chapter 13 byzantium - moore public schoolsthe early byzantine empire great location...
TRANSCRIPT
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BYZANTIUM
Chapter 13
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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Basic literacy was widespread
School of higher learning in
Constantinople
Focused on humanities
Saw themselves as direct heirs of
classical Greece
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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
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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
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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
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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
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1071, defeat at the Battle of
Manzikert allowed Saljuqs to take
over Anatolia
Constantinople captured by Ottoman
Turks in 1453
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Slavic people (Bulgars, Serbs, Croats)
moved into Byzantine empire
St. Cyril and St. Methodius: Cyrillic
alphabet, conversions to Orthodox
Christianity
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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