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Seventh Grade: Early World History SS070601Unit 6: Patterns of Adaptation: Reorganizing and Restoring Order After the Fall of Empires (500 CE – 1000 CE) Lesson 1

Graphic Organizer

Michigan Citizenship Collaborative Curriculum of 12 Copyright © 2010-2014 by Oakland Schools September 18, 2014

Rome splits into eastern and

western halves.

The eastern half centers in

Constantinople and becomes what we call the Byzantine Empire.

The Byzantine Empire is Roman in origin,

Greek in culture, and Christian in religion.

The Empire goes through cycles of

growth and decline, battling

Islamic kingdoms, Persians, an d

even the Christian west, before it

too falls.


Big Idea Card

Big Ideas of Lesson 1, Unit 6

With the split of the Roman Empire, the eastern part shifted its capital to Constantinople (formerly Byzantium) and became what we now call the Byzantine Empire. The Byzantine Empire shared many similar characteristics with Rome, although its people looked more to Greece culturally.

The east/west split of Rome and the development of the Byzantine Empire also divided the Christian world of the time into two major groups.

The Byzantine Empire was shaped in many ways by geography. Situated between the Black and Aegean Seas (hence Europe and Asia), it was at a key economic and political crossroads.

The Byzantine Empire faced a wide range of both internal and external threats and went through periods of territorial growth, as well as loss, until it eventually was taken over by another empire.



Word Cards

1adaptation

the process of changing in response to new conditions in order to function better

Example: People living in flooded areas learned to adapt by building houses on stilts.

(SS070601)

2internal

when something is, or comes from, inside of something else

Example: Your internal organs are organs that are inside your body, like your liver or your heart.

(SS070601)

3external

when something is, or comes from, outside of something else

Example: An external hard drive saves information to a place outside of your computer to keep it safe.

(SS070601)

4strait

a narrow passage of water connecting two seas or other large bodies of water

Example: The Bering Strait connects the Arctic Ocean to the Bering Sea.

(SS070601)

5patriarch

a man who controls a family, clan, or government, or even a religious group

Example: Christian orthodox religions, like the Eastern Orthodox church, have patriarchs that are in charge of the overall religion and provide rules and guidance.



(SS070601)



Student Handout 1 – Guided Reading on the Byzantine Empire

The empire that we now know as the Byzantine Empire really began in the year 330 CE, when Constantine, the emperor of Rome at that time, decided to move the capital of the Roman Empire from Rome to the city of Byzantium. Byzantium was originally a Greek colony on a strait linking the Mediterranean to the Black Sea around what is now Turkey. Located on a peninsula and protected by water, this location was easier to defend than Rome. Constantine named the new capital after himself, Constantinople. Constantine was the emperor who made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire.

In 476, when the larger Roman Empire fell apart, it’s eastern half managed to stay together for almost another 1,000 years. Although they did not call themselves the Byzantine Empire, historians began to use this name to separate it from the original Roman Empire. The citizens of this empire tended to see themselves as Romans and Christians (this does not include certain groups of people with different religions who had been conquered by the Romans and who did not want to be part of this empire), even though many of them spoke Greek instead of Latin. Byzantine elites were educated in Greek culture and history as well.

The western part of the Roman Empire eventually fell, over 100 years after Constantine’s rule, yet the eastern part stayed intact, partly because it was easier to defend from outside invasion because of its unique geography and surrounding bodies of water. Its border with the rest of Europe was also much smaller than the western part of the Empire. Because Constantinople was the new capital, power, wealth, and military might were centered there. It was also located closer to the top trade routes, so the eastern part of the old Roman Empire was in a better position to stay strong and continue as an empire long after the western part of the empire collapsed.


Stop and Jot: So what is the difference between the Roman and Byzantine Empires?

In what ways was physical geography important for the Byzantine Empire?


The split of Rome into east and west also affected the development of Christianity at this time. In 451 CE, a council of religious leaders split the Christian world into five areas called “patriarchates,” each one ruled by a different leader. The church in Rome was led by a patriarch (male leader, father figure), who would later be known as the pope. The emperor of the Byzantine Empire was the religious leader of Constantinople and was head of both the eastern church and the government. There were three more regions that were eventually conquered by Islamic kingdoms, so the Byzantine emperor became the leader for Christians in the east. This shift broke the world of Christianity into two groups that would later come into conflict even though they shared the same basic belief system.

The Byzantine Empire of JustinianIn 527, Justinian I became the emperor and ruled until he died in 565. He was the first powerful leader of the Byzantine Empire. In the years of his rule, his armies were able to increase the size of the empire by reconquering land lost when the Roman Empire broke up, including much of North Africa. Justinian also ordered the construction of many great monuments, including the domed Church of Holy Wisdom, or Hagia Sophia (532-37 A.D.). Justinian updated Roman law and had it published, creating a Byzantine legal system that lasted for hundreds of years and helped shape modern ideas about government and law.

