7TH GRADE WORLD HISTORY

Chapter/Lesson 8 Notes (TCI)

“The Byzantine Empire”
Section 1
Lesson 8: Section 1 Notes/Essential Questions

Essential Question/Note:
Why was Constantinople so important?
Lesson 8: Section 1 Notes/Essential Questions

Essential Question/Note:
Why was Constantinople so important?
• Constantinople stood at the crossroads of Europe and
Asia.
• The many sea and overland trade routes linked the east
and west.
• This ideal location helped to make the city, and some of
its citizens, very wealthy.
• Life in Constantinople was more comfortable than in
western Europe.
Section 2
Lesson 8: Section 2 Notes/Essential Questions

Essential Question/Note:
What occurred the reign of Justinian I?
Lesson 8: Section 2 Notes/Essential Questions

Essential Question/Note:
What occurred the reign of Justinian I?
• One of the greatest Byzantine emperors was Justinian I.
• Fighting broke out, spilled into the streets, and escalated
into a full-scale rebellion.
• Justinian was determined to rebuild the city on a grand
scale.
• He launched military campaigns that, for a time, took back
parts of North Africa, Italy, and Spain.
• Justinian is most famous, however, for creating a
systematic body of law.
Section 3
Lesson 8: Section 3 Notes/Essential Questions

Essential Question/Note:
How did the Eastern Orthodox Church form?
Lesson 8: Section 3 Notes/Essential Questions

Essential Question/Note:
How did the Eastern Orthodox Church form?
• To the Byzantines, Christianity was more than a religion. It was the
very foundation of their empire.
• Over time, the Byzantine Church separated from the Church in
Rome.
• The Byzantines viewed the emperor not just as the head of the
government but as the living representative of God and Jesus
Christ.
• Orthodox clergy were ranked in order of importance.
• Both the clergy and worshippers sang or chanted the liturgy, or form
of public worship.
• Christian faith inspired magnificent architecture and artwork in the
Byzantine Empire.
Section 4
Lesson 8: Section 4 Notes/Essential Questions

Essential Question/Note:
What led to the conflict between the East and the West?
Lesson 8: Section 4 Notes/Essential Questions

Essential Question/Note:
What led to the conflict between the East and the West?
• Medieval Europe and the Byzantine Empire were united in a single faith,
Christianity.
• Over the centuries, however, cultural, political, and religious differences
led to conflict between the two parts of the old Roman Empire.
• The first major disagreement concerned religious icons.
• Another major disagreement occurred in 800 C.E., a time when Empress
Irene ruled the Byzantine Empire. Because she was a woman, Pope
• Pope Leo decided to crown Charlemagne, the king of the Franks, as
Holy Roman emperor.
• Despite future attempts to heal the division, the Great Schism left the
Eastern Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church as separate
churches.