The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was a division of the Roman Empire created in the last years of this great civilization in order to control the enormous extension it had reached. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire at the hands of the Germanic peoples, the power of the Romans passed to the eastern area. As time went by, the Byzantine Empire changed and lost Roman influence, remaining in the Middle Ages for centuries.
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Although the extent of the Byzantine Empire varied over the centuries, we must say that it usually occupied what we currently know as Turkey and Greece. On the other hand, it had territories at certain times on the Mediterranean coast, in the lower part of Italy and in Egypt. Its capital, on the other hand, remained in Constantinople, being what we currently know as Istanbul.
The Byzantine Empire took place between 285 and 1453, being, therefore, one of the great empires of the end of the Ancient Age and much of the Middle Ages. For much of these years it was considered the last bastion of classical Europe, and as a wall to stop the advance of Islam.
Byzantium is generally considered to be the symbol of the division between Eastern and Western cultures.
To continue this lesson from a Teacher we must talk about the characteristics of the Byzantine Empire to better understand this fantastic civilization, since the characteristics will help us understand many of the reasons why this culture was so important.
Thus, the characteristics of the Byzantine Empire are the following:
They considered themselves heirs of the Roman Empire, even calling themselves Romans. As time went by, this heritage was lost due to the great changes suffered by the empire.
It was a Christian empire, although there were many ethnic differences within it, so we can say that it was a multiethnic Christian empire. With the arrival of the Schism, the Greek Orthodox Church was created, changing the religion of Byzantium.
The governor was the basileus, being a position similar to that of king and emperor. It was not a hereditary position, but the basileus was elected in a procedure in which the Senate, the army and a series of representatives chosen by the people participated.
The governor was very close to religion, and the position was considered divine.
The government was autocratic, so the basileus had power over everything. He controlled the administration, the army, the legislation, and was the judge in the affairs of the state.
The Byzantine administration was controlled by officials, who were organized by a hierarchy according to the responsibility of each one.
Like almost all societies of the time, the Byzantine Empire based a large part of its economy on agricultural work, its main production being nuts, wheat, legumes and wine.
Their position in the middle of Europe and Asia made them one of the most commercial civilizations of the time. Their trade routes reached from the Iberian Peninsula to the easternmost area of Asia, and also included other areas such as North Africa.
The empire was divided into provinces or themas, each of these being governed by a strategist, who made up the upper classes.
He gave a lot of importance to the army, especially to defend the territories they already had. Most of the money went to improving the troops.
They collected taxes from the population, causing great inequality because the lower classes were less able to pay them.
At first their language was Latin, but after the disappearance of the Western Roman Empire, their language changed to Greek. We must keep in mind that the Byzantine Empire was partly Greece, so there were many people whose native language was Greek.