The Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire, the survivor of the Roman empire, flourished into the oldest and longest lasting empire in our history. It began with Constantine the Great's triumph of Christianity. He then transferred his capital from Rome to the refounded Byzantium in the early 4th century, year 330 AD, and named it
Constantinople after himself. This city became the surviving safe spot after the breakup of the Western Roman empire by the 5th century. It was by far the largest and richest city in Christendom during the Middle Ages with a population of about one million people. (Encarta)
Constantine the Great had established a criterion for the empire to follow throughout its history. It included the harmony of the church, the leaders and the teachers of the empire. Constantine created a successful new monetary system based on the gold solidus, or nomisma which lasted well into the middle of the 11th century. Because of the commercial thriving throughout the
4th, 5th, and 6th centuries, many ancient cities flourished. Large estates dominated agriculture which continued to be fruitful in spite of the heavy taxation causing an abandonment of land. From the beginning to the end of the
Byzantine empire, the church and the emperor had been the largest landholders, therefore being the largest profiteers of Byzantine. (Encarta)
After the Roman empire fell in 476 AD, Byzantine conquered all. It took over the space of southeastern Europe, southwestern Asia, and the northeast corner of Africa. The present day countries in these areas include the Balkan
Peninsula, Syria, Jordan, Israel, and Egypt. This large empire known as
Byzantine didn't get called Byzantine until scholars named it. The people of that time were not thought of as Byzantines but as Romans who lived a Roman lifestyle. Byzantine had been started and ruled by an emperor without any formal constitution. It slowly formed a similar establishment of late Roman institutions. Byzantine followed the Romans orthodox Christianity as well. The predominant language of this era was Greek, although some subjects spoke Latin,
Two of the most powerful powers in the post-classical period were the Arabian and Byzantine empires. Each had different political, religious, and economic differences that defined their respective cultures, and managing to create vast empires that greatly rivaled each other.
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
Theodora’s story starts with a distinctive start. Her father was a bear trainer that worked in the Hippodrome in Constantinople and she grew up in the entertainment spotlight (Craig/Graham/Kagan/Ozment /Turner, 355, 2009). She was a mime and when she was older, she became an actress (Koeller, 1996). So, she not only lived in a circus, she also became a child star. Who would not want her childhood? But, back in that day, an actress was not a highly looked upon career for a women, therefore the term ‘actress’ was interchanged with ‘prostitute’ (Koeller, 1996). So, it might not have been the best...
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.
Kazhadan, Alexander. Studies on Byzantine Literature of the Eleventh and Twelfth. NewYork: Cambridge University press, 1984. Print
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.
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.
The Ottoman Empire were Muslims and included Hungary, Syria, Egypt, Bulgaria, and Albania, and they marched on land. The Ottoman Empire is said to have first appeared somewhere around the 1300’s, and can be related to the decline of the Byzantine Empire. They began conquering Christian lands and by the late 1600’s all Christians were afraid of the “terrible Turk”. It is no wonder that many other people were afraid of the Ottoman Empire since they seem to be really rather powerful and they conquered a lot of land. It was in the 1330’s when the Morroccan Abu Abdallah Ibn Battuta passed through Constantinople and became impressed with the Ottomans who seemed to be gaining power rather quickly, he noticed that they had close to 100 forts and
The Roman Empire In 27 BC, Augustus became the first emperor of Rome, thus creating a strong leader figure, which could shape and mold the Republic system into what was best for the empire or themselves. During the reign of the emperors, the political policies for Rome would vary according to, which emperor was in power. Not only were politics shaky, but there never was a clear-cut method of succession for the man who controlled those politics. Rome had created the position of emperor in hopes that men like Augustus would continue to lead her into prosperity, however the office of emperor struggled in attempting to find great men to lead Rome. The office never truly evolved into something greater than when it had been created, but rather the office varied according to the personality of the man in the position.
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.
Both the Byzantine Empire and the Muslim Empire specifically were two very prominent societies that gained popularity from the fourth to the sixth century. Though the Byzantine and Muslim empires rose at the same time they were extremely different in ways of having separate rulers, beliefs, and people, however they were both greatly influenced by the Roman Empire. They both resembled in ways of their religion, art, and law. They Byzantine Empire was centered around the city of Constantinople and managed to remain in power for more than 1000 years. At the height of their power they were the most powerful both economically and militarily 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.
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 Byzantine mosaic was an early Christian predecessor whereby it clear cuts the religious tales drawn from the bible. There was a combination of forces between the political and religious authority which gave the emperor power over the architecture and art of Byzantine Empire. The Roman Empire was collapsing due to the interruption by German tribes hence they were not able to teach manners and morals according to the artistic and cultural ways of the mosaics hence they were unable to determine art of the early Christianity while the art of Byzantine
The ottoman mpire came to light as a result of the fall of the Roman Empire. After the fall of the western half of the roman empire flourished the eastern half as the new power of the world. Constantinople was a force to be reckoned with under the rule of Constantine. No other region had the power to threaten Constantinople as a state. Non other than the ottoman empire. Numerous raids from the Turkcoman Gazis resulted in a general invasion. Osman Gazi attacked Iznik, the former Byzantine capital and when the epmeror sent an army to go against him they were ambushed and defeated at baphaeon. The Ottoman Empire,Under the sultan Mehmed the Conqueror, invented the canon which directly resulted in the fall of Constantinople, bringing along all of the byzantine Empire with it. This was the ottoman empires first step toward becoming the new world power. Now free of Constantinople's influence and rule the Ottoman Empire began its rebuilding of Istanbul, formerly Constantine. Even with all the destruction left behind by the conquering of Constantinople, the Ottoman Empire flourished as a t...