Comparative Essay- Rome and Byzantium

The Roman and Byzantine Empires obviously share many of the same concepts, because the Byzantines restored and advanced many key points of the Roman's economy. Although, they are similar in those cases, they differ greatly when it comes to their religion and politics. Because the Roman's produced such a successful empire, this set a good foundation for the building of the Byzantine Empire.

The Roman's politics differed from that of the Byzantine Empire in that the Roman's government was more centered around protecting the common people. The common people had representation in Rome, and the most important legislative body was the Senate. Aristocrats in 8th Century Athens sponsored legal codes for the balance of defense of private property with the protection of poor citizens. This shows that the government took care of its citizens and would have been favored over the Byzantine government by a poor commoner.

The Byzantine's politics were more based on religion, and the power of God. God, not the people, choose a leader to be the head of the church and the state. Provincial governors were appointed, not elected. Although, their priorities maybe different when it comes to the satisfaction of their people, they both had a strong belief in having codified laws.

Religion is a subject which either meant a lot or meant hardly anything to these great empires. In the Roman Empire, religion had nothing to do with their politics or even that much of their society. This, actually, may have been a key point in saving the fall of Rome. Christianity was found in the Roman Empire, but the majority of the empire believed in the same pantheon. Their gods were seen as regulating human life.

In the Byzantine Empire, Christianity may have influenced just about everything that occurred within social life, economy, and politics. Christianity helped to unify, and then separate the empire, and it helped it to build one of the strongest single government structures the Mediterranean had ever seen.

Economy is one factor that reflects itself in both empires. The economy of them both had extremely strong military organization, trade between China, India, and East Asia, and slavery was also found in both communities. Trade with the Byzantine Empire was much more successful then that of the trade inside the Roman Empire because the products the Romans were creating weren't near as advanced as the products the other