The Byzantine Empire Essay Example For Students

The Byzantine Empire Essay The Byzantine EmpireThe Byzantine Empire, the survivor of the Roman empire, flourished intothe oldest and longest lasting empire in our history. It began with Constantinethe Greats triumph of Christianity. He then transferred his capital from Rometo the refounded Byzantium in the early 4th century, year 330 AD, and named itConstantinople after himself. This city became the surviving safe spot afterthe breakup of the Western Roman empire by the 5th century. It was by far thelargest and richest city in Christendom during the Middle Ages with a populationof about one million people. (Encarta)Constantine the Great had established a criterion for the empire tofollow throughout its history. It included the harmony of the church, theleaders and the teachers of the empire. Constantine created a successful newmonetary system based on the gold solidus, or nomisma which lasted well into themiddle of the 11th century. Because of the commercial thriving throughout the4th, 5th, and 6th centuries, many ancient cities flourished. Large estatesdominated agriculture which continued to be fruitful in spite of the heavytaxation causing an abandonment of land. From the beginning to the end of theByzantine 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 tookover the space of southeastern Europe, southwestern Asia, and the northeastcorner of Africa. The present day countries in these areas include the BalkanPeninsula, Syria, Jordan, Israel, and Egypt. This large empire known asByzantine didnt get called Byzantine until scholars named it. The people ofthat time were not thought of as Byzantines but as Romans who lived a Romanlifestyle. Byzantine had been started and ruled by an emperor without anyformal constitution. It slowly formed a similar establishment of late Romaninstitutions. Byzantine followed the Romans orthodox Christianity as well. Thepredominant language of this era was Greek, although some subjects spoke Latin,Coptic, and Armenian. (Great Ages)The Greek language led to a Greek culture. The Byzantine empire stoodout for their Christian religion and their expression of it in their artwork. We will write a custom essay on The Byzantine Empire specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now These Romans carved exquisite ivories, illuminated manuscripts, and formedmosaics out of glass and stone. Mosaics were pictures formed from these objectswith the intent to stimulate profound religious thought. The mood of thesemosaics was always honoring and respectful of Christianity and its components. Another form of Christian expression was in the form of icons. These were partsof the Gospel played out into visual pictures. The icons portrayed prayers,hymns, and sermons in color. These too created a reverence for worshippers tofollow. That was the first goal of icons. The second goal was to form anexistential link between themselves as worshippers and God. These are only afew ways that Byzantines use art as a part of their religion. (Great Ages)Religion was a great part of the Byzantine empire. To form a biggerChristian kingdom, Christian Justinian the first attempted to bring the west andeast Byzantine empires together in 527 AD Justinian became the second emperorof Byzantine at that time. Him and his wife, Theodora, set a goal to restorethe former majesty. (Oxford History) They wanted to improve the intellectualquality and their geographical limits of the Roman Empire. At a great cost,they reconquered North Africa, Italy, Sicily, Sardinia, and parts of Spain. This was part of the reason the Byzantine empire fell. Justinian and Theodora,with substantial expenses, induced in fabricating public buildings and churches. .ua011e4c90623caf5f26d5ab41603f5a4 , .ua011e4c90623caf5f26d5ab41603f5a4 .postImageUrl , .ua011e4c90623caf5f26d5ab41603f5a4 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .ua011e4c90623caf5f26d5ab41603f5a4 , .ua011e4c90623caf5f26d5ab41603f5a4:hover , .ua011e4c90623caf5f26d5ab41603f5a4:visited , .ua011e4c90623caf5f26d5ab41603f5a4:active { border:0!important; } .ua011e4c90623caf5f26d5ab41603f5a4 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .ua011e4c90623caf5f26d5ab41603f5a4 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .ua011e4c90623caf5f26d5ab41603f5a4:active , .ua011e4c90623caf5f26d5ab41603f5a4:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .ua011e4c90623caf5f26d5ab41603f5a4 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .ua011e4c90623caf5f26d5ab41603f5a4 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .ua011e4c90623caf5f26d5ab41603f5a4 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .ua011e4c90623caf5f26d5ab41603f5a4 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .ua011e4c90623caf5f26d5ab41603f5a4:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .ua011e4c90623caf5f26d5ab41603f5a4 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .ua011e4c90623caf5f26d5ab41603f5a4 .ua011e4c90623caf5f26d5ab41603f5a4-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .ua011e4c90623caf5f26d5ab41603f5a4:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: The American Dream EssayOne of these famous churches was the Hagia Sophia, Church of the Holy Wisdom, inConstantinople. After spending so much of the Byzantines money, the empire wasoverstrained when finally their resources ran dry. Along with that problem,plagues crossed the nation and reduced the Byzantine population. (Encarta)To fight the rundown of the Byzantine nation, they transformed theirarmies into an elite expeditionary guard called tagmata and army corps labeledthemes or themata. Each of these were commanded by a strategos or general whoacquired civil and military authority of his army district. Thematic armiesbecame army corps districts whose soldiers acquired tax-exempt lands, preservingthe core of the empire while avoiding the incriminating drain of cash that hadoverstrained the salaried armies of the period before the Arab invasions. (Encarta)Finally, the invasions began. Byzantine was able to defend itselfagainst Germanic and Hunnic raids in the 5th and 6th centuries. They were alsoable to stabilize a reasonably