Between the eighth and eleventh centuries A. D., the Byzantine Empire

Between the eighth and eleventh centuries A. D., the Byzantine Empire staged an almost unparalleled economic and cultural revival, a recovery that is all the more striking because it followed a long period of severe internal decline. By the early eighth century, the empire had lost roughly two-thirds of the territory it had possessed in the year 600, and its remaining area was being raided by Arabs and Bulgarians, who at times threatened to take Constantinople and extinguish the empire altogether. The wealth of the state and its subjects was greatly diminished, and artistic and literary production had virtually ceased. By the early eleventh century, however, the empire had regained almost half of its lost possessions, its new frontiers were secure, and its influence extended far beyond its borders. The economy had recovered, the treasury was full, and art and scholarship had advanced.

To consider the Byzantine military, cultural, and economic advances as differentiated aspects of a single phenomenon is reasonable. After all, these three forms of progress have gone together in a number of states and civilizations. Rome under Augustus and fifth-century Athens provide the most obvious examples in antiquity. Moreover, an examination of the apparent sequential connections among military, economic, and cultural forms of progress might help explain the dynamics of historical change.

The common explanation of these apparent connections in the case of Byzantium would run like this: when the empire had turned back enemy raids on its own territory and had begun to raid and conquer enemy territory, Byzantine resources naturally expanded and more money became available to patronize art and literature. Therefore, Byzantine military achievements led to economic advances, which in turn led to cultural revival.

No doubt this hypothetical pattern did apply at times during the course of the recovery. Yet it is not clear that military advances invariably came first, economic advances second, and intellectual advances third. In the 860’s the Byzantine Empire began to recover from Arab incursions so that by 872 the military balance with the Abbasid Caliphate had been permanently altered in the empire’s favor. The beginning of the empire’s economic revival, however, can be placed between 810 and 830. Finally, the Byzantine revival of learning appears to have begun even earlier. A number of notable scholars and writers appeared by 788 and, by the last decade of the eighth century, a cultural revival was in full bloom, a revival that lasted until the fall of Constantinople in 1453. Thus the commonly expected order of military revival followed by economic and then by cultural recovery was reversed in Byzantium. In fact, the revival of Byzantine learning may itself have influenced the subsequent economic and military expansion

1. which of the following best states the central idea of the passage?
(a) the byzantine empire was a unique case in which the usual order of military and economic revival preceding cultural revival was reversed. -This the conclusion of the passage and not the central idea.
(b) the economic, cultural, and military revival in the byzantine empire between the eighth and eleventh centuries was similar in its order to the sequence of revivals in augustan rome and fifth-century athens. -This statement is also true, but is definitely not the central idea.
(c) after 810 byzantine economic recovery spurred a military and, later, cultural expansion that lasted until 1453. -This is the opposite of what the author states. Definitely not the central idea as well.
(d) the eighth-century revival of byzantine learning is an inexplicable phenomenon, and its economic and military precursors have yet to be discovered. -First part of the statement is true - Yes the revival was surprising - but the second part can't be assumed from the passage as no such information is given by the author.
(e) the revival of the byzantine empire between the eighth and eleventh centuries shows cultural rebirth preceding economic and military revival, the reverse of the commonly accepted order of progress. -CORRECT. The passage is all about the revival of the empire and the chronology of social, economic and military activities.


2. the primary purpose of the second paragraph is which of the following?
It talks about the 3 activities and how their order is important in an economy
(a) to establish the uniqueness of the byzantine revival -Wrong as per my above statement
(b) to show that augustan rome and fifth-century athens are examples of cultural, economic, and military expansion against which all subsequent cases must be measured -It gives an illustration, but the main point of second para is as described above.
(c) to suggest that cultural, economic. and military advances have tended to be closely interrelated in different societies. -CORRECT. As per our expectation
(d) to argue that, while the revivals of augustan rome and fifth-century athens were similar, they are unrelated to other historical examples -The author doesn't argue on anything
(e) to indicate that, wherever possible, historians should seek to make comparisons with the earliest chronological examples of revival -No; wrong as per my above statement

