Byzantine Empire Vs Islamic Caliphates

The postclassical era is most often described by historians as the era during which networks of communication and exchange based on trade and human migration are more distinct, a more evident shift to monotheistic world religions exist, and a greater spread of “civilization” to additional regions of the world comes into play. It was around this time period when the Byzantine Empire and the Islamic Caliphates would come into existence. The Byzantine Empire, whose name is derived from a modest market town and fishing village known as Byzantion, was located in the eastern Mediterranean; while the empire of the Islamic Caliphates arose in the Arabian Peninsula. The Byzantine Empire, influenced by Christianity, and the Islamic Caliphates, influenced …show more content…
The Byzantine Empire was originally part of the Roman Empire, so when the empire fell and divided into east an west, the east became known as the Byzantine Empire. Due to this, the new empire was more of a continuation of the fallen Roman Empire, and a result, the empire legal system had been influenced by their Roman predecessors. This can be seen under Emperor Justinian, a Byzantine emperor. Justinian was responsible for the codification of Roman law. He ordered a systematic review of Roman law and issued the Corpus iris civilis, which was immediately recognized. Due to this fact, the Byzantine Empire drew it’s legal system from the Roman’s. Compared to this, the Islamic Caliphate’s legal system was solely based on Sharia Law, or Islamic Holy Law. Sharia Law offered a detailed guidance on proper behavior in almost every aspect of life. Legal scholars and jurists drew inspiration from the Quran and teachings of Muhammad to create the Sharia. This would be more than a religious doctrine, it would become the system which dedicated marriage, family life, inheritance, slavery, business and commercial relationships, political authority, and crime. As a result, crime and the punishments associated with them were determined by religion. Thus, unlike the Byzantine Empire whose legal system drew from the fallen Roman Empire’s and developed it, the Islamic Caliphate empire legal system was ruled by a sole religious doctrine, which could be interpreted differently based on who was determined the consequences. Thus, while in the Byzantine Empire the leaders governed the people through improved laws created by their predecessors, the caliphates in the Arabian Peninsula used their Religious doctrine for their legal