The Rise of the

1
The Rise of the Byzantine Empire
2
objective

• To use the pictures as subheadings and be able to
  identify the main ideas in each category of
  information for Byzantine.
• First use ARS while reading. The spiral questions
  are a guide to what information to look for, each
  bullet contains noteworthy information.
• Then try to identify the main idea(s) of each
  category by summarizing in a sentence or using 5
  or less words.
• After completing you will participate in a class
  discussion as a review in preparation for project.

3
Essential questionsYou should be able to answer
by the end of activity

• How does geography influence the growth of the
  Byzantine civilization?
• What impact does trade/economics have on the
  organization and daily life of people?
• What are the evolving principles and ideals that
  have shaped government over time-specific to
  Byzantine?
• How does the legacy of civilizations impact
  their interaction throughout history?

4
Cityscape of Istanbul
5
Cityscape of Istanbul (Constantinople)

• Questions to consider
• What do you notice about the location of this
  city? Describe the buildings that stand out in
  the picture. Do you think the domed buildings
  are modern or historic? What do you think they
  are used for? Why might this city be considered
  a strategic locale for a city? How could you
  protect the city from invaders?

6
Cityscape notes

• The picture is a view of modern-day Istanbul,
  Turkey, which was formerly Constantinople, the
  capital city of the Byzantine Empire (A.D.
  330-1453). This aerial view shows the citys
  position at the confluence of the Bosporus
  (center), the Golden Horn (left) and the Sea of
  Marmara (right).
• The Byzantine Empire grew out of the fading Roman
  Empire. In the 4th century A.D., the western
  half of the Roman Empire had been weakened by
  barbarian invasions. At the same time,
  Christianity was a growing force and Constantine
  the Great became The first Christian emperor of
  Rome. Because the eastern portion of the Empire
  had a longer tradition of absolutism and
  monotheism than did the West, Constantine decided
  to consolidate his rule by moving the capital
  eastward, in A.D. 330. He chose the Greek
  seaport of Byzantium and renamed it New Rome.
  But it became known as his city Constantinople.
  This magnificent city of the Eastern Roman Empire
  became the hub of the Byzantine Empire.

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• Constantine chose the new capital for its fine
  harbor and strategic locale. The city was
  surrounded on 3 sides by water, which was
  excellent for trade, as well as for defense.
  Constantine needed only to build walls on one
  side to ensure the citys security. The city
  became a self-contained fortress, protected by 13
  miles of walls, watchtowers, and 50 fortified
  gates. The inlet of the Golden horn, one of the
  bordering bodies of water, was surrounded by
  hills. Consequently, ships in the Golden Horn
  were safe even in bad weather, and there was
  always one harbor safe for docking. Along this
  sea side of the city, walled harbors and a chain
  stretched across the Golden Horn protected ships
  from attacks launched at sea.
• Located on the Bosporus Strait, the gateway from
  the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara,
  Constantinople was at a shipping and trading
  crossroads between two continents Europe and
  Asia. From the Sea of Marmara, another strait
  (the Dardanelles) led to the Aegean Sea, which
  joined the Mediterranean Sea. Thus, whoever
  ruled Constantinople was in a position to control
  all shipping from Asia to Europe, as well as the
  trade between Russia and the Mediterranean
  territories.
• Since Constantinople began as the eastern capital
  of the Roman Empire, Byzantine culture was
  heavily influenced by the Roman Empire. The city
  itself was modeled after Rome, like Rome, it was
  built on 7 hills and divided into 14 districts.
  The buildings and structures in Constantinople
  also strongly reflected Roman influencethe
  hippodrome, forum and aqueducts were all derived
  from the old Empire.

