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Eastern Roman Empire

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Eastern Roman Empire EASTERN ROMAN EMPIRE BY KEVIN, EMMA, LAUREN, CAM BYZANTINE EMPIRE (BYZANTIUM) • The eastern provinces of Rome, which had previously been united under the Macedonian Empire, were Hellenized by Greek influence. The West, however, was more Latinized, and there was a significant distinction between the two worlds. • Students in Eastern Rome were educated about Greek literature and culture. • Because of this split, the Eastern Rome was able to survive the fall of the West, and survived for an additional thousand years, all the way to 1453 CE. • Byzantine was ruled by Roman law and politics. CONSTANTINE THE GREAT • Constantine I, or Constantine the Great, was a Roman emperor that ruled between 306 and 337 CE. • Constantine the Great ruled at first in a tetrarchy, but the rule of four failed and he replaced it with a sole emperor, himself, and a system of hereditary succession. He also separated civil and military authority in regional prefectures around the empire. • He stopped the persecution of Christians and even permitted the religion. • He made the gold solidus the standard currency. • His policies remained intact and influenced the empire for the rest of its existence. CONSTANTINOPLE • The capital of the Byzantine Empire, Constantinople, was chosen by Constantine the Great because it was strategically located along trade routes between Europe and Asia. • Constantinople was built on the site of the city Byzantium, which is where the name Byzantine Empire is derived from. (However, the citizens of the Byzantine Empire refered to themselves as the Romans or the Romaioi, and refered to their empire as the Roman Empire.) 5TH & 6TH CENTURY • At the end of the fifth century, under the rule of Anastasius I, Rome fought and won a war against the Isaurians, who were forced into Thrace. • In the beginning of the sixth century, Rome constantly warred against Sāsānian Persia. During the wars, the Persians took over the Roman cities of Theodosiopolis, Amida, and Nisibis. • In addition to wars with Isauria and Persia, there was also internal conflict within Rome because Anastasius I, who was an Orthodox emperor, began supporting non-Chalcedonian Christianity, which was against Orthodoxy and Chalcedonian Christianity. This caused riots and a period of civil war. BUBONIC PLAGUE • The bubonic plague originated in Egypt around 541 CE and spread up to Syria, Asia Minor, and then Constantinople. It lasted for several years and in East Asia, the epidemic continued all the way into the 20th century. • The plague, which was transmitted to humans by fleas from infected rodents, attacked glands and caused swelling. In some places throughout the empire, the disease was thought to have settled in the lungs of its victims, allowing it to be spread from person to person. • One-third to one-half of the population of Constantinople died because of the plague. • The plague weakened Roman armies and they lost land to various enemies. JUSTINIAN I • Justinian I, or Justinan the Great, ruled from 527-565 C.E. • He was not born to a royal family and eventually married a woman named Theodora, who became a very influential empress. • During his rule, Justinian created the Justinian Code, a collection of laws, and aimed to restore the Roman Empire to its "original glory". • Art and literature flourished during his rule THE JUSTINIAN CODE • The Corpus Juris Civilis, or Justinian Code, was a large group of laws and legal interpretations. • The code was created under sponsorship Justinian I, who was the ruler of the Byzantine Empire. • The Justinian Code was made up of four different books: the Codex Constitutionum, Digesta (or Pandectae), Institutiones, and Novellae Constitutiones Post Codiecem. • This code was made because the empire's laws were wery disorganized, and none of them were written down. Because of this, people could have forgotten the laws, or made up their own laws if they wanted to get away with something. • So technically, Justinian's code is a revised and way more organized (and written down0 version of the roman law that was already created. • https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=the+justinan+code&&view=detail&mid=97BC9C71 EE33438F596997BC9C71EE33438F5969&&FORM=VRDGAR CONTINUED... • The Codex Constitiution: Justinian selected a group of ten men to go through all of the constitutions/ ordinances created by past emperors. From using all the past laws they had, and after revising them, the ten page codex constitiution was created. • The Digesta: Created by a group of sixteen lawyers , they gathered and looked at all of the known writings of jurists. From reading them, they picked out all of the important ones and they rewrote it in more understandable words/ phrases. • The Institutiones: They were an elementary textbook/ or outline of legal insitiutions, and were used for the law students in their first