Byzantine Empire

The Byzantine Empire, also called the Eastern Roman Empire, is the term modern historians use for the eastern portion of the Roman Empire, which continued after the collapse of the western Roman administration in the fifth century. Its capital was Constantinople (now Istanbul), a city founded by Emperor Constantine on the coast of the Bosporus. The people of the empire called themselves Romans, and their administration and literature came to be conducted in Greek.

The system of government included a powerful emperor, a formal administration running on documents and taxation, and close ties between the state and the Eastern Orthodox Church. During its existence, the empire frequently expanded its borders and then contracted again, and it engaged in prolonged wars with Persian, Arab, Bulgarian, Seljuk Turkish, and Latin powers.

Origins and nomenclature

The word "Byzantine" derives from Byzantion, the former name of Constantinople, and came into use centuries after the empire's end. There was thus no period when the empire's people called themselves "Byzantine." Historians disagree on when Byzantine history should begin: some place it in the time of Constantine (fourth century), while others date it to Justinian or Heraclius, when Greek fully replaced Latin in administration.

Law and religion

In the time of Justinian (sixth century), the laws of Rome were collected, a compilation that had profound influence on European legal systems. In the same period, the Hagia Sophia church was built in Constantinople, for a long time the largest place of worship in Christendom. Eastern Christianity became central to the culture and administration; theological disputes, such as the controversy over sacred images (iconoclasm), entered into political matters. The separation of the churches of Rome and Constantinople in the eleventh century affected relations with the west.

Economy and culture

Constantinople lay on the crossroads of the trade routes between Europe and Asia, and the empire made taxation of commerce and agriculture a pillar of state revenue. The gold coinage of the empire was long renowned for stable value. Byzantine art, particularly mosaics and sacred images (icons), influenced churches in the Balkans and Russia, where Orthodox Christianity and Cyrillic writing spread through the use of church services.

Fall

In 1204, forces of the Fourth Crusade captured Constantinople, and a Latin state was established; the empire was restored in 1261 but with limited power and reduced territory. In 1453, the Ottoman Empire under Sultan Mehmed II captured Constantinople, ending the Byzantine state. The culture, law, and religion of the empire persisted in the Orthodox churches and the traditions of the Balkans, Anatolia, and the Middle East.