byzantine empire heritage

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Byzantine Empire Heritage

Throughout the Middle Ages, Byzantine influence radiated across Europe. Even the Ottoman conquerors adapted features of Byzantine government, social life, and architecture. Byzantine civilizations blended Christian religious beliefs with Greek science, philosophy, arts, and literature. They also extended Roman achievements in engineering and law. The Byzantine Empire left unique contributions in art as well as learning. Their religious art and architecture influenced Western styles from Middle Ages to the present day. They used icons to give viewers a sense of personal contact with the sacred, and mosaics brought scenes from the bible to life. In architecture, Byzantines blended Greek, Roman, Persian, and other Middle Eastern styles. Byzantine scholars produced their own great history books and preserved classic works of ancient Greece and Rome. As the empire tottered, many Greek scholars left Constantinople to teach in Italian Universities. With them they took valuable Greek manuscripts to the west along with their own knowledge of the Byzantine and Greek cultures. The work of these scholars contributed to the European culture that later became know as the Renaissance.

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