Answer: Historian considers the Byzantine empire to be the preservation of Greek and Roman culture because it continued after the fall of the Roman empire. Explanation: The Byzantine Empire began when Constantine I ( Roman emperor) decided to build a new capital in an ancient Greek colony called Byzantium.
Explanation: The Byzantine Empire served two very important historical functions:
Preservation of Roman and Greek Culture - When the Roman Empire in the West collapsed in 476, many libraries and places of learning were destroyed in the chaos and much of the knowledge that had been gained under the Greek and Roman civilizations was lost. However the eastern half of the Roman Empire, the Byzantine, survived. As a result the Byzantine served to preserve much of the Greek and Roman advancements for Western Europe. Most significant was the preservation of Roman law by Emperor Justinian, the Byzantine's greatest emperor. Justinian codified and deciphered the Roman law codes and also expanded upon the existing codes. As a result, these law codes were preserved and have become the basis for the legal systems of many Western countries.
Cultural Diffusion - Not only did the Byzantine help preserve Roman and Greek culture and Christianity but the Empire also spread these ideas to other parts of the world. During the Crusades of the 11th and 12th centuries, Western Europeans making their way to the holy land had to first pass through the Byzantine Empire. As a result they brought many of those ancient Greek and Roman accomplishments back to Western Europe
