Chapter 13: The Commonwealth of Byzantium

Vocabulary

• Constantine: The first ruler of the Byzantine Empire. He chose Byzantine as the capital of the empire, and later renamed Constantinople (which kept that name until 1453 C.E.). He was a Christian and claimed he had divine favor from god. 

• Caesaropapism: In which the emperor of a state not only ruled the state politically, but was also majorly involved in the state’s ecclesiastical affairs. 

• Justinian and Theodora: Justinian was the most important of early Emperors in Byzantine, and Theodora was his wife. They were both from low class birth, but rose in rank because of their intelligence, ambitiousness, and will. Theodora acted as counsel for Justinian. Justinians most important contribution was the issuing of Corpus iuris civilis (Body of the Civil Law), which became Roman law. 

• Hagia Sophia: Literally translates to “Holy Wisdom”. This church was built by Justinian and was transformed into a mosque in the fifteenth century. 

• “Greek Fire”: A weapon that the Greeks invented that was meant to start fires. Could be compounded of sulphur, lime, and petroleum. This was especially useful in naval combat because they could set enemy boats on fire even though the boat was on water. 

• Bezant: A form of currency in the Byzantine Empire. Was the term for gold coin, and most of these were created in the capital city of Constantinople. 

• Hippodrome: A large stadium located near the Byzantine Emperor’s Palace. Athletic matches, wild animal contests, and circuses all took place in this large dome. But the most popular event that took place here were chariot races. This was a form of mass entertainment. 

• Asceticism: When one leads a harsh life without being forced to so that they can lead especially holy lives. This includes observing such things as celibacy, fasting, and prayer. Some people take it to the extreme and perched atop tall pillars for years at a time. These were known as “Pillar Saints”. 

• Iconoclastic Movement: The Most divisive ecclesiastical policy created by the emperors in Byzantine. This literally translates to “breaking the icons” and was done because people began to worship the icons instead of the actual faith. Icons such as paintings, etc, were destroyed. 

• Cyrillic Alphabet: An alphabet created by two Christian missionaries, the brothers Cyril and Methodius, while conducting missions in Bulgaria and Moravia. This was created for the Slavic Peoples, and was adapted from written Greek. It remained in use until the early twentieth century.

Focus Question #1

            How and where did the Orthodox Church spread its influence? What problems did it have?

            The Orthodox Church spread its influence from the Byzantine Empire to eastern Europe and the middle east, from where missionaries took all over Eurasia. A large problem that the Orthodox Church faced was the opposition of Roman Catholicism, which the two religion’s leaders agreed to separate after their differences grew too stark.

            The first Christian emperor of the Byzantine Empire was the first empire— Constantine. Much of their society’s culture drew from Classical Greece, including philosophy and literature that played a large role in the creation of Eastern Orthodoxy. It caused the Byzantine Empire’s form of Christianity to differ from their neighbors to the west’s form of Christianity “on matters of doctrine, ritual, and church authority.”.

            Early on, the Byzantine government supervised the growth of Byzantine Christianity very closely. They did this so they could be sure the church teachings and policies shaped a community that was supportive of the Byzantine state. Eventually, however, Constantinople fell, but Byzantine traditions had already influenced the Slavic peoples in Eastern Europe and Russia.

            It was these Slavic peoples that spread the religion of the Orthodox Church over the majority of Eurasia. Missionaries such as Cyril and Methodius took Orthodox Christianity to areas in modern day Czech, Slovakia, and Hungary.

Focus Question #2

            What effect did the Byzantine Empire have on its neighbors in Europe and Southwest Asia?

            The Byzantine Empire had not so friendly relations with their neighbors in Europe and Southwest Asia, with the exception being those to the northeast of them.

            The Byzantine Empire had conflicts with Southwest Asia multiple times—primarily when they went on the Islamic Conquests. The Islamic Conquests took place in the late seventh century (C.E.) and early eight century (C.E.). The Byzantine forces were able to somewhat hold off the Muslims, though they did lose a vast majority of land, with the help of Greek Fire which was an incendiary weapon used to light enemy troops and enemy boats on fire. The state was now much smaller, however since it was more compact it became more efficient.

            The Byzantine Empire had tense political relations with Western Europe. This came mostly from the religious conflicts the two regions experienced with one another. The majority of the Byzantine Empire was Eastern Orthdox while their neighbors to the west largely adhered to Roman Catholicism.