<P> A number of states contemporary with the Byzantine Empire were culturally influenced by it , without actually being part of it ( the `` Byzantine commonwealth '' ) . These included the Rus , as well as some non-Orthodox states like the Republic of Venice , which separated from the Byzantine empire in the 10th century , and the Kingdom of Sicily , which had close ties to the Byzantine Empire and had also been a Byzantine possession until the 10th century with a large Greek speaking population persisting into the 12th century . Other states having a Byzantine artistic tradition had oscillated throughout the Middle Ages between being part of the Byzantine empire and having periods of independence , such as Serbia and Bulgaria . After the fall of the Byzantine capital of Constantinople in 1453 , art produced by Eastern Orthodox Christians living in the Ottoman Empire was often called `` post-Byzantine . '' Certain artistic traditions that originated in the Byzantine Empire , particularly in regard to icon painting and church architecture , are maintained in Greece , Cyprus , Serbia , Bulgaria , Romania , Russia and other Eastern Orthodox countries to the present day . </P>
<P> A number of states contemporary with the Byzantine Empire were culturally influenced by it , without actually being part of it ( the `` Byzantine commonwealth '' ) . These included the Rus , as well as some non-Orthodox states like the Republic of Venice , which separated from the Byzantine empire in the 10th century , and the Kingdom of Sicily , which had close ties to the Byzantine Empire and had also been a Byzantine possession until the 10th century with a large Greek speaking population persisting into the 12th century . Other states having a Byzantine artistic tradition had oscillated throughout the Middle Ages between being part of the Byzantine empire and having periods of independence , such as Serbia and Bulgaria . After the fall of the Byzantine capital of Constantinople in 1453 , art produced by Eastern Orthodox Christians living in the Ottoman Empire was often called `` post-Byzantine . '' Certain artistic traditions that originated in the Byzantine Empire , particularly in regard to icon painting and church architecture , are maintained in Greece , Cyprus , Serbia , Bulgaria , Romania , Russia and other Eastern Orthodox countries to the present day . </P>
extensive examples of surviving byzantine art can be seen in
extensive examples of surviving byzantine art can be seen in
Greece , Cyprus , Serbia , Bulgaria , Romania , Russia and other Eastern Orthodox countries to the present day
Greece , Cyprus , Serbia , Bulgaria , Romania , Russia and other Eastern Orthodox countries to the present day