Byzantines

Byzatines Culture: Didn't consider themselves Romans but many were descended from Roman families

How do you think the location of Constantinople may have affected its development? The location of Constantinople may have affected its development because of the seas surrounding them (Black Sea to Mamarian Sea to Aegean Sea to Medditerranean Sea ) media type="googlemap" key="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Istanbul,+Turkey&sll=40.915588,28.959961&sspn=0.977554,2.458191&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Istanbul+Province%2FIstanbul,+Turkey&ll=40.92389,28.962708&spn=0.488122,1.229095&z=10&output=embed" width="509" height="420"

Main Idea: The rise of Byzantium began when the Romans constructed the capital of Constatinople. Which began to develop
 * Read 194-198 - Outline the foundation of Byzantium, Outline The achievements of Justinian -Find and upload any images relevant to your notes:**
 * Foundation of Byzantium:**
 * shaped by decline of the Roman Empire
 * shaped by the rise of the Arabs
 * Constantinople = center of the imperial structure
 * Constantine built nice building (Christian churches)
 * solid tax = based on the peasant agriculture of the eastern Mediterranean.
 * Responsible for Balkan peninsula, northern Middle East, the Mediterranean coast, and north Africa
 * Latin court language but Greek then became official language

Achievements of Justinian: Main Idea: Justinian organized and united the new empire by rebuilding the capital and systematized the Roman legal code. media type="custom" key="7459865"
 * wanted to recapture the old roman empire (help of Belisarins)
 * influenced by wife (Theodora)
 * Rebuilt Constantinople
 * systematized the Roman legal code
 * Extended Roman architecture
 * new huge church ( Hagia Sophia)
 * Organized and united the new empire
 * spread Roman legal principle in different parts of Europe
 * pushed Persian forces back (Middle Eastern territory lost)
 * Justinian Code 3:**
 * My Summary of Article 3:** In this document Justinian goal were to maintain internal peace when it came to commerce. He also outlined the trading laws and regulates merchants. An example could be "If you buy something and it breaks, you can't get your money back." Justinian law code of law are unwritten law based on customs and usage.
 * Doc-2:**
 * physical property would be the most important of all -> conencted to Natural Law
 * Natural law is basically if you find something is yours
 * Religion cannot be posses
 * If you capture and animal is your but if for the greater good then you cannot take it for your self (sharing)
 * cannot own nature
 * Doc-1:**
 * Justianian code 1 is split into three- Civil Law, Natural Law, Commen Law
 * Civil law are based on state
 * Describes a different between free person adn slaves
 * Roman marriges are bound together
 * United by the law; a marrige must have th concern of a family
 * Family members cannot marry related
 * Civil Law:** a codified set of alws for society to folow -> by Government
 * Common Law:** law by Precedent (created by judges)
 * Natural Law:** certain rights that people see as existing naturally, somethign that woudl happen in nature


 * ESPIRIT Chart on The Byzantine Empire:**
 * E || **Economic:**
 * Arab commercial influence patterns of life in Constantinople
 * shaped by decline of the Roman Empire
 * shaped by the rise of the Arabs
 * Solid tax = based on the peasant agriculture of the eastern Mediterranean
 * War with Muslims = economic burdens (invasions/taxation)
 * Depended on Constantinople’s control over the countryside (bureaucracy controlling trade and food prices)
 * Trading network with Asia to the east and Russia and Scandinavia to the north
 * Traded with India, the Arabs, and east Asia while receiving products from western Europe and Africa
 * Turkish troops (Seljuks) cut off tax revenue and territories that supplied most of the empire’s good ||
 * S || **Social:**
 * War with Muslims = weakening the position of small farmers
 * Organizing the army and navy was given greater emphasis
 * Free rural population was forced into greater dependence
 * Bulgaria became part of the empire and merging with the leading Greek families
 * Women held the imperial throne + ceremonial power of the office
 * Bureaucrats were put in diff offices
 * Officials close to the emperor were mainly eunuchs
 * System of spies kept loyalty
 * Recruited troops locally and giving them grants of land for military service
 * Slavs and Armenian Christians were recruited
 * Military systems = protecting a state under attack from Muslims, Persians, Arabs, Turks and nomadic from Asia
 * Peasant class was vital for supplying goods and pricing the bulk of tax revenues
 * Merchant class never gained political power ||
 * P || **Political:**
 * Justinian wanted recapture the old roman empire (help of Belisarius)
 * He was influenced by his wife Theodora
 * systematized the Roman legal code
 * Basil II (Bulgaroktonos) used the empire’s wealth to bride many Bulgarian nobles and generals ||
 * I || **Interactions:**
 * Responsible for Balkan peninsula, northern Middle East, the Mediterranean coast, and north Africa
 * Justinian spread Roman legal principle in different parts of Europe
 * Justinian pushed Persian forces back (Middle Eastern territory lost)
 * Military tactics ||
 * R || **Religion:**
 * Population was forcibly reconverted to Christianity
 * Emperor was held to be ordained by God (head of church as well as sate)
 * Byzantine cultural life = Orthodox/Christianity
 * Blue and gold backgrounds on icons = unchanging brilliance of heaven
 * Western church translated Greek Bible into Latin
 * Religious art showed diff style and beliefs
 * Bread use in a church patriarch in Constantinople brought back old issues
 * Orthodox priests could marry
 * Splits between Roman Catholic church and Eastern Orthodoxy, Byzantine or Greek and Russian Orthodox or Serbian Orthodox ||
 * I || **Cultural & Intellectual:**
 * Constantine built nice building (Christian churches)
 * Latin court language but Greek then became official language
 * Justinian Extended Roman architecture
 * Built new huge church (Hagia Sophia)
 * Rich Hellenistic culture
 * Achievements in engineering
 * Arab culture influence life in Constantinople
 * Trained in Greek classic, philosophy, and science in a secular school system
 * Byzantine cultural life = traditions of Hellenism, teaching of bureaucrats
 * colored religious mosaics and icon painting (paintings of saints and other religious figures) ||
 * T || **Technology and demographic changes**:
 * Centered in the southern Balkans + the western and central portions of today’s Turkey
 * Arabs Muslims = Byzantine territory was cut back to about half the size
 * New weapon => Greek fire (a petroleum, quicklime, and sulfur mixture that devastated Arab ships) ||

