IN THIS UNIT YOU WILL

LEARN WHY THE ROMAN EMPIRE ENDED

IDENTIFY THE MAIN CHARACTERISTICS
OF THE BYZANTINE EMPIRE
UNDERSTAND THE ORGANISATION AND
EVOLUTION OF THE BYZANTINE CHURCH
AND RELIGIOUS ART
LEARN ABOUT THE ORIGINS AND
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE CAROLINGIAN
EMPIRE
MOST HISTORIANS DATE THE END
OF ANCIENT HISTORY AND THE
BEGINNING OF THE MIDDLE AGES
TO 476, WITH THE FALL OF THE
WESTERN ROMAN EMPIRE
THE ROMANS HAD CREATED A
GREAT EMPIRE AROUND THE
MEDITERRANEAN SEA
IN 395 EMPEROR THEODOSIUS
DIVIDED THE EMPIRE INTO TWO
PARTS
THE EASTERN ROMAN
EMPIRE, LATER KNOWN AS
THE BYZANTINE EMPIRE,
LASTED UNTIL 1453
THE WESTERN ROMAN
EMPIRE FELL AS A RESULT OF
THE INVASIONS OF GERMANIC
TRIBES
Jonh Green video about the fall of
the Roman Empire and the
beginning of Byzantium (15)
GERMANIC TRIBES
SETTLED INSIDE THE
FRONTIERS OF THE
ROMAN EMPIRE AS ITS
POLITICAL AND
MILITARY AUTHORITY
WEAKENED
DURING THE 5TH
AND 6TH
CENTURIES, SOME
OF THOSE
INVADER TRIBES
FORMED
KINGDOMS,
WHICH
SOMETIMES
BECAME THE
PRECURSORS OF
LATER EUROPEAN
STATES.
AMONG THE
MOST IMPORTANT
WERE THE FRANKS
IN GAUL AND THE
VISIGOTHS IN
HISPANIA
THE ECONOMY AND SOCIETY OF EUROPE
CHANGED UNTIL IT WAS BASED ALMOST
ENTIRELY ON THE USE OF THE LAND. WE
CALL THIS PROCESS
THE RURALISATION
OF EUROPE
THE UPPER CLASSES DID
NOT LIVE IN THE CITIES ANY
MORE
LITTLE BY LITTLE THE LOWER
SOCIAL GROUPS (COLONI) ENDED
UP WORKING FOR THE LORDS
AND BECAME SERFS (TIED TO THE
PIECE OF LAND)
IN THE SIXTH CENTURY A NEW
RELIGION EMERGED THAT
FOLLOWED THE TEACHINGS OF
MUHAMMAD
IN THE NEXT CENTURY, THE
MUSLIMS, FOLLOWERS OF THIS
RELIGION, CONQUERED A
NUMBER OF TERRITORIES THAT
HAD BEEN PART OF THE EASTERN
AND WESTERN ROMAN EMPIRES
THE BIZANTINES
(EAST)
THE CATHOLIC
CHRISTIANS
(WEST)
THE MUSLIMS
(EAST AND
SOUTH)
THUS, THREE
CIVILISATIONS BEGAN TO
FIGHT FOR A SHARE OF
THE TERRITORIES THAT
ONCE CONSTITUTED THE
ROMAN EMPIRE
AFTER THE FALL OF THE ROMAN WESTERN EMPIRE, THE
EASTERN PART, BYZANTIUM SURVIVED AND MANAGED TO
KEEP THE IDEALS AND TRADITIONS OF THE ROMAN
EMPIRE ALIVE FOR MORE THAN A THOUSAND YEARS
THE CAPITAL WAS
ESTABLISHED IN
CONSTANTINOPLE
IT HAD BEEN FOUNDED BY THE ROMAN
EMPEROR CONSTANTINE IN THE YEAR 324.