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• The Byzantine Empire retained but relaxed many of
  the Roman Empires rules and customs.
  Extravagant circuses and chariot races continued
  in Constantinople, along with such traditions as
  the emperors distribution of bread to the
  citizens. The army followed Roman military
  traditions. While the Byzantines retained some
  of Rome's class-based standards of punishment and
  dress for the rich and poor, some mobility later
  became possible.
• Progressive Byzantine emperors began to select
  their officials on the basis of talent and
  competence rather than simply hereditary social
  class. The Byzantine senate existed mainly as a
  result of Roman tradition and was not nearly as
  rigid and powerful body as it had been in Rome.
  The one major difference between Constantinople
  and Rome was that from its inception
  Constantinople was a Christian city.
• The Byzantine Empire was a bridge between ancient
  and modern Europe. Its territory included the
  lands of Greece, Asia Minor, Palestine, Syria and
  Egypt, though this changed as the Empire expanded
  and contracted. Christianity, Roman customs and
  Greek classical culture all survived, blended and
  flourished in the Empire. The Empires military
  staved off barbarians in the West and Arabs and
  Turks in the East its scholars preserved Greek
  Literature and philosophy (Greek was the official
  language of Constantinoplehad to speak it to be
  a citizen) its legal experts, at the direction
  of the emperor, preserved and codified Roman
  legal traditions. The Empire-which saw no fewer
  than 88 rulers come and go and survived centuries
  of public riots, religious differences, and
  foreign threatsended 1453 when Constantinople
  fell to the Turks. Constantinople today is the
  modern city of Istanbul, Turkey, the only major
  city that straddles two continents.

9
Emperor Justinian
10
Mosaic Portrait of Emperor Justinian I

• Questions to consider
• For this piece of art answer the following
• When looking at this
• I feel
• I see
• I think
• I wonder

11
Justinian I notes

• The mosaic picture is representing Emperor
  Justinian I and his court. It is located in the
  Church of San Vitale, in Ravenna, Italy.
• The Byzantine Empire's 16th and most ambitious
  ruler was the Emperor Justinian I, who held power
  from A.D. 527 until his death in A.D. 565.
  Justinian ascended the throne at age 45. he was
  very devout, determined and even stubborn.
  Rather than allow problems to develop, he took
  steps to prevent them (he preferred to invade
  rather than be invaded). During his reign a
  historian named Procopius praised the emperor as
  even-tempered and hard-working. After
  Justinians death, Procopius wrote in a Secret
  History that the emperor had been devious,
  false, hypocritical, two-faced, cruel, skilled in
  dissembling his thought, never moved to tears by
  either joy or paina liar always.

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• Justinian was an ambitious military leader. He
  funded his military ventures by taxing the people
  heavily. Eventually, Justinian's armies managed
  to dominate the Vandals in North Africa, the
  Ostrogoths in Italy, and the Visigoths in
  Southern Spain, and expanded the Empire to the
  greatest size it was ever to attain. In a church
  in Ravenna, Italy, he was celebrated in the
  mosaic (a picture or pattern made up of small
  pieces of colored glass or stone inlaid in
  plaster) shown here. In the long run, though,
  Justinians costly military projects were not so
  successful. His attempt to recapture Rome from
  the Barbarians led to 18 years of chaotic siege
  and counter siege, leaving the once-proud city in
  ruins.
• Justinian, like all Byzantine emperors, played a
  dual role. He was the absolute head of both the
  Christian church and the state. The throne, in
  fact, was built wide enough to seat twothus
  symbolizing the emperors partnership with Jesus.
  In the mosaic, at Justinians left hand, stands
  the archbishop of Ravenna. Justinian served
  various roles as a Christian leader. Because he
  was the emperor and emperors were believed to
  rule by divine right, his authority over the
  church was above that of even the patriarch of
  Constantinople. Justinian also had the authority
  to choose and appoint the patriarch of
  Constantinople.

