The Byzantine Empire

The Heir of the Roman Empire in the East

Byzantine: The Land
The Byzantine Empire lasted from
395-1453 CE
It covered the Balkan Peninsula, Asia
Minor, Syria, Palestine and Egypt
A highly-centralized and autocratic
government under the rule of an
emperor characterized this eastern
empire.
The Reign of Justinian (527-565
CE)
Determined to re-establish the Roman
Empire in the entire Mediterranean
world.
Under Belisarius, fought against the
Ostrogoths to regain Italy and North
Africa
In 552 CE, former Mediterranean
territories were restored only to lose
them to the Lombards three years
after the Justinians reign.
The Reign of Justinian (527-565
CE)
The most important contribution of
Emperor Justinian was the codification
of Roman Law. The vast quantity of
legal material was simplified to
become The Body of Civil Law or
Corpus Juris Civilis.
It had three parts: the Code, the
Digest, and the Institute
Empress Theodora worked for better
treatment of women and children
The Byzantine Wars
Emperor Heraclius fought against the
Persians who carried off a relic of the
Cross of Christ in 614 CE. He
retrieved it in 627 CE and ruled until
641 CE.
Emperor Leo Isaurian (717-741 CE)
used a device known as Greek Fire
to repel invading Arabs.
The Byzantine Wars
BENEFITS:
The empire had a remarkable sense
of unity amidst its conquered people of
diverse ethnic origins, languages and
religions.
To cope with foreign invasions, the
empire had to undergo internal
reorganization: the division of the
empire into themes or military districts
governed by strategoi.
The Decline of Byzantine
In 1081, the Seljuks annihilated the
Byzantine Army in the Battle of
Manzikert in Asia Minor. This allowed
them to overrun the remaining
provinces of the empire.
In 1453, the Turks attacked
Constantinople
The Ottoman Empire succeeded the
Byzantine Empire
Byzantine Culture
RELIGION
The emperor nominated the patriarch as the
highest prelate of the Eastern Church.
Religion was a branch of the State.
Iconoclastic Controversy
Pope Leo III issued an edict in 726 CE
forbidding the use of images or icons. The
removal of icons from Byzantine churches
provoked violent riots.
In 843 CE, the icons were restored.
In 1054, the issue of iconoclasm contributed
to the split in the Church. The West became
known as the Roman Catholic Church while
the East became the Eastern Orthodox
Church.
The Triumph of Christianity
The Church as Successor to the Caesars
The Christian Church
The term church (in Greek, ekklesia)
was first used in St. Pauls Letter to the
Thessalonians in about 51 CE. St. Paul
referred to it as the small group of
Christian believers.
Emperor Constantine issued his edict of
toleration and ended Christian
persecution
In 380 CE, Theodosius declared
Christianity as the official religion of the
empire
The Christian Church
St. Paul (Saul of Tarsus) began the
propagation of Christianity among
non-Jews (Gentiles) in Asia Minor
St. Peter brought Christianity to Rome
The Petrine Doctrine supports the
assertion of authority of the bishops of
Rome (later on Supreme Pontiff or
Pope) over other bishops in the
Church

