World HistoryEra 4: Part 3

NEAR EASTERN CIVILIZATIONS

The Byzantine CivilizationA. The Rise of New Rome

1. Name: Greek Byzantium, Constantinople, Istanbul

2. Location: peninsula on the Bosporus Straits separating southeastern Europe from Asia Minor; present day Turkey

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3. Importance

a. Commercial center where east/west trade routes met

b. Capital of the eastern Roman empire; replaced Rome (after 476) as the primary city of the empire

3. Importance, cont’d

c. One of the major patriarchates of the early Christian church

d. Byzantine civilization was more Greek than Roman, more Asian than European

B. The Reign of Justinian

1. His chief objective was to restore the greatness of the Roman empire by

a. Recovering the Roman territory in the West that had fallen to the barbarians (Italy, Southern Spain, France, and Northern Africa)

b. Revitalizing the Roman legal system. This became known as the Justinian Code.

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2. His reign represented the Golden Age of Byzantine culture through extensive architectural programs (public buildings, roads, aqueducts) and artistic advancements (mosaics)

3. His successors were not prepared to rule

a. Financially, the empire was drained from wars and building projects

b. The eastern and northern borders were unprotected

C. Separation of the eastern and western churches

1. Constantine legalized Christianity and his city became the natural center of this “new religion”

2. Religious rivalry resulted in the bishop of Rome excommunicating the patriarch of Constantinople and vice versa

3. Differences between the two churches

a. Control of religious affairsb. Celibacyc. Iconsd. Western influenced by Roman and German

tribes; eastern influenced by Greek and Oriental ideas

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D. A Chronology of Byzantine History

300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 12001100 1300 1400 1500 1600

Defense against

barbarian attacks

Revival of Byzantine civilization

Crusaders sack

Constantinople

Defense against Arab

Muslims

Rivalry with

Italian commercial cities

Defense against

Seljuk Turks

Ottoman Turks capture

Constantinople, renaming it Istanbul

E. The Contributions of the Byzantine Civilization

1. A shield to protect Europe from the spread of Islam

2. The means by which the classical heritage of Greece and Rome was preserved and transmitted to the West

3. A model for the “less civilized” people to copy the culture, government, and religion