Byzantine Empire Changes And Continuities Essay

1080 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: World history - unit 1: byzantine empire

Continuity and Change in Europe and Western Asia

During the sixth and seventh centuries the Byzantine Empire survived waves of attacks, due to efficient leadership and to natural and man-made fortifications around Constantinople (Martin 206). From this strategic point Byzantine emperors organized and preserved old Roman institutions, and the Byzantine Empire survived until 1453. In particular, the emperor Justinian led the creation of the Code, which condensed the legal genius of the Romans into a coherent whole, eliminated outdated laws and oppositions, and clarified the law itself. The survival of Byzantine was sustained on faith of citizens, unique and strong in Roman heritage, beliefs, and learning skills. Christianity offered an individual what city-state and world-state could not, a personal relationship with God, as well as membership in community.

Rome and surrounding lands made up one half ofRoman Empire and Constantinople made up the other half. Emperor Constantine struggled to maintain unity of …show more content…

The Mediterranean served as the highway over which Christianity spread to the cities of the Byzantine Empire. Barbarian kings accepted Christianity because they believed thatChristian God was more powerful than pagan gods. Christianity offered an individual what city-state and world-state could not, a personal relationship with God, and membership in community.During the reign of Diocletian, the Roman Empire was divided for administrative purposes into geographical units called dioceses, and Christianity adopted this pattern. Each diocese was headed by a bishop, responsible for delegating tasks for preaching, teaching, and maintaining orthodox doctrine.The power of bishops in Rome increased as they repeatedly called on emperors for military support against barbarian invaders.They urged other churches to appeal to Rome forresolution of disputed

Show More
Related

  • Byzantine Empire Dbq Essay

    1153 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Byzantine Empire plays a major role in many different societies to this day. Some of the things that impact other civilizations from the Byzantine include their religion and laws. According to Mr. Gray, Russia went so far as to adopt Orthodox Christianity, which makes them view themselves as the continuation of Byzantine culturally. Also, Justinian’s code helps shape the basis of much later laws (Byzantine PPT #7), which shows Justinian's code is a bigger influence

    Read More

  • Theodora Empress Of The Byzantine Empire Research Paper

    1103 Words  | 3 Pages

    While Rome was being ramp sacked from Germanic and other barbaric groups, the imperial power shifted to the eastern part of the Roman Empire, where the center city was Byzantium (Craig/Graham/Kagan/Ozment /Turner, 354, 2009). Between 324 and 330 BCE, Constantine the Great became emperor and rebuilt the city and renamed it after himself (Craig/Graham/Kagan/Ozment /Turner, 354, 2009). After Constantine died, power shifted to Emperor Justinian and Empress Theodora in 527 BCE (Craig/Graham/Kagan/Ozment /Turner, 354, 2009).

    Read More

  • Emperor Justinian Dbq Essay

    663 Words  | 2 Pages

    Emperor Justinian of the Eastern Roman Empire, also known as the Byzantine Empire, was one of Rome’s greatest leaders. By building numerous churches, schools, and hospitals throughout the empire, Justinian not only managed to revive Roman society, but he also preserved Roman culture for over a thousand years. Justinian’s brilliant leadership led the Roman Empire to conquer lands in Europe and Africa and expand to its greatest size. Additionally, he unified and strengthened the empire by moving the capital to Constantinople and establishing a single faith. After his death, Justinian left a legacy that allowed Rome to continue thriving. Under Justinian’s rule, Rome flourished into a culturally rich civilization.

    Read More

  • Byzantine Empire DBQ

    529 Words  | 2 Pages

    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. Our ideas about laws and philosophy are borrowed from those of Justinian’s code, which was the main set of laws of the empire.

