Lesson video

Hello historians.

My name is Ms. Krijnauw.

I am so pleased that you have joined me for this lesson about Christianity in the Eastern Roman Empire.

This lesson is part of a unit entitled the Romans: What is the story of Christianity's Rise? It's my job to support you with the learning materials and resources so that by the end of this lesson you can explain why a slightly different Christian Church emerged in the East.

Before we start the lesson, I would like to introduce you to some key words.

These are words that'll come up in the lesson, and if you know their meaning, it'll help you make sense of the learning.

You might wanna take a note of these words so that when we encounter them, you can refer back to your notes.

The words are Byzantine, Hippodrome, law, worship, Pope.

Let's find out what these words mean.

Byzantine: The Byzantine Empire is the name given by historians to the eastern half of the Roman Empire.

Hippodrome: Hippodrome is an arena for chariot or horse races.

Laws: laws are a set of rules that everyone agrees to follow.

Worship: to worship is to show love and respect to a God.

Pope: The Pope is the head of the Roman Catholic Church.

You may want to pause the video here to make a note of these words, and when you are ready to continue with the lesson, press play.

Today's lesson about Christianity in the Eastern Roman Empire has three learning cycles.

The first learning cycle is entitled The Byzantine Empire.

The Roman Empire was the mightiest empire that the world had seen until then.

It was so great that in 395 CE, the empire was split permanently in two, into an eastern Roman empire and a western Roman empire.

Unfortunately, the Western Roman empire became weaker and eventually in 476 CE, it collapsed.

However, the Eastern Roman Empire continued in the East.

Historians later named the Eastern Roman Empire, the Byzantine Empire, and it lasted for over 1,100 years, from three 30 to 1453 CE.

The capital of the Byzantine Empire was Constantinople, which had been created by the Roman Emperor, Constantine the Great in 330 CE.

The people living in the Byzantine Empire still considered themselves Roman, but over time, the culture and traditions started to change.

For example, Latin had always been the main language of the Roman Empire, but in the Byzantine Empire, Greek became the most common language.

Let's check our understanding of what we have just learned by answering this question.

Which of the following facts is not true about the Eastern Roman Empire? Is it that it was known as a Byzantine empire and the capital was Constantinople? People living there considered themselves to be Roman, even though they spoke mainly Greek.

Or is it that people living there considered themselves to be Greek because they spoke mainly Greek? So which one of those facts is not true? Pause the video here, and when you are ready for the answer, press play.

So the fact that is not true about the Eastern Roman Empire is that people living there considered themselves to be Greek because they spoke mainly Greek.

The Romans considered themselves to be Roman even though they spoke Greek.

Well done if you got that correct.

Constantinople became a thriving city where merchants and traders from Europe and Asia would meet to buy and sell their goods and to exchange ideas and culture.

Constantinople grew to be a strong city with impressive walls, which made it a safe place to live because it provided strong defence against invasions.

It was also a beautiful city decorated with many impressive artworks, such as colourful mosaics, paintings, and other styles of art to make churches and buildings look grand and impressive.

These artworks showed how important the religious beliefs and culture of the Byzantine Empire was to the people living there.

Constantinople also boasted awe inspiring churches like the Hagia Sophia, one of the most magnificent and beautiful churches in the world at the time.

The churches of Constantinople were splendid and showcased the engineering on artistic skills of the people living there.

They also showed how devoted the people were to Christianity.

The famous Hippodrome was another important landmark in Constantinople.

It was a huge and impressive arena used for chariot races and other public events that had hundreds of seats for spectators.

The chariot races, which were extremely popular in ancient Roman and Byzantine culture were intense and competitive events that attracted a large audience.

Constantinople was indeed a busy and beautiful city.

Phew, that was a lot of new information.

So let's consolidate what we have just learned.

Match the feature of Constantinople to its function.

The features are artwork such as mosaics, Hagia Sophia, Hippodrome.

The functions are a Christian Church for worship, an arena for chariot races and to show religious scenes and make the city beautiful.

