Answer:
When Rome declined, the western half of the empire formed the Byzantine Empire. The eastern half became the Holy Roman Empire. Because the Byzantine Empire came from the fall of the Roman Empire, the Byzantine Empire had many similarities with Rome. In addition to these similarities, there were also several differences between these two empires. This includes culture, religion, and location. These similarities and differences helped shape the Byzantine Empire into what it became.
One similarity between these two Empires was the form of entertainment that took place in these cultures. Both the Byzantine Empire and the Roman Empire enjoyed watching gladiator fights at a big stadium. (Rautman) The people of the Roman Empire held these events at the Coliseum. In the Byzantine Empire, there was the Circus Maximus, another stadium. The use of this arena was the same as the Coliseum in Rome. Gladiator fights and chariot races were held here. It is estimated that 50,000 to 350,000 people, or approximately a quarter of the population of the city could fit inside. It has also been calculated that the arena of the Coliseum would fit 12 times into the Circus Maximus. (Crowther)
A difference between the Byzantine and Roman Empire was their form of religion. (Salisbury)In Rome the people worshipped Jupiter as the father of all gods. Jupiter and his wife Juno had many children that were also gods. For example, Mars, the god of war was a child of Jupiter. Mercury, the messenger god was another son of Jupiter and his wife. This meant that Rome was a polytheistic society. They believed in more than one god. The Byzantine Empire, on the other hand, was a monotheistic society. This meant that they believed in only one god. They mainly followed the teachings of Christianity. (Ermatinger)
In conclusion, the Roman Empire and the Byzantine Empire were unique in their own was. Both civilizations rose out of fallen cultures. While the Roman Empire rose from the Roman Republic, the Byzantine Empire was established because of the fall of the Roman Empire. Despite these differences, the two cultures had similar aspects in culture, geography, science and technology. Some of these included government, religion, and location. These characteristics helped develop the two great civilizations and influence the world today.
Explanation:
The era from about 1025 to 1453 witnessed the decline of the Byzantine Empire and its ultimate destruction. Loss of territory, internal discord, and defeats by the crusaders were blows from which the empire could not recover. The decline of the Western Roman Empire refers to the societal collapse encompassing both the gradual disintegration of the political, economic, military, and other social institutions of Rome and the barbarian invasions that were its final doom. The Byzantine Empire, much like the Roman Empire, faced a formidable array of external enemies. However, it was largely internal decay which destroyed both empires. The east was split from the west to help the large empire to be better managed. The main reason the east stayed around for a thousand years longer was that the east was richer and had less barbarian armies to attack it. Overall, their declines differed in that the Byzantine Empire had declined due to outside forces/pressures; their declines were similar in their suffering from weakened militaries and political issues- While the decline of the Western Roman Empire was caused by mostly internal problems. The decline of Byzantine Empire and Western Roman Empire are similar in which both had military decline that affected the overall decline. In the Byzantine Empire, a major factor in the decline may have been the disintegration of its traditional military system, the “theme” system. As one of the main strengths of the Byzantine Empire, the theme system was never replaced by a viable long-term alternative. This led to decline because Constantinople was taken over by 1204 after having a weak military. In the Western Roman Empire, Germanic mercenaries were being put into ranks in legions thus leading to a more “barbaric” army since they were more loyal to the commanders than the government itself. Just like the Western Roman Empire, the Byzantine Empire had small civil wars that had occurred which played small parts in the decline of the empire. Both of the Empires also had long and drawn out declines. The Byzantine Empire had faced many conflicts before it fell, and so did the Western Roman Empire; as both processes took centuries. The emperors of late third century and early fourth century had divided the army into borders; this made the troops to become the soldier-farmer and has declined their efficiency. These emperors also allowed barbarians into the army, which decreases the army’s fighting efficiency. The weakness of border troops meant that the emperors needed more mobile troops. Hence they had expanded their army. This expansion had paved the way for the recruitment of barbarians into the army. By AD369 the Roman Empire was beginning to crumble for the following reasons: The Government was running out of money. The people had to pay very high taxes - up to a third of their money. As in the Byzantine there was the free peasantry upon which the government depended for taxes and recruits. When the empire had been under constant attack, land had been a poor investment. In these Emperors there was a constant battle as the nobles tried to get these lands and ensure the peasants. The government, seeing the free peasantry as the backbone of its economy and defense, did what it could to defend them. Outsiders, especially Slavs and Armenians, accepted similar terms. Over time hereditary military leaders developed regional power and displaced better-educated aristocrats. The empire politically and economically depended upon Constantinople's control of the countryside. Peasants supplied the food and provided most tax revenues. When it came to the lack of money in their economy because both of their governments were relied upon the taxes and if there was no move of work from the people then the government would not get a lot of money and that’s why they began to required higher taxes. The financial problem faced by the Empire, As the Roman Empire divided into Eastern and Western part, the Western part had fewer of the wealthy provinces, which decreased the amount of tax collected. The West had longer borders to defend and had to have a greater army, but paying for enough army was the problem. The civil war during the fourth and fifth centuries also drained all the resources of the
