The Byzantine Empire was the eastern continuation of the Roman Empire after the Western Roman Empire's fall in the fifth century CE. It lasted from the fall of the Roman Empire until the Ottoman conquest in 1453.
Continuities: The Byzantine Empire initially maintained many Roman systems of governance and law and aspects of Roman culture. The Byzantines called themselves "Roman". The term "Byzantine Empire" was not used until well after the fall of the Empire.
Changes: The Byzantine Empire shifted its capital from Rome to Constantinople, changed the official religion to Christianity, and changed the official language from Latin to Greek.
From Rome to Byzantium
The fall of the Roman Empire was a pivotal moment in world history. But we sometimes forget that part of the Roman Empire continued on. Even though the Western Roman Empire, which was centered around Rome, collapsed, the Eastern Roman Empire survived as the Byzantine Empire.
The Byzantine Empire lasted for a millennium after the fall of the Roman Empire, ending with the Ottoman conquests in 1453. While the Roman Empire's capital was Rome (for most of its history), the Byzantine Empire’s capital city was Constantinople, which was previously called Byzantium, and today is Istanbul. The capital was well-positioned near active trade routes connecting east and west. Constantinople was named after Emperor Constantine I, the first Byzantine emperor.
In this article, we're going to look at some of the continuities between the Roman Empire and the Byzantine Empire. We'll also examine some of the changes that occurred, transforming the Eastern Roman Empire into the Byzantine Empire.
The Roman Empire in the east transformed into the Byzantine Empire over time, so it's pretty hard to neatly separate the histories of the two empires, but most scholars agree that Emperor Constantine's reign was the start of the Byzantine Empire.
A map depicting Constantine's empire, which spread over modern-day Italy, Greece, and Turkey and more.
A map depicting Constantine's empire, which spread over modern-day Italy, Greece, and Turkey and more.
Map of Constantine's empire, 306-324 CE. Image credit: Wikimedia Commons.
Constantine—who ruled from 324 CE to 337 CE—made some significant changes to the Roman Empire. Two of these changes were the new capital at Byzantium and the new Christian character of the empire (Constantine legalized Christianity and eventually converted himself). These changes eventually created a distinct culture which would characterize the Byzantine Empire after the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476.
Even so, people living under the Byzantine Empire continued to see themselves as Romans and continued to refer to their empire as the Roman Empire; the terms Byzantine Empire and Eastern Roman Empire were created much later
Even though the Byzantine Empire is considered to start with Constantine's moving the capital to Byzantium, it was not considered a separate empire by historians until the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476.
Even during this overlap, the nature of the Eastern and Western halves of the Empire began to diverge. In particular, the Greek language became more and more important in the East relative to Latin.
In addition, Constantine legalized Christianity. However, this was still a period of transition. It wasn't until later, under Theodosius I—who ruled from 379 CE to 395 CE—that Christianity became the official state religion of the Roman Empire (both East and West).
During Constantine's rule, there was a mix of Christian and pagan elements. Let's look at this passage written by the historian Timothy E. Gregory:
There can be no doubt that, from 312 CE onward, Constantine favored the Christian church and that he offered it considerable wealth. He clearly became deeply involved in the religious controversies of the age and he favored Christians in the employ of the state. At the same time, Constantine continued to hold the office of pontifex maximus (chief priest of the state religion), and pagan symbols continued to appear on his coins, at least until 323 CE.
