Chapter 11 - Byzantine, Russians, and Turks Interact,

500 - 1500 A.D.

Section 1: Byzantium becomes the New Rome

AIM QUESTION: What were the accomplishments of the Byzantine Empire’s Golden Age?

527 – Justinian becomes ruler of the eastern empire

1. What did Justinian accomplish during his reign?

•  Conquered new lands so that he ruled a territory almost as great as Rome’s had been

•  His legal experts completed a creation of a body of civil law called the Justinian Code

•  Rebuilt Constantinople and the Hagia Sophia

Chapter 11 - Byzantine, Russians, and Turks Interact,

500 - 1500 A.D.

Section 1: Byzantium becomes the New Rome

AIM QUESTION: How did the Byzantine Empire give rise to a new sect of the Christian religion?

1054 – Christianity splits into the Roman Catholic Church in the west and the

Orthodox Church in the east

4.   What factors led to the schism? •  There were irreconcilable differences between

the two traditions in language, church authority, divorce, and the priests’ right to marry

•  Finally the pope and patriarch excommunicated each other in a dispute over religious doctrine

5.   What was the effect of the schism? •  Christianity was permanently divided between

the Roman Catholic Church in the west and the Orthodox Church in the east

1204 – Crusading knights from Europe pillage Constantinople

1453 – Constantinople falls to the Ottoman Turks

7. What factors enabled the city to survive foreign attacks for hundreds of years before finally falling?

•  Its walls, fleet, and strategic location

537 – Justinian completes building the Hagia Sophia

542 – Deadly plague sweeps through Constantinople

2. How did the plague affect Constantinople?

•  It killed so many people that it left the empire severely weakened and exposed to its enemies

674 – Arab armies attack Constantinople 860 – Russians invade Constantinople for

the first of three times

3. How did the Byzantines first try to prop up their shaky empire?

•  At first they used bribes, diplomacy, and political marriage

•  Then they reorganized the government along military lines