Comparison of Economic Disparity in the Byzantine Empire and Ancient India
Conflict between the wealthy and the poor has been a constant struggle of balance in ancient civilizations. No ancient civilization treated their poor necessarily well, or as well as modern countries do. In Ancient India, Hinduism made it so the Untouchables, the extremely poor people of society cannot even converse with the anyone in a social class higher than them. While the Byzantines, especially Emperor Justinian passed laws in favor of the poor and his wife Theodora, focused on public works. Though they both had strict social classes, there was more mobility in the Byzantine Empire.
There were aspects of social hierarchy that Ancient India and the Byzantines had in common. Both societies were divided into similar social classes. Religious leaders were at the top of the caste system and the political system of the Byzantine Empire. The religion Hinduism ruled over India. Hinduism is the explanation for the caste system, which is why the Hindu religious leaders, the Brahman would be the most important, and imperative to society. The Byzantines adopted Christianity from being in a close proximity to the Roman Empire, but did not follow the catholic church as a result of the fall and split of the Roman Empire.The Byzantines created Eastern Orthodox Christianity, in which the emperor, is the head political and religious figure. Brahmans did not necessarily rule and make laws like an emperor of the Byzantine Empire would, however it is important to remember that the Indians did not have a centralized government like the Byzantines, and the entire basis of all of their politics resided in Hinduism, or in the Gupta empire Buddhism. This is why Brahman are seen as so religiously pure and important and are able to be at the very top of the caste systems. Needless to say, the Brahman and the emperors stood as a symbol of their own belief systems and as political figures. Of course through all of history, the less wealthy will be treated the worst of the social classes. The Untouchables of the caste system did the work of slaves , by handling dead and laboring in fields. They were given the worst jobs of the caste.Each caste received a different set of rules, and because the untouchables were the lowest, they had to deal with more harsh laws. The paupers of the Byzantines were also not treated the best until Emperor Justinian and Theodora came into rule. There were some unjust laws against the poor, for example, the wealthy could not receive the death penalty, but the poor, if the crime were extreme enough could get the death penalty without approval from the emperor. The societies are similar in that the poor Untouchables and the poor people of the Byzantines had to deal with unfair laws because of their financial status and social class.
The Ancient Indians and the Byzantines differed in many ways when it came to social classes, and differences between the poor and the rich. A major difference is that there is no social mobility