Character and Influence

Because of the extension of the Roman Empire into Asia, the emperors since Diocletian, 284-305, had considered it necessary to have an eastern as well as a western capital. Before Constantine, various cities had been used. One of Constantine's apparent reasons for building a new capital was to create a powerful center for the Christian religion, to which he had been converted. This would have been difficult to accomplish in the older cities, filled as they were with worshipers of the old pagan gods.

Centering around the first great city to be founded on Christianity, Byzantium developed the Eastern Orthodox branch of the religion and converted the Slavic peoples. In defending itself against Muslim attackers for almost 800 years, Byzantium served as the protector of Christianity in the eastern Mediterranean region. The head of the Eastern church was the patriarch. The emperor, however, chose the bishop to be named patriarch and often held supreme authority in religious matters.

From the time of Constantine the Eastern emperor was regarded as God's deputy, chosen by divine decree. Men came to the Byzantine throne from even the humblest origins and by the most diverse means—inheritance, marriage, political intrigue, military success, and murder—but each was accepted as God's choice, and his pronouncements as God's word. However, if an emperor was deposed or assassinated, that also was accepted as God's will.

Many scholars see Eastern influence in the idea of a monarch with such exalted rank and authority, and also in Byzantine indulgence in luxury and ostentation, in striking contrast to the rough way of life in medieval western Europe. The Byzantine court bedazzled visitors with its lavish display of gold, jewels, and silks. Despite Eastern influences, however, the empire was basically Greek. The heritage of Greek classicism was blended with Christian and Middle Eastern, especially Armenian, influences to give Byzantium a unique character.

The Byzantine Empire had a profound influence on other peoples and countries, especially on the barbarian hordes migrating from the north and west who for centuries threatened the empire. As they subdued each new wave of barbarians, the Byzantines taught them patterns of government and converted them to Christianity. The Cyrillic alphabet was created by Byzantine missionaries to teach Christianity to the Slavs. Even the Turks, who conquered the empire and converted it to Islam, borrowed some of their culture from the Byzantines.

In western Europe, where much of the Greek and even much of the Roman cultural heritage was lost with the coming of the barbarians, contact with the Byzantine Empire was an intellectual and artistic stimulation. In the case of Italy, the contact was fairly continuous, and Byzantine influence was especially apparent in art and architecture. The early Byzantine style was indeed one of the sources of Romanesque architecture. In the field of law, the sixth-century Corpus juris civilis (Body of Civil Law), a codification of Roman and Byzantine law compiled under Justinian, was taught in Italian universities to scholars from all parts of western Europe; it is the foundation of modern civil law.

The Crusaders, who during the 12th century passed through the empire on their way to the Holy Land, were awed by and envied the grandeur and wealth of the Byzantine nobility. When they returned to their homes, they carried with them not only new ideas and knowledge but a new taste for the refinements of life.