Comparing Byzantine and Ottoman Empires - Essay Example

?Comparing Byzantine and Ottoman Empires Introduction Both Byzantine and Ottoman empires were almost the same in some aspects but different in several aspects. The main economic activity of Ottoman Empire was agriculture, while that of Byzantine Empire was coinage. Byzantine Empire was mainly Christianity while that of Ottoman Empire was Roman. Ottoman political system enabled it to control its inhabitants. Its societal system enabled citizens to be organized in a neat power structure. Byzantine political system resembled Chinese political system and its social structure dominated by government officials who supported the imperial emperor. Comparison between the Byzantine and Ottoman economies Ottoman economy Economic history of the Ottoman Empire can be traced back for the period 1299-1923. The first phase of the economic history is referred as the classic era, which is known for it vast enlargement. Much of the activities that highly contributed to this growth include agriculture. The second period is referred as the reformation era. Its main focus was on state organized reforms, which begun with administrative and political realignment. This was followed by military reforms and their associates. It is believed that the military reforms were viewed as the key source of wealth. On the other hand, agriculture was considered to be more important than manufacture and commerce. Although the Ottomans continued with the trajectory of territorial expansion, conserving their land and agriculture, as well as sticking to their traditional monopolies was prioritized. By 1800, the population started to grow. Population densities were higher in several areas of the European provinces than those in Anatolia. In 1700-1922, urbanization increased due to developments in railroads. At this period, there were improvements in health and sanitation. This is also the period that saw economic and political migrations, which are argued to have made great impact across the empire.1 Improvements in land and sea transport were also another factor that facilitated economic growth across the empire. However, the situation is argued to have been better in the 16th century than in the 18th century in terms of infrastructure development. Nevertheless, in the 19th century, the empire experienced enormous economic growth mainly due to increased agricultural production. However, after a short period, the situation started to deteriorate due to scarcity of labor. In addition, although the land was rich, there was a problem with large scale farming due to lack of capital. In fact, majority of the people earned their living from small scale farming. This led to low levels of taxes for the empire.2 Byzantime economy In the whole of Mediterranean, Byzantime economy was the most stunning for many centuries. Constantinople was the major center in for trading. However, trading network extended to other areas almost reaching Eurasia and North Africa.3 Until to the arrival of Arabs in the 17th century, the empire is argued to have been the most powerful economy across the world. In the 12th century, the empire was filled with luxury life, something that led to many visitors being impressed by the lifestyle. Comparison between the Byzantine and Ottoman religions Ottoman religion Between 14th and 19th centuries, the Ottoman Empire was tolerant towards Christians and Jews. The Ottoman religion formulated policies that sort out religious problems. It recognized the concept of clergy and its entire link with religion institution.4 In the past, Christian missionaries were seen to work together with colonialists. At the same time, Islam was not controlled in spreading at different areas under controlled by Ottoman Sultan. In fact, voluntary conversion to Islam was endorsed by the Ottoman authorities. In addition, there were no special rules regarding Christians that converted to Muslims. The empire had also the Muslim courts and non muslin courts. Byzantine religion Byzantine Empire is also referred to as Roman Empire because it was the continuation of the roman state. However, Byzantine was distinguishable from ancient Rome due to its predomination of Greek culture and language, as opposed to Christianity and Orthodox. After the collapse of Western Roman Empire, the eastern Roman Empire continued to thrive and became most powerful in terms of economic, cultural and military force. In early times, the Arabs raided Dalmatia but were defeated by Byzantine. This success enabled Byzantine venture into the interior and converted Serbs into Orthodox Christianity.5 Comparison between the Byzantine and Ottoman Political Systems Ottoman Political System The Ottoman Empire managed to develop a state system that was considered to be highly advanced and organized over the centuries. Its system of government was centralized with a Sultan being appointed the overall ruler.6 Its system of political governance allowed it to exercise relatively effective control of all its inhabitants, officials and provinces under its control. Positions in the political systems were perceived as being titles such as the agas and viziers. If an individual wanted to quickly advance up the political hierarchy, it was highly recommended for the individual to engage in military service.7 As the empire continued to expand, it progressively became more and more difficult to govern it resulting in the formation of a dual administrative system comprising of the provincial and central government. The normal and basic administrative operations were normally conducted by the provincial government while the central government was tasked with the responsibility of