Islamic Empire Research Paper

Organized religion had an impact on all societies, whether it aided their success or was part of their downfall. The Persian Empire, the Roman Empire, the Islamic Empire, and the Holy Roman Empire all had certain stances on religion that affected the empire as a whole. Organized religion enabled particular empires to flourish, such as the Persian Empire, the Roman Empire, and the Islamic Empire, while also weakening others, including the Holy Roman Empire. The Persian Empire greatly benefitted from having coordinated religion. Cyrus the Great, a Persian king, tolerated other religions under his rule. During his time as king, he permitted the Jews to return to Jerusalem, returned various sacred items to them, and approved the restoration of the Temple of Jerusalem. …show more content…
Cyrus’ tolerance created a sense of peace regarding religion in the Persian Empire which strengthened the empire and aided their success. The Roman Empire under Diocletian housed many Christians, but unlike Cyrus the Great, Diocletian was not very tolerant and he persecuted the Christians. However, once Constantine took over, he converted to Christianity and ended the maltreatment of Christians. Constantine made an effort to standardize Christianity in the Council of Nicea, which produced the Nicene Creed. Having a uniform religion greatly aided the Roman Empire in that people could practice it freely and openly. The Islamic Empire was also aided by their policies on religion. In the Islamic Empire, the main religion was Islam, but they also practiced religious tolerance, allowing people of other religions to continue practicing their faith. However, there were some limitations on this tolerance. Muslims were fully accepted in society, and retained their legal privileges, while other religious people such as Jews, Christians, and Zorostrians were able to practice their beliefs, but lost all legal rights and were required to pay a fee to