The Byzantine age

Asst. Prof. Tasneem Badri Jaitly

Humanities– 2 sem 3 Lecture 3- 20062020
Viva School Of Architecture
 • The decline of the Roman Empire • The Renaissance in Italy

• The beginnings of Christianity and • The rediscovery of the Classical past and
its impact on art, architecture, science
• the formation of the Holy Roman
and philosophy
Empire
• Humanism
• Early Christian architecture
• The Masters of the Renaissance
• The Byzantine age • Mannerism
• The Romanesque age • The Renaissance in the rest of Europe
• Medieval Europe • The Reformation, its impact on art and

• The Gothic age • architecture

• The Counter-Reformation
• The rise of Islam and its impact on
• Baroque art and architecture
Europe
• The age of discovery
• The Crusades and their aftermath;
• Colonization and the changed world order
the fall of Constantinople

Asst. Prof. Tasneem Badri Jaitly

Humanities– 2 sem 3 Lecture 3- 20062020
Viva School Of Architecture
 • The Enlightenment
• The age of revolution: America and France
• The Industrial Revolution
• Its rise in England
• Demographic change and urbanization
• New materials and technologies and their impact
• New building types for the industrial age
• The battle of 'styles'; nostalgia and exoticism
• Neo-Classical and Neo-Gothic architecture
• The Arts and Crafts Movements in Europe
• Art Nouveau
• Art Deco
• Early modernistic impulses
• Modern movements in art
• Modern movements in architecture

Asst. Prof. Tasneem Badri Jaitly

Humanities– 2 sem 3 Lecture 3- 20062020
Viva School Of Architecture
 Highlights
• What is the Byzantine Empire?
• What were the key elements of Byzantine Christianity?
• How did Justinian extend Byzantine power?
• Why did the Byzantine Empire collapse?
• What was the legacy and heritage of the Byzantine Empire?

Asst. Prof. Tasneem Badri Jaitly

Humanities– 2 sem 3 Lecture 4- 23062020
Viva School Of Architecture
 Terms and People
• Constantinople – formerly Byzantium; capital of the eastern Roman empire
• Justinian – emperor of the Byzantine empire from 527 to 565, he rebuilt
Constantinople and made reforms to the law
• Justinian’s Code – The Corpus Juris Civils, or “Body of Civil Law”; a
comprehensive collection of Roman legal writings assembled by Justinian
• Autocrat – a sole ruler with absolute power
• Theodora – empress of the Byzantine empire, Justinian’s wife, and a fearless and
powerful co-ruler
• Patriarch – in the Byzantine and Roman empires, the highest church official in a
major city
• Icon – holy image of Christ, the Virgin Mary, or a saint venerated in the Eastern
Orthodox Church
• Great schism – the official split between the Roman Catholic and Byzantine
churches

Asst. Prof. Tasneem Badri Jaitly

Humanities– 2 sem 3 Lecture 4- 23062020
Viva School Of Architecture
 The Byzantine Empire
• In 610AD, the Eastern Roman Empire officially became known as the Byzantine
empire.
• The capital city was Constantinople (formerly Byzantium)
i. Center of the empire
ii. Favorable location for trade
iii. Wealth and splendor

Asst. Prof. Tasneem Badri Jaitly

Humanities– 2 sem 3 Lecture 4- 23062020
Viva School Of Architecture
 Asst. Prof. Tasneem Badri Jaitly
Humanities– 2 sem 3 Lecture 4- 23062020
Viva School Of Architecture
 Preserving Culture
• The Byzantine Empire promoted the blending of Greek, Roman, Christian and
Middle Eastern cultures.
• Over time, much of the art and architecture reflected styles of Middle East
(Persia) while retaining the basis of Rome.

• Most importantly though, the Byzantines

preserved the learning and writing from
Ancient Greece and Rome, Much of it had
been lost or destroyed in the West by the
invasions of the Germanic tribes.
• The Byzantines; however, wanted to
establish themselves separate from Rome.
• For example, they changed the official
language from Latin to Greek.

Asst. Prof. Tasneem Badri Jaitly

Humanities– 2 sem 3 Lecture 4- 23062020
Viva School Of Architecture
 Byzantine Christianity
• Other ways in which the Byzantine’s
differed was in their views of
Christianity.
• While there are many similarities, they
did disagree on a great many number
of issues.