executing higher executive government functions.8 Byzantine Political System The Byzantine political system were seen to closely resemble elements of the earlier political system created by the Chinese. The political system was seen to comprise of an emperor, who was thought to have been ordained to rule by God, and was surrounded by a myriad of various elaborate court rituals. The empire was tasked with the responsibility of heading both the state and the church. As opposed to the Ottoman political system, it was not uncommon for women to be seen to hold the throne. The empire developed an elaborate bureaucracy with the aim of tasking it with the responsibility of constantly supporting the reigning imperial authority.9 Comparison between the Byzantine and Ottoman Social Structures Ottoman social Structure By the 16th Century, the Ottoman Empire had reached the height of its power and stretched from the deserts of Arabia to the very heart of central Europe. The empire was extremely well organized and was also strong. The societal system of the empire saw the citizens organized into a neat power structure with the royal Sultan at its very top down to the rayyah class of citizens at the very bottom of the structure. The Sultan was considered to be absolute and was in charge of making all the necessary decisions involving the empire in matters ranging from political, military and state wealth.10 Just below the Sultan, there was a small group of leaders who could essentially be considered to be the Sultan’s slaves and happened to be extremely wealthy. This group of leaders was tasked with the responsibility of increasing the state’s financial assets as well as ruling and controlling the far off areas of the empire. It was a simple system where the rayyahs created the produced the wealth, the leaders had the responsibility of making all attempts necessary to protect the wealth and the Sultan was responsible for ensuring that the wealth created was invested appropriately.11 Even though the Ottoman society was evidently divided into several distinct classes, with the proper luck and attributes it was conceivable for an individual to progressively move from one class to the other. There was a general practice of Islam in the empire which was completely integrated into the Ottoman lifestyle. The citizens in the empire were loyal to both the Ottoman Empire as well as its Sultan and most of them had knowledge of and practiced the Ottoman way of life. This way of life consisted set behaviors, language and a group of complex customs. Byzantine Social Structure The emperor was at the very top of the Byzantine social structure with government officials occupying a lower position supporting the imperial emperor. These officials could be drawn from any of the social classes in the empire but as is similar to the Chinese system, there was a general bias of recruiting from the aristocracy. Troops were also formed which were tasked with the responsibility of guarding the nation and were granted parcels of land to act as payment for their services.12 Over time, the Byzantine Empire’s hereditary military officials and leaders managed to develop great regional powers which where key in helping them eventually manage to overthrow and displace the reigning aristocrats who happened to be better educated as compared to these military leaders. By doing this, the military leaders managed to occupy a higher social class and standing as compared to these aristocrats. The empires social and economic system largely depended on control that Constantinople managed to exercise over the vast countryside.13 Conclusion The Byzantine and Ottoman Empires are the two main civilizations that have majorly affected European history. The Eastern Roman Empire came to symbolize Christianity while the Ottoman Empire was seen to Symbolize Islam. Despite these differences, these two great empires shares a lot of similarities, the main differences between them arose of their geographical locations and other related factors. The main economic activity of Ottoman Empire was agriculture, while that of Byzantine Empire was coinage. Byzantine Empire was mainly Christianity while that of Ottoman Empire was Roman. Summary of the Comparison between the Byzantine and Ottoman Empires It is clear that the Ottoman empire mostly embraced Islam as the chosen state religion whereas the Byzantine Empire adopted the Christian faith as the religion of choice. The Ottoman empire greatly prospered as a result of the gains it made from its farming activities, in comparison, the Byzantine empire managed to gain considerable wealth as a result of conducting various trade activities. The Ottoman Empire managed to develop a highly advanced system of government whose control was mainly done by the Sultan, in comparison, the Byzantine Empire was headed by an emperor who was in charge of not only running the state affairs but was also tasked with the responsibility of conducting state rituals and ceremonies. Bibliography: Angeliki, Laiou, et al. 2007. The economic history of Byzantium: from the seventh through the fifteenth century. Washington, D.C.: Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, 2007. Barnes, John. An introduction to religious foundations in the Ottoman Empire. Leiden; New York: E.J. Brill, 1987. Browning, Robert. The Byzantine Empire. New York: CUA Press, 1992. Donald, Quataert. The Ottoman Empire: 1700 – 1922. New York [u.a.] Cambrige Univ. Press 2005. Paul, Stephenson. The Byzantine WorldRoutledge WorldsClassical studies and medieval history. Taylor & Francis, 2009. William, Duiker and Jackson, Spielvogel. 2007. World history. Belmont, CA: Thomson/Wadsworth, 2007. Read More