Download The Byzantine Empire

The Byzantine Empire
7th Grade World History
By Ms. Thompson

The Fall of The Roman
Empire
The Empire existed from 330 to 1453

It got its name from the Roman Empire’s new capital Byzantium (330)

Became the Byzantine Empire in 395 with the official split of the
Roman Empire

In 476, became the only Roman Empire after the last Roman
Emperors were removed in the west

Emperor Diocletian (284-305): Divided the Roman Empire into east
and west

Emperor Constantine (310-337): Reunited the empire and moved the
capital to Byzantium

Emperor Theodosius I (379-395): Granted Barbarians land and made
orthodox Christianity the sole religion

Became permanently divided empire in 395 after his death
The Founding of
Byzantium
 Founded by a Greek man named Byzas in 660 B.C. and
named Byzantium
 Originally referred to as Nova Roma (New Rome), but
later renamed Constantinople for Constantine
 Modeled after Rome
 Religious symbols all over the city
 Protected due to its location (near the Bosporus)
 Had theaters, churches, aqueducts, bathhouses,
underground sewers, streetlights, medical and hospital
care and firefighters
Why So Successful?
 Economic prosperity
 Controlled major caravan
routes
 Controlled sea traffic
 Monopoly on silk production
 Strong military
 Best trained in the world
 Navy had “Greek Fire” (a
flame thrower)
 Walls
 Diplomacy
 Prevented invasions by
barbarians, Huns, Persians and
Russians
Justinian the Great
 Born a peasant in the Balkans, well
educated and became Emperor at 45
years old
 Served as Emperor from 527-565 A.D.

He was adopted by his uncle so he could be
the next Emperor
 He married a woman named Theodora
who was considered below his class, but
he married her for love
 He wanted to reunite the Roman Empire
 Known as “the emperor who never
sleeps”
Theodora
 Theodora would help guide Justinian
during his reign.
 She helped to improve the lives of
women in the Byzantine Empire:
 Divorce
 Property ownership
 Gave mothers guardian rights over
children
 Death penalty for rape
 Theodora died early in Justinian's reign,
548 A.D., and was buried at the Church
of the Holy Wisdom.
 Justinian would not remarry
The Nika Riots

Occurred in 532 over taxing chariot racing to fund war


The people were being taxed for everything and they were tired of it.
The Hippodrome

A large arena were people gathered to watch chariot racing

Some event in the Hippodrome were known to lead to violence among the audience.

Fans would often cheer "Nika!” ("Conquer!", "Win!" and "Victory!”)

The Blues and the Greens: The most popular chariot team color


Blue was the team that Justinian liked best
The Riots

When the emperor takes his place in the stadium, there are chants of “Nika!”

The races begin but are soon cancelled. For five days, the rioters burn churches and
buildings.

Each day they return to the Hippodrome with new demands. One of these demands,
includes a new emperor.

Justinian wants to flee, but his wife stops him.

To end the riots, Justinian sends in soldiers to block the exits and kill the protesters. A total
of 30,000 people are killed.
Justinian's Laws
 “Corpus Juris Civilius” (Body of Civil Law)
 Reduced the constitutions of many emperors
into one code
 Classified the major legal decisions of Rome
 Made laws more fair and efficient (civil law)
 Civil law deals with private matters only (EX:
business, contracts, estates, family relations,
accidents)
 Made criminal laws harsher
 The system became the basis of the legal
system in many European countries today.

Religion in the Byzantine
Empire
The emperor was
considered to be a
representative of Christ
and God Himself
 Iconoclast Controversy
 Icon: images of Jesus,
Mary and saints
 People were ordered to
stop praying to images
 Emperor Leo III ordered
all religious statues to
be destroyed and
religious images in
churches to be
covered
The Church of Hagia
Sophia
 Also referred to as Church of the Holy Wisdom
 It was the largest Byzantine church
 First dedicated, in 360, by Emperor Constantine.
 Rebuilt by Justinian after the Nika Riots


The Great Schism
The Byzantine split with Roman Catholicism began when Pope Leo III
crowned Charlemagne as the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire

This annoyed the Byzantines, because they were the real Holy Roman
Empire.

Charlemagne’s crowning made the Byzantine Emperor seem
unnecessary
Language: The Byzantine Church began to use Latin less.



Most patriarchs in Constantinople couldn’t read any Latin, and most
popes in Rome couldn’t read any Greek.
Different theologies:

The West (Latin) was more practical and, although fully believing in the
divinity of Christ, put emphasis on his humanity when depicting Jesus in
art — especially by making realistic crucifixes.

The East (Byzantine) was more theoretical and, although fully believing
in the humanity of Christ, focused on his divinity, which was much more
mysterious.
Religion in Areas Today:

Western Europe (Roman Catholic)

Eastern Europe (Orthodox)
Decline of the Empire
and Legacy
 Declining Factors
 Outside invasions
 Economic: loss of monopoly over the eastern
Mediterranean
 The Crusades
 The fall of Constantinople
 Legacy
 Preserved Greco-Roman civilization and culture
 Established and preserved the Eastern Orthodox
Church
 Provided the model for Europe’s legal system
Resources
 http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp
?historyid=160
 “World Civilization: Volume 1: To 1715” by Joseph M. Leon