Justinian and Theodora
Who was the Byzantine Emperor who reconquered lost Roman lands in the West and ordered legal experts to organize the empire's laws?
Justinian I (or Justinian the Great).
What major reform did Emperor Diocletian make to help manage the massive Roman Empire, and what did Emperor Constantine do next to protect and strengthen the wealthier Eastern side?
Diocletian divided the empire into two halves (the West and the East), and Constantine built a brand-new capital city (Constantinople) in the East.
What do we call the paintings or statues of saints that became the center of a massive religious fight in 730 CE?
Icons
What was the name of the massive, triple-layered defensive structures and moat that protected Constantinople from land-based invasions for over 1,000 years?
The Theodosian Walls.
Who was the 21-year-old Ottoman Sultan who successfully captured Constantinople in 1453 CE?
Mehmed II
What was the name of the central Christian church rebuilt by Justinian that featured Roman-style arches and a massive dome?
Hagia Sophia (which translates to "Holy Wisdom")
As the Western and Eastern parts of the empire grew further apart, what were the main spoken languages used on each side?
Latin was the main language in the West, and Greek was the main language in the East.
What were the different languages used in church services on each side, and who was the top religious leader of each church?
The Western church used Latin and was led by the Pope, while the Eastern church used Greek and was led by the Patriarch and the Emperor.
What terrible biological disaster hit the empire in 541 CE, killing thousands daily and weakening the economy?
Justinian's Plague.
At what 1071 CE battle did the Byzantines lose Anatolia, their vital "breadbasket" for food and taxes, to the Seljuk Turks?
The Battle of Manzikert
Besides advising her husband, what is one specific way Empress Theodora actively helped run the government?
She met with foreign leaders (or managed the building of many Christian churches and cathedrals).
What are two ways the Byzantine Empire continued old Roman traditions?
They kept a centralized government, built Roman-style arenas and forums for entertainment and business, preserved Greco-Roman school subjects, and used arches and domes in their architecture.
After the Christian Church officially split in 1054 CE, what were the specific names of the Western church and the Eastern church?
The Western church became the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern church became the Eastern Orthodox Church.
During a comeback period called the Macedonian Renaissance, the Byzantines stopped just defending and went on the attack. Which two strategic Mediterranean islands did they recapture?
Crete and Cyprus
When the Byzantine Empire finally fell, what did the city's name change to, and what happened to the famous Hagia Sophia church?
The city was renamed Istanbul, and the Hagia Sophia was converted into an Islamic mosque.
During the violent Nika Riots in the Hippodrome, what convinced Emperor Justinian to stay and fight instead of escaping on a ship?
Theodora refused to flee and told him she would rather die an empress, famously declaring that "purple is the noblest shroud".
In 476 CE, the Western half of the Roman Empire collapsed after being conquered by Germanic barbarians. What were two major ways this collapse immediately changed daily life for the people living in Western Europe?
The central government broke down (causing cities to fall apart and roads to go unpaved), long-distance trade completely stopped, and people had to flee to rural farm areas.
During the fight over iconoclasm (the banning and destruction of religious images), how did this religious disagreement turn into a major political battle between the East and the West?
The Byzantine Emperor used his government laws to ban icons, and the Pope used his religious authority to excommunicate (kick out of the Church) the Emperor.
In the 7th century, the Byzantine Empire had to fight a difficult "two-front war." Which two different enemy groups attacked them, one from the north and one from the east?
The Bulgars (from the north) and the rapid rise of Islam (from the east).
Why was the Sack of Constantinople by Western Crusaders in 1204 CE called the "point of no return" for the empire?
It was a shocking betrayal by fellow Christians that destroyed the economy and weakened defenses so badly that a full recovery was nearly impossible
Why was Justinian's Code considered a major reform instead of just a copy of old Roman laws?
It took hundreds of years of confusing and contradictory laws and organized them into a single, easy-to-use system so people could actually find, understand, and enforce them.
Constantine built his capital city on a narrow strip of land at the entrance to the Black Sea. How did this specific physical location help the empire?
This location sat directly between Europe, Asia, and Africa, which made the city a wealthy crossroads for trade. It was also a peninsula surrounded by water on three sides, which made the city extremely easy to defend against invaders.
How did the creation of the Cyrillic alphabet by missionaries Cyril and Methodius help the Byzantine Empire expand its cultural influence even when it was losing military territory?
By giving the Slavs a written language to read the Bible, it created a permanent cultural and religious bond between Russia and the Byzantine Empire.
What was the Theme System, and why did the Byzantine Empire desperately need to create it?
It was a system that split the empire into military districts and gave free land to local farmers in exchange for military service. The empire desperately needed it because they were facing constant invasions on multiple borders and had no money in the treasury to pay for a regular army.
For 1,000 years, stone walls kept Constantinople safe What specific change in military technology finally made these walls useless in 1453? Explain why.
The invention and use of powerful gunpowder and massive cannons. These weapons could blast heavy rocks directly through the ancient stone walls, which were not mad to defend against cannonballs