Kelvin Vargas
The Rise & Fall of the Byzantine Empire
Geography:
The most brilliant of medieval civilizations was the Eastern Roman Empire. The Byzantine Empire is located at the bridge between Eastern Europe and the Middle East. The Roman Empire was divided into two parts. The Western half, ruled from Rome, who were known to the tribal Germanic peoples known as barbarians. The Eastern half was the Byzantine Empire. It’s located right by the Mediterranean Sea and the Black sea, which was their easy access to big bodies of water. Its land was mostly mountainous and with their climate, they had hot & dry summers and warm & wet winters. According to (http://geographybyzantine.blogspot.com/) “The geography in the Byzantine Empire affects the lives of many Byzantines. Because Constantinople was directly on the cross-roads between Asia, Africa, and Europe, wealth and riches were constantly flowing through the markets.” This is proven by its trade routes including the Silk Road ran through Constantinople. People who had a chance to go to this routes made people and the government very rich.
Religion/Culture/Society
The culture of Byzantium was rich and prosperous. Science and technology influenced and grew during this period of time. Philosophical and discussion were important in public life. The debates kept knowledge and respect for the Greek philosophical and scientific heritage alive. “Although it was the Byzantine emperor Justinian who closed Plato's famous Academy of Athens in 529, the Byzantines are also responsible for much of the passing on of the Greek legacy to the Muslims, who later helped Europe to explore this knowledge again and so stood at the beginning of European Renaissance.” (http://www.livius.org) In their religion, the Roman world became Christian, and the Byzantine Empire was a Christian empire. Form of Christianity practiced in the Byzantine Empire is known as Greek Orthodox Christianity or Eastern Orthodox Christianity....