Q KWL Q
• What do you know about the Byzantine Empire?
• Use a KWL strategy to answer the EEI questions on
the next slide to show what you Know about
Byzantine. If you do not know specific facts, then
answer based on your knowledge about empires.
• W will be the questions posed before each picture in
the slideshow.
• L is your answers to these content questions
• The last Q is your choice!
Essential questions
• How does geography influence the growth
of the Byzantine civilization?
• What impact does trade/economics have
on the organization and daily life of people?
• What are the evolving principles and ideals
that have shaped government over timespecific to Byzantine?
• How does the legacy of civilizations impact
their interaction throughout history?
Instructions for slide show note taking:
Working with your partner:
1. View the pictures and discuss the spiral
questions (questions to consider).
2. Read each slide and take your own notes
(summarize). Make sure you title and
date your notes.
3. After you are done taking your notes, see
me for graphic organizers you need to
complete based on the information in the
show.
4. After we review the organizers in class,
You must chose to complete one of the
assigned topics on the last slide.
Cityscape of Istanbul (Constantinople)
Questions to consider:
1. What do you notice about the location of
this city?
2. Describe the buildings that stand out in the
picture.
3. Do you think the domed buildings are
modern or historic?
4. What do you think they are used for?
5. Why might this city be considered a
strategic locale for a city?
6. How could you protect the city from
invaders?
Cityscape notes:
• The picture is a view of modern-day Istanbul, Turkey,
which was formerly Constantinople, the capital city of the
Byzantine Empire (A.D. 330-1453). This aerial view shows
the city’s position at the confluence of the Bosporus
(center), the Golden Horn (left) and the Sea of Marmara
(right).
• The Byzantine Empire grew out of the fading Roman
Empire. In the 4th century A.D., the western half of the
Roman Empire had been weakened by barbarian invasions.
At the same time, Christianity was a growing force and
Constantine the Great became The first Christian emperor
of Rome. Because the eastern portion of the Empire had a
longer tradition of absolutism and monotheism than did the
West, Constantine decided to consolidate his rule by
moving the capital eastward, in A.D. 330. He chose the
Greek seaport of Byzantium and renamed it New Rome.
But it became known as his city: Constantinople. This
magnificent city of the Eastern Roman Empire became the
hub of the Byzantine Empire.
•
Constantine chose the new capital for its fine harbor and strategic locale.
The city was surrounded on 3 sides by water, which was excellent for
trade, as well as for defense. Constantine needed only to build walls on
one side to ensure the city’s security. The city became a self-contained
fortress, protected by 13 miles of walls, watchtowers, and 50 fortified
gates. The inlet of the Golden horn, one of the bordering bodies of water,
was surrounded by hills. Consequently, ships in the Golden Horn were
safe even in bad weather, and there was always one harbor safe for
docking. Along this sea side of the city, walled harbors and a chain
stretched across the Golden Horn protected ships from attacks launched
at sea.
•
Located on the Bosporus Strait, the gateway from the Black Sea to the
Sea of Marmara, Constantinople was at a shipping and trading crossroads
between two continents: Europe and Asia. From the Sea of Marmara,
another strait (the Dardanelles) led to the Aegean Sea, which joined the
Mediterranean Sea. Thus, whoever ruled Constantinople was in a
position to control all shipping from Asia to Europe, as well as the trade
between Russia and the Mediterranean territories.
•
Since Constantinople began as the eastern capital of the Roman Empire,
Byzantine culture was heavily influenced by the Roman Empire. The city
itself was modeled after Rome, like Rome, it was built on 7 hills and
divided into 14 districts. The buildings and structures in Constantinople
also strongly reflected Roman influence—the hippodrome, forum and
aqueducts were all derived from the old Empire.
•
The Byzantine Empire retained but relaxed many of the Roman Empire’s rules and
customs. Extravagant circuses and chariot races continued in Constantinople, along
with such traditions as the emperor’s distribution of bread to the citizens. The army
followed Roman military traditions. While the Byzantines retained some of Rome's
class-based standards of punishment and dress for the rich and poor, some mobility
later became possible.
