The Roman Empire hit its height around the year 117 AD, where it was over five million plus square Kilometers. Soon the Roman Empire would be ravaged by disease and poverty. To cope with this the Empire would split into two in able to cope with the rising trouble. This would create the Eastern and Western Empires. In 476 AD the last emperor of the Western Empire was overthrown by Germanic leaders. This led to the collapse of the western Empire. So why did the Eastern thrive while the Western fell? They thrived because of location, allies, and trade. The Byzantines had a major advantage in their location. Their empire was positioned in the hardest area to conquer, and at the center of it all was Constantinople. The capital was located on …show more content…
This would allow their allies to safely sail into the ports with money and other goods. The Byzantines main trade hub were located in their capital of Constantinople.” A dizzying array of goods circulated in the Byzantine Middle East” (Williams). they would receive immense amounts of goods and money. This would allow the Byzantine Empire to become one of the wealthiest nations in Medieval age Europe. Although the Byzantines were promised goods from their allies, most times they were not given. Goods like food and money would be promised to the Byzantines. Only after the promise of such goods, was the promise broken for reasons unknown. “Promised Food and shelter for defeating the Turks.” (Google …show more content…
Their power was immense. Their walls were up to 40 feet high, and their armies were feared. With the help of key allies like Venice and the Holy Roman Empire, the Byzantines were able to accumulate wealth at an astonishing rate. The Byzantines were a gateway to the Middle East and India. They served as a blockage for the Turks and Egypt. The Byzantines were able to do more and be more because they had knowledge that most of Europe did not have. The Byzantines went through many rules, each better than the last. The Byzantines didn’t allow armies to march onto their cities until the eventual sack of Constantinople. The Byzantines are a rule that will be remembered for
As you can see, the Byzantine and Arab empires had many characteristics that came to define them. Whether it was through their religious beliefs, political structure, or economy, each was able to create a vast, long lasting empire which came to define the post-classical period.
The Byzantine Empire is distinct because they stress education which results in them doing better in other areas like trade,law,and skills like architecture. The Romans will always be another stepping stone for the Byzantine. The Byzantines found a way to reinvent all the Roman's failures and turn them into successes. For example, Rome has the Twelve Tables that nobody remembers , then the Byzantine make Justinian's law based on The Twelve Tables and fix it up some then it becomes a legendary piece of work that passes down from generation to generation. The discovery of Byzantine is due to the fall of Rome, but it did not prosper and build itself up because of the roman empire. All the things the Byzantine do is on their own account and not because of the superiority Romans had over
Roman Emperor Constantine I founded the Byzantine Empire in 330 CE as a continuation of the Roman Empire in the east. The characteristics of the empire led to the modern definition of “Byzantine,” which means “strangely complicated.” This was true, as in the Byzantine Empire was very chaotic, complex, and strange at times, but it was very massive and influential worldwide. The empire heavily influenced modern religion, laws, and engineering making it worthwhile learning about the empire.
In the year 330 Constantine founded a new imperial city in the east, which became known as Constantinople. Accompanying Diocletian's system of tetrarchy, the creation of this new city affirmed the separation of the Roman Empire into the east and the west. The Eastern Roman Empire held a series of advantages over the west both socially and economically. The Western Roman Empire was the weaker empire and a bad leadership and government along with attacks from barbarians led to the demise of the Western Roman Empire.
Justinian was one of the most influential rulers of Byzantium. When he came into power in 527 AD, he inherited a civilization in disarray. Justinian had a positive impact on the Byzantine Empire. Most notably, he introduced an improved set of laws and conquered many surrounding nations, nearly restoring the former glory of the Roman Empire. In addition to these contributions, Justinian also made advances with the Christian Church and Byzantine architecture.