Pause the video here, and when you are ready for the answer, press play.

Let's find out what the answers are.

Artworks such as mosaics, were used to show religious scenes and to make the city beautiful.

The Hagia Sophia was a Christian Church for worship, and the Hippodrome was an arena for chariot races.

Well done if you got all three correct.

Let's complete the first learning task of this lesson.

Explain to your learning partner, what Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire was like.

Use the images to help you.

The images are an illustration of Roman people, and there's also an illustration of the city of Constantinople showing the Hippodrome and the Hagia Sophia.

Pause the video here, and when you are ready to reflect on the answer, press play.

Here is an example of what an answer could have included.

The people living in Constantinople considered themselves to be Roman.

Constantinople was a beautiful city, with colourful mosaics, paintings and other artworks.

There were magnificent churches, for example, the Hagia Sophia to show how devoted the people were to Christianity.

There was also the famous Hippodrome, which was a huge arena for chariot races and other public events.

Well done if your answer is similar to this one, and an extra well done if you use the words highlighted in purple.

We are now ready to move on to the second learning cycle of this lesson where we will learn about Emperor Justinian.

One of the most important emperors of the Byzantine Empire was the Emperor Justinian.

He ruled from 527 to 565 CE.

Justinian is most famous for creating a code of laws for the Byzantine Empire.

He thought that the laws of the empire were confusing, and so he decided to make them simpler and easier to understand.

To achieve this, Justinian gathered all the existing laws in the empire and had them written down in one place.

It was called the code of Justinian and explained how people should behave and live together to keep the empire a safe and happy place.

One extraordinary aspect of the code of Justinian was that new laws could be added as needed.

Justinian didn't think of the code as a fixed set of rules, but rather a system that could change and evolve as needed.

Justinian's efforts to write the laws for the Empire had a profound and lasting impact.

In fact, it has had a big influence on how laws are made in many countries even today.

Let's check our understanding of what we have just learned.

The code of Justinian was only ever used in the Byzantine Empire.

Is that statement true or false? Pause the video here, and when you are ready for the answer, press play.

That statement is false.

Well, let's justify our answer.

In other words, let's give a reason why we say that statement is false.

Is it because A, it only influenced how laws were made until the Byzantine Empire ended, or it still influences how laws are made in many countries today? Pause the video here and when you are ready for the answer, press play.

The answer is B, the code of Justinian still influences how laws are made in many countries today.

Well done if you got that correct.

The Emperor Justinian was a devout Christian, which means that he was deeply committed to following Christianity.

He even built beautiful churches, such as the Hagia Sophia, to show how devoted to Christianity he was.

Justinian wanted everyone in his empire to follow Christianity, and so he ordered that all his subjects should be Christian and to worship in the way he told them.

He also stopped some practises that were not parts of Christianity.

Justinian thought that if everyone followed the same Christian beliefs, the empire would be more peaceful and successful.

So let's check our understanding.

How did Justinian create a Christian empire? Choose two correct answers.

Is it that he paid people to convert to Christianity, or that he ordered all his subjects to convert to Christianity, or he ordered everyone to worship in the way he told them? Pause the video here, and when you have chosen the two correct answers, press play.

And the correct answers are that he ordered all his subjects to convert to Christianity and he ordered them to worship in the way he told them.

Well done if you got that answer correct.

We have now come to the second learning task of this lesson.

It says, read Sam and Izzy's statements below.

Who do you think is correct or could they both be right? Use evidence from this lesson to support your answer.

Sam says, Justinian is best known for creating a code of law.

Izzy says, Justinian is best known for being a devout Christian.

Pause the video here, and when you are ready to reflect on your answer, press play.

Your answer could have included the following.

Both Sam and Izzy are correct.

Justinian is known for creating a code of law known as the code of Justinian.

He did this because he wanted to have the laws of the empire written down in one place.

It still has a big influence on how laws are made in many countries today.

However, Justinian is also known for being a devout Christian as he ordered all his subjects to be Christian and to worship in the way he told them.

He did this because he thought that if everyone followed the same Christian belief, the empire would be more peaceful and successful.

