Byzantine Empire Overview

The Byzantine Empire

• The Byzantine Empire was the continuation of the Roman Empire in the East
• Emperor Constantine I moved the capital to Constantinople (formerly Byzantium)
• This move helped the empire recover from a period of instability
• Constantinople was strategically located for trade and defense
• The empire experienced large-scale migrations of Germanic, Gothic, and Slavic peoples between 300 and 570 CE
• These migrations put pressure on the Roman Empire
• The Western Roman Empire fell in 485 CE
• The Eastern Roman Empire persisted
• Historians refer to the Eastern Roman Empire as the Byzantine Empire after 485 CE

Rise of the Eastern Roman Empire

• Emperor Constantine moved the capital to mitigate conflicts with Persia
• Constantine implemented reforms to revive the empire
• The reforms included adjustments to the civil, economic, and military structure of the empire

Invasions of the Roman Empire

• A map shows the periods of invasions of the Roman Empire between 100 and 500 CE
• Various groups such as Angles, Saxons, Franks, Goths, Visigoths, Ostrogoths, Huns, and Vandals were involved in the invasions
• These groups migrated and invaded the Roman Empire
• The invasions contributed to the decline of the Western Roman Empire

The Byzantine Empire

• The Byzantine Empire temporarily reconquered the West
• This reconquest occurred under Justinian I in the 6th century
• Justinian's Code had lasting effects on modern legal systems
• Justinian's codes establish common civil law
• They set precedents for judicial precedents
• Justinian's codes also impacted formal training for students of law
• The Byzantine Empire spread Christianity through institutions and missionaries like Cyril and Methodius
• This led to the dominance of Eastern Orthodox Christianity in Eastern Europe

Decline and Fall of the Byzantines

• The Byzantine Empire remained an important economic force
• This is connected to trade along the Silk Roads
• The empire suffered from plagues like the Plague of Justinian and the Black Death
• The Byzantine-Sassanid War from 602-628 caused contractions and exhaustion
• The empire was affected by Arab conquests in the 7th century
• It faced various invasions, wars, plagues, internal strife, and civil war
• The empire eventually fell to the Ottoman Empire in 1453

Maps

• Maps illustrate the Silk Road
• Maps depict the Byzantine and Sassanid Empires in the 7th century CE
• Maps indicate the extent of the Byzantine Empire in 1050

The Fall of Rome

• A graphic depicting the fall of Rome