The Roman Empire And The Byzantine Empire

n empire that saved western civilization and lasted more than a thousand years only remains in memory. The Byzantine empire, known in books but not always in minds. The empire came to be in 330 CE when a young emperor named Constantine moved the capital of the Roman Empire from Rome to Byzantium, which is modern day Istanbul. It’s just as well that he did that considering that shortly after Rome fell, and this new city became the heart of the new empire. He built the city extravagantly and named it after himself; Constantinople. The city would become the holy city of the Eastern Roman Empire. The Byzantine empire is something that should be studied because it’s one of the most important eras in European history. Some reasons are that they created

For centuries, Rome fought with neighboring empires and expanded their territory until they established the powerful empire which includes modern day Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East. As the Roman empire grew, it faced problems with outside barbarians and inside problems with administration, military and social issues. Over time, new conquests became more and more unprofitable until the Roman empire reached a point of no progress, which led to d both exterior and interior pressures combined to pull the empire apart, culminating in 476 C.E. with the final collapse of the Western Roman Empire. The emperor, Constantine I, created a “new Rome” called Byzantium. The origins of the great civilization known as the Byzantine Empire finally picked up the broken pieces of the Roman empire in 330 A.D after the western half of the Roman Empire crumbled and fell in 476.

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.

Following the decline of the Western Roman Empire in 476 CE, a new empire rose up in the ashes. This new empire, the Byzantine Empire, was a culmination of Western Roman cultures and tradition, yet, it also contains many distinctive features. Originating from the same empire, the two empires display similar cultural roots.

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.

Rome, a prosperous empire was greatly on the rise from 500BC - 500AD. Experienced many new architectural achievements including the aqueduct, Hadrian’s Wall, The Colosseum, and the Pantheon. But during the late stages in the empires existence, the western part was invaded by barbaric Germanic tribes who wanted to take the Roman empire over. The west eventually fell, but a new empire arose which is essentially “The New Roman Empire” The Byzantine Empire. They Byzantines incorporated Roman architecture, laws, and religion into the founding of the Byzantine Empire.

The Roman Realm, at its stature (c. 117 CE), was the most broad political and social structure in western progress. By 285 CE the domain had become too immeasurable to ever be ruled from the focal government at Rome as was partitioned by Head Diocletian into a Western and an Eastern Realm. The Roman Domain started when Augustus Caesar turned into the primary ruler of Rome (31 BCE) and finished, in the west, when the last Roman sovereign, Romulus Augustulus, was ousted by the Germanic Lord Odoacer (476 CE). In the east, it proceeded as the Byzantine Domain until the demise of Constantine XI and the fall of Constantinople to the Stool Turks in 1453 CE. The impact of the Roman Domain on western progress was significant in its enduring commitments

While Constantine was trying to create resistance against outside attack by partitioning his armed force and assets among the east and west, this activity in the long run brought about the division of Rome. The opposition between the two capital's religious pioneers turned into a source of dispute between the two urban communities, adding to the detachment of east and western Rome. In the year 395 the east and west side of Rome had become two autonomous states. The division of the Late Roman Empire, rather than reinforcing a now smaller country, created shortcomings that surrounding countries could abuse and manipulate. Eventually, Rome had lost most of the control of its borders and Gothic tribes crossed over and settled in the Empire. These new people relocated to Rome in part for security from the Huns who were a threat from the East, but they arrived in numbers so large that they were not able to be properly assimilated and integrated into Roman culture. The Gothics never did adapt into Roman culture and eventually revolted adding the fall of Rome. Furthermore during the 5th century, the Western Empire fell victim to

At the peak of the Roman Empire, the territory spanned from the western reaches of Spain to the deserts of Egypt. Such power had never been seen in the Western world before the Romans. Sadly, due to massive size, the power the Roman Empire possessed hardly served to last. Over time and multiple emperors, the empire slowly decayed, financially and politically. Eventually, the empire was split into Eastern and Western portions in the hopes to ease political and economic struggles. Each side of the empire was influenced by Roman culture and political structure in different aspects of life. What would become the Byzantine Empire and the Western European Kingdoms grew from their Roman roots like weeds; blooming into flowers that seemed to poorly emulate the Roman Empire’s original beauty.

The western and eastern provinces of the Roman Empire drifted apart in the fourth century when Diocletian and Constantine began making their reforms. As invasions increased, the western Roman empire finally fell to Germanic invaders in 476 CE. Even though the western province collapsed, the eastern province survived and grew into the great Byzantine empire. There were many leaders of the Byzantine empire, but the empire reached its height under Emperor Justinian in the sixth century. Unlike the fallen Western province of the Roman empire, Justinian developed a centralized government where all power and decision-making was concentrated in one unit instead of having power in the hands of many different people in different locations.

Politics and Power Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire is the Eastern part of the Roman Empire. It was founded as the new Rome by Emperor Constantine in 330. On the year 527, Justinian became the emperor of Byzantine and reconquered much of the former Roman empire. Besides having the same and former land as Rome, the Byzantine empire also had many similar qualities as the Roman empire. For example, the most important quality, to be able to absorb gathered information from nearby empires and use them to their benefit.

The western Roman Empire came to an end in the latepeter the great's rule was notable for his effort to

In 285 A.D. Emperor Diocletian, upon judging the empire too big for one ruler to adequately manage, split the Roman Empire into two. As the western half of the Roman Empire succumbed to a barrage of nomadic invasions, the eastern empire stayed grounded in Constantinople for another millennia. Each half believed itself to be Roman, but the likenesses halt there. Factors like institutional supremacy, Western disintegration, along with the locations of the halves contributed to the development of distinct religious, cultural, and political differences.

The Roman Empire was eventually bested by Vikins and Germans, leading to a break of European dominance during the Middle Ages. This void was filled by Genghis Khan who created the largest empire during the Middle Ages. It eventually fell and was replaced by a European power well-known to Americans, the British Empire. The most recent centuries have seen a rise of European and Asian empires: Spanish, French, German/Ottoman, Russian, Japanese, Qing.

Apart from the geological differences, there were also political and lingual differences between the East and West. Communication was difficult between the Greek-speaking East and the Latin-speaking West, as the church and other leaders no longer read, let alone spoke the language of the other half of the Christian world. The language barrier separated the civilizations greatly. Apart from lingual differences, there were also political differences within both the church and the empires. Both sides had differing views on who should hold power in the church. On the eastern side, the Byzantine emperor was also the leader in the church. His name was Michael Cerularius,