Heirs of Rome

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Heirs of Rome

• The Byzantine Empire
• The Muslim Empire
• Christian Europe

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The Empire at its height, c 250
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Diocletian, The Tetrarchy, 285 CE
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In 324, Constantine moves East
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The Germanic Tribes c. 362
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Theodosius, 379-395 The last Emperor who could
claim to rule both East and West. Upon his
death, the empire was divided between his two
sons, Arcadius (East) and Honorius
(West)
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Romes real last gasps! Theodoric the Great
489-526

• - Ostrogoth king ruled Italy from Rome after
  killing Odovacer
• His rule was enlightened, peaceful and just-
  praised by Romans barbarians.
• Retained the Roman Senate, civil service and
  schools. Old, aristocratic families still held
  high positions in the government

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Greco-Roman culture lived on The Byzantine Empire
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The Byzantine Empire, The East Roman Empire, 550
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Justinian the Great, 527-565

• Three principal goals 1)
  restore the western provinces 2) reform
  the laws and institutions 3) promote art
  and architecture

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Trade and Industry flourished
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Hagia Sophia, 532-537
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Mosaics
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Corpus Juris Civilis, the Body of Civil Law
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The Byzantine Legacy

• The codification of the laws of ancient Rome
  under Justinian
• Preserved and expanded the philosophy, science,
  mathematics and literature of ancient Greece.
• It prevented Muslim Arabs from advancing into
  Europe

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Around 610, Muhammad was a prosperous merchant
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The Muslim Golden AgeThe 8th 9th Centuries

• The Arab Empire stretched from Spain to India and
  was unified by a common language-Arabic,
  religion-Islam and culture
• Muslims preserved and expanded the
  Greco-Roman-Byzantine achievements in science,
  philosophy and mathematics

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Muslim contributions to civilization

• Education- great universities at Cairo, Baghdad
  and Cordova
• Mathematics- introduced Arabic numerals,
  furthered the study of algebra, geometry, and
  trigonometry
• Science- discovered many chemical compounds,
  including sulfuric acid
• Agriculture- improved farming by crop rotation
• Industry- Cordovan leather Damascus swords
  damask cloth crystal glass smooth paper
  beautiful rugs
• Navigation- they believed the world to be round
• Literature- 1001 Arabian Nights
• Medicine- used anesthetics, compiled medical texts

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The Mongols Genghis Khan

• In 1258, Baghdad was plundered and burned. 50,000
  dead, including the last Baghdad Caliph
• For 200 years, Mongols devastated palaces,
  libraries and universities

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The Mongol Empire at its height
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• The cultural greatness of the Byzantine and
  Islamic Empires enriched the western world but
• did not produce the major breakthroughs that
  created the modern world. That is the singular
  achievement of western Europe.

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The Church as Unifier

• Became the dominant institution after the
  collapse of Roman authority - assumed many
  political functions
• It preserved the high culture of the Greco-Roman
  civilization
• Membership in a universal religion (Catholic)
  replaced membership in a universal empire (Rome)

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Saul of Tarsus became St. Paul the Apostle who
transformed a small Jewish sect into the religion
of Christianity which taught that Jesus was
savior and God. 34-64 Early Christians were
brutally persecuted by the Romans for over 200
years.
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Christianity gained many converts

• People were dissatisfied with the old pagan
  religions and were attracted by the ideas of One
  God, equality, universal love and eternal
  salvation
• Early Christians displayed courage and sincerity,
  willing to suffer persecution rather than
  renounce their faith.
• The concept of equality appealed to the poor and
  oppressed
• Missionaries could travel and preach- Romes
  transportation system!

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Pope Gregory The Great, 590-604

• 588 Lombard invasions
• Maintained productive lands - kept food coming
  into Rome
• Ransomed captives
• Organized defense of the city
• Sponsored hospitals and schools
• Aided women and orphans
• Negotiated truce in 598

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The Medieval monk

• Monks and nuns built monasteries and converted
  the people
• Maintained libraries with theological works and
  the ancient Latin classics
• Reclaimed the land and instructed peasants in
  farming -rejected classical disdain for manual
  labor
• Provided help to the old, the sick, the destitute
• Adopted a code of poverty

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• A monk being tonsured.

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Monks worked in a Scriptorium
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• Christianity ended the classical, Greco-Roman
  view of the world.
• To the classical mind, human worth came from the
  capacity of individuals to use reason, and shape
  their life based on rational standards
• Christianity taught that Lifes purpose was not
  to achieve excellence in this world, but to
  attain salvation in a heavenly city.
• To the western church which was to dominate and
  shape European civilization that emerged during
  the Middle Ages- a persons worldly
  accomplishments amounted to very little if one
  did not accept the Christian God and his
  revelations.

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• Charlemagne
• R 768-814
• Holy Roman Emperor

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Any Questions?