Download Heirs of Rome

Heirs of Rome
The Byzantine Empire
The Muslim Empire
Christian Europe
The Empire at its height, c 250
Diocletian, The Tetrarchy, 285 CE
In 324, Constantine moves East
Theodosius, 379-395 The last Emperor
who could claim to
rule both East and West.
Upon his death, the empire was divided between his two sons,
Arcadius (East) and Honorius (West)
Rome’s real last gasps!…
Theodoric the Great 489-526
- Ostrogoth king ruled Italy
from Rome… after killing
Odovacer
• His rule was enlightened,
peaceful and just- praised
by Romans & barbarians.
• Retained the Roman
Senate, civil service and
schools. Old, aristocratic
families still held high
positions in the government
Greco-Roman culture lived on: The Byzantine Empire
Justinian the Great, 527-565
• Three principal
goals:
1) restore the
western provinces
2) reform the laws
and institutions
3) promote art and
architecture
Corpus Juris Civilis, the Body of Civil Law
Trade and Industry flourished
Hagia Sophia, 532-537
Mosaics
The Byzantine Legacy…
• The codification of the laws of ancient
Rome under Justinian
• Preserved and expanded the philosophy,
science, mathematics and literature of
ancient Greece.
• It prevented Muslim Arabs from advancing
into Europe
Around 610, Muhammad was a prosperous merchant
The Muslim Golden Age
The 8th & 9th Centuries
• The Arab Empire stretched from Spain to
India and was unified by a common
language-Arabic, religion-Islam and culture
• Muslims preserved and expanded the
Greco-Roman-Byzantine achievements
in science, philosophy and mathematics…
Muslim contributions to civilization
• Education- great universities at Cairo, Baghdad and
Cordova…
• Mathematics- introduced Arabic numerals, furthered the
study of algebra, geometry, and trigonometry…
• Science- discovered many chemical compounds,
including sulfuric acid…
• Agriculture- improved farming by crop rotation
• Industry- Cordovan leather; Damascus swords; damask
cloth; crystal glass; smooth paper; beautiful rugs …
• Navigation- they believed the world to be round…
• Literature- 1001 Arabian Nights…
• Medicine- used anesthetics, compiled medical texts
The Mongols: Genghis Khan
• In 1258, Baghdad
was plundered and
burned. 50,000 dead,
including the last
Baghdad Caliph…
• For 200 years,
Mongols devastated
palaces, libraries and
universities
The Mongol Empire at its height
• The cultural greatness of the Byzantine
and Islamic Empires enriched the western
world …but…
• did not produce the major breakthroughs
that created the modern world. That is the
singular achievement of western Europe.
Christianity gained many converts:
• People were dissatisfied with the old pagan
religions and were attracted by the ideas of One
God, equality, universal love and eternal
salvation…
• Early Christians displayed courage and sincerity,
willing to suffer persecution rather than renounce
their faith.
• The concept of equality appealed to the poor
and oppressed…
• Missionaries could travel and preach- Rome’s
transportation system!
The Church as Unifier
• Became the dominant institution after the
collapse of Roman authority - assumed
many political functions
• It preserved the high culture of the GrecoRoman civilization
• Membership in a universal religion
(Catholic) replaced membership in a
universal empire (Rome)
Pope Gregory The Great, 590-604
• 588 Lombard invasions
• Maintained productive
lands - kept food coming
into Rome
• Ransomed captives
• Organized defense of the
city
• Sponsored hospitals and
schools
• Aided women and
orphans
• Negotiated truce in 598
The Medieval monk
• Monks and nuns built monasteries and
converted the people…
• Maintained libraries with theological works and
the ancient Latin classics
• Reclaimed the land and instructed peasants in
farming -rejected classical disdain for manual
labor
• Provided help to the old, the sick, the destitute
• Adopted a code of poverty
• A monk
being
“tonsured.”
Monks worked in a Scriptorium
• Christianity ended the classical, Greco-Roman view of
the world.
• To the classical mind, human worth came from the
capacity of individuals to use reason, and shape their life
based on rational standards;
• Christianity taught that Life’s purpose was not to achieve
excellence in this world, but to attain salvation in a
heavenly city.
• To the western church – which was to dominate and
shape European civilization that emerged during the
Middle Ages- a person’s worldly accomplishments
amounted to very little if one did not accept the Christian
God and his revelations.
• Charlemagne
R 768-814
Holy Roman
Emperor
Any Questions?