1answer.
Ask question
Login Signup
Ask question
All categories
  • English
  • Mathematics
  • Social Studies
  • Business
  • History
  • Health
  • Geography
  • Biology
  • Physics
  • Chemistry
  • Computers and Technology
  • Arts
  • World Languages
  • Spanish
  • French
  • German
  • Advanced Placement (AP)
  • SAT
  • Medicine
  • Law
  • Engineering
Yuki888 [10]
3 years ago
6

What are four reasons that the Byzantine Empire thrived?

Social Studies
1 answer:
irinina [24]3 years ago
6 0
You’d see a lot of changes when looking at a map of present-day Europe and comparing it to a 30 year old one. Belarus, Moldova, Ukraine and the Baltic States were all part of the USSR. Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia still stated. Go back even further and the map looks even stranger. Putting all those different people under the same banner and keeping them that way was and still is next to impossible. Many have tried and most have failed, but the first to even come close was the Romans. Their inheritors, the Byzantines, managed to keep it together for over 1100 years, thus creating the longest-living Empire on the continent. Here’s how they did it.

When talking about an empire, its location kind of becomes redundant after a while because you’re pretty much everywhere and you have your hands in all the cookie jars. Nevertheless, knowing where to put your capital city is essential no matter how big you are.

For the Byzantines it all started in 330 AD, when the Roman Emperor Constantine I moved the state’s capital from Rome to the newly founded city of, you guessed it, New Rome, later to be named Constantinople and what is now present-day Istanbul. Its location was excellent! It’s right on top of the strait of Bosphorus, which connects the Black Sea to the Mediterranean and separates Europe from Asia. From here you can literally keep an eye on what goes in and out of the empire, what others transport to and from their kingdoms through your backyard, and how much you can tax them for doing so.

Besides its economic advantages, having the capital in the east was a major plus because the east was where all the good fighting was going on. With the Bulgarians to the north and the Persians and later all the Islamic Caliphates to the east, keeping these wealthier provinces safe was essential and by no means easy. Having the capital so close to danger would seem counter-intuitive, but back then sending messages back and forth between the capital and the frontline would take weeks or even months and shortening that time was strategically crucial. Information is power!

Defending your capital from would-be invaders is a great example of forward thinking. And what better way to do so than by building the largest wall Europe had ever seen? The west end of Constantinople had no natural protection from invasion, so Emperor Constantine the Great started building one in 324 AD. Not even a hundred years later, Constantinople outgrew its boundaries and Emperor Theodosius II started construction on a second wall one mile west of the old one, which spans from the Sea of Marmara to the Golden Horn.

But disaster struck on November 6, 447, when a powerful earthquake destroyed large parts of the wall and none other than Attila the Hun was looking for some easy pickings. Luckily, the urban prefect Kyros of Floras managed to not only rebuild but also add a second outer wall and a moat, and all within 60 days. It was just in time to properly greet poor old Attila, who had to go back to pillaging the rest of Europe. These walls stand to this day as a testament to Byzantine engineering and are known as the Theodosian Walls.

Constantinople also had sea walls that completely surrounded the city. These weren’t as big or as fortified as the main walls, but access to the Golden Horn was restricted by a heavy chain and strong currents on the Marmara coast made an effective attack by a fleet next to impossible.

Constantinople also suffered from a lack of fresh water. The Valens Aqueduct, which was built by Emperor Valens in the late 4th century and still stands today, was 1061 yards long and the main source of water for the capital. The entire system of aqueducts and canals spanned a total distance of over 155 miles, making it the longest ever built in Antiquity. Together with over one hundred underground cisterns, which could house over one million cubic meters of water, Constantinople was an almost impenetrable bastion that could hold out against a siege indefinitely.



You might be interested in
What statement best explains the role of government according to John Locke
Nonamiya [84]

John Locke was a big believer in human liberty and the protection of private property and his views on government reflected those beliefs.

Locke believed that we, as people, entered into a "social contract" wherein each citizen would give up a piece of their liberty to the government so that the government could protect private property rights against infringement by other citizens.

8 0
3 years ago
What Culture do some historians call the “mother culture” of the Americans
denis-greek [22]

Answer:

The Romans

Explanation:

They were called the "mother culture" because most of the Romans society's government ideals are expressed through American government today. Like the idea of representative government.  

8 0
3 years ago
Why were American unsure of how the government should handle brining the south back into the union
Tcecarenko [31]
Manly because iof the choices the South had made, the government, and also because of War. <span />
4 0
3 years ago
Read 2 more answers
When the United States first came into being, married women were permitted to Select one: a. vote. b. hold office. c. serve on j
Studentka2010 [4]

Answer:

e

Explanation:

6 0
2 years ago
When do you think a constitutional government might break down
Daniel [21]

Answer: Break its rules?

7 0
2 years ago
Other questions:
  • . One of the primary characteristics of Greek philosophy was its
    12·1 answer
  • This type of sign provides permission and prohibition information applicable to vehicle operation
    8·1 answer
  • Only 54,000 of the 76,000 Allied prisoners survived the Bataan
    7·2 answers
  • The bible gives us no information about science. True or false
    12·2 answers
  • Lucretia often reads Bible passages aloud regarding grace and forgiveness. She also tries to demonstrate forgiveness to her chil
    5·1 answer
  • Ramon is taking a final exam. When he reaches the first question to which he does not know the answer, he begins worrying that h
    11·1 answer
  • According to the _____ workers over the age of 40 are entitled to receive complete accurate information on the available benefit
    15·1 answer
  • You are traveling to the heart of the arabian peninsula, which of the following should you most likely bring ?
    12·1 answer
  • You are in You are in a meeting. Your manager blames you for not doing well on a task, in front of all your peers and managers f
    11·1 answer
  • Explain what extinction is and how scientists defines it. Which animal or plant would you be disappointed if it went extinct? Ex
    8·1 answer
Add answer
Login
Not registered? Fast signup
Signup
Login Signup
Ask question!