The Byzantine Empire And The Holy Roman Empires

Improved Essays
THE ROMAN EMPIRE AND ITS HEIRS
KEY X.T. MORROW
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA

Rome, one of the most fruitful and prosperous empires in history, did not become such a great power for such a great amount of time by mere accident. It is seemingly astounding that an empire that lasted for so long had so many changes in power and structure, which further provides evidence that Rome was such a great empire to emulate, because despite all the violence and disagreement over power, the empire remained largely intact throughout time. Rome utilized political and military organization that was never previously implemented, in addition to showing that a republic and an empire can coexist. But above all else, they instilled the idea of being a
…show more content…
He took the idea of an empire run on laws and adapted it, improving it even, some would say. Justinian essentially took the Romans laws and had them published in writing, giving subjects of the empire a right to a fair trial before a judge. Much like most situations, religion got a firm place in future empires as a result of Rome switching from essentially infinite gods to the concept of monotheism via Christianity. In all actuality the Byzantine Empire and the Holy Roman Empire both were monotheistic, and both were devoted to the Christian cause. The Byzantine Empire under rule of Justinian, who as previously stated transcribed laws based on Roman laws, was influenced by Christianity in the formation of said laws. Also much like early Rome, the Byzantine Empire had some leniency in regards to religion, however not as much as Rome’s free-for-all polytheistic society. They did not tolerate polytheism well at all, although they did seem to be more partial to the monotheistic Jews and even at times Muslims. Fractionation within Christianity was also very much disdained. The Holy Roman Empire, and more notably the ruler Charlemagne, took perhaps the most impressive part of Rome and replicated it: the …show more content…
Charlemagne’s army was devastating and conquered many territories, even incorporating rather sizable kingdoms into their empire through his conquests. Also within this empire we have the recurring theme of monotheism, more specifically Christianity once again. Charlemagne actually was crowned Emperor by Pope Leo III, giving further evidence of just how large a role religion plays in general, and how Christianity truly got some major roots and spread as a result of the original Roman Empire. Rome did more than shape the landscape of empires that derived from itself, no matter how subtle. The workings of Rome and its people enjoyed countless architectural innovations, such as the arches and aqueducts, among many other things. Rome was the first known organization of any kind to have a senate, a concept that survived among other empires and even to our most modern of empires such as our own United States senate. The most impressive aspect of the Roman Empire may in fact be the senate, as it lasted throughout all rulers, all expansions and retractions, and every other event in the history of Rome. In fact, even after most consider Rome to have “fallen”, a senate continued to exist in Byzantium. This is a true test of time that was clearly passed by the idea of a

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    The Byzantine Empire DBQ

    • 861 Words
    • 4 Pages

    "The Byzantine Empire and its capital city of Constantinople thrived for more than thousands of years and helped shape the history of the modern world (Overview)". The Byzantines were essential because they had good ways of developing architecture and engineering, they modernized, and saved Christianity, and they helped save the legal code to make what it is today. Without these essential qualities from the Byzantines America wouldn’t be what it is today... a free country. “Had the Arabs captured Constantinople in the seventh century...…

    • 861 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    World Studies Period 7 Mrs. Mann The Roman Republic and the Common Good By, Samantha Schmitz Introduction Ancient Rome is known to be a powerful and well put together civilization that was somewhat meeting the common good. The reason that Ancient Rome was a successful city was because they had a republic. A republic is a democracy where the people of Rome get to choose their leaders. The city had a huge population with a strong government.…

    • 1814 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Roman Empire Dbq Essay

    • 485 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The Roman Empire was one of the greatest civilizations in history, developing advancements in many important areas, like architecture and technology. Its culture was widespread, and it had a big impact on other civilizations to come. The main way Rome was able to become so advanced was being able to adapt to its geography. This allowed them to complete tasks more efficiently, and maximize the effectiveness of what they were doing.…

    • 485 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    “By approving Christianity, the Roman state directly undermined its religious traditions” (The Fall of the Roman Empire). First, Christianity taught people to only believe in one god. This was very different from the traditional Roman religion of worshipping many gods. Second, in the traditional religion, Romans treated their Emperor as a god.…

    • 442 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Roman Empire Dbq Analysis

    • 782 Words
    • 4 Pages

    “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” This is part of one of President Lincoln famous speeches on equality, at a time of civil war. By understanding the mistakes of past civilizations, society can ensure that we do not meet the same fate as certain civilizations, such as the Roman Empire. The small community of Rome began its formation around the year 750 BCE. With the fall of the Greeks in 200 BCE, Rome had conquered most of the land in Europe, some land in Africa, and parts of the Middle East and Asia.…

