1. What was Emperor Justinian's main goal when he sent his armies to conquer lands in Italy and North Africa?
- A. To find new sources of gold and silver.
- B. To bring back the glory of the old Roman Empire.
- C. To create a defensive barrier against the Persians.
- D. To establish new trade partnerships with western kingdoms.
2. Why did Emperor Justinian feel it was necessary to reform the Byzantine Empire's laws?
- A. To introduce Greek laws to the empire.
- B. The existing laws were disorganized and confusing.
- C. To create special new laws for the military.
- D. To adopt the legal traditions of the Persian Empire.
3. The construction of the Hagia Sophia was one of Justinian's major achievements. What was this building's primary purpose?
- A. A military fortress to defend the harbor.
- B. A large church that served as a religious center.
- C. The main palace where the emperor and his family lived.
- D. The law school where scholars wrote the Justinian Code.
4. What was the most significant long-term impact of the Justinian Code?
- A. It was quickly forgotten after Justinian's death.
- B. It mainly dealt with military regulations and strategy.
- C. It became the foundation for many later legal systems in the West.
- D. It applied only to the city of Constantinople and not the wider empire.
5. What was a major reason that the Byzantine Empire lost control of the western territories Justinian had conquered?
- A. The army was needed to stop rebellions in Constantinople.
- B. The empire lacked the funds and soldiers to defend the vast new territories.
- C. A peace treaty required returning the land to its former owners.
- D. The newly conquered people refused to become Christians.
6. What action did some Byzantine emperors, such as Leo III, take during the Iconoclast Controversy?
- A. They ordered the destruction of icons.
- B. They declared that only icons of Jesus were allowed.
- C. They requested that the pope in Rome mediate the dispute.
- D. They funded the creation of new, more elaborate icons for churches.
7. How did the church in Rome react to the iconoclasts' efforts to destroy holy images in the East?
- A. It remained neutral to avoid conflict with the Byzantine emperor.
- B. It supported the iconoclasts' view on the dangers of idol worship.
- C. It strongly condemned the destruction of icons.
- D. It sent its own artists to teach proper icon painting techniques.
8. Iconoclasts, or 'image-breakers,' believed that using holy images in prayer was a form of...
- A. idol worship.
- B. disrespect to the emperor.
- C. political rebellion.
- D. artistic expression.
9. Which statement best describes the effect of the debate over icons within the Byzantine Empire?
- A. The debate was resolved quickly and peacefully by church leaders.
- B. It became a bitter and sometimes violent internal conflict.
- C. Most citizens ignored the debate as it only involved the clergy.
- D. The controversy resulted in a new period of artistic creativity.
10. What was the main argument of the 'iconoclasts' in the Byzantine Empire?
- A. They believed icons were too expensive to create for churches.
- B. They argued that praying to religious images was a form of idol worship.
- C. They thought only the emperor should be depicted in religious art.
- D. They wanted to replace painted icons with large statues.