3. it can be inferred from the passage that by the eleventh century the byzantine military forces
(a) had reached their peak and begun to decline -We cant say whether they started to decline or not.
(b) had eliminated the bulgarian army - We can't say which army they defeated. All we know from the passage is that the byzantine military regained some of its earlier captured land
(c) were comparable in size to the army of rome under augustus -We can't say this either
(d) were strong enough to withstand the abbasid caliphate's military forces -CORRECT."In the 860’s the Byzantine Empire began to recover from Arab incursions so that by 872 the military balance with the Abbasid Caliphate had been permanently altered in the empire’s favor" - We can see from this statement, that byzantine's military had long become strong to withstand abbasid caliphate's military forces
(e) had achieved control of byzantine governmental structures -We can't say this

4. it can be inferred from the passage that the byzantine empire sustained significant territorial losses
"By the early eighth century, the empire had lost roughly two-thirds of the territory it had possessed in the year 600"-From this statement we know that they had good amount of land under there control in 600, but by early eighth century they lost most of their land. Thus, all the bad things happened in the seventh century
(a) in 600 -wrong
(b) during the seventh century - CORRECT
(c) a century after the cultural achievements of the byzantine empire had been lost -Wrong
(d) soon after the revival of byzantine learning -Wrong
(e) in the century after 873 -Are you kidding me? Completely wrong

5. in the third paragraph, the author most probably provides an explanation of the apparent connections among economic, military, and cultural development in order to
In the second para the authors introduces the three "things": culture, economic development and military. In the third para the authors presents the general chronology and in the very next para refutes the chronology.
(a) suggest that the process of revival in byzantium accords with this model -Opposite of the reality
(b) set up an order of events that is then shown to be not generally applicable to the case of byzantium -CORRECT
(c) cast aspersions on traditional historical scholarship about byzantium -Wrong
(d) suggest that byzantium represents a case for which no historical precedent exists -Rubbish
(e) argue that military conquest is the paramount element in the growth of empires -In general, true; but the same is not true for byzantine empire

6. which of the following does the author mention as crucial evidence concerning the manner in which the byzantine revival began?
(a) the byzantine military revival of the 860's led to economic and cultural advances. -The author says that the social change began way back in 780s. This is the opposite of what the author thinks.
(b) the byzantine cultural revival lasted until 1453. -We are worried about the beginning and not the end
(c) the byzantine economic recovery began in the 900's. -It's too late. The recovery began in the eighth century itself, definitely not in the ninth century
(d) the revival of byzantine learning began toward the end of the eighth century. -CORRECT. The cultural, economic and military development together initiated the empire's learning in the eighth century.
(e) by the early eleventh century the byzantine empire had regained much of its lost territory. -Ok, but it doesn't tell us how the recovery began

7. according to the author, "the common explanation" (line 28) of connections between economic, military, and cultural development is
(a) revolutionary and too new to have been applied to the history of the byzantine empire -Wrong as its a general rule that applies to most of the empires, but byzantine was an exception. This wasn't a new venture.
(b) reasonable, but an antiquated theory of the nature of progress -It wasn't an outdated theory
(c) not applicable to the byzantine revival as a whole, but does perhaps accurately describe limited periods during the revival -CORRECT. It wasn't applicable to the byzantine's revival since the opposite of the explanation was applicable to the byzantine's empire. Even though the chronology was opposite, each individual element (i.e. culture, economic development and military) was important towards the learning of the byzantine empire's recovery.
(d) equally applicable to the byzantine case as a whole and to the history of military, economic, and cultural advances in ancient greece and rome -It wasn't applicable to the byzantine empire. In fact it was reverse chronology that applied to byzantine empire.
(e) essentially not helpful, because military, economic, and cultural advances are part of a single phenomenon -The connections among the three "things" are helpful, however only the chronology is different from the general.

Hope this helps !!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kudos if this helps in any way !!

Question 3

This passage discusses the "unparalleled economic and cultural revival" of the Byzantine Empire between the eighth and eleventh centuries. Question 3 asks us to complete the following sentence:

Let's take a look at the answer choices and see which one fits best:

The passage talks about the revival of the Byzantine Empire between the eighth and eleventh centuries. In the final paragraph, we're told this revival "lasted until the fall of Constantinople in 1453".

