Comparing and Contrasting Byzantium with Medieval Western Europe
When we think about “medieval” times, most of the time we think about Europe. We think about knights and castles, princesses and dragons. Although this is the common thought process most people have, most of it is far from the truth. “Medieval” times weren’t as fantasy-like as they are made out to be. Also, not all of Europe was the same. Although Byzantium (Eastern Europe) and Western Europe shared some common elements, for the most part they were vastly different.
The Byzantine Empire began with the founding of Constantinople by Constantine. The Empire can be thought of more or less as the post-Roman Empire, however, its language was Greek, along with its culture. The Byzantine Empire was a Christian state. World History to 1648, a textbook by Jay Pascal Anglin and William J. Hamblin, explains that the Byzantine Empire was the “political heir to Rome, cultural heir to Greece, and the spiritual heir to Christianity.
After the collapse of the Roman Empire, the other large piece left was Western Europe. While Byzantium was Orthodox Christian with a Greek culture, Western Europe was Roman Catholic with a Latin Roman culture. Unlike the long-lasting Byzantine Empire, Western Europe had economic and population troubles. This happened because of Germanic raids from the north. Western Europe crumbled into several Germanic kingdoms.
While Byzantium lasted much longer than Western Europe, it is important to realize that it too had a collapse. The emperor Justinian fought his way to the throne despite revolts and unrest from the citizens of Constantinople. Justinian decided to attempt to regain control of the West. After conquering North Africa, Italy and Southern Spain, the Byzantine Empire’s conquest reached a halt. After claiming these territories, raids from the Slavs and Persians resulted in loss of much of the land Byzantium had conquered. The wars, along with Bubonic Plague left the empire in a state of bankruptcy and decline. Civil war broke out throughout the empire, and it was reduced to the city of Constantinople and a few other surrounding areas. However, the following emperor, Heraclius, was able to restore the empire to the boundaries it once had.
As you can see, the two sides of Europe had very different histories around the middle Ages. Byzantium had far surpassed Western Europe in trade and economics, as well as structure and unity. The Byzantine Empire’s unmatched success in economics came because of its position in modern-day Turkey. (Location of Istanbul) Constantinople’s prime positioning made it a trade center for the Silk Road, and a connection between Europe and the rest of the pre-modern world. Western Europe, unable to trade across the world, had more problems economically. Western Europe was more independent of other countries, and traded very little outside of Europe. Both of these sides also had very different Government structures. The Byzantine Empire was just that- and empire. This contrasts the political structure of Western Europe, which didn’t really have one. Western Europe became very divided and spread. While these two sides had vastly different governments, as well as economic and military success, they did have one thing (sort of) in common: Religion. Both Eastern and Western Europe were dominated by Christianity, but different kinds. Western Europe was Roman Catholic while Byzantium was Eastern Orthodox. While Western Europe was dominated by Roman culture, Byzantium’s culture was Greek.
As you can see, the Byzantine Empire was vastly different than Western Europe. One of the only common links between the two was the religion of Christianity. The two sides developed very differently culturally, politically, economically and historically. While Byzantium was a powerful empire, Western Europe was divided into small kingdoms. The Byzantine Empire’s location made it a prime for trading with the rest of the pre-modern world, while Western Europe was mostly economically independent and less successful. Eastern Europe was Greek culturally, while Western Europe was Roman because of its predecessor, the Roman Empire. Despite Byzantium and Medieval Western Europe’s numerous differences, they do share a few common elements.
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