Chapter 7 - Byzantine Empire and Kievan Rus

Byzantium

an ancient Greek city on the Bosporus and Sea of Marmara, which Constantine I rebuilt into Constantinople in 330

Corpus Juris Civilis

“Body of Civil Law”, Justinian I’s collection of laws that served as a foundation of legal knowledge in Europe

Heraclius

Byzantine emperor who spoke Greek instead of Latin like past emperors. During his rule, attention focused on resisting invasions from Sassanids

Basil II

Byzantine emperor recognized for campaigns against Bulgarian Empire, where Byzantine forces won in the Balkans

Battle of Kleidion

took place between the Byzantine Empire and the Bulgarian Empire

Byzantine Empire

The continuation of the Roman Empire centered on Constantinople

Justinian I “The Great””

Along with his wife Empress Theodora, they revitalized Europe:

• Hagia Sophia and Corpus Juris Civilis

Battle of Manzikert

fought between the Byzantine Empire and the Seljuk Empire, where Byzantine forces lost in ancient Armenia

Crusades

a series of military campaigns organized by popes to Jerusalem and the Holy Land (the Levant), back from Muslim control. Venetians coerced knights to sack their trading rivals in Constantinople and Turks conquered Constantinople, marking the end of the empire.

Fourth Crusade

The sack of the city Constantinople for three days, where many works of art were stolen or ruined

Normans

People from northern France that took control of Sicily and Southern Italy

Slavs

groups of people who speak Slavic languages (East, West, and South Slavic)

Vikings

People of Northern Europe who make contact with East Slavs

Rus

Viking rulers also, also is the source of “Russia”

Iconoclastic Policy

The practice, enforced by Leo III, of opposing the veneration of religious images and icons

Hagia Sophia

a Christian church expanded by Justinian I, the large dome became part of Constantinople’s noble architecture

theocracy

no separation between the state and church

patriarch

the head of the church appointed by the emperor

monasteries

building/s comprising work places of monks or nuns

Cyril

most famous and successful missionary who created his own alphabet to spread the word of God

schism

a split that occurs based on differences of belief

Eastern Orthodox Church

the primary religions confession in many European countries

theme system

offered peasants freedom if they joined military

Cyrillic Alphabet

writing system used for various languages across Eurasia derived from the Greek alphabet

Illuminated Manuscripts

elaborately decorated with illustrations and flecked with silver and gold

Bulgars

Turkic people originally from Central Asia took over much of the Balkans

University of Constantinople

founded in 850, trained students for service in the Byzantine Bureaucracy and copying classical writings from Ancient Greece and Rome

Hippodrome

a large stadium like the coliseum in Rome

Oleg

Viking ruler which under him a settlement on the Dnieper river became the principality of Kiev, or Kievan Rus

Dnieper River

Europe’s 4th longest river flowing from Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine to the Black Sea.

boyars

Viking military leaders, war council, and sometimes democratic body

Prince Vladmir I “The Great”

the first ruler of the golden age of Kievan Rus and converted to Christianity and expanded the Western Border

Yaroslav I “the Wise”

Vladmir I’s son, known as “the Wise” for promoting education and codified the legal system

Russkaya Pravda

“Russian Justice”, the codified legal system created by Yaroslav I

Constantinople

Originally called Byzantium, an ancient Greek City that became a major place for relics located on the Bosporus

Bosporus Strait

a natural strait surrounded by present-day Turkey

free peasants

one step above peasants because they were contracted with landowners and paid rent for the land they worked