Constantinople was located away from Germanic invasions.
Constantinople had an easily fortified peninsula location near trade routes.
Justinian codified Roman law.
The Byzantine Empire conquered new land during the reign of Justinian.
The Byzantine Empire is known for mosaic artwork in public and religious buildings.
The Hagia Sophia is a Byzantine domed church in Constantinople.
Greek was the language of the Byzantine Empire.
The Byzantine Empire religion was Eastern (or Greek) Orthodox.
The Greek alphabet became the Cyrillic alphabet used for Slavic languages of Eastern Europe and Russia.
Byzantine culture spread to Russia because of trade routes between the Black Sea and Baltic Sea.
Constantinople was the center of the Eastern Orthodox branch of Christianity.
The Patriarch is the leader of the Eastern Orthodox Church.
The western branch of Christianity is the Roman Catholic Church.
The Roman Catholic Church is centered in Rome.
The leader of the Roman Catholic Church is the pope.
When Roman power declined, the Roman Catholic Church grew in importance.
Catholic monasteries preserved Greco-Roman knowledge.
Monks spread Christianity to Germanic tribes and served the needs of the people.
The pope anointed Charlemagne emperor of western Europe in 800 A.D.
Angles and Saxons migrated from continental Europe to England.
Magyars migrated from Central Asia to Hungary.
Vikings migrated from Scandinavia to Russia.
Manors with castles provided protection from invaders.
Invasions made it difficult to trade.
People entered into feudal agreements with landholding lords who promised them protection.
Serfs were peasants who worked on the land and were not free to leave.
A fief is the land given to a vassal in exchange for loyalty.
Manors were self-sufficient; they made everything needed for their people.
Frankish kings gradually expanded their power to control most of western Europe.
