Byzantine influence on western culture wasn’t a one step process, it was a slow development and chain of reactions over time. Byzantium itself wasn’t quite a peaceful town. First was the conflict of power over the land; were they Roman, or Greek? The land’s founding language was Latin, but locals spoke Greek. Over time they slowly grew more and more Greek. First it changed in their laws systems and then in their education, which they valued greatly. As a result of this shift in language, cultural views eventually changed as well. The greatest and most easily identifiable change would be their change from Roman Catholic to Greek Orthodox. This led to a chain reaction of influences on political standing, seeing as Byzantium tied religion and
