Byzantium Becomes the New Rome

SPLITS

• Capital = Constantinople

• Continued as the New

ROME

• Kings saw themselves to

still be considered ROMAN

emperors

Byzantine Empire

• Location picked for many reasons

– Far away from Germanic invaders

(barbarians)

– Close to connections with the East for

trade

– Protected by the Black Sea and other

water

– Easily able to defend it; could only

attack 1 way

Constantinople

Constantinople• Many famous

buildings still there

today

• Preserved Greco-

Roman culture

• Had an interesting set

up for the city

• Large walls and moats

protected it

Protective Walls of Constantinople• Walls were

used to keep invaders out or at least stall them

• Had three levels, and moats

• Archers could rain down arrows

Layout of Constantinople

Justinian• Justinian was a serious

emperor who worked

from dawn to midnight

• He helped rebuild and

re-conquer Rome

• Had ABSOLUTE

POWER = controlled

both government and

church

Byzantine Under Justinian

• He wanted a re-conquest of the

Roman territories that were lost

through Germanic invasions

Justinian’s Accomplishments• Sent Best general

Belisarius to take North

Africa from the Vandals

• 2 Years later Belisarius

took Rome back from

the Ostrogoths

• Justinian won back

nearly all the territory

Rome used to rule.

Justinian Code• Justinian set up a panel of legal

experts to look through 400 years of

Roman law.

–Some laws were outdated

–Justinian wanted to create a single,

uniform code

• This became known as the Justinian

Code that was used for 900 years

after his death

Justinian Expands Trade• The main street that

ran through

Constantinople was

called the MESE

which means

“Middle Way”

–It ran from the

imperial palace to

the outer walls

• There was a giant

open-air market

where shoppers

could buy

–Tin from England

–Wine from France

–Cork from Spain

–Ivory and gold from

Africa

Justinian Expands Trade

Byzantium Preserves Learning• Families valued education

–Sent children to

monastic or public

schools

–Hired private tutors

–Greek and Latin grammar,

philosophy and rhetoric

• They preserved Greek and

Roman great works

The Hagia Sophia• Justinians’ most splendid building

• Christian church later taken by the

Muslims

In 1054 A.D., the Orthodox Christian

Church officially split from the Roman

Catholic Church in the Great Schism