THE CITY WAS ON THE SITE OF A GREEK
COLONY CALLED BYZANTIUM, WHICH GAVE
ITS NAME TO THE EMPIRE
THE CITY IS
NOW
CALLED
ISTANBUL
WHEN THE EASTERN
PART OF THE ROMAN
EMPIRE WAS DIVIDED
FROM THE WESTERN
PART, ITS TERRITORIES
SUFFERED MANY
ATTACKS ON ITS
FRONTIERES
BALKANS
GREECE ASIA
MINOR
SYRIA
EGYPT
1
DURING THE 5TH
CENTURY IT RESISTED
ATTACKS FROM
BARBARIANS
(FOREIGNERS)
2
INT THE 7TH CENTURY
THE MUSLIMS
CONQUERED THE
RICHEST PROVINCES OF
THE BE (SYRIA,
PALESTINE AND EGYPT)
4
DURING THE 6TH
CENTURY, IT GREW
MORE THAN EVER
UNDER EMPEROR
JUSTINIAN (527-565)
WHO TRIED TO
ESTABLISH THE UNITY
AND SPLENDOUR OF
THE ROMAN EMPIRE
3
THE GREATEST LOSS
TOOK PLACE DURING
THE 11TH WHEN THE
NORMANS INVADED
THE ITALIAN
TERRITORIES AND THE
CRUSADERS
CAPTURED SOME OF
THE TERRITORIES IN
THE EAST
5
FINALLY, THE CONQUEST
OF CONSTANTINOPLE BY
THE TURKS IN 1453
MARKED THE END OF
THE EMPIRE
6
BYZANTIUM WAS A
THEOCRACY, SO THE
EMPEROR HAD BOTH
POLITICAL AND
RELIGIOUS POWER,
INCLUDING THE ARMY
THE EMPIRE WAS CONTROLLED BY
THE EMPEROR, OR BASILEUS, WHO
HELD THE SUPREME AUTHORITY
THE EMPIRE WAS DIVIDED
INTO PROVINCES, CALLED
THEMATA, THAT WERE
CONTROLLED BY MILITARY
GOVERNORS, CALLED
STRATEGOS
THE ROMAN LEGAL SYSTEM WAS
MODERNISED BY EMPEROR
JUSTINIAN AND IT WAS THE BASIS
FOR ITS LEGAL CODE: THE CORPUS
IURIS CIVILIS, ALSO KNOWN AS
HOWEVER, SUCH A LARGE
EMPIRE ALSO REQUIRED
LOTS OF CIVIL SERVANTS
TO APPLY THE LAWS
THE JUSTINIAN
CODE
MOST OF THE POPULATION
WORKED IN AGRICULTURAL
ACTIVITIES BUT, WHILE THE
FARMERS WERE MOSTLY SERFS
AND SLAVES, THE LAND WAS
OWNED BY NOBLES AND THE
MONASTERIES
TRADE WAS ALSO VERY
IMPORTANT BECAUSE OF THE
STRATEGIC LOCATION OF
CONSTANTINOPLE. IT WAS
BETWEEN EUROPE AND ASIA,
THE MEDITERRANEAN AND THE
BLACK SEA
SILK FROM
CHINA
SPICES, IVORY
AND PEARLS
FROM INDIA
AMBER, FURS AND
GRAIN FROM
NORTHERN EUROPE
SO, ALL TYPES OF
PRODUCTS WERE
TRADED
HOWEVER, IT ALSO HAD TO
CONFRONT MANY PROBLEMS
SUCH AS:
THE ICONOCLASTIC CONTROVERSY
THE EAST-WEST SCHISM
THE CHURCH HAD A VERY
IMPORTANT ROLE IN SOCIETY, IT
CROWNED THE EMPEROR, IT WAS
VERY RICH AND POWERFUL
LANDOWNER, AND IT HAD
ENJOYED SPIRITUAL AUTHORITY
OVER THE POPULATION
THERE WERE TWO PERIODS OF
ICONOCLASM (8TH AND 9TH CENTURIES)
WHEN BYZANTINE EMPERORS
ORDERED IMAGES TO BE REMOVED
FROM THE TEMPLES
FROM THE GREEK
THE BREAKING OF
IMAGES
ICONOCLASM
IT BANNED REPRESENTATIONS
OF CHRIST, GOD OR SAINTS AS
IMAGES OR, FROM USING
THEM FOR CULT WORSHIP
THESE LAWS CAUSED RIOTS AND
FIGHTS BETWEEN THE MONKS AND
THE RULING CLASS, AND ALSO
AMONG THE POPULATION, UNTIL
FINALLY THE REPRESENTATION OF
IMAGES WAS RE-ESTABLISHED
IT WAS A CONSEQUENCE OF THE
RIVALRY BETWEEN THE POPE IN ROME
AND THE PATRIARCH IN
CONSTANTINOPLE, WHO REFUSED TO
RECOGNISE THE SUPREMACY OF THE
POPE OVER CHRISTIANITY
OR SPLIT
SCHISM
THE
ORTHODOX
CHRISTIAN
CHURCH
THE CATHOLIC
CHRISTIAN
CHURCH
THE CONFRONTATION ENDED IN 1054
WHIT THE DIVISION OF THE CHURCH
INTO TWO INDEPENDENT BRANCHES
THE BIZANTINE CHURCH
ALSO PLAYED AN
IMPORTANT ROLE IN
SPREADIG CHRISTIANITY
AMONG THE SLAVIC
PEOPLES OF EASTERN
EUROPE. BIZANTINE MONKS
INVENTED THE CYRILLIC
SCRIPT TO TRANSLATE THE
BIBLE INTO SLAVIC
LANGUAGES. IT IS STILL THE
ALPHABET OF LANGUAGES
LIKE RUSSIAN, BULGA IAN
AND SERBIAN TODAY
BYZANTINE CIVILISATION WAS A MIXTURE OF GREEK, ROMAN AND
EASTERN CULTURE. GREEK INFLUENCE WAS ESPECIALLY STRONG, AND
THE EMPIRES OFFICIAL LANGUAGE WAS GREEK.
