Patriarchs started in the 4th century in the capitol of the Byzantine Empire these men are the Emperor and Ecumenical Patriarchs meaning they are the patriarchs of the entire community both spiritual and temporal They became very influential and held a lot of power in Europe Constantinople became the New Rome Some Western kings sought acknowledgment from the Byzantine Emperor Religious authority was centered around Constantinople and controversies and such would go to them first for analysis and debate then the other religious centers would be consulted Petrine Doctrine Traces authority back to the founder of the Church in Rome Peter The person who is the successor of Peter is the leader of the Church and he has authority and special abilities such as forgiving sins and damning people to hell Rome was the first among equals and since Constantinople was the new Rome this doctrine was used to give authority and power to the Ecumenical Patriarch This allowed Constantinople to be the center of religious power Also around 4th century Justinian reigned 527 565 as the emperor of the Byzantine Empire The Nika Revolt occurred under his reign An alliance between the Orthodoxs and the Monophysites emerged during a chariot race where the two groups are normally against each other They rioted for 5 days and a plan to replace Justinian with another senator when they won Justinian was going to flee and let them take over but his wife convinced him to stay and fight This resulted in a massacre of rebels Justinian also created famous law codes The Codex Justinianus was filled with laws and constitutions the Digest contained writings of jurists and the Index was a summary for teaching It had an immediate influence in the East but it was rediscovered in the West in the 11th century This revived Roman law and it became the foundation of civil law Justinian also sought to recapture the West during his reign Belisarius was an important general in this quest The exarchate of Ravenna was put in place as a center of power for the Byzantine Empire in the West Justinian went to war with Persia who was the main rival in the East for control of the Mediterranean Justinian paid Persia tribute to keep the peace and gain control of Mediterranean as opposed to continued fighting There was also persistent conflict with Slavic tribes requiring persistent defense of Constantinople Theodora Died 548 She was the wife of Justinian She was lowborn and worked as an actress which was looked down upon as it was considered selling your body She had a string of lovers before marrying Justinian Procopius wrote Secret Histories which basically shat on Theodora and Justinian She was the one who convinced Justinian to stay and fight during the Nika revolt saying the purple is a fair winding sheet meaning that once you wear the purple robes of royalty you stay in them forever even if that means dying in them Muhammad Founder of Islam in Mecca in the early 7th century In 610 he had a religious experience His wife Khadiya was his first convert and follower Muhammad was illiterate but when the angel Jibril appeared to him and said read he was able to read Muhammad had monotheistic views that threatened polytheistic society and its economic practices Muhammad was forced to flee Mecca and move to Medina in 622 and this pilgrimage is called hejirah He established an Islamic government in Medina which was a unifying force for warring tribes There was a war with Mecca and a subsequent conquest of Arabia in 630 Muhammad died in 632 Islam influenced many cultures and included Roman ideas of Empire Greek philosophy and literature as well as Persian and Indian mathematics and astronomy Qur an Compilation of revelations 7th century It is considered the direct word of God transmitted through his prophet There is strict monotheism Muhammad is the Seal of the Prophets last prophet god will send Five Pillars Shahada confession of faith Salat daily prayers dawn noon midday sunset dark Hayi pilgrimage to Mecca in 12th month for all Muslims who can afford it brings together Muslims from various lands Mecca was where Abraham almost sacrificed his son Zakat Almsgiving to the poor ca 2 5 of income Fasting during Ramadan 9th month from sunup to sundown Ali Cousin of Muhammad Some Muslims support him as Caliph as he is a relative of Muhammad Ali was elected Caliph and ruled from 656 661 He was assassinated and in 680 his son Husayn led an uprising in Karbala where he was killed Muslims who believe Ali and other relatives of Muhammad should be Caliphs are Shi ite Muslims Caliphs successor of Muhammad Conflict over authority as some believe anyone can be a successor and others believe it must only be Muhammad s relatives Abu Bakr 632 634 was declared caliph after Muhammad died instead of Ali In 656 Uthman was caliph and was assassinated because it was believed he favored the Umayyad family Ali was then elected caliph and was assassinated in 661 The conflict over who should be Caliph created two branches of Islam Sunni those who believe anyone can be Caliph and Shi ite those who believe Caliphs can only be from Muhammad s family Shi ites Minority Authority should go to descendants of Muhammad Imams Imams lead in both religious and secular realms They have a special ability to interpret scripture Saints shrines and images are not strictly prohibited They believe in the Seven or Twelve Imams which is the belief that the last Imam is in occultation and will return at End Times Sunni Vast majority of Muslims are Sunni Caliphate is not restricted to Muhammad s family and the Caliphate has no special religious understanding They reject religious images saints and shrines They are divided into 4 legal schools and the division lays in differences in reasoning in interpreting law Each school recognizes the validity of the other schools House of Wisdom A major intellectual center in the 9th century created by the Abbasids Caliphs in Baghdad It sponsored translation of major texts from Greek and Syriac to Arabic Greek philosophy was nearly lost in the Christian West but these texts translated to Arabic were rediscovered in the High Middle Ages The works of Plato and Aristotle were rediscovered as well as Justinian s Law Codes and medical practices by Aristotle Galen and Hippocrates Gregory I the Great 600 CE in Rome As pope he was the spiritual leader of the West and the temporal leader of Rome He negotiated with Lombard s to avoid sack of the city and he also