Byzantium was located in and around present day Turkey and Greece. “In 330 A.D., the first Christian ruler of the Roman empire, Constantine the Great, transferred the imperial capital from Rome to the ancient city of Byzantine, renaming it Constantinople.” This city would come to be known as Byzantium. Because Byzantium was located within the roman empire it had access to all the trade routes that Rome had created. Byzantium’s location impacted it’s history because it was centrally located on the trade routes of Europe, Africa, and Asia and was near many powerful territories and empires.
The Byzantine empire was located on many important trade routes. This gave them a lot of options for trade items such as greek oil, timber, exotic souvenirs, silk, and spices. The trade routes also allowed the Byzantine to travel to countries such as and expand their religion through crusades. “Society of that time went on religious voyages, pilgrimages, traveling east or west seeking holy cities, relics, hoping to be closer to God. Many people traveled for holy days, for the celebrat...
...nt population, supplied goods to support the empire through agriculture and taxes. The bureaucracy controlled trade and food prices. These price were constantly kept low to keep the common people happy as an attempt to avoid uprisings. Large trading routes were established between Asia, Russia, and Scandinavia. These trade routes allowed them to export luxury goods such as cloth, carpets, and spices. They also imported goods from other nations such as silk. The Merchants never gained much government power due to the elaborate make up of the government, and greatly resembled that of China.
Larger empires maximized long distance trade due to the demand for raw materials and luxury items. Because of this trade routes developed over land and sea to link various parts of the east. Some of the routes that formed were the Silk Roads, the Trans-Saharan caravan routes, and various sea lanes.
Particularly, the Silk road brought wealth to many civilizations. In fact, many of these civilizations would not be known without this trading route. Because of the riches the Silk road brought the empires.
The Silk Road was essentially the only source of trade during the Byzantine Sassanid war. The war was fought over the control over the Silk Road. The empire that got control over the Silk Road would control trade and be the most powerful. This made a race to get control over the Silk Road that resulted in the many battles that took place there.
The Byzantine Empire, the eastern half of the Roman Empire, flourished as an impressive medieval civilization. This empire was rich with geography, culture, and trade connections due to its location in Constantinople, the isthmus between Asia and Europe. It also lasted for over a thousand years and reached its height and glory during the sixth century, under the reign of Justinian I (Justinian the Great) and his empress, Theodora. They both came from the lower class and gained status to work their way to being rulers of the empire. Justinian and Theodora are important figures in history because they ruled the Byzantine Empire at its height and made many reforms during that time which many still exist today.
Though one should consider the argument by some historians that the Byzantine Empire was really a continuation of the Roman empire and not in fact a new entity. The Byzantine Empire had been formed in Late Antiquity by the splitting of the Roman empire between the two heirs of Theodosius I. While the two halves retained some ties for all intents and purposes the two were independent entities after 395 CE. While the Western Empire continued to decline, the Byzantines actually flourished and by the 4th century included the Balkans, Greece, Anatolia (Asia Minor), the Levant, and parts of North Africa including Egypt. While Byzantium’s power fluctuated, especially during conflicts with the Islamic civilization and during internal wars, for the majority of its history the Byzantine Empire was a strong political, cultural and economic power in Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages. Significant conflicts in the 11th century caused the Byzantine Empire to decline and this decline was made worse by the Sack of Constantinople in 1204 by the Venetian Crusaders. After this defeat, Byzantium was split into two portions and remained so until 1261 when it was reunified. However, the damage was done and internal conflict and civil war continued to plague the Empire until it ultimately was destroyed by the Ottoman Turks in
As Alexander spread Greek culture through his military conquests, he and others established economically stable Hellenistic cities. Alexander was able to do this in part because of the economic gains from his conquest of the Persian Empire that were due to the royal treasury, which was full of valuable items. These cities were successful marketplaces and economic centers that participated in manufacturing and trade. Because they were located in various places around and throughout the empire, these cities collectively improved the entire Greek economy dramatically during the Hellenistic era. Through merchants and their newly founded, efficient, and consistent coin system, Greece was able to conduct trade oversea and overland both internally and with other civilizations, including their invaluable trade connection to China through the Silk Road. Other important goods they traded included luxurious items (gold, silver, etc.), raw materials, and food (grains, fish, olive oil, fruit, nuts, vegetables, etc.) Prosperity became more accessible to people as trade succeeded due to its globalization and as material goods became more available for individuals. The Hellenistic era and its commercial cities serve as good examples that show the prosperous and successful economy of Greece, which is a fruitful
