Eastern Roman Empire and Byzantine Empire

Throughout time, our world has seen many different Empires ruling different territories. Some rise to great success, while others fall. In this essay, I will be comparing and contrasting four different Empires; Ancient Persia, Greece, Rome, and the Byzantine Empires. However, I will specifically be focusing on the governments and religions of these Empires. Although they possess surface similarities, the differences among Ancient Persia, Greece, Rome, and the Byzantine Empires are what make each Empire unique.

The first Empire in the equation is Ancient Persia. Ancient Persia emerged in today’s Iran, with two important tribes; the Medes, and the Persians. Second, is Greece, which was formed by the Aegean Sea on surrounding lands. “Greek culture powerfully influenced the society of Western Europe in the Middle Ages and dominated the Byzantine Empire in the same period” (Kagan, Ozment, Turner, & Frank 33). Next, is Rome which “in the sixth century B.C.E., …came under Etruscan control. Led by Etruscan kings, the Roman army, equipped and organized like the Greek phalanx, gained control of most of Latium” (Kagan, Ozment, Turner, & Frank 99). Finally, is the Byzantine Empire, which is essentially a continuation of the Roman Empire, knows as the “Eastern Roman Empire”.

When looking at the governments and religions of these four Empires, there are several similarities among them. The first similarity is that the Persian, Byzantine, and Greek Empires were all either complete monarchies or had it as one of their forms of government. Additionally, every Empire had a way of dividing up its people/territory. For the Persian Empire, they were divided into twenty-nine satrapies. In Greece, they had small villages called poleis. As for the Roman and Byzantine Empires, they both were divided into regions with local officials. Next, all Empires practiced religion, and in each empire, it played an important role. Within that, both the Persian Empire and the Greeks were polytheists. This means that they worshiped more than one god. As for Rome and the Byzantine Empires, they were both monotheistic, more specifically, Christian. Additionally, all of the religions of the Empires were influenced by their surroundings.

While these Empires do have similarities, there are also many differences between them. First being that each Empire practices its own religion. Although the Persian Empire and the Greeks are both polytheists, there are still differences among them. The Persians had a chief god “Ahura Mazda” while the Greeks did not. Additionally, while the Romans and Byzantine Empires were both Christian, Ancient Rome started out polytheistic like the Persian and Greeks. In fact, the Romans even worshiped the Greek Gods before being conquered by Christianity. 

When looking at their governments, although they shared commonalities in being divided, the culture of those communities varied across Empires. In the Persian Empire, the satrapies controlled civil affairs but were still controlled by a military commander. In Greece, the poleis, small villages, were a 'community of relatives'. As for the Roman and Byzantine Empires, the regions were completely controlled by the Emperor.

In conclusion, while these four Empires possess similarities, they are still separate, unique, Empires. Each with its own government, culture, and successes. From the chief god of the Persians to the small villages of Greece, there is so much to appreciate about these four unique Empires.