GREAT LIBRARIES KEPT MANUSCRIPTS OF ANCIENT GREEK AND
ROMAN TEXTS THAT WERE UNKNOWN IN THE WEST. IN THIS WAY, THE
ACHIEVEMENTS OF CLASSICAL LITERATURE AND PHILOSOPHY WERE
KEPT ALIVE
BYZANTINE ART DEVELOPED FROM THE ART OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE
AND INCORPORATED INFLUENCES FORM ORIENTAL ART
THE MOST NOTABLE BUILDINGS OF BYZANTINE ARCHITECTURE ARE THE
CHURCHES AND, AMONG THEM, THE CHURCH OF HAGIA SOPHIA IN
CONSTANTINOPLE WAS A MASTERPICE OF THIS ART
BUILT BY ORDER
OF CONSTANTINE
IN THE 6TH
CENTURY
H
THE GREEK CROSS PLAN WITH FOUR NAVES OF EQUAL SIZE
CHURCHES WERE OFTEN BUILT WITH BRICK,
OCCASIONALLY COVERED WITH MARBLE ON THE OUTSIDE AND
DECORATED WITH RICH MOSAICS INSIDE
LARGE DOMES RESTING ON PILLARS
MOSAICS DECORATED THE WALLS AND THE DOMES INSIDE THE
CHURCHES. THEY WERE MADE WITH SMALL, COLOURED PIECES OF
CERAMIC. THEY COMMONLY REPRESENTED RELIGIOUS THEMES
SOME OF THE MOST IMPORTANT MOSAICS ARE IN SAN VITALE IN
RAVENNA DEPICTING EMPEROR JUSTINIAN AND HIS WIFE THEODORA
ICONS ARE RELIGIOUS IMAGES: THEY WERE USUALLY PAINTED ON A
WOODEN SURFACE AND GOLD PAINT WAS USED TO REPRESENT THE
RADIANCE OF HEAVEN
H
THE GREEK CROSS PLAN WITH FOUR NAVES OF EQUAL SIZE
HAGIA SOPHIAS PLAN
CENTRAL NAVE
SIDE NAVE
SIDE NAVE
ATRIUM
APSE
CENTRAL DOME
SIDE DOMES
CHURCHES WERE OFTEN BUILT WITH BRICK,
OCCASIONALLY COVERED WITH MARBLE ON THE OUTSIDE AND
DECORATED WITH RICH MOSAICS INSIDE
SAN VITAL DI RAVENA
LARGE DOMES RESTING ON PILLARS
Hagia Sophia interior: dome, pendentives and half domes
CAPITALS WERE ORIGINAL AND CHARACTERISTIC
HAGIA SOPHIA
Central dome
Arch
Half dome
Pendentive
Windows
Upper floor or gallery
Buttresses
Atrium
Central Nave
Side Nave
Apse
HAGIA SOPHIA
HALF DOME
MOSAICS DECORATED THE WALLS AND THE DOMES INSIDE THE CHURCHES.
THEY WERE MADE WITH SMALL, COLOURED PIECES OF CERAMIC. THEY
COMMONLY REPRESENTED RELIGIOUS THEMES
SOME OF THE MOST IMPORTANT MOSAICS ARE IN SAN VITALE IN RAVENNA
DEPICTING EMPEROR JUSTINIAN AND HIS WIFE THEODORA
ICONS ARE RELIGIOUS IMAGES: THEY WERE USUALLY PAINTED ON A
WOODEN SURFACE AND GOLD PAINT WAS USED TO REPRESENT THE
RADIANCE OF HEAVEN
AFTER THE ROMAN EMPIRE BROKE UP, MOST OF EUROPE WAS
DIVIDED INTO SMALL GERMANIC KINGDOMS
THE FRANKISH KINGDOM WAS CREATED IN THE 6TH
CENTURY, BUT BY THE 8TH THE REAL RULERS WERE ITS
LEADING OFFICIALS.
