Chapter 9
Civilization in Eastern Europe: Byzantium and Orthodox Europe
CHAPTER SUMMARY. In addition to the great civilizations of Asia and
North Africa forming during the postclassical period, two related, major
civilizations formed in Europe. The Byzantine Empire, in western Asia and
southeastern Europe, expanded into eastern Europe. The other was defined by
the influence of Catholicism in western and central Europe. The Byzantine
Empire, with territory in the Balkans, the Middle East, and the eastern
Mediterranean, maintained very high levels of political, economic, and cultural
life between 500 and 1450 C.E. The empire continued many Roman patterns
and spread its Orthodox Christian civilization through most of eastern Europe,
Belarus, Ukraine, and Russia. Catholic Christianity, without an imperial center,
spread in western Europe. Two separate civilizations emerged from the differing
Christian influences.
The Byzantine Empire. The Byzantine Empire, once part of the greater Roman
empire, continued flourishing from an eastern Mediterranean base after Roman
decline. Although it inherited and continued some of Rome’s heritage, the
eastern Mediterranean state developed its own form of civilization.-NOT JUST
A LIFEBOAT
The Origins of the Empire. Emperor Constantine in the 4th century C.E.
established a capital at Constantinople. Separate emperors ruled from it even
before Rome fell. Although Latin served for a time as the court language, Greek
from the 6th century became the official tongue. The empire benefited from the
high level of civilization in the former Hellenistic world and from the region's
prosperous commerce. It held off barbarian invaders and developed a trained
civilian bureaucracy.
Justinian's Achievements. In the 6th century Justinian, with a secure base in
the east, attempted, without lasting success, to reconquer western territory.
The military efforts weakened the empire as Slavs and Persians attacked
frontiers, and also created serious financial pressures. Justinian rebuilt
Constantinople in classical style; among the architectural achievements was the
huge church of Hagia Sophia. His codification of Roman law (Justinian Law
Code) reduced legal confusion in the empire. The code later spread Roman legal
concepts throughout Europe.
Justinian and Theodora
Belisarius
HAGIA SOPHIA
HAGIA SOPHIA (BACKGROUND) Blue Mosque (Foreground)
DECLINE WAS Extremely LONG>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
 Started declining after Justinian’s death in 565
 Street riots, religious quarrels, palace conspiracy, and foreign
dangers
 Problems like The Plague which killed about 10,000 people every
day in 542 A.D.
 Broke out repeatedly until 700 A.D. but already killed most of
population
 Other problems like foreign threats also caused decline
 Lombards, Avars, Slavs, Bulgars, Persians, Arabs, Russians,
and Turks
 Heraclius made provinces into themes which organized the empire
along military lines in response to Arab advances in the southern
empire-This replced the old Western Provincial Model
 Themes couldn’t protect them forever – weakened in 1350 and
fell in 1453
ICONOCLASTIC CONTROVERSY
 Emperor Leo III
 Banned icons (religious images used by Eastern Christians to
aid their devotions) in 730
 Emperor viewed icons as idol worship
 Results
 Riots
 Clergy rebelled
 Western (Roman Catholic) pope became involved and
supported icons
 Pope ordered exocommunication (outcast from church)
on the Byzantine Emperor
 Restoration
-Empress Theodora (new Theodora) restored icons in 843
______________________________________________________________
Arab Pressure and the Empire's Defenses. Justinian's successors concentrated
upon the defense of their eastern territories. The empire henceforth centered in
the Balkans, and western and central Turkey, a location blending a rich
Hellenistic culture with Christianity. The revived empire withstood the 7th
century advance of Arab Muslims, although important regions were lost along
the eastern Mediterranean and the northern Middle Eastern heartland. The wars
and the permanent Muslim threat had significant cultural and commercial
influences. The free rural population, the provider of military recruits and taxes,
was weakened. Aristocratic estates grew larger, and aristocratic generals became
stronger. The empire's fortunes fluctuated as it resisted pressures from the Arabs
and Slavic kingdoms. Bulgaria was a strong rival, but Basil II (Byzantine
Emperor) defeated and conquered it in the 11th century. At the close of the 10th
century the Byzantine emperor may have been the strongest contemporary ruler.
