)PTER f f Section t (pages 301-306>

The Byzantine EmpireBEFORE YOU HEAD

In the last chapter, you read about the Muslim world.

In this section, you will learn about the Byzantine Empire.

AS YOU READUse the chart below to take notes on people, places, anddevelopments in the Byzantine Empire.

TERMS AND NAMES

Justinian powerful ruler of Byzantineempire

Justinian Code Body of Roman lawcollected and organized by Justinianaround A.D.534

Hagia Sophia Church destroyed bymobs of rioters in 532 and rebuilt byJustinian

patriarch Leader of the Eastern church

icon Religious image used inpractices by eastern Christians

excommunication Formaldeclaration that someone is no longera member of the Church

Cyrillic alphabet Alphabet inventedby Saints Cyril and Methodius, inwhich most Slavic languages,including Russian, are written

THE BYZANTINE EMPIRE

Action

Justinian MOV&S ihe, capital

Just/n/an cr&at&s the. law

The. &Mp/r& is w&ak&t\e.d

The, church divides

Resulti:

A New Rome in a New Setting(page 301)

How did the Roman Empirechange?In the A.D. 300s, the emperor Constantine movedthe capital of the Roman Empire to the east. Hewas worried about the growing power of Germantribes. He thought that he could better meet thatthreat in the east. He built a great new capital city.Constantinople. It was on the site of the old port

city of Byzantium. Constantinople became the cen-ter of the empire. Power moved eastward.

The Roman Empire was officially divided in395. The western area was overrun by Germantribes. It did not exist after 476. However, theByzantine, or eastern, part remained strong. It last-ed for hundreds of years.

In 527, Justinian became the Byzantine emper-or. He sent an army to try to regain control of Italy.He hoped to restore the Roman Empire once again.By about 550, Justinian ruled over almost all of theterritory of the old Roman Empire.

CHAPTER 11 BYZANTINES. RUSSIANS. AND TURKS TNTFRACT 99

1. Who was Justinian?

Life in the New Romepages 302-303)

What changes did Justinian bring?Justinian directed legal experts to create a com-plete code of laws based on the laws of ancientRome. This body of civil law—the JustinianCode—served the empire for 900 years.

Justinian also worked at making Constantinoplea strong but also a beautiful capital. He built high,sturdy walls to protect the city from attack. He con-structed a huge palace, public baths, courts,schools, hospitals, and many churches. The mainstreet of the city was lined with shops and open-airmarkets. People bought and sold goods from Asia.Africa, and Europe there.

In 532, riots broke out against the emperor.Justinian's troops maintained control of the city.killing thousands of rioters. A church called HagiaSophia ("Holy Wisdom," in Greek) had beendestroyed by the mobs. Justinian rebuilt it tobecome the most beautiful church in the Christianworld.

2. How did Justinian make Constantinople a strongand beautiful capital?

The Empire Falls (page 304)What weakened the empire?The Byzantine Empire faced many dangers. A ter-rible disease broke out in 542. It was probablycaused by rats. The illness killed thousands of peo-ple and returned every 8 to 12 years until about700. This weakened the empire.

Also, the empire was forced to confront manyenemies over the centuries. German tribes, theSassanid Persians, and Muslim armies all tried too-ain control of Byzantine land. Constantinopleremained safe during this time despite manyattacks. Eventually, though, the empire shrank. By

1350. the empire included only the capital city andlands in the Balkans—part of southeasternEurope.

3. What were the two biggest problems theempire faced?

The Church Divides (pages 304-306)Why did the church divide?Although it was based on the Roman Empire, theByzantine Empire had developed a culture of itsown. People in the Byzantine Empire spoke Greek,not Latin. Thev belonged to the Eastern OrthodoxChurch, not the Catholic Church. The EasternChurch was led by the patriarch, the leading bish-op. However, even the patriarch had to obey theemperor.

The feeling of separateness from Rome grewworse when one emperor banned the use of icons.Icons are religious images used by easternChristians to aid their devotions. The emperorthought this was like idol worship. Iconoclasts, or"icon breakers" went into churches destroyingimages. This caused the people to riot and the cler-gy to rebel. The pope became involved. He sup-ported the use of icons. One pope even orderedthe excommunication of a Byzantine emperor.That means that the pope said the emperor couldno longer be a member of the Church.

Slowly the Eastern and Roman churches grewfurther apart. In 1054, the schism, or split, becamepermanent.