•
Progressive Byzantine emperors began to select their officials on the basis of talent
and competence rather than simply hereditary social class. The Byzantine senate
existed mainly as a result of Roman tradition and was not nearly as rigid and
powerful body as it had been in Rome. The one major difference between
Constantinople and Rome was that from its inception Constantinople was a Christian
city.
•
The Byzantine Empire was a bridge between ancient and modern Europe. Its
territory included the lands of Greece, Asia Minor, Palestine, Syria and Egypt, though
this changed as the Empire expanded and contracted. Christianity, Roman customs
and Greek classical culture all survived, blended and flourished in the Empire. The
Empire’s military staved off barbarians in the West and Arabs and Turks in the East;
its scholars preserved Greek Literature and philosophy (Greek was the official
language of Constantinople—had to speak it to be a citizen)’ its legal experts, at the
direction of the emperor, preserved and codified Roman legal traditions. The Empirewhich saw no fewer than 88 rulers come and go and survived centuries of public
riots, religious differences, and foreign threats—ended 1453 when Constantinople fell
to the Turks. Constantinople today is the modern city of Istanbul, Turkey, the only
major city that straddles two continents.
•
1515
Mosaic Portrait of Emperor Justinian I
Questions to consider:
1. What materials were used to make this
picture?
2. Which person stands out in this picture?
Describe him.
3. Who do you think he might be?
4. How would you describe the clothing of
the other figures?
5. Describe some of the objects they are
holding.
6. Who do you think they are?
Justinian notes:
• The mosaic picture is representing Emperor Justinian I
and his court. It is located in the Church of San Vitale,
in Ravenna, Italy.
• The Byzantine Empire's 16th and most ambitious ruler
was the Emperor Justinian I, who held power from
A.D. 527 until his death in A.D. 565. Justinian
ascended the throne at age 45. he was very devout,
determined and even stubborn. Rather than allow
problems to develop, he took steps to prevent them
(he preferred to invade rather than be invaded).
During his reign a historian named Procopius praised
the emperor as even-tempered and hard-working.
After Justinian’s death, Procopius wrote in a “Secret
History” that the emperor had been “devious, false,
hypocritical, two-faced, cruel, skilled in dissembling
his thought, never moved to tears by either joy or
pain…a liar always.”
• Justinian was an ambitious military leader. He funded
his military ventures by taxing the people heavily.
Eventually, Justinian's armies managed to dominate the
Vandals in North Africa, the Ostrogoths in Italy, and the
Visigoths in Southern Spain, and expanded the Empire to
the greatest size it was ever to attain. In a church in
Ravenna, Italy, he was celebrated in the mosaic (a
picture or pattern made up of small pieces of colored
glass or stone inlaid in plaster) shown here. In the long
run, though, Justinian’s costly military projects were not
so successful. His attempt to recapture Rome from the
Barbarians led to 18 years of chaotic siege and counter
siege, leaving the once-proud city in ruins.
• Justinian, like all Byzantine emperors, played a dual role.
He was the absolute head of both the Christian church
and the state. The throne, in fact, was built wide enough
to seat two—thus symbolizing the emperor’s partnership
with Jesus. In the mosaic, at Justinian’s left hand, stands
the archbishop of Ravenna. Justinian served various
roles as a Christian leader. Because he was the emperor
and emperors were believed to rule by divine right, his
authority over the church was above that of even the
patriarch of Constantinople. Justinian also had the
authority to choose and appoint the patriarch of
Constantinople.
• The Codification of 400 years’ worth of Roman law was
one of Justinian’s major accomplishments. Justinian
believed that many of the old laws were unnecessarily
complicated, unorganized, and no longer relevant.
