The Byzantine Empire Chap. 13 Lesson 1 - The City of Constantinople
Objectives: Identify Roman ideas that shaped the Byzantine Empire s culture. Analyze how Justinian I and Theodora changed the empire. Summarize the disagreements that divided the Christian Church.
Key Content: The Emperor Justinian I expanded the Byzantine Empire to its greatest size, improved the empire s economy, made Constantinople a New Rome, wrote a new code of laws to better govern the empire, subdued rebellions, and followed the advice of his wife, Theodora, who shred his duties. In 1054 A.D., after years of conflict over religious issues, the Christian Church split into the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church. Constantinople s location made it a center for trade and easy to defend, but Ottoman Turks captured it in 1453 A.D., thus ending the Byzantine Empire.
Justinian I and Theodora In A.D. 527 Justinian I became emperor of the Byzantine Empire. Justinian sent powerful armies into northern Africa and western Europe to reclaim many of the lands that the Roman Empire had lost. By A.D. 565 much of the land along the Mediterranean Sea was part of the Byzantine Empire.
MAP OF THE BYZANTINE EMPIRE
Justinian I and Theodora To Better control the Empire, Justinian ordered a code, or set of written laws, to be assembled. This new code was known as the Justinian Code. It organized the old code of Roman laws and was all in one book to be easily understood. Some laws in code were influenced by the empress Theodora, the wife of Justinian. She was one of the first rulers to work for the right of women. She helped women to get rights to own property. Theodora was Justinian's most trusted advisers because she was intelligent and had political skills.
Justinian I and Theodora She shared many od the duties usually performed only by the emperor. Ex: She met with envoys, official visitors from other lands. She wrote letters to the leaders of government. She took part in choosing government leaders, Theodora and Justinian believed that jobs should be given based on a person s ability, not on his or her social class.
Justinian I and Theodora During Justinians rule, he realized that with a growing empire he needed a stronger economy. He welcomed traders into Constantinople and encouraged the start of new businesses and industries. The Byzantine silk industry was started by Justinian himself. He had silkworm eggs smuggled out of china. The empire was then able to produce silk. This ended China s monopoly, or complete control, of the silk trade.
Justinian I and Theodora Money from trade and taxes allowed Justinian to make Constantinople a New Rome. Buildings, roads, bridges, and aqueducts were built throughout the city. With all these achievements, Justinian was not that popular with the people of the empire. In A.D. 532, the people of Constantinople rebelled. Some government officials also wanted him to leave the city. With all these pressures, Justinian was persuaded to stay by Theodora, The Byzantine army soon ended the rebellion and Justinian remained emperor.
The Division of the Christian Church. Christianity was important to the people of the Byzantine Empire. However, different branches of Christianity developed over time which led to conflict. Theodora and Justinian, were both Christians, but even they didn t agree about Christianity. Justinian wanted all people in the Byzantine Empire to follow orthodox, or officially accepted, Christianity. Theodora did not follow orthodox Christianity. As a result she wanted to protect Christians who were not orthodox.
The Division of the Christian Church. Although Theodora and Justinian didn t agree Christianity, they did work together to keep all Christians loyal to the empire. One of the arguments within Christianity centered around icons, holy artworks depicting Jesus and the saints. Some Christians liked to look at the icons as they pray. Others felt that using icons in this way was like worshiping idols, which is forbidden in the Ten Commandments. The disagreement over the use of icons continued for many years and other religious issues caused further division within the Christian Church.
The Division of the Christian Church. Due to these conflicts the Christian Church split into two parts in A.D 1054. The Christian Church in the Byzantine Empire became the Eastern Orthodox Church. The leaders of this church were called patriarchs. The Christian Church in western Europe became the Roman Catholic Church. The church s followers are called Catholics. Overtime, the two branches of Christian Church gained political power and wealth. Both churches contributed to the cultures of their societies.
Life in Constantinople. Byzantine come from Byzantium, the name of an ancient Greek city, which later was renamed Constantinople in the honor of Constantine, and Roman leader. Many people of the Byzantine Empire did not think of themselves as Byzantines; instead they called themselves Romans. Like Rome, Constantinople was the base of the empire s governments, and was filled with treasures. Constantinople was in a good location to be a center of the empire. It was surrounded by water on three sides which made it easy to defend and good for trade. It was close to major trade routes between the Mediterranean sea and the Black sea.
Life in Constantinople. The main road that crossed Constantinople, the Mese, or Middle Street, was filled with traders and merchants from many lands. Because of this many languages were spoken in the city; but still the common language of the empire was Greek. As in the Roman Emipre, the wealthy were mainly government leaders, owners of large farms, and merchants. Most people worked long hours and earned just enough for food, clothing, shelter, and taxes.
Life in Constantinople. Public events were an important part of life for both the rich and poor. Women were not allowed to attend these public events, especially at the Hippodrome ( A huge stadium modeled after the Circus Maximus in Rome). Women were also not allowed to hold public office. Although the Justinian Code did much to improve the lives of Byzantine women, they still had fewer rights than men.
Life in Constantinople. Constantinople's location brought much wealth to the empire, the city was a target for invaders. The Ottoman Turks finally captured Constantinople in 1453, ending the Byzantine Empire.