Some missionaries traveled from the ByzantineEmpire to the north. Two missionaries, SaintMethodius and Saint Cyril, met the Slavic peopleswho lived in Russia. They developed an alphabetfor the Slavic languages. Many Slavic languages,including Russian, are now written in what is calledthe Cyrillic alphabet.

4. What are two differences between the Easternand Roman churches?

100 CHAPTER 11 SECTION I

Unit Five: Middle tos/ — Physical & Historical 169_ Copyright N»N All Rights Resecvod

D. The Growth Of ChristianityDuring the Roman rule of the Middle East, the followers of Jesus Christ formed a

new religion. This occurred nearly 2,000 years ago when Jesus taught about the wayGod wanted people to act toward each other. Local authorities in Jerusalem executedJesus, but his followers continued to preach his ideas. Much of what we know of hislife and teachings can be read in the first four books of the Bible's New Testament(the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John). Christianity's basic principles includ-ed the beliefs that:

there is only one God• Jesus Christ is the Son of God and a member of the Holy Trinity• Christians must practice Jesus' teachings: to love God, to promote brotherhood,

to acknowledge divine judgment for one's actions on Earth, and to acceptChrist's death as atonement for sins

Christianity spread rapidly along the trade routes of the Roman Empire. By the 3rdCentury, Christian communities spread from Palestine throughout the Middle Eastand the Mediterranean. At first, Roman authorities persecuted and killed Christiansbecause they worried about the religion's threat to their rule.

In the 4th Century, Christianity's popularity grew even greater among the educatedand upper classes. Emperor Constantine the Great issued the Edict of Milan in 313.It granted freedom of worship to all Christians. By the end of the 4th Century A.D.,Rome made Christianity its official religion.

Over the centuries, the Judeo-Christian ethic continued to shape the values,ideals, and cultures of the western world.

Why was Christianity such a powerful force in the Roman world?

E. The Byzantine EmpireThe Roman Empire Moves Eastward

Prior to Constantine's reign, the Emperor Diocletian divided the Roman Empire.The western part remained centered at Rome. It declined during the 4th and 5thCenturies.

Byzantium became the center of the Eastern Roman Empire. Byzantine emper-ors ruled over Greece, Turkey, and the eastern end of the Mediterranean. Con-stantine pushed the Roman Empire eastward. It soon became apparent that thetwo parts were vastly different in culture and language.

In the Byzantine Empire, the emperor presided over Church and State. Byzantinesubjects regarded their emperors as God's agents. The Christians in this eastern re-gion called their church Eastern Orthodox. A formal split between the two churchesoccurred 500 years later. While Western Europe divided into small feudal units, thepolitical system of Byzantium and the church-state structure remained strong. Con-stantinople became a crossroads of global trade and culture.

Which city was the seat for the "Western" Roman Church?wtiicn. city Decame uie seat of me Eastern onnoaox ctiurcti?

Which citu was the crossroads for qlobal trade and culture?

170 Mobal Studies: A Competency Review /exr-

Justinian And TheodoraThe Byzantine Empire reached its peak

during the rule of Justinian and his wifeu Theodora (5th-6th century, A.D.) They de-

veloped Byzantine, religion, art, and law.They constructed the Hagia Sophia, the largestand most beautiful church in the Empire. TheJustinian Code collected basic Roman law andshaped future Western judicial systems.

Eastern European, Persian, and Arab peoplesinvaded Byzantium after Justinian's death in 505A.D. Much cultural diffusion took place. Most in-vaders assimilated into the Byzantine culture. Inturn, their ideas blended with and changed Byz-antine ways.

The Byzantine economy never recoveredculture from the constant invasions after Justinian's

death. The Eastern Orthodox Church survivedand flourished. Eastern Orthodox Christians

moved into Slavic areas. The faith of Byzantiumspread to Eastern Europe, Ukraine, and Russia.Missionaries such as Cyril and Methodius intro-duced the Cyrillic Alphabet (a modified form ofthe Greek alphabet) and diffused Hellenistic andByzantine culture throughout the region.

Justinian(Byzantine Mosaic)

The Ottoman ConquestBy 1453, the Byzantine Empire fell to the Ottoman Turkish Sultan. The Ottoman

Turks were Muslims. They made Constantinople their new capital and converted thefamous Hagia Sophia into a mosque (a Muslim house of worship). The new leaderspermitted religious freedom for the Orthodox Christians in Greece and in EasternEurope but installed a new Patriarch (religious leader) to supervise their religious andpolitical life.

Why was the Justinian Code important?