Thus, he appointed a group of 10 men, working under
a legal scholar named Tribonian, to collect and
organize the laws made and used by all the emperors
before him.. As a result, the laws were revised and a
new legal code called the Corpus Juris Civilis (Body of
Civil Law) was created. This code law, also known as
the Code of Justinian, became the basis for much of
Western legal codes in the subsequent centuries.
• Justinian's finest, most lasting achievements were his
massive building programs. The emperor undertook
an ambitious program of public works, ordering new
bridges, churches, monasteries, forums, forts and
roads to be built. Hospitals, public baths, recreation
centers, a law library, a seaside park filled with bronze
and marble statues—all of these were the work of
Justinian’s stonemasons, architects, and planners.
When the city of Antioch was destroyed in an
earthquake, Justinian had the entire city rebuilt!
Mosaic of Empress Theodora
Questions to consider:
1. Identify and describe the person who
is the subject of this mosaic.
2. How is the subject different from the
rest of the mosaic.
3. How is this mosaic different from the
previous one of Justinian?
Theodora notes:
•
The subject of the mosaic is Empress Theodora and her court.
It is located in Ravenna, Italy in the Church of San Vitale.
•
Justinian’s wife, the Empress Theodora, was a remarkable and
influential woman who equaled and sometimes surpassed her
husband in political skill and wisdom. Born into the lower
classes (her father was the bear-keeper for Constantinople’s
circus), Theodora carved out a teenage career as a dancer and
actress. She loved adventure, new friendships and travel. In
her twenties, when she returned from a long trip to Africa,
she settled down and married Justinian. Once he took power,
Theodora was active in politics—advancing her friends,
destroying her enemies, and sometimes giving orders that
canceled her husband’s. She also was responsible for several
social welfare programs, including one for the city’s poor and
homeless girls, and for convincing the emperor to expand
women’ s rights.
•
On one occasion, Theodora saved the empire. In A. D. 532, in
reaction to the huge amounts of money being poured into
overseas wars and to Justinian’s sometimes tyrannical rule,
there was a riot in Constantinople, later called the Nika
Rebellion. It began as a simple shouting-match (in the stadium
where chariot races took place), but soon a mob formed and the
city was in flames. The royal family took refuge in the palace.
Some of Justinian’s counselors argued for escape by sea, but
then Theodora spoke. According to the court historian,
Procopius, Theodora's advice to her husband was the following:
“In my opinion this is no time to admit the maxim that a woman
must not act as a man among men; nor, if she fires the courage
of the halting, are we to consider whether she does right or no.
When matters come to a crisis, we must agree as to the best
course to take. My opinion is that , although we may save
ourselves by flight, it is not to our interest. Every man that sees
the light must die, but the man who has once been raised to the
height of empire cannot suffer himself to go into exile and
survive his dignity. God forbid that I should ever be stripped of
the purple, or live a single day on which I am not to be saluted
as Mistress. If thou desires to go, Emperor, nothing prevents
thee. There is the sea; there are the steps to the boat. But have
a care that when thou leaves here, thou dose not exchange this
set light for an ignoble death. For my part I like the old saying:
the empire is a fine winding sheet.”
•
Rallied by her speech, Justinian sent troops to crush the
rebellion. The emperor and his troops surrounded the
hippodrome, killed 30,000 of the rebels and order was restored.
Interior of the Hagia Sophia
Questions to consider:
1. Describe the interior of this building.
2. What kinds of shapes do you see?
3. How long do you think it took to build it?
4. How is this building illuminated?
5. Which part of the building do you think took
the longest to build?
6. What type of building might this be?
7. What aspects of the architecture strike you as
interesting?
8. How high do you think the dome is?
9. How does the size of the building make you
feel?
10.Why would light be important in this
building?
Hagia Sophia notes:
• In the wake of the riot in 532, Justinian undertook to
rebuild and restore Constantinople. True to form, he
did it on the grand scale. In addition to the many civic
buildings Justinian had built, the crown jewel of
Constantinople—the largest of its 25 new Christian
cathedrals—was a domed church named the Hagia
Sophia.
