Byzantine+Empire

330 - 1,453C.E. // **Imperium Romanum** //** [1] Βασιλεία τ ῶν Ῥωμαίων // Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn //** Eastern Roman Empire**
 * Byzantine Empire**
 * Empire of the Romans

The **Eastern Roman Empire** lasted about 1,000 years after the **Western Roman Empire** fell (476C.E.), but was declining since the early 900s. It was started by **Emperor Constantine** in 330C.E., who thought the large country with a failing economy needed a second capital. It was never called **Byzantine** in its day, but in 1,557C.E. a German writer gave it the name. After Rome fell, the Byzantines took some of Rome's land, but not all, and for most of its existence, they were a major power in the Mediterranean Sea. The official language of the Byzantines was originally Latin, but in the 600s it affectively became Greek by Emperor Heraclius, and Latin continued along as a scholar's language. The Byzantines were Christian, but not **Roman Catholic** - instead they practiced/started the **Eastern Orthodox** religion. Their territory at the height of its expansion included Macedonia to the 'Holy Land' (East to West), and from the Caspian Sea to Middle Egypt (North to South). Their decline started after they lost Egypt, and though they fought back, they were going downhill from there. When they lost the 'Holy Land' they sought help from the Roman Catholic Church - here come thy // crusades // (uh-oh!). The Byzantines let the crusaders through during the crusades, but in the fourth major one, during 1204C.E. they stopped at the city of Constantinople and sacked it. All though the Pope apologized and excommunicated the crusaders of the Fourth Crusade, this started **The Great Schism**. This was the separation between the Eastern and Western Churches. In 1261C.E., the Byzantines reconquered Constantinople, though their empire was heavily weakened. The Byzantines eventualy fell into a civil war, and in 1,453C.E., the Eastern Roman Empire fell to the Ottomans. [1] For the period when Latin was used in the imperial administration (translates as "Roman Empire"). 467 - 1453 C.E.

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