APWH CH 10 - The Byzantine Empire

Hagia Sophia

great domed church constructed during reign of Justinian.

Greek Fire

Byzantine weapon consisting of mixture of chemicals that ignited when exposed to water; used to drive back the Arab fleets attacking Constantinople.

Bulgaria

Slavic kingdom in Balkans; constant pressure on Byzantine Empire; defeated by Basil II in 1014.

Icon

images of religious figures admired by Byzantine Christians.

Cyril and Methodius

Byzantine missionaries sent to convert eastern Europe and Balkans; responsible for creation of Slavic written script called Cyrillic.

Kiev

commercial city in Ukraine established by Scandinavians in 9th century; became the center for a kingdom that flourished until the 12th century.

Rurik

legendary Scandinavian, regarded as founder of Kievan Rus’ in 855.

Kievan Rus’

the predecessor to modern Russia; a medieval state that existed from the end of the 9th to the middle of the 13th century; its territory spanned parts of modern Belarus, Ukraine, and Russia.

Vladimir I

ruler of Kiev (980–1015); converted kingdom to Orthodox Christianity.

Russian Orthodoxy

Russian form of Christianity brought from Byzantine Empire.

Yaroslav

(975–1054); Last great Kievan monarch; responsible for codification of laws, based on Byzantine codes.

Boyars

Russian landholding aristocrats; possessed less political power than their western European counterparts.

Tatars

Mongols who conquered Russian cities during the 13th century; left Russian church and aristocracy intact.