The Catholics believed in the trinity; however, another religion, Arianism, rejected the Trinity. They believed that Jesus had beginning and an end therefore he is not God. This debate caused an immeasurable amount of tension between both parties. To dilute some of the tension, Theodoric built both Arian (St. Apollinare) and Catholic (San Vitale) churches in Rome. Many emperors such as Justinian of the Byzantine empire, were set in their ways and were intolerant rulers. They wanted to return Rome to its further glory by centralizing the religion. All other religions were considered heresy and those caught practicing these other religions were condemned and persecuted. When the Caliphate rose to power, Muslim leaders needed to figure out a way to deal with non-Muslims without forcing conversion or persecution. The solution was the “dhimma” the Dhimmi were required to pay an extra tax to maintain peace within the empire. Even though, this was a logical solution to the problem, it required an extra step for peace. The Byzantine empire was “my way or the highway” so it was more fear induced conversion than acceptance. Theodoric the Great found a way to maintain peace and stability without an extra step or force. It was …show more content…
He too was a German with Frankish roots. After his brothers’ death, Charlemagne became the sole king. Once in power, Charlemagne sought to unite all the Germanic peoples under one kingdom much like Theodoric. Much of his rule was engaged in military campaigns such as the conquest of the Lombards in Italy or the war with the Saxons. It was; however, these wars that revived the Roman empire to its former glory politically, economically, and culturally. This explosion of Classic Roman culture caused the Pope to crown Charlemagne as emperor. Emperor Charlemagne is most known for the Carolingian Renaissance where he reinstituted schools, Latin language, religion, art, and invented Carolingian minuscule- modern day lower case lettering. Even though, Charlemagne’s rule was different from Theodoric’s rule both empires rang with sound of Classic Rome. Although Theodoric could not sustain his policies of religious tolerance nor his expertise in dealing with Constantinople, he is still remembered as “the great” for his attempt to unify the empire under his reign into a single people. For 30 years Theodoric united the Goths and the Romans under his reign, maintained the peace, and worked for the well-being of his kingdom. His ideals closely resembled those of the old Roman empire in maintaining a strong presence in the world. His “new beginning” was made from the end of some others (Old Roman Empire)