Title: Byzantium: The New Rome | Boundless World History
Headings: Byzantium: The New Rome
Byzantium: The New Rome
Naming of the Byzantine Empire
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Nomenclature
The Eastern Roman Empire, Constantine the Great, and Byzantium
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Constantine the Great and the Beginning of Byzantium
Constantinople and Civil Reform
Constantine and Christianity
The Fall of the Western Roman Empire
Justinian and Theodora
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Byzantine Empire from Constantine to Justinian
Emperor Justinian I
Accomplishments in Byzantium
Theodora
Justinian’s Difficulties
The Justinian Code
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Legacy

Content: The Byzantine Empire, sometimes referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire in the east during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when 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 CE, and continued to exist for an additional thousand years until it fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1453. 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, and thought of themselves as Romans. Although the people living in the Eastern Roman Empire referred to themselves as Romans, they were distinguished by their Greek heritage, Orthodox Christianity, and their regional connections. Over time, the culture of the Eastern Roman Empire transformed. Greek replaced Latin as the language of the empire. Christianity became more important in daily life, although the culture’s pagan Roman past still exerted an influence. Several signal events from the 4th to 6th centuries mark the period of transition during which the Roman Empire’s Greek east and Latin west divided.