Describe byzantine society'

The Byzantine Empire was a theocracy, said to be ruled by God working through the Emperor. Many people were poor and they only wore simple clothes and ate a small diet of bread, cheese, olive oil, and vegetables. Mealtimes were important family occasions. Basic writing and reading skills were common among most people. Government and higher society members received better education that common folk. Most common people were farmers, who raised goats and sheep. Houses were simple and made out of wood and brick but wealthier families lived in stone mansions. Children married young, girls at 12 and boys at 14. The streets were filled with vendors, preachers, beggars, acrobats, and lunatics, much like a modern metropolis today. Bodies of the dead were mourned and buried in planned cemeteries.