Important Cultural, Political, Religious or Economic Inheritances

History shows that the Byzantine Empire in Europe was prominent in cultural, economic and military powers. During the early Middle Ages the Islamic and Byzantine civilizations were dominant compared to the Western Europe which was suffering from a dark period where they could not form strong cultural, political or economic progress. Politically during the leadership of Justinian the west people had inherited the Roman law that included the use of the Justinian’s code; during the middle Ages in Europe, this law was applied in civil laws used in the West. 

The feudal system is another inheritance that the western people got from the Islamic and Byzantine people. This system contributed to the economic growth in the West because of the contribution it had to Agricultural activities. The system was developed after the Carolingian dynasty had come to an end and it was aimed at enhancing the political, social and economic stability in various organizations. The system operated as a small kingdom where the ownership of land was owned based on different levels. The lords divided the land into smaller pieces and gave it to the knights who gave it to the peasants to live in them and offered their labor in exchange (Saylor foundation, 2012). This system contributed greatly to the economic growth of the West as it advanced to the heavy plow and rotation systems that increased the food production and the supply; this agricultural advancement also led to population growth because of the peasants who were willing to work as laborers in the land as a source of livelihood. The advancement of the commercial activities gave rise to a culture of trade that changed the social and economic development in the West (Saylor foundation, 2012). The inherited factors were useful as they contributed to political and economic stability and paved way for diversified trade. 

References

Saylor foundation, (2012). The Legacy of the Roman Empire and the Middle Ages in the West, retrieved from http://www.saylor.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/HIST201-1-LegacyofRomanEmpire-FINAL.pdf .