WHI.8a - Establishment of Constantinople

The student will apply social science skills to understand the Byzantine Empire and Eastern Europe from about 300 to 1000 A.D. (C.E.) by

a) explaining the influence of geography on the establishment of Constantinople as the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire and describing the Byzantine Empire in time and place;

The capital of the Eastern Roman Empire was established at Constantinople to provide political, economic, and military advantages

Location of Constantinople

 Protection of the eastern frontier

 Distance from Germanic invasions in the western empire

 Crossroads of trade

 Easily fortified site on a peninsula bordered by natural harbors

Role of Constantinople

 Seat of the Byzantine Empire until Ottoman conquest

 Preserved classical Greco-Roman culture

 Center of trade

Terms

Byzantine Empire (7a-e)

Justinian (7b)

Greek Orthodox Christianity (7c)

Imperial patronage (7c)

Icons (7c)

Mosaics (7c)

Western Christian Church (7d)

Eastern Christian Church (7d)

Liturgy (7d)

Pope (7d)

Patriarch (7d)

Celibacy (7d)

Slavic language (7e)

Cyrillic alphabet (7e)

Russian Orthodox Christianity (7e)

Ottoman Turks (7e)

Tsar (Czar) (7e)

People

Justinian (7b)

St. Cyril (7e)

Places

Constantinople (7a,d)

Byzantium (7c)

Hagia Sophia (7c)

Russia (7e)

Baltic Sea (7e)

Black Sea (7e)