Byzantine Empire Byzantine Empire 395 1453 330 A
Byzantine Empire
Byzantine Empire (395 -1453) 330 A. D. -- Constantinople becomes the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire. It was dedicated in May of this year Constantine rebuilds the Greek city of Byzantium
Constantine I
Constantine I Peter Paul Rubens: Constantine Directing the Building of Constantinople (painted around 1624)
Column of Constantine Cemberlitas The Burnt Column as it is also known as was built to honor Constantine in 330. It stands on top of the second hill of Istanbul. It was originally higher than it is today and was topped by a statue of Constantine dressed as the sun god.
Constantinople Historyonmaps. com
Geography Bosporus—a strait, which is a narrow body of water connecting two larger bodies of water
Constantinople A harbor protected on three sides by water Quick Quiz In reference to Constantinapole where would you find these bodies of water? ? --Sea of Marmara ? --Bosporus, a strait ? --Black Sea
Constantinople The city was protected on land with walls for defense. These were known as the Theodosian Walls
Constantinople Why is Constantinople so important? It is an important hub for trade. Silk from China, wheat from Egypt and spices from southeast Asia. It is an International City. It has ancient Greek, Roman and Christian influences and political threats from Islam.
Constantinople Why is Constantinople so important? The Byzantine Empire was polyglot, consisting of numerous peoples and cultures. At the imperial level it was Greek, which was the language of learning, commerce, religion, politics and the military. Greek philosophy ruled intellectual life, Greek Orthodox was the only faith officially supported by the state (others were tolerated). Its political structure and its law were Roman, and indeed its emperors called themselves Emperor of the Romans. https: //europeanhistory. boisestate. edu/crusades/Byzantium/02. shtml
Constantinople Power in Constantinople Within the Empire, government rested on four main pillars: the army, the Greek Orthodox Church, the imperial bureaucracy, and a handful of noble families.
Constantinople Power in Constantinople The Army The Empire had a standing army of professional soldiers. An emperor needed victory in the field to enhance his prestige and fend off rivals, so he needed the loyalty of the army and especially of its officer corps. Moreover, the most prestigious posting was at Constantinople itself, or nearby, making it tempting for the army to meddle in imperial politics. If the army's loyalty should go to a rival, an emperor was doomed.
Constantinople Power in Constantinople Orthodox Church The Greek Orthodox Church was the second base on which the Byzantine Empire rested. It was an enormous landowner and possessed vast wealth which it protected jealously but which emperors did tap when they could. In general, the Greek Orthodox Church was much more under the control of the state than the Roman Catholic Church was. The emperor could speak with authority on religious matters, and he had the privilege of nominating the Patriarch. At the same time, bishops in the major towns could become popular leaders in ways that western bishops rarely did. A bishop could pose as a champion of the poor, or a defender against oppression, and so stir the populace as to effect rebellion.
Constantinople Power in Constantinople Bureaucracy The daily business of government, in matters great and small, was in the hands of a bureaucracy that was far greater than anything the Western monarchs could imagine. The layers of government— imperial, provincial and municipal—had been inherited from the old Roman Empire and never ceased to function. Local authority was at the municipal level; cities in the Empire were commercial and religious focal points as they were in the West, but they were also centers of administration, justice and tax collection. The next layer up was the province (theme, in Greek), ruled by governors, appointed by the emperor from among the great families. Their prime duties were the collection of taxes and the appointing of local officials.
Constantinople Power in Constantinople Noble Families The emperors were picked from the noble families themselves. From the great nobles, too, came much of the top level of imperial government--military commanders, and provincial governors. From their estates came men for the army and money for governing, and from them, too, came plots and rivals. Every emperor had to court the great nobles while at the same time being careful not to let any of them grow too powerful.
Constantinople Age of Justinian http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=D 50 IUZPGPqg
San Vitale at Ravenna in northern Italy
Justinian rose to power in 527 with his appointment as co-emperor to Justin I, his uncle, who died later that same year. He remained in power until 565. In the religious sphere he took a role in shaping church policy. He fought to extinguish the last vestiges of Greco. Roman paganism, to root out and to oppose competing Christian sects, including the Arians and the Monophysites.
