The Byzantine Empire and Emerging Europe

Ch 2.1 The First Christians

Place & Time

• 50 – 800 AD• Christianity blooms• Roman Empire splits and evolves

Ch 1.1 Vocab

• Procurator• Clergy• Laity• Transformation• Structure

The Roman Empire

Judaism in the Roman Empire

• Pontius Pilate – Governor of Judaea (AD 26-36)

• Family Guy w/ Judas

• 6 AD, Judaism in Rome• Different groups – Sadducees: cooperative– Pharisees: sought to

avoid Roman influence– Essenes: hermits, waited

for God– Zealots: into violent

overthrow

Rise of ChristianityJesus and the Fundamentals• Salvation• Inner Transformation– Follow Hebrew Bible, but

focus on inner transformation

• Controversy and Crucifixion– Revolutionary?!?

• Followers’ belief in Jesus as Messiah

Viking Stone, emphasizing Christianity far from home

Spread of Christianity

• Early apostles of Christianity• Epistles (written accounts) eventually

become Gospels• Establishment of churches• Change in Roman attitudes– Christianity suddenly viewed as harmful to public

order/morals

Christianity, cont’d.

• Christianity becomes organized!• Constantine and the Edict of Milan– 313, official tolerance

• Christianity accepted in the Roman Empire– Becomes official religion in late 4th century

Spread of Christendom Cont’d.

Religions of Today

Discussion & Review

• Which group of violent Jews called for the overthrow of Roman rule?– Zealots

• Which Roman official ordered the execution of Jesus?– Pontias Pilate

• What is the vocab term for a Roman official in charge of a province?– Procurator

Stuff to Chew On

• What are the beliefs that define Christianity?• How did Christianity spread through the

Roman empire?– How do you think the division of the Christian

church into clergy and laity helped spread Christian beliefs?

Decline and Fall of Rome

Ch 2.2

Vocab

• Plague• Inflation• Military• Collapse

Factors of Decline

Factors of Decline

Political/Economic ReformsEmperor Diocletian• Established a tetrarchy– Rule divided among

four leaders, while he maintained overall control

• Started ‘Late Roman Empire’

Constantine• ‘New Rome’ @Constantinople– Eastern Roman Empire– Greek city of Byzantium became Constantinople

Diocletian/Constantine Cont’d.

Goodbye….Western Roman Empire

• Massive migrations by:– Visigoths’ sack Rome in 410, fleeing from Huns– Germanic tribes, the Vandals

• Alternate Theories:– Lead poisoning, plague, use of slaves

• In 486 CE, a Germanic military official deposed the last West Roman Emperor: Romulus Augustus

Ch 2.2 Discussion & Review

• What city was the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire?– Constantinople

• Among other impacts, what was a major negative consequence plague outbreaks?– Labor shortages

• By the 5th Century, Western Rome was controlled by whom?– Germans

Stuff to Munch On

• How did plague help lead to an economic collapse in Rome?

• How did the migrations of Germanic tribes contribute to the fall of the Roman empire?

• Why would the introduction of Christianity weaken Roman military virtue?

The Early Christian Church

Ch 2.3, p. 31

Ch 2.3 Vocab2Know

• Bishopric• Monk• Monasticism• Missionary• Nun• Abbess• Pursue• Conversion

Church & Collapse of Rome

• During 5th Century, German tribes and other factors cause Western Rome to fall apart– Even so, Christian church becomes more

influential• Church offered stability and faith–Priests and parishes–Bishops and bishoprics–Archbishops and provinces–Pope

Organization of the Christian Church

• Roles of priests and bishops

• Ascendancy of ‘bishops of Rome’ as popes

• Pope Gregory I

Pope Gregory I

• AKA Gregory the Great– Gregorian Chant named after him

• Gregory took control of Rome and surrounding land…called the areas Papal States– Used the monastic movement to gain converts

Monasticism

• Early hermits• Communal monasticism and Benedictine rule– Prayer + manual labor = work of God

• Monasteries were the centers of:– Christian civilization– Learning– Manuscript production– Missionary work

Queries

• How were the lives of nuns similar to monks?– They lived as a group, removed from the world;

education and learning was an important part of their lives.

• What role did nuns play in spreading Christianity?– They provided missionaries with books and funds

and established convents in newly converted areas.

