The Byzantine Empire
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The Byzantine Empire
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The Byzantine Empire
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Where did it all start?
• As the Roman Empire began to collapse there was a split between the eastern
Greek speaking Christians and western
Christians now controlled by the
Barbarian tribes of Europe.

The Byzantine Empire
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Why did the Split occur?
• In 325 CE Constantine called the bishops of hundreds of churches together to discuss religious doctrine
• This was known as the
Council of Nicaea
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Nicaea is located in modern day Turkey
• The main focus was the importance of Jesus and how he related to God.
Who was more important.
• Many bishops could not agree.

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So what?
• Because of these disagreements churches in
Rome, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem and
Constantinople begin to appoint their own priest, set up their own dioceses, and develop their own church rules
• In the west Latin becomes the official language of the church while in the east Greek becomes the language of the church
• Each believes that they are right

The Byzantine Empire
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Rome Falls
• In 286 CE the Roman
Empire had become too big to control
• The Empire was split into the east and west
• In 330 Constantine unites the Roman
Empire in
Constantinople
• In 395 CE the Empire was then again split between east and west
• The eastern half was called the Byzantine
Empire

The Byzantine Empire
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How was the Byzantine Empire different from Rome?
• Greek was the official language
• Dome architecture
• It culturally aligned itself with those in eastern Europe, Persia
• They practiced Orthodox Christianity

The Byzantine Empire
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As Rome Fell
• Western Europe
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The Empire was divided up into small feudal kingdoms
There was a limited power structure and no one person controlled the empire
• It would be almost
400 years before
Charlemagne would united the Holy
Roman Empire
There was limited cultural or intellectual advancements

The Byzantine Empire
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As Rome Fell
• In the East
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The Byzantine Empire was ruled by one absolute ruler
All economic systems were controlled by the
Emperor
• As was true in the
Roman Empire
• The Emperor set
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Prices
Grain shipments
Controlled the types of trade goods to be sold
Coined money was used for trade

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Constantinople
Became the
• religious center for the
Eastern Orthodox Church
• the crossroads between the Muslim Middle east and the Christian west
• the center of trade for sea trade in the Mediterranean
• The center of overland trade with the Silk Road linking Europe with China,
India, The Middle East and
The East Indies
• Rivaled Baghdad for cultural and economic supremacy

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Justinian (527-565 )
• Restored the former glory of Rome to the
Empire
• Developed the Justinian
Code
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Codification of Roman law which kept ancient
Roman legal principles alive
• Developed the Arts and
Sciences
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Constructed major churches (Hagia
Sophia)
Mastery of mosaic art

The Byzantine Empire
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Who ruled the church?
• In the west the power of the church was centralized into the hands of the Pope.
• In the east the bishop of Constantinople was seen as the head of the church
However
• for the most part the eastern church was more decentralized
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Local churches conducted services in their own language
Local customs blended into the church
Priest had as much authority as any member of the church

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The Great Schism of 1054
• Around 900-1000 CE the relationship between the
Western Roman Catholic
Church and the Eastern
Orthodox worsened.
• The church leaders in
Byzantium challenged the authority and the territorial jurisdiction of the Pope.
• The Orthodox Christians did not like having to follow the rules of Rome

The Byzantine Empire
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The Orthodox Church differed with the Roman Catholic Church over
• The nature of God
• The trinity of God
• The placement of icons during worship
By 1054 CE neither side could agree on various aspects of the church
In 1054 CE the Pope excommunicated the leaders of the
Orthodox Church and the Orthodox Church excommunicated the Pope
From 1054 CE the Orthodox Church would influence eastern
Europe while the Roman Catholic Church would control the western portion of Europe

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Impact of the Orthodox Church on the East
• By the 9 th century Russia was converted to Orthodox
Christianity
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St. Cyril spread Orthodox Christianity
Vladimir the Prince of Kiev turns to Orthodox after examining Islam, Judaism and Roman Catholicism
• It is said it picked Orthodox because there were no food restrictions that accompanied the religion
• The Greek Alphabet was introduced and is still used today in parts of Russia

The Byzantine Empire
• Russian followed traditions of the Orthodox Church and did not follow the reforms of the Roman
Catholic Church
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However without the support of the RCC during the Mongol invasion
Russia and eastern
Europe was left to defend itself with little help from the rest of Europe
• Russia will develop into a culturally and politically different nation then the rest of Europe under the influence of the Orthodox
Church

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Cultural Achievements
• Architecture
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Hagia Sophia (Sacred
Wisdom)
• Use of ornamentation of religious centers and churches
• Religious Art
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Holy images against gold backgrounds influenced western art
• Musical
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Chanting which would later be employed in
Roman Catholic Churches

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Women
• The Byzantine Empire followed the rules of traditional Roman society
• Family life was centered around the father
• While women enjoyed some freedom in public this changed by the 7 th century
• Women found themselves confined to homes and wearing veils not unlike their
Muslim neighbors.

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Problems
• While the empire looked strong on paper it was actually slowly weakening
• Warfare
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Constant fighting on both the northern and southern boarders depleted military power and money
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Between 634 and 650 the Arabs took most the
Byzantine holding in Africa (Egypt, Tunisia) The
Middle East (Syria)
By 1453 The Muslim Empire had taken over the
Byzantine Empire

The Byzantine Empire
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Problems
• Warfare
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Muslims
• Because the Muslims took so much of the
Byzantine Empire many of the people that were
Christians converted to Islam
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Warfare in the North
• Between the 600-1054 CE Germanic tribes from the west and Slavic tribes from the north east migrated into and fought with the Byzantine
Empire

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Inside the Empire
• In the late 500’s the Empire suffered an outbreak of the
Bubonic Plague

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With the loss of land to the Muslims and the loss of population to the plague how would this effect the political, social and economic wellbeing of the Empire
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Discuss with partners
Be prepared to lead discussion

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Problems
• The decline in population lead to a decline in the wealth of the empire
• The urban elite shrank and this caused those families who were still wealthy to begin to fight for their own power and control.
• As with Japan it lead to a battle of aristocratic families
• By 1118 the Emperor of the Empire stated that he felt more like a lord and not like a ruler

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Economics
• Constantinople was the center of trade
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However the
• lack of new technology,
• a strong focus on trade and not farm goods
• Wealth being concentrated in only in
Constantinople
Hurt the empire

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Conclusion
• By the 1242 the Mongols had taken over
Russia
• By the 14 th Century the Muslims had taken over the Byzantine Empire and began to move into Eastern Europe
• In the 1400’s Ivan III expanded the territory around Moscow driving out the Mongols. The
Eastern Orthodox Church would move out of
Constantinople and center itself in Moscow.