Theodora (500 -548) The second of three daughters. Her father, Acacius was a bear-keeper. Her mother was fond of putting her children on stage. In her later years she was a burlesque performer. While in Antioch, she befriended Macedonia, a ballet dancer, who introduced her to Justinian. During the Nika Riots, Theodora did not flee but stayed. The riots began on Tuesday, January 13, AD 532. Three days earlier, several members of the Blue and Green factions, who had been arrested for an earlier disturbance, were to be hanged. But the execution was botched and two men survived and found sanctuary in a church, which then was put under guard. http: //www. roman-emperors. org/dora. htm
Theodora (500 -548) But Justinian whose hesitation up until this point had if anything made the situation worse, recovered his nerve and took the offensive. He ordered his loyal troops led by two reliable officers, Belisarius and the Gepid prince Mundo, to attack the demonstrators in the Hippodrome. http: //www. roman-emperors. org/dora. htm
Age of Justinian Rules from 527 -565 Foreign Policy Purpose--Revive ancient Rome by conquering the provinces that were overrun by invaders. Belisarius—his general conquers North Africa, Italy and southern Spain.
Age of Justinian Government Corpus Juris Civilis--body of civil law published in December 533 Justinian’s Code--used to collect, revise and organize all the laws of ancient Rome
Constantinople Architecture Hippodrome A multi-purpose stadium where chariot races were held.
Constantinople Architecture Hagia Sophia Holy Wisdom Church Persian dome with a rectangle base
Constantinople Architecture Close up view of the Hagia Sophia
Constantinople Architecture Interior of the Hagia Sophia 15 th Century it becomes a mosque. Today, it is a museum.
Great Schism 1054 I—Nicene Creed II—Primacy, Emperor Vs. Patriarch III—Iconoclastic Controversy IV—Leavened Vs. Unleavened Bread
Great Schism 1054 I Nicene Creed
Great Schism 1054 I—Nicene Creed Developed at the Council of Nicene in 325 as a development of the heresy of Arius (Arianism) Arius—a priest in Alexandria who believed that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit were separate.
Great Schism 1054 I—Nicene Creed Father Son Holy Spirit Eastern Orthodox Roman Catholic
Great Schism 1054 II—Primacy, Emperor Vs. Patriarch After the fall of Rome in 476 A. D. , Constantinople was the seat of power for the Eastern Roman Empire. The patriarch of Constantinople had jurisdiction over Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem. Some emperors even claimed to be equal in authority to the twelve apostles and as such claimed to have power to appoint the patriarch of Constantinople. The patriarch served at the emperor’s pleasure. One of the first controversies took place when Emperor Constantine appointed an Arian heretic as a patriarch.
Great Schism 1054 III Iconoclastic Controversy Reliquary of the True Cross, late 8 th and early 9 th Century Byzantine
Great Schism 1054 Icon, What is it? A sacred image venerated in churches and homes. Why is it a problem?
Great Schism 1054 The Iconoclastic theologians believed the worship of images, or icons was fundamentally a pagan belief. Products of human hands should not be worshipped only Christ and God should be the proper objects of veneration. Possible Influence Islam
Great Schism 1054 Emperor Leo III (rules 717 -741), he supports Iconoclasm, breaking of images. Pope’s Response Views it as a threat not only to his authority but to church practices. Iconoclasm dies out in the 9 th century.
Great Schism 1054 IV Leavened Vs. Unleavened Bread
Great Schism 1054 Greek Rite Leavened Bread Patriarch Cerularius forces Latin rite (Western Christians) in Constantinople to use leavened bread.
Great Schism 1054 Latin Rite Unleavened bread Conquering Normans in southern Italy forced Greeks to use unleavened bread for their eucharist.
Byzantine Influences in Russia The Byzantine’s had connections to Russia via the Dnieper (nee puhr) and Volga Rivers.
Byzantine Influences in Russia
Byzantine Influences in Russia Cyril and Methodius --brothers, they were born in Thessalonica in 827 and 826 respectively. --They were living in a monastery on the Bosporus when the Khazars sent to Constantinople for a Christian teacher. --They both developed an alphabet to translate the Gospels and liturgical books into Slavonic.
Saints Cyril and Methodius
Saints Cyril and Methodius Sophia, Bulgaria
- Slides: 45