Byzantine Empire c.280-1453 CE

c. 280- Diocletian divided the Roman Empire in half

c. 312- Constantine built a new capital city in the eastern half

Diocletian thought it would be easier to govern an eastern and a western half

Constantine named his city Constantinople (modern- day Istanbul)

Byzantine Empire c.280-1453 CE

476 – fall of the Western Roman Empire

Eastern Empire continued to grow and prosper

became known as the Byzantine Empire

capital city of the Byzantine Empire was Constantinople

Byzantine Empire c.280-1453 CE

Byzantine Empire was geographically important

Constantinople was located between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea

located along trade routes between WE, EA, AF, and SWA

Silk Road & Gold Road passed through the Byzantine Empire

•Constantinople was located on a peninsula that stuck out into Bosporus Strait

•The Bosporus Strait connects the Black and Mediterranean Seas

•Due to this strategic location, the Byzantine became a very wealthy empire  

Byzantine Empire c.280-1453 CE

Christianity in the Eastern Empire was different than Christianity in the Western Empire

Byzantines rejected the authority of the Pope in Rome

Byz. priests had the right to marry Language of the Byz. Church was Greek, not

Latin

Byzantine Empire c.280-1453 CE

1054-Great Schism: Byzantine Church broke away from the Roman Church

(Schism =split)(Schism =split) First permanent split in the Christian Church Created two branches of Christianity: Created two branches of Christianity:

Roman Catholic and Eastern OrthodoxRoman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox

Other splits occurred in Christianity

1517- Protestant Reformation

Martin Luther--

German priest who broke away from the Catholic Church to form the Protestant Church

Importance of the Byzantine Empire

When the Western Roman Empire fell in 476, libraries and places of learning were destroyed.

knowledge gained from Greek and Roman civilizations was lost to WE

Byzantine Empire preserved Greek and Roman achievements

1090’s--Crusading armies passing through Byz. Emp. brought Greek and Roman knowledge back to WE

Importance of the Byzantine Empire

530 CE Emperor Justinian, the

Byzantine's greatest emperor

Preserved and improved Roman laws and justice codes

Justinian’s Code is the basis for modern law systems

Importance of the Byzantine Empire

530 CE Church of Hagia Sophia built in form of a cross huge dome rests on

massive columns Byzantine architecture

was a synthesis of Greek, Roman, and SWA architecture

•minarets were added by Muslims who invaded Constantinople in 1453

•Hagia Sophia was converted from a church to a mosque

•Minarets are used to call Muslims to prayer

What caused the fall of the Byzantine Empire?

1000 – migration of Seljuk Turks from SWA to EE

•Muslims began a massive out-migration from the Arabian Peninsula after Islam was established in the 630’s ACE

What caused the fall of the Byzantine Empire?

1200-attacks by Crusading armies marching from WE to SWA

•1090’s- Crusades began

•Religious wars between Christians and Muslims over control of Jerusalem in the Holy Land

What caused the fall of the Byzantine Empire?

1453-invasion of Constantinople by the Ottoman Turks under 24 year old Sultan Mehmet II

•The city was renamed Istanbul

•Hagia Sophia became a mosque

•Istanbul became a center of Muslim culture