The Byzantines Influence Russia

The Byzantines Influence Russia

Location

The map shows the location of the Byzantine Empire (in purple) and early Russia (in orange).

Study the map. Make a note of the bodies of water you see.

Poll

Which of the bodies of water would most likely be used for trade by the Russians and/or Byzantines?

• Black Sea

• Aegean Sea

• Baltic Sea

• North Sea

Remember that the Black Sea was a major trade route for the Byzantines. It was also used by the Russians. The Baltic Sea allowed the Russians to trade with neighbors to their east.

The Byzantine Empire influenced Russia through cultural diffusion. As the two groups traded and interacted with each other, aspects of Byzantine culture spread to Russia.

Poll

Think back to the contributions of the Byzantines. Which of those do you think became important influences on early Russian development?

• religion - Orthodox Church

• art and architecture

• laws of Justinian

• icons

The alphabet used by the Greeks (seen here)...........

was adapted by St. Cyril to allow a specific group of people to read a specific text.

Poll

What group of people benefited from St. Cyril's new alphabet (called the Cyrillic alphabet)?

• Byzantines

• Romans

• Slavs

• Italians

Poll

And what book did St. Cyril make available to the Slavs by creating his alphabet?

• Bible

• Qur'an

• Analects

The Orthodox Church spread into Russia and other areas of Eastern Europe. By the year 1000, the Russian Orthodox Church had formed.

Along with the beliefs of the Orthodox Church, the Russians also got the architecture of church buildings.

Here you see an early Russian church.

Notice the rounded parts of the structure. This is clearly Byzantine influence.

The beautiful Kremlin in Moscow contains buildings that show Byzantine influence. The "onion" dome of Russia originated in the Byzantine domes.

The Russian icon shown here looks very similar to the ones we saw earlier in Byzantine art examples.