Compare And Contrast Roman Empire And Byzantine Empire
The Eastern Roman Empire and the Byzantine Empire
Constantine
Roman emperor who transferred the capital of the Roman Empire to Byzantium (eventually became the Constantinople) in 330 A.D.
Constantinople
The eastern part of the Roman Empire.
Located along the Bosporus shore, the shore that links the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea.
395 A.D.
When the capital of the Roman Empire was returned to Rome.
Making Rome as the capital of the Western Roman Empire.
476 A.D.
Fall of the Western Roman Empire.
Constantinople remained as the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire.
Eastern Roman empire
Tried to reestablish the Roman Empire and political unity in the Mediterranean.
I. Justinian and the Eastern Roman Empire
Justinian
Was the …show more content…
Eastern Roman emperor who ruled in 527-565 A.D.
Determined to restore the grandeur of the Roman Empire to the entire Mediterranean region.
Extent of his empire included the following regions:
Italy
Africa
Southern Spain
Since he failed to defeat the Vandals in North Africa, the Ostrogoths of Italy, and the Visigoths of southern Spain, this led him to return his army in the east and turned his back on the western part of his empire.
The Corpus Juris Civilis
Refers to the Code of Civil Law or the Justinian’s Code
Was the result of the commission set by Justinian to collect, revive and organize laws of the Roman Empire.
Divisions:
Codex or the summary of all laws from ancient times arranged according to themes.
Digest or the summary of comments of judges and lawyers that composed the commission about the law.
Institutes or the principles where the comments were based.
It was considered as the most outstanding achievement of Justinian since it is the basis of all laws of many countries in Europe, the Americas, and of the Philippines.
Theodora
Wife and the co-ruler of Justinian who became influential.
A woman that co-ruled with Justinian who did not come from a wealthy class.
A daughter of a bear keeper in a circus.
An actress, a profession that degrades anyone at that time, before she became an empress.
Hagia Sophia
Literally means the Holy Wisdom
Was considered as the best classical Christian architecture.
Having its strong walls and a gigantic dome.
Its interior was made in marble and silk curtains filled with mosaics of Jesus Christ and other saints.
Byzantine Empire
Derived from the old name of Constantinople, Byzantium.
Greek in culture
Christian
II. The Difference between the Roman Church and the Byzantine Church
Similarity
Christian influences were being practiced
Differences
Language
Latin was used for the Eucharist in Rome and other sacraments.
Greek language was used by the Byzantine.
Priest
In Rome, they did not have beards and not allowed to get married.
Byzantine priests were allowed to have their beards grow and often got married.
Head of the Church
Pope in Rome was not under the authority of the emperor.
Patriarch in Constantinople was usually appointed by the emperor and was considered as a political figure.
Iconoclastic Controversy
Leo III
The Byzantine emperor who was disturbed with all the practices of the Church namely:
Accumulation of lands held by monasteries.
Idolatry or the veneration of religious images/icons.
726 A.D.
Leo III ordered the destruction of the religious icons.
As a result for his actions, Leo III was excommunicated by the Pope in Rome.
Excommunication was the prohibition of receiving any services of the Church.
Another result for his action, in his desire to lessen the authority acquired by the Church and to prohibit the use of icons, heated the conflict between the State and the Church. This conflict was called the Iconoclastic Controversy.
The Separation of the Roman Church and the Byzantine Church
Took place in 1054.
The disagreement between the two churches.
Both churches considered themselves as heirs of Christian traditions.
After the Pope and the Patriarch excommunicated one another, both churches separated with one another.
The Byzantine Church was called the Eastern Orthodox Church
Rome- center and decision-maker of Christianity.
Constantinople- centers of Christianity are everywhere and were equal to one another such as the Antioch (Syria), Jerusalem (in Israel), and Alexandria (Egypt).
III. Byzantine Government
Emperor was seen as the head of the government.
It was first elected by the Senate, army, and by the people.
The seat of power eventually became a hereditary.
Considered as the co-ruler of God.
Performed ceremonies.
Legislate and executes laws.
Appointed the Patriarch, the head of the Byzantine Church.
Supervised all the functions of the priests.
IV. Contributions of the Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was also considered as the bridge among the Roman, Greek, Hellenistic, and Christian influences.
Greek traditions prevailed among these influences.
Gregorio Zaide have enumerated the following contributions namely:
The empire preserved and transmitted Christianity, which made the empire as the first Christian nation.
