Who is the real successor to Rome: The Byzantine Empire or the Islamic Caliphate - Essay Example

Rome Successor There emerged prospective and possible successors of the Roman Empire in the sixth century and they included the Arabs who were led and adhered to the doctrines of the Islam caliphate. Another splinter faction which were Greek speakers by decent and Christians from the Byzantine Empire also showed interests and possibilities of concurring those regions. The Byzantine Empire had initially concurred the parts of Europe and Italy and did not hesitate to reason in the line of expanding their military conquest and authority.

The Islam caliphate expanded and concurred parts of Rome in the seventh century where subdued the Christians in that place but did not stress to force the Christians to live their religion as much as they recognized the Muslims as their masters. In this line of thought and respect, they enjoyed relative ease and space by forcing the Christians in Rome to pay special and extra taxes as an atonement for their religious faith and inclination. It is important to note and mention that the infighting and wrangles between the leaders of the Islamic Caliphate played a major role in the weakening of the overall power of the Islam caliphate.

Specifically, the Abbasid family staged and spearheaded a revolution against the main rulers of the Islam caliphate the Umayyad ruling clan. Thus, when a descendant of the Abbas family who was an uncle of Muhammad staged and killed or massacred them, there was divided loyalty down to the military wings. Thus, it became difficult for the Islam caliphate to consolidate and forge any resistance against the Byzantine Empire in the successive years. The seclusion rule by the Muslims on the way women were supposed to be treated also made them fallout with the locals of the Roman Empire.

This made it difficult for them to subdue the Byzantium since they had fallen out with the favor of the locals. In some way, they were fighting against two enemies or opponents thus, it grew practically impossible to subdue the Byzantine Empire. The Byzantium Empire conducted sustained and repetitive military attacks on the Islam Empire and conquered them under the guise that Rome was their holy land which was left to them by God (Ralph, 15). They captured most parts of Rome from the Islam Caliphate and put them under their rule and might.

As much as the Islam military wings tried to recapture that land and place from them in the successive years, the Byzantium Empire repelled such incursions and stamped their authority and foot in that place. Intuitively, the Byzantium Empire under the Emperor Justinian conformed their cultures and lineages to the Greek society. This was to infer and imply that the Byzantium society conformed to the language and other cultural practices of the greater Greek and Roman society. In principle, the locals of Rome were more receptive of the Byzantium Empire and allowed them to mingle and rule over them with little resistance.

Thus, it is my reasoned opinion and respectful submission that the Byzantine Empire was the real successor of Rome. Work citedRalph, Philip L. World Civilizations: Their History and Their Culture. New York: W.W. Norton & Co, 1997. Print.