When Justinian died, the Byzantine Empire was the most powerful empire in Europe, even though it never came close to the size and power that the old Roman Empire had achieved. Nevertheless, because of the constant war it took to regain and hold territory, the government owed lots of money and was struggling to gather more resources. To bring in more money, later emperors taxed their citizens greatly. At the same time, the army was weakened and it had a hard time holding on to the newly gained territory. Between 600 and 800 CE, there were many attacks on the empire, by the Slavs in the west


Stop and Jot: Why do you think religious leaders from the same belief system might have come into conflict with each other?


and by Persians in the east. Along with internal problems like rebellions against the emperor, these attacks made the empire even weaker. In 622, the religion of Islam was founded by the prophet Muhammad in the city of Mecca, and this began a new period of conflict in which Christians and Muslims fought for control of territory in the eastern Mediterranean. By 700 CE, the Byzantine Empire had lost Syria, Jerusalem, Egypt, and northern Africa.

During the late 10th and early 11th centuries, the Byzantine Empire enjoyed a time of greater peace and prosperity. Although it was smaller in size at this time than it had been under Justinian, there was a lot of trade and the empire was seen in a better light by its neighbors. Constantinople was a key city in world trade, and the arts flourished and many people studied ancient Greek ideas and history. Greek became the official language of the state as well. At the same time, the church began to encourage more outreach, and sent monks to convert people to Christianity in different areas, including Russia and the lands of the Slavs (where countries like Bulgaria and the Czech Republic are today).

At the end of the 11th century, the famous religious Crusades began. The Crusades were wars that centered on trying to regain land lost to Muslim kingdoms, and they pitted Christians against Muslims for close to 200 years. These wars were declared by Pope Urban II in France. European armies traveled to fight against the Arabic Muslim kingdoms, and they traveled through the Byzantine Empire, and even fought alongside the Byzantine Empire for a time as allies. The split between the Christians though, into east and west, affected their ability to trust each other and fight together, and problems arose. In 1204, Crusaders from the western part of Europe actually invaded and took over Constantinople, even though a Byzantine army eventually took it back. Over the next 200 years, beset with internal political problems and facing outside attackers that never completely went away, the Byzantine Empire lost power and eventually was completely taken over by a new power, the Ottoman Empire, in 1453.

Adapted from: http://www.history.com/topics/byzantine-empire


Turn and Talk: How was Justinian similar to some of the Roman emperors of the past? How was his rule both similar to and different from the struggles emperors faced in old Rome?

Work with your Turn and Talk partner now to generate Compare / Contrast T-chart. Identify and explain three ways the Byzantine Empire was similar to the Roman Empire from which it developed, and also identify and explain three ways it was different.

http://www.history.com/topics/byzantine-empire


Student Handout 2 – The Geography of the Byzantine Empire

Study the two maps below. The first map shows the size of the Roman Empire at its height, with the Roman Empire being the dark grey, shaded region. The second map shows the size of the Byzantine Empire, first in 526 (lighter grey) and then in 565 after the Emperor Justinian re-conquered certain areas.


1) With a highlighter, shade in the areas on the second map that were part of the original Roman Empire. These would be the dark grey areas on the first map that are NOT shaded at all on the second map. Note that the first map on the left is on a smaller scale than the map on the right, so use landmarks (like the “boot” of Italy, the Red Sea, and the Black Sea) to figure out where borders were.

2) The Byzantine Empire is what we now call the eastern half of the Roman Empire that continued to exist after the fall of the larger Roman Empire. In your own words, describe in writing the differences between the Roman and Byzantine Empires with respect to WHAT land and HOW MUCH land was controlled by each.


Student Handout 3 – Byzantine Chronology: Analyzing Gains, Losses, and Pressures

The history of the Byzantine Empire is one of gains and losses as this remaining part of the Roman Empire struggled to regain its old territory and also faced new conflicts with emerging powers in the Middle East. Study the timeline below. This is not a complete timeline, and leaves many events out, but it has many important events in this history.

Using highlighters with two different colors, highlight every event you think represents a GAIN for the Byzantine Empire in one color, and everything you think represents a LOSS for the empire in another color. You will not have to highlight every event... you might find some that are not clear examples of either gains or losses.

Next, go back through the timeline and find all the examples of PRESSURES being placed on the empire, and label these with a capital I for Internal, or a capital E for external (you did something similar in the last lesson of unit 5). Internal pressures are things causing problems from inside the empire, whereas external pressures are problems that originate outside the empire.

A Timeline of the Byzantine Empire (330 CE to 1453 CE)

(adapted from http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/imperialism/notes/byzantinechron.html)

330 CE: Constantine moves the capital of the Roman Empire from Rome to the site of the ancient Greek city of Byzantium and renames it after himself- Constantinople. When the Roman Empire splits, Constantinople stays the capital of the half of the empire that becomes the Byzantine Empire.