There is no information in the passage about the Byzantine military forces peaking or beginning a decline, so we cannot tell when these events took place. (A) cannot be the answer.


The Bulgarians are mentioned in the first paragraph as people that raided the Byzantines' remaining territory during the early eighth century. This is the only time the Bulgarians are mentioned, so we cannot know if the Byzantine military eliminated the Bulgarian army by the eleventh century. (B) is out.


Rome under Augustus is mentioned in the passage, this time in the second paragraph. However, this is only an example of a civilization where military, cultural, and economic advances have gone together. There is nothing in the passage to tell us whether the Byzantine military in the 11th century was comparable in size to the Roman army under Augustus. We can eliminate (C).


The final paragraph tells us:

"In the 860’s the Byzantine Empire began to recover from Arab incursions so that by 872 the military balance with the Abbasid Caliphate had been permanently altered in the empire’s favor."

This suggests the Byzantine military was stronger than that of the Abbasid Caliphate from 872 onwards. This means the Byzantine military would have been strong enough to withstand the Caliphate's forces by the 11th century.

(D) looks good, but let's take a look at (E):

There is no mention in the passage of the Byzantine military attempting to take control of the Byzantine governmental structure, so (E) cannot be our final answer.

(D) is the only answer we have not eliminated, so (D) is the answer to Question 3.

Question 6

In Question 6, we're asked:

Let's take a look at the answer choices and work out which one should be our final answer:

The final paragraph tells us the Byzantine military revival began in the 860s, but we're also told "it is not clear that military advances invariably came first". The author goes on to say the economic revival began "between 810 and 830". The military revival cannot be the beginning of the Byzantine revival if the economic revival happened beforehand. Therefore, (A) cannot be our answer.


We're interested in the manner in which the Byzantine revival began, not how long the revival lasted. (B) is out.


We're told in the final paragraph that "The beginning of the empire’s economic revival, however, can be placed between 810 and 830". This is long before the 900s mentioned in (C). Since (C) is incorrect, it cannot be our final answer.


In the final paragraph, we're told that the Byzantine revival of learning occurred before the economic revival. The passage says "A number of notable scholars and writers appeared by 788 and, by the last decade of the eighth century, a cultural revival was in full bloom". This is the earliest part of the revival mentioned in the passage.

The final sentence of the passage also tells us "In fact, the revival of Byzantine learning may itself have influenced the subsequent economic and military expansion". This suggests Byzantine learning was the first part of the culture to begin its revival -- we can keep (D) as a possible answer for now.


As in (B), this may be true but we're interested in the manner in which the Byzantine revival began. (E) tells us about some of the results of this revival, so it cannot be the answer to this question.

The only answer left standing is (D), which is the answer to Question 6.

I hope that helps!
_________________

1. Where is there any evidence that such a reversal was in fact "unique"

3. Where in the passage do they mention government structures? However, given that that byz armies were now expanding into new territories as opposed to defending the gates, one might infer what? What does "an altered military balance in one's favor" imply?

4. Seems to me the revival of learning would signify the start of the reversal, not the devastation. Is this answer consistent with you answer to number 6? what does the passage at lines 5-10 imply?

1. Which of the following best states the central idea of the passage?
(A) The Byzantine Empire was a unique case in which the usual order of military and economic revival preceding cultural revival was reversed.---never mentioned unique
(B) The economic, cultural, and military revival in the Byzantine Empire between the eighth and eleventh centuries was similar in its order to the sequence of revivals in Augustan Rome and fifth century Athens.--No it was reverse.
(C) After 810 Byzantine economic recovery spurred a military and, later, cultural expansion that lasted until 1453.--No
(D) The eighth-century revival of Byzantine learning is an inexplicable phenomenon, and its economic and military precursors have yet to be discovered.-- nothing mentioned as such in passage
(E) The revival of the Byzantine Empire between the eighth and eleventh centuries shows cultural rebirth preceding economic and military revival, the reverse of the commonly accepted order of progress.--right

