The Glory of the Byzantines
"Not since the world was made was there ever seen or
won so great a treasure, or so noble or so rich, nor in
the time of Alexander, nor in the time of Charlemagne,
nor before, nor after, nor do I think myself that in the
forty richest cities of the world had there been so much
wealth as was found in Constantinople. For the
Greeks say that two-thirds of the wealth of this world is
in Constantinople and the other third scattered
throughout the world."
--Robert of Clari, a French crusader who witnessed
the pillage of the city in 1204, describing
Constantinople.
Outline of Presentation
 Part One – Introduction with timeline
 Part Two – Early and Middle Byzantium
 Part Three – The Hagia Sophia
 Part Four – The Fall of Byzantium
 Part Five – Legacy and Influence
Part One - Introduction
Byzantiwho?
“Byzantine Empire” invention of historians
Viewed themselves as Romans
Later develops own identity
Relation to what we have done?
Mosaics
Government System and Laws
Christianity and State
Military and Trade policies
Architecture and Art
Preservation and study of Classics
Byzantine Empire circa 555 CE
Timeline of Events
 330 – Constantine I moves capital to the East
 410 – Rome is sacked by the Visigoths
 476 – Last Roman Emperor, Augustulus, is deposed
 527 – Justinian I becomes Eastern Roman Emperor
 726 – Leo III orders all religious icons in the empire destroyed
 843 – Icons are then restored to religious worship
 1054 – The Great Schism
 1204 – Constantinople is captured by Crusaders
 1453 – The Siege of Constantinople ends with occupation of the city by
Ottomans
The Great Schism of 1054 CE
The Siege of Constantinople, 1453 CE
Part Two – Early and Middle
Byzantium
Justinian and Theodora, 527-565 CE
Corpus Juris Civilis
Laws against heresy,
paganism, and status of Jews
Was the basis of the revival
of Roman law in the Middle
Ages
influenced the Canon Law of
the church
ecclesia vivit lege romana —
the church lives under Roman
law.
The Nika Riots
Justinian and his Retinue
Part Three – The Hagia Sophia
The Hagia Sophia
The Hagia Sophia
A Modern Day Orthodox Church
Iconoclastic Controversy
Theodosia
Part Five – The Fall of Byzantium
The Loss of Constantinople
Mehmet II Occupies Constantinople
Part Six – The Legacy of Byzantium
Byzantine Science
Byzantine Music and Food
Byzantine Recipes
Omayyad Mosque at Damascus
Byzantium as a Derogatory Term
Discussion of Texts
How do the two works on Justinian compare?
What does this tell us about the legacy of
Justinian I?
Can you find any symbolism in the mosaic and
do you have any questions about the work?
Bonus Picture and Trivia
Bonus Picture and Trivia
A search of “Byzantine Empire” on Amazon
yields 9,720 books, and only 1 DVD.
A search of “Roman Empire” on Amazon yields
64,961 books, and 77 DVDs.