The empire originally practiced the Roman culture before their soldiers conquered more territories in the South West Europe Coast, and the Mediterranean region. Thus, the empire later hosted various cultural groups. The dominant Roman culture started to fade as other beliefs were slowly integrated into the community, such as the Christians and the Greek (Kazhdan and Geanakoplos 856). This integration gave rise to the unique Byzantine culture. Thus, several significant virtues in the society today were developed by the contributions made by this community. The paper therefore, will high light the significance of the culture and why it should be studied today.
We can do it today.
The Byzantine Empire valued knowledge and they devised methods to preserve it for their future generations to utilize. Most of the philosophical knowledge was written and stored in the Monastery in the form of brick tablets and publications (Kenna 351). For instance, the books of Plutarch, Aristotle, and Plato were scripted in either Greek or Latin. But, Greek formed the highest composition of these records. Back in the monastery, the monks were appointed to translate or copy this information into languages understandable to the Nobles or Kings. These documents were preserved for the elite members of the society, and the commoners did not have access to them.
The Byzantine culture brought about the separations between the Western Rome and the Eastern churches. During the Iconoclasm era, there was a complete ban on use of religious icons, which initiated controversies between the believers from the East and West. Other conflicts such as the origin of the holy spirit and the choice of the bread to be used for Eucharist emerged. These instances later saw the separation of the church, where believers from the East formed the Eastern Orthodox Church, while the Western population joined to form the Catholic movement (Kazhdan and Geanakoplos 856). Hence, the study of the Byzantine Empire will enlighten the students on the source of separation of the present church into Catholics and Protestants.
The Byzantine Empire has developed statutory regulations that formed the basis of law in the society today. For instance, the enactment of the Ecloga, which was formulated and issued by Leo III, established the first significant legal code in the globe. The Farmer’s Law later followed, and further, the emergence of the Ecclesiastical law (Kenna 351). This is what is believed to have facilitated the formation of the modern regulations of the clergy. It also indicated the origin of the secular code, through the formulation of the four Canons of the law. These foundations are emulated by the modern law society to formulate the guiding grounds in the formation and regulation of the lawmakers. Thus, the study of the Byzantine Empire gives the foundations and development of the law, therefore necessary to be studied in schools today.
In conclusion, the paper has highlighted the significance of the Byzantine Empire and culture and why it should be studied today. The empire elites had documented knowledge in stone tablets and books, which enabled the transfer of such information to the current generations, who apply them in the contemporary setting. Additionally, the Byzantine Empire, explains the origin of the separation between the Eastern and the Western believers, who later formed the Orthodox and the Roman Catholic Churches. Moreover, the culture acts as the foundation of law, where the first legal codes were enacted, and the regulation of the current Judicial systems. All these indicate the relevance of the study and why it is significant in the society today.
- Kazhdan, Alexander, and Deno John Geanakoplos. “Constantinople And the West: Essays on The Late Byzantine (Palaeologan) And Italian Renaissances and The Byzantine and Roman Churches.” The American Historical Review 98.3 (1993): 856. Web.
- Kenna, Margaret E. “Memories Cast in Stone: The Relevance of The Past in Everyday Life.” Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies 23.1 (1999): 350-352. Web.