year. • The Novellae Constitutiones Post Codicem: (Novels) In this there were a few different collections of new ordinances. RECONQUEST OF NORTH AFRICA • In 533 AD Justinian declared war on the Vandals. • The Vandals Controlled territories in North Africa, former Roman territories and Justinian's first target. • After Justinian's stoking revolutions in Tripolitania and Sardinia. They captured Carthage and North Africa was under Byzantine hands. • Afterwards, Belisarius was given a triumph, a celebration that hadn't been given to a general in 600 years. PROCOPIUS: THE RECONQUEST OF AFRICA, 534 ON THE WARS • S: Written by Procopius. Justinian's historian. There is a bias towards Justinian and Rome because he works with him and he makes it look glorious. "For he displayed the spoils and slaves from the war in the midst of the city and led a procession which the Romans call a "triumph," not, however, in the ancient manner," • O: This is right after the Vandals in North Africa were defeated by Belisarius, who returned triumphant and is being celebrated by Justinian for his service. "Belisarius, upon reaching Byzantium with Gelimer [last king of the Vandals, captured by Belisarius in 534]" • A: The text's audience is for the people of Rome because Procopius is a historian "And a period of about six hundred years had now passed since anyone had attained these honours," PROCOPIUS: THE RECONQUEST OF AFRICA, 534 ON THE WARS • P: This is to record what happened and explain and glorify the event on how Belisarius defeated the Vandals. "And when Gelimer reached the hippodrome and saw the emperor sitting upon a lofty seat and the people standing on either side and realized as he looked about in what an evil plight he was, he neither wept nor cried out, but ceased not saying over in the words of the Hebrew scripture: "Vanity of vanities, all is vanity." • S: The text was written to describe the major success and Belisarius's triumph and glory. "and that now the Roman army has captured that of the Vandals." • TONE: It was a triumphant tone "was counted worthy to receive such honours," RECONQUEST OF ITALY • The Gothic War (535-554 CE) was fought between the Byzantine Empire and the Ostrogothic Kingdom of Italy. • Belisarius seized the island of Sicily and Constantianus took back Dalmatia. • After a revolt in North Africa, Belisarius was able to return to his campaign and he headed north toward Naples, which fell after a three-week siege. • After three sieges, Rome fell as well, and the Byzantine Empire had defeated the Ostrogoths and taken back much of the land that they'd lost after the Western Roman Empire had fallen. SIEGE OF CONSTANTINOPLE • Near the beginning of the 7th century, under the rule of Heraclius, the Avars and the Persians were great threats to the empire. • The Avars and Persians laid siege on Constantinople, but the Romans fought back, and the siege eventually failed. • The Roman navy sunk both the Avar and Persian fleets, causing both enemies to abandon the siege and flee. The Avars did not recover from their defeat and their empire eventually crumbled. GOLDEN AGE • Between 867-1025 CE, under Macedonian rule, the Roman empire experienced a golden age. • The army was strong and defended the empire against enemies. • Missionaries evangelized the Slavs and the empire extended its influence across Europe into Russia and the Balkan Peninsula. • Other than advancements in military strength and religious influence, there were also important developments in arts, language, and government. 11TH CENTURY • Enemies of Rome were present on three frontiers: the Pechenegs attacked from the north; the Seljuq Turks invaded from the east; and the Normans struck from the west. • The Pechenegs were eventually defeated by the Romans in 1091 CE. • The Seljuq Turks defeated the Roman army at Manzikert in 1071 CE, which led to Roman civil war and economic crisis. Around the same time, the Normans conquered Southern Italy until the last Byzantine stronghold at Bari finally fell after a three-year siege. • The back to back catastrophes at Manzikert and Bari began the decline of Byzantine power. THE CRUSADES • During the First Crusade, Pope Urban II called for a Holy War, and many people throughout Western Europe wanted to fight. Alexius I, the Byzantine emperor, made the eight leaders of the Crusade return any land they took from the Turks back to the empire. • The Second and Third Crusades brought Byzantium into western European politics, and the Romans tried reclaiming the land they'd lost in the west. However, they were unable to do so and instead went on to make new enemies, such as the Venetians. • The goal of the Fourth Crusade was to conquer the Byzantine Empire, and the Crusaders and Venetians eventually took over and destroyed Constantinople and a large portion of the empire. FALL • After losing Constantinople, the Byzantines were exiled to Asia Minor, but even then, they were still losing land and power.
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