Byzantine Empire: Cultural and Construction

Byzantine Empire: Cultural and Construction History

Cultural Environment

The Byzantine Empire denotes the east of the Roman Empire after a political, cultural, and religious schism in the fourth century AD. Byzantium itself, located in a strategic area between the Adriatic and Black seas, was a major trading port founded by Greek traders. It was the strategic location of the city that allowed trade, commerce, and ultimately political hegemony to transfer power from West to East when it became apparent that Rome could no longer manage its political domain appropriately (Harris).

Scholars of the period often point to the advancement of the Eastern Roman Empire whilst the west subsequently was defeated by invaders as a question of how the east did prevail whilst the west succumbed. The relative continuity of the east relative to the west was an issue research and to which a book was written by Edward N. Luttwak. (Karras, Sauers, 2010)

Luttwak asserts that the time was ripe during the fifth century as a function of the fervor of the rulers coupled to the strategies that would lead to combating attacks to the Eastern Roman Empire, such as the Huns and Attila. (Karras, Sauers, 2010) Hence, the defeat of the Eastern Roman Empire was a function of the lack of strategic military strength to defend the western portion of the empire.

Luttwak continues by promoting paradoxical logic as salient logic via the proposed 'grand strategy' uncontested by the Byzantines as the empire was viewed as under constant threat. (Karras, Sauers, 2010)

Relationship to Previous Periods

The separation of the Roman and Byzantine empires is really a current concept based on the idea that it was logical for Byzantium to take on the mantle of Rome when the culture of the Italian peninsula began to decay. In AD 324 the official capital of the Roman Empire was moved to Byzantium and renamed Constantinople (after Emperor Constantine) or "New Rome." Thus, Byzantium was a continuation of the Roman legacy, although with evolving technologies and, most importantly, the new officially sanctioned Christian religion (Adena).

The Byzantine Empire was a powerful 1,000-year empire whose influence in political, cultural, religious, economic, and military areas extended throughout the Mediterranean and Middle Eastern world. It provided a vehicle for the Greco-Roman cultural heritage to maintain power during a period in which much of Western Europe was in turmoil. Many scholars believe that without the Byzantine Empire, many Western traditions may have been lost to the Islamic or Mongol empires. Yet as power in the West rose, Byzantium's power decreased, culminating in the Ottoman Turks' defeat of Constantinople in the fifteenth century (Halson).

As ironic as is the decrease in the Byzantium power relative to the increasing powers of the west, the Turks subsequently would move westward in the eighth century and establish independency within the borders of what is now known as Afghanistan, Eastern Iran and Northern India. (Artner, 1987)

The reason for the strength of the Asian empire was due to the development of the Seljuk Turks of the eleventh century (Artner, 1987). The tribal band ruled over what is now Iran, Iraq and Syria until the commencement of the fourteenth century (Artner, 1987).

Contribution(s) to Western Civilisation

The Byzantine Empire was the only stable, long-term political and cultural system in Europe which both protected and isolated western Europe from the emerging Islamic empire. Its primary cultural importance lies in economics and religion. It had the most progressive economy in the area until the Renaissance. Its well-established trading network stretched across most of Eurasia and North Africa and incorporated the Silk Road. These economic trade routes were key to the dissemination of Western culture throughout the known world, as well as bringing into Byzantium Asian and Middle Eastern culture. It is likely that without the Byzantine trade routes and economy, there would not have been enough funding for the Crusades, which resulted in the redevelopment and revitalization of Europe (Laiou). The intricate network of inter-state relations and treaties that formed the basis of Byzantine diplomacy allowed the rest of the world to assimilate its institutions, values, and attitudes (Neumann). The need for continual attacks on the Byzantine Empire gave rise to strong empires in the West, like Charlemagne's Holy Roman Empire. Out of Byzantine feudalism grew the incipient structures of economic capitalism.

Recent scholarship understands the Byzantine Empire as a complex blend of Rome and the East. This balanced historical approach seems to point to the fact that the various stages in medieval development would have been unlikely without the influence of Byzantium. Indeed, the Byzantine Empire is now viewed as equally dynamic and successful to Rome, with a far-reaching influence on the West (Angelov). By no means does it fit the description of a society of decadence and decay. In addition, it was an instrumental social force for the dissemination of Christianity. This had a radical impact on building in the West.

Indirectly, the Byzantium facilitated the Muslim achievements in science as scholarly achievements by Muslims were shared with non-Muslims to further the societal benefit of Islamic non-fundamentalist scientific research. Such achievements from the Muslims as a function of the Byzantium led to the foundations of Western civilization (Aleph, 2011)

2. Scientific Environment

While the foundations of science were undoubtedly laid by ancient cultures, the Middle Ages proved to be a time where science moved out from under the wing of philosophy and became an independent discipline (Saliba 32). Byzantine knowledge and science preserved the writings of classical antiquity, particularly in philosophy and metaphysics (Anastos 410). The sophisticated Byzantine world preserved the previous Greco-Roman scientific discoveries and theories in medicine, mathematics, and science. The philosophical and scientific systems of Aristotle, Galen, and Ptolemy were spread around the empire to a new audience. Commentaries on their works proliferated and launched science through to the medieval period.