Well done if your answer is similar to this one.

The third learning cycle of this lesson is entitled the Eastern Orthodox Church.

The citizens of the Byzantine Empire thought of themselves as Christians, just like they considered themselves to be Roman.

The church of the Byzantine Empire was called the Eastern Orthodox Church.

Let's see if you can remember what we have just learned.

The Church of the Byzantine Empire was called the, Roman Catholic Church or Byzantine Orthodox Church or the Eastern Orthodox Church.

Pause the video here and when you are ready for the answer, press play.

The Church of the Byzantine Empire was called the Eastern Orthodox Church.

Well done if you got that correct.

In many ways, the Eastern Orthodox Church was similar to the Church of the Western Roman Empire.

For example, both churches believed in the Trinity, which means that they believe that God is made up of three parts, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Another similarity was that the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church both used the same books of the Bible.

Both churches also had bishops, priests and deacons.

But there was one major difference between the churches.

The Eastern Orthodox Church did not recognise the Pope supremacy.

The Pope was the bishop of Rome and the head of the Western Roman Empire.

The Eastern Orthodox Church did not think that one person, like the Pope, should be in charge of everything in the church and make all the important decisions.

They like to make decisions in their own way and believed that all the bishops and other church leaders should make important decisions together.

One of the lasting legacies of the Byzantine Empire is that it influenced how the Christians of the Eastern Orthodox Church think about God, how they worship, and how they show their culture.

This legacy is valued and cherished by the Orthodox communities all over the world.

Let's check our understanding.

What are the similarities and differences between the churches of the Eastern Roman Empire and the Western Roman Empire? Tick the correct column for each statement.

Believing in the Holy Trinity, recognising the Pope supremacy, using the same books of the Bible, and Bishops, presbyters and deacons.

Pause the video here and when you are ready for the answers, press play.

Let's find out what the answers are.

So is believing in the Holy Trinity a similarity or a difference? It's a similarity between churches.

Recognising the Pope supremacy, well, that is a difference between the two churches.

They both use the same books of the Bible, so that's a similarity.

And the churches both had bishops, presbyters, and deacons.

So that is another similarity.

Well done if you got all of those correct.

We are now ready for the last learning task of this lesson.

Write one paragraph to explain the factors that led to the emergence of a slightly different Christian Church in the Eastern Roman Empire.

Include the following in your answer.

Justinian, worship, Pope's supremacy, Eastern Orthodox Church leaders and decisions.

Pause the video here to give yourself enough time to write one paragraph.

And when you are ready to reflect on the answer, press play.

Here is an example of what your answer could have included.

There were different reasons that led to the emergence of a slightly different Christian Church in the Eastern Roman Empire.

For example, Emperor Justinian ordered everyone in the Byzantine Empire to convert to Christianity and to worship in the way he told them to, which meant that everyone in the Eastern Roman empire worshipped in the same way.

The Eastern Orthodox Church also did not recognise the Pope supremacy as he lived far away in Rome.

Additionally, the Eastern Orthodox Church leaders liked to make decisions together instead of letting one person make them all.

Well done if your answer was similar to this one and an extra well done if you manage to use all the words highlighted in blue.

We have come to the end of this lesson about Christianity in the Eastern Roman Empire.

But before we go, let's summarise the lesson.

After Romes fall in 476 CE, the Byzantine empire survived in the East.

The people living in the Byzantine empire still considered themselves Romans.

Constantinople grew strong and beautiful with impressive artworks, churches, such as the Hagia Sophia, and the famous Hippodrome.

The Emperor Justinian ruled the Byzantine Empire from 527 to 565 CE.

He made a code of law called the Code of Justinian, and ordered all his subjects to be Christian and to worship in the way he told them to.

The Eastern Orthodox Church believed many of the same things as in the West, but they did not recognise the Pope's supremacy.

Thank you for joining me in this lesson about Christianity and the Eastern Roman Empire.

I've really enjoyed going on a learning adventure with you, and I hope to see you again very soon.