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The Byzantine Empire

The Byzantine Empire. I. A New Rome. Western Roman Emp. crumbled in 5 th cent. Capital of East = Byzantium. A. The Reign of Justinian. East = Greece, N. Balkan Pen., Asia Minor, Syria, Palestine, Egypt, Cyrenaica Emperor Justinian (r. 527-565)

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The Byzantine Empire

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  1. The Byzantine Empire

  2. I. A New Rome • Western Roman Emp. crumbled in 5th cent. • Capital of East = Byzantium

  3. A. The Reign of Justinian • East = Greece, N. Balkan Pen., Asia Minor, Syria, Palestine, Egypt, Cyrenaica • Emperor Justinian (r. 527-565) • Led political, economic, intellectual, & artistic revival

  4. 1. Theodora • 525: married Justinian • Helped change Byz. law regarding women • Domestic violence • Owning property • Widow & custody • Nika Revolt (532)

  5. 2. Belisarius • Commander-in-chief of army • Regained former Roman territories in Med. • Byz. reached its greatest height • 533: recovered N. Africa • 535: attacked & seized Rome (Ostrogoths)

  6. Byz. Emperors = absolute power • headed state & church • threat of assassination

  7. II. Life in New Rome • Byz. Emp. developed its own character • Roman ties?

  8. A. Justinian Code • Panel of legal experts reviewed 400 yrs. of Roman law (outdated & contradictory) • 1. the “Code” = 5,000 Roman laws (useful) • 2. the “Digest” = summarized opinions of great Roman thinkers • 3. the “Institutes” = textbook for law students • 4. the “Novellae” = (New Laws), presented legislation after 534

  9. Decided legal questions regarding marriage, slavery, property, inheritance, women’s rights, & criminal justice • 565: Justinian died, but code survived

  10. B. Creating the Imperial Capital • Ambitious building programs • Rebuilt fortifications of Const. • Church building (connection betw. church & state) • Hagia Sophia (“Holy Wisdom”) • “the most splendid church in the Christian world” • Completed in 537 • “Solomon, I have outdone thee!” • Enlarged palace • Also, baths, aqueducts, courts, schools, hospitals

  11. Greco-Roman culture preserved • Education focused on Greek & Roman lit.

  12. III. Strengths of the Empire • Political, military, economic strength

  13. A. Political Strength • Centralized govt. • Skilled, efficient, well-paid officials • Practiced shrewd diplomacy

  14. B. Military Strength • Frontier forces, infantry, cavalry • Rewarded soldiers w/land grants • 590: instruction manuals for officers on military strategy • Improved army weaponry • 500s: built navy • “Greek fire”

  15. C. Economic Strength • Prosperous ag., manufacturing, & trade • Const. = heart of emp. • Strategic location on Bosporus betw. Asia & Europe • Govt. = regulated trade & manufacturing

  16. IV. The Church Divides • Christianity developed differently betw. West & East

  17. A. A Religious Split • Patriarch (Rome, Const., Alexandria, Antioch, & Jerusalem) • Pope (patriarch of Rome) = supreme authority in West (Byz. did not recognize) • Debate over icons (holy pics = Jesus, Virgin Mary, & the saints)

  18. Byz. = iconoclasts (icons constituted idol worship & should be suppressed) • 726: Emp. Leo III—outlawed icon worship in East • West = pope of Rome summoned a council in 787 • Opposition to icons = heresy

  19. Council threatened iconoclasts w/ excommunication • Friction betw. Pope (Rome) & patriarch (Const.) • Combined w/cultural & language diffs. • 1054: Church split • West = Roman Catholic Church • East = Eastern Orthodox Church

  20. V. Decline of the Empire • 1300s: Ottoman Turks rose to power • 1453: captured Const. (Byz. Ended)

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