Nevertheless, after the sixth century AD and during the plague years and the Arab conquests, there were few novel contributions by Byzantine scholars (Cohen). Then, at the end of the first millennium, Byzantine scholars developed expertise in the astronomy, mathematics, and medicine of Persia and Arabia (Tatakes).

During the Byzantine Empire, religion proved unexpectedly to be no strong impediment to science and knowledge. Following the collapse of the Roman Empire, western Europe saw a huge loss of religious knowledge. In the East, however, the Christian church retained this knowledge. Scholars such as Aquinas and Buridan allowed the spirit of scientific inquiry to continue. Science was contained in their texts. Thanks to later translations of many of these medieval works in the Renaissance, Europe reclaimed this knowledge. The Scientific Revolution in Europe was based on it. The medieval period, in other words, allowed science to flourish because its philosophy focused on logic, encouraged empiricism, and viewed nature in terms of a set of existing natural laws that could be understood and explained through reason.

Despite the initial setback, the Byzantine Empire hosted some exciting scientific developments. For instance, Byzantine scientists actively put mathematics into practise, continuing the efforts of the ancient Greeks. In the field of architecture, early Byzantium watched Anthemius of Tralles and Isidore of Miletus construct the Hagia Sophia church using mathematical formulas. The significance of this building was enormous as it marked a technological breakthrough in its geometry, height, and design.

Perhaps the most important contribution the Byzantine Empire made to the progress of science was providing the medieval Islamic scholars with the ancient Greek works of mathematics and astronomy. These works were translated into Arabic, thus opening the Islamic world to a wealth of scientific information. This allowed Islamic countries not only to catch up scientifically, but to use the texts as a platform from which to devise their own theories and make fresh discoveries. As a result, the Islamic world became a scientific leader, extending knowledge in astronomy, mathematics, and other fields. The interchange of information between Byzantine Europe and the Arabic world fostered this trend. Byzantine scholars translated Arabic works into Byzantine Greek, thus continuing the exchange. The back-and-forth discovery and communication was beneficial for both and proved to be a sensational means of furthering human awareness and understanding of natural laws. Later, it was Byzantine grammarians who brought Ancient Greek grammar and literature to early Renaissance Italy.

One pertinent example of this process is the introduction into Europe of the Tusi-couple (named after Persian astronomer Nasr al-Din Tusi), an alternative to the equant put forth in Ptolemy's Almagest. It featured in the work of Nicolaus Copernicus, an astronomer who devised a working theory to demonstrate that the Earth is not the centre of the universe (Saliba 32). So important was Copernicus' theory that his On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres is not only considered the groundwork of modern astronomy, but the beginning of the Scientific Revolution itself.

In sum, the Byzantine Empire's influence on the progress of science was profound. It proved to be crucial to understanding natural laws and the universe. While Byzantine writers' contributions may not remain as well-known as that of the Egyptians, we continue to use and employ their discoveries.

One of the most brilliant contributions of the Byzantium is its contribution to modern music and the development of what the world has come to appreciate as the foundations of classical music. The Byzantine "medieval" (Lang, 1997), in fact, the Byzantium influence is considered to be critical to the development of the Greek music and the relative genius behind Greek music (Lang, 1997)

The quoted sovereign melody (Lang, 1997) is the oft punctuated contribution to the sovereign nature of today's music throughout the world. The Byzantium facilitated the sovereign method of music ostensibly from what would be the earlier influences to the Byzantine Empire. Lang continues to point to such influence as having its origins in the Orient (Lang, 1997).

Sports were a major part of the Byzantine Empire and are representative of the development of competition within the Roman Empire and subsequently to the importance of sporting events within all major empires that have since developed. After the fall of the Byzantine (Eastern Roman Empire) under Constantinople, a new age of sports and recreational activities was initiated (Schrodt, 1981).

In fact, Schrodt continues to argue that many of the Byzantium achievements were framed in contempt as many scholars concluded that the Byzantium did contribute not one iota to the "history, philosophy, or literature of the Roman civilization" (Schrodt, 1981). Therefore, many of the achievements brought to Western civilization after the Byzantium era, are not properly attributed to the Byzantine during the height of civilization.

Byzantine architecture and religious philosophy also are major components of the development of Western civilization. The architecture of Byzantine cathedrals, or religious ceremonial housing, have continued to influence the contemporary architecture of the Western world, as Catholics developed "neo-Byzantine churches" whilst the Presbyterians developed neo-Gothic churches. (Highet, 1976)

3. Economic Environment

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byzantine_economy

Background

The Byzantium system of economics was unrivaled at the height of its advancement and for centuries afterward. The relative dominance of Byzantium within the European and Mediterranean facilitated the capital city of Constantinople as the primary purveyor of trading network that enabled the nether regions of the European-Asiatic and North African regions. During the medieval period, Constantinople remained the nexus within the network of trade facilitated by the Byzantium. However, the decline of such an economic base was facilitated by the rise of the Arabs from a collective bodywork representation of Asia and subsequent invasion by the Arabs.

