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May 6, 2024 · The Byzantine Empire existed from approximately 395 CE—when the Roman Empire was split—to 1453. It became one of the leading civilizations in the world before falling to an Ottoman Turkish onslaught in the 15th century.
- Istanbul
Climate. The prevailing northeast wind, or poyraz, comes...
- 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
The Byzantine capital was founded at Constantinople by Constantine I (r. 306-337). The Byzantine Empire varied in size over the centuries, at one time or another, possessing territories located in Italy, Greece, the Balkans, Levant, Asia Minor, and North Africa. More about: Byzantine Empire.
- Mark Cartwright
- Publishing Director
- The Name 'Byzantine' & Dates
- Constantinople
- Byzantine Emperors
- Byzantine Government
- Corpus Juris Civilis
- Byzantine Society
- Territories of The Byzantine Empire
- The Byzantine Church
- Byzantine Art
- Byzantine Architecture
The name 'Byzantine' was coined by 16th-century historians based on the fact that the capital city's first name was Byzantium before it changed to Constantinople (modern Istanbul). It was and continues to be a less-than-perfect but convenient label which differentiates the Eastern Roman Empire from the Western Roman Empire, especially important aft...
The beginnings of the Byzantine Empire lie in the decision of Roman emperor Constantine I to relocate the capital of the Roman Empire from Rome to Byzantium on 11 May 330. The popular name Constantinople or 'City of Constantine' soon replaced the emperor's own official choice of 'New Rome'. The new capital had an excellent natural harbour on the Go...
The Byzantine emperor or basileus (or more rarely basilissa for empress) resided in the magnificent Great Palace of Constantinople and ruled as an absolute monarch over a vast empire. As such, the basileusneeded the assistance of an expert government and a widespread and efficient bureaucracy. Although an absolute ruler, an emperor was expected - b...
The Byzantine government followed the patterns established in imperial Rome. The emperor was all-powerful but was still expected to consult such important bodies as the Senate. The Senate in Constantinople, unlike in Rome, was composed of men who had risen through the ranks of the military service, and so there was no senatorial class as such. With...
Byzantine government was greatly assisted by the creation of the Justinian Code or Corpus Juris Civilis (Corpus of Civil Law) by Justinian I. The corpus, drawn up by a panel of legal experts, collected, edited, and revised the huge body of Roman laws which had been accumulated over the centuries - a massive number of imperial edicts, legal opinions...
The Byzantines gave great importance to the family name, inherited wealth, and the respectable birth of an individual. The individuals in the higher levels of society possessed these three things. Wealth came from land ownership or the administration of land under an individual administrator's jurisdiction. However, there was no aristocracy of bloo...
The geographical extent of the Byzantine Empire changed over the centuries as the military successes and failures of individual emperors fluctuated. Territories which were held in the earlier part of the empire's history included Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, and Palestine. Greece was less important in practical terms than it was as a symbol of th...
Paganism continued to be practised for centuries after the foundation of Byzantium, but it was Christianitywhich became the defining feature of Byzantine culture, profoundly affecting its politics, foreign relations, and art and architecture. The Church was headed by the Patriarch or bishop of Constantinople, who was appointed or removed by the emp...
Byzantine artists moved away from the naturalism of the Classical tradition towards the more abstract and universal, displaying a definite preference for two-dimensional representations. The rarity of signatures on works of art produced before the 13th century suggests that artists did not enjoy a high social status. Artworks which promoted a relig...
Byzantine architects continued to employ the Classical orders in their buildings and took ideas from the Near East, amongst other places. Designs became more eclectic than in antiquity, especially given the common habit of reusing the materials from older buildings for new structures. There was, too, a definite emphasis on function over form and a ...
- Mark Cartwright
In the 9th century, during the Arab–Byzantine wars, the Byzantine Empire used a semaphore system of beacons to transmit messages from the border with the Abbasid Caliphate across Asia Minor to the Byzantine capital, Constantinople. The main line of beacons stretched over some 720 km (450 mi).
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In 716, after years of preparations, the Arabs, led by Maslama ibn Abd al-Malik, invaded Byzantine Asia Minor. The Arabs initially hoped to exploit Byzantine civil strife and made common cause with the general Leo III the Isaurian, who had risen up against Emperor Theodosius III.
May 10, 2022 · The Byzantine Empire, also known as Byzantium, refers to the eastern half of the Roman Empire that survived for nearly 1,000 years after the western half of the empire collapsed.
The Byzantine Empire reached its height under the Macedonian emperors (of Greek descent) of the late 9th, 10th, and early 11th centuries, when it gained control over the Adriatic Sea, southern Italy, and all of the territory of tsar Samuel of Bulgaria. The cities of the empire expanded, and affluence spread across the provinces because of the ...