The empire developed the Eastern Orthodox Church which counted 58 million members today.
Christianity was brought to Russia, Eastern Europe, Greece, North Africa, Asia Minor and other countries.
It preserved Greco-Roman culture, language, literature and arts.
Languages of the Byzantine Empire was Greek and Latin.
It preserved and codified Roman law.
The Justinian’s Code
The code that came in Europe in the 11th century which contributed a lot to the development of legal and political thought.
The code was usually attributed to the Roman law but it is really a Byzantine contribution.
It developed new forms of arts, architecture, language and
literature.
Promotion of the abstract art where figures are unrealistic.
Architecture, art , music and literature were all devoted to Christianity.
Cyrillic alphabet- was adapted from the Greek alphabet and later became the basis of the modern Russian alphabet.
Digenes Akrites- an epic poem which was comparable with the “Song of Roland”.
The invention of the first bomb or flame thrower as a weapon in war.
V. Decline of the Byzantine Empire
Internal intrigues
Regular plots and counterplots in seizing the throne.
No law for succession.
Rivalry with the Western Roman Empire.
Conflict between the two branches of Christianity involved political, theological, and territorial.
Theological disputes regarding Church dogma and interpretation of the Bible.
Political disputes
800 A.D. when the Pope crowned Charlemagne as emperor of the Holy Roman Empire which signaled the attack on the supremacy of the emperor of the Byzantine.
Western competition in trade.
Venice in Italy caused a big drop in Byzantine business. Rather than to go to Constantinople, the busiest trading city at that time, to trade goods from East and the West, merchants took goods to Italy.
Invasions by the Muslims Turks.
11th to the 15th centuries when Islamic Turks troubled with the Byzantine Empire.
Seljuk Turks successfully raided and invaded Byzantine.
Ottoman Turks replaced the Seljuk Turks in the 14th century.
May 29, 1453
When Constantinople fell into the hands of the Ottoman Turks.
Bibliography
Ellis, Elisabeth G. & Esler Anthony, World History: Connections To Today, Pearson Prentice Hall, 2005.
Mateo, Grace E. C., et. al., World Civilizations: History and Culture, Vibal Publishing Inc., 2010.
Zaide, Gregorio F. & Zaide Sonia M., World History 5th ed., All-Nations Publishing Co., Inc., 2006.
Constantine
Roman emperor who transferred the capital of the Roman Empire to Byzantium (eventually became the Constantinople) in 330 A.D.
Constantinople
The eastern part of the Roman Empire.
Located along the Bosporus shore, the shore that links the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea.
395 A.D.
When the capital of the Roman Empire was returned to Rome.
Making Rome as the capital of the Western Roman Empire.
476 A.D.
Fall of the Western Roman Empire.
Constantinople remained as the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire.
Eastern Roman empire
Tried to reestablish the Roman Empire and political unity in the Mediterranean.
I. Justinian and the Eastern Roman Empire
Justinian
Was the …show more content…
Eastern Roman emperor who ruled in 527-565 A.D.
Determined to restore the grandeur of the Roman Empire to the entire Mediterranean region.
Extent of his empire included the following regions:
Italy
Africa
Southern Spain
Since he failed to defeat the Vandals in North Africa, the Ostrogoths of Italy, and the Visigoths of southern Spain, this led him to return his army in the east and turned his back on the western part of his empire.
The Corpus Juris Civilis
Refers to the Code of Civil Law or the Justinian’s Code
Was the result of the commission set by Justinian to collect, revive and organize laws of the Roman Empire.
Divisions:
Codex or the summary of all laws from ancient times arranged according to themes.
Digest or the summary of comments of judges and lawyers that composed the commission about the law.
Institutes or the principles where the comments were based.
It was considered as the most outstanding achievement of Justinian since it is the basis of all laws of many countries in Europe, the Americas, and of the Philippines.
Theodora
Wife and the co-ruler of Justinian who became influential.
A woman that co-ruled with Justinian who did not come from a wealthy class.
A daughter of a bear keeper in a circus.
An actress, a profession that degrades anyone at that time, before she became an empress.
Hagia Sophia
Literally means the Holy Wisdom
Was considered as the best classical Christian architecture.
Having its strong walls and a gigantic dome.
Its interior was made in marble and silk curtains filled with mosaics of Jesus Christ and other saints.
Byzantine Empire
Derived from the old name of Constantinople, Byzantium.
