Byzantine Empire (330-1453)
Diocletian’s Empire
The origins
• 292: Diocletian divides
the Roman empire into
two.
• 324: Constantine reunites
the two parts
• 330: Constantine builds
a new capital in the
location of ancient
Byzantium
• 337: The death of
Constantine results in
division between east and
west.
Constantinople
• Successive emperors
build strong walls,
palaces, churches,
gardens, aquaducts
and made the city the
biggest, strongest and
most enlightened city
of medieval
Christendom
The Walls of Theodosius
Cistern Basilica – water storage under Constantinople
The early years
• 337: Constantius II,
succeeds Constantine
• East and West divided
again, permanently.
• 361: Julian tries to revert
to paganism.
• 379-95: Theodosius I
• Christianity obligatory
• 396: Prohibition of
Olympic Games
Hippodrome
The Fall of Rome
• Barbarian tribes keep
pushing into a fragmented
and weakened Roman
Empire.
• The east through bribery,
diplomacy and better
military resists effectively
• 476: Rome Falls
• 491: Anastasius I: His
competent rule
reorganizes the east.
Financial strength and
administative success.
The Last Legion
Reasons for the survival of the
Byzantine Empire
• Classical Cultures – Byzantium benefited from a rich
infusion of Greek, Roman, Christian, and Middle Eastern
cultures
• Location – At the crossroads of Europe and Asia,
Constantinople was a major center for trade. Silks and
spices from the East, furs from Russia, and grains, olives,
and wines from the empire itself brought great wealth
• Strong Central Government – Byznatium was ruled by a
series of powerful emperors with a strong centralized
administration and a single set of laws
• Large Army – The Byzantine central government taxed
merchants and peasants to support a large standing army.
The Age of Justinian
(527-75)
• Procopius, Histories
• 532 The Nica revolt
• 536: Reconquest of Rome
and much of Italy took
many years.
• North Africa and the
Spanish coast were easily
conquered.
• Victories over Sassanid
Persia in the east
consolidate the borders
Hagia Sophia, Church of the Holy Wisdom, 6th c.
Justinian’s legacy
• Hagia Sophia remained the seat of Eastern
Christianity until the Fall of Constantinople.
• 552: Byzantine monks sneak silkworms and
mulbery out of China.
• Justinian orders the codification of Roman law
(Corpus Iuris Civilis).
• He was heavy-handed towards heresies
• In 529 he closed the philosophical school of
Athens, thus destroying the last stronghold of
paganism.
Empress Theodora
The Byzantine empire in 565, at its largest expansion ever.
The Struggle with the Persians
• Procopius is a rich source for the campaigns in the east.
• Justinian and his successors were locked into a titanic struggle
with an old enemy and won.
• 627: Heraclios crushes the Persians at Nineveh.
• However, both Byzantines and Persians were exhausted and
vulnerable to the Arabs and Islam.
The Decline of the Byzantine
Empire
• Consistant warfare with the Persians and Muslims
in the east, Slavs and Avars to the north shrinks and
weakens the empire
• In the 11th Century, the Seljuk Turks defeated a
Byzantine army in 1071 and took most of the Asian
part of the empire
• 1204, Constantinople is “sacked” in the 4th Crusade
The empire in 1092
The Fall of Constantinople
• The world turned its eyes
on a depopulated
Constantinople in the
spring of 1453.
• A shadow of its former
glory the imperial city fell
after months of siege from
the Ottoman Turks.
• Constantine XI, the last
emperor became the
subject of legends.
The Byzantine Legacy
• Preserved Ancient Cultures – The Byzantines
preserved the rich cultural heritage of
classical civilization during the European
Dark Ages
• Code of Justinian – Emperor Justinian
consolidated Roman Laws into a single legal
code which served as a guide on most legal
questions and highly influenced later Western
legal systems (including the United States)
The Byzantine Legacy
• The Arts – The Byzantines were renowned
for their mosaics, painted icons, gold jewelry,
and silks. Constantinople’s Hagia Sophia is
considered one of the world’s most beautiful
buildings
The Byzantine Legacy
• Eastern Orthodox Christianity – resulted in a schism from
the Roman Catholic Church in 1054 after 700 years of
infighting between Rome and Constantinople.
Roman Catholic Church
Eastern Orthodox Church
Services were held in Latin
Services were held in local languages
The Pope has authority over all other
Bishops
The Patriarch and other Bishops head the
church as a group
The Pope claims authority over all kings
and emperors
The emperor claims authority over the
patriarch and other bishops of the empire
Priests may not marry
Priests my be married
Divorce if not permitted
Divorce is allowed under certain
conditions
Use of icons and images allowed and
encouraged
Use of icons and images discouraged (once
seen as idol worship)