The Byzantine Empire
Use pages 282-288 in your textbook to answer the following questions. You must use complete sentences and you must
use the words (evidence) from the text in your answer.
Introduction:
How did Constantinople become so wealthy?
Constantine Creates a New Rome:
What caused the Roman Emperor Constantine to move away from the city of Rome in the 300s?
What areas were linked by Byzantine trade routes?
What were some of the trade goods traded in Constantinople?
How did these trade goods reach Constantinople?
What outside cultural influences shaped Constantinople’s culture?
Byzantium Flourishes under Justinian:
How did Justinian’s desire to recover lost land affect the economy of Byzantium?
What earlier cultures did Justinian use as the inspiration to rebuild Byzantium after the Great Fire of 532?
What culture’s law codes were used as the foundation for Justinian’s Code of Law?
How did Justinian’s Code affect Europe?
How much power did Justinian have over the Byzantine religion?
What was the role of the peasants in Byzantium?
How far did the bezant reach?
How did the Byzantine economy compare to the economies in Western Europe?
What was Greek Fire?
How did the Byzantines use Greek Fire to protect and expand their empire?
What empire began to challenge Byzantium’s authority in the 600s and 700s?
Byzantine Christianity:
How did the Byzantine emperor affect the Christian church in Byzantium?
What are three major differences between the Roman (western) Church and the Byzantine (eastern) Church?
What is one major similarity between the Roman (western) Church and the Byzantine (eastern) Church?
Why did the Byzantine people resent the pope?
When the Christian church split, what was each branch called?
The Empire Suffers Crisis and Collapse:
What problems reduced the power of the Byzantine Empire?
Why did Westerners get involved in the First Crusade?
What two major groups negatively affected the Byzantine Empire in the 1200s?
What happened to Constantinople in 1453?
The Byzantine Heritage:
How did the Byzantine Empire affect Western Europe and the Ottomans?
How did the Byzantines build on the accomplishments of other cultures?
How did Byzantine scholars contribute to the European Renaissance?
Essential Question: Use the information from the reading to create a thesis statement chicken foot in answer to the
following question. Remember to group your answers to create the “toes” of the chicken foot:
 What did Byzantium affect the most: politics, culture, economics, or society?
 Using the three “toes” of the chicken foot, write at least two supporting details for each.
Keep this sheet of questions for your quiz, and turn in the essential question activity.