Roman worship often took the form of sacrifices. Romans tried to please the gods by giving food or other gifts to the gods and to other deities, including the souls of dead people. With sacrifices like this, the Romans hoped to avoid bad luck and bring good luck, such as fertility and a successful harvest, or victory in war. The Romans built temples to house the images of their gods. These images were usually statues, and the Romans would offer sacrifices by burning food or frankincense. Precious objects would be given to the gods in rituals and stored in the temples. The Romans believed this pleased the gods. The Romans also did ritual purification, to avoid bad luck and to avoid offending the gods and spirits.
Judaism was common in the ancient Roman world, and there was a Jewish diaspora in many cities, like Rome, from the Hellenistic period. Christianity started in the eastern Roman Empire, in Hellenistic Judaea. In Classical Antiquity, the Roman government did not like Christianity. Sometimes, Roman governors or emperors ordered the persecution of Christians. Under the emperor Diocletian, the persecution of Christians became the strongest. Christianity became an officially supported religion in the Roman Empire under Constantine I. With the signing of the Edict of Milan by Licinius and Constantine in 313, it became the most powerful religion, and the Christian Church began the persecution of Christians with whom the official ("orthodox" and "catholic") disagreed. Then, in 391 AD, an edict of Theodosius I made Christianity Rome's official religion. The state church of the Roman Empire became the state religion in the empire. (The state church later split into the modern Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church.)
People practising traditional, non-Christian religions were common in Late Antiquity. The Christians called these people "pagans". There was persecution of Graeco-Roman polytheism by the Roman emperors. Starting in the 5th century, non-Christian religions' property was taken away, and many Roman temples were made into churches.
The Byzantines were threatened by the rise of Islam, whose followers took over the territories of Syria, Armenia and Egypt and soon threatened to take over Constantinople. In the next century, the Arabs also captured southern Italy and Sicily.
The Byzantines survived during the 8th century and, beginning in the 9th century, took back parts of the conquered lands. In 1000 AD, the Eastern Empire was at its largest point, and culture and trade flourished. However, the expansion was suddenly stopped in 1071 at the Battle of Manzikert. This finally made the empire start becoming weaker. After centuries of fighting and Turkic invasions, Emperor Alexius I Comnenus called for help from the West in 1095.
The West responded with the Crusades, eventually resulting in the Fourth Crusade which conquered Constantinople in 1204. Several Roman states took pieces of the now smaller empire. After the recapture of Constantinople by the Romans, the empire was little more than a Greek-speaking state confined to the coast of the Aegean Sea and the Sea of Marmara. The empire came to an end when Mehmed II conquered Constantinople on 29 May 1453.
Remains of Roman work and architecture have been found in the furthest corners of the late Empire.
Globalization
Globalization is the connection of different parts of the world resulting in the expansion of international cultural, economic, and political activities. It is the movement and integration of goods and people among different countries. There are advantages and disadvantages to globalization, all of which have economic, social, political, and cultural impacts. Globalization describes mainly trade practices, extending also to the communication patterns and cultural system that underlie these practices.
It is a term which may be used broadly to mean doing things as distant people do them, or more narrowly to mean complying to global standards in economy, politics, culture, education, environment or other matters. It describes the way countries and people of the world interact and integrate. Many things have become globalized as people come into contact.
Economic globalization is how countries are coming together as one big global economy, This is all making international trade easier. In the late 20th century, many people agreed to lower tariffs, or taxes on goods that are imported from other countries. Telegraphy and bull other communication technologies have helped people to buy and sell products from around the world, thus bringing globalization. Herman E. Daly has said that there is an important difference between internationalization and globalization. Internationalization is about nations working together for the same goals. These are things like treaties, alliances, and other international agreements. Globalization is about international trade that are
being less blocked by national borders.
Political globalization is how institutions and countries can influence the whole world. The United Nations are an example of globalization because most countries of the world are members of its General Assembly. This international organization can make countries follow rules and apply economic sanctions to a country that doesn't. This means the countries in the U.N will punish them by not talking or trading with them, so they don't benefit from globalization.
Cultural globalization is how culture is becoming homogeneous, which means that people from all over the world act in similar way. For example, many people around the world write with the Latin alphabet, wear T-shirts and jeans and watch Hollywood movies and other media.
Some people, like Noam Chomsky, do not like globalization because they feel it only helps rich people get richer by making poor people poorer. Offshore outsourcing, such as a company hiring workers in a developing country, is often a part of globalization. This sometimes means that some people in a developed country lose their jobs. Joseph Stiglitz said that international groups like the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have made it harder for poorer nations to get richer. Globalization also means that problems from other countries will affect your country. For example, the Great Depression of the 1930s started in the United States but affected the entire world.
Many countries also dislike it when international organizations such as the United Nations tell them what to do. However they obey to avoid sanctions. Many people also criticize the fact that globalization means that fewer people are deciding what brands, like Coca-Cola and McDonald's, taking over smaller, local shops and businesses. They criticize the fact that powerful countries have bigger influence on world culture than others. For example, the United States is the biggest cultural exporter, which means that countries around the world are becoming like the United States. However, this hurts local cultures. Jean Baudrillard believes that globalization hurts local cultures and is the cause of most terrorism. He also believes that most supporters of globalization just want to stay in power.