Byzantine Empire
Why was CONSTANTINOPLE important?
He was important because he had a secure land location. A big wall guarded the city.
How did GREEK Culture influence the Byzantine empire?
The East was influenced by Greek culture. People spoke Greek and wore Greek-styled clothing. The Byzantine Empire was influenced by the Hellenistic culture created by the conquests of Alexander the Great. Learning and trade spread in the Byzantine Empire. Christianity had an influence on the Byzantine Empire.
What did Justinian & Theodora do?
Justinian was the emperor of the Byzantine empire and Theodora was the empress that helped him choose government officials.
Why was trade important to the Byzantine Empire?
The capital of the empire, Constantinople, was positioned at the crossroads of Asia and Europe, so trade in both directions passed through the city. This enriched both the emperors and the empire, allowing a large, well equipped army and fleet to be maintained and diplomacy through monetary expenditure to be pursued to the benefit of the empire.
What was unique about Byzantine ARTS & ARCHITECTURE?
The architecture of the Byzantine Empire was based on the great legacy of Roman formal and technical achievements. Constantinople had been purposely founded as the Christian counterpart and successor to the leadership of the old pagan city of Rome. Byzantine achievements in mosaic decoration brought this art to an unprecedented level of monumentality and expressive power. Mosaics were applied to the domes, half-domes, and other available surfaces of Byzantine churches in an established hierarchical order. The center of the dome was reserved for the representation of the Pantocrator, or Jesus as the ruler of the universe, whereas other sacred personages occupied lower spaces in descending order of importance.
What role did Women play?
Women could and did found and rule convents. For economic reasons, women who founded convents were frequently, although not always, members of the aristocracy. In the twelfth century, and later the monastery became forthem an extension of the family, when they had control over everyday life. Women also played a role, and a siginificant one, in religious affairs. One of the most important movements of the middle Byzantine period, Iconoclasm, was eventually resolved through the actions of two empresses, Irene, who restored the veneration of icons temporarilly, and Theodora, whose disposition regarding the restoration of icon veneration was final.
Why is EDUCATION important?
There were three stages of education. The basic skills of reading and writing were taught by the elementary-school master, or grammatistes, whose pupils generally ranged from 6 or 7 to 10 years of age. The secondary-school master, or grammatikos,supervised the study and appreciation of Classical literature and of literary Greek—from which the spoken Greek of everyday life differed more and more in the course of time—and Latin (until the 6th century). His pupils ranged in age from 10 to 15 or 16. Next, the rhetorician, or rhētor, taught pupils how to express themselves with clarity, elegance, and persuasiveness, in imitation of Classical models. Speaking style was deemed more important than content or original thinking. An optional fourth stage was provided by the teacher of philosophy, who introduced pupils to some of the topics of ancient philosophy, often by reading and discussing works of Plato or Aristotle. Rhetoric and philosophy formed the main content of higher education