Trade

Indeed, the Byzantine Empire was built and had established itself on trade. The ability of the empire to generate its wealth via trade was a function of the empire's decision to control internal and external trade routes to the best of her ability. Additionally, the Constantinople nexus was able to increase trading traffic in all directions and therefore offered a convenient trade route for traders from all over to trade with one another at Constantinople. The tax levied on the trading at Constantinople facilitated the burgeoning economy of the empire.

The major trading commodities included grain and silk. Silk was a commodity cherished by all whom traded on the aforementioned trade routes. Diplomatic relations were facilitated with silk as it was also a means of currency for the empire. (Laiou, Exchange and Trade, 720) Grain was a tremendously high in demand as population increases would force the price of the raw supply of food to new heights. Additionally, the invasion by the Arabs did hinder the ability of the Byzantium to regulate its remaining supply of viable grain to the constituency of the empire. (Laiou, Exchange and Trade, 720)

Constantinople did facilitate trade of a large variety of goods. These goods would include oil, wine, salt fish, mean, vegetables, salt, timber and wax, ceramics, linen, and wooden cloth. Additionally, there were 'luxury items', such as silks, perfumes and spices. Trade in slaves was viewed with disdain by the state and ostensibly private individuals, which does point to the level of philosophic and moral development of the societal core. (Laiou, Exchange and Trade 723-746)

By the13th century, the Byzantium was in economic control of the Venetians and the Genoese. (Matschke, Commerce, Trade, Markets 771-772) This led to the relative decline of the Byzantium economy as the state was unable to establish control over the internal and external economic drivers. Eventually, Byzantium would lose control over all major internal processes that govern and regulate economic activity. (Matschke, Commerce, Trade, Markets 805-806)

Agriculture

As in many societies, Byzantium agrarian society favored the areas close to the sea as well as the interior of the Balkans and Asia Minor to further maintain the food supply. These aspects of agrarian society within the Byzantium assisted in establishing the Byzantine economy to facilitate its major economic engine, trade. The Byzantine society did work hard when considering the tools and techniques applied to their agrarian endeavors, which prove to have yielded a low productivity of output ratio in labor hours vs. yield. (Lefort, 232-235)

The major period of activity in the Byzantium had seen the ascension of the estate and village as central to the social organization of production within the Byzantium (Lefort, 242-289). The development of Europe's feudal society during the Medieval times was a function of the Byzantine system of state. Land owners often employed what were termed as 'wage laborers' whom maintained the land as a function of the work that was performed. The village inhabitants, whether present on the land or not, paid the taxes on the land to the state.

Population of the Byzantine prior to the 9th and 10th century was diminishing, such as during the 7th and 8th centuries. The reason for the decline in population statistics was inherently due to the epidemics such as the plague of the middle 6th century. Again, after the 9th century the population commenced to increase however, the number within the population deemed to be unproductive was also increasing as a function of the total population. (Lefort 267-270)

(Laiou, Agrarian Economy 369)

Coinage

For all intent and purposes, the Byzantium had developed a relatively complex and symbiotic economic system of monetary exchange and wealth transfer which was highly integrated and relatively flexible over the course of the empire's history. (Morrison, 909-910) The system of trading and the development of the economic base was a function of the ability to track and grow the wealth base within the empire.

The Byzantium also issued a 'wealth standard' or what is termed a solidus which like gold, has a nominal value equal to its intrinsic value. (Morrisson, 918-932) The difference with gold in today's market is that there is a market value that defines that gold is traded at in the market exchange. Additionally, silver and bronze coinage was also issued whose nominal value was slightly higher than its intrinsic value. (Morrisson, 918-932)

However by the 10th and 11th centuries the system of monetary exchange within the empire had underwent a considerable change which was then followed by an economic crisis which devalued the value of the metals and hence the currency that was a function of the underlying value. (Morrisson, 918-932) The subsequent role of the Venetians in Byzantine economics would be to issue coins and reinvigorate monetary circulation within the empire. (Morrisson, 933-962)

(Morrisson 933-962)

The Role of State

The state had macro influence and a governing authority over the issuance of coinage as well as intervening via the regulation of all major aspects of the Byzantium economy. What is currently called monetary policy was the focal point of state intervention within Byzantium. (Laiou, Economic History, 255-256)

(Laiou, Economic History 255-256).

4. General Management

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Administration_of_Constantinople

Background

The Byzantine Empire was essentially religious in nature, and an austerely rigid religion at that. Art and literature took on the form of ecclesiastical and theological doctrine. Much of Byzantine art would serve as motivation for Renaissance artists. The Byzantine Empire instigated the Crusades, so effectively they laid the basis for most of the world's affairs for the next 800 years. Despite the fact that monotheistic Christianity was the official religion of the Byzantine Empire, society did not progress forward in thinking with regard to government or management during this time (Cohen). Nonetheless, through writing the Byzantine Empire contributed significantly to the preservation and transmission of classical management knowledge and skills so that other societies could benefit from past systems (Anastos 410; Tatakes).