Greek in culture
Christian
II. The Difference between the Roman Church and the Byzantine Church
Similarity
Christian influences were being practiced
Differences
Language
Latin was used for the Eucharist in Rome and other sacraments.
Greek language was used by the Byzantine.
Priest
In Rome, they did not have beards and not allowed to get married.
Byzantine priests were allowed to have their beards grow and often got married.
Head of the Church
Pope in Rome was not under the authority of the emperor.
Patriarch in Constantinople was usually appointed by the emperor and was considered as a political figure.
Iconoclastic Controversy
Leo III
The Byzantine emperor who was disturbed with all the practices of the Church namely:
Accumulation of lands held by monasteries.
Idolatry or the veneration of religious images/icons.
726 A.D.
Leo III ordered the destruction of the religious icons.
As a result for his actions, Leo III was excommunicated by the Pope in Rome.
Excommunication was the prohibition of receiving any services of the Church.
Another result for his action, in his desire to lessen the authority acquired by the Church and to prohibit the use of icons, heated the conflict between the State and the Church. This conflict was called the Iconoclastic Controversy.
The Separation of the Roman Church and the Byzantine Church
Took place in 1054.
The disagreement between the two churches.
Both churches considered themselves as heirs of Christian traditions.
After the Pope and the Patriarch excommunicated one another, both churches separated with one another.
The Byzantine Church was called the Eastern Orthodox Church
Rome- center and decision-maker of Christianity.
Constantinople- centers of Christianity are everywhere and were equal to one another such as the Antioch (Syria), Jerusalem (in Israel), and Alexandria (Egypt).
III. Byzantine Government
Emperor was seen as the head of the government.
It was first elected by the Senate, army, and by the people.
The seat of power eventually became a hereditary.
Considered as the co-ruler of God.
Performed ceremonies.
Legislate and executes laws.
Appointed the Patriarch, the head of the Byzantine Church.
Supervised all the functions of the priests.
IV. Contributions of the Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was also considered as the bridge among the Roman, Greek, Hellenistic, and Christian influences.
Greek traditions prevailed among these influences.
Gregorio Zaide have enumerated the following contributions namely:
The empire preserved and transmitted Christianity, which made the empire as the first Christian nation.
The empire developed the Eastern Orthodox Church which counted 58 million members today.
Christianity was brought to Russia, Eastern Europe, Greece, North Africa, Asia Minor and other countries.
It preserved Greco-Roman culture, language, literature and arts.
Languages of the Byzantine Empire was Greek and Latin.
It preserved and codified Roman law.
The Justinian’s Code
The code that came in Europe in the 11th century which contributed a lot to the development of legal and political thought.
The code was usually attributed to the Roman law but it is really a Byzantine contribution.
It developed new forms of arts, architecture, language and
literature.
Promotion of the abstract art where figures are unrealistic.
Architecture, art , music and literature were all devoted to Christianity.
Cyrillic alphabet- was adapted from the Greek alphabet and later became the basis of the modern Russian alphabet.
Digenes Akrites- an epic poem which was comparable with the “Song of Roland”.
The invention of the first bomb or flame thrower as a weapon in war.
V. Decline of the Byzantine Empire
Internal intrigues
Regular plots and counterplots in seizing the throne.
No law for succession.
Rivalry with the Western Roman Empire.
Conflict between the two branches of Christianity involved political, theological, and territorial.
Theological disputes regarding Church dogma and interpretation of the Bible.
Political disputes
800 A.D. when the Pope crowned Charlemagne as emperor of the Holy Roman Empire which signaled the attack on the supremacy of the emperor of the Byzantine.
Western competition in trade.
Venice in Italy caused a big drop in Byzantine business. Rather than to go to Constantinople, the busiest trading city at that time, to trade goods from East and the West, merchants took goods to Italy.
Invasions by the Muslims Turks.
11th to the 15th centuries when Islamic Turks troubled with the Byzantine Empire.
Seljuk Turks successfully raided and invaded Byzantine.
Ottoman Turks replaced the Seljuk Turks in the 14th century.
May 29, 1453
When Constantinople fell into the hands of the Ottoman Turks.
Bibliography
Ellis, Elisabeth G. & Esler Anthony, World History: Connections To Today, Pearson Prentice Hall, 2005.
Mateo, Grace E. C., et. al., World Civilizations: History and Culture, Vibal Publishing Inc., 2010.
Zaide, Gregorio F. & Zaide Sonia M., World History 5th ed., All-Nations Publishing Co., Inc., 2006.