Constantinople was considered a wealthy city during its time. Constantinople was located right next to the sea and was a bridge between Asia and Europe; with the sea surrounding most of the city, it provided a useful source of oversea goods and services. The ruler of Constantinople, Constantine, understood the appeal of Constantinople to other rulers. So, to keep his power and his city safe, “Constantine paid gold to his enemies in an attempt to keep the peace” (The Siege of Constantinople, 2011). The problem with this method was that soon Constantine ran out of money. As the city because bankrupt, it also became the capital due to the fall of Rome. This was a perfect time for an invasion, and that is exactly what the Ottomans did. The Ottomans
They began to take rent from the people who lived there, place taxes on local markets and tollbooths were placed at the entrance to the cities. This all helped to create the fiscal-military state which made it possible for rulers to pay their armies and guards with cash. It was the conquering of the Byzantine Empire that helped to make money more accessible to the Ottoman Empire, the Byzantine Empire was part of the Roman Empire which was the longest lasting Empire and most likely more advance than some of the smaller Empires. Metals such as silver, lead, and iron were necessary to keep enough money to pay the armies their salaries. The Ottomans took over the silver, iron and lead mines in Serbia and Bosnia making them the masters of metal production. Both the Habsburgs and the Ottomans used large amounts of gold and silver to purchase firearms, cannons and ships to conquer the world.
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.
The Roman Empire dominated much of Europe, Asia Minor, and parts of Northern Africa for nearly five hundred years. The Roman Empire lasted from 27 BC to 476 AD and is credited with being the world’s greatest superpower. The Roman Empire was known for their wealth, which was gained from conquest, their citizens, who lived in luxury, and their military, which was extensive and well trained. There was not an outside force strong enough to bring down an Empire so large and so powerful. In the end, it was the Roman Empire itself that led to its demise. Over the last three hundred years of Imperial rule the Empire was slowly crumbling.
The Roman Empire was, without a doubt, the most powerful governing body in the Mediterranean that ever was. At the peak of the Roman Empire, in the mid part of the first century, it covered about half of Europe, much of the Middle East, and the north coast of Africa. So why did Rome fall? There was not one cause that led to the fall of Rome, but many things occurring in succession to each other.
Bayezid I was the figure chiefly responsible for greatly increasing the territory of his empire with a series of aggressive expansionist military campaigns during the late 14th century. His conquests in Europe marked the last days of Byzantium. While he did not succeed in conquering Constantinople, he set the demise of the already-declined empire in motion. His military actions in the Eastern Mediterranean-specifically the Siege of Constantinople from 1394 to 1402- impacted the Byzantines by transforming the political relations between the Eastern and Western Christians, disabling the Byzantine economy for nearly a decade, and altering the social make-up of Constantinople.
The Byzantine Empire lasted for over a millennium. Byzantium had a extremely varied arsenal of weapons and armour that they used to attack and defend their empire. These weapons ranged from handheld weapons like axes, to siege weapons like siege towers.
Much of past civilizations have endured many failures and triumphs throughout their existence. In the third century, there were many civilizations that started to flourish. One of these civilizations that started to expand was the Byzantine civilization. The Byzantine civilization, also regarded as Byzantium, was part of the Roman Empire which was divided in 395 AD. Byzantium had shared the same attitude, as the Roman Empire, toward exercising its authority over its citizens and throughout its empire. The Islamic civilization had started thrive in the fifth century. The Islamic civilization was unified together as unison by Islam and it has expanded its civilization throughout parts of Europe through jihad. Because of their expansions throughout parts of Europe, they shared various similarities which include their political system, social structure, and economy.
Justinian ruled the Byzantine Empire during its height. His military faced strength from the East that greatly endangered his people. The Sassanian Empire of Persia was one threat that Byzantines needed to conquer. The Persians endangered eastern lands, so Justinian's military prevented any conquest. The Sassanians were defeated and security was briefly gained. After his success, Justinian wanted to regain lands the Roman Empire once lost to invaders. Byzantine armies began a reconquest of Spain, Italy, and North Africa. Battles against various Germanic groups took place, and western lands were conquered by the Byzantines. The wars were expensive, and resources were low. Defense became weak and territories were lost increasingly after Justinian's death.
As the Roman Empire shifted its center of power to the East, Rome lost much of the prestige and protection it had previously enjoyed. With Constantinople as the new seat of the empire, the West was left to stand alone, often defenseless.4 Barbarians attacked Rome in AD 410, and Rome found little help from Constantinople. With the Western Empire essentially abandoned, disease, poverty and instability were rampant. Many structures had fallen into disrepair, and famine ravaged the land. Most government officials had left Rome, leaving the churc...