Social+Byzantine

​Stearns pg. 309-310

 * emperors were believed to be ordained by God
 * elaborate but cumbersome court rituals
 * women (see Theodora) were at times rulers
 * Byzantine culture focused on secular traditions of Hellenism
 * observed and commented on past forms of traditions, did not create new ones
 * only art and architecture differed from past traditions
 * Greek was the main language due to Byzantine's preference of Greek culture, latin was concidered inferior
 * bureaucrats were trained in Greek classics, philosophy, and science similarly to church education for the priesthood
 * could be recruited from any social class
 * began to take on Roman system of recruiting troops and rewarding them with land
 * hereditary military leaders gained regional power, displacing better-educated aristocrats
 * though military leaders sometimes limited innovations and education, military system protected state up until the 15th century
 * Peasant class supplied the most goods and tax revenue
 * Merchant class did not have very much power even though there was an elaborate trading network
 * many cities were only modest in size because the Empire focused and depended on Constantinople and its control over the surrounding countryside