Byzantines

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Constantinople's location helped its development it was on the strip of land that connected Turkey, Bulgeria and Greece. Surrounded by water on two sides, the Black Sea and the Aegean Sea, allowed greater seafaring trade with almost every country that touches the Black Sea or the Meditterean Sea.
 * How do you think the location of Constantinople may have affected its development?**

have to redo both outlines and ESIPIRIT (lost flash-drive)

The foundation of Byzantium
 * began in the 4th century C.E when Romans set up Eastern Capital in Constantinople
 * became most vigorous center
 * Constantine constructed elegant buildings -> Christian churches
 * built on foundation of Byzantium
 * Official language = Greek after Justinian in 6th century
 * Latin eventually became an inferior and barbaric means of communication
 * knowledge of the Greek allowed scholars to free freely in ancient Athenian philosophical and literary classics
 * empire benefited from high levels of commerce long present in Eastern Mediterranean
 * faced many foreign enemy -> Germanic tribes

The achievements of Justinian
 * Eastern emperor relied on local military base and able to generalship by the upper class
 * Justinian tried to reconquer Western half of the empire
 * his westward ambitions weakened the eastern half of the empire
 * somber, autocratic and prone to grandiose ideas
 * influenced by wife Theodora
 * aided by brilliant general Belisarius
 * new gains in north Africa and Italy
 * positive contributions to Byzantine Empire
 * built many new structures -> Hagia Sophia -> one of the wonders of the Christian world
 * codification of Roman law
 * unified law reduced confusion and also united and organized new empire, paralleling the state's bureaucracy
 * temporary capital of Ravenna was a key artistic center
 * Persian forces attacked northern Middle East
 * Justinian created new line of defense and pushed Persian forces back but Middle Eastern territory was lost
 * new tax pressures created

ESPIRIT chart up to pg 202

E  || * economy depended on Constantinople's control over the countryside S || * women held the empirical throne P || * codification of Roman law I || * Justinian tries to reconquer western half of empire -> causes eastern half to lose power || R || * population was forcibly converted to Christianity || I || * elegant buildings such as Christian churches constructed by Constantine T  || * Arab Muslims built naval fleet to challenge Byzantine's naval power
 * bureaucracy regulated trade and controlled food prices
 * developed trading network with Asia to the east and Russia and Scandinavia to the north
 * only China produced luxury goods of quality
 * large merchant class never gained political power
 * Empress Theodora (not wife of Justinian)
 * checked unruly nobles and limit bureaucratic corruption
 * Byzantine bureaucrats could be recruited from all social classes
 * large peasant class vital to supplying goods and provided bulk of tax revenues
 * unified law reduced confusion, and united and organized the new empire
 * code spread Roman legal principles to various parts of Europe
 * Justinian built **Hagia Sophia**
 * Greek became official language
 * Latin became an inferior barbaric means of communication
 * knowledge of the Greek enabled the scholars of eastern empire to read freely in ancient Athenian philosophical and literary classics and in the Hellenistic writing and scientific treaties
 * a distinct style of art developed in Byzantine (icon painting) ||
 * Greek fire created to destroy ships

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Civil Law - a codified set of laws for society to follow -> by gov't (america's) Common Law - law by precedent -> created by judges (england's) Natural Law - intinstly reconginzed by someone (finder's keeper)

Doc #1 part of law - laws + marriage everyone live in honesty, two branches public and private and nature laws gov + invid protect and care for all animals born free if your mother is slave, you are born a slave no intermarriage woman cant have 2 husbands at once no father family = sparii (at hazard in Greek)

Doc #3 (out of time to share, read doc#3)

Read 203 - 209 and answer the following questions.

1. Who were Cyril and Methodius? What did they accomplish? Cyril and Methodius were missionaries that were sent to a territory, now known as the Czech and Slovak republics, by the Byzantine government in 864. They devised a written script for the Slavic language as they continued their efforts in the Balkans and in southern Russia. to convert people to Christianity, willing to have local languages to be used in church services

2. How did events in the Middle East affect the demographics of the East Central borderlands? In the Middle East, Jews had migrated towards Eastern Europe away from intolerance received in Western Europe. Poland received the most, emphaists on culture and was isolated from the rest of the world. contained active trade industry Poland, Bohemia and Lithuania.