3. It can be inferred from the passage that by the eleventh century the Byzantine military forces
(A) had reached their peak and begun to decline---not mentioned
(B) had eliminated the Bulgarian army--not mentioned
(C) were comparable in size to the army of Rome under Augustus---not mentioned
(D) were strong enough to withstand the Abbasid Caliphate’s military forces---mentioned
(E) had achieved control of Byzantine governmental structures--not mentioned

5. In the third paragraph, the author most probably provides an explanation of the apparent connections among economic, military, and cultural development in order to
(A) suggest that the process of revival in Byzantium accords with this model--this is true but B adds more info to it and hence A is wrong
(B) set up an order of events that is then shown to be not generally applicable to the case of Byzantium---this is true
(C) cast aspersions on traditional historical scholarship about Byzantium----para is not intended to say this
(D) suggest that Byzantium represents a case for which no historical precedent exists---too extreme
(E) argue that military conquest is the paramount element in the growth of empires---not mentioned

Hey all,
In regards to answer choices 1E and 7C
Aren't they too strong? I mean the passage suggests that the military economic, culturar order might have not been applied in the case of the BE, but there's nothing concrete about that.
What do you think about it?
Let me know,
Cheers
J

The reason the answer to 7 is C is described in the beginning of the next paragraph, "No doubt this hypothetical pattern did apply at times during the course of the recovery. Yet it is not clear that military advances invariably came first, economic advances second, and intellectual advances third." It happened at times during the revival, but still we dont know the order of the revival. Hope that helps.

The relevant sentence is: By the early eighth century, the empire had lost roughly two-thirds of the territory it had possessed in the year 600, and its remaining area was being raided by Arabs and Bulgarians, who at times threatened to take Constantinople and extinguish the empire altogether.

The key word in the question is territorial or another form, which in this case is territory. In basic terms, the sentence explains that the empire had accumulated a lot of land up to the year 600 and then lost a a significant part of it during period between 600 and early 700's (being the early 8th century). This describes choice B exactly. It's easy to choose A without a close reading (and don't forget some SC with the opening modifier!) of the relevant part of the passage.

C, D and E are clearly wrong. Well, at least to me they are.

Hope that helps

Hi All,

Is there anyone using the amazing Rhyme's strategy for RC available at this link ? how-to-destroy-reading-comprehension-passages-by-rhyme-30247.html

I was wondering how can this strategy be used to this passage since there are too many specifics (particularly in the third paragraph) ?

Could someone using the Rhyme's strategy be so kind to share his notes on the passage ?

Many thanks,

can anybody please explain why B is correct and C is wrong in the below question. Both choices are very close the author's assertion in passage -

5. in the third paragraph, the author most probably provides an explanation of the apparent connections among economic, military, and cultural development in order to
(a) suggest that the process of revival in byzantium accords with this model
(b) set up an order of events that is then shown to be not generally applicable to the case of byzantium
(c) cast aspersions on traditional historical scholarship about byzantium
(d) suggest that byzantium represents a case for which no historical precedent exists
(e) argue that military conquest is the paramount element in the growth of empires

This one was tricky.. Although we have to choose the best answer
C says that the third paragraph cast aspersions on on traditional historical scholarship about byzantiym
Well the author has mentioned the traditional/common order citing Rome and Athens and inferred through a series of events that the order of byazntiym would be the same as the traditional common order. Nowhere it is asserted that the order is basis historical knowledge about the order of byazntiym

B here is a better choice (although you might get confused that setting up of order of events happened in 2nd Para) . Actually the order is repeated in the last few lines and is denied basis the presentation of events which were in the reverse order.

