AP World History
Ch. 9 - Christian
Byzantine Empire
Europe Emerges,
leads to the Russian Empire
600–1200
AFTER EXAM:
1.Turn in Mongols Essay (check for your name!)
2.Complete Byzantine Empire Atlas worksheet –
(you don’t need to do the Tang China side.)
3.Byzantine’s DBQ packet – answer all of the
questions. You do not need to write an essay for
this.
4. 2 Handouts: Eastern Empire Survives &
Byzantine Empire: answer prompts with short
paragraphs.
Writing Assignments:
 Read “The Eastern Empire
survives”
 Think about the development of
the Eastern empire and the
methods of the emperors to
control their empire.
 Write: Answer the prompts as
thoroughly as you can.
Writing Assignments for this Unit:
1.
2.
Recreate the map on pg 270 in your
text books.
Reading/Writing Assignments rest
of unit: unless otherwise noted,
complete questions on handouts
with complete sentences – short
paragraphs always nice.
The Early Byzantine Empire
Capital: Byzantium
 On the Bosporus
 Commercial, strategic value of location
 Constantine names capital after himself
(Constantinople), moves capital there 340 CE
 1453 falls to Turks, renamed Istanbul
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The Later Roman Empire and Byzantium
Byzantine Empire inherits Roman Empire after fall
of Rome in 5th c. CE
 Eastern territories remain major power until 13th c.
CE
 Roman infrastructure in place
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 Roads,
institutional hierarchies
Challenges from strong Persian empire (Sassanid
dynasty, 226-641 CE)
 Invasions of Germanic peoples
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Caesaropapism
Power centralized in figure of Emperor
 Christian leader cannot claim divinity, rather
divine authority
 Political rule
 Involved in Religious rule as well
 Authority absolute
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The Byzantine Court
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Etiquette reinforces authority of Emperor
 Royal
purple
 Prostration
 Mechanical devices designed to inspire awe
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The Byzantine Empire was the
eastern half of the old Roman
Empire.
Long after Rome fell (476 A.D.)
under the Germanic invaders,
Byzantium continued in
Constantinople.
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Byzantine, Russian, and Turkish
cultures develop, while Christian and
Islamic societies fight over religious
issues and territory.
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The Byzantine Empire lasted over
1000 years, from the 400s until the
Empire’s fall to the Ottoman Turks
in 1453.
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One outstanding emperor
was Justinian and he ruled
from 527–565 A.D..
His reign saw great
Byzantine expansion across
North Africa, Sicily, Italy,
and even southern Spain.
He wanted to restore the
empire to its former Roman
glory.
His reign was one of the
last that still used Latin as
the official royal language.
Greek became the new
language.
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New Laws for the Empire
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Justinian seeks to revise
and update laws for
governing the empire
Justinian Code—new
set of laws consisting of
four main parts
Code regulates much of
Byzantine life; lasts for
900 years
Creating the Imperial
Capital
Justinian launches
program to beautify
capital, Constantinople
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Byzantines preserve
Greco-Roman culture
and learning
 Constructs new
buildings; builds
magnificent church,
Hagia Sophia
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Justinian oversaw the
construction of a great
church in the city that
would to be the shining
example of Byzantine
architecture.
Built the Church of the
Hagia Sophia.
(Hagia Sophia translates
from the Greek as Holy
Wisdom.)
(The building measures 250 feet by
235 feet and features a great dome
measuring 107 feet across and
peaking at a height of 185 feet.
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The building took five years
to complete with 10,000 men
working on it. Inside, the
great church was adorned
with marble, elaborate
columns, intricate mosaics,
and gold.)
Mosaic depicting Justinian (left) presenting model of church of Hagia
Sophia to the Virgin Mary. Constantine to the right presents her with a
model of Constantinople
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Constantinople’s Hectic
Pace
City becomes trading hub
with major marketplace
Giant Hippodrome offers
chariot races and other
entertainment
Racing fans start riots in 532;
government restores order
violently
Empress Theodora—
powerful wife and adviser to
Justinian
Years of Turmoil
Justinian dies in 565; empire
faces many crises after his
death
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The Plague of
Justinian
Bubonic plague
repeatedly sweeps
empire; kills many
residents
Byzantine Conquests
General Belisarius recaptures much of western
Roman Empire under Justinian
 Unable to consolidate control of territories
 Withdrew to defend empire from Sassanids,
Slavs
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The Byzantine empire and its neighbors
527-554 C.E.
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Islamic Conquests and Byzantine
Revival
7th century Arab Muslim expansion
 Besieged Byzantium 674-678, 717-718
 Defense made possible through use of “greek
fire”
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Imperial Organization
Themes (provinces) under control of generals
 Military administration
 Control from central imperial government
 Soldiers from peasant class, rewarded with
land grants
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Tensions with Western Europe
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Church
 Byzantine:
Greek; Roman: Latin
 Conflicts over hierarchical control
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Fealty of Germanic peoples
 Roman
pope crowns Charlemagne in 800, a
challenge to Byzantine authority
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Byzantine Economy and Society
Constantinople largest city in Europe, 5th-13th
c.
