Ch 13 Byzantium Flashcards
How did the Eastern Roman Empire survive repeated attacks from invaders?
The Imperial authorities built a massive set of defense walls to shield Constaninople.
What is Caesarapapism?
A political system in which the head of the state is also the head of the church and supreme judge in religious matters.
Who was Justinian? What did he accomplish?
Justinian was emperor of the Byzantine Empireand is best remembered for his work as a legislator and codifier. During his reign, Justinian reorganized the government of the Byzantine Empire and enacted several reforms to increase accountability and reduce corruption.
Who was Belisarius? Why were his accomplishments important to the Byzantine empire? What was he trying to do?
Flavius Belisarius was Justinian I’s greatest general and is considerd to be one of the greatest Roman generals of all time. His accomplishments were important because he reclaimed the glory of Rome and helped to preserve Constantinople. He was trying to reconquer the Western Roman Empire which had been lost less than a century prior. He succeeded.
What was the Islamic threat to Byzantium? How did they attack and what was the outcome?
Muslim (Arab) forces had conquered Byzantine Syria, Palestine, Egypt, and north Africa. They wanted to continue their dominance and take over Byzantium so threatened the heart of the empire with a prolonged siege of Constantinople. Byzantium held them off with “Greek Fire”- a nasty incendiary weapon that would burn even when floating on water. As a result, the Byzantine empire retained its hold on Anatolia, Greece and the Balkan region
How was Byzantine society reorganized? What was the purpose of free peasants?
Byzantine rulers responded to the threat of Islam with some political/social adjustments which strengthened their reduced empire. Most importantly, they innovated the “theme” system where a general (appointed by the emperor) would assume responsibility for military defense and civil administration of an imperial province or “theme”. These generals recruited armies from the ranks of free peasants who received allotments of land for their military service.
Describe the growing religious and political tensions between the West and Byzantine empire
Think there’s more to this answer
Religious- Ecclesiastics (priests) within Byzantium regarded Roman Christians as poorly educated and uncouth.
Political- Visigoths, Vandus(?), Ostrogoths(?) and others forced their rule on lands that Byzantine emperors said was their inherited land (Who’s land was inherited? Byzantine or Visigoths, etc?)
How will agriculture support the cities? When will it falter?
The Byzantine countryside, and the free peasants who received allotments of land after serving in the military, produced abundant agricultural surpluses which supported urban populations and fueled the work of manufacturers. As sharecropping became popular, peasants couldn’t make enough money and were taken advantage of by large farms so agriculture began to falter
What will happen to the free peasants?
Wealthy cultivators manage to accumulate large estates as free peasantry declines so the free peasants get driven out. This diminishes the pool of military recruits.
What goods were made and traded in Constantinople?
Made: Silk textiles, glassware, linen and woolen textiles, gems, jewelry, and fine work in gold and silver
Traded: Silk and porcelain from China; spices from India and SE Asia; carpets from Persia; woolen textiles from W Europe; timber, furs, honey, amber and slaves from Russia and Scandinavia.
How is Constantinople a clearinghouse for trade? How were economics involved?
Merchants maintain direct commercial links with manufacturers and merchants of other countries. Byzantine subjects consumed some of these commodities, they redistributed most products (after levying customs duties) often after adding to their value by further processing i.e. dyeing raw woolen cloth from W Europe and fashioning jewelry out of gems from India.
Banks and businesses helped fuel Byzantine trade with loans.
Describe Constantinople urban life
Constantinople had no rival among other cosmopolitan Byzantine cities. It was referred to as “The City” and urban life was very rich, fancy, wealthy, people were “livin good”. The heart of the city was the Imperial Palace which employed twenty thousand workers as staff. Peacocks strutted through gardens filled with statues and fountains. Most famous of them was a gold fountain that spouted wine for imperial guests.
Fine line between poor and wealthy. If you were poor, you were REALLY poor.
How did Greek influence Byzantium specifically in language and education?
Language: Greek replaces Latin as the language of government in the Byzantine empire. Also started having church services in Greek
Education: Byzantine offered primary education in reading, writing and followed by studying of classical Greek literature, philosophy and science.
Why was the emperor involved in the Byzantine church?
Byzantine emperors followed the tradition of caesaropapism and treated the church as a department of state. They appointed the patriarchs, instructing them to deliver sermons that supported imperial policy and encouraged obedience to imperial authorities. Emperors believed this would give more control over society.
From notes: Banned teaching of Pagan philosophy in Athens
How was the emperor’s involvement different from the church in the west (Rome)?
The western Christian church had little to no imperial involvement so was much more independent than the eastern Christian church based at Constantinople.
From notes: Had close relationship with imperial gov
What was the Council of Nicaea?
The Council of Nicaea was the first council in the history of the Christian church (made up of bishops,spokesmen and leaders from important churches) that was intended to address the entire body of believers. It was convened by the emperor Constantine to resolve the controversy of Arianism, a doctrine that held that Christ was not divine but was a created being
What is Monasticism?
Monasticism is when a person dedicates his or her life to a pursuit of contemplative ideals and practices extreme self-denial or self-mortification for religious reasons in a monastery. It was an ever-present feature of the Byzantine empire. Monasteries became powerful landowners and a voice to be listened to in imperial politics.
What was the Great Schism of 1054?
Byzantine patriarchs and Roman popes dispute their respective rights and power. Popes think they should be the only authority for ALL of Christendom. Patriarchs argue that all major Christian jurisdictions should be self-ruled. Patriarchs and popes mutually excommunicate each other and refuse to recognize one another’s church as properly Christian to this day.
