EASTERN ROMAN EMPIRE (BYZANTINE EMPIRE) BY SETH JACKOWSKI AND VERA PLJEVALJCIC

EASTERN ROMAN EMPIRE (BYZANTINE EMPIRE) BY SETH JACKOWSKI AND VERA PLJEVALJCIC

JUSTINIAN CODE The Roman Empire expanded and that made them weak and unable to maintain their borders This led to the collapse of the Roman Empire which divided into the Eastern and Western Roman Empires Like its former self the Western Empire also collapsed and all that remained was the Eastern Roman Empire Due to the collapse of the empires the legal system also collapsed After years upon years of corrupt officials making laws and the numerous controversial rulings by the roman court system the once proud and magnificent Roman law was left in shambles

JUSTINIAN CODE CONTINUED Emperor Justinian I was the ruler of the Eastern Roman Empire, or the Byzantine Empire He set out to change and reform the Roman legal system by creating his own set of laws and interpretations These were based on the Roman laws of old

THE PURPOSE OF THE JUSTINIAN CODE The Justinian Code was supposed to create a universal set of laws that all the Byzantine Empire could follow They were given power of any local laws, preventing any contradictions in court rulings They would be known as Corpus Juris Civilis, which translates to, "Body of Civil Law" and the Justinian code They were based on old Roman laws just slightly tweaked

THE RECONQUEST OF THE WEST The Roman empire experienced something that started the demise of Rome. Fortunately, the Byzantine Empire didn t fall apart. With their capital in Constantinople, the Byzantines continued to nurture the Roman civilization. Before long, the Byzantine emperors began toying with the idea of reacquiring the lost lands of the western Mediterranean.

RECONQUEST CONTINUED https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwflvr7o-bo

HOW BIG WAS THE BYZANTINE EMPIRES ARMY Byzantine forces consisted of about 10,000 infantry and 5,000 cavalry The infantry were likely about half Byzantine and half foederatii

JUSTINIAN VS. MONOPHYSITES Justian set up a government that was closely intertwined with politics Disputes about religious matters often had political consequences (Justinian Code) Syrian and Egyptian Christians declared themselves monophysites, meaning they believed Jesus' nature was only divine, not human (opposed orthodox christians) Justinian oppressed them due to their beliefs This, an internal, ongoing battle contributed to the loss of those provinces to the Muslims in the 7th Century

THE BEGINNINGS OF ICONOCLASM Arabian troops captured much of the eastern land including Syria and Egypt after 632 At this point Constantinople was its own empire called the Byzantine empire which was significant due to its Christian emperor Eastern clergy believed that because Islam excluded religious imagery it made the armies more successful They became iconoclasts, arguing icons should be banned

SOURCES The Editors of the Encyclopedia of Britannica. Code of Justinian www.britannica.com, September 24,2018. https://www.britannica.com/topic/code-of-justinian Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. Monophysite. Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 10 Apr. 2012, www.britannica.com/topic/monophysite. Nicol, Donald MacGillivray, and John L. Teall. Byzantine Empire. Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 5 June 2018, www.britannica.com/place/byzantine-empire.