The Christian Byzantine Empire; which was based on Balkans and Asia Minor would confront and fight with the Islam military and religious views. Islam rigorously excluded religious imagery and its armies began to be hugely successful. So the Eastern Roman Empire became iconoclasts (person who rejects the veneration of icons, on the grounds that the practice is idolatrous) So ultimately the political and religious relationship in Eastern Roman Empire was challenged against the Islam's and they learned that religious views may have an effect on their armies, but Christianity stayed strong throughout all of the wars.
For centuries, the Eastern Roman Empire, which eventually developed an identity of its own as the Christian Byzantine Empire, confronted Islam regarding their religious ideology. Some of the discrepancies between Islam and Christianity would be a factor that divided the Eastern and the Western Roman Empires. Islam strongly rejected religious imagery. Islam's armies were also highly successful. Some of the eastern clergy in the Roman Empire begin to hypothesize that there was a connection between these two facts. These clergy became known as iconoclasts, and argued that Christianity should enforce the Biblical commandment to not worship idols and therefore ban icons as well. The Byzantine Emperors supported these iconoclasts, and it was this support that distinguished the Eastern orthodox hierarchy and the Western Church. This argument over ideology would put even more strain on the relationship between the western Church and the Byzantine Empire.
The Christian Byzantine Empire; which was based on Balkans and Asia Minor would confront and fight with the Islam military and religious views. Islam rigorously excluded religious imagery and its armies began to be hugely successful. So the Eastern Roman Empire became iconoclasts (person who rejects the veneration of icons, on the grounds that the practice is idolatrous) So ultimately the political and religious relationship in Eastern Roman Empire was challenged against the Islam's and they learned that religious views may have an effect on their armies, but Christianity stayed strong throughout all of the wars.
ReplyDeleteGood point about the origins of iconoclasm. A more interesting question would be why was xianity able to persevere...or did it?
ReplyDeleteFor centuries, the Eastern Roman Empire, which eventually developed an identity of its own as the Christian Byzantine Empire, confronted Islam regarding their religious ideology. Some of the discrepancies between Islam and Christianity would be a factor that divided the Eastern and the Western Roman Empires. Islam strongly rejected religious imagery. Islam's armies were also highly successful. Some of the eastern clergy in the Roman Empire begin to hypothesize that there was a connection between these two facts. These clergy became known as iconoclasts, and argued that Christianity should enforce the Biblical commandment to not worship idols and therefore ban icons as well. The Byzantine Emperors supported these iconoclasts, and it was this support that distinguished the Eastern orthodox hierarchy and the Western Church. This argument over ideology would put even more strain on the relationship between the western Church and the Byzantine Empire.
ReplyDelete