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media type="custom" key="29532441" align="right" =Describe the rise and achievements of the Byzantine Empire=
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Topics on the Page

 * A. The influence of Constantine, including the establishment of Christianity as an officially sanctioned religion. **
 * B. The importance of Justinian and the Code of Justinian **
 * **The Plague of Justinian, 541-542 **
 * See Dramatic Event Page on **The 1918 Influenza Pandemic**
 * ** Empress Theodora **
 * C. The preservation of Greek and Roman traditions **
 * D. The construction of the Church of the Holy Wisdom (Hagia Sophia). **
 * ** Empress Irene **

Click here for an

==//**Focus Question: How did the Byzantine Empire develop and what were its major achievement**////**s?**//==

The Byzantine Empire was in fact the Eastern half of the Roman Empire, and its citizens referred to themselves as Roman from the founding of Constantinople in 323 to the fall of the city eleven centuries later.

"Byzantium's greatest emperor, Justinian, gave us Roman law--the basis for most European legal systems even today--its artisans gave us the brilliant mosaics of Ravenna and the supreme triumph of Hagia Sophia, and its scholars gave us the dazzling Greek and Latin classics that the Dark Ages nearly extinguished in the West." Lars Brownworth, //Lost to the West: The Forgotten Byzantine Empire That Rescued Western Civilization// (Crown Publishers, 2009, p. xiv-xv).

The Byzantine Empire was a dominant power in the Mediterranean region between the years 330 and 1453.
 * The Byzantine Empire began as the Eastern branch of the Roman Empire.
 * During the middle ages, it developed into an entity in and of itself controlling much of what were once the Roman Empire’s Eastern territories.

Link to 12 ByzantineRulers to listen to podcasts about the history of Byzantine Empire

Here is a resource page from the History Channel about the [|Byzantine Empire]

Byzantium (330-1453 from Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History


 * Map of the city of Constantinople to the right: **

A. The influence of Constantine and the establishment of Christianity
Constantine gained control of the western part of the Roman empire after defeating his brother-in-law, and co-emperor, Maxentius.
 * Once he became the sole power in the west, along with Licinius in the East, the process of Christianization began in the empire.
 * In the **Edict of Milan(1313 AD)** which was issued by both Constantine and Licinius, civil rights and toleration were granted to Christians throughout the empire.
 * Striving for more land and power, Constantine defeated Licinius in 323 and was the ruler of the entire Roman world.
 * The capital of this new empire was Byzantium, and was re-founded as the “new Rome”. Constantine in 330. Constantine changed the name of the capital to Constantinople, known as the city of Constantine.

Constantine's conversion to Christianity, as recorded by Eusebius, occurred after a prayer for military success was believed to be answered. After his rise to power life for Christians changed.

Constantine felt that church and state should be as closely related as possible, which meant a dramatic boom in the popularity of Christianity.

Followers of the faith no longer had to fear persecution, and many Christian leaders experienced the generosity of the emperor.

Constantine also helped promote the faith by making Sunday an official Roman holiday and exempting churches from taxes.

For a video on the Emperor Justinian, click here

The donation of Constantine is known as one of history's greatest frauds. In this document, Constantine supposedly gave control of Rome and the western part of the Roman Empire to the Pope. It was used by the papacy to assert political control. Lorenzo Valla proved it to be false in the Renaissance period in his writing "Discourse on the Forgery of the Alleged Donation of Constantine".

For background information on the development of Christianity, watch this video [|Roman Emperor Interactive Game] For Byzantine Empire study games, quizzes, and flashcards, click here

B. The Importance of Justinian and the Code of Justinian
During the years 527 – 565 AD, the emperor Justinian came to power. Justinian was committed to reestablishing the Roman Empire in the ancient world. He was responsible for reuniting the Western part of the empire with the East. To see an annotated version of the Justinian Code, click here
 * His regime successfully conquered Italy, parts of Spain, North Africa, Asia Minor, Palestine, and Syria. He is often known for his numerous works within the empire, such as, "military triumphs, legal work, ecclesiastical polity, and architecturalactivity."
 * Justinian successfully completed major public works projects (building bridges, bath houses, beautiful churches etc) and rebuilt the city of Constantinople. Justinian was responsible for many of the advances of the Byzantine Empire.
 * He was also responsible for the codification of Roman law, the Justinian Code, which became the basis of official law in the region. This code provided strict and ultimate laws that were to be followed by the kingdom.

The Justinian Code was made up of four parts. 1. **The Codex** 2.**The Institutes** 3.**The Digest** 4.**The Novels**
 * This part of the Code was made to make Christianity the sole religion of the empire.
 * The provisions made under this section eventually united the Church and state. Anyone who was not Christian could not be a citizen.
 * This section was used as a textbook in law for students and lawyers.
 * This part was used as a casebook with information on many trials and decisions. It could be used to help judges, and was essentially a summary of the common law already in place.
 * This was the section that had new proposed laws.

