Byzantine Empire

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia This article is about the medieval Roman empire. For other uses, see Byzantine (disambiguation).

Roman Empire
, Basileia Rhmain, Rhmana Imperium Romanum, Romania 3951453

Flag of the Empire Imperial emblem under (14th century) the Palaiologoi

The Empire at its greatest extent under Justinian in 550

Capital Language(s)

Religion

Government Emperor - 395408 - 14491453 Legislature

Constantinople1 Medieval Greek, Latin Roman paganism until 391, Eastern Orthodox Christianity tolerated after the Edict of Milan in 313 and state religion after 380 Autocracy Arcadius Constantine XI Byzantine Senate

Historical era

Late AntiquityLate Middle Ages

- Diocletian splits imperial 285 administration between east and west - Death of January 17, 395 Theodosius I - The deposition of Romulus Augustulus, nominal emperor in the west, brings 476 formal division of the Roman Empire to an end - Pope Leo III, hostile to the rule of the Empress Irene, attempts to confer 800 imperial authority on the Frankish king Charlemagne - East-West Schism 1054 - Fall of Constantinople to the 1204 Fourth Crusade - Fall of May 29, 1453 Constantinople3 - Fall of Trebizond 1461 Population - 565 AD4 est. 26,000,000 - 780 AD est. 7,000,000 - 1025 AD4 est. 12,000,000 4 - 1143 AD est. 10,000,000 - 1282 AD est. 5,000,000 Currency Solidus, Hyperpyron Countries Today part of today[show]
Constantinople (3301204 and 12611453). The capital of the Empire of Nicaea, the empire after the Fourth Crusade, was at Nicaea, present day znik, Turkey. 2 Establishment date traditionally considered to be the re-founding of Constantinople as the capital of the Roman Empire (324/330) although other dates are often used.[1] 3 Date of end universally regarded as 1453, despite the temporary survival of remnants in Morea and
1

Trebizond.[1] 4 See Population of the Byzantine Empire for more detailed figures taken provided by McEvedy and Jones, "Atlas of World Population History", 1978, as well as Angeliki E. Laiou, "The Economic History of Byzantium", 2002. 5 Kosovo is the subject of a territorial dispute between the Republic of Serbia and the self-proclaimed Republic of Kosovo. The latter declared independence on 17 February 2008, while Serbia claims it as part of its own sovereign territory. Its independence is recognised by 86 UN member states.

The Byzantine Empire (or Byzantium) was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the "Roman Empire" (Greek: , Basileia Rhmain)[2] or Romania () to its inhabitants and neighbours, it was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State and maintained Roman state traditions.[3][4] Byzantium is today distinguished from ancient Rome proper insofar as it was oriented towards Greek culture, characterised by Christianity rather than Roman paganism and was predominantly Greek-speaking rather than Latin-speaking.[3] As the distinction between Roman Empire and Byzantine Empire is largely a modern convention, it is not possible to assign a date of separation, but an important point is Emperor Constantine I's transfer in 324 of the capital from Nicomedia (in Anatolia) to Byzantium on the Bosphorus, which became Constantinople, "City of Constantine" (alternatively "New Rome").[n 1] The Roman Empire was finally divided in 395 AD after the death of Emperor Theodosius I (r. 379 395), thus this date is also very important if the Byzantine Empire (or Eastern Roman Empire) is looked upon as completely separated from the West. The transition to Byzantine history proper finally begins during the reign of Emperor Heraclius (r. 610641), since Heraclius effectively established a new state after reforming the army and administration by introducing themes and by replacing the official language of the Empire from Latin to Greek.[6] The Byzantine Empire existed for more than a thousand years, from its genesis in the 4th century to 1453. During most of its existence, it remained one of the most powerful economic, cultural, and military forces in Europe, despite setbacks and territorial losses, especially during the Roman-Persian and Byzantine-Arab Wars. The Empire recovered during the Macedonian dynasty, rising again to become a preeminent power in the Eastern Mediterranean by the late 10th century, rivalling the Fatimid Caliphate. After 1071, however, much of Asia Minor, the Empire's heartland, was lost to the Seljuk Turks. The Komnenian restoration regained some ground and briefly reestablished dominance in the 12th century, but following the death of Emperor Andronikos I Komnenos (r. 11831185) and the end of the Komnenos dynasty in the late 12th century the Empire declined again. The Empire received a mortal blow in 1204 from the Fourth Crusade, when it was dissolved and divided into competing Byzantine Greek and Latin realms. Despite the eventual recovery of Constantinople and re-establishment of the Empire in 1261, under the Palaiologan emperors, Byzantium remained only one of many rival states in the area for the final 200 years of its existence. However, this period was the most culturally productive time in the Empire.[4] Successive civil wars in the 14th century further sapped the Empire's strength, and most of its remaining territories were lost in the Byzantine-Ottoman Wars, which culminated in the Fall of

Constantinople and the conquest of remaining territories by the Ottoman Empire in the 15th century.