The collapse of the Roman Empire felt one of its greatest blows when, in 395, Emperor Theodosius divided the territories into the Roman Empire from West and East. In 330, Emperor Constantine created the city of Constantinople on the site of the former Greek colony of Byzantium. Not feeling the consequences of the disintegration of the Roman Empire, the city of Constantinople took advantage of its strategic position to become an important commercial center.
Surrounded by water and an imposing fortification, the city of Constantinople became a safeguard against the conflicts that marked the beginning of the Middle Ages. Over time, the Byzantine Empire reached its splendor thanks to its economic prosperity and its centralized government. During Justinian's government (527 – 565), the empire implemented a territorial expansion project that aimed to recover the former splendor lived by the Ancient Roman Empire.
Throughout his reign, Justinian managed to contain the military advance of the Persians and Bulgarians into the Balkan region. Soon after, he undertook the expulsion of the vandals from North Africa. He later ended the Gothic domination of the Italian Peninsula and took the Iberian Peninsula from the Visigoths. Despite coming to regroup the old domains of Ancient Rome, Justinian could not resist the new invasions of the Germanic peoples in Europe and the Arab domination in North Africa.
On the political plane, Justinian sought to formulate laws that were inspired by ancient Roman legal codes. Forming a group of jurists influenced by Roman Law, Justiniano compiled a group of laws that formed the so-called Civil Law Corps. Despite undertaking the expansion of the domains of the empire, Justinian was the victim of a great disturbance. In the Nika Revolt (532), several popular groups organized a movement in protest against the heavy tax burdens and the large expenditure undertaken in military campaigns.
Even counting on this approach to the Roman world, the Byzantine Empire was influenced by the values of Greek and Asian culture. One of the clearest features of this multiplicity of Byzantine culture can be seen in the particularities of its Christian religious practice. Diverging from the principles of Roman Catholicism, the Byzantine Christians did not recognize the physical nature of Christ, admitting only his spiritual existence. Furthermore, they repudiated the worship of images, even leading an iconoclastic movement.
These doctrinal divergences reached their height when, in 1054, the Eastern Schism established the division of the Church into Roman Apostolic Catholic and Orthodox. In this way, the Eastern Christian doctrine began to suffer an orientation away from several principles of traditional Catholicism, counting on different leaderships from those of Rome.
In the late Middle Ages, the Byzantine Empire gave its first signs of weakening. The crusade movement and the commercial rise of Italian cities were responsible for the disruption of the Empire. In the 14th century, Turkish-Ottoman expansion into the Balkans and Asia Minor reduced the empire to the city of Constantinople. Finally, in 1453, the Turks took over the city and named it Istanbul, one of Turkey's main cities.
Do not stop now... There's more after the advertising ;)
See more:
Crisis in the Roman Empire
medieval religiosity
Modern age
By Rainer Sousa
Graduated in History
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
SOUSA, Rainer Gonçalves. "Byzantine Empire"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/historiag/imperio-bizantino.htm. Accessed on June 27, 2021.