Hope it is not confusing
_________________

1. which of the following best states the central idea of the passage?
(a) the byzantine empire was a unique case in which the usual order of military and economic revival preceding cultural revival was reversed. 'unique' is not justified
(b) the economic, cultural, and military revival in the byzantine empire between the eighth and eleventh centuries was similar in its order to the sequence of revivals in augustan rome and fifth-century Athens. the order is not discussed in that part of the text - economic, cultural, and military are factors that can explain the revival as they did explain the revivals in Augustan Rome and fifth-century Athens
(c) after 810 byzantine economic recovery spurred a military and, later, cultural expansion that lasted until 1453. that's the common notion that is not applicable to the case of Byzantine revival
(d) the eighth-century revival of byzantine learning is an inexplicable phenomenon, and its economic and military precursors have yet to be discovered. actually the economy and military were themselves precursors to the revival of Byzantine empire
(e) the revival of the Byzantine empire between the eighth and eleventh centuries shows cultural rebirth preceding economic and military revival, the reverse of the commonly accepted order of progress. correct


2. the primary purpose of the second paragraph is which of the following? relevant text: "To consider the Byzantine military, cultural, and economic advances as differentiated aspects of a single phenomenon is reasonable."
(a) to establish the uniqueness of the byzantine revival if anything, this part talks about the common order
(b) to show that Augustan Rome and fifth-century Athens are examples of cultural, economic, and military expansion against which all subsequent cases must be measured those two examples are mentioned to give a reason to address the three factors because they helped to explain the revivals of the two examples
(c) to suggest that cultural, economic. and military advances have tended to be closely interrelated in different societies. correct, although there's also a description given about how the aspects interrelated in Byzantine empire
(d) to argue that, while the revivals of Augustan Rome and fifth-century Athens were similar, they are unrelated to other historical examples the opposite is suggested
(e) to indicate that, wherever possible, historians should seek to make comparisons with the earliest chronological examples of revival this could be more relevant to the third passage


3. it can be inferred from the passage that by the eleventh century the Byzantine military forces
(a) had reached their peak and begun to decline "Between the eighth and eleventh centuries A. D., the Byzantine Empire staged an almost unparalleled economic and cultural revival, <...> it followed a long period of severe internal decline." - fell for the trap: no mention of military
(b) had eliminated the Bulgarian army regained the territory - yes - but there's indication of elimination
(c) were comparable in size to the army of Rome under Augustus not given
(d) were strong enough to withstand the abbasid caliphate's military forces "<...> its remaining area was being raided by Arabs and Bulgarians <...>. By the early eleventh century, however, the empire had regained almost half of its lost possessions, its new frontiers were secure, and its influence extended far beyond its borders." - this seems true
(e) had achieved control of byzantine governmental structures not sure about the part of the text that this at least tries to refer to


4. it can be inferred from the passage that the byzantine empire sustained significant territorial losses relevant text: "By the early eighth century, the empire had lost roughly two-thirds of the territory it had possessed in the year 600"
(a) in 600 refers to the date when it had a large area
(b) during the seventh century correct
(c) a century after the cultural achievements of the Byzantine Empire had been lost "In the 860’s the Byzantine Empire began to recover from Arab incursions <...>
(d) soon after the revival of Byzantine learning the revival of learning caused to improve the military that in turn caused the overall recovery, so it can't be true
(e) in the century after 873 " <...>by 872 the military balance with the Abbasid Caliphate had been permanently altered in the empire’s favor." - so this marks the revival, not a decline


5. in the third paragraph, the author most probably provides an explanation of the apparent connections among economic, military, and cultural development in order to
(a) suggest that the process of revival in Byzantium accords with this model the model was reversed
(b) set up an order of events that is then shown to be not generally applicable to the case of Byzantium correct
(c) cast aspersions on traditional historical scholarship about Byzantium if anything, this answer turns away from the central idea -scholarship was just a detail
(d) suggest that Byzantium represents a case for which no historical precedent exists too strong: other occurrences were not discussed
(e) argue that military conquest is the paramount element in the growth of empires too broad, and in this case, it wasn't the paramount factor


6. which of the following does the author mention as crucial evidence concerning the manner in which the Byzantine revival began? relevant text: Finally, the Byzantine revival of learning appears to have begun even earlier. <...> Thus the commonly expected order of military revival followed by economic and then by cultural recovery was reversed in Byzantium.
(a) the Byzantine military revival of the 860's led to economic and cultural advances.
(b) the Byzantine cultural revival lasted until 1453.
(c) the Byzantine economic recovery began in the 900's.
(d) the revival of Byzantine learning began toward the end of the eighth century. correct
(e) by the early eleventh century the Byzantine empire had regained much of its lost territory.


