Why was constantinople important?
Well at first Constantinople is were the Constantine moved the capital of the Roman Empire. Which now Constantinople is the capital of Byzantine Empire. In 500s, Constantinople was thriving and became the world's largest, greatest cities.The location of Constantinople, lay in between the Black and the Aegean Sea. Trade that passed through made the city very wealthy. Lying on a peninsula, it as easy to defend so invaders couldn't easily get in Constantinople.
How did greek culture influence the byzantine empire?Although the people of the Byzantine Empire considered themselves Roman, the East was influenced by Greek culture, rather than the Latin of the West. People spoke Greek and wore Greek-styled clothing. The emperors and empresses wore beautiful silk and purple-dyed clothing, with expensive slippers.
what was trade important?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 empir
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what role did justinian and theodora play in byzantine history?Justinian became emperor of Byzantine in 527. Theodora was his wife and she helped him run the empire. She also convinced her husband to give women rights.
what was unique about byzantine art and 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
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what role did women play?6. 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
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why was 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. |