byzantine empire

christian, greek-speaking empire created after division of roman empire into halves

byzantine was eastern half of rome

constantinople

location

• protection of eastern frontier
• distance from germanic invasions in western empire
• crossroads of trade
• easily defended on peninsula

importance

• capital & center of byzantine empire
• center of trade
• preserved culture

justinian

• his army won most of italy & spain
• justinain ruled almost all the territory rome had never ruled
• implemented ambitious public building program
  • rebuilt walls in constantinople
  • built large church named hagia sophia

justinian code

• justinian set up panel of legal experts to regulate society
• panel made a single code
  • covered marriage, slavery, property, inheritance, women’s rights, and criminal justice
• lasted 900 years

plague of justinian

• bubonic plague
• killed large percentage of constantinople’s population
• caused fall of justinian’s empire

theodora

• justinian’s wife
• his most trusted advisor
• first ruler to recognize womens rights
  • passed laws prohibiting traffic of young girls
  • altered divorce laws to give women more benefits

nika revolt

• wanted to overthrow justinian
• justinian’s wife convinced justinian not to flee
• belisarius entered the hippodrome & slaughtered many rebels