Western Civilization I
Professor Knight
Outline 12.5

The Empire of Byzantium

Constantinople: Capital of Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire
Emperor Theodosius (408-450)
	Fortifies Constantinople
	Codifies Roman Law
Emperor Justinian (527-565)
	Empress Theodora—wife, chief advisor.
	Wars to restore Roman Empire
	Lombards (German Tribe) invade Northern Italy in wake of wars
	Justinian Code
		Definitive codification of Roman law
	St. Sophia’s Cathedral (Hagia Sophia)
Political Ideology of Byzantium
	Autocracy
	Weak Aristocracy
	Strong Bureaucracy
		Eunuchs
	Military rooted in countryside—farmer-soldiers
Religious Affairs—Eastern Orthodox Christianity
	Schism (Split) with Rome 
	Councils
	Patriarchs: Rulers of the Church
	Ornate church liturgy
Monasticism
	St. Antony of Egypt (c. 250AD)
	Wave of Hermits, Recluses
	St. Benedict (Western Christianity), St. Basil (Eastern Christianity)
		Issue rules for monasticism
	Monastic opposition
		Monophysites
		Council of Chalcedon (451)
	Controversy over Icons (Iconoclasts)
		Emperor Leo III (717-741)
		Empress Theodora restores veneration of icons—843