Intro+to+Byzantine

The definition of The Byzantine Empire in the World Civilizations book is: "Eastern half of Roman Empire following collapse of western half of old empire; retained Mediterranean culture, particularly Greek; later lost Palestine, Syria, and Ejypt to Islam; capital at Constantinople"."The Byzantine empire was a product of the Hellenistic era and late imperial Rome, and it demonstrated great survival power." (Stearns 220). Said empire remained powerful economically, culturally, and militarily in Europe during it's 1000 years of dominance, despite setbacks and wars. Religiously, the Byzantine people were very Christian and this showed through their art. This piece of art shows classic Byzantine art style. Emperor Constantine created Constantinople by constructing elegant building churches, including the Hagia Sophia. This is why Constantinople became the main imperial structure for the Empire. The majority of leaders were men, but Empress Theodora and Zoe held the throne as Empresses at one point in time. The Byzantine empire converted many Middle Eastern people to Christianity by force and because of this often had to fight back Arab Muslims from their kingdom. Though they had many distinct strengths, including their arts, architecture, and Hellenistic culture, the setback that ultimately separated the empire was difference in Religious views. Christianity split into two because of the problem of which kind of bread to use to celebrate Christ's last supper. Ultimately,the empire declined when Turks and Arabs invaded it. The empire's trading and ability to preserve Christianity made it especially important during the post-classical period.