Byzantium Chapter 10 The Early Byzantine Empire

Byzantium

Chapter 10

The Early Byzantine Empire

Great 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

Hagia

Sophia, codified Roman law,

reconquered

some of the western Roman empire for a time

Muslims were a threat by the 7

th

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

”, the “New Rome”

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 widespreadSchool 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, Nicene Creed

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 11

th

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”

Church of the Resurrection on the Spilled Blood, St. Petersburg, Russia

ONION DOMES