Jesus Topete

History 1- Honors
Professor S Wardinski

Successor State
After the collapse of Rome in the fifth century three powers rose up become the new powers of
the region and heirs of Rome.These powers would rule vast territories that once belonged to
Rome .Out of the three powers Islamic,Byzantine and Merovingian Kingdom of the Franks only
Islam had no ties with Rome nor did it perceived itself as a Roman inheritor.While Rome
focused and found its essence on its governmental structure the neo Roman powers of would all
draw its identities from their religion instead. Religion played a vital part on how each society
behaved in relation to one another and among themselves.
In its long history Rome was never able to conquer its adversary Persia a feat that its
Islamic empire building heir managed .This great power spread out over the globe and kept its
power over regions thanks to its religious teachings. A traveler who visited Baghdad the center of
Abbasid Islamic power mentioned in Yakut: Baghdad under the Abbasids c. 1000 CE of what he
saw inside the city vast open space where the troops whose barracks lay on the left bank of the
river were paraded daily.The islamic world had a huge standing army at the ready both to
defend its territories and conquer new ones a notion that most western countries would not
developed until much later. The standing army practise is in some way owed to Islam's third
Caliph Umar.Caliphs is the title given to those who are the highest spiritual leader and by
having the highest honor are also the social and military leader.Besides the Caliph other spiritual
leaders were made judges with the power to resolve clan disputes thus religion gaved that society
its governmental leaders.Umar came with the concept of Jihad through military conquest. Jihad
meant the struggle of righteousness,by adding the conversions of souls through war as a struggle
for morality it gave Islamic leaders the need for large armies ever ready to set the world right by

adding new saved souls. Islamic teachings also gave the Arabic clans a reason to rally together
and believe in the same things. The Quran promised the gift of eternal life for followers and a
time of end times as an incentive to join as it says in A Surah from the Quran Sura 81:THe
Overturning When the Sun is overturned When the stars fall away ,Where are you going? ...For
those who wish to walk straight you're only will is the will of God . The end was nigh and it
was up to each Arabic to decide their patch near or away from Allah. Even if they would choose
for their fellow neighbors wouldn't allow them to stray too far thanks to Jihad.These converts
took to heart the promised of what was to come and the need to follow Allahs will. Muslims
treated well other religions that prayed to the one True God by not killing them.Doing right by
Allah required reading the holy teachings so literacy was promoted in the muslim world leading
to a high literacy rate, creating an educational system in the muslim empire. The Muslim Abbasid
society shared with Rome but one thing and that was their ever expanding empires with a need
for a stationary army to defend its lands,quell rebellions, traits which any country old and new
must have in order to stay in power . Islamic societies were in no way heirs to Rome they
simply rose to prominence after Rome fell but it over expanded making it hard to keep peace and
hard to pay the huge army needed to keep the empire.
Rome split its immense territories into two ,the east and the west and while the west fell
the east endured and morphed itself into the Byzantine empire. The Byzantine empire saw its
cousin country die and under Justinian emperor attempted to reclaim the old Roman lands to
establish the Roman empire and bring old Roman rituals and practices to the east to revitalize
Roman practices in Byzantine. The Byzantine emperor Justinian set about the monumental task
of conquering the lands of the former Roman empire. In 534 AD his general Belisarius managed
to retake the northern African coasts from the Vandals giving Byzantine an old piece of Rome

back. The Procopius:On the Wars IV. ix-The Reconquest of Africa, 534 mentions the victory
ceremony Belisarious ...was counted worthy to receive such honors(from) a period of (time)
of about 600 years had now passed since anyone had atteined these honors. Rome fell on 476
the eastern Byzantine empire which perceived itself as Roman had not practiced any Roman
rituals in its history making Byzantine the empire that wished to be Rome.To that end it
expanded by conquering Roman lands to be Rome in body and in spirit by showering the general
with gifts as the Romans did and the same tittles the Romans gave such as consul even if their
government had no actual consuls. But even with all of the old Roman lands under Byzantine
rule the two civilizations were different from one another in varying degrees. For one Rome had
never had one religion truly dominate it,while Byzantine had one religion that ruled it to great
degrees of even causing strife with the old western provinces and within the Byzantine court. To
Rome the right of power stemmed from the governmental structure to Byzantine
religion.Religion united the court and split it, such was the case with Debating the Power of
Icons excerpt in the text book in Canons of the synod of 754 the simple line he is guilty of
..blasphemy ..in making an image of the Godhead .Anyone who drew Jesus, God or rays of
light depicting the holy spirit were committing the sin of idol worship. Centuries of art were
burned because of it, elites fluted among others over it ,its relationship with the western church
and its people was irrevocably hurt.Religion gave Byzantine uniformity and would ban any
works that went against the following of the norms. Byzantine could not become Rome but its
efforts to rebuild Rome and model itself after it made Byzantine its proper heir.

The

final heir to Rome was the Merovingian Kingdom of the Franks.Unlike the muslim societies the
Frankish people did have a connection to Rome but it wasn't as strong as the Byzantine empire.
The franks considered themselves subjects of Rome and paid respect to the Roman church after

the fall of Rome. Faith played a significant part to political affairs in Frankish lands. Such
example of faith was noted in The Chronicle of St. Denis:Chlodovocar,King of the Franks
Certain Franks still held to paganism and found a leader but...was presently delivered up in
fetters to Chothilde. Frankish leaders would use their new found faith as an excuse to invade
neighboring heathens to take from them their wealth and subjects.As Europe was a land of little
gold or silver with trade still being used the need to invade other realms for goods was common
in their culture and religion served to justify their takings and even enlist the peoples
support.Everything was up to God every victory over their enemies would prove them right in
their actions and defeat a test or a matter of not having enough faith.
All three empires centered their governmental affairs and way of life around their
religion and faith.Franks and muslims used the pretext of invading blasphemers to save them
allowing them to grow .While Byzantine used religion to strengthen its power over its empire by
making all its subjects loyal to their faith which found its central power in the capital.But in
Islam the nation's leader was the religious leader ,did not happen with the Franks or
Byzantine.Byzantine emperors had a role on religious notions while Frankish leaders merely
followed the faith but had no say in what it was.
All three cultures based their social life and government on religion in some form.The
Islamic empires picked their emperor based on spirituality with a focused on expansion due to
Caliph Umars idea of Jihad through conquest of non believers thus expanding the faith. The
Byzantine empire attempted to reestablish the Roman empire as it saw itself as direct
descendants of Rome.Unlike Rome Byzantine governmental affairs were controlled by religion
with the emperor having a huge say on the matter.The Franks used the belief in god to justify

their actions, attacking neighbors explaining why they won in combat all things were the will of
God.