CIVILIZATION IN EASTERN EUROPE BYZANTIUM ORTHODOX EUROPE Chapter

CIVILIZATION IN EASTERN EUROPE: BYZANTIUM & ORTHODOX EUROPE Chapter 9

The Byzantine Empire I. Origins of the Empire • Former Eastern Roman Empire • Constantine (4 th century CE) • Constantinople • Greek official language • Commerce • Flourished for centuries & weathered many attacks

The Byzantine Empire II. Justinian’s Achievements • Justinian Emperor after Constantine • Tried to restore Roman Empire • Belisarius – general • Hagia Sophia- noted for its large dome • Justinian’s Code • Unified law based on Roman legal principles • Faced attacks from Slavs & Persians

The Byzantine Empire III. Arab Pressure & the Empire’s Defenses • 7 th Century Arab Muslims constantly attack Byzantine • Burdened economy • Peasants taxed heavily • Aristocratic estates grew in power • Center of Empire Shifts East • Bulgaria – Slavic Kingdom • Defeated by Basil II 11 th Century • Byzantine possibly the most powerful empire at the time

The Byzantine Empire IV. Byzantine Society & Politics • Emperor • Ordained by god • Head of Church • Passed religious & secular laws • Some women held throne • Theodora & Zoe • Sophisticated bureaucracy • Open to all classes • Provincial governors

The Byzantine Empire • Bureaucracy controlled trade & food prices • Trade with Russia, Asia, Scandinavia, Europe, & Africa • Specialized in luxury goods • Byzantine Empire resembled China in many aspects

The Byzantine Empire V. Split between Eastern & Western Christianity • Eastern church not under papal authority • West = priest chaste • Eastern = priests could marry • Patriarch Michael (over Eastern Church) excommunicated him and his followers • Responded by doing the same to Roman Catholics

The Byzantine Empire • VI. Empire’s Decline • From 11 th century • Lost Battle of Manzikert to Seljuk Turks and the empire never recovered • Take most of Byzantine Asian provinces • Turkish settlements & Slavic kingdoms • Appeal to West brings Crusades • Venetian crusaders conquer Constantinople • Empire falls in 1453

The Spread of Civilization in Eastern Europe • Influence through conquests, conversions, & trade • Cyril and Methodius sent to Czech and Slovak republics • Created a written script for the Slavic language • Cyrillic

The Spread of Civilization in Eastern Europe I. The east central Borderlands • Competition between Catholics & Orthodox Greeks • Catholics – Czechs, Hungary, & Poland • Regional monarchies prevail • Jews from Middle East & W. Europe migrating to Poland

The Spread of Civilization in Eastern Europe II. Slavs from Asia • Iron working & agriculture • Mixed with earlier inhabitants & invaders • Animistic • Gods of sun, wind, thunder, and fire • Regional kingdoms • Traded with Byzantine & Scandinavian merchants used Dnieper River for trade routes • 855 CE first Kievian Monarch Rurik • Kiev center of kingdom

The Spread of Civilization in Eastern Europe • Vladimir I – Rurik descendant • Forced subjects to convert via mass baptisms • Russian Orthodox • Controls church • Formal law code • Yaroslav – last Kievan prince • Used marriages to create ties with other Europeans • Translated religious literature from Greek to Slavic

The Spread of Civilization in Eastern Europe III. Institutions and Culture in Kievan Rus’ • Adopted many Byzantine ceremonies • Orthodox Christianity penetrated Russian culture • Ornate churches • Icons • Monasticism • Literature, Art – dominated by religion and royalty • Free Farmers predominate • Russian aristocrats - boyars

The Spread of Civilization in Eastern Europe IV. Kievan Decline • From 12 th century • Rival governments • Succession issues • Invasion of Mongols (tartars) 13 th century • Traditional culture survives • Christianity survives

The Spread of Civilization in Eastern Europe • The end of an era in Eastern Europe • Western Europe remained free from outside control • Eastern Europe fell as the Byzantine & Russian Empire fell