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BYZANTINE EMPIRE REVIEW PACKET
As you recall, by the third century A.D. (200-300 A.D.), the Roman Empire was falling into crisis
as a result of internal problems and invasions from outside. Political conflicts arose among ambitious
politicians who tried to gain control. Emperors were assassinated; soldiers were undisciplined; the
Romans had to hire Germanic soldiers to maintain defense.
The expenses of defending the empire and putting down rebellions grew overwhelming and led
to an economic crisis. High taxes crushed the common people; agriculture and manufacturing declined.
The government didn’t have enough money and began to mint coins that contained far less silver than
before. The value of the new coins was not as great as that of the old ones, so merchants raised prices
to get the same amount of silver. This rise in the prices of all goods is called inflation. Many people could
no longer afford to buy what they needed. Farmers went bankrupt and had to sell their land. Poverty
increased and many of the rich were concerned with little beyond their own pleasures. Patriotism and
civic commitment seemed to have disappeared.
Study Questions:
1.
COMPLETE SENTENCES!
In general, the two main types of causes of Rome’s decline were
a.
b.
2. Specifically, the decline of the Roman Empire was caused by these factors (give details):
a. Political problems
b. Military problems
c. Economic problems
3. What is inflation?
4. Use the flow chart on the next page to explain in detail the chain of causes and effects
surrounding the inflation of Roman currency. (Hint: When you fill in the chart, make sure that
you put in ONLY the ideas that are causes or effects of inflation. This requires you to think
carefully—don’t just put down statements from the reading; CAREFULLY SELECT ONLY THOSE
THAT ARE CAUSES OR EFFECTS OF INFLATION.
INFLATION OF ROMAN CURRENCY
1. It was expensive to
defend the Roman
Empire.
2.
(CAUSE)
(CAUSE)
EE)
3.
INFLATION:
Rising prices of
goods
(CAUSE)
4.
(CAUSE)
6.
5.
(EFFECT)
(EFFECT)
By 284 A.D. the empire had grown too large to govern and Emperor Diocletian divided it into East and
West with two rulers sharing power. After Diocletian’s death, civil war broke out between East and West
until Constantine finally reunited the Empire in 324 A.D. He built a new capital city on the Bosporus
Strait and made it the center of the empire. However, by 400 A.D., the empire was again divided into
East and West. The West suffered from internal decay and from invasions by Germanic tribes, while the
East grew strong and prosperous.
5. Who divided the Roman Empire?
6. Why was it necessary to divide the Empire?
7. Who reunited it and when?
8. How long did the reunification last?
9. After the division in 400 A.D., how was the
history of the Western Empire different from
that of the East?
The green portion of the map above represents the
Eastern portion of the Empire after it split. The capital,
Constantinople, is shown by the star on the map.
Constantinople was an excellent site for the new capital.
It was at a safe distance from the invading Germanic
tribes, located on an easy-to-defend peninsula, and able
to defend the eastern frontier. Its location on the
Bosporus strait gave it natural harbors and easy access
to the Eastern Mediterranean, Aegean, and Black Seas.
Byzantium could control trade between Europe and Asia.
10. To what city did Constantine move his capital (which later became the capital of the Eastern Empire)?
11. Where was the city located?
12. What was the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire?
13. What geographic advantages did this capital have?
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
e.
The map below shows the routes of invading tribesmen who attacked the Western Empire in
the fifth century (400-500 A.D.). Visigoths, Ostrogoths, Vandals, and Franks were pushed toward the
West by other tribes from Central Asia, and the city of Rome was sacked, first in 410, 455, and again in
476 A.D. The last Roman Emperor lost his throne.
The invading tribes were not united and the empire was split apart. Cities were uninhabited;
libraries and universities were abandoned, people moved away from cities. The great culture and
learning of ancient Rome was forgotten by those in the West.
14. Who were some of the invading Germanic tribes?
15. Why were they moving westward?
16. What happened in 476 A.D.?
17. Why did the Empire break apart rather than remain united?
18. How did the Germanic conquest affect Roman civilization?
The Eastern Empire, which came to be known as Byzantium, endured far longer. While the
Western Empire decayed, the Eastern Empire preserved knowledge, learning, and GraecoRoman (Greek and Roman) culture. Much of our knowledge of ancient Rome has been preserved in the
libraries of Byzantium, although the Byzantines used the Greek language instead of Latin. The Byzantines
did not just preserve Roman culture; they developed a unique Christian culture of its own—and a
civilization that lasted for almost a thousand years after the “fall” of the Western Empire.
