Download Byzantine Empire Notesheet

Name __________________________________
Ancient Rome: Byzantine Empire
Date ______________
Ms. Grey
Aim:
____________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Do Now: Think back to yesterday. What were the potential issues that came with
Diocletian’s division of the Roman Empire?
Setting the Stage: 330 CE → 1453 CE
The Roman Empire had been divided since the reign of Diocletian in the late A.D.
200s. As the Roman empire fell, Diocletian controlled the Western half of the Roman
empire and Constantine controlled the Eastern half. By 330, Constantine had built a
splendid new capital in Constantinople, on the site of the Greek city of Byzantium. The
Byzantine empire, as it came to be called, drew its name from this ancient city. At its
height, the Byzantine empire covered an area from Rome through south eastern Europe
and Asia Minor, down to Egypt and across North Africa. Even a portion of southern
Spain was once part of the empire.
According to the passage, how did the Byzantine Empire come to exist?
Geography of Byzantine Empire
★ Constantine built capital __________________________________ on Bosporus
Strait
★ allowed empire to respond to dangers of ___________________________
★ allowed empire to _____________________________________________
Building the “new” Rome… why “new” Rome?
★ Roman Empire divided into ________________________________ in 395 C.E.
★ Like old W. Roman emperors, Byzantine emperors ruled w/
________________________________________________
★ ____________________________ (527-565) – Byzantine’s greatest emperor
a. starting in 533, recovered almost all of Rome’s former territory
b. created a single, uniform body of law -_____________________________ which became basis of law for medieval rulers
c. launched most ambitious building program
1) churches, e.g. __________________, which had huge arched domes
2) _______________________, e.g. fortifications, baths, schools, etc
Byzantine Art & Culture
★ preserved _____________________________ culture and learning
○ WHY?
★ blended ancient ______________, _____________, & ____________________
influences within their art & culture
★ created religious art using ________________ (holy images) and
______________ (pictures made from inlaid pieces)
★ ________________________ many great works of Greece & Rome
Christian Church Divides (1054) - Eastern Orthodox vs. Roman Catholic
1.
2.
3.
split began over church leadership: ___________________________ vs. _______
disputes over ______________ divided Christians
continued differences led to Christian schism (split):
Roman Catholic (West)
Eastern Orthodox (East)
▪
Services conducted in _________
▪
▪
________ was ultimate authority
▪
▪
Priests cannot _____________
▪
Divorce ________________
Services conducted in ____________
____________________ was ultimate
authority
▪
Priests can _________________
▪
Divorce _____________________
Decline & Fall of the Byzantine Empire
★ height of empire under Justinian’s rule → empire lost land to invaders and many
people died of the plague after Justinian
★ in 1193, during 4th Crusade (Christian v. Muslim Wars), western Christians
(Roman Catholics) took over Constantinople, plundering and weakening it
★ in 1453, Ottoman Turks conquered remaining Byzantine Empire