The Byzantine Empire Istanbul was Constantinople Now it's Istanbul, not Constantinople Been a long time gone, Constantinople Now it's Turkish delight on a moonlit night Every gal in Constantinople Lives in Istanbul, not Constantinople So if you've a date in Constantinople She'll be waiting in Istanbul Even old New York was once New Amsterdam Why they changed it I can't say People just liked it better that way Legacy of Byzantine Empire The New Rome Enduring symbol of Roman civilization Preserved Greek Culture Fostered Christianity Introduced caesaropapism State Marries Church Origins of the Byzantine Empire Constantine builds capital at Byzantium Geographic: location is easy to defend Centrally situated- the emperor could quickly send support as needed north to the provinces along the Danube River and east into the province of Syria Dominated important trade routes & could block enemy ships from the Black Sea from attacking undefended cities in the Mediterranean Sea. Surrounded by water on three sides and with a fortified wall on the fourth side, the city was easy to defend. Justinian (527-65) Justinians Code (528-33) Enlarged Empire into Italy and Spain with aid of able Generals like Belisarius Rebuilds Constantinople Hippodrome Greens and Blues Revolt (rebuilt) Hagia Sophia Imperial Palace (peacock and pinecone fountain) Museums, libraries, art treasures, marble, baths Mese (Middle Way) Theodora, his wife (Id rather die in purple than live in white.) An Empire that looked both ways! The two-headed eagle appears in Byzantine artwork as early as the 10th century Check out Theodoras Robe! Procopius: A Byzantine historian in a book known as the Secret History (Anekdota) Emperor Justinian then, was deceitful, devious, false, hypocritical, two-faced, cruel, skilled in dissembling his thought, never moved to tears by either joy or pain, though he could summon them artfully at will when the occasion demanded, a liar always, not only offhand, but in writing, and when he swore sacred oaths to his subjects in their very hearing. Then he would immediately break his agreements and pledges, like the vilest of slaves, whom indeed only the fear of torture drives to confess their perjury. A faithless friend, he was a treacherous enemy, insane for murder and plunder, quarrelsome and revolutionary, easily led to anything, but never willing to listen to good counsel, quick to plan mischief and carry it out, but finding even the hearing of anything good distasteful to his ears. POV!!! The Government Remember Caesaropapism from Constantine? Theme system Provinces under control of generals who are given a land grant Peasants receive land in exchange for military service System allowed for quick mobilization System stabilized the countryside and allowed for expansion Limited the accumulation of land by the wealthy Strengthened the peasants Centralized authority and elaborate bureaucracy Elaborate court Theme system Dealing with the Muslims The Byzantine Empire lost many of its most symbolic possessions within the first 100 years of rising Islamic power. Jerusalem was captured in 638 CE by the armies of Umar I, the second caliph in Islamic history. By the mid-eighth century, the Byzantines had lost their North African and Eastern Mediterranean holdings to the Umayyads, drastically reducing their imperial coffers with the lost tax revenues. An empire saved The Byzantines set out to hold off the Muslims. The 717718 siege of Constantinople sent the Arabs home empty handed, due to the Byzantines' determination to maintain their capital They defeated the Arab navy with Greek fire (advanced technology) Byzantine Empire in 717 C.E.showing themes An empire saved (but smaller!) Economics Productive agricultural economy (depended on grain from Egypt) Low food prices High quality luxury goods Government control Restrictions on individual craft workers Prevented monopolies Constantinople as an entrept Bezants (from Byzantium) reliable gold coins Banks and partnerships Social Women secluded Private tutors for boys and girls State school system for bureaucracy Most peasants literate but not formally educated Christianity: Eastern Orthodox Church Monasticism and asceticism (St. Basil) Missionary workCyril and Methodius Influenced by Greek classics and language Imperial support Iconoclasm Schism SCHISM 1054: Two Christian Traditions Service in Latin Bible in Latin Papal authority over Bishops Pope claims authority over all kings and emperors Priests may not marry Divorce not permitted Communion bread must be unleven (transubstantiation) Service in Greek or vernacular Bible in vernacular Patriarch and Bishops head church as a group Emperor claims authority over Patriarch and Bishops Priests may marry Divorce allowed under certain conditions Communion bread should be yummy! Roman Catholic Eastern Orthodox Division reflected the difference patterns of development of the two civilizations VS. Problems Plague of 542 C.E. killed 10,000 a day Enemies: Lombards, Persians, Avars, Arabs and Turks Large estates did not contribute tax revenue and became more independent of the government Free-peasant class grew smaller, fewer army recruits The Crusades threatened, the Byzantines for several centuries. Led to interference of western powers in the affairs of Constantinople tremendous cost of supporting the Crusades increase in tension between the Byzantines and their Muslim neighbors Ottoman Turks end Byzantine rule in 1453 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PszVWZNWVA&list=PLBDA2E52FB1EF80C9&index=12 Russians Geography (on trade routes, but more secluded than most regions) Slavs + Vikings = Russians By 900 CE, Kievan Rus was a major power Trade with the Byzantine Empire created wealth Saint Cyril and Saint Methodius Byzantine missionaries Cyril provided the first alphabet to write down the Old Slavonic language His brother Methodius used the Cyrillic alphabet to begin a translation of the Christian Bible (In 1980, Pope John Paul II declared them co-patron saints of Europe) In 988, Prince Vladimir I of Kievan Rus converted to Orthodox Christianity (after considering and discarding Judaism and Islam) and soon led a mass conversion of his subjects. Within decades, Christianity had replaced paganism as the dominant belief system among the eastern Slavs. The new cultural community brought literacy, art, architecture, and wealth. Yaroslav I (Yaroslav the Wise) Presided over the golden age Built a cathedral modeled and named after Constantinople's Hagia Sophia and organized the first library Assembled Russia's first codified law Extended Russias boundaries into present-day Poland & Baltic states. Hagia Sophia St. Sofia Church in Kiev (Yaroslav 1037) The Legacy of the Byzantine Empire Slavic countries adopted Byzantine architectural elements - domes and a layout based on the Greek cross Slavs adopted the tradition of the Greek icon Hagia Sophia inspired visitors from Bulgaria and Kievan Rus to recreate the majestic church in their own cities Mongols! The Mongols (Golden Horde) arrived in the east in 1238 Captured Kiev 1240 Princes of Russia became vassals, could not rule without Mongol permission For the next 200 years, the Mongols dominated and the Rus had to pay tributes Russian princes, bound by their oaths to provide taxes for the Mongol overlords, jockeyed for favor in the Mongol court by promising higher tax revenues in return for political appointments Independence: Ivan III ( the Great ) The Golden Horde eventually spent much of their time on court intrigues & split into factions The split destroyed the military power of the Mongols Russians under the leadership of Moscow finally defeated the Mongols in 1480 and reestablished Russian independence. Ivan Grand Prince of Moscow - drew inspiration from Byzantines First czar (Caesar) Beautified Moscow third Rome Resisted by boyars military aristocracy Not to be confused with Ivan IV (the Terrible) Ivan IV (the Terrible) Historic sources present disparate accounts of Ivan's personality: he was described as intelligent and devout, yet given to rages and prone to episodic outbreaks of mental illness he is also remembered for his apparent paranoia and arguably harsh treatment of the nobility (who nicknamed him the terrible). On one such outburst he killed his groomed and chosen heir Ivan Ivanovich. This left the Tsardom to be passed to Ivan's younger son, the weak and intellectually disabled Feodor Ivanovich. Im not evil, just angry and misunderstood and a bit sad.