The Byzantine Empire

1
The Byzantine Empire

• Coach Parrish
• OMS
• Chapter 10, Section 1

2
Attempt at Conquest

• Prince Igor of Kiev (city in Russia), watched as
  his ships sailed across the Black Sea in 941 AD.
• Prince Igor was sure that his fleet would capture
  Constantinople capital of the Byzantine Empire.
• Instead of winning, he watched as his ships were
  destroyed by Greek Fire. This weapon gave the
  Byzantines power in the Mediterranean Sea.

3
Greek Fire
4
Constantinople at a Crossroads

• Following the Roman Empire, two groups controlled
  what we now call the Middle East.
• Christian Byzantines
• Muslim Arabs and Turks
• Sometimes the two groups shared power and
  sometimes they fought over the region.

5
Constantine and His Capital

• Constantine began his rule of the enormous Roman
  Empire in 306 AD.
• Two important things that Constantine did
  1)Became a Christian and stopped Christian
  persecution. 2) After 20 years of ruling in
  Rome, he built a new imperial capital.
• His capital was called Constantinople, and by 500
  AD, contained large markets, paved roads, a
  palace, public baths, and a circus.

6
Constantine
7
Constantine and His Capital

• The emperors that followed Constantine continued
  to rule from Constantinople.
• Over time, the Roman Empire split in two halves.
  The eastern half, where Constantinople was
  located, was the strongest.
• The eastern half was the strongest because of its
  military and wealth through trading.

8
Trade

• Constantinople was built at a major crossroads of
  land and sea trade routes.
• Goods came from Kiev in the north, from Egypt in
  the south, and across Central Asia. The
  Byzantines charged taxes on all goods that went
  through the city.
• Over time, the Byzantine Empire grew rich.

9
Currency (Money)
10
Fall of the Western Empire

• By 350 AD, the western Roman Empire was already
  in decline. Roman armies were having difficulty
  holding back invaders from Europe.
• Germanic groups were coming closer and closer to
  Rome itself. In 476, a Germanic leader overthrew
  the emperor of Rome. (We will discuss this later
  when we talk about the Roman Empire itself.)