<P> The Fall of Constantinople in 1453 fueled the era later commonly known as "Renaissance" in Italy . During this period, refugee Byzantine scholars were principally responsible for carrying, in person and in writing, ancient Greek grammatical, literary studies, mathematical, and astronomical knowledge to early Renaissance Italy . They also brought with them classical learning and texts such of botany, medicine and zoology, and the Greek scholars brought important inputs to the West such of the works of Dioscorides and John Philoponus' criticism of Aristotelian physics . The latter served as an inspiration for Galileo Galilei in the Scientific Revolution . </P> <P> The Byzantine Empire was a theocracy, said to be ruled by God working through the Emperor . Jennifer Fretland VanVoorst argues, "The Byzantine Empire became a theocracy in the sense that Christian values and ideals were the foundation of the empire's political ideals and heavily entwined with its political goals ." Steven Runciman says in his book on The Byzantine Theocracy (2004): </P> <Dl> <Dd> The constitution of the Byzantine Empire was based on the conviction that it was the earthly copy of the Kingdom of Heaven . Just as God ruled in Heaven, so the Emperor, made in his image, should rule on earth and carry out his commandments...It saw itself as a universal empire . Ideally, it should embrace all the peoples of the Earth who, ideally, should all be members of the one true Christian Church, its own Orthodox Church . Just as man was made in God's image, so man's kingdom on Earth was made in the image of the Kingdom of Heaven ." The survival of the Empire in the East assured an active role of the Emperor in the affairs of the Church . The Byzantine state inherited from pagan times the administrative, and financial routine of administering religious affairs, and this routine was applied to the Christian Church . Following the pattern set by Eusebius of Caesarea, the Byzantines viewed the Emperor as a representative or messenger of Christ, responsible particularly for the propagation of Christianity among pagans, and for the "externals" of the religion, such as administration and finances . As Cyril Mango points out, the Byzantine political thinking can be summarised in the motto "One God, one empire, one religion". </Dd> </Dl> <Dd> The constitution of the Byzantine Empire was based on the conviction that it was the earthly copy of the Kingdom of Heaven . Just as God ruled in Heaven, so the Emperor, made in his image, should rule on earth and carry out his commandments...It saw itself as a universal empire . Ideally, it should embrace all the peoples of the Earth who, ideally, should all be members of the one true Christian Church, its own Orthodox Church . Just as man was made in God's image, so man's kingdom on Earth was made in the image of the Kingdom of Heaven ." The survival of the Empire in the East assured an active role of the Emperor in the affairs of the Church . The Byzantine state inherited from pagan times the administrative, and financial routine of administering religious affairs, and this routine was applied to the Christian Church . Following the pattern set by Eusebius of Caesarea, the Byzantines viewed the Emperor as a representative or messenger of Christ, responsible particularly for the propagation of Christianity among pagans, and for the "externals" of the religion, such as administration and finances . As Cyril Mango points out, the Byzantine political thinking can be summarised in the motto "One God, one empire, one religion". </Dd>

Why did byzantine emperors get involved in religious disputes
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