THE MOST IMPORTANT OFFICIAL WAS CHARLES MARTEL, WHO
LED THE FORCES THAT STOPPED MUSLIM EXPANSION IN THE
BATTLE OF POITIERS (732)
CHARLES MARTELS DESCENDANTS BECAME THE FRANKISH KINGS. HIS SON, PEPIN
THE SHORT, DECLARED HIMSELF KING IN 751. HIS GRANDSON, CHARLEMAGNE,
CONTINUED FRANKISH CONQUESTS UNTIL HE WAS THE RULER OF MANY
TERRITORIES IN PRESENT-DAY FRANCE, GERMANY, ITALY AND NORTHERN SPAIN
THE FRANKISH KINGDOM WAS NOW THE LEADING POWER IN
MEDIEVAL EUROPE. FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE THE END OF THE
WESTERN ROMAN EMPIRE, A VAST TERRITORY WAS UNITED
UNDER A SINGLE RULER.
ON CHRISTMAS DAY IN 800, POPE LEO III RECOGNISED
THIS BY CROWNING CHARLEMAGNE EMPEROR OF THE
WEST. THE CAROLINGIAN EMPIRE TOOK HIS NAME
AFTER CHARLEMAGNE
DIED, THE EMPIRE,
HOWEVER, WOULD
NOT LAST LONG
BECAUSE IT WAS
DIVIDED AMONG HIS
THREE GRANDSONS,
ACCORDING TO THE
TREATY OF VERDUN IN
843 (AFTER LOUIS THE
PIOUS DEATH)
THIS DIVISION IS THE VERY DISTANT
ORIGIN OF THE LATER EMERGENCE
OF FRANCE AND GERMANY
THE CAROLINGIAN EMPIRE WAS NOT LIKE A MODERN
STATE, AND IT WAS HELD TOGETHER BY THE PERSONAL
PRESTIGE OF THE EMPEROR. IT HAD MANY PEOPLES WHO
SPOKE DIFFERENT LANGUAGES.
THE EMPEROR HAD ALL THE
MILITARY AND POLITICAL
POWER, AND EVEN
INTERVENED IN CHURCH
ISSUES
TO CONTROL SUCH A BIG
TERRITORY IT WAS DIVIDED
UP
COUNTS RULED IN THE
PROVINCES, OR COUNTIES,
AND THE EMPEROR SENT
INSPECTION TEAMS, THE
MISSI DOMINICI (THE
LORDS MESSENGERS), TO
CONTROL THEM
BORDER AREAS, CALLED
MARCHES, WERE STRONGLY
PROTECTED BY MARQUISES
Charlamagne and its empire
(10) . Clear and complete
SOME PEASANTS WERE FREE MEN AND
WOMEN AND SOME WERE SERFS. THE
SERFS, DESCENDANTS OF SLAVES,
BELONGED TO THE LAND AND COULD
NOT MOVE AWAY WHITHOUT LORDS
PERMISSION
THERE WAS VERY
LITTLE COMMERCIAL
ACTIVITY, AND THERE
WER ONLY A FEW
CITIES SUCH AS PARIS
AND AACHEN
LIKE ALL EUROPE IN THE EARLY MIDDLE AGES, THE
CAROLINGIAN EMPIRE WAS OVERWHELMINGLY RURAL. THE
EMPEROR GRANTED GREAT STATES TO LORDS, AND
PEASANTS WORKING ON THE LAND
DURING CHARLEMAGNES REIGN THERE
WAS A REVIVAL OF CULTURE INSPIRED BY
THE ROMAN MODELS.
LITERATURE, WRITING, ARCHITECTURE AND THE ARTS
WERE PROMOTED AND ACQUIRED GREAT IMPORTANCE
HE BUILT A PALACE N HIS NEW
CAPITAL AT AACHEN, USING THE
REMAINS OF ROMAN BUILDINGS
(TODAY ONLY THE PALATINE
CHAPELLE REMAINS)
CHARLEMAGNE ESTABLISHED A CENTRE OF LEARNING
UNDER A SCHOLAR CALLED ALCUIN, WHERE LATIN
SCHOLARS CAME TO LIVE
THESE SCHOLARS COPIED LATIN MANUSCRIPTS THAT HAD
SURVIVED FROM THE FORMER ROMAN EMPIRE.
LATIN WAS USEDAS THE LANGUAGE OF
ADMINTRATION AND IN EDUCATION THE CLASSICAL
CURRICULUM WAS ADOPTED (TRIVIUM AND
QUADRIVIUM)
THIS MODEST ATTEMPT TO RENEW
THE CULTURE OF THE ROMAN
EMPIRE WAS CALLED THE
CAROLINGIAN RENAISSANCE. BUT IT
HAD LITTLE INFLUENCE AFTER
CHARLEMAGNES DEATH