The most notable was the cultural diffusion and expansion that these trade networks facilitated. The Mediterranean Sea trade network reached its peak under Alexander of Macedonia. “Alexander the Great,” as he is most often called was a large supporter of Hellenic culture and the spreading of such. He modeled much of his ruling on Greek culture, language and architecture. Alexander utilized the Mediterranean Sea as a passage to further spread his love of Greek culture. This is evidenced in the building of the Library of Alexandria, in Egypt, a crucial spot in Mediterranean Sea trade. This phenomenon of utilizing trade networks to further expand culture can also be seen in the Silk Road. Beginning in Eastern China, the Silk Road stretched all the way to Eastern Mediterranean Europe. During the classical era, Islam and Buddhism were taking form in Eastern China and India. As they developed, so did the Silk Road. While the Silk Road transferred luxury goods, such as spices and jewels, many Muslim and Buddhist scholars and missionaries traveled the Silk Road to expand and discuss theological ideas with scholars and students they met on the way. Therefore, Buddhism and Islam saw a spread due to the Silk Road. This can all be examined to further the argument that both the Silk Road and the Mediterranean furthered and assisted in the spread of culture for Alexander the Great and religion for Buddhist and Muslim
Byzantine culture begins with the establishment of the city Constantinople by Emperor Constantine in 330 AD. This is considered by some historians to be the beginning of Byzantium, the term for the Eastern Roman Empire. Other historians argue that Byzantium was only established after the fall of the empire in the West in 476 (Loverance 6). The Byzantines continued many Roman traditions, but as time went on, Byzantine culture became more and more distant from that of the Romans.
Trade routes between Rome and all of its surrounding territories were extremely important. They not only brought in food and materials,...
...Christian banner so far from home, given the contemporary conditions of transport and communication, was impressive.”(Encarta, “Crusades”). The most important effect of the Crusades was economic. The Italian cities prospered from the transport of Crusaders and replaced Byzantines and Muslims as merchant-traders in the Mediterranean. Trade passed through Italian hands to Western Europe with a tremendous profit. This power became the basis of economics in the Italian Renaissance. It also made powers such as the Atlantic like Spain and Portugal to seek trade through India and China. “Their efforts, through such explorers as Vasco da Gama and Christopher Columbus, helped to open most of the world to European trade dominance and colonization and to shift the center of commercial activity from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic.”(Encarta, “Crusades”).
By 350 A.D., Constantinople was one of the world's greatest capitals. The city was located between Asia and Europe, making it a very diverse and strategic place. The many bodies of water surrounding the peninsula gave Constantinople many trade routes as well as protection. The famous walls were also built to further strengthen security. Constantinople eventually rose to a beautiful city of strength and wealth. Its Greek heritage separated itself from the West with their religion of Eastern Orthodoxy. Despite the power of Constantinople, unending attacks and problems would eventually weaken the city. The first major catastrophe took place in 542, when a plague struck and killed massive amounts of people. The recovery was very slow, and it allowed for countless attacks. For Constantinople, however, it was just the beginning.
The geography of these areas not only helped with traveling, but it also helped create the natural resources that many civilizations crave for, thus making trading very popular.
... had to cross the very hostile territory of Anatolia. The extra support by the Christian church was not only motivated by the religious factors that went along with controlling Byzantium but it also included the great source of wealth, power, and land that the Byzantine empire controlled. Although helping the Byzantine Empire wasn’t the main focus the people of the Crusades still cared enough to help keep their Christian religion alive all around the world.
The city of Istanbul was originally known as Constantinople back in the time of the Byzantine Empire Days. Then, in 1453, Constantinople became part of Ottoman Empire and over the years, the name of the city was changed to Istanbul. Since both empires occupied Istanbul at one point, its leaders brought over many rich and diverse cultures, ideas, and many architectural designs. This beautiful city is separated by the Bosphorus Strait which is the main waterway connecting the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara, that separates Europe from Asia.