The document summarizes the history of the Byzantine Empire from its founding by Constantine I in 330 CE until its fall to the Ottoman Turks in 1453 CE. It discusses how Constantinople became the new capital and prospered as a center of trade and culture. The empire reached its greatest extent under Justinian in the 6th century but later declined due to invasions and internal conflicts. Religious differences grew between the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches, culminating in the Great Schism of 1054. The empire continued weakening and Constantinople was finally captured by Ottoman forces in 1453, marking the end of the Byzantine Empire.

1. Chapter 10 – The Byzantine Empire and Russia Section 1 – The Byzantine Empire Pages 234-239

2. Pages 234-239 I. The Growth of Byzantine Power A. Setting the Scene 1. The Roman emperor Constantine rebuilt the Greek city of Byzantium and gave it the name Constantinople 2. In 330, he made Constantinople the new capital of the empire 3. As the cities of the western Roman empire crumbled, Constantinople prospered 4. With its high walls and golden domes, it stood as the proud capital of the Byzantine empire 5. Roads fanned out in all directions to the Balkans, Middle East and North Africa

3. Pages 234-239 B. Constantinople 1. Geography of the city a. Excellent harbor b. Protected on three sides by water c. Located on the shores of the Bosporus, a strait that linked the Mediterranean and Black seas d. Later emperors built an elaborate system of land and sea walls to bolster its defenses e. Location enabled it to command the key trade routes linking Europe and Asia 2. Constantinople was for centuries, Europe’s busiest market place 3. Byzantine emperors and empresses lived in splendor in the center of the city 4. Hippodrome, an arena built in the 200s, sported chariot races

4. Pages 234-239 C. A Blending of Cultures 1. Byzantine empire eventually declined to a small area around the city of Constantinople 2. Empire was still in existence 1,000 years after the fall of the western Roman empire 3. Promoted a brilliant civilization that blended ancient Greek, Roman, and Christian influences with other traditions of the Mediterranean world

5. Pages 234-239 II. The Age of Justinian A. The Empire 1. Byzantine empire reached its greatest size under the emperor Justinian 2. Justinian ruled from 527-565 3. Byzantine armies, led by the brilliant general Belisarius, reconquered North Africa, Italy, and southern Spain 4. This campaign exhausted Justinian’s treasury and weakened his defenses in the east 5. Justinian’s successors would lose these bitterly contested lands

6. Pages 234-239 B. Hagia Sophia 1. Justinian launched a program to beautify Constantinople 2. Greatest triumph was the church of Hagia Sophia “Holy Wisdom” a. Justinian divided 10,000 workers into two crews and had them compete to finish opposite sides of the church b. Gold glittered from the ceiling and marble gleamed from the walls c. Completed in less than 6 years d. Church still survives today

7. Pages 234-239 C. Code of Laws 1. Corpus Juris Civilis “Body of Civil Law” a. Collection and revision of all the laws of ancient Rome b. Compiled by a commission established by Justinian 2. Justinian’s Code of Laws had an impact far beyond the Byzantium empire a. 1100s it had reached Western Europe and the Roman Catholic Church and medieval monarchs modeled their laws on its principles b. Centuries later, the code also guided legal thinkers who began to put together the international law in use today

8. Pages 234-239 D. Absolute Power 1. Justinian used the Code of Laws to unite his empire 2. Rules as an autocrat “sole ruler with complete authority” 3. He was deemed as Christ’s co-ruler on Earth and had power over the Church 4. Unlike monarchs in Western Europe, Justinian combined spiritual authority with political power 5. Aided by his wife Theodora, a shrewd politician, who served as Justinian’s adviser and co-ruler

9. Pages 234-239 E. Changing Fortunes 1. In the centuries after Justinian, the fortunes of the empire rose and fell 2. Attacks by Persians, Slavs, Vikings, and Mongols and Turks were largely unsuccessful 3. Byzantium served as a buffer for Western Europe 4. By 600s-700s, Arab armies gained control of much of the Mediterranean world 5. Constantinople and the Byzantines held onto their heartland in the Balkans and Asia Minor. a. Empire’s greatest strengths came from a strong central government and a prosperous economy b. Peasants formed the backbone of the empire; working the land, paying taxes, and providing soldiers for the military c. Byzantium preserved a healthy money economy; the “bezant” a gold coin stamped with the emperor’s image circulated from England to China

