BYZANTINE EMPIRE& RUSSIA

Heir to the Roman Empire

strong government and military

prosperous economy

center of Hellenistic culture

ruled by an autocrat - sole ruler with complete authority over government, economy, and religion

Constantinople ~ capital

richest city in Europe

center of trade great location on

the shores of the Bosporus Strait

church of Hagia Sophia

Justinian ~ ruled 527-565

empire reached its peak under his reign

Code of Laws - summarized all Roman law

Theodora - wife of Justinian took an active role

in politics worked to protect

women’s rights

Decline

struggles over succession, court intrigues, constant wars

4th Crusade - burned and plundered Constantinople in 1204

1453 - Ottoman Turks captured the city and renamed it Istanbul

Russia

ethnic background: Slavs and Vikings

“Apostles to the Slavs” - Greek monks: Cyril and Methodius

converted the Slavs to Christianity around 863

created Cyrillic alphabet to translate Bible into Slavic languages

Kiev

first Russian city influenced by

Byzantine Empire

988 - Russians ordered to abandon Slavic gods for Eastern Orthodox

Mongols

ruled Russia for 240 years (1240-1480)

tolerant rulers who demanded heavy tribute

forced Russian princes to acknowledge them as overlords

absolute power of Mongols was a model for Russian rulers

cut Russia off from contact with Western Europe

Rise of Moscow

princes of Moscow defeated the Mongols

Moscow became spiritual capital of Russian Orthodox Church

Ivan III ~ the Great

ruled 1462-1505 founder of modern

Russia took the title of czar 1480 refused to pay

tribute to Mongols = final break

limited power of nobles

married niece of Byz. emperor & adopted Byz. court rituals

Ivan IV ~ the Terrible

ruled 1533-1584 introduced laws

binding the serfs to the land

established a tradition of “extreme absolute power”

1500s - renewed contact with Western Europe

Eastern Europe

mix of ethnic groups (share common language and culture) Slavs, Asians,

Vikings, Germanics mix of religion:

Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodox, Islam, and Judaism

during Middle Ages, Eastern Europe was a land of little kingdoms