For thousands of years, the people of the earth have used art, in different forms, to express themselves and their cultures. The Byzantine empire and the Islamic Civilization both had very different artistic beliefs and ideas. Since the Islamic Civilization is comprised of Muslims, their artistic forms can not contain the face of Mohammad. They did not just have paintings. They had arts that include but are not limited to: Pottery, Calligraphy, and Iconography. The Byzantine Empire were comprised of Christians, after Constantine forced the people of the Byzantine Empire to convert to Christianity.  The Byzantine Empire and Islamic Civilization differentiated in many ways.

From the information that was depicted from Processional Cross, it is a elaborately decorated cross that was widely used in religious, military, and imperial processions during the Middle Byzantine era. The Cross (23 5/8 x 17 3/4 in.) itself was silver with gilding and gilded silver medallions.Usually, the inscriptions in Greek shows the important (holy) figures in archangles Michael and Gabriel, the guardians of heavens. The Photo shows the traditional figures on behaf of the entire world itself. The photo shows the Virgin Mary, Mother of Christ, and John the Forerunner (Saint John the Baptist). The back of the cross shows it as a gift of a Bishop. It was most likely given for the honor of Saint Thalelaios, a physician, who is shown in the back central medallion. On the left and right sides are the 2 saints (Nicholas and John Chrysostom, which were two of the most important early church fathers). This cross signifies the entire religious beliefs of the Byzantine empire.

                       
     (Front)                                                                                          (Back)

The development of sophisticated calligraphy as an art form is not unique to Islamic culture. Other examples include Chinese and Japanese calligraphy and illuminated bibles from north-west Europe including the famous Book of Kells. In the Islamic world, however, calligraphy has been used to a much greater extent and in astonishingly varied and imaginative ways, which have taken the written word far beyond pen and paper into all art forms and materials. For these reasons, calligraphy may be counted as a uniquely original feature of Islamic art. The genius of Islamic calligraphy lies not only in the endless creativity and versatility, but also in the balance struck by calligraphers between transmitting a text and expressing its meaning through a formal aesthetic code.

The Arabic language, and subsequently the art of calligraphy, is held in great esteem by Muslims because Arabic was the language in which the Qu’ran was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad in the 7th century. The Arabic text of the Qu’ran is sacred to Muslims, and its high status gave rise to an associated respect for books in general. However, it is important to remember that while the Qu’ran’s holy status provides an explanation for calligraphy's importance, by no means all Arabic calligraphy is religious in content. In general, calligraphic inscriptions on works of art comprise one or more of the following types of text