Emperor Constantine moved the capital of the Roman Empire from Rome to Byzantium in 330 AD, renaming the city Constantinople. In the 6th century, Emperor Justinian sought to restore the Roman Empire, sending General Belisarius to retake the Western half. Justinian also had the Hagia Sophia rebuilt and codified Roman law into the Justinian Code. However, the Plague of Justinian devastated the Byzantine population and left the empire vulnerable to invaders from both east and west over subsequent centuries.
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AP World History PowerPoint on the Byzantine Empire
Emperor Constantine moved the capital of the Roman Empire from Rome to Byzantium in 330 AD, renaming the city Constantinople. In the 6th century, Emperor Justinian sought to restore the Roman Empire, sending General Belisarius to retake the Western half. Justinian also had the Hagia Sophia rebuilt and codified Roman law into the Justinian Code. However, the Plague of Justinian devastated the Byzantine population and left the empire vulnerable to invaders from both east and west over subsequent centuries.
Emperor Constantine moved the capital of the Roman Empire from Rome to Byzantium in 330 AD, renaming the city Constantinople. In the 6th century, Emperor Justinian sought to restore the Roman Empire, sending General Belisarius to retake the Western half. Justinian also had the Hagia Sophia rebuilt and codified Roman law into the Justinian Code. However, the Plague of Justinian devastated the Byzantine population and left the empire vulnerable to invaders from both east and west over subsequent centuries.
A Quick Review…. ■ Emperor Constantine moved the Roman Empire from Rome to Byzantium in A.D. 330. ■ The new capital of the Roman Empire was renamed Constantinople. ■ One reason for doing this was to keep the Eastern Roman Empire safer from attacks from invading tribes, which was leading to the downfall of Rome and the Western Empire Justinian: A New Line of Caesars ■ The Roman Empire was officially divided into its Western and Eastern parts in 395. ■ Constantine’s successors in the Eastern half of the empire considered themselves to be the emperors of Rome. ■ Constantine’s nephew Justinian, who was a high-ranking nobleman, took the throne in 527. Justinian: A New Line of Caesars ■ Justinian immediately decided that he was the head of the entire Roman Empire and in 533 sent his best general Belisarius to recover the Western half of the empire. ■ Belisarius took back Rome, and most of Italy and Spain. Rome was almost restored to what it formally was. ■ Justinian, like the Caesars before him, had absolute power. Byzantine emperors lived in constant danger of assassination—of the 88, 29 died violently and 13 abandoned the throne to live in monasteries. Justinian Before… …and After. Justinian’s Code Between 528 and 533, a panel of experts came up with a new uniform code of law for Justinian, called the Justinian Code: ■ The Code contained 5,000 Roman laws that were still relevant for their time. ■ The Digest quoted and summarized the opinions of Rome’s greatest legal thinkers. ■ The Institutes was a textbook for law students. ■ The Novellae (New Laws) were legislation passed after 534. Marriage ■ Justinian Code of Law: “Citizens are joined together in lawful wedlock when they are united according to law, the man having reached the years of puberty, and the woman being of marriageable age…provided that…they have the consent of the parents. Robbery ■ Justinian Code of Law: Robbery is defined as taking of personal property by using violence or threat. “It is also declared that this [law] relates not only to robbery of travelers, but also to forcible entries on land and houses, so as to deter people from all violent [theft] upon property. ■ “The penalty [for robbery] is three times the value of the property, and this whether the robber be caught in the act or not. [However], if a man by mistake thought that property was his own…he cannot be convicted of robbery. Creating the Imperial Capital
Justinian launched a building program to improve
Constantinople: ■ He rebuilt crumbling fortifications. ■ The city’s coasts were ringed by a 14-mile stone wall. Byzantine Sea Wall Hagia Sophia ■ Hagia Sophia, which means “Holy Wisdom” in Greek, was a church in Constantinople which has been destroyed in riots. Justinian had it rebuilt to be the most splendid church in the world. This was Justinian’s crowning glory. Hagia Sophia Economic and Social Distinctions Economy centrally controlled (Constantinople) Large peasant class ◦ Food prices kept low for urban lower class; hardship for peasants Location ideal for defense and trade ◦ Brisk silk production ◦ Manufactured cloth ◦ Carpets ◦ Luxury products Merchants did not have political power (like Chinese) ◦ Merchants in western Europe had greater power Economic and Social Distinctions Women found themselves confined to the home ◦ May have concealed their faces when they left home under veils ◦ Only men they socialized with were family members ◦ Empress Theodora had great influence over Justinian Constantinople’s Hectic Pace ■ The main street in Constantinople was Mese, or “Middle Way”. It was lined with busy merchant stalls selling wares from Europe, Asia, and Africa, as well as food vendors. ■ People could also enjoy free chariot races and circus acts in the Hippodrome, which had the capacity to accommodate 60,000 spectators. Constantinople’s Hectic Pace
■ Fans of different teams wore color of their
favorites and, not unlike today, could be rowdy. In 532 two factions, the Blues and the Greens, started a riot named the Nika Rebellion in protest of the prefect (mayor) putting down a previous riot. ■ The gangs tried to proclaim a new emperor, but were put down by Belisarius, who slaughtered 30,000 rioters. Hippodrome Hippodrome The Plague of Justinian
■ This plague resembled the bubonic plague of the
1300’s, and was probably brought over on rat-infested trading ships from India. ■ At its peak in 542, it is estimated that 10,000 people died daily from this disease. ■ The plague broke out every 8-12 years until it finally faded out in around the year 700. ■ By that time, much of the Byzantine population was wiped out, which left them more vulnerable to invaders. Attacks from East and West ■ Many groups attacked the Byzantines from both the East and the West. ■ Some of these groups include the Lombards (modern day Austria and Hungary), the Avars, the Slavs, the Bulgars, the Sassanid Persians, the Arabs, the Russians, and the Ottoman Turks. ■ In the 11th century, the Turks fought into Anatolia , and the Crusades in 1204 brought knights in who pillaged Constantinople. ■ By 1350, the Byzantine Empire was reduced to the tip of Anatolia and a strip of the Balkans . Constantinople fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1453. Byzantine Empire Byzantine Empire around 1100