BYZANTIUM

Chapter 13

THE EARLY BYZANTINE EMPIREGreat location

Constantinople=capital in 340 C.E. (kept name until controlled by Ottoman Turks in 1453 C.E. when it was renamed Istanbul)

Named Byzantium after Byzantion, fishing village

Eastern half of classical Roman Empire that remained intact

Sasanids were a threat

Tightly centralized rule under a highly

exalted and absolute emperor

Caesaropapism=emperor not only

over secular affairs but also religious

affairs

Justinian (527-565): “the sleepless emperor”, wife Theodora, built HagiaSophia, codified Roman law, reconquered some of the western Roman empire for a time

Muslims were a threat by the 7th

century and sieged Constantinople

Theme system=a province was under the jurisdiction of a general who was responsible for military defense and civil administration

Basil II (976-1025): “Basil the Bulgar-Slayer”

Byzantine claim to western European lands was challenged by Charlemagne, Otto of Saxony

Western Europe and Byzantium had bad relations, tension

BYZANTINE ECONOMY & SOCIETY

Had abundant agricultural surpluses,

supported large number of crafts

workers, participated in trade

Large class of free peasants who

owned small plots of land was good

Wealthy owning large estates was bad

because of tax loopholes and lack of

recruits for military

In spite of this problem, still wealthy

Crafts= glassware, linen and woolen textiles, gems, jewelry, gold and silver work, silk

Connected lands of the Black Sea with lands of the Mediterranean Sea, dominated trade

Collected customs duties

Banks and partnerships

Constantinople had no rival

“the City”

Imperial palace, palaces of aristocrats

Women often were not at parties

Apartments, tenements

Baths, taverns, restaurants, theatres,

stadiums, chariot races

CLASSICAL HERITAGE

Local inhabitants spoke Greek

Scholars didn’t learn to read Latin,

read New Testament and Greek

philosophy

Private tutors for the rich, others had

state school system that taught Greek

philosophy and literature

Basic literacy was widespread

School of higher learning in

Constantinople

Focused on humanities

Saw themselves as direct heirs of

classical Greece

ORTHODOX CHRISTIANITY

Emperors participated in theological

debates, more than just government

leaders

325 C.E. Constantine calls Council of

Nicaea

Church and state not separate

Patriarch of Constantinople

Iconoclasm=the breaking of icons,

Emperor Leo III (717-741)

Extreme ascetism

St. Basil of Caesarea, patriarch of

Constantinople, rules for monastic

life, devotion, piety, provided for the

needs of the laity

Constantinople and Rome were the centers of Christian authority

They did not see eye to eye on all issues including iconoclasm, shaving of beards, jurisdiction of the papacy of Rome, etc.

In 1054, the patriarch and the pope excommunicated each other

This schism created two churches, Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic

THE INFLUENCE OF BYZANTIUM

IN EASTERN EUROPE

Byzantium began to decline by the

11th century

The Theme system created problems

internally

The Crusades damaged

Constantinople beyond repair

Saljuq Turks invaded from the East

1071, defeat at the Battle of

Manzikert allowed Saljuqs to take

over Anatolia

Constantinople captured by Ottoman

Turks in 1453

Slavic people (Bulgars, Serbs, Croats)

moved into Byzantine empire

St. Cyril and St. Methodius: Cyrillic

alphabet, conversions to Orthodox

Christianity

Another Slavic group (Russians)

organize states with trade centers like

Kiev

989, Prince Vladimir of Kiev converted

to Orthodox Christianity

Byzantine culture spread to Russians:

architecture, Russian Orthodox Church,

written law code

Moscow= world’s third Rome