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Byzantines

Byzantines were the primary inhabitants of the Byzantine Empire, also known as the

new Rome. The empire rose when the western part of the roman empire crumbled into

several feudal kingdoms. The western part of the empire faced challenges such as internal

confusion and the external invasion resulting in its decline. Before the fall, a new capital

Constantinople had been built at the site of Byzantium, and the focus of the Byzantine empire

was growing towards the east (Backman, 253). There was an existing trade between the

eastern and the western empire since manufacturing, finance, and shipping were their

lifeblood. However, the business began to decline since the west started producing lesser than

the eastern empire needed (Backman, 254). This led to poverty and increased begging in the

western empire, later declared dead by Odoacer, the German general. On the other hand, the

Byzantine emperors showed interest in the involvement of western affairs, forming ties with

many Germanic warlords.

Justinian’s attempts to reunite the empires failed since the western empire was poor

economically and could not pay for its military. This led to further losses and immediate

succession where the Byzantium lost Egypt, Syria, and parts of Antioch to Persians

(Treadgold, 333). The Byzantium loss gave rise to the systematic efforts to control the Fertile

Crescent, which almost brought down the Byzantium. During the reign of Heraclius (610-

641), he fought a great struggle to bring the Byzantium empire back on its foot which most of

it had been lost. (Backman, 257). He introduced significant reforms into the kingdom, such as

replacing the centralized administration with the army. This improved military effectiveness
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and morale at work since they could now receive their salaries from the landholdings and

civic functions instead of Constantinople.

The reforms led to a significant restructuring of the Byzantine empire, which received

a great degree of stability and prosperity. Its capital acted as the economic hub. The empire

adopted the interest rates, manufacturing policies, and standards that provided substantial

control and guard over their monopoly, moreover, all the commerce passed through the city

(Backman, 258). The Byzantines had also acquired skills in cultivating the silkworms during

the Justinian reign, they, therefore, produced high-quality silk cloth. The negative impacts

created by the market around the eastern traders were immense that aroused rivalry on the

Byzantines between the 7th and the 8th centuries.

Hundreds of churches, bazaars, theatres, and baths were built within most cities of the

Byzantines empire. Constantinople’s domination drained the surrounding provinces

commercially, making them more of religious and political centers than trade. Intellectual

sophistication was only encountered in the cities where primary education was available. On

the other hand, religious education and devotional writing were provided in other parts of the

provinces. (Backman, 259). In 612, the Persians started a new campaign to acquire the holy

land that took Jerusalem in two years. This aroused a rebellion from the city Christians

against the Persians. The Persian soldiers smashed down almost everything belonging to the

Christians and by 614, there was no Christian building left in the Byzantine empire.

The 7th century marked a time of great hostility between the Christian relationship

with the world and their dark turn. In 622, the Byzantines reenergized and began their

reformation. Heraclius picked a symbolic position to execute his attack (Treadgold, 297). He

took his arm and sailed away from the city around Asia Minor to the Bay of Issus. This is

where Alexander the great had previously launched his conquest of the Persian empire, from

which he conquered victory after victory until he had acquired most parts of Syria, Palestine
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Works Cited
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Backman, Clifford R. Cultures of the West: A History, to 1750. 2nd ed., Oxford UP,

USA, 2015.

Treadgold, Warren T. A history of the Byzantine state and society. Stanford University Press,

1997.https://books.google.com/books?

hl=en&lr=&id=nYbnr5XVbzUC&oi=fnd&pg=PR13&dq=romans+byzantines&ots=E

DJs40I891&sig=DRVlh6_yTczoDc4q6Y72aHzTXfI