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The Byzantine Empire
World History/Napp
“The Western Roman Empire crumbled in the fifth century as it was overrun by invading
Germanic tribes. By this time, however, the once great empire had already undergone
significant changes. It had been divided into western and eastern empires, and its capital
had moved east from Rome to the Greek city of Byzantium. The city would become known
as Constantinople after the emperor Constantine, who made it the new capital in A.D. 330.
(Byzantium would remain as the name of the entire Eastern Empire.) For nearly a
thousand years after the collapse of the Western Empire, Byzantium and its flourishing
capital would carry on the glory of Rome.
In 527, a high-ranking Byzantine nobleman named Justinian succeeded his uncle to the
throne of the Eastern Empire. In an effort to regain Rome’s fading glory, Justinian in 533
sent his best general, Belisarius, to recover North Africa from the invading Germanic
tribes. Belisarius and his forces quickly succeeded. Two years later, Belisarius attacked
Rome and seized it from a group known as the Ostrogoths. But the city faced repeated
attacks by other Germanic tribes. Over the next 16 years, Rome changed hands six times.
Like the last of the old Caesars, the Byzantine emperors ruled with absolute power. They
headed not just the state but the church as well. They appointed and dismissed bishops at
will. Their politics were brutal – and often deadly. Emperors lived under constant risk of
assassination. Of the 88 Byzantine emperors, 29 died violently, and 13 abandoned the
throne to live in monasteries.
A separate government and difficult communications with the West gave the Byzantine
Empire its own character. The citizens thought of themselves as sharing in the Roman
tradition, but few spoke Latin anymore. Most Byzantines spoke Greek. Having unified the
two empires, Justinian set up a panel of legal experts to regulate Byzantium’s increasingly
complex society. The panel combed through 400 years of Roman law. It found a number of
laws that were outdated and contradictory. The panel created a single, uniform code
known as the Justinian Code.” ~ World History
Questions:
- When did the Western Roman Empire collapse and what happened to the Eastern half?
- What was the capital of the Byzantine Empire (formerly the Eastern Roman Empire?
- Who was Justinian and why was he significant?
- Describe the Byzantine emperors; describe their power.
- How were the Byzantines similar to the Romans yet different?
- What was the Code of Justinian or the Justinian Code?
Constantinople
- Justinian launched an ambitious public
building program
- He rebuilt the crumbling fortifications of
Constantinople, as workers
constructed a 14-mile stone wall along the
city’s coastline and repaired massive
fortifications
Divisions within Christianity
- Christianity had begun to develop
differently in the Western and Eastern
Roman Empires, due largely to the distance
and lack of contact between the regions
- In 730, Emperor Leo III banned the use of
icons, religious images used by Eastern
Christians to aid their devotions
- Church building, however, was the
emperor’s greatest passion
- The emperor viewed the use of icons as
idol worship
- The crowning glory of his reign was the
church called the Hagia Sophia, which
means “Holy Wisdom” in Greek
- In the West, the pope became involved in
this eastern dispute and supported the use of
icons
- A less obvious but vitally important
activity took place: the preservation of
Greco-Roman culture
- One pope even ordered the
excommunication of a Byzantine emperor –
that is, he declared the emperor to be an
outcast from the Church
- Byzantine families valued education –
specifically classical learning
- The classics of Greek and Roman
literature served as textbooks
- The modern world owes the Byzantines a
huge debt for preserving Greek and Roman
learning
- In 843, more than 100 years after the
controversy began, the empress restored
icons to Eastern churches
- In 1054, matters came to a head when the
pope and the patriarch excommunicated
each other in a dispute over religious
doctrine
- Shortly afterward, Christianity officially
split between the Roman Catholic Church in
the West and the Orthodox Church in the
East
- Describe the Hagia Sophia.
- What did the Byzantines preserve?
- Why did a Byzantine Emperor ban icons?
- What was the response of the Roman Catholic pope to the banning of icons?
- What happened in 1054?
Base your answer to the question below on the map below and on your knowledge of social
studies.
Based on the information provided by this map, which statement about Constantinople is
accurate?
(1) Africans traded more goods in Constantinople than in any other area.
(2) Constantinople was a city located on the Mediterranean Sea. (turn page!)
(3) Gold was the primary commodity that China sent to Constantinople.
(4) Constantinople was an important trading center.