Bureaucracy---Byzantine Society and Politics. Byzantine political patterns
resembled the earlier Chinese system. An emperor, ordained by god and
surrounded by elaborate court ritual, headed both church and state. Women
occasionally held the throne like in CHina. An elaborate bureaucracy
supported the imperial authority. The officials, trained in Hellenistic
knowledge in a secular school system, could be recruited from all social
classes, although, as in China, aristocrats predominated. Provincial
governors were appointed from the center, and a spy system helped to
preserve loyalty. A careful military organization defended the empire.
Troops were recruited locally and given land in return for service. Outsiders,
especially Slavs and Armenians, accepted similar terms. Over time hereditary
military leaders developed regional power and displaced better-educated
aristocrats. The empire socially and economically depended upon
Constantinople's control of the countryside. The bureaucracy regulated
trade and food prices. Peasants supplied the food and provided most tax
revenues. The large urban class was kept satisfied by low food prices. A
widespread commercial network extended into Asia, Russia, Scandinavia,
western Europe, and Africa. Silk production techniques brought from China
added a valuable product to the luxury items exported. Despite the busy trade
the large merchant class never developed political power. Cultural life
centered upon Hellenistic secular traditions and Orthodox Christianity.
Little artistic creativity resulted except in art and architecture. Domed
buildings, colored mosaics, and painted icons expressed an art linked to
religion.
The Split between East and West. Byzantine culture, political organization,
and economic orientation help to explain the rift between the eastern and western
versions of Christianity. Different rituals grew from Greek and Latin versions
of the Bible. Emperors resisted papal attempts to interfere in religious
issues. Hostility greeted the effort of the Frankish king Charlemagne to be
recognized as Roman emperor. The final break between the two churches
occurred in 1054 over arguments about the type of bread used in the mass and
the celibacy of priests. Even though the two churches remained separate they
continued to share a common classical heritage.
READING ON THE EASTERN (GREAT) SCHISM of 1054
Eastern Schism
The schism between the Eastern and Western churches is
traditionally dated to 1054, although the precise point at which the
split became a fixed and lasting reality is difficult to determine.
Many causes contributed to the growing misunderstanding and
alienation between the two groups. Partly these were differences of
philosophical understanding, liturgical usage, language, and
custom, but political rivalries and divisions were also involved.
Occasions of friction, hostility, and open division on doctrinal
questions as well as matters of discipline and daily practice had
occurred long before 1054
In the West the Latin church and especially the papacy
(REMEMBER ST PETER AND THE “ROCK” OF THE
CHURCH) took on many activities and powers in default of other
authority, but this action was often regarded as usurpation by the
East, where a different relationship existed between emperor and
church. The heated disputes over such matters as the ecclesiastical
calendar, the use of leavened or unleavened bread, or additions to
the Creed reached a climax in 1054, when Pope Leo IX and
Patriarch Michael Cerularius excommunicated each other.
Technically, only a few people were affected by this action, but the
tone had been set and the direction fixed.
Later attempts to reunite the churches foundered on local feeling,
and mutual hatred grew through selfish acts on both sides during
some parts of the Crusades (Particularly the 4th Crusade and the
sacking of Constantinople in 1204). The schism continues to the
present, but recently serious attempts at mutual understanding
have offered the hope of reconciliation.
 Christianity underwent dramatic changes and developments
 Roman Catholic (Western) and Orthodox (Eastern) – 1054
 Roman Catholic and Orthodox similarities
 Believe in Jesus, Bible (yet different interpretations), and
sacraments. Religious leaders were priests and bishops. Both
were very missionary.
 Roman Catholic and Orthodox differences
 Orthodox requires services to be in Greek or local languages.
 The patriarch and bishops head church as a group. They
also believed that the emperor was above the patriarch
and bishops.
 Priests were allowed to marry
 Divorce was allowed under certain conditions.
 Roman Catholic requires services to be in Latin.
 They believe that the pope is over all, even bishops and
kings or emperors.
 Roman Catholic priests may not marry.
 Divorce is not allowed.
The Empire's Decline continued….. A long period of decline began in earnest
the 11th century. Muslim Turkish invaders seized almost all of the empire's
Asian provinces, removing the most important sources of taxes and food.
The empire never recovered from the loss of its army at Manzikert in 1071.
