Identify the special features of Byzantium, peculiar only to it. Make a conclusion about the originality of the Byzantine Empire.

Power – the power of the basileus is not inherited. There is a separate church authority.
Culture – heritage of the Roman Empire: many crafts
Economy – developed trade, heritage of the Roman Empire
Division – there is a layer of peasants and artisans, personally free, above them there is a class of officials appointed from above, then the emperor. In parallel, there is church authority.
Conclusion: Byzantium became the heir to the Roman Empire in economic terms, and also inherited the system of power and division of society (in part). However, she was not Catholic; Orthodoxy separated her from the rest of the European world.