The origins of the great civilization known as the Byzantine Empire can be traced to 330 A.D.

when the !oman emperor "onstantine #

dedicated a $new !ome$ on the site of the ancient %reek colony of Byzanti&m. Tho&gh the western half of the !oman Empire cr&mbled
and fell in '() the eastern half s&rvived for *000 more years spawning a rich tradition of art literat&re and learning and serving as a
military b&ffer between the states of E&rope and the threat of invasion from Asia. The Byzantine Empire finally fell in *'+3 after an
,ttoman army stormed "onstantinople d&ring the reign of "onstantine -#.
A New Rome
The term $Byzantine$ derives from Byzanti&m an ancient %reek colony fo&nded by a man named Byzas. .ocated on the E&ropean side
of the Bospor&s /the strait linking the Black 0ea to the 1editerranean2 the site of Byzanti&m was ideally located to serve as a transit
and trade point between E&rope and Asia 1inor. #n 330 A.D. !oman Emperor "onstantine # chose Byzanti&m as the site of a new
!oman capital "onstantinople. 3ive years earlier at the "o&ncil of 4icaea "onstantine had established "hristianity /once an obsc&re
5ewish sect2 as !ome6s official religion. The citizens of "onstantinople and the rest of the Eastern !oman Empire identified strongly as
!omans and "hristians tho&gh many of them spoke %reek and not .atin.
Tho&gh "onstantine r&led over a &nified !oman Empire this &nity proved ill&sory after his death in 33(. #n 3)' Emperor 7alentinian #
again divided the empire into western and eastern sections p&tting himself in power in the west and his brother 7alens in the east. The
fate of the two regions diverged greatly over the ne8t several cent&ries. #n the west constant attacks from %erman invaders s&ch as the
7isigoths broke the str&ggling empire down piece by piece &ntil #taly was the only territory left &nder !oman control. #n '() the
barbarian ,doacer overthrew the last !oman emperor !om&l&s A&g&st&s and !ome had fallen.
Survival of the Byzantine Empire
The eastern half of the !oman Empire proved less v&lnerable to e8ternal attack thanks in part to its geographic location. 9ith
"onstantinople located on a strait it was e8tremely diffic&lt to breach the capital6s defenses: in addition the eastern empire had a m&ch
shorter common frontier with E&rope. #t also benefited greatly from a stronger administrative center and internal political stability as well
as great wealth compared with other states of the early medieval period. The eastern emperors were able to e8ert more control over the
empire6s economic reso&rces and more effectively m&ster s&fficient manpower to combat invasion. As a res&lt of these advantages the
Eastern !oman Empire;vario&sly known as the Byzantine Empire or Byzanti&m;was able to s&rvive for cent&ries after the fall of
!ome.
Tho&gh Byzanti&m was r&led by !oman law and !oman political instit&tions and its official lang&age was .atin %reek was also widely
spoken and st&dents received ed&cation in %reek history literat&re and c&lt&re. #n terms of religion the "o&ncil of "halcedon in '+*
officially established the division of the "hristian world into five patriarchates each r&led by a patriarch< !ome /where the patriarch
wo&ld later call himself pope2 "onstantinople Ale8andria Antioch and 5er&salem. The Byzantine emperor was the patriarch of
"onstantinople and the head of both ch&rch and state. /After the #slamic empire absorbed Ale8andria Antioch and 5er&salem in the
seventh cent&ry the Byzantine emperor wo&ld become the spirit&al leader of most eastern "hristians.2
The Byzantine Empire Under Justinian
5&stinian # who took power in +=( and wo&ld r&le &ntil his death in +)+ was the first great r&ler of the Byzantine Empire. D&ring the
years of his reign the empire incl&ded most of the land s&rro&nding the 1editerranean 0ea as 5&stinian6s armies con>&ered part of the
former 9estern !oman Empire incl&ding 4orth Africa. 1any great mon&ments of the empire wo&ld be b&ilt &nder 5&stinian incl&ding
the domed "h&rch of ?oly 9isdom or ?agia 0ophia /+3=@3( A.D.2. 5&stinian also reformed and codified !oman law establishing a
Byzantine legal code that wo&ld end&re for cent&ries and help shape the modern concept of the state.
At the time of 5&stinian6s death the Byzantine Empire reigned s&preme as the largest and most powerf&l state in E&rope. Debts
inc&rred thro&gh war had left the empire in dire financial straits however and his s&ccessors were forced to heavily ta8 Byzantine
citizens in order to keep the empire afloat. #n addition the imperial army was stretched too thin and wo&ld str&ggle in vain to maintain
the territory con>&ered d&ring 5&stinian6s r&le. D&ring the seventh and eighth cent&ries attacks by Aersians and 0lavs combined with
internal political instability and economic regression threatened the empire. A new even more serio&s threat arose in the form of #slam
fo&nded by the prophet 1&hammad in 1ecca in )==. #n )3' 1&slim armies began their assa&lt on the Byzantine Empire by storming
into 0yria. By the end of the cent&ry Byzanti&m wo&ld lose 0yria the ?oly .and Egypt and 4orth Africa /among other territories2 to
#slamic forces.