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• The Codification of 400 years worth of Roman law
  was one of Justinians major accomplishments.
  Justinian believed that many of the old laws were
  unnecessarily complicated, unorganized, and no
  longer relevant. Thus, he appointed a group of
  10 men, working under a legal scholar named
  Tribonian, to collect and organize the laws made
  and used by all the emperors before him.. As a
  result, the laws were revised and a new legal
  code called the Corpus Juris Civilis (Body of
  Civil Law) was created. This code law, also
  known as the Code of Justinian, became the basis
  for much of Western legal codes in the subsequent
  centuries.
• Justinian's finest, most lasting achievements
  were his massive building programs. The emperor
  undertook an ambitious program of public works,
  ordering new bridges, churches, monasteries,
  forums, forts and roads to be built. Hospitals,
  public baths, recreation centers, a law library,
  a seaside park filled with bronze and marble
  statuesall of these were the work of Justinians
  stonemasons, architects, and planners. When the
  city of Antioch was destroyed in an earthquake,
  Justinian had the entire city rebuilt!

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Empress Theodora
15
Mosaic of Empress Theodora

• For this piece of art answer the following
• When looking at this
• I feel
• I see
• I think
• I wonder

16
Theodora notes

• The subject of the mosaic is Empress Theodora and
  her court. It is located in Ravenna, Italy in
  the Church of San Vitale.
• Justinians wife, the Empress Theodora, was a
  remarkable and influential woman who equaled and
  sometimes surpassed her husband in political
  skill and wisdom. Born into the lower classes
  (her father was the bear-keeper for
  Constantinoples circus), Theodora carved out a
  teenage career as a dancer and actress. She
  loved adventure, new friendships and travel. In
  her twenties, when she returned from a long trip
  to Africa, she settled down and married
  Justinian. Once he took power, Theodora was
  active in politicsadvancing her friends,
  destroying her enemies, and sometimes giving
  orders that canceled her husbands. She also was
  responsible for several social welfare programs,
  including one for the citys poor and homeless
  girls, and for convincing the emperor to expand
  women s rights.

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• On one occasion, Theodora saved the empire. In
  A. D. 532, in reaction to the huge amounts of
  money being poured into overseas wars and to
  Justinians sometimes tyrannical rule, there was
  a riot in Constantinople, later called the Nika
  Rebellion. It began as a simple shouting-match
  (in the stadium where chariot races took place),
  but soon a mob formed and the city was in flames.
  The royal family took refuge in the palace.
  Some of Justinians counselors argued for escape
  by sea, but then Theodora spoke. According to
  the court historian, Procopius, Theodora's advice
  to her husband was the following In my opinion
  this is no time to admit the maxim that a woman
  must not act as a man among men nor, if she
  fires the courage of the halting, are we to
  consider whether she does right or no. When
  matters come to a crisis, we must agree as to the
  best course to take. My opinion is that ,
  although we may save ourselves by flight, it is
  not to our interest. Every man that sees the
  light must die, but the man who has once been
  raised to the height of empire cannot suffer
  himself to go into exile and survive his dignity.
  God forbid that I should ever be stripped of the
  purple, or live a single day on which I am not to
  be saluted as Mistress. If thou desires to go,
  Emperor, nothing prevents thee. There is the
  sea there are the steps to the boat. But have a
  care that when thou leaves here, thou dose not
  exchange this set light for an ignoble death.
  For my part I like the old saying the empire is
  a fine winding sheet.
• Rallied by her speech, Justinian sent troops to
  crush the rebellion. The emperor and his troops
  surrounded the hippodrome, killed 30,000 of the
  rebels and order was restored.

18
Hagia Sophia
19
Interior of the Hagia Sophia

• Questions to consider
• Describe the interior of this building. What
  kinds of shapes do you see? How long do you
  think it took to build it? How is this building
  illuminated? Which part of the building do you
  think took the longest to build? What type of
  building might this be? What aspects of the
  architecture strike you as interesting? How high
  do you think the dome is? How does the size of
  the building make you feel? Why would light be
  important in this building?