Independent and aggressive Slavic states appeared in the Balkans (particularly
Bulgaria). An appeal for western European assistance did not help the
Byzantines. Crusaders, led by Venetian merchants, sacked Constantinople
in 1204 (4th crusade). Italian cities, with their navies, secured special trading
privileges. A smaller empire struggled to survive for another two centuries
against western Europeans, Muslims, and Slavic kingdoms. In 1453 the
Ottoman Turks conquered Constantinople.
The Spread of Civilization in Eastern Europe. The Byzantine Empire’s
influence spread among the people of the Balkans and southern Russia
through conquest, commerce, and Christianity. In the 9th century
missionaries Cyril and Methodius devised a written script, Cyrillic, for the
Slavic language, providing a base for literacy in eastern Europe. Unlike
western Christians the Byzantines allowed the use of local languages in church
services.
 Most successful Orthodox missionaries were Saint Methodius and
Saint Cyril (SEER-uhl)
 Worked with Slavs in 9th Century
 Methodius and Cyril made the Cyrillic (suh-RIHL-ihk) alphabet for
Slavic languages so Slavs could read the Bible in their own tongue
 Many Slavic languages, like Russian are written using the
Cyrillic alphabet
 Aftereffects
 Created one of the most influential countries in the world –
Russia.
The East-Central Borderlands. Both eastern and western Christian
missionaries competed in eastern Europe. Roman Catholics, and their Latin
alphabet, prevailed in Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and Poland. The region
became a long-standing region for competition between the two influences. A
series of regional monarchies - Poland, Bohemia (today’s Czech Republic and
Slovakia) , Lithuania - with powerful, landowning aristocracies developed.
Eastern Europe also received an influx of Jews from the Middle East and
western Europe. Jews were often barred from agriculture, but participated in
local commerce. They maintained their own traditions, and emphasized
education for males.
READ THE BLUE
Jewish communities had existed in the Greek cities of the Black Sea coast since late
classical times. Chersonesos, Sudak, Kerch and other Crimean cities sustained Jewish
communities, as did Gorgippia, and Samkarsh / Tmutarakan was said to have had a
Jewish majority as early as the 670s. Jews fled from Byzantium to Khazaria as a
consequence of persecution under emperors Heraclius, Justinian II, Leo III, and
Romanos I. These were joined by other Jews fleeing from Sassanid Persia (particularly
during the Mazdak revolts), and, later, the Islamic world. Jewish merchants such as the
Radhanites regularly traded in Khazar territory, and may have wielded significant
economic and political influence. Though their origins and history are somewhat
unclear, the Mountain Jews also lived in or near Khazar territory and may have been
allied with the Khazars, or subject to them; it is conceivable that they, too, played a role
in Khazar conversion.
At some point in the last decades of the 8th century or the early 9th century, the Khazar
royalty (Turkish warrior nomads) and nobility converted to Judaism, and part of the
general population may have followed. The extent of the conversion is debated. The 10th
century Persian historian Ibn al-Faqih reported that "all the Khazars are Jews."
Notwithstanding this statement, most scholars believe that only the upper classes
converted to Judaism; there is some support for this in contemporary Muslim
texts………Regardless, at the time the Khazar Khaganate of Eastern Europe must have
seemed a safer haven for Jewish migration from a dangerous world……….
Khaganate of the Turkish Nomadic Khazars ca 650-850
____________________________________________________
THE KIEVAN RUS……………NOW READ the GREEN…..
Kievan Rus' (also Kyivan Rus') was a medieval polity in Eastern
Europe, from the late 9th to the mid 13th century, when it
disintegrated under the pressure of the Mongol invasion of 1237–
1240.
Contemporarily, the state was known as "land of the Rus'"
……….The name "Kievan Rus'" was coined in the 19th century in
Russian historiography.
The early phase of the state is sometimes known as the "Rus
Khaganate", while the history of Rus' begins with Rurik’s line
ruling in Kiev in 855, The history proper begins in 882, when the
capital was moved from Novgorod to Kiev, after Varangians
(Vikings), who were called Rus, liberated this slavic city and
eventually many others from the Khazars' tribute.