395: The Roman Empire splits in half, with the Eastern Roman Empire having its capital in Constantinople and the Western Roman Empire staying centered in Rome.

476: The Western Empire falls in the face of internal problems and invasions. The Eastern Empire survives; we now call this empire the Byzantine Empire because it was different from the original Roman Empire and was centered in the renamed city of Byzantium.

502: A series of conflicts between the Byzantine Empire and the Sassanid Empire (of Persia) begins, carried over from previous conflict between the Persians and the Roman Empire. These battles involve losses and victories for both sides, along with treaties and occasional long periods of peace. The conflict continues until 628 when the Sassanids are decisively defeated.


http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/imperialism/notes/byzantinechron.html


526: The famous emperor Justinian takes power of the empire. He works hard to regain territory lost when Rome fell and regains control of parts of northern Africa, Italy, and Spain, although he never gets back all of what was once Rome. He takes previous Roman law and has it put into one document (we now call them the Justinian laws). Constantinople becomes a very large, prosperous city with lots of trade.

529: The final Samaritan Revolt... the Samaritans had their own religion and were people from the land of Samaria. They had rebelled against Roman control, but were still under the control of the Byzantine Empire at this time. After a few smaller rebellions, they again rose against the Byzantine empire and tried to form their own state. In the city of Neapolis, Samaritans killed the bishop and the city’s priests. Justinian I sent in troops to control the situation and tens of thousands of Samaritans were killed or enslaved, and their religion was then outlawed.

532: The Nika riot... members of opposing factions of people in Constantinople are arrested for causing fights and unrest and sentenced to death. Members of both groups, called the Blues and Greens, begin to revolt in protest, setting buildings on fire and fighting soldiers. The protestors call for someone to replace Justinian. The bulk of the protesters gather in the Hippodrome (kind of stadium complex where there were horse races and other contests), where they are later trapped and slaughtered by Justinian’s forces.

568: A people called the Lombards invade Italy, and they end up taking northern Italy away from the Byzantine Empire.

610: A man named Heraclius becomes emperor, and for a time he regains control of Mesopotamia. The official language of the empire becomes Greek. The territories of Syria, Palestine, and Egypt are lost to Arabic caliphates (kingdoms).

674: The army of the Umayyad Caliphate, an Arabic kingdom, attacks Constantinople and lays siege for two years before their navy is beaten thanks to the new Byzantine technology of Greek fire.

690: Byzantine land in North Africa is taken by the Caliphate armies (part of the developing conflict between the Christian Byzantines and the Muslim Arabs of the Caliphate kingdoms).

717-718: A large force from the Umayyad Caliphate again besieges Constantinople by land and sea. The attack is held off.

721: The Byzantine Empire wins back some of the land lost in Asia Minor to the Umayyads.

800: Charlemagne, king of the Franks, is crowned "Emperor of the Romans" by Pope Leo III in Rome. For the first time in 300 years, there is an emperor of the "East" and an emperor of the "West".

917: A people known as the Bulgars take the land of Thrace away from the Byzantine Empire.

924: The Bulgars attack Constantinople but are defeated.



941: Prince Igor of Kiev tries to attack Constantinople by water, but the Byzantine forces destroy the Russian fleet.

976: Basil II becomes the Emperor.

995: Basil II takes back Syria from the Arab caliphates.

996: Basil II invades Greece and takes it back from the Bulgars.

1014: Basil II destroys the Bulgar army and gets the nickname of Bulgaroktonos ("Bulgar Slayer").

1055: The Normans (people from the north) invade and take over southern Italy.

1071: The Byzantine army is defeated in a fight with a Turkish army, and the Byzantine Empire loses most of their land in Asia Minor (what is now Turkey).

1075: The territory of Syria is lost again after it is taken back by the caliphates.

1054: There is a huge religious conflict within the Christian church. Christians split between two churches, the Roman Catholic church based in Rome and the Greek Orthodox church based in Constantinople.

1095: Over the next two centuries, the Byzantine Empire and its capitol Constantinople become involved in armed conflict during the Crusades and the ongoing struggle between Christian and Muslim kingdoms. Land and cities are continually lost and re-taken. Constantinople is, at one point, taken over by Christian crusaders from the west (in 1204).

1453: Constantinople is finally captured, this time by the forces of the growing Ottoman Empire, and the Byzantine Empire is destroyed.

On a separate sheet of paper, answer the following two questions based upon your color and letter coding of key events:

1) What is the general pattern of gains and losses in the history of the Byzantine Empire? How would you summarize the gains and losses?

2) Do you think that the Byzantine Empire was more in danger from outside or inside problems? Explain your answer with examples.


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