I. From Eastern Roman to Byzantine Empire
Justinian helped out the empire in a lot of ways, but when he died, there were still many problems that needed to be fixed. The army was not able to protect all of the territory since it was so far away and the enemies on the borders were getting stronger. The treasury also didn't have any money left and the population had decreased as a result of the plague. The Persians and the Slavs attacked the empire during Heraclius' reign. After that, there were almost no more resources for fighting and the men were worn out. They now created a new way to defend, called the theme. A person would have the civilian and military office both to themself. This gave a lot of power to the civil governor. The eastern empire was now losing its contact with the west and people started to give up hope of taking control of the Mediterranean. Under Islam, the Arab tribes began to fight there way west, and gained control of Persia, Syria, and Palestine. The Arabs attempted to take over Constantinople, but Greek fire held them back, burning their ships with efficiency. The Bulgars came from the Balkans in 679 and they also pushed their way down to the Danube valley. This was the start of the Bulgarian kingdom. The eastern Roman Empire in the 8th century was very small. At this time, it had turned into an eastern state, and was now the Byzantine Empire.
II. The Byzantine Empire in the Eighth Century
Latin began to deteriorate in the Byzantine Empire, and Greek became the official language. It was also a Christian empire, with the people believing in Jesus. In much of the construction of the empire, art was used that was influenced by spiritual principles. Icons were very popular in religion and people started to idolize pictures. Leo III decided to outlaw icons in 730. Many of the monks and even the popes disagreed with the banning of icons. The Byzantine emperor was seen as picked by God, so there were ceremonies for the emperor and subjects had to bow to him. The emperor had control not only over state, but also over the church. The Germanic kingdoms and the Byzantine Empire move away from each other, but still had similar legal systems. The Byzantine Empire did have influence on the west still, and it also protected the west from eastern attacks. The biggest rising problem was, however, Islam.