The state reached its zenith in the mid 11th century (1000s),
when it encompassed territories stretching south to the Black
Sea, east to Volga, and west to the Kingdom of Poland and the
Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The reigns of Vladimir the Great (980–
1015) and his son Yaroslav I the Wise (1019–1054) constituted
the "Golden Age" of Kiev, which saw the introduction of
Christianity and the creation of the first East Slavic written legal
code, the Russkaya Pravda ("Justice of Rus").
Coinciding with the end of the Viking age, the state declined
beginning in the later 11th and during the 12th century,
disintegrating into various rival regional powers. It was further
weakened by economic factors such as the collapse of Rus'
commercial ties to Byzantium due to the decline of Constantinople
and the falling off of trade routes, and it finally fell to the
Mongol invasion of the 1230s.
The various East Slavic principalities were united within the
Russian Empire in the 18th century. The modern East Slavic
states of Belarus, Ukraine and Russia all derive their identity
from the early medieval state…...
________________________________________________________________
The Emergence of Kievan Rus'. Slavic peoples from Asia migrated into
Russia and eastern Europe during the period of the Roman Empire. They
mixed with and incorporated earlier populations. They possessed iron and
extended agriculture in Ukraine and western Russia. Political organization
centered in family tribes and villages. The Slavs followed an animist religion
and had rich traditions of music and oral legends.
Kievan Rus
Rus Trade Routes
Rus from 750-1054-Note Later Mongol Incursions
Scandinavian traders (Vikings) during the 6th and 7th centuries moved into
the region along its great rivers and established a rich trade between their
homeland and Constantinople. Some won political control. A monarchy
emerged at Kiev around 855 under the legendary Danish merchant, Rurik. The
loosely organized state flourished until the 12th century. Kiev became a
prosperous commercial center. Contacts with the Byzantines resulted in the
conversion of Vladimir I (r. 980-1015) to Orthodox Christianity. The ruler, on
the Byzantine pattern, controlled church appointments. Kiev's rulers issued a
formal law code. They ruled the largest single European state. Later Yaroslav
(r. 1019-. 1054) would firmly link Novgorod and Kiev and create the first
Russian Law code……………………….
RURIK
VLADIMIR I
Yaroslav
Institutions and Culture in Kievan Rus'. Kiev borrowed much from
Byzantium, but it was unable to duplicate its bureaucracy or education system.
Cultural, social, and economic patterns developed differently from the western
European experience. Rulers favored Byzantine ceremonials and the concept
of a strong central ruler. Orthodox Christian practices entered Russian culture:
devotion to god's power and to saints, ornate churches, icons, and monasticism.
Polygamy yielded to Christian monogamy. Almsgiving emphasized the
obligation of the wealthy toward the poor. Literature focused on religious and
royal events, while art was dominated by icon painting and illuminated religious
manuscripts. Church architecture adapted Byzantine themes to local conditions.
Peasants were free farmers, and aristocratic landlords (BOYARS ) had less
political power than similar westerners…THIS IS IMPORTANT TO NOTE
BECAUSE IT WILL CHANGE FOLLOWING MONGOL DECLINE AWAY
FROM RUSSIA
Kievan Decline. Kievan decline began in the 12th century. Rival princes
established competing governments while the royal family quarreled over the
succession. Asian invaders seized territory as trade diminished due to Byzantine
decay. The Mongol invasions of the 13th century incorporated Russian lands
into their territories. Mongol (Tartar) dominance further separated
Russia from western European developments. Commercial contacts lapsed.
Russian Orthodoxy survived because the tolerant Mongols did not interfere with
Russian religious beliefs or daily life as long as tribute was paid. Thus when
Mongol control ended in the 15th century a Russian cultural and political
tradition incorporating the Byzantine inheritance reemerged. The Russians
claimed to be the successors to the Roman and Byzantine states, the "third
Rome."
In Depth: Eastern and Western Europe: The Problem of Boundaries.
Determining where individual civilizations begin and end is a difficult exercise.
The presence of many rival units and internal cultural differences complicates
the question. If mainstream culture is used for definition, Orthodox and Roman
Catholic religion, each with its own alphabet, offers a logical answer. Political
organization is more complicated because of the presence of loosely organized
regional kingdoms. Commercial patters and Mongol and Russian expansion also
influenced cultural identities.
Conclusion: The End of an Era in Eastern Europe. With the Mongol
invasions, the decline of Russia, and the collapse of Byzantium, eastern Europe
entered into a difficult period. Border territories, such as Poland, fell under
western influence, while the Balkans fell to the Islamic world of the Turks.
