Byzantines

**//Mosaic of Justinian and Retinue at Apse Entry, San Vitale, Ravenna, c. 546//** The Byzantines Empire surrounded by Mediterranean, which was where most trade occurred. The location of Constantinople was bordered by the Mediterranean and black sea, making it easier for its development.

"the Byzantine Empire was shaped by the decline of the Roman Empire and the rise of the Arabs. The empire weathered many attacks and Flourished for several centuries."- pg.197

Homework day 1 Origin of Byzantine Empire:
 * establisted in the 4century
 * Constantine placed the capital of constantinople at its location on purpose for its benefits.
 * Latin was the first language of the empire, but replaced by greek.
 * Groups like the Hunsd an Persians attacked the Byzantine, but Byzantine deafted them.

Justinian’s Achievements: When the Empire was secure, a new emperor, Justinian tried to reconquer the western territory, and claimed to make the empire much like Rome ’s. His wife Theodora had a big influence on him, and led him to push for expansion. His positive contributions were to rebuild Constantinople and systemizing the Roman legal code. He also extended Roman architecture and created new sculptures like Hagia Sophia. No one had ever built a dome of its size. The unification of laws organized and united the passed confusions, which paralleled the states bureaucracy. He appointed Belissarius as his general and captured Africa and Italy.

** ESPIRIT Chart on The Byzantine Empire: **
 * E  || * The Byzantine Empire’s economy was based on trading.
 * Trading network with Asia to the east and Russia and Scandinavia to the north
 * Solid tax was based on how peasant agriculture of the eastern Mediterranean went ||
 * S || * Bulgaria became part of the empire and merging with the leading Greek families
 * Women held the imperial throne
 * System of spies kept loyalty
 * Recruited troops locally
 * Gave them grants of land for military service
 * Justinian wanted recapture the old roman empire
 * He was influenced by his wife Theodora ||
 * P || *   Emperor was held to be ordained by God
 * He appointed church bishops and passed religions and secular laws.
 * Women at one point held imperial throne
 * social mobility
 * Bureaucrats were specialized into various offices
 * systematized the Roman legal code ||
 * I || *   Constantinople was responsible for the Balkan Peninsula, northern Middle East, Mediterranean coast, and North Africa.
 * The Northern Middle East part of the empire was attacked
 * Justinian spread Roman legal principle in different parts of Europe
 * The Slavic kingdom Bulgaria became part of the Byzantine Empire   ||
 * R || *   The  Hagia Sophia  was a huge church built in Constantinople
 * Hellenistic culture
 * Eastern orthodox priests could marry which was unlike western Christianity.
 * Western church translated Greek Bible into Latin ||
 * I || *   Latin was the language they used in court, and Justinian made Greece the official language.
 * Advanced achievements in engineering and military tactics as well as law.  ||
 * T || *   Hagia   Sophia**-** Christian Church.
 * Built a fleet and supreme naval supremacy.
 * Greek Fire
 * Silk production expanded the empire, luxury products, cloth, carpet and spices were sent north.  ||

Homework day 2

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Summary of doc 2: In this Justinian law code shows the basic natural laws. Its emphasizes the obligations that people have when finding other peoples property, the rights that people have when borrowing things from one another, and mentions how sacred areas don’t belong to no individual. These laws show how Justinian wanted a civil empire and how It was important to maintain internal peace among everyone.

Homework day 3

· The decline of Byzantine slowed down Russian trade and wealth · Mongolian invaders · Princes fought over succession to throne
 * 1)  Cyril and Methodius were two Byzantine missionaries. They were sent by the government to Czech and Slovak republics. They failed, and lost to the new Roman Catholic missionaries. However, Cyril and Methodius continued into southern Russia and the Balkans, and since they spoke Slavic language they were greatly benefited. They then devised a writing system based on Greek characters called Cyrillic till this day. This allowed the Slavic people to develop more literature. Also, unlike Western services that only permitted Latin in the church, Eastern Orthodox allowed services to be held in the native language.
 * 2) Events in the Middle East caused the migration of many Jews to the East Central Borderlands, and because of the intolerance of Western Orthodox Christians. Poland gained the largest amount of Jews. Eastern European Jews, weren’t allowed to participate in agriculture, and were resented by the Christian Majority. They gained strength in local commerce while maintaining their own culture and traditions.
 * 3) During the 6th and 7th centuries, Traders from Scandinavia began to work in Slavic lands, moving along the western rivers of Russia. The Scandinavians developed a strong trade with Constantinople. The militarily superior to the Slavs (Norse) eventually set up governments along the city of Kiev. Then monarchy emerged, and according to legend, a man named Rurik became the first King, of what would come to be known as the Kievan Rus.
 * 4) Vladimir the 1st converted to Christianity, not only in his name but in the names of his people. Since he decided to be Christian, he organized mass baptisms, converting people through military influence. Early church leaders were brought from Byzantium, to train a literate Russian priesthood. A separate Russian Orthodox Church soon developed.
 * 5) Kievan Rus' shared a lot of the ideas of the Byzantine society, but they were unable to duplicate the bureaucracy or educational system. The princes were concerned on the idea of a ruler having power over their people. Many Russian churches tried to adapt Byzantine structures but the harsh conditions in Russia failed to accept. The Byzantines wanted to follow the Ancients and Russian Church wanted to suppress "pagan" rituals, like theater, music, and oral tradition.
 * 6) Some of the factors for the decline of Kievan Rus are:

Summary of pg.208 –The problem of boundaries


 * Political Disputes, nationalist attachment, in east central Europe in recent times make this a very emotional situation.
 * If a civilization is defined as a mainstream culture, Eastern and Western borders can be divided by the Roman Catholic/ Orthodox border.
 * Patterns of trade (For example in Hungary and Poland) were separate from other European areas, and showed clear economic structural differences.

Summary of eastern europe: MI: After the fall of the Roman Empire Europe had a heading as to what political ideas they wanted and Christianity was on the rise. The Byzantine Empire emerged around the 4th century C.E. Their focus was to reflect old roman values. Europe maintained its division between west and the east. The West being catholic and the East being orthodox Christians. The capital of Constantinople was the head of the empire’s economy. Byzantines develop a trading connection with Asia, Russia, and Scandinavia. Silk production became highly productive, with the imported silk warms. They traded cloth, many luxury products, carpets, and spices. They also traded with the Arabs, India, and East Asia. They really focused of the importance of bureaucrats with reflected some of china’s values.

Hagia Sophia