Global Outline: Byzantine Empire

I: The Early Byzantine Empire

Name from Byzantion- modest market town and fishing village

Golden Horn Harbor
Had potential to control Bosporus
Trade routes to Mediterranean basin and other areas
Constantine made the city his new capital, called it Constantinople
Able to watch over Sasanid empire in Persia and the Germanic people
Eventually fell to Ottoman Turks- became Istanbul

A: The Later Roman Empire and Byzantium

Was eastern half of Roman empire

Conquered a lot of land which people often took land for themselves
Problem=consolidation of the Sasanid dynasty in Persia and invasions of
migratory peoples
Migratory peoples were rarely a threat to cities like Constantinople
centralized rule, power in hands of emperor
Constantinople = lavish city with libraries, museums, palaces, churches,
Constantine the first Christian emperor, couldnt claim divinity- only claimed
divine favor
Caesaropapism- emperor who ruled as secular lord and played large role in
church affairs
Emperors had absolute power
law and bureaucracy led to large and complex empire
Emperors wore heavily bejeweled crowns, silk robes dyed purple

B: Justinian and His Legacy

Most important emperor was Justinian 527-565

Energetic and tireless- the sleepless emperor
Wife Theodora helped influenced the empire
Lavishes the capital which led to riots against high taxes
Church of Hagia Sophia, mosque and museum representing Christian
architecture- dome shaped, had gold/silver/gems/lampsOrdered review of Roman law- issues Corpus iuris civilis
Influenced civil codes throughout much of western Europe
Sent general Belisarius to capture previous western Roman empire from
Germans & others
Unable to hold the entire empire for long
City of Ravenna on Italys Adriatic coast was HQ of West Byzantine Empire

Successors had to let go of western region and fight off Slavics and Sasanids
to the east

C: Islamic Conquests and Byzantine Revival

Islam posed a challenge to Byzantium

Islam controlled many parts of the Byzantine empire and sieged
Constantinople, but were met with resistance with military technology
Byzantine forces use weapon Greek fire
Reorganized Byzantine Empire under theme system- placed theme under
jurisdiction of a general, who assumed responsibility for military defense and
civil administration.
Received appointments from imperial government- prevented corruption
Poor people got land for military service
Basil IIcrushed Bulgars and took Balkans
Won at Battle of Lleidion

D: Byzantium and Western Europe

Christian church of Rome and Constantinople conducted affairs in different

ways
Germanic peoples invaded western Roman empire, this further divided the
two
Frankish ruler Charlemagne received the imperial crown from pope in Romewanted to take over western lands, conflicted with Byzantiums
After his empire crumbled, Otto of Saxony tried to rule as emperor over
western lands
Ambassador Liudprand of Cremona described tenor of relations Byzantium &
Rome
Didnt like the Byzantine empire and made it sound terrible

II: Byzantine Economy and Society

Byzantium had strong economy
Abundance of agricultural products
Past Roman Empire economic and social assets stayed with Byzantine Empire
A: Rural Economy and Society
Anatolia and Danube = grain like Egypt
Constantinople was largest city in Europe- 1 million+ people
Large class of free peasants who owned small plots of land
Peasants didnt become slaves, but were sometimes bound to land (or
sharecropping)
Theme system made land available to peasants in the military
Byzantine govt didnt want wealthy to get too much land
Large land holdings worked against central govt and caused many difficulties

B: Industry and Trade

City still remained rich- Constantinople center of trade and home to all
classes
Had reputation for glassware, gold/silver, textiles, gems, jewelry
Silk became imported addition- no monopolies, enforced by govt
Byzantine gold coin, bezant, became standard currency of Mediterranean
Drew enormous wealth from trade- products from ALL over
Merchants often formed partnerships and used banking
C: Urban Life
Constantinople referred to as The City- imperial palace, 20k workers, gold
fountain
Aristocrats also had enormous palaces
Women lived in separate apartments and did not receive male visitors from
outside household, women didnt participate in banquets and parties
Artisans and crafts lived in rooms above their shops, govt & clerks lived in
apartments, workers & poor had generous tenements
Had a lot of public baths, restaurants, theaters
Hippodrome- large stadium adj. to imperial palace- home to entertainment
Most popular entertainment was chariot racing
Even formed two teams- Greens and Blues- fought outside of chariot races
too
Eventually they united and protested high taxes imposed by Justinian
III: Classical Heritage and Orthodox Christianity

Byzantine church leaders disagreed with western counterparts on many

matters

A: The Legacy of Classical Greece

Official language was Latin, although many spoke Greek

Had educational system based on classical Greece- wanted many literate and
intelligent
Aristocrats often hired tutors for girls and boys
Most people had at least a primary education
Had schools of medicine, law, philosophy
Like Greek, concentrated on lit., philosophy, history, more than medicine and
science
Made commentaries on Homer, Plato, Aristotle

B: The Byzantine Church

Justinian forced all remaining pagans to undergo Christian baptism, became

dominant
Christianity linked with govt- govt oversaw teachings and policies

Council of Nicae- organized by Constantine to bring bishops, spokesmen,

leaders from Christianity together to consider views of the Arians
Arius- priest that led people to believe that Jesus had been mortal and was a
creation of God, not a divine being
Constantine eventually condemned Arianism and made orthodox primary
Patriarch of Constantinople= highest ecclesiastical official in Byzantine church
Emperors treated church as a department of state, created conflicts b/t
imperial and ecclesiastical authorities
Iconoclasm the breaking of icons- made by Emperor Leo III, treated icons as
sinful and tantamount to the worship of physical idolsicons (religious
images) had been used for years before
Protests and controversy eventually ended this policy
Theologians sought ways to harmonize Christianity with other Greek
philosophies
Used philosophical point of views to answer religious questions
Classical Greek philosophy played a big influence regarding debates on Jesus,
etc.

