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The Byzantine Emperors were absolute rulers, they were both the head of state and the Church, in a form of government known as Caesaropapism . <ref>Runciman, Steven. "Byzantium, Russia and Caesaropapism." Canadian Slavonic Papers 2, no. 1 (1957), p. 9</ref>. They were seen as God’s representative on earth and defying the authority of the Emperor was, therefore, a mortal sin. This meant that the Byzantine Emperor was as usual as not an autocrat. Vladimir and his successor adopted the political ideology of Byzantium. This meant that they were both heads of state and of the Orthodox Church and this meant that they were at least in theory the absolute rulers in their territories and they were answerable only to God. Autocracy was considered the best form of government. This created a society in Russia where obedience and hierarchy, was seen as divinely sanctioned. Moreover, the early Rus rulers adopted the law codes of Byzantium, replacing the traditional law codes and this further enhanced their power over their subjects .<ref>Billington, p. 178</ref>. There are many who believe that the very autocratic nature of Russian political culture down the centuries owed much to the Caesaropapism’ that was imported into Kievan Rus, during the Christianization of the state.