Byzantium

The Roman, Byzantine and Islamic cultures are connected on a continuum if one looks at the decline of the Roman Empire, and the development of the Byzantine Empire and Islam during the early years of the middle ages. The Byzantine Empire represented the eastern or Greek division of the Roman Empire. Formed in the late 3rd century AD, the Byzantine Empire underwent two periods of civil unrest before being united as one under Constantine the Great. Constantine mandated a second capital fashioned after Rome be erected at Byzantium, to be called Constantinople. With western Rome in decline, the eastern division soon became the dominant one. One of the biggest differences between Latin Christian civilization and the Byzantine Empire was that the Roman history was modeled around paganism or polytheism. Such was not to be the case in the east. Constantinople was not only Greek as opposed to Latin, but it was also firmly Christian from its inception, a fact further severing its ties to the west, "Constantine's legalization of Christianity was crucial for the subsequent development of the Byzantine empire. Gradually, over the following centuries, the Christian religion became the official religion of the Empire�and of medieval Europe as well�while pagan cults diminished both in importance and in the number of their adherents" (Byzantium 1).

As Rome continued to decline and eventually fell, so the fortunes of the Byzantine Empire rose.

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ce and achievement (the codification of Roman law, the invention of A.D. dating, the building of Hagia Sophia and other churches, the mosaics at Ravenna and elsewhere, the reconquest of Vandal Africa and Gothic Italy) and also of fear and pessimism (Procopius' Secret History, predictions of the end of the world, the plague of 542, the Nika riots, the incursions by Persians, Slavs and Avars, forerunners of the Turks)" (Sixth Century). The period of the fifth and sixth centuries would continue to demonstrate the conflict of a culture built on Classical tradition and Christianity. Byzantium was important for establishing the dominance of Christianity in the world at that time. During the existence of Byzantium Christianity would become the official religion of the Roman Empire as well as medieval western Europe. After Constantinople was established, the Greeks were able to assert their national identity and build the foundations of what would become the powerful and dominant Byzantine Empire. Because of Constantinople's strategic position, the site became the center of the civilized world, but it also meant that invaders from both continents (Europe and Asia) were tempted to attack this middle area. Nonetheless, Byzantium allow

Category: History - B