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The Byzantine Empire
Chapter 10, Section 1
Constantinople at a Crossroads
As its height, the Ancient Roman Empire controlled the lands surrounding
the Mediterranean Sea. It also ruled parts of northern Europe and the
region we call now Middle East.
In the centuries after Rome’s power faded, these lands went through a tug
war.
Two groups developed powerful civilizations at this time:
• the Christian Byzantines
• the Muslim Arabs and Turks
Constantine and His Capital
The reign of Constantine was marked by two important changes:
1. He became a Christian and stopped the persecution of Christians.
2. Moved the capital from Rome to Byzantium.
He spared no expense building and fortifying his capital, which was
renamed Constantinople.
An estimated half a million people lived there. Constantinople had:
• Large markets
• Forums
• Paved roads
• A cathedral
• A palace
• Public Baths
• A circus
The following emperors continued to rule from Constantinople.
When the Roman Empire split into two parts, the eastern part proved
to be stronger.
• They had the strongest army in the region.
• Trade.
Trade
The Bosporus is a strait or narrow
channel that links two bodies of
water. It connects the Black Sea
and the Sea of Marmara (which
flows into the Mediterranean
Sea).
Goods came to Constantinople
from:
• Kiev in the North
• Egypt in the South
• China in the East.
The Byzantines Stand Alone
The Western Roman Empire fell. After it fell, the eastern stood alone.
The period from the fall of the Roman Empire in A.D. 476 to about
1500 is known as the Middle Ages or medieval.
In the early Middle Ages, the Byzantine Empire remained strong,
allowing them to preserve many Roman achievements and traditions.
The Age of Justinian
As Rome was falling to invaders, strong fortifications and an
excellent army protected Constantinople.
The Byzantine Empire had also many excellent rulers who were wise
as popular, who encouraged education and made reforms to laws
and government contributing to the strength of their empire.
The Emperor Justinian
• Justinian was one of the greatest Byzantine emperors, whose rule
began in 527.
• He had been born into a poor family.
• He was an energetic ruler who rarely gave up on a task until it was
completed.
• He listened to the ideas of all his subjects- whether they were
wealthy or poor.
Justinian’s Code
One of his most lasting contributions was a system of laws.
Before, the empire was using a system of old Roman laws, who
contradicted others and was difficult to make sense of them, or to
enforce them.
Justinian appointed a team to collect and summarize centuries of
Roman laws. The result was Justinian’s Code, an organized
collection and explanation of Roman laws for use by the Byzantine
Empire.
Byzantine Culture
Byzantine scholars also kept and copied the works of the ancient
Greeks.
Byzantine civilization
influences.
blended
Greek,
Roman,
and
Christian
Later, when the empire was in decline, scholars took ancient
manuscripts and their knowledge of the rich Byzantine culture to the
newly powerful city-states of Italy.
The Empire Later Years
After Justinian’s death in 565, the Byzantine Empire began to
decline. Later emperors had to fight wars against many neighbors:
• Persians and Turks to the East
• Arabs to the South
• Germanic peoples to the North and West.
The Byzantine Empire was shrinking in both: size and power.
A Religious Dispute
Although most Byzantines were Christians, they did not practice
Christianity the same way as the people in Western Europe did.
At that time, many Christians prayed to saints or holy people,
represented by icons, or painting of these people. In the 700s, a
Byzantine emperor outlawed the use of icons, saying that they
violated God’s commandments. The pope disagreed, and banished
the emperor from the church.
Byzantine felt that the pope did not have the authority to banish the
emperor from the church. These disputes led to a schism or split in
Christian church in 1504.
Differences between Christians
Head of Church
Had Most Power
Over Church
Main Location
Language
Practices
Eastern Orthodox
Patriarch
Roman Catholic
Pope
Emperor
Pope
Eastern Europe
Greek
Western Europe
Latin
Priest could not
marry
Pope had supreme
authority.
Priest could marry
Pope’s authority
was not recognized.
A Second Golden Age
From about 900 until the 1000’s the Byzantine Empire experienced a
final period of greatness, trade increased and merchants came to
Constantinople. Once again the population of the city grew in size
and diversity.
The long reign of Basil II-from 976 until 1025- was the most
exceptional period of Byzantine history since Justinian. The empire
regained some of the land it had lost. There was a burst of creativity
in the arts.
The Fall of Constantinople
During the 1000’s Muslims were also gaining power. By the late
1000s Turks had taken the inland areas of Asia Minor away from the
weakening Byzantine Empire.
The Byzantines were also threatened by Europeans.
In 1171, disagreements of trade led to a war with Venice.
In the early 1200s, Constantinople was attacked by Christian
crusaders. Western Christians ruled the city for 50 years. In 1261,
the Byzantines regained their capital but little was left of their
empire.
In 1453, a force of about 70,000 Turks surrounded Constantinople.
They came by sea and by land and attacked the city’s wall. The
defending force who were about 7,000, held out for two months.
Then the Byzantine capital finally fell.
The new rulers would rebuild the city and make it an imperial capital
renamed Istanbul. The city became a great center of Muslim culture
and the capital of Ottoman Empire.
Chapter 10, Section 1 Assessment
1. (a) Locate. Where was Constantinople located?
(b) Identify Effects. How did its location contribute to its growth and
the strength of the Byzantine Empire?
2. (a) Recall. What qualities made Justinian a good and successful
ruler?
(b) Draw Conclusions. Why was Justinian’s code so important?
3. (a) Explain. What was the dispute that split the medieval
Christian church?
(b) Draw Conclusions. Why might that split have weakened the
empire?