Download The Byzantine Empire and the Crusades - World History

The Byzantine Empire and the
Crusades
Chapter 9 Section 4
Greece and Rome in Asia Minor
• Greek culture spread by
Alexander the Great of
Macedonia
• City of Byzantium established
(renamed Constantinople)
• Fall of Macedonia – Byzantium
falls under Roman control
– Kept much of the Greek culture
– Rome divides itself into eastern
and western empires
– Western empire fall, eastern
survives and becomes the
Byzantine Empire
Constantine
• Emperor of Rome in 306 to
337
• First Christian Emperor
• Edict of Milan – official
tolerance of Christianity
• Allowed pagan
celebrations early on
• 330-337 fighting to destroy
pagan beliefs
Council of Nicea
• Role of church determined
• Political power of the
Roman Empire realized
• Created Nicene Creed
which states the
proclamation of faith used
by most Christians (is
amended/added to by
later councils)
The Reign of Justinian
• During the 5th century,
Germanic tribes conquer
Western Rome
• Justinian becomes emperor
of Eastern Rome in 527
– Wants to restore full Roman
Empire
– By 552 he was almost
successful, but he over extends
his power
– Three years after his death, Italy
was taken and other areas fell
later
Justinian’s Code
• Codification (organization)
of Roman law into The
Body of Civil Law
• Basis for imperial law until
the end of the Byzantine
Empire (1453)
• Constitutes the principal
basis for unwritten
(common) law in the West
(Europe)
From Eastern Roman Empire to
Byzantine Empire
• Too much territory, too far
from Constantinople to
protect (threatened by
invaders)
• No money
• Decline in population
(plague)
• Rise of Arabic Empire to
the southeast
From Eastern Roman Empire to
Byzantine Empire
• Empire loses Syria and
Palestine (Islamic forces)
• Beginning of the 8th
century the Eastern Roman
Empire was the Eastern
Balkans and Asia Minor
(referred to as the
Byzantine Empire)
• Distinct civilization that lasts
until 1453
From Eastern Roman Empire to
Byzantine Empire
•
•
•
•
Christian and Greek
Greek official language
Eastern Orthodox Church
Emperor’s power was
absolute, seen to be chosen
by God
– Patriarch – head of the Church
(political control)
• God commanded their state
to preserve the true Christian
faith
Life in Constantinople
• Largest city in Europe during
the Middle Ages
• Chief center for trading
between east and west in
Europe until the 12th century
• Appearance reflects Justinian’s
rebuilding efforts
– Palaces, hundreds of churches,
Hippodrome, public works
– Hagia Sophia – Church of Holy
Wisdom – completed in 537
New Heights and New Problems
• Macedonians new
emperors from 867 to 1081
that expanded the empire
further into southern
Europe
• Increased trade with the
west boosts the economy
• Internal struggles for power
causes regression of gains
• Social disorder
New Heights and New Problems
• Split between the church –
Roman Catholic v. Eastern
Orthodox
• Eastern church would not
accept the pope as the
head of the Christian faith
• Pope Leo IX and Patriarch
Michael Cerularius
excommunicated each
other in 1054
New Heights and New Problems
• The Great Schism – separation
between the two sides of the
church
• Still split today
• Threats from abroad, the worst
being the Seljuk Turks
– Moved into Asia Minor which was the
Empire’s main source of food and
workers
– 1071 Turkish army defeats the
Byzantine forces
– Alexius I turns to Europe for help
The Crusades
• 11th to 13th centuries –
military campaigns to the
Holy Land to remove
Muslims (infidels –
nonbelievers)
• Pope Urban II – papal
leadership for the cause
• Council of Clermont 1095 –
Christians takes up arms in
a holy war
The Crusades
• Western Europe
– Fighting for the cause,
adventure, just to fight, gain
territory, riches, or a title
The Early Crusades
• Thousands of cavalry and
infantry
• Palestinian coast and arrived
in Jerusalem in 1099
• Took the city and massacred
thousands of inhabitants
• Formed crusader states to
surround Muslims
• Relied on supplies from
Europe though Italian cities
Second Crusade
• 1140s Muslims strike back
• Saint Bernard of Clairaux
attained the help of King
Louis VII (France) and
Emperor Conrad III
(Germany) for 2nd crusade
– total failure
Third Crusade
• 1187 Jerusalem under the
control of Saladin (Muslim)
• Emperor Frederick Barbarossa
(Germany), Richard I (England),
and Philip II (France)
• Unsuccessful - Frederick
drowns, Philip went back to
France, Richard negotiates with
Saladin to allow Christian
pilgrimages to Jerusalem
The Later Crusades
• 1193 Pope Innocent III – Fourth
Crusade
– Used to attack Byzantium and took
control of Constantinople 1204
– Byzantines recaptured the city in
1261 – very small empire now
– Lasts until 1453 when the Ottoman
Turks conquer it
• The Children’s Crusades
– Germany and France – complete
failures
Effects of the Crusades
• Economic
– Italy’s port cities thrive, new taxes
• Social
– Murderers of Christ (Jews) are
massacred – key feature of
Medieval Europe
– Focus comes off of Muslims
Effects of Crusades
• Political
– Breaks down feudalism
– Taxing trade generates
political power with the
Monarchs
– Nation-states of Portugal,
Spain, England, and France
emerge
Important People - Theodora
• Wife of Justinian
• With her help Justinian
crushed the Nika Revolt
(unhappy about taxes)
• Heads social reforms for
women – can divorce, own
and inherit property, death
penalty for rape, outlawed
forced prostiution
Important People - Belasarius
• General under Justinian
• Helps regain old Roman
Empire
• In charge of putting down
Nika Revolt
Important People – Cyril and
Methodius
• Brothers brought
Orthodoxy to Slavic people
of central Europe
• Glagolitic alphabet
(Cyrillic) translation of the
Holy Scriptures for Slavic
speaking countries
• Recognized as saints for
their missionary work