Byzantium Impact

The Western Roman Empire had weakened, but a spark of what made it so great still lived. With many changes in the world, some moved to the Byzantium in the East and continued to hold onto things that they knew would help their society stay strong. Literature, history, art, music and laws were part of what made Rome, impact so much of the world’s culture. The Byzantium influence on the European culture is vast and some of the contribution that continue to affect people today, are their involvement in the modern calendar, codification of law and the silk industry.
Firstly, the Byzantine abbots are accountable for establishing the modern calendar that is most commonly used now. The monasteries were left with the task of preserving history and literature due to fewer people learning to read and write. They hand-copied manuscripts and over time provided local education, supported sacred art and music among other things that continued to create scholars. Due to this, the abbot Dionysius Exiguus created the modern calendar by trying to fix the Church’s timetable. He applied the chronology of Jesus’s birth and established year one as “the Year of Our Lord Jesus Christ.” This became standard in the West when the English abbot Venerable Bede
Under Justinian’s leadership, the Byzantium’s economy grew impressively. Through legend, Justinian is said to use two of his ambassadors to sneak in silkworm eggs from China. This is said to be done by hiding them in their hollow staffs. Whether or not the specifics are true, the Byzantium were able to get silkworms, which allowed them to establish a flourishing silk industry that would be a competition for the Eastern markets. Unquestionably, this gave the European culture a stronger economy that impacted their way of life even today because of their strong foundation