Download Chapter 11 Section 1 The Byzantine Empire A New Rome in a New

Chapter 11 Section 1
The Byzantine Empire
A New Rome in a New Setting
 527 – Justinian takes the throne
 As soon as he became emperor, he began to build up the empire. He was
looking to rebuild or regain the “old Roman” land
 He referred to himself as the “Caesar” having power over the Church and the
State
Life in the New Rome
 The Eastern Empire had its own character from the west. They spoke Greek
 Justinian creates one set of laws called Justinian’s Code to unify his empire
for everyone to follow
 The laws were based on old Roman laws and regulated all areas of life
 Some examples of areas that they regulated include: marriage, slavery,
property, inheritance, women’s rights, and criminal justice.
Creating the Imperial Capital
 He’s rebuilding the capital city.
 He did this by building a massive church, imperial courts and schools, walls
for protection, aqueducts, and a better education system
 We are beginning to see a Rebirth of the Greco/Roman culture
Constantinople’s Hectic Pace
 Constantinople was a social center of trade and entertainment
 Describes Constantinople as an urban center with a
o center for trade
o center for entertainment (the Hippodrome which resembled the
Coliseum in Rome)
The Plague of Justinian
 Disease similar to the plague began to weaken the empire
Attacks From East and West
 They were facing a lot of attacks or invasions from many different groups
 Eventually the empire falls/weakens/shrinks
A Church Divides
 Christianity divides into the East and West
A Religious Split
West
Roman Catholic
Spoke in Latin
Allowed idols
Pope head of Church
East
Eastern Orthodox
Spoke in Greek
Didn’t allow idols
Patriarchs head of Church
Byzantine Missionaries Convert the Slavs
 The Missionaries looked to convert the people using the vernacular or their
Slavic language
 The Eastern Orthodox Church uses the Cyrillic Alphabet which was based on
the Slavic language