Download The Byzantine Empire:

The Byzantine Empire:
The Other half of the Rome Puzzle
Writing into the Day-Possible test question
• Why did Constantinople fall and how did this
affect the region in years to come?
Discussion
• What is the source of the icon debate?
• What is the essence of the pro-icon argument
• What is the essence of the anti-icon
argument?
• Why was this such a divisive issue?
• How does this argument contribute to the
development of two separate “Christian”
churches?
I. The Byzantine Empire
A. The Origins of the Empire
– The Emperor Constantine accomplished many things,
starting with the conversion of the Empire to Christianity.
He also moved the seat the seat of the Eastern Empire to
Constantinople, which developed into a huge metropolis
and an epicenter of trade and culture, a gateway from the
west to the east.
– The Empire had become to large to be controlled from one
capital, so the split made sense, even though the western
Empire could not withstand the onslaught of various
barbarian tribes.
– The capital of The Eastern Empire became Constantinople,
while the capital of the western empire, as long as it
lasted, was in Rome. Rome remained the seat of the
Western Empires branch of Christianity, the Roman
Catholic Church.
– Latin, the language of the western Empire, became
synonymous with barbarism and therefore Greek was the
language of choice in the eastern Empire.
B. Justinian
– While Justinian unsuccessfully attempted to reunite
the Roman Empire by invading Italy, his actual
accomplishments included the rebuilding of
Constantinople after being damages by a series of
invasions.
– The Slavic kingdom of Bulgaria was eventually taken
over by Byzantium, making the Byzantine Empire the
most powerful empire in the world for a short time.
– The Hagia Sophia, a wonder of the Christian World,
was an engineering achievement commissioned by
Justinian
– The Justinian code was a codification of Roman law,
meaning that finally the edicts and decisions of the
roman courts were finally written down in a formal
way, reducing confusion and uniting the Byzantine
Empire. This code helped spread Roman Legal
principals all across Europe.
Example From the Justinian Code
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1. Jurisprudence is the knowledge of things divine and human; the science of the just and
the unjust.
2. Having explained these general terms, we think we shall commence our exposition of
the law of the Roman people most advantageously, if we pursue at first a plain and easy
path, and then proceed to explain particular details with the utmost care and exactness.
For, if at the outset we overload the mind of the student, while yet new to the subject and
unable to bear much, with a multitude and variety of topics, one of two things will happen--we shall either cause him wholly to abandon his studies, or, after great toil, and often
after great distrust to himself (the most frequent stumbling block in the way of youth), we
shall at last conduct him to the point, to which, if he had been led by an easier road, he
might, without great labor, and without any distrust of his own powers, have been sooner
conducted.
3. The maxims of law are these: to live honesty, to hurt no one, to give every one his due.
4. The study of law is divided into two branches; that of public and that of private law.
Public law regards the government of the Roman empire; private law, the interest of the
individuals. We are now to treat of the latter, which is composed of three elements, and
consists of precepts belonging to the natural law, to the law of nations, and to the civil law.
I. The Byzantine Empire (continued)
C. Arab Pressure and the Empire's Defenses
– The center of empire shifts to the east as emperors after
Justinian fortify this area against Muslim invaders, advancing
Christianity and Roman engineering Achievements into the
Middle east.
– The Empire’s external threats were Arabs, Muslim Turks, and
Slavic kingdoms from Bulgaria.
D. Byzantine Society and Politics
– Byzantine Politics-*Think China here* The emperor was
ordained by God, and was considered the Head of the Church
and the state. This was to be contrasted with e Western
Church(Roman Catholic) which was led by a pope, but secular
leaders typically led the governments of the various kingdoms.
Women occasionally ruled, a big no-no in the Western Empire.
Theodora (981-1056) was an Example of a powerful female
emperor.
– Byzantine Court ritual was related to the state religion (Christianity) but often
limited the actual power of the ruler, though they were supposed to be allpower, with het authority of God.
– The Byzantine bureaucracy was similar to China, as there was a civil service
style exam which required applicants to be scholars educated in the classics of
Greek and Roman Culture and philosophy. There were state governors similar
to that of the original Roman Empire, though this time with spies that would
detect dissention among the military authorities(think about how military
power translates to political power, lets not have a repeat of Julius Caesar).
• Economic control:
– The Byzantine empire controlled its economy by regulating trade and
controlling food prices, keeping them low enough so that Urban poor
could afford to buy food. The money for this came from high taxes,
typically garnered from rural farmers.
– Silk production became important, as formerly silk came form China,
but with silkworms ant the techniques to make silk came to the
empire, they were able to compete with traders from China, and
because they were closer to western Europe and the Slavic kingdoms
to the north, a strong and lucrative trade emerged.
– Byzantine art and architecture evolved very differently to the art and
archtecture of Western Europe. Influences from the east as well as the
religious traditions of the new Eastern Orthodox church(icons) combined to
create an elaborate new style very distinct to the Byzantines.
I. The Byzantine Empire (continued)
E. The Split Between Eastern and Western Christianity
The two groups took Separate paths for several reasons.
1.
Tensions mounted over whether or not the Pope should have ultimate control over the doctrine and organization of
the church. Also, the debate over Icons rose as a major and divisive factor.
Patriarch Michael was a church leader that debated two main issues-celibacy of priests and
the leavening of bread.
Mutual excommunication-This led to the formal spit between the eastern Church and the
Western Church. Patriarch Michael excommunicated all roman Catholics, and the Pope
excommunicated Patriarch Michael and all of his followers.
F. The Empire's Decline
The Period of decline in the Byzantine Empire occurred right after the church split, and
lasted about 400 years.
The invasions of the Seljuk Turks
The Turks slowly seized all asian provinces of the empire.
At Manzikert, there was a decisive loss by the Byzantine Meporer to the turks,
and the empire never recovered.
The emergence of the Slavic states came from missionaries from the Byzantine Empire who
brought Byzantine culture and religion to the slavic peoples of this region.
Crusaders came through to free the holy land, and actually at one point took over
Constantanople.
Constantinople fell