Byzantine Empire Dbq Essay

Silk soon became an imperial monopoly, and through this way, the trade of luxury items became the Byzantine’s main source of income. The location of Constantinople also aided in military conquest and defence, for the empire’s naval headquarters were located along the shores, and had access to the Black Sea and Mediterranean. Because of the Empire’s location, all but overlapping the fallen Roman’s territory, the Byzantine Empire was greatly affected by these Roman’s past traditions and ways of life.

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Though both had similar roots, they both took these similar bases & formed it into their own way. Both the Byzantine Empire and Ancient Roman have similar aspects, but each one made it unique. To better understand the similarities and differences of the Byzantine Empire and Ancient Romans one must look at each civilization’s cultural ideas, religion, & dependence on lower class.

During the postclassical era many great empires arose. Two of the most powerful and influential groups of the time were the Byzantine Empire and the Abbasid Caliphate. Both the Abbasids and the Byzantines were places where important cultural hubs existed and where trade flourished throughout the whole empire. Even though culture was present in each area, the cultures were not the same and there were separate religious beliefs and practices; for example the Byzantine Empire was mainly Orthodox Christian while the Abbasid Caliphate was Sunni Muslim. Use of religion throughout the empire, methods of rule, and eventual ways of declining all caused the Byzantines and Abbasids to have a distinctive and lasting

The Byzantine Empire and Western Europe originally were part of the Roman Empire, but by the middle Ages(medieval times), they were very different, even though they did share some common traits, but by the 300's, the Byzantine Empire had far surpassed Western Europe in trade and economics and political unity, while both empires were having arguments over religion.

Roman emperor Constantine strategically chose Byzantion, also referred to as Byzantium, as the new imperial capital for the Roman Empire. Emperor Constantine named the capital, Constantinople (“city of Constantine), after himself (Bentley, Ziegler, and Streets-Salter, p. 182). A historian of the Christian Church, Sozomen once stated:

People say that the Byzantine Empire is compared to an accordion. Well, it is. Comparing all of the civilizations and empires we learned about, I find that the Byzantine has a history, where people living in that empire rise at on time and fall inconsiderably during another time. The Byzantine Empire is an empire ruled by Emperor Justantine, and Constantinople was the imperial capital of the Byzantine world until it was invaded by the Turks in 1453. Now, how does the imperial capital, Constantinople, Hagia Sophia, Justinian, and the Crusaders involve in the Byzantine Empire? I find that geography and the achievements of the Empire can be two strong reasoning’s on how and why we should study the Byzantine Empire.

Last but not least, the crusades led to the decline of the Byzantine Empire by demolishing their economy. The Annales Herbipolenses demonstrates the Christians were so desperate for help, they took any and every person to fight, they did not require any person to be skilled. The crusades weakened the economy making people want to fight due to how poor they lived their lives especially those who held low social status such as serfs or peasants. The need for monetary support in the West left them vulnerable and ultimately led to the sacking of Constantinople (Doc 3.) This writer is anonymous but by the location of the writer, the writer must have had a Germanic nature, therefore the information must be valid because Germany was a Catholic nation,

The fall of the Roman Empire in 476 C.E resulted in many tragedies, as history “replays” itself, this fall led to starts, the land that was once known as Rome split into two pieces, the eastern part known as the Byzantine Empire and the western part known as medieval Western Europe. However, the empires wasn’t one that overtook Rome, the Byzantine Empire was rather known as a continuation of the Roman Empire, which was known to be more politically centralized than Western Europe, and the two empires were known to have different religious aspects as well, though there are differences in these empires, being both emerged from Rome led them to having similar aspects in many ways as well.

The Roman empire started around 750 BCE, as a spreading empire. They conquered land from modern-day Scotland to Spain, and gained control of the whole mediterranean sea, and established colonies in North Africa, Egypt, the middle east, and Asia Minor. The vast empire had some twists and turns and soon fell mainly because of the natural disasters, economic problems, and most significant of all, the poor military skills.

know that the Byzantine changed the course of history. You should study the Byzantine Empire

Founder of Constantinople, Constantine claimed the great Byzantine Empire and in turn inherited the new Holy Roman Empire. With the Edict of Milan in 313, Constantine proclaimed religious tolerance of Christians throughout the empire and soon the religion spread. Constantine then transformed the city of Byzantium into the new capital of the Roman Empire, which then was known and proclaimed as Constantinople. The new capital would profit from its location being closer to the east frontier, having then the advantage of better trading, and a militarily sound location being protected on three sides by water.

The downfall of Constantinople was one of the greatest fortified cities in the world. The Fall of Constantinople was the takeover of the capital of the Byzantine Empire, and happened after an attack by the Ottoman Empire against the defending army. The commander of the attack by the Ottoman Empire was Emperor Constantine XI. It all began when Constantine found a new capital at the Bosporus, which he named Constantinople. Sultan Mehmed II, ruler of the Ottoman Turks, was the leader of the assault. The city of Constantinople was defeated by around ten thousand men. On the opposing side, the Turks had between one hundred thousand and one hundred fifty thousand men on their side with the advantage. This battle and attack lasted for fifty days. The Turks used huge cannons to destroy the walls and warships were used by the Turks as well.

Under the first emperor, Heraclius, the new empire struggled to keep its territory. Persia was conquering land rapidly, taking the empire’s territories in Syria and Palestine, along with Jerusalem. It took until 627 for Heraclius to gain a victory, recapturing Jerusalem from the Persians. It was not long, however, before Islam had sparked a desire for expansion in the Arabs. They quickly conquered Jerusalem, the entire Persian Empire, and headed to claim North Africa. In 677, the Arabs attempted to take Constantinople, the city along the port Byzantium was named for. Unlike Heraclius, the emperor during the second attempt on Constantinople had a better strategy, known as the “Greek Fire”. Leo III was able to not only defeat the Arabs at Constantinople, but also reclaim almost all of the Asia Minor, which was known as the Imperial Heartland for nearly three hundred years.

Constantinople is located in Asia and Europe. It is also 800 miles to the east of Rome. It is also surrounded by 3 sides of water shown in the picture. The best part of Constantinople is that it has many trade routes for trading. If you speak a different language, don’t worry. Constantinople has many people who speak a different language. There is also protection in the city. There are walls that have watchtowers and gates to protect you from the enemy. We also have a sewer system! No one else really has one, but we do. We have social services like home for the elderly, orphanages and hospitals. Constantinople is a rich and wealthy place. We hope you’ll