IDs+Byzantine

The Byzantine Empire is thought to have begun in the 4th century when the Romans established the capital Constantinople in the east. Constantinople was built upon the remnants of the small town Byzantium and profited off a solid tax base from peasant agriculture while fighting off the Huns. Constantinople ruled the Balkan peninsula, the northern Middle East, the Mediterranean coast, and North Africa. Though the court language was Latin, Greek became the official language during the rule of Justinian in the 6th century. Constantinople was significant because it served as a center for intellectual, political, and cultural development for the Byzantine Empire.
 * IDs for Byzantine History by Sammy Karon and Melanie Luikart**
 * 1. Constantinople (Stearns 307)**

Justinian ruled as emperor of the Byzantine Empire from 527-565. He had many big ideas that he put into action during his reign, and those ideas brought both positive and negative impacts to the empire. Justinian's positive contributions were that he rebuilt Constantinople (adding the great church Hagia Sophia), unified Roman law for the whole empire, expanded the territorial extent of the empire, and fought off outside threats. Justinian's made negative impacts on Byzantine history when he tried to reconquer western territory (with aid of general Belisarius), because even though the boundaries of the empire were secure, and though he made new gains in North Africa and Italy, the new holdings were taken away by Germanic pressures. His westward expansion made the empire weaker and Persians and Slavs attacked, though he was able to defend the Byzantine. All of these wars caused new tax pressures which attributed to his death in 565 CE. The changes issued by Justinian during his reign as emperor both improved and weakened the Byzantine Empire, making him significant.
 * 2. Justinian (Stearns 307-308, 309-310)**

The split between eastern and western versions of Christianity can be explained by Byzantine culture and politics. CAUSES: -The different rituals between the two served as a cause of conflict, like when the Western church translated the Greek bible into Latin in the 4th century. -Byzantine emperors resented the western church because of the pope’s moves to make the Eastern Church conform to western state-church policies. -Because the East recognized the Pope as their head of church but he had no jurisdiction over western religious policies, there was a conflict of power over the church. EFFECTS: -The pope was the main ruler in the West but in Byzantine church the state was stronger than the religious leader -Different religious art styles between the East and West -Roman (eastern) pope banished the patriarch and his followers and the orthodox (western) patriarch did the same to the pope -East was Orthodox, Catholic west was Roman Catholic -Contact continued between east and west because a common Christianity was shared, but the divisions changed the patterns of development for the two civilizations that followed.
 * 3. Schism (Stearns 311-312)**

Belisarius was the army general who aided Justinian on his western European conquests, which in the beginning captured north Africa and Italy. But due to Germanic pressure, the African territory was lost. The conquests were overall a negative point of Justinian’s rule because territory was lost and new Germanic, Slavic, and Persian pressures were allowed to weaken the Byzantine Empire, as well as forced tax increases. The Byzantine army was like that of the Roman army: troops were recruited locally and soldiers were promised land for their service that would be passed down through sons who joined the army. Outsiders like Slavs and Armenian Christians were also recruited, and the hereditary military leaders gained regional power and took the place of better educated aristocrats. Until the 15th century, the Byzantine army was able to protect Europe from the Persians, Arabs, and Turks.
 * 4. Belisarius (Stearns 307-308)**

-Theodora was the wife (courtesan) of Byzantine emperor Justinian who encouraged his plans for expansion. -She was strong and demonstrated the complex nature of Byzantine politics for women. -After a rebellion over an emperor, Theodora and her sister Zoe were jointly appointed empresses. -As empress Theodora checked unruly nobles and limited bureaucratic corruption. She retaliated against her enemies, which she gained criticism for.
 * 5. Theodora (Stearns 307)**