08 The Byzantine Empire, Kievan Russia, and the Mongols Flashcards
Cyril and Methodius
brothers who converted Slavs to Christianity; also created the Cyrillic alphabet
dowry
money or goods a woman brought to her husband upon marriage
excommunication
official edict that bars a person from church membership and from taking part in any church ceremonies
Greek fire
flammable liquid used to set enemy ships on fire by the Byzantine navy
Hagia Sophia
magnificent church in Constantinople built by Justinian, begun in AD 532
heresy
opinion that conflicted with church doctrine
iconoclastic controversy
argument between supporters and opponents of icons
iconoclasts
Byzantines who felt that the presence of icons was idol worship and should be suppressed
icons
small religious pictures set up in a church or home, or carried on a journey as aids to worship
Justinian
Byzantine emperor in the 500s who revived culture and recaptured much of the old Roman Empire
mosaics
pictures or designs made of inlaid pieces of stone, glass, or enamel
Ottoman Turks
people who captured Constantinople in 1453, bringing an end to the Byzantine Empire
patriarchs
bishops of the five administrative centers for the church in the last years of the Roman Empire
Theodora
Justinian’s wife and former actress, who encouraged reforms to improve the status of women
Constantinople
ancient city in the European part of Turkey, once the capital of the Byzantine Empire; sacked by crusaders in 1204; seized by invaders in 1453; now known as Istanbul
Bosporus
narrow straits in Turkey that link the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmara
steppe
vast, grassy, largely treeless plain in southeastern Europe and southern Central Asia
boyars
members of the social class of nobles in Kievan society
Pravda Russkaia
law code in Kievan Russia
metropolitan
chief bishop of the Kievan church
taiga
forest zone in northern region of Kievan Russia
Rurik
military leader and first king of the Rus
Rus
region and people ruled by Rurik
Yaroslav the Wise
Kievan ruler in the 1000s who issued Russia’s first law code
Vladimir I
Kievan ruler in the late 900s who brought Christianity to Russia
Ural Mountains
mountain range running north to south through Russia and Kazakhstan; considered the boundary between the European and Asian continents
Baltic Sea
body of water east of the North Sea and Scandinavia
Dnieper River
major river in Ukraine that empties into the Black Sea
Black Sea
inland sea between Europe and Asia; connected to the Aegean Sea and, thence, the Mediterranean Sea
Volga River
Europe’s longest river; located in west central Russia
Kiev
city on the Dnieper River; served as the capital of Russia from about 882 to 1169; now the capital of Ukraine
czar
Russian word for “caesar”
third Rome
Russian Orthodox interpretation of their leading role in bringing spiritual light to the world
Polovtsians
Turkish peoples who raided and came to control the region south of Kiev
Ivan III
leader who overthrew Mongol rule and became Russia’s first ruler
Ivan IV
Russian czar who established the foundations of the state
Lithuania
Baltic country made a territory of the Soviet Union in 1939; gained independence in 1990
Poland
Eastern Europe’s largest and most populous country; invaded by Germany at the beginning of WWII; under communist rule until 1989
Moscow
capital of Russia; formerly the capital of the Soviet Union; site of major defeat of Napoleon’s army in 1812
