background to the crusades

Question 1

Papacy

Answer 1

• pope saw himself as successor of St. peter (reportedly handed keys to heaven by christ, giving legitimacy to popes claim to leadership of the church on earth)
• roman empire to christianity (AD 313)
• pope began to see himself as the most important of all bishops in christian world
• most people in the west accepted this —> Byzantines did not
• believed he was not restricted to a kingdom like a secular ruler

Question 2

Christendom

Answer 2

• lands inhabiting christian’s
• stretched from western Europe towards Poland + croatia
• east —> Byzantines did not accept spiritual authority of pope
• orthodox church dominated

Question 3

byzantine Empire

Answer 3

AD 330 constantine the great moved capital of roman empire to byzantium, on the black sea —> separated Europe from Asia Minor

shifted power in roman empire from Rome —> byzantium

byzantines referred to themselves as Romans
did not accept authority of the pope
1054 the great schism

1095 byzantium territory had been eroded greatly by the rising power of Islam