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Civilization in Eastern Europe
Byzantium and Orthodox Europe
48
History
Undergraduate 2
11/03/2012

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Term
Byzantine Empire
Definition
Began in the 4th century C.E., when the Romans set up their eastern capital in Constantinople
Term
Constantinople
Definition
was responsible for the Balkan peninsula, the northern Middle East, the Mediterranean coast , and North Africa
Term
Latin
Definition
considered inferior and barbaric
Term
Greek language
Definition
became official language under Emperor Justinian in the 6th century.
Term
Political style
Definition
complex administration around a remote emperor, who was surrounded by elaborate ceremonies.
Term
Justinian (1)
Definition
in 533 C.E. tried to reconquer western territory in an attempt to restore an empire like that of Rome
Term
Justinian (2)
Definition
was somber, autocratic, and prone to grandiose ideas; heavily influenced by wife Theodora.
Term
Justinian described by Procopius
Definition
"at once villainous and amenable; as people say colloquially, a moron. he was never truthful with anyone, but always guileful in what he said and did, yet easily hoodwinked by any who wanted to deceive him."
Term
Justinian's positive contributions to the Byzantine Empire
Definition
rebuilding Constantinople and systematizing the Roman legal code.
Term
Hagia Sophia
Definition
built under Justinian. It was an achievement in engineering and architecture, for no one had been able to build the supports needed for the dome.
Term
Unified law under Justinian
Definition
Reduced confusion, united and organized the new empire. Updated by later emperors, it ultimately helped spread Roman legal principles in various parts of Europe.
Term
Belisarius
Definition
General in Justinian's military. Made new gains in north Africa and Italy
Term
Ravenna
Definition
Temporary capital for Justinian's military. A key artistic center it was embellished by some of the most beautiful Christian mosaics known anywhere in the world.
Term
Justinian's westward ambitions
Definition
weakened the empire, created new tax pressures, and contributed to Justinian's death in 565 C.E.
Term
Military of Justinian's successors
Definition
Persian successes were reversed in the 7th century and the population was forcibly reconverted to Christianity.
Term
Greek fire
Definition
a petroleum, quicklime, and sulfar mixture. Helped Byzantine's defeat Arab's against siege of capital in 717-718 C.E.
Term
Economic results of frequent wars with Muslims on Byzantine Empire
Definition
(1)Position of small farmers weakened by invasions and taxation. (2)Greater aristocratic estates and new power for aristocratic generals. (3)The free rural population was forced into greater dependence. (4) Emphasis was given to organizing the army and navy.
Term
Basil II aka Bulgaroktonos
Definition
11th century Byzantine emperor. He used the empire's wealth to bribe Bulgarian nobles and generals. Defeated Bulgarian army in 1014.
Term
Emperor of Byzantine empire
Definition
Held to be ordained by God, head of church as well as state. He appointed church bishops and passed religious and secular laws. Women could hold the throne while maintaining ceremonial power of the office.
Term
Iconoclasm
Definition
Arose in the 8th century when a new emperor attacked the use of religious images in worship. Protesting monks briefly threatened a split between church and state. After a long battle the use of icons was gradually restored.
Term
The split between East and West
Definition
Break between Eastern and Western version of Christianity. Occurred at the end of Byzantium's period of greatest glory. 
Term
Christianity in the Byzantine Empire
Definition
Acknowledged the pope, but papal directives had no hold in Byzantine church. Eastern Orthodox priests could marry.
Term
Seljuks
Definition
Turkish troops in the late 11th century. Seized almost all the Asiatic provinces of Byzantine Empire. This cut off most prosperous source of tax revenue and food from the empire.
Term
Battle of Manzikert
Definition
Lost by Byzantine Empire in 1071, the empire never recovered.
Term
Motivation of Western Crusades to the Holy Land
Definition
Byzantine emperors appealed for help from Western leaders when new Slavic kingdoms were created in the Balkans. The requests were ignored.
Term
Western Crusade, 1204
Definition
Set up to conquer the Holy Land from Muslims. Led by greedy Venetian merchants, they conquered Constantinople. 
Term
Fall of Byzantine Empire
Definition
Constantinople fell in 1453 to a Turkish sultan. By 1461 the Turks conquered the rest of the Byzantine Empire.
Term
Cyril and Methodius
Definition
Missionaries sent by the Byzantine government in 864.
Term
Cyrillic
Definition
Written script of Slavic language. Derived from Greek letters. Created by Cyril and Methodius.
Term
The East Central Borderlands
Definition
Czech area, Hungary, and Poland. An area of competition between Eastern and Western political and intellectual models.
Term
Politics of Central Borderlands
Definition
Organized in a series of regional monarchies, loosely governed amid a powerful, land-owning aristocracy.
Term
Judaism in Eastern Europe
Definition
Eastern Europe received an influx of Jews, who were migrating away from the Middle East and intolerance in western Europe. Poland gained the largest single concentration of Jews.
Term
The Slavic People
Definition
Political organization rested in family tribes and villages. They maintained an animist religion with gods for the sun, thunder, wind, and fire. Had a tradition of folk music and oral legends. They developed some very loose regional kingdoms.
Term
Kiev
Definition
City that lay along the trade route between Scandinavia and Constantinople.
Term
Rurik
Definition
A native of Denmark, he became the first prince of Kievan Rus about 855 C.E.
Term
Vladimir I
Definition
A Rurik descendant, he ruled from 980 to 1015. Converted to Christianity not only in his own name but on behalf of all his people. 
Term
Russian Orthodox church
Definition
developed after Russia converted to Christianity
Term
Christian Kievan Rus'
Definition
it was the largest single state in Europe, though highly decentralized. They issued a formal law code
Term
Yaroslav
Definition
last of the great Kievan princes. he issued the legal codification while building many churches and arranging the translation of religious literature from Greek to Slavic.
Term
Institutions and Culture in Kievan Rus'
Definition
Borrowed from Byzantium, ceremonies and luxury; concept that a central ruler should have wide powers; churches were ornate and filled with icons; monastic movement stressed prayer and charity; polygamy yielded to monogamy.
Term
Russian Literature
Definition
Described religious and royal events showering praise on the saints and the power of God; disasters were expressions of the just wrath of God; success in war came from the aid of God and the saints
Term
Russian and Ukranian art
Definition
Focused on the religious. Churches were built in the form of a cross surmounted by a dome
Term
Boyars
Definition
Russian aristocrats, they had less political power than their counterparts in western Europe
Term
Kievan Decline
Definition
Began to fade in the 12th century: the royal family squabbled over succession to the throne, invaders from Asia whittled at Russian territory, decline of Byzantium reduced Russian trade and wealth
Term
Tatars
Definition
Mongols from central Asia that moved through Russia.
Term
Tatar control in Russia
Definition
Russian literature languished, trade lapsed, commerce of the Kievan period never returned.
Term
Chr)istian (Kirstianin
Definition
adapted as an accepted term for Russian peasants
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