1. Chapter 11
Byzantines, Russians
and Turks Interact
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2. Byzantine Empire
A.D. 395 – A.D. 1589
S

3. Remember
When?
Roman leaders had divided
the empire in 395, due to
difficulties in communications
between the eastern and
troubled western parts.
Rulers in the East still saw
themselves as emperors.

4. Byzantine Empire’s Growth
S Justinian- high ranking Byzantine nobleman
S Emperor 527-565, succeeded his Uncle
S Preserved the Roman law
S Justinian Code
S Crime
S Marriage
S Property
S slavery

5. Justinian Code
S 1. The Code contained nearly
5,000 Roman laws that were still
considered useful for the Roman
Empire
S 2. The Digest quoted and
summarized the opinions of
Rome’s greatest legal thinkers
about the laws. [50 volumes]
S 3. The Institutes- textbook that
told law students how to use the
laws
S 4. The Novellae [New Laws]
presented legislation passed after

6. Justinian’s Advisors
S Theodora
S Wife
S Women got more rights
S Divorce
S Own property = to dowry
S Belisarius
S General of Army
S Experienced- sent by Justinian to recover North Africa
from invading Germanic Tribes [533]
S Crushed the Nika Revolt
S 535 AD- attacked Rome, and seized it from a group called
the Ostrogoths

7. Fight to
Restore the
Empire
S City continued to face attacks from Germanic Tribes
S Over 16 years, Rome changed hands six times
S After numerous campaigns, Justinian’s armies won nearly all of
Italy and parts of Spain. Now he owned almost all the territory
that Rome had ever ruled- called himself a new Caesar
S Ruled with absolute power, head of church as well.
S Appointed and dismissed bishops at will
S Ruled brutally- politics deadly- Emperors lived under constant
risk of assassinations
S Of 88 Byzantine Emperors- 29 died violently, 13 abandoned the
throne to live in monasteries

8. Strengths of the Empire
S All-powerful emperor
S Strong central government
S Officials were:
S Skilled
S Efficient
S Well paid
S Strong military
S Strong Navy
S “greek fire”

9. • It burned on
water, and, according to some
Greek Fire interpretations, was ignited by
water. In addition, as numerous
writers testify, it could be by
Incendiary weapon used
extinguished only by a typically
the Byzantine Empire few
substances, such as sand (which
used in naval battles to great
deprived it of oxygen), strong
effect.
vinegar, or old urine, presumably
by some sort of chemical
Notably used in the salvation
reaction.
of Constantinople from 2 Arab
• It was a liquid substance, and
sieges
not some sort of projectile, as
verified both by descriptions and
the very name "liquid fire”.
• At sea, it was usually ejected
from siphons,although
earthenware pots or grenades
filled with it or similar substances
were also used.
• The discharge of Greek fire was
accompanied by "thunder" and

10. Strength’s con’t
S Constantinople
S Strategically located
S Imperial tax policies
S Raised $$$

11. Byzantine Culture
S Cyrul & Methodius
S Missionaries to Slavs
S Created alphabet-Cyrillic
S Art
S Murals & icons
S Subject: religion
S Architecture
S Hagia Sophia-church in Constantinople
S Round dome on rectangle building

12. Byzantine Art
S Influenced from Greek art
S Subject matter was primarily religious
and imperial
S Portraits of later Byzantine emperors
decorated the interior of the 6th century
church0 Hagia Sophia in
Constantinople
S One of the most important genres of
Byzantine art was the icon- an image
of Christ, the Virgin, or a saint used as
an a object of veneration in Orthodox
churches

13. Hagia Sophia- “Holy Wisdom”
S Rebuilt church of the same
name [originally destroyed in
532]
S Hailed as the best church in the
Christian world
S Changed the history of
architecture
S Designed by Greek scientists
S Contained a large collection of
holy relics, and was famous for
its massive dome

15. Decline of Empire
S Justinian’s death-565- although his codes last 900 more
years
S War w/ Persians
S Ottoman Turks
S The Crusades

16. The Plague of Justinian
S The 1st Crisis- a disease resembling
the bubonic plague
S Hit Constantinople- probably arrived
from India on a ship infested with rats
S 542 CE- 10,000 people were dying
every day
S By 700 it finally faded but destroyed a
huge % of the population

17. Attacks from East & West
S Faced constant challenges from invaders
S Lombards overran Justinian’s conquests in the West
S Avrs, Slavs, and Bulgars made frequent raids on N. borders
S Sassanid Persians attacked relentlessly to the East
S Persians and Avars attacked Constantinople in 626
S Rise of Islam, Arab armies attacked in 674 and 717
S Russians attacked 3x- b/w 860-1043
S 11th Century, Turks took over Muslim world and slowly into Byzantine
territory

18. Byzantine Struggled
S Used bribes, diplomacy, political marriages and military power
to keep enemies @ bay
S Emperor Heraclius reorganized the empire along military lines
S Provinces became themes, or military districts ruled directly by
a general
S Byzantine Empire shrank under the impact of foreign attacks
S 1350- reduced to the tip of Anatolia and a strip of the Balkans
S Constantinople held out until 1453- when the Ottoman Turks
took over

19. S Was Justinian a great leader? Why or why not?
S What various methods did the Byzantines use to
hold off their enemies?
S How did the Byzantines help to preserve Greco-
Roman culture?
Review