Western and Eastern Europe evolved separately, with the former pushing ahead
in power and cross-cultural sophistication.
KEY TERMS
Justinian: 6th century Byzantine emperor; failed to reconquer the
western portions of the empire; rebuilt Constatinople; codified
Roman law
Hagia Sophia: great domed church constructed during reign of
Justinian.
Body of Civil Law: Justinian's codification of Roman law;
reconciled Roman edicts and decisions; made Roman law coherent
basis for political and economic life.
Bulgaria: Slavic kingdom in Balkans; constant pressure on
Byzantine Empire; defeated by Basil II in 1014.
icons: images of religious figures venerated by Byzantine
Christians.
iconoclasm: the breaking of images; religious controversy of the
8th century; Byzantine emperor attempted, but failed, to suppress
icon veneration.
Manzikert: Seljuk Turk victory in 1071 over Byzantium; resulted
in loss of the empire’s rich Anatolian territory.
Cyril and Methodius: Byzantine missionaries sent to convert
eastern Europe and Balkans; responsible for creation of Slavic
written script called Cyrillic.
Kiev: commercial city in Ukraine established by Scandinavians in
9th century; became the center for a kingdom that flourished until
the 12th century.
Vladimir I: ruler of Kiev (980-1015); converted kingdom to
Orthodox Christianity.
Russian Orthodoxy: Russian form of Christianity brought from
Byzantine Empire.
boyars: Russian landholding aristocrats; possessed less political
power than their western European counterparts.
Tartars: Mongols who conquered Russian cities during the 13th
century; left Russian church and aristocracy intact.
CLASS DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. What is the significance of the Byzantine Empire to the
civilization of Europe?
2. Compare and contrast the development of civilization in eastern
and western Europe.
3. How does Orthodox Christianity differ from Roman
Catholicism?
4. Discuss the similarities in Byzantine and Chinese political
organization.
5. What are the reasons for the decline of the Byzantine Empire?
6. How did the Byzantine Empire influence the development of
Russia?
7. How did Eastern Europe fall behind Western Europe in terms of
political development?
LECTURE SUGGESTIONS
1. Discuss the nature of Byzantine political organization and
culture and how they affected the development of Eastern
Europe. Byzantine political organization was based on a
centralized monarchy supported by a trained bureaucracy educated
in classical traditions. Local administrators were appointed by the
central administration. Political ideology focused on the principle
of a divinely authorized monarchy supported by elaborate court
ritual. The Byzantines continued the use of Roman patterns of
government as typified by the use of legal codes to organize
society. The military were recruited from the imperial population
in return for grants of heritable land leading eventually to regional
control by military commanders. There was a close relationship
between the Orthodox Church and the state, with the emperor as
head of church organization. Byzantine culture expressed itself in
religious artifacts (churches, icons, liturgical music). The
expansion of Byzantine culture northward was through the
conversion of Kiev to Orthodox Christianity. The Russians also
adopted the concepts of a divinely inspired monarchy with close
relations to a state-controlled church. Church-related art forms
came along with Orthodoxy. The Russians, however, were unable
to adopt the Byzantine trained bureaucracy.
2. Compare and contrast the impact of Byzantium on Eastern
Europe with the impact of the Islamic core on Africa and
southern Asia. For Byzantine culture, see above. Both
civilizations first spread their influence through missionaries; both
civilizations passed on influences that produced centralized
governments supported by the religious organization of the core
cultures. Islam had a much greater impact than did Byzantium.
The latter was limited to Eastern Europe while Islam spread into
much of Asia and Africa. Byzantium's influence was more
tenuous since there was less direct continuity over time because it
did not survive the postclassical period. In Russia Byzantine
influence was interrupted by the Mongol conquest. Islam has
endured in all regions until the present.
THE INSTRUCTOR’S TOOL KIT
Map References
Danzer, Discovering World History through Maps and Views
Source Maps: S20, S23, S28. Reference Maps: R17-21
Video/Film
Early Christianity and the Rise of the Church. Insight Media
#WN179
Enigma of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Insight Media
Crusader. Films for the Humanities & Sciences, #SQ4295
Byzantium. Films for the Humanities & Sciences, #SQ1959