Role Of The State: Byzantine Vs. Tang/Song

The Role of the State: Byzantine vs Tang/Song

The Mediterranean Basin was home to the powerful Byzantine Empire during the post classical era. Famous for it’s strong military, and extreme wealth, the Byzantine Empire was a force to be reckoned with. The heart of the Byzantine empire was its capital of Constantinople in present day Istanbul. Approximately four thousand miles away in China ,was Xi’an the capital of several very influential dynasties. Xi’an was prominent in both the Tang and Song dynasties, although it was important in different aspects. During the Tang dynasty, Xi’an was viewed as a very powerful and advanced city, while during the Song it was more of a cultural center. In both regions the government played a huge role in the cities fate, but what did

It is noticeable that the government's, role in the two capitals was similar. Although, it is also clear that the area's culture and tradition had a critical involvement in how the empire was run. The role of the state in Constantinople during the post classical era was similar to in Xi’an in that both state’s greatly promoted militaristic values. Also, both had state sponsorship of a specific religion. 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. Chariot racing was a very violent sport, so by building