3. Outline the development of the Kievan Rus
 * Slavic people move into Russia and extended agriculture
 * Scandinavian traders set up gov't in city of Kiev (military superiorty)
 * A monarchy emerged under the rule of Rurik, the first prince
 * Norse traders able to trade with Byzantine and trade flourished
 * conquered west in 855
 * prospected
 * organized through alliance with regional landed aristocrats

4. What important decision was made by Vladimir I? The most important decision made by Vladimir I was to convert to Christianity. He organized mass baptisms and forced conversations using military force. Church leaders from Byzantine were also brought in to train a literate Russian priesthood. His decision to convert to Christianity helped develop a separate Russian Orthodox church. Married sister of Byzatine emperor then he took the city, wanted to drink so he created new religion

5. What were some of the major similarities and differences between Byzantium and the Kievan Rus? Similarities : -issued a formal law code that reduced the severity of punishments + placed vendettas with state-run courts -Bureaucracy and elaborate educational system (couldnt be borrowed) -disasters seen as expression of God's power -built Orthodox churches -couldnt borrow a lot, kings had a lot of power, empahsize on charity, -princes fell in love with Byzantine practice and luxuary

Differences : -emphasis on almsgiving described sense of obligation -Russian alphabet developed -art focused on along with religion very closely -Russia's religious culture developed separately from western Europe -Boyars had less political power -art focused on icon painting, churches made of stone instead of wood -free peasant farmers

6. What factors led to the decline of the Kievan Rus? The decline of the Kievan Rus began as rival princes began to set up regional governments and the royal family fighting for the throne. Russian territory had also been attacked by Asian invaders. As Byzantium began to decline, trade and wealth in Russia was reduced because they had heavily relied on Byzantium. The Kievan Rus's final blow came from two invasions that occurred. Both were from the Mongols who easily captured major Russian cities. Much of Russia under Tatar control with separated them from rest of the world.

Read and summarize the main points of "Eastern and Western Europe: The Problem of Boundaries" p.208

Defining the civilizations of Western Europe and Eastern Europe is tough due to similar characteristics between the two along with the political disputes and nationalist attachments in border territories. If the fine line were to be drawn based off the religion chosen by the "states", many eastern "states: would be considered western and the same thing applies vice versa. Politically diving the two empires would be more difficult because of regional kingdoms created by some states. Societies will either share with the West or the East part of the empire. Trade routes did not help much in the uniting of many states to form one big whole. The eastern empire is easily defined by Russian expansion which pulled parts of eastern Europe into it's grasp. The border of these two civilizations cannot be defined due invaders invading and weak control. ﻿Europe divided by religion, policital control and trade divisions, Mongol invasion showed that borders can change, 1989 -> countries regained Independence from Russia

Summary of spread of civilization in Eastern Europe

During the post-classical period, eastern Europe had been affected by Christian missionaries, new trade routes and Byzantine military activity. Before Byzantine declined, Orthodox missionaries were sent to the Balkans to convert people to their version of Christianity. Cyril **and** Methodius**, missionaries sent by the Byzantine government in 864, continued their efforts in the Balkans and southern Russia, despite failing at first. The two missionaries had created a written script for the Slavic language which allowed the possibility of literature to develop. Eastern Europe had gained a large amount of Jews who migrated from the Middle East due to intolerance. Kievan Rus was created by Scandinavian traders who set up governments along their trade routes. Prince** Vladimir I, **made a decision to convert to Christianity and organized mass baptisms and used military force to convert people. His decision to convert to Christianity helped lead to the development of a separate** Russian Orthodox **church. Kievan Rus became the largest single state in Europe and followed many things done by Byzantine, which included an elaborate education system and bureaucracy. The last of the great Kievan princes was** Yaroslav** who issued legal codification, while at the same time, built many churches and arranged for the translation of religion literature from Greek to Slavic. Kievan Rus slowly declined as rival princes began to set up regional governments and the royal family fought for the throne. Since they had relied on trade and wealth from Byzantium, when Byzantium rapidly declined, their trade and wealth also declined. Kievan Rus's decline finally came when they had been invaded twice by the Mongols, who took control of their major cities. During the Tatar rule over Eastern Europe, Russian affairs and traditions were not harmed as long as tributes were paid. Eastern Europe civilizations eventually fell into dark times because of Tatar invasions and Byzantine's collaspe.

30 words or less- summary Eastern Europe had been shaped by the creation of new religions, trade routes and Byzantine involvements. The new city of Kievan Rus was created as a result of traders settting up eastern europe developed differently than western different form of Christianity -> adoption of traditions