The Role of Religion in The Muslim and The Byzantine Empires

Religion has, throughout the ages, been the defining point of countries across the world. Even despite the millennia that have gone by since world religions were first founded, they hold an important role in society. To understand why they are important today, it is important to look at what religions were like in the past, especially in the Middle Ages, several centuries after the major religions first formed. The Byzantine and Muslim Empires were among the most powerful states of the medieval world. In Byzantium, most people followed a form of Christianity similar to today’s Eastern Orthodox, while in the Muslim Empires the dominant religion was Islam (Beck 306, 269). Understanding religion is an imperative part of understanding both the Byzantines and the Muslims. Religion was important in both societies, as shown by its close connection to each government and its influence on each culture.

There were close ties between religion and state in both the Byzantine Empire and the caliphates. In Byzantium, the emperor was considered to have been the representative of God on Earth (Sherrard 94). He would carry out the rituals and practices necessary for all of the Christians in Byzantium (Sherrard 75). The emperor had power over the church, and bishops would be chosen at his will (Roger 301). In the Muslim world, the empire was led by a caliph, successors to Muhammad that claimed to have been appointed by God (Lang). Muslims used the Qu’ran and Sunna, or Muhammad’s example, to create a system of law known as shari’a, which regulated social life (Beck 268). Both the Byzantines and the Muslims had a central political figure who they believed was appointed by their god. This idea of an appointment by the divine was important because it meant the leader of the empire would understand both political and religious matters, leading to a close connection between the religion and the government. This close connection between the church and state signifies the wish of the people to be led not only politically, but also religiously. In the caliphates specifically, the fact that the law was based off of the teachings of Muhammad shows that religion was central to the society.

Religion also played an important role in the culture of the two empires. All Byzantine Christians were free to write hymns and literature about Christianity, and holy men were considered important (“Byzantine Empire”). Byzantine art was mainly based on religion as well, as artists painted important religious figures (“Byzantine Art”). In the Muslim Empires, science was encouraged by the prophet Muhammad’s emphasis on learning, and early Islamic literature was based on the Qu’ran (Beck 276). Muslims used calligraphy and special designs in their artwork because they refused to paint living beings, something prohibited by the Qu’ran (Grabar). The Muslims and the Byzantines valued the arts and sciences because of religion. The reason why the two groups cared so much about creating their own styles of art and why they delved into science was because they wanted to fulfil the teachings and beliefs of their gods and prophets. This important role of religion in the arts and sciences helped make Byzantium and the Abbasid Caliphate gain unique cultures.

Even though the Muslims and Byzantines followed different religions, in both societies, religion was important. This can be shown by its close relationship to the government and its impact on the arts and sciences. People cared a lot about religion at the time, which was why they had both their government and their culture conform to the doctrines of the founders of the religion. One possible reason for the similarities between the two empires are the similarities between Christianity and Islam. Both Christianity and Islam worship the same God and the believers believe they are related to Abraham (Roger 268). This monotheistic connection means that God is central to both religions, and should be an important part of life. Another reason why the two empires may have both treated religion as important was because of the general era. Religion was important everywhere during the Middle Ages, and these two regions were no exceptions. Even today, Orthodox Christianity and Islam are still two very important religious groups, so it is important to understand what they were like in the past. In addition, religion has changed a lot over time, and seeing how religion developed in the Byzantine and Muslim Empires can help many understand how religion still develops today.