Name:
World History
Byzantine Empire Quiz #2 Review
1. The city of Constantinople was great because it was located at the crossroads of
________Europe_____________ and _____Asia________. It was also located between the
_____Black_____ and __Mediterranean___ Seas.
2. The city of Constantinople was also incredibly secure in the Byzantine time period. The city was
protected by a massive series of ___walls______. On the land side of the city there
were__three layers of walls and a moat defending the city ____. Defenses also stretched along
the ocean side of the city as well. The Golden Horn was protected by a massive sea _chain___,
which kept ships out of the waterway on one side of the city. A secret weapon, called _Greek
Fire___ was also used to protect the walls and the city. This weapon would be hurled or
sprayed on invading armies.
3. An impressive accomplishment of the Byzantines under emperor __Justinian____ was the Hagia
Sophia. This building is impressive because it has survived many _earthquakes__ in the course
of its history. Historians think it has survived so many _earthquakes__ because it was built with
mortar containing _crushed brick__, which made it strong and flexible. It also was built with
bricks __fired at a lower temperature and were less dense____, which made the building
lighter.
4. Hagia Sophia is also impressive because it used many new architectural techniques. First, the
architects used giant __piers__ to support the massive arches of the building. Next, the
architects invented _pendentives___, which allowed the round dome to fit on the square base
of the church. Lastly, architects added __windows__ around the base of the dome which
prevented _the dome from cracking___ and created a beautiful effect of _light in the
church___.
5. Hagia Sophia influenced many design of many __Islamic_____ and __Eastern Orthodox____
houses of worship.
6. Justinian’s Code was written because __the laws of the Roman Empire were confusing,
outdated, and needed revising___.
7. Justinian’s Code has some similar ideas to the Declaration of Independence because _the Code
says that laws should protect people’s basic rights and that there are some laws that obvious
through Nature____.
8.
Justinian’s Code is significant to history because it __was used in the empire for 900 years and
became the basis for many European laws____.
9. The walls of Constantinople protected ancient knowledge because __they enable the libraries
and works of ancient Greece to remain safe and secure. These works found their way to
Western Europe after the fall of Constantinople in 1453____.
10. The ancient Greek knowledge of the Byzantines help fuel the Western European
__Renaissance___.
11. The works of many ancient Greek thinkers were copied and preserved by the Byzantines. Name
and describe the work of THREE ancient Greek thinkers who had their works preserved by the
Byzantines:
See Sheets #98 and #99 for list and description of important Greek thinkers