This article goes in depth about the problems of boundaries between Eastern and Western Europe. It's hard to decide where a society/empire/nation ends and where another begins especially when many political units and some cultural differences are involved. When one has to decide the territory of two related civilizations that developed in Europe is difficult. Back then and today states on the borders share characteristics of each. Defining Europe’s civilizations is a large problem. Eastern and Western Europe in the postclassical period were divided logically according to Orthodox and Catholic territories. Poland, the Czech areas, the Baltic States, and Hungary are western. South Slav, Russia, and Ukraine are Orthodox. By the end of the postclassical period, a Czech religious dissenter, Jan Hus, attached the Catholic Church. It got worse when Poland, Hungary, and Lithuania made large regional kingdoms (loosely organized, more than monarchies in Western Europe) during and after the postclassical period. Trade didn’t unite Poland or Hungary with Western Europe until later when they both had different economic structures. They both shared more things with Russia then with Western Europe. When Russia expanded it pulled parts of Eastern Europe (Poland) into its orbit. Border can always change and the Mongol invasions to Russia also conquered Poland and Hungary. Ukraine was free from Mongol control which helped distinguish from Russia. Since 1989, a lot of Eastern European countries have got independence from Russia. It’s not an easy border area to characterize inter ms of a single civilization. The Byzantine Empire were either Orthodox/Chirstians who were commercial influenced by Arabs. Constantine, the capital, built nice building like Christian churches and latin was the court language but Greek then became official language. Vladimer I made a key decision by converting himself and his people to Christianity. Mr Green's MI: Due to its trading ties with assing geographic location adn shift to Orthodoxy, Eastern Europe developed as a separate activity to the wast.
 * Read 203 - 209 and answer the following questions.
 * 1) Who were Cyril and Methodius? What did they accomplish? Methodius along with Cyril, were missionary sent by Byzantine government to eastern Europe and the Balkans; converted southern Russia and Balkans or Orthodox Christianity and were responsible for creation of written script for Slavic know as Cyrillic.
 * 2) How did events in the Middle East affect the demographics of the East Central borderlands? Events in the Middle East affect the demographics of the East Central borderlands because many Jews migrated there and the tolerance of the Western Orthodox Christians (Poland was the one to gain mos of the Jews). Jews gained power in local commerce without without participating in agriculture and keeping their own traditions.
 * 3) Outline the development of the Kievan Rus': Traders from Scandinavia began to work through the Slavic land, moving along the rivers of western Russia. Through those routes, the Norse traders were able to get to the Byzantine Empire which then flourished trade between Scandinavia (where Dan is from)  and Constantinople. The Scandinavian traders set up some governments along their trade route (mostly in Kiev). A monarchy emerged when Rurik became the first prince of what came to be called Kievan Rus'.
 * 4) What important decision was made by Vladimir I? Prices Vladimir I important decision was to take the step of converting to Christianity not only for him but in the name of his people. He forced conversions by military pressure and imported church leaders from Byzantium to helped train a literate Russian priesthood. Instead of Catholism, Islam or Jeudaism.
 * 5) What were some of the major similarities and differences between Byzantium and the Kievan Rus?Kievan Rus' had much similarities from Byzantium but didn't replicate the bureaucracy or elaborate educational system. Characteristics of Orthodox Christianity penetrated Russian culture but couldn't adapt Byzantines religious structure.Russian art also focused on religious paintings and illuminations.Russian social and economic patterns took distinctive shape.
 * 6) What factors led to the decline of the Kievan Rus'? Factors that lead to the decline was the royal family squabbled over succession to the throne and Invaders from Asia whittled at Russian territory. Also the decline of Byzantium reduced Russian trade and wealth which they depended heavily on. Finally the invasions by Mongols from central Asia forced out the Russian leaders.
 * Read and summarize the main points of "Eastern and Western Europe: The Problem of Boundaries" p.208
 * Chapter Summary/Main Idea (30 Words or Less):