Building an EmpireCosts BenefitsStrategy
Building an EmpireCosts Benefits
O Funds, higher taxes,
keeping
patriotism/loyalty,
high death rates
O Higher taxes, risk of
assassination,
always going to not
please someone
O Invest a lot of
money, unifying
currency
O Protection of land, expansion of land, intimidation, new riches from new lands
O More people want to join your empire,superiority, fair laws, peace throughout empire
O Lower prices of goods, taxes lower, more resources, exchange of culture
Strategy
1. Having a
strong
military
2. Strong/
stable
government
3. Strong
economy
O Get out your worksheet from yesterday. We
are going to go over it for the warm-up today.
Byzantine EmpireChapter 11 section 1
Changes in the Empire
O In 284 AD, Rome’s new Emperor, Diocletian, divided the Empire in half because he felt it was too large for one man to control.
O Diocletian controlled the Greek-speaking East because it was far more wealthy than the Latin-speaking West, and appointed a co-ruler to rule the West.
O Diocletian will get sick and end his rule. 4 men will compete to rule the empire (sound familiar?)
O Constantine will be ruler next and he will once again reunite the empire. His greatest downfall was in 330 CE he moved the capital of the empire to Byzantium which he will nameafter himself, Constantinople.
O After Constantine's death the empire will again be divided, the East would survive, the West would fall.
Empire Under Diocletian
Empire under
Constantine, after
the Western half
fell to invasions
A New RomeO For nearly 1,000 years after the collapse of the Western
Empire, Byzantium and it’s flourishing capital would carry on the glory of Rome (from about 395-1453).
O Roman political institutions like the Senate continued in the Byzantine world as did the basic structure and content of Roman law.
O However, culturally the Byzantine Empire was distinct. The Byzantine Empire spoke Greek and was officially a Christian state for preponderance of its history.
O The height of the first period of Byzantine history was during the Reign of Emperor Justinian and his wife Theodora.
O video
JustinianO Justinian, a high ranking
Byzantine nobleman, succeeded his uncle to the throne and ruled from 527-565 CE.
O In an effort to recover territory lost by Rome and it’s fading glory, he sent his best generals to reclaim land that once belonged to them.
O After numerous battles, Justinian’s armies won nearly all of the territory that Rome had ever ruled!
Roman LawO While Justinian’s men were
off fighting and expanding
territory Justinian decided
he wanted to reform Roman
Laws.
O His panel of experts
combed through 400 years
of roman laws. It found a
number of laws that were
outdated and contradictory.
O The panel created a single
uniform law code known as
Justinian Code.
O The code decided legal questions that regulatedwhole areas of Byzantine life including; Marriage, slavery, property, inheritance, women’s rights, and criminal justice.
O Although Justinian died in 565, his code served the Byzantine Empire for 900 years
O Religion, as well as law,
served imperial
centralization. Before
Justinian, in 380 CE,
Christianity had been
proclaimed the official
religion of the eastern
empire. Now all other
religions were
considered “demented
and insane.”
Public WorksO Church building was the Emperors greatest
passion.
O Justinian viewed churches as the most visible sign
of the close connection between church and state
in his empire.
O The ‘crowning glory’ of his reign was Hagia
Sophia, which means ‘holy wisdom’ in Greek.
O When Justinian had rebuilt Hagia Sophia, many
visitors hailed it as the most splendid church in
the Christian world.
Empress TheodoraO The most powerful women in
Byzantine history rose from deep poverty.
O Early in life Theodora was an actress
O She met Justinian and eventually married in 525
O Theodora recognized the rights of women and made sure others did, too.
O Through her influence, laws were made protecting women and granting them better legal rights
O After she died in 548, he was so depressed that he passed no major laws for the rest of his reign
Efforts to preserve the West
O Families valued education- specifically classical learningO Latin
O Philosophy
O Geometry (Euclid)
O History (Herodotus)
O Literature (Homer)
O They helped to preserve many of the great works of Greece and Rome
O "Not since the world was made was there . .
. so much wealth as was found in
Constantinople. For the Greeks say that two-
thirds of the wealth of this world is in
Constantinople and the other third
scattered throughout the world."
--Robert of Clari, a French crusader who witnessed the
pillage of the city in 1204, describing Constantinople.
Justinian’s Death
O After Justinian’s death in 565, the empire
suffered countless setbacks.
O There were street riots, religious quarrels,
palace conspiracies, and foreign dangers.
O Each time the empire moved to the edge of
collapse, it found some way to revive- only to
face another crisis.
Hagia Sophia
O Video
O Shorter video
On your paper, in your own words, tell me the significance
of…
OConstantinople
OJustinian
OJustinian’s code
OHagia Sophia
OEmpress Theodora
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