The Byzantine Empire, Essay Example

During this course, the ancient civilization that has impressed me the most is the Byzantine Empire. The origin of this civilization is fascinating as well because it built upon the successes of both the Roman Empire and the ancient Greek colony of Byzantium. Although the Byzantine Empire was a reflection of Roman culture, it independently made strides towards the advancement of literature, art, and learning. The Byzantine Empire’s geographic location made this civilization unique from the western half of the Roman Empire, which fell in 476 A.D. Because eastern half of the empire was separate, Rome’s fall did not impact the individuals living there. Rather, the civilization continued to build upon the culture that had been established by the Romans, until it finally fell in 1453 A.D., 1,123 years after its establishment.

The formation of the Byzantine Empire is of little surprise to historians. The Roman Empire had a long-running tradition of expansion and when Constantine I decided to establish some of his previously conquered territories as a new Roman capital. Rather than simply continue the traditions that had been established in Rome, however, inhabitants of the Byzantine Empire preferred to communicate in Greek rather than Latin. In addition, their established religion was Eastern Orthodox Christianity rather than Roman polytheism. Ultimately, the Byzantine Empire marked what seemed to be an evolution of ancient ideas into more modern ones. Before the establishment of this society, polytheism was the dominant religious belief. Establishment of monotheism, particularly Christianity as the primary religion may have triggered the shift towards this religious ideology in other parts of the world due to this society’s influence.

The Byzantine Empire was also significant due to its many scholarly developments. This society is well known for constructing the Hagia Sophia, a place of worship, which still stands today. In addition to contributing to a greater understanding of the fields of mathematics and astronomy, this society was responsible for developing Greek fire, a new warfare technology. Interestingly, due to the Byzantine Empire’s geographic location and history, the cultural elements that were found in their literature were Greek, Christian, Roman, and Oriental. This demonstrates the unique combination of cultural ideas that Byzantines had available to them and serves as a reminder of their greatness.

The Byzantine Empire was able to survive after the fall of the Western Roman Empire primarily due to its ability to remain diplomatic with its neighbors. Essentially, this allowed them to become more assimilated into the culture of their neighbors because although treaty-making was effective, agreements became more official by allowing foreigners to serve on their government. Furthermore, when the empire was faced with the possibility of war, it preferred to make other agreements, such as paying off aggressors in exchange for a promise not to attack.

Towards the end of the empire’s days, the people who lived there became culturally homogeneous due to an incorporation and stabilization of outside influences. The Byzantine Empire finally fell because its capital, Constantinople, was weakened by an attack by Latin crusaders. As a consequence, the empire broke into smaller successor states. When these two states attempt to rejoin forces, the leader of this effort was taken by greed and attempted to expand their territory even further. During this fighting, the Byzantines were easily taken over by the Ottoman’s. Although this was the end of the Byzantine Empire, their legacy continues today.