The year 610 AD was nothing out of the ordinary.In this year, Emperor Sui Yang, who went to Jiangdu again, opened the Jiangnan River, with a total length of 800 miles from Jingkou (now Zhenjiang City, Jiangsu Province) to Yuhang (now Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province).Meanwhile, Muhammad, the great prophet of Islam, received the apocalypse, and a man named Heraclius became emperor of Byzantium. Thus began a new history. The world that followed was the stage where Byzantium, Arabia, and the Sui and Tang empires dominated the world.Of course, the fate of the three empires was different.A century and a half later, the Tang Dynasty reached its peak and then declined, Arabia expanded to the extreme and faced division, and Byzantium fell to the trough and prepared to revive.But one thing is the same, that is, they all created a civilization that affects the world, and this civilization is also related to religion.

Let's look at Byzantium first. Byzantium is also known as the Eastern Roman Empire.However, whether it is Eastern Rome or Byzantium, it is all the view of later generations.Just as the Eastern Jin people never said they were Eastern Jin, the Byzantines never thought they were Rome.Their country is still called the Roman Empire, and their head of state is still called the Roman Emperor, even though the capital of the empire is no longer in Rome, and the city of Rome is in disrepair. In fact, in the eyes of classically educated people, the new empire is like an illegitimate half-breed and prodigal son who has lost his ancestral Roman city, speaks poor Greek, and adopts a religion of unknown origin as the state religion.Although this religion matured and spread in ancient Rome, its founder, Jesus Christ, was a Jew, and his teachings were incompatible with the traditions of Roman civilization.

How could such a country be called Rome? The Byzantines, however, did not see it that way.As the subjects of the most powerful empire in the Western world at that time, the masters of Anatolia (Asia Minor), Egypt and Syria, and the entire Eastern Europe south of the Danube, they, like the Chinese in Chang'an, considered themselves living in civilization. The center of the world, except that the center is called Constantinople in their place. Constantinople became the capital of the Roman Empire on May 11, 330 AD, before it was a Greek fortress on the west bank of the Bosporus (Strait of Bosporus), called Byzantium.No one expected that although Byzantium was renamed because it became the new capital, its original name was used by later generations to refer to the new empire after the capital was moved. It seems that history really likes to joke.

It was of course the famous Emperor Constantine the Great who turned Byzantium into the new capital of the empire.His purpose of moving the capital to Byzantium is also very clear, that is to realize the political proposition and ideal of "new capital, new empire, new religion".This new religion is Christianity that believes in the only god, so the imperial government must stay away from the noisy and dilapidated old Roman city of the gods. Therefore, His Majesty the Emperor worked tirelessly to enclose the land himself.Looking at those exhausted attendants, Constantine solemnly declared: The invisible god-God is leading the way in front of me.Of course, in order to prove the piety of the faith, the Hagia Sophia (St. Sophia) was built in the center of the new capital city, and the statue of the emperor on Augustus Square also held a globe and a cross in the hands of the former symbol means conquering the world, and the latter symbolizes following Christ.

This religious zeal of Constantine clearly required explanation.Therefore, as the emperor who seized power by relying on the support of the army and armed struggle, he claimed that he saw a cross-shaped light in the sun on the way of marching.Inspired by this miracle, the Duke changed the pattern of the Roman military flag to a cross.According to himself and historians, Constantine has been invincible ever since. Oh, God be with him. It's a pity that the more magical this statement is, the more suspicious it looks. Constantine's belief is indeed questionable.In fact, although he vigorously supported Christianity, he tolerantly protected pagans, especially after he was in power.He even postponed the formalities of becoming a Christian again and again, and was not baptized until his deathbed.

Obviously, Constantine was a Christian, and even more a statesman.For him, the unity of the empire and the stability of the regime came first.Therefore, when the various factions of Christianity were fighting for the doctrine, Constantine was detached, and even played with the theological theory that the priests regarded as the lifeblood.Of course he will not fight against polytheism for the sake of Christianity.Don't forget that Byzantium's new name was Constantinople (City of Constantine), not the City of God or the City of Christ. In fact, Constantine advocated Christianity, not the doctrine, but the worship of monotheism.This kind of simplicity is exactly what a unified empire needs.This is just as the Han Empire only respected Confucianism and did not like Confucianism very much, but Confucianism is more suitable to become the unified thought of a unified empire.

Constantine was the emperor of Han Dynasty in ancient Rome. It cannot be said that Constantine's choice was unreasonable.In fact, the pagans soon discovered the excellence of Christianity: the high spirit, pure heart and strict organization, and unwavering faith.Christian behavior is also respectable.They helped the poor, forgave their enemies, martyred, respected women and spurned betrayal.All of these come from the teachings of their one and only Lord. On the contrary, the religion of ancient Rome, if it can be called a religion, is unbearable.You know, it doesn't even have a proper name, let alone a theological doctrine, a code of ethics, or an organizational structure.Those gods with many names have unknown origins, and there are many crimes of adultery, incest, father and son, and they are not enough to be a moral model for the subjects of the empire.

No matter who you change at this time, you will choose Christianity. Unfortunately, Constantine's God did not bless his empire.Only three years after Christianity was established as the state religion, Rome was divided into east and west halves, and the west half collapsed shortly after most of its subjects converted to Christ.Even Constantinople to the east was not spared in the end.It was captured by the Ottoman Turks and renamed Istanbul, meaning City of Islam. This is really dumbfounding. Of course, the demise of the Eastern Roman Empire will not be until 1453 AD, which is the fourth year of Jingtai in the Ming Dynasty of China.But in AD 610, what Heraclius took over was undoubtedly a mess: the treasury was empty, the morale of the army was low, and the enemy surrounded the empire from all directions, including the Germanic barbarians in the north and the warlike nation Avar from Central Asia. people (the Avars) and the Persians.

The Persians were old rivals and bitter enemies of the Roman Empire, especially after the Sassanid Dynasty replaced the Parthian Empire.Not only did they frequently launch wars, but they also sang against Taiwan in terms of ideology and religious beliefs.When the Roman Empire persecuted Christians, the Sassanid Dynasty accepted them in large numbers; after Christianity became the state religion of Rome, the Persians supported its heresy.The sect called Nestorianism by the Chinese was formed in Sasanian Persia. There is no doubt that the Persians were not interested in Christianity, they believed in Zoroastrianism (Zoroastrianism).Therefore, accepting Christians and supporting their heresies did not prevent them from flocking into the holy city of Jerusalem in May of 614 AD and razing Christian monuments to the ground.What's more, these heretics also pried away the True Cross of Jesus' crucifixion in the church, and transported it to the Persian capital Ctesiphon (Ctesiphon) together with the captives as spoils of war.

Is it tolerable or unbearable, not to mention the Persians did not stop there.After sweeping through Syria and Palestine, they made the Egyptian governor of the Eastern Romans throw up his hands and surrender.The treasure land that could provide a quarter of the empire's income fell helplessly into the hands of the enemy. No grain was shipped from Alexandria to Constantinople, and Heraclius had to suspend the free bread supply to the citizens. In 620 AD, the aggressive Persian army advanced to the other side of the Bosphorus, across the water from Constantinople.The passage connecting the Black Sea and the Aegean Sea was so narrow that the Byzantine emperor could see the flickering lights of the enemy camp at a glance, and even imagined their drinking orgy.

Heraclius, who was forced into a dead end, had to turn himself into a defender of the Roman Empire.In fact, when he ascended the throne amidst the cheers of the crowd, he also put the high hopes of his subjects on his shoulders.If he can't get the shaky empire back on its feet, he will end up worse than his predecessor. So, will God bless him?

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