Byzantine Empire and Russia

Byzantine Empire

•

Middle Ages / Medieval Period

All the empires we • have studied to this point have been referred to as ancient

civilizations. – – – – – – –

Mesopotamia Fertile Crescent Egypt India China Greece Rome

Ancient history is the study of the written past from the beginning of recorded human history until the Early Middle Ages in Europe. • The Middle Ages or Medieval Period began with the fall of the Roman Empire in 476 A.D. and lasts to about 1500.

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The New Rome 395—Roman Empire split Roman Empire (West) & Byzantine Empire (East)  Greeks=most of Byzantine Empire’s population  Wealthy families moved to Constantinople when barbarians invaded Rome 

 Constantinople

(crossroads of Europe & Asia)  Bosporus & Dardanelles— 2 important waterways

Emperor Justinian  527-

565  Nicknamed “Emperor who never sleeps”

Justinian’s Code code: Corpus of Civil Law (Justinian’s Code)

Law

–Based on Roman laws http://www.fordham.e du/halsall/basis/535in stitutes.html#XV.%20 Agnate%20Tutorship.

Theodora Justinian’s wife & advisor  Allowed women to own land  532: Nika Revolt – Theodora talked him into staying – General Belisarius- put down revolt & won back Roman lands 

Hippodrome- Chariot races (like Rome’s Circus Maximus)

http://www.knowledgerush.com/kr/encyclopedia/Hippodrome_of_Constantinople/

http://www.livius.org/a/1/maps/istanbul_hippodrome_map.gif

Justinian wanted strength of old Roman Empire  By 554— reclaimed Italy, North Africa, & Spain from Germanic tribes – Chemical weapon “Greek fire” – After Justinian’s death, Germanic tribes reclaimed lands 

Christian Church  Emperors

crowned by Patriarch of Constantinople

–Defend Christianity –Appoint Church officials

Icons (religious images) – Iconoclasts believed having icons was idol worship  726: Byzantine Emperor Leo III– destroyed icons – 787: Pope in Rome-- heresy not to allow icons (some couldn’t read & icons helped them learn Christianity) – Church council threatened iconoclasts with excommunication 



Pope and Patriarch excommunicated each other – 700s: Lombards invaded Italy, Byzantine emperor refused to help Pope – Frankish leader helped--Pepin the Short—Pope gives him title “emperor” – 1054: SPLIT---WEST (Roman Catholic Church) EAST (Eastern Orthodox Church)

Church supported marriage (sacred institution) – Roman Catholic Priests not allowed to marry  Divorce - difficult to get 

 Trade:

–Goods from Asia & Europe –Silk Road –2 Orthodox monk missionaries brought silkworms from China

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Art- religious subjects – Icons- displayed saints – Mosaics- pieces of tile or glass – Religious scholars used art in books – Illuminated manuscripts (decorated books)

Literature

focused on salvation, obedience to God, & preserving Greek & Roman works

Architecture  532:

Church of Hagia Sophia (meaning “holy wisdom”) in Constantinople

Cyril

& Methodius-missionaries

–860: Cyril created alphabet for Slavic people –Cyrillic Alphabetused by Russia today

 AD

1071—Seljuk Turks threaten Constantinople  Byzantine emperor asked Pope to help “defend Christianity”  Europeans went to Palestine to fight Muslims-Crusades (holy wars)

 1204—Venetians

looted

Constantinople  1453—Ottoman Turks attacked –Byzantine emperor killed –End of Byzantine Empire

The Slavs  Steppe-

treeless grassland  Taiga- thick forests  Long, cold winters  3 major rivers –Dnieper All flow North to South –Dniester –Volga

The Eastern Slavs Setting and People  3 major ethnic groups lived in the area north of the Black Sea  1.) Western Slavs 

– Poles, Czechs, Slovaks – Close ties to Roman Catholic Church and Western Europe

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2.) Southern Slavs – Serbs, Croats, Slovenes – Located on the northern part of the Balkan Peninsula – Lots of contact with the Byzantines

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3.) Eastern Slavs – Largest group – Ukranians, Russians, Belarussians – Lived between the Dnieper and Dniester Rivers

Kievan Rus  800s AD- Vikings from Scandinavia (Norway, Denmark, Sweden) settled town of Novgorod  Vikings=Ruotsi=Rus=Russia  Kiev (major trading village)  Kiev grew into group of principalities called Kievan Rus

 Principalities

ruled by princes –Grand Prince—like emperor –Princes—paid tribute to GP –Boyars—landowners –Artisans & merchants –Peasants

 988

AD—Grand Prince Vladimir I adopted Christianity & Cyrillic Alphabet  Yaroslav the Wise (10191054)

–1st library of Kiev –Built churches, created 1st law code

http://z.about.com/d/goeasteurope/1/5/T/3/-/-/UkraineStSophia.jpg

 1240—Mongols

invaded  1240—Alexander “Nevsky” defeated Swedes at Neva River  1380—Mucovites (people of Moscow) defeated Mongols at Battle of Kulikovo

1493—Ivan

III ruler of Moscow refused to pay Mongol taxes, made himself sovereign of all Russia— “Ivan the Great” Orthodox Church called rd Russia the “3 Rome”

Ivan IV “the terrible” Paranoid- mentally unstable Killed his own son Massacre at Novgorod Took title czar “caesar”

http://www.uoregon.edu/~alayne/Images/stbasil-cathedral-exterior.jpg

http://www.uoregon.edu/~kimball/images/repin%20I-4%20ssn.jpg