Comparing Byzantine and Ottoman Empires Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Comparing Byzantine and Ottoman Empires - Essay Example Comparison between the Byzantine and Ottoman economies Ottoman economy Economic history of the Ottoman Empire can be traced back for the period 1299-1923. The first phase of the economic history is referred as the classic era, which is known for it vast enlargement. Much of the activities that highly contributed to this growth include agriculture. The second period is referred as the reformation era. Its main focus was on state organized reforms, which begun with administrative and political realignment. This was followed by military reforms and their associates. It is believed that the military reforms were viewed as the key source of wealth. On the other hand, agriculture was considered to be more important than manufacture and commerce. Although the Ottomans continued with the trajectory of territorial expansion, conserving their land and agriculture, as well as sticking to their traditional monopolies was prioritized. By 1800, the population started to grow. Population densities were higher in several areas of the European provinces than those in Anatolia. In 1700-1922, urbanization increased due to developments in railroads. At this period, there were improvements in health and sanitation. This is also the period that saw economic and political migrations, which are argued to have made great impact across the empire.1 Improvements in land and sea transport were also another factor that facilitated economic growth across the empire. However, the situation is argued to have been better in the 16th century than in the 18th century in terms of infrastructure development. Nevertheless, in the 19th century, the empire experienced enormous economic growth mainly due to increased agricultural production. However, after a short period, the situation started to deteriorate due to scarcity of labor. In addition, although the land was rich, there was a problem with large scale farming due to lack of capital. In fact, majority of the people earned their living from sma ll scale farming. This led to low levels of taxes for the empire.2 Byzantime economy In the whole of Mediterranean, Byzantime economy was the most stunning for many centuries. Constantinople was the major center in for trading. However, trading network extended to other areas almost reaching Eurasia and North Africa.3 Until to the arrival of Arabs in the 17th century, the empire is argued to have been the most powerful economy across the world. In the 12th century, the empire was filled with luxury life, something that led to many visitors being impressed by the lifestyle. Comparison between the Byzantine and Ottoman religions Ottoman religion Between 14th and 19th centuries, the Ottoman Empire was tolerant towards Christians and Jews. The Ottoman religion formulated policies that sort out religious problems. It recognized the concept of clergy and its entire link with religion institution.4 In the past, Christian missionaries were seen to work together with colonialists. At the sam e time, Islam was not controlled in spreading at different areas under controlled by Ottoman Sultan. In fact, voluntary conversion to Islam was endorsed by the Ottoman authorities. In addition, there were no special rules regarding Christians that converted to Muslims. The empire had also the Muslim courts and non muslin courts. Byzantine religion Byzantine Empire is also referred to as Roman

Transport Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Transport - Essay Example Overall, the air travel industry provides an opportunity, which is facilitated by more than tourism. It also incorporates economic development, global trade and international investments, thus being one of the best investment opportunities (Brennan, 2009, p. 212). As a small-scale entrepreneur, the number of tourists entering France provides any investor with the opportunity of establishing a low cost international or local flight service. In Europe, the connection between the UK and France presents a lucrative venture for business. The route that I choose as an investor is between the Heathrow, London and Charles De Gaulle, Paris airports. One of the strongest reasons why this choice makes economic sense to me is that the two stations represent the hubs of business in the regions (Doganis, 2001, p. 90). The two airports are located within two of the busiest cities in Europe. These cities have an intricate transportation network in which the passengers can get to the airports in a nu mber of transportation choices. One of the most preferred choices of transport happen to be the train, closely followed by the cab. Transport between the centers and the airport has some merits as well as demerits. One of the challenges that the surface transport modes face is the case of jams. In both the UK and Paris, traffic congestion is a common occurrence, especially during the rush hours (Fleisher. and Bensoussan, 2007, p. 62). The jams are common in the railway stations as well as the motor ways. These characteristic is one that lowers the convenience of this mode of transport. This is however, it is an occurrence prominent in certain hours, but the intricate network is quite useful when there is little traffic on the road and rail networks. The car, either in a private or cab company capacity provides another choice of transport in the centers to the airports routes. As the preferred choice of transport, the car is one of the best choices in transportation, when convenience is involved, but this is dependent on the profile of the passenger. Where luggage is involved, the car might be the best operational choice, since it provides a better means of transport from the house to the terminal as opposed to public transportation. The train, though high speed faces an inconvenience in that it is public transport and is located at strategic points for a community (Frechtling, 2001, p. 31), in which the travellers have to walk or take a car to the service stations as well as from the terminals to the airports. With the train and buses being restricted to certain routes, the inconvenience lays mostly in the distance between the public terminals and the airport terminals, for they are not the same though close, in some instances. Another challenge with the public surface transport is the challenge introduced by the complexity of the transport network, especially for a nonlocal (Duncan, 2012, p. 134). Some of the competitors in the route chosen include the Eurost ar. The train is one of the modes of transport between the two centers i.e. Paris and London. There are several favorable elements associated with the train such as speed, lower costs and the interactive nature of the travel. The car is another competitor to the mode of transport between the two terminals, since the intricate transport network provides a motorway that links the