Title: 
Headings: 
The Byzantine Empire
The Term "Byzantine Empire"
Early History
Hagia Sophia
The Fight for Survival
Golden Era
End of Empire
Byzantine Art
Image Veneration
The Iconoclastic Crisis
Macedonian Renaissance
Spread of Byzantine Art
Mosaics and Frescoes
Illuminated Manuscripts
Ivories and Enamels
Byzantine Architecture
Basilicas
Greek Cross Churches
Byzantine Monastry, Jerusalem
Byzantine Clothing
Legacy and Importance

Content: Byzantine Empire - Crystalinks
The Byzantine Empire
The Roman-Byzantine Period
The Byzantine Empire was the predominantly Greek-speaking continuation of the Roman Empire during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages. Its capital city was Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul), originally known as Byzantium. Initially the eastern half of the Roman Empire (often called the Eastern Roman Empire in this context), it survived the 5th century fragmentation and collapse of the Western Roman Empire and continued to thrive, existing 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 applied in later centuries; its citizens continued to refer to their empire as the Roman Empire. Several events from the 4th to 6th centuries mark the transitional period during which the Roman Empire's east and 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 I (r. 306-337) transferred the main capital from Rome to Byzantium, later known as Constantinople ("City of Constantine") and Nova Roma ("New Rome"). Under Theodosius I (r. 379-395), Christianity became the Empire's official state religion and others such as Roman polytheism were proscribed.