Download the Byzantine Empire and Early Russia

the Byzantine Empire, Early
Russia & Mongols
Fall of Roman Empire!
• 3rd-5th c. C.E., Germanic tribes invaded
• In 476 AD, the Western half of the Roman Empire
fell, when the city of Rome was destroyed.
Byzantium Lives . . .
• The Eastern half - Byzantine Empire.
• It’s capital city - Constantinople
Favorable Geography of
Constantinople
• Constantinople was on the
straits of the Bosporus and
Dardanelles, at a “crossroads”
for trade —brought much
wealth.
• Trade spread Roman ideas &
Orthodox Christianity
throughout Europe, Africa, &
Asia.
• Location was also strategic for
defense
Emperor Justinian
• Ruled from 527—565 A.D.
• Justinian wanted to revive
the greatness of the Rome
and expanded the
Byzantine Empire to its
largest.
• Justinian was an autocrat—
(had absolute power over
both political & spiritual
affairs)
– Justinian made himself
head of the Orthodox
Church.
Justinian’s Code
• A code of Byzantine laws- a revision & revival of
Roman law.
• A body of both criminal &
civil law– addressed
marriage, slavery,
property, etc.
• The code preserved
nearly 5,000 Roman laws,
that might otherwise
have bee lost during the
Dark Ages.
the Great Schism
• In the 700’s, the eastern and
western branches of the
church disagreed over the
use of icons.
• This & other differences led
to the Great Schism
(permanent split) between
the two churches in 1054.
• The Byzantine Church
became known as the
Eastern Orthodox Church, &
the Western European
Church became the Roman
Catholic Church.
Byzantine Christianity
Eastern Orthodox Christianity
Roman Catholic Christianity
Byzantine emperor controlled
Church affairs, power of
patriarch (leader of church)
Pope controlled Church affairs
Divorce is permitted under
certain circumstances.
People accepted pope’s claim
to authority over all Christians
People rejected pope’s claim
to authority
Clergy prohibited from marrying
Clergy kept right to marry
Official language= Greek
Emperor outlawed the use of
icons, or holy images
Divorce is NOT permitted.
Official language= Latin
Use of holy images permitted &
encouraged.
The Hagia Sophia
• Church built by Justinian as part of an attempt to beautify
Constantinople; improves on Roman construction techniques
Theodora
• Daughter of a beartender at the Hippodrome
& an “actress”--married
Justinian I
• Justinian treated her as an
equal & made her coemperor.
• Her leadership helped
Justinian squash the Nika
Rebellion that might have
overthrown the empire.
• She helped expand the
rights of women & was a
spokesperson for the poor.
Decline & Fall Of
Byzantine Empire
• Decline caused by political issues & invasions
• Seljuk Turks (Muslims) invaded in the 1000s, prompting
the Crusades over holy lands
• In 1453, the city of Constantinople itself fell to the
Ottoman Turks, who changed its name to Istanbul.
Legacy of Byzantines
• Preserved &
expanded upon
Hellenistic & Roman
culture
• Because of this,
Classical manuscripts
& artworks were
available to Western
Europeans in the late
1400s & sparked the
Renaissance (after
Western Europe’s
“Dark Ages”).
the Rise of Russia
• Slavs migrated into
Russia during
Roman times.
• Vikings arrived in
the 600s & 700s;
were assimilated
into Slav culture
• City of Kiev--center
for trade with
Constantinople;
later became the
center of the first
Russian state
Development of Russia
• Oleg (c. 873-913)
settled in Kiev
• Built kingdom of
Slav and Greek
tradition
• Missionaries
brought Christianity
• Olga, Byz princess
married ruler
Vladimir
• She converted, he
convert & rest of
people in 987
Cultural Ties to Byzantines
• Byzantine monks (Cyril &
Methodius) came to
convert the Slavs to
Christianity.
• The “Cyrillic” alphabet was
created (adapted from
Greek) so that Slavs could
read the Bible.
• The Russian Orthodox
Church began in the
900’s.
• Later Russian rulers were
autocrats (like Justinian),
controlling both the state
& the Russian Orthodox
Church
Yaroslav the Wise
• Ruled 1019 to 1054
• Established written
code of law (similar to
Justinian’s)
• Pursued relations with
Western Europe
• Built St. Sophia Church
• after his death, Kiev
began to decline as
nobles battled for
power
• Kiev was in a weakened
state & vulnerable to
invaders…
St. Sophia
the Golden Horde
• Mongols, a nomadic
group from Central Asia,
conquered lands from
China to E. Europe in the
1200s.
• Batu Khan (grandson of
Genghis), led his army (the
“Golden Horde”) to
conquer Russia
• Russians were required to
pay tribute to the Khan.
• For 240 years, Mongol rule
cut Russia off from Western
Europe at a time when
many cultural & political
advances were being
made.
Moscow
• In 1380, led by the princes
of Moscow, Russians
began to challenge
Mongol rule.
• Ivan I--moved capital to
the new city Moscow.
• Ivan III-- led the Russian
army to face the Mongols
in 1480 at the Urga River—
a bloodless standoff.
• Ivan gave himself the title
“czar” & vowed to build a
Russian empire.
• Boyars
Ivan the Terrible
• Ivan the Great’s grandson,
Ivan IV
• further centralized the czar’s
power, requiring military service
in exchange for land
• Built St. Basil’s Cathedral
• psychological issues--paranoid,
killed his own son, organized a
brutal secret police force to
root out disloyalty
• After his death, Russia entered
a ‘Time of Troubles’
characterized by peasant
uprisings & disputes over
succession.
• oprichniki
st. Basil’s
Kremlin
The Mongols rule Asia
• Mongols were
nomadic – Outer
Mongolia
• Temuchin b. 1162
• Impoverished noble
father, murdered
when Temuchin was 6,
fled to wilderness
• 1206 united tribes &
elected universal ruler
“Genghis Khan”
• Brutal, military genius
• Forced conscription &
taxes
Military & Lifestyle
Fire-lance
Compound bow
• Army of cavalry
• Conquered Abbasid
Dynasty 1258
• Ended Song Dynasty
in China 1279
• Lived in covered tents
– yurts
• Khubilai Khan
(grandson) – most
successful ruler
• Est. capital at
Khanbaliq “city of the
Khan” a.k.a Beijing
• Marco Polo