“Whereas you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; yet the strength of the iron shall be in it, just as you saw the iron mixed with ceramic clay. And as the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly fragile. As you saw iron mixed with ceramic clay, they will mingle with the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, just as iron does not mix with clay.” Daniel 2:41-43 (NKJV)
None of the empires of antiquity lasted, not even Papal Rome, although it differed from the preceding world empires in that it was a religious, political, economic, and military power. The prophet Daniel predicted that even though they would attempt to cement permanent structures by intermarriage, their efforts would be futile.
The history of the Roman Empire can be divided into three distinct periods: The Period of Kings (625-510 BC), Republican Rome (510-31 BC), and Imperial Rome (31 BC – AD 476). Rome was founded around 625 BC in the areas of ancient Italy known as Etruria and Latium. It is thought that the city-state of Rome was initially formed by Latium villagers joining together with settlers from the surrounding hills in response to an Etruscan invasion. It is unclear whether they came together in defense or as a result of being brought under Etruscan rule. The first period in Roman history is known as the Period of Kings, and it lasted from Rome’s founding until 510 BC. During this brief time Rome, led by no fewer than six kings, advanced both militaristically and economically with increases in physical boundaries, military might, and production and trade of goods including oil lamps. Rome entered its Republican Period in 510 BC. No longer ruled by kings, the Romans established a new form of government whereby the upper classes ruled, namely the senators and the equestrians, or knights. However, a dictator could be nominated in times of crisis. In 451 BC, the Romans established the “Twelve Tables,” a standardized code of laws meant for public, private, and political matters. Rome continued to expand through the Republican Period and gained control over the entire Italian peninsula by 338 BC. It was the Punic Wars from 264-146 BC, along with some conflicts with Greece, that allowed Rome to take control of Carthage and Corinth and thus become the dominant maritime power in the Mediterranean. Rome’s Imperial Period was its last, beginning with the rise of Rome’s first emperor in 31 BC and lasting until the fall of Rome in AD 476. During this period, Rome saw several decades of peace, prosperity, and expansion. By AD 117, the Roman Empire had reached its maximum extant, spanning three continents including Asia Minor, northern Africa, and most of Europe. MILWAUKEE PUBLIC MUSEUM: The Roman Empire, A Brief History.
The Romans conducted trade on a wide scale, engaged in banking, kept written records, and also had slaves, which were regularly bought and sold throughout the Roman Empire. Trade was conducted among the many provinces and internationally between India, China, Africa, and wherever artisans and traders could ply their wares. Roman roads, canals, rivers, and sea routes facilitated all commercial and military activities. However, what is especially significant is that Roman money was internationalized and universally accepted throughout the Roman Empire. It was also legal tender in foreign countries that traded with Roman merchants.
Due to the economic power and longevity of the Roman state, Roman currency was widely used throughout western Eurasia and northern Africa from classical times into the Middle Ages. It served as a model for the currencies of the Muslim caliphates and the European states during the Middle Ages and the Modern Era. Roman currency names survive today in many countries via the Carolingian monetary system, such as the dinar (from the denarius coin), the British pound (a translation of the Roman libra, a unit of weight), the peso (also a translation of libra), and the words for the general concept of money in the Iberian Romance languages (e.g. Spanish dinero and Portuguese dinheiro). WIKIPEDIA, THE FREE ENCYCLOPEDIA: Roman Commerce.
The term “Byzantine” derives from Byzantium, an ancient Greek colony founded by a man named Byzas. Located on the European side of the Bosporus (the strait linking the Black Sea to the Mediterranean), the site of Byzantium was ideally located to serve as a transit and trade point between Europe and Asia. In A.D. 330, Roman Emperor Constantine I chose Byzantium as the site of a “New Rome” with an eponymous capital city, Constantinople. Five years earlier, at the Council of Nicaea, Constantine had established Christianity — once an obscure Jewish sect — as Rome’s official religion. The citizens of Constantinople and the rest of the Eastern Roman Empire identified strongly as Romans and Christians, though many of them spoke Greek and not Latin. The Byzantine Empire lasted for nearly 1000 years after the fall of Rome in 476 AD. The Byzantine Empire finally fell in 1453 AD. HISTORY.COM Byzantine Empire, Updated May 31, 2023.
Byzantine coins were the basic tool of imperial propaganda as well as commercial transactions. The images stamped on them—the emperor, members of his family, Christ, angels, saints, and the cross—promoted the idea that the Byzantine state existed by divine right and under God’s protection. Coins were issued in gold, silver, and copper under the strict control of the imperial authority. As the most stable currency of the Middle Ages, the gold solidus was the preferred coin for use in international trade and enjoyed prestige throughout the then known world, from North Africa to China. In Western Europe the Byzantine gold coin was called the bezant, derived from the word Byzantium. NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART: Imperial Coinage.
The Ottoman Empire reached its peak in the 16th century. At the time, it was one of the strongest empires in the world and a rival to the massive Habsburg Empire. Besides its military successes, it was also a center of arts and science. Perhaps the greatest sultan was Suleiman the Magnificent who expanded the empire throughout much of the Middle East and Europe, nearly captured Vienna and instituted significant legal reforms. The Ottoman army saw many military successes, winning numerous battles against the Byzantine Empire and its other rivals. In 1453, the Ottomans sieged the Byzantine capital of Constantinople. Previous armies had never been able to conquer Constantinople because of its towering fortifications, but Sultan Mehmed II employed the new technology of gunpowder: using massive cannons, he blasted through the city’s walls. Constantinople soon became the most important city in the Ottoman Empire and is now known by the Turkish name Istanbul. The Ottoman Empire would also win control of the Mediterranean in the Battle of Preveza in 1538 and the Battle of Djerba in 1560. Even when European forces won the Battle of Lepanto in 1571, the Ottomans continued to be a major naval force. In 1683, the Ottomans even siezed the Austrian capital of Vienna, though were defeated when Polish forces arrived to aid the Austrians. The Ottoman Empire lasted from 1299 until 1922. This was a period of 623 years. The Ottoman Empire was more or less disbanded due to its loss in World War I. STUDY.COM: Ottoman Empire.
In the Ottoman Empire, monetary exchange was based on coins since paper money was not introduced until the 19th century at roughly the same time it began circulating in Europe. Gold is now found scattered all over the world, but in ancient times it was produced only in Egypt, Anatolia, Greece, Transylvania, Spain, Arabia and India. Legends abound from Jason and his pursuit of the Golden Fleece in the eastern Black Sea to the Queen of Sheba bringing gold to Solomon from the Sudan region. The first gold coins appear in Lycia in the southwestern part of Anatolia. Monetary exchange was based on coins since paper money was not introduced until the 19th century at roughly the same time it began circulating in Europe. That meant that gold and silver were important commodities and carefully protected. The official currency of the Ottoman Empire was the silver akçe that has been traced back to Osman Bey who reigned from 1299 to 1324. The silver akçe continued to be used until the 17th century when the first Ottoman gold coin appeared during the reign of Fatih Sultan Mehmed in 1478. Copper was first minted in the reign of Murad I from 1359 to 1389 and was intended for use as change for the silver akçe. DAILY NEWS: Money In The Ottoman Empire. September 14, 2012.
(TO BE CONTINUED)
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