Intellectual+Byzantine

 In both eastern and western Europe, new civilizations looked back to the Greek and Roman empires for political ideas and artistic styles (Stearns 306).

Although the court language of the Byzantine Empire was Latin, Greek was the common language. Greek eventually became the offical language after Emperor Justinian in the 6th century. The eastern Europeans viewed Latin as an inferior langauge; Greek was the preffered language of scholars as it allowed them to easily read the ancient Athenian philosophical and literary classicals as well as the Hellenistic writings and scientific texts (Stearns 307).

Justinian attempted to restore an empire like the Roman, but was prone to grand ideas and was a moron. Despite this he rebuilt Constantinople and systemized the Roman legal code, He built new buildings in the later Roman style, which added domes to the previous classical style. The most famous of these new buildings was the Hagia Sophia, a wonder of the Christian world and an achievement in engineering. Justinian unifed the Roman legal code, which united the empire and reduced confusion. The code was updated by later emperors and helped to spread Roman legal principles through Europe (Stearns 307). With the help of the brillant general Belisarius, Justinian conquered Northern Africa and Italy (Stearns 308).

When the empire was centered in the southern Balkans and the western and central portions of Turkey, it was far from the greatness of the Roman Empire but was sufficient enough for a rich Hellenistic culture. They blended Hellenistic culture with Christianity while also advancing Roman engineering, military tactics and law (Stearns 308).

To hold off a major Arab siege of the capital in 717-718 C.E. the Byzantine Emire created Greek fire, a kind of napalm made out of petroleum, quicklime, and a sulfur mix that was able to destroy Arab ships (Stearns 309).

The cultural life of the Byzantine Empire centered on the secular traditions of Hellenism, and their “strength lay in preserving and commenting on past forms more than in developing new ones.” (Stearns 310).