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Hagia Sophia notes

• In the wake of the riot in 532, Justinian
  undertook to rebuild and restore Constantinople.
  True to form, he did it on the grand scale. In
  addition to the many civic buildings Justinian
  had built, the crown jewel of Constantinoplethe
  largest of its 25 new Christian cathedralswas a
  domed church named the Hagia Sophia.
• Built in only 5 years (532-537), Hagia Sophia, or
  the Church of Holy Wisdom, stood for centuries
  as the most magnificent structure in the Western
  world. Its dome, a marvel of engineering,
  reaches 180 feet (or some 12 stories) above the
  floor. The domes diameter is 107 feet and at
  its circumference it has 40 stained-glass
  windows. In Justinian's time, Hagia Sophias
  beauty became renowned as the sun crossed the
  sky, spokes of light spun slowly across the
  cathedrals walls, columns, arches, and
  glittering mosaics. Everywhere there was
  polished marble in 6 colors green, black, red,
  purple, blue, and white. After the sun set, a
  huge candelabrum, hanging on long chains blazed
  to life.

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• Hagia Sophia, while ornate on the inside, is like
  other Byzantine churches on the outside utterly
  plain. The contrast is deliberate and symbolic.
  The plain brick and mortar exterior represents
  the daily world and earthly life. The rich
  interior represents the ideal or spiritual
  universe that, the Byzantines believed,
  accompanied the coming of Christianity.
  Interestingly, Hagia Sophia has a second dual
  nature, as wellexpressed in its two styles of
  architecture. Here east meets west. The
  cathedrals size and strength thick pillars, a
  huge enclosed space, are reminders of the
  architecture of Rome. But the design and
  decorationintricate and ornate, down to the very
  last piece of mosaicreflect Eastern influences.
• Two distinguished architects worked on the
  church Antemuis of Tralles and Isidorus of
  Miletus. With Hagia Sophia they solved a major
  design problem, and the solution was played out
  in smaller churches across the Byzantine Empire.
  The hardest part to build is what is called the
  pendentive. This is the strangely curved wall
  space that extends above the four central arches,
  reaching to the base of the dome. The pendentive
  joins two circular shapes. The architectural
  style of Hagia Sophia spread far through the
  Empire-Armenia, S. Italy, Russia, Serbia, and
  Sicily. In each region, local builders adjusted
  the style to suit their particular climate,
  technology and materials. When Constantinople
  fell to the Islamic Turks, Hagia Sophia became a
  mosque. Today it is a museum.

22
Icon of Mary and Jesus
23
Icon of Mary and Jesus

• For this piece of art answer the following
• When looking at this
• I feel
• I see
• I think
• I wonder

24
Notes Icons

• Throughout the Byzantine Empire, the Christian
  church carried forward a long tradition of icons.
  An icon is a representation of sacred persons or
  events, such as the lives of Jesus and the
  saints. Icons appear in several forms mural
  painting, mosaic and most typically, painted on
  small wooden panes. These flat, two dimensional
  religious images can be venerated in special ways
  (prayed to and carried aloft in religious
  processions) and specific technical rules guide
  their artistic form.
• Some Byzantine Christians opposed icons because
  they felt it was wrong to show devotions to a
  mere man- made image. They feared that the icons
  were being worshiped as though they represented
  gods. Those opposed to icons argued that worship
  should be offered only to God. For a long time,
  though, these Christians were in the minority,
  and icons were widely accepted. Those who
  supported the use of icons argued that the images
  helped the faithful honor the religious figures
  represented. Portraits of Jesus, his mother Mary
  and others saints become increasingly popular.
  Indeed some of the newest Christian converts
  barbarians into the Westaccepted icons with a
  vengeance, investing them with magical powers and
  making sacrifices before them.

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• Over the centuries, a rift developed between pro
  and anti icon Christians. Words flew, fists were
  raised, and riots broke out. The anti-icon
  Christians became known as iconoclasts (meaning
  icon smashers) and the Byzantine Emperor Leo
  III passionately joined their ranks. In A.D.
  730, partly in response to a volcanic eruption
  that he saw as a sign of Gods wrath, Leo banned
  icons. Moreover, the ordered that all religious
  imagesicons, mosaics, paintingsbe burned,
  whitewashed or destroyed. Leos decree deepened
  the growing rift between Easter (Byzantine and
  Western Christians. In the West, where few
  people could read, religious leaders often used
  images to explain Christian teachings. The Roman
  pope, Gregory III, who held sway in the West,
  claimed to lead the whole church, and favored
  icons, responded by declaring that Leo III was no
  longer a Christian and he excommunicated him.

