IntroductionTheurge for development both intellectually and commercially has spurned man togreater pedestal not only for survival on the planet but also to extremes ofbeing a dominant species. Pollard’s chapter 8 of Worlds together worlds apartdemonstrates how clans, groups, and tribes in both Roman and Han Empiresbetween 300 and 600 CE thrived on a premise of spirituality acrossAfro-Eurasian territory. The same chapter clarifies that spiritual advancementwas molded within imperial customs both benefitting; from morality andintegration of dispersed communities. Religion fostered morality of the societyby reconciling brethren through guidance from religious leaders who gaveanswers when war and pessimism to understand the unknown arose, thus religionand religious leaders could both integrated and broadly scatter societies aswell. Rome’s stumbling leadership gave in toinvasions by barbarians causing the people to look to the Christianity faithfor the provision of the order, an event that led to the papacy rising as aruler. Martyrs witnessed to the believers who looked to them as theirconnection to the gods-omnipresent figures whom man pleased with loving deeds-martyrs shed blood for by obeying scriptural laws conflicting the Roman lawsthus punishment.
I believe the same optimism had Constantine place a Christiansymbol on his soldiers’ shields on a battle that made him emperor. Unlikeformer emperors before him, he treated Christianity best by granting bishopsprivileges they exploited and used as stepping stone to universalizeChristianity. In addition, he convened all bishops to the council where theyestablished a creed that ended the wildly debated contradictions about theconduct of Christian believers. His monumental legacy of conversion of theentire Roman Empire to Christianity is furthered by his successor Justinian.
Who after achieving what he sought most-outdoing all previous Roman Emperors byreforming Roman Laws to the “Roman Law”- honored dearly the cohesion ofChristianity and imperial culture by building a church of the Hagia Sophia inConstantinople whose columns and size portrayed this relationship.Theintellectual and commercial prowess of China controlling the Silk Road renderedit porous to populations and cultures of its far western terrain-Buddhism.Buddhism transformed Chinese Empire after spreading along the Silk Road fromIndia to China via Central Asia because of booming business. In as much as theVedic religion (Brahmanism) which united people of South Asia explained allproblems of theology, it did not claim universal faith until its transformationthat produced Hinduism. Even after adopting Buddhism and Jainist practices ofassociating with agricultural societies as opposed to prior pastoral past ofanimal ritual sacrifices, Hinduism still maintained a monotheistic perspective.Since people lacked imperial systems they developed dependence on religious andsocial institutions (e.g.
castes and guilds) to maintain civic order a reasonwhy Buddhism and Jainism gained populace in cities and commercial places