C: Monasticism and Popular Piety

Byzantine monasticism grew out of efforts of devout people to lead very holy
lives
Observed asceticism and self-denial- did extreme things
Disciples gathered around hermits/ascetics to follow their example
St. Basil of Caesarea- patriarch of Constantinople urged these communities w/
disciples and ascetics to adopt reforms to enhance effectiveness
Basilian monasticism spread rapidly throughout Byzantine empire
Byzantine monasteries didnt become centers of education unlike their
counterparts
Monks wanted mystical union with god, so some meditated and prayed,
controlled breathing, etc.
Mt. Athos- peninsula in Greece, site of monasteries- females prohibited
Monks and nuns provided spiritual counsel, relief efforts, medical attention to
their communitiesopposed Iconoclasm, won Byzantine populace

D: Tensions between Eastern and Western Christianity

Once Islamic peoples took over, Constantinople and Rome were only principal
centers of Christian authority
Western theologians regarded icons as appropriate, but Byzantians were
iconoclasts
Many small controversies between the two sides
Byzantine patriarchs had authority over all jurisdictions, whereas in Rome the
pope had most of the control

Eastern and western churches went separate ways- patriarch and pope
excommunicated each othereastern Christian church known as the Eastern
Orthodox church and western counterparts known as the Roman Catholic
church

IV: The Influence of Byzantium in Eastern Europe:

Byzantines called themselves Romaioi (Romans)

During Roman times, Mediterranean basin was full of trade and cultural
exchanges
Now, Islamic people seized control of lands in S and E, Byzantines and
western Europeans had N
Byzantine people were pressured by Islamic people and western Europeansdeclined
Influenced history of Slavic peoples
Byzantine culture survives greatly in Russia and eastern Europe because of its
impact on politics, economics, and more

A: Domestic Problems and Foreign Pressures

Basil II, Bulgar-Slayer, died and empire was political, military, and economic
dynamo
Then suffered internal weaknesses and military reverses
Domestic problems from theme system- generals who governed the themes
were natural allies of local aristocrats
When generals intermarried with aristocrats, elite class with military, political,
social, and economic power arose
Elite class rebelled and placed free peasantry under pressure
Since there were fewer free peasants, military had less recruits, declining tax
receipts
Economic development in western Europe supported military and political
expansion
Normans made themselves independent power in southern Italy
Led by Robert Guiscard, Normans expelled Byzantines from southern Italy
Launched military crusades to capture Jersualem from Muslims
Venetians became prominent in commercial life of eastern Mediterraneandiverted fourth crusade to Constantinople and took it over
Byzantine forces recaptured capital, but never completely recovered
Europeans expanded into Byzantine from west, Turkish peoples invaded from
the east
Muslim Saljuqs, invaded Anatolia
Battle of Manzikert- defeated Byzantine forces after they had a civil war
Anatolia was principle source for grain, wealth, military forces- lead to further
decline

Finally ended when Ottoman Turks captures Constantinople

B: Early Relations between Byzantium and Slavic Peoples

When Justinian deployed Byzantiums military resources in western

Mediterranean, Slavic peoples took advantage
Relations b/t Byzantium and Bulgaria were very tense
Byzantium influenced Bulgarian politics and society because of its wealth &
diplomacy
Byzantine emperors recognized Bulgarian rulers as legitimate sovereigns
Had close political, commercial, educational, cultural relations
Byzantium also sent missionaries to Balkan lands- Bulgars and Slavics
converted to Orthodox Christianity
Saints Cyril and Methodius, two brothers from Thessaloniki, were most
famous missionaries
Devised Cyrillic alphabet while on journeys
Slavic writing helped them explain Christian values and was taught in schools

C: Byzantium and Russia

Russians created trade centers- Kiev was one of them

Was situated on Dnieper River along main trade route linking Scandinavia &
Byzantium
Russian merchants visited Constantinople and sought alliances w/ Byzantine
rulers
Prince Vladimir of Kiev converted to Orthodox Christianity and ordered
subjects to follow
After this, Byzantine influences flowed rapidly into Russia- schools were
established, etc.
Byzantine art and architecture dominated Kiev- had icons that encouraged
popular piety
Onion domes- tried to copy dome structures of Constantinopleused wood
Princes of Kiev established firm, caesaropapist control over Russian Orthodox
church
Compiled written law code for their lands, gained financial resources
Kiev eventually had 400 churches and 8 large markets- pop 30 thousand,
then 600 churches
Later, Russians claimed to inherit all of Byzantium
Moscow survived as third Rome?- guided world to Orthodox Christian
righteousness
Missionaries brought Siberia into Orthodox church, crossed Bering Strait and
dispatched missions to Alaska and Californiatherefore, Byzantine legacy
continued to work in its influence through Russian Orthodox church