Geography plays an important role in configuring the power, longevity, and operation of an empire. In 395 CE, the Roman empire was divided into the Eastern (Byzantine) and Western Roman Empires, each with their own respective geographical characteristics.
These differences manifested in both physical geography and human (political) geography. These geographic differences both benefitted and hindered the two Roman Empires. Primarily, geography hindered the Byzantines because of their lack of protective terrain and aquatic features, the centrality of Constantinople, and close proximity to other groups and empires.
Both had their own strengths and pitfalls, but one could argue the Byzantine Empire had more physical geographical disadvantages
…show more content…
Conversely, the Eastern Empire was less susceptible to naval attacks than their counterparts because of their more inland position, and more susceptible to land attacks because of their proximity to other cultures and civilizations of north Africa and western Asia. Unfortunately for the Byzantines, land attacks occurred more frequently during this time period.
One might also argue that the Byzantine Empire had more human (political) geographical disadvantages than the Western Empire. They were surrounded by many other settlements and empires, including the Ethiopian Empire, Kyvian Rus Empire, the Huns, the Vandals, the Ottomans, the Ostrogoths and Visigoths. Their lack of protection from physical geographic features allowed for these groups to easily orchestrate attacks.
Additionally, their most powerful and prosperous city, Constantinople, was located in a very central position. It was centrally located along the Mediterranean Sea, situated on the northern African coast. This meant it was more susceptible to invasions from northern African Empires and groups via land, and invasions from western European Empires/groups via sea. Furthermore, geographically the Byzantines were slightly more dispersed than the Romans in terms of population concentration. This meant they were weaker defensively, with most of their population in or near
Soon after this they switched to greek as the official language and supporting greek studies. The downfall of the byzantine empire is solely because of the involvement in the Crusades, also known as the holy war. This holy war was against the Turks mounted in central Asia, however, the Pope had started the Crusade even though politically they should have not created them. The first crusade was a mild success with Alexios asking Pope Urban II for help to expand eastward to stifle the muslim rule. Of course Urban had seen this as a two birds with one stone kind of deal by knocking out
The history of the Byzantine Empire and Western Europe were different during the third wave civilizations. The way they were different is that by the Byzantine Empire had a different form of political government were at the western Europe government all collapsed in the fifth century. The Byzantine empire also had a greater control over their churches and their long-distance trade networks. There were many trajectories
The geography of empires and kingdoms such as the Phoenicians and the Persians has affected their establishment and success. Paragraph 2: In Egypt and Mesopotamia, geography is a big part of how civilizations were created. Egypt naturally has boundaries which makes it a good place for a civilization. Egypt’s boundaries include the Nile, Sahara desert, red sea, and mediterranean sea.
Additionally they expanded their seafaring network south and attacked the Byzantine
After the Roman Empire had fallen, the region had split into two areas: the West just being Western Europe, and the East officially becoming the Byzantine Empire. Although Western Europe and Byzantine were similar in the way the populations of both regions had retained the similar daily lifestyles and material culture of the fallen Roman Empire, they had developed drastic contrasts over time; they differed in how each of their regions were politically organized, and each had their own dominant belief system. Even after the split of Rome, the regions were similar in the way that both of their populations had become so accustomed to the previous empire’s lifestyle and material culture, that it had not faded as time gradually passed into the Middle Ages. Farming continued to be a stable source of food for both Western Europe and Byzantine, the area and condition being able to supply beans during the spring, and wheat during the fall season. The preference of agriculture comes from the Byzantine Empire being wealthy
However, in Constantinople the church was controlled by the state, while in Xi’an it was not. The role of the state in the Constantinople was similar to in Xi’an because both highly promoted militaristic values. In Constantinople, rulers insisted upon having a huge standing army and giant walls surrounding the city. This proves that they wanted their state to be powerful, and strong enough to defeat neighbors at any moment. The state also payed for the construction of massive hippodromes, for chariot races.
Some primary reasons to study the Byzantines are because they protected the differentiating religions in the world, was the base of our law today, and preserved important information from further in history. In Document A, it states, “Had the [Arabs] captured Constantinople in the seventh century… all Europe - and America - might be Muslim today.” Additionally, in Document C, it explains how the Christian Orthodox Church that the Byzantines practiced is a lasting cultures still practice all over the world: 75% of Russia is Christian Orthodox. This shows that the Byzantine empire was part of the development of the different religions in our world today. With so much of our population practicing and believing in the religion that the Byzantines
The Byzantine Empire also had a strong army. They had the alps to protect them and also the rivers which made it harder for the enemies to get through the currents were a result of fast movement. The Byzantine Empire also had a great defended capital too. One more reason why the Byzantine Empire was a continuation of the Roman Empire was why did the Byzantine Empire existed for so
Some historians claim that there are as many as a hundred political and non-political interweaving reasons that led to the collapse of Roman Empire. One of the important political causes is the division of the Empire into two empires, the west (Latin) and the eastern (Greek, later known as the Byzantine empire) in 284 A.D. by Diocletian. This division was adopted to protect the over-expanding empire and to defend its borders against the Barbarian attacks. This was achieved initially as the two empires synchronized responsibilities and strengthened each.
In holding off the various attacks, the Byzantines kept Western Civilization Christian instead of it being converted to Muslim. The Christian Church of Constantinople and the Christian Church of Rome also split due to an argument over some spiritual interpretations of the Bible. If it was not for the Byzantines most of Western Civilization would be Muslim and not Christian.
For example, if an invasion was occurring in Egypt. But the bulk of their armies were stationed in the city of Rome the general could load them into ships and send them by sea which is much faster than traveling by foot which any land-locked countries like Mongolia would have to do. Fully surrounding the Meditteranean was also very useful in creating trade routes between major cities throughout the empire. Eventually, the empire grew so big that it had to be split in two, the Western Roman Empire being controlled by Rome, and the Eastern by Constantinople.
According to Wikipedia “After the three good Emperors, the remaining Emperors ruled badly and again wasted a lot of money and soldiers. In the west, the Europeans betrayed the Byzantines and attacked their capital, Constantinople. The Byzantines lost their capital in 1204 and they did not take it back until 1261. The Byzantines were then divided into many smaller Greek states that were fighting with each other for the throne of the Empire. ”Therefore which means that we don’t need to study byzantine because Byzantine empire collapsed by himself.
Both were exhausted.” (Doc D). This shows why the Arabs were able to conquer both Persia and Byzantine and could spread Islam even more. All the resources that were acquired during this raids went straight to the ummah (the Muslim community). The tactics Muslims fighters used almost always ensured the defeat of their opponents.
These people made many changes from the initial Roman empire. Most famously, the fact that it was built upon the Christian Religion, the thing that caused the crippling of the Romans. This empire also incorporated many pieces of Greek culture, including the language. The people within the Empire had many different religions and ethnic backgrounds. The article “Byzantine Culture and Society” by Khan Academy states, “As it incorporated Greek and Christian culture, it transformed into a unique Byzantine culture.
How did geography effect in Greek history? Or in other words what effects did geography have on Ancient Greece positive and negative? Well you could start by saying how the mountains served as natural barriers and divided ancient Greece. The mountains in Ancient Greece had a lot to do with some negative and also positive effects on Greece.