Religious influences on social classes in the Byzantine Empire and Islamic Civilazation

I. Religion is a topic that many wars have been fought over and break bonds that you once thought was inseparable. Religion is though to be a way of life, but some cultures choose to eliminate public displays of religion to keep tension to a minimum. The ancient Byzantine Empire displays this in a very public way, social class. This empire wants to focuses on more important things; money and political standings. On the polar opposite site we have the Islamic civilization whose citizens' daily life revolves around their religion. The social class system of the Islamic civilization was solely determined by religious status, one’s religion determined their social standing; while Byzantine social hierarchy was based on economic and political factors, one’s monetary wealth and ministerial influence.

II.  Islamic Social Structure
               A.  The Islamic social hierarchy was only constructed around Islam.
                            1. How the classes were divided
                                         a. Birth into Islam, converted, protected people, non-muslims
                            2. Acceptance towards other religions
                                         a.   Primary Source:
                                                 1. According to the Sahih International, the Quran, 2:62, says The people who are actively practicing Judaism, Christianity, and Seboghatullah should not be punished for not following the Muslim ways. For the people who did follow Allah will be rewarded. They will not be rewarded with material things, but with the grace of Allah. Their lord's grace shall bless them, and they will not feel pain or sorrow.
                                         b. Expected people to follow the Quran during daily life
                                         c. Peaceful society
II. Byzantine Social Class
                 A. The Byzantine Empire focus their social structure on money and political standings instead of religion.
                            1. How the Classes were divided
                                          a. Top, Senatorial Class-has at least one noble in the family, someone who has served in the Senate before, Equestrian Class- Had a stable income,land worth 400,000 sesterces, Family was also considered Equestrian also, Commons- Born a citizen, lower class,Foreigners- Lived in the territories,Freed People- people who used to be slaves but not anymore, and Slaves
                             2. Separated the top classes from the bottom
                                           a. Law that divided Romans into two groups, the honestiores more honorable people including senators, equestrians, and soldiers and the humiliores more insignificant people including all other groups
b. Clothing represented social class
i. Primary Source-

 

                                                 In this mosaic,there are four men dressed in white long robes, but with different garments on top of the white. The men are surrounding a haloed man wearing purple. The remaining four men look to be serving the purple roped man. According to Dr. Steven Zucker, Justinian I is wearing a purple robe and is crowned with a halo. He is surrounded with members of the church and the Bishop Maximianus of Ravenna. On the left of the painting you can see men wearing a white rope with a purple stripe across their torso.The painting represents the "Central Position of the Emperor between the power of the church and the power of the imperial administration and military." It re-enforces the idea that Justinian I has power over the religion, military, and country.
                                                                   ii. Purple Signified Emperor and Stripes signified Soldier

Work Cited:

McManus, Barbara F. "Roman Social Class and Public Display." Roman Social Class and Public Display. The College of New Rochelle, Jan. 2009. Web. 18 Dec. 2013. <http://www.vroma.org/~bmcmanus/socialclass.html>.

Rautman, Marcus Louis. Daily Life in the Byzantine Empire. Westport, Conn. [u.a.: Greenwood, 2006. Print.

"Surat Al-Baqarah." Surat Al-Baqarah [2:59-65]. University of Copenhagen, Nov. 2007. Web. 19 Dec. 2013. <http://quran.com/2/59-65>.

Zaheer, Khalid, Dr. "Qur’an: The Primary Source of Islam." Qur’an: The Primary Source of Islam. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Dec. 2013. <http://www.renaissance.com.pk/janqur99.html>.