The Roman and Byzantine Empire Comparison

The Roman and Byzantine Empire Comparison

Molly Teague

HIS 103

Peter Milich

October 22, 2018

A political system where a group of people are ruled by a single person is called an empire.  An empire is led by an empower or empress. The Roman Empire began with the rule of emperor Augustus.  Rome, the capital of the empire was weakened one time.  Rome’s only priority was to protect and defend their boarders from attacks by barbarians.  These constant attacks caused the military to take over power in 235.this was known as the military anarchy. The most important thing that the emperors of this time worried about was fighting their enemies and protecting their boarders.

Being under constant wars it became era difficult for the Roman Empire to continue to finance the military.  The empire then became crippled with debt and Rome’s citizens began to question their religious beliefs. A military revolt in the year of 284 saved the empire and Diocletian was proclaimed the new empower.  During his time as empower he informed tetrarchy, which is a form of government that divided the powers.  The empower would governs the eastern regions and the western regions of the empire would be controlled by the general maximiam. In 305 Diocletian abdicated, unless there was someone to lead it, the tetrachic system would not work.

There was a series of conflicts that took place until the year 312. That is when Constantine became the sole empower of the West.  Constantine was the last empower to rule the unified Empire.  He also made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire.  The byzantine empire was the longest lasting power and just like the roman empire it influenced art, religion, and architecture, to this day.

The capital of the empire was moved to a city named Byzantium. Byzantine was founded because the city’s capital name was Byzantium.  In 32r the city was renamed to Constantinople or the city of Constantine or the new Rome.

Theodosius, who was constitutes successor had 2 sons with he divided the empire between. This created the western Roman Empire and the eastern Roman Empire. In 476 the western Roman Empire fell leaving the other half, now called the Byzantine Empire. The Byzantines still called and considered themselves romans, however their prominent language was Greek. For the Byzantine Empire “Greek Orthodox Church operates as several different autocephalous bodies around the world, run by those in the position of Patriarch”. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.byzconf.org/difference-byzantine-roman-catholic)

The location of Constantinople straddled the border between Europe and Asia which gave them lucrative trade between the east and west. Over time Constantinople became the richest and most lavish city in the world.

Peace was temporary restored by the reign of Diocletian, but the unity of the empire suffered greatly when he divided the power and using tetrarchy.  At the height other Roman Empire, it was the most extensive social and political structure in western civilization.  The influences that the Roman empire had on western civilizations has carried on to almost every aspect of western culture.

In 312 Constantine defeated Maxintius at the battle of the minivan Bridgman became the sole empower of the eastern and western empires.  The winning of this battle is the cause of Constantine naming Christianity as their religion as he believed that Jesus Christ was responsible for his win.

The Roman Empire and the Byzantine Empire both shared a special relationship with a deity. Diocletian had Jupiter and Constantine had Jesus Christ. Christianity became one of the defining features for the byzantine empire culture. It affected its politics, art and architecture. The emperor appointed a patriarch or bishop to head the church. Christianity then became a commonality and was able to blend diverse cultures together into a single empire. The roman empire believed that, “The emperor was the elect of God, crowned by God, and guarded by God” (Jeffreys, Haldon, & Cormack, 2008, p. 316,2). For the Byzantine Empire, it was “A realm foreseen in the plan of the creator, anchored in Christian eschatology, organically involved in the age-old history of mankind and destined to endure until the second coming” (Jeffreys, Haldon, & Cormack, 2008, p. 316,1).

One of the differences between the roman empire and the byzantine empire was that they disagreed on who should have power, the pope, or the patriarch of Constantinople. They also disagreed on the divine nature of Jesus. The roman empire had many inventions and innovations that altered the lives of many people and cultures. Roman Catholic leadership structure, the Pope (also known as the Bishop of Rome) is in a superior position to all other bishops and is effectively granted supreme power as he is recognized as the sole Patriarch of the West” ((n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.byzconf.org/difference-byzantine-roman-catholic).

The romans either invented or improved upon the construction of roads and buildings, aqueducts indoor plumbing, and fast drying cement. They had apartment complexes, public toilets, and even a postal system. They were also advanced in medicine, law, religion, and warfare.

Both the roman empire and the byzantine empire had strong and well led armies. “The Byzantines came to appreciate the virtues of infantry combined with Calvary in well-trained and well-led forces” (Cimbala, 2008 pp.2-3). The byzantine armies were a composite of feudal levies, voluntary enlistment, and mercenaries, including many foreigners. “The resounding success in the roman army in battle is due to constant training and excellent organization” (Ureche, 2014. Pp.1-1).

While the roman empire used their military to crusade and conquer, the byzantine empire used their military in a defensive manner. Byzantium mostly maintained a grand strategy of the strategic defense, with permissive opportunism for offense tactics” (Cimbala, 2008, pp.11-2). “Rome’s ‘principle of continuous warfare ‘leads to the expansion of her frontiers; she pursues a foreign policy which is entirely the tool of a general staff; she is forced to maintain large armies in the field, to expand and control the empire thus obtained” Schuurman 2013, pp. 508-2).

The Byzantines developed their own political and religious systems that were influenced greatly by the roman empire. Their architecture was greatly influenced by the roman empire. The byzantine empire carried on the building of arched aqueducts, amphitheaters, baths, and villas. As they carried on the feats they added domed churches and walled monasteries.

The Byzantines government was somewhat patterned by the roman empires government system. The emperor was still all powerful but had to counsel with the bodies of the senate. One of the differences between the two was that in the byzantine empire, the senate in Constantinople was made of men who had been promoted through military ranks where as the roman empire they were selected through senatorial class. The byzantine senators either got their positions through imperial patronage or because they were large land owners.