History Documentary: Byzantine Empire, Byzantium, Full documentary by John Romer, The Lost Empire, History Documentary, Eastern Roman Empire, Βασιλεία Ῥωμαίων
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| Tremissis with the image of Justinian the Great (r. 527–565) |
The Byzantine Empire, or Eastern Roman Empire,
was the predominantly Greek-
speaking continuation of the eastern part of the Roman
Empire during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages. Its capital city was
Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul), originally founded as Byzantium. It
survived the fragmentation and fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th
century AD and continued to exist for an additional thousand years until it
fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1453 under the reign of Mehmed the Conqueror.
During most of its existence, the empire was the most powerful economic,
cultural, and military force in Europe. Both "Byzantine Empire" and
"Eastern Roman Empire" are historiographical terms created after the
end of the realm; its citizens continued to refer to their empire as the Roman
Empire (Ancient Greek: Βασιλεία Ῥωμαίων,
tr. Basileia Rhōmaiōn; Latin: Imperium Romanum), or Romania (Ῥωμανία),
and to themselves as "Romans".
Several events from the 4th to 6th centuries mark the
transitional period during which the Roman Empire's Greek East and Latin West
divided. In 285, the Emperor Diocletian (r. 284–305) partitioned the Roman
Empire's administration into eastern and western halves. Between 324 and
330, Constantine the Great (r. 306–337) transferred the main capital from Rome
to Byzantium, later known as Constantinople ("City of Constantine")
and Nova Roma ("New Rome").[n 1] Under Theodosius I (r. 379–395),
Christianity became the Empire's official state religion and others such as
Roman polytheism were proscribed. And finally, under the reign of Heraclius (r.
610–641), the Empire's military and administration were restructured and
adopted Greek for official use instead of Latin. Thus, although it continued
the Roman state and maintained Roman state traditions, modern historians
distinguish Byzantium from ancient Rome insofar as it was oriented towards
Greek rather than Latin culture, and characterised by Orthodox Christianity
rather than Roman polytheism.
The borders of the Empire evolved significantly over its
existence, as it went through several cycles of decline and recovery. During
the reign of Justinian I (r. 527–565), the Empire reached its greatest extent
after reconquering much of the historically Roman western Mediterranean coast,
including North Africa, Italy, and Rome itself, which it held for two more
centuries. During the reign of Maurice (r. 582–602), the Empire's eastern
frontier was expanded and the north stabilised. However, his assassination
caused the Byzantine–Sasanian War of 602–628, which exhausted the Empire's
resources and contributed to major territorial losses during the Muslim
conquests of the seventh century. In a matter of years the Empire lost its
richest provinces, Egypt and Syria, to the Arabs.
During the Macedonian dynasty (10th–11th centuries), the
Empire again expanded and experienced the two-century long Macedonian
Renaissance, which came to an end with the loss of much of Asia Minor to the
Seljuk Turks after the Battle of Manzikert in 1071. This battle opened the way
for the Turks to settle in Anatolia as a homeland.
The final centuries of the Empire exhibited a general trend
of decline. It struggled to recover during the 12th century, but was delivered
a mortal blow during the Fourth Crusade, when Constantinople was sacked and the
Empire dissolved and divided into competing Byzantine Greek and Latin realms.
Despite the eventual recovery of Constantinople and re-establishment of the
Empire in 1261, Byzantium remained only one of several small rival states in
the area for the final two centuries of its existence. Its remaining
territories were progressively annexed by the Ottomans over the 15th century.
The Fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 finally ended the
Byzantine Empire.
Credits: Wikipedia
