Since the permanent dividing of the Roman Empire in 395 ad, eastern rulers viewed themselves as the emperors of Rome. This all changed in 527, when a nobleman named Justinian took over. He ruled most of Rome's territory that was ever ruled. As a result of him going to power, all the Byzantine emperors ruled with absolute power over the state and the church. The life of the people of Rome changed tremendously due to Justinian. First, He started the great city of Constantinople, where he spent a good deal of time upgrading the area. He built a new church called the "Hagia Sophia, known to be the greatest church in the Christian world. Another famous place that he cleaned up was the Hippodrome, where wild chariot races and performances acts happened. Also some other general things he fixed included baths, schools and hospitals. As far as their learning, the people study a lot from the Greeks and Romans, this influenced them to start speaking this. One of the most important changes used for the Byzantine Empire was Justinian's code. The main purposes for this was to preserve Roman law, define the law of the empire, and keep the idea that people need to be governed by law.
As Justinian's death was nearby, disaster started to strike. In 542 after his death a plague killed a big percentage of Byzantines, around an average of 10000 a day. As time went on more and more groups tried to control the Byzantine Empire like the Muslims. The empire began to grow small. By 1453 the Ottoman Turks finally took hold of Constantinople. Other changes occurred as the during the empire times, including the split inside the church. During the years of the Byzantine Empire, differences occurred between the eastern and western parts of the church. The leader of the east side was the patriarch and on the west side was the Pope. Well in 730 Emperor Leo 3rd banned the use of religious images used by eastern Christians.
The Western half, ruled from Rome, was ruled by the barbarians in the 5th century. ... This city, later renamed Constantinople, was also known as "new Rome." ... The first era of Byzantine civilization lasted from about 324 to 640. ... It was completed by Justinian in 537. ... The era from about 1025 to 1453 was the decline of the Byzantine Empire. ...
His defeats in Germany convinced him that the empire should not be extended beyond its present frontiers and that Rome's power was limited. ... Not until after the assassination of Domitian, did Rome turn their attention to this problem. ... The long civil wars and feeble leadership during this era was one of the contributing factors for the Roman decline. ... The Roman Empire had grown so vast by the third century, that the kingdom was beginning to suffer an era of regression. ... When the city of Rome rejected the demands of Alaric, he laid siege to the city in 408 B.C. ...
Typically the Romans would only wear the toga as a public display garment, to tell the rich from the poor in Rome you had to spot the difference in the fabric. ... During the Christian era of the late Romans "from 350-500 CE, wall painting, mosaic ceiling and floor work, and funerary sculpture thrived, while full-sized sculpture in the round and panel painting died out, most likely for religious reasons" (Crystalinks). And then in 5th century the "Church of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople employed nearly 10,000 workmen and artisans, in a final burst of Roman art under Emperor Jus...
VOCABULARY Archaeology: the scientific study of ancient people and cultures principally revealed through excavation. Cromlech: a circle of megaliths. Henge: a Neolithic monument, characterized by a circular ground plan. Used for rituals and marking astronomical events. Megalith: a stone of great siz...
Development of Architecture Architecture is the practice of building design and its resulting products, however customary usage refers only to the designs and structures that are culturally significant. Architecture is to building as literature is to the printed word. According to Vitruvius, a 1st...
