what was the byzantine empire

In the centuries leading up to the final Ottoman conquest in 1453, the culture of the Byzantine Empire–including literature, art, architecture, law and theology–flourished even as the empire itself faltered. HISTORY reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate. The Byzantine Empire, often called the Eastern Roman Empire or simply Byzantium, existed from 330 to 1453 CE. The Byzantine Empire finally fell in 1453, after an Ottoman army stormed Constantinople during the reign of Constantine XI. During the rule of the Palaiologan emperors, beginning with Michael VIII in 1261, the economy of the once-mighty Byzantine state was crippled, and never regained its former stature. The fall of Constantinople marked the end of a glorious era for the Byzantine Empire. The Byzantine Empire was the direct legal continuation of the eastern half of the Roman Empire following the division of the Roman Empire in 395. There were two broad groups of citizens: the honestiores (the “privileged”) and the humiliores (the “humble”), that is, the rich, privileged, and titled as opposed to everyone else. Byzantine architecture, building style of Constantinople (now Istanbul, formerly ancient Byzantium) after ad 330. Ring in the new year with a Britannica Membership. They often feature flat and frontal figures floating on a golden background. Alexander the Great made both worlds part of his Hellenistic universe, and later Byzantium became an increasingly important city within the Roman Empire. Help support true facts by becoming a member. Known as Iconoclasm—literally “the smashing of images”—the movement waxed and waned under various rulers, but did not end definitively until 843, when a Church council under Emperor Michael III ruled in favor of the display of religious images. One of the most extraordinary aspects of the Byzantine Empire was its longevity: It was the only organized state west of China to survive without interruption from ancient times until the beginning of the modern age. The Byzantine Empire, also known as Byzantium, is a large political unit that comprised the eastern region of what was once known as the Roman Empire. Justinian also reformed and codified Roman law, establishing a Byzantine legal code that would endure for centuries and help shape the modern concept of the state. The strong imperial government patronized Byzantine art, including now-cherished Byzantine mosaics. Coauthor of. Established when the Han Dynasty in China officially opened trade with the West in 130 B.C., the Silk Road routes remained in use until 1453 A.D., when the Ottoman ...read more, Petra is an ancient city that lies in present-day Jordan and dates back to the fourth century B.C. 2. It wasn’t called the Byzantine Empire until after it fell. His wife was named Theodora and she was extremely influential out of all of the Byzantine empresses. Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. The attitude to trade and commerce in the Byzantine Empire had changed very little since antiquity and the days of ancient Greece and Rome: the activity was not regarded highly and considered a little undignified for the general landed aristocrat to pursue. Its main characteristics were Roman state traditions, Greek culture and Christian faith. Although initially Roman in nature, it comprised the heavily hellenized provinces of Egypt and Anatolia, as well as the Hellene hearthland of Greece and its surroundings, which makes some historians consider "Eastern Rome" as aGreek Christian empire. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Start studying Chapt 10: The Byzantine Empire. The eastern half of the Roman Empire proved less vulnerable to external attack, thanks in part to its geographic location. The Byzantine Empire had kept Greek and Roman culture alive for nearly a thousand years after the fall of the Roman Empire in the west. The Eastern Empire continues on, and it's often known as the Byzantine Empire with its capital at Constantinople. With the Seijuk Turks of central Asia bearing down on Constantinople, Emperor Alexius I turned to the West for help, resulting in the declaration of “holy war” by Pope Urban II at Clermont, France, that began the First Crusade. Ruins of the once-great metropolis and trading center now serve as an important archeologic site and tourist attraction. Constantine is believed to have laid the first bricks of the Byzantine Empire, establishing the Empire’s famous capital, Constantinople. Start studying The Byzantine empire. Thus, it is sometimes referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire, though historians did not use the aforementioned designations until long after the empire ceased to exist. Byzantine architecture, particularly in religious buildings, can be found in diverse regions from Egypt to Russia. The Byzantine Empire (395-1453) was the eastern half of the Roman Empire that survived through the entirety of the Middle Ages. Play this game to review European History. During the eighth and early ninth centuries, Byzantine emperors (beginning with Leo III in 730) spearheaded a movement that denied the holiness of icons, or religious images, and prohibited their worship or veneration. Byzantium was colonized by the Greeks from Megara in 657 BC, and remained primarily Greek-speaking until its conquest by the Ottoman Empire in AD 1453. In terms of religion, the Council of Chalcedon in 451 officially established the division of the Christian world into separate patriarchates, including Rome (where the patriarch would later call himself pope), Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem. The Western Roman Empire continued until 476. The chief leader, known as the Sultan, was given absolute ...read more, 1. Byzantine Empire Questions 1. Their natural border was the far side of the Tigris-Euphrates plain, and so they were continually fighting over Mesopotamia and beyond (in each direction). The Byzantine Empire was a vast and powerful civilization with origins that can be traced to 330 A.D., when the Roman emperor Constantine I dedicated a “New Rome” on the site of the ancient Greek colony of Byzantium. As a result of these advantages, the Eastern Roman Empire, variously known as the Byzantine Empire or Byzantium, was able to survive for centuries after the fall of Rome. During the late 10th and early 11th centuries, under the rule of the Macedonian dynasty founded by Michael III’s successor, Basil, the Byzantine Empire enjoyed a golden age. Before the Byzantine Empire came into existence, Persians and Greeks had taken turns settling in and invading the territory that would later become known as Constantinople. The term Byzantine Empire was invented in 1557, about a century after the fall of Constantinople to the Turks, by German historian Hieronymus Wolf (1516–1580). The term “Byzantine” derives from Byzantium, an ancient Greek colony founded by a man named Byzas. The modern-day Eastern Orthodox Church is the second largest Christian church in the world. Under John’s successors, the empire gained sporadic relief from Ottoman oppression, but the rise of Murad II as sultan in 1421 marked the end of the final respite. Now, what we'll see is that the Byzantine Empire lasts for almost another 1,000 years, but its importance in the region diminishes for most of that period. The relationship between the Roman (not Byzantine until after its death) and Persian Empires was the original example for the word “frenemies”. Unlike the Western Roman Empire, the most important language was Greek, not Latin, and Greek culture and identity dominated. The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire, or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinople (modern Istanbul, formerly Byzantium).It survived the fragmentation and fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD and continued to exist for … © 2021 A&E Television Networks, LLC. Start your free trial today. By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica. 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