Why were the Byzantine, Islam and New Western Empires relatively equal 1000 years ago?

Question

but by 1740 the New Western kingdoms had become the dominant powers?

Answer 1

Because the New Western kingdoms did their own damn homework.

Just so you know, I'm very tempted to start posting complete BS answers that sound very plausible when people post homework questions on Yahoo Answers, just hoping that it will cause you to fail.

Asking the question here is CHEATING and you deserve to fail. Hello!

Answer 2

The answer to this is that the west went ahead in the centuries from 1453 to 1740. You see, the west developed the idea of the scientific universe from the freedoms of the reformation. Traditionally the west has been more tolerant and liberal, less stuffy and traditional. And when the Protestants began to realize that more could be done than piety and pray, then the European mind began to open up.
Experiments then began to happen. Particularly with gun powder. The Turks had had it before the Europeans but had made limited use of it and let it slip into Europe. As far as the Byzantine Empire was concerned, not only was it more traditional and less open to new ideas, but it fell on Thursday the 29th of May 1453. Therefore it was eliminated.
Most of the Asian powers rejected the new technology and Turkey began to decline after the 17th century(1600s). They lost the battle of Lepanto(a naval battle) and were several times turned back before Vienna. Also the Europeans, having the traditional silk road(the trade route across Asia) blocked, sought and found not only new lands but new wealth and opportunity. Things the East did not have. Also between 1207-1405 Asia experienced the onslaught of the last of the great barbarian invasions and the most devestating- the Mongols. The Mongols only got really into Europe with the campaigns of Batu(a grandson of Ghenghis Khan) between 1241-1244. Although they caused great havok and destruction, they only got to Eastern and Central Europe. They almost got to Western Europe but the death of the Khagan Quyak necessitated a Kuralti(a council to elect a new Khagan on which Batu had to attend) At this point the Mongol armies stood about to thrust into the heartland of Germany, just west of Vienna, looking across the Po valley in Italy and no first rate force stood between them and Rome and Paris. The fortunate reprieve that Europe, especially Western Europe got-Asia did not. It was not so fortunate and did not completely recover. This allowed Europe a breathing space and the opportunity to go ahead.
But most of all it was because Europe and especially Western E urope made the moral choice of openning up it's mind and becoming more tolerant. Whilst the East remained locked in medievalism, the West surged ahead and became the powerhouse of this planet. For first part of necissity of surging ahead is to open up your mind to the concepts and possibilities. Why Western Europe went ahead? Despite the Mongol onslaught Asia had had close on a thousand years to do so( as it was the Chinese who invented gun powder in the Sung Dynasty>
943-1268), when in much of that time the west was in the throws of barbarianism and feudalism. It was the west that given it opportunity chose. For without the mind nothing would have happened, with it and with disadvantages-it still would have eventually happened. Why did we go ahead? It was because four hundred to five hundred years ago we made the right moral and mental choices from which all consequences and advancements spring. INDEED MORAL CHOICES HAVE PHYSICAL CONSEQUENCES.

Answer 3

Your question has two kinds of answers: Military and intellectual

Militarily, The Byzantine Empire had shrunk in territory and military power from the time that it began to appear until 1007 CE (AD) (I'm taking the Byzantine Empire as starting at the beginning or the end of the reign of Justinian I ~AD550.) Islam had boiled out of Arabia about 650 to conquer the Middle East, Egypt, North Africa (and Spain after AD711). So Islam was on the way to its zenith in military power in 1007. (The last attack on the West was the siege of Vienna in 1687 by the Ottoman Turks.)

In Western Europe, the ebbing of the Roman administration in the late 400s was followed by the Carolingian empire of the Franks (AD800) (Charlemagne), followed by the Holy Roman Empire of the Otto's (which brings us to 1007 for Otto IV).

The Byzantine Empire had great moments after 1007, but it was conquered by the Fourth Crusade of 1204, then extinguished by the Turkish conquest of 1453. So in 1740, the Byzantine Empire did not exist, except that the emperors of Austria of that day claimed to hold feudal properties in Greece and Constantinople 1740.

Fast forward to 1740: Europe had nation states that were militarily vastly superior to Islam. In the early 1800's, they put up with the predations of the Barbary pirates on their ships in the Mediterranean. The U.S. put a stop to that with its naval campaign.

Intellectual: In 1007, the Byzantine Empire was the repository of all classic Greek works. But Europeans could not read them, because communication between the two peoples was cut off. (A Papal legate excommunicated the Patriarch of Constantinople in 1057, laying the ban of excommunication on the high altar of Hagia Sofia LOL.) Also, ancient Romans learned to read Greeks in the original. Europreans in 1007 no longer could.

Enter the Arabs: When the Arabs conquered the Middle East (650's), they discovered Plato, Aristotle, and all the other Greeks. The Arabs loved the Greeks! They translated the Greeks into Arabic. When the Arabs conquered Spain in AD711, they brought the Greek books there. About 1000 (remember that our year is 1007!), European scholars traveled to Spain, learned Arabic, and translated Plato and Aristotle from Arabic into Latin.

Fast forward to 1740: In that year, Europeans were advanced in science. Not as far as today, but far beyond Arabs or Turks.

Answer 4

That is because 1000 years ago battles were being won by swords, and that made all the kingdoms relatively equal in military technology. By Islam, you probably mean Ottoman Empire, they created one of the largest Empire's in the history, they were NOT equal to the one of the kingdoms in Europe. On the occasional fights, nearly all major powers in the Europe allied against the Ottomans in order to stop them. Byzantine was in decline after its cousin, Western Roman Empire finally been disintegrated, and after they lost battle against Seljuk Empire in Eastern Anatolia, which effectively cut their all contact to Asia. In the 4th Crusade, Crusaders from Europe actually destroyed Byzantine Empire, looted Constantinople (Modern Istanbul) and founded another kingdom which lasted around 60 years.

However, the balance of the power shifted in favor of Western Europe Kingdoms, mostly because of the inept rulers of Ottoman Empire and the increasing power of Russian Empire, which kept Ottomans busy, and in return, helped Western Europe Kingdoms build and concentrate their forces.

The invention of steam engine, and the industrial revolution had created a great advantage, and shifted balance of favor towards European Kingdoms.

Answer 5

Well, The Byzantine and Islam were right next to each other and both grew in size because of alliance. The New Western... wut do u mean... Rome? if rome, then they fell during the hieght of the Byzantine Empire...

Answer 6

im not sure, but im related to constantine... seriously..