The Byzantine Empire and Russia

1
The Byzantine Empire and Russia
2
Growth of Byzantine Power

• Emperor Constantine rebuilt the Greek city
  Byzantine and renamed the capital Constantinople.
  It was called New Rome. The whole eastern Roman
  empire became know as the Byzantine Empire.
  Constantinople was vitally important in the
  empire, linking major cities and harbors for
  trade. The city was rich and prosperous. It
  blended ancient Greek, Roman, and Christian
  influences with traditions in the Mediterranean.

3
The Age of Justinian

• Emperor Justinian ruled the Byzantine empire
  from 527 to 565. This is when it reached its
  greatest size. This was only temperory though as
  battles later were lost. Justinian left many
  great monuments and a code of laws. These laws
  were called Body of Civil Law, or popularly
  none as Justinians Code. It passed on laws of
  legal writings and Roman assemblies. These laws
  had a major impact. Justinian ruled as an
  autocrat, or sole ruler with complete autority. A
  Byzantine official once wrote The emperor is
  equal to all men in the nature of his body, but
  the authority of his rank is similar to God, who
  rules all This shows how important the empire
  was to the people.

4
Byzantine Christianity

• Christianity was the main religion in the
  Byzantine empire. The emperor would appoint
  patriarchs, or high a Church officials. Later on
  during the middle ages, icons that people prayed
  to were banned. This caused havoc in the empire
  breaking up splits between Easter (Greek)
  Orthodox and the Roman Catholic Church

5
Crisis and Collapse

• Once the religions started splitting, the empire
  was already falling. There were many struggles
  within the empire, as well as problems outside of
  it. During the crusades in the 1090s the
  Byzantine empire asked for help to fight the
  Seljuks. In 1453 Constantinople was surrounded by
  Ottoman forces causing a two month siege.
  Constantinople was taken over and renamed
  Istanbul, the capital of the Ottoman. The
  Byzantine empire has fallen. You can really see
  the difference throughout the Byzantine Empire
  through the years, and hwo strong it used to be
  in the beginning.

6
The Rise of Russian, the Geography, and the
Growth of Kiev

• Russia is very large and lies between China and
  Europe. There are many different climates,
  including extreme cold climates which have
  blizzards. (These extreme cold temperatures can
  show why Russia has never been concurred,
  especially during the World Wars). The city of
  Kiev was founded by the Varangians, and would
  later become a vital trade network. This is
  around the time where Byzantine Christianity was
  coming up. Princess Olga of Kiev converted to
  Byzantine Christianity in 957. Kiev enjoyed a
  golden age under Yaroslav the Wise, ruling from
  1019 to 1054. He also wrote a code olf laws like
  Justinian. Kiev later started to fall in the
  1100s in civial wars, then became invaded by the
  Mongols.

7
Mongol Conquest

• The Golden Horde was from 1236 to 1241 being led
  by the grandson of Genghiz Khan, Batu. Their
  tents gold, the marched onto Russia destroying
  many towns, including Kiev. One scholar wrote,
  no eye remained to weep for the dead. The
  Golden Horde ruled for the next 240 years.

8
Moscow Takes the Lead

• The princes of Moscow built armies as Mongol
  power declined. Ivan the 3rd, know as Ivan the
  Great successfully took over most of northern
  Russia, as well as taking over countries that
  were his. He also limited the power of boyars, or
  landowning nobles. He took the name of czar, or
  the Russian word Caesar. His grandson, Ivan
  the 5th, also know as Ivan the Terrible took more
  power. He introduced new laws and rewarded those
  who did military service. He made the oprichniki
  who were agents dressed in all black on black
  horse who slaughtered rebellious boyars.

9
Early Kingdoms

• Eastern Europe included many small kingdoms and
  states. Poland was a major state in Eastern
  Europe, having its greatest age under Queen
  Jadwiga and Duke Wladyslav Jagiello.
  Poland-Lithuania controlled the largest state in
  Europe at a time. Hungary also was part of
  Eastern Europe. Hungary was overran by the
  Mongols in 1241, killing almost half the
  population. Another country in Eastern Europe was
  Serbia, who was later overran by the Ottoman
  Turks.

10
Shaping Eastern Europe and a Diverse Mix of
Peoples

• Eastern Europe lies between Central Europe and
  Russia. Eastern Europe has a diverse group of
  people. The Balkans are there, and they peopled
  by other ethnic groups as well. An ethnic group
  is a large group of people who share the same
  language and cultural heritage. There are also
  Jewish Settlements in Eastern Europle. Many Jews
  escaped here during the time of the Black Death
  to escape persecution.

11
Conclusion

• In conclusion, during this time period each
  country ruled at different times. At one time, a
  country may be the most power, but just like that
  they can also be the weakest in no time.
  Mongolians and Moscow had the greatest power at
  one point, but they all fall eventually.

12
Regents Questions

• 1) What is considered the Byzantines Empire
  greatest contributions to western European
  society?
  
  a)spreading Hinduism throuhout the region
  b) supporting the catholic church
  c) defeating the Mongols at
  Kiev
  d) preserving Greek and Roman culture
• 2)What was one influence of Mongol role on the
  history of Russia.
  a) contact with
  kingdoms in western Europe greatly increased.
  
  b) The Chinese writing
  system was introduced and adopted
  
  c) Most
  Russians from Orthodox Christianity to Islam.
  d) Russian leaders
  adpoted the idea of strong, centralized control
  of the empire
• 3)Kevian Russia adopted the Eastern Orthodox
  religion, the Cyrillic alphabet, and different
  styles of art and architecture through contact
  with
  
  a) traders
  from South Asia
  
  b) conquering invaders from Mongolia
  
  c) crusaders
  from Western Europe
  
  d) missionaries from the Byzantine
  Empire
• 4)Which group introduced the Cyrillic alphabet,
  Orthox Chirstianity, and domed architecure to
  Russian culture?
  
  a) Mongols
  
  
  b) Vikings
  
  
  c) Jews
  
  
  d)
  Byzantines
• 5) What area was least effected by the Black
  Death?
  a)
  southwestern Europe
  
  
  b) Mediterranean coast
  
  
  c) eastern Europe
  
  
  d)
  British Isles

13
Answers

• 1) d) preserving Greek and Roman culture
• 2) d) Russian leaders adopted the idea of strong,
  centralized control of the empire
• 3) d) missionaries from the Byzantine Empire
• 4) d) Byzantines
• 5) c) eastern Europe