    • 782 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Additionally, the differences in teachings of the Christian churches now had more significance than before. Early Christians didn’t have political participation in the Roman Empire. After its acceptance as a legal religion, however, differences in teaching could possibly start a riot. In addition to that, since the emperor had accepted Christianity, differences in teaching would also undermine his credibility. Due to the increased significance of Christianity, the Roman Empire was becoming more involved in religion.…

    • 1207 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Roman Empire Dbq Analysis

    • 444 Words
    • 2 Pages

    After about 250 years of hard work, the world's largest Empire fell into ruin. The Roman Empire lasted from approximately 50 BCE to 200 CE. At its peak, the Empire was about 2400 miles long taking control of all area surrounding the Mediterranean Sea. During its rule, the empire became very strong and complex featuring Gladiator fights for entertainment along with an army that couldn’t be matched by any other. Unfortunately, as all good things do, Rome met its end.…

    • 444 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Ancient Rome was an amazing place that is best defined by its many breakthroughs. A few of these breakthroughs were in Roman architecture, their act of Bread and Circuses, and their astounding military. All of these factors played a huge role in the creation and definition of Ancient Rome. Through these architectural, governmental, and military achievements, Rome became a very successful place. Ancient Roman architecture consisted of many things, such as organized structures and well built roads.…

    • 500 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    After the persecutions, the faith kept growing and many people became Christians. “The occasional persecution of Christians by the Romans in the first and second centuries had not stopped the growth of Christianity” (McGraw-Hill Networks, 153). That sentence shows that Christianity affected the common life of Rome because many people in the Empire turned to God for a life worth living. Ultimately, Christianity was an important factor in the ancient world affecting many people and how we live…

    • 483 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Christianity began with Jesus, and his followers and grew to transform the Roman Empire, and also the empires that followed it. In the year A.D. 180 major conflict, confusion, and civil war followed after the death of Marcus Aurelius. For over 50 years the Roman throne was occupied by whoever had the military strength to seize it. Throughout the years there were more than 22 emperors, and most of them died violently. Christianity played a major role in the Roman Empire.…

    • 216 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Great Essays

    Augustus, while conquering Egypt, didn’t do much to expand his power, however, Constantine did. He signed an important document that single-handedly changed the social structure of the empire. He reformed the army under Christianity and made the empire more Christian (unofficially). Rome has had an impressive history. Going from a republic to a widespread empire is no small task.…

    • 1034 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Originally, the Roman Empire only had control of area inside of present day Italy and Sicily. The empire would expand greatly as the years went on. Unlike the Mesopotamians, Rome did not have to suffer the change of empires, making it relatively easier to spread their empire. Out of the history of Rome’s influential emperors, one of the most successful would be Julius Caesar. During his reign, the Roman empire expanded greatly, pushing its borders from only Italy and Spain to Gaul, Northern Africa, and Anatolia.…

    • 1879 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Abelard and Augustine: Devout Sinners and Christians Abelard and St. Augustine felt compelled to write of their mistakes and misfortunes reflective of their lives. Despite the fact they did so in efforts to confess their sins, the two differ in a multitude of ways. Some of which include their approach for convincing people religion can provide them with salvation, or their attitudes towards religion in their earlier life. St. Augustine wrote within the first century where Christianity was a competitor when it came to religion. Up until this time, Roman Paganism was undoubtedly the main religion within Europe.…

    • 1671 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Of all the civilizations in history, there is perhaps none as influential (to the Western world at least) as that of Rome. From its earliest roots as a small kingdom, through its era as a republic, to the dominance and decline of its empire, the Roman civilization stood for over two millennia, nearly half of recorded history. Since its fall, countless nations attempted to emulate Rome, attempting to recapture even a hint of its former glory. It can be argued, however, that of all these imitators none came as close in spirit as the United States of America. But while America’s adoption of Roman ideologies helped it mirror the latter’s rise to power, disturbing parallels are coming to light between the state the Roman Republic was in before its fall and United States today.…

    • 1618 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Explain the negative effects of the Roman conquests Rome held a fate that would be devastating to the city-state following its great conquests. However, to understand the unraveling of the Roman republic, it’s important to understand how Rome obtained the position it had and what ultimately caused the negative effects. To do this an overview of how Rome became the fairest one of all is necessary. This essay will briefly examine how Rome rose to power and through power and greatness lost its upper hand and became torn.…

    • 1146 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays