Byzantine Empire - Intro to AP World History

Diocletian’s Split

Diocletian split the Roman Empire into the East and the West because it was easier to manage, but the Western Empire weakened

Fall of Western Rome

* Germanic Sacking of Rome 
* The cost of defense devaluation of Roman currency
* Declining Roman populations as a result of epidemic diseases
* Increasing reliance on foreigners to serve in and to lead the Roman army
* Civil conflict and weak administration

Rise of Eastern Rome

* Protection of the eastern frontier


* Distance from Germanic invasions in the western empire


* Easily fortified site on a peninsula bordered by natural harbors


* Crossroads of trade

Constantinople

* The capital of Eastern Rome
* Known as New Rome
* Considered themselves Romans
* Peninsula
* Survived Germanic sacking
* Trade
* Preserved Greco-Roman culture
* Dardanelles and Black Sea

Roman Empire

* Rome as capital
* Latin for language
* Gods and Christianity as religion
* Roman Laws and Twelve Tables as laws

Byzantine Empire

* Constantinople as capital
* Greek for language
* Christianity as religion
* Roman Laws and Justinian’s Code as laws

Byzantium Education

* Families sent children to monasteries and public schools
* Hired private tutors
* Learned Greek and Latin grammar, philosophy, and rhetoric
* Preserved Greek and Roman great works

Justinian

Byzantine emperor from 527-565 C.E. who brought great advancements to the Byzantine Empire

Theodora

Byzantine Empress who fought heavily for women’s rights and died during the Plague of Justinian

Plague of Justinian

Plague in the Byzantine Empire who killed 10,000 people everyday

Justinian’s Goal

To restore and reconquer Rome and Roman territories that were lost to Germanic invasions

Belisarius

General who was sent by Justinian to take over North Africa from the Vandals and then took Rome back from the Ostrogoths

Mese

The main street that ran through Constantinople that means “the middle way”

Justinian’s Accomplishments

* Constructed the Mese
* Opened a giant open-air market
* Improved Constantinople’s infrastructure
* Surrounded the entire city with a moat and three 25-feet thick stone walls that reached over 14 miles
* Built the Hagia Sofia

Hagia Sofia

Christian church that was later taken by the Muslims

Justinian’s Code

Justinian’s laws that were clear and was used for around 900 years after he died

Greek

Official language of the Byzantine Empire

Crusades

Christian Europeans fought a holy war against Islam

Jerusalem

Holy city of Judea

Battle of Manzikert

Turning point in Byzantine supremacy

Seljuk Turks

Battles against these Persians would lead to Constantinople being under Turkish control in 1453

Schism

A split or a division which in this case is between two religious groups forming two distinct religious denominations

Roman Catholic Church

* The western side of the Byzantine Empire after the Great Schism of 1054

Orthodox Church

The eastern side of the Byzantine Empire after the Great Schism of 1054

Icons

Sacred images representing important religious figures or events

Iconoclasm

“Image breaking” or the belief in the importance of destroying icons or other important religious imagery

Leo III

Emperor who started the iconoclastic movement that banned the use of icons in the Byzantine Church which led to rebellions and helped develop a split

Slavs

Settled the region north of the Black Sea and traded with the Byzantine Empire and adopted Greek culture

Vikings

The Rus who settled with the Slavs and expanded their trade along major rivers

Cyrillic Alphabet

Named after Saint Cyril and Methodius who created this alphabet so the Slavs could read the Bible and it contained 43-45 letters

Kiev

City in modern Ukraine which was an important trade center and capital of the first major Russian state by 900 C.E.

Vladimir of Kiev

Person who converted to Orthodox Christianity and Kievan Russia became a nation

Ivan IV

Person who named Moscow the third Rome in 1547 and took the title of Tsar

Golden Horde

Mongol and Turkish Khanate that originated in northwestern Mongolia and took over the Kievan Rus from the ruler Yaroslav the Wise in 1240 C.E.

Nika Riots

A five-day riot against Justinian that caused a lot of damage and thousands of people were perished

Excommunication

The action of officially excluding someone from participation in the sacraments and services of the Christian Church

Great Schism

The split of the Byzantine Empire into the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church

Patriarch

Biblical figures regarded as fathers of the human race, especially Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and their forefathers, or the sons of Jacob

Mehmed II

Mehmed the Conqueror expanded the Ottoman Empire, leading the siege of Constantinople in 1453 and extending the empire's reach into the Balkans

Cyril

A saint who helped the Orthodox Church and created the Cyrillic Alphabet with Methodius