7. according to the author, "the common explanation" (line 28) of connections between economic, military, and cultural development is relevant text: The common explanation of these apparent connections in the case of Byzantium would run like this: <...> Therefore, Byzantine military achievements led to economic advances, which in turn led to cultural revival.
(a) revolutionary and too new to have been applied to the history of the Byzantine empire actually the common explanation was introduced as possibly suitable to explain the revival of Byzantine empire
(b) reasonable, but an antiquated theory of the nature of progress not old, but incorrect theory as the connection was reversed
(c) not applicable to the byzantine revival as a whole, but does perhaps accurately describe limited periods during the revival No doubt this hypothetical pattern did apply at times during the course of the recovery. <...> In fact, the revival of Byzantine learning may itself have influenced the subsequent economic and military expansion - so this choice is correct
(d) equally applicable to the Byzantine case as a whole and to the history of military, economic, and cultural advances in ancient Greece and Rome if the case of Byzantine was reverse, then clearly this cannot be so
(e) essentially not helpful, because military, economic, and cultural advances are part of a single phenomenon they were indeed helpful

P1 - How an empire came to such a condition and how revived.
P2 - Factors contributed to this revival and why, usefulness?
P3 - sequence of individual factors.

1. which of the following best states the central idea of the passage?

Only E is covering the summary from all 3 paras.

(e) the revival of the byzantine empire between the eighth and eleventh centuries shows cultural rebirth preceding economic and military revival, the reverse of the commonly accepted order of progress.

------------------------------------------------

2. the primary purpose of the second paragraph is which of the following?

Therefore, Byzantine military achievements led to economic advances, which in turn led to cultural revival. ---- Consider these lines into account.

(c) to suggest that cultural, economic. and military advances have tended to be closely interrelated in different societies.
-----------------------------------------------

3. it can be inferred from the passage that by the eleventh century the byzantine military forces

872 the "military balance with the Abbasid Caliphate" had been permanently altered in the empire’s favor.

(d) were strong enough to withstand the abbasid caliphate's military forces
--------------------------------------------------
4. it can be inferred from the passage that the byzantine empire sustained significant territorial losses

(b) during the seventh century --- 600 - 700 is 7nth century --- best answer.

----------------------------------------------
5. in the third paragraph, the author most probably provides an explanation of the apparent connections among economic, military, and cultural development in order to\

No doubt this hypothetical pattern did apply at times during the course of the recovery. Yet it is not clear that military advances invariably came first, economic advances second, and intellectual advances third.

(b) set up an order of events that is then shown to be not generally applicable to the case of byzantium

---------------------------------------------

6. which of the following does the author mention as crucial evidence concerning the manner in which the byzantine revival began?

In the 860’s the Byzantine Empire began to recover from Arab incursions so that by 872 the military balance with the Abbasid Caliphate had been permanently altered in the empire’s favor.

(d) the revival of byzantine learning began toward the end of the eighth century.
---------------------------------------------
7. according to the author, "the common explanation" (line 28) of connections between economic, military, and cultural development is

Therefore, Byzantine military achievements led to economic advances, which in turn led to cultural revival.

(c) not applicable to the byzantine revival as a whole, but does perhaps accurately describe limited periods during the revival


---------------------------------------------------
_________________

A. Statement ‘a’ is somewhat similar to statement ‘e’ but the statement ‘a’ depicts the military, economic and cultural revival of Byzantine Empire unique which is never mentioned by the author in the passage. The author mentions in the last few lines of the passage that the commonly expected order of military revival followed by economic and then by cultural recovery was reversed in Byzantium but uniqueness is nowhere mentioned in the passage. Hence, a could not be the answer.
B. It is not mentioned in the passage that Rome under Augustus had the same pattern of military, economic and cultural revival as that of Byzantine Empire. The only thing mentioned in the passage about Rome under Augustus is that the military, economic and cultural revival of the empire went together or these were differentiated aspects of a single phenomenon.
C.Cultural expansion in Byzantine Empire started way before military and economic revival. Hence, statement ‘c’ is wrong.
D.The revival of Byzantine Empire is comprehensively discussed in the passage and it is clearly mentioned that economic and military expansion followed the cultural expansion in the state.
E.Statement ‘e’ best captures the central idea of the passage as things are rightly mentioned in this statement. Hence, ‘e’ is the answer.

