The Roman Empire : The Fall Of The Byzantine Empire

Three major civilization composed the classical empire. Classical Rome, Han China, and Gupta India all thrived at one point during this era, but with success also eventually came the fall of these three empires. Taking place at different times and due to different reasons, all three started to decline and eventually were too weak to defend themselves. The fall of the Roman Empire seemed to be more complex and due the many more little problems, by they all three fell apart due to unrest and problems created that could not be solved before it was ultimately too late.

Rome, a prosperous empire was greatly on the rise from 500BC - 500AD. Experienced many new architectural achievements including the aqueduct, Hadrian’s Wall, The Colosseum, and the Pantheon. But during the late stages in the empires existence, the western part was invaded by barbaric Germanic tribes who wanted to take the Roman empire over. The west eventually fell, but a new empire arose which is essentially “The New Roman Empire” The Byzantine Empire. They Byzantines incorporated Roman architecture, laws, and religion into the founding of the Byzantine Empire.

Through the chaos and anarchy from the destruction of Rome emerged a powerful empire. It all began in 323CE when a young general named Constantine became the Emperor of Rome. He was quick to make some changes, including moving the imperial capital from Rome to Byzantium, but he renamed it Constantinople. The Byzantine Empire was separated from the Roman Empire’s collapse so it managed to survive and maintain order in the east.

In schools around the world we have social studies, where we talk about the past empires that affected today's world. We talk about the Roman Empire, the Egyptians, even the Chinese empires for there huge affect on common era but their is one that deserves just as much credit as the rest and that is the Byzantine empire. The Byzantine empire lasted well over 1000 years and happened right after the fall of the Roman Empire in the Middle East. I will be talking about why we need to study the Byzantine empire with three simple yet major reasons. First, I will be talking about the byzantines preservation of important documents.

Imagine, being a citizen of the greatest part of the Roman empire. Your society had a set system that worked and kept the Byzantine Empire going. Then you hear rumors and whispers about how the west is going more and more downhill and you stop to look at what your side has. The Byzantine Empire had rules, set to help people and make it equal for all, they had a church that was very successful with a good message, and smart people in the government who were very ahead of their time. Let's deep dive into why and how the Byzantine Empire survived.

The Byzantine Empire was one of the most powerful civilizations during their time in the post-classical era. They came from the old Roman Empire that had collapsed before them. They copied many things that the Roman Empire once used. The Byzantine Empire covered a vast amount of land, stretching around the entire Mediterranean Sea. This meant that their armies must remain strong constantly. The laws within the Byzantine Empire would require all men to contribute to the army. Their army was a very formidable force and would help take the holy land of Jerusalem during their time. The military was considered to be higher up in the caste system used. The King and his bureaucracy were considered the most important group, but the military did have higher rights than that of a commoner. The economy of the Byzantine Empire was considered to be one of the strongest of Europe. They had access to all of the

The Roman Empire was one of the greatest empires around it’s time period. They ruled their region with an overpowering military force. They also had compelling agriculture and religion. Much of their music, clothes, and other agriculture continued on throughout other empires. They shaped the world with their beliefs and ideas and without this empire the world would be very different. There were strong Roman emperors and also horrible emperors who ruined the empire. Caesar and Constantine were among the most popular emperors of Rome. Constantine ruled later in the Empires lifetime while Caesar earlier. The death of Caesar had a huge impact on this empire. Constantine gave the Roman Empire the main religion of Christianity. This questioned the original beliefs of the Romans. They totally changed their culture. Towards the fall of the Roman Empire, the empire was split into two parts. This weakened their strong military force and led to an invasion. Evidently this caused Rome’s fall. The Roman Empires fall was due to the death of Caesar, mass poverty among Rome’s citizens, rise of Christianity, split of empires, and the invasions of the barbarians.

The Byzantine Empire and Western Europe originally were part of the Roman Empire, but by the middle Ages(medieval times), they were very different, even though they did share some common traits, but by the 300's, the Byzantine Empire had far surpassed Western Europe in trade and economics and political unity, while both empires were having arguments over religion.

The reason for the fall of the Roman Empire is a controversial topic under much historical debate. How did such a great empire, known for being one of the largest that lasted over a millennium, fall?

In the later half of the fourth century the Western Roman Empire fell after nearly a five hundred years of dominance and is still widely considered the world’s greatest superpower (Andrews). Many people attribute the crumbling of the empire to multiple different reasons, like corrupt and insane leaders to overspending and inflation. As J.B Bury said once “the fall of the roman empire was a series of contingent events. In this paper we are going to cover the three main reasons. Political and Economical problems plus problems with the military(Wood).

Although not as well-known as the Roman Empire, the Byzantine Empire was among one of the most influential empires in the ancient world because of its contributions in government and religion. The Byzantine Empire outlived the fall of the Western Empire by over a thousand years (Watts) through its strength, organization, and efficiency. The Byzantine Empire was successful after the fall of the Roman Empire because of its shrewd leaders, mainly Justinian the Great and his wife Theodora. One of the major political contributions of Justinian was the creation of a system of laws to govern his whole empire, known as the Justinian Code.

The Byzantine Empire followed the Roman Empire, and it, also, seems meager in comparison. It had evolved from the Roman Empire, and because it was in the late stage that it was in, land had been lost, so in terms of size, the Roman Empire was superior to the Byzantine. The empire wasn t strong, either. At the start, the first ruler, Justinian, attempted to reconquer Roman lands, but in doing so, left his own land in ruins, and his conquests were lost right after his death. The Empire faced many enemies and was threatened constantly by them. Eventually, all land was lost except for the Constantinople, the rich and powerful capital city, and the land surrounding it.

Though both had similar roots, they both took these similar bases & formed it into their own way. Both the Byzantine Empire and Ancient Roman have similar aspects, but each one made it unique. To better understand the similarities and differences of the Byzantine Empire and Ancient Romans one must look at each civilization’s cultural ideas, religion, & dependence on lower class.

While the fall of the Roman Empire is well known, the exact causes of why it fell can be difficult to pinpoint. Many historians believe that Rome 's downfall was due to poor leadership, weakened economics, or perhaps a combination of the two along with other seemingly unrelated factors. However, there is a string of evidence suggesting that there were three main components that took place to bring about the fall of the Roman Empire. These determinant attributes did not happen all at once, and there was a domino effect with each one directly influencing the others. The fall of Rome occurred after a series of preventable events, including unacceptable emperors, the heavy reliance on slaves, and the increasingly uncontrollable borders of Rome.

The Byzantine Empire, though often forgotten among better-known empires, such as the Roman Empire, ran for nearly one thousand years, occupying the eastern half of what once was the Roman Empire. It engaged in trade, expansion, and decades of warfare. It also gave women a better status then men, valued and preserved Greek history, and eventually fell to the Ottomans.