Asst. Prof. Tasneem Badri Jaitly

Humanities– 2 sem 3 Lecture 4- 23062020
Viva School Of Architecture
 Similarities and Differences Between Eastern Orthodox and Roman
Catholic
Roman Catholic Eastern Orthodox
• Services conducted in Latin • Services conducted in Greek
• The Pope is authority over all including • The emperor claims authority over the
kings and emperors Patriarch and other officials
• Priests are celibate (cannot marry or • Priests can marry and have children
have children) • Divorce permitted in certain cases
• Divorce is not permitted • Icons are forbidden (idols)
• Icons are allowed in worship
Similarities
• Both religions are based of the teachings of Jesus and the Bible
• Both have baptisms
• Both seek converts

Asst. Prof. Tasneem Badri Jaitly

Humanities– 2 sem 3 Lecture 4- 23062020
Viva School Of Architecture
 Upheaval in the Church
• Since the split of the Western and Eastern Rome, the Church also
experienced a schism (split).
• The split cannot be traced back to one single event, but many
disagreements between Eastern and Western viewpoints over cultural
differences, politics, the Pope, Church celebrations created a divide in the
Church that could not be repaired.
• This was known as the “Great Schism” or “East- West Schism” made official
in 1054 when the Pope and Patriarch excommunicated each other.

Asst. Prof. Tasneem Badri Jaitly

Humanities– 2 sem 3 Lecture 4- 23062020
Viva School Of Architecture
 Asst. Prof. Tasneem Badri Jaitly
Humanities– 2 sem 3 Lecture 4- 23062020
Viva School Of Architecture
 The Age of Justinian
• Justinian was perhaps the
greatest Byzantine emperor
• He hoped his empire would be
as great as ancient Rome.
• Justinian wanted to recover the
lands lost to the invaders and
reconstitute the Roman Empire.
• Justinian was able to take back
much, but not all, of the
territory that had once
belonged to Rome.

Asst. Prof. Tasneem Badri Jaitly

Humanities– 2 sem 3 Lecture 4- 23062020
Viva School Of Architecture
 Justinian’s Code
• For his empire, Justinian organized laws – with
over 4,000 written laws, they are better known as
Justinian’s Code
• This code was based on old Roman law
• These laws defined issues such as citizenship,
marriage, inheritance, slavery, property rights as
well as criminal acts and punishments.
• This code is significant because it laid out rules for
a massive kingdom which helped him both unify
and control it.
• Many laws or legal systems today are based off of
Justinian’s Code.

Asst. Prof. Tasneem Badri Jaitly

Humanities– 2 sem 3 Lecture 4- 23062020
Viva School Of Architecture
Justinian’s empire

Asst. Prof. Tasneem Badri Jaitly

Humanities– 2 sem 3 Lecture 4- 23062020
Viva School Of Architecture
 Justinian the Builder
• Justinian also launched a
massive building program in
Constantinople.
• During his time, he built
massive walls to protect the
city.
• These walls helped protect
the city from attack for over
1,000 years.
• He also had many bridges,
aqueducts and churches
built.

Asst. Prof. Tasneem Badri Jaitly

Humanities– 2 sem 3 Lecture 4- 23062020
Viva School Of Architecture
 Justinian the Builder
• Justinian also launched a
massive building program in
Constantinople.
• During his time, he built
massive walls to protect the
city.
• These walls helped protect
the city from attack for over
1,000 years.
• He also had many bridges,
aqueducts and churches
built.

Asst. Prof. Tasneem Badri Jaitly

Humanities– 2 sem 3 Lecture 4- 23062020
Viva School Of Architecture
 The Hagia Sophia
• The greatest building achievement; however, was the church of the Hagia
Sophia meaning “Holy Wisdom” in Greek.
• The Hagia Sophia is important for both religious and architectural reasons.
• It is renown for is domes and was the largest cathedral in the world for nearly
1,000 years.
• The Hagia Sophia was the center of Eastern Orthodox Christianity and was
known as the “Vatican of the East.”
• It was later converted to a Muslim mosque in 1453 after the Ottoman Turks
took control of Constantinople.
• It remained a mosque until 1935 when the Turkish government made it into a
museum.

Asst. Prof. Tasneem Badri Jaitly

Humanities– 2 sem 3 Lecture 4- 23062020
Viva School Of Architecture
 Asst. Prof. Tasneem Badri Jaitly
Humanities– 2 sem 3 Lecture 4- 23062020
Viva School Of Architecture
 Asst. Prof. Tasneem Badri Jaitly
Humanities– 2 sem 3 Lecture 4- 23062020
Viva School Of Architecture
 The Hippodrome
• Another building worth mentioning was the Hippodrome.
• While not built by Justinian, it was impressive to say the least.
• Throughout the Byzantine period, the Hippodrome was the center of the city's
sporting and social life.
• Horse and chariot racing was a popular pastime of the ancient world.
• In fact, the work Hippodrome come from the Greek hippos (horse) and
dromos (path).
• At it’s largest, the Hippodrome sat over 100,000 spectators!
• It was said to have been elaborately decorated with works of art and
tapestries.
• It also featured glorious bronzed statues of horses, gods and former emperors.