    Read More

  • Analyze The Changes And Continuities Of Christianity And Universalization

    479 Words  | 1 Pages

    From 300-600 CE The Roman Empire allowed new religions to be formed and universalized. The Religion that was associated with The Roman empire was Christianity. Christianity became the religion of Rome because of a man named Constantine who allowed Christianity to spread and flow throughout the empire create a harmony throughout the people. Constantine allowed for the Roman officials to adopt Christianity and this led to the building of the Constantinople. Christianity had basilicas which were opulent churches that were open to all which meant any person could go there allowing Christianity to be very universal. Christianity was also very appealing because the worshiped deity walked on land with the people. Christianity split and became the Roman Catholic church which consisted

    Read More

  • Geatest Caesars: Edward Neale Justinian

    1104 Words  | 3 Pages

    During Justinian’s reign he was able to conquer and take over many parts of Europe expanding his Byzantium Empire, which was a huge start in reviving Roman Authority. He took back a huge amount of territory that was once belonged to the Roman Empire before Barbarian invasions in fourth and fifth century in Western Europe including Northern Africa and Italy. Justinians vast war against the Persians to the East of Constantinople was a problem for Justinian but after several battles a peace was arranged with fairly equal terms. Justinian then de...

    Read More

  • The Similarities between: The Byzantine Empire and Islamic Civilization

    668 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Roman Grand Strategy in the Mid 4th Century

    2705 Words  | 6 Pages

    Luttwak, Edward. The Grand Strategy of the Roman Empire: from the First Century A.D. to the Third. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins UP, 1979. Print.

    Read More

  • Europe on the Brink of Change at the Turn of the 20th Century

    1573 Words  | 4 Pages

    Europe being on the brink of change at the turn of the 20th century is

    Read More

  • Justinian I

    1462 Words  | 3 Pages

    These wars destroyed much of the great architecture that Justinian himself had created. More than any other series of events before of since that time. Justinian was successful in driving out the Ostrogoths from Italy, and the Vandals from Africa. During the western wars Justinian bought peace with the Persians, weakened the empire, and oppressed his subjects (Justinian). Justinian tried to restore the empire to match the size that it was at the time of the Roman Empire.

    Read More

  • The Influence of Byzantine Culture on the Renaissance

    1070 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Eastern Orthodox Church

    1514 Words  | 4 Pages

    Behind the elaborate fresco paintings and splendid architecture, Eastern Orthodox Church has played a significant role in the preservation of Christian tradition throughout history. Since the transfer of the imperial capitol of the Roman Empire from Rome to Constantinople, the Eastern Orthodox Christianity has evolved into a distinct branch of Christianity (Steeves). As Timothy Ware, the author of The Orthodox Church, suggests, major intellectual, cultural, and social developments that were taking place in a different region of the Roman Empire were not entirely consistent with the evolution of Western Christianity (Ware 8). These traditions and practices of the church of Constantinople were adopted by many and still provide the basic patterns and ethos of contemporary Orthodoxy. The Eastern Orthodox Church has adopted unique organizational features, beliefs, and traditions constituting itself as a unique branch of Christianity.

    Read More

  • Roman Culture: The Culture Of Roman And Greek Culture

    1872 Words  | 4 Pages

    The purpose of this essay is to intricately elaborate on the culture of the Romans, along with its similarities and discrepancies, or uniqueness, in relation to Ancient Greek culture. This is achieved by providing background to both Roman and Greek culture, analyzing how Rome technically purloined Greek culture, describing how unique Roman culture is, and explaining its long lasting impact on today's society.

    Read More

  • The Structure of The Roman Empire

    1298 Words  | 3 Pages

    "Senate (Roman History)." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Ed. Britannica. Encyclopedia Britannica. Web. 16 Jan. 2014. .

    Read More

  • THE RISE OF THE PAPACY

    1635 Words  | 4 Pages

    Perhaps no other event was as influential to the rise of papacy in Rome as the decline of the Roman empire. With the decline of the empire, the church became the last refuge of stability. Without the protection of the empire, Rome was subject to poverty, disrepair, and attack from enemies.1 The rise of the papacy was a response to this situation. It was further cemented by the leadership of such men as Leo I and Gregory I, the latter sometimes referred to as the father of the medieval papacy.2 Finally, the granting of lands and authority to the bishop of Rome greatly increased the power of the Roman church.3

    Read More

More about Byzantine Empire Changes And Continuities Essay

Open Document