From Ionolasm to !onastiism
D&ring the eighth and early ninth cent&ries Byzantine emperors /beginning with .eo ### in (302 spearheaded a movement that denied
the holiness of icons or religio&s images and prohibited their worship or veneration. Bnown as #conoclasm;literally $the smashing of
images$;the movement wa8ed and waned &nder vario&s r&lers b&t did not end definitively &ntil C'3 when a "h&rch co&ncil &nder
Emperor 1ichael ### r&led in favor of the display of religio&s images.
D&ring the late *0th and early **th cent&ries &nder the r&le of the 1acedonian dynasty fo&nded by 1ichael ###6s s&ccessor Basil the
Byzantine Empire enDoyed a golden age. Tho&gh it stretched over less territory Byzanti&m had more control over trade more wealth
and more international prestige than &nder 5&stinian. The strong imperial government patronized the arts restored ch&rches palaces
and other c&lt&ral instit&tions and promoted the st&dy of ancient %reek history and literat&re. %reek became the official lang&age of the
state and a flo&rishing c&lt&re of monasticism centered on 1o&nt Athos in northeastern %reece. 1onks administered many instit&tions
/orphanages schools hospitals2 in everyday life and Byzantine missionaries won many converts to "hristianity among the 0lavic
peoples of the central and eastern Balkans /incl&ding B&lgaria and 0erbia2 and !&ssia.
Byzantium and the "rusades
The end of the **th cent&ry saw the beginning of the "r&sades the series of holy wars waged by 9estern "hristians against 1&slims
in the 4ear East from *0E+ to *=E*. 9ith the 0eiD&k T&rks of central Asia bearing down on "onstantinople Emperor Ale8i&s # t&rned to
the 9est for help res&lting in the declaration of $holy war$ by Aope Frban ## at "lermont /3rance2 that began the 3irst "r&sade. As
armies from 3rance %ermany and #taly po&red into Byzanti&m Ale8i&s tried to force their leaders to swear an oath of loyalty to him in
order to g&arantee that land regained from the T&rks wo&ld be restored to his empire. After 9estern and Byzantine forces recapt&red
4icaea in Asia 1inor from the T&rks Ale8i&s and his army retreated drawing acc&sations of betrayal from the "r&saders.
D&ring the s&bse>&ent "r&sades animosity contin&ed to b&ild between Byzanti&m and the 9est c&lminating in the con>&est and
looting of "onstantinople d&ring the 3o&rth "r&sade in *=0'. The .atin regime established in "onstantinople e8isted on shaky gro&nd
d&e to the open hostility of the city6s pop&lation and its lack of money. 1any ref&gees from "onstantinople fled to 4icaea site of a
Byzantine government@in@e8ile that wo&ld retake the capital and overthrow .atin r&le in *=)*.
The Fall of the Byzantine Empire # Its $e%ay
D&ring the r&le of the Aalaiologan emperors beginning with 1ichael 7### in *=)* the economy of the once@mighty Byzantine state was
crippled and never regained its former stat&re. #n *3)E Emperor 5ohn 7 &ns&ccessf&lly so&ght financial help from the 9est to confront
the growing T&rkish threat b&t was arrested as an insolvent debtor in 7enice. 3o&r years later he was forced;like the 0erbian princes
and the r&ler of B&lgaria;to become a vassal of the mighty T&rks. As a vassal state Byzanti&m paid trib&te to the s&ltan and provided
him with military s&pport. Fnder 5ohn6s s&ccessors the empire gained sporadic relief from ,ttoman oppression b&t the rise of 1&rad ##
as s&ltan in *'=* marked the end of the final respite. 1&rad revoked all privileges given to the Byzantines and laid siege to
"onstantinople: his s&ccessor 1ehmed ## completed this process when he la&nched the final attack on the city. ,n 1ay =E *'+3 after
an ,ttoman army stormed "onstantinople 1ehmed tri&mphantly entered the ?agia 0ophia which wo&ld become the city6s leading
mos>&e. Emperor "onstantine -# died in battle that day and the decline and fall of the Byzantine Empire was complete.
#n the cent&ries leading &p to the final ,ttoman con>&est in *'+3 the c&lt&re of the Byzantine Empire;incl&ding literat&re art and
theology;flo&rished once again even as the empire itself faltered. Byzantine c&lt&re wo&ld e8ert a great infl&ence on the 9estern
intellect&al tradition as scholars of the #talian !enaissance so&ght help from Byzantine scholars in translating %reek pagan and
"hristian writings. /This process wo&ld contin&e after *'+3 when many of these scholars fled to #taly from "onstantinople.2 .ong after
its $end$ Byzantine c&lt&re and civilization contin&ed to e8ercise an infl&ence on co&ntries that practiced its ,rthodo8 religion incl&ding
!&ssia !omania B&lgaria 0erbia and %reece among others.