The Byzantine Empire (or Byzantium) was a predominantly Greek-speaking Eastern Roman Empire throughout Late Antiquity and the middle Ages. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania by its contemporaries, the empire was centered on the capital of Constantinople and was ruled by emperors in direct succession to the ancient Roman emperors after the collapse of the Western Roman Empire. The two main agents of continuity were the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire and the Christian church. The Byzantine Empire existed for more than a thousand years (from approximately 306 to 1453). During its existence, the Empire remained one of the most powerful economic, cultural, and military forces in Europe, despite setbacks and territorial losses, especially during the Roman–Persian and Byzantine–Arab Wars. The Byzantine Empire’s most important achievements were the preservation of forms, institutions and traditions of the old Roman Empire. Byzantium passed their intellectual heritage of Greco-Roman civilization on to later cultures.
The Sassanid Empire of Persia was recognized as one of the two main powers in Western Asia and Europe, alongside the Roman Empire and its successor, the Byzantine Empire. The Empire was founded by Ardashir I (r. 226-243) and lasted until 651. The Muslims overthrew the Sassanid Empire. The Sassanid Empire’s economic prosperity rested on agriculture, their location also made them suited for commerce. Zoroastrianism was the Persians official state religion. Zoroastrianism promoted hostility toward Christians because of the perception of their connections to Rome, Constantinople, and the Jewish population in Mesopotamia after Diaspora (dispersion of Jews from Jerusalem between 132 & 135). Byzantine Emperors preserv...
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...ceros horns, shells, and slaves to many Arab states. Interestingly it was largely Christian due to Christian missionaries who began converting subjects Nubian rulers around 600. The most powerful city on the coast of Africa was Kilwa and many Europeans began trading with these east African cities like Mogadishu, Mombasa, and Malindi. It was in this region that Islam began to spread and influence local cultures. The southernmost part of Africa unlike other regions was never impacted by European and Asian influences. Zimbabwe was settled in the 8th century by Bantu speaking people who bought their skills of ironworking and farming. Southern Africa remains largely unaffected by Europe until the Portuguese arrived in the 15th century. Shortly after the arrival of the Portuguese the Great Zimbabwe south east began to decline.
Works Cited
History of World Societies
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
In 2010, the Eastern Orthodox population consisted of 250,000,000 people. (Doc. C) A lot of people are still Orthodox Christians, showing that the religion has carried on from the Byzantine Empire. Also, “Had the [Arabs] captured Constantinople in the seventh century...all Europe - and America - might be Muslim today. (Doc. A) This displays that the Byzantine Empire heavily influenced how the world turns out today, and if the Arabs had the power of the Byzantine Empire civilization would mostly be Muslim.
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.
After the fall of the Roman Empire, a new empire, the Byzantine Empire, arose out of the eastern half of Byzantium. Byzantium stood partway along the straits between the Aegean Sea and the Black Sea. It occupied the tip of a small peninsula, with a body of water to the South called the Sea of Marmara, which led to a passage called the Bosporus. The site that Constantine chose to be the new capital was a town called ...
In the sixth century B.C, the land that we now call Iran was the center of the largest empire in the world. The kings of Ancient Persia( such as Cyrus the Great) were the leaders of a great civilization that made amazing advances in laws, goverment and communication. Founded in 550 B.C by King Cyrus the Great, the Persian Empire spanned from Egypt in the west to Turkey in the north, and through Mesopotamia to the Indus River in the east. Unlike most empires at that time, the Persian kings were benovelent rulers, and allowed a diverse variety of diffrent people with diffrent ethnic backgrounds. The Persian empire was split into three diffrent empires with three diffrent time periods but the first empire was called the Achaemenid Empire. It began with King Cyrus the Great and ended with King Darius III.
