Difference between revisions of "Byzantium"
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| − | Byzantium, or Constantinople, was a city founded by the Roman Emperor [[Constantine the Great]] in 330 AD, and which shortly afterwards became the new capital of the Roman Emperor. It remained the capital of the eastern part of the empire when the empire was divided into two halves in 395 AD, and wheras the western half fell to [[Barbarian]] invasions in the space of less than a century, the eastern half survived through the entire [[Medieval]] period, | + | Byzantium, or Constantinople, was a city founded by the Roman Emperor [[Constantine the Great]] in 330 AD, and which shortly afterwards became the new capital of the Roman Emperor. It remained the capital of the eastern part of the empire when the empire was divided into two halves in 395 AD, and wheras the western half fell to [[Barbarian]] invasions in the space of less than a century, the eastern half survived through the entire [[Medieval]] period. The centre of Eastern Orthodox Christianity, it was sacked by the Western Christian forces of the Fourth Crusade in 1204 and wasn't regained by the Byzantines, under Emperor Michael VIII Palaeologous, until 1261. After this it grow weaker and smaller, until Constantinople finally fell to the Turks in 1453 AD. It is today the Turkish city of Istanbul. |
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| + | The name Byzantium derives from Byzas, the name of the, probably fictional, founder of the Greek city present which occupied the site where Constantine built his new city. | ||
[[category:history]] | [[category:history]] | ||
Revision as of 16:06, January 8, 2009
Byzantium, or Constantinople, was a city founded by the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great in 330 AD, and which shortly afterwards became the new capital of the Roman Emperor. It remained the capital of the eastern part of the empire when the empire was divided into two halves in 395 AD, and wheras the western half fell to Barbarian invasions in the space of less than a century, the eastern half survived through the entire Medieval period. The centre of Eastern Orthodox Christianity, it was sacked by the Western Christian forces of the Fourth Crusade in 1204 and wasn't regained by the Byzantines, under Emperor Michael VIII Palaeologous, until 1261. After this it grow weaker and smaller, until Constantinople finally fell to the Turks in 1453 AD. It is today the Turkish city of Istanbul.
The name Byzantium derives from Byzas, the name of the, probably fictional, founder of the Greek city present which occupied the site where Constantine built his new city.