Transcript Europe: Middle Ages

Continued
Byzantine Empire

 In 330 A.D., Constantine founded Constantinople,
moving the capital city of the Roman Empire from its
location in Rome. For more the 1,000 years,
Constantinople remained the center for wealth and
learning for the new empire, known as the
Byzantine Empire because the new city of
Constantinople was founded on the site of the older
Greek city of Byzantium.
Religion

 The Eastern Orthodox Church grew in importance
during the Byzantine Empire and was ruled by the
emperor, who was among the highest authorities of the
church.
 Two Byzantine monks, Cyril and Methodius, traveled
to Moravia (the present-day Czech Republic) to convert
the Slavic peoples there to Christianity.
 In 1054, the church officially split in two, with the
Roman Catholic Church based in Rome and the Eastern
Orthodox Church based in Constantinople. This is
known as the Great Schism.
Justinian Code

 Justinian I was the ruler of the Byzantine Empire
from 527 A.D. until 565 A.D. He contributed to the
field of law by creating the Justinian Code.
 The Justinian Code came in three parts, one called
the Servitude of the Jews. This part allowed the
emperor to decide internal Jewish affairs,
disqualified Jews from public office, and disallowed
Jews to testify against Christians. The Justinian Code
influenced many European legal systems that
developed during the Middle Ages.
Fall of the Byzantine Empire

 Throughout the empire's history, many factors
threatened to destroy it. Invasions by different
groups such as the Arabs and Turks damaged the
empire by taking or destroying its lands. In addition
to the outside factors, destructive social and political
movements caused problems and led to unrest.
Despite these divisions and invasions, the empire
stood until it was conquered by the Ottoman Turks
in 1453.
The Crusades

 The Crusades were a series of holy wars undertaken
by European Christians in the 11th to 13th centuries.
They were originally Roman Catholic holy wars and
began following the request for help from the
Byzantine Empire, a Christian empire in the Middle
East that was threatened by the Seljuk Turks.
Crusades Con’t

 Along with this request, the fall of Jerusalem and the
Holy Land to the Muslims prompted Pope Urban II
to call on Christian warriors to travel to the Middle
East and fight against the Muslims. Their aim was to
reclaim Jerusalem and the rest of the Holy Land in
the name of the Christian faith. Because the crusades
brought Europeans into more contact with the
Middle East, a cultural exchange began to occur
between the two areas.
Nation Development

 Spain and Portugal became more defined as nation
states during the Reconquista. The Reconquista is
the Spanish name for the 800-year conquest to
reclaim the lands of the Iberian Peninsula from the
Islamic Moors, who had invaded in 711 CE. The
Reconquista ended in 1492, when Spanish armies
conquered the final Moorish stronghold on the
Iberian Peninsula.
Hundred Years War

 England and France became more defined as nation
states as feelings of nationalism grew during the
Hundred Years War. The Hundred Years War lasted
from 1337 until 1453. It began because the English
and French monarchies both had a legitimate claim
to the French throne, and France did not want to be
ruled by an English king. During the war, English
and French leadership recognized the vast
differences between the two nations. This was one of
the first steps toward defined nationalism in Europe.
The Roman Catholic
Church in Europe

 Catholic missionaries spread Christian teachings to
different parts of Europe, including Britain, Ireland,
and Northern Europe. Roman Catholicism became
the dominant religion of Europe.
 In the Middle Ages, Roman Catholic cathedrals were
some of the largest and grandest buildings in
Europe.
 The Catholic Church taught that it had authority
over everyone, including kings and nobility. This
meant that religious leaders like the pope had some
influence over the leaders of Europe.
The Great Schism

 The Great Schism was the division between the
Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox
Church in 1054.
 Western Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Christians
shared most of the same beliefs, but they began to
disagree with each other over a few issues.
 The Eastern Orthodox Church spoke Greek, but the
Catholic Church spoke Latin.