Changes

'''Perhaps the Roman empire was too big and too diverse to maintain indefinitely'''.  No other empire has been able to control that much territory, with all its diversity, for hundreds of years.  Future leaders tried to restore the Roman empire; Charlemagne claimed in A.D. 800 that he had reestablished it.  But the full power and glory of the Roman empire was gone forever.

'''Perhaps the Roman empire was too big and too diverse to maintain indefinitely'''.  No other empire has been able to control that much territory, with all its diversity, for hundreds of years.  Future leaders tried to restore the Roman empire; Charlemagne claimed in A.D. 800 that he had reestablished it.  But the full power and glory of the Roman empire was gone forever.

==The Byzantine Empire (in the East)==

===The Byzantine Empire (in the East)===

Constantine I ("Constantine the Great") became emperor of the western half of the Roman empire after his father died in battle.

Constantine I ("Constantine the Great") became emperor of the western half of the Roman empire after his father died in battle.

In A.D. 527, Justinian became a powerful emperor of this Byzantine empire.  He recovered North Africa from the Vandals in 533 and Rome from the Ostrogoths in 535.  Ultimately he recaptured all of Italy and even parts of Spain in his attempt to reestablish the Roman empire.  Initially the primary language was Latin, as it had been in Rome, but eventually the Greek influence on the eastern half made it the primary language.

In A.D. 527, Justinian became a powerful emperor of this Byzantine empire.  He recovered North Africa from the Vandals in 533 and Rome from the Ostrogoths in 535.  Ultimately he recaptured all of Italy and even parts of Spain in his attempt to reestablish the Roman empire.  Initially the primary language was Latin, as it had been in Rome, but eventually the Greek influence on the eastern half made it the primary language.

Justinian is remembered best for revising and updating the Roman laws and establishing a new Justinian Code for laws and treaties.  This was so successful that it was used for the next 900 years.  He also rebuilt Constantinople, which had been destroyed by riots against high taxes.  He rebuilt the fabulous Hagia Sophia church, which features the Byzantine architecture of high domes.  His wife's name was Theodora, who advocated for modern women's rights at a time when most Byzantine women stayed in the home.

Justinian is remembered best for revising and updating the Roman laws and establishing a new Justinian Code for laws and treaties.  This was so successful that it was used for the next 900 years.  He also rebuilt Constantinople, which had been destroyed by riots against high taxes.  He rebuilt the fabulous Hagia Sophia church, which features the Byzantine architecture of high domes.  His wife's name was Theodora, who was an advocate for more rights for women.

The Byzantine empire survived from Justinian's death in 565 all the way until 1453, when the Muslim Ottoman Turks conquered it in its weakened state.  There are several causes of the decline prior to being conquered in 1453.  A plague weakened the Byzantine empire in 700.  In 1071, the Seljuk Turks defeated Byzantium at the Battle of Manzikert, and these Turks thereby acquired control of most of Asia Minor.  Later Byzantium was weakened by an overly complex system of government, which led rise to the term "Byzantine" that is used today to describe a very complex and difficult-to-understand system of rules.

The Byzantine empire survived from Justinian's death in 565 all the way until 1453, when the Muslim Ottoman Turks conquered it in its weakened state.  There are several causes of the decline prior to being conquered in 1453.  A plague weakened the Byzantine empire in 700.  In 1071, the Seljuk Turks defeated Byzantium at the Battle of Manzikert, and these Turks thereby acquired control of most of Asia Minor.  Later Byzantium was weakened by an overly complex system of government, which led rise to the term "Byzantine" that is used today to describe a very complex and difficult-to-understand system of rules.