The Byzantine Empire the New Rome Byzantium Becomes

The Byzantine Empire: the New Rome

Byzantium Becomes the New Rome • Eastern half of the Roman Empire that did not fall to the invaders. • It survived for almost a millennium after the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5 th century CE.

And when Diocletian divided the Roman Empire in 294 CE…

Geography • Centered on the Bosporus Strait which connects the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara to the Aegean and on to the Mediterranean Sea • The empire included Greece, Asia Minor, and part of the that bordered the Mediterranean Sea • Surrounded by Islamic lands to the south and east, Slavic peoples to the north, and western Europeans who had organized powerful states to the west

Constantine’s City Constantinopolis (Constantinople) Capital city was built by the Roman emperor Constantine in 330 CE

Constantinople • Constantine chose location to respond to the threat of Germanic tribes and to be closer to rich eastern provinces. • He filled the city with libraries, museums, marble palaces, baths, and public buildings.

Constantinople: A Greek City (Istanbul today) the new capital Easily fortified location; armies could respond quickly to threat from invaders

Barbarian Invasions of the Roman Empire

• Germanic invaders pounded the Roman empire in the west • Huns – Group of nomadic tribes that pushed through central Europe in the 4 th and 5 th c. instigating the migration of the Germanic tribes into the Roman Empire • Most emperors that were conquered moved their empire back in the east Remember……

Sunset on the “Golden Horn”

Byzantine Trade Routes • Merchants in Constantinople got quite wealthy through their control over the trade routes between Europe and the East and the shipping lanes connecting the Black and Mediterranean Seas.

Constantine’s Rule • Edict of Milan: established toleration for Christianity throughout the empire in 313 CE • The empire continued to be ruled by Roman law, with the elite communicating officially in Latin. Yet the population, now Christian, also spoke Greek. • Students studied the ancient Greek classics of literature, philosophy, science, medicine, and art. • The church, which developed its own literature and philosophy, nonetheless looked favorably upon the intellectual tradition of classical scholarship & preserved Greco Roman learning.

Emperor Justinian [ruled 527 564 CE]

Justinian’s Rule • Byzantine empire reached greatest size • Wanted to recover what had been lost during the fall of Rome • Re-conquered N. Africa, Italy and southern Spain – Victories were temporary • Justinian rebuilt Constantinople in classical style; among the architectural achievements was the huge church of Hagia Sophia

• The revived empire withstood the 7 th c. advance of Arab Muslims although important regions were lost along the eastern Mediterranean and the northern Middle Eastern heartland • Byzantine political patterns resembled the earlier Chinese system • As emperor, ordained by God and surrounded by elaborate court ritual, Justinian headed both church and state

Church of Hagia Sophia [Holy Wisdom] • Hagia Sophia – Great domed church constructed during the reign of Justinian

Justinian’s Code • Body of Civil Law – Justinian’s codification of Roman law; reconciled Roman edicts and decisions; mad Roman law a coherent basis for political and economic life Corpus Juris Civilis: 1. Digest 2. Code 3. Institutes

Icons Icon literally means image in Greek & came to be a definitive characteristic of Byzantine art. An icon was a depiction of a sacred person or scene which was treated as holy. An iconostasis was a series of icons typically surrounding church altars and often told a biblical story(ies) for the illiterate masses.

Empress Theodora • The wife of the emperor Justinian • She was very powerful and considered to be very intelligent

Justinian’s Empire at its Peak

Byzantine & Sassanid Empires, 6 th c.

th 6 c. Arabia: ? A Threat to the Great Empires?

Contrast these maps

End of Early Byzantine period in 7 th c. CE • In the 600 s, Byzantium lost Syria, the Holy Land, Egypt, and North Africa to invading Islamic armies. For a time, the Muslims merely tapped the economy of these regions, leaving intact many of the Byzantine institutions they had overrun. • The Early Byzantine period ended with the onset of the Iconoclastic Controversy, the violent debate over devotional religious images (icons) that devastated much of the empire for over a hundred years.

The Middle Ages • Dispute over use of icons (Holy Images) contributed to split • Byzantine Emperor outlawed prayer to icons • Two branches of Christianity grew further apart • 1054 provoked a permanent split between Byzantine, Eastern (Greek) Orthodox and Roman Catholic Church • Iconoclasm – The breaking of images; religious controversy of the 8 th c. Byzantine emperor attempted, but failed to suppress icon veneration

CHRISTIANS BUT DIFFERENCES DIVIDED!!! ****Divisions in the Church • • West Pope in Rome Latin Language Most important holy day Christmas • East, Constantinople • Patriarch in the Byzantine-rejected Pope’s authority • Clergy could marry • Greek Language • Most important holy day Easter

Monasticism in Byzantium • The use of Monasteries grew during this era. • Most monasteries were in the countryside and served as agricultural communes often with huge landholdings. • Monasteries also existed in the cities where they administered orphanages, craft schools, poor houses, rest homes & hospitals. • Byzantine theology emphasized the divinity of Christ, the non celibacy of priesthood, printed the Bible in original Greek & held services in vernacular.

What happened to the Byzantine? • Crusades – Byzantine emperor called for help to fight the Muslims headed for Jerusalem • Western Christians drained $$$ • Muslims took control of northern territories – Muslims eventually took Constantinople and renamed it Istanbul

Influence of Byzantium on its Neighbors The citizens of Byzantium considered themselves to be the center of the civilized world, with good reason. Their civilization had far reaching political and cultural influences in all directions during the Middle Byzantine period. Kievan Rus, Bulgaria, Georgia, Armenia, the Crusader States, and the Latin West Although Grand Prince Vladimir of Kiev became an Orthodox Christian in 988, Byzantium never politically dominated his confederation of principalities, called Kievan Rus, which was a composite society of Vikings and eastern Slavs. Known as “the third Rome, ” Kievan Rus artists assimilated the style and iconography of Byzantine art and architecture. After the Mongol invaders of 1237 40 captured Kiev, the rest of the region suffered further attacks by the Mongols from the east and by the Teutonic knights from the west.

The Late Byzantine Period (12611453) • This era continued until the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Turks in 1453. • From the 13 th c. onward, the continual loss of territory and resources meant that Byzantium was never again able to fully quell internal disorders or to exercise independence from outside powers. The empire became so impoverished that in 1369 Emperor John V was arrested for debt in Venice as he tried to obtain financial help from the West! • Meanwhile, the Byzantine church increased in prestige and authority as the emperors weakened. Byzantine culture enjoyed a last flowering in literature, scholarship, theology, and art, which still followed the artistic traditions of the Middle Byzantine era. Byzantium also helped transform the West intellectually, as Italian Renaissance scholars, intent on translating Greek pagan and Christian writings, received vital help from Byzantine scholars, especially after many

The Sack of Constantinople • Delacroix Painting of Crusaders Entering Constantinople in 1204

The Horses of St Mark’s The horses were long displayed at the Hippodrome of Constantinople, and in 1204 Doge Enrico Dandolo sent them to Venice as part of the loot sacked from Constantinople in the Fourth Crusade. They were installed on the terrace of the façade of St Mark's Basilica, in Venice, Italy, in 1254.