Byzantine Empire Project

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_2E0RxVHH4 (Enclavar)

Constantine creates a "New Rome"

The center of the Byzantine Empire was Constantinople, located on the shores of Bosporus, which links the Mediterranean and Black Sea. It had a great harbor and was protected on three sides by a body of water. Constantinople commanded key trade routes linking Asia and Europe, making it Europe's busiest marketplace. Byzantine emperors and empresses at the center of the city dressed luxurious and also attended chariot races at the Hippodrome. Constantinople was still in existence 1,000 years after the fall of the western Roman Empire, because of it's brilliant civilization.

Byzantium Flourishes Under Justinian

Under the rule of Justinian, who ruled from 527-565, the Byzantine Empire reached it's high point. His determination was to revive ancient Rome by recovering lands which had been overrun by invaders. When many buildings were destroyed in 532, Justinian decided that he would rebuild the church of Hagia Sofia ("Holy Wisdom") to make Constantinople greater than ever. This church building was known for its large and arching dome and gorgeous interior. Justinian later set up a mission to collect, revise, and organize all the laws of ancient Rome, which became known as Justinian's Code. Justinian's Code included laws passed by Roman assemblies/decreed by Roman emperors, and legal writings of Roman judged and a handbook for students. Justinian's Code did great things for the Empire, later spreading all the way to Western Europe. Justinian ruled as an autocrat, and was also deemed Christ's co-ruler. Justinian combined political power and spiritual authority, which was also aided by his wife, Theodora.

Byzantine Christianity

The Byzantine emperor was not a priest, but he controlled Church affairs and appointed the patriarch in Constantinople. Unlike priests in Western Europe, the Byzantine clergy were allowed to marry. Greek was the language of the Church, not Latin like regular Churches spoke. Just as the Roman Church, the holy day for the Byzantine was Easter (the day Jesus rose from the dead), but the Byzantine didn't mark Christmas as being very important. In the 700s a Byzantine emperor outlawed the use of "icons" because they went against God's commandment of idolatry, which later led to the Great Schism.

The Byzantine Heritage

For 1000 years the Byzantines built on the culture of the Hellenistic world. Byzantines blended Christian religious beliefs together with Greek science, philosophy, arts, and literature. Byzantine artists made contributions to the heritage, influencing Western styles from the Middle Ages to the present. Icons , such as mosaics, were used to evoke the presence of God for an individual, although they were later banned. Byzantine scholars preserved classic works of ancient Greece and Rome, producing their own books, mainly about their own times. When the Empire began going downhill in the 1400s, Greek scholars left Constantinople to teach at Italian universities, taking their knowledge of Greek and Byzantine culture with them.