Byzantine+ESPIRIT

-developed a far-flung trading network with Asia to the east and Russia and Scandinavia to the north -silk production expanded in the empire -also traded with India, the Arabs, east Asia, western Europe, and Africa || -bureaucrats were trained in Greek classics, philosophy, and science in a secular school system / could be recruited from all social classes -the large peasant class supplied goods and provided huge amount of tax revenue -active trades but merchant class never gained significant political power || -women held imperial throne at some points while maintaining the ceremonial power of the office -Theodora, emperor Justinian's wife, illustrate the complex nature of Byzantine politics and the whims of fate that affected women rulers -bureaucrats were specialized into different offices, and officials close to the emperor mainly eunuchs -bureaucrats could be recruited from all social classes -military system adapted the later Roman system by recruiting troops locally and rewarding them with lands in return for their military service; lands could not be sold, but sons inherited its administration in return for continued military responsibility -by 1461, the Turks took over the Byzantine Empire, bringing Islamic power farther into eastern Europe than ever before / a sign of the shift in power between East and West || -contact between the two branches trailed off but neither church cared to make a definitive break -the division reflect the different patterns of development between the two European civilizations -shortly after the split between the two churches, the empire entered a long period of decline || -developed a distinct form of art and architecture -adapted Roman domed buildings and icon paintings || - Greek fire, (a petroleum, quicklime, and sulfur mixture) new weapon that devastated Arab ships which slowed down their invasion in 717-718 C.E ||
 * E || -empire depended on Constantinople's control over the countryside, with the bureaucracy regulating trade and controlling food prices
 * S || -not only men but at some point women held imperial throne
 * P || -emperor was head of church and state; appointed church bishops and passed religious and secular laws
 * I || -took silkworms and techniques initially imports from China, and many other luxury products, including cloth, carpets, and spices to send north as silk production expanded in the empire ||
 * R || -Byzantine culture, politics, and economic orientation toward Asia and  northeastern Europe, helped explain the split between its eastern version of Christianity and the western version that were mainly controlled by the pope in Rome
 * I || -cultural life centered on the secular traditions of Hellenism, reflected in the education of bureaucrats, and the evolving traditions of Eastern, or Orthodox, Christianity
 * T || -invented domes for huge buildings