Byzantine Empire

Ch.10 Sect. 1

What was the Byzantine Empire?

• “New Rome”• The former eastern Roman empire• Roads to Balkans, Middle East, and North Africa

Describe Constantinople• Located on strait of Bosporus that linked Med. And

Black seas• Huge harbor and guarded on three sides by water• Linked Europe and Asia with trade routes• Europe’s busiest marketplace for centuries

Hippodrome, built in 200s, where rich came to watch chariot races. Another reminder of city’s glorious Roman heritage.

3.How did Byzantine blend cultures?

• Heir to Rome with an amazing civilization that blended ancient Greek, Roman, and Christian influences with other traditions of Med world

4. Name three efforts of Justinian that helped the empire.

• Ruled from 527-565• Empire reached its greatest size• Determined to recover ancient

Rome• Byzantine armies conquered

North Africa, Italy, southern Spain• Exhausted treasury and

weakened defenses• Hagia Sophia• Civil Law• Autocratic Rule

5. What was Hagia Sophia?• Church “Holy

Wisdom”• 10,000 workers

built in 6 years• Marble walls and

gold in ceiling

6. Explain Corpus Juris Civilis. What was the impact?

• “Body of Civil Law” aka Justinian’s Code

• 1100s both Roman Catholic Church and medieval monarchs modeled their laws on its principles

7. Define autocrat and give examples from the text.

• Sole ruler with complete authority• Emperor had power over the Church• Deemed Christ’s co-ruler on Earth• Combined both political power and spiritual

authority, unlike monarchs in West• “Emperor is equal to all men in nature of his

body, but in authority of his rank he is similar to God, who rules all”

8. What were the empire’s greatest strengths?

• Came from a strong central government and a prosperous economy

9. The Backbone was made up of….

• Peasants• Worked the land, paying taxes, provided

soldiers for military

10. List and explain various reasons for disagreement within the

church.• Byzantine Christians rejected pope’s claim to

authority over all Christians• Byzantine clergy kept their right to marry• Greek, not Latin, was the language of Byzantine

Church• Chief Byzantine holy day was Easter, western

Christians went with Christmas• Treated each other as rivals rather than

branches of same faith

11. What were the reasons for decline that forced the Byzantine emperor to send a call for

help that turned into the First Crusade?• Struggles over succession, court intrigues, and

constant wars undermined its strenght• Powerful local lords gained control of large

areas

12. Explain the ultimate fate of Constantinople.

• 1453 Ottoman forces surrounded the city• Lead by Muhammad II won• Renamed Istanbul and was capital of Ottoman

empire

13. What was the Byzantine heritage?

• For 1,000 years Byzantines built on culture of Hellenistic world. Blended Christian religious beliefs with Greek science, philosophy, arts, and literature

• Extended Roman achievements in engineering and law.

14. Describe some of the Byzantine art achievements.

• Icons, designed to evoke the presence of God, gave viewers sense of glowing life

• Architecture they blended Greek, Roman, Persian, and middle eastern styles

15. Who was Procopius and what did he do that was significant

• Advisor of wars, wrote down Byzantine campaign against Persia

• In his Secret History, he savagely criticized Justinian

16. Describe who Anna Comnena was.

• Considered to be western world’s first important female historian

• Portrayed Latin crusaders as greedy barbarians

• Father was Emperor Alexius I