Women in Monasticism

• At first…nuns hid from society like monks– In convents headed by

abbesses.

• BUT in the 7th and 8th centuries they went out and spread Christianity.

Ch 2.3 Discussion & Review

• Which Pope was the first to extend papal power over the Christian church in western Europe?– Gregory I

• What is another title for the pope?– Bishop of Rome

• Local Christian communities, led by priest, were called _______.– Parishes

Stuff to Ponder

• What rules did Benedict set up for those who practiced monasticism?

• What role did monks and monasteries play in the early Catholic Church

• How did the Catholic Church affect the emerging medieval European civilization?

The Age of Charlemagne

Ch 2.4, p. 34

Ch 2.4, Vocab2Know

• Wergild• Ordeal• Excluded• Ensure

Western Roman Empire Falls

• Germanic ppl move into former Roman lands around 3rd century– German States Arise• Visigoths in Spain• Ostrogoths in Italy• Angles and Saxons in Britain• Franks in France and Western Germany

Germanic Kingdoms

• Incursions into Roman Empire• Clovis’ conversion• Frankish kingdom – AD 500• First German ruler to convert to Catholicism

• Importance of family• Revenge and wergild in German law• “money for a man”

• Trial by ordeal• Like divine intervention, but more awesome…

And then…

Charlemagne•Carolingian Empire•Pepin’s assumption of Frankish kingship•Charlemagne, Pepin’s son, expands empire•THEN crowned as Roman emperor

•Leads to Carolingian Renaissance•Combining of cultures, ideas, knowledge, etc.

Charlemagne Clip

Ch 2.4 Discussion & Review

• The kingdom of Franks was established by whom?– Clovis

• Charlemagne created the __________ Empire.– Carolingian

• What is the primary difference btwn Germanic and Roman Law?– Roman: crimes against the State; German: crimes

against individuals

Masticate on This!

• What was the difference btwn wergild and the ordeal?– Do you think either would make an effective

means of punishment for wrongdoers?• What was the significance of Clovis’s

conversion to Christianity?• What impact did Charlemagne have on the

Frankish kingdom?

The Byzantine Empire

Ch 2.5, p. 38

Vocab

• Patriarch• Icon• Idolatry• Legal• Enormous

Emperor Justinian•527 to 565 AD•Emperor of Eastern Rome

•Attempted to restore Rome to former glory•BUT lost gains after death

•The Body of Civil Law•Basis of imperial law until 1453

•The Hippodrome!•Like a tiny Coliseum•Specialized in chariot races

But Eastern Rome Isn’t Secure

• The rise of Islam unifies Arab tribes– Armies sweep through the Empire– The Eastern Roman Empire loses territories and

starts to change into something new!

And, to Make Matters Worse

• The Eastern Roman Empire started to run out of money

• Population declined after plague• And the frontiers kept being attacked– EVEN SO• Emperor Justinian rebuilt Constantinople in the mid

500s and created a magnificent capital city.• By the 700s, the Eastern Roman Empire turns into the

Byzantine Empire

Byzantine Empire, Cont’d.• Macedonian Emperors kicked some serious butt.– 867 to 1081

Byzantine Empire, Cont’d.• Macedonian Emperors kicked some serious

butt.

Constantinople•Center of trade/commerce for Byzantine•Foreign visitors were astounded by size, wealth, and physical surroundings. •“To them, it was the stuff of legends.”

Religious Schism• Catholic vs. Eastern Orthodox– Leo III outlaws the use of icons as ‘idolatry’ in

730– Later reversed, but damage was done

Riddle me this.

• How did the split btwn the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church affect the future of the Byzantine Empire?– Byzantine Empire could no longer call on west for

help• Religious disagreements fatally weakened the empire

This Too Shall Pass

• Byzantine Empire weakens b/c:– Successors of Macedonians were incompetent– Schism in Roman Catholicism and Eastern

Orthodox Church– Military actions against the Turks and in Crusades

Siege of Constantinople

EXAM QUESTION

• What factors led to the decline of the Byzantine Empire?

Ch 2.5 Discussion & Review

• T/F: Leo III outlawed crucifixes as idolatry.– False, Icons

• What becomes the official religion of the Byzantine Empire?– Eastern Orthodox

• What dynasty ruled the Byzantine Empire btwn the 10th and 11th Centuries?– Macedonian