Transcript Byzantine Empire - Cathedral High School

Byzantine Empire
Ch.10 Sect. 1
What was the Byzantine Empire?
• “New Rome”
• The former eastern Roman empire
• Roads to Balkans, Middle East, and North Africa
Describe Constantinople
• Located on strait of Bosporus that linked Med.
And Black seas
• Huge harbor and guarded on three sides by water
• Linked Europe and Asia with trade routes
• Europe’s busiest marketplace for centuries
Hippodrome, built in 200s, where rich came to
watch chariot races. Another reminder of city’s
glorious Roman heritage.
3.How did Byzantine blend cultures?
• Heir to Rome with an amazing civilization that
blended ancient Greek, Roman, and Christian
influences with other traditions of Med world
4. Name three efforts of Justinian that
helped the empire.
• Ruled from 527-565
• Empire reached its greatest size
• Determined to recover ancient
Rome
• Byzantine armies conquered
North Africa, Italy, southern Spain
• Exhausted treasury and
weakened defenses
• Hagia Sophia
• Civil Law
• Autocratic Rule
5. What was Hagia Sophia?
• Church “Holy
Wisdom”
• 10,000 workers
built in 6 years
• Marble walls and
gold in ceiling
6. Explain Corpus Juris Civilis. What
was the impact?
• “Body of Civil Law”
aka Justinian’s Code
• 1100s both Roman
Catholic Church
and medieval
monarchs modeled
their laws on its
principles
7. Define autocrat and give
examples from the text.
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•
•
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Sole ruler with complete authority
Emperor had power over the Church
Deemed Christ’s co-ruler on Earth
Combined both political power and spiritual
authority, unlike monarchs in West
• “Emperor is equal to all men in nature of his
body, but in authority of his rank he is similar
to God, who rules all”
8. What were the empire’s greatest
strengths?
• Came from a strong central government and a
prosperous economy
9. The Backbone was made up of….
• Peasants
• Worked the land, paying taxes, provided
soldiers for military
10. List and explain various reasons
for disagreement within the
church.
• Byzantine Christians rejected pope’s claim to
authority over all Christians
• Byzantine clergy kept their right to marry
• Greek, not Latin, was the language of
Byzantine Church
• Chief Byzantine holy day was Easter, western
Christians went with Christmas
• Treated each other as rivals rather than
branches of same faith
11. What were the reasons for decline that
forced the Byzantine emperor to send a call for
help that turned into the First Crusade?
• Struggles over succession, court intrigues, and
constant wars undermined its strenght
• Powerful local lords gained control of large
areas
12. Explain the ultimate fate of
Constantinople.
• 1453 Ottoman forces surrounded the city
• Lead by Muhammad II won
• Renamed Istanbul and was capital of Ottoman
empire
13. What was the Byzantine
heritage?
• For 1,000 years Byzantines built on culture of
Hellenistic world. Blended Christian religious
beliefs with Greek science, philosophy, arts,
and literature
• Extended Roman achievements in engineering
and law.
14. Describe some of the Byzantine
art achievements.
• Icons, designed to evoke the presence of God,
gave viewers sense of glowing life
• Architecture they blended Greek, Roman,
Persian, and middle eastern styles
15. Who was Procopius and what
did he do that was significant
• Advisor of wars, wrote down Byzantine
campaign against Persia
• In his Secret History, he savagely criticized
Justinian
16. Describe who Anna Comnena
was.
• Considered to be
western world’s first
important female
historian
• Portrayed Latin
crusaders as greedy
barbarians
• Father was Emperor
Alexius I