Good Morning
 Please
turn in your Stearns Ch. 9
reading guide to the bin
 Write
down your homework for
tonight- DBQ essay due next class!
 Take
out your DBQ organizer you
received last class
Essential Questions
– What are two reasons why
Constantinople was a good location for
the capital of the Roman Empire?
– Who was Justinian?
– What was the Justinian Code?
– What was the third (and final) name of
Constantinople?
The Byzantine
Empire:
The New Rome
Important Terms
1. Rule of law
 Government
by law. The rule of law
implies that government authority may
only be exercised in accordance with
written laws, which were adopted
through an established procedure.
2. Autocrat
 Ruler
who has complete authority
The Division of the Roman Empire
In 284 C.E. Diocletian became Roman
emperor. He decided that the huge
Roman empire could only be ruled by
splitting it into two parts.
The Division of the Roman Empire
From World History:
Connections to Today Prentice
Hall, 2003
Constantine

In 330 C.E. Diocletian’s
successor, Constantine,
rebuilt the old port of
Byzantium, at the mouth
of the Black Sea.

He renamed it
Constantinople and
made the city the capital
of the Eastern Roman
Empire.
Just do it!
Look at the following map and answer
this question in your notes.
 What
are the advantages of building a
major city here?
What are the advantages of building a major city here?
Advantages
Peninsula
 Provided natural safe harbors for
ships
– both merchant and military ships
 Provided
natural defense
– water on three sides. (the Black and
Aegean Seas)
Advantages
Trade
 Easy access to the Mediterranean
Sea
 Located at an important land route
that linked Europe and Asia (Silk
Road)
The Fall of the Western Roman
Empire
 By
395 C.E., the Roman Empire was
formally divided into two empires: East
and West.
 With the invasion of Germanic forces from
the north, the Western Roman Empire
was conquered and further divided.
 This left the eastern part of the Roman
empire to carry on the Greco-Roman
tradition.
Byzantine Empire
At first, this Empire
controlled only a
small area around the
eastern
Mediterranean, but
during the reign of
Justinian (527-565), it
started to recover
much of the territory
of the old Roman
empire.
The Byzantine Empire Under
Justinian
This map depicts the
Empire at the death
of Justinian I, who
had reigned from
527 to 565 as sole
Emperor,
sometimes in
concert, and
sometimes in
conflict, with his
powerful wife
Theodora.
The New Rome
The Byzantine Empire was wealthy and produced:
gold, silk, grain, olives and wine
It traded these for spices, ivory and precious
stones on the Silk Road with China and India.
The Silk Road
Justinian and Theodora
Justinian ruled as
an autocrat with
the help of his
wife, Theodora.
They created a
huge Christian
empire and the
empire reached
its greatest size.
Justinian and Theodora
They also built
Hagia Sophia
And rebuilt the
Hippodrome
Justinian and Theodora
Created Justinian’s Code – which organized all the laws
of ancient Rome.
Justinian’s Code of Laws
Laws were more fair to women. They could
own property and raise their own children
after their husbands died.
 Children could choose their own marriage
partners.
 Slavery was legal and slaves must obey their
masters.
 Punishments were detailed and fit the crime
 His work inspired the modern concept and,
indeed, the very spelling of "justice".

The End of the Byzantine
Empire

The
The Byzantine empire
drew to a close in 1453
when forces from the
Muslim Ottoman
Empire surrounded
and conquered
Constantinople.
ancient city was renamed Istanbul and
became the capital of the Ottoman Empire.