The Byzantine Empire, sometimes known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the predominantly Greek-speaking continuation of the eastern half of the Roman Empire during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages. Its capital city was Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul), originally founded as Byzantium. It survived the 5th century fragmentation and fall of the Western Roman Empire and continued to exist for an additional thousand years until it fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1453. During most of its existence, the empire was the most powerful economic, cultural, and military force in Europe. Both "Byzantine Empire" and "Eastern Roman Empire" are historiographical terms created after the end of the realm; its citizens continued to refer to their empire …show more content…
The decline in morals also affected the lower classes and slaves. Religious festivals such as Saturnalia and Bacchanalia where sacrifices, ribald songs, lewd acts and sexual promiscuity were practiced. Bestiality and other lewd and sexually explicit acts were exhibited in the Colosseum arena to amuse the mob. Brothels and forced prostitution flourished. Widespread gambling on the chariot races and gladiatorial combats. Massive consumption of alcohol. The sadistic cruelty towards both man and beasts in the arena.
One of the main causes for the Fall of the Roman Empire was the Political Corruption and the Praetorian Guard. The power of the Praetorian Guard, the elite soldiers who made up the bodyguard of the emperor, led to political corruption and grew to such an extent that this massive group of soldiers decided on whether an emperor should be disposed of and who should become the new emperor! The story of Sejanus, who was the commander of the Praetorian Guard during the reign of Tiberius, illustrates the extent of the power of the Praetorians. At one point the Praetorian Guard sold at auction the throne of the world to the highest bidder.
Another cause, was the Fast expansion of the Empire. The rapid growth in the lands conquered by the Empire led to the need to defend the borders and territories of Rome. The people of the conquered lands, most of whom were referred to as Barbarians, hated the Romans. Taxes on the non-Romans were high and
To begin with, one of the main problems of the Roman Empire was their economic problems and corruption. For example, in an excerpt of a historical text written by Priscus, which was a Roman ambassador to the Huns in 449 C.E, he reported a conversation he had with a former citizen whose land had been conquered by the Huns. In their conversation the former Roman citizen stated, “ The conditions of [Roman] subjects in time of peace [is worse than war]...taxes are very severe, and unprincipled men inflict injuries on others… A [wealthy lawbreaker] … is not punished for his injustice, while a poor man … undergoes the legal penalty… The climax of misery is to have to pay in order to obtain justice…” This supports that one main problem that ended the Roman empire was economic problems and corruption because it shows that if rich people in Rome committed a crime they would only have to bribe their way out of trouble while on the other hand poor people will have to face their consequences which is unfair so when they got invaded by the Huns they decided that it was best if they conquered than to join the military to help their empire. In addition another economic problem is that the the Roman Emperors had to pay their own soldiers to stay loyal which lead to emperors having to mint more coins which is further supported by BrainPop which states, “Roman emperors often bribed their soldiers with money to make sure they remained loyal. And when emperors didn’t have enough to pay their troops, they would mint cheaper coins. This caused the value of Roman money to plummet.” This also supports that one important cause that caused the Roman Empire to decline was the corruption and economic problems because in order for a empire or a civilization to function efficiently, they need to respect all people
Though Justinian, a Byzantine emperor, led a unique empire, he did essentially revive Roman culture and values. Geographically, ancient Rome and the Byzantine Empire were very alike. The map in document 6 indicates the Byzantine Empire controlled North Africa, and land around the Mediterranean, which is similar to ancient Rome. Cultures usually depend on geographic locations, therefore, since the empires had very similar locations, their culture too were alike. In society, both empires adopted Christianity and trade played an important role. These geographic and cultural similarities show that the Justinian Byzantine Empire revived Rome, and prolonged it’s legacy. Ancient Rome built multiple architectural feats, such as the Colosseum. Using
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.
The star of the film is Pastor Becky Fischer, who explains the startling mission of her "Kids on Fire" camp: "I want young people to be as committed to laying down their lives for the Gospel as they are in Pakistan." At the camp, the children are asked: "How many of you want to be those who will give up your life for Jesus?" Little hands shoot up from every direction. They are told: "We have to break the power of the enemy over the government." At one point, Becky yells: "This means war! Are you a part of it or not?" More little hands.
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.
When a civilization goes through a golden age, they are remembered for their marvelous achievements and extravagance. A golden age occurs when a society goes through a time of peace and harmony. Along with this, the society experiences economic prosperity, political stability, and a series of cultural achievements. The Byzantine Empire, which lasted from 330 A.D. to the mid 1400s, is an excellent example of a golden age. The Byzantine Empire became wealthy by being an economic center of the world, connecting Asia and Europe. Under Emperor Justinian, the capital of Constantinople became a center of wealth, which helped usher in a golden age. The Byzantine Empire was a golden age because it had many architectural achievements as well as political achievements that have had lasting impacts on today’s societies.