• Built in only 5 years (532-537), Hagia Sophia, or the
Church of “Holy Wisdom”, stood for centuries as the
most magnificent structure in the Western world. Its
dome, a marvel of engineering, reaches 180 feet (or
some 12 stories) above the floor. The dome’s diameter
is 107 feet and at its circumference it has 40 stainedglass windows. In Justinian's time, Hagia Sophia’s
beauty became renowned: as the sun crossed the sky,
spokes of light spun slowly across the cathedral’s
walls, columns, arches, and glittering mosaics.
Everywhere there was polished marble in 6 colors:
green, black, red, purple, blue, and white. After the
sun set, a huge candelabrum, hanging on long chains
blazed to life.
•
Hagia Sophia, while ornate on the inside, is like other Byzantine
churches on the outside: utterly plain. The contrast is deliberate
and symbolic. The plain brick and mortar exterior represents
the daily world and earthly life. The rich interior represents the
ideal or spiritual universe that, the Byzantines believed,
accompanied the coming of Christianity. Interestingly, Hagia
Sophia has a second dual nature, as well—expressed in its two
styles of architecture. Here east meets west. The cathedral’s
size and strength thick pillars, a huge enclosed space, are
reminders of the architecture of Rome. But the design and
decoration—intricate and ornate, down to the very last piece of
mosaic—reflect Eastern influences.
•
Two distinguished architects worked on the church: Antemuis of
Tralles and Isidorus of Miletus. With Hagia Sophia they solved a
major design problem, and the solution was played out in
smaller churches across the Byzantine Empire. The hardest part
to build is what is called “the pendentive”. This is the strangely
curved wall space that extends above the four central arches,
reaching to the base of the dome. The pendentive joins two
circular shapes. The architectural style of Hagia Sophia spread
far through the Empire-Armenia, S. Italy, Russia, Serbia, and
Sicily. In each region, local builders adjusted the style to suit
their particular climate, technology and materials. When
Constantinople fell to the Islamic Turks, Hagia Sophia became a
mosque. Today it is a museum.
Icon of Mary and Jesus
Questions to consider:
1. What kind of work of art is this?
2. Who is depicted here?
3. Where might this painting be placed?
4. Why do you think some people pain
pictures of religious figures or events?
5. Why might some people object to such
pictures?
Icons notes:
•
Throughout the Byzantine Empire, the Christian church carried
forward a long tradition of icons. An icon is a representation of
sacred persons or events, such as the lives of Jesus and the
saints. Icons appear in several forms: mural painting, mosaic
and most typically, painted on small wooden panes. These flat,
two dimensional religious images can be venerated in special
ways (prayed to and carried aloft in religious processions) and
specific technical rules guide their artistic form.
•
Some Byzantine Christians opposed icons because they felt it
was wrong to show devotions to a mere man- made image.
They feared that the icons were being worshiped as though
they represented gods. Those opposed to icons argued that
worship should be offered only to God. For a long time,
though, these Christians were in the minority, and icons were
widely accepted. Those who supported the use of icons argued
that the images helped the faithful honor the religious figures
represented. Portraits of Jesus, his mother Mary and others
saints become increasingly popular. Indeed some of the
newest Christian converts – barbarians into the West—
accepted icons with a vengeance, investing them with magical
powers and making sacrifices before them.
• Over the centuries, a rift developed between pro and
anti icon Christians. Words flew, fists were raised, and
riots broke out. The anti-icon Christians became
known as “iconoclasts” (meaning “icon smashers”)
and the Byzantine Emperor Leo III passionately joined
their ranks. In A.D. 730, partly in response to a
volcanic eruption that he saw as a sign of God’s wrath,
Leo banned icons. Moreover, the ordered that all
religious images—icons, mosaics, paintings—be
burned, whitewashed or destroyed. Leo’s decree
deepened the growing rift between Easter (Byzantine
and Western Christians. In the West, where few
people could read, religious leaders often used images
to explain Christian teachings. The Roman pope,
Gregory III, who held sway in the West, claimed to
lead the whole church, and favored icons, responded
by declaring that Leo III was no longer a Christian and
he excommunicated him.
