The Middle Ages

The Byzantine Empire

Western Rome fell, but Eastern Rome was flourishing economically.

Eastern Rome- Byzantine Empire.

Capital of Byzantine Empire- Constantinople

(Modern Day Istanbul)

Justinian(527-565)

• Came to power as Western Rome Fell.• Ruled Eastern

Rome jointly with his wife, Theodora.

Accomplishments of Justinian

• Justinian’s Code•Built Hagia Sophia•Rebuilt Constantinople

Justinian’s Code• Wanted to organize laws from Ancient

Rome.• 12 Tables• Collected old laws, and added new laws

to give more rights to his people.• Example: Innocent until proven guilty.• Had a lasting impact, even until today.

Codified Law???•What does codified law

mean?•Why did Justinian pull all of

the laws together?•What are laws for?

Hagia Sophia - “Holy Wisdom”• Ordered to be built by Justinian• Previous church was destroyed by riots.• Now serves as a museum.

Rebuilding of the City• After a fire and riots

destroyed the city, Justinian was determined to restore Roman glory.

• Improvements included: roads bridges, cisterns, courts, schools, and hospitals.

Justinian’s Rule• Autocrat- sole ruler

with with complete authority

• Power over Empire and the church.

• Deemed as Christ’s co-ruler on Earth.

• Control was shared with his wife, Theodora

• Strong military• While the economy of

the western Roman Empire struggled, the Byzantine Empire was in good shape.

• Byzantine grows away from Rome because of different church practices and other outside influences.

The Church SPLITS!Byzantine Christianity• Greek• Emperor has most

authority• Priests could

marry• Divorce was

allowed

Roman Christianity• Latin• Pope had most

authority• Priests were

celibate• No divorce

The Great Schism (1054)Split between Western and Eastern Churches.

Western = Roman = RomeEastern= Orthodox = Constantinople

Contributions of Byzantium

•Preserved Greco-Roman culture

Contributions of ByzantiumCyril and Methodius- Invented the Cyrillic Alphabet

Cyrillic Alphabet- made it possible to write the Bible in Slavic language

600’s- Arabs begin to attack, but Byzantine’s had a secret weapon: Greek Fire.

Stopped Muslim advance for hundreds of years, but in 11th century Turkish Muslims take over