Question

The Byzantine influence can be seen in Kiev’s government because

the legal code was created on the basis of Byzantine law.
the justice system was set up to mimic the Byzantine system.
the civil service exam to fill government positions came from the Byzantines.
the authoritarian role of the tsar was based on the ruler of the Byzantines.

Answer 1

i put A legal code

Answer 2

he official language of Byzantium at the time of its founding was Latin, the language of Rome; however its locals spoke Greek. The Code of Justinian was written in Latin. However, over time, Greek replaced Latin as the language of the government. Scholars no longer learned to read Latin, but rather drew inspiration from both the New Testament (originally written in Greek) and the philosophy and literature of classical Greece.

The large bureaucracy of Byzantium necessitated an efficient educational system to train government workers. It was in the educational system that the influence and legacy of Classical Greece, rather than Classical Rome, was most evident. Aristocrats often hired tutors for their children; however the workforce of the government normally came from a state organized school system that taught reading, writing and grammar, which were followed by classical Greek literature, philosophy, and medicine. Boys and girls were educated in the system.

Literacy was quite high in Byzantine society. Merchants, manufacturers, clergy, and military personnel had at least a primary education. There was also a school of higher learning at Constantinople which offered instruction in law, medicine and philosophy. It operated for the life of the Byzantine Empire, more than one thousand years.

Byzantine scholarship reflected its Greek roots. Scholars concentrated on the humanities: literature, history and philosophy, rather than natural sciences or medicine. They produced commentaries on Homer, Plato, and Aristotle; which were used as textbooks in schools along with classical works themselves. Those within the Empire who were educated considered themselves the heirs of classical Greece, and went to great lengths to preserve their legacy. Almost all the literary and philosophical works of classical Greece survive because they were preserved by the Empire.

The Byzantine Church: Byzantine Christianity was closely tied to the government, so much so that its emperors are often referred to as caesaropapist, supreme over both church and state. Constantine himself often intervened in Church matters; it was he who convened the Council of Nicaea in 325 which brought together many bishops and church leaders to consider the position of Arian Christians.

The Arians were followers of a priest from Alexandria named Arius who taught that Jesus had been a mortal man created by God rather than divine and co-equal with God. Many theologians argued to the contrary, teaching that Jesus was both God and man. Constantine supported the latter position, and attended sessions of the Council of Nicaea to lend his support, although at the time, he had not fully admitted to being Christian. Because of his presence, the council adopted the orthodox view, and Arianism was condemned as heresy.

The Byzantine church was treated by the Emperors as a department of the state. They appointed the Patriarch of Constantinople (the highest church office in Byzantium and counterpart to the Pope in Rome. Patriarchs, bishops and priests were instructed to deliver sermons which supported imperial policy and encouraged obedience to the government. This was a source of conflict that often led to protests when the views of the government were not those of the populace.

The most divisive policy adopted by the Byzantine Emperors was that of Iconoclasm. The Empire had a long tradition of producing icons—paintings of Jesus and other religious personages—many of which were magnificent works of art. They were considered useful as they inspired the popular imagination, and encouraged reverence for the figures depicted in the icons. The Emperor Leo III (r. 17 – 741) took issue with this as he considered the icons to violate the Second Commandment ("graven images.") In 726 C.E. he began the policy of iconoclasm, literally "breaking idols" by means of which religious images were destroyed and their use within the church prohibited. This caused protests and riots within the Empire as the laity were very fond of Icons. The debate raged for over a century; and iconoclasm was abandoned in 843 C.E.