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• For decades, controversy raged. Artwork was
  destroyed. Iconoclast emperors alternated with
  their pro-icon opponents. Though the Byzantines
  finally accepted icons for good, the damage was
  done. The rift between Eastern and Western
  Christians became a gaping chasm. In 1054, the
  Christian church split into two churches forever.
  In the West, the church became the Roman
  Catholic church (catholic is from a Latin worked
  meaning universal) in the East, the church became
  the eastern Orthodox church (orthodox from Greek,
  means correct belief).
• The split between Eastern and Western
  Christianity, call the Great Schism, was the
  result of cleavages in tradition, custom and
  theology. According to the Catholic church of
  the West, masses were always in Latin, the pope
  was the supreme religious authority above any
  political ruler, all clergy were celibate, and
  religious icons of martyrs and saints were to be
  respected.
• In the East, however, Christianity took on
  different traditions. Masses were in Greek, the
  language of the eastern people, so as to be
  understandable. Monks and other Christians who
  did missionary work often translated the bible
  into the language of the people they were trying
  to convert, in order to make Christianity more
  accessible. Another difference was that the
  Byzantine emperor appointed and was considered
  superior to the patriarch, they bishop of
  Constantinople, who dominated the Byzantine
  Church and whom the Byzantine Christians looked
  up to as a greater religious authority than the
  pope. In the East, bishops were not allowed to
  marry, but priests and other clergy were not
  required to be celibate. Icons were generally a
  subject of much controversy. For centuries, they
  were still used in the East, although many
  Orthodox Christian disapproved of them because
  they felt that Christian should be praying
  directly to and only to God.

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• According to the Catholic Church
• Masses were always conducted in Latin.
• The pope was the supreme religious authority.
• All clergy were celibate (They did not marry).
• Religious icons of martyrs and saints were to be
  respected.

Christianity in the east took on a different
tradition Masses were in Greek. Monks and
missionaries translated the Bible into the
language of the people they were trying to
convert. The patriarch, the bishop of
Constantinople, dominated the Byzantine Church.
The emperor appointed patriarch and was superior
to him. Bishops could not marry, but priests and
clergy could.
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• Less tangible differences also contributed to the
  split between the Eastern and Western Christians.
  The Western Church believed that the papacy and
  bishops of Rome held supreme authority over
  interpreting the Scripture. This belief was
  derived from Jesus statement to Peter in Matthew
  1618 Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will
  build my church. In contrast, the Eastern
  Church put the authority of the Scriptures and
  the local church councils above the authority of
  the Pope in Rome.
• The East was also more cosmopolitan in
  characterChristian Orthodoxy tended to be
  influenced by such diverse ideas as Eastern
  mysticism, Greek and Roman secular and pagan
  culture, and Monophysitism (the doctrine that
  holds that Christs nature remains altogether
  divine and not human). Greeks, Turks, Bulgur,
  Jews, Italians, Russian, Slavs, Khazars, Persian,
  and Armenians all lived in Constantinople. Many
  of them became Christians and such a diverse
  convergence of cultures and beliefs contributed
  to the unique form of Christianity that developed
  in the EAST.

29
Lands of the Byzantine Empire
30
Lands and Trading Routes of the Byzantine Empire

• Questions to consider
• Where is Constantinople? What do all the lines
  on the map represent? If you boarded a ship in
  Constantinople, where could you go? If you got
  on a camel or horse, where could you go? Why do
  you thinks Constantinople is called a
  crossroads? Why is Constantinople in a good
  location to be the capital of a military and
  trading Empire?