Asst. Prof. Tasneem Badri Jaitly

Humanities– 2 sem 3 Lecture 4- 23062020
Viva School Of Architecture
 The Hippodrome

Asst. Prof. Tasneem Badri Jaitly

Humanities– 2 sem 3 Lecture 4- 23062020
Viva School Of Architecture
 The Hippodrome

Asst. Prof. Tasneem Badri Jaitly

Humanities– 2 sem 3 Lecture 4- 23062020
Viva School Of Architecture
 The Hippodrome

Asst. Prof. Tasneem Badri Jaitly

Humanities– 2 sem 3 Lecture 4- 23062020
Viva School Of Architecture
 Theodora
• Justinian was married to a
beautiful woman named
Theodora.
• She was very intelligent,
decisive and strong woman.
• From all accounts, Justinian
treated her as an equal and
frequently relied on her for
advice.

Asst. Prof. Tasneem Badri Jaitly

Humanities– 2 sem 3 Lecture 4- 23062020
Viva School Of Architecture
 The Nika Riots
• In 532, a chariot race at the
Hippodrome got out of hand and
violence and chaos flooded the
streets of Constantinople.
• Several senators saw the chaos as
an opportunity to overthrow
Justinian.
• In fact, Justinian was scared for his
life and was ready to flee the city in
fear.
• However, his wife Theodora
proclaimed, “it is better to die a
ruler than to live as nothing.”
• Justinian instead sent an army and
the riots were put down.
• It was Theodora’s courage that is
credited with saving her husband’s
rule.

Asst. Prof. Tasneem Badri Jaitly

Humanities– 2 sem 3 Lecture 4- 23062020
Viva School Of Architecture
 Theodora
• After the revolts, the city of Constantinople had to be rebuilt.
• Theodora aided in the rebuilding and the construction of aqueducts, bridges
and churches which culminated in the creation of the Hagia Sophia.
• She also led a series of reforms and laws that elevated the rights, status and
promoted equal treatment of women throughout the empire.
• For all this, she is the most famous woman in Byzantine history.

Asst. Prof. Tasneem Badri Jaitly

Humanities– 2 sem 3 Lecture 4- 23062020
Viva School Of Architecture
 The Crusades
• In 1095, the Byzantine emperor Alexius I appealed to the Pope for help
defeating the Muslim invaders.
• Seeing a great opportunity to gain back power in the East after the Great
Schism, the Pope agrees.
• While temporarily successful, the Crusades were an abject disaster.
• In fact, during the 4th Crusade, the Western armies didn’t even make it to the
Holy Land to fight the Muslims.
• Running out of supplies, they attacked Constantinople instead. – This just
illustrated how bad the feelings were between the East and West.
• The empire never really recovers after this.

Asst. Prof. Tasneem Badri Jaitly

Humanities– 2 sem 3 Lecture 4- 23062020
Viva School Of Architecture
 Crisis and Collapse
• Constantinople Falls
• Ottoman Turks captured
Constantinople in 1453 and
renamed it Istanbul
• Muslim influences replace
Christian ones.
• Hagia Sophia is converted from a
church to mosque.

Asst. Prof. Tasneem Badri Jaitly

Humanities– 2 sem 3 Lecture 4- 23062020
Viva School Of Architecture
 The Legacy of the Byzantine Empire
• Longevity: The empire lasted more than 1,000 years, a rare feat throughout
history.
• Cultural Diffusion: The Byzantines blended Roman culture, Greek learning with
Christian beliefs and Middle Eastern influences
• Preservation: Classical learning of the Greeks and Romans which otherwise
would have been lost in the fall of Rome was continued in the Byzantine Empire.
• Law: Justinian’s Code preserved Roman law and became the basis of many laws
today.
• Spiritual: Eastern Orthodox Christianity still exists in areas such as Eastern
Europe, Greece and Russia.

Asst. Prof. Tasneem Badri Jaitly

Humanities– 2 sem 3 Lecture 4- 23062020
Viva School Of Architecture
 Video Reference
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTQHs8yPtjo
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KwIQSgnn8-U

Asst. Prof. Tasneem Badri Jaitly

Humanities– 2 sem 3 Lecture 4- 23062020
Viva School Of Architecture