Search results
May 6, 2024 · Byzantine Empire. Byzantine Empire, the eastern half of the Roman Empire, which survived for a thousand years after the western half had crumbled into various feudal kingdoms and which finally fell to Ottoman Turkish onslaughts in 1453. The very name Byzantine illustrates the misconceptions to which the empire’s history has often been subject ...
- Istanbul
Istanbul, largest city and principal seaport of Turkey....
- Byzantine Empire Summary
Byzantine Empire, Empire, southeastern and southern Europe...
- Constantine I
Constantine reigned during the 4th century CE and is known...
- From 867 to The Ottoman Conquest
From 867 to the Ottoman conquest The Macedonian era:...
- The 6th Century
Byzantine Empire - East Rome, Christianity, Constantinople:...
- The Age of Iconoclasm
Byzantine Empire - Iconoclasm, Religion, Empire: For more...
- Diocletian, Constantine, Reforms
Byzantine Empire - Diocletian, Constantine, Reforms: The...
- The Successors of Justinian: 565–610
The aging Heraclius was unequal to the task of containing...
- The Last Years of Justinian I
Byzantine Empire - Justinian I, Constantinople, Legacy:...
- Pillars of Heracles
Pillars of Heracles, two promontories at the eastern end of...
- Istanbul
- Overview
- From Rome to Byzantium
- The early Byzantine state
- A changing empire
Read about the continuities and changes between the Roman Empire and the Byzantine Empire and complete guided practice.
The fall of the Roman Empire was a pivotal moment in world history. But we sometimes forget that part of the Roman Empire continued on. Even though the Western Roman Empire, which was centered around Rome, collapsed, the Eastern Roman Empire survived as the Byzantine Empire.
The Byzantine Empire lasted for a millennium after the fall of the Roman Empire, ending with the Ottoman conquests in 1453. While the Roman Empire's capital was Rome (for most of its history), the Byzantine Empire’s capital city was Constantinople, which was previously called Byzantium, and today is Istanbul. The capital was well-positioned near active trade routes connecting east and west. Constantinople was named after Emperor Constantine I, the first Byzantine emperor.
In this article, we're going to look at some of the continuities between the Roman Empire and the Byzantine Empire. We'll also examine some of the changes that occurred, transforming the Eastern Roman Empire into the Byzantine Empire.
The Roman Empire in the east transformed into the Byzantine Empire over time, so it's pretty hard to neatly separate the histories of the two empires, but most scholars agree that Emperor Constantine's reign was the start of the Byzantine Empire.
Constantine—who ruled from 324 CE to 337 CE—made some significant changes to the Roman Empire. Two of these changes were the new capital at Byzantium and the new Christian character of the empire (Constantine legalized Christianity and eventually converted himself). These changes eventually created a distinct culture which would characterize the Byzantine Empire after the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476.
Even so, people living under the Byzantine Empire continued to see themselves as Romans and continued to refer to their empire as the Roman Empire; the terms Byzantine Empire and Eastern Roman Empire were created much later.
Once the Western Roman Empire fell to Germanic conquerors in 476 CE, the Eastern Empire continued on as what historians would later refer to as the Byzantine Empire.
The first truly strong Byzantine Emperor was Justinian—who ruled the Byzantine Empire from 527 CE to 565 CE. He was able to reclaim much of the Western Empire during his reign.
Emperor Justinian also built upon Roman ideas when he put forth a unified Roman legal code. Prior to his reign, Roman laws had differed from region to region and many contradicted one another.
It was during Justinian’s reign that many of the most notable buildings and works of art in the Byzantine Empire were completed. In Constantinople, the Hagia Sophia was constructed under Justinian’s orders. At the time, it was the largest church in the world. Justinian also contributed to Constantinople’s growth by creating trade routes linking the capital to major cities to the east and west.
Stop and consider: What were some of the ways the Byzantine Empire changed during Justinian's reign?
Choose all answers that apply:
Even after Justinian’s efforts to reunify the Byzantine Empire, reconquer territory, and institute reforms, the stability of the Byzantine Empire was at risk. Attacks from neighboring groups—including the Persians, Slavs, Arabs, and Turkic steppe people—weakened the integrity of the empire. The empire also lacked revenues and struggled to keep up with mounting military expenses.
Emperor Heraclius’—who ruled from 610 CE to 641 CE—responded to these threats with a new set of reforms. He restructured the military, paying for it by clamping down on corruption and increasing taxes. He also started putting less gold in coins so he could mint more of them, enabling him to pay more soldiers.
Despite these reforms, wars with the Arabs and the Slavs significantly damaged the Byzantine Empire and reduced its territory drastically. Though the government organization had stayed very much the same since the time of the Romans, the Byzantine Empire began to transform in more drastic ways in the aftermath of these devastating wars.
How did it change? Let's read this passage written by Byzantine scholar Robert Browning:
Since the days of Diocletian and Constantine, at the turn of the third and fourth centuries, rigid separation of civil and military authority had been the rule. Civilian governors of provinces had no authority over troops stationed in their area. Army commanders had none over the civilian population. [...] It was a system designed to keep generals from dabbling in politics and staging military coups, and it worked. But it was cumbersome, it depended on the cooperation of the governing bodies of cities, which had to undertake much of the execution of government policy, and it made coordination of military and civil policy slow and difficult. Now that no region of the empire was safe from attack, something different was needed. [...] Territories still under Byzantine control were formed into military districts under the command of a strategos (army leader), who was responsible for all aspects of government, civil and military. [...] These new military districts were called themes, a word whose primary connotation is that of a division of troops.
Stop and consider: According to Robert Browning, how did the government administration change?
People living under the early Byzantine Empire saw themselves as Romans, but the culture of the empire changed over the centuries. As it incorporated Greek and Christian culture, it transformed into a unique Byzantine culture. Additionally, the Byzantine Empire was influenced by Latin, Coptic, Armenian, and Persian cultures.
The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was one of the most influential and long-lasting civilizations in history. It existed for over a thousand years, from the 4th century AD until the fall of Constantinople in 1453. This comprehensive overview aims to explore the various stages of the empire’s evolution, highlighting ...
Jun 22, 2018 · The Byzantine Empire was continuously expanding and shrinking over the centuries, and this geography influenced art as new ideas became more readily accessible over time. Ideas and art objects were continuously spread between cultures through the medium of royal gifts to fellow rulers, diplomatic embassies, religious missions, and souvenir ...
- Mark Cartwright
People also ask
How did the Byzantine Empire change over time?
What happened between the Roman Empire and the Byzantine Empire?
How long did the Byzantine Empire last?
What influenced the Byzantine Empire?
Apr 17, 2018 · Article. Daily life in the Byzantine Empire, like almost everywhere else before or since, largely depended on one's birth and the social circumstances of one's parents. There were some opportunities for advancement based on education, the accumulation of wealth, and gaining favour from a more powerful sponsor or mentor.
The period of Late Antiquity witnessed the height of two great competing empires. The Roman Empire morphed into the Byzantine Empire, possessing a culture that looked to both its Roman past and its Christian present. This duality was exemplified in the reign of the emperor Justinian, who sought to reconquer the old empire.
