chapter 9 civilization in eastern europe: byzantium and orthodox europe sam gehman, caroline potter,...
TRANSCRIPT
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Chapter 9
Civilization in Eastern Europe:Byzantium and Orthodox Europe
Sam Gehman, Caroline Potter, and Alfred VanGilder
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The Byzantine Empire500-1450 CE
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Origins of the Empire• In the 4th century CE, the Romans set up Constantinople as the capital
• Constantinople became the home of many elegant buildings and Christian churches
• The city was built on the old town of Byzantium
• Invading Huns and other intruders were warded off
• There was a solid tax base in the peasant agriculture of the Eastern Mediterranean
• The empire succeeded on high levels of trade
• Latin becomes an inferior language as Greek is the common tongue
• Knowledge of Greek allowed Easterners to read ancient classics and Hellenistic writings
• Hellenized Egyptians and Syrians became integrated into the culture
• Armies were recruited from the Middle Easterners
• The empire focused on an emperor surrounded by administrators
• Leaders of the East and West were kept separate
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Justinian’s Achievement
• Eastern emperors relied on a military base to fight off the Sassanian Empire and Germanic invaders
• Justinian tried to reconquer the western empire in 533 CE to restore a way similar to Rome
• Procopius described him as a “moron” that was easily hoodwinked
• Theodora stiffened his resolve and pushed plans for expansion
• Justinian is well known for recapturing Constantinople, which was ravaged by riots and taxes
• He codified Roman law, organizing the empire and spreading legal principles
• He chose his leaders based on their merit
• He made Christian the state religion, and only Christians were citizens
• With Belisarius, he conquered North Africa and the Iberian peninsula
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The Hagia Sophia
The Hagia Sophia was constructed in the year 537 CE by Justinian’s builders. It was a wonder of the Christian world for
many years and it still stands today. It is now a museum.
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Arab Pressure and the Empire’s Defenses
• Persian successes in the Middle East were reversed and they were made Christians
• The Byzantine Empire was strong enough by the 7th century to survive the strengthening Arab Muslims
• The Arabs built a strong fleet that led to their capture of the Eastern seaboard and push into the heartland
• Greek Fire, a Byzantine chemical weapon, helped protect the capital from Arab invaders
• Weak and strong emperors for the Byzantine did not help the strength of the military
• The Arabs took over Crete in the 9th century, enabling harassment of Byzantine trade
• Slavic kingdoms like Bulgaria occasionally threatened the Byzantine borders
• Military success and marriage alliances brought down the power of the Bulgarians
• Basil II bribed the Bulgarians and then defeated them, killing the king and capturing 15,000 men
• At the end of the 10th century, the Byzantine Emperor may have been the world’s most powerful man
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Byzantine Society and Politics
• The politics of the Byzantines were extremely similar to that of the Chinese
• The leader of the Byzantines ruled politics and religion, and the leader could even be a woman
• The leader was surrounded by a court educated in Hellenistic ways to help with decisions
• The court could be made of all classes but was usually aristocratic
• The empire relied on Constantinople’s dominance of the countryside
• Peasants supplied the food and paid most taxes, and food prices stayed low
• Trading was a large part of the empire but merchants never held political power
• Silk imported from China became a symbol among the wealthy
• Domed buildings, colored mosaics, and painted icons linked to the Orthodox Christianity
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The Split Between Eastern and Western Christianity
• The Great Schism was the split between Eastern and Western Christianity
• Many disagreements led to the split, but a debate over yeast in bread was the last straw
• Emperors were resisting the attempts of papals to interfere with religious issues
• Charlemagne claimed to be the Roman King in the year 800
• Rituals were put in Latin instead of Greek, even though the East’s language was Latin
• The pope was seen as the first bishop in the West but not in the East
• Priests were allowed to marry and have families in the East but remained solitary in the West
• Religious art in the east was focused on suffering and appeared Asian to the Westerners
• Michael the first led the rebellion for the East
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The Empire’s Decline
• The Empire began its long period of decline after the split of East from West
• Turkish troops invaded from the East and eventually defeated the Byzantines in the Battle of Manzakurt
• The larger army of the Byzantines had been defeated, paving the way for Slavik establishments
• The East asked the West for help but the West focused instead on the Crusades