Constantinople was a thriving city in the 1200s mainly because of its location on a major
trade route between
(1) China and southern Africa
(2) the Atlantic Ocean and the Baltic Sea
(3) the Inca Empire and the Aztec Empire
(4) Asia and eastern Europe
One of the major achievements of Byzantine Emperor Justinian was that he
(1) established a direct trade route with Ghana
(2) defended the empire against the spread of Islam
(3) brought Roman Catholicism to his empire
(4) preserved and transmitted Greek and Roman culture
The Justinian Code is considered a milestone because it
(1) preserved many ancient Chinese legal decrees in writing
(2) served as a model for European legal systems
(3) became the first democratic constitution
(4) united Muslim and Roman thought
Base your answer below on the quotation below and on your knowledge of social studies.
“. . . The circumference of the city of Constantinople is eighteen miles; one-half of the city
being bounded by the continent, the other by the sea, two arms of which meet here; the one
a branch or outlet of the Russian, the other of the Spanish sea. Great stir and bustle
prevails [dominates] at Constantinople in consequence of the conflux [meeting] of many
merchants, who resort thither [come there], both by land and by sea, from all parts of the
world for purposes of trade, including merchants from Babylon and from Mesopotamia,
from Media and Persia, from Egypt and Palestine, as well as from Russia, Hungary,
Patzinakia, Budia, Lombardy and Spain. In this respect the city is equalled only by
Bagdad, the metropolis of the Mahometans…”
~ Rabbi Benjamin of Tudela, Manuel Komroff, ed., Contemporaries of Marco Polo, Boni &
Liveright
This author would most likely agree with the idea that the
(1) size of Constantinople limited trade
(2) cities of western Europe were more impressive than Constantinople
(3) location of Constantinople contributed to its prosperity
(4) government of Constantinople failed to provide order
- Identify two significant differences between the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern
Orthodox Church.
- Identify two significant similarities between the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern
Orthodox Church.
- Do you believe these churches could reconcile despite their differences? Explain.
1. * Justinian imposes new code of law.
* Completion of Hagia Sophia adds
beauty to Constantinople.
* Greco-Roman tradition preserved.
Which empire is described in these
statements?
1. Byzantine
2. Persian
3. Mauryan
4. Ottoman
2. One reason the Justinian Code was
significant was that it
1. became the foundation of the modern
legal systems of many Western
countries
2. established the basis for the
development of the Code of
Hammurabi
3. incorporated laws from all over Asia
and Europe
4. led to the protection of inalienable
rights in Roman territories
5. The Code of Hammurabi, the Twelve
Tables, and the Justinian Code are examples
of
1. religious edicts
2. written laws
3. epic poems
4. democratic constitutions
6. Which region had the greatest influence
on the historical and cultural development
of the Byzantine Empire?
1. Mesoamerica
2. India
3. Rome
4. Egypt
7. Which development is most closely associated
with the beginning of the Byzantine Empire?
1. emergence of the Russian Orthodox
Church
2. division of the Roman Empire
3. building of the Hagia Sophia
4. fall of Constantinople
3. The strategic location of the Byzantine
Empire allowed control of the key trade
routes between the
1. South China Sea and the Strait of
Malacca
2. Caspian Sea and the Indian Ocean
3. North Sea and the English Channel
4. Black Sea and the Mediterranean
Sea
8. A major contribution of the Byzantine
Empire was the
1. invention of the wheel and
gunpowder
2. participation of citizens in
government
3. diffusion of Hindu beliefs
4. preservation of Greek science and
Roman engineering
4. One way in which Hammurabi and
Justinian are similar is that they
successfully
1. established public education systems
2. codified the laws of their empire
3. instituted democratic governments
4. separated church and state
9. Constantinople was a thriving city in the
1200s mainly because of its location on a
major trade route between
1. China and southern Africa
2. the Atlantic Ocean and the Baltic Sea
3. the Inca Empire and the Aztec
Empire
4. Asia and eastern Europe
Base your answer to this question on the map below and on your knowledge of social
studies.
Which conclusion about the Roman world around AD 526 can be drawn from the
information on this map?
1. The Gauls dominated trade on the Mediterranean Sea.
2. Rome was the capital of the entire western region.
3. The eastern region was unified under the Byzantine Empire.
4. The division between eastern and western Rome followed natural boundaries.
Which title best completes the partial outline below?
I. _________________________________
A. Incorporation of European and Arabic ideas in architecture
B. Preservation of Greco-Roman ideas
C. Spread of Orthodox Christianity into Russia
D. Development of Justinian Code
1. Age of Discovery
2. Byzantine Empire
3. Persian Empire
4. Crusades