Byzantine vs, Abbasid (Compare and Contrast Essay)

The Roman Empire influenced the Byzantine Empire’s culture, mainly through the religion of Christianity. Christianity first appeared in the Roman Empire, with the birth, teachings, and supposed resurrection of Jesus Christ. In the beginning years of it’s arrival, Christianity was not tolerated and Christians were mainly, and most often brutally prosecuted. However, with Constantine’s Edict of Milan, Christianity was officially tolerated, and under Theodosius, it became the official religion of the Roman Empire. The Byzantine Empire inherited this relatively new religion, continuing to follow the beliefs and traditions of the church, as well as spreading the word of Jesus Christ and the message of god. Churches sprung up in the empire, such as the mighty Hagia Sophia. Located in Constantinople and built by Justinian, this church especially exemplified

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.

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.

Immediately after the Classical Era of World History, the period that came along was the Postclassical Period. This period, within the year 500 CE and 1450 CE, was built up by “third-wave civilizations”. In other words, it was built up by large empires characterized by constant patterns of change, trade, and considerable changes in technologies. In 1492 CE these civilizations got global, meaning that the interactions among these different societies stopped being regional. Two empires who were very important during the Postclassical Period were the Byzantine Empire and China. Geographically these civilizations were far apart, but as they developed, they became two of the most influential empires of the time. Also, as they developed they

Not only do both these civilizations share the same political system, but as well as the social structure, which is important for indicating the social organization in a civilization. The Byzantine Empire consisted with a society that included the upper class, middle class, and lower class. The upper class consisted of officials, members of government, and citizens who were wealthy. The middle class included merchants, and traders. The lower class consisted of slaves that were enslaved from the expansion of the Byzantine Empire. These slaves had the chance to worship God and be part of the community, but slavery for harsh punishment continued. The Islamic civilization had a similar social structure as the Byzantine Empire. The upper class was known as the Abbasids, they were known as judges, merchants, and government officials, and its citizens. The citizens lived in different conditions unlike Abbasids. Abbasids were privileged to be living courtyards and in temples. Slaves were common in Islamic culture, were given the right to believe in Allah and work as soldiers for the Islamic military. These classes indicate the similar features of society of both civilizations.

The Byzantine Empire followed the Roman Empire, and it, also, seems meager in comparison. It had evolved from the Roman Empire, and because it was in the late stage that it was in, land had been lost, so in terms of size, the Roman Empire was superior to the Byzantine. The empire wasn t strong, either. At the start, the first ruler, Justinian, attempted to reconquer Roman lands, but in doing so, left his own land in ruins, and his conquests were lost right after his death. The Empire faced many enemies and was threatened constantly by them. Eventually, all land was lost except for the Constantinople, the rich and powerful capital city, and the land surrounding it.

Before 1450 The Byzantine and Islamic Empires both had their similarities and differences in the way they governed. Islamic caliphates and the Byzantine Empire both appointed their political leaders as religious leaders why? Because they both have more power over their people. They would control the areas laws and duties but also their religion. The big difference of the two empires was their religious practices, The Islamic caliphates consisted of Islam and Muslims but the byzantine empire believed in orthodox Christians.

The Roman empire and the Persian empire were both world powers for a reason. Both empires used very similar and different strategies to achieve all the power they accumulated over time. They both had very different views on everything from religion to human rights. Both empires both grew around the general same area, the Mediterranean Sea. They both used massive military force when conquering other empires and lands.

In 395 A.D., the Roman Empire split into the Eastern and Western Empires. Constantinople was the capital of the Byzantine Empire and thrived under the leadership of Justinian, who was the emperor from 527 A.D. to 565 A.D. Although the empire has some Roman influence, it is remarkably different from ancient Rome, with there being markets and products from places unheard of. Justinian also enforced Christianity and built the Hagia Sophia and created a new legal system, the Justinian Code. He also rebuilt Constantinople and made it safe from invasions. Justinian created a new Byzantine Empire through enforcing Christianity, creating the Justinian Code, and the exterior and interior structures of Constantinople.

Before 1450 The Byzantine and Islamic Empires both had their similarities and differences in the way they governed. Islamic caliphates and the Byzantine Empire both appointed their political leaders as religious leaders why? Because they both have more power over their people. They would control the areas laws and duties but also their religion. The big difference of the two empires was their religious practices, The Islamic caliphates consisted of Islam and Muslims but the byzantine empire believed in orthodox Christians.

During the 17th to 18th century, The Roman Empire had gone through a cultural and religious metamorphous. Throughout this time, the roles of religion in the Islamic, Byzantine and Western European worlds altered the period of 600-750 with their similarities adhering to monotheism for one, and differences in regards to perspectives. These three cultures were all pretty diverse but they also shared some of the same roots and became heritors of the Roman Empire, built on different ideologies. The different ideologies of the Islamic, Byzantine and Western European worlds, consisted of different founders, places, and elements of worship, thus portraying how religion was indeed prominently central to governmental and social structures because of the large impact towards political laws.

The difference of religion had a huge impact on both of the empires. Christianity in the Byzantine Empire was the most popular religion in the world with Islam right after. Judaism is a monotheistic religion and while most Christians believe they are monotheistic as well, many Muslims think upon Christians as polytheistic because they believed both God and Jesus are gods. In comparison, both empires were ruled by a pope. The Byzantine Empire was impacted through Christianity because the pope was the head of the empire, such as Constantine who became pope in 708. The Islamic Caliphate was also impacted through Islam because they too were ruled by a pope. This meant if you had a religious ruler, many people of the empire would follow suit and either convert or become more involved in the religious practices that the emperor/pope would do. Both religions were quite simple. Islam has no official clergy, and follows only one single sacred text, the Koran. However, Muslims do believe in the validity of the Old Testament. Muslim's

History has consisted of many different empires. Two of the earlier empires are known as the Ottoman Empire and the Safavid Empire. The Ottoman Empire was established around 1299 by Osman I, who was also a leader of the Turkish tribes (History.com). The Ottomans began in Asia Minor during the break down of the Turks, which later led the Ottoman Empire to expand and conquer land across Asia and Europe. While the Safavid Empire was established in 1501 east of the Ottoman Empire. The Safavid Empire emerged in modern day Iran, which was east of where the Ottoman Empire started and expanded. Both of these empires were strong in power and had many resources available to them.

Due to a stable government and a properly managed economy, the Byzantine Empire was able to last for quite a while. Emperors used their power correctly and there was a centralized government that helped keep the empire functioning even during rough times. Constantinople’s bureaucracy made sure everything ran smoothly. They regulated prices and wages, had systems for licensing, controlled the trade, oversaw schools, churches, observation of holidays, and even controlled the military and courts. The

Although the Ancient Egyptian Civilization and the Byzantine Empire both had a big influence on each other and are very similar, they also have their big differences. The first and foremost of those differences being how the members of each civilizations made their living. The Ancient Egyptians were mostly farmers, or laborers, while the people of the Byzantine Empire were mostly traders, builders, tutors, and doctors. Another difference and similarity is each civilization’s respective geographical features. They both share access to the Mediterranean Sea, but while Ancient Egypt has many man-made geographical features, the Byzantine Empire has little to none. Other differences include religious aspects, written languages, and systems of rule.