• Italians with strong navies took control of Constantinople and managed trade
• In 1453, a Turkish Sultan brought an army with artillery from Hungary, that by 1461, had conquered the
remaining pockets of Byzantine rule
• The influence of the Byzantine Empire left a lasting impression on other empires like the Ottomans
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The Spread of Civilization in Eastern Europe
• Orthodox missionaries from Constantinople converted some Balkans to Christianity and brought other
forms of Byzantine influence
• Cyril and Methodius were sent to the territories of the Czech and Slovak republics in 864
• Roman Catholic missionaries were more effective in these areas
• In the Balkans and Southern Russia, the two devised a written script for Slavic language
• The possibility of literature and literacy developed along with Christianity outside of the Byzantine Empire
• Byzantine missionaries were even willing to use local languages in Church services, which differed from
other cultures that insisted on church Latin
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The East Central Borderlands
• The Latin alphabet prevailed in the Czech area as well as Hungary and Poland
• This area would long be an area of competition between Eastern and Western political and intellectual models
• After becoming Christian, this area was loosely governed amid a powerful land-owning aristocracy
• Eastern Europe received lots of Jews who were fleeing the Middle East and the Western intolerance
• Poland received the most Jews
• Eastern Jews, who were barred from agriculture and were resented by Christian authority, gained strength in
local commerce while maintaining their own beliefs
• An emphasis on education and literacy, though mainly for males, separated Jewish culture from most of the
societies around Europe and the world
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The Emergence of Kievan Rus’
• Slavic peoples had moved into the sweeping plains of Russia and Eastern Europe during the time of the
Roman Empire
• They mixed with Bulgarians, used iron, extended agriculture, and held an animist religion while holding a
rich tradition of folk music and oral legend
• Scandinavian traders followed rivers and developed trading with Constantinople
• These traders developed the city of Kiev along the routes and Rurik became the first ruler
• The name Russia came from Kiev, and the city became a center of trade
• Vladimir I ruled the land from 980 to 1015, converting the area to Christianity
• It became the largest single state in Europe and its final leader, Yaroslav, issued legal codification while
building churches and arranging religious translations from Greek to Slavic
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Institutions and Culture in Kievan Rus’
• Kievan Rus’ borrowed some things from Byzantium but could not replicate major institutions
• Kievan rulers liked the Byzantine luxury as well as the concept of a central ruler with wide powers
• Orthodox Christianity spread into Kiev, passing along the culture and traditions of Christianity with it
• Russian literature developed using the Cyrillic alphabet, writing of religious and royal events
• Polygamy fell to monogamy, and God was seen as a leader who punished
• Ukrainian and Russian art focused on religion as well
• Orthodox churches were similar to Byzantine models, but were wood instead of stone
• Russian peasants were fairly free farmers, although boyars (aristocrats) existed
• Yaroslav made ties with marriages, and he used Byzantine styles in Kievan cathedrals and law codes
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Kievan Decline• The Kievan principality began to decline in the 12th century.
• Asian invaders invaded Russia, taking some of their land in the process.
• The decline of the Byzantines led to a loss of trade and wealth for Russia.
• The final blow dealt to Russia was in 1237-1238 and 1240-1241, when two groups of Mongol
invaders attacked Russia, defeating it until it's uprising later.
• Russian peoples called the Mongols 'Tartar' from the Turkish name.
• Tartars held back at the Russian culture in its writings, but not its Christian influence.
• Tartars were pushed out of Russia later, making the country free from the Mongol influence, and
able to let their culture grow and blossom.
• When Constantinople fell in 1453, Russia had just began to assert it's independence from the
Tartars.
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The End of an Era in Eastern Europe
• Post classical Eastern Europe fell on hard times after the collapse of Russia and the Byzantine
Empire.
• The Western European areas were free, unrestricted, and had a much better economy, political
thoughts, and religious advancement than its Eastern counterpart.
• During post classical eras, West and East Europe separated slightly, leaving west to become more
prosperous and east to be left in the dust.
• Tartar invasion and the fall of the Byzantine Empire led this collapse of the East.
• Christianity, European assumptions about political rulers, the church-state relations, and the pride
in a lively artistic culture served as threads in the rebuilding of the Russian and Slavic communities.