 Dependent on small landholders, free peasants
 Earlier large landholdings destroyed by
invasions in 6th-7th centuries
 Theme system rewards soldiers with land
grants
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Decline of the Free Peasantry
Large landholdings on the increase
 Reduces tax revenues, recruits to military
 Last three centuries indicate steady decline of
economy
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Manufacturing and Trade
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Trade routes bring key technologies, e.g. silk industry
Advantage of location causes crafts and industry to
expand after 6th century
Tax revenues from silk route
Banking services develop
Urban Life
Aristocrats: palances; artisans: apartments;
working poor: communal living spaces
 Hippodrome
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 Chariot
races, “greens vs. blues”
 Politically inspired rioting
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Orthodox Christianity
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Legacy of Classical Greece
replaces Latin after 6th c. CE; language of
New Testament
 Greek
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Byzantine education sponsors development of
large literate class for state bureaucracy
 Training
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in classical canon
The Byzantine Church
Church and state closely aligned
 Council of Nicea (325) bans Arian movement
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 Human/divine
nature of Jesus
 Constantine favors Arians, but supports Nicean
condemnation
Byzantine Emperors appoint Patriarchs
 Caesaropapism creates dissent in church
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Iconoclasm
Emperor Leo III (r. 717-741 CE)
 Destruction of icons after 726
 Popular protest, rioting
 Policy abandoned 843
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Greek Philosophy and Byzantine
Theology
Attempt to reconcile Greek philosophy with
Judeo-Christianity
 Constantine establishes school to apply
philosophical methods to religious questions
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Ascetism
Hermit-like existence
 Celibacy
 Fasting
 Prayer
 St. Simeon Stylite
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 Lived
atop pillar for 37
Years until his death
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Byzantine Monasticism
and St. Basil (329-379 CE)
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Patriarch of Constantinople reforms
monasteries
 Communal
living
 Hierarchical structure
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Mt. Athos
 No
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women, female animals allowed
Tensions between Eastern and
Western Christianity

Ritual disputes
 Beards
on clergy
 Leavened bread for Mass
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Theological disputes
 Iconoclasm
 Nature
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of the Trinity
Schism
Arguments over hierarchy, jurisdiction
 Autonomy of Patriarchs, or Primacy of Rome?
 1054 Patriarch of Constantinople and Pope of
Rome excommunicate each other
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 East:
Orthodox Church
 West: Roman Catholic
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Social Problems in the
Byzantine Empire

Generals of themes become allied with local
aristocrats
 Intermarry,
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create class of elite
Occasional rebellions vs. Imperial Rule
Challenges from the West
Western European economic development
 Normans from Scandinavia press on Byzantine
territories
 Crusades of 12th-13th centuries rampage
through Byzantine territory
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 Constantinople sacked,
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1204
Challenges from the East

Muslim Saljuqs invade Anatolia
 Threatens
grain supply
Defeat Byzantine army in 1071, creates civil
conflict
 Period of steady decline until Ottoman Turks
capture Constantinople in 1453
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 Renamed
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Istanbul
The Byzantine empire and its
neighbors about 1100 C.E.
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Influence on Slavic Cultures
Relations from 6th c. CE
 Bulgaria influenced culturally, politically
 Saints Cyril and Methodius
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 Create
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Cyrillic alphabet
Slavic lands develop orientation to Byzantium
Kievan Rus’
Conversion of Prince Vladimir, 989
 Byzantine culture influences development of
Slavic cultures
 Distinctively Slavic Orthodox church develops
 Eventual heir to Byzantium
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Attacks from East and
West
Byzantium faces attacks
from many different groups
Empire survives through
bribery, diplomacy, and
military power
Constantinople falls in
1453; brings an end to
Byzantine Empire
A Religious Split
Christianity develops
differently in Eastern and
Western Roman Empires
Two churches disagree
over many issues, including
use of icons
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Icons are religious images
used to aid in prayer
Leading bishop of Eastern
Christianity known as
patriarch
In the West, pope
excommunicated emperor—
banished him from the
Church
A Religious Split
Pope and patriarch excommunicate each other
over religious doctrines
Eastern and Western churches officially split in
1054
West—Roman Catholic Church; East—Orthodox
Church
Byzantine Missionaries Convert the Slavs
Eastern Orthodox missionaries seek to convert
northern peoples, Slavs
Missionaries create Cyrillic alphabet—basis of
many Slavic languages
Alphabet enables many groups to read the Bible
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Kievan Russia and the
Byzantine Empire in the
Eleventh Century
By the 11th century, the princes
of Kievan Russia had brought
all the eastern Slavs under their
rule.
Loss of Egypt, Syria, and
Tunisia to Arab invaders in the
7th to 8th century had turned
Byzantium from a far-flung
empire into a fairly compact
state.
Byzantine rulers then looked to
the Balkans and Kievan Russia
as the primary arena for
extending their political and
religious influence.
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The Rise of the Kievan State 900–
1200
In its early history, Russia was
inhabited by a number of peoples of
different language and ethnic groups
whose territory shifted from century
to century.
