10i Byzantines
- 1. The Byzantine Empire 300 AD - 1500 AD
- 2. In 395, the Roman Empire was split by warfare and barbarian attacks. The eastern portion was centered around Constantinople between the Black and Mediterranean Seas.
- 5. The Byzantine Empire was a true international empire , joining the Balkans, Asia Minor, North Africa, Syria and had Arabs, Jews, Christians, Slavs, and Turks. It was a “multi-ethnic Christian state.”
- 6. The Byzantine Empire had: The Eastern Orthodox Church Greek as a language A strong military A diverse population
- 7. Constantinople itself was highly defensible. 1. Sat on a peninsula with water on 3 sides. 2. Only one land access. Build several large walls. 3. Good access to resources in a siege.
- 10. Byzantine religion was complex and a part of everyone’s daily life. Several religious controversies were a source of great debate in the empire.
- 11. In the 700’s, John of Damascus led a movement called Iconoclasm . This was a belief that Icons (pictures and images of Jesus and Saints) could be worshiped, venerated, and held as a source of holy power.
- 12. Icon of Mary and Jesus
- 13. Many theologians disagreed. Emperor Leo III declared that Iconoclasm was not legal in 726.
- 14. Icon of the Crucifixion of Jesus.
- 15. Ad Sanctos burial was debated, too. This is “burial with the Saints.” There was a belief that if you were buried near a Saint, then you would get to heaven first (go when they do.)
- 16. This created a market demand for Saints relics and bones (ick!). Many churches put a Saint’s bone in the altar.
- 17. The Byzantine emperors were active in sending missionaries throughout the world. Oddly, this was the work of the emperors, not the Church.
- 18. Sometimes, a foreign ruler would ask the Byzantines for a missionary! Ratislav of Moravia asked Michael III of Constantinople to send one, but the Moravians had no alphabet, so how could they use the Bible?
- 19. Cyril was sent to solve this problem and came up with the Cyrillic alphabet , which most Slavic countries still use today.
- 20. Why the Emperor, not the Church? 1. Control contact with foreigners. 2. Control the content of the message. 3. Pick the missionaries. 4. Expression of power over the Church.
- 21. As time has passed, we see that the Byzantine Empire was: 1. A major world culture. 2. The medieval continuation of the Greek and Roman states. 3. Culturally diverse. 4. Religiously active. 5. Strategically important.