•
For decades, controversy raged. Artwork was destroyed. Iconoclast
emperors alternated with their pro-icon opponents. Though the
Byzantines finally accepted icons for good, the damage was done. The
rift between Eastern and Western Christians became a gaping chasm. In
1054, the Christian church split into two churches forever. In the West,
the church became the Roman Catholic church (catholic is from a Latin
worked meaning universal) in the East, the church became the eastern
Orthodox church (orthodox from Greek, means correct belief).
•
The split between Eastern and Western Christianity, call the Great
Schism, was the result of cleavages in tradition, custom and theology.
According to the Catholic church of the West, masses were always in
Latin, the pope was the supreme religious authority above any political
ruler, all clergy were celibate, and religious icons of martyrs and saints
were to be respected.
•
In the East, however, Christianity took on different traditions. Masses
were in Greek, the language of the eastern people, so as to be
understandable. Monks and other Christians who did missionary work
often translated the bible into the language of the people they were
trying to convert, in order to make Christianity more accessible. Another
difference was that the Byzantine emperor appointed and was considered
superior to the patriarch, they bishop of Constantinople, who dominated
the Byzantine Church and whom the Byzantine Christians looked up to as
a greater religious authority than the pope. In the East, bishops were
not allowed to marry, but priests and other clergy were not required to
be celibate. Icons were generally a subject of much controversy. For
centuries, they were still used in the East, although many Orthodox
Christian disapproved of them because they felt that Christian should be
praying directly to and only to God.
According to the Catholic
Church:
Christianity in the east took
on a different tradition:
• Masses were always
conducted in Latin.
• Masses were in Greek.
• The pope was the
supreme religious
authority.
• All clergy were
celibate (They did not
marry).
• Religious icons of
martyrs and saints
were to be respected.
• Monks and missionaries
translated the Bible into
the language of the
people they were trying
to convert.
• The patriarch, the bishop
of Constantinople,
dominated the Byzantine
Church. The emperor
appointed patriarch and
was superior to him.
• Bishops could not marry,
but priests and clergy
could.
• Less tangible differences also contributed to the split
between the Eastern and Western Christians. The
Western Church believed that the papacy and bishops
of Rome held supreme authority over interpreting the
Scripture. This belief was derived from Jesus’
statement to Peter in Matthew 16:18 “Thou art Peter,
and upon this rock I will build my church.” In
contrast, the Eastern Church put the authority of the
Scriptures and the local church councils above the
authority of the Pope in Rome.
• The East was also more cosmopolitan in character—
Christian Orthodoxy tended to be influenced by such
diverse ideas as Eastern mysticism, Greek and Roman
secular and pagan culture, and Monophysitism (the
doctrine that holds that Christ’s nature remains
altogether divine and not human). Greeks, Turks,
Bulgur, Jews, Italians, Russian, Slavs, Khazars,
Persian, and Armenians all lived in Constantinople.
Many of them became Christians and such a diverse
convergence of cultures and beliefs contributed to the
unique form of Christianity that developed in the
EAST.
Lands and Trading Routes of the
Byzantine Empire
Questions to consider:
1. Where is Constantinople?
2. What do all the lines on the map represent?
3. If you boarded a ship in Constantinople, where could
you go? If you got on a camel or horse, where could
you go?
4. Why do you thinks Constantinople is called a
“crossroads”?
5. Why is Constantinople in a good location to be the
capital of a military and trading Empire?
The map shows the lands and trading routes of the
Byzantine Empire. The Byzantine Empire was a vast
array of cultural and commercial threads, tied together
by the great knot of Constantinople. The inhabitants of
the Empire were descended from many ancient people,
including the Armenians, Slavs, Bulgarians, Greeks,
Normans, and Turks. Most of them were farmers who
lived in one-room huts made of wood or mud bricks.
