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

Question

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 
 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.
(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.
(C) after 810 byzantine economic recovery spurred a military and, later, cultural expansion that lasted until 1453.
(D) the eighth-century revival of byzantine learning is an inexplicable phenomenon, and its economic and military precursors have yet to be discovered.
(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 
  2. the primary purpose of the second paragraph is which of the following?

(A) to establish the uniqueness of the byzantine revival 
(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
(C) to suggest that cultural, economic. and military advances have tended to be closely interrelated in different societies.
(D) to argue that, while the revivals of augustan rome and fifth-century athens were similar, they are unrelated to other historical examples
(E) to indicate that, wherever possible, historians should seek to make comparisons with the earliest chronological examples of revival

3 
 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 
(B) had eliminated the bulgarian army
(C) were comparable in size to the army of rome under augustus 
(D) were strong enough to withstand the abbasid caliphate's military forces 
(E) had achieved control of byzantine governmental structures

4 
 4. it can be inferred from the passage that the byzantine empire sustained significant territorial losses

(A) in 600 
(B) during the seventh century
(C) a century after the cultural achievements of the byzantine empire had been lost 
(D) soon after the revival of byzantine learning 
(E) in the century after 873

5 
 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

6 
 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.
(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.
(E) by the early eleventh century the byzantine empire had regained much of its lost territory.

7 
 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
(B) reasonable, but an antiquated theory of the nature of progress
(C) not applicable to the byzantine revival as a whole, but does perhaps accurately describe limited periods during the revival
(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
(E) essentially not helpful, because military, economic, and cultural advances are part of a single phenomenon

gmatexam439 · Accepted Answer

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 !!

GMATNinja · Answer

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!

esha12012000 · Answer

Can you please explain the correct choices in q- 3 nd q-6 ?

rocky620 · Answer

Hi experts,

For Q 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.

The correct answer is choice B, set up an order of events that is then shown to be not generally applicable to the case of byzantium.

The third para does gives and order of events but that order is applicable to Byzantium. The order mentioned in second para is not applicable.

Also for q 7. according to the author, "the common explanation" (line 28) of connections between economic, military, and cultural development is..

I am unable to understand why choice C is correct.

Kindly help.

GMATNinja · Answer

Questions 5 & 7 
 
It appears that there is an error in the way that the passage was initially posted and the third paragraph should have started with “The common explanation....” We've updated the initial post to include the right number of paragraphs.

Now, the third paragraph describes the typical order of events: first military revival, then economic revival, and finally cultural revival.

However, the author goes on, in the final paragraph, to indicate that this order was reversed in the case of Byzantium. Here, cultural revival was followed by economic revival and finally military revival.

So (B) is the correct answer for question 5.

For question 7, let’s take a closer look at (C):

After describing “the common explanation” at the end of the second paragraph, the author goes on to say this at the beginning of the third 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.

So, while “the common explanation” does appear to apply  at times , it does not apply to the entirety of the revival. This is exactly what (C) says, so (C) is the correct answer for question 7.

I hope that helps!

krittapat · Answer

GMATNinja   VeritasKarishma   egmat   MartyTargetTestPrep   VeritasPrepBrian   ChrisLele   GMATGuruNY   KyleWiddison   CrackVerbalGMAT   DmitryFarber   VeritasPrepHailey

Could you please help explain what's the difference between choice A and E in the question 1?
I understand how choice E is right, but I don't understand how A is wrong. Is there any subtle meaning in the choice A?

Also, I would like your explanation for choice B in the question 4 as well.
Since I refer to this part of the passage " By the early eighth century , the empire had lost roughly two-thirds of the territory it had possessed in the year 600". Since it's said that Byzantine had lost two-thirds of its territory by the early eighth century, how could we infer that byzantine empire sustained significant territorial losses during the seventh century?

Again, thanks for all your dedication to answer my questions.

GMATNinja · Answer

Question 1 
Take a look at the exact wording of (A) for Question 1:
 
The key word here is "unique," which means "the  only  one of its kind."

The author states that "the commonly expected order of military revival followed by economic and then by cultural recovery was reversed in Byzantium." But do we know that this reversal a completely  unique  case?

Nope, there's simply no evidence that this reversal ONLY occurred in Byzantium, and has not occurred in any other time or place throughout history. Eliminate (A).

(E) uses softer language that is a much better fit for the central idea of the passage:
 
(E) is the correct answer to question 1.

Question 4 
 
You've found a relevant piece of the passage -- if the empire had a bunch of territory in the year 600, and then lost 2/3 of that territory by "the early eighth century," then when did that loss actually occur? It's reasonable to infer that the empire lost territory during the seventh century.

A confusing aspect of English is that the "seventh century" actually refers to the years of 601 to 700 AD.

So the timeline goes something like this:

Year 600: The Byzantine Empire has a lot of territory 
 Year 601-700 (seventh century): The Byzantine Empire  loses  a lot of that territory 
 By the EARLY 700's (early 8th century): The Byzantine Empire  has lost  a lot of that territory 
 During the 800's (9th century): The Byzantine Empire goes through a revival, starting with cultural factors, then economic factors, and then military victories.

(B) is the correct answer to question 4.

VerbalBot · Answer

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

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

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