Introduction

Even though the Western Roman empire fell, the Empire still had much power – in the east. The Eastern Roman empire became known as the Byzantine empire – named after the capital city of Byzantium.

The Emperor Constantine moved the capital of the empire to Byzantium. Eventually, the city was named Constantinople in honor of the emperor. Constantinople’s location made it a center of trade and it was also easily defended.

Power in the East

When emperor Constantine moved the capital of the empire to Byzantium – he moved the power of Rome to the east.

Justinian Builds a New Empire After the western

empire fell, the Byzantine Empire prospered. The Byzantine emperor named Justinian (527-565) was the main reason for this. He and his wife Theodora were very gifted rulers.

The Justinian Code

Justinian used his power to help the empire succeed. Justinian is known for a lot of things, but one of the things he is most famous for is the creation of a law code – called the Justinian Code. It was a system of governmental laws that established a well organized empire and kept the traditions of Roman law alive. Many nations include traditional Roman laws even today.

Public Works

Justinian had many public building projects that included buildings like Hagia Sophia – the main church of the Greek Orthodox religion.

Hagia Sophia

Religion

The Orthodox church in the east had many differences to the Roman Catholic church of the west. This eventually led to a schism or split. Some of the differences include:

The Orthodox church used Greek instead of Latin

The head of the Orthodox church answered to the emperor, while the head of the Roman Catholic church (the Pope) claimed authority over all kings and emperors.

The Orthodox church allowed priests to marry while the Roman Catholic church did not.

Important things to remember about Rome.

Let’s Review!!

Roman Citizenship was significant because it allowed citizens to participate in government.

The Law codes of Rome allowed equal justice for all – just like in America.

The use of foreign soldiers in the Roman army made it weaker because they had no loyalty to Rome.

The Pax Romana was a period of peace and prosperity in Rome.

Barbarian groups like the Huns, Visigoths, Ostrogoths, and Vandals weakened the empire until it eventually fell in 476.

At its height the Roman Empire stretched from Europe, to Africa, to Asia.

The empire split and the eastern empire continued for another thousand years after the fall of the west.

A major split or schism occurred between the eastern church (orthodox) and western church (catholic).