The Middle East, Byzantium, and East Asia Essay Example for Free

The Middle East, Byzantium, and East Asia Essay There were many similarities and differences between Byzantium and the Middle East and East Asia. Both regions were based on religions that were founded by prophets, but Byzantium and the Middle East had religions that were monotheistic, and East Asia did not. They also differed in the fact that the Middle East and Byzantium focused on academic development, and East Asia focused on military development, but were similar because both developed new ways to use projectile weapons. Both East Asia and the Middle East and Byzantium were similar in their use and development of projectile weapons. The Byzantine Empire developed a very powerful, projectile weapon called Greek fire. It was mainly used in naval warfare, and essentially could burn while floating on water for very extensive periods of time. This weapon was exclusive to the Byzantine people and has been lost with them. Gunpowder was also first developed in China. Gunpowder could be used to fuel the first guns, which while simple at the time, were deadly to the rest of the world. This idea spread through trade to the Islamic people, and later the rest of the world, transforming warfare for the rest of time. There were also differences in intellectual development between Byzantium and Mesopotamia and East Asia. For one, Byzantium was more academically advanced, while East Asia was more militarily advanced. The Byzantine Empire focused much attention on architecture. The people there build enormous, beautiful buildings. One of the most famous was the Hagia Sophia. Rome also had many writers who wrote great works of history and poems. East Asia on the other hand was more focused out military advancements. China created gun powder, which was a huge help in stopping nomadic invasions because of the distance cannons could blow. Also steel and iron weapons were made which were very strong. East Asia was also responsible for the creation of the printing press, which made it possible to produce text very quickly and in large amounts, helping communication immensely. There were similarities between the religions of Middle East, Byzantium, and East Asia. The religions in the Middle East, Byzantium, and East Asia, Islam, Orthodox Christianity, and Buddhism, respectively, were all religions that were started by prophets; Islam by Mohammed, Christianity by Jesus Christ, and Buddhism by Siddhartha Gautama. Islam spread very rapidly throughout the Middle East. Islam was the fastest spreading religion during this period. Similarly, Buddhism spread rapidly from its birthplace of India to East Asian countries such as China, Japan, and Korea. In the Middle East and Byzantium, the religions being practiced were strictly monotheistic. In East Asia, they were not. The dominant religion in the Middle East was Islam, a monotheistic faith revealed through the prophet Muhammad. In Byzantium, Christianity, another monotheistic religion, dominated the region. However, in East Asia, there was no monotheistic religion. Instead, the people in this area practiced Confucian traditions and Buddhist customs.