The Byzantine Empire Eastern Roman Empire Capital moved

The Byzantine Empire

Eastern Roman Empire • Capital moved to Constantinople by Constantine • Called selves Romans—but spoke Greek • Closer contact to the east—Persia • Able to hold off barbarians • Roman law and bureaucracy survived

Justinian • Attempted to recover the West • Building projects—Hagia Sophia • Revised codification of Roman law

Stable Borders (sorta) • Survived Arab (Umayyad and Abbasid) advances (but lost some in the Eastern Mediterranean) • Survived Bulgarian threat, but constant Slavic pressures • Even survive the Mongols

Politics and Military • Kinda, sorta, comparable to China – – – Emperor ordained by God Emperor head of church and state Elaborate court ritual Women occasionally on the throne Large bureaucracy, trained in traditional mores (Hellenistic and Confucian) • Well organized military – Troops given land for service (brings in Slavs, Armenians…) – Officer corps eventually becomes hereditary, acquire regional power

Economy and Society • Centered on Constantinople • Regulated trade and food prices (note about Justinian!) – Low food prices satisfy urban class – Trade extended from Scandinavia to Russia, Western Europe to Africa, the Middle East to the Far East (i. e. the known world) • Peasants supply grain and tax revenues • Extremely large merchant class had no political power. • Culture based on Hellenistic secular traditions and Orthodox Christianity • No innovations in literature, but architecture and art flourish.

The Great Schism • Latin bible in the west; Greek in the east. – Spawns different rituals • Conflict between the pope’s religious power and the emperor’s political power • 1054 C. E. formal break over bread and celibacy of priests.

Decline • Muslim Turks seize most Asian territory— important source of grain and taxes • Lose Battle of Manzikert to Slavs in 1071. – Independent Slavic states pop up all over. • Venetian Crusaders come to “help” but sack Constantinople instead. • Conquered in 1453 by Ottomans.

Influence on Eastern Europe • Conquest, Commerce, Christianity • St. Cyril and Methodius—Cyrillic—writing for the Slavic language. – Orthodox church allowed use of local languages in Church service • Competition with Catholic missionaries in Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and Poland.

East Central Regional Monarchies • Poland, Bohemia, Lithuania – Powerful land-owning aristocracies. • Like the rest of Eastern Europe, lots of Jews – Fled persecution from the West and Middle East – Usually barred from agriculture, so involved in commerce—See the origins of a stereotype? – Maintain own, separate traditions – Emphasize education for males.

Kievian Rus • Slavic peoples from Asia • Mixed with locals, brought iron and agricultural practice to Ukraine and western Russia • Politically centered in family tribes and villages • Animistic religion • Highly developed musical taste and oral legends

The Rus Rise • Scandinavian traders introduce them to trade with Constantinople • Kievan monarchy under Rurik emerges as a growing power c. 855 C. E. (and until… wait for it… the Mongols) • Vladimir I (980 -1015) converts to Orthodox Christianity. • Formal law code (influence of Byzantines? ) • Largest single European state at the time

Rusian/Russian Culture • Adopt much but not all of Byzantine patterns – Yes to strong ruler, religion, architecture, and ceremony – No to central bureaucracy and education system • Different from West – Not catholic – Most peasants were free farmers; boyars less political power

Kievan Decline • Rival princes vie for succession • Asian invaders seize territory • Trade with weaker Byzantines declines then collapses • Mongols! – Orthodoxy preserved, but much else wrecked. – Reemergence after decline of Romans.

The End of the World (as we know it) • Mongols and Turks – Russia falls – Constantinople, Near East, North Africa, the Balkans • Thus Eastern Europe will develop separately from the West.