How did the histories of the Byzantine Empire and Western Europe differ during the era of third-wave civilizations?

Answer 1

The Byzantine Empire was the first Christian empire. It was in territory that now is called Turkey. The Byzantine Empire was formed from the remnants of the Roman Empire. The Byzantines were also slightly less brutal then their predecessors.

The Byzantine empire started with the first Christian emperor of the eastern Roman empire, Constantine, in ad 330. At that time Byzantium was inaugurated as the new capital of the eastern empire and renamed Constantinople. In ad 392 the emperor Theodosius proclaimed Christianity to be the official religion of the Roman empire and on his death in ad 395 the empire was split between his two sons, never to be reunited. The eastern empire was ruled from Constantinople and developed as the Byzantine empire. The greatest Byzantine emperor was probably Justinian the Great who ruled from ad 527 to 565. He introduced a new legal system and expanded the boundaries of the empire as far west as Spain, Italy, and Africa. He encouraged the arts, a unique blend of late Roman and Greek influences, and commissioned the building of the great basilica of Haghia Sophia in Constantinople.

The Western Roman Empire was the western half of the Roman Empire, from its division by Diocletian in 285; the other half of the Roman Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire, today widely known as the Byzantine Empire.

The Western Empire existed intermittently in several periods between the 3rd centuryand 5th century, after Diocletian's Tetrarchy and the reunifications associated withConstantine the Great and Julian the Apostate (324-363). Theodosius I (379-395) was the last Roman Emperor who ruled over a unified Roman empire. After his death in 395, the Roman Empire was permanently divided. The Western Roman Empire ended officially with the abdication of Romulus