The Byzantine Empire
• Location: (core) SE
Europe/SW Asia
(Constantinople)
• formerly known as
the Eastern Roman
Empire
• Western
Europeans’ name
for the Byzantines
– “Greeks”
The Byzantine Empire – cont.
• Began in 330 C.E. – Emperor
Constantine adopted the city
of Byzantium as the seat of his
power (renamed it Constantinople)
• 395 C.E. – The Roman Empire
splits into two.
• The Western part – under
barbarian pressure
• The Eastern part – prospers /
more secure
Byzantine Empire:
Major Characteristics
• Christianity (Orthodox)
– official/state religion
• Emperors – political
leaders; appoint
Patriarchs
• Greek culture
• Roman Law
• Contact with Muslim
civilization
• Buffer between the
West (Europe) and the
East (Middle East)
The Byzantine Empire in Maps
• Throughout its history, the empire won and lost territories. Here are some
examples:
The Byzantine Empire in Maps – Cont.
• http://sadredearth.com/wordpress/wpcontent/uploads/2009/12/Byzantine_Empir
e_animated.gif
Byzantine Empire – Major Rivals
•
•
•
•
•
Goths and Bulgars
Sassanids (Persians)
Arabs (Muslims)
Seljuk Turks
Western (Latin) Christians
(Franks)???
• Ottoman Turks
Byzantine Military:
• Philosophy: Defense Oriented
(surrounded by aggressive rivals)
• Tactics: no code of honor (propaganda,
bribery, trickery, use of spies, etc.)
• Organization: native born soldiers (not
many mercenaries); emphasis on
coordinated attacks (use of signals and
messengers); cavalry, infantry,
engineering corps, and medics.
• The Cataphract (discipline heavy
cavalry) – the most well-trained and
drilled units of the army
Military Innovations (cont.)
• Stirrups-One of Most
Important Inventions
– 5th or 6th century from China
– Allowed man to use full force of
the lance
– Could stand up and gain height
– Poorer riders could still perform
well
• “Greek Fire”
– Even today unsure of what
exactly its chemical composition
was, kept so secret it was
forgotten
– Shot out of hollow tubes on
ships, was like liquid fire, stuck
to everything, could not be
extinguished
Byzantine Empire: Religion
• Orthodox Christianity
• Patriarch of
Constantinople Appointed
by Emperor
• [eventual] Schism
(break/split) with the Latin
(West) Church
• Spread of Orthodox
Christianity into Eastern
Europe (major conversion
accomplishment: Kievan
Rus (Russia/Ukraine)
Icons and Iconoclasm
• Icons – religious work of art
• Byzantine icons – icons, frescos, and
mosaics of Jesus, Mary, angels, and
saints.
Byzantine Iconoclasm
Definition: two periods in the history of
the Byzantine Empire (730-787 and
814-842) when Emperors imposed
bans on religious images/icons.
Rival parties within the empire:
Iconoclasts (against icons) vs.
Iconophiles (in favor of icons)
Major Reasons:
• Old Testament interpretation of
worshiping of “graven images”
• Arab raids in the east of the empire /
series of military defeats
Schism of Christian Church – 1054
http://home.comcast.net/~DiazStudents/MiddleAgesChurchMap1.jpg
Byzantine Cultural Achievements
and Influences
•
•
•
•
•
Preservation of Roman traditions/law/culture
Art (Icons)
Architecture (Hagia Sophia)
Spread of culture/religion to Eastern Europe
Cyrillic Alphabet
Byzantine Art and Architecture
http://wpcontent.answers.com/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8f/Chapelle_Palatine2.jpg/400px-Chapelle_Palatine2.jpg
Byzantine Icons
-
Religious images
Two-dimentional
No / little
background
Importance of
symbolism, not
realism
http://www.greekfleamarket.com/images/icons/b65.jpg
Byzantine Mosaics
http://www.classicmosaics.co.uk/site/MyImages/byzantine_4516.jpg
http://www.italylogue.com/files/2008/04/ravenna_mosaic.jpg
http://www.mlahanas.de/Greeks/Medi
eval/Bio/JustinianI.html
Byzantine Style Architecture:
Hagia Sophia
http://www.gotochina08.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/Istanbul-Hagia-Sophia.jpg
http://www.wheressamtheman.com/2007/11/istanbul-pics.html
http://intranet.arc.miami.edu/rjohn/images/Byzantine/Mosque%20Hagia%20Sophia.jp
g
Byzantine Style Architecture in Russia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neo-Byzantine_architecture_in_the_Russian_Empire
Cathedral of Christ the Savior
In Moscow
http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Russian_culture
St.Basil’s Cathedral, Moscow
Byzantine Influences on Kievan
Rus (Russia) and Eastern Europe
Orthodox Christianity
Byzantine style architecture
Cyrillic Alphabet
(St.Cyrill and St.Methodius)
Religions of Europe (present day)
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/23/Europe_religion_map_en.png
Byzantine Cultural Legacy in
Eastern Europe (cont.)
•
…
•
•
•
St.Cyril and Methodius Byzantine Missionaries
- spread Orthodox faith
to Slavs of Eastern
Europe
Cyrillic Alphabet
• A family of alphabets used by peoples of
Eastern Europe and Central Asia
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e5/Azbuka_1574_by_Ivan_Fyodorov.jpg
Patriarch of the Church and the
State (Government)
http://faculty.cua.edu/pennington/ChurchHistory220/LectureTwo/JustinianMosaic.jpg
Church and State in the
Byzantine Empire
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/06/Istanbul.Hagia_Sophia075.jpg
http://warandgame.files.wordpress.com/2007/10/basil.jpg
Church and State: Modern Russia
http://www.asianews.it/files/img/RUSSIA_-_ortodossi_(500_x_334).jpg
http://www.theorthodoxchurch.info/blogs/news/uploaded_images/14724624.jpg
Fall of Constantinople (1453)
• Sultan Mehmet II’s
Ottoman Army captures
Constantinople
*Large cannons
*Small Firearms
*Numerical advantage
(50,000 to 8,500)
http://drjamesgalyon.files.wordpress.com/2008/11/gatesofconst.jpg
Reasons for the Fall of
Constantinople (example)
• Large cannons
Dardanelles Gun, used in siege of Constantinople; It now lies
in the Tower of London
https://sites.google.com/a/brvgs.k12.va.us/rennaisance/gunpowder-and-firearms
Byzantine Legacy
http://www.flightsafrica.co.uk/blog_images/Byzantium.jpg