Monasticism
Two Reasons:
Proving ones zeal by living a life of
self and sacrifice became a better of
option to martyrdom
People preferred to live in deserts or
forests to practice ascetic lives that
the clergy was forgetting
Monasticism
St. Anthony of Egypt Father of
Monasticism
St. Basil (330-379) the most
successful example of communal
monasticism
St. Benedict of Nursia (480-543)
drafted the Benedictine Rule. This
became the guide for nearly all monks
in the West. It imposed important
vows: poverty, obedience, labour, and
religious devotion.
Fathers of the Western
Church
St. Jerome (340-420)
translated Hebrew and Greek bible to
Latin
St. Ambrose (340-397)
Archbishop of Milan; wrote an ethical
book called Duties of Ministers
St. Augustine (354-430)
Doctor of the Church, wrote The
Confessions considered one of the
most influential books in the history of
Europe
The Crusades
The most obvious manifestation of papal
leadership of Christian society
In 1071, Jerusalem fell to the Turks
Pope Urban II calls for the First Crusade.
In 1099, three years after, Jerusalem
was captured.
Pope Eugenius III calls for the Second
Crusade and King Louis VII of France
and Holy Roman Emperor Conrad III
responds. In 1167, Saladin, Sultan of
Egypt, invaded Palestine and reclaims
Jerusalem.
The Crusades
Frederick Barbarossa of the Holy Roman
Empire, Richard the Lion-Hearted of
England and Philip Augustus of France
financed the Third Crusade. The rivalry
between England and France doomed
the expedition.
In 1208, Pope Innocent III calls for the
Fourth Crusade or the Albigensian
Crusade. The 10,000 crusaders instead
proceeded to Constantinople and went
on a rampage, attacking, burning and
looting Byzantine churches. This assault
furthered the split in the Church and
discredited the Crusades.
The Carolingian Empire
The Heir of the Roman Empire in the West

Rise of the Franks
The Frankish rulers in the Gallic region
remained as the surviving barbarian
power in Western Europe.
Clovis, founder of the Frankish state,
established an alliance with the Western
Catholic Church. Upon his death, his
sons quarrelled over supremacy in the
kingdom.
In 700 CE, the so-called chief ministers
or mayors of the palace took control of
the kingdom
Rise of the Franks
The Roman papacy under Pope Gregory
I (r. 590-604) forged an alliance with the
Benedictine Order to repel the
Lombards.
Pope Gregory I articulated a theology
that emphasized the idea of penance
and the concept of purgatory. He also
pioneered the writing of a simplified Latin
liturgy.
With papal support, the Benedictines
were successful in converting the Anglo-
Saxons and the Franks, thus arming the
Western Church with allies.
Rise of the Franks
In 687 CE, Pepin of Heristal, one of the mayors
of the palace, ascended to the throne and
extended the power base to include Belgium
and the Rhine and established closer ties with
the Church
Charles Martel (The Hammer) repulsed the
Turks in the Battle of Tours in 732 CE. The name
Carolingian comes from his Latin name,
Carolus.
Boniface (680-754), an Anglo-Saxon,
established the Benedictine Rule in all the
monasteries that he founded or reformed, thus
promoting monastic unity. With Frankish
alliance, he reformed the Church in the Frankish
kingdom and anointed Pepin in 751 CE as king-
priest.
The Empire of Charlemagne
Charles the Great (768-814) or
Charlemagne resurrected the Western
Roman Empire by conquering all of
Europe, except Spain, Scandinavia and
southern Italy in 805 CE.
His most enduring legacy was the revival
of learning through monastic literature
(i.e. Beowulf as recorded by Venerable
Bede)
Crowned emperor by Pope Leo III on
Christmas Day, 800 CE.
Disintegration of the Carolingian
Empire
Louis the Pious (814-840), only heir of
Charlemagne was not able to hold the
empire together.
He left the empire to his three sons:
Lothair the Eldest, Louis the German
and Charles the Bald as provided for
in the Treaty of Verdun.
Lay Investiture Controversy
Otto I (r. 936-973) of Germany took the
title of emperor. The basis of his power
was to remain in control of the Church by
asserting his right to place ecclesiastical
appointments under his authority, known
as lay investiture.
Pope Gregory VII published a ban on lay
investiture in 1075 and had the power to
impose excommunication
Concordat at Worms settled the issue
through a compromise
neither Holy, nor Roman, nor
Empire
-Voltaire
Frederick Barbarossa (red beard) the
I (1152-1190) of the family
Hohenstaufen, called his kingdom,
Holy Roman Empire in order to unify
it. He attempted to annex northern
Italy. The Italian cities, however,
formed an alliance with the papacy.