<P> Koine Greek had become a shared language around the eastern Mediterranean and into Asia Minor as a consequence of the conquests of Alexander the Great . The `` linguistic frontier '' dividing the Latin West and the Greek East passed through the Balkan peninsula . Educated Romans , particularly those of the ruling elite , studied and often achieved a high degree of fluency in Greek , which was useful for diplomatic communications in the East even beyond the borders of the Empire . The international use of Greek was one condition that enabled the spread of Christianity , as indicated for example by the choice of Greek as the language of the Epistles of Paul and its use for the ecumenical councils of the Christian Roman Empire . With the dissolution of the Empire in the West , Greek became the dominant language of the Eastern Roman Empire , later known as the Byzantine Empire . </P>
<P> Koine Greek had become a shared language around the eastern Mediterranean and into Asia Minor as a consequence of the conquests of Alexander the Great . The `` linguistic frontier '' dividing the Latin West and the Greek East passed through the Balkan peninsula . Educated Romans , particularly those of the ruling elite , studied and often achieved a high degree of fluency in Greek , which was useful for diplomatic communications in the East even beyond the borders of the Empire . The international use of Greek was one condition that enabled the spread of Christianity , as indicated for example by the choice of Greek as the language of the Epistles of Paul and its use for the ecumenical councils of the Christian Roman Empire . With the dissolution of the Empire in the West , Greek became the dominant language of the Eastern Roman Empire , later known as the Byzantine Empire . </P>
the most common language in the eastern mediterranean during the height of the roman empire was
the most common language in the eastern mediterranean during the height of the roman empire was
Koine Greek
Koine Greek