Transcript Chapter 9: Civilization in Eastern Europe: Byzantium and

Chapter 9: Civilization in Eastern Europe:
Byzantium and Orthodox Europe
By: Becca Graven
Origins of the Byzantine Empire
• Began in 4th century when Romans set up
their eastern capital at Constantinople
– Constantine constructed elegant buildings
• Spoke Greek
• High levels of commerce
• Recruited armies from the middle east to
protect against many foreign enemies
Justinian’s Achievements
• Attacked by Sassanian Empire in Persia
and Germanic invaders
– Byzantine won
• 533, new emperor, Justinian, tried to
reconquer western territory
– Wanted to restore an empire like Rome
• Heavily influenced by wife, Theodora
• Created a new church, the Hagia Sophia
Justinian’s Acheivements
• Rebuilt Constantinople and enforcing the
Roman legal code
– Unified law reduced confusion and united and
organized the empire
• Wanted to recreate the old Roman Empire
– With the help of a general, Blisarius, the empire
captured some land in north Africa and Italy
• Later, lost the territory to the Germans
Arab Pressure and Empire’s Defenses
• Took over Persians and forced them
into Christianity
• Hellenistic culture
• Arabs challenged Byzantine naval
supremacy in eastern Mediterranean
– Arabs won
• Territory cut in half
Arab Pressure and Empire’s Defenses
• Used Greek Fire, a mix of petroleum,
quicklime, and sulfur
• After Arab invasions, there were many
weak emperors
Byzantine Society and Politics
• Similar to early China
• Emperor was head of the church and
state
– Appointed church bishops and passed
religious and secular laws
• Some women held the imperial throne
– Empress Theodora
Byzantine Society and Politics
• Elaborate bureaucracy
– Trained in Greek classics, philosophy and
science
– From all social classes, but mostly
aristocrats
– Specialized into various offices
– Some were provincial governors
– System of spies to preserve loyalty to
emperor
Byzantine Society and Politics
• Roman military system
– Recruited troops locally
– Recruits rewarded with grants of land
– Slavs and Armenian Christians recruited
also
• Constantinople regulated trade and
controlled food prices
Byzantine Society and Politics
• Large peasant class supplied goods and
provided the majority of tax revenues
• Trading network with Asia, Russia,
Scandinavia, India and the Arabs
• Silk production expanded
• Large merchant class never gained
significant political power
Byzantine Society and Politics
• Traditions of Hellenism
• Distinct Byzantine style of art and
architecture
– Icon paintings, or paintings of saints and
other religious figures
Split Between Eastern and Western Christianity
• Western Christianity was headed by the
pope in Rome
• Different rituals in the Western church
when they translated the Greek bible
into Latin
• State control over Eastern Christianity
• Eastern priests could marry
Empire’s Decline
• Happened shortly after the split
between the Western and Eastern
churches
• Turkish invaders pressed on the eastern
borders
– Seljuks(Turkish troops) seized the Asiatic
provinces
• Cut off tax revenues and food
Empire’s Decline
• Lost the battle of Manzikert in 1071
• Creation of new, independent Slavic
kingdoms in the Balkans
• Italian cities surpassed Constantinople
• A Western Crusade attacked and
conquered Constantinople
– It was later restored
Empire’s Decline
• 1453, the Turkish sultan attacked
Constantinople
– Constantinople fell in two months
• 1461, Turks conquered rest of
Byzantine
East Central Borderlands
• Roman Catholicism and Latin alphabet
prevailed in Czech area, Hungary, and
Poland
• Area north of the Balkans was
organized into regional monarchies
• Poland, Bohemia, and Lithuania
surpassed most western kingdoms in
territory
East Central Borderlands
• Active area for trade and industry
• Advanced ironworking
• Influx of Jews migrating from Middle
East and western Europe
– Most in Poland
– Jews were resented by Christian majority
Emergence of Kievan Rus’
• Slavic people moved into Russia and
eastern Europe during the Roman
Empire
– Used iron
– Extended agriculture
– Animistic religion
Emergence of the Kievan Rus’
• Scandinavian traders set up a government in
the city of Kiev
– Renamed Kievan Rus’
– First prince was Rurik, a native of Denmark
(855)
– Prosperous trading center
– Prince Vladimir ruled from 980-1015
• Converted to Christianity
• Forced others to convert
• This became the Russian Orthodox Church
Emergence of the Kievan Rus’
• Decentralized government
• Yaroslav, the last Kievan prince
– Issued legal codification
– Built many churches
– Translated religious literature from Greek
to Slavic
Institutions and Culture in Kievan Rus’
• Borrowed from Byzantium
– With no bureaucracy or education system
• Polygamy ended due to Christianity
• Cyrillic alphabet used in literature
– Described religious and royal events
Institutions and Culture in Kievan Rus’
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Icon paintings and religious manuscripts
Domed churches
Peasants were fairly free farmers
Aristocrat landlord class, called boyars
Kievan Decline
• Decline started in 12th century
• Rival princes set up regional
governments
• People from Asia invaded
• Decline of Byzantium reduced trade
• Invaded by Mongols, called Tatars
End of an Era in Eastern Europe
• Weaker than Western Europe in power,
economy, and culture
• Invaded by Tatars