The Byzantine Empire was a primarily Christian empire whose reign started in 330 A.D and ended in 1453 A.D with the capturing of the its capital Constantinople by the Muslim Sultan Mehmed II. In the years following the fall of the Byzantines, many of the Christian basilicas were transformed into mosques for Islamic worship, inspiring many artists to create works that embodied their religious politics. One of the pieces created following the fall of the Byzantine Empire is Yusuf Fleeing Zulayhka, created in 1488 by Kamal al-Din Bihzad, a famous Persian painter who worked under the patronage of several Persian sultans. The illustration depicts Yusuf’s struggle to escape his master’s wife Zulaykha as she chases him through her elaborate palace in an attempt to seduce him. The representation was made using paint, ink and gold, and features jewel-like colors in order to portray the extravagancy of the palace Zulayhka has built specifically for the seduction of Yusuf (Stokstad 286).
As Rome was facing attacks from the outside there was an even deeper problem happening from within and it was their economy. Rome’s constant war and overspending in building its empire was becoming costly. As their treasury depleted they decided to impose hard taxation to account for the new expense they were generating. Which actually caused many people who were apart of the upper class to move to the countryside to avoid the oppressive taxes(Andrews) . Another economic problem is that inflation began to occur. Marcus Aurelius increased the copper content of the silver coins and then after that there was even more severe inflation on it way(Starr 144-145). A third problem with the economy, also politically, was that there was an ever growing expansion of bureaucracy. The expansion of their government caused more and more officials to have to be paid. Not to mentions cities already were having a hard
Macy’s has become one of the greatest retail stores in the United States. Since they first opened their doors to customers in 1858, Macy’s stores have always been grand and innovative. They have changed their stores quite remarkably since it’s beginning. Macy’s elegant charm has brought in customers who have help turn this retail store into a huge company. Currently Macys has 850 department stores in 45 states. Most Macy’s stores are quite spacious and have two to three levels in which they market to youth, women, and men. Macy’s selling strategy has grown to have great experience in pulling in customers. From sales to advertising, Macy’s is a big retail competitor. The company focuses on their customers by targeting specific age groups,
As Rome increased in supremacy around the expanse of the Mediterranean Sea, various enemies were made that caused numerous invasions, increasing Rome’s vulnerability. The archeological record shows that the population on the outskirts of the Roman empire was increasing and this might have led to a scarcity of resources (Goldsworthy 2009). Due to the increased population and decrease in resources the barbarians attacked the empire frequently (Goldsworthy 2009). The first of these more devastating attacks were conducted by the Huns in central and eastern Europe in the years 376 A.D. and 405 A.D. (Heather 2005). Damages from these attacks as well as from other invaders caused massive amounts of revenue lost to
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 Byzantine Empire, though often forgotten among better-known empires, such as the Roman Empire, ran for nearly one thousand years, occupying the eastern half of what once was the Roman Empire. It engaged in trade, expansion, and decades of warfare. It also gave women a better status then men, valued and preserved Greek history, and eventually fell to the Ottomans.
historiography began to be famous and important. Islamic historians praised God at all times because of their religious views over other religions. At a point of Byzantine view, the Byzantines used to praise their religion, which was Christian Orthodox. For example, according to James, the study over Byzantine Iconoclasm is important to see understand the conflicts over Islam and Western European that means Catholics. The Byzantine Empire used to discriminate religions, and they had conflicts, especially with European Catholics, and they split their churches from Catholics. The Byzantines also were tending to expand to the East to fight Muslims and take their lands from them. That is why Islamic historians praised the victory by giving many thanks to God. This religious discrimination was one of the causes why the Byzantine lost
The person that I chose to put myself in place of is a peasant of the Byzantine Empire during the time when the Ottoman Turks were calling a full out war on the Byzantine Empire. My family and I are fleeing from our home land to swiftly get away from the attacking soldiers, running at the empire from every direction. When I look back I can see all of the soldiers in their ships, drifting to the empire. Near the walls, there are Ottoman soldiers using ladders to get over what once was our walls. I can see the many soldiers attacking each other and firing arrows and other weapons at each other. All I can smell is the fire burning what once was our home land, as death sweeps through. When I listen, I can hear the familys around me screaming and
With the Roman Empire succeeding for many years in the Mediterranean world, that included Europe and other Middle East territories. Only caused for it to hit a decline, which resulted in the fall of the Roman Empire in the Western part of history. With two civilizations emerging as new successors to the Romans in the Mediterranean, European and Middle Eastern world, they took on dominant parts and built civilization that they sought was fit to stand. With the Byzantine Empire and the Franks, these two civilizations would demonstrate what they found were succeeding civilizations for their strong empires. With the development of religion, cultural, social, and political influences, it helped with shaping these civilization into Roman predecessors.