Western Heritage I - Essay Example

The Binzantine civilization was predominantly Christian in religion, the culture and language was Greek and the administrative authority was the Roman Empire. This civilization was fortressed such that it was protected from attacks from both sea and land. The Islamic civilization started among the Arabs of Arabia. This civilization was founded by Mohammed, a prophet who lived from 570-632 AD. In terms of religious and political order, Muslims used the Koran, a Holy book. According to the Muslims, their faith was the fulfillment of both Judaism and Christianity.

Mohammed played a powerful role in bringing together Arabian tribes who constantly warred and diverted their energy to spreading of the Muslim faith. Mohammed was succeeded by Abu-Bakr, a caliph, who ruled according to Koran. The political system was basically theocratical; the government and religion were one and same thing. The Islamic civilization was characterized by common language, common culture and common faith. The Arab dominance eventually began to wane from the 11th Century. Latin Christendom existed in central and Western Europe.

Though Islamic and Byzantine civilizations had immense predominance during their time, neither had as much influence in science, technology, philosophy, economics and politics as did Latin Christendom. During the middle age, Latin Christendom was culturally less advanced than the Eastern Civilizations. However, this changed in the twelfth century as Latin civilization began to advance. In medieval Europe, feudalism referred to a social system in which the lords provided military service for the vassals in exchange for land.

This system resulted from the failing dominance of the central authority. The period preceding this was characterized by wars, no public revenues and reducing trade activities. Though it provided a replacement for the former system, it was not in itself organized with a basis of logic and foundational