They raised grapes, olives, and wheat or herded sheep,
and lived on chasse, bread, and vegetable cooked in
olive oil. Constantinople however—which became
known a s simply “The City” due to its magnificent
edifices, large population, and commercial success—
was home to the wealthy and powerful, who lived in
stone mansions, feasted on meat cooked in garlic
sauces, and enjoyed fine wines.
Byzantium’s trade routes connected three
continents with its system of caravan tracks,
rivers, seaways, and roads. The Byzantines
controlled only part of these trade routes, but
merchants came from far away places to trade
in Constantinople. As goods poured into the
city from the distant corners of the Empire,
merchants set up along the city’s main street,
displaying everything from rugs and shoes to
fruits and vegetable to icons.
•
India:
Export: Spices, pepper and jewels
Import: ivory
Africa:
Export: Ivory and gold
Import: Silk (after stealing the process from China)
Russia:
Export: Honey, wood and furs
Import: Art and architecture
Spain:
Export: Cork and grain
Import: Bronze church doors
France:
Export: Fine wines and wool
Import: Silk
England:
Export: Iron and tin
Import: Works of the ancient Greeks
Northern Europe:
Export: grain, wool, timber
Import: Eastern goods—bronze doors
China:
Export: Silk
Import: Christianity
From China, on camels that plodded overland for some 230
days, came prized silks—until Justinian imported the silk
making process itself. Justinian, by persuading two
missionaries to smuggle from China not only silkworms but
seeds for the mulberry trees they thrive on, plucked from
the Chinese their closely-kept, centuries secret. Thus, silk
became one of Constantinople’s exports along with carved
ivory, enamel, glassware, and bronze church doors.
Constantinople prospered by importing, refining and
exporting the goods that reached its markets.
Constantinople was not only a source of manufactured
goods, of course. Christian missionaries went out into the
Empire, making new converts as far away as the Russian
and Slavic regions. Art and architectural styles, too, spread
to distant lands. Preserved by the scholars of
Constantinople, the works of the ancient Greeks—Homer,
Plato, Archimedes, Euclid—went forth to influence Europe
and the western world. The Byzantine legal code—with its
laws on divorce, marriage, justice, and property—became
reflected in the legal systems of Europe, and of many
present-day nations.
As a crossroad of trade and culture, Constantinople’s
ability to protect itself from foreign invaders and
unwanted traders was crucial. The side of
Constantinople not protected by water was protected
by three parallel walls in increasing heights, the
highest wall stretching 40 to 70 feet high and 12 to 40
feet thick. Watchtowers built onto the middle wall
helped warn the army of coming invaders. A chain
stretched across the Golden Horn inlet deterred enemy
ships from docking at Constantinople’s harbor.
Constantinople’s army also possessed Greek fire, the
first secret weapon in history. This petroleum-based
mixture could be thrown in pots or fired through tubes.
When wet, it took fire and couldn’t be extinguished
with water. The city’s military also employed spies, a
Bureau of Barbarians, which was analogous to the CIA,
and other merchant and foreigner informants.
Built to endure the invasions of barbarian hordes and
later Muslim armies, Constantinople remained the
strongest hub of Christianity in the East. It was finally
sacked by the Turks in 1453. Constantinople’s strategic
location is now enjoyed by the modern city of Istanbul,
Turkey. This city remains an important center of
transportation and trade.
Critical Thinking assessments:
Choose one to create a product of your choice
organizing your information.
1. Trace the development of Constantinople
and explain how cultural diffusion played a
part in the empire. Give at least 3
examples.
2. How did religion shape the political and
economical life of Constantinople?
3. Explain 3 legacies from Constantinople to
the modern world.
Product suggestions:
• Photostory
• Power point, with movie clips from
Unitedstreaming inserted
• Song Re-write
• I Phone Home Screen /Apps
• Another medium (Check with me, first)