Features of the political, social, and economic connections between the Byzantine Empire and its neighbors are “must know” facts for the AP® exam.
Beyond its tense relationship with Western Europe, the Byzantine Empire, located astride Europe and Asia, also interacted intensively with its other neighbors. On a political and military level, Byzantium continued the long-
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In what ways was the Byzantine Empire linked to a wider world?
Economically, the Byzantine Empire was a central player in the long-distance trade of Eurasia, with commercial links to Western Europe, Russia, Central Asia, the Islamic world, and China. Its gold coin, the bezant, was a widely used currency in the Mediterranean basin for more than 500 years, and wearing such coins as pendants was a high-status symbol in the less developed kingdoms of Western Europe. The luxurious products of Byzantine craftspeople — jewelry, gemstones, silver and gold work, linen and woolen textiles, purple dyes — were much in demand. Its silk industry, based on Chinese technology, supplied much of the Mediterranean basin with this precious fabric.
The cultural influence of Byzantium was likewise significant. Preserving much of ancient Greek learning, the Byzantine Empire transmitted this classical heritage to the Islamic world as well as to the Christian West. In both places, it had an immensely stimulating impact among scientists, philosophers, theologians, and other intellectuals. Some saw it as an aid to faith and to an understanding of the world, while others feared it as impious and distracting. (See “Reason and Faith” later in the chapter.)
Byzantine religious culture also spread widely among Slavic-