THE BYZANTINE

EMPIRE

Essential Question:1. What is the significance of the Byzantine Empire?2. Why did the Christian Church split into Roman

Catholic and Eastern Orthodox denominations?

The Fall of the Roman EmpireAfter the Pax Romana,

the Roman Empire entered an era of decline

Romans had a trade imbalance (they bought more than they produced), which resulted in a huge debt

The Fall of the Roman EmpireThe Roman

Empire had a series of weak

emperors

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Emperor Diocletian then tried to save the Roman Empire by dividing it to make it more manageable

The Western half of the Roman Empire continued

to weaken

The Eastern half was economically stronger, so

Emperor Constantine moved the capital of Rome east to

Constantinople

The Fall of the Roman Empire

By 476 CE, Germanic barbarians conquered the Western Roman Empire

The Western Roman Empire fell into the Middle Ages (or “Dark Ages”) from 500 to 1300 CE

What happened in the Eastern Roman Empire?

The Eastern Roman Empire survived and became the

Byzantine Empire

How did physical geography impact the economy of Constantinople?

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Constantinople became wealthy because it was at the crossroads of trade between

Europe, Asia, and Africa

Its location on the water made it easy

to defend the city from

outside invaders

How did physical geography impact the Byzantine capital of Constantinople?

Culture of the Byzantine Empire

The Byzantines thought of

themselves as Romans

The Byzantines kept Greco-Roman culture

alive while the Western half was plunged into the

Middle Ages

Culture of the Byzantine Empire

Constantinople became a major

center of learning

Schools taught philosophy, medicine,

geometry, and Greek and Latin

grammar

Culture of the Byzantine Empire

Byzantine architecture was

influenced by Roman

architecture

The Hagia Sophia, a Catholic church, was the most impressive achievement of the Byzantine Empire

Culture of the Byzantine Empire

The Hagia Sophia is an example of syncretism, because it will become a mosque when the Byzantine

Empire is conquered by the Islamic Ottomans

Culture of the Byzantine Empire

Other building projects include: hospitals, aqueducts, public baths, and courts

Culture of the Byzantine Empire

The Romans spoke Latin, however, most people in the Eastern half spoke Greek. As a result, Greek became the

Byzantines’ official language

Both Roman and the

Byzantine Empire were

ruled by emperors who had absolute power over

their empires

About 50 years after the fall of Western Rome, Emperor Justinian came to power

& expanded the Byzantine Empire

ORANGE: OLD ROMAN TERRITORY THAT JUSTINIAN

ADDED TO BYZANTINE TERRITORYPURPLE: BYZANTINE EMPIRE WHEN

JUSTINIAN ROSE TO POWER

In addition to empire building, what else did Emperor Justinian value?

The Justinian Code

To govern his empire, Justinian consolidate and updated Roman laws into a single law

code

It was called the “Justinian Code” and

had laws about criminal justice, the military, property, & women’s

rights

ROMAN RELIGION BYZANTINE RELIGION

How was religion similar?

The Great Schism: the Split of Christianity

The Division of Christianity

When Christianity was allowed in the Roman Empire, it developed differently in the Eastern and Western halves.

The Division of Christianity

All Christians, both in the East and the West, based their faith on Jesus Christ and the Bible

The Division of Christianity The Church was organized in the same way in both

halves of the Empire

Archbishops and bishops oversaw

regions where Christianity was

practiced

The Division of Christianity

However, Christians in the East and West disagreed

over the leadership of the Church

Priests led individual churches and

performed sacraments like

baptism & last rights

The Division of Christianity Christians in Western Europe believed that a leader called

the Pope was the top authority of the Church &

should oversee the bishops

Pope

King

The Division of Christianity In the East, a religious

leader called a Patriarch oversaw Church

operations, but the Byzantine emperors had

final authority

Emperor

Patriarch

Byzantine Christians did not accept the authority of the Pope

The Division of Christianity

The Division of Christianity: Iconoclast Controversy

The biggest issue between Christians of the West and East was over

the use of icons

Icons were religious images (paintings,

statues) that Christians would have during

prayers and worship

The Division of Christianity Some Christians, called iconoclasts, thought

icons were “idol worship”

In the year 730, the Byzantine emperor Leo III

banned all icons and many Christians rioted

The Pope supported the use of icons and

excommunicated the Byzantine emperor

(formally banned him from the Church)

The Division of Christianity These

disagreements led to deep

divisions between Christians

The Great Schism (split) occurred in 1054 CE

Christians in Western Europe became the

Roman Catholic Church

Christians in Eastern Europe became the

Eastern Orthodox Church

Differences after the Great Schism of 1054