What emerged was a general
pattern of Slavs in the east, Finns in
the north, and Turkic tribes in the
south.
Forest dwellers, steppe nomads,
and farmers in the various
ecological zones traded with each
other.
Long-distance caravan trade linked
Russia to the Silk Road, while
Varangians (relatives of Vikings)
were active traders on the rivers,
and the Khazar Turks built a trading
kingdom at the mouth of the Volga.
The Rus were societies of western
Slav farmers ruled by Varangian
nobles. Their most important cities
were Kiev and Novgorod, both
centers of trade.
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In 980, Vladimir I became Grand
Prince of Kiev. He chose
Orthodox Christianity as the
religion of his state and imitated
the culture of the Byzantine
Empire, building churches,
adopting the Cyrillic alphabet,
and orienting his trade toward the
Byzantines.
Internal political struggles and
conflict with external foes led to a
decline of Kievan Russia after
1100.
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Society and Culture
Kievan Russia had poor
agricultural land, short
growing season, and
primitive farming
technology. Food
production was low, and the
political power of the Kievan
state relied more on trade
than it did on landholding.
The major cities of Kiev and
Novgorod had populations
of 30,000 to 50,000—much
smaller than Constantinople
or large Muslim cities. Kiev,
Novgorod, and other much
smaller urban areas were
centers for craftspeople and
artisans, whose social
status was higher than that
of peasants.
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Christianity spread slowly in
the Kievan state. Pagan
customs and polygamy
persisted until as late as the
12th century. In the 12th
century, Christianity
triumphed and the church
became more powerful,
with some clergy
functioning as tax collectors
for the state.
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Comparative Perspectives
Church Differences Between Western Europe and Byzantium
Church leaders developed different theological viewpoints and
customs.
Western church leaders wrote their treatises in Latin; eastern
church leaders wrote in Greek.
The eastern church was influenced by Arab conquests of the
seventh century; the western church was not. Arabian conquests
separated the two churches through an interruption in
communication, leading to more distinctions in their development.
Political and Economic Distinctions Between Western Europe and
Byzantium
Initially, the Byzantine Empire, following Roman political and legal
heritage that had mostly faded in the west, enjoyed more
economic prosperity and sophistication in the arts and culture than
the west.
Christianity became embedded in Byzantine society before it did in
the western church.
The Byzantine Empire did not witness the improved military
techniques, new agricultural technologies, population growth, and
trade of Western Europe, leading to its decline in prosperity and
cultural innovation in comparison to the west.
Absolutism in Russia: The Romanov
Dynasty (1613-1917)
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Peter I (“the Great,” r. 1682-1725)

Worked to modernize Russia on western European model
 Developed modern Russian army, reformed Russian
government bureaucracy, demanded changes in fashion:
beards forbidden
 Built new capital at St. Petersburg
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Catherine II (“the Great”, r. 1762-1796)
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Huge military expansion
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46
Partitions of Poland, 1772-1797
Social reforms at first, but end with Pugachev peasant
rebellion (1773-1774)
The Russian empire, 1801-1914
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The Russian Empire in Decline
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Russia a massive, multi-cultural empire
 Only
approximately half speak Russian,
observe Russian Orthodox Christianity
Romanov Tsars rule autocratic empire
 Powerful class of nobles exempt from
taxation, military duty
 Exploitative serfdom
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End This Unit
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The remainder will be picked up in one of
the last units.
The Crimean War, 1853-1856
Russian expansion into Caucasus in larger
attempt to establish control over
weakening Ottoman empire
 Threatens to upset balance of power,
Europeans become involved
 Russia driven back from Crimea in
humiliating defeat
 Demonstration of Russian weakness in the
face of western technology, strategy
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Reform: Emancipation of the Serfs
Serfdom source of rural instability and
peasant revolt
 Tsar Alexander II emancipates serfs in
1861, without alleviating poverty, land
hunger
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 Forced
to pay for lands they had farmed for
generations
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Limited attempts to reform administration,
small-scale representative government
 Network
51
of elected district assemblies called
zemstvos
Industrialization in Russia
Count Sergei Witte, minister of finance
1892-1903
 Massive railroad construction
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 Trans-Siberian
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railroad
But massive industrial discontent
 Peasants
uprooted from rural lifestyle to work
for low wages, long hours
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Repression
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Intelligentsia class spreads radical ideas for
social change
 Socialists,
anarchists
 Terror tactics, assassinations
 Attempt to connect with the mistrustful peasantry
in 1870s, denounced and sent into Siberian exile
Tsarist authorities turn to censorship, secret
police
 Nationalist sentiment seething in Baltics,
Poland, Ukraine, Georgia, central Asia
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Radicalization
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1881 radical People’s Will movement assassinates
Tsar Alexander II
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Prompted widespread pogrom attacks on Jews
 Increased repression
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Nicholas II (r. 1894-1917) enters into war with Japan
(1904-1905)
Humiliating defeat exposes government
weaknesses
Social discontent boils over in Revolution of 1905
Strikes force government to make concessions