2) Second paragraph of the passage talks specifically about the relation between military, economic and cultural revival of a state. The paragraph starts by stating that these three forms of expansion are differentiated aspects of the same phenomenon which is followed by examples of Rome under Augustus and fifth-century Athens’ revival. In the end of the paragraph, Byzantine’s revival is discussed which also signifies a connection between these three forms of expansion. Hence, option ‘c’ best states the purpose of second paragraph.

3) In the 860’s the Byzantine Empire began to recover from Arab incursions so that by 872 the military balance with the Abbasid Caliphate had been permanently altered in the empire’s favour.” This statement from the third paragraph of the passage suggests that Byzantium were strong enough to withstand the Abbasid Caliphate’s military forces. Hence, ‘d’ is the answer.

1. A. Statement ‘a’ is somewhat similar to statement ‘e’ but the statement ‘a’ depicts the military, economic and cultural revival of Byzantine Empire unique which is never mentioned by the author in the passage. The author mentions in the last few lines of the passage that the commonly expected order of military revival followed by economic and then by cultural recovery was reversed in Byzantium but uniqueness is nowhere mentioned in the passage. Hence, a could not be the answer.
B. It is not mentioned in the passage that Rome under Augustus had the same pattern of military, economic and cultural revival as that of Byzantine Empire. The only thing mentioned in the passage about Rome under Augustus is that the military, economic and cultural revival of the empire went together or these were differentiated aspects of a single phenomenon.
C.Cultural expansion in Byzantine Empire started way before military and economic revival. Hence, statement ‘c’ is wrong.
D.The revival of Byzantine Empire is comprehensively discussed in the passage and it is clearly mentioned that economic and military expansion followed the cultural expansion in the state.
E.Statement ‘e’ best captures the central idea of the passage as things are rightly mentioned in this statement. Hence, ‘e’ is the answer.

Second paragraph of the passage talks specifically about the relation between military, economic and cultural revival of a state. The paragraph starts by stating that these three forms of expansion are differentiated aspects of the same phenomenon which is followed by examples of Rome under Augustus and fifth-century Athens’ revival. In the end of the paragraph, Byzantine’s revival is discussed which also signifies a connection between these three forms of expansion. Hence, option ‘c’ best states the purpose of second paragraph.

3. A. Paragraph 2 & 3 talks about how Byzantium military revived and took over its enemies and their territories in the ninth century. It is nowhere mentioned in the passage that their military power started declining in the eleventh century.
B. No mention of the elimination of Bulgarian army is made in the passage.
C. No such comparison is made in the passage.
D. “In the 860’s the Byzantine Empire began to recover from Arab incursions so that by 872 the military balance with the Abbasid Caliphate had been permanently altered in the empire’s favour.” This statement from the third paragraph of the passage suggests that Byzantium were strong enough to withstand the Abbasid Caliphate’s military forces. Hence, ‘d’ is the answer.
E.Byzantine governmental structure is not talked about in the passage.

A. Paragraph 1 mentions that Byzantine lost two-third of its territory that it possessed in 600. So, Byzantine didn’t lose territory in 600.
B. It is mentioned in the first paragraph that Byzantine lost two-third of its possessed territory by the early eight century which means that the loss of its territory must have been started in the seventh century. So, Byzantine must have suffered significant territorial losses during seventh century. Hence, ‘b’ is the answer.
C.There is no mention of the time when Byzantine lost its cultural achievements. So, this statement doesn’t help us with the knowledge of the time period when byzantine suffered territorial losses.
D. Byzantine learning started in the end of eight century while it had lost two-third of its possessed territories by the beginning of eight century. So, statement ‘d’ is wrong.
E. Byzantine lost its possessed territories by the early eight century. Hence, ‘e’ is wrong.