9.4 The Byzantine Empire
Crossroads of Trade
Heir to Rome
Justinian
• Corpus of Civil Law
– “Justinian’s Code”
• Commission appointed
by Justinian
• Preserved legal
heritage Rome
• Basis for European
systems to come
• Art & architecture
achieve distinctive
character
Contribution to Western Civilization
• early Middle Ages = a protective barrier
between western Europe and hostile Persian,
Arab, and Turkish armies.
• major conduit of classical learning and science
into the West down to the Renaissance.
• cities of the Byzantine Empire provided them a
model of a civilized society.
Foundations: “Νέα Ῥώμη”
• 330 Byzantium 
Constantinople
• Peninsula
• Europe & Asia meet
• Control trade routes
• Natural defense
(Nea Romē)
Constantinople
Rebuilt after riots 532
Largest city Europe most
of Middle Ages
Architectural
achievements
Hagia Sophia
Greatest commercial
center til 12th cen
Chinese Silk!
Preserving Greco-Roman Culture
Three “heirs” to Rome
1.Islamic Empires
2.Germanic Kingdoms
3.Byzantines (“Nea Roma”)
Justinian’s Code
Greek language
Intact in east what was largely lost in west
Not rediscovered until Crusades, 12th century
Justinian
• Ruler @ apex
• Becomes emperor
527
• Wife = Theodora
– Improve social
standing women
• Beat back Persian
invaders
Justinian
• Justinian ordered collation and
revision of Roman law.
• Corpus Juris Civilis
– “body of civil law”
– little effect on medieval
common law.
– Renaissance  foundation for
most European law down to 19th
century.
Justinian
• Wants to restore
Roman Empire
• The re-conquest =
too expensive
• Generation after
Justinian’s death =
lost all gains
– Persians!
The Byzantine empire in 565, at its largest expansion ever.
Justinian’s legacy
• Hagia Sophia remained seat of Eastern Christianity
until Fall of Constantinople.
• Corpus Iuris Civilis
• 529 closed philosophical school of Athens, thus
destroying last stronghold of paganism
The Byzantine Empire
4min
blended Greek, Roman, Persian and Middle Eastern styles.
Church of Hagia Sophia whose name means “Holy Wisdom”
Byzantine Religion
• Byzantine emperors
claimed to be God’s
rep. on earth
• Oath to defend
Christian faith
• 700s: icons an issue
– Iconoclasts
• 843 Eastern Church
allows icons, but not
statues in worship
Independent Thinking
Ideas thought to be heresies by the
Roman Catholic Church received
imperial support:
– Arianism denied that Father and
Son were equal and coeternal.
– Monophysitism taught that Jesus
had only one nature, a composite
divine-human one.
– Iconoclasm forbid the use of
images (icons) because it led to
idolatry.
The Iconoclastic Controversy
• Iconoclastic Controversy
– movement that denied the
holiness of religious images,
– devastated much of empire
for over a hundred years.
• During the eighth and early
ninth centuries use of such
images was prohibited
– icons were restored by 843.
Byzantine Religion
• Disagreements
bt. East & West
• Serious one:
source of
religious
authority 
pope or
patriarchs?
• 1054 = schism
with Roman
Catholic Church
The Great Schism
• 1054
• First big split in Christian church since “orthodoxy” of
Pauline Christianity established 4th century
• Nicene creed
– First ecumenical council, 325
– Similar to “Apostle’s Creed”
– List of what Christian believes
• Created “Roman Catholic” Church in the west and
“Eastern Orthodox” in the east
• The split still stands to this day
Great Schism, 1054
Roman Catholic
EASTERN ORTHODOX
•
•
•
•
•
• 5 patriarchs
• No filioque
• Married priesthood
(but celibate bishops)
• Leavened bread in
Eucharist
• Greek
• Icons
Pope
“Filioque”
“and the son”
Celibate priesthood
Unleavened bread in
Eucharist
• Latin
• Iconoclast
Byzantine
Greek replaces Latin
Eastern Orthodox
Church
Emperor = absolute, by
divine right, church and
state
Believed God appointed
them to defend true
Christianity
“Patriarchs”
Byzantine Art & Learning
• Forms adopted Eastern
Europe
• Religious subjects
– Icons
– Decorations
• Scholars copy Greek and
Roman docs
• Monasteries serve
important social
functions
• Missionaries go to
neighbors
Byzantine Art & Learning
• Cyril & Methodius
– Missionaries to the
Slavs
– Devised Cyrillic
alphabet for Slavic
languages (Russian)
Byzantine artists … Mosaics
often displayed religious themes.
Decline and Fall
• Justinian dies 565
• Invaders constant for
centuries
• Plague 700s
• By 700 shrunk to just
Greek areas
• 1204 Crusaders loot the
city!
• 1453 Ottoman Turks
seige and finally defeat
Constantinople
The Mediterranean Sea complex