I N T E R A C T I V E S T U D E N T N O T E B O O K

The Byzantine ANSWER KEY

Empire
How did the Byzantine Empire develop
and form its own distinctive church?

P R E V I E W

How do you think your experience exchanging paper tokens may be similar
to trading goods in Constantinople? Examine the map your teacher is projecting.
For each item in the first column of the chart, make an entry in the second column
that connects your experience in the trading activity to history.

Historical Connection Classroom Experience

• Traders came from various regions
of the world, such as Africa, the Middle
East, and Western Europe.
• Various goods were traded, such as
gold, spices, and silk.
• Traders came from Europe, Africa, and
the Middle East, including Bruges,
Cordoba, Tunis, Damascus, Shiraz,
Samarkand, and Novgorod.
• Various goods were traded, such as
gold, cumin, silk brocade, paper, wax,
linen, and leather.

• Many traders came to Constantinople • Many traders came to

to trade. Constantinople to trade.

• Traders traveled to Constantinople by • Traders didn’t follow actual land and

land and water routes. water routes.

• Traders brought new products back • Traders brought new products back
to their homelands after trading in to their homelands after trading in
Constantinople.
Constantinople.

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R E A D I N G N O T E S

Social Studies Vocabulary

As you complete the Reading Notes, use these terms in your answers.
Constantinople Eastern Orthodox Church
Byzantine Empire patriarch

Section 1
1. What about Constantinople’s location made it an ideal capital of the Byzantine Empire?
Constantinople was easy to defend, being surrounded by water on
three sides, and it lay at the crossroads of many sea and overland
trade routes linking east and west.

2. Suppose that you are a trader visiting Constantinople for the first time. On the left
side of the postcard below, write a few sentences to a friend back home describing what
you see as you walk through the city’s streets. On the right side, address your postcard
to a friend in a faraway land selected from the map in this section of the Student Text.

Answers will vary. Sample answer:

Dear Habib,
Constantinople is like nothing you
have ever seen! The marketplace
here overflows with ivory and silk.
Traders walk the streets speaking Answers will vary, but should
every language imaginable. There is be an address in a country
even a sewer system! Many in the shown on the map in Section 1
city are very rich. Even the poor are of the Student Text.
given jobs sweeping the streets and
weeding the gardens in exchange
for bread. It is a beautiful city, Habib.
Your friend, Kalim

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Section 2

1. What event forced Justinian I to start rebuilding parts of Constantinople?

Large parts of the city were ruined when fighting in the Hippodrome
between the Blues and Greens escalated into a rebellion.

2. What were some of the improvements made to Constantinople as a result of

Justinian’s public works projects?
New bridges, public baths, parks, roads, and hospitals were built. In
addition, Hagia Sophia was built.

3. Why was Justinian’s Code significant?

Under Justinian’s direction, a committee studied thousands of laws
inherited from the Roman Empire and revised those that were
outdated or confusing. They also made some revisions, such as
expanding women’s property rights. In doing so, they created a code
that served as the basis for many legal codes in the western world.

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Section 3

1. Describe the relationship between religion and government in the Byzantine Empire.
Religion and government were closely linked. The emperor was both the
head of the government and the living representative of Jesus Christ.

2. For each image below, circle at least two details that illustrate aspects of Eastern Orthodox
beliefs. Then, draw a line from each detail and explain how it is important to Eastern
Orthodox faith.
Many Orthodox Christians
believe that icons such as
these bring them closer to
God. There are still practicing
members of this church.

In this altar icon, saints Cyril and

Methodius hold a document with
Cyrillic letters.

St. Cyril helped create the Cyrillic

alphabet, which allowed scholars to
translate the Bible for people in the
Byzantine Empire. This is a Byzantine icon of Jesus.
He is holding a Gospel.

Jesus, shown as Pantocrator, is

holding a Gospel and giving a blessing.
He rules over everything, according to
Eastern Orthodox belief.

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Section 4

Three major disagreements contributed to a complete split in the Christian Church by 1054.
Fill in the chart below with details of those three events and how they led to the Great Schism.

Date People Event That Led to the Result of the

Involved Disagreement Disagreement

730 C.E. Emperor Leo Emperor Leo III bans the Pope Gregory III,
III and Pope use of all religious images angered by Leo’s ban,
Gregory III in Christian churches and excommunicates the
homes, leading to a policy of emperor.
iconoclasm.

800 C.E. Pope Leo Pope Leo III refuses to The pope’s action
III, Empress recognize Empress Irene outrages the
Irene, and as the ruler of the Empire Byzantines who feel
Emperor because she is a woman; their empress is
Charlemagne instead, he crowns the rightful ruler of
Charlemagne as Holy Roman the remains of the
emperor. Roman Empire.

1054 C.E. Patriarch Patriarch Cerularius The schism is final, and

Cerularius, closes all churches that future attempts to
Pope Leo worship with western heal the division are
IX, Cardinal rites. In response, Cardinal ineffective.
Humbert Humbert, on the pope’s
orders, excommunicates
Cerularius, who in return,
excommunicates the cardinal.

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P R O C E S S I N G

In the space below, create a real-estate advertisement to encourage people to move

to Constantinople after the schism of 1054. Your advertisement must include the
following elements:
• a memorable slogan
• a map that shows the location of Constantinople
• information about the city’s geography, government, religion, and daily life
• four visuals that represent key ideas in the written information
• extra creative touches that make the advertisement look authentic
• writing that is free from spelling and grammatical errors

Use this rubric to evaluate the Processing assignment.

Score Description
The advertisement is persuasive, unified, and memorable, as well as
well-written. It includes a map showing Constantinople’s location,
3 information about relevant aspects of the city, four key visuals
that match well with the written information, and creative touches
that make it look authentic.
Students have most of the required elements and combined them
to good effect, creating a product that does a pretty good job of
2 being persuasive, unified, and memorable. The writing may be less
than perfect, the visuals may not link closely to the writing, or one
or two elements may be missing.
The assignment is notably incomplete. Some elements—such as
the map, the written information, the visuals, or the extra creative
1
touches are missing. The visuals and text may not align, and the
writing may contain many spelling and grammatical errors.

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I N V E S T I G A T I N G P R I M A R Y S O U R C E S

Identifying and Evaluating Evidence

Use the reading to create a claim that answers this question: What kind of ruler
was Justinian I?

Claim: Claims will vary. Accept all reasonable responses.

What evidence from the primary source documents supports your claim? Fill out
the chart below. Circle the two strongest pieces of evidence.

Source Evidence How does this support the claim?

Evidence will vary, but should relate to the claim. Students should
provide evidence from multiple sources. The evidence should come
from the primary sources themselves, but students may use the
supporting text to explain how the source supports the claim.
Explanations should be reasonable.

You can use this evidence to strengthen your claim. Write your revised claim below.

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Constructing an Argument
Create an argument to answer the question: What kind of ruler was Justinian I?
Your argument should:
• clearly state your claim.
• include evidence from multiple sources.
• provide explanations for how the sources support the claim.

Use this rubric to evaluate your argument. Make changes as needed.

Score Description

3 The claim clearly answers the question. The argument uses evidence
from two or more primary sources that strongly support the claim.
The explanations accurately connect to the evidence and claim.
2 The claim answers the question. The argument uses evidence from
one or more primary sources that support the claim. Some of the
explanations connect to the evidence and claim.
1 The claim fails to answer the question. The argument lacks evidence
from primary sources. Explanations are missing or are unrelated to
the evidence and claim.

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