Roman Influence on Byzantine Empire and Islamic Societies
Mother of the World
“The mother of the world has been killed,” stated a 5th century historian, bereft and appalled when the news of Rome’s fall had reached ear. Certainly his words hold truth, for Rome - the dauntingly colossal Empire engulfing the Mediterranean and all territories around it; the source of artistic, intellectual, and cultural ascendancy; the influential factor of brilliance in so many of the coexisting societies of the western world - was truly the predecessor and creator of all Western Civilization to come. However, what no one knew, was that the lasting impression this powerful and astonishing civilization would make upon the world, even if only through the works of fleeting memory or written text. As always, with loss
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He became the principal historian of the 6th century, documenting the works and wars of Justinian I. Procopius describes the church’s magnificent domed ceiling, which, along with columns and a concrete skeleton, can hardly be castigated, nor denied of it’s uncanny resemblance to Rome’s Pantheon. Justinian was the Christian Emperor of the Byzantine Empire who is famous for his building projects, battle tactics, and his codification of Roman law. “We have attempted the most thorough amendment of the entire law, to collect and revise the whole body of Roman jurisprudence, and to assemble in one book the scattered treatises of so many authors,” Justinian writes, reflecting upon his work. The Justinian code was essentially a collection of scattered Roman documents on law, treaties, and other diverse legal matters. This codification was used as the basic system of law in the Byzantine Empire, and successfully governed an Empire of citizens for roughly 1000 years. In conclusion, if not for the influence and impact of lingering hints of Roman Christianity, architecture , and law, the Byzantine Empire would have evolved into a profoundly variant society than the one established so many years ago.
Islamic Societies were very militaristic, religious, and politically based on the teaching of Muhammad. Although small when first founded in the sixth century, at