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Byzantine Empire & Russia. Heir to the Roman Empire. strong government and military prosperous economy center of Hellenistic culture ruled by an autocrat - sole ruler with complete authority over government, economy, and religion. Constantinople ~ capital. richest city in Europe - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
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BYZANTINE EMPIRE& RUSSIA
Heir to the Roman Empire
strong government and military
prosperous economy
center of Hellenistic culture
ruled by an autocrat - sole ruler with complete authority over government, economy, and religion
Constantinople ~ capital
richest city in Europe
center of trade great location on
the shores of the Bosporus Strait
church of Hagia Sophia
Justinian ~ ruled 527-565
empire reached its peak under his reign
Code of Laws - summarized all Roman law
Theodora - wife of Justinian took an active role
in politics worked to protect
women’s rights
Decline
struggles over succession, court intrigues, constant wars
4th Crusade - burned and plundered Constantinople in 1204
1453 - Ottoman Turks captured the city and renamed it Istanbul
Russia
ethnic background: Slavs and Vikings
“Apostles to the Slavs” - Greek monks: Cyril and Methodius
converted the Slavs to Christianity around 863
created Cyrillic alphabet to translate Bible into Slavic languages
Kiev
first Russian city influenced by
Byzantine Empire
988 - Russians ordered to abandon Slavic gods for Eastern Orthodox
Mongols
ruled Russia for 240 years (1240-1480)
tolerant rulers who demanded heavy tribute
forced Russian princes to acknowledge them as overlords
absolute power of Mongols was a model for Russian rulers
cut Russia off from contact with Western Europe
Rise of Moscow
princes of Moscow defeated the Mongols
Moscow became spiritual capital of Russian Orthodox Church
Ivan III ~ the Great
ruled 1462-1505 founder of modern
Russia took the title of czar 1480 refused to pay
tribute to Mongols = final break
limited power of nobles
married niece of Byz. emperor & adopted Byz. court rituals
Ivan IV ~ the Terrible
ruled 1533-1584 introduced laws
binding the serfs to the land
established a tradition of “extreme absolute power”
1500s - renewed contact with Western Europe
Eastern Europe
mix of ethnic groups (share common language and culture) Slavs, Asians,
Vikings, Germanics mix of religion:
Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodox, Islam, and Judaism
during Middle Ages, Eastern Europe was a land of little kingdoms