In 400 B.C.E., Africa originally consisted of only about 3.5 million people; however, it grew up to 22 million people by 1000 C.E. As a result, this strong presence of the Bantu led to many near forest peoples engaging in the agricultural production or trade with their Bantu neighbors, and the Bantu community to become more urbanized. The merchants in the thriving overland and maritime trade of the sub-Saharan Africa influenced the spread of Islam in these states. Although Islam was a new foreign religion to the African society, the Africans gradually adapted this cultural belief to fit their own needs and interests. For example, they continued to maintain the almost equal relations between genders in the African society even though the traditional Muslims believed in male dominance. Islam was able to attract many converts in sub-Saharan Africa especially with merchants and members of the upper class because it led to an enhanced commercial relationship with Muslim merchants. The population pressure due to the rise in population of the Bantu society led to them further expanding and settling down in the coasts of east
One of ancient Africa’s wealthiest kingdoms, Mali, traded with other kingdoms which introduced new ideas and ways of life advancing their civilization. This is an example of how African empires, kingdoms, and cities were advanced civilizations bringing in new ideas and ways of life before the arrival of Europeans. Ancient Africa was able to advance their cultures by their government, trade, and education without the introduction of ideas from the Europeans.
It is only recently that more reliable studies have brought to light much information about great civilizations that developed in Africa while Europe was in the period often referred as the Dark Ages. The earliest of these mature civilizations were in West Africa. In a vast region south of the Sahara, Africans organized kingdoms which in time became great empires. This region is called the Sudan (a word meaning "land of the Blacks" in Arabic) The Sudan was important in the early history of Black Africa because the Africans first practiced agriculture in this region, and thus became the first people south of the Sahara to fashion and use iron tools and weapons. They were also among the first people in Africa to organize viable political systems. The Sudanic Blacks had learn to domesticate crops long before the coming of Christianity, and their grain production furnished food for an expanding population.
Prior to the arrival of European traders, the continent of Africa had developed sophisticated society as it demonstrated its ability to maintain advanced civilizations, withhold three major empires, and gain wealth through trade. Although European traders did advance organized society in Africa, it would be false to say that prior to their arrival Africa was underdeveloped.
In Africa, there were achievements in the empires or kingdoms and their cities before the Europeans arrived and took control. In the Kingdom (Empire) of Axum they developed a trade route. In the Kingdom of Ghana they had characteristics of powerful nations today. In the city of Timbuktu they had great morals and developed the center of Islamic Art. There are many other things that Africa achieved in.
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.
According to history there existed two of many important ancient civilizations that left a significant mark in the history of human development that even today leaves modern society in awe of its greatness. In spite of being distant civilizations, Ancient Egypt and Ancient Greece share similarities and difference in terms of how they practiced religion,political structure, everyday life style, and how they built the monumental architectures that continued to amaze the modern world of today. These comparison and contrast explain their difference in history and their dynasty's long term success. Through the early developmental age these two ancient civilizations contrasted in many ways perhaps due to the geographical location that helped shape their diverse cultures.
In today’s age, when one thinks of the word empire, they think it’s from ancient times where there were ancient civilizations. Webster dictionaries definition of empire is, “a major political unit having a territory of great extent or a number of territories or peoples under a single sovereign authority; especially: one having an emperor as chief of state.” (Marriam-Webster) An empire is something like a state. It’s state with just one other layer of government with large political units. Usually an empire is made up of states combined, with some states primarily being on their own and others’ relying heavily on the empire. They commonly began as powerful monarchies that have different units of diversity such as different
Few bygone civilizations fascinate us as much as that of the ancient Egyptians. The kingdom along the Nile River has been the subject of countless books, magazine articles, movies, and television shows and documentaries. There is even a hotel in Las Vegas with an ancient Egyptian theme! Museums all over the world dedicate entire galleries to excavated Egyptian artifacts, and Egypt itself receives millions of tourists flocking to photograph its ruins each year.
For thousands of years, people all over the world have developed, progressed, and eventually formed civilizations. A civilization is a community characterized by elements such as a system of writing, a development of social classes, and cities. Early civilizations such as ancient Greece, classical Rome, Mesopotamia, and classical China have made many contributions to society that still affect people in the modern world. The inventions, progress, and contributions of the people of these ancient civilizations and others have shaped the world that we all live in today.