31

• The map shows the lands and trading routes of the
  Byzantine Empire. The Byzantine Empire was a
  vast array of cultural and commercial threads,
  tied together by the great knot of
  Constantinople. The inhabitants of the Empire
  were descended from many ancient people,
  including the Armenians, Slavs, Bulgarians,
  Greeks, Normans, and Turks. Most of them were
  farmers who lived in one-room huts made of wood
  or mud bricks. They raised grapes, olives, and
  wheat or herded sheep, and lived on chasse,
  bread, and vegetable cooked in olive oil.
  Constantinople howeverwhich became known a s
  simply The City due to its magnificent
  edifices, large population, and commercial
  successwas home to the wealthy and powerful, who
  lived in stone mansions, feasted on meat cooked
  in garlic sauces, and enjoyed fine wines.

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• Byzantiums trade routes connected three
  continents with its system of caravan tracks,
  rivers, seaways, and roads. The Byzantines
  controlled only part of these trade routes, but
  merchants came from far away places to trade in
  Constantinople. As goods poured into the city
  from the distant corners of the Empire, merchants
  set up along the citys main street, displaying
  everything from rugs and shoes to fruits and
  vegetable to icons.

33
India Export Spices, pepper and jewels Import
ivory Africa Export ivory and
gold Import silk (after stealing the process
from China) Russia Export honey, wood and
furs Import art and architecture Spain Export
Cork and grain Import bronze church doors
34
France Export Fine wines and wool Import Silk
England Export Iron and tin Import Works of
the ancient Greeks Northern Europe Export
grain, wool, timber Import Eastern goodsbronze
doors China Export Silk Import Christianity
35

• From China, on camels that plodded overland for
  some 230 days, came prized silksuntil Justinian
  imported the silk making process itself.
  Justinian, by persuading two missionaries to
  smuggle from China not only silkworms but seeds
  for the mulberry trees they thrive on, plucked
  from the Chinese their closely-kept, centuries
  secret. Thus, silk became one of
  Constantinoples exports along with carved ivory,
  enamel, glassware, and bronze church doors.
  Constantinople prospered by importing, refining
  and exporting the goods that reached its markets.
• Constantinople was not only a source of
  manufactured goods, of course. Christian
  missionaries went out into the Empire, making new
  converts as far away as the Russian and Slavic
  regions. Art and architectural styles, too,
  spread to distant lands. Preserved by the
  scholars of Constantinople, the works of the
  ancient GreeksHomer, Plato, Archimedes,
  Euclidwent forth to influence Europe and the
  western world. The Byzantine legal codewith its
  laws on divorce, marriage, justice, and
  propertybecame reflected in the legal systems of
  Europe, and of many present-day nations.

36

• As a crossroad of trade and culture,
  Constantinoples ability to protect itself from
  foreign invaders and unwanted traders was
  crucial. The side of Constantinople not
  protected by water was protected by three
  parallel walls in increasing heights, the highest
  wall stretching 40 to 70 feet high and 12 to 40
  feet thick. Watchtowers built onto the middle
  wall helped warn the army of coming invaders. A
  chain stretched across the Golden Horn inlet
  deterred enemy ships from docking at
  Constantinoples harbor. Constantinoples army
  also possessed Greek fire, the first secret
  weapon in history. This petroleum-based mixture
  could be thrown in pots or fired through tubes.
  When wet, it took fire and couldnt be
  extinguished with water. The citys military
  also employed spies, a Bureau of Barbarians,
  which was analogous to the CIA, and other
  merchant and foreigner informants.
• Built to endure the invasions of barbarian hordes
  and later Muslim armies, Constantinople remained
  the strongest hub of Christianity in the East.
  It was finally sacked by the Turks in 1453.
  Constantinoples strategic location is now
  enjoyed by the modern city of Istanbul, Turkey.
  This city remains an important center of
  transportation and trade.

37
Answer these
38
Critical Thinking assessmentsChoose one to
create a product of your choice organizing your
information.

• 1. Trace the development of Constantinople and
  explain how cultural diffusion played a part in
  the empire. Give at least 3 examples.
• 2. How did religion shape the political and
  economical life of Constantinople?
• 3.Explain 3 legacies from Constantinople to the
  modern world.

39
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