Chapter 13 Byzantine 15/10/2007 18:39:00

The early Byzantine empire: Name from Byzantion, small strategic

village, with potential to control strait to Black Sea, Constantine designated
site to be new capital.
• Procopius historic accounts included story of 2 monks who came
from Persia which helped to start silk industry in Byzantine. Only
classical society to survive turmoil
• The later Roman empire and Byzantium: Stayed relatively stable
o Fifth century, eastern half of empire remained intact while
west crumbled; inherited Roman values but built state
significantly different from classical Romans
 Challenges: Sasanids and Germans
 Responded by concentrated on maintaining
integrity of wealthy eastern portion
 Highly centralized state
 Emperor with aura of divinity—Caesaropapism
• Constantine Christian so can’t claim divine
 Large and complex bureaucracy – Byzantine –
unnecessarily complex
 Byzantine court
 Emperors wore bejeweled crowns and silk dyed
purple (reserved for imperial use)
 Splendor with technology, great respect
• Justinian/Sleepless emperor (527-565 C.E.) and his legacy;
Theodora (empress); both came from secular roots and smart
o Rebuilt Constantinople, including Hagia Sophia (dome)
o Codified Roman law_Corpus iuris civilis (The Body of the Civil
Law) – influenced civil law throughout W. Europe
o Sent Belisarius to reconquer the western Roman empire
(didn't last) – needed too many resources and Ravenna
became headquarters thus possessed art and architecture
 Showed that classical Rome was beyond recovery
• Islamic conquests and Byzantine revival
o The emergence of the Islamic state, seventh century
 Arab peoples conquered the Sasanid empire and part of
Byzantium
 Prolonged sieges of Constantinople by Islamic armies
 Byzantium survived partly because of Greek fire
o Byzantine society reorganized
 Provinces (themes) under generals – responsible for
defense and administration
 Strengthened by themes system, expanded its
influence
• Basil II(976-1025CE) took Basil, blinded
people
 Armies of free peasants helped agricultural economy by
giving them land
o Byzantium and western Europe: ecclesiastical and political
tensions
 Constantinople bowed to Caesaropapist emperor in
Greek while church of Rome conducted in Latin rejected
claims to ecclesiastical matters
 West – unlearned, uncouth East – learned but bad
 Germans claim emperor of west, which insulted east
o Liudprand of Cremona – Ambassador of Otto whom hated the
Byzantine’s stuff
Byzantine economy and society: Byzantium dominated all sorts of affairs
in E. Med. due to strong economy and good land
• Rural economy and society: Egypt big supplies to Byzantium till
Arab conquests then Danube region and Anatolia
o Large agricultural base to support cities
o Economy strongest when large class of free peasants
(themes) existed
 Contributed more tax due to exemptions
 Increased pool of recruits of military
o Economy weakened when large landholders consolidated and
made peasants dependent
o Arab invasions opened up lands and afforded peasants
opportunity to rebuild small holdings
 • Industry and trade: wealthy due to productive and Constantinople’s
center of trade
o Constantinople was major site of crafts and industry
 Glass, linen, textiles, gems, jewelry, gold, and silver
 Silk developed into major industry in sixth century;
secrets came from China: Government monitored
closely
o Constantinople was clearinghouse for trade
 Bezant was the standard currency of Mediterranean
basin
 Western anchor of trade route revived silk roads
o Banks and partnerships supported commercial economy
• Urban life: The City – heart is imperial palace
o Woman aren’t permitted into wine flowing parties due to loss
of honor later own…
o Housing in Constantinople varied widely by class
o Attractions of Constantinople: baths, taverns, theaters
 Hippodrome used for mass entertainment
 Chariot races most popular; Greens and Blues rivalry
Classical heritage and Orthodox Christianity: First Christian emperor of
Roman empire gave name and faith to Constantinople but developed
different lines from Roman due to influence of Greece and divided later.
• The legacy of classical Greece
o Official language went from Latin to Greek (original Latin)
 Drew inspirations from N. Testament or Greek writings
o State-organized school system trained workforce: Most
people had education due to need of bureaucrats
 Primary education: reading, writing, grammar
 Later education: classical Greek, literature, philosophy,
science
  Higher education in Constantinople: law, medicine,
philosophy
o Byzantine scholarship emphasized Greek tradition
 Wrote commentaries on Greek literature
 Preserved and transmitted Greek thought to later
cultures
• The Byzantine church
o Most distinctive feature was involvement of the emperor
 Council of Nicaea (325 C.E.) in which Arianism was
declared heresy – showed power of emperor in religion
 Church separate department of state and emperor
appoints patriarch (pope)
 Iconoclasm controversy (726-843) was started by Leo
III – demonstrated willness of emperors to involve
themselves with religious matters
o Greek philosophy applied to Byzantine theology
 Look to philosophy for enlighten on Jesus being men
and God
• Monasticism and popular piety
o Monasticism origins in early Christian ascetics (hermits)
 "Pillar saints" like St. Simeon Stylite
 St. Basil of Caesarea (329-379 C.E.) organized
monastic movement by giving them rules
o Monasteries did not become centers of education or learning
but had reputation for piety and devotion
 Monks went to great length to get in touch with god.
o Mt. Athos, monastery in northern Greece from ninth century
to present – no woman or animals to distract them
o Monks/nuns very popular with laity
 Provided social services to the community
 Opposed iconoclasm
 • Tensions between eastern and western Christianity
o Constantinople and Rome: strains mirrored political tensions
o Ritual and doctrinal differences, such as iconoclasm
o Schism in 1054--Eastern Orthodox versus Roman Catholic
The influence of Byzantium in eastern Europe: Byzantines called
themselves Romaioi but by 1000CE, different from Rome. But as Islamic and
western powers pressure Byzantine, begun to influence Slavs more
• Domestic problems and foreign pressures: After Basil II “the
Bulgar-Slayer” died, Byzantine was powerful but declined in 50 year
o Generals and local aristocrats allied from themes system; new
elite class challenged imperial power
 Lost recruitment power and taxes
o Western Europe took parts of Byzantium
 Normans in southern Italy and Sicily
 Crusaders carved out states and sacked Constantinople
(1204); Venetians did to weaken Constantinople
o Muslim Saljuq Turks invaded Anatolia, defeated Byzantines at
Manzikert, 1071
o Ottoman Turks captured Constantinople in 1453, the end of
the empire
• Early relations between Byzantium and Slavic peoples
o Byzantines began to influence Bulgarian politics and culture
after the eighth century
o Missions to the Slavs
 Saints Cyril and Methodius, mid-ninth century
 Cyrillic writing stimulated conversion to Orthodox
Christianity
 Education and religion tied together, led to more
conversions
• Byzantium and Russia
o Mid-ninth century, Russians started to organize a large state:
Kiev
o The conversion of Prince Vladimir, 989
 Kiev served as a conduit for spread of Byzantine culture
and religion
 Cyrillic writing and literature and Orthodox missions
spread Byzantine culture
 Byzantine art and architecture dominated Kiev: icons
and onion domes
o Princes established caesaropapist control of Russian Orthodox
church
o Russian culture flourishes from eleventh century
 Moscow claimed to be world's "third Rome"
 Sent out many missionaries from sixteenth century on
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