Survey
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
Continued Byzantine Empire In 330 A.D., Constantine founded Constantinople, moving the capital city of the Roman Empire from its location in Rome. For more the 1,000 years, Constantinople remained the center for wealth and learning for the new empire, known as the Byzantine Empire because the new city of Constantinople was founded on the site of the older Greek city of Byzantium. Religion The Eastern Orthodox Church grew in importance during the Byzantine Empire and was ruled by the emperor, who was among the highest authorities of the church. Two Byzantine monks, Cyril and Methodius, traveled to Moravia (the present-day Czech Republic) to convert the Slavic peoples there to Christianity. In 1054, the church officially split in two, with the Roman Catholic Church based in Rome and the Eastern Orthodox Church based in Constantinople. This is known as the Great Schism. Justinian Code Justinian I was the ruler of the Byzantine Empire from 527 A.D. until 565 A.D. He contributed to the field of law by creating the Justinian Code. The Justinian Code came in three parts, one called the Servitude of the Jews. This part allowed the emperor to decide internal Jewish affairs, disqualified Jews from public office, and disallowed Jews to testify against Christians. The Justinian Code influenced many European legal systems that developed during the Middle Ages. Fall of the Byzantine Empire Throughout the empire's history, many factors threatened to destroy it. Invasions by different groups such as the Arabs and Turks damaged the empire by taking or destroying its lands. In addition to the outside factors, destructive social and political movements caused problems and led to unrest. Despite these divisions and invasions, the empire stood until it was conquered by the Ottoman Turks in 1453. The Crusades The Crusades were a series of holy wars undertaken by European Christians in the 11th to 13th centuries. They were originally Roman Catholic holy wars and began following the request for help from the Byzantine Empire, a Christian empire in the Middle East that was threatened by the Seljuk Turks. Crusades Con’t Along with this request, the fall of Jerusalem and the Holy Land to the Muslims prompted Pope Urban II to call on Christian warriors to travel to the Middle East and fight against the Muslims. Their aim was to reclaim Jerusalem and the rest of the Holy Land in the name of the Christian faith. Because the crusades brought Europeans into more contact with the Middle East, a cultural exchange began to occur between the two areas. Nation Development Spain and Portugal became more defined as nation states during the Reconquista. The Reconquista is the Spanish name for the 800-year conquest to reclaim the lands of the Iberian Peninsula from the Islamic Moors, who had invaded in 711 CE. The Reconquista ended in 1492, when Spanish armies conquered the final Moorish stronghold on the Iberian Peninsula. Hundred Years War England and France became more defined as nation states as feelings of nationalism grew during the Hundred Years War. The Hundred Years War lasted from 1337 until 1453. It began because the English and French monarchies both had a legitimate claim to the French throne, and France did not want to be ruled by an English king. During the war, English and French leadership recognized the vast differences between the two nations. This was one of the first steps toward defined nationalism in Europe. The Roman Catholic Church in Europe Catholic missionaries spread Christian teachings to different parts of Europe, including Britain, Ireland, and Northern Europe. Roman Catholicism became the dominant religion of Europe. In the Middle Ages, Roman Catholic cathedrals were some of the largest and grandest buildings in Europe. The Catholic Church taught that it had authority over everyone, including kings and nobility. This meant that religious leaders like the pope had some influence over the leaders of Europe. The Great Schism The Great Schism was the division between the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church in 1054. Western Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Christians shared most of the same beliefs, but they began to disagree with each other over a few issues. The Eastern Orthodox Church spoke Greek, but the Catholic Church spoke Latin.