What are some similarities & differences between the byzantine empire & western europe in the 3rd-11th century?

Continental Europe usually identify Byzantine Empire as the descendant of the Eastern Roman Empire from 6th century onward. There are several major differences between the land of the Byzantine Empire and the Western Europe. Byzantine Empire continued without interruption on ecclesiastical, political, and dynastic ties established in Roman times. This continuation had profound effect how the state functioned, how the ruling elite seen itself and how the social structure worked. People from various classes were part of one ethnic and language group, which was Greek and seen Christianity as integral part of their civilization and achievement.

The Western Europe could not build itself on this legacy. The warrior and ruling classes were descendants of various migrating tribes and nations (Goths, Frankish, Anglosaxon, Burgundian, Langobardian..) and their continuity with dynastic and aristocratic classes of the Roman Empire did not exist. The legacy of their ruling was derived from the power and military ambition that had upon their ethnic kin and the survivors of the Latin civilization. The combination of these two detrimental how one group absorbed or influenced other. In many areas like Pannonia the western civilization was completely eradicated and replaced with new ethnic group. Many of the migrating nations were not christianized and the process of accepting new faith as their own took time, even century.

When the process Christianity was established, the ruling elite was not able to take intellectual, spiritual and political control of the clergy . The Catholic church became supranational cultural phenomenon influenced by papacy. The Greek Orthodox church was deeply integrated into the imperial church and the emperor and patriarch were part of the same government. The West had their power divided between nobility, and the emperor of the Franks was the protector of the papacy.

In economical terms, the West was not developed as the Byzantine empire, and had to build its economy on different terms. The agricultural production revolved around fiefdom, which was different from latifundias that survived in the Byzantine Empire. Eventually in the term of the agricultural output, the Western model became more successful and capable to feed large population than the ever Roman empire. It lasted in Europe well into the 18th century with double the population of the antiquity. Byzantine empire was unwilling and slow to adopt new technological innovation, like deep plough, wind mills and mechanical clocks, that were invented around the time of Charlemagne, and economically it was stagnating.

The only common things among these two civilization was common cultural heritage based on the Roman Empire. However, after 8th century, the Greek had stopped to participate in religious with the West and missed various monastic reform movements that defined Medieval Christianity.

nicely, faith could be a huge distinction. the Byzantine empire became Orthodox, together as western Europe became Catholic. and of direction the Byzantine empire became united under one effective emperor, while western europe became divided up into greater than a number of small kingdoms. i do no longer what the social strucutre of the Byzantine empire became, yet I think of it could have been very hierarchical. medieval europe of direction became additionally very hierarchical, with sociedty based on the feudal device with lords possessing super estates, that have been farmed via serfs who each had their very own small farm. i've got self assurance the Byzantine empire had greater state-of-the-artwork residing standards, greater suited plumbing etc. while the Crusaders stopped off in byzantium on their thank you to the Holy Land, i've got self assurance they have been particularly inspired via the state-of-the-artwork and luxury life-variety of their hosts. the lasting acheivements of medieval europe contain wonderful shape, the surprising cathedrals and church homes that still stand, wondeful artwork, surprising illuminated manuscripts. track that continues to be sung in our church homes. Literature that continues to be study, fantastically the works of Chaucer in english, and Boccacio and Dante in Italian. I could admit to being shaky on what stll continues to be of the Byzantine empire's legacy, yet there could be church homes and issues I shiould think of.