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The Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire

I love the smell of napalm in the morning
The Byzantine Empire
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Apocalypse Now
Lt. Colonel Kilgore (Robert Duvall)
The Byzantine Empire
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Where did it all start?
• As the Roman Empire began to collapse
there was a split between the eastern
Greek speaking Christians and western
Christians now controlled by the
Barbarian tribes of Europe.
The Byzantine Empire
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Why did the Split
occur?
• In 325 CE Constantine
called the bishops of
hundreds of churches
together to discuss
religious doctrine
• This was known as the
Council of Nicaea
 Nicaea is located in
modern day Turkey
• The main focus was the
importance of Jesus and
how he related to God.
Who was more important.
• Many bishops could not
agree.
The Byzantine Empire
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So what?
• Because of these disagreements churches in
Rome, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem and
Constantinople begin to appoint their own
priest, set up their own dioceses, and develop
their own church rules
• In the west Latin becomes the official language
of the church while in the east Greek becomes
the language of the church
• Each believes that they are right
The Byzantine Empire
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Rome Falls
• In 286 CE the Roman
Empire had become too
big to control
• The Empire was split
into the east and west
• In 330 Constantine
unites the Roman
Empire in
Constantinople
• In 395 CE the Empire
was then again split
between east and west
• The eastern half was
called the Byzantine
Empire
The Byzantine Empire
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How was the Byzantine Empire
different from Rome?
• Greek was the official language
• Dome architecture
• It culturally aligned itself with those in
eastern Europe, Persia
• They practiced Orthodox Christianity
The Byzantine Empire
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As Rome Fell
• Western Europe
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The Empire was divided
up into small feudal
kingdoms
There was a limited power
structure and no one
person controlled the
empire
• It would be almost
400 years before
Charlemagne would
united the Holy
Roman Empire
There was limited cultural
or intellectual
advancements
The Byzantine Empire
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As Rome Fell
• In the East
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The Byzantine Empire
was ruled by one
absolute ruler
All economic systems
were controlled by the
Emperor
• As was true in the
Roman Empire
• The Emperor set
 Prices
 Grain shipments
 Controlled the
types of trade
goods to be sold
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Coined money was
The Byzantine Empire
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Constantinople
Became the
• religious center for the
Eastern Orthodox Church
• the crossroads between
the Muslim Middle east
and the Christian west
• the center of trade for sea
trade in the Mediterranean
• The center of overland
trade with the Silk Road
linking Europe with China,
India, The Middle East and
The East Indies
• Rivaled Baghdad for
cultural and economic
supremacy
The Byzantine Empire
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Justinian (527-565)
• Restored the former
glory of Rome to the
Empire
• Developed the Justinian
Code
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Codification of Roman
law which kept ancient
Roman legal principles
alive
• Developed the Arts and
Sciences
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Constructed major
churches (Hagia
Sophia)
Mastery of mosaic art
The Byzantine Empire
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Who ruled the church?
• In the west the power of the church was centralized into
the hands of the Pope.
• In the east the bishop of Constantinople was seen as the
head of the church
However
• for the most part the eastern church was more
decentralized
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Local churches conducted services in their own language
Local customs blended into the church
Priest had as much authority as any member of the church
The Byzantine Empire
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The Great Schism of 1054
• Around 900-1000 CE the
relationship between the
Western Roman Catholic
Church and the Eastern
Orthodox worsened.
• The church leaders in
Byzantium challenged the
authority and the
territorial jurisdiction of
the Pope.
• The Orthodox Christians
did not like having to
follow the rules of Rome
The Byzantine Empire
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The Orthodox Church differed with the Roman Catholic Church
over
• The nature of God
• The trinity of God
• The placement of icons during worship
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By 1054 CE neither side could agree on various aspects of the
church
In 1054 CE the Pope excommunicated the leaders of the
Orthodox Church and the Orthodox Church excommunicated
the Pope
From 1054 CE the Orthodox Church would influence eastern
Europe while the Roman Catholic Church would control the
western portion of Europe
The Byzantine Empire
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Impact of the Orthodox Church on the East
• By the 9th century Russia was converted to Orthodox
Christianity
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St. Cyril spread Orthodox Christianity
Vladimir the Prince of Kiev turns to Orthodox after
examining Islam, Judaism and Roman Catholicism
• It is said it picked Orthodox because there were no food
restrictions that accompanied the religion
• The Greek Alphabet was introduced and is still used
today in parts of Russia
The Byzantine Empire
• Russian followed traditions
of the Orthodox Church
and did not follow the
reforms of the Roman
Catholic Church
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However without the
support of the RCC during
the Mongol invasion
Russia and eastern
Europe was left to defend
itself with little help from
the rest of Europe
• Russia will develop into a
culturally and politically
different nation then the
rest of Europe under the
influence of the Orthodox
Church
The Byzantine Empire
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Cultural Achievements
• Architecture
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Hagia Sophia (Sacred
Wisdom)
• Use of ornamentation of
religious centers and
churches
• Religious Art
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Holy images against gold
backgrounds influenced
western art
• Musical
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Chanting which would
later be employed in
Roman Catholic Churches
The Byzantine Empire
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Women
• The Byzantine Empire followed the rules
of traditional Roman society
• Family life was centered around the
father
• While women enjoyed some freedom in
public this changed by the 7th century
• Women found themselves confined to
homes and wearing veils not unlike their
Muslim neighbors.
The Byzantine Empire
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Problems
• While the empire looked strong on paper it was
actually slowly weakening
• Warfare
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Constant fighting on both the northern and southern
boarders depleted military power and money
Between 634 and 650 the Arabs took most the
Byzantine holding in Africa (Egypt, Tunisia) The
Middle East (Syria)
By 1453 The Muslim Empire had taken over the
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire
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Problems
• Warfare
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Muslims
• Because the Muslims took so much of the
Byzantine Empire many of the people that were
Christians converted to Islam
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Warfare in the North
• Between the 600-1054 CE Germanic tribes from
the west and Slavic tribes from the north east
migrated into and fought with the Byzantine
Empire
The Byzantine Empire
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Inside the Empire
• In the late 500’s
the Empire suffered
an outbreak of the
Bubonic Plague
Class Question
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With the loss of land to the Muslims
and the loss of population to the
plague how would this effect the
political, social and economic wellbeing of the Empire
Discuss with partners
Be prepared to lead discussion
The Byzantine Empire
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Problems
• The decline in population lead to a decline in
the wealth of the empire
• The urban elite shrank and this caused those
families who were still wealthy to begin to fight
for their own power and control.
• As with Japan it lead to a battle of aristocratic
families
• By 1118 the Emperor of the Empire stated that
he felt more like a lord and not like a ruler
The Byzantine Empire
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Economics
• Constantinople was the center of trade
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However the
• lack of new technology,
• a strong focus on trade and not farm goods
• Wealth being concentrated in only in
Constantinople
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Hurt the empire
The Byzantine Empire
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Conclusion
• By the 1242 the Mongols had taken over
Russia
• By the 14th Century the Muslims had taken
over the Byzantine Empire and began to move
into Eastern Europe
• In the 1400’s Ivan III expanded the territory
around Moscow driving out the Mongols. The
Eastern Orthodox Church would move out of
Constantinople and center itself in Moscow.