2. Growth of the Byzantine Empire
• Constantinople:
– Protection of eastern frontier
– Easily fortified (defendable), on natural
harbor. Overlooked the Bosporus Strait.
– Away from Germanic invasions
– Seat of power until Ottoman Conquest in
1453
5. • Crossroads of Trade:
- Goods coming from Europe, Asia, Africa
- Silk and paper industry thriving.
- Taxes on trade and industry provide
money for gov’t, army, and buildings
-Cultural melting pot: (Roman law, Greek
culture, and Orthodox Christianity)
• Greek + Roman = Greco-Roman
6. Age of Justinian
• Emperor Justinian (ruled 527-565AD) hoped to
revive the glory and power of the Roman
Empire.
• The Justinian Code: Codification of Roman
Law (4 parts)
– Code: useful Roman laws
– Digest: summarized Roman legal opinions
– Institutes: guide for law students
– Novellae: contained laws passed after 534AD
* Significant influence on European law codes
7. • Empress Theodora:
- Justinian’s wife
- Urges him to change Byzantine law to give
more rights to women.
-women could own property
equal to the value of their dowry.
• Nika Revolt:
- Rebellion that threatened to overthrow
Justinian. He wanted to flee, Theodora
encouraged him to fight.
-Belisarius led the troops that crushed the
revolt. Justinian makes him general of the army.
8. • Constantinople was a rich city with a
strong navy. “Greek Fire” was thrown at
ships and set them on fire.
THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH
• The West and East had different ideas
about church practices. This led to a
division (schism) in The Church. 1054AD
9. Major Disagreements between the Roman
Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches
Roman Catholic- WEST Eastern Orthodox – EAST
• No Married priests • Married priests allowed
allowed • Icons rejected – later
• Icons accepted accepted
• Pope was supreme • Pope not supreme –
authority
local leaders supreme
• Accepted the view that
• Believed in supremacy
the Holy Spirit
combines both Father of the Father in the
and Son (Council of Trinity
Nicea)
10. Byzantine Culture
• Passed on to future generations the learning of
ancient Greece, Rome, and the East.
• Cyril and Methodius went to teach the Slavs the
Bible. They gave them an alphabet which is
known as Cyrillic.
• Mosaics and architecture.
- Hagia Sophia- Church, one of the world’s
biggest buildings
DECLINE – Many different groups invade the
Byzantine Empire. 1453AD the Ottoman Turks
capture Constantinople. End of Byzantine Empire
