BYZANTINE EMPIRE

BYZANTINE EMPIRE

1. HISTORY

   • 6th centuries.
     • Emperor Justinian I
       • Wanted to reconquer the territory of Roman Empire
         • Occupy
           • Entire Italian peninsula
           • Some isolated Iberian peninsula
           • North Africa
         • He failed
           • As he has to face the Persians
   • 7th - 9th
     • Death of Justinian
       • Period of crisis.
       • Lost territories
         • Middle East and North Africa
         • Result- muslims
       • In Balkans, pressured by
         • Slavic
         • Bulgars
   • 10th -11th
     • Regained some territories in Balkans
     • 11th
       • Began to lose territories
         • By the advanced of the Ottoman Turks.
           • A Islamic kiingdom that emerged and ended up forming a empire
   • 12th-15th
     • territorial expansion was reduced
     • progress of islamic civilisation= reduced territories of Byzantine
     • Ottoman Turks occupied capital in 1453

2. POLITICAL ORGANISATION

   • Institutions were inherited from th Romans
   • Empire led by an emperor called basileus
   • TASKS
     • Administration and legislation based on Roman law

3. ECONOMY

   • Main activity AGRICULTURE
   • Also craft activity was important
   • finally strategic situation of Empire favoured development TRADE.
   • Constantinople became important intermediarity in route carrying products from East to West

4. CULTURE AND ART

   • Byzantine culture maintained LATIN heritage.
   • territories had formely belonged to the Greek civilisation HELLENISTIC culture important role.
   • Latin was replaced by GREEK
   • Eastern culture had strong presence cause it was mixed with culture in the time of Alexander the Great
   • ART
     • Was mainly Religious
     • main buIldings CHURCHES
       • were decorated with paintings and mosaics
     • Byzantine architecture
       • inside of building is organised into 3 naves
         • BASILICA PLAN
       • Shape of a cross with to arms are the same leght.
         • GREEK CROSS
       • LATIN PLAN CROSS
       • Interior decorated with marble colunms, mosaics
     • MOSAICS
       • walls and ceilings were decorated with them
       • made up with small stones called tessare, baked and glazed clay
       • caracteristics
         • themes were religious or political
         • polychrome
         • faces shown from the front and without feellings
         • two-dimensional no depth in scene
     • Paintings
       • Theme religious
       • icons
       • most were done on boards.
   • Most important tradition CHRISTIANITY