For a brief video on the Justinian Code, click here Detailed account of the Justinian Code, [|click here] For information on the rise of Justinian and Theodora, click here

**The Plague of Justinian, 541-542 **

 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Image to the right show St. Sebastian pleading for the life of a gravedigger afflicted with the plague during the Plague of Justinian. Unknown artist **


 * [|Three Major Plague Pandemics] from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention


 * An Empire's Epidemic, UCLA Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health


 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">[|The Death Toll of Justinian's Plague and its Effects on the Byzantine Empire]


 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">[|Two of History's Deadliest Plagues Were Linked, with Implications for Another Outbreak], National Geographic (January 31, 2014)



Empress Theodora
Click here for information on Empress Theodora and her influence on the expansion of women's rights.

**C. The preservation of Greek and Roman traditions**
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"When the Roman Empire in the West collapsed in 476, many libraries and places of learning were destroyed in the chaos and much of the knowledge that had been gained under the Greek and Roman civilizations was lost. However the eastern half of the Roman Empire, the Byzantine, survived.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">As a result the Byzantine served to preserve much of the Greek and Roman advancements for Western Europe. 11]"
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">One of the most widely known preservation of the empire was the Justinian Code. In fact, after the code was deciphered, they lasted throughout history, and are even used as a guide for today's legal structure in places like the U.S.
 * Rome continued to be influenced by Greek philosophy, art, architecture, and poetry among others.
 * Well educated Romans learned and spoke Greek as it became an important symbol of ones status.
 * As a result Greece culture (including the language and customs) remained largely untouched considering the 500 years of Roman rule.
 * `Unlike the Western Empire where Rome's lasting influence would be most felt in the Romance languages (Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Romanian), within a few hundreds years after the fall of the Western Empire Greek would replace Latin as the administrative language, this combined with the growth and influence of Christianity would reduce that of Classical Rome throughout the Empire.

Read about how the Byzantine empire continued Greek historiography, here!

D. Construction of the Church of Holy Wisdom (Hagia Sophia)
The original Hagia Sophia, originally named Megale Ekklesia (Great Church), was built by Constantine the Great.
 * Unfortunately, it was destroyed during the 404 riots, and was rebuilt in 415 by Emperor Theodosius II.
 * However, in a revolt in 532, the church was again destroyed.
 * The Hagia Sophia was rebuilt to the form we see today by Justinian I between 532 and 537. With its complex design, the cathedral is representative of Byzantine architecture .[|[4]]

Click here to take a virtual tour of Hagia Sophia

Click here for an article explaining the importance and history of the Hagia Sophia

For more information on women's religious roles in the Byzantine empire, read Holy Women of Byzantium by Alice-Mary Talbot

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 * Click here for an extensive Lesson Plan 'Inside the Byzantine Empire'

**Empress Irene**
[|Empress Irene: Byzantium at the Terminus of the Silk Road]

[|Empress Irene: Close-Up, Hagia Sophia]

For information about East African influences on the Byzantine Empire, click here
 * East African Influences on the Byzantine Empire**

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/87186/Byzantine-Empire
 * References**

[1]Vasilief, Al. (1928). The Foundation of Constantinople. Retrieved February 15, 2007, from A Brief History of the Byzantine Empire Web site: http://www.ellopos.net/elpenor/vasilief/foundation-of-constantinople.asp

[2]Funk & Wagnalls, (2006). Justinian I. Retrieved February 15, 2007, from History Channel Web site: http://www.history.com/encyclopedia.do?articleId=213474

[3] Fader, Hallie (2004). Justinian Code. Retrieved February 15, 2007, from ORIAS - UC Berkeley Web site: http://ias.berkeley.edu/orias/summer2004/summer2004JustinianCode.htm

[4] Epiphany Byzantine Catholic Church, (2005). The Hagia Sophia. Retrieved February 15, 2007, from Byzantines.Net Web site: http://www.byzantines.net/epiphany/hagiasophia.htm

[5] Mango, Cyril (1980). Mango Byzantium: The Empire of New Rome. Retrieved February 15, 2007, from Fordham Web site: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/med/mango.html

[6] http://www.diigo.com/bookmark/http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thenagain.info%2FWebChron%2Feasteurope%2FConstantineConverts.html?tab=comment

[7] http://www.diigo.com/bookmark/http%3A%2F%2Fwww.historyguide.org%2Fancient%2Fconstantine.html?tab=comment

[8] http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08578b.htm

[9] http://www.diigo.com/bookmark/http%3A%2F%2Fcontract-law.laws.com%2Fjustinian-code?tab=comment

[10] http://www.canadianlawsite.ca/JustinianCode.htm

[11] http://www.diigo.com/bookmark/http%3A%2F%2Fwww.metmuseum.org%2Ftoah%2Fhd%2Fhaso%2Fhd_haso.htm?tab=comment