The continuation of the

Roman Empire in the East

Eastern Empire Tested

The 4th century troubles that effected

the Western Empire also effected The
Eastern Empire, but not as much
The Eastern Empire has a couple
advantages over the West to allow it
to survive.

Advantages
Smaller geographical location
Had money and manpower
Defensible
capital city

Buying off threats

As a center of trade, The Byzantine
empire had a lot of money that a
portion was used as tribute to
Barbarian tribes such as the Goths
and Huns.
In addition, the capital being the
most defensible city in the world at
this time influenced many tribes to
go to the west where it was easier to
plunder.

Divergence
The Eastern Empire stays out of the affairs
in the west
validates Odoacer as king of Italy as a
servant of the Roman Empire
This is the point, historians start using the
term Byzantine to differentiate the periods.
Even though the people still though of
themselves as Roman.
Became a Greek empire

Byzantine Empire
Another term to describe the Empire
The term is inaccurate in the sense that
its not what the people wholivedin the
empire called themselves
The termByzantium, as applied to the
empire, was first used in 1556, a
hundred years after the fall. It was not
until 1800s that the term caught on.

Different Rome, Same

Empire
Constantinople was devised as the
new Rome, only with Christian
influences.
Their population believed they were
the continuation of the Roman
Empire
Held the same principles as the West,
but the Meaning of these principles
are different.

Byzantine in the aftermath of the

fall
Period of decline, the Empire never grew
past the borders of the Roman Empire
The Byzantine empire tried to take back
the western part 100 years after the fall
in the 500s, and it did not succeed.
Successive wars against the Muslims
and Persians that broke the Empire
Constantinople fell in 1453, a thousand
years after the west.

Eastern Roman Christendom

A close link between church and state, with
the state giving the lead, becomes a
characteristic of the Byzantine empire.
The Byzantine empire is home to many of
the councils of early Christianity sponsored
by the emperors such as the council of
Nicaea.
Church leaders are picked by the emperor,
while in the west, the pope has equal
status with any ruler

Cont.
The Byzantine church was treated by the
Emperors as a department of the state
Built its own cultural and religious traditions
on Classical Greek foundations, rather than
the Classical Latin foundations of the
Western church
Byzantine monasteries did not become
centers of education and scholarship as was
the case in Western Europe; rather they
dedicated themselves to piety and devotion.

Influence on Eastern Europe

Introduction of Orthodox in eastern Europe mainly
Russia and Balkans
had deeply influenced political and cultural
affairs of the Slavic people
The Cyrillic alphabet developed out of this
influence and missionary work.
Byzantine Art and architecture was predominant
in Russia
the Byzantine legacy lived on through the Russian
Orthodox Church as Moscow was known as the
third Rome in the time of the Russian Empire

Legacy
Classical Greek and Roman texts long
since lost or forgotten in Europe had
been preserved and were in use in the
Byzantine empire.
The Byzantine Empire insulated
Europe from enemies and gave it the
time it needed to recover from its
chaotic medieval period.
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