10. Pages 234-239 III. Byzantine Christianity A. Differences East and West 1. Byzantine emperor controlled the Church affairs and appointed the “patriarch” or highest Church official 2. Byzantine Christians rejected the pope’s claim to authority over all Christians 3. Byzantine clergy could marry; Catholic clergy could not 4. Greek was the language of the Byzantine Church; Latin was the language of the Catholic Church 5. The chief Byzantine holy day was Easter; the western Christians placed greater emphasis on Christmas

11. Pages 234-239 B. Schism 1. During Middle Ages, the two branches of Christianity drew further apart 2. In the 700s, a Byzantine emperor outlawed the veneration of icons 3. The ban set off violent battles within the empire a. Pope excommunicated the Byzantine emperor b. A later empress eventually restored the use of icons 4. By 1054, a permanent split between the Byzantine, “Eastern Greek Orthodox Church” and “Roman Catholic” Churches occurred a. Roman Catholic Pope and East Orthodox Patriarch excommunicated each other b. Two Churches acted as rivals rather than as branches of the same faith c. Contacts between the two churches were guarded and distant

12. Pages 234-239 IV. Crisis and Collapse A. Time of the Schism 1. Byzantine empire was declining 2. Struggles over succession, court intrigues, and constant wars undermined its strength 3. Powerful local lords gained control of large areas 4. As the empire faltered, its enemies advanced a. Normans conquered southern Italy b. Seljuk Turks advanced across Asia Minor

13. Pages 234-239 B. The Crusades 1. 1090s, the Byzantine emperor called for western help to fight the Seljuk Turks 2. During later Crusades, trade rivalry sparked violence between the Byzantine empire and Venice 3. During Fourth Crusade, Venetian merchants persuaded knights to attack Constantinople in 1204 4. Western Christians ruled Constantinople for 50 years 5. A Byzantine emperor reclaimed the capital in the 1260s, but the empire never recovered 6. Eventually, the Ottoman Turks overran most of Asia Minor and the Balkans

14. Pages 234-239 C. Constantinople Falls 1. 1453, Ottoman forces surrounded the city of Constantinople 2. After a siege of 2 months, they stormed the broken walls of the city-Byzantine emperor fought to his death 3. Ottoman ruler Muhammad II entered the city in triumph a. Constantinople was renamed “Istanbul” and became the capital of the Ottoman empire b. Hagia Sophia was turned into an Islamic house of worship c. Istanbul soon emerged as a great center of Muslim culture

15. Pages 234-239 V. The Byzantine Heritage A. End of an Era 1. For Europeans, the empire had stood for centuries as the enduring symbol of Roman civilization 2. Throughout the Middle Ages, Byzantine influence radiated across Europe; even Ottoman conquerors adapted features of Byzantine government, social life, and architecture 3. For 1,000 years, the Byzantines built on the culture of the Hellenic world 4. Byzantine civilization blended Christian religious beliefs with Greek science, philosophy, arts and literature 5. The Byzantines also extended Roman achievements in engineering and law

16. Pages 234-239 B. The Arts 1. Byzantine artists made unique contributions, especially in religious art and architecture 2. Influenced western styles from the Middle Ages to the present time 3. Icons, designed to evoke the presence of God, gave viewers a sense of personal contact with the sacred 4. Mosaics brought scenes from the Bible to glowing life 5. In architecture, Byzantine palaces and churches blended Greek, Roman, Persian, and other Middle Eastern styles

17. Pages 234-239 The World of Learning 1. Byzantine scholars preserved the classic works of ancient Greece 2. Byzantine scholars also produced their own great books, especially in the field of history 3. Herodotus and Thucydides, Byzantine historians, were mostly concerned with writing about their own times 4. Procopius, an adviser to the general Belisarius, chronicled the Byzantine campaign against Persia 5. Procopius, in his “Secret History” savagely criticized Justinian and Theodora 6. Anna Comnena, another Byzantine historian, is considered by many scholars to be the western world’s first important female historian; wrote “Alexiad” where she analyzed the reign of her father Emperor Alexius I