
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