19. What happened to Greek and Roman culture in the Byzantine Empire?
20. Where was knowledge preserved?
21. Describe the language difference between the Roman Empire and Byzantium.
22. Did the Byzantines copy the culture of ancient Rome? Explain.
23. Approximately how long did Byzantine civilization last? (You have to check dates and add them to
answer this question. Don’t just copy from the paragraph above.)
The Byzantine Emperor Justinian ruled from 527-565 A.D. He tried to restore the glory and the
territory of the classical Roman Empire. Under Justinian, the Byzantine Empire reached its height in
culture, prosperity, and territorial expansion. The map below shows the extent of the Byzantine Empire
under Justinian. The area shaded brown shows Justinian’s territory; the pink represents the territory
controlled by the Visigoths (Germanic tribes); the blue shows Gaul. The light green shows part of the
Persian Empire. Territories in Europe that are shown in yellow were inhabited by other tribal groups.
Civilization nearly disappeared in Europe, but it remained alive and well in the East.
24. Who was Justinian and when did he rule?
25. Describe in words the extent of Justinian’s Empire. (Which lands were included, which were
not?)
26. What is civilization?
27. What happened to civilization in Western Europe?
Justinian was the first to write a complete code of Roman laws, called the Justinian Code. His
scholars researched and collected the laws from the old Roman Empire—and preserved them.
Justinian’s Code was the basis of Byzantine law and would later form the basis of the written law codes
of Europe, when civilization would be revived there. Many of the legal systems of Europe would come to
be based on the Roman laws. Our ideas that government should be based on law rather than just the
wishes of a ruler, as well as our idea that a person should be considered innocent until proven guilty are
part of the heritage of ancient Rome, preserved for us by Justinian. Among his other achievements,
Justinian improved the status of women and encouraged and strengthened trade throughout the
empire. The Byzantine Empire also boasted a strong military. They used a substance called “Greek fire,”
a flaming liquid that could be used against enemy ships.
28. What was the Justinian Code?
29. Why was the Justinian Code so important?
30. What were some political ideas that Justinian passed down?
a.
b.
31. What were Justinian’s other important achievements?
a.
b.
32. What was “Greek fire?”
Under the earlier Emperor, Theodosius, Christianity had become the official religion of the
Roman Empire, so Byzantium had been Christian from its beginnings. The Pope had been the official
leader of the Christian Church in the Western Empire. However, in Byzantium, the leader of the Church
was known as the Patriarch. The Pope in the West and the Patriarch in the East disagreed about a
number of Christian teachings. A dispute arose between the Western Church and the Eastern Church
over a number of issues, one of which was the use of icons. An icon is a picture of Jesus, the Virgin Mary,
or one of the saints. In the East, many Christians kept these images in their homes, as reminders for
worship; but other Eastern Christians thought the icons were idols and demanded they be destroyed.
The Western Church supported the use of icons. In 1054 the arguments had become so intense that the
Christian Church split in two. The Pope and the Patriarch accused each other of heresy (that is, teaching
against the Church) and they excommunicated each other (that is, expelled each other from the Church).
In the West, it became known as the Roman Catholic Church and was led by the Pope; in the East it was
called the Eastern Orthodox Church, led by the Patriarch.
33. What was the original religion of the Byzantine Empire?
34. Who had been the official leader of the Christian Church in the West?
35. Who was the leader of the Byzantine Church?
36. What was one of the important issues about which the Western and Eastern Churches disagreed?
37. What is heresy?
38. What does excommunicate mean?
39. Describe the permanent division of the Christian Church that occurred at this time.
Byzantine culture was deeply rooted in Christianity. The most famous Church in Byzantium was
the Hagia Sophia—the Church of Holy Wisdom—known for its beautiful and unique dome. Byzantine
domes would eventually become visibly different from Roman domes, with the unusual “onion” shape
of the East.
Hagia Sophia
Typical Byzantine Domes
40. What was the most famous Church in Byzantium?
41. What was unique about Byzantine architecture?
Byzantine art and architecture focused on Christian themes. Icons were extremely important in
Eastern Orthodox Christianity, and many images of Jesus and the saints were produced in mosaics,
pictures made of many tiny pieces of glass or stone. Byzantine art was quite different from that of
ancient Rome. Ancient Roman art portrayed people realistically and with great physical beauty, but
Byzantine art was not concerned with realism. Byzantine art focused on the divine and spiritual qualities
of Jesus, Mary, and the saints, rather than on their physical appearance.
42. What was the focus of Byzantine art and architecture?
43. What is an icon?
44. What are mosaics?
45. How was classical Roman art different from Byzantine
art?
Byzantine Icons
Byzantine Mosaics