A history question about Byzantine and Islamic civilizations...?

Question

I have to answer this essay question, and I need help because I cant find this information in the book!

Compare and contrast the Byzantine and Islamic civilizations. Cover the important themes of government, law, politics, religion, and society.

Any help will be appreciated! Thanks!

Answer 1

Islam was destined to become a world religion and to create a civilization which stretched from one end of the globe to the other. Already during the early Muslim caliphates, first the Arabs, then the Persians and later the Turks set about to create classical Islamic civilization. Later, in the 13th century, both Africa and India became great centers of Islamic civilization and soon thereafter Muslim kingdoms were established in the Malay-Indonesian world while Chinese Muslims flourished throughout China.

In the fifth century AD, the mighty Roman Empire "fell" to invading barbarians and complex internal pressures. The land that had been centrally governed for centuries disintegrated into numerous warring states. The safety and privileges enjoyed by some residents of the empire vanished to be replaced by a constant state of danger and uncertainty; others merely traded one set of daily terrors for another. Europe was plunged into what Renaissance scholars would label a "dark age."

Yet Byzantium remained.

The Empire of Byzantium was the eastern portion of the Roman Empire, which was divided in 395 A.D. Its capital of Constantinople, located on a peninsula, was naturally secure from invasion on three sides, and its fourth side was fortified with a network of three walls that withstood direct attack for over a thousand years. Its stable economy provided a strong military and, together with an abundant food supply and advanced civil engineering, a high standard of living. Christianity was firmly entrenched in Byzantium, and literacy was more widespread there than in any other nation in the middle ages. Although the predominant language was Greek, Latin was also fairly common, and at one point all seventy-two of the world's known languages were represented in Constantinople. Intellectual and artistic endeavors thrived.

This is not to say that the Byzantine Empire was an oasis of peace in the desert of the perilous middle ages. On the contrary, its long history is marked by numerous wars and remarkable internal strife. Its official borders expanded and shrank several times as its rulers attempted to restore the empire to its former glory or fought off invaders (or occasionally attempted both simultaneously). The penal system was so harsh as to be viewed by western crusaders -- no strangers to mutilation and other extreme measures in their own systems of justice -- as exceedingly cruel.

Answer 2

Byzantine
historymedren.about.
com/cs/byzantinestudies
/a/forgotten.htm

Islamic

www.cyberistan.org/